How to Live Longer and Feel Better by Linus Pauling

Book Reviewed by Deidra De Pree for the Global College of Natural Medicine

When Linus Pauling wrote How to Live Longer and Feel Better (Avon Books, 1987), he unveiled a straightforward, simple plan for vigorous long life. He saw that the major diseases of our time heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other degenerative diseases are caused by nutrient deficiencies. They will not be cured by pharmaceutical drugs with harmful side effects but rather with appropriate nutrient supplementation especially vitamin C. Pauling opened his book with a twelve-step regime for better health. He reiterated at the lists end that the cornerstone of these recommendations was the nutritional supplementation. The book then unfolds to methodically cite multiple studies showing how nutritional supplementation is of key importance in experiencing optimum health and a strong immune system. The author successfully communicated his twelve-step regime for better health in this list. This list included: vitamins C, E, B and A in a daily vitamin regime (with helpful dosage information); a description of the basic daily mineral supplement; an admonition to stay away from regular sugar but an encouragement to include all other foods in the diet, a reminder to consume food and alcohol quantities in moderation, drink plenty of water, get exercise, and a warning against stress and cigarette smoking. (How to Live Longer and Feel Better, pgs. 8-9.) Pauling didnt just list that twelve-step regime for better health - he went on to discuss the importance of key vitamins in experiencing good health and a strong immune system.

The world famous medical researcher and Nobel Prize winner Pauling continued to explain why eating well doesnt ensure optimal nutrition, which vitamins are the crucial daily ones, and how those vitamins specifically C strengthen the immune system, and help fend off the viral diseases and major killers such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer. The principal way in which vitamin C and other vitamins function is by strengthening the natural protective mechanisms of the human body, especially the immune system, and by increasing the effectiveness of enzymes in catalyzing biochemical reactions. (How to Live Longer and Feel Better, p10.) Pauling debunks the major American misperception that by ingesting a daily multivitamin we can be assured of reaching the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) of vitamins and minerals necessary for good health. Rather, he asserts that the RDA simply allows us to avoid disease but isnt enough. By far exceeding the RDA of certain vitamins (especially C, E, B and A) we can enjoy stronger immune systems capable of much self healing. Pauling cites multiple medical studies showing the incidence of disease and chance of death at each age are less for people with higher intakes of vitamin C. This difference means that the length of the period of good health and of life was ten years greater for the persons with the higher intake

than for those with the lower intake of vitamin C. The dividing line was 50 mg. per day, approximately equal to the recommended dietary allowance. (How to Live Longer and Feel Better, p107.) Pauling discusses optimum health by touching on the two most common afflictions of wellfed industrialized societies: obesity and atherosclerosis. He cites not only hitting and exceeding the RDA as important, but also that those in search of good health should keep the sugar consumption down in an attempt to reduce cholesterol and atherosclerosis. Personal trainers, like me, frequently work with grossly overweight individuals and mistakenly counsel them to cut the fat from their diets to achieve healthier hearts. However, Pauling highlights the fact that the incidence of coronary disease closely parallels the increasing consumption of sugar, not with the consumption of animal fat (saturated fat) or total fat. While the 400 page text is a challenging read with its hundreds of medical examples and technical charts, I found his writings about the role of vitamins in achieving optimum health to be thrilling and worth the read. The volume and in-depth inclusion of myriad data was at times daunting, but Pauling does a good job of clearly and concisely describing the most technical medical ailment in lay terms. Further, he is able to relate the whys and wherefores of the molecular action of vitamin therapy in fairly lay terms. His style allows

everyone to understand the presented and diseases discussed.

concepts

Pauling appears passionately interested in helping people to avoid serious illness and live with a higher standard of good health. However, it also appears that he uses the book as a platform to respond to many critics who devalue his claims. I found that the strength of the assertions was undermined by his annoyance with the allopathic communitys unwillingness to endorse his findings. How to Live Longer and Feel Better is clearly valuable to other personal trainers, but is also a must read for other fitness professionals, nutritionists, and all allopathic, integrative and alternative medical professionals. For those not dispensing advice but simply wishing to enjoy a longer life lived in good health, this book provides a valuable roadmap for gauging optimum consumption and nutrition levels for life.