We are at a time in human history where we have access to more variety of food and more medicine than ever, yet we are sicker and fatter than ever. This should be getting the center of our attention, and yet it isn’t. Our dietary choices are killing us, stripping away the quality of our life day by day, and too many of us are utterly complacent about this. Why is that? The highly-acclaimed Forks Over Knives documentary examines this issue and provides answers that are hard to ignore. You can view the film trailer above.

Our dietary habits have hit rock bottom. Some say we have gone too far down the fast and processed food road, and are addicted beyond help. Some claim we are merely ignorant. Others say it is not our fault, but the failure of the nutritional education we are given from a young age by our schools, health agencies, and parents. The time now, though, is not to point fingers or lay blame. The time now is to act. Each minute we are losing more people to early deaths, having more people suffer unnecessarily, and worst of all, today’s children are already being profoundly affected by atrocious food habits as well.

It is for all of these reasons and more that I am eager to share with you about this new documentary, which was created by the Forks Over Knives movement. It eloquently addresses the root causes of our health problems and presents solutions that are within our control. There is a reason why this film comes with a warning - This movie could save your life! - because if you follow its guidance, it literally can.

About the Film

Forks Over Knives is a documentary that was released in May 2011 and is about one and a half hours in length. It has swept onto the screen with significant momentum and has been readily featured on major mainstream networks like the Dr. Oz Show, CNN, and many others.

Monica Beach Media and D Films present the film, which is created and produced by Brian Wendel. Other producers include John Corry and Allison Boon. It was written and directed by Lee Fulkerson, known for his expertise in documentary films. Lee also stars as the main narrator in the movie and showcases his own health transformation by making the dietary changes suggested in the film.

Forks Over Knives was two years in the making after Brian Wendel discovered The China Study by Dr. Colin Campbell and realized the importance of this message in helping to save people’s lives. Not only was he impressed by the scientific basis, but he also recognized the urgency of bringing this message to large masses of people. The film examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the so-called “diseases of affluence” that afflict us, can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods.

It features Lee Fulkerson (the writer/director) as both the narrator and one of the participants who goes in for a full medical check-up, only to find out that he is at significant risk for heart disease and other chronic diseases. He then agrees to change his diet to treat his health problems by adopting a whole food, plant-based diet.

The film then introduces and features throughout its entirety the two pioneers responsible for much of the science behind the claim that a whole food, plant-based diet can not only prevent but even reverse most disease today. This applies most notably to the major chronic diseases that our population is faced with today—heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. These two pioneers are Dr. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn.

Colin T. Campbell Ph.d. is a nutritional scientist and author of the ground-breaking book, The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted And the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss, And Long-term Health, as well as Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition.

Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn is a world-renowned surgeon, scientist, cardiovascular specialist, and author of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven, Nutrition-Based Cure.

Both of these men came into the medical and science fields through the mainstream route, and both found out during their careers shocking new conclusions that contradict the basis of what we are being taught about health and nutrition. Both of them have discovered the power of whole plant food nutrition for preventing and reversing disease.

The film also features other experts like Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. Terry Mason, Dr. Pam Popper, Dr. Doug Lisle, Dr. David Klurfeld, and others.

The film also includes the journeys of five people who are diagnosed with various chronic diseases. It then introduces them to the power their diet can have on their health and follows their personal stories and victories after they change their eating habits to a whole food, plant-based diet.

The film presents lots of science and pertinent statistics which clearly show the changes our dietary system has undergone over the past 100 years, our health and how different food consumption has changed and why.

The film debunks myths like “meat is needed in our diet for protein” and “milk is needed in our diet for calcium.”

The film also tackles the politics and economics of why animal products, like meat and dairy, as well as processed foods, are so pushed onto consumers, and in such cunning ways. As well, it covers a few environmental and ethical consequences of an animal-based diet.

All the science, politics, and other topics are covered in easy to understand, simple, exciting, and entertaining ways, supported by fantastic 3-D animation technology.

In the end, the results are positively shocking! The participants have experienced amazing benefits from losing weight and reversing their diseases or symptoms to even getting off their medication, which most were told they would be on for life.

Personal Commentary

When I first learned about this movie, I was super excited to see it! Up to this point in my life, based on my personal health experiences and my own research, I have known with certainty and conviction the power our food, primarily plant-based, whole food has on every aspect of our health. I watched it with great joy and am thrilled to recommend this film to everyone for the power it truly holds not only to change but literally save your life!

