Review: 'Stop Growing Older...Grow Younger' by J. Collin Towers

Stop Growing Older…Grow Younger: A Resource Guide on Reverse Aging Techniques, Nutrition and Therapies by J. Collin Towers

Reversing the aging process is something many people would like to make happen for themselves. There are books galore on the subject and most of them haven’t got a clue what they’re talking about. But when you’ve lived it for yourself like J. Collin Towers has, it’s hard not to believe it can happen to you, too.

Here’s a 60-year old man who has done what he needs to do through diet, exercise, supplementation, sleep, and detoxification to have the biological age of a 40-something! Towers contends “aging is a choice” and he has chosen to put himself in the best position possible to keep himself fit, trim, and as “young” as he can possibly be. His methods for getting there may sound somewhat familiar to people following the latest scientific advances in nutrition and health.

- Keep insulin levels low by avoiding sugar
- Don’t over indulge on refined carbohydrates
- Stay away from starchy foods
- Avoid overcooked food and toxins in your meals
- Consume adequate fiber daily
- Use coconut oil in cooking for health and weight benefits
- Exercise regularly
- Eat enough protein to preserve muscle mass
- Get plenty of free radical-fighting antioxidants
- Beware of pharmaceutical drugs
- De-stress your life as much as possible

These are all excellent strategies to implement for anyone desiring weight loss and health improvements. However, there were a few concepts Towers shared that I thought were a bit off the beaten path from my experience. He promotes “calorie restriction” but doesn’t really say what levels calories need to be at. Is it 1500? 1000? 500? Who knows? He mentions controlling insulin levels (vitally important to this conversation), but isn’t quite as explicit in saying that it is carbohydrate control that makes that happen.

Then in a seemingly conflicting recommendation to his previous mandate to avoid prescription drugs, Towers promotes and advocates the diabetes medication Metformin as a “metabolic rejuvenator” that is an important part of the anti-aging process. While I don’t have a personal issue with this particular medication taking it myself for a 10-week period, but isn’t it contradictory to blast pharmaceuticals and then recommending one? To his credit, natural alternatives to taking Metformin are shared in the book which include eating low-glycemic index foods and taking in plenty of antioxidants through a variety of foods and supplements.

But there is ample information provided within the 500+ pages of this book about the vitamins and minerals that can help lead you on the right pathway to being healthy and younger: magnesium, vitamin D, vitamin B, fish oil, and so much more. In fact, there is so much information provided in page after page that it can seem overwhelming at times. I had some trouble trying to understand why certain things were tied together like they were thematically and wondering if maybe some better formatting might help assimilate the information better. To his credit, for the most part Towers kept it on topic.

Promoting whole foods like real raw milk, berries, non-starchy vegetables like broccoli and spinach, avocados, stevia, raw cheese, butter, salt, and grass-fed animal products, this book is a walking-talking encyclopedia of information designed to take away the arguments people have of living healthy. It’s not impossible if you are willing to Stop Growing Older…Grow Younger!