Hindustan Times (Bathinda)

DISCOVER THE POWER OF A PLANTBASED DIET

- Rhythma Kaul rhythma.kaul@htlive.com ■

Who would need drugs or medical procedures if there was a way to not fall sick? There apparently is; and it is eating right.

American physician and author Michael Greger, in his latest book — How Not To Die: Discover the foods scientific­ally proven to prevent and reverse disease — tells people what they should eat to add years to their life.

No matter how serious the condition, whether heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes or even certain cancers, there are astounding health benefits that simple dietary choices can provide.

Greger devotes 15 chapters to explaining some of the most common diseases today. And it explains how one can bolster one’s immunity in order to avoid them.

In chapter one, ‘How not to die from heart disease’, for example, Greger mentions that coronary artery disease (CAD), where fat is deposited on artery walls, is a number one killer of Americans .

Additional­ly, the chapter also stresses that this is because the convention­al American diet is high on fat.

He details studies that trace how heart disease was uncommon among people from African countries and China, and apart from their genes it was their dietary habits that contribute­d to their heart health.

“Though Chinese and African diets are very different, they share commonalit­ies: they are both centered on plant-derived foods, such as grains and vegetables,” he says. “By eating so much fibre and so little animal fat, their total cholestero­l levels averaged under 150mg/dl, similar to people who eat contempora­ry plant-based diets,” he adds.

Greger also shares his ‘Daily Dozen’ list of 12 foods we should all be eating every day. The list includes eating beans, berries, flaxseeds, greens, nuts, herbs and spices. The book is dedicated to his grandmothe­r, who was placed on a plantbased diet and later on a graded exercise regimen.

It was done under the supervisio­n of an expert, and saw her health revive dramatical­ly. “They wheeled my grandmothe­r in, and she walked out,” Greger says.

 ??  ?? How Not To Die Michael Greger; PAN Books
Price: ₹373 (Paperback)
How Not To Die Michael Greger; PAN Books Price: ₹373 (Paperback)

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