Everyone wants the secret to living longer. Society is obsessed with the next easy fix for being healthy, and that desire drives a lot of pseudoscience and blatant scams. Navigating the health sciences may be one of the most challenging parts of life without falling victim to pseudoscience. Simon Singh's "Trick or Treatment" is an excellent resource on some of the oldest and most popular forms of pseudoscience, but if you want a detailed guide to healthy living, the Mayo Clinic is one of the best sources you can trust.

The Mayo Clinic is one of the most highly regarded health research institutions in the world. I strongly recommend visiting their website for general health concerns. However, for specifics on living a healthier and longer life, they have curated a comprehensive book on the subject: "The Mayo Clinic on Healthy Aging."

The title is indicative of what you should expect. The Mayo Clinic is a research institution, and this book is rather encyclopedic. Admittedly, if you are looking for a compelling narrative that communicates the science, this book may not be for you. As a resource, it is great to have for reference, but I also think there is a benefit to reading the book in its entirety, probably several times throughout your life, as a sort of refresher. The book itself is not new—it has a new edition and an audiobook to accompany it.

This review is thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an audio ARC. Regarding the audiobook, it is disappointing. The narrator is one of the most "let's do a robotic science lecture with artificial emotion" narrators I've listened to. Frankly, I did not enjoy the narrator's voice. It fits well into the larger style, but when that style is dry, it isn't a good thing. That is where the issues with the book arise. While it is amazingly informative, its encyclopedic structure leads to a considerable amount of repetition.

I cannot say this is a great book because it is not crafted in a creative way to capture the reader's attention. This will deter some readers, and there is some legitimate criticism to be made about whether the book is written in an accessible format. It is not excessively esoteric; however, its style and structure surely will not work for everyone. Moreover, much of the actual advice could almost be summarized in a small brochure due to its repetitiveness. That's why this book functions more as a reference than a casual read.

I had one major concern, aside from the structure, regarding how it addresses alternative medicine. I will again strongly suggest checking out "Trick or Treatment" by Simon Singh, as it does an excellent job reviewing alternative medicines and exactly what science says about their efficacy (and harm).

This book does not delve deeply into criticism of alternative medicine. It adopts a more placating tone, maintaining enough vagueness to avoid asserting efficacy where there is none. However, unfamiliar readers will almost certainly interpret that as tacit support for alternative medicines, which is not the case. It seems clear to me that they didn't want to alienate their readers, but I can't help but wonder why they ventured into the subject at all. It is the primary reason I hesitate to recommend the book.

At the end of the day, I am not a healthcare expert, and the Mayo Clinic remains one of the most reputable sources for healthcare advice. I am not immune to being wrong on this subject, and challenging the Mayo Clinic does give me pause. Nevertheless, I am left with the impression that this is just one area where the Mayo Clinic may be mistaken. You will decide for yourself if you read the book, but I suspect it will not appeal to most people due to its structure.

This was a very interesting audiobook. It covers not only studies on how to age healthy and change bad habits, but also provides rich content about the body and the organ functions. I’ve appreciated easy to follow language and the advices to improve general healthy. It was enjoyable and a very informative audiobook.

Well narrated, great information on the aspects of aging everyone dreads or tries to not think about. Great information for the layperson with minimal health knowledge interested in healthy aging.

"Mayo Clinic on Healthy Aging" is a great read book on aging, which I found to be a comprehensive and informative guide. The book covered a wide range of topics related to aging, including the physiological changes that occur as we age, common health concerns for older adults, and strategies for maintaining good health and well-being in later life.

While I didn't come across any information that was particularly new or surprising to me, I found the book to be a helpful reference guide for anyone who is just beginning to explore and learn more about aging. The writing style was clear and accessible, and the information was presented in a way that was easy to understand and digest.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about aging and how to maintain good health and well-being as they grow older. I also want to express my gratitude to NetGalley for providing me with a free and advanced copy of this book, which allowed me to access this valuable resource.

I listened to the book, Mayo Clinic on Healthy Aging, and found it to be a voluminous fount of information on making the best of the inevitable path forward in aging. As someone who reads a lot and stays pretty informed on healthy matters, I didn't learn a lot new, but I suspect the average reader would. This went into great detail on how one can live their best life as they age.

Like others who have reviewed this, I would agree that maybe a physical copy of the book might be more helpful so one could refer back to information, which is presented in easy to follow chapters.

As one might expect from an institution as prestigious as the Mayo Clinic, the presentation of the information can be a bit dry at times. Nevertheless, it held my interest and I did learn more on subjects I thought I was versed in, due to the amount of detail they went into.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and the authors for allowing me to listen to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is of the depth and quality we expect from Mayo. Seems like it covers everything “soups to nuts”. As this is an expository scientific fact book, there is a lot to take in. A lot to take in, This is to be taken slowly and digested thoroughly.
I will be gifting this.