In my mid-20s, without being a pound overweight and under the assumption that I was eating a relatively “healthy” diet, I was told I had elevated cholesterol after a routine blood test. This was a massive shock for me, as I was reasonably active and ate what I thought was a healthy diet, high in dairy for strong bones. As young women today, we are brainwashed to believe this to be true.

Having a scientific background, I immediately took things into my own hands. Something clearly wasn’t right in my diet, and there was no way I was going to end up on routine medications like the majority of the population. I started reading all kinds of nutritional literature, and everything seemed to be pointing to animal products, especially dairy, being the most apparent cholesterol culprit. I decided to reduce my dairy intake significantly, further reduce the small amount of meat in my diet, and increase my fruit and vegetable intake. The results were astounding. By my next blood test, which was only a few months later, my cholesterol dropped naturally to textbook-perfect low levels! I felt empowered like I just discovered the best-kept secret. Sadly, my doctor was just as shocked and played no part in suggesting such a dietary switch or healing and prevention possibility.

From then on, everything within me turned on to discover the power of nutrition and, most specifically, a plant-based approach. After seeing the numerous health benefits I have experienced, to the point of not even getting sick anymore with colds or any ill symptoms. There was no going back. The more I learned, the more I was drawn to change my diet to one primarily based on whole plant foods. I then watched the film A Delicate Balance, which was the final push I needed to embrace a 100% whole food vegan diet. I have never looked back and never felt better, knowing this is one of the most potent tools we each have with which to direct the fate of our health and wellbeing. To add to this, I developed a great respect for animals, their life, all of nature, and the effects that our dietary choices have on the environment. Today, I live with more inner peace, spiritual balance, and excellent health than I ever could have thought possible!

It takes over ten times the amount of fossil fuel to produce a calorie of animal-based food than it does a calorie of plant food. The world’s cattle alone eat enough grain to feed 8.7 billion people. We can feed every mouth on the planet.

Lee Fulkerson, Forks Over Knives

This is why I actively promote and support this film; I am not affiliated with it or the Forks Over Knives organizations whatsoever. I appreciate the movie because it is so valuable in both the information it presents and how it presents it. It is clear, simple, and to the point. It has some cute, entertaining animations and some teaching animations which enhance the entertainment value.

I have been a major fan of both Colin T. Campbell Ph.D., Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, and Dr. Pam Popper for many years now. They are a few of the people whose work I credit with helping me turn my life around and better understand the power of nutrition.

The movie covers so many pertinent health issues that people face today like being overweight, having diabetes type 2, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, organ damage, erectile dysfunction, all sorts of cancers, and more! Every message is one of education and empowerment. The film clearly shows that the path to amazing health is within our control. It is about the destiny we create, not about the fate we think we fall into, and it all starts with what is on our meal plates.

I loved how the movie shows how strongly brainwashed and misinformed our population is when it comes to what we eat, especially when it comes to the beliefs we have about meat and dairy. Nothing made this more apparent than when the former president of the American Dietetic Association and advisor to the National Dairy Council spoke about the need for meat to avoid protein deficiency and dairy for calcium and strong bones. Based on her ties to the parties who have a vested stake in this discussion, it should be no surprise to hear her claims of such promotions.

The politics of why we are as sick and fat as we are, are evident to those who look just a little deeper into how our society and food systems operate. It is biased to favor the financial health of large corporations and factory farms, which continue to get lots of government subsidies also. As some experts share, having people who are too healthy or dead is terrible for business. Keeping people addicted, sick, and needing a sick-care system is how our society is currently set up. Yes, it is so unfortunate that making money comes before keeping people healthy in our current world. However, you and I are not stuck, and we are most certainly not helpless; we can move beyond this predicament based on the choices we make.

So, in the end, it can be that simple. You can change your health, your energy levels, your happiness levels, the quality and longevity of your life just based on what you choose to call food and fill your body with each day. You can influence the quality of not only your life but your children’s lives and pave a better way for future generations.

This film serves as an excellent wake-up call to many, and thanks to it, we can shift our society to a more balanced way of existing when it comes to our health and more. It is despicable that we are wasting so much money, millions of dollars, which are spent each year trying to treat people who shouldn’t need to be treated with drugs or surgeries at all. The treatment most people in the population need is a dietary and lifestyle one.

Let’s make the connections. Let’s get proactive. Let’s get accountable. Forks Over Knives definitely can save your life, but it is up to you to take the first step.

You have two choices: you can eat yourself into poor health and early death, or you can eat yourself into good health and a long healthy life—and that road is on a plant-centered dietary pattern.

Dr. Terry Mason, Forks Over Knives

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