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Lewis HowesHEALTHY FOODS That Heal The Body, Starve Cancer & PREVENT DISEASE! | Dr. William Li & Lewis Howes
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CHAPTERS
- 0:00 – 6:28
Why a Doctor Turned to Food as Medicine
Dr. Li explains that medical school gave him under a month of nutrition training, and that his background as a vascular biologist led him to look for common denominators across diseases. He describes developing 41 FDA-approved treatments and then testing foods in the same systems used to test drugs.
- •Medical students get less than a month of nutrition education in four years, according to Dr. Li
- •He studies blood vessels, about 60,000 miles of them in the body
- •He looked for what diseases have in common rather than what separates them
- •He helped develop 41 FDA-approved treatments for cancer, diabetes and blindness prevention
- •He decided to test foods in the systems used to test drugs
- 6:28 – 10:00
Food as the Medicine We Take Three Times a Day
Dr. Li frames food as a medicine taken from birth to last breath, whose effect depends on how the body responds. He introduces the body as a fortress with built-in health defenses that food can activate.
- •Feed the body something bad and it reacts poorly; feed it something good and it activates its defenses
- •His book Eat to Beat Disease covers how the body maintains health
- •Real scientists start from humility about what isn't known
- •The body is likened to a medieval fortress with five defense systems
- 10:00 – 11:50
Defense One: Angiogenesis and Starving Cancer
Dr. Li describes angiogenesis as the way the body grows blood vessels, kept in balance to heal wounds and build muscle without feeding tumors. Microscopic cancers without a blood supply are harmless, and foods can boost this defense.
- •The body needs the right amount of blood vessels
- •Microscopic cancers are harmless without a blood supply
- •Anti-angiogenic therapy cuts off blood supply to cancer and prevents blindness
- •Foods can amp up the body's angiogenesis defenses
- 11:50 – 16:46
Defense Two: Stem Cells and Dark Chocolate
The second defense is the stem cells stored in bone marrow at birth, which regenerate organs throughout life. Dr. Li says dark chocolate can double circulating stem cells and describes a study in 60-year-old men with heart disease.
- •About 750 million stem cells are stored in bone marrow at birth
- •Our lungs, liver and mouth lining regenerate continuously
- •Two cups of hot chocolate made with 80% high-flavanol dark chocolate doubled circulating stem cells
- •In the UCSF study, blood vessel function doubled in men with heart disease
- 16:46 – 21:09
Defense Three: The Gut Microbiome
Dr. Li covers the gut microbiome, with 39 trillion bacteria and 70% of the immune system living in the gut wall. He discusses the gut-brain connection and the vagus nerve, and says foods can support or harm this ecosystem.
- •Gut bacteria influence metabolism, the brain and the immune system
- •70% of the immune system lives in the gut
- •Gut bacteria may signal the brain through the vagus nerve
- •Autism, Alzheimer's and schizophrenia appear linked to gut bacteria
- •Foods can shift the microbiome toward good or bad bacteria
- 21:09 – 25:56
Defense Four: DNA Repair and Telomeres
Dr. Li explains that DNA protects us from the environment by repairing itself, and that telomeres act like the cap on a shoelace or a burning fuse. Stress, smoking and inactivity shorten them, while green tea, coffee and leafy greens may slow or lengthen them.
- •DNA repairs damage from UV light, fumes and radon
- •Standing downwind while pumping gas exposes lung DNA to fumes
- •Telomeres burn down with smoking, inactivity, oxidative stress and stress
- •Green tea, coffee and leafy greens can slow or reverse telomere shortening
- 25:56 – 31:30
Defense Five: The Immune System and Broccoli Sprouts
The fifth defense is the immune system, which Dr. Li says can wipe out even metastatic cancer at its best. He recommends blueberries and broccoli sprouts, noting sprouts have far more sulforaphane than mature broccoli and boosted flu shot response in a study.
- •The immune system patrols for inside invaders like microscopic cancers
- •Blueberries boost natural killer cells
- •Broccoli stalks have twice the sulforaphane of the tree tops
- •Sprouts have 100 times more sulforaphane than grown broccoli
- •A broccoli sprout shake raised flu shot response 22 times in a study
- 31:30 – 36:13
Cancer Prevention, Whole Foods vs. Supplements
Dr. Li describes a lab finding that tiny tumors stay dormant without blood vessels, then explode once vessels grow in. Anti-angiogenic drugs treat cancers, while food works better for prevention, with apples and green tea as examples. He says whole foods beat supplements, which should only top things off.
