However, the title of Chapter 1 isn’t actually how not to die from a broken heart but, in fact, “how not to die from heart disease.“ I know, pretty serious right? I’m assuming that whoever is reading this has taken a Junior level health class, or a biology class. Recall the importance of your heart, steadily thrumming, consistently perseverant, tucked away in your thoracic cavity. Take a second to feel grateful. Your heart is responsible for a multitude of functions in your body. And still, as I flipped through the pages, I was becoming increasingly more and more aware of the abuse I put my fist-sized organ through everyday. An example he had used was eating fast food.

He Says, “We’ve known for nearly two decades that a single fast-food meal—Sausage and Egg McMuffins were used in the original study— can stiffen your arteries within hours, cutting half their ability to relax normally. And just as this inflammatory states starts to calm down five or six hours later— lunchtime! You may once again whack your Arther’s with another load of harmful food, leaving many Americans stuck in a danger zone of chronic, low-grade inflammation.” (Greger 37).

I am not one to partake in religious meals at McDonalds, but I can attest that this is due to the luxury of a paycheck and spare time, that allows me to buy fresh, whole foods from the local grocery store. Many of my friends back in my old neighborhood in Boston would eat McDonald’s for dinner at least 3 times a week. Burger King and McDonald’s graced every corner in Dorchester. I took myself down to a fairly nice community in upper Boston, slightly more suburban…not a single McDonald’s in sight. I was left aghast. Indeed, an epidemic of poor diet was taking plight on those with lower socioeconomic status. Of course, this is no mistake on the part of fast food chains. Large scale companies like these do much to sway the hearts of the vulnerable and desperate.

To read more about the correlation between fast food restaurant density and low-income neighborhoods, here’s an article…

https://newrepublic.com/article/144168/fast-food-chains-supersized-inequality

Though this book doesn’t outline the systematic efforts in place to control public health, for better or worse, it was becoming more and more apparent to me the disparity of health in the US. Thankfully, the majority of us have access to some amount of health care, but anything scratching beneath the surface, or even preventative measures for disease and infection were, effectively, up to the individual to “figure it out.” And when a lot of information is biased in the favor of large scale corporations, vying for the right to our taste-buds, a lot of our impression of nutritional guidance is virtually screwed.

Chapter one may not have actually been titled, “how to break your heart” but it sure felt heart-breaking to me. I knew that learning more and more about my health would come at a cost: learning the truth about my dietary choices, and being forced to step away from them.

Greger introduces the audience to this concept early on this book, describing how “in more recent years, it was uncovered that many members of the U.S Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee had financial ties to everything from candy bar companies to entities like McDonald’s council on Healthy Lifestyles and Coca-Cola’s Beverage Institute for Health and Wellness. One committee member even served as “brand girl” fort cake-mix maker Duncan Hines and then as the official Crisco “brand girl” before going on to help write the official Dietary Guidelines for Americans” (Greger 41).

And—

“It’s bad enough that most medical schools don’t even require a single course on nutrition, but it’s even worse when mainstream medical organizations actively lobby against increased nutrition education for physicians. When the American Academy of Family Physicians was called out on their proud new corporate relationship with Coca-Cola to support patient education on healthy eating, an executive vice president of the academy tried to quell protests by explaining that this alliance was not without precedent…the arguments [made] didn’t seem to placate the critics, so the AAFP executive quoted them the American Dietetic Association‘s policy statement that ‘there are no good or bad foods, just good or bad diets.’ No bad foods? Really? The tobacco industry used to broadcast a similar theme: Smoking per se wasn’t bad, only “excess” smoking. Sound familiar? Everything in moderation” (Greger 42).

And, finally—

“The American Dietetic Association, which produces a series of nutrition facts sheets with guidelines on maintaining a healthy diet, also has its own corporate ties…food industry sources pay the ADA $20,—- per fact sheet to explicitly take part in the drafting process. So we can learn about eggs from the American Egg Board and about the benefits of chewing gum from the Wringley Institute…it continues to take millions of dollars every year from processed junk food, meat, dairy, soda, and candy bar companies. In return, the academy lets them offer official educational seminars to teach dietitians what to say got their clients. When you hear the title, “registered dietitian” this is the group they are registered through” (Greger 43).

