Customer Reviews

Forks Over Knives

5 star:		(202)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

My health and my life and the lives of many family and friends have been transformed due to the knowledge imparted thru the books these doctors and doctors like them, like Dr. John McDougall have written. No negative comments can be justified unless the writer has tried this way of eating, correctly, and for at least a week. After one week (or less) feeling the positive changes taking place in your body will give way to being a fan for life. Why? because this is a life giving lifestyle change.

I had what I thought were intractible allergies...they have been gone for around ten years now. This is after years of allergy injections and decades of medications and one sinus surgery.

I no longer have asthma. It was nice to dispense with the inhalers.

My blood pressure was high and I was resistant to take antihypertensives...my B/P has been on the low side both systolically and diastolically for years.

My total cholesterol at the last reading was 133 and it had been around 212 before eating this way.

I had hot flashes...that is definitely an animal product induced problem...eating low fat vegan equals absolutely no hot flashes. And, Ladies, all cellulite has disappeared.

I have the energy of a ten year old....and the joy. This is no exaggeration.

Symptoms of arthritis left and never returned.

I sleep like a baby...and don't require all of the sleep I needed before. I awake happy and ready to meet the day.

I had fibrocystic disease of the breasts...that is gone.

I became heavy when I stopped nursing my last child...I had never been overweight before and at age 42 I didn't stop eating for two and my weight rose to 168 and my normal weight was always between 115 and 118 lbs. I now weigh 112 lbs. at age 60!

My vision improved, my skin is softer.

My endurance for physical work and exercise is phenomenal.

I no longer experience heart burn and I am without gastrointestinal complaints... period.

Also, I never experience bad breath. My mouth in the morning is actually pleasant tasting....and, body odor is a thing of the past, as well.

I had a heart procedure before adopting this lifestyle and this lifestyle change cured a heart disorder.

I haven't visited a doctors office in years. I don't need to. I am living my life as nature intended.

Look at the science...we are mammals. Do a light study of other mammals..look at horses or gorillas...they are vegan...and they are magnificent..no fat, gorgeously muscled...

True, I occasionally miss the ice cream of the lethal Standard American Diet....but, when I think of the alternative....oh, yes, I do have a remaining allergy: to doctors and hospitals..the very idea makes me break out in a cold sweat.

Some people just don't want to change their eating habits and then they criticize this lifestyle and the learned people providing it's information and research results. If you are one of these people...just be honest and say you just don't want to change the way you eat. That is your perogative...but it's foolish and very insulting to lambast truly learned men who also happen to be doctors of the ilk of being true to their profession and to their oaths. Doctors who sign on to this information for true healing don't make a lot of money....because the patients generally don't get sick any more. And, this is the reason why mainstream medicine isn't adapting to this....follow the money...medicine is big business...it's no longer a charitable institution...and to be fair there are doctors who are like sheep....whatever they were taught in medical school is gospel to them and they don't challenge it....but, every doctor worth his salt should develop his gift of discernment...weigh things out...challenge the status quo in his own mind and, try this lifestyle out and see....in other words, they should become real doctors...real healers. Thank you.

I had to add to my review. Today is July 21st and I read the reviews of both Zardoz and T.J. Estop.

I do not understand how anyone can post a negative review when they have not thoroughly researched the research and have not lived this lifestyle in a dedicated and complete fashion for at least one week. For if they had they would post a glowing and grateful review for this treasure trove of precious information. T. Colin Campbell, Phd. and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn aren't the only doctors who have conducted long-term studies and gleaned the same results. One of the many is Dr. Dean Ornish, how about Dr. Neal Barnard? Or Joel Fuhrman? or Dr. Max Gerson? Read the books of John Robbins. And, this advice is just to start you out on your journey of real research.

Or, look to the studies of indigenous people all over the globe whose lifestyles are the same as that of their ancestors and live this low fat vegan lifestyle because it has been passed down to them. Hands down these people are among the healthiest, and longest lived people on the planet. These folks don't experience diabetes, cancer, heart disease, the arthritises, M.S.....I'll stop here, you get the picture.

