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How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease
From the physician behind the wildly popular website NutritionFacts.org, How Not to Die reveals the groundbreaking scientific evidence behind the only diet that can prevent and reverse many of the causes of disease-related death.
The vast majority of premature deaths can be prevented through simple changes in diet and lifestyle. In How Not to Die, Dr. Michael Greger, the internationally-renowned nutrition expert, physician, and founder of NutritionFacts.org, examines the fifteen top causes of premature death in America -- heart disease, various cancers, diabetes, Parkinson's, high blood pressure, and more -- and explains how nutritional and lifestyle interventions can sometimes trump prescription pills and other pharmaceutical and surgical approaches, freeing us to live healthier lives.
The simple truth is that most doctors are good at treating acute illnesses but bad at preventing chronic disease. The fifteen leading causes of death claim the lives of 1.6 million Americans annually. This doesn't have to be the case. By following Dr. Greger's advice, all of it backed up by strong scientific evidence, you will learn which foods to eat and which lifestyle changes to make to live longer.
History of prostate cancer in your family? Put down that glass of milk and add flaxseed to your diet whenever you can. Have high blood pressure? Hibiscus tea can work better than a leading hypertensive drug-and without the side effects. Fighting off liver disease? Drinking coffee can reduce liver inflammation. Battling breast cancer? Consuming soy is associated with prolonged survival. Worried about heart disease (the number 1 killer in the United States)? Switch to a whole-food, plant-based diet, which has been repeatedly shown not just to prevent the disease but often stop it in its tracks.
In addition to showing what to eat to help treat the top fifteen causes of death, How Not to Die includes Dr. Greger's Daily Dozen -- a checklist of the twelve foods we should consume every day. Full of practical, actionable advice and surprising, cutting edge nutritional science, these doctor's orders are just what we need to live longer, healthier lives.
The vast majority of premature deaths can be prevented through simple changes in diet and lifestyle. In How Not to Die, Dr. Michael Greger, the internationally-renowned nutrition expert, physician, and founder of NutritionFacts.org, examines the fifteen top causes of premature death in America -- heart disease, various cancers, diabetes, Parkinson's, high blood pressure, and more -- and explains how nutritional and lifestyle interventions can sometimes trump prescription pills and other pharmaceutical and surgical approaches, freeing us to live healthier lives.
The simple truth is that most doctors are good at treating acute illnesses but bad at preventing chronic disease. The fifteen leading causes of death claim the lives of 1.6 million Americans annually. This doesn't have to be the case. By following Dr. Greger's advice, all of it backed up by strong scientific evidence, you will learn which foods to eat and which lifestyle changes to make to live longer.
History of prostate cancer in your family? Put down that glass of milk and add flaxseed to your diet whenever you can. Have high blood pressure? Hibiscus tea can work better than a leading hypertensive drug-and without the side effects. Fighting off liver disease? Drinking coffee can reduce liver inflammation. Battling breast cancer? Consuming soy is associated with prolonged survival. Worried about heart disease (the number 1 killer in the United States)? Switch to a whole-food, plant-based diet, which has been repeatedly shown not just to prevent the disease but often stop it in its tracks.
In addition to showing what to eat to help treat the top fifteen causes of death, How Not to Die includes Dr. Greger's Daily Dozen -- a checklist of the twelve foods we should consume every day. Full of practical, actionable advice and surprising, cutting edge nutritional science, these doctor's orders are just what we need to live longer, healthier lives.
576 pages, Hardcover
First published December 8, 2015
About the author
Michael Greger
135 books1,903 followersDr. Greger is a physician, New York Times Best-Selling author, and internationally recognized speaker on nutrition, food safety, and public health issues.
A graduate of the Cornell University School of Agriculture and the Tufts University School of Medicine, Dr. Greger is licensed as a general practitioner specializing in clinical nutrition. He is a founding member and Fellow of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. He was honored with the ACLM Lifestyle Medicine Trailblazer Award in 2017 and became a diplomat of the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine.
His books How Not to Die, The How Not to Die Cookbook, How Not to Diet, and How Not to Age became instant New York Times Best Sellers. One hundred percent of all proceeds Dr. Greger receives from his books and speaking engagements have always been and will always be donated to charity.
Dr. Greger has appeared in such documentaries as What the Health and You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment, and served as an advisor for The Game Changers. He has testified before the U.S. Congress and was an expert witness in defense of Oprah Winfrey in the infamous “meat defamation trial.” He often speaks at engagements across the United States and abroad, and has delivered presentations at TEDx, Google, The World Bank, and the Conference on World Affairs. He has been featured on countless media outlets to deliver life-saving nutrition research to the public. See more on our Press page.
A graduate of the Cornell University School of Agriculture and the Tufts University School of Medicine, Dr. Greger is licensed as a general practitioner specializing in clinical nutrition. He is a founding member and Fellow of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. He was honored with the ACLM Lifestyle Medicine Trailblazer Award in 2017 and became a diplomat of the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine.
His books How Not to Die, The How Not to Die Cookbook, How Not to Diet, and How Not to Age became instant New York Times Best Sellers. One hundred percent of all proceeds Dr. Greger receives from his books and speaking engagements have always been and will always be donated to charity.
Dr. Greger has appeared in such documentaries as What the Health and You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment, and served as an advisor for The Game Changers. He has testified before the U.S. Congress and was an expert witness in defense of Oprah Winfrey in the infamous “meat defamation trial.” He often speaks at engagements across the United States and abroad, and has delivered presentations at TEDx, Google, The World Bank, and the Conference on World Affairs. He has been featured on countless media outlets to deliver life-saving nutrition research to the public. See more on our Press page.
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February 12, 2017
This is an amazing book. I am completely blown over by it. Let me explain.
This book is divided into three main parts. In the first part, there are 15 chapters, one for each of the major afflictions that cause people to die. In each of the chapters, Dr. Greger explains the disease or affliction, and then describes the foods that have been found to reduce the risk, prevent, reverse, or cure the disease.
The second part of the book devotes chapters to a number of healthy food groups. Dr. Greger explains which chemicals, elements, enzymes, or anti-oxidants are particularly useful for preventing or curing a disease.
In each of the first two parts of the book, it seems like every other sentence has a reference to a scientific paper that describes the research and evidence for Dr. Greger's statements. The last third of the book is a listing of all of the references. You cannot fault Dr. Greger for his conclusions, since they are backed up by a tremendous amount of research.
Dr. Greger's nutrition recommendation is to eat only whole, plant-based foods. It reduces the risk of all of the top 15 causes of death in the U.S. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve his/her nutrition and health. This is the best book on nutrition that I have ever read (and I have read quite a few!).
If you want to stop reading my review here, I won't blame you. I took lots of notes. Here they are.
Doctors are not trained in nutrition, and they do not get paid for giving nutrition advice. The California Academy of Family Physicians opposed a California bill to mandate twelve hours of nutrition education for all doctors. In debate, it was whittled down to zero hours.
It is believed that the decrease in the length of telomeres in one's chromosomes causes aging. Dr. Greger presents evidence that a healthy lifestyle can increase telomerase activity, and actually grow telomeres in length. It is the quality of food that counts, not quantity. What is a healthy lifestyle? One that uses whole foods, not supplements or one that tries to emphasize a single chemical or nutrient. This book provides plenty of examples of individual nutrients that have proven health benefits--but only when eaten in a whole food, not when isolated in a pill. As an example, antioxidant supplements do not reduce the risk of cancer, but antioxidants found naturally in foods do reduce the risk.
Turmeric is an herb found in curry powder and in mustard. It may have remarkable anti-cancer properties. But double-blind studies have not been done; nobody wants to pay for something that cannot be patented. It is true, though, that India suffers much less colorectal cancer, kidney, lung, bladder, and prostate cancer, and melanoma. But the question is whether this is due to turmeric, or that only 7% of the population eats meat regularly?
I did not realize that in some respects, poultry is more unhealthy than meat. Eating poultry raises the risk of pancreatic cancer more than red meat!
Vegetarians get higher intakes of almost every nutrient calorie for calorie, than meat eaters. Also meat eaters gain more weight, even after adjusting for calories! All calories are not equal, perhaps because vegetarians have a higher resting metabolic rate.
Many diabetics can reverse their disease after eating a plant-based diet for sixteen days. They do not have to lose weight or reduce calorie consumption.
The difficile superbug infects 250,000 Americans yearly, killing thousands. It used to be thought that it was picked up in hospitals. However, only one third of cases are linked to infected patients. It might instead be due to infected meat. About 42% of meats sold in national chain grocery stores is infected. The U.S. has the highest levels in the world. It is also found in chicken, turkey, and beef, but the highest concentration is in pork. Usually, the difficile bug does not bother people; it lies in the gut without causing harm. But antibiotics can unleash it, and it is deadly. It can survive two hours of cooking at 71 degrees C (the recommended cooking temperature). Hand sanitizers do not help. Antibiotics are found in the urine of meat eaters, even when they have not been taking them. Agribusiness feeds enormous quantities of antibiotics to farm animals.
High blood pressure is one of the afflictions that Dr. Greger describes. The so-called DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) was designed specifically to lower blood pressure. It is mostly vegetarian, but allows some meat, in order to make the diet more palatable to non-vegetarians. Dr. Greger mentions that eating a few tablespoons per day of flax seeds induces a very potent blood pressure lowering effect.
While moderate drinking can reduce the risk of heart disease, it can also increase the risk of cancer!
Dr. Greger has some interesting views on reducing the risk of breast cancer. One could put curtains on your windows to sleep in a dark room. This increases the production of melatonin. Also, he recommends eating more vegetables, cutting out meat, and exercising enough to work up a sweat at least five times per week.
Depression is one of the afflictions that are discussed. Coffee reduces depression, but artificial sweeteners increase it! Exercise reduces depression about as well as Zoloft! Some anti-oxidants like lycopene (red pigment found in tomatoes) reduce depression. But they only have this effect when eaten in whole foods, not in supplements.
Anti-depressant medicines often work due to a placebo effect. Unpublished studies released by the FDA show that only half of the trials show a benefit to anti-depressants. When published and unpublished studies are combined, there was no clinically significant advantage over placebo sugar pills. The FDA knew this, but shielded the public and physicians from this information. This does not mean that medicines do not work at all. They actually do help the 10% most severely depressed patients. The problem is for the 90% of patients who take pills that don't work, but can have bad side-effects.
"Natural antioxidants in food work synergistically; it's the combination of many different compounds working together that tends to protect you, not high doses of single antioxidants found in supplements." For example, a study found that pilots taking more than 500 mg of vitamin C a day causes more oxidative DNA damage due to radiation. Pilots who consumed the most vitamin C through fruits and vegetables were protected from radiation-caused DNA damage. Supplement and drug companies fall into the same reductionist trap. They believe that you can isolate a single active ingredient to get the same effect as a whole food. But there may be multiple active ingredients.
For example, turmeric may work better than the "active ingredient" curcumin. Research suggests that turmeric works better against a number of cancers than curcumin. By the way, a little black pepper helps you to absorb turmeric tremendously. Cooked turmeric helps protect DNA, while raw turmeric may have better anti-inflammatory effects. Dr. Greger recommends 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric daily.
An over-confidence in pills and procedures for disease prevention could be the reason why doctors and patients under-value lifestyle interventions. People rely on drugs to save them. But, studies show that most people would not take these drugs if they understood how little benefit comes from them.
In transforming one's lifestyle to a whole, plant-based diet, Dr. Greger urges patients not to go cold turkey permanently. Dr. Greger suggests that patients think of a three-week lifestyle experiment. This is exactly the approach recommended by Dr. Neil Barnard, in his excellent book, 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart: Boost Metabolism, Lower Cholesterol, and Dramatically Improve Your Health. This is another book that I highly recommend.
The largest-ever analysis of death and disease was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Hundreds of scientists concluded in 2010 that the leading cause of death and disability was the American diet, followed by smoking. The worst aspect of our diet, the study found, is not enough fruit. While fruits decrease the risk of Type 2 diabetes, fruit juice increases the risk.
Sulfurophane, a compound found only in fresh cruciferous vegetables, has been found to help treat autism! An eighth of a teaspoon of powdered ginger mixed with water works as well as, and as fast as sumatripan (Imitrex) for relieving migraine headaches. Ginger also beats Dramamine for relieving nausea.
Smoked, fatty foods are carcinogeric (smoked ham, turkey, BBQ chicken, smoked fish).
The book has a very interesting discussion about gluten. Dr. Greger claims that non-celiac gluten sensitivity might actually be a wheat sensitivity for some people. Only 1% of the population has celiac disease, but another 1% has wheat sensitivity. The other 98% of the population are not affected by wheat. A gluten-free diet can actually worsen gut health for people without a sensitivity, due to the overgrowth of harmful bacteria in their intestines. Gluten contains prebiotics that feed "good" bacteria, and may boost immune function.
Blueberries and cherries can reduce exercise-induced inflammation which may transfer into faster recovery time. Strenuous exercise leads to free radicals that cause DNA damage. Plant foods reduce the free radicals and counter exercise-induced oxidative stress.
This book is divided into three main parts. In the first part, there are 15 chapters, one for each of the major afflictions that cause people to die. In each of the chapters, Dr. Greger explains the disease or affliction, and then describes the foods that have been found to reduce the risk, prevent, reverse, or cure the disease.
The second part of the book devotes chapters to a number of healthy food groups. Dr. Greger explains which chemicals, elements, enzymes, or anti-oxidants are particularly useful for preventing or curing a disease.
In each of the first two parts of the book, it seems like every other sentence has a reference to a scientific paper that describes the research and evidence for Dr. Greger's statements. The last third of the book is a listing of all of the references. You cannot fault Dr. Greger for his conclusions, since they are backed up by a tremendous amount of research.
Dr. Greger's nutrition recommendation is to eat only whole, plant-based foods. It reduces the risk of all of the top 15 causes of death in the U.S. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve his/her nutrition and health. This is the best book on nutrition that I have ever read (and I have read quite a few!).
If you want to stop reading my review here, I won't blame you. I took lots of notes. Here they are.
Doctors are not trained in nutrition, and they do not get paid for giving nutrition advice. The California Academy of Family Physicians opposed a California bill to mandate twelve hours of nutrition education for all doctors. In debate, it was whittled down to zero hours.
It is believed that the decrease in the length of telomeres in one's chromosomes causes aging. Dr. Greger presents evidence that a healthy lifestyle can increase telomerase activity, and actually grow telomeres in length. It is the quality of food that counts, not quantity. What is a healthy lifestyle? One that uses whole foods, not supplements or one that tries to emphasize a single chemical or nutrient. This book provides plenty of examples of individual nutrients that have proven health benefits--but only when eaten in a whole food, not when isolated in a pill. As an example, antioxidant supplements do not reduce the risk of cancer, but antioxidants found naturally in foods do reduce the risk.
Turmeric is an herb found in curry powder and in mustard. It may have remarkable anti-cancer properties. But double-blind studies have not been done; nobody wants to pay for something that cannot be patented. It is true, though, that India suffers much less colorectal cancer, kidney, lung, bladder, and prostate cancer, and melanoma. But the question is whether this is due to turmeric, or that only 7% of the population eats meat regularly?
I did not realize that in some respects, poultry is more unhealthy than meat. Eating poultry raises the risk of pancreatic cancer more than red meat!
Vegetarians get higher intakes of almost every nutrient calorie for calorie, than meat eaters. Also meat eaters gain more weight, even after adjusting for calories! All calories are not equal, perhaps because vegetarians have a higher resting metabolic rate.
Many diabetics can reverse their disease after eating a plant-based diet for sixteen days. They do not have to lose weight or reduce calorie consumption.
The difficile superbug infects 250,000 Americans yearly, killing thousands. It used to be thought that it was picked up in hospitals. However, only one third of cases are linked to infected patients. It might instead be due to infected meat. About 42% of meats sold in national chain grocery stores is infected. The U.S. has the highest levels in the world. It is also found in chicken, turkey, and beef, but the highest concentration is in pork. Usually, the difficile bug does not bother people; it lies in the gut without causing harm. But antibiotics can unleash it, and it is deadly. It can survive two hours of cooking at 71 degrees C (the recommended cooking temperature). Hand sanitizers do not help. Antibiotics are found in the urine of meat eaters, even when they have not been taking them. Agribusiness feeds enormous quantities of antibiotics to farm animals.
High blood pressure is one of the afflictions that Dr. Greger describes. The so-called DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) was designed specifically to lower blood pressure. It is mostly vegetarian, but allows some meat, in order to make the diet more palatable to non-vegetarians. Dr. Greger mentions that eating a few tablespoons per day of flax seeds induces a very potent blood pressure lowering effect.
While moderate drinking can reduce the risk of heart disease, it can also increase the risk of cancer!
Dr. Greger has some interesting views on reducing the risk of breast cancer. One could put curtains on your windows to sleep in a dark room. This increases the production of melatonin. Also, he recommends eating more vegetables, cutting out meat, and exercising enough to work up a sweat at least five times per week.
Depression is one of the afflictions that are discussed. Coffee reduces depression, but artificial sweeteners increase it! Exercise reduces depression about as well as Zoloft! Some anti-oxidants like lycopene (red pigment found in tomatoes) reduce depression. But they only have this effect when eaten in whole foods, not in supplements.
