After being disappointed by Oprah’s veganism show, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Dr. Oz’s veganism show, which aired yesterday…
IT WAS AMAZING!
Dr. Oz featured the documentary Forks Over Knives, which will be in theaters in May. The movie is based on the research from The China Study, which is a very comprehensive study on how diet not only effects health, but also how specific diet changes can prevent, reverse, and eliminate heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
Here’s the Forks Over Knives preview: [If you get these posts through email, you'll have to click over to the website to watch the video.]
The bottom line of the Forks Over Knives movie, The China Study book, and Dr. Oz’s show is this:
By eliminating three things from your diet, you can eliminate cancer and heart disease.
1. Eliminate Meat
Dr. Colin Campbell, PhD, one of the authors of The China Study explains, “We found that you could turn on and turn off the development of cancer, the progression of cancer, by nutritional means. We found that when protein is consumed in excess of the amount that’s needed, it turns it on. You take it away, it turns it off. And the protein we were using was an animal-based protein. Plant-protein didn’t do that.”
Then Dr. Neal Barnard, head of the Physican’s Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), elaborates, “And by the way, when I say ‘Don’t eat meat,’ I mean not just red meat. We’re throwing out the chicken, we’re throwing out the fish, we’re also throwing out the eggs, and the animal products in general.”
When Dr. Oz questions “throwing out the fish?” Dr. Barnard responds by explaining, “People think, ‘Fish have Omega-3 and that’s good.’ True enough. But most of the fat in fish is not Omega-3. Most of the fat in fish is a mixture of various kinds that are just completely unnecessary for the body and all they basically do is fatten our thighs. Fish also has cholesterol, and it doesn’t have what you need. It doesn’t have fiber, it doesn’t have vitamin C, it doesn’t have those healing properties.”
“So where do we get our protein from?” Dr. Oz asks. To which Dr. Barnard replies, “There’s protein in whole grains. Here I’ve got quinoa, amaranth, millet. All the whole grains are really good protein sources. Nuts as well. I’ve got walnuts, pistachios, almonds. But really the protein champions are the bean group. I’ve got pintos, black beans, kidney beans. They not only have a lot of protein in them, but they also have something else. They have soluble fiber that lowers your cholesterol.”
And Dr. Oz notes that these are all inexpensive sources of protein. He also says to take a multi-vitamin that includes B-12 because we’d normally get B-12 from meat.
2. Eliminate Dairy
Dr. Barnard explains, “It’s not just milk. When you take at look at cheese, yogurt, all the dairy products, they’re actually a bigger contributor to saturated fat, that’s the bad fat, bigger than meat. But it’s easy to get good nutrition without dairy products.”
“What about calcium, potassium, and vitamin D?” asks Dr. Oz. To which Dr. Barnard replies, “Green leafy vegetables are loaded with calcium. I’ve got broccoli – broccoli doesn’t want to brag, but it’s 30% protein, it’s got a lot of highly absorbable calcium – look at kale, collards, Brussels sprouts. Potassium: fruit, it’s a wonderful source. And vitamin D, the real source of vitamin D is sunlight on your skin. That’s the natural source. Now there is vitamin D in milk, but most of that is just added at the factory, it’s not natural. And if you get soy milk, rice milk, almond milk, oat milk, they add vitamin D to those as well.”
3. Eliminate Processed Foods (including Olive Oil)
Processed foods include junk food and refined grains (white rice, white pasta, white bread, etc.) Dr. Oz asks what to eat instead of the processed foods. Dr. Barnard says to go for whole grain pastas and whole grain breads. And for snacks, go for seeds and fruit. Then he says, “This may surprise you a little bit, but I consider oil to be a refined food. If you think about it, where do you get olive oil from? There’s no faucet on the olive tree. You take the olives and remove all the fiber, all the pulp, and concentrate the oil. And people then take it and go ‘glug, glug, glug’ all over their salad, all over their pasta, and they’re gaining weight and they’re wondering why. It’s ’cause all the fat you’re packing into the diet. So, instead, my salad is topped with a little balsamic vinegar, or just take a lemon and spritz it over the top. Delicious.”
They then show a quick, easy salad dressing that doesn’t use oil (because Dr. Oz thinks that removing oil from salad dressings will be the hardest part for most people): Thyme + lemon juice + garlic.
Dr. Oz says that this will not just change your life, it could save it.
Also featured on the show, and in the move Forks Over Knives, is Rip Esselstyn, firefighter and author of The Engine 2 Diet, a book that chronicles the amazing health changes experienced by a group of Austin firefighters who adopt this diet. Esselstyn notes, “If a firehouse in Austin, TX can do this, any house in America can do this!”
And I’d like to note that not once was the word “vegan” ever used during the whole show. Dr. Oz also stressed that this is not a “diet” – it’s a way of eating that you should be following all the time.
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Breakfast: Smoothie with frozen strawberries & blueberries, a banana, and almond milk
Lunch: Korean veggie taco from Chi’lantro
Dinner: Veggie Flatbread (aka cheeseless pizza) with tomato, spinach, and artichoke hearts. One of my favorites!!
8 comments
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eva says:
Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 2:06 am (UTC -5)
Excellent recap. I, too, thought he did a much better job than Oprah’s vegan show, especially for the shorter time period.
eva´s last blog ..Forks Over Knives on Dr Oz
Kasey says:
Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 10:59 am (UTC -5)
Sounds phenomenal. I’ll have to see if I can find this online. (Also? Your cheeseless pizza is making me hungry.)
Kasey´s last blog ..Favorite Earth Day Posts
Powered By Produce says:
Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 11:40 am (UTC -5)
Let me know if you find it online! I’d love to share this episode with everyone I know!! I searched, but couldn’t find it, that’s why I just recapped in words. But maybe it takes a day or two for shows to show up online? Also, a friend of mine said they’re re-airing this episode today, but that might just be a local channel doing that.
Caitlin says:
Saturday, April 30, 2011 at 2:25 pm (UTC -5)
I was with them until the no olive oil part. That is just plain crazy! I seriously think I would be classified as anorexic on that diet. I hope you find the show online–I really want to watch it!
Alison (New York) says:
Monday, May 2, 2011 at 7:05 pm (UTC -5)
I am a type 2 diabetic with various health issues as asv result,I started my Vegan lifestyle yesterday.I want to reverse my diabetes and hypertension.Go VEGAN!!!
Powered By Produce says:
Tuesday, May 3, 2011 at 12:21 pm (UTC -5)
Haha – You’re already over half-way there by being a vegetarian! I mean, it’s just vegan with no oil. Actually, that book that you & Ben gave me, “The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Diet,” is by Dr. Neal Barnard and all of the recipes in there are vegan and oil free. I posted one of them and it was really good (and definitely not an anorexic meal :) http://www.powered-by-produce.com/2010/09/13/meatless-monday-39-pinto-bean-pasta/
Jen @ Lita's World says:
Wednesday, May 4, 2011 at 7:53 pm (UTC -5)
LOVE your post!!!! I’m sending this to everyone I know…can’t wait to watch the show on my tivo..thanks so much for covering so much here…if people would now only just accept these truths!! I promise when people come over to our house for dinner, I never tell them everything is vegan…and they just enjoy it and devour all the fresh veggies and fruit – it’s amazingly simple to eat well and LOVE your food – it’s just people’s thoughts that make it so difficult!
Paul at Product Sourcing says:
Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at 9:24 pm (UTC -5)
Meat is an addiction. I was watching the movie “Eating”, which basically turned Steve Wynn vegan because it shows you how your body is not meant to eat meat.