dr. greger’s daily dozen
As I have been researching relentlessly over the past several days in the pursuit of bettering my diet and nutrition, after getting inspired by the CuriosityStream docuseries Prescription: Nutrition, I decided to know more about Dr. Michael Greger’s work and check out his website NutritionFacts.org and its corresponding YouTube channel.
I must say I’m hooked on his nutrition advice and his clear and concise scientific-evidence based tips, and it didn’t take me too long to stumble upon his Daily Dozen checklist.
Although I’m new to this, I can totally sense the power of this list (after all, it’s grounded in the principle of daily discipline and is primarily focused on whole-food, plant-based nutrition). And that’s why I couldn’t help but share this incredibly useful information with y’all right away.
The Daily Dozen checklist is pretty straightforward. Each day, Dr. Greger recommends having the following foods:
- A minimum of three servings of beans (legumes)
- Two servings of berries
- Three servings of other fruits
- One serving of cruciferous vegetables
- Two servings of greens (leafy vegetables)
- Two servings of other vegetables
- One serving of ground flaxseeds
- One serving of nuts and seeds
- One serving of herbs and spices
- Three servings of whole grains
- Five servings of beverages
- One serving of exercise (90 minutes at moderate intensity or 40 minutes of vigorous activity).
In addition, Dr. Greger also recommends taking a vitamin B12 supplement since this vitamin is neither made by plants or animals, and a regular and reliable source is critical for your health if you eat a plant-based diet. If you’re under the age of 65, based on his research, the easiest way to get B12 is to take at least one 2,000 mcg supplement each week or a daily dose of 50 mcg. (Note: These doses are specific to cyanocobalamin, the preferred supplemental form of vitamin B12, as there is not enough evidence to support the efficacy of the other forms, such as the widely available methylcobalamin.)
I spent a good amount of time looking up all the available options myself, and personally I recommend taking the 2500 mcg vitamin B12 supplement by Nature’s Bounty once a week.
Also, since the ability to absorb vitamin B12 might decline with age for us humans, it’s better to increase up the supplementation to 1,000 mcg of cyanocobalamin each day if you’re over 65 and eat plant-based foods.
I hope this information has been helpful to you. If you’d like to learn more about the Daily Dozen mentioned above and the role of each of them in our diet, I highly recommend visiting Dr. Greger’s website Nutritionfacts.org, reading his groundbreaking book How Not to Die, and getting his Daily Dozen app which you can download for free on iPhone and Android.
Disclaimer: This essay and this site do not provide medical advice. This website is for information and educational purposes only. The medical and/or nutritional information on this site is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Use of this website constitutes acknowledgment and acceptance of these limitations and disclaimers.