Anti-depressant medicines often work due to a placebo effect. Unpublished studies released by the FDA show that only half of the trials show a benefit to anti-depressants. When published and unpublished studies are combined, there was no clinically significant advantage over placebo sugar pills. The FDA knew this, but shielded the public and physicians from this information. This does not mean that medicines do not work at all. They actually do help the 10% most severely depressed patients. The problem is for the 90% of patients who take pills that don't work, but can have bad side-effects.
"Natural antioxidants in food work synergistically; it's the combination of many different compounds working together that tends to protect you, not high doses of single antioxidants found in supplements." For example, a study found that pilots taking more than 500 mg of vitamin C a day causes more oxidative DNA damage due to radiation. Pilots who consumed the most vitamin C through fruits and vegetables were protected from radiation-caused DNA damage. Supplement and drug companies fall into the same reductionist trap. They believe that you can isolate a single active ingredient to get the same effect as a whole food. But there may be multiple active ingredients.
For example, turmeric may work better than the "active ingredient" curcumin. Research suggests that turmeric works better against a number of cancers than curcumin. By the way, a little black pepper helps you to absorb turmeric tremendously. Cooked turmeric helps protect DNA, while raw turmeric may have better anti-inflammatory effects. Dr. Greger recommends 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric daily.
An over-confidence in pills and procedures for disease prevention could be the reason why doctors and patients under-value lifestyle interventions. People rely on drugs to save them. But, studies show that most people would not take these drugs if they understood how little benefit comes from them.
In transforming one's lifestyle to a whole, plant-based diet, Dr. Greger urges patients not to go cold turkey permanently. Dr. Greger suggests that patients think of a three-week lifestyle experiment. This is exactly the approach recommended by Dr. Neil Barnard, in his excellent book, 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart: Boost Metabolism, Lower Cholesterol, and Dramatically Improve Your Health. This is another book that I highly recommend.
The largest-ever analysis of death and disease was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Hundreds of scientists concluded in 2010 that the leading cause of death and disability was the American diet, followed by smoking. The worst aspect of our diet, the study found, is not enough fruit. While fruits decrease the risk of Type 2 diabetes, fruit juice increases the risk.
Sulfurophane, a compound found only in fresh cruciferous vegetables, has been found to help treat autism! An eighth of a teaspoon of powdered ginger mixed with water works as well as, and as fast as sumatripan (Imitrex) for relieving migraine headaches. Ginger also beats Dramamine for relieving nausea.
Smoked, fatty foods are carcinogeric (smoked ham, turkey, BBQ chicken, smoked fish).
The book has a very interesting discussion about gluten. Dr. Greger claims that non-celiac gluten sensitivity might actually be a wheat sensitivity for some people. Only 1% of the population has celiac disease, but another 1% has wheat sensitivity. The other 98% of the population are not affected by wheat. A gluten-free diet can actually worsen gut health for people without a sensitivity, due to the overgrowth of harmful bacteria in their intestines. Gluten contains prebiotics that feed "good" bacteria, and may boost immune function.
Blueberries and cherries can reduce exercise-induced inflammation which may transfer into faster recovery time. Strenuous exercise leads to free radicals that cause DNA damage. Plant foods reduce the free radicals and counter exercise-induced oxidative stress.
March 24, 2018
This book has me torn. It contains so much good... and yet, it has so many problems. It's an important read for everyone... but also misleading. Overall, I learned a lot from it... but also ended up more confused than ever.
Let me break it down.
The good:
* The general recommendation is spot on. Just about everyone should eat more veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, and whole grains and less processed foods and animal products. This isn't exactly a controversial claim. For the most part, this book does a good job of covering the vast amount of research backing the health benefits of fruits & veggies (though see below for some of the issues with the research).
* Many of the leading causes of death in the US are a choice. Most heart disease, lung disease, liver disease, kidney disease, cancers, and so on are due to lifestyle choices. You can dramatically reduce your chance of death from these diseases by choosing a different diet and lifestyle. One of my favorite lines from the book: "I don’t mind dying. But I don’t want it to be my fault."
* The author, Michael Greger, says all the proceed from the book will go to charity, his website (nutritionfacts.org) is a donation-driven nonprofit, and he doesn't offer any products (in fact, his main recommendation is to avoid any products and just eat whole, natural food!). Unlike many other authors of diet books, it doesn't seem like Greger is trying to sell anything here.
* Greger makes a strong case in the book that the contents of your fridge are far more important to your health than the contents of your medicine cabinet. Most supplements and magic pills don't work, are expensive, and have nasty side effects. Whole, natural foods have powerful beneficial effects, don't cost much, and have only positive side effects. If drug companies could create a pill that reduces your risk of death by 10% and only had positive side effects, they'd make billions; the good news is that fruits and veggies are just such a pill!
* I learned a lot of distressing health facts. Examples:
- Hospital care is one of the leading causes of death in the US (roughly ~3rd)! A huge number of people die every year from prescription side effects, infections, medical errors, and so on.
- It is legal (at least in the US) to inject chickens with lots of additives to increase the chicken's weight, and it turns out those additives (e.g., phosphates) can have serious negative health consequences.
- There is such a thing as "3rd hand smoke" (i.e., the smoke that stays in the walls, carpets, etc.) and it also has negative health consequences. Smoking in any indoor area is not safe.
- One theory of aging is that oxidation is damaging our DNA. We are literally rusting!
* Doctors in the US receive very little or no nutritional training. Worse yet, they are paid for performing more procedures and prescribing medication, but make no extra money for recommending diet and exercises. This creates a horrible conflict of interest.
* There are even bigger conflicts of interest with the governmental agencies in the US that make recommendations around food and health (e.g., the FDA). Many of these organizations take in huge amounts of money from corporations (e.g., from Coke and Pepsi) and ignore scientific findings when making recommendations. Greger's argument is that we should show people the science and let them decide, rather than making (biased) recommendations.
The bad:
* Although Greger tries to dance around it, his ultimate recommendation is that everyone should become a vegan. He says he doesn't subscribe to any diet "ism," and instead is merely recommending a "plant based diet." But let's be honest: in this book, he categorizes ALL meat and animal products as "red light" foods which should be *completely* avoided. Do the math, and you end up with veganism. Why is he avoiding that term? Perhaps it's because veganism has been studied quite a bit. Some of the findings are good and some are not. One of the downsides, for example, is that almost all vegans must take B12 supplements; some will also need vitamin D and iodine supplements. This is a critical point, as it shows a purely plant based diet is (a) lacking critical nutrients and (b) not "natural," as it would not have been possible in the wild until supplements were invented in the 20th century. Moreover, Greger spends much of the book talking about how supplements don't work, but the very diet he recommends doesn't work without supplements!
* Greger often praises "traditional diets" of Japan, India, China, etc and argues that those diets are responsible for the lower incidences of many diseases in those countries. However, most of the people in these countries are NOT vegans. Some eat meat; some eat fish; some eat animal products such as milk. Sure, those cultures probably eat more plant-based foods too, but their diets are still very different than what Greger recommends.
* Greger mentions frequently how the US gov should just "show us the science and let us decide." And yet, Greger himself doesn't do that. He shows us *some* of the science, but it turns out his data is VERY heavily cherry picked. In other words, it's not that he's lying (though the interpretation of some of the studies is definitely questionable), but omitting critical facts. For example, Greger comes down very hard on dietary fat and cholesterol, but many recent studies have shown compelling evidence that these are not as bad for you as we used to think. Greger's recommendations around Omega 3 fatty acids, fish, fat, impact of vegetarianism/veganism on health, soy, and many other topics are questionable, at best. There's a great overview of some of the cherry picking here: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/....
* The fact that the research was so cherry picked is what frustrates me the most about this book. Surely Greger and his team know of the MANY studies that contradict his claims. Why not show us this science and let us decide, as he advocates in the book? And if these contradictory studies are in some way invalid, why not say so? The book would've been so much stronger if he had taken on these counterpoints head on. Instead, they are completely missing, and I'm now left to try to figure out who to believe. I'm not a nutrition expert, so how should I know if Michael Greger (go vegan!), Gary Taubes (avoid carbs!), or Michael Pollan (eat traditional diets!) is right?
* Greger seems a little too eager to recommend things, even those with relatively little research about them, saying "why not try it?" Why not? Because (a) it could have unintended side effects (e.g., Americans who started eating less fat ended up eating more refined carbs, which may be worse) and (b) making lifestyle changes is hard and we shouldn't waste our time and energy on things that might not work.
Conclusion:
Overall, this book is worth reading. There's no doubt it'll make you reconsider some of your dietary habits. I'm already trying to get more veggies, berries, and beans into my diet. But if you take the time to research things yourself, you find that the story is not nearly as simple as Dr. Greger makes it out to be. In part, this is because the food industry intentionally funds bogus studies that confuse the issue. But in part, it's because the human body is complicated, and the state of food science and research today is still quite primitive.
At the end of the day, the most reasonable advice to me seems to be that of Michael Pollan: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
Let me break it down.
The good:
* The general recommendation is spot on. Just about everyone should eat more veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, and whole grains and less processed foods and animal products. This isn't exactly a controversial claim. For the most part, this book does a good job of covering the vast amount of research backing the health benefits of fruits & veggies (though see below for some of the issues with the research).
* Many of the leading causes of death in the US are a choice. Most heart disease, lung disease, liver disease, kidney disease, cancers, and so on are due to lifestyle choices. You can dramatically reduce your chance of death from these diseases by choosing a different diet and lifestyle. One of my favorite lines from the book: "I don’t mind dying. But I don’t want it to be my fault."
* The author, Michael Greger, says all the proceed from the book will go to charity, his website (nutritionfacts.org) is a donation-driven nonprofit, and he doesn't offer any products (in fact, his main recommendation is to avoid any products and just eat whole, natural food!). Unlike many other authors of diet books, it doesn't seem like Greger is trying to sell anything here.
* Greger makes a strong case in the book that the contents of your fridge are far more important to your health than the contents of your medicine cabinet. Most supplements and magic pills don't work, are expensive, and have nasty side effects. Whole, natural foods have powerful beneficial effects, don't cost much, and have only positive side effects. If drug companies could create a pill that reduces your risk of death by 10% and only had positive side effects, they'd make billions; the good news is that fruits and veggies are just such a pill!
* I learned a lot of distressing health facts. Examples:
- Hospital care is one of the leading causes of death in the US (roughly ~3rd)! A huge number of people die every year from prescription side effects, infections, medical errors, and so on.
- It is legal (at least in the US) to inject chickens with lots of additives to increase the chicken's weight, and it turns out those additives (e.g., phosphates) can have serious negative health consequences.
- There is such a thing as "3rd hand smoke" (i.e., the smoke that stays in the walls, carpets, etc.) and it also has negative health consequences. Smoking in any indoor area is not safe.
- One theory of aging is that oxidation is damaging our DNA. We are literally rusting!
* Doctors in the US receive very little or no nutritional training. Worse yet, they are paid for performing more procedures and prescribing medication, but make no extra money for recommending diet and exercises. This creates a horrible conflict of interest.
* There are even bigger conflicts of interest with the governmental agencies in the US that make recommendations around food and health (e.g., the FDA). Many of these organizations take in huge amounts of money from corporations (e.g., from Coke and Pepsi) and ignore scientific findings when making recommendations. Greger's argument is that we should show people the science and let them decide, rather than making (biased) recommendations.
The bad:
* Although Greger tries to dance around it, his ultimate recommendation is that everyone should become a vegan. He says he doesn't subscribe to any diet "ism," and instead is merely recommending a "plant based diet." But let's be honest: in this book, he categorizes ALL meat and animal products as "red light" foods which should be *completely* avoided. Do the math, and you end up with veganism. Why is he avoiding that term? Perhaps it's because veganism has been studied quite a bit. Some of the findings are good and some are not. One of the downsides, for example, is that almost all vegans must take B12 supplements; some will also need vitamin D and iodine supplements. This is a critical point, as it shows a purely plant based diet is (a) lacking critical nutrients and (b) not "natural," as it would not have been possible in the wild until supplements were invented in the 20th century. Moreover, Greger spends much of the book talking about how supplements don't work, but the very diet he recommends doesn't work without supplements!
* Greger often praises "traditional diets" of Japan, India, China, etc and argues that those diets are responsible for the lower incidences of many diseases in those countries. However, most of the people in these countries are NOT vegans. Some eat meat; some eat fish; some eat animal products such as milk. Sure, those cultures probably eat more plant-based foods too, but their diets are still very different than what Greger recommends.
* Greger mentions frequently how the US gov should just "show us the science and let us decide." And yet, Greger himself doesn't do that. He shows us *some* of the science, but it turns out his data is VERY heavily cherry picked. In other words, it's not that he's lying (though the interpretation of some of the studies is definitely questionable), but omitting critical facts. For example, Greger comes down very hard on dietary fat and cholesterol, but many recent studies have shown compelling evidence that these are not as bad for you as we used to think. Greger's recommendations around Omega 3 fatty acids, fish, fat, impact of vegetarianism/veganism on health, soy, and many other topics are questionable, at best. There's a great overview of some of the cherry picking here: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/....
* The fact that the research was so cherry picked is what frustrates me the most about this book. Surely Greger and his team know of the MANY studies that contradict his claims. Why not show us this science and let us decide, as he advocates in the book? And if these contradictory studies are in some way invalid, why not say so? The book would've been so much stronger if he had taken on these counterpoints head on. Instead, they are completely missing, and I'm now left to try to figure out who to believe. I'm not a nutrition expert, so how should I know if Michael Greger (go vegan!), Gary Taubes (avoid carbs!), or Michael Pollan (eat traditional diets!) is right?
* Greger seems a little too eager to recommend things, even those with relatively little research about them, saying "why not try it?" Why not? Because (a) it could have unintended side effects (e.g., Americans who started eating less fat ended up eating more refined carbs, which may be worse) and (b) making lifestyle changes is hard and we shouldn't waste our time and energy on things that might not work.
Conclusion:
Overall, this book is worth reading. There's no doubt it'll make you reconsider some of your dietary habits. I'm already trying to get more veggies, berries, and beans into my diet. But if you take the time to research things yourself, you find that the story is not nearly as simple as Dr. Greger makes it out to be. In part, this is because the food industry intentionally funds bogus studies that confuse the issue. But in part, it's because the human body is complicated, and the state of food science and research today is still quite primitive.
At the end of the day, the most reasonable advice to me seems to be that of Michael Pollan: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
April 28, 2020
If you listen to but one book recommendation I give, then listen to this one: it could save your life.
I’m a vegan, it’s only natural that I would have a bias opinion towards books that promote a healthy vegan lifestyle and I can openly admit that. However, this book was not written by a vegan or vegetarian: it was written by a medical professional who has spent his life researching the benefits of a plant-based diet. And there are many, believe me.
And his story is an interesting one, driven by personal experience and a will to prevent further failings of the medical system. At the age 65, Dr Gregor’s grandma was dealt the ineptness of medical practice first-hand. After several heart bypass operations, buckets of medicine and being confined to a wheel chair, she was sent home to die because there was nothing else doctors could do for her. She stumbled across some whack-miracle cure she saw on television, and out of desperation she tried it. It worked. She lived for another thirty-one years. That cure was a plant-based diet.
The majority of western doctors are inept at addressing the causes of disease.
“Most deaths in the united states are preventable, and they are related to what we eat. Our diet is the number-one cause of premature death and the number-one cause of disability. Surely, diet must also be the number-one thing taught in medical schools, right?”
Sure Doctors can treat the symptoms well enough, they’re good at delaying the inevitable, but what about the causes? Surely it would be more prudent to erase the causes of the diseases first rather than attempting to deal with the aftermath? They pump their patients full of pills and medicines year after year. They alleviate the immediate problems, though do absolutely nothing to treat the actual causes of the issue. So patients come wondering back for stronger doses and more extreme treatments, and continue to persist in the behaviour (their terrible diets) that caused their problems in the first place. And this goes on and on until they fall into an early grave.
So why aren’t Doctors advising patients about their lifestyle choices?
Because they don’t know. Most Doctors receive a minimum of ten hours tuition on nutrition during their training. That’s it. The treatments they prescribe treat the immediate problem but do not address the real causes. The majority of them don’t look at the research that promotes healthy living and ascribe such diseases to genetic factors which is very inaccurate. Some even ignore diet as a risk factor altogether. I mean think about, people say cancer and heart disease runs in families but don’t diets run in families too? People, generally speaking, eat what their parents ate because it was the way they were brought up on.
“We eat almost as if the future doesn’t matter”
And that’s the problem. Junk food tastes good. Process meat and dairy foods taste good, though they are quite literally destroying our bodies ever so slowly. It amazes me how shocked people are when their relatives get cancer (or they themselves do). Why has it happened to us, why has it happened to me? They might ask. Nine times out of ten people cause their own diseases and cancers because of the way in which they live. It’s a hard truth I know, but it’s also real. A lifetime of eating meat and dairy is more dangerous than smoking. Prostate cancer, bowl cancer, breast cancer, heart disease, stokes and diabetes: it all harkens back to what we eat. The more shit we put in our bodies, the more things go wrong. It’s simple really.
No doubt someone reading this might say, what about children who die of cancer? And what about that really healthy person I knew who got cancer and died anyway? The point is it’s all about risk. There is never no risk no matter how healthy you are, but there is such a thing as low risk. And eating a bad diet puts you firmly in the high risk category. It’s just how these things work. Why take chances? I want to live for a long time.
