How To Live Forever – the best articles, websites, videos, and books

I use Google every day, but it sucks when I’m trying to master a topic. I end up wasting 10+ hours filtering out spammy sites, low-quality content, and repetitive convos/threads.

Given my personal interest in “How To Live Forever” (having just published a beginner’s book on the topic), I decided to share the best resources I’ve found.

There’s just so much good stuff online. Quora Q&A, blog posts, forum threads, YouTube videos. It’s all free. It just takes time to click through the crap.

So here we go. This is just 10% of the good stuff I’ve found, and I’ll add more in the coming weeks, months, and hopefully years. If you’d like to contribute, email me.

The best sites

• Al Fin Longevity. From the intro: Primary interest is seeing that the best of humanity survives long enough to reach the next level. In-depth summaries of the latest research into various aspects of longevity.
• Longevity Science. The author, Dr. Leonid Gavrilov, is a principal investigator at the University of Chicago Center on Aging. The blog covers his research, general findings in longevity science and aging, and various related topics (e.g., aging conferences).
• Google News Alert for “how to live forever”. It’s hit-or-miss, but can turn up interesting news items and blog posts.
• SENS Foundation News. A leading longevity non-profit started by a luminary in the field, Dr. Aubrey de Grey.
• Kurzweil Accelerating Intelligence. All things Ray Kurzweil, a big proponent of longevity research with a focus on enabling technologies.

The best books

Fantastic Voyage by Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman. The most info-packed book I’ve read, I curated a lot of the best stuff into my own book. Both are respected experts in their fields. I first heard Ray speak in high school and have been a big fan of his books since. He’s also known for taking hundreds of daily pills and supplements and undergoing active treatments to extend his life.

Blue Zones by Dan Buettner. Why do some regions produce incredibly healthy, long-living residents? Dan investigates 5 such regions: Sardinia (Italy), Okinawa (Japan), Loma Linda (US), Nicoya Peninsula (Costa Rica), and Icaria (Greece). His conclusions reinforce diet and social connections as 2 crucial factors in long, happy lives.

Key experts and authorities

• David Murdock – an 89-yo billionaire (owner of Dole) who wants to see his 125th birthday. NYT profile
• Aubrey de Grey – a leading longevity researcher and advocate, founder of the SENS Institute
• Ray Kurzweil – author of Fantastic Voyage, prominent technologist and futurist. Wikipedia

Great articles, fun facts, etc

• Entertaining compilation of myths about aging and immortality through history. Wikipedia
• Fuhrman Scale, a new approach to the food pyramid based on nutrient density and glycemic-load. Dr. Fuhrman’s site
• Restriction Diet – mice were fed a near-starvation diet. They lived 20-25% longer than normal mice. NYMag
• Ancient Korean eunuchs lived much longer (10-20 years). Castration is thought to be the primary cause. Newser
• Meditation – which sucks to practice – reduces stress, promotes happiness, and makes you smarter. NYTimes
• Sex – stressful on the body but is awesome for your health and longevity. Wired
• To borrow from Emerson, “laugh often and much”. Psychology Today
• Exercise, exercise, exercise. Reduce risks of heart disease and diabetes, maintain muscle mass, and live longer. LA Times. Oh, and you get smarter.
• Make friends – nurses diagnosed with breast cancer who had no friends were much more likely to die of the disease. Full study here. Friends also delay memory problems associated with aging
• Get married – seems to benefit men more than women, but everyone wins (caveat: only if you’re happy!)

The best videos

• How To Live Forever – director Mark Wexler approaches personal and scientific aspects of aging and life extension. Interviews Jack Lalanne, Ray Bradbury, and Suzanne Somers. Have not seen it yet, but received good reviews. Streaming link on Netflix | Trailer on Youtube
• SENS Foundation videos – lectures and interviews featuring Dr. Grey on various longevity topics (including a Reddit AMA and an Oxford-sponsored theory of aging debate)
• Time – 6 BBC episodes on the nature of time, narrated by Michio Kaku (American physicist and futurist). All episodes: Youtube playlist
• Aubrey de Grey: A roadmap to end aging – TED talk
• Dan Buettner: How to live to be 100+ – TED talk by the author of Blue Zones

The best Quora questions and responses

• Question: What are some reasons why people do or do not want to live forever?
• Question: How can one live forever, either physically, metaphorically, or otherwise?
• Question: What can I do to live as long as possible?
  • The answer by Alex K. Chen is among my favorites. Here are some of his bullets:
  • Restrict calories whenever possible. […] What I do is really simple: whenever possible, always replace grains with beans and vegetables (whenever I go to restaurants – I always tell them to replace the grain with vegetables). Don’t drink fruit juices.
  • Stay away from sugar (doesn’t matter where it came from), red meat, refined grains (this includes almost all rice that isn’t long-grain, and a significant portion of supposedly “whole-grain” bread – a lot of bread labeled as “whole-grain” is actually still quite refined), animals high up on the food chain (pesticides accumulate higher up), non-lean meats, and trans fats
  • Be extremely resilient to stress (and try to be happy with what you have in an absolute sense – don’t constantly compare yourself to others and don’t carry grudges against other people). Surprisingly, very stressful events early in life can help you cope later, but once you reach a certain age, stressing out can only harm you
  • Most multi-vitamins are unnecessary, but Vitamin D appears to have benefits

What am I missing? Let me know!