David A. Sinclair -Lifespan : Why We Age – and Why We Don’t Have to -Paperback

Why it's worth it

Lifespan is Harvard geneticist David Sinclair's argument that aging is a loss of cellular information, and that it may be slowed or partly reversed. Read it to understand sirtuins, NAD+ and mTOR before anyone tries to sell you a bottle of them.

It gives you a theory, not a checklist. Sinclair's Information Theory of Aging holds that we age because cells lose the epigenetic instructions that tell genes when to switch on. It's still argued over in the field. But it's the framework that explains why caloric restriction, fasting and NAD+ precursors might work at all, rather than just asserting that they do.

It's the honest map of the supplement aisle. Sinclair walks through NMN, NR, resveratrol, rapamycin and metformin: what each one targets, what the human evidence supports and where that evidence runs out. Read this before you spend anything on longevity pills. You'll come away much better at spotting which marketing claims have a real paper behind them.

From our review of 5 health and longevity books, by Genevieve Dubois, Home & Living Expert

What we like

• +It gives you a theory, not a checklist
• +It's the honest map of the supplement aisle
• +He generated a lot of the underlying research
• +It changes how you think about aging itself

What to know

• –Several claims are contested, especially around NMN
• –It's the least actionable book here
• –Sinclair has business interests in this industry