Fantastic Voyage : Live Long Enough to Live Forever

Rating:
Summary: Gattica
Review: Ray Kurzweil, popular promoter of futurism and human longevity, is also the supporter of creating an elite genetic class similar to the system presented in the film Gattica. Kurzweil firmly believes that the key to living forever is taking numerous multi-vitamins (he takes 250 per day himself) and a rich diet of organic vegetables and fresh fish. I decided that it was in my best interest to purchase some of his brand's multi-vitamin supplements to decrease my risks of developing heart disease and cancer later in life. I was amazed to find out that his supplements cost upwards of sixty dollars per month! If these methods are truly the key to living forever, then the only people who can afford to follow the techniques proposed are those who can afford them! Kurzweil is famous for tracking technological trends and speculating their impact on the future. If this trend of expensive nutrition equating to an infinite lifetime continues, then the class gap will widen infinitely and a class of immortals will emerge over the rest of us. Orson Scott Card explores this idea in The Worthing Saga, in which an elite class lives their lives cryogenically frozen, coming out one year every ten and accumulating massive amounts of wealth in the process. Kurzweil's plan scares me because if HIS trends prove to be correct, then there will be a massive social class transformation in the next fifty years from which our society will never recover.

Rating:
Summary: Be Critical of This Book
Review: I bought this book with great excitement one week ago. I have read only the preface, introduction, and first two chapters so far. But, I have discovered that one of the recommendations in the book, is disputed by science and chemistry. Thus, I am now suspicous of the entire book. I am rating a neutral 3 Stars becuase I haven't read the whole book, and many recommendations in the book may be backed-up by science.

[...]

Please go to that link and scroll down to the 2nd table (with the purple background). It looks like all this alkaline promotion is a sham. The stomach is so acidic, that it overpowers alkaline fluids anyway. On that page, the chemist describes the body's elaborate mechanism for maintaining pH levels. Drinking an alkaline beverage has no effect on pH levels in the body. And, I know for a fact that my drinking water is already alkaline. I
test it often with a pH tester for hydroponic gardening.

I was really exicted about this book based on the supposed credibility of the authors. But now that I know one of their major recommendations is a sham, I wonder about the credibility of the rest of the book and the authors.

Rating:
Summary: Is it wise to live longer (or forever)?
Review: I have not yet read this book, but I have read half of Kurzweil's "The Age of Spiritual Machines", and a friend of mine was working for Neurosonics, which I believe was chaired by Kurzweil. I intend to read Fantastic Voyage, being a new convert to futuristic thinking. However, I am probably in the minority for thinking that Kurzweil's apparent goal for everyone to be able to live longer (or forever) might not be such a wise goal, probably much like Thomas Malthus was scoffed at back in his day.

With the global population on a J-curve and the environment unable to keep up with the increasing negative effects and unsustainable usage of natural resources, is it a good thing that more people would live even longer? In the 20th century, medical science has already aided in the population explosion (not to mention the social security crisis) by lowering the mortality rate while raising life expectancy. I shudder to think of a world where the birth rate was still exponentially increasing while no one died. The Simpson's episode where Homer bought a magic hammock that created a clones of himself comes to mind. All the Homers kept cloning themselves and running around eating and destroying everything. Don't let this happen!

OK so this isn't technically a book review, and I know this will clash with the ego's desire to live forever, but just keep this idea in mind when thinking of these things.

Rating:
Summary: Nothing short of revolutionary!
Review: I read books about health, nutrition, and diet all the time. In the nearly 150 reviews I've done here, I've never found a single book in any of those genres significant enough to comment on or recommend in a review...until this one.

Described as a "modern day Benjamin Franklin", Ray Kurzweil teamed up with one of the worlds most accomplished authorities in anti-aging. I use the term accomplished, because while there may be more accredited theorists on anti-aging, few, if any enjoy the success in hands-on application of anti-aging in the consumer space.

This book, while extremely detailed, is written simply, and is highly interesting throughout. Readers will be treated to one of the (if not "the") most up-to-date and comprehensive 3D views of health maintenence available. From diet and exercise, to aggressive supplementation, the authors explain in detail how to determine your current state of health, then how to gradually (or radically) modify it to an optimum state.

While many diet fads promote the "power of X, Y, or Z", this book recognizes that there is no one Silver Bullet that'll make you thin/give you energy/make you look younger, etc. Instead, the prescriptions in this book are balanced and integrated, often showing the important relationships between food, exersize, supplements, and lifestyle. For example, if you don't get enough nourishment from food (as many diets require), you'll have an energy deficit, and often that'll steal from your ability to maintain a good exersize regime. Countless other examples exist of those interdependencies, suffice it to say, most all are addressed in this book, and accompanied by guidance for optimization.

