FORKS OVER KNIVES Presents Unbalanced Advice

When viewing movies involving subjects which have such power to affect our lives in either a negative or positive way, we need to be very discerning.Studies can be manipulated and propaganda is rife. In all areas….not just with this movie…we desperately need to learn the tactics and methods of persuasion and manipulation if we want to maintain our health and freedoms.

The film…Forks Over Knives…. is telling us to eliminate several whole food groups from our diet. The producers claim that meat, dairy products and fats are bad for us and that eliminating all of these food substances and living solely on plant foods will produce robust health. The China Study and a few personal testimonies are used to back up this stance. If one believes that animal products are bad for people, due to the conclusions of The China Study, then one should read a few of the rebuttals to this study. Here is one response http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/Campbell-Masterjohn.html  I feel that The Vegetarian Myth is also a book which needs to be read. It discusses the politics behind the obvious mainstream push for veganism and vegetarianism.

To avoid disinformation, we need to look at history and anthropological works on nutrition. Modern day research in the medical field and in the nutrition field often has more to do with corporate interests and control rather than health and well-being.I respect people who are vegetarians and vegans when they are doing so for religious or what they feel are moral reasons….but if they are following these types of diets for health reasons then they really need to read works such as the classic anthropological study by Weston Price….Nutrition and Physical Degeneration.Other helpful books are Deep Nutrition, The Vegetarian Myth and Vitamin K2 and The Calcium Paradox.

The movie, Forks Over Knives does have some good points. The film encourages people to avoid processed foods. This is excellent advice. However,having done some research in the art of propaganda, I have learned that we need to closely evaluate all information we are exposed to. Often partial truths are used…in books, on the news, on the internet and in film….to persuade and to promote certain goals or agendas. Partial truths are often used …even by “supposed” alternative media…to draw us in.When it is made to appear that the producers or authors are against the corporations or establishment and seem to be on our side…then we tend to take the rest of their information in with less scrutiny. It is true that milk products from our modern factory farms are causing allergies and other health problems. The same may be true for the meat raised on factory farms, however this does not mean we should eliminate these crucial food groups. The solution lies in feeding the animals their natural diets. In the case of cattle, this diet is fresh grass growing outside in the sunshine.

One of the main issues the movie should have focused on concerns the way animals are raised in modern factory farms and the food the animals are fed. No distinction was made between grass-fed meat and grain-fed meat.When ruminants are fed corn instead of grass this practice changes their whole fat ratio. In addition, when animals are raised inside they no longer have access to the sun and the animal fat can no longer be relied upon to provide us with substances such as CLA, K2, Vit D…etc. You may find this hard to believe but pastured pork fat (lard) was considered by our ancestors to be very nourishing and was used often in cooking.Pastured pork provides vitamin D. The fat on meat helps us to digest the meat. We also need fat to aid the body in absorbing the fat soluble vitamins and also the minerals. The practice of buttering our vegetables is not just for making them taste better. The main point of combining fats and vegetables is to improve absorption of vitamins and minerals from the plant food.

 An all plant diet may be good for a short period of time for the purpose of detoxification but if this diet is followed for life, one is apt to suffer deficiencies which only show up later in life. Fat is needed for reproduction and especially for the growth and healthy bone structure of the fetus and growing child. Our brains are largely composed of cholesterol. It is not cholesterol that causes heart disease….it’s the sugar and processed foods that negatively influence how our bodies handle and store the cholesterol.

Forks over Knives featured patients who went on the no meat, no dairy, no fat and NO PROCESSED FOOD diet and whose cholesterol and other health parameters improved. They also claimed to feel much better. When analyzing this information one needs to take into consideration that the patients gave up all of these foods together so how does one determine whether it was the avoidance of animal products or whether it was the avoidance of processed foods which caused the improvement? Again….there was no mention whatsoever as to whether the patients had been eating grass fed or grain fed/antibiotic/hormone fed meat products.

In his travels,Weston Price(author of Nutrition and Physical Degeneration ) www.ppnf.org  was hoping to find cultures that were totally vegetarian or what we now term vegan. He did find some groups who ate less animal food but he did not discover ANY cultures that were totally vegan. He discovered that those who ate the more starchy diets, were less robust and were easily overtaken by other groups or societies. If one is thinking of totally eliminating meat or animal products,don’t just listen to modern propaganda but go to the older books and try to find research that substantiates that there are cultures who have been able to reproduce through generations on a total plant diet. The Price Pottenger Nutrition Foundation is a great place to begin www.ppnf.org

I was also disappointed that the movie did not address the serious issue of plant anti-nutrients and toxins…..or the extreme importance of soaking our grains. Grains, such as oatmeal, wheat, rice, quinoa…etc…need to be soaked before cooking to remove the protective plant substances which when present in the food, keeps us from assimilating and or absorbing certain vital nutrients. I am continually amazed at how our ancestors knew to do these things…without information from formal studies and chemistry labs. Additionally we should not eat certain vegetables raw for the same reason. http://www.foodfreedomrevolution.blogspot.com/2011/11/is-totally-raw-diet-safe.html

The movie also did not address the vital issue of fermentation. Fermentation was used by our ancestors to store food but this process also rendered certain toxins and anti-nutrients as harmless and even increased the nutrient values of food. Beneficial bacteria from fermented foods is another absolute must for anyone who wants to maintain robust health and avoid infectious disease. Instead of getting a flu shot…buy yourself a fermentation crock..

The movie, Forks Over Knives also fails to mention the fact that historically people ate meat and meat products… extensively…. and thrived without heart attacks or cancer and diabetes(which the movie attributes to animal products) The Native American Indians ate alot of guts and grease and had magnificent bone structure, stong immunity, and respect for nature. They preferred the older animals as they had a better accumulation of fat. http://www.manataka.org/page2200.html . Many people look to the Native Americans as an example of deep spirituality and dignity….so it follows that if we want to emulate these qualities, then taking an honest look at what they really ate would help us to live more “sustainably” and healthfully. We need fat and we can thrive on meat and animal products….BUT these animals must be treated humanely and raised on pasture, eating their natural food. When the animals are healthy, they pass on their health to us. Our farms also need the recycled foods of farm animals to be able to sustain nutrient dense soils.

I will sum up what this movie is advocating. The movie is promoting the elimination of all animal proteins, dairy products and fats. Eliminating these food groups prevents us from adequately absorbing certain vitamins and minerals. There was no mention of soaking grains, fermentation and the need to cook certain vegetables. These essential methods of preparation are also necessary for the elimination of plant toxins and for the absorption of vitamins and minerals. In other words, Forks Over Knives is promoting a diet which prevents the consumption and absorption of crucial nutritional factors. A population which is lacking vital essential nutrients will become prime customers for medical industrial complex.
So…if you haven’t yet watched Forks Over Knives…..please do so with a discerning eye and take the time to research what our ancestors really ate and just as importantly….how they prepared their foods before cooking. Of course we need plenty of vegetables and fruit in our diet (they are very healthy foods) but not to the exclusion of meat, dairy and fats, which our ancestors have eaten for thousands of years.We would not be here today if these foods(produced naturally) caused cancer, diabetes….etc. These are modern diseases caused by processed foods.

Watch the video below and learn more about the benefits of grass-fed meat. Granted, it is an advertisement, but I feel it accurately portrays the research and it makes sense.
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