Full Transcript Protein Myth and Plant-Based Motivation 0:02 When a person thinks about a plant-based diet, the first question that comes up 0:04 is where do you get your protein? >> Societies who eat a lot of fiber don't 0:08 get colon cancer. They don't have words for colon cancer in their language. 0:11 >> So fun to see you know, the protein myth is finally 0:14 being debunked. >> Society has trained us to thinking that 0:16 you need meat to get protein. >> It's odd because now I get my protein 0:21 >> [music] >> from the souls of my opponents. 0:25 >> We have over hyped and over blown this protein obsession. 0:29 >> When they found out that I was plant-based, everybody came up to me 0:32 like, "You're [music] on drugs." >> And the people there told me like, "Oh, 0:35 you can't be vegan and do CrossFit." And that just like really boosted my 0:38 motivation. I was like, "I'm going to freaking show you." 0:40 >> Future generations are going to look at us like, "Dang, they used to eat meat?" 0:45 >> Going plant-based is like having sex. [music] If you didn't enjoy it, you 0:49 weren't doing it right. >> If I could still be at the top of my 0:52 game and eat this way, then why not? >> Doctors automatically assume if you're 0:58 vegan and you're not feeling well, [music] then the problem has to do with 1:01 your diet. >> The most important thing we can do in 1:04 terms of health and longevity is what we put in our mouth. 1:14 >> [music] 1:27 [music] 1:37 [music] 1:44 >> Having the chance to [music] learn about the many vegan alternatives currently on 1:47 the market was a fascinating experience. >> [music] 1:50 >> But it led me to question if eating a diet of only plants is truly the 1:53 healthiest option for human beings. That's when I heard about a group of 1:57 doctors [music] and nutritionists in Washington, D.C. who were prescribing a 2:00 plant-based diet and other lifestyle changes to their patients [music] 2:03 to treat and even reverse some of our top killers, such as heart disease, 2:07 cancer, and type 2 diabetes. 2:12 >> [music] >> I'm Dr. Neal Barnard. I founded the 2:14 Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and the Barnard Medical Center. 2:18 And uh my job here is to make sure that [music] we are advancing healthy diets 2:22 as quickly as possible. The Physicians Committee is here in D.C. 2:26 [music] We do lots of things. First of all, we run research studies for all the 2:30 people who wonder, >> [music] 2:31 >> "What is a vegan diet going to do for diabetes or weight or cholesterol or 2:35 chronic pain? >> [music] 2:36 >> Is it safe? Is it beneficial?" We are the people doing those studies. 2:40 Uh secondly, we do a lot of policy work. [music] So, that means we go down to the 2:44 U.S. government and and push healthier diets on them as well as on medical 2:48 organizations. [music] We work with the AMA and others in a big way. We have 2:52 educational programs, >> [music] 2:53 >> and we also >> are trying to change how research is 2:56 done. Instead of [music] testing a drug on a 2:59 rat or a mouse, why don't we explore human biology 3:03 >> [music] >> in ethical ways to really understand the 3:06 the diseases and how we can intervene. >> PCRM has a plant-based focus. [music] 3:10 So, we are interested in plant-based diet for prevention of disease, but if 3:15 you have a chronic disease [music] as most of us do, like heart disease, 3:19 diabetes, um if you've [music] had cancer, you're 3:22 interested in cancer prevention, uh we talk about that, too. So, it's it's 3:26 never too late to adopt a plant-based [music] diet, and that's really our 3:29 message to people. >> Everyone who walks into Barnard Medical 3:32 Center, everyone on the staff, from [music] the people that check you in to 3:36 the people that submit your bills to insurance, to the nurses who take you 3:39 back to the rooms, to the doctors, to the dietitians, are all on the same 3:44 [music] mission. We all have the same philosophy. Everyone follows a 3:46 plant-based diet. Our primary goal is, you know, [music] not to run patients 3:51 through as many as we can, it's really to help patients fundamentally adapt a 3:54 healthy lifestyle and and achieve optimal health. 4:01 The year before I went to medical school, I had a job at a hospital in 4:05 Minneapolis and I didn't know what I was getting into. I was the the morgue 4:09 attendant, [music] meaning if somebody died in the hospital, I was there to 4:13 deal with the body. And [music] what that really meant was when they would do 4:17 autopsies, the doctor who was doing the exam would explain to me what killed the 4:21 person. >> [music] 4:22 >> And one day they opened up a body. Like the guy had died of a heart attack in 4:27 [music] the hospital the night before, probably from eating hospital food, but 4:30 that's a different story. So anyhow, he he cut the ribs off the chest and that 4:34 exposed the heart which was filled with [music] atherosclerotic plaque which I 4:38 was seeing for the first time. And he explained to me that this is your 4:42 bacon and your eggs and >> [music] 4:43 >> so that it causes this hardening of the arteries. There is no better education 4:48 >> [music] >> to actually see 4:50 coronary arteries which we just hear about, to be able to slice one open and 4:54 see that narrowing, um that atherosclerotic plaque [music] 4:57 is is like concrete in the arteries. The at the end of the exam, he leaves the 5:02 room and I've got to clean up. So I [music] put the ribs back in the chest 5:05 and I sewed up the skin and finished up. And I went up to the cafeteria 5:10 and they were serving ribs for lunch. And I can't [music] tell you 5:15 um it smelled like a dead body and it 5:18 looked [music] like a dead body and I suddenly realized it it is a dead body, 5:21 not a human body, but it a body nonetheless. And I didn't become a 5:25 vegetarian on the spot, but that started me thinking and reflecting on our 5:28 relationship with food and as time went [music] on, I started to realize that 5:35 food is a critically important issue. Your food choices dictate your health, 5:40 the the health of the earth and all its inhabitants. So [music] it's 5:44 it's big stuff. Meeting with the doctors at 5:48 made me realize that I'd never really thought much about the impact that food 5:51 has on our bodies. >> [music] 5:53 >> I wanted to dive deeper into this topic and thought that I'd start by seeing if 5:57 there were any vegan athletes out there who were living their healthiest lives
