A big disappointment, a drawn out advertisement

The short version. Eat a vegan Mediterranean diet and BUY MY PRODUCT! . . . And ignore my obvious biases or contradictions.

I've watched Dr. Longo in countless interviews and documentaries touting his copyrighted FMD plan many times. I thought perhaps he may finally give a better explanation of it for people to put to use, or understand the mechanisms though I was quite skeptical. But sadly no he doesn't, actually quite the opposite. Chapter six which is the real crux of his whole push, the fasting mimicking diet(FMD), he literally gives out the web address where your should go so your doctor can prescribe his prolon product to you. He even follows his horrible plug with a classic advertising "or else" threatening hurting yourself doing it on your own. He points out that all proceeds go to charity and he makes no income off the proceeds. This of course doesn't help the countless patients that don't have the money or insurance to spend in the first place. It's become quite tiresome to hear Dr. Longo reference how fasting has been a part of human history and religion for thousands of years, including water only fasting, then go on to say but you can't do that on your own so buy my product because it gives you just enough nutrients to not ... uh hurt yourself? This idea that individuals without pre-existing conditions are incapable of water fasting for 4-5 days without spending thousands of dollars at a clinic is absurd. Especially after explaining that humans have been doing it forever.

While I understand all too well that fasting is difficult the idea that it's just not possible for people to do it anymore is incorrect. The real problem for modern medicine is it's free and your can't sell it. Check out Dr. Jason Fung's book a guide to fasting for a much better explanation and straight forward walk through. The first bit of chapter six, I went back to make sure I heard it right, says basically the whole reason he developed the FMD was because 100 people said it was too hard to water fast. He of course spends the rest of the book telling people not to eat animal products besides fish unless your over 70. If they had a problem just having water for three days I wonder how this other recommendation would be received. Estimated world vegetarian population is less than 500 million out of 7+ billion.

The rest of the book is more a biography of Dr. Longo's life, work history and traveling destinations. With a portion set aside for praising the Mediterranean diet and explaining that a vegan version with dashes of fish is basically recommended longevity diet. There are separate chapters on recommendations for action for various medical conditions. Which of course reference back and say check out chapter 6 again, yeah the one with the advertisement. I guess the editor thought maybe putting the plug in every chapter went too far.

It almost became comical between the ads and contradictions. There is a long explanation of why terms like "intermittent fasting," "Mediterranean diet" and "moderate" are too general and need to be more specific. Of course when laying out the longevity diet I lost count how many times the same broad terms were used making it practically useless.

Save your money and check out his interviews on YouTube or podcasts, nothing new to see here. If you do buy it be sure to download the PDF. The 100+ page document has some graphs that are easier to see them rather than listen to them described. Again if your interested in more utilitarian fasting information look up Dr Fungs guide to fasting.

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104 people found this helpful

No Diet Details Revealed

This book is about the results of the Longevity Diet and the Fasting Mimicking Diet. No specific diets are given other than generalities. The book promotes a product called Prolon and suggests that people will hurt themselves if they do not take the diet under medical supervision or pay $675 per year for Prolon. The author states he makes no money from Prolon. Ok, that's fine, but I also believe that knowledgeable people can figure out how to do the diet using natural foods on their own without a Dr.

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83 people found this helpful

Very long advertisement.

They give a hint about diet but you have to buy their product to do it. Wasted my time on this book luckily it was a free bonus book.
Sad but true!

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26 people found this helpful

Science-based. Very intriguing.

What made the experience of listening to The Longevity Diet the most enjoyable?

The humor and realness that Dr. Longo brings to a very scientific subject. I also liked his frankness about his own potential bias's.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Longevity Diet?

The animal studies that prove his theories.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, too much info for a single reading. Best to take in over several days.

Any additional comments?

Will be one of my recommended books to anyone truly interested in seeking their best health.

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19 people found this helpful

Fascinating, but with confirmation bias

This was a fascinating book, and I am going to try it’s recommendations. In every facet of nutrition research, controversies and conflicting evidence abound and this book is no different.

The central idea, however, is amazing and obviously very well documented. I would love to watch a debate between him and the authors of The Perfect Health Diet. There are some very distinct diametrically opposed evidence and conclusions in the two books.

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18 people found this helpful

what a waste ..

oddest book yet, keeps talking a great build up and never delivers.. no diet plans at all...

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17 people found this helpful

Book does NOT lend itself to Audio Format

The materials are very good. the problem is, this is NOT a great audio book. There are many photos, charts and graphs that are referred to, you need to see them. I recommend you buy this as a book or ebook instead.

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9 people found this helpful

Not for Dr. Patrick or Tucker Goodrich followers!

Not for people who follow the science of longevity. Light on science, the book promotes a high carb, vegetarian lifestyle in spite of all the science pointing in other directions. No information on the Fasting Mimicking diet, which is why I bought the book, except to promote his expensive FMD businesses. It's a bit insulating.

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6 people found this helpful

Well researched and informative

Very intetesting book about the diet that has been shown to lead to longevity. Good reasearch. on fasting mimicking diet.

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4 people found this helpful

Excellent Book!

When I first saw some of the less favorable ones it concerned me. However I thought I would form my own opinion after listening to it. It is a well written book & I enjoyed it! All the information was well documented and based on scientific studies not just by the authors own studies but other ones as well. I did not feel it was a “long advertisement” for his program as some reviews had mentioned . He was only presenting exciting information from his work. He clearly presents his diet & lifestyle ideas based on scientific research. Well written book with exciting information! Some great diet & lifestyle ideas to consider. I would highly recommend the book!

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3 people found this helpful