Saturday, January 21, 2017

TOW #16 - How Not to Die (IRB - Second Post)

When it comes to health, you would be surprised how much nutrition factors into the prevention of many common diseases. Dr. Michael Gregor, an internationally-renowned nutrition expert and founder of nutritionfacts.org would attest to this. An advocate of a plant-based, herbivore diet, Gregor takes his readers illness by illness in proving that the "standard American diet" is really standard for disease. He examines 10 of the most common leading causes of death in book How Not to Die.
Gregor not only shows the fault in our diet and perception on health, but he also recommends substitute products in place of the "garbage we call food". For example, prostate cancer is linked to the consumption of cow’s milk (which makes sense, as their milk was not meant for us to digest). If we eliminate dairy from our diet, and replace it with a tablespoon of flaxseed a day, any hereditary linkage to this type of cancer can be avoided.
It is easy to turn a blind eye to things that do not affect us in the present. For example, if you do not have breast cancer, it might be hard to imagine having it; ergo, steps taken to avoid it may seem unnecessary. In addition, people do not like to do things outside of their comfort zone. If you have grown up on cheese and assorted meats, it might seem impossible to live without it. This makes Dr. Michael Gregor’s argument more challenging (and all the more important) to attack. In teaching an audience who might not see the long term effects of a healthy lifestyle, it’s important that you are forward, but not too complicated with your presented evidence. Gregor does just this. He presents his findings and explains their significance, adding just enough detail to earn him credibility while not being too complicated.

How Not to Die is the perfect book for people who are interested in improving their health but are unsure how to go about this (which is quite fitting for the New Year)!

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