Quotes from Michael Greger

rounded up a group of longtime smokers and asked them to consume twenty-five times more broccoli than the average American—in other words, a single stalk a day. Compared to broccoli-avoiding smokers, the broccoli-eating smokers suffered 41 percent fewer DNA mutations in their bloodstream over ten days. Is that just because the broccoli boosted the activity of the detoxifying enzymes in their livers, which helped clear carcinogens

The most antioxidant-packed common herb is peppermint.73

Increased blood pressure puts a strain on the heart and can damage the sensitive blood vessels in your eyes and kidneys, cause bleeding in the brain, and even lead certain arteries to balloon and rupture. The fact that hypertension can damage so many organ systems and increase the risk of heart disease and stroke, two of our leading killers, explains why it is the number-one killer risk factor worldwide.

Diabetes mellitus is characterized by chronically elevated levels of sugar in your blood. This is because either your pancreas gland isn't making enough insulin (the hormone that keeps your blood sugar in check) or because your body becomes resistant to insulin's effects. The insulin-deficiency disease is called type 1 diabetes, and the insulin-resistance disease is called type 2 diabetes.

your kidney filtration rate can shoot up 36 percent. But eating the same amount of protein in the form of tofu doesn't appear to place any additional strain on the kidneys.23 Could substituting plant protein for animal protein help slow the deterioration of kidney function? Yes, half a dozen clinical trials have shown that plant protein replacement can reduce hyperfiltration and/or protein leakage

Another fantastic snack (can you tell I love snacking?) is roasted chickpeas. Google it. My favorite, not surprisingly, is the buffalo ranch flavor (from the Kid Tested Firefighter Approved blog40), using a silicone baking mat.

we're living longer, but we're living sicker.

teamed up with Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, who was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Medicine for her discovery of telomerase. In a study funded in part by the U.S. Department of Defense, they found that three months of whole-food, plant-based nutrition and other healthy changes could significantly boost telomerase activity, the only intervention ever shown to do so.69 The study was published in one of the most prestigious medical

percent of women in their forties already have breast cancers growing within their bodies that may be simply too small to be detected by mammograms.11 That's why you can't just wait until diagnosis to start eating and living healthier. You should start tonight. RISK FACTORS FOR BREAST CANCER The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) is considered one of the world's leading authorities on diet and cancer.

In the control group (the group of participants who did not change their lifestyles), their telomeres predictably shrank with age. But for the healthy-living group, not only did their telomeres shrink less, they grew. Five years later, their telomeres were even longer on average than when they started, suggesting a healthy lifestyle can boost telomerase enzyme activity and reverse cellular aging.71

chemopreventive" (cancer-preventing) activity. Only a few dozen have made it to clinical trials, but among the most promising is curcumin, the bright-yellow pigment in turmeric.12 Chemopreventive agents can be classified into different subgroups based on which stage of cancer development they help to fight: Carcinogen blockers and antioxidants help prevent the initial triggering DNA mutation, and antiproliferatives work by

curcumin to pancreatic cancer sufferers regardless of what other treatments they choose. Given the tragic prognosis, though, prevention is critical. Until we know more, your best bet is to avoid tobacco, excess alcohol intake, and obesity and to eat a diet low in animal products, refined grains, and added sugars97 and rich in beans, lentils, split peas, and dried fruit.98

One study found that twice daily—upon waking and again right before bed—appeared superior to once a day (about six pounds versus two pounds of weight loss over twelve weeks).2578

reimbursement is a much more powerful determinant of medical practice than research."97

concern that boosting telomerase activity could theoretically increase cancer risk, since tumors have been known to hijack the telomerase enzyme and use it to ensure their own immortality.75 But as we'll see in chapter 13, Dr. Ornish and his colleagues have used the same diet and lifestyle changes to halt and apparently reverse the progression of cancer in certain circumstances. We will also see how the same diet can reverse heart disease too.

Three words: black-bean brownies.

Try eating with chopsticks. Even in experienced hands, they tend to slow eating rate.

Cold exposure is the most powerful known stimulus for BAT activation.3469 Just twenty minutes at cool temperatures can boost metabolism for hours.3470 The colder the better, but putting people in a room chilled down into the 50s Fahrenheit is "often not appreciated by [research] subjects."3471 It's not called a "thermal comfort zone" for nothing. Exposure

curcumin pills; they merely got less than a teaspoon a day of just the regular turmeric spice you'd find at the grocery store. Of course, turmeric can't completely mitigate the effects of smoking. Even after the participants ate turmeric for a month, the DNA-damaging ability of the smokers' urine still exceeded that of the nonsmokers'. But smokers who make turmeric a staple of their diets may help lessen some of the damage.

You can buy amla online or at any Indian spice store.

The Exercise "Myth" When trying to lose weight, which is more important: diet or exercise? A national survey found that a "vast majority" of Americans, seven out of ten, believe that food and beverage consumption and physical activity are equally important when it comes to weight loss. About two out of ten favored exercise, and only about one in ten chose diet.3080 The vast majority of Americans are wrong.

The optimal LDL cholesterol level is probably 50 or 70 mg/dL, and apparently, the lower, the better.

cancer is attributed to smoking, approximately a quarter of all cases occur in people who've never smoked.21 Although some of these cases are due to secondhand smoke, another contributing cause may be another potentially carcinogenic plume: fumes from frying. When fat is heated to frying temperatures, whether it be animal fat, such as lard, or plant fat, such as vegetable oil, toxic volatile chemicals with mutagenic

not smoking, not being obese, getting a half hour of exercise a day, and eating healthier—defined as consuming more fruits, veggies, and whole grains and less meat. Those four factors alone were found to account for 78 percent of chronic disease risk.