Exercise Is Medicine: How Physical Activity Boosts Health and Slows Aging (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780190685461)

Aging, despite its dismal reputation, is actually one of the great mysteries of the universe. Why don't we just reproduce, then exit fast, like salmon? Could aging just be one big evolutionary accident? Is senescence, the gradual falling apart of our bodies, at least partially avoidable? Can we extend the healthy lifespan and reduce the lingering, debilitating effects of senescence?

In this book, investigative health journalist Judy Foreman suggests that we actually can, and the key element is exercise, through its myriad effects on dozens of molecules in the brain, the muscles, and other organs. It's no secret, of course, that exercise is good for you and that exercise can extend longevity. What Foreman uncovers through extensive research into evolutionary biology, exercise physiology, and the new field of geroscience is exactly why exercise is so powerful - the mechanisms now being discovered that account for the vast and varied effects of exercise all over the body. Though Foreman also delves into pills designed to combat aging and so-called exercise "mimetics," or pills that purport to produce the effects of exercise without the sweat, her resounding conclusion is that exercise itself is by far the most effective, and safest, strategy for promoting a long, healthy life. In addition to providing a fascinating look at the science of exercise's effects on the body, Foreman also provides answers to the most commonly asked practical questions about exercise.

Author: Judy Foreman
ISBN-10: 0190685468
ISBN-13: 9780190685461
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Language: English
Published: 01/06/2020
Pages: 384
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.50lbs
Size: 9.60h x 6.30w x 1.20d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 10/07/2019
Foreword 10/26/2019
Booklist 11/01/2019 pg. 10