0:00:14.729,0:00:18.600
On a personal note,

0:00:20.880,0:00:26.900
this is a picture of me[br]taken around the time that my grandmother

0:00:26.930,0:00:32.080
was diagnosed with end-stage heart[br]disease and sent home to die.

0:00:32.979,0:00:35.045
She already had so many bypass surgeries,

0:00:35.070,0:00:36.554
basically run out of plumbing,

0:00:36.579,0:00:38.846
confined to a wheel chair,[br]crushing chest pain.

0:00:38.871,0:00:43.688
Her life was over at age 65.

0:00:45.447,0:00:48.442
But then she heard about[br]this guy, Nathan Pritikin,

0:00:48.467,0:00:50.692
one of our early[br]lifestyle medicine pioneers,

0:00:50.717,0:00:53.975
and what happened next is actually[br]detailed in Pritikin's biography.

0:00:54.000,0:00:57.564
My grandma was one[br]of the "death's door" people.

0:00:57.589,0:01:01.044
Frances Greger, my grandmother,[br]arrived in a wheel chair.

0:01:01.069,0:01:03.532
Mrs. Greger had heart disease,[br]angina, claudication.

0:01:03.557,0:01:05.736
Her condition is so bad,

0:01:05.761,0:01:09.269
she could no longer walk[br]without great pain in her chest and legs.

0:01:09.294,0:01:11.415
Within three weeks, though,

0:01:11.440,0:01:13.606
she was not only out of her wheel chair,

0:01:13.631,0:01:18.063
she was walking 10 miles a day!

0:01:18.088,0:01:21.717
Here's a picture of my grandma[br]at her grandson's wedding,

0:01:21.742,0:01:24.822
15 years after doctors[br]abandoned her to die.

0:01:24.992,0:01:29.724
She was given a medical death sentence[br]at age 65, but thanks to a healthy diet,

0:01:29.749,0:01:34.601
She was able to enjoy another 31 years on[br]this planet until age 96 --

0:01:34.626,0:01:39.377
(Applause)

0:01:39.412,0:01:42.891
to enjoy her six grand kids including me.

0:01:42.916,0:01:46.265
That's why I went into medicine.

0:01:46.300,0:01:48.019
(Laughter)

0:01:48.044,0:01:53.245
Years later, when Dr. Dean Ornish published[br]his landmark lifestyle heart trial,

0:01:53.270,0:01:55.860
proving with something called[br]quantitative angiography,

0:01:55.909,0:01:58.965
that indeed heart disease could[br]be reversed, arteries opened up,

0:01:58.990,0:02:00.846
without drugs, without surgery,

0:02:00.871,0:02:03.900
just a plant-based diet[br]and lifestyle program,

0:02:03.925,0:02:07.174
I assumed this was going [br]to be the game changer.

0:02:07.396,0:02:11.871
My family had seen it with their own eyes,[br]but here it was in black and white,

0:02:11.896,0:02:15.359
published in some of the most prestigious[br]medical journals in the world,

0:02:15.384,0:02:17.760
yet nothing happened.

0:02:17.785,0:02:19.213
I said, "wait a second."

0:02:19.238,0:02:23.048
If effectively the cure[br]to our number one killer

0:02:23.073,0:02:25.588
could get lost [br]down some rabbit hole and ignored,

0:02:25.613,0:02:29.333
what else might there be in the medical[br]literature that could help my patients,

0:02:29.358,0:02:32.877
but just didn't have a corporate[br]budget driving its promotion?

0:02:33.248,0:02:37.437
Well, I made it[br]my life's mission to find out.

0:02:37.462,0:02:39.535
For those who are not familiar[br]with my work,

0:02:39.560,0:02:40.868
every year I read through

0:02:40.869,0:02:44.154
every issue of every English language[br]nutrition journal in the world

0:02:44.179,0:02:46.500
so busy folks like you don't have to.

