Sukkari Life

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How Not To Die - Book Review

I have been following Dr. Michael Greger for a very long time now. His website, NutritionFacts.org is one of the most informative websites about health and nutrition. Can you imagine that he posts a video or an article every single day? And it's all for free. No ads, nothing. They refuse to sell products or give endorsements too. 

But how do they keep going if they're not making any money? Well they run on donations (but Dr. Greger himself does not take any of it, all of his work is out of love!) 

Even the proceeds of this book go to charity. It's very inspiring to see someone who just wants to spread the knowledge. As he puts in at the end of his book  "What membership websites seem to be saying, in essence, is that if you don't give them money, they'll withhold information that could make your family healthier. That's unacceptable to me. Advances in health and sciences should freely available and accessible to all." 

I understand why some websites would sell you their e-book or have exclusive information, not everyone can donate their time. But at the same time, it doesn't make sense to have something so valuable and helpful and not share it with everyone. I like Dr. Greger's approach. 

Plant-based pancakes and a good read!

Anyways, let's get to the book now. 

Hands down. One of my all time favorite books. I am definitely going to read it again and again. Not to mention to keep referring back to it when I need to look up something about a certain disease. 

It's informative even for a vegan and someone who has been following a plant-based diet for a while now. It inspired me to take responsibility for my health and how I feel on a daily basis. To eat even healthier and get my greens in every day! It's easy to read and entertaining. It cracked me up so many times with his sarcasm and cheesy jokes, I'd be laughing so hard while reading some of his stories.

It's filled with evidence-based facts with a personal touch that makes it relatable and funny. However, that does not mean that the information is biased. He provides us with what the science has to say after examine the studies and checking for any bias there (sometimes studies are funded by a certain industry to boost their sales. E.g. Egg industry trying to prove that eggs are not bad for your cholesterol) So he checks who is funding the study, how long did the study take, how many participate, what kind of study was it etc.

I know that the book looks HUGE, but the last 140 pages or so are all references. Besides, it's very well organized, so you can read the sections that matter to you, e.g depression, heart disease, etc. But I encourage you to read the whole thing. The book is fun to read that you won't even want it to end! I finished it within 10 days or so even though I'm a slow reader and like to take my time.

P.s. Keep a pen with you when you read this book because you are going to want to highlight most of it. At least that's how my book looks like. It's filled with notes and folded corners.

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