The Big Five: Five Simple Things You Can Do to Live a Longer, Healthier Life

I’ll be turning 42 soon. I know, 42 is the new whatever. I don’t care. I’m looking for ways to live longer without sacrificing too much quality of life.So, I saw this book and its snappy title, and I thought, great! But could it deliver on the hype of that title?Yes…In fact, when I realized that Dr. Chopra was telling me to do more of three things that I thought I should do less of, I was sold, 100%. “Dude, this is awesome!” I said. Literally. I said that.Here are the five. Don’t take my word for it, though. Read the book.1) Drink more coffee!I drink coffee for the same reasons most people do. I like the taste, and it gives me a kick in the butt in the morning. Dr. Chopra makes the claim, citing study after study, that coffee also helps with everything from preventing tooth decay to reducing my risk of many different diseases, including some cancers.2) Get more sunshine! (Vitamin D)When I was spending an obscene amount of time each day playing Super Mario Brothers on the NES or Pirates! on my Commodore 64, mom said, “go out and get some exercise and some sunshine!” Apparently Dr. Chopra agrees. Sunshine allows us to make vitamin D, and believe me, you don’t want a vitamin D deficiency. Of course you can always take a supplement. Mom was still right though, as you’ll see in Chapter 3.3) Be active!I think we all knew this one, but Dr. Chopra lays it out in convincing fashion. If exercise could be put into a pill, “it would instantly become the most commonly prescribed, best-selling, and most beneficial drug in the world,” he said. He then explained how this wonder drug can prevent and even reverse some of the worst diseases out there. The best part is, it’s not that hard. Take a walk for Pete’s sake! If you struggle with this one, get a border collie. Trust me.4) Eat more nuts!But aren’t nuts fattening and bad for you? Not according to Dr. Chopra. Nuts apparently help people keep weight off and have other health benefits too. Let me just sum it up this way, eating nuts makes it less likely that you will die. I now feel like a nut.5) Meditate!Okay. I’m about the least woo-woo guy there is. When I first read this, I thought, oh sure, Deepak’s brother just had to throw some of that in there.Turns out, Dr. Sanjiv Chopra was woo-woo resistant at first too. He came around to meditation, at least in part, because of his wife’s experiences with it.One of the things I liked most about this book is that it was positive. Usually, in “get healthy” books, we’re told to cut five things out and add five other things that are awful but “do it cause it’s good for you.”Dr. Chopra didn’t do that. He gave the reader five easy things to add to life. He cited studies and evidence but didn’t overburden us with technical detail and jargon. It’s obvious from reading this book that Dr. Chopra sincerely wants to help people. Well, that, and he’s probably getting lots of money from the coffee, nut, and sunshine conglomerates.I wish there was more in the book on how to implement meditation. I know I can read other books on that, and believe me, I will. It would have added a lot to have a brief meditation guide included though.It’s a crazy thing to say, “read this book and you’ll live longer.” But with this one, you just might.

I arrived at the Peninsula Hotel, Bangkok to find a copy of this book in my room. I read it over the weekend. You MUST read the importance of vitamin D3, its not just the sunshine vitamin and there is so much more. There is so much research, why it matters to do a few simple things to give you a better chance of healthy survival. I bought 5 copies for my loved ones. Peninsula has one book in every room in the hotel, I also want everyone to know about this book.

I am a nurse and a physicians assistant showed me a CEU with some of these recomendations referenced. The book is further detailed, verifying the studies. I am now following these very simple suggestions!

This is a very interesting book, written by a hepatologist (a liver expert). It all seems very reasonable and with simple ways to make a difference in your diet and longevity.

What you need to know about healthy living boiled down to 5 simple things. Well researched.

great book, one of my favorite authors and lecturer

A lot of good health information

great book, easy read. the author backs up all his findings with research and studies - very informative

Not recommended.

Very interesting content / read. Well documented and research-based. A must read for anyone interested in maintaining a good health and longevity.

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