Food for thought

During my stay in Florida I went to the public library and the book “How not to Die” caught my attention. The author is Michael Greger, founder of nutritionfacts.org.

The book is split in two parts: the first contains a chapter on each of the 15 leading causes of death in the United States, such as coronary heart disease, lung disease and digestive cancers. Each chapter discusses how a more plant-based diet may help to prevent, treat and even reverse these causes of death.

The second part focuses on particular food groups and how we can eat more healthfully in daily life. I found this part especially helpful as it showed me that it’s really not hard to include dark leavy greens, berries, cruciferous vegetables, etc. in my daily diet. Dr. Greger also recommends 90 minutes of moderate-intensity activity and 40 minutes of vigorous activity every day. That’s right up my street!

The book is over 650 pages long of which 180 pages are references to various studies. I looked up some of these and easily found them on the internet. For example, I wanted to check the reference to Prof. Karl Michaelsson’s study that suggested that milk may increase bone and hip fractures and found it here Milk intake and risk of mortality and fractures in women and men: cohort studies.

So, after reading the book, what does my diet look like? Here’s a sample:

Breakfast – blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberried, pomegranates, flaxseed and walnuts:

Lunch – arugula, carrots, celery, cucumber and tomato salsa together with hummus:

Dinner – field salad, mushrooms, avocado, walnuts, flaxseed and turmeric. Delicious!

As you can see, although healthy, my menus are not super-sophisticated. For more inspiring ideas, try these sites:   forks over knives, straight up food, happy healthy long life  and the first mess. Enjoy!