Food As Prevention

This website is maintained by a Canadian physician who is a gastroenterologist (specialist in diseases of the intestines) who has also passed the US Board Exams of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.  It’s aim is to connect members of the public with information on a healthier diet to lower mortality and the risk of developing diseases such as heart attacks, strokes, adult-onset (type 2) diabetes, and cancer.

I have a masters degree in health research methodology and have tried to make the information in this site as evidence-based as possible.  Fortunately, the peer-reviewed medical literature has a lot of information on the role of food in preventing disease and helping us to live longer.

The site is divided into an ‘evidence’ section that guides you through evidence about the healthiest diet and an ‘application’ section to help you make changes to your diet and lifestyle.

This site is aimed at several audiences:

1. Members of the general public who are looking for credible information on the healthiest diet.  I have set out a series of steps to guide you to this information and how to make the transition to the healthier you – click here to get started.
2. Members of the healthcare community (eg physicians, nurses) who would like clear, evidence-based information about the role of food in preventing disease – click here to go further.
3. People who already know about the benefits of a healthy diet but would like to be connected with some good resources to grow in their knowledge. Click here for more information.

If you’d like some feedback on how healthy your current diet is, take this 3 minute survey.  If you are at the 4Leaf (best) level, here is information on doing even better.

If you’re not sure you need to make changes, why not calculate your life expectancy, risk of heart attack & stroke, or cancer.

If you’re not sure how effective this diet is, see this compelling 3 minute video by Eric Adams, the next mayor of New York city.

If you have changed to a plant-based diet, you should supplement with vitamin B12 and consider supplementing with decahexanoic acid (an omega-3) and vitamin D (further information available here).

By way of introduction to this  important topic, here is a 3 minute video on the power of nutrition:

Where possible, I list the references to my content at the bottom of each page or directly in the page as well as a list of key references here.  I also have multiple links to outside information sources in my articles which I encourage your to follow to learn more.

I also have a newsletter (click here to see a sample) which you can sign up for here.

The best start in your journey of change is to be FULLY convinced of the benefits of a plant-based diet.  My recommended starting point is to watch one of the following FREE documentaries:

1. “Plantwise” (47 min, trailer here): See the effect of diet changes in the lives of ordinary people – click here.
2. “Forks over Knives” (90 min, trailer here) which is now available free on the web (see here).

In January 2024 a new video also came to Netflix entitled “You are what you eat” (trailer here) which looked at a study of 21 pairs of identical twins in which one was given a healthy omnivore diet and the other was given a healthy plant-based diet for 8 weeks.  It is quite illuminating.

If you prefer videos, I also have videos of recent talks I have given on the topics of Food as Prevention for Obesity & Diabetes, Cancer, and Cardiovascular Diseases as well as a talk on a Practical Approach to a Whole Food Plant-based Diet (YouTube version here).

Please note that while I check the pages I link to,  due to the changing nature of web pages on the internet, I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information that they contain (or the websites they are part of).

In the bottom left corner of each page is a button labelled ‘Feedback’ – PLEASE use this to tell me what you like/don’t like and any errors you see or suggestions for what you would like to see.  It takes less than a minute !

Please note that these pages are informational only and should not be interpreted as  medical advice or used for the diagnosis or treatment of any disease.  It should not replace the advice of a qualified healthcare provider.

This website is not intended to solicit new patients or advertise my services in any way.  It is provided as a public service and does not accept donations.

Click here to get started !

If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed, click here for a more detailed overview of my website.

If you’re not ready to make big changes, but open to a gradual approach, see this excellent resource (download here) which uses a ‘traffic light’ approach to healthy / unhealthy foods.

Student resources are here including information on motivational interviewing.

Recent talks (please note some of the videos start with 3 minutes of mindfulness meditation):

1. Food as Prevention for Cancer 9/18/2019 St Joseph’s. Video here (second copy here -starts after 3 minutes of mindfulness)
2. Food as Medicine Prescription 9/14/2019 (Review of evidence)
3. Food as Prevention for Diabetes (June 2019) – video, slides
4. ‘Food as Prevention in Cardiovascular Disease’ video – McMaster mini-medical school 2/26/2019 slides here, summary here.

See my recent newsletter on preventing viral infections with food here.

Dr Ganguli’s training/certification: