William Li explains how we have the power to help control our own health destiny by making decisions that help the body heal itself. Immune system activators are to be found in broccoli sprouts, peppers, garlic, liquorice root and mushrooms. Li cites hundreds of scientific papers and studies as he moves through the foods he has chosen to discuss in each chapter.

Li provides information that is groundbreaking in its efforts to share with the regular population about diet.

By eating foods that you already enjoy, like tomatoes, blueberries, sourdough bread, and dark chocolate your body activates its five health defense systems to fight cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative autoimmune diseases, and other debilitating conditions. The information is fascinating, and he includes helpful lists of protective foods and strategies to help the reader understand and use the information. Li likes to go heavy on the plants at lunch and often leans toward salads made with nutrient-packed leafy greens like arugula, spinach, radicchio, or mâche. There are also foods linked to the prevention and even recovery for various diseases, including different types of cancer, heart disease, stroke, and autoimmune diseases.

They have to be taken with more than a grain of salt, because at best, they only show a correlation, not causation (which is implied throughout the book). Walnuts, yogurt, sauerkraut, beans, kiwis and cocoa encourage the growth of “healthy” bacteria in the gut. Studies show that soy helps protect against cancer, regardless of whether a woman's estrogen receptor is positive or negative. Dark chocolate has long been thought of as a special treat to be saved for the occasional guilty pleasure or holiday.And while they're fun and exciting and may cause us to change our eating habits for a couple of days, they really don't tell you all that much. 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. While, on the face of it, this is a compelling book with good ideas and information a deeper reflection suggests a serious flaw. A substance that has an anti-angiogenesis effect in the laboratory cannot be assumed to have a similar effect in a cancer patient.

By eating foods you already enjoy, like tomatoes, blueberries, sourdough bread, and dark chocolate, your body activates its five health defense systems to fight cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative autoimmune diseases, and other debilitating conditions. The final portion of the book presents an eating plan: choose five foods to eat each day- one food for each of the five factors. He was very organized as he broke this topic down into usable segments and not once did I feel like I was in a college class (which is a good thing). I don't purposely fast to lose weight or become ketogenic, but I'm mindful that doing this a couple of days a week has some benefit.Kiwis are also Grand Slammers, and they're particularly great at protecting DNA, which can help slow cellular aging and reduce cancer risk.

He describes, correctly, that health depends on a number of factors that include a properly functioning immune system, diversity of gut bacteria, an ability to eliminate cancer stem cells, effective repair of damaged DNA and impairment of the growth of blood vessels that feed tumors while enhancing the growth of “good” blood vessels such as the ones that feed the heart. Li's highly enjoyable and informative book spreads the word that achieving great health is within reach for all of us, using the very foods that we love. 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.It isn’t surprising that the Greek physicians associated food with disease because obviously without food there is no life.