Doctors, Disease Prevention, and PCRM 6:00 as plant eaters. 6:04 >> [music] 6:23 [music] 6:30 [music] 6:36 >> I found out that there are a ton of vegan athletes. 6:40 But there has to be some kind of flaw. How can you be competitive eating 6:43 nothing but plants? I wanted to meet with some of these 6:46 vegan athletes to learn how they do it. And the first one that I met with 6:50 certainly showed me that vegans can be pretty awesome. [music] 6:54 >> My name's Cam F. Awesome. First of all, I'm a bad [ __ ] 7:07 >> [music] 7:17 >> I've been on the USA national team for about 10 years. 7:21 I've won eight US national championships, four Golden Glove 7:23 national championships, three PAL championships, international gold 7:27 medals. I've pretty much won everything except for 7:29 >> [music] >> the Olympics. I'm close to 400 fights 7:31 now. I'm like the best 7:35 in my head. Probably not in real life. >> [music] 7:40 >> In 2012, lost a bet and had to do the Engine 2 28-day vegan challenge. And 7:48 around day 20 is when the food stopped tasting [music] terrible because I found 7:53 out it takes like 17 days for your taste buds to adjust and [music] 7:57 then I think I kind of got the the liquor out of my system and all the 7:59 badness out of my system and >> [music] 8:00 >> then I kind of felt the burst of energy. In the 28 days I lost 32 lbs and [music] 8:06 around day 26, day 27 when I started getting used to it, I was kind of a 8:10 little bummed out because I liked the way I felt, but I didn't want to be 8:14 like a vegan because they're weird people. 8:18 So, [music] I told myself I'll just secretly do it 8:20 for a little bit longer and after about a year I started like meeting cool 8:23 vegans. I was like, "I guess I can like come out the vegan closet." 8:28 There's a lot of athletes going plant-based. I'm not happy about it. I 8:30 used to be one of the famous ones, one of the [music] best vegan athletes and 8:33 now I'm not even top 1,000. Thanks a lot, Rich Roll. 8:39 >> [music] 8:43 >> My name is Rich Roll. I'm an ultra endurance athlete. I'm an author, 8:48 podcast host, husband, and dad of four kids. 8:52 So, I compete in ultra endurance multisport events, specifically 8:56 long-distance triathlons, things that are longer than a typical Ironman. In 9:00 the past I've specialized in a race called Ultraman, which is a double 9:04 Ironman distance triathlon that circumnavigates the Big Island of Hawaii 9:08 over 3 days. It's a 320-mi event. Uh in 2009 I was sixth [music] in 9:14 that race. Uh then in 2010, uh a buddy and I did 9:18 something called Epic 5 where we did five Ironmans on five Hawaiian islands 9:22 and we completed that. And then this past year I competed in a race called 9:26 the Otillo Swimrun World Championships in Sweden where a teammate and I, Chris 9:31 Hauth, who's also my coach, were the fastest [music] 9:33 Americans. And that's a 75-km race. It's about 40 mi of running and 6 miles of 9:39 swimming all told. My whole life growing up, I basically 9:44 ate what I call the window diet. If you can drive your car up to a fine dining 9:47 establishment, roll the window down, and they hand you food through your window, 9:50 that's what you eat. And that's how I ate for 9:52 most of my life. And so, during that period of time, I was 50 lb overweight 9:56 and just had an episode late one night shortly before my 40th birthday where I 10:00 was walking up a flight of stairs to go to bed late one night and had to pause. 10:04 I was winded. [music] I was out of breath. Sort of buckled 10:07 over with tightness in my chest. And it was a terrifying moment 10:11 >> [music] >> because heart disease runs in my family, 10:13 and my mother had been telling me my whole life that I had 10:16 to watch what I eat. And you know, when you're young, you're just like, 10:18 "Whatever." You don't pay attention to that kind of thing. 10:20 >> [music] >> And it all kind of clicked in and 10:22 crystallized for me in that moment. And that really began my journey into 10:26 [music] exploring food as medicine and repairing my well-being. And that's what 10:30 ultimately led me to a plant-based diet. >> [music] 10:45 >> Everywhere I go, [music] the people really want to know who I is and who I 10:48 be. They stop and stare when they see me. If I said it once, no need to 10:51 repeat. [music] Run up on me, watch you fall to your knees. Tip my hat when it's 10:54 time for the kill. Ain't no peace when you're really real. 10:57 >> I'm Tu Ivan Rantiga. >> [music] 10:59 >> And I'm an online fitness coach for women who are either vegan or who want 11:03 to go vegan. About 5 years ago, I was scrolling on 11:07 Facebook and I came across this video series of [music] slaughterhouse in 11:11 Finland, where I'm from. And something made me click on it. I didn't 11:15 want to watch it. I watched just a couple of seconds, and [music] that made 11:18 the switch for me. And that blindfold was just ripped off. And from that 11:23 moment, I was like, "Okay, I have to go vegan." And at the time, I was actually 11:26 eating a lot of animal products. I was like eating tons of meats, eggs, and 11:30 dairy because I was like all focused on like building muscle and gains. I 11:33 thought I would lose all of that because I didn't know anyone who was like an 11:36 athlete or anything, but I was like just for the ethics I have to do this and I 11:41 just decided I'm going to try and figure out a way. 11:45 I found CrossFit and I got into CrossFit and then people there told me like oh 11:49 you can't be vegan and do CrossFit like it's just really stupid. You're just 11:52 going to compromise on your performance and that just like really boosted my 11:55 motivation. I was like I'm going to freaking show you. 11:59 >> [music] 12:03 >> What happened when I switched to vegan, my fat percentage dropped to like 13% 12:08 which is like quite good for CrossFit like females and that massively helped 12:13 in my gymnastics. Like I went from zero to 15 pull-ups, I got my first 12:17 muscle-ups and yeah I I I thought like being like the worst gymnast ever 12:21 actually like was able to improve a lot. >> Yay, food. 12:26 >> Thank you. Thank you so much. 12:32 >> Meeting with Cam, Twee, and Rich showed me that being strong and fit on a 12:36 plant-based diet was indeed possible, but I wanted to learn about something 12:40 that I heard was difficult to get from plants. 12:42 Protein. I heard about a man living in the 12:46 mountains of Norway who told me that if I met with him, he'd 12:49 teach me everything that he'd learned. [music] 12:58 >> [music]
Vegan Athletes and Performance 13:02 [music] >> My name is John Venus. I'm a vegan 13:05 public figure focusing on health and fitness. 13:09 I make YouTube videos showing how to be fit and healthy and compassionate on a 13:14 plant-based [music] diet and I just try to spread the message online. 13:23 I started lifting weights I'd say 6 [music] years ago after meeting my 13:27 girlfriend who is now my wife and she lifted weights and I didn't lift weights 13:33 at that point. I was just doing soccer. So, I figured, you know, if my 13:36 girlfriend's lifting weights, yeah, I'm going to I better start to catch up with 13:39 her basically. And then it evolves more and more. I looked more into 13:44 >> [music] >> you know, how to optimize my training to 13:47 maximize muscle gains. But, I don't compete. I'm not a professional 13:50 bodybuilder or anything. It's [music] just something that I love doing. 13:54 Initially, I went vegan for ethical reasons and I was prepared to take a hit 13:58 on the physical side of things. But, in reality, to my surprise, the opposite 14:03 happened. I really felt like it was important for 14:05 me to push myself as hard as possible and to actually prove that not [music] 14:08 only can you maintain your gains and your muscle, but you can build an 14:12 incredible physique if that is your goal. 14:14 And I'm not the only one doing this. There have been like an explosion of 14:17 vegan bodybuilders now and it's so fun to see that that myth, [music] you know, 14:21 the protein myth is finally being debunked. 