This book brings together decades worth of research to the table. And there is a huge wealth of it that is ignored by so many. I implore you to read. If you followed it, it may prevent yourself from having to seek treatment for a nasty disease you could have avoided. Life is precious: it’s all we have. Why risk years of it?
___________________________________
You can connect with me on social media via My Linktree
__________________________________
I’m a vegan, it’s only natural that I would have a bias opinion towards books that promote a healthy vegan lifestyle and I can openly admit that. However, this book was not written by a vegan or vegetarian: it was written by a medical professional who has spent his life researching the benefits of a plant-based diet. And there are many, believe me.
And his story is an interesting one, driven by personal experience and a will to prevent further failings of the medical system. At the age 65, Dr Gregor’s grandma was dealt the ineptness of medical practice first-hand. After several heart bypass operations, buckets of medicine and being confined to a wheel chair, she was sent home to die because there was nothing else doctors could do for her. She stumbled across some whack-miracle cure she saw on television, and out of desperation she tried it. It worked. She lived for another thirty-one years. That cure was a plant-based diet.
The majority of western doctors are inept at addressing the causes of disease.
“Most deaths in the united states are preventable, and they are related to what we eat. Our diet is the number-one cause of premature death and the number-one cause of disability. Surely, diet must also be the number-one thing taught in medical schools, right?”
Sure Doctors can treat the symptoms well enough, they’re good at delaying the inevitable, but what about the causes? Surely it would be more prudent to erase the causes of the diseases first rather than attempting to deal with the aftermath? They pump their patients full of pills and medicines year after year. They alleviate the immediate problems, though do absolutely nothing to treat the actual causes of the issue. So patients come wondering back for stronger doses and more extreme treatments, and continue to persist in the behaviour (their terrible diets) that caused their problems in the first place. And this goes on and on until they fall into an early grave.
So why aren’t Doctors advising patients about their lifestyle choices?
Because they don’t know. Most Doctors receive a minimum of ten hours tuition on nutrition during their training. That’s it. The treatments they prescribe treat the immediate problem but do not address the real causes. The majority of them don’t look at the research that promotes healthy living and ascribe such diseases to genetic factors which is very inaccurate. Some even ignore diet as a risk factor altogether. I mean think about, people say cancer and heart disease runs in families but don’t diets run in families too? People, generally speaking, eat what their parents ate because it was the way they were brought up on.
“We eat almost as if the future doesn’t matter”
And that’s the problem. Junk food tastes good. Process meat and dairy foods taste good, though they are quite literally destroying our bodies ever so slowly. It amazes me how shocked people are when their relatives get cancer (or they themselves do). Why has it happened to us, why has it happened to me? They might ask. Nine times out of ten people cause their own diseases and cancers because of the way in which they live. It’s a hard truth I know, but it’s also real. A lifetime of eating meat and dairy is more dangerous than smoking. Prostate cancer, bowl cancer, breast cancer, heart disease, stokes and diabetes: it all harkens back to what we eat. The more shit we put in our bodies, the more things go wrong. It’s simple really.
No doubt someone reading this might say, what about children who die of cancer? And what about that really healthy person I knew who got cancer and died anyway? The point is it’s all about risk. There is never no risk no matter how healthy you are, but there is such a thing as low risk. And eating a bad diet puts you firmly in the high risk category. It’s just how these things work. Why take chances? I want to live for a long time.
This book brings together decades worth of research to the table. And there is a huge wealth of it that is ignored by so many. I implore you to read. If you followed it, it may prevent yourself from having to seek treatment for a nasty disease you could have avoided. Life is precious: it’s all we have. Why risk years of it?
___________________________________
You can connect with me on social media via My Linktree
__________________________________
January 27, 2020
It´s tragic funny that humans are unable to associate the things they eat with the fatal problems the consumption causes up and down the whole spectrum, from immediate, small damage that accumulates over years to terminal illnesses. I´ve been one of those until realization and insight kicked in and I did a 180 to a kind of extreme permanent clean eating, natural, organic, no sugar, fat, etc. lifestyle.
Certain foods are no nourishments, they are drugs and the similarities are evident. A short high, followed by a craving for more, permanent increase of the dose, loss of interest in any other food until to completely losing control over eating habits, weight, health and life that is primarily focused on what to eat when and as much as possible.
As an illustration: Three people, three ways of eating. Extremely unhealthy with the most unnatural, fat, artificial, industrial food in the right corner and the vegan Übereater in the left corner (don´t allege that I am hiding any subliminal political statements in this review, it´s just about the food, so back to the topic.) Between the intolerant eater of just some kinds of fast foods and other junk who doesn´t care or think about her (yes, I was shocked too)/himself, the world and science and the elflike, progressive warrior for a better world is the place where most of us are standing right now, so which way to choose?
Or compare industrial food with natural substances, be it on the biochemical, physiological or neurological level. Highly processed stuff loses all of its healthy contents and is filled with tens of thousands of different artificial chemicals instead while the clean eater eats what was normal for millions of years. The epigenetic, genetic and brain chemistrytic consequences could get nasty.
Dr. Greger does an unbelievable job in first showing how most dangers can be avoided by eating against certain diseases, what is especially interesting if someone has a genetic predisposition for certain health problems, and describes the best general nom nom compendium for staying fit in both body and membrane.
Who doesn´t listen to doctors and health specialists pays the bill and instead of researching for cures for genetic or not nutrition-related diseases, physicians waste their time in curing unnecessary illnesses with huge amounts of pills and drugs that wouldn´t have to be described to finally add their patients to a pile of corpses those quantity no one can reliably guess. But it might grow exponentially with the spread of the obesity epidemic and American lifestyle to the rest of the world when states are becoming wealthier.
Some say that Greger is biased towards vegetarianism and veganism and the question arising in my head when confronted with such opinions is what the problems of meat-eating, overconsuming, overweight, general ignorant people is, it even can´t be envy because of the far longer lives of conscious eaters, because they are too narrow-minded to even realize what they are doing to themselves and the planet. The only left option fort hem is to troll hate sh**storm as much as possible out of a primitive reflex to be against anything progressive that could help them not to die young and very sick. People seem to transfer their not see, not hear, not say mentality from politics and faith even to their eating habits and start crusades against anything alien and unaccustomed, it´s so weird. Friends often tell me that they try to help their elder relatives, especially the manly (why are it always the men who are bonkers...I like having the gender-related N-word privilege) uncles, fathers, and grandfathers and get reactions between condescension and strong reluctance towards the bearer and resign in most cases, probably someday, rather earlier than later, culminating in a dialogue like this:
"He died."
"How ineluctable and not completely senseless."
Before there may be the vicious cycle of not exercising, taking many prescription drugs after getting sick from the junk food, taking useless artificial vitamin pills, antioxidants, miracle multi-component pills and stuff instead of eating fresh foods, not having the discipline to make a diet or gain weight after one,...
And before the tragedy:
"I don´t believe in those "telomeres", they are just another fake news, conspiracy theory stuff like this climate change thing."
It´s quite similar to a stubborn, spoiled and petulant kid, they are virtually adult kids whose parents didn´t give them the skills to finish the deviant phase.
How should I put this mildly... We are, in many cases, eating ourselves to an early, unnecessary death while giving vast amounts of money to the dealers of doom who cook those nasty, potentially always, last meals.
No calory bomb, but a explosion of knowledge about how to stay as healthy as long as possible with the side effect of as less environmental impact as possible, because by avoiding or completely banning meat, just eating natural, not industrially processed foods and, gosh, eating less, the environmental footprint goes down just as the body weight and the possibility of an early encounter with the grim reaper.
A short look on how I eat, because people tend to ask this question before asking why I am macerating myself until a level close to torture (I don´t feel so(anymore ;)) with this sick ascetic overkill. I´ve added the same list to the review of Mosley Michaels´ great book about intermittent fasting and will put it in Gregers´ "How not to diet" as soon as I´ve finished reading it.
The Fast Diet: The Simple Secret of Intermittent Fasting: Lose Weight, Stay Healthy, Live Longer
How Not to Diet: The Groundbreaking Science of Healthy, Permanent Weight Loss
Before this epiphany I had 3 meals a day and let´s say, I didn´t really care about what I ate. Silent whispering in the background: "You were fat!" "Shut the heck up!" That changed too, but to describe my eating habits in detail, why and how they evolved would go too far and Goodreads has this limit on how long reviews can be and I am already talking far too much about myself.
I changed to this schedule:
6 am: carbohydrates, protein, milk products, nuts, dried fruits, seeds, wholemeal cereal. No bread, rolls,...
12 pm: carbohydrates, vegetables, less protein (cause I want a break between the 6 am and until 4 pm intake). No empty carbohydrates like noodles, pure flour,... just the fresh, natural form as rice, potatoes, durum,...
until 4 pm: just fruits, whey, natural sport dietary supplements, hemp protein, soja protein, etc.
In general, I am some calories below the daily intake I should have with exercise, ergo and bodyweight training and am hungry in the morning, short before lunch and from 7 pm until I go to sleep and sometimes I am completely nuts or, better said, even more than usual, and eat close to nothing for one or two days. Jay, doesn´t that sound funny? But the thing is, the rare times I eat more than usual or substandard junk, probably accompanied by those two demons alcohol and social contac..., I mean conventions, I feel dumber and sicker than after a day of just veggie, fruits, tea, and water.
The greatest advantage is the saving of time that comes with clean and lesser eating, because all that chewing around is reduced to the necessary minimum and one can choose from a few hundred fresh ingredients that can be eaten cold, or cooked, or prepared and portioned for cooking and frozen, or cooked and frozen. Trying out new recipes, searching for new, interesting herbs, veggies, seeds,... and combining them is the alternative to keep searching for the latest poison in the supermarket, those assortment has become mostly uninteresting, what saves enormous amounts of time, because just the fresh, mostly organic stuff is bought there and the rest online, automated and (hidden commercial alert) subscribed. You see, just as with general shopaholism, there is hardly any stuff in a megafoodstore that one really needs, except of wasting time, money, and losing a few years of life by the way.
A wiki walk can be as refreshing to the mind as a walk through nature in this completely overrated real-life outside books:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_food
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant-b...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetar...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetar...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutriti...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calorie...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermi...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasting
Certain foods are no nourishments, they are drugs and the similarities are evident. A short high, followed by a craving for more, permanent increase of the dose, loss of interest in any other food until to completely losing control over eating habits, weight, health and life that is primarily focused on what to eat when and as much as possible.
As an illustration: Three people, three ways of eating. Extremely unhealthy with the most unnatural, fat, artificial, industrial food in the right corner and the vegan Übereater in the left corner (don´t allege that I am hiding any subliminal political statements in this review, it´s just about the food, so back to the topic.) Between the intolerant eater of just some kinds of fast foods and other junk who doesn´t care or think about her (yes, I was shocked too)/himself, the world and science and the elflike, progressive warrior for a better world is the place where most of us are standing right now, so which way to choose?
Or compare industrial food with natural substances, be it on the biochemical, physiological or neurological level. Highly processed stuff loses all of its healthy contents and is filled with tens of thousands of different artificial chemicals instead while the clean eater eats what was normal for millions of years. The epigenetic, genetic and brain chemistrytic consequences could get nasty.
Dr. Greger does an unbelievable job in first showing how most dangers can be avoided by eating against certain diseases, what is especially interesting if someone has a genetic predisposition for certain health problems, and describes the best general nom nom compendium for staying fit in both body and membrane.
Who doesn´t listen to doctors and health specialists pays the bill and instead of researching for cures for genetic or not nutrition-related diseases, physicians waste their time in curing unnecessary illnesses with huge amounts of pills and drugs that wouldn´t have to be described to finally add their patients to a pile of corpses those quantity no one can reliably guess. But it might grow exponentially with the spread of the obesity epidemic and American lifestyle to the rest of the world when states are becoming wealthier.
Some say that Greger is biased towards vegetarianism and veganism and the question arising in my head when confronted with such opinions is what the problems of meat-eating, overconsuming, overweight, general ignorant people is, it even can´t be envy because of the far longer lives of conscious eaters, because they are too narrow-minded to even realize what they are doing to themselves and the planet. The only left option fort hem is to troll hate sh**storm as much as possible out of a primitive reflex to be against anything progressive that could help them not to die young and very sick. People seem to transfer their not see, not hear, not say mentality from politics and faith even to their eating habits and start crusades against anything alien and unaccustomed, it´s so weird. Friends often tell me that they try to help their elder relatives, especially the manly (why are it always the men who are bonkers...I like having the gender-related N-word privilege) uncles, fathers, and grandfathers and get reactions between condescension and strong reluctance towards the bearer and resign in most cases, probably someday, rather earlier than later, culminating in a dialogue like this:
"He died."
"How ineluctable and not completely senseless."
Before there may be the vicious cycle of not exercising, taking many prescription drugs after getting sick from the junk food, taking useless artificial vitamin pills, antioxidants, miracle multi-component pills and stuff instead of eating fresh foods, not having the discipline to make a diet or gain weight after one,...
And before the tragedy:
"I don´t believe in those "telomeres", they are just another fake news, conspiracy theory stuff like this climate change thing."
It´s quite similar to a stubborn, spoiled and petulant kid, they are virtually adult kids whose parents didn´t give them the skills to finish the deviant phase.
How should I put this mildly... We are, in many cases, eating ourselves to an early, unnecessary death while giving vast amounts of money to the dealers of doom who cook those nasty, potentially always, last meals.
No calory bomb, but a explosion of knowledge about how to stay as healthy as long as possible with the side effect of as less environmental impact as possible, because by avoiding or completely banning meat, just eating natural, not industrially processed foods and, gosh, eating less, the environmental footprint goes down just as the body weight and the possibility of an early encounter with the grim reaper.
A short look on how I eat, because people tend to ask this question before asking why I am macerating myself until a level close to torture (I don´t feel so(anymore ;)) with this sick ascetic overkill. I´ve added the same list to the review of Mosley Michaels´ great book about intermittent fasting and will put it in Gregers´ "How not to diet" as soon as I´ve finished reading it.
The Fast Diet: The Simple Secret of Intermittent Fasting: Lose Weight, Stay Healthy, Live Longer
How Not to Diet: The Groundbreaking Science of Healthy, Permanent Weight Loss
Before this epiphany I had 3 meals a day and let´s say, I didn´t really care about what I ate. Silent whispering in the background: "You were fat!" "Shut the heck up!" That changed too, but to describe my eating habits in detail, why and how they evolved would go too far and Goodreads has this limit on how long reviews can be and I am already talking far too much about myself.
I changed to this schedule:
6 am: carbohydrates, protein, milk products, nuts, dried fruits, seeds, wholemeal cereal. No bread, rolls,...
12 pm: carbohydrates, vegetables, less protein (cause I want a break between the 6 am and until 4 pm intake). No empty carbohydrates like noodles, pure flour,... just the fresh, natural form as rice, potatoes, durum,...
until 4 pm: just fruits, whey, natural sport dietary supplements, hemp protein, soja protein, etc.
In general, I am some calories below the daily intake I should have with exercise, ergo and bodyweight training and am hungry in the morning, short before lunch and from 7 pm until I go to sleep and sometimes I am completely nuts or, better said, even more than usual, and eat close to nothing for one or two days. Jay, doesn´t that sound funny? But the thing is, the rare times I eat more than usual or substandard junk, probably accompanied by those two demons alcohol and social contac..., I mean conventions, I feel dumber and sicker than after a day of just veggie, fruits, tea, and water.
The greatest advantage is the saving of time that comes with clean and lesser eating, because all that chewing around is reduced to the necessary minimum and one can choose from a few hundred fresh ingredients that can be eaten cold, or cooked, or prepared and portioned for cooking and frozen, or cooked and frozen. Trying out new recipes, searching for new, interesting herbs, veggies, seeds,... and combining them is the alternative to keep searching for the latest poison in the supermarket, those assortment has become mostly uninteresting, what saves enormous amounts of time, because just the fresh, mostly organic stuff is bought there and the rest online, automated and (hidden commercial alert) subscribed. You see, just as with general shopaholism, there is hardly any stuff in a megafoodstore that one really needs, except of wasting time, money, and losing a few years of life by the way.
A wiki walk can be as refreshing to the mind as a walk through nature in this completely overrated real-life outside books:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_food
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant-b...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetar...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetar...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutriti...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calorie...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermi...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasting
February 4, 2024
I'd been following Dr Greger's work from his website and his blogs, before his book How Not To Die, came out in 2015. My husband and I shared both the book and the information with others and use the info as a game plan for staying healthy. Now Greger has written How Not to Die and it's a great one, too.
It's full of information that can change your life, change your health, change you way of living, but teaching WHY you need to choose certain foods to allow your body to work the best way possible, why you should ditch all the processed, sugary products, designed to make you crave them the more you eat them. I love the science of it all, explained in easily understandable ways, and if you want to dig deeper, you can go to the source of the information because the data is all backed up with footnotes to take you to the source.
I have the hardbound issue and then bought the digital version, which came with a free audio version. This way my husband could use the hardbound version at our old house, until we sell it, and I can read the digital version and use the audio version when I'm on my treadmill. After all these years following Dr Greger and watching his videos, I love the audio version because I can just see his animated manner, in my mind, as I listen to him read his book. But my favorite version of this book is the hardback version because there is so much information to absorb and I like to go forward and backwards in the book, checking things out, looking at the charts and lists, just flipping through the book, over and over, even though I've already read it now.