In Mr. Splaine’s class, we have continuously discussed what it means to have power. Time and time again I was uncovering how the true motive behind much of the agricultural industry lies in the ability to extort money from the people through hijacking their senses through the tastiest, fattiest meals on the market. It makes total sense! Of course food would be the greatest revenue generator, and subsequently the most corrupt, least favoring the health of the people. We need food to survive. It’s a market that will never die due the nature of human biology itself.

The reason why these foods are so addictive, science shows, is based on their effect in the dopamine reward pathway in the brain. Companies manipulate the system in the brain, meant to “reward you” for finding high caloric, fat dense food. Immediately once you eat food that meets this criteria, dopamine foods your synaptic cleft, creating a ripple effect of pleasure signals throughout your body.

This process is described by Dr. Gregor as, “comparable to drug addiction…now we have PET scans, imaging technology that allows doctors to measure brain activity in real time. It all started with a study that showed decreased dopamine sensitivity within obese individuals” (Greger 454).

Overall, these companies are doing much to extort human biology for a profit.

Michael Gregor, throughout the novel, emphasizes the need and importance of choosing whole vegetables and fruits over high quantities of meat and ultra-processed foods. Many large scale corporations make efforts to dilute the significance of whole foods in our lives, in favor of more addictive, ultra-processed foods that keep us coming back and itching for a taste— to the extent that real food begins to lack flavor and lose it’s appeal.

I remember a scene from Inside Out that showed Riley throwing her plate of broccoli as a child and calling it gross. I similarly remember scenes from various TV shows as a kid calling foods like spinach “gross,” whilst simultaneously promoting foods like pizza, burgers, and fries. I actually don’t know whether or not the agricultural industry has its hands on the film industry (sounds like a bit of a stretch to say McDonalds paid them to write that in haha), but I do know, for certain, that the influx of highly addictive, ultra-processed food, has quelled our appreciation of unprocessed foods. I know this because it is something that has even affected me. If given the choice between a bag of chips or an apple from Panera Bread, I always choose bag of chips! And that’s the extent to which I can say these companies have gotten their sneaky little paws on our dietary choices!

If you’re curious about learning more about the revenue of ultra-processed food companies and how much it sells in the US, read this interesting article!

https://ballardbrief.byu.edu/issue-briefs/the-overconsumption-of-ultra-processed-foods-in-the-united-states

Why is being vegan so controversial?

Okay, before you jump the gun, I’d like to preface that I don’t dislike vegans or vegetarians and I believe everyone has the right to choose, for themselves, what dietary choices they want to make.

However, it is true that I sense growing tensions, within our American community, over the choice to consume animal products, or not. With TikTok being a prevalent source of information, I continuously see posts about those annoyed with vegetarians trying to “persuade” meat eaters to “leave the dark side” and vice versa. I have had conversations with those who call vegans/vegetarians “pretentious” for not eating a burger.

Was there growing to be a stigma surrounding eating a predominantly plant-based diet? I would believe so. I mean, just the other day my dad said he didn’t want my little brother to become a “soy boy.” However, I wouldn’t necessarily call the entirety of the vegetarian community “victims” as a few interesting individuals use their online platforms for public harassment. This includes various campaigns made to to hate and shame meat eaters (cough cough, that vegan teacher!). It’s a crazy world!

Overall, this topic is so controversial that it goes beyond the discussion of whether or not to eat meat— it bleeds into conversations about wide spread animal malpractice and abuse, which is so systemic and, ultimately, in the hands of those with little to no concern for environmental sustainability. So, ultimately, it is rather hush-hush and left to the individual to ponder, as they stand in line at a shake-shack on Newbury Street.

Listen, I am not going to sit here and try to convince you to go vegan (unlike my now great friend, Dr. Michael Gregor). I myself am a meat-eater, and will always devour some delicious Biryani after my family makes it. However, this book goes a great deal in depth about the negative consequences of having a diet centered around eating meat rather than veggies and whole grains. I am only here to relay the science behind supporting consuming more plants than meat, not to cut it out of your system entirely. I also want to share my feelings of uncomfortableness surrounding this subject because, seriously, it was uncomfortable.

The first mention of meat was discussing something called “Endotoxins” which right off the bat left me aghast.

