Customer Reviews

Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health

5 star:		(99)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

The book "Forks Over Knives" does a wonderful job of performing two disparate tasks:
It provides concise explanations of why a whole-foods, plant-based diet is healthiest for people, the planet, and the animals, and
It offers a wide range of amazing recipes to help people get started.

The editor pairs these tasks to perform one goal: to help people live healthier lives through their food choices.

The book does this in three parts: (i) why a plant-based diet is best for your health, the planet, and the animals (37 pages); (ii) basic facts on plant-based foods (19 pages), and (iii) recipes (133 pages). While the bulk of the book is for recipes, there is a lot of powerful information in the first two parts that has appeal for anyone from the newcomer to the most informed, with topics as diverse as the environmental impact of food choices to nutrition labels. Even after having read literally dozens of books on plant-based foods and having finished Campbell's eCornell course in plant-based nutrition, I became more informed after reading the first two parts. The third part is filled with tempting recipes from some of the top plant-based chefs who refuse to compromise on health to sell meals.

The writing style is, for lack of a better word, "comfortable". You can almost imagine yourself having a casual discussion with 11 experts on healthy eating, with insights that would surprise your general practitioner, but with language suitable for the layperson.

My only qualms with the book are with the image quality of the graphs and people, which are technically disappointing, although still discernable, and with the arrangement of the bios, which seems out of order with their contributions.

As a result of the dual tasks, some of the Amazon reviewers were negative. I've summarized them here, along with some counterpoints:

Claim: The educational part of the book was too concise and contained bios

If you are interested only in Dr. Esselstyn's work, try Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven, Nutrition-Based Cure. For more on Campbell's work, turn to The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted And the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss, And Long-term Health. For the impact of our food choices on the environment or animals, there are hundreds of books that describe the effects in chilling detail. This book is not the most comprehensive, authoritative guide on any one of those subjects, but it is a very readable and compelling guide on what is arguably the most important topic for most readers: healthy eating. And it holds something for every nutritionist I've ever met, as well as for the overweight Wal-Mart shopper whose cart is filled with chips and soda, or laboratory-manufactured foods from aisle 17. I have yet to find a book that does a better job of balancing the tasks of enlightening readers and facilitating changes in diet.

The book does offer bios on the people who are trying to help us live more healthy lives. At first, I thought that this was a bit too much of a stretch for an already ambitious book...if I read a book on yoga, I'm not necessarily interested in the backgrounds of the leading proponents of yoga. But here I think the bios are justified because they offer a much needed perspective. The bio on T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D., explains how he grew up on a dairy farm and was preparing to continue working with animal-based foods, how he discovered that animal protein was a problem rather than a solution to health woes, and then how certain factions in the food industry tried to smear him to stop him from sharing his findings. Dr. Neal Barnard found that the ribs on his cafeteria tray looked and smelled eerily similar to the ribs he had just examined from a human cadaver, which led him to think differently about food. Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn tells of how he saved cardiovascular patients who had been told to "go home and prepare for death". I know of dozens of people with cardiovascular problems and one person who was also told to give up hope, so this latter bio may serve as a wakeup call where all else has failed. Collectively, these bios show how the leaders in the field came to the same conclusions from different perspectives, in spite of the traditional food and health industry pressures and tactics.

Claim: The book offered nothing that couldn't be found on the Internet.

I've been a student of plant-based nutrition for 10 years and I've read everything I can on the topic, yet I found pieces here I'd never seen before: Bios that contain insights obviously drawn out from first-hand interviews with the subjects; success stories from people who chose to adopt this healthier approach to eating; a very concise and thoughtful summary which compares whole, plant-based foods to animal products (styled like black box warning labels for food), and some great recipes from leading chefs.

Claim: The book contained no bibliography and few footnotes.

This comment, especially when juxtaposed with the above comment, shows the difficulty in pairing disparate tasks: it's impossible to please everyone. If everything could be found on the Internet, why would someone need a bibliography and dozens of footnotes? Actually, there is a bibliography--called a "bookshelf" on page 199, as well as a list of online references on page 198. There are few footnotes, which will disappoint the purist, but this is a guide, not the definitive source on every topic covered.

Now, a comment on some of the "reviews": A review should summarize the content, offer a critical assessment (e.g., Was it noteworthy? Understandable? Persuasive?), and an argument as to why prospective readers might or might not enjoy the book. Some of the comments for this book are simply mean-spirited attacks on a book that aims to inform, persuade and help those who want to live longer, healthier lives in making better food choices--all for the low price of $6.40, or less than one-tenth the cost of a doctor's visit, where the topic of whole, plant-based foods will likely never come up. Such attacks are to be expected when someone challenges long-held, but unjustifiable beliefs with extensive clinical and epidemiological evidence. Still, more thoughtful reviews would benefit Amazon customers.