14:23 >> I was definitely impressed that Jon was able to build a great physique eating 14:27 nothing but plants. But, I'd always heard that plants are an 14:30 inferior source of protein and don't you need to eat meat to get protein? 14:36 >> [laughter] 14:38 >> Oh my gosh, excuse me for a minute. Um it should occur to people that if 14:44 animal foods are the only source of protein, how is it that a cow grows to 14:48 be 1,200 lb on nothing but grass? How is it that chickens and turkeys grow to 14:55 adult size eating nothing but corn? The connection that people aren't making is 14:59 that there is plenty of protein 15:03 in plants. >> The US government says that a woman 15:06 needs about 46 g of protein a day, a man about 56 g per day. What if as an 15:11 experiment one day you decided to eat 2,000 calories of 15:15 broccoli, that's all you eat in a day. What you would discover is you would get 15:19 146 g of pure protein. The next day, if you 15:23 had 2,000 calories of lentils, you get 157 g of protein. Now, hopefully you're 15:28 not eating just broccoli or just lentils. Eat some broccoli and some 15:31 lentils and all kinds of other stuff. But, what you discover is you are easily 15:35 getting all the protein you could ever need, and 15:38 that's even true for high-level athletes. 15:40 >> The protein myth. How long do you have? >> I said talking about this. So, when we 15:44 talk about protein, what are we actually talking about? Does anybody even really 15:48 know what that word means? In truth, what we're talking about is amino acids. 15:52 There's a number of amino acids, nine of which are dubbed the essential amino 15:56 acids. These are the amino acids that our bodies cannot synthesize on our on 16:00 their own. We need to get them from the foods that we're eating. And when you're 16:04 eating plant-based, you're just getting those amino acids lower on the food 16:08 chain, the same place that the animals that you were previously eating were 16:12 getting [music] them from. >> So, instead of looking at just like, 16:14 okay, this is a protein source, I started to understand that the protein 16:17 accumulates over the the course of the day. And um then I realized like I was 16:21 eating way too much protein. And but people also don't realize that protein 16:25 also accumulates into excess fats. Like, it doesn't just like magically form into 16:28 muscle, especially if you're not working out. 16:31 >> people who take a 30-minute walk on their lunch break, 16:34 >> [music] >> and then have 16:35 like a 60-g protein shake for a walk. 16:40 They're not athletes. They're They They literally walked. 16:43 >> We have overhyped and overblown this protein obsession to such a large 16:48 extent. Most people are walking around eating anywhere from two to five times 16:53 as much protein as [music] they need. >> The obsession in the United States and 16:57 other Western countries with animal-sourced protein 17:01 literally comes from marketing. >> Teen athletes are using protein 17:04 supplements to make them stronger and a lot faster. 17:07 >> Taking the right protein [music] to build the size and strength needed to 17:10 compete with the best in the world. >> New Weetabix on the go protein, a proper 17:14 breakfast bottled. >> If you're training for a marathon or 17:17 you're a professional football player or you're a professional boxer, 17:20 professional cyclist, guess what? You're not eating 2,000 calories a day. You 17:24 might be eating 5,000 calories a day. So, what happens to your protein intake 17:29 if you eat 5,000 calories a day? Well, it goes up. So, so the answer is not 17:33 more protein. It's more food. Real food. If an athlete wants to go on 17:38 to a really high protein diet because they're going to do a marathon or a 17:41 triathlon or something like like that, um I recommend they eat exactly the same 17:45 foods that they would eat if they were going to play ping pong. It's just that 17:48 they're going to eat a lot more because they're burning calories. And in the 17:51 same way as their their lungs will take in more air 17:55 and they don't have to think about oxygen. Just 17:58 you're taking more air and oxygen happens to be part of it. 18:02 When you're exercising your muscles, you take in more food 18:05 and protein is part of it. You're going to be fine. 18:08 >> Everything has protein in it. Like there's not a single vegetable that 18:11 doesn't have protein. And some like good vegan protein sources we think of like 18:15 legumes, whole grains, tempeh, tofu, seitan, lentils, edamame, chickpeas, 18:22 other beans, [music] other soy products. When people stress 18:25 about protein they say, "Just Google." Takes you like 3 minutes to learn like a 18:28 massive list that is high in protein and then you just involve them in your meals 18:32 and you're good to go. >> I'm asked about my protein more 18:35 frequently than anything else and my answer is always I get my protein 18:40 from the soles of my opponents. Because 18:46 no one really [music] cares about the answer. 18:48 They just have like a they have a rebuttal for whatever you 18:51 say and they just want to have a conversation about why their diet is 18:56 right. And if you answer like that, you just end that conversation. 18:59 >> [music] >> We all get a laugh, they kind of feel 19:01 bad, and I walk away from the situation not being hated. 19:05 >> I don't know of any doctors that are treating patients in [music] the 19:09 developed world for a protein deficiency. It just doesn't exist. 19:13 Meanwhile, we're all fiber deficient. [music] People are not eating enough 19:17 fruits and vegetables. I've been doing this for 11 years. I'm 51 years old 19:21 right now. I can go out and still compete at a very high level. I've never 19:25 had any problems building lean muscle mass, getting stronger, [music] 19:29 repairing my body, recovery. All of that is completely in check. And believe it 19:33 or not, if you're just grazing on a wide variety of 19:37 >> [music] >> healthy plant-based foods close to their 19:38 natural state, you are not going to have a problem meeting your daily recommended 19:43 allowance of protein. It's really a non-issue. 19:47 >> Rich Roll has been vegan for more than a decade and is still able to perform as a 19:51 high-level athlete. But I wanted to see if there were any 19:54 other athletes who have been vegan for even longer. 19:57 I came across a guy who's been vegan for more than 20 years. And to my surprise, 20:00 I found him in the gym. 20:05 >> [music] 20:11 [music] 20:19 >> My name is Torre Washington. And I am a competitive bodybuilder, 20:24 coach, trainer. And I was raised to a mother who was a 20:28 Seventh-day Adventist. And Seventh-day Adventist was the 20:33 kindling to me further becoming this vegan activist that you see now. 20:40 >> Torre told me that he was raised as a strict vegetarian with his mother in the 20:43 US until he moved in with his grandparents in Jamaica. 