Forks Over Knives Page #3

something here.

This is pretty significant.

Shortly afterward, Dr. Campbell

came across a scientific paper

published in a little-known

Indian medical journal.

It detailed work

that had been done

on a population of

experimental rats

that were first exposed to a

carcinogen called aflatoxin,

then fed a diet of casein, the

main protein found in milk.

They were testing the

effect of protein

on the development

of liver cancer.

They used two different

levels of protein.

They used 20% of total calories,

and then they used a

much lower level, 5%.

This Indian paper,

together with what

Dr. Campbell had learned

about increased liver

cancers in children

eating animal-based foods,

combined to create a

decisive moment in his work

and his life.

Because we learned

that animal protein

was really good in

turning on cancer.

During this same time,

the way Americans ate

was changing, again.

The number of fast-food

franchises was exploding,

as more and more

overscheduled Americans

began using them as

a convenient way

to feed themselves

and their families.

While the fast-food revolution

was sweeping the nation,

the rate of cancer

deaths in America

was continuing to rise.

As a result, in 1971,

president Richard Nixon

initiated a program

that was dubbed "The

War on Cancer."

We are here today

for the purpose

of signing the

Cancer Act of 1971.

And I hope that in

the years ahead

that we may look

back on this day

and this action as being the

most significant action

taken during this

administration.

On the front lines

of this new war

was Caldwell Esselstyn.

By 1978, he was chairman of

the Breast Cancer Task Force

at the Cleveland clinic.

Yet he soon began to doubt

the medical procedures

he was using.

No matter how many

of these operations

I was doing for women

for breast cancer,

I wasn't doing one single thing

for the next

unsuspecting victim.

So Dr. Esselstyn started

investigating

the global statistics

on breast cancer.

One of the facts he discovered

was that the incidence of

breast cancer in Kenya

was far lower than it was

in the United States.

In fact, in 1978, the

chances of a woman

getting breast cancer in Kenya

were 82 times lower

than in the U.S.

Dr. Esselstyn was

even more surprised

by the numbers he discovered for

some other types of cancer.

In the entire nation

of Japan in 1958,

how many autopsy-proven deaths

were there from cancer

of the prostate?

That, to me, was about

the most mind-boggling

public health figure that I

think I'd ever encountered.

In the same year, the

U.S. population

was only about twice

the size of Japan's,

yet the number of

prostate cancer deaths

exceeded 14,000.

Dr. Esselstyn also

discovered that

in the early 1970s, the risk for

heart disease in rural China

was 12 times lower than

it was in the U.S.

And in the highlands

of Papua New Guinea,

heart disease was

rarely encountered.

The link he noted between all the

areas he studied was simple.

Virtually, the Western

diet was nonexistent.

They had no animal products.

They had no dairy, no meat.

Even more compelling

to Esselstyn

was some historical data that

had long been overlooked.

In World War II, the

Germans occupied Norway.

Among the first things

they did was confiscate

all the livestock

and farm animals

to provide supplies

for their own troops.

So the Norwegians were forced to

eat mainly plant-based foods.

Now we look at the

deaths in Norway,

just antecedent to this period,

from heart attack and stroke.

Look at right up here.

Right at the very top, 1939.

Bingo! In come the Germans.

Immediately, 1940, wow.

'41, '42, '43, '44, '45.

Have we ever seen a population

have their cardiovascular

disease plummet

like this from statins,

from bypass surgery,

or from stents?

No.

But look what

immediately happened.

With the cessation of

hostilities in 1945,

back comes the meat,

back comes the dairy,

back comes the strokes

and heart attacks.

I mean, it's such an

absolute, powerful lesson.

But, uh, we didn't get it.

Because of evidence like this,

Dr. Esselstyn was making

the same assessment

that Dr. Campbell was due to

his work in the Philippines,

seeing a causal link

between animal-based foods

and some of our most

deadly diseases.

But they weren't the

only researchers

coming to this conclusion.

Another was Dr. John McDougall.

In the mid 1970s,

he began practicing on a

sugar plantation in Hawaii.

What I observed there was

the health of the people

differed dramatically

depending upon

how long they'd been in Hawaii.

People who were raised in Japan,

the Philippines, Korea, China,

first generation who had moved

from their native land,

were always trim, never

had heart disease,

prostate cancer, colon

cancer, breast cancer,

rheumatoid arthritis,

multiple sclerosis,

never overweight.

They were in their 80s and

Their kids got a little

fatter, a little sicker.

Their grandkids in

the next generation

were just as fat and sick

as anybody I'd ever seen.

And what came through clearly was

the diet was the difference.

The first generation had learned

a diet of rice and vegetables

in their native land.

But the kids, they started

to give up the rice

and replace it with

the animal foods,

the dairy products, the meats,

and the results were obvious.

They got fat and sick.

So I knew at that point

what caused most diseases.

At the time, however,

Campbell and Esselstyn

knew virtually nothing about

this other information.

Even so, they ultimately reached

a revolutionary conclusion...

that many of our most

crippling conditions

could be greatly reduced, if

not completely eradicated,

simply by eating what they call a

whole foods, plant-based diet.

This means consuming

foods that come mainly

from whole, minimally

refined plants

such as fruits, vegetables,

grains, and legumes.

It also means avoiding

animal-based foods

such as meat, dairy, and eggs,

as well as processed foods

like bleached flour,

refined sugars, and oil.

Campbell and Esselstyn's

research in this field

would change their

lives forever.

So, I went through

your preliminary form.

The goals that I have...

tell me if I missing any...

from you were:
Eliminate

your shots and medicines.

You want to get off this stuff.

You want to sleep well at night.

You're not doing that.

You want to stop feeling

tired and run down.

You want to lose weight.

- That's it. You got it.

- So those are your goals.

The other complaints: You had low

energy, ringing in the ears,

sinus problems, post nasal

drip, shortness of breath,

wheezing, coughs,

indigestion, and reflux,

loose stool, diarrhea, bloating,

black and bloody mucousy

stool with meat consumption,

and difficulty walking,

getting around,

trouble losing weight, chronic

and unpleasant hunger feelings,

groggy after meals,

strong food cravings,

and anxiety about

food in general.

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