0:02:46.600,0:02:47.966
(Laughter)

0:02:47.991,0:02:52.226
I then compile the most interesting,[br]ground breaking, and practical findings

0:02:52.251,0:02:57.170
in new videos and articles I upload daily[br]to my nonprofit site, NutritionFacts.org.

0:02:57.195,0:02:58.818
Everything on the website is free.

0:02:58.843,0:03:01.397
There are no ads[br]and no corporate sponsorships.

0:03:01.422,0:03:04.181
Strictly non-commercial.[br]Not selling anything.

0:03:04.206,0:03:07.170
Just put it up as a public[br]service, as a labor of love,

0:03:07.195,0:03:12.212
as a tribute to my grandmother.

0:03:12.237,0:03:17.360
New videos and articles every day on[br]the latest in evidence-based nutrition.

0:03:17.385,0:03:19.694
What a concept!

0:03:19.760,0:03:22.164
So where did Pritikin[br]get his evidence from?

0:03:22.189,0:03:25.548
A network of missionary hospitals[br]set up throughout sub-Saharan Africa

0:03:25.573,0:03:29.363
uncovered what may be one of the[br]most important medical advance --

0:03:29.388,0:03:32.487
according to one of our best[br]medical figures of the last century,

0:03:32.512,0:03:33.666
Dr. Dennis Burkit --

0:03:33.691,0:03:36.899
the fact that many of our major[br]and commonest diseases

0:03:36.900,0:03:40.322
were universally rare, like heart disease.

0:03:40.347,0:03:42.780
In the African population of Uganda,[br]for example,

0:03:42.805,0:03:46.076
coronary heart disease[br]was almost non-existent.

0:03:46.101,0:03:49.841
Wait a second,[br]our number one killer almost non-existent?

0:03:49.866,0:03:51.771
What were they eating?

0:03:51.796,0:03:53.390
(Laughter)

0:03:53.500,0:03:57.458
Well, they're eating[br]lots of vegetables and grains and greens,

0:03:57.459,0:04:02.678
and their protein almost[br]entirely from plant sources,

0:04:02.679,0:04:05.739
and they had the cholesterol[br]levels to prove it,

0:04:05.740,0:04:09.579
very similar to what one sees[br]in kind of a modern day plant eater.

0:04:09.580,0:04:11.949
You say, "Wait a second."

0:04:11.950,0:04:16.399
Maybe they were just dying early, never[br]lived long enough to get heart disease.

0:04:16.423,0:04:22.599
No. Here's age-matched heart attack[br]rates in Uganda versus St. Louis.

0:04:22.600,0:04:26.488
Out of 632 autopsies in Uganda,[br]only one myocardial infarction.

0:04:27.035,0:04:32.005
Out of 632 age and gender matched[br]autopsies in Missouri,

0:04:32.030,0:04:33.951
136 myocardial infarctions --

0:04:33.976,0:04:36.720
more than 100 times[br]the rate of our leading killer.

0:04:36.745,0:04:40.680
They were so blown away, went back,[br]did another 800 autopsies in Uganda.

0:04:40.705,0:04:44.693
Still just that one small healed infarct;[br]it wasn't even the cause of death.

0:04:44.871,0:04:50.477
Out of 1,427 patients, less than 1/1,000,

0:04:50.548,0:04:54.892
whereas here our disease is an epidemic.

0:04:54.917,0:05:01.465
Atherosclerosis, hardening of arteries,[br]is a disease that begins in childhood.

0:05:01.490,0:05:06.340
By age 10, nearly all the kids raised [br]on the standard American diet

0:05:06.365,0:05:09.498
already have fatty streaks[br]building up inside of their arteries --

0:05:09.523,0:05:12.147
the first stage of the disease.

0:05:12.172,0:05:15.791
These streaks then[br]turn into plaques in our 20s,

0:05:15.976,0:05:20.986
get worse in our 30s,[br]an then can start killing us off.