Published December 10, 2019
It's full of information that can change your life, change your health, change you way of living, but teaching WHY you need to choose certain foods to allow your body to work the best way possible, why you should ditch all the processed, sugary products, designed to make you crave them the more you eat them. I love the science of it all, explained in easily understandable ways, and if you want to dig deeper, you can go to the source of the information because the data is all backed up with footnotes to take you to the source.
I have the hardbound issue and then bought the digital version, which came with a free audio version. This way my husband could use the hardbound version at our old house, until we sell it, and I can read the digital version and use the audio version when I'm on my treadmill. After all these years following Dr Greger and watching his videos, I love the audio version because I can just see his animated manner, in my mind, as I listen to him read his book. But my favorite version of this book is the hardback version because there is so much information to absorb and I like to go forward and backwards in the book, checking things out, looking at the charts and lists, just flipping through the book, over and over, even though I've already read it now.
Published December 10, 2019
February 2, 2020
The book unites much that has already been written about intermittent fasting, real long time and permanent weight loss, how to eat healthily and, as the ultimate goal, die later.
It´s the perfect companion to Gregers´ first, groundbreaking work How not to die that showed how certain illnesses can be prevented and what foods boost the possibility of longevity, but didn´t explain in detail how to endure the path to the perfect weight and blood levels.
Let´s say that many weight-losing methods might be effective in short-term periods, but many know this critter named jojo effect who sometimes even adds the one or other pound after the motivation got lost and fatigue set in again, but at least the beauty and weight-loss industry was happy.
So instead of taking pills, overexercising, fasting without a real concept, plan, method, dietary change and not stopping craving for unhealthy foods, one could try to go for a long-term perspective. And here come two immense problems: willpower and temptation. Probably cousins of the mentioned jojo effect, they love to go hand in hand, because the strength of self-discipline enables one to consume one small piece of cake, one beer or just 15 potato chips. (That´s the reason why I always drink just 6 beer or more.) Go with the last one, because these crispy killers are a prime example of the problem how freaking delicious those murderous delectations are, damn, what I would do for a potato chip and a sixpack right now…I mean, a second one of course.
It is highly individual how someone deals with this problem, be it avoiding anything, binge eating from time to time or staying somewhere in the middle, using it as a motivation or reward. Even then it stays still similar to smoking just one cigarette, taking just one drug,... de facto giving just a little illness, lesser cancer, and the immense pain to control the brain's dark impulses for more and more and far too much.
Gregor shows the pitfalls and cures that don´t work in the first chapter "The problem", provides us the "ingredients for the ideal weight loss diet" in chapter two, which includes many aspects of his first book "How not do die.", gives a short introduction to the coming lifelong challenge in chapter 3 and gets really heavy-duty in chapter 4, where the awful truth is revealed in all its details. One has to, gosh, eat clean, work out, starve,... consequentially, hard and forever (stupid science, develop immortality, now!) to life long.
That chapter blew me away, it united many facts I already knew from books, articles, and news sites and added some other amazing tricks to reach 100, still able to run faster and debate down much younger 70 to 80-year-old rugrats.
People might be unsure if it´s worth it, because I have become pretty extreme in avoiding helping to give unnecessary illnesses exponential growth boosters and I don´t have to lie (anymore ;))regarding the happiness that comes with the reduction to the necessary and optimum. It´s brutal, it´s ugly and it makes no fun for the first few months or one or two years, but I like to compare it with consumerism or an unwary, not mindful ego.
Consumerism: If one is hooked on buying and accumulates tens of thousands of consumer products instead of just acquiring what she/he needs to live, the person is pushed, driven and manipulated by trivial hunter-gatherer instincts, impossible to find true happiness. Unhealthy nom-noms are consumer products.
No mindfulness: Just as living self-made commercials, the monkeys jumping around in one´s brain do whatever they want, make it impossible to have longer, coherent, deeper thoughts and let one jump nervously and neurotic from trigger to impulse to emotion to hangry. Mind over body, total easy dude.
Not being able to control food intake combines the consumerism in the form of vast amounts of deadly junk trash garbage called food and the missing realization of how one is harming the only body given to her/him. Reducing the food intake to the healthiest and most natural optimum is not just prolonging the life, it is saving real-time that is instead used to choose the weapons of self-destruction by buying newer, shinier, chemicalier highly processed industrial trash. If one has the luck to get old with such a diet, what should the reminiscence look like? „Do you remember, when those new beef patties with many varieties for home cooking came out? We stood in the kitchen for days, trying all new recipes and the one time you ate 7, wasn´t that funny?“ „I nearly had my third heart attack.“ „You see, totally worth it!“
A short look on how I eat, because people tend to ask this question before asking why I am macerating myself until a level close to torture (I don´t feel so(anymore ;)) with this sick ascetic overkill. I´ve put the same list in my review of Gregers´ "How not to die" and Mosley Michaels´ great book about intermittent fasting.
The Fast Diet: The Simple Secret of Intermittent Fasting: Lose Weight, Stay Healthy, Live Longer
How Not to Diet: The Groundbreaking Science of Healthy, Permanent Weight Loss
Before this epiphany I had 3 meals a day and let´s say, I didn´t really care about what I ate. Silent whispering in the background: "You were fat!" "Shut the heck up!" That changed too, but to describe my eating habits in detail, why and how they evolved would go too far and Goodreads has this limit on how long reviews can be and I am already talking far too much about myself.
I changed to this schedule:
6 am: carbohydrates, protein, milk products, nuts, dried fruits, seeds, wholemeal cereal. No bread, rolls,...
12 pm: carbohydrates, vegetables, less protein (cause I want a break between the 6 am and until 4 pm intake). No empty carbohydrates like noodles, pure flour,... just the fresh, natural form as rice, potatoes, durum,...
until 4 pm: just fruits, whey, natural sport dietary supplements, hemp protein, soja protein, etc.
In general, I am some calories below the daily intake I should have with exercise, ergo and bodyweight training and am hungry at morning, short before lunch and from 7 pm until I go to sleep and sometimes I am completely nuts or, better said, even more than usual, and eat close to nothing for one or two days. Jay, doesn´t that sound funny? But the thing is, the rare times I eat more than usual or substandard junk, probably accompanied by those two demons alcohol and social contac..., I mean conventions, I feel dumber and sicker than after a day of just veggie, fruits, tea, and water.
The greatest advantage is the saving of time that comes with clean and lesser eating, because all that chewing around is reduced to the necessary minimum and one can choose from a few hundred fresh ingredients that can be eaten cold, or cooked, or prepared and portioned for cooking and frozen, or cooked and frozen. Trying out new recipes, searching for new, interesting herbs, veggies, seeds,... and combining them is the alternative to keep searching for the latest poison in the supermarket, those assortment has become mostly uninteresting, which saves enormous amounts of time, because just the fresh, mostly organic stuff is bought there and the rest online, automated and (hidden commercial alert) subscribed. You see, just as with general shopaholism, there is hardly any stuff in a megafoodstore that one really needs, except for wasting time, money, and losing a few years of life by the way.
A wiki walk can be as refreshing to the mind as a walk through nature in this, yuck, ugh, boo, completely overrated real-life outside books:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_food
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant-b...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetar...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetar...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutriti...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calorie...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermi...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasting
It´s the perfect companion to Gregers´ first, groundbreaking work How not to die that showed how certain illnesses can be prevented and what foods boost the possibility of longevity, but didn´t explain in detail how to endure the path to the perfect weight and blood levels.
Let´s say that many weight-losing methods might be effective in short-term periods, but many know this critter named jojo effect who sometimes even adds the one or other pound after the motivation got lost and fatigue set in again, but at least the beauty and weight-loss industry was happy.
So instead of taking pills, overexercising, fasting without a real concept, plan, method, dietary change and not stopping craving for unhealthy foods, one could try to go for a long-term perspective. And here come two immense problems: willpower and temptation. Probably cousins of the mentioned jojo effect, they love to go hand in hand, because the strength of self-discipline enables one to consume one small piece of cake, one beer or just 15 potato chips. (That´s the reason why I always drink just 6 beer or more.) Go with the last one, because these crispy killers are a prime example of the problem how freaking delicious those murderous delectations are, damn, what I would do for a potato chip and a sixpack right now…I mean, a second one of course.
It is highly individual how someone deals with this problem, be it avoiding anything, binge eating from time to time or staying somewhere in the middle, using it as a motivation or reward. Even then it stays still similar to smoking just one cigarette, taking just one drug,... de facto giving just a little illness, lesser cancer, and the immense pain to control the brain's dark impulses for more and more and far too much.
Gregor shows the pitfalls and cures that don´t work in the first chapter "The problem", provides us the "ingredients for the ideal weight loss diet" in chapter two, which includes many aspects of his first book "How not do die.", gives a short introduction to the coming lifelong challenge in chapter 3 and gets really heavy-duty in chapter 4, where the awful truth is revealed in all its details. One has to, gosh, eat clean, work out, starve,... consequentially, hard and forever (stupid science, develop immortality, now!) to life long.
That chapter blew me away, it united many facts I already knew from books, articles, and news sites and added some other amazing tricks to reach 100, still able to run faster and debate down much younger 70 to 80-year-old rugrats.
People might be unsure if it´s worth it, because I have become pretty extreme in avoiding helping to give unnecessary illnesses exponential growth boosters and I don´t have to lie (anymore ;))regarding the happiness that comes with the reduction to the necessary and optimum. It´s brutal, it´s ugly and it makes no fun for the first few months or one or two years, but I like to compare it with consumerism or an unwary, not mindful ego.
Consumerism: If one is hooked on buying and accumulates tens of thousands of consumer products instead of just acquiring what she/he needs to live, the person is pushed, driven and manipulated by trivial hunter-gatherer instincts, impossible to find true happiness. Unhealthy nom-noms are consumer products.
No mindfulness: Just as living self-made commercials, the monkeys jumping around in one´s brain do whatever they want, make it impossible to have longer, coherent, deeper thoughts and let one jump nervously and neurotic from trigger to impulse to emotion to hangry. Mind over body, total easy dude.
Not being able to control food intake combines the consumerism in the form of vast amounts of deadly junk trash garbage called food and the missing realization of how one is harming the only body given to her/him. Reducing the food intake to the healthiest and most natural optimum is not just prolonging the life, it is saving real-time that is instead used to choose the weapons of self-destruction by buying newer, shinier, chemicalier highly processed industrial trash. If one has the luck to get old with such a diet, what should the reminiscence look like? „Do you remember, when those new beef patties with many varieties for home cooking came out? We stood in the kitchen for days, trying all new recipes and the one time you ate 7, wasn´t that funny?“ „I nearly had my third heart attack.“ „You see, totally worth it!“
A short look on how I eat, because people tend to ask this question before asking why I am macerating myself until a level close to torture (I don´t feel so(anymore ;)) with this sick ascetic overkill. I´ve put the same list in my review of Gregers´ "How not to die" and Mosley Michaels´ great book about intermittent fasting.
The Fast Diet: The Simple Secret of Intermittent Fasting: Lose Weight, Stay Healthy, Live Longer
How Not to Diet: The Groundbreaking Science of Healthy, Permanent Weight Loss
Before this epiphany I had 3 meals a day and let´s say, I didn´t really care about what I ate. Silent whispering in the background: "You were fat!" "Shut the heck up!" That changed too, but to describe my eating habits in detail, why and how they evolved would go too far and Goodreads has this limit on how long reviews can be and I am already talking far too much about myself.
I changed to this schedule:
6 am: carbohydrates, protein, milk products, nuts, dried fruits, seeds, wholemeal cereal. No bread, rolls,...
12 pm: carbohydrates, vegetables, less protein (cause I want a break between the 6 am and until 4 pm intake). No empty carbohydrates like noodles, pure flour,... just the fresh, natural form as rice, potatoes, durum,...
until 4 pm: just fruits, whey, natural sport dietary supplements, hemp protein, soja protein, etc.
In general, I am some calories below the daily intake I should have with exercise, ergo and bodyweight training and am hungry at morning, short before lunch and from 7 pm until I go to sleep and sometimes I am completely nuts or, better said, even more than usual, and eat close to nothing for one or two days. Jay, doesn´t that sound funny? But the thing is, the rare times I eat more than usual or substandard junk, probably accompanied by those two demons alcohol and social contac..., I mean conventions, I feel dumber and sicker than after a day of just veggie, fruits, tea, and water.
The greatest advantage is the saving of time that comes with clean and lesser eating, because all that chewing around is reduced to the necessary minimum and one can choose from a few hundred fresh ingredients that can be eaten cold, or cooked, or prepared and portioned for cooking and frozen, or cooked and frozen. Trying out new recipes, searching for new, interesting herbs, veggies, seeds,... and combining them is the alternative to keep searching for the latest poison in the supermarket, those assortment has become mostly uninteresting, which saves enormous amounts of time, because just the fresh, mostly organic stuff is bought there and the rest online, automated and (hidden commercial alert) subscribed. You see, just as with general shopaholism, there is hardly any stuff in a megafoodstore that one really needs, except for wasting time, money, and losing a few years of life by the way.
A wiki walk can be as refreshing to the mind as a walk through nature in this, yuck, ugh, boo, completely overrated real-life outside books:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_food
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant-b...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetar...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetar...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutriti...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calorie...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermi...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasting
December 31, 2015
This is the most comprehensive book on health and nutrition that I've read. Written in a way that's easy to understand for those new to the subject, but also substantive enough that those very familiar with health and nutrition will learn a great deal of new information. If you're still eating the standard American diet, or if you've been mislead by one of the many fad diets out there (or food industry obfuscation), read this book to learn how to eat healthy, avoid disease, feel your best, and maximize longevity. Highly recommended!
December 15, 2015
A book written by the man that tells us one egg a week can give you diabetes. His webpage nutritionfacts.org is interesting in that like his book and science this doctor has the answer and orders his facts along to meet with his preferred “answer”
Just a note to be wary if new to this man. Vegan facts are not facts as science views them. Vegan facts are religious like in their fervor promoting ONLY their cause. Everything the religion of veganism hates just happens to be “cancerous”. Funny that : ). I see the Christians saying the same thing about getting jesus or being tortured forever in burning fire. There is little difference between the two belief systems & nothing gained from arguing with the faithful, they are deaf to science.
If your God hates every single tiny thing you do chances are you invented your god yourself.
Veganism loves the terms of cure and reversal of major diseases. Seems to me a healthy diet and reducing body mass is the actual and only reason their fad diet works. But like every fad diet they love their marketing. Vegan science is NOT science, it is a cause wrapped in subterfuge/misdirection and a heck load of religious like belief.
Enough of the cons, let’s look at the pro’s
The vegan diet is healthy and I find it the laziest way I know to stay healthy (yes I am vegan). The diet is not magic, vegetables are not magical, and vegetables don’t cure cancer …. they are just healthy.
You can do exactly the same thing on any healthy diet, this one just happens to suit me.
SUMMARY .. take the book for what it is, don’t take it seriously because there is a MD in front of the authors name. look up QuackWatch pages. Or just believe because it’s easier.
Or just view it as a healthy diet.
Just a note to be wary if new to this man. Vegan facts are not facts as science views them. Vegan facts are religious like in their fervor promoting ONLY their cause. Everything the religion of veganism hates just happens to be “cancerous”. Funny that : ). I see the Christians saying the same thing about getting jesus or being tortured forever in burning fire. There is little difference between the two belief systems & nothing gained from arguing with the faithful, they are deaf to science.
If your God hates every single tiny thing you do chances are you invented your god yourself.
Veganism loves the terms of cure and reversal of major diseases. Seems to me a healthy diet and reducing body mass is the actual and only reason their fad diet works. But like every fad diet they love their marketing. Vegan science is NOT science, it is a cause wrapped in subterfuge/misdirection and a heck load of religious like belief.
Enough of the cons, let’s look at the pro’s
The vegan diet is healthy and I find it the laziest way I know to stay healthy (yes I am vegan). The diet is not magic, vegetables are not magical, and vegetables don’t cure cancer …. they are just healthy.
You can do exactly the same thing on any healthy diet, this one just happens to suit me.
SUMMARY .. take the book for what it is, don’t take it seriously because there is a MD in front of the authors name. look up QuackWatch pages. Or just believe because it’s easier.
Or just view it as a healthy diet.
April 5, 2019
I'm going to start off this review by qualifying the perspective from which I read the book.
I have a longstanding passion in all things health and fitness that started at the age of 10, when as a chunky child, I decided I wanted to be healthy.
Joining my first gym at 13, it wasn't long until I started teaching group fitness. A Bachelors in Nutritional Sciences seemed like the next logical step. But it didn't end there. While continuing to branch out by teaching every mode of group fitness I could find, I pursued and obtained a Professional Master in Physical Therapy. Since then I have completed over a half-dozen fitness certifications, taught every fitness class you can imagine, counseled tons of patients and clients, and earned hundreds if not approaching a thousand hours of professional continuing education that include anything from the therapeutic applications of yoga to vegan nutrition to the strengths and pitfalls of alternative medicine. I also teach a personal training certification course through our local community college and am currently pursuing an advanced certificate in sports nutrition. Most importantly I walk the walk. I exercise daily, eat clean, and continue to seek out knowledge with an open mind, always ready to adjust my views. I read, I study, I teach, I practice, I preach...I breath fitness and nutrition on a regular basis.
This being the case, I am always reluctant to read a nutrition book written by a MD, or better yet, a journalist who decides he's going to reveal the true secret to eating healthy. But How Not to Die was written by Dr. Michael Greger, who also happens to be the founder of a site that I have been following for a couple years-it's called nutritionfacts.org. Impressed by the site mainly because it generally offers a balanced message that uses research rather than emotion to support its message, I was interested in reading his book.
