Forks Over Knives Page #11

every year in the U.S.,

and we're destroying the planet.

Statistics compiled

from the United Nations

and the World

Health Organization

demonstrate the

profound global effect

that diet has on health.

These are the estimated

amounts of animal foods

produced in nine countries,

a figure that's closely related

to animal food consumption.

These are the numbers of deaths

due to heart disease and cancer

in the same countries.

In the United States,

the very same diseases continue

to have a grave impact.

Even with the

billions of dollars

spent on cardiac treatment,

heart disease is still the

number one cause of death,

killing over 600,000

people a year.

And the elephant in the room,

when we talk about stents

and heart bypass surgery,

is the fact that while

it's no question

in an emergency,

these procedures are

absolutely lifesaving.

But when they're

done electively,

these procedures do not protect

from new heart attacks.

Stents and bypass operations

are used mainly to treat

large arterial blockages.

Yet according to many

research studies,

only a small percentage

of heart attacks

are caused by the largest

build-ups of plaque.

The rest are caused by the

more numerous, newer blockages

that are far more inflamed

and much more likely to rupture

than the larger, older,

more stable plaques.

And so this is why

those procedures

don't treat the disease.

They are treating symptoms.

Doctor Esselstyn has been

eating the same foods

that he has recommended to his

patients for over 25 years.

One of his sons, Rip Esselstyn,

used a plant-based diet

to fuel a successful

ten-year career

as a professional tri-athlete.

When Rip turned 34, he was

ready for a career change

and trained to become

a firefighter.

Rip was assigned to

engine company number 2

in Austin, Texas.

We're incredibly competitive

here at the fire station,

and we love making bets.

So we were out on the

porch one night,

and we kind of made

this little bar bet

to see who had the lowest

cholesterol level.

So the next morning, we

drove to a lab, got tested,

and the results came back.

And it lead to a

discovery that J.R.,

James Ray, our resident redneck,

had a cholesterol of 344.

Pretty much means you're

knocking at death's door.

And so what we did, in

an act of solidarity,

is the next day we went about

eating a plant-strong diet,

to basically save his life

and save his arteries.

The men agreed to change

their firehouse diet.

But in Texas, old

eating habits die hard.

Meat's almost a sport in Texas.

I have several good friends

that, they're barbeque teams.

That's what they do.

That's their sport on weekends.

Texans are serious

about their barbeque.

Texas, Kansas.

Well, guys associate being

manly with eating meat.

And if you're a firefighter,

it's exponentially so.

Last year, for example, there

were 133 firefighter fatalities

in the United States.

Our number one killer of

in-the-line-of-duty deaths

for firefighters

is heart disease.

After just three weeks

on his new diet,

j.R.

Tested his blood cholesterol,

and it dropped 148 points,

a decrease of 43%.

His results inspired the others,

who also saw their

cholesterol drop

and their energy levels rise.

As firemen, they were not

only helping themselves,

they were in better

shape to assist others.

One of the things about

being a firefighter

is you don't have any idea

what your next call could be.

We may have a high-rise alarm,

where we have to go up

with air packs on,

with all of our bunker gear on,

with a high rise

pack on our backs.

Anybody can go down the poll,

but not everybody can go up,

especially without their legs.

And right there

you're talking about

an additional 75 to 100 pounds

that you have to carry

up 20 flights of stairs.

You have to have an

amazing aerobic capacity

and strength in

order to do that.

Real...Men...Eat...Plants.

Real...Men...Eat...Plants.

You know what, as firefighters,

everybody thinks that we

fight fire, and we do.

But over 70% of our calls

are medical emergencies

where we are responding

to heart disease,

hypertension, type 2

diabetes, rampant obesity.

And so we see, up

close and personal,

basically the destruction

that's being caused

by the standard American diet.

To me, the answer

is just absolutely so

simple, it's criminal.

It's just people

starting to take

responsibility for their health

and starting to eat

more plant-based foods.

It's that simple.

After 13 weeks on a whole

foods, plant-based diet,

it was time to get my results

from Dr. Lederman.

When you started, your

weight was 231, 231 pounds,

now 211 pounds.

Okay, that's good.

- It's a 20-pound drop there.

- Wow.

Your blood pressure was 142

over 82 when you started.

It's now 112 over 70.

Wow. That's a big drop.

That's a nice drop.

Oh, yeah, that's...

that's great, and, uh,

it'll just keep getting...

It'll keep dropping as

you continue to do this.

Your pulse was resting

at 92 when you started.

It's now down to 60, resting.

Okay, cool.

Your total cholesterol though

went from 241 down to 154.

What?

Yeah, that was pretty amazing.

and your LDL, which is

your bad cholesterol...

um, I think this is the

most impressive...

went from 157 down to 80.

No way!

Yeah. That's amazing that

it dropped almost in half.

Uh, we did C.R.P. Last time,

which is sort of the

marker of the inflammation

in the heart and

the blood vessels.

And that went from

Without using any medications,

I significantly

reduced my chances

of getting a heart attack

and many other diseases.

Tomorrow marks 20

weeks on the program.

I've lost 45 pounds.

I've reversed the diabetes.

You have to know that everybody

is so incredibly proud

of what you've done.

I don't have to rely

on the medication.

I have a lot of energy

that I didn't have before.

My children love it.

They're so proud of me, and

they tell me all the time.

I had a little saying

that I've carried around

for maybe the last two years.

And it's "win the war.

"Do not let one lost

battle end the war.

"If you do break down and give

into temptation, do not quit.

"Just get right back on track.

Not tomorrow, but right now."

The diabetes is not coming back.

I'm not gonna let it come back,

nor the weight.

The message is, you're

in control of your life.

Joey Aucoin had over two

dozen health problems,

including type 2 diabetes.

But after 22 weeks eating

plant-based foods,

his condition had

changed dramatically.

Hey, how you doin'?

- Back again.

- And you're getting healthier.

Your weight is down 28 pounds.

You feel better than you have.

are gone completely.

Your marker of inflammation

in the vessels

is down to that of

a normal person.

Uh, your blood sugars

are coming down.

They continue to come down

even on a daily basis,

which are gonna get better.

Your cholesterol is

significantly lower

than it was when

you first started,

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