New York Times Bestseller! HOW NOT TO DIE.

A Review By: Ann Aresco, ND

This book is AMAZING! Written by an MD. A real life Medical Doctor, it puts all the thoughts and wishes of the Naturopathic Doctor (ND) between the two covers. Not that the ND’s don’t write books, but who reads them because not many people know what an ND is. This one is written by a Medical Doctor in easy to read English. He leaves the research lingo for the back of the book. The title says it all: How Not To Die. In other words how to die (we all will) of nothing.

The one fact the doctors have in their favor is that we all die. A 100% mortality rate. Every patient you treat is going to die at some point. This book tells you how to die of nothing, or know you are dying and you know the reason, like smoking. For example, if you smoke, you know you are going to die of a lung disease. You have been told this so many times it is no surprise. However, if you quit smoking and begin eating the food he suggests then there is a chance you will die of nothing. Load up on broccoli is his suggestion for the chance to reverse the disease process after you quit. It isn’t a break even process if you still smoke and eat broccoli.

There is so much more that he takes the time to tell you about. The book looks like it is a lot to read but if you take the chapter on your condition it’s a short story. Like how not to die from kidney disease. Additionally, you should also read the chapter on how not to die from iatrogenic causes (or how not to die from Doctors).
Naturopathic Doctors are the exception to that statement. They want you to get off your pharmaceuticals. They want you to eat whole foods, exercise, sleep well and in general live a healthy life. They are better at treating chronic diseases than Medical Doctors.

“Unfortunately, modern medicine isn’t nearly as effective as most people think,” (referenced to a study from JAMA). “Doctors excel at treating acute conditions, such as mending broken bones and curing infections, but for chronic diseases , which are the leading causes of death and disability, conventional medicine doesn’t have much to offer and in fact, can sometimes do more harm than good.” Dr. Michael Greger, M.D., FACLM.

Dr. Walter Willett, chair of Nutrition at Harvard University agrees with Dr. Greger. “The inherent problem is that most pharmacological strategies do not address the underlying causes of ill health in Western countries, which are not drug deficiencies.”

If you have a chronic disease, read the book. If your family has a history of some chronic diseases, read the book and avoid suffering from that disease. If you don’t want to read the book, take a short cut and see a Naturopathic Physician. If you have a bag full of pharmaceuticals and you want to get off them, do one of the above.