How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease

I've spent the first two decades of my life pretty much ignoring nutrition. I seemed to have a metabolism that allowed me to eat as much junk as I pleased and never gotten overweight. Since a young child, my family could never get me to take an interest in food, and I ate very little of anything healthy. However, I was raised as a vegetarian and I've only ever eaten meat by accident. Three years ago I went vegan due to ethical reasons regarding the suffering of non-human animals. However, I continued to eat complete junk. In the last few years, my diet seemed to be catching up with me. I moved to Japan and practically lived off nothing but rice, chips, beer, green tea and edamame. My health declined. I went to the doctors with my 8th case of common cold or flu or tonsillitis in 9 months and asked if there was any lifestyle adjustments I could make. Can I get a blood test to see what nutrients I may be deficient in? The doctor reacted quite nastily, and having read this book, now I know why. Japan has a healthcare system unlike the NHS and more like the private American system. I was shocked at how much crap I was prescribed for a single cold (much of it Traditional Chinese Medicine that is unproven by science) and how much it cost. The pandemic came. I got a particularly nasty bout of tonsillitis that left me doling out the rest of my money on a week long hospital stay because I couldn't swallow food so needed it intravenously. I had to pack my bags and come home to UK, where my health has continued to deteriorate. I discovered I have a mental condition, a symptom of which is poor diet, poor exercise and poor sleeping patterns. It's defined my life thus far and I have decided not to let it define me any longer. So, I came across this book - the book that would help me get my baked beans and veggie sausage diet into a leafier shape. I always thought nutrition would be so difficult, but not only does Greger simplify everything without coming off as patronising, he also provides ample motivation to get you to eat more healthily. The motivation is right there in the book. Since following this diet, including the portion of exercise he recommends, I have felt such an extreme difference in energy. I now seem to float between rooms of the house, apparently not losing any energy as I move up and down stairs. My posture has become more erect along with other body parts. I can see my abdominal muscles for the first time ever. I have not fallen ill. This book is a gripping read, but also functions as a reference book with a very useful index. It's full of practical advice that is easy to follow and based on studies that are all from pretty good sources. Greger is completely transparent and analytical about each study he mentions, including in his summary the limitations of each study, how it might be improved for more accurate or enlightening results and other very interesting bits and bobs. I have started recommending this book to everyone - including buying an extra copy and sending it to my vegan-nutrition-sceptic scientist brother, as the scientific evidence based manner in which the information here is presented makes a compelling argument not only to defend vegan nutrition, but also to promote a whole food plant based diet as being nutritionally superior to any carnistic diet, provided it is eaten as prescribed by this book. It's impossible to be unbiased when it comes to veganism. Either your vegan or you're not. It's easy for me to see the negative reviews as being biased in favour of carnism, as someone might read my review as being bias because I'm quite clearly a staunch vegan. But the truth is that since adopting a whole food plant based diet, I've felt better and more healthy than I ever remember being. I recommend this to any junk food vegans (like I was) who want to learn how to eat healthily and to any carnists (people who consume animal products) who are sceptical that it's possible for a vegan diet to be nutritionally adequate. What you find in this book might surprise you.