I am making a plea to all who read these reviews to not be dissuaded by these two negative reviews. The information provided in the dvd Forks Over Knives can be life saving and definitely life enhancing to a degree I can't even describe.

These two reviewers may be acquainted with a vegan who eats a lot of fatty foods like oils and nuts and/or an over-weight vegan or a sickly vegan...vegans who do not follow the low-fat diet and lifestyle described by this documentary and so many other documentaries, lectures, websites, books and other media... And, this may have turned them off on veganism. Whatever it is...they do not know what they are writing about.

This brand of veganism is precise and the way to the healthiest and happiest of lives.

Reader take heed from those of us who have followed the research from the past to the present...take heed from those of us who have turned our health around in a variety of ways. I have nothing to gain by anyone else taking on this diet, but, I am a retired R.N. and have first-hand experience with the corruption of the medical business and was witness to enough medical malpractice and fraud to fill a couple of volumes. And, do think about this: do you really want to take harmful chemicals into your body when you have an illness or a disease? That is the medicine of the allopathic physician. There are myriad side effects possible and these drugs will break down your body systems.

Wouldn't you much rather take food as your medicine and not harm your body and know that your chances of achieving wellness are largely greater?

If you want to see proof of a low fat vegan athlete...Google Dr. Ruth Heidrich who is in her mid-seventies...she has been competing and winning Iron Man events for over a decade... she had cancer with mets and went to Dr. John McDougall for a second opinion and he put her on the low fat vegan diet and it saved her life...that was over 25 years ago!!!

That is one person of tens of thousands of who have chased away disease with this diet.

One other benefit I have recently discovered in this period of intense summer heat is this: I can be outside in this heat for hours, working hard in my garden or out walking and my breathing is normal. I am not affected negatively in any way by the heat.

My husband has a light case of emphysema and had quit smoking 8 years ago. He has been outside performing yard work and he marvelled at how he hasn't been short of breath, at all. And, the man is performing heavy work. He has been eating a low fat vegan diet for as long as I have.

Before I ate this way, this weather frightened me because I would become lightheaded, and short of breath on very little exertion in the extreme heat.

So, to the negative reviewers I say, "Put that in your pipe and smoke it!"

This movie came out right as I finished reading The China Study. Took the family to see this in the theater and we all agreed right then and there that we were all done eating the standard American diet. It opened up our eyes to the realities of a Westernized diet and how to avoid those illnesses that are killing our family, friends and neighbors. A must-see for everyone.

This is the simple solution America does not want. It is time for people to show some initiative in taking charge of their own health. The healthcare system as we know it won't be there as it is in 20-30 years. Take care of yourself now and you will be healthy then. I became an 'accidental vegan' after I saw Rip Esselstyn on the Today show and then read his book 'Engine 2 Diet.' I have been a vegan for over two years. I am now 52 years old. I have read 'The China Study' by Dr. Campbell and 'How to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease' by Dr. Esselstyn and I have Dr. McDougall's cookbooks. I will never go back to eating animal products because I feel too good.

The film was very informative, educational, however, I am already a believer in plant based nutrition. America has such a fascination with animal foods, and unfortunately most people won't listen until they are too sick. I definately recommend the movie and the books of these researchers and clinicians. You will save your live and yourself.

You won't regret buying this DVD. It's all the convincing you will need to change your diet and lifestyle for the best! Saw it twice and these are the best doctors to deliver this message because they live the lifestyle themselves. It definitely changed my life!