This audiobook was presented beautifully. At times it was a little over my head, but I’ve always been interested in health and learning, so it was perfect.

While I’d rather not announce my age, I’m glad that the authors stressed that, while it’s best to begin caring for your body early, it’s never too late.

Surprisingly, this was not only informative but uplifting and positive. The first part is about the typical ways people age and things that can be done to slow down and prevent serious problems. I learned how different parts of the body function, and then how aging affects them. While this is a subject that tends to be a downer, the whole book carries an underlying current of positivity and hopefulness.

The topics covered are numerous.

"The book covers a variety of topics including responding to personal risks, how to challenge the brain and body, healthy diet, physical activity, resiliency, retirement planning, and living a fulfilling life."

My Concerns
This was far more interesting than I would have imagined. No concerns.

Final Thoughts
I have to admit that the word Mayo in the title caught my attention, and I’m glad it did. This audiobook, narrated by Daniel Henning, is worth your time whether you are young or elderly. And while I don’t want to label myself elderly, many would. This book offered hopefulness regardless of age.

While many younger people feel their senior years are too far away to worry about, I suggest you not worry about it, but prepare by treating your body with respect. Listening to this book is a great way to gain guidance.

There aren’t many books I’d listen to twice, but this was so interesting. How could it be? I don’t know. It took some fancy footwork to create a book that is both informative, hopeful, and interesting.


My thanks to Dreamscape Media, Mayo Clinic Press, and NetGalley for a review copy of this audiobook.

As the cover says, this is a very easy and comprehensive book on aging healthily. The information is sound, yet easy to follow, and the advice is very practical. Obviously, there are some parts of aging that cannot be helped, but a large focus of this book is how to be proactive about the things that can be helped. For anyone who has looked into general healthy living, it’s nothing new or different, but for someone wanting a general start covering all the basics, this is pretty good. On that note, it’s a solid 4 star book. However, I am reviewing the audiobook version and I’m going to give that 3 stars. The chosen narrator really sounds like he’s explaining something to a child, and it was hard for me to want to continue listening. For that reason, I would prefer the physical copy. I also think the physical book would be better in terms of being able to skip around to specific topics and go back to review at times. Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A solid and useful guide to updated health information on aging. This book doesn't go into the causes of health outcomes (such as why Black Americans are vulnerable to more stress related health outcomes) but stays surface level and practical. Includes quizzes and specif steps for the reader to improve their own health

I’m really tried with this one. I appreciate the use of a professional narrator as that did help. I think that medically based books are hard to execute on audiobook. You miss being able to skim over irrelevant (to you) sections and can’t flip back and forth easily. I think I’ll keep with ebooks for these type of books going forward.

Nice general overview of health concerns and things that you can do to be healthier as you age. A useful resource to have on hand. Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC!

For people who are just beginning to learn about healthy habits that can slow aging and promote health and vitality into their older years, this book and audiobook are a great place to start. Since I'm pretty far along on my journey, I didn't learn a great deal. However, the later section on Medicare and health cost considerations post-retirement was helpful to me.

Thanks to Dreamscape Media, Mayo Clinic Press, and NetGalley for a review copy of this audiobook.

#MayoCliniconHealthyAging #NetGalley

Very informative book. I like how the first half of the book explains the science behind it all and the second half is more of an action plan. Thanks for the opportunity to listen to this one.

If you are wanting a broad overview of health in many different aspects than this could be a great book for you. I would have liked a little bit more science and going a little bit deeper and to each topic but then the book would have probably been twice as big. I listen to the audiobook and so hopefully the hardcover will have footnotes and citations so that you can go and look at some of the things on your own. I did learn a few nuggets of information that are helpful and interesting.
Thank you to #netgalley for the audio arc in exchange for my honest and independent review.

Mayo Clinic on Healthy Aging presents the reader (or listener, in this case) with a very vast array of infirmation and advice on how to age well, from a holistic point of view.
What I appreciated most, in fact, is that an authoritative source in the medical field as the Mayo Clinic offers an extensive overview of all the important aspects to consider and act upon to be in good health including non-medical elements as well and highlighting that genes are not the only aspect that influence our health and aging. The book is well organized and easy to navigate, presents information in a very clear way, perfect even for people with a very basic knowledge or no knowledge at all of health and medicine.
I listened to the audio book and I found it difficult to follow at times: it's true that I could go back and listen to the part I was interested in of course but I think this book, with its encyclopedic style, is better as a physical paper or Kindle book, to be easily consulted whenever one has a doubt or is curious about something, otherwise, as in my case, you needed to take notes. Other aspects I didn't totally enjoy were the very generic nature of some information, whereas I would've enjoyed some detailed information, and that at times the book was repetitive, but I guess it's intended to be like that on purpose so that people who read it can easily memorize important things about the topic.

