Marta Zaraska - Growing Young

Praise for

Growing Young

An unusually intriguing and useful read about how our psychology affects our longevity. If you care about the length and quality of your life but cant stomach yet another diet or workout routine, this book is for you.

Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take, and host of the TED podcast, WorkLife

Finally, a lifestyle book that transcends diet and exercise as solutions for living longer. This well-researched book shows us the subtle power of community and connection as tools for a quest to live to 100.

Dan Buettner, National Geographic Fellow and New York Times bestselling author of The Blue Zones

The more we learn about the human body, the more we realize how powerful the connection between happiness and health is. Research-based, practical, and insightful, Growing Young makes this relationship come to life. A must-read.

Shawn Achor, New York Times bestselling author of Big Potential and The Happiness Advantage

Growing Young is one of the best books I have read on the topic of the mind and its interconnectedness with our body and other human beings.

Emeran Mayer, author of The Mind-Gut Connection

Friendship is the most important journey we ever venture on. Read Marta Zaraskas Growing Young and find out why.

Robin Dunbar, evolutionary psychologist and author of How Many Friends Does One Person Need?

Growing Young is a smart, fresh take on longevity. Deeply researched, fascinating, and engaging, it offers readers useful advice on how to maximize their lifespan, in easy, practical, and unexpected ways.

Joshua Becker, author of The More of Less

Growing Young tells us how to have a long and happy life: Never stop learning and growing. Marta Zaraskas recipes may come from the frontier of research, but it is based on such an elegant distillation of the science that Growing Young is as fascinating as it is persuasive.

Richard Wrangham, professor of biological anthropology at Harvard University and author of The Goodness Paradox

Marta Zaraskas Growing Young shows that what matters most is what helps us live the longest! This accessible, well-researched, and thoughtful book is essential reading.

Greg McKeown, author of the New York Times bestselling Essentialism

ALSO BY MARTA ZARASKA

Meathooked: The History and Science of Our 2.5-Million-Year Obsession with Meat

Copyright 2020 Marta Zaraska

All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication, reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system, without the prior written consent of the publisheror, in case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, license from the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agencyis an infringement of the copyright law.

Appetite by Random House and colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

Library and Archives of Canada Cataloguing in Publication is available upon request.

ISBN9780525610182

Ebook ISBN978525610199

Cover design: Kate Sinclair

Cover image (cake): CSA-Printstock/Getty Images

Published in Canada by Appetite by Random House,

a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited.

www.penguinrandomhouse.ca

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For Ellie and Maciekyouve added many years to my life

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

WRITING A BOOK CAN BE quite unhealthy at times: the anxiety, the coffeeOn the other hand, the research for Growing Young has connected me with so many kind people I have a feeling that in the end, true to its spirit, it greatly benefited my well-beingand potentially my longevity. Im particularly grateful to all the scientists who let me into their labs, patiently explaining the nuances of their work: Lynne Cox, with her passion for aging cells and nematode worms; Robin Dunbar, with his unique insights on synchrony (love your office); and Aura Raulo, who let me follow her around the Oxfordshire woods in search of mice while I peppered her with dozens of questions. Carmine Pariante and Naghmeh Nikkheslatthank you so much for the hours youve spent analyzing my cortisol levels. Without you, my little experiment on random kindness and stress levels would not have happened. David Sarphielearning about leukocyte coping capacity was truly fascinating (and the finger pricking wasnt that bad). Jean-Marie Robinethank you for enduring the flood of calls and emails about Jeanne Calment. My heartfelt appreciation also goes to the whole Roots of Empathy team, including Christine Zanabi, Cheryl Jackson, and Libby and baby Evelynkeep doing your amazing work. Im also deeply indebted to my guide to Japan, Airi Amemiya, who was invaluable in organizing my trip, showing me around Matsudo. Naoki Kondo, Yukiko Uchida, and Shiro Horiuchi helped me navigate the complexities of Japanese culture. Richard Wranghamthank you for explaining to me how humans self-domesticated. John Gottmanyour insights about marriage not only benefited my book, but also my private life.

Im also grateful to all the people who patiently shared their fascinating stories with me, bringing me a bit closer to understanding the many connections between our mindsets and our health: Lara Akninfor disclosing her stories on kindness and donations, including the personal ones. Thorbjrn Knudsenfor showing me the extent to which yoga can change us (Im deeply impressedand slightly jealous). Vanessa Coggshallfor sharing the bits and pieces of her life with Emmy. Robin Thompsonfor opening up about her experiences with shunning. Fujita Masatoshi, Saitou-san, Michiko-san, and Chiaki-sanfor letting me experience the great Japanese culture. Katarzynafor the cuddles. Thank you.

And then there were dozens upon dozens of researchers who generously replied to emails in which I bugged them about their studies as I tried to understand the intricacies of the caregiving system or the HPA axis. Frans de Waal, Boris Bornemann, Fabrizio Benedetti, Larry Young, David Mroczek, John Malouff, Tristen Inagaki, Johan Denollet, Stephen Porges, Rael Cahn, Donald J. Noble, Perla Kaliman, Simon N. Young, Frank Hu, David Steinsaltz, David Sbarra, Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, Thomas Bosch, Kathryn Nelson, Dan Weijers, Kirsten Tillisch, Ed Diener, Paul McAuley, Igor Branchi, Jessica Lakin, and Stefan Schreiber are just a few to whom Id like to express my gratitude.

Of course, this book would never have happened if it werent for my lovely and hard-working agent, Martha Webb, as well as for my lovely and hard-working editor, Bhavna Chauhan. Thank you! Im also grateful to Tom Asker at Little, Brown for believing in Growing Young and for introducing it to the British market.

Last but not least, a big, big thank-you to my husband, Maciek, for his unwavering support and enthusiasm, and to my daughter, Ellie, for remaining cheerful even when I shut myself for hours in my office, writing. Each and every day you help me grow young.

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