IF YOU VALUE YOUR HEALTH, GO SEE THIS MOVIE

If you could see only one movie in 2013, you have to make it 'Forks Over Knives'. It could change your life forever. It could even save your life!

As the title implies, the documentary's central theme focuses on why we should choose a diet of plant-based foods over meat and dairy products.
It offers convincing data to back this up, including the landmark The China Study, a 20-year collaboration between Cornell University, Oxford University and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine. It is the largest study ever done to examine the correlation between health and diet. The findings showed that people who followed a diet rich in animal-based foods were at risk of more chronic diseases, while those on a mostly plant-based diet were the healthiest.

The film also traces the personal journeys of Professor T.Colin Campbell, 78, (above left) a renowned nutritional scientist from Cornell University, and Dr Caldwell Esselstyn, 79, a former top surgeon at Cleveland Clinic, Ohio. These doctors are a picture of robust health and boundless energy!

No longer McDonald's top poster boy!

If you are currently on an animal-based diet, consider seriously making a switch to a plant-based diet. Bill Clinton did and look at the results. After undergoing two heart procedures, he switched from a fast food, meat-rich diet to a vegan diet. Not only is he looking fitter and healthier, he looks much younger and more handsome! (Click here to read the New York Times interview with Clinton.)

Note how doctors would always advise their patients who are obese, diabetic or have heart problems, to cut down on meat, diary products, and processed foods. They should increase their intake of whole foods and commit to a regime of daily exercise.

I am a pescatarian - as far as possible I avoid eating meat except for seafood. I haven't had a steak, chicken chop or pork cutlet since 2008. I don't get tempted when I see my friends tuck into stick after stick of satay, although I must confess I still like to dip my ketupat rice into the peanut sauce.

I also avoid milk whenever I can. In July 2009 I wrote an article "Is Drinking Milk Udder Nonsense?" I had just attended an Anthony Robbins seminar. He was advocating that we stopped drinking milk for health reasons. That was contradictory to what I had been taught all my life, that milk is good for us, and especially good for children.

I decided to check out the validity of his statement. The more I read, the more sense it made to me that mother's breast milk is best for babies, and cow's milk best for calves, not human babies.

Just think about all the hormones that are injected into the cows. No wonder breast cancer is more prevalent in the west than in Asia. Unfortunately, with the fast food industry making giant inroads into China and Japan in the past decade, meat-based diets are gaining popularity among Asians, and the result of that is reflected in higher incidence of heart disease and cancer in these countries now.

The documentary also dispels fears that people who follow a plant-based, diary-free diet are weak, small in stature, and prone to fractures. We need protein to grow and build muscles, and calcium to build strong bones. Well, the documentary provides compelling evidence to prove that these 'beliefs' are myths. Eating more meat, drinking more milk and consuming more fast food puts your health at risk. Sure, it contributes billions to the meat-based food industries and businesses. It is in the interest of these companies to perpetuate the myths, and for people to buy into these myths.

(Above) Famous celebrity vegans. (Below from left) Anthony Robbins, Hugh Jackman, Carl Lewis

Here's the official trailer for 'Forks Over Knives'. Hope it motivates you to check out the film, as it did for me.



Go see the film before it ends its run here in Kuala Lumpur. It's currently being screened at Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) in Pavilion, 1-Utama and Mid-Valley. Check the papers or the website for screening times. I was the only patron in the cinema when I saw the film at Pavilion. What a shame! This documentary is an eye-opener and life-saver. It deserves to be viewed by everyone and should be screened in schools, public libraries and community centres. The message it carries is too important to just keep to yourself.

So spread the word, and live the message.

After you have viewed the documentary, you can better follow this post-screening panel discussion below.