Thank you NetGalley and Mayo Clinic Press for the audiobook arc of “Mayo Clinic on Healthy Aging.”

“Mayo Clinic on Healthy Aging” is a helpful guide to understanding how to live your best life well into your older years. From the importance of nutrition, exercising, vaccines, and more, this book discusses all the varying aspects to healthy aging. Honestly, the biggest takeaway is to quit/don’t smoke!! It felt that almost every chapter had a tie-in about how smoking can be a detriment to proper growth and development to your older years.

As stated this book was an overall guide to healthy aging, and I think that it is perfect for an introduction to a healthy living. However, the book doesn’t really discuss anything that you can’t find yourself with a Google search. This isn’t the fault of the authors or research team, it would be impossible to thrown an in-depth analysis of each topic into a book without it being a million pages long. Overall, the book did a great job of breaking down topics into layman terms and understanding.

The audiobook had a nice pace with a narrator that read in a clear, approachable tone. With a book like this, it’s hard to keep a nice tone without becoming a slog to get through and I think the narrator did a nice job of keeping the reader engaged.

4 stars for me.

The book "Mayo Clinic on Healthy Aging: An Easy and Comprehensive Guide to Keeping Your Body Young, Your Mind Sharp and Your Spirit Fulfilled" by Nathan K. LeBrasseur Ph.D. and Christina Chen M.D. is a comprehensive guide to healthy aging, providing practical tips across mental, physical, and emotional health.

It's more like a mini-encyclopedia, with a wide scope and shallow depth, making it a good reference for people who want succinct advice on healthy aging.

It includes how to find motivation and how to make mental, physical, and emotional lifestyle changes.

It also includes detailed instructions on how to perform certain exercises, explanations of medical tests throughout adulthood, and advice for retirement years and beyond.

It has an easy-to-understand layout and writing style, making the concepts very accessible and easy to apply.

It is a helpful introduction to aging in a healthier way and that it offers a realistic but optimistic approach to aging. The audiobook version is particularly appreciated for its soothing narration and the ability to bookmark relevant passages for future reference.

For being a mini-encyclopedia, I give it 5 stars.
But I give it 4 stars because it doesn't break new ground. I learned little since I'm a health nut who knew most of their wisdom already.
But for someone has a limited background, this is a great way to get a crash course on aging.

This insightful book examines how lifestyle can shape healthy aging. The book provides practical tips across mental, physical, and emotional health to maximize long-term happiness and fulfillment.

This enjoyable book is full of useful information. If you listen to the audiobook edition, it might be helpful to bookmark relevant passages so you can refer back to them later.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I have to say, this book was well timed for me. I have an appreciation for books that focus on health and aging. The fact that it's an audiobook made it that much better.
Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media and Mayo clinic press.

Mayo Clinic on Healthy Aging: An Easy and Comprehensive Guide to Keeping Your Body Young, Your Mind Sharp and Your Spirit Fulfilled
By Nathan K. LeBrasseur Ph.D., Christina Chen M.D.
Narrated by Daniel Henning

If my parents were still around I'd give them this book because I know they'd enjoy reading/hearing it. I was already familiar with most of what is in it but then I'm a health and fitness nerd. Still, even though I knew most of what's in the this book, I enjoyed listening to the audiobook while I walking on my treadmill and did chores around the house. Since my husband and I eat healthy, are very active even when not specifically exercising, and make room for exercise in each day, I had a bit of an ego boost listening to the book.

But the great thing is that this book explains in simple to understand and clear words what each of us can do to improve our health at any age. It covers all aspects of improving health, giving suggestions on how to find motivation, and touching on the mental, physical, and emotional parts of lifestyle changes. Narrator Daniel Henning's voice is so soothing and calm and I think he was a really good choice to narrate this book.

There is quite a bit of repetition in the book, with the authors coming at things from different but similar angles in the first half of the book and then the second half of the book, but that isn't a complaint. At times there are detailed instructions on how to perform certain exercises and even though I was listening to the book rather than seeing the written word, I had no trouble following how to perform the maneuvers.

Medical tests throughout adulthood are explained, including when you should have certain tests and why. Health conditions are explained and all explanations are pretty basic but I think that's a good thing about this book. You can research more deeply certain subjects or take them up with your doctor if you want to know more about them. This book lets you know why your body needs for you to eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and let go of harmful habits that hurt your health. Instructions to start small are given which means this is a book I can share with friends who want to improve their health but think it is too hard or that they aren't up to the task. The littlest of things can make a difference and then each person can expand their healthy habits from there, in a way that is best for them.

Finally there are suggestions and advice for retirement years and beyond, to help people to recognize how to best prepare themselves for their later years in the best way. Healthy eating and healthy movement are an important part of every age and this is a book that can be helpful to all ages. It is also a great jumping off point for those who would like to know more, whether they get that information from other books or their health care providers.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media, Mayo Clinic Press, and NetGalley for this ARC.