If I could recommend one book on nutrition, I seriously think this might be it, and here's why:
1. The book is basically about empowering people to take control of their health. The ole "Let Food Be Thy Medicine" philosophy. Dr. Greger does a decent job of acknowledging both the strengths and weakness of our current approach to disease. He makes a strong argument against prescribing drugs for lifestyle related diseases, at least as a first line of defense. Most importantly, he tries to use science as a basis for his views. His main emphasis is on eating more plant-based foods, particularly fruits, veggies, beans, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices...etc, while limiting quality (or whole) animal products, and avoiding processed or low quality animal products all together.
2. The book provides a comprehensive review of the scientific literature. I subscribe to several journals, but never have I seen so many studies put into a useful context. That said, his own biases toward a vegan (or animal-free diet) are hard to miss. Still, it's a pretty amazing feat, biases aside. And though I might feel he was a little hard on animal products (all animal products) as a group, I do think he makes some valid points about the food industry and their ability to influence policy and suppress research that doesn't jive with their bottom line. I wished he would have taken more time to make a distinction between different quality animal sources. I mean, there is a big difference between the venison I use in my favorite black bean chili and the industrially farm raised, often abused, overly medicated animals (anti-biotics) that provide meat at most local grocery store chains, or worse, our local fast food joint.
3. If he seems a little "radical" in the first half of the book, he makes up for it in part two, where he puts the "perfect" diet into context, by first acknowledging there is no one perfect diet. Foods aren't necessarily good or bad, though some are better for you than others. His recommendations are not only consistent with everything I've learned over years, they're reasonable and thus doable.
From organic vs non-organic, to gluten-free vs. non-gluten-free, to use supplements or not to use supplements, GMO vs. GMO-free...he touches on so many hot-button topics, and his ideas really are very practical and level-headed.
As someone who has been following (and experimenting successfully) with nutrition for decades, I have watched so many fads come and go and have seen too many scientific studies taken out of context and used to promote some extreme eating philosophy. It's nice to read a book where both the science and art of nutrition receive equal time.
I'm not a vegan, though I don't eat much meat. That said, I believe quality animal products can have a place in a healthy diet. However, I don't think there is anyone who can argue against the benefits of a plant-based diet. In fact, if you look at most popular diets, the one common thread is the emphasis on whole foods, but especially fruits and veggies. Ultimately, I think that is the message that Greger puts forward. Good stuff!
**A little interesting background. Greger started nutritionfacts.org with the support of two philanthropists. It is now a self-sustaining non-profit. The website and its content are free forever with no ads and no corporate sponsorships. He claims that sales from his DVDs go back to the site and proceeds from his books and speaking engagements go to charity.
I have a longstanding passion in all things health and fitness that started at the age of 10, when as a chunky child, I decided I wanted to be healthy.
Joining my first gym at 13, it wasn't long until I started teaching group fitness. A Bachelors in Nutritional Sciences seemed like the next logical step. But it didn't end there. While continuing to branch out by teaching every mode of group fitness I could find, I pursued and obtained a Professional Master in Physical Therapy. Since then I have completed over a half-dozen fitness certifications, taught every fitness class you can imagine, counseled tons of patients and clients, and earned hundreds if not approaching a thousand hours of professional continuing education that include anything from the therapeutic applications of yoga to vegan nutrition to the strengths and pitfalls of alternative medicine. I also teach a personal training certification course through our local community college and am currently pursuing an advanced certificate in sports nutrition. Most importantly I walk the walk. I exercise daily, eat clean, and continue to seek out knowledge with an open mind, always ready to adjust my views. I read, I study, I teach, I practice, I preach...I breath fitness and nutrition on a regular basis.
This being the case, I am always reluctant to read a nutrition book written by a MD, or better yet, a journalist who decides he's going to reveal the true secret to eating healthy. But How Not to Die was written by Dr. Michael Greger, who also happens to be the founder of a site that I have been following for a couple years-it's called nutritionfacts.org. Impressed by the site mainly because it generally offers a balanced message that uses research rather than emotion to support its message, I was interested in reading his book.
If I could recommend one book on nutrition, I seriously think this might be it, and here's why:
1. The book is basically about empowering people to take control of their health. The ole "Let Food Be Thy Medicine" philosophy. Dr. Greger does a decent job of acknowledging both the strengths and weakness of our current approach to disease. He makes a strong argument against prescribing drugs for lifestyle related diseases, at least as a first line of defense. Most importantly, he tries to use science as a basis for his views. His main emphasis is on eating more plant-based foods, particularly fruits, veggies, beans, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices...etc, while limiting quality (or whole) animal products, and avoiding processed or low quality animal products all together.
2. The book provides a comprehensive review of the scientific literature. I subscribe to several journals, but never have I seen so many studies put into a useful context. That said, his own biases toward a vegan (or animal-free diet) are hard to miss. Still, it's a pretty amazing feat, biases aside. And though I might feel he was a little hard on animal products (all animal products) as a group, I do think he makes some valid points about the food industry and their ability to influence policy and suppress research that doesn't jive with their bottom line. I wished he would have taken more time to make a distinction between different quality animal sources. I mean, there is a big difference between the venison I use in my favorite black bean chili and the industrially farm raised, often abused, overly medicated animals (anti-biotics) that provide meat at most local grocery store chains, or worse, our local fast food joint.
3. If he seems a little "radical" in the first half of the book, he makes up for it in part two, where he puts the "perfect" diet into context, by first acknowledging there is no one perfect diet. Foods aren't necessarily good or bad, though some are better for you than others. His recommendations are not only consistent with everything I've learned over years, they're reasonable and thus doable.
From organic vs non-organic, to gluten-free vs. non-gluten-free, to use supplements or not to use supplements, GMO vs. GMO-free...he touches on so many hot-button topics, and his ideas really are very practical and level-headed.
As someone who has been following (and experimenting successfully) with nutrition for decades, I have watched so many fads come and go and have seen too many scientific studies taken out of context and used to promote some extreme eating philosophy. It's nice to read a book where both the science and art of nutrition receive equal time.
I'm not a vegan, though I don't eat much meat. That said, I believe quality animal products can have a place in a healthy diet. However, I don't think there is anyone who can argue against the benefits of a plant-based diet. In fact, if you look at most popular diets, the one common thread is the emphasis on whole foods, but especially fruits and veggies. Ultimately, I think that is the message that Greger puts forward. Good stuff!
**A little interesting background. Greger started nutritionfacts.org with the support of two philanthropists. It is now a self-sustaining non-profit. The website and its content are free forever with no ads and no corporate sponsorships. He claims that sales from his DVDs go back to the site and proceeds from his books and speaking engagements go to charity.
June 10, 2016
In the wake of my heart attack, my cardiologist told me that I could reverse my atherosclerosis with diet and exercise, specifically a plant-based diet. She recommended Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn's book "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease", which prescribes a very stringent diet, that not only forbids meat and dairy products, but also precludes all oils ("not a drop"), as well as nuts, and avocados. I didn't know if I could follow such a diet. Besides, it's a diet that he gave to people who had significantly more advanced and severe coronary health issues than I did. So perhaps I didn't need to be on such a draconian regime.
Also, I wasn't entirely sold on the plant-based diet: before making such profound changes to my diet, I really wanted to see solid clinical evidence for it. I'd hate to give up BBQ ribs for nothing. And while Dr. Esselstyn reported striking results in his practice, it was an uncontrolled interventional study among a very small group of patients.
Finally, rather than being dictated a diet to follow (especially one that I didn't think I could keep to) I was looking for information about the costs and benefits of various foods so that I could make informed choices in order to create lifestyle changes that I could live with.
This was exactly what I found in "How Not to Die". It not only addresses my primary health concern, heart disease, but the other major health risks that most Americans face: diabetes, hypertension, a variety of common cancers (lung, colorectal, breast, prostate, leukemia), Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and even depression. And it covers what is known - based on the best research we have - about various foods that may be helpful or harmful with regard to them.
Dr. Greger assembles an impressive array of clinical evidence for the health claims he makes for particular foods to address particular diseases, but he manages to keep the material very readable and his style is conversational and personable. All of which means that it's possible to get through this book, benefit from the information, and enjoy the process.
The audiobook version is read by the author, who has a very quirky and winning narrative style: you can get an idea of it through any of a large number of videos at his web site: http://nutritionfacts.org . That site provides a mountain of information that expands and supplements this book. In fact, the book can be considered a collation and distillation of that web site, which provides much of the same information.
After listening to this book, the evidence for the health benefits of a plant-based diet is not only presented, but it's overwhelming. Even shocking.
While the audiobook is very listenable, you might prefer to get the print or electronic version. That makes it easier to dip in and out of particular sections that might be of specific interest to you. The book is divided into two parts: the first part describes the 15 top diseases which contribute to mortality… and you may not want to wade through all of them - which is harder to avoid in an audiobook, as entertaining as he makes it.
The second part consists of a review of different food groups, which Greger characterizes as his "Daily Dozen". He goes into their benefits and recommended portions. That section is useful as a reference, so having a text version may be desirable: I ended up getting one after listening to the book.
Ultimately, I did adopt a plant-based diet on the basis of the information presented in the book: a vegan and whole grain diet. And I still eat nuts (in fact, lots of 'em) and avocados. While I avoid certain oils, I allow others. You may make different choices based upon an understanding of the risks and benefits involved.
I highly recommend this book as an invaluable resource to anyone concerned about their health. For me it was literally life-changing.
Also, I wasn't entirely sold on the plant-based diet: before making such profound changes to my diet, I really wanted to see solid clinical evidence for it. I'd hate to give up BBQ ribs for nothing. And while Dr. Esselstyn reported striking results in his practice, it was an uncontrolled interventional study among a very small group of patients.
Finally, rather than being dictated a diet to follow (especially one that I didn't think I could keep to) I was looking for information about the costs and benefits of various foods so that I could make informed choices in order to create lifestyle changes that I could live with.
This was exactly what I found in "How Not to Die". It not only addresses my primary health concern, heart disease, but the other major health risks that most Americans face: diabetes, hypertension, a variety of common cancers (lung, colorectal, breast, prostate, leukemia), Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and even depression. And it covers what is known - based on the best research we have - about various foods that may be helpful or harmful with regard to them.
Dr. Greger assembles an impressive array of clinical evidence for the health claims he makes for particular foods to address particular diseases, but he manages to keep the material very readable and his style is conversational and personable. All of which means that it's possible to get through this book, benefit from the information, and enjoy the process.
The audiobook version is read by the author, who has a very quirky and winning narrative style: you can get an idea of it through any of a large number of videos at his web site: http://nutritionfacts.org . That site provides a mountain of information that expands and supplements this book. In fact, the book can be considered a collation and distillation of that web site, which provides much of the same information.
After listening to this book, the evidence for the health benefits of a plant-based diet is not only presented, but it's overwhelming. Even shocking.
While the audiobook is very listenable, you might prefer to get the print or electronic version. That makes it easier to dip in and out of particular sections that might be of specific interest to you. The book is divided into two parts: the first part describes the 15 top diseases which contribute to mortality… and you may not want to wade through all of them - which is harder to avoid in an audiobook, as entertaining as he makes it.
The second part consists of a review of different food groups, which Greger characterizes as his "Daily Dozen". He goes into their benefits and recommended portions. That section is useful as a reference, so having a text version may be desirable: I ended up getting one after listening to the book.
Ultimately, I did adopt a plant-based diet on the basis of the information presented in the book: a vegan and whole grain diet. And I still eat nuts (in fact, lots of 'em) and avocados. While I avoid certain oils, I allow others. You may make different choices based upon an understanding of the risks and benefits involved.
I highly recommend this book as an invaluable resource to anyone concerned about their health. For me it was literally life-changing.
July 27, 2020
This book is one I have re-read and referenced time and time again. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I learned. I wish the title were different, but at the same time, it completely fits the contents. I have also listened to the audio narrated by Dr. Greger and love his passion for this topic.
Now to start walking the walk myself... and following this, again!
Now to start walking the walk myself... and following this, again!
December 31, 2019
This is my last review of 2019. Alas, I didn't reach my reading goal this year....although I could have if I had propped myself up with a few shorter books. But I like to think that focusing on quality rather than quantity was its own reward.
As usual I changed my reading plans repeatedly based on whatever bright shiny new books caught my eye and this last read of the year was no exception. As soon as I learned Dr. Greger had a new book coming out I pre-ordered it from Audible. Then I dropped all my prize list reading so that I could read this.
I don't know what it is about this skinny, quirky, funny, vegan doctor that makes me want to follow him to the ends of the earth but he does have a certain charisma. I especially like to watch his videos. I respect that he is probably the most scientific of any of the physicians that are currently writing about nutrition. In 2016 I read his groundbreaking book How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease and promptly determined to become a vegan for health reasons. I failed miserably. Blame my crazy schedule, blame my stressful job, blame cheese, blame me but whatever you do you'd better not blame my beloved Dr. Greger.
Fast forward almost 2020, I'm going to try again. I KNOW this way of eating is good for me. I KNOW this way of eating is ethical for the planet. I KNOW this way of eating is difficult in our society that touts more sugar, more fat, more salt and super-sizing everything and we have a government that actively lies to us about what is healthy because they are controlled by corporate lobbyists from Big Meat and Big Dairy and Big SoftDrink and Big Sugar Coated Cereal companies. But this time around I have a secret weapon....I have Time because I am retired. I have time to cook the plant based foods that I know are good for me. (I also have a food processor AND a Vitamix....I am armed for this battle I tell you!) And unlike last time, (when I dropped 12 points off my cholesterol in a very short amount of time eating vegan), I have the knowledge that I don't have to be perfect. If I slip up, I slip up and it's right back on the plant based train. The world has come far since 2016 and there is a lot more social media support in the form of blogs and Facebook groups and videos and recipes. I am NOT alone.
So there you have it. I find it somewhat appropriate that my last book of 2019 is also my New Year's Resolution for 2020. I wish you ALL health in the New Year because without your health it doesn't matter what else life brings your way.
As usual I changed my reading plans repeatedly based on whatever bright shiny new books caught my eye and this last read of the year was no exception. As soon as I learned Dr. Greger had a new book coming out I pre-ordered it from Audible. Then I dropped all my prize list reading so that I could read this.
I don't know what it is about this skinny, quirky, funny, vegan doctor that makes me want to follow him to the ends of the earth but he does have a certain charisma. I especially like to watch his videos. I respect that he is probably the most scientific of any of the physicians that are currently writing about nutrition. In 2016 I read his groundbreaking book How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease and promptly determined to become a vegan for health reasons. I failed miserably. Blame my crazy schedule, blame my stressful job, blame cheese, blame me but whatever you do you'd better not blame my beloved Dr. Greger.
Fast forward almost 2020, I'm going to try again. I KNOW this way of eating is good for me. I KNOW this way of eating is ethical for the planet. I KNOW this way of eating is difficult in our society that touts more sugar, more fat, more salt and super-sizing everything and we have a government that actively lies to us about what is healthy because they are controlled by corporate lobbyists from Big Meat and Big Dairy and Big SoftDrink and Big Sugar Coated Cereal companies. But this time around I have a secret weapon....I have Time because I am retired. I have time to cook the plant based foods that I know are good for me. (I also have a food processor AND a Vitamix....I am armed for this battle I tell you!) And unlike last time, (when I dropped 12 points off my cholesterol in a very short amount of time eating vegan), I have the knowledge that I don't have to be perfect. If I slip up, I slip up and it's right back on the plant based train. The world has come far since 2016 and there is a lot more social media support in the form of blogs and Facebook groups and videos and recipes. I am NOT alone.
So there you have it. I find it somewhat appropriate that my last book of 2019 is also my New Year's Resolution for 2020. I wish you ALL health in the New Year because without your health it doesn't matter what else life brings your way.
December 13, 2022
UPDATE: I got AI software to write a haiku version of this audiobook review, in case my original was TL;DR (too long, didn't read):
dr. greger speaks
with much enthusiasm
but no true answers
____
When I found out the Audible version of this book was read by the author, Michael Greger, M.D., I was eager to give it a good long listen — nearly 24 hours’ worth.
I often find it especially rewarding to hear a book’s author enthusiastically reading his own writing. Not this time. This was the most obnoxious audiobook I’ve ever listened to. Dr. Greger was over-enthusiastic at any speed, trying to make dull material stand out with his pseudo-comical delivery.
That was only a fraction of the trouble I had with this unfortunate book. At least the doctor was straightforward about the limitations of all nutrition research. It has one big inherent problem: It's, in a word, guesswork.
The catch is, almost every suggestion and “fact“ he cherry-picked from the hundreds of studies he cited was found to be correlated with positive weight-loss outcomes. That’s the problem with nutrition research circa 2020: You can’t take thousands of people, confine them to a lab for years and feed them exactly what you want to study, especially if it’s going to hurt them. It’s not ethical.
What food researchers are left with are human beings who simply cannot comply with dietary restrictions as ordered. Not coincidentally, this compliance problem is precisely why obesity is so widespread. The author himself mentioned hundreds of times that compliance was a problem. Yet, in the same breath, he doles out dietary advice as if it’s a complete certainty. It is not. Further, the restrictions he recommends will undoubtedly be impossible for almost all hungry dieters to follow and sustain for a lifetime.
