Life Extension: A Practical Scientific Approach: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 23:28, 22 November 2018

Revision as of 04:11, 23 November 2018

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== Criticism ==

Medical health experts have dismissed Pearson and Shaw's life-extension formula as dangerous. The [[American Council on Science and Health]] reported that the risks of their formula included headaches, intestinal disorders and kidney damage.<ref>Renner, John H. (1990). ''HealthSmarts: How to Spot the Quacks, Avoid the Nonsense, and Get the Facts that Affect Your Health''. Health Facts Publishing. p. 80. {{ISBN |978-0962614507}}</ref>

In the 1992 [[documentary]] ''Never Say Die: The Pursuit of Eternal Youth'', Antony Thomas interviewed Pearson and Shaw, and criticised the anti-aging movement as misguided.<ref>{{cite news| title=The often gruesome search for perpetual youth |first=Virginia |last=Mann |publisher=The Record newspaper|date=1992-08-17 |accessdate=2007-03-01 |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:BRCB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0EB2778DA83E3DCC&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=0D0CB57AB53DF815 }}</ref> A review in ''[[JAMA (journal)|JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association]]'' by researchers with the Harvard School of Public Health advised that “Some of the "health" advice contained in this book would be humorous if it was not so dangerous” and that “Potential readers of this ridiculous book would be wiser to take only the antacids—as we felt the urge to do after the realization that we had spent $22.50 on an unscientific, impractical, and potentially dangerous health fraud that literally made us ill.”<ref name="Stare & Aronson, 1983">{{cite journal|last=Stare|first=Fredrick J.|author2=Aronson, Virginia |title=Life Extension: A Practical Scientific Approach|journal=JAMA|date=November 23, 1983|volume=250|issue=20|pages=2862–3|url=http://jama.jamanetwork.com/pdfaccess.ashx?ResourceID=526884&PDFSource=13|accessdate=2 June 2012|doi=10.1001/jama.1983.03340200094043}}</ref>

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Nutritionist Kurt Butler has described the book as a [[hoax]] and has written:

<blockquote>Pearson and Shaw denigrate exercise and claim that all its benefits can be had by taking the pills and remaining sedentary. Many experts believe that following their advice is more likely to accelerate aging rather than retard it. This is because the so-called antioxidants in their regimen are actually redox agents that act as pro-oxidants when taken in the doses the authors recommend, and because exercise is the best proven anti-aging tool available to us.<ref>Butler, Kurt. (1999). ''Lying for Fun and Profit: The Truth about the Media: Exposes the Corrupt Symbiosis Between Media Giants and the Health Fraud Industries''. Health Wise Productions. p. 85. {{ISBN |978-0967328102}}</ref></blockquote>

[[Gerontology#Biogerontology|Biogerontologist]] Dr. [[Roy Walford]] wrote, "[[gerontology]] has always been the happy hunting ground for faddists, charlatans, pseudoscientific fringe characters, and just misinformed enthusiasts with 'ready cures' for aging. ... Pearson and Shaw are among this long list of enthusiasts. ... Most of the Pearson/Shaw book relies on this lower-order category of evidence, and upon the testimonial posturing of Pearson and Shaw themselves."<ref name=Walford>{{cite book|last=Walford|first=Roy|title=Beyond the 120 Year Diet: How to Double Your Vital Years|year=2000|publisher=Four Walls Eight Windows|___location=New York, NY|isbn= 9781568581576|pages=21–23|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I0GeWFLLbQEC&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21}}</ref> In a discussion group posting, biogerontologist Dr. Steve Harris, MD criticizes the book, offering an example of one the authors' "screwups:"