This book is a valuable companion to the film "Forks Over Knives". In a concise and accessible style the book makes the case, as did the film, for the profound effect a change to a whole foods, plant-based diet can have for our personal health, the health of the planet and for the lives of our fellow animals.

While the book does lay out the compelling "why's" of a whole foods, plant-based diet, it really shines as a guide to the "how's" of actually transitioning to an optimal way of eating. Even for experienced plant-based eaters with shelves of vegan cookbooks, it is a wonderful resource to have so many truly healthy no-oil, whole food recipes from several chefs with a variety of cuilinary styles. My teenage daughter and I have already made a few of the recipes - all have turned out really well and are definitely dishes we will make again.

I see this book as a handbook for turning knowledge into action - for taking charge of your own health by adopting a simple, satisfying and delicious way of eating that can be life-changing and even life-saving.

The information in this book can save your life. I've been trying to get my cholesterol down for years and in three months of 75% Forks Over Knives recommendations, my cholesterol dropped 51 points and is now in the normal range. Flat AMAZING. Made me a believer.

My review is based on what I expected vs. what the book delivered. I had high hopes that the book would not only put forward compelling and readable science concerning the benefits of a vegan diet, but would also offer guidance on how to live a vegan lifestyle. I am a mostly-vegan but I struggle with dairy and sweets, hunger on the road, and often a lack of satisfaction with my meals (which leads to unsound choices).

The book is light on science but has some people profiles that are quite interesting. The science, as I now understand, must be in The China Study (which I have ordered).

The book is heavy on recipes, which most vegetarians probably don't need. There are 143 pages of recipes and 54 pages of science, commentary and profiles. The laudable aim seems to be to show just how easy vegetarian preparation is. But I would have liked another 143 pages of science, advice and profiles. Those of us who do need recipes would do better to peruse the many many excellent vegetarian cookbooks on Amazon. In this regard, Forks Over Knives (on its website) is linked with a few other worthy books.

I am a HUGE fan of the effort to bring good nutrition to the forefront of American consciousness, and the professionals profiled in this book have the credentials and charisma to do it. But if people are going to start buying books on the benefits of a new vegan/vegetarian commitment, the books need to become less rangy and more concise and procedural. In other words, they need focus: the science, the lifestyle, the recipes.

BUT...

For a VERY first book on a vegan regimen, this book is not scary, not over-scientific, not very long. I suspect that those who have been awakened by the movie or the buzz will find this book just the right length and density.

Forks Over Knives is one of four books (Reversing and Preventing Heart Disease, China Study, and Engine 2 Diet) I recently purchased to help me make a decision about altering my nutrition program. Just recently, Drs. Esselstyn and Ornish were showcased in CNN's interview with former President Bill Clinton and Dr. Sanjay Gupa about heart problems and diet. It was from those interviews that I purchased the four books on the subject from Amazon. I would recommend reading Dr. Esselstyn's Reversing and Preventing Heart Disease first because after reading his book, if you find his recommendation of "not eating anything with a face or a mother" translated into no meat, poultry, fish, eggs and other good stuff...then why read the other three books because with some exceptions on their Do and Don't lists, the remaining books follow the basic theme. If you find Dr. Esselstyn's recommendations worth considering, then for sure read Dr. Ornish's book and The China Study. Each book is very thorough in explaining the background, research, studies, and why they feel their nutritional program is vital for the prevention of not just heart disease but many other major diseases. The authors and families actually eat what they preach and include a generous and well-rounded amount of recipes. The Engine 2 Diet is written by Rip Esselstyn (a firefighter and marathon runner) and is a tad more generous with items on the ALLOWED list and gives a very helpful list of sources for various vegetarian food products.

If you feel the need to alter your diet and want to know more about reversing and preventing some major diseases in addition to heart disease, do yourself a favor and consider making a major change in your nutrition program. I am going to give it a whirl for 12 weeks!

I didn't know when I ordered this that it was mostly a cookbook. I am so glad I got it now. I have made 6 or 7 recipes from it so far and I am ecstatic! Anyone who's trying to learn to eat vegan or simply plant-based needs this for the recipes. I can't recommend it highly enough.

