Book Review: Outlive

Outlive is written by Dr. Peter Attia to explain the science behind longevity and his ideas on where medicine should be going.

The phases of medicine explained by Dr. Attia first started as "Medicine 1.0" and was mainly based off the work of Hippocrates. He looked to establish that disease was an act of nature, not an act of gods. When "Medicine 2.0" arrived in the mid-nineteenth century which established the ideas of germs and contaminants rather than "miasmas" or bad air. During this time technologies improved and doctors began being able to treat fast deaths, those that occur from trauma such as a broken arm or the immediate emergency of a stroke. The problem with Medicine 2.0 is that we wait to treat the established diseases, not the risk factors, therefore the treatment of the slow death, the key to longevity, is still up in the air.

Enter Dr. Attia's "Medicine 3.0", the key to increasing longevity which requires a shift to treating the risk factors of the horseman diseases (heart disease, cancer, neurodegenerative disease, and type 2 diabetes with other metabolic dysfunction), not waiting for the diseases to set in when it is too late.

Dr. Attia uses a three part approach to longevity: objective, strategy, tactics. The objective is to delay the aging process and improve longevity. The strategy explains the science behind longevity and how we can delay the aging process. The tactics are broken into 5 categories, exercise, nutrition, sleep, emotional health, and exogenous molecules. However, the key to the tactics is more about the timing of them, rather than the tactics themselves.

It is important to note that Dr. Attia strives to address each part of health in longevity: cognitive, physical, and emotion. He was once asked a very important question which we will now pose to you.

Why would you want to live longer if you're so unhappy?

Longevity is not just about freedom from disease, but freedom from emotional downfall that is brought on by watching yourself and those close to you suffer.

To read more about the science and suggestions behind slowing aging and improving longevity check out Dr. Attia's website and book: https://peterattiamd.com/outlive/

Written by: Meghan Hawley, RD