How Not to Die Summary and Review written by the Spencer Brothers on //2021. This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.
Book Information
Book Title: How Not to Die
Author: Michael Greger M.D.
Release Date: December 8th, 2015
Pages: 576
Topics: Fighting Illnesses, Nutrition, Whole Foods, Plant Based
How Not to Die Summary by Parts
How Not to Die is split into two large parts. The first section deals mainly with how to prevent mental and physical illnesses by eating a Whole Food Plant-Based diet. The second section really dives into the food and practices of that diet.
Part 1: Preventing, Arresting, and Reversing our Leading Killers Summary
Dr. Greger does a deep dive into health and nutrition in Part 1. He breaks it down by the types of diseases that can be prevented by a change in diet. Each of these sections go into the science behind how a Whole Food Plant-Based diet can prevent, and in some cases even cure, the effects of these sometimes deadly diseases. Dr. Greger discusses many studies within this section (His personal favorite is a double blind study, as it should be) that show the benefits and effects of this change in diet.
This section is broken down by diseases. We have listed this list below for simple reference.
How Not to Die From:
-Heart Disease
-Lung Diseases
-Brain Diseases
-Digestive Cancers
-Infections
-Diabetes
-High Blood Pressure
-Liver Diseases
-Blood Cancers
-Kidney Disease
-Breast Cancer
-Suicidal Depression
-Prostate Cancer
-Parkinson’s Disease
-Iatrogenic Causes (From Doctors)
Part 2: Dr. Gregers Daily Dozen Summary
Now that the benefits and effects of a Whole Food Plant-Based diet have been fully observed, Dr. Greger tasks himself with providing the confidence and knowledge to allow the reader to realistically apply this change into their everyday lives. Unlike many similar books, Dr. Greger does not focus on Macros, but rather provides a green, yellow, and red scale. Foods in the green section should be eaten freely and willingly. Foods in the yelllow section shouls be eaten sparingly, but if eaten, should be used to maximize the amount of green section foods consumed. Foods in the red section are foods that should generally be removed from one’s diet in general.
This section is broken down into twelve sections (One for each of Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen). This list has been placed below for your convenience.
Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen
-Beans
-Berries
-Other Fruits
-Crucifeous Vegetables
-Greens
-Other Vegetables
-Flaxseeds
-Nuts and Seeds
-Herbs and Spices
-Whole Grains
-Beverages
-Exercise
How Not to Die Review
How Not to Die is great resource for two types of people. The first type of person are those who are either fearful or struggling with particular diseases. The entire first section is an in depth look at how a Whole Food Plant-Based diet interacts with different diseases in a variety of ways. The second type of person who can benefit from this book are those who think that a WFPB diet may be best for them, but are not sure how to implement those changes into their everyday lives. The information provided by Dr. Greger is both encouragig and actionable.
Even after reading the entire book, How Not to Die can be a great resource to continuously return to. This could happen either when someone needs a reminder of Dr Greger’s Daily Dozen or upon a diagnosis of a disease of self or people who are close to the reader. Overall, this book is a fantastic resource for people who need it immediately or are trying to preemptively learn about the WFPB diet.
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