How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease

by Michael Greger

The population target should therefore be a total cholesterol level under 150 mg/dL.

just a single serving of four Brazil nuts almost immediately improved cholesterol levels. LDL—the “bad”—cholesterol levels were a staggering twenty points lower just nine hours after eating the Brazil nuts.51

Today, Dr. Barnard says, “Plant-based diets are the nutritional equivalent of quitting smoking.”66

Try to buy foods with fewer milligrams of sodium on the label than there are grams in the serving size. For example, if it’s a 100 g serving size, the product should have less than 100 mg of sodium.75

Another favorite is my pumpkin custard (aka crustless pie). All you need to do is blend one can of pumpkin purée with about ten ounces of silken tofu (the Mori-Nu brand is convenient because it stays fresh without refrigeration), as much pumpkin pie spice as you like, and one to two dozen pitted dates (depending on how much of a sweet tooth you have). Pour into a dish and bake at 350°F until cracks appear on the surface. By skipping the piecrust and sticking with a custard, you’re left with vegetables, tofu, spices, and fruit. The more you eat, the healthier you are.