Forks over knives

Last night, I watched Forks Over Knives, a documentary about the Standard American Diet and it's faults. This is a subject I have been interested in for several years. Food has incredibly healing powers, and nutrition is a symphony. The western diet often takes nutrition apart, calling specific nutrients out on their own, such as "protein". However, it's not that simple. The way protein acts with the other nutrients in the particular food is where true nutrition comes into play. This documentary advocates a plant-based, whole foods diet and claims that doing so can prevent and even reverse health problems.

"Let food be thy medicine, thy medicine shall be thy food" - Hippocrates


Here is a short synopsis on a few characters that are featured in the film.

Colin Campbell, author of The China Study, grew up on a dairy farm. His young life was consumed by proving that animal protein is essential in human nutrition. However, his research proved him wrong and he changed his life. I have read most of his book and it is truly eye opening. It is a heavily scientific book, so if this isn't your bag just watch Forks Over Knives instead.

Caldwell Esselstyn is a heart surgeon turned nutrition researcher and author of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease. He was conducting many heart surgeries per year when it dawned on him, "Yes, I am helping these people survive, but what am I doing to prevent this from happening to them again". Heart surgeries are extreme and cost up to $100,000 per patient. He is now an advocate for veganism. Now, his patients very rarely have to go under the knife due his mandatory food regimen.



Both of these men are well into their seventies and are more active and healthier than me! Caldwell's son, Rip Esselstyn, is a triathlete and a firefighter in our neighborhood. He is the author of the Engine 2 Diet and his station is located just blocks away from our home here in Austin. The book is a testament to his plant-based lifestyle. Being the son of a remarkable researcher and heart surgeon, he presumably grew up knowing that food could act as medicine. However, he tested it on a fellow meat-prone firefighter and he reversed his risk of heart disease and brought his cholesterol down 100 points in just 4 weeks.



If you are relying on the US government for food education, you may be looking in the wrong places. Colin Campbell has been shunned from his alma mater even after he donated thousands to their research centers. Coincidentally, top professors and board members of the school are affiliated with corporate dairy farms. Campbell claims that if the US government would allow these topics into the debate, we could cut health care expenses by 60-80%.

Read up on these subjects, know who is funding the research, and make educated decisions.

Most importantly, read ingredients on food labels.

There are many documentaries on the subject of food, and even more books. I have read a lot of them, but changing isn't easy. Processed foods and refined sugars are truly addictive. I know what I should and shouldn't be eating, but applying that knowledge is one of the biggest challenges for me. Growing up in the South doesn't help either. I equate food with family, tradition, and happiness. If I turn down fried chicken, I feel like I'm disowning my roots. And so the struggle continues...

Eat to live, don't live to eat.

Sermon dismissed,
Katie