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Javiera V. Carrasco Amaya

Professor Bowman

Nutrition 1020

28 April 2020

Nutrition Perspectives of Forks Over Knives

The documentary that I chose to watch was Forks Over Knives. The reason I chose to

watch this documentary is because it focused on the topic of how a plant based whole grain

diet could lead to a healthier lifestyle. The topic of diets is a topic that stood out to me the

whole semester, so I had thought that this would be a good documentary to watch because it

focused on that. I remember learning in class that there was a correlation between people who

were more educated and generally made better food choices. As a college student getting a

higher education I think that it is important to be educated on our overall nutrition. Especially

because many college students at this point in our lives don’t make very wise nutritional food

choices. It’s important to think about how unhealthy lifestyle choices could have consequences

in the future. So I was interested to see how this correlation of better food choices and exercise

leads to a healthy life, and also if this Documentary is a relevant film for me.

The Documentary Forks Over Knives was created and produced by Brian Wendel and

written by Lee Fulkerson.(1,6) Lee Fulkerson has a background as a documentary

writer/director. “Lee wrote, directed, and starred in the award winning and highly acclaimed

feature documentary film "Forks Over Knives," and was a featured guest on the Dr. Oz

television show. He has written, produced, directed or supervised nearly 170 hours of

documentary programming, and has won 19 international awards for his work.”.(7) While on
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the other hand Brian Wendel has a background in the real estate business. He does not have a

nutritional background, but became very interested in his health while he read “The China

Study” by Colin Campbell. This inspired him to take a further look into his health and overall

lifestyle.(1,2). He partnered with Dr. Campbell and Dr. Esselstyn to build more of a nutritional

credibility throughout this documentary project. (2) I took the time to research Dr. Campbell

background in which I learned that “ Dr. T. Colin Campbell is the Jacob Gould Schurman

Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University, project director of the

acclaimed China-Oxford-Cornell Diet and Health Project, coauthor of The China Study, and

author of Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition.” (4) Based on his background this would

make him a very credible source for the documentary because he is the coauthor of the book

“The China Study” and he has some type of background in nutritional biochemistry. I also was

really interested in researching Dr. Esselstyn background to see how he would be a credible

source. I learned that he is a general surgeon who treats cancers and heart disease. (5)

To summarize Forks Over Knives the film begins by introducing the idea of the unhealthy

american diet and due to an unhealthy lifestyle the population is seeing rates of obesity

increase. Then it cuts to the story of Brian Wendel in which he considers himself as the average

american with the usual american diet. He introduces his concerns about his health based on

his diet and lifestyle. That is when he mentions the information that he learned by reading “The

China Study”. He goes and visits a doctor to evaluate his overall health and based on his results

a nutritional plan was made for him, which consisted of a plant based whole food diet where

animal products were completely removed from this diet. He used his nutritional plan, the book

“The China Study”, and the supportive research of Dr. Campbell and Dr. Esselstyn to state his
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argument. In which throughout the film it was very clear that they were arguing that the right

way to eat and stay healthy and prevent disease is by proactively consuming a strictly plant

based whole food diet, and combining it with exercise. In the Film Brian shows how effective

this diet is by showing the amount of weight he has lost, by showing how his medical results

have changed, and how he feels so much healthier. He also introduces other people in the film

who were having medical issues and how this diet has helped them achieve their health goals.

Overall this documentary provided many nutritional and health issues that the american

population is having, and they are saying that the solution to a healthier lifestyle is by having a

plant based whole food diet and to combine diet with exercise.

Forks Over Knives was finally produced on May 6th, 2011. (3) This documentary still has

themes that would be applicable today like how your overall diet can lead to/prevent diseases.

There was also a theme focusing on how dieting is not only a change that you make in eating,

but a whole lifestyle change. Another main theme in the documentary was that by being overall

healthier individuals reduce their healthcare costs over their overall lifetime. These are relevant

topics today in american society because as a population we have seen an increase in obesity

and diseases caused by obesity.

