Product Description

International bestselling authors of YOU: The Owner's Manual and YOU: On a Diet give you all the tools and know-how to stay young and defy the ageing process. Drawing lively parallels between your body and aspects of city life, Drs Roizen and Oz show you how to balance your 'biological budget' to ensure your life is long and strong. Million-copy-bestselling authors, Michael F. Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet C. Oz, M.D., explain the mysteries of ageing and how you can dramatically slow the process to live a longer, more vibrant life. Written with their irrepressible quirky humour and granite-solid research, YOU: Staying Young is set to become the definitive manual to remaining young, fit and healthy. If your body is a city, the authors explain, it is up to you as mayor, resident and street cleaner to ensure it remains a vibrant city -- after all, who wants to live in a run-down, one-horse town? We all have different genes that influence us in same the way as cities are affected by different geographies. However, it is the way in which a city is run and the residents treat it that have the most overwhelming influence. Posing as local inspectors, Roizen and Oz club together to tackle your city's education system (stem cells), power plants (mitochondria), electrical grids (brains), transportation routes (blood vessels), landfills (fat), and parks (skin). They then give you the tools to clean up your act and turn your city back into the cutting-edge, party destination everybody will want to see. Look after your body and it will look after YOU.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #105434 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

From the Publisher
Make Your RealAge Younger and Live Up to 35% Longer.
You: Staying Young entered the New York Times bestseller list at #1.

From the Author
A Letter from Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz

Dear Amazon Shoppers:

Our books, YOU: The Owner's Manual and YOU: On a Diet, have become #1 Amazon and New York Times bestsellers, and we thank you. Many people have asked us questions about aging. We want you to know that the science in the last very few years has challenged the very perceptions of aging.

Most of us tend to have the same view of the way people age: As we grow older, we start losing things. We lose some hair, lose our minds, lose our balance, lose our eyesight, lose a little of this and a lot of that until we eventually wither away into a hunched-over senior who takes 3-inch steps and eats dinner at 4:00 pm. But to think that a life of frailty is an inevitable outcome of aging is a mistake. And the fact that we don't take control of it is because we have excuses. We live in a society where making excuses is as easy as making a sandwich. Nowhere is that more apparent than when it comes to your own health. The reason why we are frazzled with stress? Blame the boss. The reason why we are sick? Blame the sniffling kids. The reason why our society's waistbands are stretching and snapping at alarming rates? Blame Auntie's alfredo sauce. The top health excuse, however, revolves around the biggest four-letter word of them all, the GENE. We blame our genes for just about everything--for baldness, for fatness, for illness and for every other health-related problem we can think of. In our minds, that means that our mom, pop, and the rest of the family tree are all on the hook for the ultimate health question of them all--how long and how well we will live?

But that is exactly where more of us have it wrong. While we are certainly born with genes that help determine everything from our height to our risk of heart disease, we are making a monumental mistake by assuming that we can't control our genes--especially when it comes to aging.

Perhaps the best way to explain the dynamics of aging is to take a look at another complex system that is subjected to the same forces as your body: a city. Some cities remain beautiful and elegant in their old age, while younger ones may look worn down and beat-up. Now, every city has its own genetic code, just as you do. For a city, genes are geography; whether it's built on a river or whether it's located in a hot or cold climate, or whether it lies directly in a prevalent hurricane path. A city's geography can't change. But the city can adapt to the environment with earthquake-proof construction, with underground tunnels for walking in wintertime, or with strong levies. The adaptation the city makes to survive and to thrive is what is crucial to its vitality.

The same goes for you.

Just because you have been dealt a genetic hand that predisposes you to heart disease or diabetes or the wearing of pants as large as a parachute doesn't mean you can't mitigate the effects of those genes. One of the major things we will teach you is that while you can't change your genes, you can change whether they are turned on or off or how you express them. Just like a city, you can compensate elegantly if you understand your options.

For the first time in history, the medical world has uncovered many of the miraculous biologic processes that control how and why we age. Truth is, much of aging is actually in our control; with the power to nudge our biologic systems so that our unwanted genes can work in our favor--as long as you know what to do and how you are doing it. In YOU: Staying Young, we translate the latest science (much of which wasn't available even three years ago) to help slow your rate of aging. You will learn 14 Major Agers, and dozens of action steps so that you can take control of those agers and your aging processes.

We hope you enjoy the cartoons, analogies, and jokes. But ultimately we hope you soak in the message: Your health is largely in your control. We dedicate the book to all who desire longer life so they can serve more.