0:05:21.588,0:05:23.550
In the heart, it's called a heart attack;

0:05:23.575,0:05:27.294
in the brain, the same disease[br]can cause a stroke.

0:05:27.380,0:05:33.629
So if there's anyone here today[br]older than age 10 --

0:05:33.654,0:05:36.653
(Laughter)

0:05:36.800,0:05:40.535
then the question isn't whether or not[br]to eat healthy to prevent heart disease;

0:05:40.574,0:05:46.490
it's whether you want to reverse[br]the heart disease you likely already have,

0:05:46.515,0:05:48.649
whether you know it or not.

0:05:48.674,0:05:50.138
But is that even possible?

0:05:50.163,0:05:52.653
When researchers took people[br]with heart disease,

0:05:52.678,0:05:54.418
put them on the plant-based diet

0:05:54.419,0:05:57.262
eaten by populations[br]that didn't get epidemic heart disease,

0:05:57.310,0:05:59.988
their hope was that we could[br]slow the disease down a bit,

0:06:00.013,0:06:03.754
maybe even stop it.

0:06:03.779,0:06:07.008
But instead something miraculous happened.

0:06:07.009,0:06:09.618
As soon as people stopped[br]eating artery-clogging diets,

0:06:09.619,0:06:12.404
their bodies were able to dissolve[br]some of the plaque away,

0:06:12.429,0:06:14.990
opening arteries, only without drugs,[br]without surgery,

0:06:15.015,0:06:18.108
suggesting the bodies[br]wanted to be healthy all along,

0:06:18.133,0:06:20.162
but weren't never given the chance.

0:06:21.328,0:06:26.287
That remarkable improvement in blood[br]flow to the heart muscle itself

0:06:26.439,0:06:32.460
was after just three weeks[br]of plant-based nutrition.

0:06:32.485,0:06:36.269
The human body is a self-healing machine,

0:06:36.294,0:06:40.829
unless you're sticking it[br]with a fork three times a day.

0:06:41.030,0:06:46.438
Now sure, you can use moderation [br]and hit yourself with a smaller hammer --

0:06:46.439,0:06:47.929
(Laughter)

0:06:48.249,0:06:51.282
but why beat yourself up at all?

0:06:51.307,0:06:52.896
This is nothing new.

0:06:52.921,0:06:56.351
American Heart Journal, 1977,[br]cases like Mr. F.W. here.

0:06:56.376,0:06:58.085
His heart disease was so bad,

0:06:58.110,0:07:01.100
that he couldn't even[br]make it to the mail box.

0:07:01.489,0:07:03.950
He started eating healthier,[br]and a few months later,

0:07:03.975,0:07:07.175
he was climbing mountains, with no pain.

0:07:07.176,0:07:08.326
All right?

0:07:08.351,0:07:09.674
(Laughter)

0:07:09.699,0:07:13.881
Now there are these fancy new classes[br]of anti-angina drugs on the market now.

0:07:13.906,0:07:15.793
They cost thousands of dollars a year,

0:07:15.818,0:07:18.853
but at the highest dose, may be able[br]to extend exercise duration

0:07:18.878,0:07:21.377
as long as 33.5 seconds.

0:07:21.402,0:07:24.009
(Laughter)

0:07:24.034,0:07:26.348
It doesn't look like those[br]choosing the drugs

0:07:26.373,0:07:30.675
are going to be climbing[br]mountains anytime soon.

0:07:30.699,0:07:31.849
(Laughter)

0:07:31.850,0:07:34.179
Plant-based diets aren't just[br]safer and cheaper.

0:07:34.204,0:07:39.915
They can work better since you're treating[br]the underlying cause of the disease.

0:07:42.133,0:07:45.993
Normally I'd go on to cancer and talk[br]about the other 15 leading causes of death,

0:07:46.018,0:07:49.750
talk about how diet may playing a role[br]in preventing, arresting, and reversing

0:07:49.775,0:07:52.915
each of our top 15 killers, but[br]what more do you need to know?