Greger discusses how, “certain foods, such as meats, appear to harbor bacteria that can trigger inflammation dead or alive, even when food is fully cooked. Endotoxins are not destroyed by cooking temperatures, stomach acid, or digestive enzymes, so after a meal of animal products, these endotoxins may end up in your intestines. They are then thought to be ferried by saturated fat across the gut wall into your blood-stream, where they can trigger the inflammatory reaction in your arteries” (Greger 25).

Other superbugs are discussed on page 97, discussing the proliferation of Clostridium difficile, which infects “a quarter million Americans annually and [kills] thousands at a cost of $1 billion a year” (Gregor 97). Where is it found most commonly, one may ask? It was found within “42% of packaged meat products sold at three national chain grocery stores sampled.” Since, this bacteria is a superbug, it is difficult to kill and can “survive up to two hours of cooking at 71 degrees Celsius.” MRSA has also been found to proliferate in packaged meat.

To discuss it’s effect on heart health, Greger continues on how angina, a type of heart pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart, as discussed in the book, was said to decrease by 91% within the first week of moving cardiovascular patients to a plant-based diet. Similarly, moving to a plant based diet allows for the body to undergo rapid plaque clearing, in which atherosclerosis from the arteries is stripped and blood flow can return to normal.

But atherosclerosis transcends just the heart. While not discussed enough, atherosclerosis plays a role in the development of Alzheimer’s, among other conditions. In a section titled, “Is Alzheimer’s a Vascular disorder?” Gregor explains the complex relationship between veins and arteries and the brain. When plaque fills the veins and arteries, this can limit blood flow to the brain and progress symptoms of dementia. In the book, Autopsies were discussed to have “shown repeatedly that Alzheimer’s patients tend to have significantly more atherosclerotic plaque build up and narrowing of the arteries within the brain” (Gregor 62).

Supporting this theory, other studies have “demonstrated that Alzheimer’s patients had particularly significant arterial blockage in the arteries leading to the memory centers of their brains” (Gregor 52).

To quote just one more study, Heterocyclic Amines, as described by the National Cancer Insititute as “‘ chemicals formed when muscle meat, including beef, pork, fish, and poultry is cooked when using high-temperature methods’” (Gregor 184), are considered cancer causing substances due to their high mutagenic compounds. As described by Gregor, this high-temperature reaction is largely due to the various components of muscle tissue reacting with heat.

He also goes on to source The Harvard Health Letter, which calls this reaction a meat “paradox,” due to the fact that high temperatures often reduce food borne illness but increase the rate of HCAs which are entirely cancer causing. HCAs also have the ability to have similar effects of a high-intensity form of estrogen, with the unfortunate downside to cause breast tissue to grow at a rapid pace, creating tumors.

When asked about cooking methods, it was found that there is a high correlation between cancer rates and cooking temperatures and methods (particularly, fried food).

Anyways! If you managed to read all of that without either getting scared, uncomfortable, or just down right running away, I applaud you! It sure didn’t sit well with me. I hadn’t realized that eating meat went beyond than just consuming my daily protein intake. I felt nervous, uncomfortable, and uneasy when confronted with this truth.

The science was out, and there was no denying it. That same night after reading I went on a “fact-checking” spree, hunting through articles that discussed the effect of Endotoxins and HCAs, which I was entirely unaware of prior to this book. I couldn’t believe it. These had long term consequences, and I’d never learned about it in my life.

Still, I’m not vegan. Or even vegetarian. The meat eating culture has consumed me— I can’t escape my family’s weekly trips to eat fried chicken or enjoying kebabs for iftaar. But, this book has left a strong impression on me, in terms of how I view meat. Rather than partaking in indulgent behavior or viewing meat as my sole source of daily protein, I have “revamped” my understanding of it as supplemental to veggies, which have the ability to actually negate certain “free radical” components found in meat, particularly red meat (caused by the iron! Page 70!). I am more appreciative than ever that I actually have a choice to feel uncomfortable about my food options. In many parts of the world, even the ability to choose what you will eat or if you will eat is a rarity. I have the freedom to feel uncomfortable, to feel picky, to be educated, and to make choices about my health.