It gets worse. Greger chuckles his way through countless facts and figures in every chapter, and then at the end of several of those chapters, he offers a contradictory disclaimer, saying that a lot of what he just told you might not even be true. That’s because of the classic problem with nutrition research that has become cliché: Correlation does not equal causation.
Along the way, the doctor unfortunately omits some of the most extensive studies done that completely disagree with the guesswork of the studies that he champions. The fact is, none of these studies can get to the truth. That's because the relationship between nutrition and obesity is impenetrably complicated. There are so many unknowns in the world of the diet and nutrition of the human body, today’s researchers have only scratched the surface.
This author, who obviously sees himself as a charismatic Pied Piper who can lead all his followers into the land of slim-bodied fitness and long life, does not have the answers to a sustainable way to lose weight, stay comfortable while doing it, and keep the weight off for the rest of a (longer) lifetime. For instance, his suggestion of exercising for 90 minutes each day is completely out of reach of most of the U.S. population.
I think Dr. Greger knows a viable solution to the obesity epidemic is still elusive, but wants to make it seem like he’s discovered the true path to sustainable weight loss for all. That's a great way to sell books, boost his website traffic and score more speaking gigs in front of his screaming, cult-like following. But reading the thousands of studies, all of which have found correlation with — but not causation of — obesity, there's a profound shortage of proof.
Today’s nutrition research projects raise thousands more questions than they set out to answer, revealing the open secret kept by every nutrition researcher and diet doctor: how sorely our society needs actual research that shows what causes obesity and finds proof of a method of permanent weight loss.
This riddle needs to be solved as soon as possible. If you’re looking for that solution in this book, you’ll be sorely disappointed. You can’t find a straight answer anywhere to the crucial question of mankind, “what should we eat?” and its vexing companion, “how can all the overweight people in our society lose weight and keep it off?”
In fact, this book is the perfect example of how not to find solid facts about how to diet. That’s because there aren’t any. It’s all guesswork.
dr. greger speaks
with much enthusiasm
but no true answers
____
When I found out the Audible version of this book was read by the author, Michael Greger, M.D., I was eager to give it a good long listen — nearly 24 hours’ worth.
I often find it especially rewarding to hear a book’s author enthusiastically reading his own writing. Not this time. This was the most obnoxious audiobook I’ve ever listened to. Dr. Greger was over-enthusiastic at any speed, trying to make dull material stand out with his pseudo-comical delivery.
That was only a fraction of the trouble I had with this unfortunate book. At least the doctor was straightforward about the limitations of all nutrition research. It has one big inherent problem: It's, in a word, guesswork.
The catch is, almost every suggestion and “fact“ he cherry-picked from the hundreds of studies he cited was found to be correlated with positive weight-loss outcomes. That’s the problem with nutrition research circa 2020: You can’t take thousands of people, confine them to a lab for years and feed them exactly what you want to study, especially if it’s going to hurt them. It’s not ethical.
What food researchers are left with are human beings who simply cannot comply with dietary restrictions as ordered. Not coincidentally, this compliance problem is precisely why obesity is so widespread. The author himself mentioned hundreds of times that compliance was a problem. Yet, in the same breath, he doles out dietary advice as if it’s a complete certainty. It is not. Further, the restrictions he recommends will undoubtedly be impossible for almost all hungry dieters to follow and sustain for a lifetime.
It gets worse. Greger chuckles his way through countless facts and figures in every chapter, and then at the end of several of those chapters, he offers a contradictory disclaimer, saying that a lot of what he just told you might not even be true. That’s because of the classic problem with nutrition research that has become cliché: Correlation does not equal causation.
Along the way, the doctor unfortunately omits some of the most extensive studies done that completely disagree with the guesswork of the studies that he champions. The fact is, none of these studies can get to the truth. That's because the relationship between nutrition and obesity is impenetrably complicated. There are so many unknowns in the world of the diet and nutrition of the human body, today’s researchers have only scratched the surface.
This author, who obviously sees himself as a charismatic Pied Piper who can lead all his followers into the land of slim-bodied fitness and long life, does not have the answers to a sustainable way to lose weight, stay comfortable while doing it, and keep the weight off for the rest of a (longer) lifetime. For instance, his suggestion of exercising for 90 minutes each day is completely out of reach of most of the U.S. population.
I think Dr. Greger knows a viable solution to the obesity epidemic is still elusive, but wants to make it seem like he’s discovered the true path to sustainable weight loss for all. That's a great way to sell books, boost his website traffic and score more speaking gigs in front of his screaming, cult-like following. But reading the thousands of studies, all of which have found correlation with — but not causation of — obesity, there's a profound shortage of proof.
Today’s nutrition research projects raise thousands more questions than they set out to answer, revealing the open secret kept by every nutrition researcher and diet doctor: how sorely our society needs actual research that shows what causes obesity and finds proof of a method of permanent weight loss.
This riddle needs to be solved as soon as possible. If you’re looking for that solution in this book, you’ll be sorely disappointed. You can’t find a straight answer anywhere to the crucial question of mankind, “what should we eat?” and its vexing companion, “how can all the overweight people in our society lose weight and keep it off?”
In fact, this book is the perfect example of how not to find solid facts about how to diet. That’s because there aren’t any. It’s all guesswork.
January 17, 2020
This is an important book and has a lot of information I wish I had come across earlier. Other than the fact that the book is based on evidence and has good nutrition advice, it is also brave – challenging the politics which prevents most people knowing the full facts. Also, much of the medical profession is focused on diagnosis and cure of diseases, with limited understanding of the role of nutrition.
The first and biggest section of the book deals with various serious ailments and how they can be prevented and possibly overcome with diets based on plant food, grains, spices & nuts. There is detailed information on the harm meat, fish and dairy causes us. It will appear as if the matter is repeating across sections since the recommendation is straightforward – you need to eliminate processed food, meat, diary, all animal products from your diet to be healthier. There is a good amount of research referred in the book and the case histories certainly makes this credible reading. Apparently, while a lot of medical profession knows about the risks lurking in the foods we eat – only a few are inclined to take on big industries and the politics involved.
So, is Dr Greger advocating a strictly vegan diet? Dr Greger clarifies that his recommendations are based on what is good for health rather than what to avoid for ethical or other reasons. As he points out, he comes across many vegans stuffing themselves with French fries and guzzling a lot of beer. He, advocates a whole food, plant based diet and there is detailed information on what to include and what not.
I would certainly recommend this book – it is a wake-up call to eat healthier.
My rating: 4.5 / 5.
The first and biggest section of the book deals with various serious ailments and how they can be prevented and possibly overcome with diets based on plant food, grains, spices & nuts. There is detailed information on the harm meat, fish and dairy causes us. It will appear as if the matter is repeating across sections since the recommendation is straightforward – you need to eliminate processed food, meat, diary, all animal products from your diet to be healthier. There is a good amount of research referred in the book and the case histories certainly makes this credible reading. Apparently, while a lot of medical profession knows about the risks lurking in the foods we eat – only a few are inclined to take on big industries and the politics involved.
So, is Dr Greger advocating a strictly vegan diet? Dr Greger clarifies that his recommendations are based on what is good for health rather than what to avoid for ethical or other reasons. As he points out, he comes across many vegans stuffing themselves with French fries and guzzling a lot of beer. He, advocates a whole food, plant based diet and there is detailed information on what to include and what not.
I would certainly recommend this book – it is a wake-up call to eat healthier.
My rating: 4.5 / 5.
January 12, 2019
Utterly frustrating.
Full disclosure - I'm a Bioscience graduate specialising in Neuropharmacology and studied safety pharmacology extensively in university.
Firstly, Greger does not understand the basic principle of pharmacology which is honestly alarming as he is a doctor. Paracelcus, the biggest name in safety pharmacology, said "the dose makes the poison." This means that everything is toxic if you consume enough of it. Literally everything. So when Greger is raving about how turmeric is a miracle food and you should consume pepper to stop your liver detoxifying it (!!!) - take this with a pinch of salt. No food is a miracle. Eat lots of things in balanced portions. Do not glorify broccoli as the food that will save your life - it won't. He also says food does not has side effects - suprise! Everything will have a side effect if you consume too much of it.
Secondly, Greger can not read trials well. Dripping concentrated food extracts on a petri dish does not mean the same effects will be replicated in the body. ADME is a basic in safety pharmacology which stands for absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion. If a compound can not be absorbed into the body easily or does not get distributed to the brain due to the brain's protective features or is metabolised by the liver the moment it gets in the body and is excreted there will be no benefit . So many of the studies cited weren't based on proper science.
Thirdly, Greger says that food is inherently better than drugs and we can't prove that because doctors are paid by pharmaceuticals and no one will pay for the research because you "can't patent broccoli." You can. So many drugs are from natural products that are refined and improved to get the maximum efficacy. For example, Morphine is derived from poppy seeds. If you eat enough poppy seeds you will experience analgesia and side effects eg your breathing will become depressed. Again, this is how basic pharmacology works. If a food has not been made into a drug it's not because it's not profitable. It's because it doesn't work as well as existing medication.
Fourthly, Greger is so into his own principles (and veganism is great don't get me wrong) that he doesn't touch on research that doesn't fuel his own message - eg the food that is currently regarded as the most relevant to the development of dementia is sugar but this is never touched on.
Fifthly, Greger does not understand patient compliance. Sometimes, people just want to eat cheese and beef and fish and eggs and if you ban it they will still eat it. Doctors don't ban people from eating substances because it will not work a lot of the time. Drugs have better patient compliance so they are prescribed to help illnesses.
A pet peeve of mine - Greger said to avoid illness by using hand sanitizers! If you're a doctor or immunosuppressed - go ahead. If you're healthy, please don't. The way to live longer is to expose your immune system so your body has immunity by the time you become elderly and immunosuppressed.
Honestly, the book is written well it just lacks a lot of substance. Also the UK "translation" seemed a little jarring. It's clearly an American book - we know what walmart and the subway is you don't need to say "Tesco" and "the Tube" (why did they capitalise Tube? I am perplexed)
If you want a book on nutrition "Happy Food: How eating well can lift your mood and bring you joy" is much stronger. If you want to be healthy - eat more veg! Try to cut your meat and fish down. Try not to eat processed food. Stay in a healthy BMI zone if you can? Try to cut down on your sugar. Eat colourful food. Eat as varied a diet as possible - don't stick to your common ingredients. Take inspiration from the Mediterranean diet! Find what works for you :)
Full disclosure - I'm a Bioscience graduate specialising in Neuropharmacology and studied safety pharmacology extensively in university.
Firstly, Greger does not understand the basic principle of pharmacology which is honestly alarming as he is a doctor. Paracelcus, the biggest name in safety pharmacology, said "the dose makes the poison." This means that everything is toxic if you consume enough of it. Literally everything. So when Greger is raving about how turmeric is a miracle food and you should consume pepper to stop your liver detoxifying it (!!!) - take this with a pinch of salt. No food is a miracle. Eat lots of things in balanced portions. Do not glorify broccoli as the food that will save your life - it won't. He also says food does not has side effects - suprise! Everything will have a side effect if you consume too much of it.
Secondly, Greger can not read trials well. Dripping concentrated food extracts on a petri dish does not mean the same effects will be replicated in the body. ADME is a basic in safety pharmacology which stands for absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion. If a compound can not be absorbed into the body easily or does not get distributed to the brain due to the brain's protective features or is metabolised by the liver the moment it gets in the body and is excreted there will be no benefit . So many of the studies cited weren't based on proper science.
Thirdly, Greger says that food is inherently better than drugs and we can't prove that because doctors are paid by pharmaceuticals and no one will pay for the research because you "can't patent broccoli." You can. So many drugs are from natural products that are refined and improved to get the maximum efficacy. For example, Morphine is derived from poppy seeds. If you eat enough poppy seeds you will experience analgesia and side effects eg your breathing will become depressed. Again, this is how basic pharmacology works. If a food has not been made into a drug it's not because it's not profitable. It's because it doesn't work as well as existing medication.
Fourthly, Greger is so into his own principles (and veganism is great don't get me wrong) that he doesn't touch on research that doesn't fuel his own message - eg the food that is currently regarded as the most relevant to the development of dementia is sugar but this is never touched on.
Fifthly, Greger does not understand patient compliance. Sometimes, people just want to eat cheese and beef and fish and eggs and if you ban it they will still eat it. Doctors don't ban people from eating substances because it will not work a lot of the time. Drugs have better patient compliance so they are prescribed to help illnesses.
A pet peeve of mine - Greger said to avoid illness by using hand sanitizers! If you're a doctor or immunosuppressed - go ahead. If you're healthy, please don't. The way to live longer is to expose your immune system so your body has immunity by the time you become elderly and immunosuppressed.
Honestly, the book is written well it just lacks a lot of substance. Also the UK "translation" seemed a little jarring. It's clearly an American book - we know what walmart and the subway is you don't need to say "Tesco" and "the Tube" (why did they capitalise Tube? I am perplexed)
If you want a book on nutrition "Happy Food: How eating well can lift your mood and bring you joy" is much stronger. If you want to be healthy - eat more veg! Try to cut your meat and fish down. Try not to eat processed food. Stay in a healthy BMI zone if you can? Try to cut down on your sugar. Eat colourful food. Eat as varied a diet as possible - don't stick to your common ingredients. Take inspiration from the Mediterranean diet! Find what works for you :)
March 17, 2021
I have so many problems with this book I hardly know where to start.
Although careful to toe an each-to-their-own path, this is Greger’s clarion call for veganism. ‘Plant food good, animal food bad’ is writ large on every page and he uses slight-of-hand statistics to support this controversial claim.
Nutrition is a complex subject. Many factions beat the drum for their particular interpretation of several well-known studies, even though many of their conclusions are contradictory. Each faction clings to the research that fits their own theory, so the whole field is shot through with confirmation bias. And that’s exactly what we have running through this book. In spite of the long list of references, Greger has been highly selective and only cites research that supports his case. Anyone who knows the field will spot this.
Moreover, Greger, knowing he is writing for a lay audience, fails to explain key research concepts, notably the distinction between correlation and cause-and-effect and the meaning of [statistical] ‘significance’, which often represents very small fluctuations in outcomes. This allows him to write casually of ‘significant rises’ or ‘significant falls’ in this or that affliction with technical impunity whilst knowing full well that ‘significant’, in common parlance, implies much larger differences.
He also obscures the truth with percentages. Newspaper headlines do this all the time. It’s where a shift from 1 in a million to 1.5 in a million over 12 months can be written as ‘50% rise in one year!’ The book is full of this manipulative little trick.
Greger deploys the above to make questionable claims. For example, in a subchapter called Preventing (and Treating) Breast Cancer by Eating Plants, he implies that if a woman eats her greens, some flaxseeds and soy beans she is protected. Yet it is now well-recognised that the principle risks for breast cancer are being overweight, drinking alcohol (regardless of weight) and family history. Greger barely mentions them.
There is no question that the standard Western diet is atrocious and that those living on it are risking their long term health but veganism is emphatically not the answer (setting aside environmental arguments which Greger does not address). It is difficult to get all essential nutrients on a plant-only diet, particularly the protein, calcium, iron and B vitamins we all need but young women in particular need, for they are the ones largely embracing veganism.
We should indeed be avoiding highly processed meats, refined carbohydrates, foods containing trans-fats or fructose and excessive alcohol. We should be eating more fresh fruit and vegetables and taking more exercise. Everyone knows this, unless they’ve got their heads buried in concrete.
The gut microbiome is the new kid on the block. The evidence for its importance to human health is growing rapidly; this is the one to watch. Greger hardly touches it. Instead of this book, which I cannot recommend, I suggest Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Under-Rated Organ for a far more interesting and up-to-date discussion about current thinking in nutrition.
Although careful to toe an each-to-their-own path, this is Greger’s clarion call for veganism. ‘Plant food good, animal food bad’ is writ large on every page and he uses slight-of-hand statistics to support this controversial claim.
Nutrition is a complex subject. Many factions beat the drum for their particular interpretation of several well-known studies, even though many of their conclusions are contradictory. Each faction clings to the research that fits their own theory, so the whole field is shot through with confirmation bias. And that’s exactly what we have running through this book. In spite of the long list of references, Greger has been highly selective and only cites research that supports his case. Anyone who knows the field will spot this.
Moreover, Greger, knowing he is writing for a lay audience, fails to explain key research concepts, notably the distinction between correlation and cause-and-effect and the meaning of [statistical] ‘significance’, which often represents very small fluctuations in outcomes. This allows him to write casually of ‘significant rises’ or ‘significant falls’ in this or that affliction with technical impunity whilst knowing full well that ‘significant’, in common parlance, implies much larger differences.
He also obscures the truth with percentages. Newspaper headlines do this all the time. It’s where a shift from 1 in a million to 1.5 in a million over 12 months can be written as ‘50% rise in one year!’ The book is full of this manipulative little trick.
Greger deploys the above to make questionable claims. For example, in a subchapter called Preventing (and Treating) Breast Cancer by Eating Plants, he implies that if a woman eats her greens, some flaxseeds and soy beans she is protected. Yet it is now well-recognised that the principle risks for breast cancer are being overweight, drinking alcohol (regardless of weight) and family history. Greger barely mentions them.
There is no question that the standard Western diet is atrocious and that those living on it are risking their long term health but veganism is emphatically not the answer (setting aside environmental arguments which Greger does not address). It is difficult to get all essential nutrients on a plant-only diet, particularly the protein, calcium, iron and B vitamins we all need but young women in particular need, for they are the ones largely embracing veganism.
