HOW NOT TO DIE

DISCOVER THE FOODS SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN TO PREVENT AND REVERSE DISEASE

By MICHAEL GREGER, M.D. with GENE STONE

DEDICATION

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION
“In public health school, students learn that there are three levels of preventive medicine. The first is
primary prevention, as in trying to prevent people at risk for heart disease from suffering their first
heart attack. An example of this level of preventive medicine would be your doctor prescribing you a
statin drug for high cholesterol. Secondary prevention takes place when you already have the
disease and are trying to prevent it from becoming worse, like having a second heart attack. To do
this, your doctor may add an aspirin or other drugs to your regimen. At the third level of preventive
medicine, the focus is on helping people manage long-term health problems, so your doctor, for
example, might prescribe a cardiac rehabilitation program that aims to prevent further physical
deterioration and pain.23” p-8

““The Simple 7” factors that can lead to a healthier life:

1. not smoking,
2. not being overweight,
3. being “very active” (defined as the equivalent of walking at least twenty-two minutes a day),
4. eating healthier (for example, lots of fruits and vegetables),
5. having below-average cholesterol,
6. having normal blood pressure,
7. and having normal blood sugar levels.27” p-9

“In this book, I don’t advocate for a vegetarian diet or a vegan diet. I advocate for an evidence-based
diet, and the best available balance of science suggests that the more whole plant foods we eat, the
better—both to reap their nutritional benefits and to displace less healthful options.”

PART 1

1. HOW NOT TO DIE FROM HEART DISEASE

Our Top Killer
Is Fish Oil Just Snake Oil?
Heart Disease Starts in Childhood
It’s the Cholesterol, Stupid!
Want Fries with That Lipitor?
Heart Disease Is Reversible
Endotoxins Crippling Your Arteries
Brazil Nuts for Cholesterol Control?
Follow the Money

2. HOW NOT TO DIE FROM LUNG DISEASES

LUNG CANCER
Load Up on Broccoli
Smoking Versus Kale
Carcinogen-Blocking Effects of Turmeric
Dietary Secondhand Smoke
CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE
ASTHMA

3. HOW NOT TO DIE FROM BRAIN DISEASES

STROKE
Fiber! Fiber! Fiber!
Potassium
Citrus
Optimal Sleep Duration and Stroke
Antioxidants and Stroke
Antioxidants, in a Pinch
ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
Is Alzheimer’s a Vascular Disorder?
Genetics or Diet?
Preventing Alzheimer’s with Plant Foods
Treating Alzheimer’s with Saffron
Gerontotoxins
Halting Cognitive Decline with Exercise?

4. HOW NOT TO DIE FROM DIGESTIVE CANCERS

COLORECTAL CANCER
Turmeric
Stool Size Matters
Phytates
Reversing Rectal Polyps with Berries?
Too Much Iron?
Getting Enough Iron on a Plant-Based Diet
PANCREATIC CANCER
Chicken and Pancreatic Cancer Risk
Treating Pancreatic Cancer with Curry
ESOPHAGEAL CANCER
Acid Reflux and Esophageal Cancer
Fiber and Hiatal Hernia
Can Strawberries Reverse the Development of Esophageal Cancer?

5. HOW NOT TO DIE FROM INFECTIONS

Protecting Others
PREVENTING INFECTIOUS DISEASES WITH A HEALTHY IMMUNE SYSTEM
Kale
Broccoli
Pretty in Pee-nk
Boosting Natural Killer Cell Activity with Berries
Preventing the Common Cold with Probiotics?
Boosting the Immune System with Exercise
Boosting Immunity with Mushrooms
Food Poisoning
Eggs and Salmonella
Poultry and Salmonella
Fecal Bacteria on Meat
Avoiding Chicken to Avoid Urinary Tract Infections
Yersinia in Pork
C. Difficile Superbugs in Meat
Facing a Post-Antibiotic Age

