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62 of 63 found the following review helpful:
 The diet is based on important principles; needs fine-tuning Sep 06, 1999
My husband and I were excited by the information in Walford's book. We attempted to follow the diet and tried many of the nutritious "mega-meals", which are meant to be cooked in bulk and frozen in individual portions. We were impressed by the thorough and complex process Walford used in constructing his recipes. We accepted the massive grocery lists and hours of preparation time as a small price to pay in view of our objective-- extending our lives by 10-20 healthy years. Some of recipes, such as the paella, were truly delicious and satisfying. Others, however, needed additional clarification, required hard-to-find ingredients, or demanded significant levels of skill. Recipes also had a tendency to be disappointingly dry, whether by design or due to our inexperience. Finally, we would have appreciated additional guidance in assembling quick and practical meals and snacks to complement the daily "mega-meals". We have eagerly sought further refinements of the diet for the non-gourmet/non-scientist. I am amazed that Walford's calorie-restriction diet has not received more attention by other writers and researchers.
57 of 58 found the following review helpful:
 A new way of life... Sep 23, 1999
Dr. Walfords follow-up book to the 120 year diet is easy to understand and follow. Unlike the 120 yr book which explains physiologically and pathologically why this way of eating works, the Anti-Aging book is written for the lay person with more and better tasting recipies. Granted, recipies are complex and time consuming to prepare-at first. But, once you get the hang of the significant chopping and quantities, they seem to be prepared in half the time. Quantities are tremendous and no one should ever walk away from the table feeling hungry. Recipies are very visually exciting as well and I have never cooked with so much color in my life. I have found the need occasionally to add a little soy or salt to some dishes. Two weeks into the diet, my husband and I found ourselves feeling like we had more energy and less of a craving for simple sugars. The hamburgers are amazing-even for a true red meat lover. What can I say? I love this book.
39 of 39 found the following review helpful:
I could say this book changed by life but... Jan 24, 1999
I won't know for at least 60 years...Well, that's not entirely true. Whether or not I live an extended life, I am healther right now for having read this book.Walford offers a very practical, yet completely inspirational approach to living a healthier, longer life. The first third of the book describes his ideas which are based entirely on a solid foundation of research. He talks further about his experience as the doctor in Biosphere2 and the pertinence of that experience on longevity research in humans. It is really very readable. I enjoyed it so much that I couldn't put it down, and read it through twice! When I showed the book to my Dad, a very logical, sceptical research professor at UCLA, he liked it so much that he immediately bought himself a copy. The rest of the book is full of suggested recipes, a sample week's menu, and practical step-by-step instructions for incorporating the anti-aging plan into your life. It's working for me. Good luck to you!
19 of 20 found the following review helpful:
Good gerontology, bad nutrition Jan 22, 2003
By Geoff Caplan
Dr Walford is a leading authority in the field of gerontology, and makes a compelling case for the potential of a nutrient-dense, low calorie diet. Although, as he admits, the mechanism is little understood, it is proven to have beneficial effects on all animals studied, from earthworms to apes. And as the physician to the Biosphere team, he conducted the first human trial, with spectacular impacts on both health and ageing biomarkers. Walford is also an engaging guide. The tone is hype free, and the book is full of sensible and balanced advice about how to adopt such a diet in a safe, sustainable and relaxed way. I particularly appreciate his guidance that you should use your common sense and leave the calorie counter at home on social occasions, and that the occasional treat will cause no harm. This is a pleasant contrast to puritanical approach of many low-carb authors. The problems begin when he starts to advise on food choices. He is out of his field here, and it shows. Dr Walford has swallowed uncritically the increasingly discredited lipid hypothesis for coronary heart disease (see the work of Ravnskov for a devastating overview of the commercial interests, sloppy thinking, bias and outright academic fraud that lies behind this proposition). As a result, Walford is positively phobic about nutritious and stable fats such as butter and tropical oils, which have been eaten without problems for millennia. Instead, he proposes that we adopt corn oil for general cooking (processed corn oil is an unstable and damaged oil, which is farther damaged by heat), and the new-fangled and suspect canola oil for baking. Instead of butter, we would apparently be better off using a synthetic product called "Butterbuds". The recipes also make heavy use of other suspect ingredients such as non-fermented soy and dried skimmed milk. And, bizarrely, he classifies Coca-Cola and cream soda as "wholesome beverages". The Biosphere team achieved their remarkable results with fresh and wholesome products they farmed for themselves. But Walford appreciates that this diet would be too plain for wide acceptance, and offers us what he calls a "gourmet" version in the book. Common sense suggests that some of the benefits would be offset by the nutritional problems outlined above. However many of the menus can be easily adapted to use more traditional and safer ingredients. And the authors also market an affordable and unique software programme that can analyse a meal plan and suggest ingredients that would plug any nutritional gaps, so it should be possible to develop your own low calorie nutrient-complete meals with a little effort. Apart from the rather major caveat above, this is a valuable guide to an important development in the field of nutrition. Well worth reading.
23 of 25 found the following review helpful:
A gem of a diet book May 05, 2000
I really liked the message in this book. The diet information made a lot of sense, for a change. All of the research that was done at Biosphere and in animal research has shown a clear link between consumption of calories and shorter life span. Walford shows how to limit your number of calories while maintaining a diet that satisfies your nutritional needs. The diet makes very sensible recommendations about supplements and antioxidants, in addition to some very good recipes. The only problem with the book was the list of ingredients for the recipes. Some of them are very expensive and hard to find. For the most part I liked the recipes, but some of them were a bit tasteless. I think with the advice in this book in addition to other "macrobiotic" cookbooks one could make very sensible diet.
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