I just finished watching a very informative movie called. Forks Over Knives. http://www.forksoverknives.com/. The two doctors: Dr. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn who made the movie are recommending that we develop a whole foods, plant based diet. Notice I said develop meaning a little at a time. The reasons for their recommendations are set forth here in order to educate on the benefits of this plan.
The average American is 23 pounds overweight. This year heart disease and stroke will claim the lives of 460,000 American women. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men. We're starting to see hypertension in children in grammar school. 40% of Americans are obese. 50% of Americans take some form of prescription drug.
Lipitor (to help lower cholesterol) is the most prescribed drug ever in the world with 12.8 billion in sales in the U.S. in 2008. One in five American four year olds are obese. We spend 2.2 trillion a year on health care – 5 times more than the defense budget. We spend more per person on health care than any country in the world yet we are sicker than ever.
Why do most people accept the status quo? There is no money to be made from dead people or healthy people. There is much money to be made on people with chronic illness.
The authors show that the rise in sickness has correlated with the rise in Americans eating more animal, dairy and sugary products.
At the beginning of the 20th century, per person Americans ate 120 pounds of meat annually. In 2007 we ate 222 lbs of meat per year per person. 120 vs. 222!
In 1940 we each ate 40 lbs of processed sugar.
1999 – Taking in all refined sweeteners - Americans ate 147 lbs each. 40 vs. 147!
In 1909, our children in schools consumed 290 lbs of dairy products but in 2006 the number rose to 605 lbs. 290 vs. 605!
Dr. Campbell is a Cornel University graduate
Dr. Esselstyn began to doubt medical procedures to cure breast cancer. He saw that we could surgically remove the cancer but wondered how to prevent it.
In the 70's, as fast food use increased so did rates of cancer.
In 1958, there were 18 deaths from prostate cancer in Japan. In the same year the U.S. (with double the population) had 14,000 deaths from prostate cancer.
In 1978, the chances of a woman getting breast cancer in Kenya was 82 times lower than in the U.S. In the early 1970's in rural China, the risk of heart disease was 12 times lower than in the U.S.
In Papa New Guinea, heart disease was rarely encountered. There was very little dairy or meat in Japan, Kenya, China and Papa New Guinea where the studies were done.
In Norway, deaths from heart disease went down by the thousands, when, during WWII the Germans took all their livestock. When the war ceased, deaths by heart disease in Norway went up to prewar levels.
Doctors Campbell and Esselstyn are recommending to cut back on meat, dairy, eggs, oil and bleached flour. This is revolutionary and if adopted will severely cut into profits for the meat and dairy industries. They espouse to replace the meat and dairy with fruit, veggies and legumes.
Dr. Caldwell did a study on liver cancer and found that he could turn on and off the growth of cancer in test rats depending on how much casein (dairy protein) the rats received.
With all the processed and fast foods available now, our mechanisms of satiation are being fooled.
It takes 500 calories of plant based food (Like tomatoes, celery and spinach) to fill our stomach 100%.
That same 500 calories of processed food fills our stomach only 50%.
500 calories of oil fills our stomach a small amount.
If I eat a serving of french fires, I don't feel full so I have to eat more to feel full. If I ate 500 calories of tomatoes, celery, spinach that would be a lot of food and would fill me up. When eating high calorie processed foods like chips, we have to overeat just to be satisfied.
All animals on the planet have the these things in common called the motivational triad:
1. We seek pleasure (food, sex).
2. We try to avoid pain.
3. We do everything we can with the least amount of effort – called conservation of energy.
Richer foods like ice cream heighten our senses - they are high in calories, and give us the highest dietary reward with the least amount of effort – no prep time. It is much easier to go for ice cream than to take the time to shop for, stuff and bake an acorn squash for example. The only problem is the ice cream in large quantities is killing us and the squash is helping us to live a rich, full life.
A very provocative assertion of the authors is that fast food, (richer, saltier, high fat food) is a low grade addiction.
Dr. Campbell did a study in rural China of 64 counties. Campbell's study of 6500 people found 94,000 correlations between diet and disease.
In 1985, Dr. Esselstyn did a study with 24 very ill patients. Five patients were told they wouldn't live out the year. One woman was told to prepare for death. After eating a plant based whole foods diet, some had no progression of their disease, some had regression of disease. Medications had not done it.
Dr. Esselstyn found that his patients Endothelial cells (cells that line our veins and arteries) are damaged by a meat based animal diet and are repaired by a plant based, whole foods diet.
Countries w/ high calcium intake have higher incidence of hip fractures. The higher the dairy intake, the higher the incidence of osteoporosis.
Dairy in the system creates acid in body. Low fat dairy products are worse. Why is it that we in America drink milk to get calcium but we have highest incidences of osteoporosis and osteopenia? Why is it that we spend the most on health care and have the highest incidence of heart disease, arthritis, arteriosclerosis, diabetes, cancer, etc.
Lots to think about. I have (for the past 3 days) had one meal per day that included no animal products or dairy products. I am attempting to lessen inflammation and joint pain. I will keep you posted.
http://www.forksoverknives.com/ The group offers weekend retreats on how to adopt a whole foods, plant based diet.
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