For many, the ability to make conscientious decisions about one’s health is entirely out of their hands— the people’s fate left in the hands of those with the most power.

I was left uncomfortable with this information. I was also eternally grateful.

The more I watched the more I was suddenly caught between two worlds. Was food truly a cure for illness? Or can healthy food, too, become a tool to manipulate the masses?

Is our health truly out of our control? Are healthy diets just fads to extort people? The more I watched the more I became concerned just where exactly the lines blurred.

Nonetheless, I had to finish the book I had picked up for this project. I was skeptical. No longer was I in awe of the miraculous benefits of superfoods. I wanted to find an agenda in Greger’s writing; I wanted to see whether or not I was just another like on one of Belle Gibson’s posts about her book, “The Whole Pantry.” I couldn’t be. I had raised myself to have a discerning eye, to be skeptical, and value my health. How could I allow misinformation to breach the confines of my mind???

I picked up my book again, read over some hundred pages, and came to the realization that there was a pretty big difference between Belle Gibson, Milla Blake, and Dr. Michael Gregor.

In particular, I remember him discussing the use of Curcumin (turmeric) and its miraculous effect on cancerous tissue. In vitro, it was said that curcumin had a chemotherapeutic approach. In reality however, its effect’s were nuanced. While some patients did experience a regression of their tumor, miraculously, other patients would develop a turmeric resistant tumor in it’s place. Petri-Dish + in vitro results can differ significantly from human response due to the complex nature of our immune system.

This is why Gregor places an emphasis on preventative measures rather than medicinal cures in the form of food. I appreciated that. Reforming one’s diet does have the ability to reduce the risk of certain afflictions- that’s just a fact, and multiple studies prove it. Consuming curcumin alongside one’s daily meals may also prove to have miraculous anti-mutagenic effects. But, claiming that a food can be a “cure-all” is dangerous. We have to view food through a medicinal lens rather than just sustenance, sure, but we also must make peace with the advancements of the medical industry, and it’s utter necessity when it comes to serious, life threatening disease.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, my perception of food as an act of prevention started to bloom, allowing me to recognize the fine balance between nutrition and other medical science.

When comparing the difference between colorectal cancer rates between Denmark and Finland, on page 93, it was found that “Cancer rates are higher in Denmark than in Finland, yet Danes consume slightly more dietary fiber than Finns.” This information appeared to contradict the notion that dietary fiber is the sole protective compound against colorectal cancer. After further analysis and comparison of the daily diet between two nations, the disparity was found in the intake of phytates which are “found in the seed of plants—in other words, in all whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds…shown to detoxify excess iron in the body” (Gregor 93). They also appear to have a beneficial effect on the body, protecting against colorectal cancer. As described, “Eating beans, an excellent source of phytates, was found to help mediate some of the risk, so your colon cancer risk may be determined by your meat-to-vegetable ratio…as much as an eightfold difference in colorectal cancer risk between the two extremes— high vegetable, low meant diets and low vegetable, high meat diets.”

When searching for “bad eggs” in the American Diet, comparing rates of certain lifestyle disease just may be the cure for identifying triggers and risk factors. As described in a segment featuring preventative measures against Esophageal Cancers, Acid reflux rates were compared across the national board. As described, “In the United States, about one in four people (28 percent) suffer at least weekly heartburn and/or acid regurgitation, compared to just 5 percent of the population in Asia” (Gregor 150).

Similarly, Hiatal Hernias, caused by low fiber intake, are almost unheard of in nations with a predominantly high fiber diet (alluding to relatively large portions of vegetables and phytates). Despite this, numbers remain high as “More than one in five Americans suffer from Hiatal hernias” (Gregor 151).

Overall, when comparing the diets of various countries, it becomes apparent that the US takes the short end of the stick for proper nutrition, which causes lifestyle disease if executed incorrectly. I was not surprised, exactly, as my family has been suffering from lifestyle diseases for a couple generations now. However, much of my family back home in Pakistan is somehow lifestyle-disease free, eating a diet centered around whole foods and plants, with great gut probiotic intake, and adequate exercise. If these were just isolated incidents, than why does the rate of lifestyle disease in immigrants increase when moving to America? It is clear that the most significant difference is diet!

