Edouard Pélissier is a surgeon in oncology and a member of the New York Academy of Sciences. He has contributed more than one hundred articles to French and international medical publications. In addition, he is the author of La Brioche tue plus que le cholestérol (2012) and La Vérité sur le sucre et les édulcorants (2013).


People are living longer and longer because medicine is now able to treat many infectious diseases, cancers, strokes and diabetes. Vast sums are spent developing sophisticated medical procedures to repair damages that could easily have been avoided — if it weren’t for poor eating habits, high-risk behaviours and pollution.

And yet, it would be so much simpler and more effective to prevent diseases linked to ageing simply by changing some life-style patterns. As many scientific studies have shown (their results are presented here), we now know what to do and what not to do to live longer healthier lives. We know what to eat, what to drink. But that is not all. There are other recommendations concerning weight, vitamins, medications, physical exercise and stress management. Plus something new: levels of happiness, love and sexuality, which must not be ignored if one is to age well — that is, in good health and completely autonomously.

• The scientific rules to longevity as well as to physical and psychic wellbeing.

• As the population ages, prevention has become increasingly important. A bible of advice for longevity.

• Maintaining a good quality of life during our increasingly long lives has become a universal concern — if only to keep healthcare costs manageable.