This is an amazing movie and is one everyone should see at least once! I say this not only because this movie is helping thousands of people begin making the switch to a more plant-based nutrient-rich diet, but because it highlights the works of some of the biggest giants in the healthy-eating movement, including the authors of The China Study and those involved in preventing and Reversing Heart Disease. It's a combination of On Golden Pond and a hard-hitting expose of the truths about eating and what can happen when you stop eating nutrient poor and start eating in a plant-based healthy way.

I was asked to give a short talk and answer some of the questions that were prompted by the film. In this approximate 7-minute clip, I answer a number of niche questions about olive oil, soy, pesticides, organic food, and deliver a whole bunch of other insights. Enjoy it. The event was a lot of fun! I implore you to see the movie, if you haven't already done so.

Today, there are so many people looking to find a way out of the vicious cycle of eating nutrient poor, and this movie screening just created another ripple in the big pond!

If you want to learn more about having me speak at your next event, click here.

The post A Video from John Allen's Recent Q&A Session Regarding A Screening of Forks Over Knives in NJ appeared first on Nutrient Rich.

One of the many things that I appreciated about this video, besides T Colin Campbells trademark humility and characteristic directness around the influences negatively affecting our food quality and choices, is that Bill Maher was already aware of this work and able be so in tune with Dr Campbell. In other words, even as early at 1-3-5 years ago, knowledge of the findings of the most comprehensive study of nutrition ever conducted were not even on the radar screen for most people let alone on prime time TV.

Fortunately, Real Time with Bill Maher is on HBO, so the message did not have to get watered down because of conflicts with advertisers selling message that simply underline any modicum of truth when it comes to food or the consequences of eating foods that don't promote health. In spite of that, the message of eating a plant based diet is really catching on. People want to be healthy!

The best key secret in health is the fact that you don't have to suffer from diabetes, heart disease and cancer, and you don't have to diet (proactively restrict your eating and not get your needs met) ever again, to live at or near your ideal weight. All of that changes when you start eating Nutrient Rich.

For many, that seems unbelievable! Aren't these diseases expected as you age? Yes, but only if you are eating a nutrient poor diet. Which bring up another point I noticed in this video...

T. Colin Campbell, is vegan I meaning 100% of what he eats is plant based, even though that wasn't always the case. He makes the point that you don't need animal products let alone refined foods in your diet.

You could see he was a bit hesitant though when asked if he consumed any animal products; and Bill Maher asked about whether small amounts of animal products were ok? This, is the big questions people are reconciling today. 

To eat "healthy" do I need to be a vegan or vegetarian and never eat meat?

The answer to this is NO, but that does not mean we need to promote animal products for nutritional reasons, as if you were going to be unhealthy or get skinny, or lose function without the consumption of animal foods each day. People lose function eating animal foods.

Animal foods are nutrient poor; they are rich in some nutrients, but as whole foods they are nutrient poor. Yet, you can still consume small amounts of animal products and still be eating nutrient rich on total dietary intake basis.

And that is why we promote the 90% or More Plant Based, Nutrient Rich eating style, which is less about arguing the difference between eating meat or not and more about health, personal performance and natural weight loss. If you want to or feel you need to consume small amounts of animal products in your diet at this time, that fine, but the reality is, getting to 90% or More Plant Based Nutrient Rich is the key to healthy success.

It's not about fighting the fight between plant and animal foods, it's about what's best for your body, energy metabolism, your weight, your health and your personal performance.

Video's like this, are powerful because they let you know what's going on behind the scenes and why so many people are so preoccupied with food issues, unclear about what is the best way to eat. It also let's you know that eating a plant based diet is catching on. Watch it, I hope it inspires you to move away from poor begin the making the switch to Nutrient Rich eating.

The post T Colin Campbell Shares the Best Kept Secret In Health on Bill Maher appeared first on Nutrient Rich.

No one was disappointed!

FORKS OVER KNIVES examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the so-called “diseases of affluence” that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed (refined) foods. The major storyline in the film traces the personal journeys of a pair of pioneering yet under-appreciated researchers, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn. Read More...

