It’s hard to express how excited I am that How Not to Die is going to be out soon! Pre-order it now at http://www.NutritionFacts.org/book (all my proceeds go to keep this site running).

When I started writing this book, I thought of it as just another platform through which I could share the same body of nutrition work that exists here on NutritionFacts.org. Now, more than a year later, How Not to Die has turned into so much more. It’s actually two books in one.

Part 1: The Why

Part 1 is a compilation of the most exciting life-changing nutrition research published over the last century.

I’ve recorded more than 1,000 videos for NutritionFacts.org, each offering snapshots of some of the most interesting cutting-edge science. The reason I create annual year-in-review presentations is to synthesize the year’s highlights into a more coherent form. The book has enabled me to wrap up decades of groundbreaking discoveries in one place. It’s like my life’s work (so far! :) distilled into about 600 pages.

So on one hand, How Not to Die can be considered a reference book with its 100+ pages of references, gathering together all the most persuasive evidence in one place, including much that isn’t yet up on the site. Woven throughout are patient stories and personal anecdotes and as much humor as I could pack in. But that’s just part 1. The book evolved into so much more.

Part 2: The How

Part 2 is going to be everyone’s favorite. With sections like “What Would Dr. Greger Eat?” I take a deep dive into how I’ve personally translated the mountain of available evidence into my own daily diet. Even for people who’ve seen a thousand of my videos, questions remain, such as what are the best-of-the-best things to include in one’s diet, as well as how much of them to eat and how often?

I developed two simple tools for part 2 of the book. The first is a Traffic Light system to quickly identify green-light, yellow-light, and red-light foods and what role each category might play in an optimal diet. The second is my Daily Dozen checklist of all the things I try to fit into each day–how many greens to eat, how much turmeric to sprinkle, which supplements I take, how much exercise to get, etc. For most of these questions there are not clear answers in the scientific literature, so I’ve been hesitant to recommend specifics on the website. But in the book I offer my professional opinion, based on the best available (yet still incomplete) evidence, as to how to best feed ourselves and our families for optimal health and longevity. It’s been something I’ve been itching to do and am so excited to have this new platform in which to do it. I hope you’ll consider pre-ordering How Not to Die now!

Why Pre-Order?

The book will be available in major retailers on December 8, 2015, in time for the holidays and the burst of New Year resoluting. I’ve got a great publisher, Flatiron (a division of Macmillan), who will do their best to book me through all the big media outlets, but their success depends in part on whether I can get on the New York Times Best Seller List. Listing depends on weekly retail sales compared to sales of other books in the same category. Evidently it’s tough to get on the hardcover “advice/how-to” list, especially at that time of the year, but all pre-order sales from now until launch date all count for sales in that first week. So if the book can build up enough pre-orders, then the blitz of sales going out that first day may take me over the top.

I don’t receive a penny from the book. I put it in the contract that all the money I would normally receive from the advance and sales and royalties instead all go directly to the 501c3 nonprofit charity that keeps NutritionFacts.org alive (and from which I receive no compensation–other than all the warm fuzzies I get from helping everyone! :). The more the book sells, not only the more support NutritionFacts.org gets, but the more opportunity I may have to broadcast this message of dietary sanity to the world. Wouldn’t it be amazing if I could get on one of the big morning shows or get my own PBS special? With your help we can reach that many more millions. So please pre-order a copy for yourself, and however many copies you think you may be able to gift to friends and family to get them on the right track for the new year (and the rest of their long healthy life!). And if you’re active on social media, please help me get the word out by directing folks to the pre-order page. I’ll be using the hashtag #HowNotToDie

And you could WIN some great prizes! To encourage pre-orders we’re launching a How Not to Die contest where you can win one of dozens of prizes, like signed books, DVDs, and Daily Dozen fridge magnets. Go to http://www.NutritionFacts.org/book for details on how to enter and win.

It’s been a long journey to get this book out. At first, I thought of writing it as just a way to get my past work into book form to reach a new audience. But as I started pouring my soul into it and coming up with so much new material, I became more and more excited. Instead of just reviewing the latest science, this book has finally allowed me the opportunity to lay out all my personal recommendations based on the preponderance of available evidence. Now that it’s on the cusp of release I’m just trembling with excitement for everyone to read it.

I hope you’ll end up loving it as much as I do!

In health,

Michael Greger, M.D.

PS: If you haven’t yet, you can subscribe to my free videos here and watch my live year-in-review presentations Uprooting the Leading Causes of Death, More Than an Apple a Day, From Table to Able, and Food as Medicine.