Forks Over Knives

Before watching this documentary, I was somewhat of a food activist. I had watched things like "Food, Inc." "Ingredients", "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" and, of course, "Supersize Me" and they have all given me amazing insights on the world of food. I take food and health very seriously because many Americans fall into the trap of buying fast food because it's fast and easy and it doesn't cost a lot of money. Sometimes I'll fall into the trap, but since watching many of these documentaries, I'm very wary of anything processed and high in sugar/fat.

This documentary wasn't just an argument against processed foods: it was an argument on foods that have been labeled healthy in the Western hemisphere. All of a sudden, after 2 hours of watching this film, I'm having second thoughts on the consumption of milk, the eating of animal bi-products, and the health benefits of a vegan lifestyle. It wasn't just a heavy-graphics/charts type of documentary that bombards you with facts; there were interviews with specialists, people who've switched to the whole foods lifestyle, and even the director himself tried it out to validate the truth of what was being presented! I felt that what worked especially was the study done by a nutritionist/scientist in China about theWestern diet's effects on the human body. Many food staples in the diet can be linked to cancer, coronary disease, and other such problems. Another fact that had me convinced was the correlation between cow milk consumption and Osteoporosis: America has the highest percentage of people with Osteoporosis and yet we are the country who drinks the most amount of milk from animals! How does that add up?

All of the interviews were also working in favor for the documentary. The personal accounts from those people who switched to the whole foods diet were extraordinary. Not only did their health problems stop when they switched, they started to reverse! People could go off their medications, they could start doing things that they couldn't before and they felt more energetic and rested. Even a professional kick-boxer was on the diet and proved that you didn't need an obscene amount of red meat to keep muscles strong and healthy.

"Forks over Knives" was a subtle but convincing documentary of how eating right will do more for you body than getting a bypass: yes, it is a huge lifestyle change but when someone gets a bypass, what are the chances that they'll eat healthier? When you experience a brush with death, I feel that a lot of people would be convinced to try out the diet if they knew that it would help reverse diabetes, high cholesterol, and all of those awful effects of overeating.

I didn't notice much as far as flaws with the documentary. I feel like everyone should give it a shot and see for themselves the benefits of such a lifestyle.