Forks Over Knives DVD review

What has happened to us? Despite the most advanced medical technology in the world, we are sicker than ever by nearly every measure.

Two out of every three of us are overweight. Cases of diabetes are exploding, especially amongst our younger population. About half of us are taking at least one prescription drug. Major medical operations have become routine, helping to drive health care costs to astronomical levels. Heart disease, cancer and stroke are the country's three leading causes of death, even though billions are spent each year to "battle" these very conditions. Millions suffer from a host of other degenerative diseases.

Could it be there's a single solution to all of these problems? A solution so comprehensive but so utterly straightforward, that it's mind-boggling that more of us haven't taken it seriously?

FORKS OVER KNIVES 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. The major storyline in the film traces the personal journeys of a pair of pioneering yet under-appreciated researchers, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn.

Dr. Campbell, a nutritional scientist at Cornell University, was concerned in the late 1960's with producing "high quality" animal protein to bring to the poor and malnourished areas of the third world. While in the Philippines, he made a life-changing discovery: the country's wealthier children, who were consuming relatively high amounts of animal-based foods, were much more likely to get liver cancer. Dr. Esselstyn, a top surgeon and head of the Breast Cancer Task Force at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic, found that many of the diseases he routinely treated were virtually unknown in parts of the world where animal-based foods were rarely consumed.

These discoveries inspired Campbell and Esselstyn, who didn't know each other yet, to conduct several groundbreaking studies. One of them took place in China and is still among the most comprehensive health-related investigations ever undertaken. Their research led them to a startling conclusion: degenerative diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even several forms of cancer, could almost always be prevented - and in many cases reversed - by adopting a whole foods, plant-based diet. Despite the profound implications of their findings, their work has remained relatively unknown to the public. The filmmakers travel with Drs. Campbell and Esselstyn on their separate but similar paths, from their childhood farms where they both produced "nature's perfect food"; to China and Cleveland, where they explored ideas that challenged the established thinking and shook their own core beliefs.

The idea of food as medicine is put to the test. Throughout the film, cameras follow "reality patients" who have chronic conditions from heart disease to diabetes. Doctors teach these patients how to adopt a whole foods plant-based diet as the primary approach to treat their ailments - while the challenges and triumphs of their journeys are revealed.

Most amazing diet to lose weight lower cholesterol and reverse diabetes in just 4 weeks

After my past couple of posts I have received some requests about what specific diet program do I recommend to anyone wanting to take control of their health - fast. Here it is.

Lose weight, lower cholesterol, significantly reduce the risk of disease, and become physically fit--in just 4 weeks.

Professional athlete-turned-firefighter Rip Esselstyn is used to responding to emergencies. So, when he learned that some of his fellow Engine 2 firefighters in Austin, TX, were in dire physical condition-several had dangerously high cholesterol levels (the highest was 344!)-he sprang into action and created a life-saving plan for the firehouse. By following Rip's program, everyone lost weight (some more than 20 lbs.), lowered their cholesterol (Mr. 344's dropped to 196), and improved their overall health. Now, Rip outlines his proven plan in this book.

With Rip as your expert coach and motivator, you'll transform your body and lifestyle in a month. His plant-powered eating plan is based on a diet of whole foods, including whole grains, fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds.

This invaluable guide features: 

• Dozens of easy, mouthwatering recipes-from pancakes to pizza, Tex-Mex favorites to knockout chocolate desserts-that will keep you looking forward to every bite 
• Pantry-stocking tips will take the panic out of inevitable cravings and on-the-fly meals 
• Guidelines on menu choices that will allow you to eat out, wherever and whenever you want 
• Rip's simple, firefighter-inspired exercise program that will boost your metabolism and melt your fat away.

Medically approved, easy-to-follow, and amazingly effective, this diet is designed for anyone who wants to make heroic strides in his or her health, weight, and well-being-all without heroic effort.

How much protein do you need to be able to run 3 to 5 times a week

I received a question regarding the amount of protein a woman runner needs for adequate recovery.

The surprising answer is how little protein can be absorbed by a woman's body for muscle repair. Most of us eat more protein than our bodies are able to use.

Check out:
Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life

Brendan Brazier is the creator and host of the Thrive Forward web series, based on his bestselling Thrive book trilogy (Thrive, Thrive Fitness, and Thrive Foods). Brendan is a former professional Ironman triathlete, and the creator of an award-winning line of whole food nutritional products called Vega. He is also a two-time Canadian 50km Ultra Marathon Champion.

Brendan is recognized as one of the world's foremost authorities on plant-based nutrition for athletes.

Thrive Diet is a relatively easy to follow program for athletes that have food allergies, are vegan, or just want to get their nutrition from whole foods. The hardest thing about going plants only is accepting you can get solid protein and nutrition. Thankfully, Brendan knows how to research and presents his findings dispassionately and with reason. The page on protein powders is worth the book itself. No where else have I found this information, and I've been looking through all vegan, vegetarian, and bodybuilding books. Keep in mind that this book is soy and tofu free, due to Brendan's concerns with allergies.

An important part of this book are the early chapters on different types of stress and how nutrition can assist recuperation. Brendan is not a big supplement taker, and focuses on nourishment rather than calories/protein/carbs counting. The recipes are simple to prepare. It's actually, dare I say it, kind of lazy food prep, minimal tools (food processor & blender), and maximum return. These are positives. Other vegan cookbooks have 20 steps, consume an hour of time and the end result is just a side dish. Of potatoes....