0:07:52.940,0:07:57.650
There's only one diet ever been proven[br]to reverse heart disease

0:07:57.675,0:08:00.183
in the majority of patients:[br]a plant-based diet.

0:08:00.208,0:08:04.947
So any time someone tries to sell you[br]on some new diet, do me a favor,

0:08:04.972,0:08:06.444
Ask them one simple question.

0:08:06.469,0:08:09.651
"Has this diet been proven[br]to reverse heart disease,

0:08:09.676,0:08:12.214
the number one reason[br]me and my loved ones will die?"

0:08:12.239,0:08:15.235
I mean, if the answer is, "No,"[br]why would you even consider it?

0:08:15.260,0:08:17.837
If that's all a plant-based diet could do,

0:08:17.862,0:08:21.212
reverse the number one killer[br]of men and women,

0:08:22.006,0:08:25.585
shouldn't that kind of be default[br]diet until proven otherwise?

0:08:25.610,0:08:28.610
The fact it can also be useful[br]to prevent, arrest, and reverse

0:08:28.635,0:08:31.333
other top killers like[br]type II diabetes and hypertension

0:08:31.358,0:08:36.893
would seem to make the case for[br]plant-based eating simply overwhelming.

0:08:36.918,0:08:41.876
Most deaths in the United States [br]are preventable

0:08:41.916,0:08:45.293
and related to nutrition.

0:08:45.622,0:08:47.869
According to the Global Burden[br]of Disease study,

0:08:47.894,0:08:50.815
the largest study of human[br]disease risk factors in history,

0:08:50.840,0:08:53.129
funded by the[br]Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,

0:08:53.130,0:08:58.391
the number one cause of death in[br]these United States: it's our diet.

0:08:58.416,0:09:04.435
The number one cause of disability[br]in the United States: it's our diet.

0:09:04.460,0:09:07.216
Now bumping tobacco smoking to number two,

0:09:07.241,0:09:10.616
cigarettes now only kill about a half[br]a million Americans every year,

0:09:10.641,0:09:16.671
whereas our diet kills hundreds[br]of thousands more.

0:09:16.696,0:09:19.988
So if most deaths are preventable,[br]related to nutrition,

0:09:19.989,0:09:23.538
then obviously nutrition[br]is the number one thing

0:09:23.539,0:09:25.442
taught in medical school, right?

0:09:25.467,0:09:26.661
(Laughter)

0:09:26.686,0:09:30.319
I mean, I mean, obviously[br]it's the number one thing

0:09:30.320,0:09:35.513
your doctor talks to you about[br]every single visit, right?

0:09:36.905,0:09:39.446
How could there be this disconnect

0:09:39.471,0:09:44.109
between the science[br]and the practice of medicine?

0:09:46.000,0:09:49.279
Let's do a thought experiment.

0:09:49.304,0:09:54.611
Imagine yourself a smoker[br]back in the 1950s.

0:09:54.635,0:09:56.738
(Laughter)

0:09:56.809,0:10:02.422
Back in the 1950s the average[br]per capita cigarette consumption

0:10:02.447,0:10:04.315
was 4,000 cigarettes a year,

0:10:04.350,0:10:09.469
meaning the average person walking around[br]smoked half a pack a day, on average.

0:10:09.470,0:10:12.579
The media was telling people to smoke.

0:10:12.580,0:10:16.793
Famous athletes agreed, even Santa Claus[br]wanted you to smoke.

0:10:16.817,0:10:18.817
(Laughter)

0:10:20.381,0:10:21.585
I mean, look.

0:10:21.610,0:10:24.767
You want to keep fit and stay slender?