In a fun twist from the regular fact-relaying series of events in Dr. Greger’s book, he shares a recipe for Hibiscus Tea. To preface this, he shares statistics from a study in 2012, in which various drinks were tested for their antioxidant properties. Hibiscus Tea took the cake, with multiple studies citing its potent abilities to promote blood flow and optimal blood pressure.

His recipe followed:

“To eight cups of water, add a handful of bulk dried hibiscus or four bags of tea in which hibiscus is the first ingredient. Then add the juice of one lemon and three tablespoons of erythritol, and leave it in your fridge to cold brew overnight. In the morning, strain out the hibiscus or take out the tea bags, shake well, and drink throughout the day…For extra credit, add green foam: Pour a cup of the tea into a blender with a bunch of fresh mint leaves, blend on high, and enjoy” (Gregor 390).

Erythritol —> Sweetener. Honestly, it’s hard to wean out addictive substances like refined sugar in this country. Even being conscientious is enough at this rate, so don’t stress yourself on the semantics of healthy recipes!

Also, I tried it and it was delicious! One of my greatest concerns for including more “healthy” foods into my diet was how it would taste and if I even had time. I was too used to my ultra processed foods— I still am. I wondered, how can I consume greens every day when I can hardly manage a consistent schedule? How can I eat regularly and healthily? How can I make it taste good?

It’s one thing to learn about the magical benefits, on a cellular level, of various superfoods. It’s another thing entirely to implement it into your daily life, with culture, school, money, amongst other factors getting in the way. Still, I was committed to at least making a slight difference.

The foods he had listed throughout the book that had struck me the most were

• Broccoli, amongst other cruciferous veggies, which protect us against pathogens in food and even free radicals in the air - (Gregor 83)

• Nitrate-rich green and red veggies, including kale and beets, allowing the body to optimize Oxygen extraction in cellular respiration and mitigate the effects of monoamine oxidase which break down important neurotransmitter’s such as serotonin and dopamine- (Gregor 139/203)

• Curcumin (Tumeric) for its anti-mutagenic properties- (Gregor 159)

• Fiberous foods, for higher phytate content and optimal gut bacterial health - (Gregor 188)

• Berries, due to their anti-mutagenic compounds and antioxidants- (Greger 273)

• Legumes and Grains high in phytates -(Greger 85)

  
  

  Overall, out of all the plants mentioned in the book, these ones seem the most reasonable to include in my diet, as based as I can. The science is also the most interesting and comprehensive, sticking out to me out of all the plants mentioned in this book. One of my greatest goals after finishing this book is at least attempting to eat more of these foods consistently within my diet.

And, we’ve fallen asleep.

(In actuality, I love reading this kind of content. This section about the oranges had me hooked for the next hundred pages! But, my love for these weird, niche science facts is a bit uncommon and, truly, every time I pulled out this 500 paged monster of a text in front of my friends and family, I received an unprecedented amount of shocked stares! Lots of people just aren’t as engaged with science as I had anticipated…)

If you find yourself on the boat where you want to learn more, but just aren’t one to pick up this text, then that’s perfectly all right. Lucky for you the author has created a cite which explores the nuance of health, intersecting with nutrition. There are videos that explore the topics discussed in this book, like longevity (in case you wish to live for eternity!).

Since I suppose I did pick up the book due to it’s title, I’ll link his article here, also giving you access to his website!

https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/longevity/

As I scroll through his website, I realize a lot of these articles aren’t even in his book! Some of them also branch out beyond nutritional advice and give lifestyle advice on exercise and sleep. Though I am an avid reader, I do love watching videos.

This video about “Personalized Nutrition” is so interesting! As it stands, there is a growing debate over whether or not each individual has their own needs within a diet. To what extent is this true? This video uncovers some of that!

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/friday-favorites-how-useful-is-personalized-nutrition/

After reading the novel, it is clear that while there are certain differences between all humans that define what we can or can not consume, there is similarly a lot of underlying evidence that highlights the importance of getting certain nutrients we need to survive and function optimally. This book provided to me the science behind a lot of these foods that allow one to function optimally. Overall, I recommend checking out his website for a more eloquent representation of his work. It sound’s like I’m his spokeswoman— No! But I am sold on his work and love the idea of spreading awareness, especially when it is evidence-based.