20:46 But when he returned to the US as a teenager, it was his Jamaican heritage 20:50 that inspired him to adopt a vegan lifestyle and stick with it for what's 20:53 been more than two decades. >> I actually didn't start for health or 20:57 for the animals or for the earth. I started this based on not being a 21:02 hypocrite. Because in the Rastafarian culture, it was supposed to be [music] 21:08 no meat, no form of byproduct from an animal whatsoever. But a lot of Rastas 21:13 just adapted the the marijuana, the donning of the locks, the music culture, 21:19 but they didn't take it as far with the food aspect. [music] 21:23 They still eat chicken and fish. And so I said, you know, if I'm going to claim 21:27 to be Rasta, let me go all the way. And so that from 21:30 that moment on I decided to make that shift into [music] 21:33 eating strictly just plants for nutrition. And 21:36 I did that in 1998. [music] Who would have known 21:40 at that time in my life I took that step. 21:43 Look where I Look where it landed me. Think about a young kid moving back from 21:47 Jamaica to the US. >> [music] 21:49 >> These kids picked on us because we sounded differently. Like, "Hey, you 21:52 need to go back on a banana boat. What's wrong with you? Why you sound like 21:55 that?" During that time, you know, you want to do something to kind of make 21:58 yourself seem to stand out. 22:02 Then I found Arnold Schwarzenegger. 22:06 And he had this superhero look. And so I wanted that superhero look, so 22:10 I decided to >> [music] 22:12 >> follow his lead. And just started working out. Then once 22:16 I started high school, I started working out even more. 22:19 And to the point where people were afraid of me because of how I looked. 22:22 Not that I was fighting or going to beat people up, but I had this look like 22:29 you can kick some ass. 22:33 >> [music] 22:40 [music] 22:45 >> So I was vegan in '98. And by 2009 I started competing. Now I'm 22:51 IFBB Pro, which is the highest you can get when it comes to the pro rankings. 22:55 There's not many people who plant-based or vegan that have the IFBB Pro status 23:00 who gained it while already being plant-based or vegan, which put me in 23:05 the same ranks as Arnold Schwarzenegger, someone who I kind of looked up to. Over 23:09 the year 2009 to now, I can't even tell you. I think it's been more than 25 23:14 shows and always within the top five or top 10. 23:19 Do I look like I'm not getting protein? I mean, really. 23:23 >> By cutting out the animal middleman, they actually get those amino acids or 23:29 those proteins in a much more healthful form [music] because when when they come 23:34 from the animal sources, they're accompanied by fat, cholesterol, 23:39 hormones, and a whole [music] host of things that have a negative impact on 23:44 our health and our physiology. And science and research shows this, that 23:48 populations that are plant-based um live longer, have uh less disease, 23:56 less dementia, and importantly, remain more functional throughout their 24:01 lifetime. Human beings can get all of the protein 24:06 they need from eating nothing but plants. 24:21 >> Hi, my name is Tia Blanco. I'm a professional [music] surfer. I'm 21 24:25 years old and I've been vegan now for 5 years. 24:29 I would say that my biggest accomplishment so far has been winning 24:33 gold medals for the United [music] States in 2014 and 2015. 24:38 It was some of the best moments of my life representing my [music] country. 24:43 I was born as a vegetarian. I've never had red meat in my [music] whole entire 24:48 life. When I was about 13, I would say, I switched to pescatarian 24:53 and um I started eating like eggs and fish 24:58 because I was just embarrassed. Like I wanted to eat what all the other kids
Protein, Recovery, and Plant-Based Nutrition 25:02 ate. I didn't want to be an outsider. And I didn't really [music] know why I 25:06 didn't eat meat. Like my parents raised me to not eat meat, but I never did that 25:10 research on my own. So, um 25:14 I would say when I was like 14 [music] or 15 years old, I started watching 25:18 different documentaries. I watched Earthlings. [music] 25:21 I read Forks Over Knives and The China Study. 25:25 And I just felt very enlightened. And [music] then um a couple of days 25:30 following, I went on YouTube and I and [music] I watched um Behind Glass Walls. 25:36 And if you've seen that, it's very very hard to watch. And I just remember 25:42 crying my eyes out like the whole night and I was just like, there's no way I 25:45 could ever support the people that do this to these animals. Like it's just 25:49 not fair. When I went vegan, I noticed a huge switch [music] in energy levels. Um 25:56 I just felt strong, but just like have all this energy [music] to do what I 26:00 want throughout the day. So, I think it definitely gets rid of fatigue. 26:06 >> [music] >> I was amazed that all of these athletes 26:08 were benefiting from eating an entirely plant-based diet. 26:12 But what exactly are the benefits that they're receiving? 26:15 >> The primary benefit of plant-based eating for athletes is improved recovery 26:19 time. And so, you know, you can do these studies you can do with blueberries, you 26:22 can do it with a variety of plant foods. You can do it blinded where you feed 26:25 people smoothie, a fake blueberry smoothie versus a real blueberry 26:28 smoothie with real blueberry powder versus some fake blueberry taste and 26:31 they both taste the same, they look the same. Um but the group that actually got 26:35 the real blueberries, you know, you you um you do all sorts of, you know, 26:39 exercise test the next day and you the recovery time in terms of strength, in 26:43 terms of power bounces back so much quicker. So, basically it just allows 26:48 you to train that much harder. Now, it's the training that's actually got to give 26:52 you the performance, right? It's nothing you put in your mouth that's going to be 26:55 a substitute for putting in the time. It's just that you can put in more time 27:00 where your body can heal faster, recover faster, be and you can work and train 27:04 that much harder eating healthy and supporting your body. 27:07 >> I credit my adoption of a plant-based diet with everything that I've been able 27:12 to accomplish as an athlete. And there's a little bit of misunderstanding out 27:15 there. People think that I compete despite [music] my dietary proclivities 27:20 and preferences, but it's actually quite the opposite. The holy grail is 27:24 recovery. [music] You don't get stronger or faster during 27:27 the workout. It's what happens in between those workouts that make [music] 27:31 you better. And as every athlete knows, the faster, the more expeditious [music] 27:36 you can recover and bounce back in between workouts, the harder you can 27:41 train, the longer you can go. >> So, when an athlete starts a plant-based 27:44 diet, they're they're lowering their inflammation, which would be caused by 27:48 meat [music] in the diet and dairy and animal proteins in the diet. Um they're 27:52 getting improved blood flow throughout all the blood vessels in their body. So, 27:56 especially as an athlete, you want blood flow. You want blood to the muscles. The 28:01 blood is what carries the oxygen. You [music] want as much oxygen getting to 28:04 your muscles as possible. So, you know, there people I see advertisements 28:08 online, take this to improve your oxygenation. [music] 28:10 You can do that with food, you know? Like eat better food, eat plant-based 28:13 foods and you're going to improve the oxygenation. [music] Um you're going to 28:16 recover faster. That increased blood flow is going to help get the the waste 28:20 out of your body. So, the products of metabolism, the the the basically the 28:24 waste products [music] for when you're working out, you're going to be able to 28:26 get rid of those faster. You know, you're going to feel better overall. 