WeeklyBlog #7 #Monday

5/17/26 #May
Aim: 16mins
7:19AM-7:41AM: #22mins

1100word

[[Robert Sapolsky]]
[[Behave]]
[[Determined]]
[[Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers]]
[[Dr. Michael Greger]]
[[How Not to Age]]
[[David Sinclair]]
[[Lifespan]]
[[Peter Attia]]
[[Outlive]]

I finished two really cool books in the last 2 weeks, and they are [[Behave]], by [[Robert Sapolsky]], and [[How Not to Age]], by [[Dr. Michael Greger]]. I found these books to be super stimulating. For me, I read books, a lot from curiosity, but also, I read from authors that I have really been aroused by in the past. Robert Sapolsky, who is also a primatologist, is a leading professor at Stanford, whose books I’ve been genuinely fascinated by during the last 10 years or so. For me, reading [[Behave]], in particular, it seemed to be like I was able to synthesize a lot of his research, at least to the extent I can understand.

About 2 years ago, I finished [[Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers]], that was also by Robert Sapolsky, and I was super fascinated by the stress response of animals and human beings. I also read his book [[Determined]], which stipulates that a lot of things are actually predetermined by the brain. We may think that we have conscious control over something, but in reality, our brain already has made that decision awhile ago. I was also super intrigued by this notion as well. And MRI’s do show that, the decisions that we make, 5 ms or something before, we have already made it in our mind, which is super fascinating to me.

Thus, being able to finish [[Behave]] now, I really am super grateful to [[Mr. Sapolsky]], and just his general wisdom about how the human body works, in particular because he has been studying animals, such as baboons for a long time. Thus, I just think it’s incredible how knowledgeable he can be. I don’t know how much I believe, in regards to how he sees reality, but I am super impressed by a lot of his logic. Furthermore, having just finished [[How Not to Age]], by [[Dr. Michael Greger]], who is a new author to me, I’m getting more synthesis of ideas.

I didn’t have any references to [[Dr. Michael Greger]], before starting this book. And this book was pretty long, around 27 hours on audiobook format. I slowly listened to it, in the last 3 months. For me, this book is just a synthesis of a lot of the leading ideologies in longevity science that should be organized and accepted by present science. Dr. Gregor states that, and I believe as well, that food is the best medicine we have, for fighting age. Although, I don’t particularly think aging is a disease yet, because it seems inevitable to me still, and you can’t evade the aging process, at least from what I understand at the current moment, though I do believe we can genuinely decrease the rate that we age.

Moreover, reading this book, from [[Dr. Michael Greger]], I’m further convinced that we can really fight, and decelerate the rate of the aging mechanism. Dr. Gregor presents a lot of scientific research results in his book, and it’s mind-boggling, to what research has actually already proved. The consensus in regards to what is amazing, and what is bogus results, it’s not really a debate, in some sense. For example, I learned about AGEs (Advanced Glycogen End Products), in this book, and I thought that was super interesting. Fried foods produce more AGEs, which is harder for our bodies to digest. That’s why fried foods, in general, are worse for our bodies, as it takes us longer for us to process it.

Furthermore, animal products contain a lot more things, than we would like to think. For example, antibiotics are a huge source for why we actually age faster. A lot of animal products can contain antibiotics, just by the sheer fact that it is utilized to purify and preserve the animal, so we human beings can eat the animal. I find this fascinating, and this kind of information, I genuinely think it will stay with me for a long time. I also have read, [[David Sinclair]]’s [[Lifespan]], and [[Peter Attia]]’s [[Outlive]], which is what started my longevity research curiosity.

As I learn more, I genuinely do see that science has discovered a lot of nuanced information about the human body, that genuinely will help us human beings live longer. Not in a fast phase process, but just what we eat in a typical day. Fiber, vegetables, whole foods, and natural protein, it’s all something that we have to consider, each and every day we live. All this will have compounding effect on our body. The old saying of exercising is super important as well, as it helps stimulate the body, so in the long run we keep our strength. Same with strength training, what we use, we retain, and what we don’t, will slowly wither away.

Thus, the process of hormesis, stimulation with slow-stressors, it really does help the body propel itself to become stronger. Even broccoli, which is apparently a hugely beneficial vegetable for our body, as it has anti cancer fighting ability. And although the body doesn’t naturally like broccoli, the concept of hormesis, it actually helps our body adapt to foreign stressors, and actually help us live longer. The stressors that slowly gives us strength, instead of really stressing us out, that’s what is going to help people stay alive longer.

Although I don’t believe, yet, that aging is a disease, because, inevitably age will catch up with us, I genuinely do believe we can de-age certain processes in our body. It’s a really a fascinating field of research, and the more I read, the more awe-struck I become. It really is super awesome that I am able to read from these amazing individuals. I genuinely have a lot of respect for [[Robert Sapolsky]], and [[Dr. Michael Greger]], because it’s fascinating to get such refined perspectives. The more I read, it seems like the more I am able to synthesize the most valuable of information.

I also have my own methods for refining what I learn. I know I don’t have the capacity to retain everything, but I genuinely believe I don’t have to understand everything, I just need to understand each author’s perspective in a condensed manner. Thus, having read these two books, I can further reaffirm my own assumptions, as it’s not just about the information that I am taking in, it’s also about understanding why these individual authors, as people, started caring so much about what they write. Plus, with all the books that I read, the authors that I really resonate with, I keep coming back to them, as they’re also writing a lot of the times, in the contemporary time-line. Thus, this constant comparison and refinement, I find this process of research, in itself, to be a super amazing domain of study.