It should be no surprise that the modern western diet, high in fast food, processed foods, sugary drinks, red meat, and saturated fats is incredibly unhealthy. Mediterranean or eastern diets high in fish, legumes, nuts, olive oil, fruits, and vegetables produces significantly better health outcomes for the populations that eat them. In Eat to Beat Disease, Dr. William Li covers findings from studies around the world that show how certain types of foods produce benefits to one of your body’s five major health defense systems and how they can help your body combat a host of diseases.
The first part of the book covers the five major health defense systems, how they function, and what happens when their internal balance is thrown off. I really enjoyed this section. The mind-boggling complexity and functionality of the human body (at the cellular and microscopic/DNA level) never ceases to blow me away and the author does a good job explain how it all works. The second part of the book covers the various foods that benefit one or more of these five systems. This part was good, but does tend to get a bit repetitive as a result of the way the book was structured. The final portion of the book lays out a roadmap for how to incorporate more of these foods into your own eating patterns complete with health questionnaires and example meal plans. I understand why this last section was included (few people probably change their eating habits after reading a book, so they need their hand held in how to do it, but I just didn’t get much out of the last third of the book and could have skipped it entirely.
Overall, I learned a lot and will be making a concerted effort to incorporate more of the foods below into my diet on a routine basis. Solid 3 stars.
What follows are my notes on the book:
The body has five health defense systems:
1) Angiogenesis
2) Regeneration
3) Microbiome
4) DNA protection
5) Immunity
Angiogenesis is the process of blood vessel formation (for example during pregnancy, healing wounds, or just supplying blood to new tissue when you get fat). Everybody has microscopic tumors as a result of mistakes during millions of cell divisions. Most of these tumors don’t invade organs and the body’s natural angiogenesis disrupters starve them of blood. Sometimes however they overwhelm the body’s defenses and when new blood vessels feed them they grow exponentially and they metastasize by spreading to other organs through your blood. Conditions effected by excessive angiogenesis: macular degeneration, Alzheimer’s, various cancers, diabetes, endometriosis, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis. Conditions effected by insufficient angiogenesis: alopecia, erectile dysfunction, heart disease, neuropathy, ulcers.
Regeneration: stem cells play a key role in health by repairing and replacing dead or worn out cells throughout your body. Smoking, air pollution, alcohol, high blood sugar, and diabetes reduce the number and effectiveness of stem cells.
Microbiome: your body is an ecosystem for 36 trillion bacteria (mostly beneficial). A healthy and diverse microbiome is linked to all kinds of positive health outcomes. Bacteria in the gut perform vital functions including synthesizing vitamins and other nutrients as well as breaking down toxins, complex carbohydrates, and fiber.
DNA protection: your body’s genetic code for replicating and repairing mistakes. Radiation (including from the sun) damages DNA. The food we eat plays a critical role in fueling those processes. Telomeres are repetitive sequences of non-coding DNA that protect the chromosome from damage. As we age they get shorter and eventually prevent cells from dividing any more. Certain foods have been show to accelerate or slow the shortening of telomeres.
The Immune system consists of two parts: the innate and adaptive systems. The innate system is the initial firefighter response that attacks intruders and produces other physiological responses like swelling to prevent their spread. The adaptive system, with their various kinds of B and T cells that detect foreign pathogens and then build antibodies to target them. The adaptive system is what creates immunological memory to protect against reoccurrence of a known pathogen.
Certain foods help to keep our angiogenesis system in homeostasis and contain anti-angiogenesis bio-actives:
- Soy beans and soy products (milk, sauce, etc)
- Tea
- Broccoli
- Tomatoes
- Kale
- Berries (blue, straw, rasp, crab, etc)
- Stone fruit (peaches, apricots, plums, etc)
- Seafood (clams, tuna, salmon, halibut, sea bass, lobster, oysters, crab, shrimp, cod)
- Chicken thighs
- Red wine
- Beer
- Cheese
- Olive oil
- Tree Nuts (walnuts, cashews, pecans, almonds, etc)
- Beans
- Dark chocolate (cacao)
Angiogenesis stimulating foods:
- Grains and seeds (barley, sunflower, sesame, chia, etc)
Stem cell boosting:
- Tea
- Berries
- Coffee
- Beer
- Dark chocolate
- Grapes
- Kale
- Mangoes
- Peaches and plums
- Peanuts
- Whole grains
- Green beans
- Red wine
- Spinach
Cancer cell killing foods:
- Apple
- Berries
- Carrots
- Coffee
- Dark chocolate
- Olive oil
- Plums
- Pomegranate
- Purple potatoes
- Walnuts
Feeding our microbiome:
- Sauerkraut
- Kimchi
- Cheese
- Yogurt
- Sourdough
- Pumpernickel
- Kiwi
- Walnuts
- Dark chocolate
- Beans
- Mushrooms
- Pomegranate juice
Key foods for effective DNA processes:
- Broccoli
- Clams
- Kiwi
- Mixed berry juice
- Oranges
- Oysters and Ouster sauce
- Tomato
- Tuna
- Watermelon
DNA repair foods:
- Carrots
- Kiwi
- Tuna
Influences epigenetics:
- Broccoli
- Coffee
- Tea
- Kale
- Peppermint
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Thyme
- Soy
Telomere lengthening foods:
- Almonds
- Cashews
- Chestnuts
- Coffee
- Tea
- Peanut Butter
- Pecans
- Pistachios
- Walnuts
Immunity boosting foods:
- Mushrooms
- Garlic
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Ellagic acid (blackberries, walnuts)
- Cranberry juice
- Blueberries
Immune calming foods:
- Broccoli
- Cherry tomatoes
- Grapefruit
- Tea
- Oranges
- Strawberries