The Path to Longevity: The Secrets to Living a Long, Happy, Healthy Life

Italians are known for their passion for food. Combine that passion with the caring and insights of a physician and the knowledge and discovery of a world-class scientist and this book was bound to be amazing. However, Dr. Fontana has gone one step further and used his extensive knowledge and experience to write a guide for those who want more than a fad diet. This is book to make notations with and use as a springboard for life-changing goals.In fact, I am so impressed with this book that I am using it as required reading for the classes I teach on Chronic Lifestyle Disease states and Healthy Living.Thank you, Dr. Fontana, for a much-needed text.Dr. Alberto Friedmann, Ph.D.

Prof. Fontana effectively combines several lines of research, such as calorie restriction, intermittent fasting, plant-based diets, gut microbiota, long-life cultural habits in so-called Blue Zones of the world, cellular signalling pathways in response to athletic performance, physiological responses to meditation, immune system health in response to adequate sleep, mental-health responses to close ties to nature, friends, and family, and climate-change impact of mass agricultural production, all into a whole-system perspective offering words of advice and healthful practices. His broad perspective reaches back to ancient Greek and Chinese wisdom, which adds cultural sensitivity and heft to his science-based approach. Considering the wide range of topics, Fontana delves deeply enough into each to link the topics across disciplines to form a balanced guide to action and a source of motivation.Motivation is a key value of this book. Learning the content of this book would be a fine accomplishment, but putting the precepts into practice calls for self-prodding and persistence. Why muster the discipline to target a healthy age 100 unless you cultivate a growing love of life and appreciation of others and the earth? If you find yourself studying Path to Longevity, you are already showing some of that discipline and motivation, but the book provides more, by its informative text and by the professor's own example. You will find his first-person accounts of yoga, exercise, mindfulness, careful nutrition (mostly plants), sufficient sleep, family and social ties, generosity of spirit and means, self-control expressed with firmness and drive, yet forgiveness, balanced detachment from yet engagement with goals, and intimate connection with nature. With a touch of humor, the accounts are blended by the author like the Italian ingredients his grandmother shared with him as a boy in the kitchen. The message is broad, personal, profound, and propelling, like a whisper from grandma, who happens to know her science.

This is a well-written and easy to read overview of state-of-the-art research on longevity. It has many specific suggestions on what you can do to live longer and feel better.It's extremely wide-ranging, including not only suggestions on diet and exercise, but also comments on mental, spiritual and even environmental issues.Since Dr. Fontana conducted some of the foundational research that gave rise to the popular 5:2 diet, I wish he had included more tips for implementing the diet. Most people find it hard to follow 5:2 diet, so some practical tips would be welcome. For example: How to deal with family members? How to deal with hunger? Perhaps that could be his next book?I was disappointed that there was no index, but he did include many references to scientific articles, even if they are only linked to chapters, and not sentences.I've read several books like this, and this was one of the best. It's reassuring to know that it's by a leading researcher.I recommend it highly!

In "The Path To Longevity", the author has succeeded in creating a book that: (1) can be used as a guidebook to a healthful, joyful, and satisfying life; (2) is readable by an educated member of the general public; and (3) is documented with extensive references/bibliography that make it valuable to those with a relevant medical, scientific, or philosophical background. Indeed, I found it personally valuable since it is a readable book that I can suggest to people (acquaintances, friends, colleagues, and kin) who are curious about a lifestyle that would be of benefit to them. In my view, the book is the long awaited fundamental textbook for the "Doctor of the Future" as that individual was envisioned by Thomas Edison, who was quoted in newspaper reports from late 1902 and early 1903 as having said: “The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will instruct his patient in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease."

This book is extremely well written and provides practical guidelines about how diet, exercise, and mindfulness can be used to improve health and wellbeing, based on strong empirical evidence and fundamental knowledge of molecular mechanisms. Nutrition science is often highly confusing and contradictory, but Professor Fontana has done an excellent job in explaining it in an entertaining and engaging way. He is internationally renowned for his pioneering work on human health and nutrition, so his advice comes from a strong authority in this area.

I've just started Professor Fontana's book, but I can tell it's a fantastic resource, meticulously researched. He covers not only diet and exercise, but other equally important areas of life, like sleep, social networks, mindfulness, art & culture...things that give life meaning. This sets it apart from many "follow xyz advice" books. Bravo Luigi Fontana, your work is invaluable.

This book summarizes all you need to know about healthy again. We often think that there is a complex solution to aging well, but in reality the solution is quite simple, and at reach. No drugs, no gimmicks. In this book Luigi distils years of research on the biology of aging and identifies some basic principles that any of us can follow to improve our health and (hopefully) live a long and pleasant life. This strategy is a combination of diet, exercise, and mental agility. None of them is sufficient, but all of them are necessary. Enjoy the book, highly recommended.

This is easy to read - comprehensive and intuitively agreeable. This book is translating into easy changes in my family's lives. Never been happier to own a book in my life

great book to illustrate anything leading to healthy style and longevity

Very easy and basic tips on eating exercising and sleep.