We should indeed be avoiding highly processed meats, refined carbohydrates, foods containing trans-fats or fructose and excessive alcohol. We should be eating more fresh fruit and vegetables and taking more exercise. Everyone knows this, unless they’ve got their heads buried in concrete.
The gut microbiome is the new kid on the block. The evidence for its importance to human health is growing rapidly; this is the one to watch. Greger hardly touches it. Instead of this book, which I cannot recommend, I suggest Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Under-Rated Organ for a far more interesting and up-to-date discussion about current thinking in nutrition.
March 19, 2017
This book is an unflinching, fearless journey to the dark heart of one of our cultures most contentious and taboo subjects.
Food.
It's not commonly recognized as such. But in my experience, if you want to instigate a fractious argument amongst an otherwise civil group, about a topic that is is absolutely mired in superstition, opaqued by endless layers of literally centuries worth of misinformation, and of which people hold highly defended, deeply emotional, bizarrely irrational and literally deadly serious opinions about, all you have to do is simply……
talk about which foods are healthy and which foods are not in mixed company.
Particularly whether or not one should eat meat including poultry and fish.
Then just sit back and watch the conversational blood sport begin.
Before it's all over, close friends may become bitter enemies.
In my opinion, the BIG 3 nuclear discussion topics are:
1. Politics
2. Religion
3. Food
And in Los Angeles, you can pretty much hyphenate those together into one big word.
politica-religio-nutrition.
Angelenos are religious about their kale smoothies and view consumption of certain foods as treason.
For this reason, I try to avoid the subject all together. Besides. I've already read a bunch of vegan terror tactic books like The Pleasure Trap (a classic) and I have already seen the vegan terror propaganda films e.g. Forks Over Knives (another classic).
I thought I already had all of the data.
I (for above stated reasons and more) was intensely resistant to reading the book and would have passed without second thought had it not been at the emphatic behest of my lovely and wise wife.
As usual, she was right and I was wrong.
So I understand if you're feeling resistant or on the fence about this book.
But if you are, all I have to say to you is.....
OMFG! do yourself a massive solid and read it.
If you've already read the book you may pick up on the fact that there's a pretty awesome (however unintentional) pun embedded in that sentence.
Seriously though, read this book.
Or better yet listen to the Audible version. It's narrated by the author, and he's the quintessential Nebbish.
For those of you unversed in Yiddish, that means lovable-nerdy-intellectual-good guy-dork.
His ridiculously vast knowledgebase is quite literally awesome. That combined with his over-the-top enthusiasm makes the audio version of this book absolutely infectious (in the good way).
Now for the kick in the teeth.
The good doctor presents literally reams of evidence against consuming meat (including fish and chicken) and for a eating a plant based, no processed food diet.
And his argument is overwhelmingly (terrifyingly) convincing.
As he puts it "this is not a vegetarian diet, or a vegan diet, it's an evidence based diet".
And how!
To say the evidence presented is "motivational" or even "coercive" is an understatement.
By the half way mark of the book he had me eating broccoli as if my life depended on it.
This is the perfect first book of the year.
Read it, turn over a new leaf and stuff it in your pre-diabetic pie hole.
Here's to a long healthy life!
Five stars*****
Food.
It's not commonly recognized as such. But in my experience, if you want to instigate a fractious argument amongst an otherwise civil group, about a topic that is is absolutely mired in superstition, opaqued by endless layers of literally centuries worth of misinformation, and of which people hold highly defended, deeply emotional, bizarrely irrational and literally deadly serious opinions about, all you have to do is simply……
talk about which foods are healthy and which foods are not in mixed company.
Particularly whether or not one should eat meat including poultry and fish.
Then just sit back and watch the conversational blood sport begin.
Before it's all over, close friends may become bitter enemies.
In my opinion, the BIG 3 nuclear discussion topics are:
1. Politics
2. Religion
3. Food
And in Los Angeles, you can pretty much hyphenate those together into one big word.
politica-religio-nutrition.
Angelenos are religious about their kale smoothies and view consumption of certain foods as treason.
For this reason, I try to avoid the subject all together. Besides. I've already read a bunch of vegan terror tactic books like The Pleasure Trap (a classic) and I have already seen the vegan terror propaganda films e.g. Forks Over Knives (another classic).
I thought I already had all of the data.
I (for above stated reasons and more) was intensely resistant to reading the book and would have passed without second thought had it not been at the emphatic behest of my lovely and wise wife.
As usual, she was right and I was wrong.
So I understand if you're feeling resistant or on the fence about this book.
But if you are, all I have to say to you is.....
OMFG! do yourself a massive solid and read it.
If you've already read the book you may pick up on the fact that there's a pretty awesome (however unintentional) pun embedded in that sentence.
Seriously though, read this book.
Or better yet listen to the Audible version. It's narrated by the author, and he's the quintessential Nebbish.
For those of you unversed in Yiddish, that means lovable-nerdy-intellectual-good guy-dork.
His ridiculously vast knowledgebase is quite literally awesome. That combined with his over-the-top enthusiasm makes the audio version of this book absolutely infectious (in the good way).
Now for the kick in the teeth.
The good doctor presents literally reams of evidence against consuming meat (including fish and chicken) and for a eating a plant based, no processed food diet.
And his argument is overwhelmingly (terrifyingly) convincing.
As he puts it "this is not a vegetarian diet, or a vegan diet, it's an evidence based diet".
And how!
To say the evidence presented is "motivational" or even "coercive" is an understatement.
By the half way mark of the book he had me eating broccoli as if my life depended on it.
This is the perfect first book of the year.
Read it, turn over a new leaf and stuff it in your pre-diabetic pie hole.
Here's to a long healthy life!
Five stars*****
May 10, 2024
2024 reread: I'm always surprised by how much information this book contains. It really is the best nutrition book I know. This time I have been annotating and marking recipes.
I was reading the reviews and comments on the author's social media pages and some comments people place are really not true. Obviously some people haven't read the book (in complete). People who say the author cherry picks studies haven't read the introduction where he clearly states that in some corners of nutrition science, not much has been published. When studies have low sample size, or possible confounding factors, the author clearly explains this. People who say that the author is shoving veganism down the reader's throat are also wrong. The author does talk about the good things of a plant based diet a lot, because that is what the science shows. Nowhere in the book he tells you to completely stop animal products. He discusses even that sometimes eating "bad" food is not detrimental to your health if you mostly stick to a healthy diet. I would say he is more anti-processed food rather than anti-animal products.
I agree with some other readers though, that sometimes the results are discussed in a way that could be pulled out of context. What the author could do in a next edition is include a short chapter in the introduction about the concepts of for example risk, correlation and causation. While he does point out often that correlation doesn't mean causation, and that risk doesn't mean you will actually be affected by something, if you are not someone who is used to these concepts, the conclusions could be interpreted more dramatically than they are. To me these concepts are really clear, but I totally understand that it could be confusing for people, especially if you just start out with these kind of books. In all, I think the author has a great way of making these scientific studies understandable for most people.
2023 reread: This book has become a yearly staple for me!
2020 reread: After reading this book, I've been following dr Greger's tips and noticed several health benefits. Less headaches, quicker healing from my runs, so I decided to revisit this book to freshen up the knowledge. I now listened to this as an audiobook read by the author. He has a quirky reading style, may not be for everyone, but I really liked it.
I was really intrigued when I saw this book. Ofcourse most people know how to eat so that they can be the healthiest version of themselves, but they wont do it because of various reasons. Books like these always make sure I eat healthy for a while. This book is useful and pretty easy to read. Worth checking out if you're interested in health!
I was reading the reviews and comments on the author's social media pages and some comments people place are really not true. Obviously some people haven't read the book (in complete). People who say the author cherry picks studies haven't read the introduction where he clearly states that in some corners of nutrition science, not much has been published. When studies have low sample size, or possible confounding factors, the author clearly explains this. People who say that the author is shoving veganism down the reader's throat are also wrong. The author does talk about the good things of a plant based diet a lot, because that is what the science shows. Nowhere in the book he tells you to completely stop animal products. He discusses even that sometimes eating "bad" food is not detrimental to your health if you mostly stick to a healthy diet. I would say he is more anti-processed food rather than anti-animal products.
I agree with some other readers though, that sometimes the results are discussed in a way that could be pulled out of context. What the author could do in a next edition is include a short chapter in the introduction about the concepts of for example risk, correlation and causation. While he does point out often that correlation doesn't mean causation, and that risk doesn't mean you will actually be affected by something, if you are not someone who is used to these concepts, the conclusions could be interpreted more dramatically than they are. To me these concepts are really clear, but I totally understand that it could be confusing for people, especially if you just start out with these kind of books. In all, I think the author has a great way of making these scientific studies understandable for most people.
2023 reread: This book has become a yearly staple for me!
2020 reread: After reading this book, I've been following dr Greger's tips and noticed several health benefits. Less headaches, quicker healing from my runs, so I decided to revisit this book to freshen up the knowledge. I now listened to this as an audiobook read by the author. He has a quirky reading style, may not be for everyone, but I really liked it.
I was really intrigued when I saw this book. Ofcourse most people know how to eat so that they can be the healthiest version of themselves, but they wont do it because of various reasons. Books like these always make sure I eat healthy for a while. This book is useful and pretty easy to read. Worth checking out if you're interested in health!
January 21, 2023
“How Not To Die”, by Dr. Michael Greger advocates an antioxidant plant based diet….eating anti-inflammatory foods.
He’s a vegan enthusiast….
Legumes…beans…berries and other fresh fruits….cruciferous vegetables…dark leafy vegetables….nuts….seeds…tubers….whole grains ….
omega 3-fatty acids….and fiber…
add spices: turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, saffron…
Avoid highly processed foods…meats….dairy…sugar…
No juicy burgers, fries, and a milkshakes. Bye-bye!
Lots of stories about reversing heart disease, lowering high blood pressure, cancer, lung diseases, brain diseases, diabetes, and other diseases…
A very informative book.
The links between what we eat and having a healthy body and mind are plentiful…
Increase energy…improve mood…boost self confidence… social life ….and a wide variety of beneficial effects on our psyche.
…Get plenty of quality sleep
…Exercise
…Shake off stress
…Set boundaries with technology
…Improve posture
…Clean your gut
…Stay hydrated
Are we having fun yet?
Love to be reminded of things you already know — and already- occasionally implement? (my pleasure… haha…. glad I could assist).
Want to refresh your reasons for living your ‘smart-choice’ lifestyle? ….
And hear a bunch of true stories?
[There’s a beautiful story about Dr. Greger’s grandmother]…..
“How Not To Die” just might extend you life simply by reading it 🥦🍎
He’s a vegan enthusiast….
Legumes…beans…berries and other fresh fruits….cruciferous vegetables…dark leafy vegetables….nuts….seeds…tubers….whole grains ….
omega 3-fatty acids….and fiber…
add spices: turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, saffron…
Avoid highly processed foods…meats….dairy…sugar…
No juicy burgers, fries, and a milkshakes. Bye-bye!
Lots of stories about reversing heart disease, lowering high blood pressure, cancer, lung diseases, brain diseases, diabetes, and other diseases…
A very informative book.
The links between what we eat and having a healthy body and mind are plentiful…
Increase energy…improve mood…boost self confidence… social life ….and a wide variety of beneficial effects on our psyche.
…Get plenty of quality sleep
…Exercise
…Shake off stress
…Set boundaries with technology
…Improve posture
…Clean your gut
…Stay hydrated
Are we having fun yet?
Love to be reminded of things you already know — and already- occasionally implement? (my pleasure… haha…. glad I could assist).
Want to refresh your reasons for living your ‘smart-choice’ lifestyle? ….
And hear a bunch of true stories?
[There’s a beautiful story about Dr. Greger’s grandmother]…..
“How Not To Die” just might extend you life simply by reading it 🥦🍎
July 4, 2017
Well this was a very interesting read! Since I have been contemplating changes to my diet, it arrived on hold for me at the public library at an opportune moment. I went shopping yesterday for esoteric items like hibiscus tea and ground flax seed and some less unusual items like more walnuts, fruit & vegetables.
I’m a believer in evidence and Dr. Greger provides boat-loads of that. Now my task is to test these ideas with myself as guinea pig and see if they actually work for me. I’ve been controlling my blood pressure with medication for many years now and just got the warning from my doc that my blood sugars are creeping upwards. The time for action is now!
However, there is a lot of repetition in this book. It got to the point where I wanted to skip entire chapters because I knew that I was just going to get more of the same. It gets almost to the point of being preachy, something that I detest. I also wish that he had dealt with the issue of the title at the beginning, rather than right at the end. Properly, the book should be called How Not To Die Prematurely and he admits this in the final paragraphs. It is not a prescription for immortality.
Meat-eaters (and I am one of them) will find this challenging. However, I keep my own notebook of recipes that I went through this weekend & I made notes. I certainly have enough vegetarian recipes that I enjoy to keep myself well fed while I try out this regime. It’s not going to happen overnight, but I will definitely be adding more fruits, vegetables, and nuts even while I try to wean myself off of too much meat. I don’t know whether I will ever be a vegan—I’m not sure I have enough self-righteousness for that—but a dietary improvement is in order.
I’m a believer in evidence and Dr. Greger provides boat-loads of that. Now my task is to test these ideas with myself as guinea pig and see if they actually work for me. I’ve been controlling my blood pressure with medication for many years now and just got the warning from my doc that my blood sugars are creeping upwards. The time for action is now!
However, there is a lot of repetition in this book. It got to the point where I wanted to skip entire chapters because I knew that I was just going to get more of the same. It gets almost to the point of being preachy, something that I detest. I also wish that he had dealt with the issue of the title at the beginning, rather than right at the end. Properly, the book should be called How Not To Die Prematurely and he admits this in the final paragraphs. It is not a prescription for immortality.
Meat-eaters (and I am one of them) will find this challenging. However, I keep my own notebook of recipes that I went through this weekend & I made notes. I certainly have enough vegetarian recipes that I enjoy to keep myself well fed while I try out this regime. It’s not going to happen overnight, but I will definitely be adding more fruits, vegetables, and nuts even while I try to wean myself off of too much meat. I don’t know whether I will ever be a vegan—I’m not sure I have enough self-righteousness for that—but a dietary improvement is in order.
January 19, 2016
This book could be a life changer. God knows I've tried every diet known to man but becoming vegan never occurred to me. I always thought it was more of a lifestyle choice having to do with an affinity for animals rather than health based. Read this and your eyes will be opened to a lot of things. I've long known the dangers of processed foods but always believed that meat and dairy were good for me. I'm going to try eating this way for a couple of weeks and see how I feel. As soon as I finished this audiobook I started it again.
June 11, 2016
This book changed my family's life. My husband and I read it while on holiday in Florida. Although not your typical beach read, we couldn't put it down! By the second chapter, we completely cut meat out of our diet (while on holiday!) and haven't looked back. I feel energized and inspired for change. The simple act of eliminating meat from your diet will reduce carbon emissions significantly, not to mention to health benefits. The most important impact for me is preventing animal cruelty. As a mother, how can I teach my children kindness and respect while my meat purchasing power caters to the captivity and torture of innocent animals? And the outrage over a lion being beheaded or a gorilla being shot in a zoo is perplexing to me when most of the people showing anger eat meat on a daily basis. We must take a step back and prioritize our choices, and reading this book will make it easier to transition. In 2016, with knowledge and products at our fingertips, it is easier than ever to live a plant based way of life. The meal choices are endless and delicious! Every day brings a new opportunity to experiment and discover healthy foods and say goodbye to heart burn, clogged arteries, indigestion, and countless other maladies. It was a pleasure to work along side Dr.Greger at the St.Catharines, Ontario VegFest this June. I am so grateful for his hard work and research. This book is a must read.
August 5, 2018
A great motivator to make me seriously consider vegetarian/vegan diet, this book. Thus five stars.
This book examines the top 15 causes of death (in US) in its first half, followed by food recommendations, a word on exercise, and an appendix on useful supplements. The point is to improve the quantity and the quality of one's life - everyone dies, but one should make the time before it better and longer. And perhaps need less visits to the doctor(s) and the hospital. Less medicine with possible side effects too. (See the last chapter of the first part - iatrogenic causes.)
(The notes section makes about a third of this book, so the part for reading is a bit shorter than it looks like when you hold the book, if you read this in book form.)
Throughout reading the first part (the diseases), some of my reactions:
- The food industry, food safety and medical industry in the US sure is crazy! (same, to this reader familiar, things appear also when talk goes to butchering/slaughterhouse-work related illnesses)
- not the chicken too! X(
- guess I need to give up cola (except the little flavor in chewing gum) *awww*
- but I *like* my meat well-done! :(
- but I *like* egg-white the best! *boo*
But going on: as one reads through the diseases, some food-cures start repeating, and for a good reason - they work on so many of them. If only the doctors would recommend food changes for illness symptoms (but money talks so...). There is a couple of disturbing images of the end of some diseases, for example in the lung/liver chapters, that can both horrify and motivate.
The author clearly directs us towards more plant-based living, discouraging dairy, meat and fish use. That said, he doesn't do it aggressively, off-putting the reader. But one clearly needs to consider going off the Standard American Diet (SAD diet, indeed). Some examples of people who have done that through author's site - he mentions this site now and then, but not too often - give good examples.
