Edited By: Joy Jiang
For a while now, Netflix has been streaming a documentary called What The Health. Netflix has a wide variety of documentaries but this one in particular stood out, especially to my family and friends who could not stop raving about how this was a ‘must watch’ and how it changed their eating habits. I have never been the kind of person who gets enticed by food documentaries but I decided to give What The Health a watch, and all I can say is thank god I did.
The documentary follows filmmaker Kip Anderson who was inspired to investigate the foods he ate due to the many hereditary illnesses that were connected to his family. Cancer, diabetes and heart attacks were the major health problems he focused on and he was specifically interested in their links to diet.
What he found was that there were many illusions and misconceptions surrounding the possible causes of diabetes, heart issues and cancer. He found that in most cases, people who suffered these illnesses were being encouraged to eat dairy, red meats and poultry even though there was evidence that these same food groups could, to a certain extent, lead to these health problems.
I don’t want to get into the nitty gritty science and statistics behind this, but if you would like to, I suggest you watch the documentary. What I’m concerned about is what we are putting into our bodies and why we are doing so. Take for example the notion that milk makes your bones stronger. Kip argues that studies prove this notion to be false, yet its this very belief that encourages children to drink milk throughout their childhood, even though they don’t necessarily need to. It’s marketing techniques like this and so many others that have seeped into our sub conscience to make us think that we need to eat certain things in order to be healthy.
The food pyramid is another example that Kip highlights. Majority of the time, this project is funded and created by the food industry who have their own interests at heart over the well-being of the people, at least this was the case in the United States. This really struck a chord with me and made me question generic food models that have existed and been implemented over time. I learnt that contrary to common belief, we as humans don’t actually need milk after our first few years. I learnt that egg yolks are incredibly bad for you and that poultry is not always the healthier alternative to red meats.
It was clear to see that from Kip’s perspective, there was a push for the elimination of meat with a more plant-based diet because according to the experts he interviewed, statistics he read and everyday vegans he spoke to, it was what worked for them. It was what gave them results in the sense that it helped them lead healthier lives. As there is with all things in life, backlash exists against this documentary, with many attacking the idea of eliminating meat from diets as well as the oversimplification of Kip’s point of view. There are two sides to the argument but the way I see it, we have nothing to lose by being more cautious about what we eat.
I currently do not have the willpower to go vegan. I am a huge chicken lover. I love my meat, but after watching this documentary I took a step back and realised that changes needed to be made, that the foods I thought I needed to eat daily could be reduced. And so I have cut down on my chicken intake. I have cut down on dairy and introduced almond milk to my diet, which tastes really great by the way. I have opted for more vegan-friendly snacks like baked kale chips which are surprisingly nice.
What The Health may not have converted me to veganism, but it sure made me think about what I was putting into my body and why I was doing so. I would highly recommend it to everyone and anyone, because even if you are the greatest steak lover on the planet, this documentary will make you stop and think about your eatings habits, and possibly change them for the better.