Recently, my friend turned me onto Dr. William Li and his book “” – a really great book that delves into the research-based healing powers of a variety of foods. Over two decades, Dr. Li’s leadership in the field of angiogenesis and its clinical translation has brought to the world 30 paradigm-shifting treatments for cancer, vision loss, and wound healing. His vision, expertise, and global multidisciplinary networks are focused on conquering disease, and improving quality of life and the human condition through diet, lifestyle, and judicious use of medicines that optimize health throughout aging. Dr. Li’s work engages the White House, the Clinton Global Initiative, National Institutes of Health, Fortune 500 companies, and leading universities and medical institutions across North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. Dr. Li’s work has impacted more than 50 million people worldwide, and he is a TED Conference speaker. ” Dr. Li received his undergraduate degree with honors from Harvard College, his medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and his clinical training in Internal Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. He has authored over 100 peer-reviewed scientific and clinical articles, book chapters, and abstracts, including publications in leading journals such as Science, Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, and Nature Reviews. Dr. Li has held faculty appointments at Harvard Medical School, Tufts University, and Dartmouth Medical School. He serves on the board of directors of the , the , and , as well as public and private companies focused on health and life sciences innovation. A few of my big takeaways from his book included: – Regarding stem cells: Some foods like , , and beer can mobilize them and help us regenerate. Other foods, like purple potatoes, can kill deadly stem cells that spark cancer growth. – We all have cancer growing in our body. Every single one of us, even you. Over time, however, some tiny nests of cancer can overwhelm the defense system and overcome antiangiogenic countermeasures by releasing huge amounts of the same growth factor signals involved in wound healing. In lab experiments, once new blood vessels sprout into the small cluster of cancer cells, a tumor can grow exponentially, expanding up to sixteen thousand times in size in only two weeks after angiogenesis starts. – Even as little as thirty minutes of exposure to tobacco smoke exhaled by someone else is enough to stun your stem cells. – Not surprisingly, air pollution is similarly damaging. Researchers have found that in people living in communities with major air pollution problems, exposure to fine particulate matter during pollution flares lowers the number of endothelial progenitor cells in their blood. – Among the Malmo participants, researchers found that those with the highest levels of stem cell factor had a lower risk of heart failure by 50 percent, a lower risk of stroke by 34 percent, and a lower risk of death from any cause by 32 percent compared to those participants with the lowest levels of stem cell factor. – During the cholera epidemic of 1892 in France, Metchnikoff mixed bacteria together in a petri dish and found that some bacteria could stimulate cholera growth, but to his surprise found that other bacteria hindered it. This led him to speculate whether swallowing some types of helpful bacteria might be useful for preventing deadly diseases. He was also struck by the fact that some people lived to a ripe old age despite harsh rural conditions and poor hygiene associated with poverty. In Bulgaria, he noted, there were peasants in the Caucasus Mountains who lived beyond one hundred years. He observed that the oldest villagers were drinking fermented yogurt containing the bacteria . Metchnikoff suggested that one secret to longevity is consuming healthy bacteria. – A study of 1,095 “ridiculously healthy people” who have no healt