The documentary gives good information on some of the bad things that are added to our food. But, there are major problems with how they deliver some information. Starting with the processed meat. They say that it increases colon cancer risk by 18%. Let's just round that up to 20% for math's sake. Apparently, the baseline risk for colon cancer is 5%. This means that eating processed meat increases the risk up to 6% (20% of 5% is 1%, therefore 5% + 1% = 6%). When you say it the way the film says it, it makes it sound ridiculously high. But when you put in the numbers, it actually is not a big risk jump. Now to my point... Limiting processed meat can be beneficial for most people. Opting to buy grass-fed grass-finished, pasture-raised animal products instead of buying your meat at big chains that carry very low quality food will actually help you....Because we need protein. yeah, yeah, people say that there are vegan protein sources, but look at the breakdown of amino acids between the two. Animal protein is a much better source than soy products (that can give men boobs), and also doesn't come with bunch of carbohydrates (carbs) that are present in beans and lentils which can also cause digestive problems when eaten in high quantities. I'm not saying that you shouldn't eat lentils or beans, but have them in moderation. Soaked and sprouted legumes will be easier on your digestion. If you go high and try to get your protein from only non-animal products, then you consume a lot more carbs than you should, which can make you Type-II diabetic in the long term. Let's get back to quality of the food. Saying that processed, GMO-fed, non-moving, farmed animal products are the same quality as the pasture-raised, grass-fed, wild-caught animal products are absurd! Simply look at the fatty acid profile between them. We need fatty acids, we need cholesterol. We also need good ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 in our diets. That's what high quality animal products give us: a good ratio of essential fatty acids and the amino acids that we need to build our cells, keep the muscle tissue, improve bone and joint health, feel full, etc.
Then Kip (the directors) asks Dr. Neal Barnard, MD this question: What is the role of sugar in diabetes? And Dr. Barnard replies that high carbohydrate diets do not cause diabetes. He says it's the build up of fat. This is true but he's not telling the whole story. What is diabetes? There are two types. Type I diabetics cannot produce insulin (a hormone) which lowers blood glucose by shoving the sugar in our blood into our cells. Type II diabetics have too much insulin circulating around on their system all the time. Due to that, the cells become desensitized over time (the analogy simply put is that because there is a constant yelling by insulin for a long period of time, and after a while they just stop hearing it). Then, because of this there is high amounts of sugar in the blood. When you look at both types, the issue is, not getting rid of excess sugar in the blood. Well, how can you fix this? Do not eat sugar! In better terms, limit your carbohydrates, your sugar, your starchy veggies, your pasta, your rice, etc. Low-carb diets (time and time again) are proved to be helpful with managing diabetes. And I do know people that got of their medication and reversed their Type-II diabetes by going on a low-carb diet. How can you better the situation? Do not eat high-fat foods when you eat a high-carb meal (this is obviously for non-diabetic people). If you want to eat some high-quality steak, serve it with grilled asparagus and roasted Brussel sprouts. If you want to eat some sweet potatoes or some rice and beans, serve it with turkey or chicken. It's that simple. Blaming animal meat is just ridiculous. See the WHOLE picture. Then Kip brings Dr. Garth Davis who basically gives the same info as Dr. Barnard who are "conveniently" both vegans and vegan advocates. Kip also summarizes what these two MD's say by saying sugar doesn't cause diabetes and shows a clip of Skittles in a grocery store. I mean.... C'mon!! Furthermore, every time some doctor says something like animal protein increases cancer risk, or diabetes risk, they show animal meat that is cooked at high temperatures. Well, duh! cooking at high temperature will of course make the meat more inflammatory. And chronic inflammation can lead to many diseases. Just have an open mind, and open your eyes. Cook your meat at a low-temperature, bake them. Do not fry your eggs with blasting heat, do not barbecue your meat with flames coming out of the grill. Cook it slowly, cook it better. You can accommodate another 10 minutes to your cooking using low temperatures and your health will thank you for it. Then they are talking about carcinogens in the meat by showing chains like McDonalds and KFC. C'mon people. Everyone knows that these are not healthy foods. They are fried, they are loaded with preservatives, they are low-quality... List goes on and on. Instead of having a binary opinion on meat, saying either meat is good or bad, say that low-quality, bad-cooked meat is bad.
I can write more and more about this movie. As I said in the beginning, they are pointing out some good stuff, but they are not telling the whole story. Find your own resources. Find both vegan sites and find both paleo/keto sites and read them. Read the resources and papers they both share. And make your own mind with the help of your doctor.
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