I should emphasize the under-appreciation for these two research and medical professionals and down right fine people. The reason is simple; what they are saying is true but just not good for the "HUGE inter-connected, money-driven “Med-Pharma-USDA-Academia-Food-Insurance-Media system” which my new friend and associate Jim Hicks, talks about in his new book Healthy Eating, Healthy World. His research indicates that 70 to 80% of our health care dollars ($2 trillion of them) are driven by what we eat — our toxic western diet. (You can read about all of the above in Chapter 8 of his book.)

Personally, I have a great deal of experience with both Dr's having assembled The Top 12 Findings of The China Study with the Campbells (Father and Son) who wrote this hugely successful book revealing the relationship between diet (lifestyle) weight loss and long term health, and having learned from and promoted Dr. Esselstyn's work for years. He is the author of Preventing and Reversing Heart Disease and a long time senior medical officer at The Cleveland Clinic.

These gentleman are major players in the plant based food movement now in the later half of their careers, both of which ironically began promoting or serving the effects of animal based diets. They were major players in their fields even before the switch to plant based nutrient rich foods began and made the switch themselves when they realized that animal based diets also rich in refined and process foods, causes disease.

These days, T Colin Campbell PhD and Caldwell Esselstyn MD have become "very" well known as President Clinton recently mentioned their names in a viral CNN interview with Wolf Blitzer, as he explained his own transition to a plant based diet to finally resolve his own heart disease.

The mass movement to whole foods, plant based, nutrient rich diets, is driven by one simple reality,'calorie rich / nutrient poor foods cause "lifestyle induced" diseases like heart disease and shorten your life plan. That is the main reason why the switch to a diet based predominantly on nutrient rich foods is on for so many people.

While at the event, I met up with Rip Esselstyn, son of Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, who is now becoming quite well known as the author of the Engine 2 Diet, a plant based, or should I say "plant strong" diet, that he put together while working in an Austin, TX fire department that helped his fellow firefighters lose weight, lower their cholesterol, and prevent disease. A former professional IronMan athlete, Rip has been eating a plant based diet for over 25 years now (even while training as an athlete) and had some amazing information to share.

He said "I switched to plant based diet so that I could get an performance edge".

Don't believe the hype when people tell you, you should be running your body on nutrient poor animal protein and saturated fat with a side dish of nutrient rich vegetables anymore, when a true nutrient rich diet is the way to go.

I also caught up with with Dr Pam Popper of The Wellness Forum, in Columbus Ohio; she and Rip Esselstyn were conducting a plant strong Education Immersion at Whole Foods. We talked about having never seen the switch to plant based nutrient rich foods be so strong, and how the movement is happening in an accelerated fashion now in part because of movies like Forks Over Knives. A movie like this is all the more powerful now having decades of amazing data and insights, like those from Dr's Esselstyn and Campbell's work, to convey in the cinema. Gone are the days of passion and principle alone; today, plant based diets are proven with sound science.

Look for a location near you and watch this movie!

Forks Over Knives is rich in incredible insights about healthy eating and it will inspire you when you see how everyday people right off the street are making incredible transformations in their health, weight and outlook because they are no longer eating foods that cause disease and are learning how to make the switch to eating nutrient rich healthy foods.

You too will be shocked and awed by how incredibly tasty nutrient rich foods really are, and wonder why you haven't been eating plant based nutrient Rich, your entire life!

The post Forks Over Knives Premier in NYC appeared first on Nutrient Rich.

There's a lot of debate about what diet is best for you...

No matter what type of food you eat, there will always be a group of people and experts who will disagree about which diet works and what doesn’t.

What's most fascinating is that if you were to collect all the experts and put them in the same room, they'd agree on many things.  Healthy and successful diets have many of the same elements included in them.

But, what are those elements?

Health author, Kevin Gianni, has set out to gather a collection of 14 of the world’s top diet experts to find out the answer to just that - which elements of diet are most important.

You can listen into this groundbreaking event for free online starting February 6th, 2010.

Here's where to read more and sign up now:

This group of bestselling experts includes vegans, vegetarians and meat eaters - all in the same online forum - that will share some of their science and research to help you make your diet the best it can be - which means allow you get the energy you deserve, help you 1ose weight and get rid of those nagging creaks, cracks and strange pains you feel as you get a little older.

Some of the 14 experts include Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Sally Fallon, Dr. Robert Young, Donna Gates, David Wolfe, Jonny Bowden, Mike Adams, T. Colin Campbell and more.  Combined, this group has sold over 5 million books on diet, done tens of thousands of lectures and seen over 300,000 patients.