0:10:24.792,0:10:28.668
So, make sure to smoke [br]and eat lots of hot dogs to stay trim,

0:10:28.669,0:10:32.059
and lots of sugar to stay slim and trim.

0:10:32.263,0:10:37.115
A lot better than that apple there.[br]I mean, sheesh, right?

0:10:37.383,0:10:39.763
"Though apples do connote[br]goodness and freshness,"

0:10:39.788,0:10:41.877
reads one internal tobacco industry memo,

0:10:41.902,0:10:44.875
bringing up "many possibilities[br]for youth-oriented cigarettes."

0:10:44.900,0:10:49.457
They wanted to make apple-flavored[br]cigarettes for kids. Shameless.

0:10:51.330,0:10:54.329
"For digestion's sake, you smoke."

0:10:54.618,0:10:57.999
No curative powers[br]claimed by Philip Morris,

0:10:58.000,0:11:02.645
but hey, better to be safe[br]than sorry and smoke.

0:11:04.614,0:11:09.182
"Blow in her face and she'll[br]follow you anywhere!"

0:11:09.206,0:11:13.930
(Laughter)

0:11:17.466,0:11:19.565
"No woman ever says no."

0:11:19.590,0:11:23.075
They're "so round, so firm,[br]so fully packed."

0:11:23.100,0:11:25.693
(Laughter)

0:11:25.718,0:11:31.473
After all, John Wayne smoked them[br]until he got lung cancer and died.

0:11:31.900,0:11:36.271
You know, back then [br]even the paleo folks were smoking.

0:11:36.295,0:11:38.295
(Laughter)

0:11:38.930,0:11:41.820
And so were the doctors.

0:11:41.830,0:11:46.140
Now this is not to say there wasn't[br]controversy within the medical profession.

0:11:46.150,0:11:50.949
Sure, you know, some doctors smoked[br]Camels, but others preferred Lucky's,

0:11:50.950,0:11:53.199
so there was a little disagreement there.

0:11:53.200,0:11:55.982
The leader of the US Senate agreed,

0:11:56.007,0:11:58.358
who would want[br]to give their throat a break?

0:11:58.359,0:12:01.158
"Not a single case of throat irritation."

0:12:01.159,0:12:07.495
How could there be when "cigarettes[br]are just as pure as the water you drink."

0:12:08.860,0:12:11.338
Maybe up in Flint, Michigan.

0:12:11.362,0:12:13.362
(Laughter)

0:12:13.387,0:12:15.829
But don't worry, if you do get irritated,

0:12:15.830,0:12:20.469
your doctor can just write you[br]a prescription for cigarettes.

0:12:20.470,0:12:23.739
This is in the Journal[br]of the American Medical Association.

0:12:23.740,0:12:26.788
So when the AMA is saying smoking,[br]on balance, is good for you;

0:12:26.789,0:12:29.268
when the American Medical[br]Association is saying that,

0:12:29.269,0:12:33.965
where could you turn back then[br]if you just wanted the facts?

0:12:33.990,0:12:36.519
What's the new data advanced by science?

0:12:36.520,0:12:41.040
Well, she was too tired for fun,[br]and "then she smoked a Camel."

0:12:41.064,0:12:43.064
(Laughter)

0:12:43.150,0:12:47.140
Babe Ruth spoke of proof-positive[br]medical science,

0:12:47.150,0:12:53.099
that is when he still could speak[br]before he died of throat cancer.

0:12:53.591,0:12:59.053
You know, if by some miracle back then[br]there was a SmokingFacts.org website

0:12:59.078,0:13:01.089
that could deliver the science directly,

0:13:01.090,0:13:03.759
bypassing commercially[br]corruptible institutional filters,

0:13:03.760,0:13:05.830
you would have known of studies like this.

0:13:06.337,0:13:09.699
This is an Adventist study[br]out of California and published in 1958,

0:13:09.700,0:13:15.069
showing that non-smokers had at least 90%[br]less lung cancer than smokers, right?

