Hazing Aging
How Capillary Endothelia Control Inflammation and Aging
- 2015 INDIES Finalist
- Finalist, Health (Adult Nonfiction)
The news that the much-feared aging process can be controlled is exciting, indeed.
Getting older does not have to mean aching joints, memory impairment, brain atrophy, heart failure, and more, according to Dr. Robert Buckingham, whose Hazing Aging reveals how focusing on the health of the capillary endothelia, the cells that line the body’s blood vessels, can reverse the adverse effects of aging and make life’s later years healthier, happier, and filled with grace and joy.
Buckingham has been a practicing internist in Ojai, California, for thirty-six years, during which time he observed the association between how vascular inflammation, endothelial function, and the progression of disease and multiple end-organ system failure that are characteristic of aging are related. His timely and informative book gives hope for a paradigm shift in the medical world, moving from the diagnosis and treatment of disease to active prevention.
“Certain assumptions that we make about aging are wrong,” Buckingham writes, declaring that many of what are commonly held to be signs of “old age” are actually the consequences of poor lifestyle choices—bad habits and addictions begun at an early age and engaged in over the span of a lifetime. It was his own personal, and nearly fatal, health crisis and healing process that opened his eyes to the erroneous, and dangerous, assumptions we generally make about the state of our health, ignoring signs that our endothelial cells, vascular system, and end organs are calling for help.
Buckingham’s goal was to provide insight to those of all levels of medical knowledge, and in this he has succeeded admirably, presenting his material so clearly that both experts in the field and those with limited scientific knowledge will find it both informative and stimulating.
The book is graced by attractive, intriguing, and well-balanced front cover art and informative back cover copy, though an author photo with a less distracting and ambiguous background would be ideal. The copyright page, acknowledgments, and table of contents are well organized and complete, and the book also includes a helpful glossary, an abundant and wide-ranging bibliography, and an appendix filled with black-and-white illustrations and graphs that enhance the material presented. Summaries and conclusions are given at the end of each chapter, allowing for review and reflection, and the ample resources offered are rounded out with a comprehensive index. Grammar, punctuation, and syntax are nearly flawless, and careful proofreading would eliminate the few errors to be found. Overall, the book’s layout and design are excellent and facilitate enjoyment in reading.
Although Buckingham’s material is complex, he has done a superb job of making it not only understandable, but compelling. “We have a choice when it comes to how we age,” he writes. “For the first time, science has provided a basic foundation for understanding interventions that can mitigate the aging mechanisms that can be tied to vascular inflammation.” The news that the much-feared aging process can be controlled is exciting, indeed.
Reviewed by
Kristine Morris
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
