Forks Over Knives Fall 2019

“Isn’t a plant-based diet expensive?” We often get this question at Forks Over Knives. There’s a common misperception that you need to dig deep into your pockets to make healthy eating work. Well, nothing could be further from the truth. With some smart shopping, you can expect to save money on your food bill. Indeed, the unprocessed staple foods at the heart of this lifestyle are some of the cheapest you’ll find. No need to buy certified organic at premium grocery stores: The magic of a whole-food, plant-based diet is more about the big differences between Ring Dings and legumes than the smaller differences between, say, “premium” potatoes and the ones found at your local discount market. To demonstrate how affordable it can be, this issue features Chef Darshana Thacker’s delicious seven-day…

1 PUT STARCHES AND FRUITS AT THE CENTER OF YOUR PLATE. Enjoy nonstarchy and leafy veggies in generous amounts, but look to carbohydrate-rich whole grains, beans, fruits, and starchy vegetables to provide enough calories to get you through your day. 2 YOU’LL LIKELY EAT MORE FOOD, NOT LESS. Whole or minimally processed plant foods are dense in nutrients, not calories. As you adjust to this way of eating, you may find you feel a little hungry shortly after a meal, but over time you’ll get a sense of how much to eat to stay satiated. 3 FOCUS ON PLEASURE. The best whole plant foods are the ones you enjoy enough to stay on a healthy path. So have veggie chili, whole grain pasta, tacos, mashed potatoes, or whatever else hits the spot. 4…

Darshana Thacker Darshana is chef and culinary projects manager for Forks Over Knives. A graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute, Darshana is the author of the Forks Over Knives: Flavor! cookbook, recipe author for Forks Over Knives Family, and recipe contributor to the New York Times best-selling The Forks Over Knives Plan. Alona Pulde, MD, and Matthew Lederman, MD Drs. Pulde and Lederman created the medical program used in the Forks Over Knives documentary and all Whole Foods Market Medical & Wellness Centers. They also coauthored the New York Times best-selling The Forks Over Knives Plan and The Whole Foods Diet: The Lifesaving Plan for Health and Longevity. Karen Asp Karen is a journalist and author specializing in fitness, health, and nutrition. She writes for numerous publications, including Better Homes & Gardens®, O, and Prevention,…

MAKE FRIENDS WITH CARBS WHEN YOU EAT A WHOLEFOOD, PLANT-BASED DIET, 75 TO 80 PERCENT OF YOUR CALORIES WILL COME FROM CARBOHYDRATES. And that’s a good thing. Forget what you’ve heard from low-carb diet gurus: Studies show that carbs and fiber in whole and minimally processed plant foods support weight loss and protect against heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other deadly diseases. The trick is focusing on carb-rich foods that are whole or minimally processed—think fruits, veggies, whole grains, and beans—and skipping their highly processed counterparts, especially those loaded with fat, sugar, and salt. Good Carbs Baked potato Corn on the cob, corn tortillas, air-popped popcorn Brown rice, quinoa, other whole grains Fresh or frozen fruit Plain shredded wheat, oatmeal, puffed whole grains Bad Carbs Potato chips, fries Fried corn chips, buttered popcorn White rice, white bread, funnel cake Fruit juice, soda Sugary breakfast…

OURS IS THE FIRST RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED TRIAL TO PROVE THAT A HEALTHY DIET CAN REDUCE THE RISK OF DEATH FROM BREAST CANCER.—Dr. Rowan Chlebowski A long-term study has shown that postmenopausal women who eat less fat and more fruits, veggies, and whole grains may increase their chances of surviving breast cancer. The study analyzed data from the Women’s Health Initiative, a clinical trial involving nearly 49,000 women. Some women followed a low-fat, plant-packed diet for eight years; the rest made no dietary changes. None had a history of breast cancer. Two decades after the trial began, women in the low-fat group who developed breast cancer had a 21 percent lower risk of dying from the disease than those in the control group—and a 15 percent lower risk of dying from any cause. “After nearly…

Nebraska-based actuary Ken Beckman calculates health insurance premiums for a living, but it wasn’t until he watched Forks Over Knives that he made the connection between poor nutrition and the rise of costly chronic illnesses. Beckman switched to a plant-based diet overnight. Then he spearheaded a project to mail copies of the film to 500 of his company’s policyholders. “We knew many of our policyholders were struggling with serious chronic conditions and had been told there was nothing they could do other than to take medications the rest of their life,” Beckman says. Along with the DVD, each package contained an offer for a free copy of Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn’s book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease. A follow-up survey one year later found that 80 percent of the policyholders who had both…