Although, do to diet, he suffered a paralytic stroke at the age of 54!
Ironic, even though he was racist (like most back then) , he wrote "you are either to abolish slavery or it will abolish you".
He ended up dying from infections at 73, "bronchial pneumonia, and that an egg-sized abscess on his chest had eroded one of his ribs"
I bet if he had a modern autopsy done on him, they would have found that he had cancer!
"People with weakened immune systems get certain abscesses more often. This is because the body has a decreased ability to ward off infections. Those with any of the following are at risk of having more severe abscesses:
Cancer .........."

http://www.webmd.boots.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/guide/abcess

Whitman was a good poet, I just wouldn't personally take any dietary advice from him ;) Thanks for the post to reflect on!