"What the Health" is a documentary that came out on Netflix in March. I've heard a bit of controversy over it, so I decided to check it out myself. The documentary description reads, "The film examines the link between diet and disease, and the billions of dollars at stake in the healthcare, pharmaceutical and food industries." Here we go.
It actually started off pretty well. Basically, a man wants to do whatever he can to avoid heart disease and cancer. Sounds good to me. He begins to look into diet, to see what the best options are for a long, healthy life.
One of the first points made is that of the link of processed meats to cancer. This is a true correlation. But the documentary greatly exaggerates the correlation between the two.
They claim that processed meats and smoking are both the same level carcinogen. According to American Cancer Society, this is true.
But listen.
Again, according to the America Cancer Society site, eating 50g of processed meats a day leads to a potential increase for colorectal cancer. Tobacco, on the other hand, has 70 known carcinogens in itself and can lead to over 10 different types of cancer.
Smoking is also the leading cause of preventable death. Smoking also does not just put you at risk but also those around you via secondhand smoke. So, form your own opinion, but I would not compare processed meats to smoking in terms of cancer causation.
"What the Health" then goes as far out as to say that eating one egg a day is equivalently dangerous to smoking 5 cigarettes today. After hearing this ridiculous comment, I really started paying attention to the documentary.
What would possibly make them claim something so preposterous? I am not an R.D. or and M.D., but I am confident in saying that eggs and cigarettes are not on the same level of danger.
And of course, was I really surprised when the pharmaceutical industry began getting blamed? Oh yes, they are just monsters, aren't they? Creating cures for something as simple as a headache to sexually transmitted diseases to chicken pox or measles. Terrible stuff.
In conclusion, the beginning of the documentary gave me hope that maybe this was actually going to be an unbiased and educational documentary on food health.
I was sadly wrong.
So please, please if you do watch this documentary, do not take what you hear to heart. They were on the right page for some of it but just took it in the wrong direction. The documentary was extremely biased and is definitely directing people into the wrong direction. Again, I am not a doctor or a dietician. I'm just a Psychology student in the pursuit of nursing school and becoming a nurse.
Bottom line is to just love your body enough to not eat fast food and cookies all day every day. Exercise. Drink water. And don't bother watching "What the Health."
