Forks Over Knives Debunked

Forks Over Knives is a documentary about the concept of eliminating any foods in your diet that require utensils to eat. It minimizes the consumption of meat so that whole, unrefined foods or fruits and vegetables become the emphasis of the diet. As a diet plan, the book has become a bestseller. Mainly because the concept is so simple. By rejecting animal-based proteins and processed foods, humanity can also reject most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that we face.

Can a Plant-Based Diet Stop Degeneration?

What isn’t a hoax is that a plant-based diet can stop some forms of human degeneration. It has been particularly useful in preventing muscular degeneration and a diet that is rich in flavonoids is often recommended by doctors for those who are at a high risk or are already suffering from the degeneration of their macula.

The problem with the Forks Over Knives debate, however, is that a plant-based diet actually puts someone at a higher risk for certain cancers, especially colon cancer and breast cancer. It is also thought that a lack of the fatty acids that are present in animal proteins may contribute to skin and uterus cancers. Things like Omega-3’s are also thought to prevent degenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s.

Now it’s true that plants can give someone the Omega-3’s that they need to stave off degeneration, but algae, flax oil, and flax seeds are basically mandatory daily dietary options. Taking a supplement eliminates the Forks Over Diet requirement. This means that the concept can work, but it will take some major sacrifices to make it happen.

Is All of the Information Factual?

One of the key points of research that is made in Forks Over Knives is that rodents who were administered Aflatoxin, which is one of the worst carcinogens known to mankind right now, and ate 20% animal proteins were more likely to develop cancer than animals administered Aflatoxin that had 5% animal protein diets. Remarkably Aflatoxin has its origins in a fungus, which would be considered part of the Forks Over Knives diet.

There were three problems with this statement.
1. The conditions of cancer were suddenly present in all of the animals because of the administration of a known carcinogen.
2. The primary protein that the rodents were fed was casein, which is a dairy protein, not a meat protein.
3. The animals that were given a low protein diet actually lived shorter lives than the animals on the high protein diet.

The animals with the high protein diet certainly had more malignant tumors, but they lived longer lives. This was despite the fact that massive doses of Aflatoxin, designed to be fatal, would be administered. With these claims backing up the science of the diet, it is easy to see why Forks Over Knives doesn’t make the grade and is considered a hoax.