0:13:15.270,0:13:17.099
But this wasn't the first.

0:13:17.124,0:13:21.573
When famed surgeon Michael DeBakey[br]was asked why studies back in the '30s

0:13:21.598,0:13:24.938
linking lung cancer and[br]smoking were simply ignored,

0:13:24.963,0:13:27.344
he had to remind people[br]what it was like back then.

0:13:27.369,0:13:30.470
We were a smoking society.[br]It was everywhere.

0:13:30.495,0:13:32.276
It was in the movies, airplanes;

0:13:32.301,0:13:34.638
medical meetings[br]were one heavy haze of smoke.

0:13:34.663,0:13:38.673
Smoking was, in a word, normal.

0:13:39.660,0:13:42.668
OK. So back to our thought experiment.

0:13:42.669,0:13:48.099
If you're a smoker in the '50s[br]in the know, what do you do?

0:13:48.100,0:13:49.888
I mean with access to the science,

0:13:50.438,0:13:52.800
you realize the best available[br]balance of evidence

0:13:52.825,0:13:55.158
suggests your smoking habit—[br]not so good for you.

0:13:55.159,0:13:57.569
So do you change or do you wait?

0:13:57.570,0:14:04.509
If you wait until your doc says, between[br]puffs, to quit, you'd have cancer by then.

0:14:05.239,0:14:08.198
If you wait until the powers[br]that be officially recognize it,

0:14:08.223,0:14:10.959
like the Surgeon General did in the[br]subsequent decade,

0:14:10.984,0:14:12.969
you'd be dead by then.

0:14:12.994,0:14:19.639
It took more than 7,000 studies[br]and the deaths of countless smokers

0:14:19.640,0:14:23.249
before the first Surgeon General's report[br]against smoking came out.

0:14:23.274,0:14:26.669
You'd think maybe after[br]the first 6,000 studies,

0:14:26.670,0:14:30.438
could give people[br]a little heads up or something?

0:14:30.463,0:14:32.728
Powerful industry.

0:14:32.753,0:14:38.659
Maybe we should have stopped[br]smoking after the 700th study, like this.

0:14:38.928,0:14:42.781
As a smoker in the '50s, one on hand,[br]you had society, the government,

0:14:42.806,0:14:46.619
the medical profession itself[br]telling you to smoke.

0:14:46.620,0:14:50.944
And on the other hand,[br]all you had was the science,

0:14:50.969,0:14:54.216
if you're even aware of studies like this.

0:14:54.271,0:14:56.139
All right, let's fast forward 55 years.

0:14:56.140,0:14:58.499
There's a new[br]Adventist study out of California

0:14:58.500,0:15:02.024
warning Americans about something else[br]they may be putting in their mouths.

0:15:02.448,0:15:05.500
Of course, it's not just one study;[br]put all the studies together.

0:15:05.550,0:15:08.854
The mortality from all causes together,[br]many of our dreaded diseases,

0:15:08.879,0:15:13.847
significantly lower among those eating[br]more plant-based diets.

0:15:14.020,0:15:20.511
So, instead of someone going along[br]with America's smoking habits in the '50s,

0:15:20.829,0:15:26.608
imagine you or someone you know going[br]along with America's eating habits today.

0:15:28.000,0:15:29.181
What would you do?

0:15:29.206,0:15:32.925
With access to the science, you realize[br]the best available balance of evidence

0:15:32.950,0:15:35.094
suggests your eating habits[br]are not so good.

0:15:35.119,0:15:36.958
So do you change, or do you wait?

0:15:36.983,0:15:41.854
If you wait until your doctor tells you,[br]between bites, to change,

0:15:41.994,0:15:43.190
it'll be too late.

0:15:43.215,0:15:46.008
In fact even after[br]the Surgeon General's report came out,

0:15:46.033,0:15:49.432
the American Medical Association[br]went on record refusing to endorse it.

