CR Way

The CR Way: Using the Secrets of Calorie Restriction for a Longer, Healthier Life by Paul McGlothin and Meredith Averill, NY: HarperCollins, 2008

The book, The CR Way, describes the abundant benefits of providing the body with less dietary energy, that is, fewer calories, than it is accustomed to getting. Forget about deprivation or starvation. What McGlothin and Averill advocate is eating delicious, nutrient-dense food – food that delivers maximum nutrition per calorie, the opposite of empty calories. Paul and Meredith are not only firm believers in but also dedicated practitioners of “CR,” Calorie Restriction. Their calorie-restricted diet is based on decades of research, including recent studies at the National Institute on Aging, Harvard University, Washington University, and their own empirical testing.

“McGlothin and Averill take the science of CR and craft a practical, easy-to-follow, and comprehensive action plan.  The CR Way makes it possible for anyone—from the neophyte to the serious longevist—to follow their vision for a better and healthier life.”

—Stephen R. Spindler, University of California, Riverside

Longevity activitists already know that scientists may have found what Ponce de León was searching for: a way to stay strong, vigorous, and youthful well into the centennial years. When it comes to living a longer, healthier life, research increasingly attests to the role of food. And, in a nutshell, less is more. The CR Way is a welcoming introduction to a lifestyle based on CR that includes many enhancements to ensure that the benefits of CR are realized – good sleep, glucose control, stress management through meditation, moderate exercise, and fun. The book begins by demystifying how less food, particularly fried foods and high-glucose foods – those made with white flour or sugar, for example, naturally slows the aging process. As McGlothin and Averill explain in easily accessible terms, the body responds to the low-level stress produced by lower food intake by reducing the rate of cell growth while preserving irreplaceable cells. This natural reaction triggers an array of positive biological effects. Among them: 

• Less body fat, reducing the risk of heart disease and other age-related decline
• Reduced cell mutations, which provides cancer protection
• Lower circulating glucose levels, protecting against heart disease, diabetes, and other diseases
• Decreased inflammation, which wards off arthritis and wrinkles 
• Increased brain-alertness chemicals, improving concentration and mood
• Deep, restful sleep, which helps the whole body function better 
• Increased energy, supporting a more active and full life       
• A more youthful physiology, which translates into looking, as well as feeling, younger than your biological age                      

More than Just Losing Weight

Besides revealing the amazing longevity benefits of eating less, The CR Way provides a step-by-step plan for reaping them. McGlothin and Averill take pains to show that all readers can benefit by adopting whichever calorie-reduction and other lifestyle practices fit their preferences and degrees of commitment. The authors advise starting slowly, reducing total daily calories by a realistic five percent – if that. They emphasize that The CR Way is not a weight-loss plan, though most people who practice it do lose some weight. For people of healthy weights, eating wisely is much more important than losing weight.

The CR Way features

• A nutritious, multi-course breakfast, beginning with an appetizer to “tease” insulin back into production
• Stimulating exercise for the body and mind, including yoga and brain-boosters
• Emphasis on the gains of good health and longevity, rather than sacrifices associated with weight loss
• A variety of flavorful vegetables, beans, grains, fruit, fish, and healthful fats, along with recommen-dations for spicing – all spotlighted in the “Foods to Choose” and “Meals and Recipes” chapters
• Techniques for keeping track of calorie consumption and critical benchmarks – blood pressure, heart status, osteoporosis risk, and more that will help you on the road to better health and longevity

Part I introduces the basics of CR and of The CR Way: the value of eating to live well, and the valuable guidance of practicing CR as you like it. Part II defines the benefits of The CR Way to both the body and the mind. Part III presents the plan in a way that is designed to help people actually do what is described. Recipes, equipment, and food recommendations are all provided. To help get you started, McGlothin and Averill present a selection of delicious recipes – Lemon-Ginger Sweet Potatoes, Eggs Italiana, Pea Soup with Tarragon, Savory Salmon Sandwich, and more – plus sample menus.  Part IV includes useful appendices. Besides providing FAQs (e.g., “How do you handle hunger?”), the Bibliography, and a Glossary – the authors make it clear that they appreciate the giants in the field on whose shoulders they are standing by describing them in CR Groundbreakers. Following this history, the Resveratrol section gives a glimpse into the future (and the present) of CR mimetics. 

The CR Way‘s publicity has called it controversial and compelling. And it certainly is controversial, given the strong contrast between The CR Way and the lifestyles of two-thirds of the American population who are overweight or obese. But even that leaves 100 million Americans, not to mention the additional millions elsewhere, who maintain healthy weights and who could gain the benefits of The CR Way by merely tweaking their lifestyles. And, of course, the book is compelling. Who wouldn’t like to know how to gain more years of good health relatively easily? 

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The CR Way; Using the Secrets of Calorie Restriction for a Longer, Healthier Life

By Paul McGlothin and Meredith Averill

April 2008, Trade Paperback Original

$15.95; 320 pages

ISBN: 978-0-06-137098-4

Collins, An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers   

www.LivingTheCRWay.com