Always the health enthusiast, at 31, I'm 5'10, 160, haven't been sick in 2 years (ok, fine! I got a mild cold that lasted 3 days, but that's it!), have more energy, and look and feel better than I ever have. I attribute my health to a near fanatic approach to diet, exercise, and supplementation. This book validated a number of my approaches, but opened my eyes to some truly significant new understandings. Since adding some of the recommended diet and supplementation regimes from the book, I look and feel noticably healthier.

More a service than a book, ray and terry maintain a support site, along with updated information, referrals to various products they recommend, they even have their own meal replacement shake (sweetened with Stevia, an herbal sweetner) that is hands-down the best in its class. You can visit the site at rayandterry .com.

Here I've gone on and on about the immediate benefits of this book, and neglected to even mention its special charter, and what I view as perhaps the most important aspect of its value: the science behind radical life extension.

Kurzweil became interested in Life Extension and wrote "The Age of Spiritual Machines". Where he predicted that with certain technologies in the future, man could live indefinitely. I'm no authority in that space, but after reading that book, he convinced me that it is indeed possible.

This book represents a "bridge" of sorts to a time where such technologies exist. A "50 something" baby-boomer, Kurzweil, despite being diagnosed with diabetes (and treating himself off medicine), looks every bit the youthful enthusiast this book will very likely make you into.

I couldn't recommend it higher.

Enjoy,

Christian Hunter
Santa Barbara, California

BTW: The best product for Vitamin C and some B's is Emergen-C. I get the Tangerine, and take twice a day. Also, whenever I start to feel like I could be getting a cold, I get Zicam. It's a liquid Zinc compound that you put in your nose. It binds to the same cellular receptors that the Rhinovirus (Rhino, meaning "nose" in Latin...i think) does. I'm a psycho evangalist for both products. Hopefully they'll benefit you as they have me.

Rating:
Summary: Deep science thats makes sense
Review: I've been a dedicated international sportsman for 14 years and now ive entered my mid 30's i thought i would appily myself to the next phase : long term self preservation and longevity.
This book has resolved so many issues and questions ive had for years, from mega dosing of vitamins to having a low carbo diet.
I see myself as a good test case, I do a lot of exercise and despite the HUGE drop in carb intake, my energy levels are up.

So, so far its working for me.

This book could do a slightly better job on setting out a 'dummies guide' to following this new lifestyle model....the consequence is that you have to dig deeper into the book to get the necessary information.. . But hey its not that much of an issue.

In conclusion, its a backgrounder and manual on taking a positive step towards living a healthier and longer life.

Rating:
Summary: They never said it would be easy.........
Review: I've seen some reviews criticising this book as being 'too extreme'.
I'll tell you what's extreme: dying at 55 of a heart attack. I don't want to do that-I want to live for ever.
Other reviews characterise the recommendations as 'too expensive'.
Eating vegetables is cheap.
Priced lentils lately?
Exercise (walking) is free y'all!

I'd like to congratulate the authors for not toning down their advice, which we would no doubt tone down on the way to implementation:).

Rating:
Summary: The Best Health Book Ever
Review: If you are going to buy one health book - buy this one. I bought 4 already to give to family and friends and will probably buy a few more to give to more friends and family.

Why is this book so good. This book gives the latest up to date information available on numerous health topics with the best way to achieve optimum health from what to drink, what to eat, exersize tips, tips on supplements to avoid heart disease cancer and general health, tips on enhancing brain function, etc. The information provided is almost too numerous to list in a brief review. The best part is that each of the tips is explained with a reason on why it is scientifically sound. This is just the current level of technology, which the book calls Bridge 1 to a long life. It also explains future technology in a manner that is incorporated but can easily be ignored if that turns you off.

If you truly wish to be heathly - read this book and follow it. The tips come with reasons which although sometimes difficult to understand, appear to be highly though through and generally come with supporting evidence.

If you want to have the best cutting edge technology predictions and health then read everything that Ray Kurzweil writes. Ray is extremely intelligent and ingenius.

Rating:
Summary: Which health products work & are scientifically validated?
Review: Kurzweil answers that in this book. I'm so enthusiastic that I've sent it to over 20 of my friends so far, including my Dr. I've heard Kurzweil give several keynote addresses to large audiences. He's a highly successful scientist and entrepreneur, who has thoroughly researched health practices and supplements and packaged it into this coherent program. It validates much of what you already know, eat your vegetables, exercise, etc., and adds a lot you don't.

Don't be put-off by the fact that this is two books in one. The second is Kurzweil's interest in the future of health. His projections may seem wild and you might consider that this invalidates the solid research that went into the book. Don't make that mistake. (By the way, his projections seem reasonable and probable to me, a Ph.D., futurist, and health nut.) He also references his web site where he updates the torrent of new research and products to keep his information up-to-date.

