Book review: Biomarkers, by William Evans and Irwin Rosenberg

Biomarkers came to my attention when I spent some time reading through Clarence Bass‘s articles in preparation for my top 10 posts from the desk of Clarence Bass last week.  I was so intrigued by the review that Clarence did of the book that I decided to order it off Amazon.  A few days later, it arrived and I spent the weekend on the sofa, reading it.

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So what’s it about?

Biomarkers (UK affiliate link, US affiliate link) makes the bold assertion that (disease notwithstanding), there is no reason to become frail and weak as you get old.  Biomarkers makes the claim that there is no reason to lose strength and muscle while gaining fat and that strength training is the key to achieving this.  Essentially, if you strength train, then they assert that you should be able to maintain the appearance and abilities of youth practially indefinitely.

It’s a bold message and one that society in general will find both unrealistic and uncomfortable.  No-one wants to hear that their favourite grandma could have done something about becoming chair-bound.  What’s more, the older generation often find the idea of strength training unusual and left-of-field.  They think that it is the preserve of vain bodybuilders or crimson-faced powerlifters.

But Biomarkers isn’t a fancy idea plucked out of the sky and pushed into a book to sell copies based on how contraversial it is.  It’s a book based on extensive research done by the authors on a number of subjects over a period of years.

Biomarkers: don’t get old

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So what’s a biomarker, anyway?

A biomarker is a feature of a person that gives you information about how old they behave.  Not how old they actually are in years but how aged they behave.  In other words, how capable they are of basic human tasks like walking and running, lifting and carrying, as well as their physical appearance and posture.  Over the course of their research, the authors discovered ten signs of aging, which they called biomarkers that dictate how old you feel.  They are:

1. Muscle mass,
2. Strength,
3. Basal metabolic rate,
4. Body fat percentage
5. Aerobic capacity,
6. Blood-sugar tolerance,
7. Cholesterol/HDL ratio,
8. Blood pressure,
9. Bone density,
10. Ability to regulate internal temperature.

If you score poorly on these signs or biomarkers, you will likely find yourself being offered a seat by kindly strangers on the bus.  If you score well, then you are likely to be doing the seat-offering.

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And what affects these biomarkers?

Significantly, all ten biomarkers can be revived or improved through strength training.  But it is the first biomarker, muscle mass, that is responsible for the vitality of your whole physiological apparatus. So strength training is pivotal if you want to stay young longer.

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So what’s in the book?

The book divides into two main sections:

In the first section, you’ll find all the exciting bits about why strength training is important and how muscle mass is the essential variable to control if you want to stay younger for longer.  There are case studies drawn from the authors’ studies and stories about how people have turned their lives around by introducing strength training into their routines.  You’ll also find a description of the ten biomarkers themselves and how they are relevant.

In the second section, there is a series of interactive chapters on measuring your current levels of strength and aerobic capacity, planning your exercise regime from different starting points (beginner, intermediate and expert), and improving your diet.  These are sections that enable the book to stand alone as a solution for people who have never even thought about improving their health or longevity.

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Why should I read it?

As a reader of my blog, you probably already strength train and the only reason you would want to read this book would be to remind yourself of how important strength training is to your health and that you should never stop doing it.

However, I am willing to bet that you have at least one parent or elderly relation who doesn’t do any strength training and who is getting more frail as the days go by.

We badger them occasionally and they tell us how much walking they do or how hard they’ve worked in the garden this week while at the same time getting more fat, chair-shaped and unfit.  If that person is still open to new ideas and reads avidly then do them a favour and buy a copy of this book for them.  It could well change their life for the better forever.

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