I recently read "The China Study", and it was a revolution for me. It is one of the most important books I have read in a very long time. I was therefore very much looking forward to a book that would go a little bit deeper into the practical issues of undergoing a diet change as advocated in Dr. Campbell's book, most of which is devoted to the scientific underpinnings of his discoveries. Unfortunately, I was somehow disappointed with this book. For several reasons: first, the beginning of the book gives a very superficial overview of Dr. Campbell's findings, which are much more thoroughly explained in "The China Study". Then, most of the book is devoted to list about 127 recipes, but nothing is explained about how to structure a meal under the new diet. That is possibly one of the main difficulties I have in implementing a diet change, how to structure a meal with just plant foods, and I found nothing in this book to help me with that. Two more problems: one is the vegetarian political activist tone of some chapters; I personally prefer the scientific reasonings of Dr. Campbell. Finally, I disagree with this author's take on completely eliminating olive oil from this diet. That recommendation is not on the original diet as described by Dr. Campbell, and there are no valid reasons -in my opinion- given by this author in his explanations about why we should completely eliminate olive oil. He talks about the problems with "chemical extraction", and that is inaccurate for extra virgin olive oil, which is just squeezed olives (I have personally seen it made), plus there's plenty of solid scientific evidence for its many health benefits when use with moderation. And, does any olive oil consumer take or use olive oil in any other way than in moderation?. In fact, the World's biggest producers and consumers of olive oil are Spain, Italy, and Greece, and the happen to enjoy some of the best positions in most measurements of the World's health rankings. Remember the Mediterranean diet?

We drove over 100 miles to see the movie and it was worth every mile. This companion book has interesting biographical information on many of the experts who appear in the movie. The sections on various nutrition topics summarize and reinforce what we have learned from the writings of John McDougall, Caldwell Esselstyn. T. Colin Campbell, Neal Barnard, Pam Popper and others.

Recipes are simple but interesting - a good formula for those just starting a plant based diet using real food instead of the processed toxins that the food industry pushes at us.

There are countless reasons to consider switching to a plant-based diet, but that's only because I didn't bother to count what was listed in the book, which seems to a good job of covering the topic from every angle.

This book approaches the topic from three perspectives, which focus on the detrimental effects to health, animals, and the environment caused by the widespread consumption of animal products. Overall, it makes a solid case that any of these three reasons are enough to compel you to switch diets.

I was already familiar most of the arguments for the last two perspectives, but I was amazed to read about the negative health consequences of eating animals. I'd never heard about "casomorphin"- an addictive chemical in milk, similar to opiates, that's designed to keep calves close to their mother: But also, of course, affects humans.

After reading about all of the horrific issues linked to high cholesterol, like cardiac disease (the number-one killer) and erectile dysfunction (the number-one mood killer) - As well as unexpected ones like Alzheimer's - It amazes me that anyone would voluntarily eat that stuff at all. (Plant based diets are completely free of cholesterol, our own bodies make as much of it as we need.)

The general idea of the health section (and the book as a whole) is that it's preferable to make simple dietary changes than attempt to treat the symptoms of an unhealthy lifestyle with pharmaceuticals and surgery - An argument that is very tough to argue with.

The second two-thirds of the book is mostly recipes, which I haven't tried out yet. There were some rice crispy treats, sans gelatin, which looked quite promising. My only complaint would be their use of carob... Ick. I'll definitely be using Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips when I make mine.

For someone unfamiliar with (or in denial of) the benefits of a plant-based diet, this book lays out a strong argument and rationale for making a switch. If you've already made the switch to a plant-based diet, you'll probably be familiar with a lot of the points covered - but it is probably still worth a read for the recipe section, as well as some factoids you might not have known, before handing it off as a gift to someone you care about. (As a previous commenter said, "Simply lifesaving" - which is definitely true, if you're someone who's life is at risk because of your diet.)

You will love this book because of the recipes!

I've been following this diet for over 14 years, but I still read books about it occasionally and pick up new ideas. While this book is not the complete "theory" manual on the benefits of the low-fat vegan diet, it has a good overview that I'd feel comfortable passing along to friends who are new to it. The recipe section is outstanding, with recipes from at least a dozen different chefs.

Normally if you pick up a vegan recipe book, you'll get similar recipes based on what the author likes. Because you have different contributors to this book, it seems that they each made an effort to share their all-time favorites.

There's even a few raw food recipes in there, and the food in general is more likely to appeal to everyone. It's not as strict and low-fat as the recipes in Esselstyn's book, but quite healthy nonetheless.

The Kindle version is nicely formatted, but the print version is more practical.