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Amanda Watson

Instructor Chad Harbaugh

NUTR 1020

19 November 2022

Over 17 million people die every year from cardiovascular disease, which is the

equivalent of four jumbo jets crashing every single hour, every single year. A documentary

released in 2017, What the Heath, , critiques the health impact of red meat, dairy products, sh,

and poultry and questions the practices of leading health organizations for promoting these food

choices. The director of the documentary, Kip Anderson, nds that nearly all chronic health

problems are correlated to food.

Kip is an individual that has a minimal nutritional background but is eager to nd out

how food choices impact our health. His interest in a healthy lifestyle comes from a family with

a history of various health conditions, such as heart attacks and diabetes. This fascination with

health spurred his journey to know how food can impact our well-being. 

The rst food in question is red meat, which has been classi ed as a class one carcinogen

by the World Health Organization (WHO). Other carcinogens in this class are tobacco products

and plutonium. Additionally, the living conditions for livestock and the medications given

negatively change the nutritional quality of meat. It has been found that most antibiotics are sold

to agricultural animal companies by pharmaceutical companies. Hundreds of drugs are given to

these farmed animals to prevent disease and make them grow faster. When we eat the meat of an

animal given these medications, we eat these drugs in their esh or milk. 
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While red meat has long been associated with different diseases, dairy has not typically

been a food product in question. Dairy products contain a protein called casein, which, when

digested, becomes casomorphins, which have the same properties as the opiate morphine and

have similar effects causing their "addictive" traits. We ha2ve been taught that cow milk

strengthens bones, though a series of studies have proved that individuals consistently drink milk

still have a high likelihood of developing osteoporosis. On ther other hand, a food that has been

under discussion and has raised controversy is eggs. Because of their high cholesterol content

that has been associated to clogged arteries and heart disease. The United States Department of

Agriculture (USDA) has stated that labeling eggs as nutritious, low-calorie, and healthy is

illegal. 

The documentary explains how the standard American diet is too high in animal products,

resulting in diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. To Kip's surprise, he found that leading

health organizations, such as the American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association,

and American Cancer Society, promote animal product consumption on their education website.

A conspiracy theory is posed in the documentary that pharmaceutical companies are bene ting

from these chronic diseases, which is why few preventions are listed on these leaders in health

websites. A doctor interviewed in the documentary stated, "We operate from the disease model;

we treat on the symptoms, not prevention."

Despite the scienti c research proving that healthy changes to diet can potentially reduce,

prevent, or even reverse diseases, though they are not promoting this information for consumers.

Instead, they provide medications that require the patient to be on for the rest of their life. The

strategy is not to make preventative recommendations, it is to introduce doubt in food choices

and their only resource is that of false advertising from physicians and advocacy organizations. 
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To compare and contrast what has been discussed in, What the Health, and what I have

learned from my nutrition college textbook, Contemporary Nutrition Functional Approach, there

are more differences than similarities in the concerns that food has on one's diet. The biggest

problem that stood out to me is that the documentary stated that sugar does not cause diabetes;

instead, high-fat diets are the sole cause of Type 2 diabetes. What is said in the is that sugar,

complex carbohydrates, and a sedentary lifestyle are all contributing factors to the development

of Type 2 Diabetes. These are two extreme claims, which the documentary does not consider

other factors, such as genetics and activity level. Another signi cant discrepancy between the

documentary and the textbook is red meat consumption. The textbook has numerous sections on

the associated risk of red meat and the increased mortality rate for CVD, cancer, and early death,

though it continues to recommend moderate consumption. The documentary states that even a

one-time consumption of red meat is detrimental to one's health. Lastly, the most considerable

similarity between the two sources concludes that the North American diet is not sunstainable for

a long healthy life without developing health issues. The North American diet consists of animal

esh, highly processed carbohydrates, and smaller portions of healthy fats, vegetables, and fresh

fruits. 

While this documentary was published only ve years ago, the questions posed in the

lm are even more prevalent today. Working in the medical eld, many individuals nd that the

traditional approach to health does not provide quality answers to their questions. Because of

this, more questions are posed, and individuals, just like Kip, are searching for what best suits

their needs rather than the generalized recommendations for the population. 

In conclusion, what I have taken away from this documentary is that there are more

hidden risks in our food choices than what we are aware of. With this being one of the many
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reasons I chose this lm, I wanted to better understand the potential risks the so-called healthy

foods being advertised contain. I believe the intent behind the lm is that questioning generalized

recommendations is not bad; it is something that we should do to nd a personalized plan for the

needs of the individual. Much of the information presented is biased and incongruent with

scienti cally proven data that says otherwise about our food choices. Additionally, the

documentary puts all the blame for chronic diseases on food consumption and does not consider

other factors. After reviewing this lm, I will continue to moderate my animal product intake

because of the validation of what I have learned in my nutritional class and other reliable

sources. 
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Works Cited

Chen, Alex. “What the Health - Summary and Review.” Weekly Wisdom Blog, Weekly Wisdom
Blog, 11 June 2021, https://www.weeklywisdomblog.com/post/what-the-health-
summary-and-review.

Films, A.U.M., director. What the Health. WHAT THE HEALTH, 7 Mar. 2017, https://
www.whatthehealth lm.com/. Accessed 21 Nov. 2022.

Wardlaw, Gordon M., et al. Contemporary Nutrition. McGraw-Hill Education, 2016.

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