28:31 >> The vegan diet has allowed me to have quicker recovery time and be 28:35 healthier, >> [music] 28:36 >> which is kind of annoying because I used to always hear old people talk about, 28:40 "You're not going to be young forever." And like, "Yes, I am." And although I'm 28:45 not old yet, this feels like I'm reversing the age 28:49 process. >> It started out with the distance [music] 28:51 runners. And then it was tennis players like Serena Williams and Venus Williams 28:55 and Novak [music] Djokovic who, you know, after you win Wimbledon and the US 28:59 Open and you're you're vegan and you he started his own vegan restaurant and it 29:02 just became cool. And then football players started doing it showing it's 29:05 not just the endurance athletes, it's the muscle athletes, too. 29:11 >> Before he retired after a 9-year career with the NFL, Derrick Morgan, a 29:15 defensive lineman for the Tennessee Titans, inspired a large portion of his 29:18 team to start eating plant-based to improve their recovery times and 29:22 increase their performance on the field. Charity Morgan, Derrick's wife, was 29:26 whipping up incredible meals in the kitchen acting as the plant-based chef 29:30 for the team. >> So Derrick was the first one that said, 29:34 "Okay, I'm going to walk down this this road of trying a new 29:39 way of eating." When he started doing more and more and more research, 29:45 he kept coming up with this plant-based, plant-based, plant-based, take out meat, 29:49 take out dairy >> [music] 29:50 >> to where he couldn't ignore it. And he said, "Okay, I'm just going to try it." 29:55 He never wanted to commit to it, neither did I. I said, "Oh, I'm just going to 29:59 try it for 2 weeks and see how I feel." But once he started that first week and 30:04 then the second week and he realized how he felt and he 30:07 realized he had less mucus in his chest and less inflammation, 30:12 that's when he said, "Okay, I can't I can't go back to what I was eating 30:16 before." And the same [music] with me, it's no comparison because I was waking 30:21 up every day walking straight to my coffee machine and pushing the button 30:24 and going, "Okay, need my coffee." Those days stopped when I started eating 30:29 plant-based. I had way more energy. [music] 30:32 And I couldn't I can't I couldn't forsake that for anything. 30:36 To unlearn something is probably the hardest thing to do and I I tell people 30:42 a upon walking this journey of being 30:45 plant-based or being vegan or whatever journey you want to walk down, it's 30:49 mental. [music] It's 100% mental. 30:52 >> When we were all born in the delivery room, nobody asked for fried chicken, 30:57 pork chops, or ice cream. Those are all learned habits. And just 31:02 like we learned dysfunctional dietary habits, we can jettison those unhealthy 31:07 dietary habits and adopt new ones. And once we adopt a plant-based diet, 31:14 you uh learn to love it, and you don't miss what you used to eat. In fact, 31:19 you're happier because you know you're no longer harming yourself, harming your 31:23 health, and harming the world around you. 31:26 >> With the way I cook, I never sacrifice on the flavors. So, I'm [music] 31:29 constantly I'm going into like my archives of how I make this or how I 31:34 make that. I go to my old culinary books from school. And I just take out the 31:39 meat and the dairy, and I leave everything else the same. Make what you 31:42 always make. Just find the vegan version of it. 31:49 >> So, oftentimes like people think when you eat vegan it's really restrictive, 31:52 and that's what I thought as well. I thought like you just only eat lettuce 31:54 and carrots. And then what actually happened, my eyes just started opening 31:58 because I started to like experiment foods that I never even knew existed. 32:02 What I started to eat, it went from like maybe five meals that I was rotating 32:05 into this like experiencing so much more foods. And I I just like formed a really 32:10 different relationship with food because I became connected, and I started to 32:13 actually care about [music] also the flavor and how to actually like 32:16 enjoy the food rather than just seeing it as fuel. 32:20 >> While many people adopt a plant-based diet and feel better than ever, it's no 32:24 doubt that some people feel the opposite. 32:26 >> [music] >> So, what are they getting wrong? 32:28 You know, from time to time I will hear from somebody that will say, "Oh, I 32:31 tried to be vegan, or I tried to be plant-based, but I was so weak and so 32:35 tired, and I started losing weight and I just I had to stop. I always ask them, 32:41 well, what were you eating? And they say, well, I was eating a you 32:45 know, a lot of salads and stir-fry. And I said, that's your problem. 32:50 Salads are wonderful in terms of their fiber content, their nutrient content, 32:56 but they have very few calories. Same thing with stir-fry. The vegetables that 33:00 go in the stir-fry are mainly water and fiber. They're very healthy, but that is 33:06 food that is fit for a 3-lb rabbit. You're a 150-lb human being. You need 33:13 food. You need to be eating legumes, beans, peas, lentils. You need root 33:18 vegetables, potatoes, yams, yucca, sweet potatoes. You need grains, corn, rice, 33:27 um barley, oats. All of these foods are much more calorie concentrated, much 33:34 more uh protein concentrated, and they will 33:37 give you the nutrients that you need to uh not only sustain yourself, but to 33:43 actually be healthy and get the full benefits of being plant-based. 33:48 >> So, there's two vitamins that are not made by plants. So, with exception of 33:54 those two, everything else is available in the produce aisle, right? There's 33:56 nothing There's no you know, vitamin, mineral, you know, protein, anything 34:00 that we can't get with the exception of these two vitamins. One's vitamin D. Not 34:03 made by plants, made by animals such as yourself when you walk outside. Sunshine 34:07 vitamin, right? Um now, people are not getting adequate sunshine cuz they're in 34:11 their little desk job or whatever. For whatever reason, may need to supplement 34:14 with vitamin D. It's nothing really to do with your diet. Um and the other one 34:19 um that's not made by plants is vitamin B12. Not made by animals either, made by 34:22 little microbes that blanket the earth. So, you know, we used to get all the B12 34:26 we need drinking out of mountain stream or well water or something, but now we 34:29 chlorinate the water supply to kill off any bacteria. So, we don't get a lot of 34:33 vitamin B12 in our water anymore. Don't get a lot of cholera either. That's a 34:38 good thing that we live in a nice sanitary world. But because of our of 34:43 our nice modern sanitary world, we need to get you know, vitamin B12 from some 34:47 place. Our fellow great apes get all the B12 they need from bugs, dirt, and 34:50 feces. I prefer supplements. And really the only 34:54 the best reliable way to get B12 in the modern world is just take a supplement. 34:59 >> I always heard that being healthy was expensive.