What is the Best Fastest Long Lasting vegetarian Diet possible

Ana needs a fast acting vegetarian diet.

Here is my advice for the best diet ever that will allow her to eat lots of food, lose weight, keep the weight off. Just below the video I unpack in detail how you, too, can achieve these goals.

The next part we will look more deeply at the two approaches to plant based weight loss and how best to combine them.

First up is the 80-10-10 diet that will give you the rapid weight loss.
You may have heard of the 80-10-10 diet, which was first popularized by a raw foodist named Dr. Douglass Graham. Perhaps you’ve seen some of the advocates post about it on Instagram and wondered what it was.

What’s the 80? What are the 10’s? A lot of people seem to have questions about it.

Basically, it’s a raw vegan diet divided up into three food categories (macronutrients). Here’s a summary:
A minimum of 80 percent of your calories are from carbohydrates. These calories come mostly from fruits and vegetables, relying heavily on the sweet fruits so it’s easier to reach this goal percentage. About 90 to 95 percent of the calories in this category come from sweet fruits. Then about two to six percent of your calories are from greens. There are no grains of course, since everything is raw.

A maximum of 10 percent of your calories are from healthy fats.

A maximum of 10 percent of your calories are from plant-based protein sources, but they’re naturally built into the rest of the diet.

The Pros and Cons of 80-10-10
Pros:
You eat tons of fresh produce.
It’s low-fat, which is important for several reasons.
It’s an improvement if you’re on the standard American diet because you’re eating whole foods and no refined sugar.

Cons:
The 80-10-10 diet doesn’t include any cooked veggies and grains that reduce your cravings for refined, processed and higher fat foods... Something no one needs to be eating!
Most fruit is seasonal and the absence of abundant fruits that you like can make the 80-10-10 diet very difficult to maintain for the long term.
Staying in tune with the seasons and what your body is craving is important, and cooked soups and stews have an important place in a winter diet.
Going too “vata” (according to Ayurveda principles) can make you feel anxious or scatterbrained. You need to balance that out with grounding, warm vegetables and gluten-free grains that are earthy and “kapha.”

Second up is the McDougal program for Maximum Weight Loss:
The McDougal Program is a weight loss program that is slower working than the 80-10-10 program. The reason is although it is also high carb, low fat plant based nutrition, the McDougal program has it's focus on cooked starchy vegetables and grains like potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn and rice.


These cooked foods have denser calorie profiles and therefore a slower burn rate than the raw food and fruit of the 80-10-10 program.

Finally: The Coach Edu system for rapid and sustained weight loss:
My system uses the best from both the 80-10-10 diet and the McDougal program. It is also the system promoted by Freelee the Banana Girl in Australia.

Follow the principles of the 80-10-10 diet until 4pm when your body is in high energy burning mode and you can refuel often.
Then in the evening switch to the McDougal program for warm grounding plant based nutrition that will sustain you through until morning without any cravings.

So that's it. Raw till 4(pm) and warm cooked food in the evening. It is a simple to follow lifestyle that is easy to maintain for the long term.

The best way to prevent and reverse heart disease

The New York Times bestselling guide to the lifesaving diet that can both prevent and help reverse the effects of heart disease

Based on the groundbreaking results of his twenty-year nutritional study, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn illustrates that a plant-based, oil-free diet can not only prevent the progression of heart disease but can also reverse its effects. Dr. Esselstyn is an internationally known surgeon, researcher and former clinician at the Cleveland Clinic and a featured expert in the acclaimed documentary Forks Over Knives. Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease has helped thousands across the country, and is the book behind Bill Clinton’s life-changing vegan diet.

The proof lies in the incredible outcomes for patients who have followed Dr. Esselstyn's program, including a number of patients in his original study who had been told by their cardiologists that they had less than a year to live. Within months of starting the program, all Dr. Esselstyn’s patients began to improve dramatically, and twenty years later, they remain free of symptoms.

Complete with more than 150 delicious recipes perfect for a plant-based diet, the national bestseller Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease explains the science behind the simple plan that has drastically changed the lives of heart disease patients forever. It will empower readers and give them the tools to take control of their heart health.

Amazing way to reverse diabetes within 30 days

Until Dr. Barnard’s scientific breakthrough, most health professionals believed that once you developed diabetes, you were stuck with it—and could anticipate one complication after another, from worsening eyesight and nerve symptoms to heart and kidney problems. But as this groundbreaking work reveals, this simply is not true. In a series of studies—the most recent funded by the National Institutes of Health—Dr. Barnard has shown that it is possible to repair insulin function and reverse type 2 diabetes. By following his scientifically proven, life-changing program, diabetics can control blood sugar three times more effectively than with the standard diet; and cut back on and in some cases eliminate medications while reducing the risk of diabetes complications.

"The long overdue epic scientific breakthrough in diabetes is here…an obvious must-read for health professionals and for diabetic and potential diabetic patients." —Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., MD, preventive cardiology consultant, Cleveland Clinic, and author of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease

"This is the approach to follow…the clinically proven way to get your blood sugar under control… and start living again."—John McDougall, MD, founder and medical director of the McDougall program, and author of The Starch Solution

"Dr. Barnard’s book is no exaggeration…The signs and symptoms of diabetes can be reversed, and he’s got the evidence to prove it."—Jennie Brand-Miller, PhD, author of The New Glucose Revolution

Check out Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes. It WILL change your life!