Grade: A+
This movie was EPIC!!! If you are a human being living on planet Earth, I recommend you see it. I can't put it any plainer than that. I saw it twice. It's a wealth of knowledge applicable to modern civilization and lifestyle, packaged into 90 minutes. I wanted to pull out my cell phone to take notes! The information is outstanding, the visual aids were amusing, and the narrative was good. It was impactful to see that this isn't just some new trend but information that the doctors have been compiling for over 20 years. There are so many people that I want to get the DVD for to give as a gift to watch and learn. I left the theater feeling inspired to do a better job with my health starting that night. Movies like this one make me want to watch them again and again for inspiration and self-motivation!

I first saw Forks Over Knives at a prescreening in Albany New York last October, which Dr. Esselstyn and his wife Ann attended. My first thought was that this film was not going to have the same impact on the conventional eating habits of North Americans that Super Size Me had on the recognition of the dangers of fast food. Largely because there's no clearly identifiable "villain" in this movie.

Our whole culture has contributed to the impending health care crisis addressed by this film, and I'm convinced that we're being offered the only viable way out. But it's going to be a tough sell to a population of people unaccustomed to having anything taken away from them, and who feel measurably diminished by it.

If you want to be entertained, watch The Adjustment Bureau, but if you want to be informed on how to avoid most of the chronic diseases that are common to people living in this part of the world, then watch this one!

I saw this movie in the theater twice. I was already a vegetarian, but now I cut out dairy and eggs. The movie makes an excellent case for what is basically a vegan diet. I left the movie theater each time excited about my new commitment to eating a plant-based, whole foods diet. Not a boring movie. And it could just save your life.

This movie contains information that could save your life. In October 2009, at age 52, while running a mile around my neighborhood as I did every morning, I staggered a couple of steps and hit the ground unconscious in full cardiac arrest. Heart disease is the leading killer in this country (needlessly as this movie shows) and the most common type of heart attack is the one like mine that comes with no warning. Survival for cardiac arrest outside the hospital is about 3%. I was extremely lucky - you might not be.

After my heart attack, my doctors said nothing to me about diet. In fact, later after learning about the work of Campbell and Esselstyn (featured in this movie), I asked my doctor how much time they spent in medical school learning the relationship between nutrition and health. His answer - none! If you see this movie, you will know more about the affect of nutrition on health than my doctor, and perhaps more than your doctor too. See this movie.

I applaud everyone involved in making this movie. It is based on scientific research, yet made understandable to all of us, with personal stories included that make it easy to relate. I saw this movie in the theater. I can't wait for the DVD to come out so I can give copies to all my family, friends, and all the others in my life that I don't want to suddenly die needlessly.

By the way, after a year and a half of adhering to the advice of Esslestyn, Campbell, McDougall, and others, I've eliminated my heart medications including the damaging statins, while still reducing my total cholesterol level to 160. I've lost weight, my blood sugar is down, my blood pressure is good, and I'm able to run two miles every day. My only remaining health issue is the stents that the doctors put in my cardiac arteries under the belief that they would lengthen my life. Unfortunately, stents, which cannot be removed, have a significant ongoing death rate associated with them that cannot be fixed through nutrition. So I urge you to see this movie, and clean up your eating habits BEFORE a major blow puts you on a pathway to death that you cannot alter.

Folks are sure to scream "radical" and "propaganda" and the like once this film gets a bigger following.

Of course, there will also be the comparisons and comments about the documentary's style of influencing by editing or selective information gathering. Certain others will call the science or the research findings quackery.

Okay. It's a documentary. It has a bent. Almost every scientific study can be questioned based on the goal and mindset of the researchers. But when I watch a documentary I try to keep in mind that I'm not necessarily watching pure truth, but interpretation of truth.

Here is something else to consider. How much of our time is spent filtering through marketing propaganda? We know that color influences hunger. Hence the yellows, reds, oranges and browns in many restaurants and chains. We also have experienced sudden and intense hunger when seeing photographs or television commercials for food. (And we also know that there is an industry that creates food art for those fabulous pictures out of products that we would not put in our mouths.)

Within the last decade or so, ads for medications to "manage" our diseases have flooded our media.