Kurzweil developed this for himself, I appreciate that he shares this knowledge as a service to us.

Rating:
Summary: From The Past to The Future
Review: The authors present an interesting, futuristic vision of the medicine, its influence at our health, and ultimately, at our longevity. It is an interesting, easily understandable read with a lot of information from the fields of genomics, biotechnology and other sciences. The authors present optimistic views on fighting and conquering such modern plagues as cancer, heart diseases, etc.

An interesting comparison to the above is a book by Dr. Tombak, "Can We Live 150 Years?" with its similar focus on longevity. However Mr. Tombak relies on age old remedies adapted to modern times, rather than on the achievement of the science. As it usually is the case, the truth is probably lost somewhere in between. Therefore I suggest reading both books and making your own opinion...


Rating:
Summary: You won't live forever but...
Review: This is an excellent book, but it isn't all it promises to be. I am a non practicing MD, working in IT and a health book signed by Kurzweil was bound to attract my attention.

The book follows three lines, called "Bridges" by the authors. Bridge One is what you can and should do today to extend your life expectancy in order to maximize your chances to benefit from Bridge two drugs and devices who, in turn, should allow you to wait for the big prize: Bridge Three technologies.

Bridge one is definitely the best part of the book. The authors explain our current understanding of the mechanisms involved in atherosclerosis, cancer, inflammation, etc... and cover a tremendous amount of reliable, mostly peer reviewed, scientific litterature and large scale studies. This understanding is then used to derive the optimal diet and supplementation policy. The book doesn't break any new ground, but is remarkable in the way it synthetizes a large amount of information into understandable and directly usable recommendations. I was constantly telling myself: "yes, they are right, I know that! why am I not acting upon it?". True, there are some weak points: alkaline water comes to mind (check the many discussions on the net about this issue), stevia definitely hasn't been studied enough, it's hard to see how minerals would lose their properties in canned food (bioavailability??) but those blemishes are more than compensated by the careful research that went into other topics: for example, the authors rightly insist on inflammation's role but stop an inch short of recommending rofecoxib (Vioxx). They also shine on heart disease and myocardial infarction, clearly stating that heavy and expensive bypass surgery doesn't improve survival in many many cases.

Sound prevention is the key and you'll get a truckload of coherent tips.

Bridge two is less convincing, especially when it adresses drugs currently in development. These molecules may deliver what they promise, but there are many lessons to learn from the past... Do you remember those super antibiotics of the 60s and 70s? They were supposed to wipe out infectious disease. Do you remember those mood altering drugs. They should have defeated depression instead of becoming a health problem themselves? Do you remember how interferon would cure many cancers? We don't have any indication that those new drugs will perform better. True, they're interesting. True, we are pumping them out faster than in the past, but I am willing to bet a lot of them will have side effects, will reveal or trigger new mechanisms etc...

Bridge Three is mostly nanotechnology based science fiction. It is, I believe, the weakest part of the book. Hyper effective respirocytes sound like a good deal: they would tremendously boost our athletic abilities... but you'd tear your tendons and muscles as soon as you'd attempt a double efficiency sprint. Multiplying the efficiency by a factor of 100 - these are figures taken from the book - would lead to severe heat dissipation problems. Yes, this probably could be solved by some kind of radiator or sail. Whether you'd be bored enough by eternal life to fall in love with someone looking like a spinosaurus remains to be seen. Likewise, getting rid of the heart and using self-propelled blood cells may sound attractive, but it ignores the role of the heartbeat in growing and strengthening blood vessels. In many cases, the authors miss the forest for the tree.

These shortcomings aside, Fantastic Voyage is an incredibly useful resource. The voyage might not be the promised endless journey, I am willing to bet that Terry Grossman, Ray Kurzweil, you and I will die. But if we follow half of the book's suggestions, I am sure we'll be healthy corpses.

The last virtue of this book is to be thought provoking. One can't help wondering what large scale, well planned, preventive medicine could achieve. Social security budgets would certainly be easier to balance. Also, one can't ignore the cost of the full program: very few people could pay for it today. Ray K. believes that the cost will go down in the near future and/or that computing and data processing power will soon make your own private human genome project a $20 issue. He may be right, but the pharmaceutical industry will definitely milk the fancy drugs it develops for a while, twenty years, possibly more (see the Hatch Waxman Act loopholes in the US, similar legislation elsewhere), add these twenty years to the already long phase 1 through 3 studies and tomorrow suddenly sounds a bit distant. Bridge 2 will not be cheap: if it actually works, it will have huge social implications. But that's beyond the scope of this review...

If you are still there ;-) - thank you, buy the book.