What The Health - Documentary

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What the Health – Documentary Review

‘What the Health’ is one of the most controversial, as well as groundbreaking documentary film. The documentary film has been written, directed and produced by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn, which also features Kip Andersen who explains his experiences, as well as the interviews of doctors, and specialists in the field. The basic message of the documentary film is that the dairy products, as well as meat, are harmful to the health of human beings, and become the reason for a number of chronic illnesses. The presenter of the documentary film is trying to explore the link between the consumption of meat and dairy products, and chronic illnesses. After interviewing the physician, health practitioners and nutritionists, he depicts a lack of satisfaction with their answers. He is trying to highlight the fact that the major food making corporations, which specifically deal with meat and dairy products conspire with pharmaceutical companies, in order to promote their business and sell diseases and medication to the general public (Andersen). The author is advocating the importance of a vegetarian life, which is not only nutritious but also helps to control the causation of chronic illnesses. The food industries dealing with meat and dairy products may have been conspiring against humanity by selling hazardous products and their medication, in order to promote their business and increase their profits.

Kip Andersen describes in his documentary film that his family has a history of chronic illnesses, like his father, grandfather, and his brothers died due to cancer or heart diseases. Till a certain point of life, he kept thinking that it is due to the genetic issues that the diseases are being transferred. He tried hard to keep himself safe as he exercised regularly and took the vitamins as well. He believed that a healthy diet could save him; however, he as disappointed by the claims, as he became the victim of hypochondria. This motivated him to explore the myths of a healthy diet, and he came to know that processed meat which is the most important and essential component of the human food, is not good for their health. The experts in the video highlight the fact that diabetes is one of the most prevalent diseases in human beings, in each and every part of the world. It is commonly believed the consumption of sugar causes diabetes; however, the actual cause is fat, which is quite excessive in the diet consisting of meat and dairy products. Excessive aft also becomes the reason for increasing the cholesterol level and giving rise to heart issues. He is of the view that meat production and consumption should be stopped and preference should be given to the vegetarian diet, which is nutritious and does not cause diseases (Andersen, and Kuhn).

The merits of the documentary film are that it is highlighting the importance of vegetarian diet, which is not only good for the health of the human beings, but its production also creates a good impact on the environment. Vegetables and fruits have excessive nutrients which are needed for the growth and health of the human beings, and they would not need to take the vitamin supplements to restore their health (Ekmekcioglu et al.). On the other hand, there is a number of shortcomings in the documentary film. The most important out of them is that the presenter claimed that very type of meat is bad for the health of human beings, which is not supported by evidence. It is true that bacon or processed meat can give rise to health issues; however; beef is a healthy and nutritious form of meat. In addition to it, the presenter also claimed that eggs are not good for the health of the human beings; however, the yolk of eggs contains the nutrients which are not present in any vegetable or fruit and are also quite essential for the human health. He also claimed that sugar does not cause any harm to health, which is not supported by evidence. He has failed to present the research-based evidence of his claims and the experts depicted in the video have not done conducted any research about the topic and are just talking about anything which comes in their mind. The recommendation to the audience is that they should not get swayed by the conspiracies of the vegetarians, as well as those who favor the diet of consisting of meat but try to keep a balance in their food consumption. They should avoid processed meat, and include a fair amount of vegetables in their diet, as well as exercise to keep them healthy.

The documentary film has highlighted the importance of a vegetarian diet on the health of human beings, as well as on the environment by undermining the meat diet. The presenter of the documentary film has failed to provide a logical justification of their claims due to which it seems like a conspiracy against the meat making companies.

Works Cited

Andersen, Kip, and Keegan Kuhn. The Sustainability Secret: Rethinking Our Diet to Transform the World. Earth Aware Editions, 2015.

Andersen, Kip. What the Health – Documentary. Youtube.com. 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL2cLhOqPsE

Ekmekcioglu, Cem, et al. "Red meat, diseases, and healthy alternatives: A critical review." Critical reviews in food science and nutrition 58.2 (2018): 247-261.