Pick your propaganda...and pick your poison.

Here is why I'm recommending that you watch this film if you have any qualms about your health. If you want to know the truth, if you want to be healthy, if you are concerned about the health of your family, watch this film so that the propaganda you hear and see and smell everyday can at least have a counterpoint to consider.

This documentary shares several stories that are almost jaw-dropping amazing. Men and women who stop disease, reverse horrible lab work results and add life to their lives by simply giving up animal products. The reason that these people make the decision to follow this radical path is based on research and the results of others.

Here is my series of reasons that I believe and embrace what I saw in this film.

I work in the medical field. I see people everyday who routinely take ten to twenty different medications to keep on top of their diseases. Each medication has side-effects and many of those need additional medication to keep symptoms under control.

Often, our healthiest patients are the upper eighty-year-olds and even ninety-somethings who grew up on farms and still eat from their homegrown gardens. The middle age folks, the ones who work hard, run to and fro, and often rely on fast food, restaurants and convenience food at home, well, some of them appear to be some of the sickest folks we see. Of course, this is my unofficial and unscientific observation. But, honestly, there are some alarming new studies that confirm my concerns.

On a personal note. My husband has rheumatoid arthritis. Four years ago, based on the progression of his disease to the need for injectibles, we made big changes from the traditional current American diet to organic and whole food as much as possible. Immediately we saw results. He was able to hold off the progression of his disease and even drop a medication for break through pain. In April of this year we took that mindset to a new level. We went Vegan (Whole-food, plant-based). My husband's knuckles look normal. He doesn't have flare-ups of pain like he did four years ago. I have energy I haven't felt in years. My skin glows, I feel healthier than I did at thirty. I've lost a total of 45 lbs in four years.

In March I mourned that I would have to give up cheese, eggs and cream in my coffee. In September I'm saying I don't even miss any of those.

There is a difference between Vegan and whole-food, plant-based eating. And it can be an ethical choice verses a nutritional one. Vegan can include highly processed food that is not recommended by any health professional. Whole-food, plant-based is eating like most healthcare providers suggest. More leafy greens, reds, purples, yellows and oranges to join the green, avoidance of animal high fat products like cheeses. This advice doesn't go much beyond the usual medical advice to eat a healthy diet.

The propaganda you embrace will come with choices and consequences.

Firstly I applaud Lee Fulkerson for bringing to the screen the works of Drs Caldwell, Esselstyn and others. I have been following Dr Esselstyn's approach for a while now, as set out in his book Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease. I have seen some fantastic results: weight loss, significantly reduced cholesterol levels and so on. I went on to read The China Study (Dr Campbell), and have also read the works of Dr Dean Ornish - another giant in this field, and others. I believe there is powerful information in all of these works, and, based on my personal results and circumstances, believe that plant-based nutrition is the way to go. I am enjoying a healthy lifestyle and hope that family and friends soon come to see this as the healthier alternative.

So I am happy that at last the life work of these eminent doctors has been made more accessible and available through the medium of film, but on the other hand I feel the movie was a missed opportunity. By that I mean the movie might have been better tailored to suit more mainstream audiences - the narrative made punchier, the key points called out and illuminated more, and the overall message made more powerful through the use of film as the medium. There were times when some staggering information was presented in a very understated way, perhaps intentionally so as not to appear overly biased or evangelistic. But in being understated I feel some impact will be lost on mainstream audiences, and I think the proceedings could have, on the whole, been more compelling.

I am perhaps being a little harsh. On the positive side, it was great to see footage of Drs Esselstyn, Campbell, McDougall, Barnard and others - including Rip Esselstyn, Dr Caldwell Esselstyn's son and author of the Engine 2 diet. (As a sidebar, I am not sure why Dr Ornish wasn't included in the film). In any event, Fulkerson makes us aware of the benefits of a whole foods, plant based diet, and should have you reflecting long and hard about what you put on your plate. That on its own deserves four stars.