6. HOW NOT TO DIE FROM DIABETES

What Causes Insulin Resistance?
Prediabetes in Children
THE FAT YOU EAT AND THE FAT YOU WEAR
Saturated Fat and Diabetes
Preventing Diabetes by Eating More
Losing Weight with a Plant-Based Diet
Diabetes-Promoting Pollutants
REVERSING DIABETES
What About Drugs and Surgery?
Does Eating Obesity Cause Obesity?
Reversing Diabetes with Food
Curing Diabetic Neuropathy
WHtR Versus BMI

7. HOW NOT TO DIE FROM HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

Sodium
Whole Grains
What About the DASH Diet?
Foods for Additional Hypertension Protection
Flaxseed
Hibiscus Tea for Hypertension
The Power of NO
TOP-TEN FOOD SOURCES OF NITRATES
Doping with Beet Juice

8. HOW NOT TO DIE FROM LIVER DISEASES

ALCOHOLIC LIVER DISEASE
Isn’t Moderate Drinking Beneficial?
NONALCOHOLIC LIVER DISEASE
VIRAL HEPATITIS
Chlorella and Hepatitis C
Preventing Hepatitis E Through Diet
Weight-Loss Supplements and Liver Disease
PROTECTING THE LIVER AT BREAKFAST
Oatmeal
Making Your Own Whole-Cranberry Cocktail
Coffee

9. HOW NOT TO DIE FROM BLOOD CANCERS

FOODS ASSOCIATED WITH DECREASED RISK OF BLOOD CANCERS
Greens and Cancer
Açai Berries and Leukemia
Curcumin and Multiple Myeloma
ARE ANIMAL VIRUSES INVOLVED IN HUMAN BLOOD CANCERS?

10. HOW NOT TO DIE FROM KIDNEY DISEASE

Damaging Your Kidneys with Diet
Which Type of Protein Is Better for Our Kidneys?
Reducing Dietary Acid Load
Kidney Stones
Testing Your “Pee-H” with Purple Cabbage
Preventing Excess Phosphorus Intake
Who Determines Whether Food Additives Are Safe?
Can Diet Protect Against Kidney Cancer?
Clearing the Confusion: Nitrates, Nitrites, and Nitrosamines

11. HOW NOT TO DIE FROM BREAST CANCER

RISK FACTORS FOR BREAST CANCER
Alcohol
Red Wine Versus White Wine
Melatonin and Breast Cancer Risk
Exercise and Breast Cancer
Heterocyclic Amines
Cholesterol
PREVENTING (AND TREATING) BREAST CANCER BY EATING PLANTS
Fiber
Peeling Back Breast Cancer
Preventing Breast Cancer by Any Greens Necessary
Breast Cancer Stem Cells
Flaxseeds
Soy and Breast Cancer
Why Do Women in Asia Have Less Breast Cancer?

12. HOW NOT TO DIE FROM SUICIDAL DEPRESSION

Arachidonic Acid
Fighting the Blues with Greens
Seeds and Serotonin
Saffron
Coffee and Aspartame
Exercise versus Antidepressants
Antioxidants and Folate
Do Antidepressant Drugs Really Work?

13. HOW NOT TO DIE FROM PROSTATE CANCER

Milk and Prostate Cancer
Eggs, Choline, and Cancer
Diet Versus Exercise
Prostate Cancer Reversal Through Diet?
The Worst A and the Best V
Flaxseed
Enlarged Prostate
IGF-1

14. HOW NOT TO DIE FROM PARKINSON’S DISEASE

Reducing Dioxin Intake
Smoking and Parkinson’s Disease
Dairy
Plant-Based Diets and Pollutants
Berries
Cannibalistic Feed Biomagnification
Coffee for Preventing and Treating Parkinson’s Disease

15. HOW NOT TO DIE FROM IATROGENIC CAUSES

Radiation
The Actual Benefit of Diet Versus Drugs
Aspirin
Colonoscopies
What to Take Before a Colonoscopy

PART 2
INTRODUCTION
Isn’t It Expensive to Eat Healthfully?
Dining by Traffic Light
Why Don’t the Dietary Guidelines Just Say No?
How SAD Is the Standard American Diet?
How I Define “Processed”
What Does “Whole-Food, Plant-Based” Mean, Exactly?
Preparing Yourself for Healthier Habits
WWDGE: What Would Dr. Greger Eat?