About the book: How Not to Die explains how a plant-based diet can extend your life while transforming your quality of living. It offers a wealth of health-boosting nutritional information and hands-on dietary advice that you won’t get from your doctor. About the author: Michael Greger, MD, is an internationally renowned doctor, author and speaker. Additionally, he serves as director of public health and animal agriculture at the Humane Society of the United States and runs the website NutritionFacts.org. Gene Stone is the author of several books on plant-based nutrition, including the bestseller, Forks Over Knives. My highlights: Poor diet is the number one cause of premature death, and it’s often ignored by the medical industry. Meat, dairy, eggs and processed foods that dominate the typical American diet are bad news. The study found that people who ate diets rich in these food groups were at greater risk of heart disease, diabetes and a number of other chronic ailments. Not just that, but excessive animal fat and processed meat also resulted in high cholesterol and an elevated chance of heart disease. A plant-based diet can provide better treatment than pharmaceuticals. Vegetarians of 12 years who began eating meat one day per week saw a drop in life expectancy of 3.6 years.So are vegetarians healthier? Well, cultures that eat plant-based diets certainly experience much less disease than we do in modern American society. Plant-based diets can even help reverse disease. Doctors find it easier to prescribe drugs than to change a diet, even though medication poses potential threats. Plant-based diets have been shown to be just as effective and come with none of the risks. Fruits, especially berries, help deter cancer and boost the immune system. A healthy diet should contain four servings of fruit a day, one of which should be berries. Keep in mind that means whole fruit and not fruit juice. Eating fruit has been found to improve lung function. This is due to fruit’s rich antioxidant content, which limits cellular damage and reduces inflammation. And don’t worry about the natural sugar in fruits causing weight gain. Only the fructose in added sugars is associated with health problems. The fiber, antioxidants and phytonutrients in fruit itself can combat the adverse effects of fructose. This incredible antioxidizing power is believed to come from their pigmentation, and berries are second only to herbs and spices as the most antioxidant-rich foods, with an average of ten times more antioxidants than other fruits. Vegetables are vital to a healthy diet. Whole vegetables, as opposed to processed ones, have been found to protect cellular telomeres – nucleotide “caps” that keep DNA healthy as cells divide and age. Not just that, but vegetables like broccoli and cabbage can aid liver and lung function while cutting the risk of lymphoma and prostate cancer. Eating five servings of veggies a day is the magic solution. Out of these five, two should be leafy greens like kale, arugula and chard. One should be a cruciferous vegetable like broccoli, cabbage or cauliflower. And the other two should include carrots, beets and mushrooms. Cruciferous vegetables are essential as they produce sulforaphane, a potentially powerful, anti-inflammatory, cancer-fighting molecule. These vegetables are best eaten raw since the enzyme that activates sulforaphane is destroyed by heat. Chopping them up before cooking is fine, however, since doing so activates the enzyme, thereby forming sulforaphane. After just 40 minutes, the molecule is preserved, and the vegetable can be safely cooked. Dark leafy greens are important since they contain the most nutrition per calorie of any food on earth. If you don’t like them, just try blending them into a fruit smoothie. Beans and whole grains are great for your health. The American Institute for Cancer Research recommends eating a serving of beans or legumes with every meal since they offer an animal-free protein with added benefits, like fiber.Soy is the most popular bean in America, but processed versions of soybeans, like tofu, should be avoided. Lentils are a good choice for legumes as they can cut a sugar spike, even hours after a meal. Beyond that, they’re loaded with prebiotics, can relax the stomach and slow the rate of sugar absorption. You should eat beans three times a day, and the same goes for whole grains, which can deter debilitating diseases. Whole grains can cut the risk of heart disease, type-2 diabetes, obesity and even strokes Check nutritional labels and confirm that the ratio of carbohydrates to fiber is five to one or lower. 14 October, 2017 12:29 Share Nuts and seeds are super nutritious. A single daily serving of nuts or seeds can make all the difference in fighting disease? The phytates found in nuts and seeds detoxify excess iron from the body, which can create free radicals linked to colorectal cancer. While phytates used to be considered inhibitors of mineral absorption, they’ve since been found to increase bone density. The most recommended seeds are chia, hemp, pumpkin, sesame and sunflower. Walnuts are the most nutritious. They’re even among the most antioxidizing foods and boast high levels of omega-3s. Herbs and spices make healthy foods even more beneficial. Herbs and spices can add flare to a dish, but these fragrant flavorings are also powerful fighters of disease, especially cancer. Spices like cloves, cinnamon, oregano and nutmeg inhibit an enzyme known as monoamine oxidase, which can spark depression. But of all the herbs and spices, turmeric is the best, especially for cancer. While turmeric is eliminated from the body quite quickly, simple black pepper can suppress this process. When it comes to beverages, water reigns supreme. Aim for at least five 12-ounce beverages per day, and there’s nothing better than pure H2O. Coffee, which benefits the liver and the brain. Those who drink more than two cups of java per day experience half the risk of both chronic liver issues and suicide.The second is tea, which can have powerful medicinal effects. Milk is a big no-go While moderate drinking – one drink a day for women and two for men – has benefits for heart disease, booze is also correlated with cancer. Exercise coupled with a healthy diet is the recipe for a long life. While healthy eating is essential, its benefits can only be increased by adding exercise to the mix. The daily recommendation is 90 minutes of moderate or 40 minutes of intense exercise. Final summary The key message in this book: Switching to a plant-based diet can help you live longer and more healthily. Many of the debilitating diseases we suffer from today are merely a result of eating animal-based foods. By changing your diet, you can prevent or even reverse conditions as serious as heart disease or cancer.

