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A review by laurapk
The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier, Longer by Elizabeth Blackburn, Elissa Epel
1.0
A life style book masquerading as a scientific one, titled "The telomere effect" that never once explains why your telomeres shorten every time a cell divides. This is what you're getting yourself into. Honestly, no need to pick this book. If you're looking for health advice there are other good books you can try. They can offer you the same information without lying to you that their advice is supported by strong scientific research. Now you might think I'm mean, but I actually know why telomeres shorten every time a cell divides (I too got a PhD in biology). I also happen to know that some of the stuff said in the book either do not constitute strongly supported scientific information or are flat-out wrong.
There are many problems. I listened to an audio version of the book, but I also went through an ebook. The e-book had several errors at one of the self evaluations ( you couldn't get to the max score no matter how you tried because the scores you are supposed to sum up were all wrong. The audio book actually had the correct information). And I have to admit I quit the audio book about an hour and a half before the end. I had stomached a bunch of erroneous statements up until that point. What broke me was the statement that your college degree will enlarge your telomeres. But I'll get to that in a second.
I realized I may have troubles with the book from the first chapter. The two authors of the book talked about what diseases are caused by shortened telomeres. No doubt age related diseases are linked to shortened telomeres. Asthma, however, is not. Yet that's what the first chapter seems to imply. Still because a little later the authors explain that correlation doesn't necessarily mean causation, or that the causation happens in the order we first hypothesize, I was willing to give them another chance. So a little later in the book the authors admitted that chronic diseases such as asthma actually causes shortened telomeres and not the other way around ( The reason is simple, chronic inflammation means cells need to divide more often than they normally would, which means telomere shortening over time.). So far the biologist in me was appeased.
Then things got a little weird when they talked about meditation. Still I had to admit that their idea about avoiding negative thoughts, stress and unhealthy eating were all correct and helpful. Weather you need to frame it as a telomere problem... let's just say I wasn't bought on that.
When they got to how depression can impact telomere length I started getting angry again. The authors seem to imply that depression is just getting trapped in a feeling of sadness. I never suffered from chronic depression yet I got angry at how inaccurate that definition is. You want a good book on depression? Try "The depths". Skip the depression chapter in this book, It is honestly insulting and potentially harmful.
Then we got to dieting. The authors wrongly suggested that dieting is not the way to drop weight. Guess what? Scientific evidence suggests that actually you need to restrict your calories to start dropping weight. It is correct that you should also exercise and tone your muscles. It is not enough to drop weight. Do yourself a favour, and read recent articles on the matter before you harm yourself.
And now let's get to the part that broke me: Did you know that not finishing College actually shortens your telomeres? Studies show that people who don't complete higher education have shortened telomeres. The reason? Well, it's actually explained in the earlier chapters of the book. If you didn't go to college, it's more likely that you live in a poor neighbourhood that you have poor social support and that you're eating an unhealthy diet. Did two scientists who should know about the scientific method explain this? Maybe they did in the chapters I didn't finish reading. But they strongly stated that not finishing College actually impacts not only your telomeres but those of your child as well. So practically, give up already! You've doomed yourself and your unborn children by not going to college! How could you? So I did what the author suggested in one of the earlier chapters: If something stresses you out or angers you just give up. I returned a book to the library and I was instantly happier. My brain stopped having seizures from so many incorrect musings labeled as science. And I could focus on my day and be grateful.
Conclusion: skip the book!!! I would give it 0 stars, but that's not available.
There are many problems. I listened to an audio version of the book, but I also went through an ebook. The e-book had several errors at one of the self evaluations ( you couldn't get to the max score no matter how you tried because the scores you are supposed to sum up were all wrong. The audio book actually had the correct information). And I have to admit I quit the audio book about an hour and a half before the end. I had stomached a bunch of erroneous statements up until that point. What broke me was the statement that your college degree will enlarge your telomeres. But I'll get to that in a second.
I realized I may have troubles with the book from the first chapter. The two authors of the book talked about what diseases are caused by shortened telomeres. No doubt age related diseases are linked to shortened telomeres. Asthma, however, is not. Yet that's what the first chapter seems to imply. Still because a little later the authors explain that correlation doesn't necessarily mean causation, or that the causation happens in the order we first hypothesize, I was willing to give them another chance. So a little later in the book the authors admitted that chronic diseases such as asthma actually causes shortened telomeres and not the other way around ( The reason is simple, chronic inflammation means cells need to divide more often than they normally would, which means telomere shortening over time.). So far the biologist in me was appeased.
Then things got a little weird when they talked about meditation. Still I had to admit that their idea about avoiding negative thoughts, stress and unhealthy eating were all correct and helpful. Weather you need to frame it as a telomere problem... let's just say I wasn't bought on that.
When they got to how depression can impact telomere length I started getting angry again. The authors seem to imply that depression is just getting trapped in a feeling of sadness. I never suffered from chronic depression yet I got angry at how inaccurate that definition is. You want a good book on depression? Try "The depths". Skip the depression chapter in this book, It is honestly insulting and potentially harmful.
Then we got to dieting. The authors wrongly suggested that dieting is not the way to drop weight. Guess what? Scientific evidence suggests that actually you need to restrict your calories to start dropping weight. It is correct that you should also exercise and tone your muscles. It is not enough to drop weight. Do yourself a favour, and read recent articles on the matter before you harm yourself.
And now let's get to the part that broke me: Did you know that not finishing College actually shortens your telomeres? Studies show that people who don't complete higher education have shortened telomeres. The reason? Well, it's actually explained in the earlier chapters of the book. If you didn't go to college, it's more likely that you live in a poor neighbourhood that you have poor social support and that you're eating an unhealthy diet. Did two scientists who should know about the scientific method explain this? Maybe they did in the chapters I didn't finish reading. But they strongly stated that not finishing College actually impacts not only your telomeres but those of your child as well. So practically, give up already! You've doomed yourself and your unborn children by not going to college! How could you? So I did what the author suggested in one of the earlier chapters: If something stresses you out or angers you just give up. I returned a book to the library and I was instantly happier. My brain stopped having seizures from so many incorrect musings labeled as science. And I could focus on my day and be grateful.
Conclusion: skip the book!!! I would give it 0 stars, but that's not available.