Forks Over Knives Page #9

important message,

it's a message that comes

from the American

Dietetic Association,

the National Osteoporosis

Foundation, Cancer, Heart,

we're all on the same page.

It needs to be

low-fat or fat-free.

So as the fat's taken out,

the protein becomes a larger

proportion of the total.

So they become higher in

protein, lower in fat.

And when we compare

these high-protein,

low-fat milk products,

for example,

with prostate cancer,

the relationship is

as strong as it is

for cigarette smoking

and lung cancer.

Most of these animals here

are what we call heifers.

Uh-huh.

They're the young

females, not yet cows.

So they haven't had

their first calf yet.

Haven't had their first calf.

So they have to have

their first calf

before they can lactate.

And once they come

into lactation,

they almost keep

them, these days,

they keep them

pregnant continuously

for three of four years.

Why are they eating grass now?

Well, this is the last

time, in their lifetime,

they're going to see grass.

After that they're in the barn,

they're standing up for

the rest of their life.

When I was young, we

defended our product,

promoted our product,

because it was nature's

most perfect food.

And, uh, so I believed that.

But it took a slightly different

twist as time passed.

I mean, it's the most

perfect food for calves.

And trying to switch the milk of

one species to another species

doesn't make a lotta sense.

Only two months

into her treatment,

San'dera was experiencing

dramatic effects

on her type 2 diabetes

and hypertension.

Since I've been on a

plant-based diet,

blood pressure's been wonderful.

My blood sugars are in the 80s.

It shocks me, 70s.

So I was alarmed when it was 60.

I'm like, "aah!

Isn't that bad? It's 60?"

You know, and I talked to

the diabetes educator,

which is wonderful.

She's like, "no, that's

a normal blood sugar."

You're pancreas is working,

it's reversing."

Ironically, San'dera works

at an outpatient

facility for diabetics.

Yet the treatment that was

achieving success

with her diabetes

came from outside the

established medical system.

The positive results

went far beyond

San'dera's chronic diseases.

Mentally, not having

the sluggishness,

the fear of the

disease progressing.

Because I feel I'm in control

and have power of taking

it back the right way now.

So, mentally, I feel great.

I'm eating the

things I should eat.

The one thing that is

true that Ann said to me,

"you really start tasting

the real taste of

what you're eating,"

cause I'd eat a peach,

and you'd think...

I was in heaven with

my white peaches.

I get to eat,

and that feels good

to be able to eat,

bringing the sugar down,

you're losing the weight,

your whole everything changes.

You know, I think we're

a little dependent

on, you know, our doctors

and the medications.

We should take a little

bit more responsibility

and check it out for ourselves.

And speaking of doctors

and medications,

how does San'dera's

regular physician

feel about her new lifestyle?

When I recently approached her

about my blood sugars

being so great,

my question was, "should I

not take my medication?"

She said, "no, you still

take your medications."

And she said, "what is

that doctor trying to do?

Take you off your medications?"

And I'm looking like, "yeah,

I'm hoping that's the...

The goal."

So there's still people we

have to make believers, yeah.

Sally and Jim eat their

breakfast at about 7:00.

It's a good breakfast of

good foundation foods.

Today, they're

having milk, cereal,

poached eggs, and

sliced oranges.

They are starting the day right.

The key agency that sets

nutritional guidelines

for Americans

is the United States

department of agriculture.

The u.S.D.A.

Helps determine what foods are served

to everyone from our

soldiers in the field

to our kids in their

school cafeterias.

These guidelines are also

taught in our schools,

influencing what our

children will eat

for the rest of their lives.

Dr. David klurfeld is a

nutritional scientist

and national program

leader for human nutrition

with the u.S.D.A.

'S agricultural research service.

We've made dietary

recommendations

since the 1890s, from u.S.D.A.

And that was before we knew

about vitamins and minerals.

Subsequently, we've had

different food groups,

and we had the basic 4

and 5 and 7 and 12,

and it varied as the

science changed.

Perhaps the best known

of the food groups

was the "basic four",

introduced in 1956

in a leaflet called

"food for fitness."

The mainstay of nutrition

education for over 30 years,

the basic four defined

what an entire

generation of Americans

believed was healthy to eat.

The four food groups

was replaced in 1992

by the "food pyramid," then

updated by "my pyramid."

These guidelines recommend

three servings of dairy

products per day,

and meat is still a primary

source of protein.

In following "my pyramid

," a 15-year-old girl

can eat a daily menu consisting

of a bowl of lucky

charms with low-fat milk

and a glass of orange juice

from concentrate for breakfast,

cheese-flavored crackers

for a morning snack,

a cheeseburger on

a whole-grain bun

with French-fries and

a coke for lunch,

chocolate pudding and grapes

for an afternoon snack,

and chicken nuggets

with a biscuit

and canned green

beans for dinner

with low-fat ice

cream for dessert.

I see now what's

happening with the way

that we feed many of our

children in our school systems.

We shouldn't be surprised that

we're seeing childhood obesity

at the rates that

we're seeing it.

Dr. Neal barnard is a

medical researcher

and president of the

physicians committee

for responsible medicine.

Well, the problem is, when

a kid is pulling his tray

down the school lunch line,

you see federal

policies in action.

There are burgers

topped with cheese,

the milk is heavily subsidized.

But the vegetables and fruits,

a little bit harder to find.

And this is because the

government contracts

are going to particularly

the meat producers

and other producers as well.

It has nothing to do with

the health of the children.

It has all to do with

the financial health

of the big

agribusiness entities.

What we have with the u.S.D.A.

Is it's really a farmers

advocacy organization.

And, okay let's have one,

but that same group cannot

advocate for farmers,

help subsidize their operations,

manage commodity foods,

subsidize the price

of growing things,

and then turn around and say,

"okay, we're going to

tell people what to eat."

They're going to tell

people what to eat

based on their constituents,

which are the farmers,

not the American public.

In 1998, barnard's group sued the u.

S.D.A.

Every five years, the

government reformulates

the dietary guidelines

for Americans.

That's the blueprint of what

Americans are supposed to eat

to be healthy.

And we looked at the panel that

pulled it together... 11 people.

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