DR. GREGER’S DAILY DOZEN

BEANS
Dr. Greger’s Favorite Beans
Soy
What About GMO Soy?
Miso Soup: Soy Versus Sodium
Peas
Lentils
Are Canned Beans as Healthy as Home Cooked?
Big Bucks on Beans’ Benefits
Clearing the Air About Beans and Gas

BERRIES
Dr. Greger’s Favorite Berries
The Antioxidant Power of Berries
What About All the Sugar in Fruit?
Tart Cherries
Goji Berries
Black Currants and Bilberries

OTHER FRUITS
Dr. Greger’s Favorite Other Fruits
An Apple a Day
Dates
Olives and Olive Oil
Mangos
Watermelon
Dried Fruit
Prescribing Kiwifruit
Citrus
Exotic Fruits

CRUCIFEROUS VEGETABLES
Dr. Greger’s Favorite Cruciferous Vegetables
Strategies to Enhance Sulforaphane Formation
Horseradish
Roasting Cruciferous Vegetables
Kale Chips
Cruciferous Garnishes
Cruciferous Supplements?
Too Much of a Good Thing?

GREENS
Dr. Greger’s Favorite Greens
IMPORTANT CAVEAT: Greens and Warfarin
How to Regenerate Coenzyme Q10 Naturally
Green Can Taste Great
The Health Benefits of Vinegar
Salad Days
The One Green to Avoid

OTHER VEGETABLES
Dr. Greger’s Other Favorite Vegetables
Garden Variety: Diversifying Your Vegetable Portfolio
Eating Better to Look Better
Mushrooming Benefits
Even More Vegetables!
Getting Kids (and Parents) to Eat Their Veggies
The Top Cancer-Fighting Vegetables
How to Make a Cancer-Fighting Salad
Garlic and Onions
Which Is the Best Cooking Method?
How to Make Your Own Fruit and Vegetable Wash
Is Buying Organic Worth It?

FLAXSEEDS
Dr. Greger’s Favorite Flaxseeds
Are Fruit-and-Nut Bars Fattening?
Other Ways to Eat Flaxseeds

NUTS AND SEEDS

Dr. Greger’s Favorite Nuts and Seeds
The Uses of Blended Nuts
Walnuts for the Win
The Power of a Pea-“Nut”
Nuts and Obesity: Weighing the Evidence
Pistachio Nuts for Sexual Dysfunction

HERBS AND SPICES

Dr. Greger’s Favorite Herbs and Spices
Why You Should Include Turmeric in Your Daily Diet
A Quarter Teaspoon of Turmeric Every Day
How to Eat Turmeric
What About Turmeric Supplements?
Who Should Not Take Turmeric
Fenugreek
Cilantro
Cayenne Pepper
Ginger
Peppermint
Oregano and Marjoram
Cloves
Amla
Spice Mixes
Is Liquid Smoke Safe?
Some Risks to Spicing Up Your Life

WHOLE GRAINS
Dr. Greger’s Favorite Whole Grains
What About Gluten?
Eat Whole … Within Minutes
Dr. Greger’s Eight Check-Mark Pesto
The Five-to-One Rule
Oats

BEVERAGES
Dr. Greger’s Favorite Beverages
Water
Can Drinking Water Make You Smarter?
Coffee
Tea
Riding the Waves
The Best Sweetener
My Hibiscus Punch

EXERCISE
Moderate-Intensity Activities
Vigorous Activities
Stand Up for Your Health
What If You Really Have to Sit All Day?
Treating Sore Muscles with Plants
Preventing Exercise-Induced Oxidative Stress
How Much Should You Exercise?

CONCLUSION
In Pursuit of Pleasure
Let Me Help
Taking Responsibility

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

APPENDIX: SUPPLEMENTS
2,500 mcg (µg) Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin) at Least Once a Week
Vitamin D from Sun or Supplements
Eat Iodine-Rich Foods
Consider Taking 250 mg of Pollutant-Free (Yeast- or Algae-Derived) Long-Chain Omega-3s Daily
What About…?

NOTES