We’ve all read about the Okinawa and Mediterranean diets, usually promoted as weight-loss remedies. But in addition to their slim figures, Okinawans have a very low rate of breast and prostate cancer, while Cretans enjoy a low rate of heart disease. What in the diets prevents these diseases? Could we adopt these diets as our own to live healthier lives?

That’s what Daphne Miller, a doctor in San Francisco, set out to investigate in her book, “The Jungle Effect.” Miller travels to the “cold spots” — places with a low incidence of a certain disease — all over the world to figure out what in that region’s diet serves to protect its residents from common ailments in the U.S.

The rest of my review here.