Thanks very much,

Mike and Mehmet

About the Author
Michael F. Roizen, M.D. is a professor of anesthesiology and internal medicine and chair of the Division of Anesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine, and Comprehensive Pain Management at the Cleveland Clinic. He created the RealAge(R) concept and is the author of the #1 New York Times Bestseller, RealAge. Mehmet C. Oz, M.D. is a professor and vice chairman of surgery, as well as director of the Cardiovascular Institute and Integrated Medical Center, New York Presbyterian-Columbia University.

Customer Reviews

YOUseful Information.
This is a neat book and must be a good inch and a half thick! It is divided up into two parts.

The theme of Part I is why you age and how you stay young. This section makes up roughly three quarters of the book. It deals mainly with what the book calls the "major agers." Examples of these include short telomeres, toxins, and ultraviolet radiation.

Part II is the plan to extend your warranty. Here you have a list of daily things to do which include such things as flossing, meditating, walking for 30 minutes a day, and getting the right amount of sleep.

Then there's a 14-day plan to help get you started- after that you should pretty much be on the right track. This section gives day-to-day advice and includes things for you to do for your mind AND body, things such as "do something as a family" that day, or "do the Chi-gong workout" today. Diet and exercise advice is also covered substantially in this section. Exercise consists of a YOU2 Workout (made up mainly of a series of stretches) and a Chi-gong Workout- both detailed step-by-step with exercising elves. Also need to mention they require no special equipment-nice!

All-in-all it's well worth the read, and for me, it's strength lies in it's vast amount of knowledge it offers on the aging processes of the human body. Packed with the stereotypical YOU tips, quizzes, factoids, and cartoons, most readers will benefit greatly. Also recommend "Treat Your Own Rotator Cuff" for readers who want to extend the life of their rotator cuff or have a shoulder problem that keeps them from exercising. Happy reading!

Can you extend your body's warranty?

I have recently reviewed another book that deals with the subject of aging, titled "Can We Live 150". I was very much inspired by it so naturally I went to the book store today to see what the YOU doctors have to say about aging.

First thing I noticed is the price difference. While Amazon discounted prices are not much different, I did not realize that up until now, and I paid the full cover price in my bookstore (Buyer beware!) "You: Staying Young" is over 400 pages thick but with plenty of wasted space, cartoons, etc. However, it is a hardcover edition, so if you do prefer hardcovers than you wouldn't mind spending extra few bucks for that.

The other striking difference is the language. While Dr. Tombak, the author of "Can We Live..." writes in simple layman language, doctors Roizen and Oz could not avoid using scientific doctors' language. On the other hand the book is packed with all kinds of cartoons, that makes it look rather childish and it absolutely doesn't fit the language being used. Is this a book for seniors or for children?

What I liked in this book is the first part dedicated to "Major Agers" such as genes, oxidation, toxins, sugar, overeating, hormones, UV radiation, etc. This part, consisting of about 300 pages, scientifically discusses all the aging factors, and the ways of dealing with them. UV radiation is named as the "major ager", so please keep that in mind the next time you head for the beach. On the other hand the authors also point out the many benefits of sun radiation. As usual, moderation is the answer...

Not to be missed is Chapter 16, titled "The Fourteen Day You Extend Warranty Plan". It starts with the following "Daily YOU-Do List":

1. Walk thirty minutes
2. "Floss and brush the teeth that you wish to keep"
3. Take your pills (Omega-3s, vitamins, calcium supplements, aspirin, etc)
4. Sleep 7-8 hours
5. Meditate for 5 minutes

Is that all? I would never suspect it is THAT simple...

Another chapter that I liked is Chapter 12 titled "Live the Sexy Life". Wow, say that to me again! Yes, sex (love) is important for your wellbeing and keeping young. Grab the book for the explicit details...

I gave both books only 4 stars. Does it mean I didn't like them? No, I think they are both great sources of information - each one presented with a different approach - but there is some room for improvement in both cases. So which one should you get? Read the reviews and decide for yourself. I ended up having both of them and I don't regret it, as I think they really complement each other.

A helpful guide on turning back the aging clock
Many people believe they cannot prevent the physical and mental decline associated with old age. Not true. As you age chronologically, you can "reprogram" your body and its vital systems, so that you stay relatively young, biologically. Doctors Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz, experts on the aging process, explain how. Their helpful guide on reversing the damage of aging is packed with fascinating information about how your body works. It details how to enjoy a healthy, physically vibrant life well into old age. Two minor drawbacks: The writing style and layout can get way too cutesy, and many of the cartoonish line-drawings are just plain gross, depicting internal organs with smiley faces, and creepy liver-spotted characters drenched in icky goo. Otherwise, getAbstract applauds this down-to-earth, fact-filled, comprehensive guide to diet, nutrition, exercise, health and maintaining physical youth. Read it to learn how to turn back your biological clock. If you want to make staying young your new hobby, this is your user's manual.