William W Li MD

Dr. Li makes it clear from the outset that this eating pattern will enhance your health if you are sick already, and possibly forestall some of the major health problems like heart disease, cancer, autoimmune diseases and diabetes. He never says it will cure you, but will help you be in the best health you can be without a prescription. He is a medical doctor and so recommends following doctor's recommendation for your health, but that eating these foods will enhance your health and help show more your body to fight the disease. I took time to assert that because the title can be misleading and some reviews I have read seem to misunderstand what the point of the book really is.

I loved reading and learning about how our body's health system works. As with anything that examines how the world around us operates, it blows my mind. I also enjoyed learning about how different foods affect different parts of our health system.

My takeaway. I already eat many of the foods listed in this book. I would like to eat some of them more regularly. I plan to make a chart for my reference, of foods associated with each health system to make sure I'm covering the bases. I probably won't be religious about the 5x5x5 (I already eat a plant based diet, so I'm pretty sure I hit each one every day) but the foods mentioned will make it on to my grocery list each week. I don't think this will cure my melanoma, but it might help my body tolerate the medical treatments I need, and if there's a cure, all the better.

I do find it sad that the medical business completely ignores the benefits of foods to us other than losing weight. Every oncologist and medical personnel I have spoken with gets a glazed look in their eyes and says, "Just eat what you want." I agree with Doctor Li, they need better training in this area. show less

First up. I need to clarify that this is really a review based solely on the Blinkist summary of the book. So it’s not especially fair to the author. However, I have found Blinkist summaries to be remarkably good and indicative to me of whether it’s worth my while finding a copy of the whole book and reading it. In the meantime, here are some extracts from the summary that I found interesting or that captured the thrust of the arguments.
Soy foods and broccoli can help boost your show more body’s cancer-fighting defense system.
Microscopic tumors start growing when your body’s cells divide incorrectly. And shockingly, your body makes around ten thousand of these mistakes every day. The result? Cancer formation isn’t just common; it’s inevitable..........your body has a natural defense system that stops these cancers from ever becoming a problem. It’s called angiogenesis. [The author has specialised I the study of angiogenesis].......Blood vessels grow irregularly, then they’re just as likely to deliver this nourishment to your microscopic cancers instead [of where you would like the nourishment delivered], providing them with the fuel they need to grow, spread and eventually invade your organs..........Angiogenesis stops this from happening by controlling where and when blood vessels grow, and thus stops tumours.
A 1993 study by the University of Heidelberg found that soy foods contain genistein, a potent cancer-fighting substance that suppresses the blood vessels that feed nutrients to tumours.
Furthermore, it was found that genistein prevented the growth of several types of cancer cells, including Ewing’s sarcoma cells, which lead to bone and soft-tissue tumours.
You’ll need to consume a daily portion of at least 10 grams of soy protein to enjoy the cancer-fighting benefits.......
Broccoli has also been found to have a potent effect on angiogenesis too.....Broccoli contains brassinin and sulforaphanes, substances that help angiogenesis keep blood vessel production in balance and fight cancer........So to reduce your risk of cancer, add between one and two cups of broccoli to your diet each week.
Drinking cocoa can boost your body’s ability to repair and regenerate itself.
Your body is made up of around 37 trillion cells. Of this gigantic number, only around 0.002 percent are classified as stem cells......Stem cells form the basis of one of your body’s key health defense systems: your regenerative system.......This rate of regeneration differs according to the organ involved. For instance, stem cells regenerate your lungs every eight days, your skin once a fortnight, and your small intestine almost every other day.
Feed your body’s health-giving bacteria with fruit, sauerkraut and cheese.
Mushrooms and olive oil help your immune system fight everything from colds to cancer.
You can help protect your DNA by snacking on nuts and berries.
Your DNA is being damaged continuously throughout your life.
Health benefits can also be found in some surprising foods.
Final summary
Eat to beat disease
My take on the book. Hard to know what to believe, There are so many books on eating right to combat cancer and other diseases but for every recommendation there seems to be a counter recommendation. Without access to all the research, and even with it, it is hard to come to rational conclusions. If the Blinkist summary is reasonably accurate, the author seems to have extrapolated from very few studies to make remarkable conclusions. I have no great arguments with his recommendations to eat nuts and berries. Nor his recommendation to eat soy and broccoli. But not sure about cocoa, mushrooms and olive oil. Maybe he is right but not really enough evidence presented here to convince me. Overall, I found it interesting and challenging. But I would have liked to see some discussion of any downsides to eating some of these foods. There was no mention of that. Three stars from me. show less

There is a lot of information in this book. The good thing is that it was written so that I could understand it. There have been books on nutrition and it’s effects on disease and the body that we’re good but difficult to get through. I didn’t have that problem with this book. The author did a good job explaining things without forcing me to look up every other word. Considering the fact the first portion of this book will have you feeling like you are in school, I was very happy to show more see this.
I love the listing of what foods you can enjoy that are helping your body. The author doesn’t say here are five foods, eat them for health whether you like them or not. Instead we are told to go through the list so we can choose food we already love along with some that we may want to try. I really like this not only because I’m not the most adventurous in food, but because I live where finding everything might be challenging and then there is cost. Having the list and being able to just pick off the food you enjoy, can easily find and fits the food budget is as important as the knowledge about nutrition. The truth is that what we eat has a direct affect on our body and health. Food can harm or heal. To do either, though, the food has to be available and what we want to eat. I like the authors 5x5x5 Framework in the last part of the book. It should be noted that this isn’t for weight loss, (though I think healthier eating does help with that). This is an easy way to add disease fighting food to your diet. You pick 5 foods that you add to your diet and enjoy them 5 times a day. Your goal with them is to cover the 5 defense systems that you read about in the book. I love that I can choose to eat them together or eat them as part of meals and snacks. The last portion of the book is where you will find the lists, along with recipes to try, tips on incorporating the food to your menu, a sample menu to help guide you and a section on assessing your risk.
I recommend this book for people who are interested in healthy eating. I won an advanced copy of this book from Goodreads Giveaways. The final book may differ from my copy. show less

Well written with excellent information. A textbook of info.