We all want to stick around for as long as we can, as comfortably as we can, whether that’s to see grandkids grow up or to travel to the far reaches of the globe, or to read as many books or catch as many sunsets as we can.
And yet so many of us struggle through the symptoms of disease on a daily basis. While Dr. Greger does not offer a magic pill to solve everyone’s problems, he does have a significant amount of data to back up the expression that you are what you eat.
My first exposure to this book was a number of years ago when a family member started talking to me about Dr. Greger; I had no idea who he was, and even though I was eating salads for lunch most days, I didn’t know why that was so good for me and why it made me feel so good.
But after taking the time (a long, long time!) to read through this gigantic book, I have such a better appreciation for anyone in my life who’s ever advocated for eating more fruits and vegetables.
Dr. Michael Greger is a medical doctor and a graduate of both Cornell University and Tufts University. As a child his grandmother’s advanced heart disease was reversed through a new program that emphasized a plant-based diet as well as exercise, and instead of dying at age 65 as she was told would happen, she lived to age 96. Watching this play out inspired her grandson, Michael Greger, to become a doctor and to study nutrition, to try to help others live longer and fuller lives, as his own grandmother had done.
How Not to Die represents his synthesis of hundreds and hundreds of medical studies, trials, and data points. In it, he uses the compilation of all of this information to lay out ways to try to avoid the leading causes of death in the United States (heart disease, lung diseases, cancer, diabetes, etc.). His main conclusion? The more whole-food, plant-based foods we eat, the healthier we’ll be.
Most deaths in the United States are preventable, and they are related to what we eat
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS BOOK
Facts, Facts, & More Facts
While Dr. Greger, like many other doctors who write books about their favorite topics, is very passionate about his field of study, he is at the core a scientist who has set out to prove through data what his grandmother learned in practice when she was near death: what you eat matters.
Dr. Greger quotes study after study, so much so that the bibliographical notes section at the end of his book spans 132 pages. No human is free of bias, and certainly Dr. Greger has his own, however, for a book on nutrition, this one feels very well researched and reliable. And I’m a fan of that.
Logical Organization
Owing to its large size, you’re unlikely to sit down and read this entire book on a weekend at the beach. However, it’s laid out in such a way that you can easily read it in bits and pieces and not get lost.
The first half of the book covers the leading causes of death and what studies have shown might be causal factors and what foods can help reverse those diseases. The second half of the book does a deep dive on those foods, which Dr. Greger calls the “Daily Dozen” – foods that we should ideally be eating every day in order to help us avoid disease. These include things like beans, whole grains, greens (!), berries, and so on.
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK AS SOON AS YOU CAN
Eating well requires motivation – that is just the simple truth of it. In so many ways it’s mentally and physically easier to grab a box of animal crackers instead of a peach or to heat up a frozen burrito instead of a sweet potato.
And if we don’t understand why one is truly better for us than the other, then it’s hard to reach for the healthier food when it’s 3pm and you haven’t eaten lunch yet and the hunger is coming for you hard and fast (you’ve been there, you know what I mean).
Dr. Greger is quick to note that eating a perfectly balanced array of foods every day, while ideal, is not absolutely necessary (nor is it realistic, let’s be honest). It’s about what you eat generally over the long term, not about what you eat here and there in the short term.
After reading this book I’ve loved feeling like I’m doing something good for myself both in the now — because I feel better when I eat better — and for my future self. And I love that I’m not counting calories or grams of fat. I’m just trying to fill my body with good things as much as I can.
And maybe get a pat on the back from Dr. Greger :).
If you’re interested in this book or in Dr. Greger’s work, you can check out his website at www.nutritionfacts.org. He’s also come out with a How Not To Die Cookbook and a subsequent book entitled How Not to Diet (see what he did there? Very clever).
*The information contained in this review is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a healthcare professional if you are looking for medical advice. Casual Greens is not liable for any issues stemming from the use of information from this website.
