How Not to Die
After multiple operations to prevent end-stage heart disease, Michael Greger’s grandmother was sent home in a wheelchair expecting her life would end at the age of sixty-five. Nathan Pritkin, an early lifestyle medicine pioneer, then opened up a live-in center in California where Greger’s grandmother became one of the first patients. All patients were placed on a plant-based diet, and the grandma who was meant to die came out walking.
Greger, as a kid, witnessed this miraculous chain of events of how a healthy diet and lifestyle overwrote a medical death sentence. Once becoming a doctor, Greger started to question the medical system and why it only dedicates a small amount of time and resources to nutrition.
When starting “How Not to Die,” Dr. Greger intended to train the experts and educate the profession more; however, with how information is provided today, he shifted his gears to empower individuals to make a change directly to live a healthier lifestyle.
Writing Style
The book is broken down into two parts, the role a plant-based diet demonstrates in preventing the fifteen leading causes of death and what Dr. Greger eats and does in his life knowing all of this information. Throughout the book, there are multiple references to stories of different experiments, studies, and facts. Almost half of the book is citations, showcasing how much effort and time was put into making this science-backed book.
That being said, there were many points in part 1 where the writing was repetitive. The format was continually about studies answering the effects of an ingredient reinforcing the hypothesis given; however, there was minimal inclusion of counter-arguments or studies that challenged these viewpoints. The studies were from all across the world and compared different countries, people, and lifestyles against each other.
In part 2, the sections include Dr. Greger’s favorites for different foods, serving sizes, daily recommendations, and serving sizes. This part has fewer experiments and breaks down the foods individually to explain their effects.
All in all, this book reads like a super-long research paper which although very informative was sometimes putting me to sleep. Hence, I ended up skimming through the book to finish it.
Takeaways
My main takeaways from this book were specific foods to include in my diet and how not to die! One specific food group I am more conscious of including is whole-plant fiber-based foods such as apples, broccoli, and beans. These foods are known to control cholesterol and blood sugar levels which can decrease the chance of developing brain diseases and Alzheimer’s.
Conclusion
Overall, this is a great research-backed book filled with tons of experiments and research articles for anyone looking to enrich their lifestyle through the foods they eat.
Score breakdown:
Research-backed: 5/5
Writing Style: 4/5
Entertainment Value: 3/5
Overall: 4/5
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