Three topics that were mentioned in the Documentary are diet, exercise, and disease.

In the film the topic of diet was one of the main topics. In the film it was claimed that the best

diet a person can have to be healthy is a plant based whole foods diet. Now comparing the diet

topic to the textbook, in the textbook when referring to a healthy diet MyPlate is used as an

example of what a healthy diet looks like which is a diet that consists of Grains, Vegetables,

Fruits, Dairy, and Protein Foods. (8,p53) This is a contrast to the documentary because in the
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documentary they are claiming that people shouldn’t consume animal products if they are

desiring a healthy diet. Exercise was also an important topic in the film, in the film we saw that

maintaining an active lifestyle where you exercise regularly has many benefits for the body. In

the textbook there is a correlation with that idea in the film in which it states that”...Experts

recommend 30 minutes of moderate exercise at least 5 days a week.” (8,p29). Lastly the topic

of disease was emphasized during the film. In the Documentary the claims that by having a

healthy plant based whole food diet, and adding exercise into the mix could prevent future

health diseases. Comparing this idea to the textbook the idea of a healthy diet with exercise is

supported to prevent disease.(8,p37) All together the main topic that was very different from

the book was the idea to only eat a plant based whole foods diet to remain healthy.

In conclusion what I learned about nutrition with this assignment is that different

people have different ideas about nutrition. Even if they are doctors there is always going to be

another person who is just as qualified to argue their ideas. When it comes to nutrition I feel

like it is common sense to know what is and isn’t good for you in your day to day life. I thought

that the idea of having a plant based diet and being healthy was super interesting because

there was a time when i was on a plant based diet for many years, and it was the most

unhealthy I have ever felt. From watching the film I learned that I could have been feeling like

that because I just was not eating the right types of plant based foods. I think that I will keep in

mind the themes and ideas that I learned within the film as well as the textbook. What I would

like to do with do much information is apply it to my current lifestyle and see if maybe it will be

a beneficial for me. This class also made me want to sit down with a dietician and see where I
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am health wise and see where I could be better. Overall this assignment really did make me

think about my health and where I could be better, so that I can be a better version of myself.
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Works Cited

1) “Brian Wendel.” Forks Over Knives, www.forksoverknives.com/contributors/brian-

wendel/#gs.4p1fch.

2) Huberman, Mark. An Interview with Brian Wendel. NATIONAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION,

www.healthscience.org/sites/default/files/documents/publications/feature/Brian

Wendel interview.pdf.

3) “What Does 'Forks Over Knives' Mean, Anyway?” Forks Over Knives, 24 Feb. 2020,

www.forksoverknives.com/wellness/what-does-forks-over-knives-mean/#gs.4p1oax.

4) “T. Colin Campbell, PhD.” Forks Over Knives, www.forksoverknives.com/contributors/t-

colin-campbell-ph-d/#gs.4p5tc4.

5) “BIOGRAPHY.” Wayback Machine,

web.archive.org/web/20120823175742/www.heartattackproof.com/biography.htm#.

6) Davison , Courtney. “What Does 'Forks Over Knives' Mean, Anyway?” Forks Over Knives,

3 May 2019, www.forksoverknives.com/wellness/what-does-forks-over-knives-

mean/#gs.5cte49.

7) LinkedIn, www.linkedin.com/in/lee-fulkerson-96a4b47.

8) Smith, Anne M., et al. Wardlaws Contemporary Nutrition. fifth ed., McGraw-Hill

Education, 2022.

9) Fulkerson, Lee, director. Forks Over Knives. Netflix, 6 May 2011,

https://www.netflix.com/watch/70185045?

trackId=13752289&tctx=0,0,d53f4afdb59fbcaa85b66bafc09474c517405263:fa83bd8e87

8099fb4a98daf6f836fd26633ae470,,.