This is the first time I have ever written a review on Amazon, but I have become passionate about nutrition and have read widely (some would say obsessively) around the subject over the past few months. I had been aware of Dr Greger for a while via his website (Nutrition Facts) and decided to buy his book. It is structured around the most common causes of death in the US, and considers evidence that nutrition choices can both increase and decrease the risk of various conditions, such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. It is written in an engaging style that dips a toe into the science but does not get too heavy. There are numerous references to the studies cited in the book, so anyone can go and do further research if they wish. The central message of the book is that a whole foods plant based diet is the key to optimum health and longevity. Consumption of meat, fish, eggs and dairy products, and of course processed foods of all kinds, increases the risk of suffering from one (or more) of the many diseases that afflict the Western world. I am always cautious now when I consider the message of books such as this, having been less than a year ago a low carb high meat and fat advocate and having been convinced of this approach by authors such as Zoe Harcombe, Gary Taubes and David Perlmutter. However, I have read much more widely around the subject that I ever did before, including the works and online resources of John McDougall, Joel Fuhrman and others, and I am convinced that a whole foods plant based diet is the way to go. This book will give you a good grounding in the subject and some practical advice on what to eat and why. I would caution against following it too slavishly, as you will doubtless read other things that are contradictory to a degree, and risk confusion and frustration as a result. If you are eating the standard 'balanced' diet recommended by the UK government then even cutting down on animal based and processed foods and eating more fruit and veg will be greatly beneficial for your health. The best advice I can give to anyone is to take your time to plan your approach and give it time. If you wake up one day and decide to give up animal products you will not have a clear idea of what to eat or even necessarily have the right food in the house. You will read new information every day that contradicts something you have read the day before. If you have eaten badly for most of your life then by all means start eating more fruit and veg and less processed food straight away, but taking a few days or weeks to do your reasearch before fully embracing this style of eating will end up paying dividends.

You will still die but this book is very informative and funny. I think Dr McGregor the author knows a lot and explains how foods affect us. He also donates to charities. Lots of separate chapters so easy to find what you want.

I decided to buy this book after reading a fantastic article on Daily Mail. Having been subjected to a barrage of so called health articles in DM, I couldn't believe how refreshing and practical Dr Michael Greger's principles and approach was. I read every word on the health article and went straight to Amazon to order the book. I'm glad I didn't get the Kindle version as I knew this was going to be a very used book for reference. I must admit the size of the paperback was a bit overwhelming ( was a bit of a relief to find that about a third of the book are references), but like the article, the author draws you right in with his style of writing. Not only do I actually believe Dr Michael is really onto something, I like his style of writing and the respect he gives his readers to make their own judgement and draw up their own conclusions. He presents the research and evidences as to what are the major causes of today's major diseases ( in the United States) as well as to what he believes would heal/alleviate/prevent each of the key ailments ( all supported by various research, hence, the thick volume of references at the end). The bit that I'm really excited about is Part two of the book where he introduces the "Power" foods which he calls them the Daily Dozen. Food which will make a difference by eating them every day. Not only he details each one of them with serving sizes, instead of telling the reader what and how to eat, he shares how he incorporates them realistically into his daily family's life who is of course the subject of his daily experimentation with delightful humour! This book has appeared at the right time for me. I've reached my mid forties, quit smoking last year, picked up running and now I do 15-20 miles/week and have also started to overhaul my eating habits. Funny thing was, I didn't plan it. It all started when I decided I've had enough of smoking, read Allen Carr and did it, and picked up running to combat my restlessness. Since I'm eating mostly fruits and vegetables for breakfast and lunch anyway, this book helps me identify the right fruit/vegetables/nuts/spice to eat instead of buying any fruit and vegetables. I have also cut down my meat intake since reading this book but when I do have it for dinner, at least with this book's guidance, I try to counter/ balance it with the right vegetable/ fruit accompaniment. Whilst I like to think I'm a good cook, the bit where the author shares about how to prepare/cook broccolis left me almost broken. So, to all of you who would like to know if it's possible to shuffle the deck of cards we've been dealt with, buy this book. PS: the only criticism I would add is I wished the font could be bigger and easier to read. Maybe I'm too used to adjusting my font on my kindle. And the other, which is probably an unusual criticism is I wished the title could be better phrased. Another footnote: There is now also a free iphone/android app called Dr Greger's daily dozen that summarises Part 2 in a nutshell! Just a simple "one glance" daily dozen checklist with serving size guidelines.

