I have told you that my wellness journey has been, well a
journey! Let’s go back about 10 months ago. I was at my friend’s house for a
small get together when one of my fellow health-nut girlfriends shared with me
how she had recently gone vegan. I recalled seeing her tweet about a film
called Forks Over Knives, and had
looked into the film. Seeing that it focused on veganism (which I knew little
about), I decided to ignore it. However, I couldn’t ignore her when I saw her.
She shared a little of her reasoning with me, who responded:
“I’m way too much of an athlete. I need meat”
It’s funny looking back on that conversation. Now I am the
one who tries to clear up unreasonable myths about protein, calcium etc. But
that day, it was me who needed convincing. My friend gave me a short and sweet schpeil
and simply encouraged me to watch the film.
And so, that night, I did.
My life changed forever.
Forks Over Knives takes
a look at the rising epidemics of obesity and chronic disease in America, and
how it relates to the average American diet, and the American food system. The
film is based off the research of Doctor T. Collin Campbell, and Doctor Caldwell
Esseylsten, two men who grew up on cattle farms, but who’s professional
medicinal research showed that the products of these farms were direct causes
of cancer and chronic disease. The film
does not focus on animal cruelty or anything like that. It focuses on people,
and their health. In summary, animal
protein, whether it be in the form of meat, dairy, eggs, or fish , along
with refined processed foods, is
scientifically, directly related to the emergence of cancer and chronic disease.
When people in the film removed these things from their diet, they were
able to heal themselves, get off of medications, halt cancer progression,
maintain a healthy weight, reverse heart disease and diabetes, and live longer,
better quality lives.
Hence, I am not vegan
for the animals. I am vegan for me. I don’t want to get cancer. I don’t
want to have clogged arteries. I don’t want to feel sluggish and sick. I want
to live long. I want to live well. I never want to be held back because I
abused my body, and it has given out on me. I want to fuel myself with pure, whole
foods, filled with nutrients and healing properties. I do not want to fill my body with fat, refined
sugars, chemicals, things I can’t pronounce, and animal proteins that have been
proven in countless studies to be detrimental to my health.
Here are a few things the film focuses on:
The China Study- An
immense study done by Dr. T Collin Campbell, which outlines the amount of each
type of Cancer in each region of China. There was unbelievable statistical
evidence consistent amongst populations of millions, which showed that rural areas who lived off a natural, plant based diet,
had the lowest instances of cancer, while more urbanized and animal protein
consuming areas had astoundingly high instances of disease.
Research of Caldwell
Essylsten- His laboratory research showed how animal protein actually
activated cancer genes, while its removal “turned cancer genes off” .
Calcium and Osteoporosis-
America consumes the most dairy in the world. Yet we also have the highest occurrence
of Osteoporosis in the world. But isn’t calcium necessary for bone health? In
reality, the animal protein, casein, found in milk causes an acidic reaction in
the body. Our body then tries to combat and buffer this reaction. It does so by
drawing minerals and substance from our bones, often time leading to
osteoporosis. There are plenty of plant-based sources of calcium which do not
cause this acidic reaction, and truly promote bone health.
Protein- You
really can’t be protein deficient without being calorie deficient. Our culture (driven by government subsidized industries)
has taught us that we require way more protein than we actually do. Tons of
athletes, from triathletes to UFC fighters are plant-based, and bulging with muscle.
There is some amount of protein in every plant based food. Believe it or not,
it adds up!
How to follow a whole-food, plant –based diet. – It is
possible to be a junk food vegan. I mean ,Oreos are technically vegan. This
film shares how to prevent and cure disease through the best medicine of all,
whole, natural food, without any added sugars, fats, chemicals, or harmful
proteins. It focuseson maintaining a lifestyle with a diet of fruits, vegetables,
whole grains, nuts, and legumes. It is more than possible to enjoy delicious meals,
while taking care of yourself too!
This film is truly incredible and offers hard to ignore information
with real world examples . I’ve only covered maybe 5% of
it here. If you are interested in taking the next step in improving your health
and well-being, watch the film. It truly changed my life. Since, I have more energy, require less sleep, perform better during
workouts, am less anxious about what I’m eating, and never have feelings of
guilt about my diet. It took some trial and error, but soon became second
nature. Now, I barely even think about how I haven’t had meat in 10 months.
Check it out here: http://www.forksoverknives.com/
If you can take a step
to protect yourself from cancer, heart disease, and more, why wouldn’t you take
it?
Be Well.
Love, Julie
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