- •A tumor can grow 16,000 times in two weeks once blood vessels reach it
- •Food is less useful once cancer is far advanced and better for prevention
- •Two apples a day lowered lung and colon cancer rates; green tea lowered colorectal cancer risk
- •Whole foods contain hundreds or thousands of beneficial compounds
- •He focuses on what to add rather than what to remove
- 36:13 – 40:09
Understanding and Calming Inflammation
Dr. Li says inflammation is a normal part of immunity and becomes a problem when it stays elevated. He lists meditation, sleep and anti-inflammatory foods, and says the goal is balance rather than eliminating inflammation.
- •Acute inflammation protects you, like swelling around a cut
- •Chronic inflammation is like a volume knob that won't turn down
- •Breathing, meditation and sleep help calm inflammation
- •Cranberries, chocolate, vitamin C-rich fruits like strawberries and guava, and red bell peppers are anti-inflammatory
- •Shutting inflammation down entirely can leave you open to infection
- 40:09 – 45:27
Foods That Harm: Soda, Sweeteners and Better Alternatives
Asked for the most harmful foods, Dr. Li names soda first, saying its sugar overloads the body and wrecks the microbiome. He adds that artificial sweeteners harm gut bacteria even more, and lists sweeteners he considers better.
- •Sugary sodas inflame the body and damage the gut microbiome
- •He suggests cutting back by one can a day
- •Artificial sweeteners hurt the microbiome even more than regular soda, he says
- •Natural sugars in fruit like peaches come with fiber and bioactives
- •Maple syrup, honey, monk fruit and pure stevia are better options
- 45:27 – 49:37
Processed Meats and Ultra-Processed Foods
Dr. Li names processed meats as the second harmful food, noting the World Health Organization classes them as a carcinogen. His third category is ultra-processed foods, which he says harm DNA, immunity, the microbiome and telomeres, and he gives a tip to check ingredient labels.
- •Processed meats are classified as a carcinogen and can damage the microbiome and DNA
- •Traditional dried meats made without chemicals differ from deli meats
- •Ultra-processed foods transform food into something you don't recognize
- •If you can't recognize or pronounce most ingredients on the side of the package, it's ultra-processed
- •Home cooking such as making sauce or pasta counts as ordinary processing
- 49:37 – 57:14
New Discoveries in Metabolism and Fat Burning
Asked about his biggest aha moment, Dr. Li describes constant discoveries and a 2021 study showing metabolism has only four phases in life. He says fat slows metabolism rather than the reverse, hints at his next book, and mentions seafood as a fat-burning trigger.
- •A new heart cell type and the rose hip neuron were recent discoveries
- •Metabolism peaks at age one, then declines to 20, stays stable from 20 to 60, then slowly declines
- •Metabolic differences between people come from lifestyle, not birth, according to the study he cites
- •Fat slows metabolism, not the other way around
- •His next book covers foods that trigger fat burning, with seafood as one example
- 57:14 – 1:04:31
Living Without Medicine, Regeneration and the Future
Responding to the host's Christian Science upbringing, Dr. Li says eating well can tackle about two-thirds of chronic diseases and a third of cancers. He then looks ahead to foods that regenerate the body and to protecting astronauts from space radiation.
- •Diet and lifestyle are thought to account for a third of cancers
- •Early healthy habits matter, though it's never too late to quit smoking
- •Barley, cacao, olive oil's hydroxytyrosol and squid ink may protect or support stem cells
- •He is working on foods or supplements to protect astronauts from radiation
- •Space research could be brought back down to benefit people on Earth
- 1:04:31 – 1:11:42
Three Truths and Defining Greatness
Dr. Li shares his three truths: be kind, believe in the impossible, and let science lead the way. He shares the story of his mother's recovery from metastatic cancer and defines greatness as anything better than you expected.
- •Truth one: practice kindness toward the people around you
- •Truth two: believe in the impossible with informed hope, illustrated by his mother's cancer disappearing after immune therapy
- •Truth three: follow the headlights of science, using E.L. Doctorow's night-driving quote
- •Greatness is anything better than you expected, which fosters gratitude and humility
