How NOT To Die (And A Dozen Foods To Eat Everyday To Avoid This)

Now let’s be clear — the title of this post is not “how to NOT die.” That would be a whole different blog post.. I have no current theories on how to obtain immortality.

The title of this post is how NOT to die. Because, let’s face it — we’re all going to die at some point. But there are better ways to die and worse ways.

Getting eaten by a tiger might be considered a way NOT to die.

If you ask me, dying early from a completely preventable disease (like heart disease, type-2 diabetes, stroke, certain cancers, etc) seems like one way NOT to die.

But why all this talk of dying?

Well, it’s because one of my personal heroes, and a true Plant-Based All-Star, Dr. Michael Greger, has written a book called (you guessed it) How NOT To Die!

In the nearly 600 pages he goes through all the exhaustive research showing how a plant-based diet can prevent, treat, and reverse the leading 15 causes of premature death in America.

Another way to access this life-saving information is to check out his non-profit website nutritionfacts.org. I often link directly to his amazing videos in my citations. Dr. Greger’s ability to synthesize complex nutritional research into a compelling, easy to understand narrative is an incredible resource. I highly recommend spending some time on his site.

There’s an app for that.

But perhaps the most exciting development of late from Dr. Greger is the release of his app, called “Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen.” (available on iPhone and Android)

This app serves as a daily food tracker, and it’s like a game. You score points by getting the recommended daily servings of each of the dozen foods.

The foods Dr. Greger recommends we eat daily to prevent our nation’s leading killers are beans, berries (and other fruits), greens (and other vegetables), flaxseed and nuts, whole grains, spices, water, and exercise.

The research on food tracking is pretty good — people who track their food daily tend to weigh less and be healthier. Yet paradoxically, the research on calorie counting is pretty abysmal. Studies have even shown that nutrition professionals are inaccurate when trying to count calories.

Make your life simple, and just track your daily dozen. If you get these 12 foods (and behaviors) in every single day, your health will improve dramatically and you will improve your chances of avoiding one of the ways NOT to die!