Fair warning: this 5 books I loved in 2023 episode will read a little like a book review. It’s a great gift guide but perhaps the biggest take-away for us all is in the review of titles. I won’t make you wait. I’m going to share them all in the beginning. The titles are like trends on skinny jeans or cropped tops and high-waisted tights. I didn’t love either of those. With these I’m less judgmental but certainly curious.

This says a lot about what sells today. Because of course, don’t judge a book by it’s cover… but we do. The image, the title, the subtitle all matter a great deal. An agent, a publisher and editors all rely on data about sales to determine what will sell. 

So these 5 titles….

5 Books I Loved in 2023 (or coming soon!) 

Younger for Life -Dr Anthony Youn

The subtitle of this book is Feel Great and Look Your Best with the Science of Autorejuvenation. You’ll hear more on the book from the author himself in an episode titled Younger for Life with America’s Holistic Plastic Surgeon. But truly if you’re on TikTok, this is also a TikTok, YouTube and Instagram favorite plastic surgeon. 

He's a funny, and clearly knowledgeable surgeon whose mission is to turn on the power of your own body instead of turning to the knife. 

This one is coming out just after the New Year. We’ll link to it and share a special 21-day challenge we can only hint about now too! Pre-orders for that book will come soon so watch for it!

Forever Strong -Dr Gabrielle Lyon 

We will of course link to previous episodes with Dr Gabrielle. She worked with Dr Donald Layman who, if you are into the science of protein for longevity and preserving muscle with weight loss, appears as an author of many of the studies since the late 90s. 

Dr Lyon has made the information more mainstream and positively opened the subject of obesity again in a new way. It's not a fat problem, it’s a muscle problem. 

Forever Strong came out earlier this fall and it’s one for everyone in your family. The science can only fill so much of a book. The rest of the content is recipes supporting one means of staying strong, eating protein. You’ll find descriptions of exercise protocols as well as the long list of references used throughout the book. 

Young Forever -Mark Hyman

Do you see a theme here yet? And we’re not done! 

This book explores the biological hallmarks of aging, their causes, and their consequences—then shows us how to overcome them with simple dietary, lifestyle, and emerging longevity strategies. You’ll learn: 

• How to turn on your body’s key longevity switches 

• How to reduce inflammation and support the health of your immune system 

• How to exercise, sleep, and de-stress for healthy aging 

• How to eat your way to a long life, featuring Dr. Hyman’s Pegan Diet 

• Which supplements are right for you 

• Where the research on aging is headed

Mark Hyman is 63. 

Spoiler Alert: 5 Books I Loved in 2023 Reveal What We Want

Younger You -Dr Kara Fitzgerald 

If you’re new to the power of your epigenetics, that is your daily habits, to either accelerate or decelerate, in fact reverse age, then this is for you. 

We all have cancer cells within us. We don’t all get cancer. 

Some of us have genetics that predispose us to obesity. I do. But I’m not obese. Why ? Is it exercise? Nutrition? What specifically about your DNA and your habits could change things for you? 

Dr. Fitzgerald shares the diet and lifestyle plan that shows you how to influence your epigenetics for a younger you. In Younger You you’ll learn:  

• It’s not your genetics that determines your age and level of health, it’s your epigenetics 

• How DNA methylation powerfully influences your epigenetic expression 

• The foods and lifestyle choices that most affect DNA methylation 

• Simple swaps to your daily routines that will add years to your life 

• The full eating and lifestyle program, with recipes and meal plans, to reduce your bio age and increase vitality  

• How to take care of your epigenetic expression at every life stage, from infancy through midlife and your later decades  

Outlive - Peter Attia 

This book is what Dr Attia describes as the opposite of biohacking but one has to wonder. Isn’t biohacking based on science (we’ll link to a recent episode where I discuss biohacking you probably are doing even if you don’t know it)? 

There are a lot of things inside this book I love top but of course the top :

• Why exercise is the most potent pro-longevity “drug”—and how to begin training for the “Centenarian Decathlon.”

Then there is: 

• Why you should forget about diets, and focus instead on nutritional biochemistry, using technology and data to personalize your eating pattern.

• Why striving for physical health and longevity, but ignoring emotional health, could be the ultimate curse of all.

Bottom line on the titles of these health books I loved in 2023 (and 2024)...

We are clearly obsessed with anti-aging. Even if the authors are not, the words “young” and “younger” are high volume search words. Enough so that agents and publishers agree they will sell. So whether it’s ageist or not, we collectively seem to want it. Applause to Dr Lyons and Dr Peter Attia for busting barriers of age with choice of works Forever Strong and Outlive. 

One book not mentioned here but on my nightstand right now is, Finding Me, by Viola Davis. She’s a masterful storyteller and I’m only about a third of the way through but have newfound respect for each of the roles she’s played. 

Other Episodes You Might Like: 

What Is BioHacking

https://www.flippingfifty.com/what-is-biohacking/ 

Your Protein Needs, Your Optimal Body Composition

https://www.flippingfifty.com/your-protein/

Behind the Scenes with America's Holistic Beauty Doc Now!

https://www.flippingfifty.com/beauty-doc/

Resources:

Stronger: https://www.flippingfifty.com/get-stronger-2023/

Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/flipping50