Book
How Not to Die — Michael Greger (2015)
Last updated 2026-05-30· 1 min read
Reviewed by the Ultimate Longevity Bible editorial team. Educational reference — not medical advice. See disclaimer.
What it covers
The book is organised in two halves:
- Part 1: each major cause of death (heart disease, cancer types, lung diseases, brain diseases, diabetes, hypertension, kidney, etc.) reviewed with diet-focused interventions.
- Part 2: the Daily Dozen — specific food groups to include daily (beans, berries, other fruit, cruciferous, greens, other vegetables, flax seeds, nuts, spices, whole grains, beverages, exercise).
Strengths
- Comprehensive disease-organised structure.
- Extensive citations.
- Practical Daily Dozen framework.
- Promotes plant-heavy eating with which most cardiometabolic prevention evidence aligns.
What to read critically
- Greger’s presentation is selectively favourable toward plant-based conclusions; mixed-evidence areas often get one-sided coverage.
- The strict-vegan framing is more prescriptive than the underlying evidence requires (Mediterranean diet, plant-skewed omnivory, and pescatarian patterns also have strong evidence).
- B12, EPA/DHA, vitamin D, iodine considerations for strict vegans get shorter treatment than they warrant.
- Some specific cancer-prevention claims overstate the evidence.
Companion content
- NutritionFacts.org (Greger’s nonprofit) updates daily.
- How Not to Diet (2019) follow-up on weight management.
- Ending Aging — Aubrey de Grey (2007) — Book.
- Lifespan — David Sinclair (2019) — Book.
- The Longevity Diet — Valter Longo (2018) — Book.
- Outlive — Peter Attia (2023) — Book.
- Why We Sleep — Matthew Walker (2017) — Book.
Related entries
Plant-based diet, Mediterranean diet, Fiber and the microbiome, Vitamin B12.