{"id":36217,"date":"2015-01-20T07:15:13","date_gmt":"2015-01-20T12:15:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=36217"},"modified":"2021-08-26T13:32:08","modified_gmt":"2021-08-26T17:32:08","slug":"forks-over-knives-vegan-diet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/forks-over-knives-vegan-diet\/","title":{"rendered":"Forks Over Knives: Can a Vegan Diet Really Cure You?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Forks
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Whether you\u2019ve got heartburn, arthritis, or high cholesterol<\/a> and blood pressure, it\u2019s possible to walk out of your doctor\u2019s office with an Rx for pretty much anything that ails you. Yet, what if you could get the same results \u2014 simply by changing your diet<\/a>? That\u2019s the premise behind the cult-favorite Forks Over Knives<\/a> diet, a plant-based eating plan developed by Dr. Alona Pulde and Dr. Matthew Lederman.<\/p>\n

The Forks Over Knives concept was first introduced to the world in a 2011 documentary, exploring the science-backed and anecdotal evidence of plant-based eating. Since then, three books based on the plan have become New York Times Bestsellers<\/a>. With the help of a variety of experts, including T. Colin Campbell, a Cornell University nutrition expert, Pulde, Lederman, and others, The Forks Over Knives Plan<\/em> explores how to transition to a\u00a0\u201clife-saving\u201d plant-based diet.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> The Beginner\u2019s Guide to Clean Eating<\/a><\/p>\n

But can changing your eating habits really reverse or prevent the progression of illness?<\/p>\n

The Benefits of Eating Green<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Nobody can deny that modern medicine has helped people in many ways. But Dr. Matthew Lederman believes plant-based eating offers an entirely new, side effect-free way for people to get healthy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very frustrated with medicine all together\u2026 the patients and I were both frustrated to the point where I was almost going to get out of medicine altogether,\u201d Lederman says. But as he started experimenting with plant-based nutritional medicine, he realized, \u201cThis was a way to treat patients\u2026that could really make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even more encouraging: As soon as his patients switched to 100 percent plant-based plans (no eggs<\/a>, fish, meat-products of any kind), they saw immediate and impressive results, Lederman says. \u201cPeople struggling with chronic disease, heart disease, diabetes, chronic fatigue, arthritis \u2014 if they jump in 100 percent \u2014\u00a0they\u2019ll see changes within a week depending on the symptoms and situation,\u201d Lederman says.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> Is a Vegan Diet the Best Way to Lose Weight?<\/a><\/p>\n

Marisa Moore, RDN and spokesperson for the American Academy of Dietetics and Nutrition says that she\u2019s also seen fast results after helping people go plant-based. \u201cAfter three months people see differences \u2014 it can be as soon as one month but usually we\u2019d do blood testing after three months,\u201d Moore says. \u201cSome might find they notice an increase in energy way before that, within a week, after cutting out foods higher in saturated fat<\/a> that may be weighing them down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Science backs up their anecdotal evidence, too. A 2014 study in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine<\/em><\/a>, which provided a meta-analysis of 32 earlier studies and seven clinical trials, showed that following a vegetarian diet was linked to lower blood pressure, compared to an omnivorous diet. Another recent study from the University of South Carolina found that a vegan diet was the most effective for weight loss<\/a> compared to vegetarian, semi-vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian or omnivorous diets. And other studies found that going veg could reduce heart disease risk<\/a> by up to one-third, and reduce overall risk of death<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Forks
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Forks Over Knives: Can Going Plant-Based Really Cure You?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The health benefits of switching to a vegetarian or vegan diet may seem obvious, but reversing a medical condition or getting off medications for good can be trickier than it seems. \u201cYou have to find a doctor that knows plant-based medicine and how to [safely] take people off medications,\u201d Lederman advises.<\/p>\n

“Look at making your plants and vegetables the heart of your plate.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the Forks Over Knives documentary, one patient relates the story of how she was able to thrive for years, despite a metastatic breast cancer diagnosis, thanks to a plant-based diet. Lederman acknowledges that it\u2019s impossible to say vegetarianism was responsible for these results. \u201cYou don\u2019t know if they lived longer than they would have, or better than they would have, but my guess is yes, they probably did live better.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> Why Young People Need to Worry About Cholesterol, Too<\/a><\/p>\n

And in some cases, diet may not make a difference at all. \u201cThere are cancers that, no matter what changes you make, you\u2019re going to die,\u201d Lederman acknowledges. Yet, for other types of cancer, like prostate, a vegan diet has been shown<\/a> to help prevent the spread of disease for years. Plus, Moore acknowledges, \u201cVegetarians do tend to live longer and have lower risk of certain cancers.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Want to Give Up Meat Products for Good? Here\u2019s How to Do It<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re ready to give up bacon and burgers<\/a> for a plant-based plan, Lederman recommends easing into vegetarianism slowly. \u201cYou want to minimize or eliminate animal products, added oils, sweeteners, processed and refined foods \u2014 those are not health promoting,\u201d Lederman says. \u201cRemove the ones that are easy to remove first; and the ones that are more challenging, I would just limit those.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 9 Healthy Dinner Recipes for Meatless Monday<\/a><\/p>\n

In other words, you don\u2019t have to go cold turkey (so to speak). If you can\u2019t imagine a life without chicken, but can live without red meat, eliminate that from your diet first and allow yourself to enjoy chicken\u00a0once in awhile. \u201cDon\u2019t throw the whole diet in the trash just because you\u2019re unwilling to do a couple of things,\u201d Lederman says.<\/p>\n

Moore also points out that it\u2019s important for vegetarians and vegans to make sure they\u2019re getting adequate doses of nutrients<\/a> found only in animal-based products. For example, it can be difficult to consume enough omega-3 fatty acids<\/a>, calcium, iron and vitamin B12<\/a> when foregoing meat products. Moore recommends turning to fortified foods, B12 supplements, or incorporating microalgae and kelp into salads and soups to ingest enough omega-3 fatty acids.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> How to Get Enough Calcium (Even If You Don\u2019t Eat Dairy)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many options and my advice is to look at making your plants and vegetables the heart of your plate,\u201d Moore says. \u201cYou just get used to it. You don\u2019t have to get caught up in labels saying, \u2018Oh I\u2019m vegan.\u2019 It\u2019s just about adding more plant-based food to your diet.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Forks Over Knives Plan claims that switching to a plant-based diet can be lifesaving. Here’s what you need to know about the benefits of ditching meat. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":36223,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,7,18],"tags":[41,51,71,347,359,284,285],"class_list":["post-36217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diet-nutrition","category-health","category-weight-loss","tag-diets","tag-food-choices","tag-nutrition","tag-tax1family","tag-tax2breastfeeding","tag-vegan","tag-weight-loss"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36217\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}