{"id":15891,"date":"2017-07-28T13:36:38","date_gmt":"2017-07-28T11:36:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/export.ralphmoorman.nl\/?p=15891"},"modified":"2026-01-06T10:18:05","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T09:18:05","slug":"what-the-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/export.ralphmoorman.nl\/eng\/what-the-health\/","title":{"rendered":"What the health | A double feeling..."},"content":{"rendered":"

What the health also received a lot of criticism in the Netherlands. My followers asked for a review. Herewith.<\/p>\n

What the health: Conscious or frightened<\/h2>\n

Many had become confused and even a little anxious about food by watching this and asked if I could have my take on it. Of course, a lot of documentaries appear worldwide and I gave a generic answer, \"A documentary is made by media people and so you can take this with a grain of salt\". Apparently, this did not help in this case, because these people kept on asking.<\/p>\n

Okay okay, I just watched it briefly and I have to say I have a very mixed feeling about it. The deeper purpose behind the film is to inspire viewers to follow a plant-based \"whole foods\" diet with the theme, \"The more dedicated, the less medicated...\".<\/p>\n

Now I understand that to make your message clear and reach a wide audience, you have to dare to take a stand and make your message simple and appealing. In doing so, the goal is to make people aware and set them in motion. As far as I am concerned, the end then justifies the means. However, there is a fine line between making people aware and frightening them. Sometimes books or documentaries (especially American ones) come out that cross that a bit, but this documentary really takes it way too far as far as I am concerned.<\/p>\n

\"discount<\/a><\/p>\n

Doctors as nutrition experts...<\/h2>\n

What the health begins by naming a number of diseases associated with the intake of processed meat. From here, it does not look at the word \"processed\" but quickly jumps to meat in general and even all foods that are animal in origin.<\/p>\n

One epidemiological study after another is cited just to support the creator's thesis. Cardiovascular disease, diabetes<\/a> and cancer are one-sidedly attributed to eating animal products and substantiated with only associations in studies also selected by cherry picking.<\/p>\n

Besides, the interviewees are not scientists but doctors. So on the one hand, doctors are accused of having no knowledge about nutrition and then almost only doctors are cited as experts, hmmm, strange.<\/p>\n

Just for the non-scientists:<\/h2>\n

In epidemiological studies, large groups of people are not selected but simply followed. Their diet is tracked and you see who gets what complaint, disease or other trait. If you then put the intake of processed meat and the number of people who develop a certain disease side by side, you can sometimes see a connection and that is called an association. So this does not automatically mean that this is then also a cause.<\/p>\n

For instance, people who eat a lot of Big Macs may do many more things differently in their lifestyle than a very conscious vegan, for example. This makes these kinds of surveys very unreliable. For instance, even in these kinds of studies, you can see an association between a man's income and baldness. If you were to do the same as in this documentary you would say that the more money you make as a man, the balder you are. Of course, you understand that a more earning man is often older, and that there is a much stronger correlation between age and baldness. This documentary is full of this kind of very weak research to make the point.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The only option offered is...<\/h2>\n

Moreover, the claims made about the plant-based diet in the studies are often in comparison to an unhealthy average \"American\" diet. So no comparison is made with other diets that involve eating plenty of fruit and vegetables but moderate minimal processed meat, fish and egg. It's really just about declaring unhealthy and of everything animal-based. The only option offered is total switching to veganism and no moderation.<\/p>\n

Wonder-testimonials<\/h2>\n

Of course, What the health closes with miracle testimonials where people can throw aside all their medications after a two-week plant-based diet and feel better than ever. Of course, it's great to show how big of an impact nutrition can have on a wide variety of ailments and diseases, but this goes a long way.<\/p>\n

In addition to a plant-based diet<\/a> in fact, there are many other diet forms that give this result and may be easier and more persistent as an entry-level model. Completely turning your life around after two weeks is interesting to see the effect, but what do they do on average over the next few years. Ultimately, long-term behaviour is going to determine the real result.<\/p>\n

It is crucial as far as I am concerned to explain how, with this diet where many foods are cut out after years, you can avoid building up a deficiency and what you all need to consider. This was totally downplayed in the documentary and even the importance of B12 did not come across well. The real creators of B12 would be bacteria that we would have ingested by eating fermented products. There is certainly a grain of truth in this but it really needs to be emphasised harder that a vegan should screen and supplement B12 as far as I am concerned.<\/p>\n

Does the end justify the means?<\/h2>\n

I actually thought the documentary was more of a fine fantasy film. But of course, the key question is: Does the end justify the means? Of course, there is a nice mission behind the documentary and the maker will certainly have a good intention. What I found positive was:<\/p>\n