The first part of this book tells you what foodstuffs might help you die or not die prematurely from the 15 most common causes of deaths in the USA (actually it's a bite more than foodstuffs when we reach infection etc) and the second part then groups together the information about foodstuffs into a recommended diet. The evidence is drawn from various sources - what happens in a Petrie dish when various foods are dropped on cancer cells (or blood, or blood after eating foods), cross-cultural diet surveys, and occasional full double blind medical trials of taking foods or sometimes exercise of various kinds as treatment for cancer and other conditions. As to what the book will tell you, in terms of diet the advice is not 'eat mostly plants' but 'eat wholly plants'. On the diseases front, prostate diseases may be made worse by comsumption of milk, eggs, chicken and turkey. Plant-based diet is good (as for all things in this book) and so is exercise (moderate - a daily walk). Half-vegan diet is better than no vegan diet. Flaxseed is particularly good (but grind it, don't it it whole). Garlic and onion may be good for enlarged prostate. And maybe it all works through IGF-1 a growth hormone which is activated by eating animal protein. For breast cancer, meanwhile, alcohol is bad (any alcohol - red might be neutral but you can get the benefits by eating grapes). Melatonin is good (blind women have half the rates of breast cancer). Exercise is good (anaerobic exercise 5 times a week though). Roasting, grilling, pant frying and baking meat are suspect. Statins aren't good for you but of course you might need them to avoid a heart attack. Meanwhile, fibre is good and so are the skins of apples and broccoli. And flaxseeds and soya. And for Alzheimer's, cholesterol may be the problem, as much as anything. But rates vary round the world and if you don't eat meat in the US you apparently cut your risk in half. Blueberries and strawberries can slow decline. Fruit and vegetable juice might help. So might saffron. But in all these cases, maybe not all that much. Exercise of 45-60 minutes a day, four days a week, also helps... I can't think who would not want to read this book - even if not all readers will act on it. I personally may try a flaxseeds and eat a bit less meat...If I had one criticism of the book at a theoretical level, it would be that perhaps the author has found what he has thought. I don't see much about the pros and cons of the diet of the Inuit here, or the pros and cons of eating, say, lots of yams...But undoubtedly it provides much valuable food for thought...

I cannot recommend this book highly enough! I recently switched to a whole food plant based diet after meeting a very lovely vegan man whilst traveling and watching various documentaries, etc. I was totally convinced that this was the lifestyle of the future however I didn’t fully understand the in’s and out’s of it all. I also couldn’t believe that as a biomedical scientist, I didn’t know all of the health risks associated with eating meat, meat products and dairy. Had we covered these in my nutrition modules and I had practised selective hearing?? Nope! They were not a part of the curriculum! I always thought I knew how to eat healthy, how? I dunno, you just know don’t you.... from vague school day lessons, don’t eat too many sweets - you’ll rot your teeth etc etc! I thought I had it all figured out with my gym routine and whey protein shakes, how wrong I was! Anyways people were starting to ask why I had decided to make this change, and whilst my reasons were primarily because of the environment and wanting to lead a lifestyle that had a minimal impact on the environment and our lovely planet, I wanted to know more about the health aspects. I was initially a bit turned off by the title, it looked a little extreme but I’m so glad I bought it! The first half of the book is very informative, regarding the top killers of the western world! I picked up many facts that I can use when people tell me that eggs and chicken are good for you and I’m silly for following this “fad”! (I also hate to use the word “vegan” as people often react quite badly to it, I find once they know I am a biomedical scientist and I explain a whole food, plant based lifestyle, they are much more receptive! Which is funny as we never learnt this stuff in uni, but hey!) Then the second half of the book details all the foods you should be trying to fit into your daily diet and their benefits! It’s sinply fascinating and so informative. I initially purchased this book as an ebook but I’m about to buy the paper book version so I can highlight my favourite bits and have it close to hand when I’m planning my meals and doing meal prep! Such a good book!

