Hanna Brisbois's Reviews > Outlive: The Science & Art of Longevity

This book was written by men, for men.
Let me explain...
And this will be long, because I felt like this book had so much potential.

1. The author should have started the book with his mental health story. Literally, the last chapter he starts to talk about the fixed mindset versus the growth mindset (without using those terms exactly), but that should be topic #1. You literally cannot proceed, if you have a fixed mindset.

2. This author could benefit from reading the book Invisible Women. He references many studies and statistics, but it is well known that women are very underrepresented in those statistics. He talks about, what he calls, "Healthcare 2.0 vs. Healthcare 3.0". Healthcare 3.0 is supposed to take the patient, as an individual, into consideration. We cannot apply statistics to women, if those statistics do not involve women. Another topic that is harmful for women, is dieting. He suggests calorie cutting and fasting, although he does say it's not for everyone. I think he just doesn't understand how harmful those topics are, especially to young women who have probably been using calorie counting apps since they first learned how to download an app.

3. He suggests way too many medications. In fact, he starts suggesting medications before we even get to the chapters on food. If anything, food recommendations should be listed prior to medications. I'm specifically referring to the section where he talks about using drugs to lower ApoB levels. A quick Google search told me; fatty fish, legumes and plant protein, olive oil, and minimally processed fiber-rich sources of carbs could help lower ApoB levels. All of those foods are also listed in The Mediterranean Diet, which is the most highly recommended diet for a reason.

4. I work in Oncology, so for the chapter on Cancer, I would have talked about beauty and household products. Many of the foods we eat have carcinogens, but also our beauty products, our clothes, our household products. We are basically in a giant fishbowl of carcinogens. I use apps like Yuka, Bobby Approved, and Healthy Living to scan products before I buy them.

5. He talks about how exercise can help with our breathing and then mentions meditation at the very end of the book when he is talking about mental health. Meditation can also be a good way to manage our breathing. A lot of these topics go hand and hand, so the way this book is structured is a little all over the place.

6.Protein is important, but not at the cost of fiber and other nutrients. This is one of the reasons I could tell this book was written by a man. Men push protein so hard, because they care more about muscle than women do. Colon cancer is on the rise in young people, because we are being told to eat more protein and less carbs. The lack of fiber in our diets is the main cause, but protein can be very filling. If you're eating it in excess, you might not be hungry enough to eat your fiber rich foods. As my nutrition professor would say "everything in moderation".

7. Also, he never mentions Blue Zones, not once. Which I find extremely odd, seeing this is a book about longevity. Episode 4 of the show Down to Earth, talks about the blue zone of Sardinia. They actually found that the people there had a high carb, low protein diet. They also walked a lot more than the average American, and they made all of their "carbs" from real ingredients, from scratch. The issue with carbs in America, is much more a testament to the American food industry, but I digress.

8. Unfortunately for this author, and for many men in general, he grew up with toxic masculity which negatively impacted his mental health. I think he has come a long way, from what he has said in his chapter on mental health, but I could tell he is still learning. There is a lot of unconscious bias spread throughout this entire book and it only became more obvious in his chapters on exercise and nutrition. He basically tells us, the entire first half of the book that his "Healthcare 3.0" is not a one-size fits all solution. That he tailors it to fit his patients unique needs. Yet, the chapters on fitness and food are very specific instructions. He even says, if you find yourself disagreeing with what he says to "stop overthinking nutrition so much, hit pause on the audio-bo0k, go outside and get some exercise" (I was listening to the audiobook so I'm not sure what the physical book says).

In conclusion, I do think there are a lot of important topics covered in this book and if you are a really unhealth person, you could find this book beneficial. If you are already a healthy person, this book was probably nothing new for you. I really liked the first half of this book, I felt he started to lose me once he got to exercise and nutrition. I also think he could have benefitted from a more feminine POV.