Dr. Michael Greger is on a mission to give people information on how to live their healthiest lives.  The obesity pandemic in North America and globally is quickly escalating and Dr. Greger hs the most comprehensive book on evidence-based weight loss, the psychology behind our interpretation of how many calories are in food, and the danger of quick fixes like weight loss surgeries and diet pills.  He also has the healthiest and easiest foods to add to your diet to help burn more fat.

"It turns out a calorie is not just a calorie. 100 calories of chickpeas is a different impact on the body than chicken or chicklets, based in part on different effects on their impact of absorption, appetite or microbiomes.  Different foods can rev up your appetite for example. It's not just what you eat, it's what you absorb.  Fiber, for example, in whole intact plant foods can trap calories, flush them out the other end. And even if you do eat and absorb the same number of calories. A calorie still may not be a calorie. The same number calories eaten at a different time of day, in a different meal distribution, or after different amounts of sleep can translate into different amounts of body fat." -Dr. Micheal Greger

"Obesity is one of today’s most blatantly visible – yet most neglected – public health problems. Paradoxically coexisting with undernutrition, an escalating global epidemic of overweight and obesity – “globesity” – is taking over many parts of the world. If immediate action is not taken, millions will suffer from an array of serious health disorders."  -WHO

But here's the thing, weight loss is really hard for most people.  The food industry makes sure that their high calorie, low nutrient foods are highly addictive.  Many Americans are nutritionally bankrupt.  And weight loss?  People will do anything, including surgery and reaching for diet pills that actually are not effective or safe.  Enter the book How Not to Diet by Dr. Michael Greger.

You may have heard my previous episode with Dr. Greger about his book How Not to Die and of his incredible organization, NutritionFacts.org.  If you aren't familiar with Dr. Greger, the man has more energy than anyone I've ever seen. Between the hundreds of the latest nutrition research videos on NutritionFacts.org, writing a book every 2-3 years, and spending most of his time on the road speaking about nutrition, he is a busy guy.   He is a medical doctor, a New York Times Best-Selling Author, and internationally acclaimed speaker.  NutritionFacts.org is a public service to give people the information they need to lead the healthiest, disease-free lives possible through evidence-based nutrition.

He also recently released the book How Survive a Pandemic and has been releasing videos about COVID-19 that have been helpful and interesting on NutritionFacts.org.

Topics Discussed in the Podcast 

• why everything in moderation doesn't work
• the psychology and marketing in our food choices
• our interpretation of how many calories are in food
• a calorie is not a calorie
• chronobiology
• do fat genes actually exist
• fasting for athletes? when to eat
• how to have permanent weight loss
• best weight loss tweaks:
  • vinegar
  • negative calorie preloading
  • timing of when to eat
  • black cumin seeds, cumin, other spic

--------------
The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co.