Quite an incredible work or accessible academia that might just change your life. I was prompted to throw my two cents in upon seeing reviews suggesting that you might not like this book as it 'advocates veganism'. Firstly it does not advocate veganism, this book is a rigorously evidence based deconstruction of the western diet. The fact that meat, fish and dairy vastly increase your chances of dying of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, many cancers, dementia etc is simply the truth. It would sort of be like telling a smoker that wanted to improve their respiratory health not to take on board any of the data that proves that smoking is going to kill you because the data proves that smoking is likely to kill you! Also ironically Greger blatantly denounces labels like "vegan" and "vegetarian", he advocates a plant based diet but clearly states that it makes sense to still allow yourself the odd treat - you want Turkey at Christmas? Go ahead, but focus on changing your day to day eating routine. Before reading this book I never thought I'd actually take much on board in a practical sense, I just wanted to learn about nutrition but the case is put forward so convincingly that I have now cut out almost all animal based products from my diet except for parmesan cheese and a spoonful of yoghurt on my museli in the morning.

Este fantástico livro nos mostra, com bases científicas, como melhorar a saúde, evitando alimentos de origem animal, alimentos refinados e altamente processados e dando preferência ao consumo de verduras, legumes, cereais integrais, feijões, frutas, nozes, sementes, enfim: comida de verdade. O autor é um médico americano que se dedica a análises de artigos científicos buscando evidências do poder da alimentação na promoção da saúde. Diariamente ele posta vídeos em seu site sobre suas mais recentes descobertas, explicadas de uma maneira simples e até humorística. Na primeira parte do livro ele nos ensina como não morrer das doenças mais comuns do mundo civilizado como diabetes, câncer, problemas cardíacos, hipertensão, depressão etc, com mudanças na alimentação e no estilo de vida. Na segunda parte ele trata de alimentos poderosos. Leitura obrigatória para nutricionistas, profissionais de saúde e para todos que desejam melhorar sua qualidade de vida. Nota 1000!

