Chasing Life: New Discoveries in the Search for Immortality to Help You Age Less Today » (Reprint)

Sanjay Gupta, MD was a neurosurgeon at the University of Tennessee's Semmes-Murphy Clinic, and before that, the University of Michigan Medical Center. He became partner of the Great Lakes Brain and Spine Center Institute in 2000. In 1997 he was chosen as a White House fellow, one of only 15 fellows appointed, and served as special advisor to first lady Hillary Clinton.

For centuries, adventurers and scientists have pursued the dream of immortality. Today it appears it might actaully be a reality. This is not an anti-aging book. It's a groundbreaking guide to functionl aging—living longer than we ma y have ever thought possible. Practical immortality may now be within our grasps thanks to cutting-edge scientific research and amazing medical breakthroughs that are coming at such astonishing speed we can hardly keep up. In CHASING LIFE, Dr. Gupta blends dramatic accouts if amazing discoveries from around the world with essential advice on how you can apply them for optimal health and longevity. What Dr. Gupta has found is provacative and often counterintuitive. This life-changing book revolutionizes the way you think about aging—and reveals the secrets to helping you live a longer, healthier life for many years to come.

"Sanjay Gupta is at his best in CHASING LIFE, covering everything from illegal stem cells to the scientific edges of memory. To achieve your own version of immortality, you can simply 'page' Dr. Gupta by turning the first page of this groundbreaking new book." —Mehmet C. Oz, MD, coauthor of the New York Times bestsellers You: The Owner's Manual and You: On a Diet

"Is it possible to have the exquisite combination, the wisdom of experience along with biology of youth? In his book, CHASING LIFE, Dr. Sanjay Gupta shows you how." —Deepak Chopra, MD, FACP, author of Ageless Body, Timeless Mind

"Dr. Sanjay Gupta prescribes sensible, evidence-based advice for living a long and healthy life. He evaluates the latest scientific research on life extension, looks at anti-aging claims, and concludes that informed lifestyle choices are your best hope of maintaining good health as you age. Chasing Life is good medicine." —Andrew Weil, author of Healthy Aging

"My friend Dr. Sanjay Gupta has written a book that makes sense when it comes to staying healthy, making important medical decisions and preserving quality of life. This book is probably the closest we'll get to a map to the fountain of youth." —Lance Armstrong, Cancer survivor, Seven-time Tour de France Champion and founder of the Lance Armstrong Foundation

Publishers Weekly

Readers seeking the key to everlasting life will find some clues in neurosurgeon Gupta's survey of the latest research on longevity. Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent, touches on recent breakthroughs as he offers some basic guidelines for adding years to what he and other aging experts call "health span." The goal, Gupta says, is not merely to live longer. To help readers live longer and better, he boils down conflicting health advice and makes some surprising prescriptions. For example, it is not what you eat, but how much you eat that affects longevity; vitamin supplements may be a waste of time and money; and a little upper-body strengthening is far more effective than an hour on a StairMaster. To support this advice, Gupta relates the experiences of a 103-year-old woman from Okinawa; a former executive who began training at age 86 and is a record-breaking sprinter at age 92; and others who are aging well by staying active, eating wisely, being positive and maintaining strong social networks. While stem cell injections, nanotechnology, cryonics and other possible therapies are on the horizon, Gupta tells readers that extending life today is as easy as eating less, moving more and exercising the brain. While Gupta's mix of futuristic science and do-it-yourself advice is far from seamless, many readers will find the lessons in his tales of the long lived worthwhile. (Apr.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Acknowledgments     ix
Beginning the Chase     1
Living to a Hundred     17
The Supplement Boom     47
Run for Your Life     75
Memories R Us     93
Taming the Beast     119
A Growing Problem     151
Sunny-Side Up     179
The Future is Coming     203
Chasing Life     235
Resources     239
Reading List     249
Index     251
About the Author     259