If you haven’t had a chance to view it yet – I would highly recommend a film that came out last year called, Forks Over Knives . This is a documentary by an independent film-maker which chronicles the life’s work of American physician Caldwell Esselstyn and professor of nutritional biochemistry T. Colin Campbell as they look at the effects of the typical western diet. They are strong advocates of a plant-based or “whole foods” based diet.

Some of the things they cited were pretty alarming to me. In one instance the film showed a graph of how much meat has increasingly become a staple in our everyday diet which – they believe – has contributed to obesity and other diseases (cancer, ie).

For most American’s – meat is the primary source of protein. Yet, both Esselstyn and Campbell believe it doesn’t have to be – nor should it. They both adhere to a strict plant-based diet, free of meat and processed foods and are specimens of health.

The documentary also tells the tale of individuals who were in terrible health (some even had cancer) and through a steady plant-based diet were able to “heal” their bodies.

We first learned about Forks Over Knives through Whole Foods. They are big proponents of plant-based eating, including the Engine 2 diet that is also cited in the movie.

Have you seen the film? What were your thoughts and take-aways?

For some healthy Forks Over Knives recipes , check out this PDF.