Food Choices

- Our planet

faces a lot of problems.

But in some parts of the world,

people live in a time

of over-consumption,

abundance of food, and an

eagerness to be fit and healthy.

The supermarket is

overflowing with options.

But despite that, we are

poorly advised in nutrition,

and easily vulnerable

to misinformation,

and unreliable slogans,

inaccurate health promises,

and colorful tempting packages

are cluttering our

relationship with food,

and risking our well-being.

We are bombarded by

conflicting information

about food, diets

and supplements.

So how can we know

what's best for us?

Which foods improve

health, and which ones

can potentially promote disease.

I have struggled with these

questions for a long time.

And it has been a

challenge to find a diet

that would help me

achieve my health goals.

After trying several new

diets over the years,

I decided to change

my lifestyle,

by simply incorporating

lots of plant-based

foods into my diet.

So far, it has worked for me.

I lost 50 pounds, brought

my blood pressure,

blood sugar and

cholesterol under control,

and overall, felt really good.

But it was a work in progress,

and I still had many

questions and concerns

about nutrition and living

this plant-based lifestyle

for the long run,

especially now with a recent

addition to our family, i

felt that I really needed

to find answers.

So I decided to go on a journey,

to search for the

truth, and to uncover

many of the myths

surrounding food.

For three years, I traveled

across the country,

and interviewed the

world's top authorities

on the subject, as well as

people that had experienced

amazing, life changing benefits

through healthy eating.

All to explore the idea

of what is the healthiest

and most sustainable

diet for ourselves,

future generations,

and our planet.

So join me on this journey

of shocking discoveries,

and buckle up, because

what you're about to learn

might forever change the

way you look at the food

on your plate.

- Well, there's a lot

of difference of opinion

about it, and there's

a faction of people

who insist that there

are different diets

for different people.

But I think that the

evidence is fairly clear that

that's not true,

and there really is

an appropriate diet for humans,

just like there's a best

diet for cats, dogs,

elephants, and any other mammal.

And the best diet for humans

is one that is plant-based,

almost all calories

coming from four principle

food groups, fruit,

vegetables, whole grains

and legumes.

It's low in fat, high in fiber.

Not very much processed

food, none is great,

but in today's world, I don't

know how realistic that is.

- What we have seen in

nutrition for many, many years,

I must say, is a

lot of confusion.

You go and survey

people, you know,

outside of the science,

and ask them what do

they think that nutrition is,

and you can hear all

kinds of comments.

I eat this, and I eat that,

and this is good,

and this is not good.

There's also confusion

in the professions.

You know, medical

doctors are not trained

in this field.

And there's confusion

in my own field.

You know, about

medical research.

We don't get an opportunity,

to tell, you know,

the real science I think,

the way it should be told.

Because we're overwhelmed,

with the corporate sector

trying to sell stuff.

- We are living

in extreme times.

Where we have 27% of people

dying of heart disease,

25% of cancer, 10% of stroke,

four or five percent

from diabetes,

the same number for Alzheimer's.

I mean, these are,

in many, many cases,

diseases of

nutritional ignorance,

and diseases that are all

based on our lifestyle choices.

- There are a lot of

different dietary theories

out there, but I think one

fact is kind of indisputable.

Having a diet that is rich

in whole plant-based foods,

is truly a great way to

get you to good health.

- Everywhere I go

around the world,

there's not a single person

I've met that doesn't

know that fruits and

vegetables are good for them.

We all know it.

It's not about the knowing,

it's about the doing.

- There was a time when

there was no heart disease.

No colon cancer, no breast

cancer, no multiple sclerosis,

no inflammatory arthritis.

Of course these days, in

Asia, the middle east,

in central America,

and around the world,

people have become rich.

They have given up

much of their starch,

and they replaced it

with meat and dairy.

Throughout history, rich

people, the royalty,

the pharaohs, the

queens and the kings,

the priests, the

priestesses, the people

that could afford

to eat the meat.

They had artery disease,

they had obesity,

they were sick.

Nothing's changed

except for the number

of kings and queens

living in the world.

- A question

kept coming to my mind.

If plant foods are

so good for us,

and the consumption

of animal products

in excess appears to do us harm,

how about the ancient

populations of people

that survived on

diets based off mostly

meat, eggs and dairy,

and appeared to be healthy?

After all, aren't we known

for being hunter-gatherers?

- All large, successful

populations of people

have gotten the bulk

of their calories

from starch, rice,

corn, potatoes,

and other starches,

breads and so on.

Particularly when you

live near the equator,

as you move north and

south in latitude,

then you end up eating

more animal foods.

And if you get far

north, like for example,

the inuit eskimos, they

are largely carnivores,

because that's what's available.

But that's a small

population of people

that exists on the extremes

of the environment.

That's the exception,

not the rule.

- We have become

the most successful

species on this planet.

No one comes close to us.

We share it with animals,

and insects, and microbes,

and plants, but

we're number one.

And the way we got to number one

was all about survival.

We see in color, i

believe, because fruits

and vegetables are colorful.

Our hand is perfectly

designed to pick,

forge, grab and dig,

peel, and feed ourselves

fruits and vegetables,

nuts, beans and seeds,

plant food, food made

by mother nature.

- This idea that we're

hunter-gatherers,

is true, we're hunter-gatherers.

But mostly, we've

been gatherers.

One of the problems

has to do with sexism.

It has to do with the

fact that the gatherers

were grandparents,

women, and children.

The hunters were men,

and they got the glory.

The people who really

provided the bulk

of the calories, for most

of the civilizations,

through all verifiable

human history,

have been the women,

children and grandparents.

- Even when i

began considering the idea

of eating mostly a

plant-based diet,

I was still hounded

with many questions.

How was I going

to be able to live

without animal foods?

I didn't want to become

nutrient deficient.

And how about things

like protein, calcium,

and omega 3's?

In my head, I always

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