Book Review - Younger Next Year
Younger Next Year by Crowley and Lodge. Love this title, it encapsulates the very real promise of an integrative approach. So how well did this book deliver?
A fun fast paced read. Loaded with real world examples as well as clinical references. The core message, one that everyone here at AIIM will echo - exercise / being an athlete should be your goal and post work / into retirement, should be your main job. Everything else, from an excellent diet to top notch sleep, light and recovery all go towards supporting you being an athlete. The data on that front is overwhelming - from hunter gatherers all the way to modern humans - being active is absolutely key to good health.
The book does a good job at diving deep at times, for instance discussing the roles of cytokine-6 vs 10. Basically your body is looking for signals from you - your level of activity for instance to determine which cytokine should prevail at any given time. Inactivity signals the body that its winter, or perhaps a famine and thus - c-6 kicks in to tear down unneeded muscle, store fat, reduce mood and energy. The other, c-10 ramps up when you are active, in sunshine, etc - ie when it was summer time and you as an apex predator hunter gatherer were out chasing migratory herbivores (bison, elk, deer, mammoths, etc) or competing for mates etc.
In the modern world we want to work at switching on c-10 to grow and maintain muscles and mood. That goes double for anyone over 50 as the tide gently favors c-6 as we age thus we need to become athletes to stay healthy, happy and fully functional.
This book also highlights how critical community and connection are for all us humans. We are after all very social creatures. “Lone wolves get the sniffles” is a great quote and at least for humans absolutly true. Study after study show lower rates of all disease and faster rates of recovery for folks who have lots of friends, espically for those of us who have mates. even a dog helps immensely. The bottom line on connection vs isolation - especially for me… get out there and connect. Join groups, instigate meet ups, maintain relationships. Take a job, even if you don’t need the money. Join a non profit. Invest in hobbies and the groups they support. If those group activities are physical and out in nature - major bonus points. after reading this book I joined the Southern AZ Hiking Club. Tucson is loaded with great orgs - pick a few and dive in.
The book does come up way short in some areas such as nutrition where the minimal information is way out of date. A high carb / low good fats diet is a big part of the problem, not the solution it was presented as in the last century. Stick with clean natural protein, lots of good nature made fats and plenty of vegetables. thats the best way forward for humans - mirroring what we have always eaten until just recently as Food Inc came up with entire grocery stores of Frankenstein Foods. And cut back on alcohol, whatever you drink now, drink less as there are just zero health benefits.
Excellent chapters on the human brain and how the 3 parts all work and play together, a fascinating look at our reptilian bran vs our limbic system etc. Emotions matter, human connection matters and oh boy does stress matter too - reducing stress, worth the effort for sure. Health enhancing exercise, satisfying sex, healthy activities in nature with friends, snuggling with your mate on a rainy day - life can be full and fulfilling. and with an integrative approach to good health it can all be yours.