Nutrition Perspectives (Research Paper)

The documentary I picked for this assignment focused on different people who suffered from

chronic diseases. Under supervision of medical doctors, dietitians, and nutritionists these

individuals decided to reduce their sugar and processed food intake and switch to a high fat low

carbohydrate diet most known as the Ketogenic diet.

Michelle, a woman who was overweight suffered from Asthma, Fibroids, Respiratory infections,

and worsening vision, and was also diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. She took

antibiotics and used her inhaler about 2-3 times per day. 5 months into her diet she lost weight,

did not have to use her inhaler, did not have to use more antibiotics, stopped having respiratory

infections, and claimed that she began to have a clear mind.

Abigail is a 5-year-old girl diagnosed with autism who suffered from epilepsy (about 50 seizures

per day), central sleep apnea, was nonverbal, and had problems with constipation. Due to her

medical condition, she was forced to take strong narcotics and laxatives every day. Being a picky

eater, she only accepted foods like Mac and Cheese, Goldfish, nuggets, Doritos, and apple juice.

5 weeks into her diet her dietitian saw a change in behavior, she was calm and concentrated

better. She began to communicate, and her bowels regulated. She also began to reduce her intake

of narcotics as her seizures were reduced greatly and her doctors saw improvement.

Debbie, grandma of Abigail, was overweight and suffering from high cholesterol, thyroid pain,

anxiety, and depression. She took a total of nine different types of medications daily to treat

herself. She mentioned that her mom also suffered with weight control and her eating habits were

passed down from generation to generation. Her mom developed dementia and Debbie worried

because she began to develop the early symptoms of mental decline. 5 weeks after starting her
new diet she lost 40 pounds and stopped taking her pain medications. She claimed that her

energy levels increased, and her thought processing improved.

There was a group of 11 Yolngu people who ate everyday foods like cereals, sodas, pasta, etc.

Each one of them suffered from chronic diseases like diabetes or some type of cardiovascular

disease. They began a retreat where they chose to eat food in their traditional ways where they

cooked their own meat and vegetables. After finishing their retreat many people began to see

improvement in their bodies. Out of 11 diabetics all went off insulin and 5 had fasting glucose

numbers return completely to normal.

Sarah was diagnosed with an aggressive type of breast cancer. After talking to doctors and doing

research on the ways cancer has greater chances of growing and spreading, she fought the

disease with her food choices and body’s immune system. She switched to a very low carb high

fats diet, 80% fat, 12-14% protein, and %12g of carbs per day. Months later into her diet the

doctors found that her tumor began to shrink without the need for radiation, chemotherapy, or

surgeries. Now she’s healthier and her immune system is stronger than ever.

The last person was Pati, a retired nurse diagnosed with diabetes type II. Her disease caused her

to suffer also from neuropathy, gastroparesis, early kidney disease, and coronary artery disease.

Her diabetes caused her to constantly gain more weight with insulin and spend about $1000 a

month for treatments. Under a physician’s supervision, she began the keto diet to improve her

health and regulate her blood sugar levels. 10 weeks into her new diet she was able to lose 45

pounds and completely reduced her use of insulin.

For this assignment, I chose the 2017 documentary “The Magic Pill”. The reason I picked this

title was that the title caught my attention. When it comes to losing weight, many people believe
that shortcuts could be a way of seeing fast results so it’s common to turn to pills that advertise

fast results without effort, discipline, or any changes in current diets.

This film is directed by Robert Tate, winner of the Emmy, International Documentary

Association (IDA), Cine Golden Eagle, New York Festival, Taste, Telly, and James Beard

awards. Many of these awards were given for his work on films and documentaries about food,

nutrition, and disease. This documentary is a trustworthy source of information because it

provides medical and nutritional information from medical doctors, nutritionists, dietitians,

cardiologists, neurologists, chefs, biochemists, and professors.

This documentary was filmed and produced in 2017 and 5 years later its theme is still being

talked and debated about. The Ketogenic diet has been popular on social media with doctors,

celebrities, and influencers, and nowadays we see more people switch to this diet and coming

forward to talk about their experience and their health benefits.

One of the things I learned in this nutrition class was that reliable sources are important to

consider the information that we are being given. This documentary meets those criteria. Another

thing that this class and the documentary emphasized was reducing, if not, avoiding processed

foods and sugars to reduce chronic diseases. Lastly, both emphasize that eating the right types of

fats is essential for a healthy diet because not only does it provides energy but also supports cell

growth, keeps cholesterol under control, and helps our bodies absorb nutrients.

A new point of view that was presented through this assignment was the Ketogenic diet and its

potential health benefits like weight loss, reversing insulin resistance, lowering cholesterol, and

more. I had always heard that it was good for weight loss from close friends, but I never thought

that it could help prevent many illnesses.

Overall, good nutrition and avoiding processed foods and sugars are key to living a healthy and

longer life.