Part two talks about building a better, plant-based diet, first generally, then how the author does it (and recommends). Firstly, he introduces a traffic-light system of classifying the foods: green for unprocessed plant food, yellow for processed plant food and unprocessed animal food, and red for extraprocessed plant food and processed animal food. He shows what 'whole food, plant-based' diet means, and points out that ultimately the reader chooses what suits them the best: the limits, the pace, the recipes. Healthier food becomes tastier over time (just like lower salt-use becomes normal over time).
Secondly comes how the author does it: he shows us his checklist of the 'daily dozen', which makes diet-building pretty manageable. Each food group lists the foods, the amount for each serving, and how many servings one should have. Deeper information follows, like the myth of 8 glasses of water, why one should avoid alfalfa sprouts always, why miso's saltiness is OK, and some good recipes too. He also talks about exercising, avoiding sitting too much, and then in the appendix sections about the supplements (B12, vitamin D, and such).
Five stars for being so waking! This book doesn't talk about the suffering of animals (there's enough talk about it found elsewhere already) but focuses on another reason for moving towards plant-based eating: our health. That can be the biggest motivator for some people. It certainly makes on think seriously about changing oneself, for sure.
And at the end: surprise !
This book examines the top 15 causes of death (in US) in its first half, followed by food recommendations, a word on exercise, and an appendix on useful supplements. The point is to improve the quantity and the quality of one's life - everyone dies, but one should make the time before it better and longer. And perhaps need less visits to the doctor(s) and the hospital. Less medicine with possible side effects too. (See the last chapter of the first part - iatrogenic causes.)
(The notes section makes about a third of this book, so the part for reading is a bit shorter than it looks like when you hold the book, if you read this in book form.)
Throughout reading the first part (the diseases), some of my reactions:
- The food industry, food safety and medical industry in the US sure is crazy! (same, to this reader familiar, things appear also when talk goes to butchering/slaughterhouse-work related illnesses)
- not the chicken too! X(
- guess I need to give up cola (except the little flavor in chewing gum) *awww*
- but I *like* my meat well-done! :(
- but I *like* egg-white the best! *boo*
But going on: as one reads through the diseases, some food-cures start repeating, and for a good reason - they work on so many of them. If only the doctors would recommend food changes for illness symptoms (but money talks so...). There is a couple of disturbing images of the end of some diseases, for example in the lung/liver chapters, that can both horrify and motivate.
The author clearly directs us towards more plant-based living, discouraging dairy, meat and fish use. That said, he doesn't do it aggressively, off-putting the reader. But one clearly needs to consider going off the Standard American Diet (SAD diet, indeed). Some examples of people who have done that through author's site - he mentions this site now and then, but not too often - give good examples.
Part two talks about building a better, plant-based diet, first generally, then how the author does it (and recommends). Firstly, he introduces a traffic-light system of classifying the foods: green for unprocessed plant food, yellow for processed plant food and unprocessed animal food, and red for extraprocessed plant food and processed animal food. He shows what 'whole food, plant-based' diet means, and points out that ultimately the reader chooses what suits them the best: the limits, the pace, the recipes. Healthier food becomes tastier over time (just like lower salt-use becomes normal over time).
Secondly comes how the author does it: he shows us his checklist of the 'daily dozen', which makes diet-building pretty manageable. Each food group lists the foods, the amount for each serving, and how many servings one should have. Deeper information follows, like the myth of 8 glasses of water, why one should avoid alfalfa sprouts always, why miso's saltiness is OK, and some good recipes too. He also talks about exercising, avoiding sitting too much, and then in the appendix sections about the supplements (B12, vitamin D, and such).
Five stars for being so waking! This book doesn't talk about the suffering of animals (there's enough talk about it found elsewhere already) but focuses on another reason for moving towards plant-based eating: our health. That can be the biggest motivator for some people. It certainly makes on think seriously about changing oneself, for sure.
And at the end: surprise !
December 3, 2019
I think everybody is aware that your diet has an enormous impact on your health. This book is another reminder that this is true.
Though everyone will one day die, Michael Greger gives some tips to help you live as long and as healthily as possible.
I'm not going to debate the merits of different diets which seem to change as quickly as fads. I think everybody should try to incorporate healthy habits that are right for them as they are able. How Not to Die is packed with ideas on that front.
I think the most interesting part of this book are the effects that various foods have on the body. But you don't have to take Greger's word for it, experiment and see what works for you.
Happy eating :)
Though everyone will one day die, Michael Greger gives some tips to help you live as long and as healthily as possible.
I'm not going to debate the merits of different diets which seem to change as quickly as fads. I think everybody should try to incorporate healthy habits that are right for them as they are able. How Not to Die is packed with ideas on that front.
I think the most interesting part of this book are the effects that various foods have on the body. But you don't have to take Greger's word for it, experiment and see what works for you.
Happy eating :)
February 26, 2019
Unfortunately, I just couldn't bear to finish this book. It's filled with so much weak and poor science that it disturbs me that this was written by a physician. Of course, I didn't have time to look up every study cited here, but when I did, I found that either the study was extremely small (e.g., 10-30 participants, and usually unblinded) or, in the case of larger studies, it was easy to find studies just as large and similarly constructed with contradictory results. In some cases, a study would be cited that actually had contradictory conclusions to the thesis of the book (that eating meat leads to virtually every negative diet related health outcome that exists).
For example, he cites the study titled "Longitudinal changes in BMI in older adults are associated with meat consumption differentially, by type of meat consumed" as evidence that consuming chicken is associated with increases in BMI (nevermind the dangers in making health recommendations based on "associations"). However, that was just one conclusion. Here's another one: "No association between total fresh meat consumption and prospective BMI change was observed in men and women. Men with the highest intake of beef experienced a significantly lower increase in BMI after 6 and 14 y than those with the lowest intake."
Citing this study only for the effect it found from just poultry, when throughout the book he's demonizing the consumption of all meat, but particularly red meat, is indicative of a level of intellectual dishonesty that calls everything he writes into question.
The flaws in his understanding of the scientific method may be best reflected when discussing the potential health benefits of eating Brazil nuts. He cites a study titled "A single consumption of high amounts of the Brazil nuts improves lipid profile of healthy volunteers" that included just ten subjects. About this, he says:
"Normally, when a study comes out in the medical literature showing some too-good-to-be-true result like this, doctors wait to see the results replicated before they change their clinical practice and begin recommending something new to their patients, particularly when the study is done on only ten subjects, and especially when the findings seem too incredible to believe. But when the intervention is cheap, easy, harmless, and healthy—we’re talking just four Brazil nuts per month—then in my opinion, the burden of proof is somewhat reversed. I think the reasonable default position is to do it until proven otherwise."
This is exactly the opposite of the "reasonable default position" and there's excellent reasons why science doesn't work that way. Not only does he betray a profound misunderstanding of how science works, he does the public a disservice by feeding the distrust of nutrition science. When people hear one year that eating Brazil nuts is good for your heart, then a year later a (larger, better constructed) study comes out that there is no benefit or even harm, many people get frustrated with the "flip flopping" and decide that "scientists" don't know what they're talking about.
I'm not saying that I think his conclusions are wrong. I really don't know if he's right or wrong. I'm saying that I simply don't find him trustworthy. I don't think I'm able to learn anything valuable when the source is so dishonest.
For example, he cites the study titled "Longitudinal changes in BMI in older adults are associated with meat consumption differentially, by type of meat consumed" as evidence that consuming chicken is associated with increases in BMI (nevermind the dangers in making health recommendations based on "associations"). However, that was just one conclusion. Here's another one: "No association between total fresh meat consumption and prospective BMI change was observed in men and women. Men with the highest intake of beef experienced a significantly lower increase in BMI after 6 and 14 y than those with the lowest intake."
Citing this study only for the effect it found from just poultry, when throughout the book he's demonizing the consumption of all meat, but particularly red meat, is indicative of a level of intellectual dishonesty that calls everything he writes into question.
The flaws in his understanding of the scientific method may be best reflected when discussing the potential health benefits of eating Brazil nuts. He cites a study titled "A single consumption of high amounts of the Brazil nuts improves lipid profile of healthy volunteers" that included just ten subjects. About this, he says:
"Normally, when a study comes out in the medical literature showing some too-good-to-be-true result like this, doctors wait to see the results replicated before they change their clinical practice and begin recommending something new to their patients, particularly when the study is done on only ten subjects, and especially when the findings seem too incredible to believe. But when the intervention is cheap, easy, harmless, and healthy—we’re talking just four Brazil nuts per month—then in my opinion, the burden of proof is somewhat reversed. I think the reasonable default position is to do it until proven otherwise."
This is exactly the opposite of the "reasonable default position" and there's excellent reasons why science doesn't work that way. Not only does he betray a profound misunderstanding of how science works, he does the public a disservice by feeding the distrust of nutrition science. When people hear one year that eating Brazil nuts is good for your heart, then a year later a (larger, better constructed) study comes out that there is no benefit or even harm, many people get frustrated with the "flip flopping" and decide that "scientists" don't know what they're talking about.
I'm not saying that I think his conclusions are wrong. I really don't know if he's right or wrong. I'm saying that I simply don't find him trustworthy. I don't think I'm able to learn anything valuable when the source is so dishonest.
December 27, 2017
This is a problematic book. I support the cause and the motivation, but a lot of it is simply misleading. The general tone of "how not to die" has so much western dualistic bias which supposes we are constantly at war with something (disease, war, cancer, death, obesity, you name it) while these things are equally part of life as their opposites. We all have to die eventually, but please, not in denial.
The second objective is the style, which is not only highly reductive (read Whole by Colin Campbell to get the point), but also verbally very close to marketing language. It is written to sell, not just itself, but perhaps some seminars and workshops as well. Yes yes, perhaps the ends justify the means, but still... it leaves me with quite an aftertaste.
That being said, if one knows how to interpret all this mountain of data into a proper context, this book can serve as a good guiding book for nutrition. If you use it just as a reference or a starting point (much like a telephone directory is used just as a starting point for an actual conversation), you may get the best of it. But don't take it too literary, search for the context and search for the real content.
The second objective is the style, which is not only highly reductive (read Whole by Colin Campbell to get the point), but also verbally very close to marketing language. It is written to sell, not just itself, but perhaps some seminars and workshops as well. Yes yes, perhaps the ends justify the means, but still... it leaves me with quite an aftertaste.
That being said, if one knows how to interpret all this mountain of data into a proper context, this book can serve as a good guiding book for nutrition. If you use it just as a reference or a starting point (much like a telephone directory is used just as a starting point for an actual conversation), you may get the best of it. But don't take it too literary, search for the context and search for the real content.
December 10, 2019
As a fan of Dr. Greger's previous book "How Not to Die," I expected a lot from his latest publication. And Dr. Greger delivers in spades: he delves deep into the latest science and presents it in an easy to digest (pun intended), painstaking and thorough manner. The Kindle version has the added benefit of providing links to the actual peer reviewed journals, so that nothing he says needs to be taken on faith. As Dr. Greger states: "I don't want to be your diet Guru." He gives us the tools to make up our own minds, based on the scientific evidence to date, rather than asking us to act on blind faith. Although I am fortunate that I don't need to lose or gain any weight (BMI 20), thanks to having read and followed "How Not to Die" for years, I am convinced that understanding the science of *how* things work make all the difference for me in being able to stick with a healthy eating regime in the long run. In his latest book, Dr. Greger gives me more knowledge and incentive to focus on what is good and nourishing, rather than on depriving myself and to love the foods that love me back. Thank you, Dr. Greger, for this valuable healthy eating bible to accompany me on my journey.
July 2, 2017
This is the best, most comprehensive, and most reliably/extensively cited book on diet and health I have ever read. Rather than relying on just a few questionable studies the way most books on the topic do (often, I might add, while seemingly purposefully misinterpreting the data from said studies), Dr. Greger looks at the whole of nutrition studies published in English, explains typical and relevant ones thoroughly, and makes them understandable to anybody.
One great thing about this book is that it can give you hope. You and your family members don't need to spend a lot of money on drugs, worrying about health insurance at every turn. You don't need to die from heart disease, you don't need to suffer early onset dementia, you don't need to have a stroke and spend years trying to recover, you don't have to just sit back waiting to get cancer. This book will teach you that it's not true that everything gives you cancer. Fruit and veggies don't! And How Not to Die will tell you specifically which fruits or veggies have been clinically shown to specifically help to prevent or reverse which types of cancer.
Yes, it's a bit overwhelming at times. While reading the book, I often thought to myself, "Oh, I should write down which thing will prevent throat cancer, which will lower blood pressure (my only actual health concern at this point), which will reduce my chances of dementia" and so on. But then I calm down and I remember that as long as I continue to eat unprocessed plant-based food and lots of it, I will be fine. That said, I really do appreciate knowing which plants are particularly health-promoting.
I've been a berry fanatic ever since I learned about antioxidants in my very first nutrition class, and I notice that Dr. Greger says to eat berries every day. Also in health class, I learned about beans helping reduce insulin resistance and Dr. Greger confirms it. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I am studying nutrition in college with the intent to become a registered dietitian, and How Not to Die is the only book on nutrition I have ever read that doesn't have any information in it that is counter to what I've learned in those classes as being health promoting. It's also the only one that passes the test of reliability in its thoroughness of citing sources WITHIN the text, talking about both the good things and bad things about a particular study. Other books seem to treat any study that agrees with their central point as perfect. But Greger will outright say, "This study only looked at the cells in a petri dish to see if it will fight cancer" or "This study was only done on a dozen people," but, he'll add, since the study is suggesting you eat a veggie, fruit, legume, or whole grain, what's the harm of trying it anyway? It's not like it's suggesting you take a drug that's only been tested in a petri dish. It's suggesting you eat broccoli.
I learned a lot from this book and I think it could save a lot of people's lives. I want to send it to my parents, my aunts and uncles, give it to strangers on the train. I want to hang its green light foods on my fridge, I want to watch videos on nutritionfact.org, I want to see Dr. Greger debate with paleo nutcases. We could solve so many problems by changing our diets, and I'm happy to be one person living as an example of how not to die.
One great thing about this book is that it can give you hope. You and your family members don't need to spend a lot of money on drugs, worrying about health insurance at every turn. You don't need to die from heart disease, you don't need to suffer early onset dementia, you don't need to have a stroke and spend years trying to recover, you don't have to just sit back waiting to get cancer. This book will teach you that it's not true that everything gives you cancer. Fruit and veggies don't! And How Not to Die will tell you specifically which fruits or veggies have been clinically shown to specifically help to prevent or reverse which types of cancer.
Yes, it's a bit overwhelming at times. While reading the book, I often thought to myself, "Oh, I should write down which thing will prevent throat cancer, which will lower blood pressure (my only actual health concern at this point), which will reduce my chances of dementia" and so on. But then I calm down and I remember that as long as I continue to eat unprocessed plant-based food and lots of it, I will be fine. That said, I really do appreciate knowing which plants are particularly health-promoting.
I've been a berry fanatic ever since I learned about antioxidants in my very first nutrition class, and I notice that Dr. Greger says to eat berries every day. Also in health class, I learned about beans helping reduce insulin resistance and Dr. Greger confirms it. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I am studying nutrition in college with the intent to become a registered dietitian, and How Not to Die is the only book on nutrition I have ever read that doesn't have any information in it that is counter to what I've learned in those classes as being health promoting. It's also the only one that passes the test of reliability in its thoroughness of citing sources WITHIN the text, talking about both the good things and bad things about a particular study. Other books seem to treat any study that agrees with their central point as perfect. But Greger will outright say, "This study only looked at the cells in a petri dish to see if it will fight cancer" or "This study was only done on a dozen people," but, he'll add, since the study is suggesting you eat a veggie, fruit, legume, or whole grain, what's the harm of trying it anyway? It's not like it's suggesting you take a drug that's only been tested in a petri dish. It's suggesting you eat broccoli.
I learned a lot from this book and I think it could save a lot of people's lives. I want to send it to my parents, my aunts and uncles, give it to strangers on the train. I want to hang its green light foods on my fridge, I want to watch videos on nutritionfact.org, I want to see Dr. Greger debate with paleo nutcases. We could solve so many problems by changing our diets, and I'm happy to be one person living as an example of how not to die.
November 18, 2015
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. If you don't find something in this book to improve your life and health, then you are just not trying... A large and comprehensive catalog of healthful suggestions for changing your eating habits to enhance your life. Chapter by chapter approach to the main disease categories that affect our lives in modern America -- from heart disease to diabetes, digestive cancers to depression -- this book covers them all! Basically it is suggested that we need to alter our eating habits to a plant-based diet with the addition and emphasis of particular natural compounds depending upon our family history or personal disease process. All sound advice and easily enough followed. Was a little concerned that it was suggested that rather than avoid or counting carbs/sugars and/or calories, a type 2 diabetic is advised to ignore that ADA wisdom and concentrate on a low fat/high fiber diet instead. Numerous suggestions are made to improve overall health through more natural eating and additions of other herbs and foods used more prevalently in other cultures, i.e. turmeric. Overall a helpful book with easy-to-follow suggestions. Avoids being overly-preachy (can't avoid being a little preachy) while earnestly calling for a change in eating habits for greater health.
February 19, 2016
I flipped through those sections that interested me and all I got was "eat veggies". Repeat.
I was hoping for something new and original... not that I didn't expect the "eat veggies" and already do... but original.
I was hoping for something new and original... not that I didn't expect the "eat veggies" and already do... but original.
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