Longtime Vegan Bodybuilders and Surfers 35:03 And once I made the transition, I had to plan my meals out. It may be 35:06 inconvenient, but it's significantly cheaper. People are used to certain ways 35:10 of living and you get accustomed to things and it makes you comfortable. 35:13 Just like a home cooked meal that your grandma used to make. Well, if you're 35:16 vegan, you can't have that exact meal that grandma used to make and then you 35:19 feel like you're losing some of that comfort. 35:21 So I do understand the difficulties there, but anything that's worth it's 35:25 going to take some sacrifice. And it's your health, so you could I mean you 35:29 could buy new boots, but you can't buy like a new heart. So you might as well 35:32 keep your body nice. I see a lot of people spend like thousands of dollars 35:36 on fixing up their like 67 Mustang, 35:41 but won't spend like $4 on a kale shake because that's too expensive. 35:45 >> America's one of the most prosperous nations in the world. And yet we've 35:49 never been sicker as a society. Right now, one out of every three Americans 35:55 will die of heart disease. One out of every three. 70% of Americans are obese 36:00 or overweight. And they're predicting that by 2030, 36:04 >> [music] >> more than 30% of the population is going 36:06 to be diabetic or pre-diabetic. And childhood obesity rates are through the 36:10 roof. We're quickly moving towards 10 billion people. So what is going on? We 36:15 need a better way to feed the planet. Our current system for feeding 36:20 everybody, which is predominantly based on animal agriculture, is [music] 36:24 contributing to these diseases. Meanwhile, it's decimating our planet at 36:29 an unfathomable rate. [music] We're in the midst of this insane mass species 36:33 extinction. The runoff from animal agriculture is creating these algal 36:37 blooms in our in our oceans. Our waterways are polluted. It requires so 36:42 much land, so much resources, so much water to raise these animals for food. 36:47 It's truly unsustainable and it's wreaking havoc on our planet. But, I 36:51 think it's imperative upon us to take personal responsibility for those 36:56 choices and as a culture to innovate new ways to feed the planet. Because if we 37:00 continue down this path, we're only going [music] to get sicker and we're 37:03 destroying this one planet that that we all share together. Meanwhile, we're 37:08 creating massive amounts of suffering and violence through the way that we're 37:11 treating these animals. There is nobody, regardless of your dietary proclivities, 37:15 that's a fan [music] of factory farming. It's so heartbreaking to know that this 37:21 is how we're feeding everybody and we really need to innovate and figure out 37:25 new ways, more compassionate ways to treat ourselves, [music] 37:28 treat the planet, and treat the animals. >> A lot of people are not aware that what 37:34 you eat >> [music] 37:35 >> affects the ocean. Eating meat and supporting animal agriculture is one of 37:41 the leading causes of ocean dead zones. I believe the reason why I've stuck with 37:46 this lifestyle is because I love animals so much and I believe that 37:50 we don't have to harm animals to be healthy. 37:53 >> I've always thought that we had all the time in the world to fix all these 37:57 problems and you know, inspire the world to be a little more conscious and you 38:02 know, just be healthier. But, you know, now I have a kid [music] 38:06 and he's going to grow up in this world. The environment is at a tipping point. 38:11 It's just a mess and having that kid just made me realize like, you know, we 38:15 [music] have to step up our game right now. We don't have time to be passive 38:19 about this. 38:22 >> So, this is our baby Noah and he was born [music] 6 weeks ago. 38:25 And I guess our lives have changed dramatically since then, but to the 38:30 better. It's been really great. It's been a really amazing journey so far. 38:33 He's a pretty calm, chill baby. And [music] he's uh born vegan. 38:39 >> Yeah. >> Yeah. [laughter] 38:42 >> When you look at the dairy industry like the baby cows being taken away from 38:46 their moms, like imagine I just like [music] had this thought one day 38:48 imagining someone taking our baby away, how 38:51 devastating that would be. So, we have to do the best we can and do 38:56 what matters the most. And [music] to me that is, you know, saving our planet so 39:00 that my kid and, you know, all the generations to come have a nice place to 39:04 live in. 39:10 >> Jon Venus no longer a vegan. >> Jon Venus sadly no longer being vegan. 39:16 >> Jon Venus has quit being vegan. >> Jon Venus is no longer vegan. One of the 39:21 major vegan fitness influencers just became an ex-vegan. 39:26 >> And I'm not here >> [music] 39:27 >> to listen to your uh you know, arguments and to your uh 39:32 opinions either. Nutrition itself [music] 39:35 is a very confusing and not really understood topic. We cannot, you know, 39:41 say for certain that 100% vegan diet is going to be optimal [music] for kids. 39:47 >> I can honestly say that I was shocked. Jon was someone who I looked up to ever 39:51 since meeting him. Were his reasons valid? 39:54 Should I reconsider my own thoughts on being vegan? It turns out that Jon 39:58 wasn't the only person to leave veganism behind. 40:01 Like, for example, Miley Cyrus and Ellen DeGeneres, who were both once vegan. 40:05 >> Congratulations, I am also vegan. >> Miley Cyrus is now eating chicken on 40:11 Instagram. >> They can buy chicken and my wife sing 40:13 along. >> And Ellen started eating fish for no 40:17 real reason after 8 years of being vegan. 40:19 >> [music] >> It becomes 40:20 >> I wanted to learn about why this happens, so I sat down with psychologist 40:23 Dr. Melanie Joy to hear about her take on the matter. 40:27 >> A recent study suggests that social pressure actually plays a huge role 40:32 [music] in recidivism and people no longer maintaining adherence to 40:37 veganism, and this of course makes sense. 40:41 For many vegans, becoming vegan is often one of the most inspiring experiences of 40:47 their lives and one of the most empowering experience of their lives. 40:51 >> [music] >> And nevertheless, it comes with certain 40:54 challenges. People may find that they become vegan and they lack the social 40:58 support. They may find that their relationships and communications start 41:03 to break down. And this challenge can become even stronger when you're trying 41:07 to communicate across ideological differences. In many places, it's still 41:11 considered socially [music] acceptable to talk about and to vegans in a way 41:16 that would be considered completely inappropriate. Vegans, for example, 41:22 often report that they're [music] teased at the dinner table for their beliefs. 41:26 They're teased for their core beliefs. Family members might dangle pieces of 41:30 meat in front of the vegan and and laugh at them [music] and then tell the vegan 41:33 they have no sense of humor when they don't laugh along. 41:36 >> Whenever I'm cooking, I always make sure there are vegetarian options. They can 41:40 make do or they can [ __ ] off. >> I would have been vegan so much sooner 41:45 if if if if it wasn't for vegans. You ever met one? Bro. 41:50 >> I want to talk to my kids for a minute. [music] 41:53 Cuz three of my kids are vegans. I got news FOR YOU. I'M PUTTING meat in your 41:58 baby's formula bottle when you ain't looking. 42:03 >> Sometimes it's pressure [music] from authorities. Sometimes a vegan might, 42:07 for example, not be feeling well, go to the doctor. Doctors might automatically 42:12 assume that if you're vegan and you're not feeling well, then the problem has 42:17 to do with your diet. And I've heard from many, many vegans that they felt 42:20 pressured to revert back in order to manage whatever problem they might have 42:26 been dealing with, um, whether it's a physical health problem or sometimes
