Mental health and medical professionals routinely struggle with how to help their clients get motivated to improve their diet. It’s even more challenging when there are serious medical issues looming like diabetes and heart disease. If this sounds familiar, you may consider recommending that your clients see a new movie called Forks Over Knives that was just released in LA, New York and various cities around the country. Forks Over Knives is a documentary about two doctors, Dr. T. Colin Campbell who is retired from Cornell University and Dr. Esselstyn, a former physician from the Cleveland Clinic, who advocate for a plant based diet (similar to vegan). They propose that eating in this manner can reduce your risk of cancer as well as prevent, or reverse, many health problems like diabetes.

Whether you agree or totally disagree with a plant based diet isn’t the issue. The primary benefit of seeing this documentary is that it shows change is possible. Before your client can modify their eating habits, they need hope and to truly believe that change can happen. This film successfully meets that goal. The film follows a few individuals from all walks of life and at various ages who are on multiple medications and have critically elevated cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Within a short period of time, these individuals got off their medications and significant improved their lab results. The change is dramatic. The viewer is left with the impression that what you eat does matter to your health and that you can make changes that will significantly improve your well-being. It appears attainable and completely in reach no matter who you are or how old. In other words, Forks over Knives is likely to change the perception of the client who thinks it is a waste of time to be more mindful and attentive to what they eat.

The movie isn’t heavy handed or judgmental toward meat-eaters. This is important because judgment causes defensiveness and dismissal of the overall message. Instead, the film has a way of skillfully encouraging you check in with yourself. Clients may find themselves doing a mini-check of how much sugar, oils, meat and diary they eat, often out of habit and on autopilot.

Best of all, the movie focused more on the improvements to your health rather than your weight. Too often, clients become frustrated when they strive to slim down to improve their appearance. Looking at what they will gain, a healthy body, can create more motivation than focusing on what they will lose, the weight.

A plant based diet isn’t right for everyone. In fact, for people who are at high risk for an eating disorder, restricting certain food groups can lead to obsessive and trigger disordered eating. Also, keep in mind that critics of Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Esselstyn feel that their research is skewed and biased. Talk with your clients about all the research out there that backs up being at a healthy weight has significant health rewards. This means not being overweight or underweight.

There are lots of different ways to eat to improve your health. A plant based diet is just one approach. Help your client examine the pros and cons of their current eating plan. Encourage them to talk with their doctor to see what works for their particular needs.

The take home message of the film: it is time to begin to be more mindful of what, why and how you are eating for your health and well-being. To learn more about mindful eating and motivating your client to be more attentive to their diet, see Eating Mindfully and the companion workbook, Eat, Drink & Be Mindful. For other movies that can help your clients to think critically about their eating habits see this Huffington Post piece

Susan Albers, Psy.D. is the author of 50 Ways to Soothe Yourself without Food.