What This World-Renowned Cancer Researcher Eats In A Day To Beat Disease

We always hear about those one-off studies finding things like "compounds in blueberries promote brain health" or "an antioxidant in green tea may prevent breast cancer." And while they're fun and exciting and may cause us to change our eating habits for a couple of days, they really don't tell you all that much. After all, our overall diet—and the interplay of a variety of different foods and nutrients—is a much better predictor of health and future disease risk than whether or not we're simply eating a whole lot of spinach.

That's not to say the information from these studies isn't useful—it's just that, for the average person, figuring out how to put it all together is pretty hard. Fortunately, that's exactly what world-renowned physician and researcher William Li, M.D., has done in his new book Eat To Beat Disease: The New Science of How Your Body Can Heal Itself.

In his book, Li gives a science-backed approach to using food as medicine. He explains how the body naturally resists chronic diseases like cancer and dementia through five health defense systems (angiogenesis, regeneration, the microbiome, DNA protection, and immunity) and what exactly we should be eating to activate these defense systems.

For breakfast, Li tends to keep things very light, starting with either a cup of whole-leaf green tea or espresso and some fruit, like kiwi. "Green tea and coffee are what I call Grand Slammer foods, and what I mean by that is they activate all five health defense systems in the body," he says. Kiwis are also Grand Slammers, and they're particularly great at protecting DNA, which can help slow cellular aging and reduce cancer risk. "A kiwi a day has actually been shown to reduce damage to DNA by about 60 percent," he says.

Occasionally he'll have a slice of toast as well. Not just any toast, though—whenever possible, Li opts for a high-quality sourdough. "I eat it for its impact on my microbiome," he says. "Sourdough is made with Lactobacillus reuteri, a healthy gut bacteria that helps activate our immune system and speed healing. It also activates our brain and prompts it to release the social, feel-good hormone oxytocin. The research has shown that even when the bacteria is killed by the cooking process, the remnants of the bacteria will still have all those benefits. It's quite amazing." Consider our minds blown.   

Li likes to go heavy on the plants at lunch and often leans toward salads made with nutrient-packed leafy greens like arugula, spinach, radicchio, or mâche. "Leafy greens, particularly those in the brassica family, contain special compounds that are anti-angiogenic, protect DNA, and boost the immune system," he says. He'll also add some nuts and seeds, which activate multiple defense systems in the body, olive oil-based dressing, and fatty fish. "I enjoy smaller tinned fish like sardines, mackerel, or anchovies," he says. "They're lower on the food chain, which means they're lower in mercury, but they still contain beneficial omega-3 fatty acids."

Dinner is Li's biggest meal of the day, and he pays special attention to what's fresh and in season. "I tend to build my meal around a core vegetable first and then think about how to make that vegetable as tasty as possible." One of Li's favorite veggies to prepare at dinner is roasted radicchio, which he slices in half, drizzles with olive oil, and cooks for about 15 minutes in the oven. "Radicchio is one of those vegetables that activates multiple defense systems at the same time," he says. Of course, that's not enough by itself. To go along with it? He'll pair it with something like a steamed fillet of fish and roasted purple potatoes with rosemary. "Research has shown that the natural pigment that makes these potatoes purple actually kills cancer stem cells, which are the really bothersome cells that allow the cancer to keep coming back."

For a sweet fix, Li gravitates toward chocolate (don't we all?). "I'll have a small piece of dark chocolate, 70 percent cacao or higher, which is one of those Grand Slamming foods," he says. "It tastes great and you don't need a lot."