Kids, Family, and Raising Vegan 42:30 even a psychological problem that they may be dealing with. 42:34 >> A few months after John told the world that he was no longer vegan, he posted 42:37 an apology video, as well as another video claiming that he would never leave 42:41 veganism behind again. >> You know, I don't I don't I just don't 42:43 see myself ever changing again. 42:46 >> And to be honest, this only confused me further. 42:49 Luckily, I was able to arrange a meeting with him to ask about why he had a 42:53 change of heart. 42:56 >> The fact is that I went into this extreme fear paradigm. I 43:01 bought into the pressure from, you know, society, from other doctors, from some 43:05 research that I came across. I pulled the trigger, so to speak, and decided 43:09 that I was not going to feed my son a vegan diet. And because of that, I 43:13 didn't feel comfortable, um, you know, being vegan or telling the 43:17 world that I was vegan myself. My son never, uh, went through any serious 43:21 illnesses himself, so it was more a psychological thing rather than a 43:25 immediate threat, um, or health crisis. I changed my mind at once again and went 43:31 back to, uh, a lifestyle that I felt more in 43:35 alignment with. >> It was definitely reassuring to hear 43:38 that John decided to go back to being vegan. Until a few months later when I 43:42 checked out his YouTube channel and found videos titled, "Is eating meat 43:45 helping me build muscle?" and "How a vegan diet can ruin your health." So, 43:50 now he's eating meat? I came across one video that made me realize that John 43:53 will most likely never call himself vegan again. 43:57 >> Catherine, is that I just got out the rifle. He may have spotted something. 44:01 >> [music] >> So, he spotted three animals. Now, we're 44:04 just trying to to up on them. >> [music] 44:15 [music] 44:19 [music] 44:22 >> So, I'm super grateful for the whole opportunity and um obviously really 44:26 thankful for the animal itself um who gave his life uh to us. That's a 44:31 really important aspect that >> [music] 44:33 >> you know most of us when we're eating food and we're not even thinking about 44:36 where it came from. We're not even >> Personally, I'm not bothered at all when 44:40 vegan influencers stop [music] being vegan. Um vegans are people and people 44:45 change over the course of a lifetime for [music] 44:48 a lot of different reasons. People's ideas change, people's relationships 44:52 change, and that influences them. >> [music] 44:55 >> Um people's needs change, and this movement, the vegan movement, is a 45:00 social justice movement. It's made up [music] of many, many people. It's built 45:04 on foundational values and ideas that are very important and very relevant and 45:08 will continue to be so. One individual in this movement or a handful of 45:13 individual in this >> [music] 45:14 >> individuals in this movement are not going to make or break the movement. The 45:18 movement is bigger than one or two or even a hundred [music] influencers. Many 45:23 vegans focus so much on, you know, former vegans and [music] former vegan 45:29 influencers when in fact that same energy could be used to raise awareness 45:33 [music] among people who are open to and receptive to the vegan message. 45:39 >> I realized that I myself have spent a lot of energy focusing on John and his 45:42 journey. Energy that could have been spent on my own journey and learning 45:46 more about what it truly means to be vegan. I also realized that not all 45:49 vegans represent the vegan movement and that this is a movement made up of 45:53 unique individuals [music] from all around the world. All with their own 45:55 story to tell. But at the same time, [music] if John 45:59 truly was only trying to protect the health of his son, I couldn't blame him. 46:03 This made me [music] wonder if feeding a vegan diet to kids is the right thing to 46:06 do or not. So, I sat down with the doctors to see what the science says. 46:11 >> Kids who are raised on a plant-based diet have huge [music] advantages. First 46:15 of all, they're going to live longer and they are much less likely to become 46:18 obese. But, their risk of diabetes is less. [music] Their risk of heart 46:22 disease is less. Their risk of things like asthma and other things that can 46:25 affect [music] other kids dramatically less. It's It's the biggest gift 46:30 the parents can give their [music] kids is to raise them on a healthy 46:32 plant-based diet. >> The largest, oldest association of 46:36 nutrition professionals in the world, writing the American Dietetic 46:38 Association, their position paper, in fact, going back a number of position 46:41 papers they do on everyone a couple years. The [music] last one 2017 very 46:45 clearly that even a strictly plant-based diet so is appropriate [music] for all 46:50 stages of the life cycle from pregnancy to infancy, 46:54 um childhood, adulthood, old age. The position paper was not only that 46:59 >> [music] >> um safe but actually offers benefits in 47:01 terms of reducing chronic disease risk. >> The diseases of adulthood [music] start 47:07 in childhood. A heart attack has its roots 47:10 when a child is [music] actually in grade school. Um it starts with 47:15 cholesterol particles [music] that irritate the artery wall and then it 47:19 forms a little raised plaque. It's very small at first, just a little fatty 47:22 streak. But, by the time a kid is [music] is finishing high school, 47:26 they may have even lost one of their arteries, just paved over um by this 47:30 process. Um it starts in the lumbar [music] aorta, the the arteries going to 47:36 the lower back. And then after that, it start it [music] hits the arteries to 47:39 the heart and the arteries to the brain. Um but, it starts very, very early. 47:44 The good news is >> [music] 47:45 >> it can be reversed. It It cannot be reversed by going to 47:49 chicken and fish and skim milk, but it can be reversed by plant-based diet. 47:55 >> People frown their face if they hear about a woman that gave her breast milk 47:58 to another woman, But, but you eat and drink cow's milk. Like just come on. 48:03 Just just think about that for a second. You are drinking the the milk of a 48:09 mother cow. And [music] you frown your face upon 48:14 lactating women. I don't know about that. 48:20 You know, when you're teaching all the kids these [music] animals and how cute 48:24 they are and you sing Old MacDonald Had a Farm and you're just like that that 48:29 nursery rhyme doesn't go Old MacDonald Had a Farm and then you slaughtered 48:32 them. So then I started letting the kids 48:36 understand what they are eating. Like you know the little pig that we talked 48:40 about? Yeah, that's that's that. 48:45 >> [music] 48:51 [music] 48:55 >> And what is your favorite um food [music] that you like to eat? 49:00 The buffalo wings that I make and um when Mommy makes french fries. 49:04 >> Yeah. >> And do you like broccoli? 49:07 >> Yeah. That was my favorite. When my mom makes it juicy and and and it tastes 49:12 [music] like cheese fries, I love it. >> What can you tell them what is your 49:16 favorite salad? >> Kale salad. 49:19 No, what's [music] it called? >> Yeah, you said it right. 49:22 The one with the lemon on it? >> Yeah, the lemon dress. 49:24 >> Future generations are going to look at us like dang, they used to eat meat? 49:30 They used to eat dead animals? >> We don't make hardcore rules about what 49:34 they can and they can't [music] eat. We just try to educate them to the best of 49:38 our ability. So, things like going to the farmers market, going to the 49:41 supermarket are all home school experiments [music] 49:45 and opportunities to try to teach our kids uh why we're choosing this food and 49:50 not this food and um why you know, maybe your friends have that but we don't and 49:56 [music] and my wife is such a good cook that they prefer her food so that's the 49:59 way that they eat and when they go to her friend's house we don't say you
Ex-Vegans, Social Pressure, and Recommitment 50:02 can't eat that or you can you know I'm not going to be the dad who says hey 50:06 when you go to a birthday party you can't have a piece of cake 50:09 >> [music] >> we 50:10 respect their sovereignty as human beings and they're free to make that 50:14 choice and then we talk about it on the way home from the birthday party if they 50:17 have a stomach ache well maybe let's talk about why you have a stomach ache 50:21 I'm less concerned in them having that piece of pizza or that piece of cake at 50:24 the birthday party than I am in their daily habits 5 10 15 years from now. 50:32 >> You need to unlearn a lot of stuff and you need to challenge your current 50:35 beliefs because the way that you have been taught is not necessarily the whole 50:39 truth like it's often been in someone's interest and often there's a financial 50:43 interest. >> I think it does have to do with big 50:45 marketing. >> [music] 50:46 >> For example you know you have animal agriculture they need to get these cows 50:50 moving and so the best way to do that is to say hey you want to stay fit and lean 50:54 you need protein. >> You're trying to overcome a default 50:58 setting that has been implanted since birth milk does a body good you know 51:03 beef is what's for dinner and now you're coming in and you're telling me like 51:06 these foods aren't healthy to deprogram someone [music] from something like that 51:12 requires a tremendous amount of patience and time and education. Meanwhile we 51:16 have so much conflicting information you know the internet is amazing it gives us 51:20 access [music] to answers about everything we could possibly ask 51:24 ourselves about and a lot of the science is compromised [music] through the way 51:29 that it's funded and and structured etc. >> What cigarette do you smoke doctor? Tens 51:34 of thousands of doctors in all branches of medicine in all parts of the country 51:38 were asked that question. >> Time out for many men of medicine 51:41 usually [music] means just long enough to enjoy a cigarette. 