Specialists › Eating & lifestyle › Michael Greger

SpecialistEating

Michael Greger

MD, FACLM · physician specialising in clinical nutrition · founder of NutritionFacts.org · author of How Not to Die

Go-to expert for: whole-food plant-based eating

Who and why

Michael Greger is a US physician who founded NutritionFacts.org, a non-profit site that summarises nutrition research in short videos and articles. His book How Not to Die made the case for a whole-food, plant-based diet to prevent and treat common chronic diseases. His Daily Dozen checklist turns that advice into simple daily targets.

Why it matters after 50: Heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers become more common with age, and diet is one of the biggest factors you can change. Eating more whole grains, vegetables, fruit and nuts is linked to lower risk of early death.

What Greger recommends

  • Daily Dozen basics: 3 servings of beans (a serving is about half a cup cooked), 3 of whole grains, 3 of fruit plus 1 of berries, and 2 of greens, 1 of cruciferous vegetables and 2 of other vegetables each day.Strong evidence
  • Add a serving of nuts or seeds and a tablespoon of ground flaxseed each day.Some evidence
  • Use herbs and spices daily, for example about a quarter teaspoon of turmeric.Personal habit
  • Drink about 1.8 litres of fluids a day, such as water or tea.Personal habit
  • If you eat a fully plant-based diet, take vitamin B12: at least 50 mcg daily or 2,000 mcg once a week. Check with your doctor if you take medicines or have health conditions.Note
  • Move every day: about 90 minutes of moderate or 40 minutes of vigorous activity.Personal habit

Signature: The Daily Dozen

A checklist of 12 food groups and habits to tick off each day, with set servings for beans, whole grains, fruit, vegetables, nuts, flaxseed, herbs and spices, drinks and exercise. It is also available as an app.

In your plan

Choose him for eating: plant-only meals, with soy and legumes to reach your protein target. His daily walking goal becomes extra steps outside training.

Build my mix

Research and honest caveats

Food groups and risk of death

In a large pooled analysis of prospective studies, more whole grains, vegetables, fruit, nuts and fish were linked to lower risk of death, and more red and processed meat to higher risk.

Schwingshackl et al., American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2017

Vegetarian diets and mortality

In about 73,000 Seventh-day Adventists, vegetarians had a 12% lower death rate than non-vegetarians, with pescatarians showing the lowest risk.

Orlich et al., JAMA Internal Medicine, 2013

  • Critics, including reviewers of How Not to Die and some scientists, say he tends to highlight studies that support plant-based eating and to play down those that do not, and that he can overstate the harms of animal foods. Much of the evidence for his advice comes from observational studies, which show links rather than proof of cause.

Career highlights

  1. 1999Received his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine
  2. 2011Launched NutritionFacts.org
  3. 2015Published How Not to Die
  4. 2023Published How Not to Age

Sources