Health
by Michael Greger
What's really killing us?
Michael Greger, an American doctor, takes the fifteen biggest killers in the US one at a time, from heart disease to kidney failure. For each, he asks what food could do to prevent it. His answer is a lot, though critics say he reads the evidence selectively.
Hear a sample · read by Laura
Greger sorts food by colour. Green is unprocessed plant food, to eat as much as you like. Yellow is processed plant food and unprocessed animal food, to eat less of. Red is processed meat and ultra-processed junk, which he says to avoid.
Greger's checklist has twelve things to fit into every day. Beans, berries, other fruit, greens, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, other vegetables, flaxseed, nuts, herbs and spices, whole grains, drinks such as water or tea, and exercise. He uses the list himself.
Greger points out that most American medical schools teach very little nutrition, and that doctors are paid for procedures and prescriptions. So a patient is far more likely to leave the surgery with a pill than with advice about what to eat.
Most doctors would agree that more vegetables, beans and whole grains help. Greger goes further, arguing for a diet built almost entirely on whole plant foods. Many nutrition scientists think the evidence supports his direction more than his strictness.
Diet
Greger points out that poor diet is the leading cause of early death in the US.
Plants
Most of the top killers can be prevented, and some even reversed, by eating mainly whole plant foods.
Processed meat
Skip processed meat like bacon and ham. It's linked to cancer.
Daily Dozen
His Daily Dozen is a checklist of foods to eat every day, such as beans, berries and greens.
Whole foods
Eat food as close to how it grows as you can. The more it's processed, the less good it does.
A story from the book
When Greger was a boy, his grandmother was sent home in a wheelchair with severe heart disease, her doctors out of options. She joined Nathan Pritikin's programme, changed how she ate and was soon walking again. She lived around three more decades. It's why Greger became a doctor.
Hot take · true or myth?
Most American doctors get very little training in nutrition.
True. Greger says medical schools spend very little time on food. Doctors are trained to prescribe and operate, so diet rarely comes up in the consulting room.
One thing to try
Pick one of the Daily Dozen you rarely eat, like beans or leafy greens, and add a portion to one meal each day this week. Adding something is easier to stick to than cutting something out. If you have a health condition, check with your doctor before overhauling your diet.
Knotd has the key ideas from 250+ non-fiction books, each in a few minutes, in plain words. How Not to Die comes with a Hot Take round to make it stick.
Get the whole book on KnotdOpen in the appWhat's really killing us? Michael Greger, an American doctor, takes the fifteen biggest killers in the US one at a time, from heart disease to kidney failure. For each, he asks what food could do to prevent it. His answer is a lot, though critics say he reads the evidence selectively.
A traffic light for food; The Daily Dozen; What doctors aren't taught; Where he goes further.
Pick one of the Daily Dozen you rarely eat, like beans or leafy greens, and add a portion to one meal each day this week. Adding something is easier to stick to than cutting something out. If you have a health condition, check with your doctor before overhauling your diet.
Yes. Knotd has the key ideas from How Not to Die in a few minutes, in plain words, plus a Hot Take round to test them. It's one of 250+ non-fiction books in the app.
