What is the best diet for humans?
A plant-based diet, with practically all calories coming from the four major food groups: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. It is low in fat and high in fiber. Processed foods should be eliminated to the best possible extent.
What are the “big killer” diseases, according to Joe Cross?
Diseases are based on nutritional ignorance and lifestyle choices. There are high rates of mortality due to these diseases, including 27% heart disease, 25% cancer, 10% stroke, as well as 4-5% for diabetes and Alzheimer’s.
Explain the hunter-gatherer misconception… Did ancient humans survive from mostly hunting or mostly gathering?
Throughout the known history of human civilization, the bulk of the caloric intake for populations came from gathered foods. Starch, such as rice or corn, was particularly common. The common misconception of populations relying on hunting for survival is based on sexism and misrepresentation since men were usually the ones who went out, and it became a more glorified activity than everyday foraging and agriculture practiced by women.
Is protein deficiency real?
As long as the food is substantial in the caloric amount, a natural or plant-based diet should be sufficient to provide all the necessary microelements necessary for the human body.
What are human protein needs?
In a daily intake, protein makes up only a small portion (around 3%) of the necessary calories. Even the lowest-protein plant foods fulfill the daily human protein needs.
According to Dr. Campbell, what happens when we consume excess animal protein?
By overconsuming animal protein, the intake of essential foods (such as plants) is displaced. A nutritional imbalance forms from such diets. In addition, there is stress on the liver and kidneys and increases the risk of cancer.
Why isn’t white meat (chicken or fish) healthier than red meat?
Any type of meat is mostly the muscle of animals, high in fat, protein, and cholesterol. Since these creatures are up on the food chain, there is a high concentration of pollutants. Health from meat does not depend on its type, for the most part, but the amount you eat.
How do you get sufficient calcium from plants?
Plant foods such as oranges have a sufficient amount of calcium.
As adults, why do we drink another species’ milk?
Humans are the only species that drinks the milk of another, particularly into adulthood. There is a massive social belief that milk is necessary to maintain health and receive the necessary source of calcium. However, milk is naturally and artificially full of growth hormones, which are not healthy for an adult.
What’s wrong with consuming dairy? Eggs?
Dairy products are similar to meat, very high in fat and cholesterol without any dietary fiber. There is usually an abundant amount of chemicals in modern dairy products that are addictive. Eggs are an extremely concentrated source of dietary cholesterol. In addition, there are traces of antibiotics and genetically modified products which are fed to the chickens and passed into the egg.
Fish oil, or snake oil… what’s the truth?
Fatty acids are a profitable industry that seeks to sell Omega-3 fish oil capsules as supposed health benefits and establishing a balance with an overabundant presence of Omega-6. However, no data is corroborating that there are positive health effects and, in fact, may increase the risk of adverse conditions such as type-2 diabetes and cancer.
Why don’t “diets” work?
Cutting calories by avoiding food does not work because a person is constantly hungry, and this causes severe discomfort. Other diets focus on increased protein and fat, which make people sicker.
What does science say about low-carb diets?
Low-carb diets were created by people without scientific nutritional background. They make the person sick by restricting appetite. Often, the diets do not distinguish between simple carbohydrates and more healthy options, which are necessary for human nutritional needs.
Are Doctors trained in nutrition?
Doctors get little to no training on nutrition. They are not provided additional training. Most doctors work in a way that they must treat symptoms instead of the underlying cause, which nutrition knowledge could face.
Where’s the money?
Money is based in the pharmaceutical industry, which profits tremendously from the sale of medications and supplements to sick people. Since the rate of morbidity only increases and medications can have potential side effects, the potential for profits is exponential. Therefore, the industry influences education, which teaches medical professionals to recommend medicine as the primary health solution.
What shifts do we need?
There needs to be a focused shift on comprehensive education so that doctors know the underlying cause and ways to treat it. Focus on nutrition can help cure and reverse many serious illnesses.
Are supplements necessary/healthy?
Supplements target specific populations and needs and do not replace nutrients from foods. Often, they are unhealthy because of the highly concentrated doses that people intake on a daily basis. The human body is not adapted to digest the purified nutrient form found in supplements properly.
Is the plant-based diet healthy for children?
Children receive more health benefits from the plant-based diet than adults, getting the vitamins and nutrients necessary for growth during the development process.
Conventional vs. organic? Is it a big deal?
Fear of pesticides should do cause people to avert healthy foods. Organic is simply a label. Pesticides present in conventional vegetables are only responsible for a small fraction of health problems in comparison to avoiding these food groups in general. Pesticides can be washed off vegetables, while the large concentration of chemicals in animal products cannot be easily isolated.
Food and the environment! How does eating animal products contribute to climate change?
Animal products contribute to global warming, water scarcity, deforestation, species extinction, and world hunger. Humans begin to use the natural land for cultivating animals and growing large amounts of food to sustain the overindulgent food choices of our society.
What % of arable land is used to grow crops for animals?
Approximately 70%.
How much water and grain goes into making 1 lb. of beef?
Approximately 2400 gallons of water and 12 pounds of grain.
How many acres of rainforest are destroyed annually for meat production?
About 5 million acres.
Are “things really getting better,” why not?
No, because there is a large disproportion between people choosing to adopt a plant-based diet or environmentally friendly lifestyle and people continuing to do the opposite and live in overindulgence.
Livestock sector produces _______% of global CO2 emissions?
The sector produces 5% of total CO2 emissions in addition to 53% nitrous oxide and 44% methane gas.
Why is grass-fed beef even worse for the environment?
The process is more land-intensive than factory-raised livestock, requiring exponentially more feed per pound to raise such animals. In addition, grass-fed cows produce 40-60% more greenhouse emissions, including methane gas and CO2, as well as land-use changes.
What % of commercial fisheries are overexploited or depleted?
Over 80%. Fishing fleets are forced to “chase” fish by going far out and deeper into the ocean.
What “baggage” comes with your plate of fish?
In order to capture fish we eat, there is tremendous devastation to marine species as a result of by-kill. The environmental and manual effects of fishing could result in the practical extinction of common species by 2046.
What’s the #1 effective way to begin to tackle climate change?
Humanity needs to take a comprehensive approach to self-evaluation and assess how our choices are impacting the environment and species around us.
Why do we love some animals and yet eat others?
There is a belief system in place (called carnism) that conditions people to compartmentalize animals based on whether they are edible or not. Many people do not question it.
How did this film impact you? What thoughts do you have on possible changes you might make for your own health and the environment? Comments/thoughts/reflection?
This film presented many unique perspectives and challenged various beliefs that our society has about food and medication regarding health. As someone who attempts to practice a healthy lifestyle, I was surprised to learn that many of the dieting practices lack a scientific basis. Going forward, I will be more conscientious about my food choices, health upkeep that have an impact on the environment. Since each person leaves a significant footprint of waste that is degrading to the environment, it may be helpful to shift certain behaviors to reduce it and promote sustainability through example.