Eggs (along with soda) have also been associated with asthma attacks in children, along with respiratory symptoms, such as wheezing, shortness of breath, and exercise-induced coughing.51 Removing eggs and dairy from the diet has been shown to improve asthmatic children’s lung function in as few as eight weeks.52

Cancer risk may also depend on what’s being fried. A study of women in China found that smokers who stir-fried meat every day had nearly three times the odds of lung cancer compared to smokers who stir-fried foods other than meat on a daily basis.25 This is thought to be because of a group of carcinogens called heterocyclic amines that are formed

Part of the USDA’s mission is “expanding markets for agricultural products.”14 At the same time, the federal agency is tasked with protecting public health by helping to develop the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. That’s why, when those two directives are in sync, their eat-more language is clear: “Increase fruit intake.” “Increase vegetable

“As a result of these conflicts [of interest],” concluded an analysis in the Food and Drug Law Journal, “the Guidelines sometimes favor the interests of the food and drug industries over the public’s interest in accurate and impartial dietary advice.”19

In general, the dividing line between health-promoting and disease-promoting foods may be less plant- versus animal-sourced foods and more whole plant foods versus most everything else.

Curcumin is special in that it appears to belong to all three groups, meaning it may potentially help prevent and/or arrest cancer cell growth.13

Even vegetarians can suffer high rates of chronic disease, though, if they eat a lot of processed foods.

Some people have expressed concern that boosting telomerase activity could theoretically increase cancer risk, since tumors have been known to hijack the telomerase enzyme and use it to ensure their own immortality.75 But as we’ll see in chapter 13, Dr. Ornish and his colleagues have used the same diet and lifestyle changes to halt and apparently

This has been blamed on the decreasing “whole plant food content of their diet,” including a shift from brown rice to white and the substitution of other refined carbohydrates, packaged snacks, and fast-food products for India’s traditional staples of lentils, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and