Forks Over Knives Page #8

um, no risk factors

at all for any heart problem.

But Dr. Crowe, even with

what was considered to be

a healthy cholesterol level,

was actually ravaged

by heart disease.

This angiogram,

taken after his first nearly

fatal heart attack in 1996,

shows how badly damaged

one of his coronary

arteries was.

This angiogram was done

after less than three years

of entirely dietary treatment.

Dr. Crowe was fortunate.

In 25% of cases, sudden death

is the first and only sign

of coronary artery disease.

Of Dr. Esselstyn's

original 18 patients,

all survived the initial

Today, 14 patients

are still alive

over two decades after

the study began.

The thing about essy, although

he's always very pleasant,

when you said, "I'm going

to be on this program

and I'm going to stay

with this diet,"

you stayed with the diet,

or there was the door.

You had no choice.

I mean, his smiles

are wonderful,

but he is very stern.

You know, that's why

I'm still living.

But, you know, he's just...

He's just a wonderful man.

And I look at the pictures...

Some of my pictures

years ago, 20 years ago

actually looks older than today.

The only thing is I lost

more hair, you know?

Anthony and the

other male patients

also noted another change.

When you're young,

when you were teenager,

you see a female or so on,

it gets kind of excited.

And the first

reaction physically,

you know, it gets

attention, you know?

Raise the flag, I call it.

This happened to us,

all the other, uh,

Dr. Esselstyn's, uh, I call

'em all the Guinea pigs.

The flag still rises.

Talking to your doctor about e.D.

May be the last

thing you wanna do,

but it's definitely a

conversation worth having.

I'm a practicing urologist

and have been so for

the last 25 years.

And erectile dysfunction

is actually

the first clinical indicator

of generalized

cardiovascular disease.

It's the canary

in the coal mine.

It's the thing

that lets you know

that you have some

significant endothelial

and vascular disease,

much earlier than

will a heart attack

or something like that.

We have to stop

thinking of the body

like it's compartmentalized.

It really isn't.

The blood goes

everywhere in the body.

And so if you have

vascular disease anywhere,

you have it everywhere.

Despite the apparent success

of the dietary approach,

some critics say eating

this way is extreme.

Now, with the Western diet,

this guarantees there

are gonna be what?

A half a million people

in this country this year

who will have to have the front

half of their body divided,

their heart exposed,

then veins will be

taken from their leg

and sewed on their heart.

Some people would

call that extreme.

Dr. Esselstyn has now

successfully treated

over 250 patients

with heart disease,

using almost exclusively a

whole foods, plant-based diet.

Heart disease, as far

as I'm concerned,

is an absolutely

toothless paper tiger

that need never, ever exist.

And if it does exist, it

need never, ever progress.

Las Vegas, Nevada.

At the extreme couture gym,

we found an extraordinary

plant-based athlete...

ultimate fighter

champion Mac danzig.

In the mixed martial arts world,

strength, toughness,

and endurance

are of Paramount importance,

and Mac has them all.

I had cut dairy out of my diet

when I was about 18 years old,

um, because I had a, uh...

Ear, nose, and throat

allergy to dairy,

and I was getting a

lot of ear infections

and things like that.

So when I cut that out,

really the only thing

that was separating me

from having a vegan diet

was chicken and fish.

So I was just eating

that for years,

and I was eating it because

I thought that I needed to,

because everyone

tells you, you know,

if you're an athlete,

you need, you know,

at least chicken and fish

in your diet for protein.

You know, something that's

just one of the myths

that's been perpetuated

for a while.

All it took was me cutting

the chicken and fish out,

and I did it cold Turkey.

I think a lot of people,

stereotypically speaking,

think someone that's

a vegan is, like,

some skinny hippie

type of person,

and, uh, you know,

I'm not necessarily

trying to break the stereotype.

I just... I tried the diet

for my own personal reasons,

and it worked for me,

I feel like I have more energy

now that I don't eat

the meat products.

And I also feel like I recover

better in between my workouts.

I'm not trying to be part

of some exclusive club

or anything like that.

I'm just doing my

thing, and, um,

you know, don't plan on

eating meat or dairy

or anything like that for

the rest of my life.

This, uh, guide is called the

type "a" planning guide.

Now, it includes

foods that are found

in the basic four food groups,

because we are concerned

about the total daily needs,

and this is a part of it.

We must serve 1/2 pint

of fresh fluid milk

to provide calcium, riboflavin,

and the other nutrients that

are needed for our children.

For decades,

the dairy industry and U.

S. government

have been saying that milk

is good for our bones.

While all whole foods

contain calcium,

an essential nutrient

for bone health,

it is argued that we

need the higher amounts

found in dairy.

Children and aging

women in particular

have been singled out to drink

more and more and more milk.

What do you think the

most important nutrient

we get from dairy

products is, like milk?

Calcium.

- Calcium.

- Calcium.

- Calcium.

- Calcium.

- Calcium.

- Calcium.

Calcium.

Calcium.

The science in terms of

dairy's role in healthy bones

is pretty strong,

and, in fact, the national

osteoporosis foundation,

of course, utilizes that science

in their recommendations.

Osteoporosis is a

degenerative bone disease,

which has been widely linked

to a lack of calcium.

If this is true, nations with a

high intake of dairy products,

which are a major source of

calcium in a westernized diet,

should have low levels

of osteoporosis.

But according to a study

done by a distinguished

Harvard researcher,

nations with high levels

of calcium intake

tend to have high levels

of hip fractures,

which is a key indicator

for osteoporosis.

And so, in fact, the higher

the dairy consumption,

the higher the rate

of osteoporosis...

exactly the opposite of

what the dairy industry

has been telling us for so long.

One of the primary mechanisms

for that is that animal protein

tends to create an acid-like

condition in the body

called metabolic acidosis.

To combat this condition,

the body draws upon its most

readily available acid buffer,

namely calcium in our bones.

As the calcium is extracted to

neutralize the excess acid,

our bones are weakened.

In defending the health

benefits of milk,

many national health

organizations now recommend

that we consume low-fat

dairy products.

It can be milk,

it can be yogurt,

it can be cheese, it can be

anything made from milk.

But again, the

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