💯 Voto: Merita un 8.5 💵 Rapporto Qualità Prezzo: 📈 Prezzo di Acquisto: EUR 11,66 Questo è un libro fantastico. Ne sono veramente rimasto sorpreso. Lasciatemi spiegare. Questo libro è diviso in tre parti principali. Nella prima parte ci sono 15 capitoli, uno per ciascuna delle principali malattie che causano la morte delle persone. In ciascuno dei capitoli, il dottor Greger spiega la malattia o il malessere, quindi descrive gli alimenti che sono stati trovati per ridurre il rischio, prevenire, invertire o curare la malattia. La seconda parte del libro dedica i capitoli a una serie di gruppi di alimenti sani. Il dottor Greger spiega quali sostanze chimiche, elementi, enzimi o antiossidanti sono particolarmente utili per prevenire o curare una malattia. In ciascuna delle prime due parti del libro, sembra che ogni altra frase abbia un riferimento a un documento scientifico che descrive la ricerca e le prove per le dichiarazioni del dottor Greger. L'ultimo terzo del libro è un elenco di tutte le note, che si ricollegano alle ricerche scientifiche, i papers. E' difficile criticare il dottor Greger per le sue conclusioni, dal momento che sono supportate da un'enorme quantità di ricerche. Ovviamente si nota anche il suo atteggiamento un po' "Biased", che incentra il tema principalmente su una dieta Vegana, quale porta con se una serie di atteggiamenti, che per carnivori come me, sembrano sermoni di qualche religione esotica. La raccomandazione nutrizionale del dottor Greger è di mangiare solo cibi integrali e vegetali. Riduce il rischio di tutte le 15 principali cause di morte, almeno negli stati uniti. Consiglio vivamente questo libro a chiunque desideri migliorare la propria alimentazione e salute. Questo è il miglior libro sulla nutrizione che abbia mai letto. Se hai intenzione di smettere di leggere la mia recensione qui, non ti biasimo. Ho preso molti appunti. Eccoli. I medici non sono formati in nutrizione e non vengono pagati per fornire consigli nutrizionali. La California Academy of Family Physicians si è opposta a un disegno di legge della California che impone dodici ore di educazione alimentare per tutti i medici. Nel dibattito, è stato ridotto a zero ore. Si ritiene che la diminuzione della lunghezza dei telomeri nei propri cromosomi provochi l'invecchiamento. Il dottor Greger presenta le prove che uno stile di vita sano può aumentare l'attività della telomerasi e effettivamente far crescere i telomeri in lunghezza. È la qualità del cibo che conta, non la quantità. Cos'è uno stile di vita sano? Uno che utilizza cibi integrali, non integratori o uno che cerca di enfatizzare una singola sostanza chimica o nutriente. Questo libro fornisce molti esempi di singoli nutrienti che hanno dimostrato benefici per la salute, ma solo se consumati in un alimento intero, non quando isolati in una pillola. Ad esempio, gli integratori antiossidanti non riducono il rischio di cancro, ma gli antiossidanti presenti naturalmente negli alimenti riducono il rischio. La curcuma è un'erba che si trova nel curry in polvere e nella senape. Può avere notevoli proprietà anti-cancro. Ma non sono stati condotti studi in doppio cieco; nessuno vuole pagare per qualcosa che non può essere brevettato. È vero, tuttavia, che l'India soffre molto meno di cancro del colon-retto, reni, polmoni, vescica e prostata e melanoma. Ma la domanda è se ciò sia dovuto alla curcuma o che solo il 7% della popolazione mangia carne regolarmente? Non mi rendevo conto che per certi versi il pollame è più malsano della carne. Mangiare pollame aumenta il rischio di cancro al pancreas più della carne rossa! I vegetariani ottengono un'assunzione più elevata di quasi tutte le calorie nutritive per le calorie rispetto ai mangiatori di carne. Anche i mangiatori di carne aumentano di peso, anche dopo aver aggiustato le calorie! Le calorie non sono tutte uguali, forse perché i vegetariani hanno un tasso metabolico a riposo più elevato. Molti diabetici possono invertire la malattia dopo aver seguito una dieta a base vegetale per sedici giorni. Non devono perdere peso o ridurre il consumo di calorie. Il superbatterio difficile infetta 250.000 americani ogni anno, uccidendone migliaia. Si pensava che fosse stato raccolto negli ospedali. Tuttavia, solo un terzo dei casi è collegato a pazienti infetti. Potrebbe invece essere dovuto alla carne infetta. Circa il 42% delle carni vendute nelle catene di negozi di alimentari nazionali è infetto. Gli Stati Uniti hanno i livelli più alti al mondo. Si trova anche nel pollo, nel tacchino e nel manzo, ma la concentrazione più alta è nel maiale. Di solito, non infastidisce le persone; si trova nell'intestino senza causare danni. Ma gli antibiotici possono scatenarlo ed è mortale. Può sopravvivere a due ore di cottura a 71 gradi C (la temperatura di cottura consigliata). I disinfettanti per le mani non aiutano. Gli antibiotici si trovano nelle urine dei mangiatori di carne, anche quando non li hanno presi. L'agrobusiness alimenta enormi quantità di antibiotici agli animali da allevamento. L'ipertensione è una delle afflizioni descritte dal dottor Greger. La cosiddetta dieta DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) è stata progettata specificamente per abbassare la pressione sanguigna. È prevalentemente vegetariano, ma consente un po 'di carne, in modo da rendere la dieta più appetibile ai non vegetariani. Il dottor Greger afferma che mangiare pochi cucchiai al giorno di semi di lino induce un effetto di abbassamento della pressione sanguigna molto potente. Un manuale da conservare e leggere con la giusta mente critica.

Je l'ai commencé et il est très instructif On voit que greger a fait un vrai travail de recherche

A lot of great advice and it’s an easy to follow guide.

I was shocked to find out the damage an unhealthy diet can do to your body. I was used to eating fast foods, everything that had sugar on it and barely eaten fruits and vegetables. When I finished reading this book, I forgave myself for eating this diet in the past and I promise I will follow a whole grain plant based diet. It’s been 4 months and I feel great, I feel more energized and the best thing is that my eccema disappeared. Thanks Dr Greger!