This once in a lifetime event is called "The Great Health Debate" and its purpose is to let the experts debate their experience with diet and share their knowledge with you.

To listen in to this online event is completely free.  You can read more or sign up now here:

By the way, there are also two or three special experts that are not in the line up yet, that will blow you away, so be sure to sign up and wait for that special announcement!

PS: My Prediction:

• There is going to be a basic meeting of the minds that vegetables are healthy.There is going to be a fundamental disagreement about the health promoting value of meat, saturated fat, raw milk etc. The plant based pro's are going to acknowledge that small amounts of animal products (10% or less) is doable without much measurable negative impact on health. The Paleo people will promote smaller amounts of fruits, vegetables and hold true to either a predominantly animal based diet, or a diet that includes significant quantities of animal products. Those with a raw food orientation will either hold to that ideal, or talk about how they now includes raw animal products with the argument that they feel better. Hopefully, everyone will leave as friends.
• Here at Nutrient Rich, we will continue with the working definition of a Nutrient Rich diet, and avoid the diet traps!
  Listeners to the debate will have a better understanding of this great health debate.

The post The Great Health Debate - Listen In as 14 Experts Debate Which Diet is Best for You appeared first on Nutrient Rich.

Paleo Meal

Dear Editor,

I noticed that you are promoting a Primal, Paleo, Low carb diet. There is much discussion between low carb, high animal protein diet advocates and higher carbohydrate plant based whole food diet advocates who promote a way of eating that is also rich in protein but also contains the full array of nutrients the body needs to succeed.

First I applaud your desire to help people and I'm sure using this diet you have helped many people eat healthier and lose weight weight and I salute you. I am even a fan of your work! We have a common objective here. But what concerns me, are the health implications of such a diet beyond weight loss, even though I'm sure it's a better diet than the standard American diet.

There is substantial evidence that people consuming high animal protein and therefore high fat diets, do not sustain their weight loss for simple reasons, we need carbohydrates for fuel and the array of nutrients that come packaged with plant based whole foods, such as for instance phytonutrients (which play primary role in protecting cellular health) cannot be found in foods of animal origin.

I know you promote the consumption of vegetables and small amounts of fruit, but the basis of your diet is animal protein.

There is also ample evidence from studies such as The China Study that confirm the role that animal protein plays in tumor growth and cancer promotion when animal foods are consumed beyond 5% of total calories and up to 20% of calories which is still substantially less animal protein than what most people consume.

There is no doubt you can lose weight on a low carb diet. The mechanisms are widely understood. They are great for short term weight loss, but come with consequences in cellular health, artery health and in advanced aging...

To eat plant based, nutrient rich whole foods, that do not contain dietary substances (such as cholesterol and saturated fat and animal protein itself which occasions the increase of the bodies own cholesterol production... (ref: The China Study) does mean that you will consume substantial amounts of carbohydrate and simply get fat. As part of an active lifestyle (assuming one is not eating for the wrong reasons), that fuel will be utilized, resulting in a person living at or near their ideal weight.

I am wondering why and for what nutritional reasons you are promoting such significant quantities of animal foods, other than their affect on short term weight loss, perhaps taste and culture fascination with getting enough protein...? In the sports world they promote protein, protein, protein in meat, eggs, dairy, whey, soy you name it! Now we know so much more and today we have insights paleo man did not have, to what degree are you really factoring that in?

I am not suggesting that one must be vegan or vegetarian, or that small amounts of animal products (less than 10, or better yet 5%) would be that detrimental to health, but with more than enough credible data available demonstrating the ill effects of consuming substantial amount of animal products, not to mention the environmental affects of it's production, why would you be promoting such a diet?

I would love to address some of these points with you, and understand that you've built your business around this idea and have products and advertisers supporting you. I realize that objectivity might not even be possible, but I would like very much to have this discussion with you and would be willing to have a public debate if you are open to it.

Sincerely,
John Allen Mollenhauer
nutrientrich.com

PS: one of the subjects I would like to come up in said debate, if you are open to it, is the subject of ancestral influence on our modern day eating practices. Thousands of years ago, I too would have eaten whatever I could get my hands on. That doesn't mean it was healthy. Today we have insights paleo man did not have, to what degree are you really factoring that in?

The post Dear Editor of Primal, Paleo, Low Carb Diet appeared first on Nutrient Rich.