Forks over Knives

"We have a growing problem. And what is growing is us." 

Do you notice yourself having multiple helpings, bedtime snacks, mid morning munchies? Many Americans in the recent years have grown in size. Each year we see the adults getting rounder and their children following in suite. As we progress through technology, we also regress in our health. In our food, we remove the water the minerals and we are left with food that is poor in nutrient quality and calorie rich. We have lost the quality of life that kept us eating healthy foods and wanting to stay fit. We have lost our way and have become dependent on unnaturally rich and highly processed foods to satisfy us. If these patterns continue, this generation will be the first to not out live their parents.

In the movie Forks over Knives, the main message was that a plant-based, whole foods diet can improve the way we live because the foods that are easily available to us are the ones that are spelling our demise. More and more we are seeing people diagnosed with diabetes, heart disease, obesity, high cholesterol and angina. Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn have both done separate research but found similar answers that may guide us to a healthier future. Their studies repeatedly revealed that the animal products were really not as healthy as the majority of Americans made them to be. In a street survey, all participants claimed that meat and dairy were important parts of the diet to provide us with protein. In fact, dietary cholesterol, the type that can cause blood clots, angina and coronary artery disease, is only found in animal products including meat, dairy and eggs. However, some scientists and nutritionist still believe that animal protein is necessary in our diet for providing amino acids and helping with cell growth and tissue repair. Despite this firmly held believe, what Dr. Campbell and Dr. Esselstyn have found proves that animal proteins are really not necessary for humans to function. One test done to prove this theory was performed by Dr. Campbell and a group of test rats. He fed one group of rats 20% casein, a main component of animal protein, and the other group was fed 5% casein. After a significant amount of time, his findings showed that the rats being fed the higher levels of casein developed health problems including cancer but the mice on the lower dose of casein showed no signs of cancer or other health issues. Dr. Campbell decided to change the experiment to solidify his findings. His second experiment included the same portions of casein and two groups but this time he switched the diets by the groups. Through this, he found that when the rats were switched onto the 20% dosage, they immediately showed cancer growth and when they were again fed only 5%, the cancerous signs decreased. What this proved is that cancer can be turned on and off just like a switch. And the hand triggering the cancer cells to grow is indeed animal protein. Actually, animal based foods increase poor health, and plant based diets can reverse those negative effects. "Our most crippling conditions can be reduced if not completely eradicated through a plant based, whole foods diet." So why do we continue eating processed foods that are truly harming us? Scientists blame it on something they call the Motivational Triad. This are the three things driving humans to act in certain ways. Pleasure seeking, no pain and no effort are the three corners of the triad. Because humans try to find a way to make no effort in finding food, we often try to seek out the richest foods. In our stomachs, we have stretch sensors and density sensors. The rich, calorie heavy foods that we consume are often not triggering these sensors and so we continue to eat even though our stomachs are full. Essentially we have become caught in a pleasure trap. This means there is an interaction between our natural instincts and the modern and artificial urge that is overriding those instincts telling us that we need to eat more rich foods. A plant based diet may seem extreme, but I surely would rather make healthy food choices than pay for my mistakes in the ER. 

Before we had watched this movie in biology, I watched it over Christmas break and so I had two note pages to draw from when writing this. One take away that I had this round of watching is was just how much deeper you can go into media the second time you are immersed in it. Each time I watched it I realized just how amazing it was that health problems could actually be reversed through a vegan diet. That blew me away the first time, so you would think that the second time I saw it I would be braced for that astonishing news, but no. I was just as mindblown as the first time. Additionally, after the first time I watched it I immediately shifted my diet and I am now working on a plant based diet which means I am a vegan. I never knew something like that could be so hard, but I am finding my weaknesses are all around me. For example sushi? Or caesar salad dressing? Or honey? Although I still have weak days where I just really want a cookie with butter in it, I am eating healthier than I ever have and I am noticing remarkable differences in my weight. 

"Let food be thy medicine."

~ Hypocrites