51:45 And because they >> In my lifetime you could go in the 51:47 doctor's office and there'd be a blue haze and you go into the exam room, 51:52 either you or the doctor, both were smoking. And we look back now and we 51:55 say, is that the craziest thing you ever saw or heard? And I mean, no one would 51:59 disagree with that. Yet, I go in the CCU and and and what's 52:04 on a patient's tray after they just had a heart attack? You know, bacon and 52:07 eggs. And you go down, someone just had half their colon taken out because they 52:10 had colon cancer, and what's on the tray, right? Ham and cheese sandwich. 52:14 And we know good and well that that those kinds of foods cause or, you know, 52:19 one of the root causes of these chronic diseases. [music] 52:22 You know, one day we're going to look back and say, can you believe we, you 52:26 know, we used to feed our [music] patients bacon and eggs and ham and 52:29 cheese? You know, we can all have our own opinions, but we can't have [music] 52:32 our own facts. And the facts are that that a 52:35 plant-based diet is really the optimum diet for human 52:38 health. >> Getting the word out to other doctors 52:40 and having them tell their patients about it, I think there's a couple 52:44 things, but I think one is that it seems too good to be true. It seems like, oh 52:47 yeah, sure, just making a change in what you eat is going to reverse disease. It 52:51 sounds a little crazy, you know, but we see it here every day. And and there's 52:54 studies to show that that is the case. >> [music] 52:56 >> To get people to change around their lifestyle, you know, to get a patient to 52:59 actually start eating differently after, who knows, it could be 20 years, it 53:03 could be 75 years of eating one way, that's really tough to do. And so, it's 53:07 easier for doctors, you know, I I even see this in my 53:10 practice, it's easier to say, "Hey, take this pill every day." than it is to say, 53:13 "I want you to eat completely differently than what you're used to. 53:16 >> And look, it's your body, your choice. You want to go smoke cigarettes, go 53:18 bungee jumping, do whatever you want, right? But, as physicians, our duty is 53:23 to share with you the best available balance of evidence, so you know, 53:26 someone in your circumstance that does X, Y, and Z will suffer these 53:29 predictable consequences, likely. Um, and so, then we give you the 53:33 options. Yes, you can do drugs, you can do And this is the benefit and the 53:36 risks, and here's what we can do procedurally, the surgically, and and 53:40 then there's lifestyle approaches. It's such a patientizing attitude to decide 53:44 for the patients themselves and not even give them 53:47 >> [music] >> the opportunity. 53:48 >> It's not what does the plant-based industry look like in the future. 53:53 [music] It's what are these 53:56 meat factories going to do now? Because it is a huge disruptor right 54:01 now. >> There is mainstream awareness [music] 54:03 about this diet and you see every day more and more athletes experimenting 54:08 with it. And not just skinny ultra endurance guys, but MMA fighters and NBA 54:13 players and NFL players and NHL players and 54:16 every type of athlete from strength, [music] agility, speed, um you know, 54:21 athletes that really rely on power and quickness, [music] not just 54:25 long-distance runners, and they're experiencing the same thing that I 54:28 experienced and I think that's super exciting. 54:32 >> I just feel so good eating a vegan diet and I know that it has [music] sustained 54:37 me this far and I've always felt very energetic and strong. If I could still 54:41 be at the top of my game and eat this way, then why not? I'm benefiting 54:46 animals, myself, and the environment by eating this way, so I'm all for it. 54:51 >> If you care about humanity, if you care about the planet, 54:56 if you care about the animals, >> [music] 54:58 >> if you care about yourself, adopting a plant-based lifestyle is the single most
The Bigger Picture and Future of Plant-Based Living 55:03 powerful, most [music] positively impactful choice that you can possibly 55:07 make. >> As more and more people realize that 55:10 eating animals is not [music] a necessity, 55:13 eating animals is taking on a whole new ethical dimension and people are 55:17 becoming increasingly [music] ethically uncomfortable with this behavior. 55:21 >> And the fact that also has all these side benefits that a heart-healthy diet 55:24 is a brain-healthy diet and a kidney-healthy diet and a liver-healthy 55:26 diet is the same diet, the one diet to rule them all, that should be the diet 55:31 we should all eat. >> People often say like an individual 55:34 can't have an impact and it's easy to just point fingers at politics and stuff 55:37 like that. And [music] what I thought as well, like, okay, it's just a drop in 55:41 the ocean at at the start, but then I realized how many times a day do I make 55:45 a choice? How many times a day do I eat? And how that [music] accumulates. And 55:48 then not only that, what I have seen by just leading by example, how massive a 55:53 difference you can make. >> I tell people going plant-based is like 55:58 having sex. If you didn't enjoy it, you weren't doing it right. Because when you 56:03 do plant-based eating properly, >> [music] 56:05 >> you're going to be healthier, you're going to have more energy, you're going 56:08 to feel better, you're going to be bouncing off the walls. [music] 56:11 You feel so good. >> Once we understand what the foods do in 56:15 our body, and that their power [music] is bigger 56:19 than we had imagined before, we realize instead of just gradually declining 56:24 through life, when I'm 30, I'm way overweight, [music] when I'm 40, I'm 56:28 taking medications, when I'm 50, I can't really play tennis anymore. You you 56:32 you're on a slow decline. Instead, you can really live. You you 56:36 you put the power of food to work. And you can stay healthy. [music] 56:41 And you can play with your kids and your grandkids, and you can really live life. 56:45 We're not going to live forever. But while we're alive, let's live well. 56:48 >> [music] >> And foods will allow us to do that. 56:53 >> Next time on Planet Vegan. 56:57 >> People don't do what they do cuz they're inherently [music] 57:00 bad. But that's not the reason why. So we never have the chance to actually 57:04 question the way [music] that we live, because from the moment we're born, 57:07 these are the values we're given. >> The first time that I walked up close, 57:12 there was a pig looking back at me through the porthole, and it was the 57:16 most unbelievable experience. >> [music] 57:18 >> Once you have seen the footage of what actually is happening to these 57:23 individuals in animal factories, you can never unsee [music] that. 57:28 >> You can summarize what we're trying to do in 10 simple words. 57:32 Find your voice. Find some friends. 57:36 And fight like hell. >> [music] 57:42 >> We going back to the Gold Coast. Fast food yo is burgers and fries and it used 57:46 to hurt the earth and the birds in the sky [music] but now they making it with 57:49 plants and it's so much better cuz the animals are safe. No more changes in the 57:53 weather. We better [music] act fast cuz the ice barely freeze and the world's 57:56 changing quick. So welcome to planet vegan. 58:00 Yeah, okay. We about to change the world, all right? Okay. All around the 58:04 world it's the same new dance. What you making out of bodies? Yeah, we making 58:08 out of plants. [music] We got to save the pigs and the fishes in the sea. So 58:11 hold on to your pants. Planet vegan soon to be. There's a change up [music] in 58:14 the system. I can feel it in the air but it benefits us all. There's no need to 58:18 be scared. We're going to change the world and we'll do it in a day. So don't 58:21 fight the future. Planet vegan's here to stay. 58:27 We going back to the Gold Coast. 58:31 >> [music] >> Yeah.
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