0:15:49.457,0:15:53.016
Why? Could it have been because they[br]were just handed the $10 million check

0:15:53.041,0:15:56.275
from the tobacco industry?[br]Maybe.

0:15:56.300,0:15:57.462
(Laughter)

0:15:57.487,0:15:59.876
We know why the tobacco[br]industry was sucking up,

0:15:59.901,0:16:02.511
why the AMA was sucking up[br]to the tobacco industry,

0:16:02.536,0:16:05.395
but why weren't more and more[br]individual doctors speaking up?

0:16:05.420,0:16:08.319
There were a few gallant souls[br]ahead of their time,

0:16:08.344,0:16:10.718
speaking up against[br]industries killing millions,

0:16:10.743,0:16:11.963
but why not more?

0:16:11.988,0:16:18.857
Maybe it's because the majority[br]of physicians themselves

0:16:18.882,0:16:20.400
smoked cigarettes.

0:16:20.425,0:16:22.914
Just like most physicians[br]today continue to eat foods

0:16:22.939,0:16:26.156
that are contributing to our[br]epidemics of dietary disease.

0:16:26.181,0:16:28.580
What was the AMA's rallying cry back then?

0:16:28.605,0:16:30.327
Everything in moderation.

0:16:30.352,0:16:36.060
Extensive scientific studies have proven[br]smoking in moderation, oh, that's fine.

0:16:36.341,0:16:38.621
Sound familiar?

0:16:38.646,0:16:41.395
The food industry used[br]the same tobacco industry tactics,

0:16:41.420,0:16:43.758
twisting the science, misinformation.

0:16:43.871,0:16:45.361
The same scientists were hired,

0:16:45.386,0:16:48.429
paid to downplay the risks [br]of cigarettes and toxic chemicals,

0:16:48.454,0:16:52.193
are the same paid for by the[br]National Confectioners Association

0:16:52.218,0:16:53.927
to downplay the risks of candy,

0:16:53.952,0:16:59.054
and the same paid for by the meat[br]industry to downplay the risks of meat,

0:16:59.192,0:17:01.673
whereas animal foods and processed foods,

0:17:01.698,0:17:07.906
you're killing off at least[br]14 million people every year.

0:17:07.931,0:17:11.502
So those of us involved in this kind[br]of evidence-based nutrition revolution,

0:17:11.528,0:17:15.157
we're talking about 14 million lives[br]in the balance.

0:17:15.795,0:17:18.075
Maybe, plant-based nutrition

0:17:18.099,0:17:22.122
should be considered as the nutritional[br]equivalent of quitting smoking,

0:17:22.146,0:17:23.691
but how long do we have to wait

0:17:23.715,0:17:26.290
before the CDC says don't wait[br]for open heart surgery;

0:17:26.316,0:17:30.147
to start eating healthier as well.

0:17:30.306,0:17:32.386
Until the system changes,

0:17:32.435,0:17:36.907
we need to take personal responsibility[br]for our health, for our family's health.

0:17:36.932,0:17:41.281
We can't wait until society[br]catches up to the science again

0:17:41.678,0:17:45.332
because it's a matter of life and death.

0:17:45.409,0:17:47.452
A few years ago

0:17:47.500,0:17:51.662
Dr. Kim Williams became President[br]of the American College of Cardiology.

0:17:51.687,0:17:53.025
He was asked in an interview

0:17:53.050,0:17:56.155
why he follows the same diet he recommends[br]to all of his patients,

0:17:56.180,0:17:57.600
a strictly plant-based diet.

0:17:57.625,0:18:00.815
"I don't mind dying,"[br]Dr. Williams replied.

0:18:01.516,0:18:04.352
"I just don't want it to be my own fault."

0:18:04.377,0:18:05.765
(Laughter)

0:18:06.400,0:18:07.894
Thank you.

0:18:07.918,0:18:11.825
(Applause)