by Shari Willis, PhD
In a recent post, Dr. Marshall asked if we really know what we’re eating. The answer is clear: unless we completely avoid processed foods and eat only food produced by ourselves or by people we know and trust, we probably don’t.
I love food and I love to eat. That hasn’t changed, but many books have changed the way I think about food. One of the first was Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma, which is still my favorite of Pollan’s books. After reading it, I could no longer think of a McDonald’s french fry in the same way.
The Way We Eat and Fast Food Nation launched me fully into my current routine of vegetarianism with occasional pescetarian detours. More recently, The China Study and The Blue Zones influenced me to prioritize plants and Mediterranean influences in my diet.
Documentary filmmakers have produced some equally interesting, enlightening and thought-provoking films about food and health. Have you seen any of these?
Food, Inc.
Few films have done more than this one to introduce Americans to the industrial food system that produces much of what we eat.
Narrated by writers Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser, Food, Inc. explores the impact of industrial food systems on people, animals and the environment. If you’re ready to peek behind the curtain at the food industry, check out this Oscar-nominated documentary.
Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead
The title just about sums up Joe Cross’s health and life when he weighed 310 pounds and suffered from a debilitating autoimmune disorder. Joe hit the road with his juicer and generator, talking with hundreds of people about food and health as he drove across America.
Along the way Joe met Phil Staples, who weighed 429, and inspired him to begin his own journey to health. This is a film about not just food and health, but about healing and connection.
Forks Over Knives
Dr. T. Colin Campbell, a nutritional scientist at Cornell University, and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn of the Cleveland Clinic, independently came to believe that a plant-based, whole-foods diet could prevent or reverse many diseases. Forks Over Knives traces their work and introduces it to the broader public.
Dr. Campbell, Project Director of the long-running China-Oxford-Cornell Diet and Health Project, co-authored The China Study, a book based on the project. Dr. Esselstyn, a surgeon, is the author of numerous studies of coronary artery disease and diet and also served as head of the Cleveland Clinic’s Breast Cancer Task Force.
These books and documentaries have been part of my journey to greater wellness. What about you? Which films or books changed the way you think about food? Please share your thoughts!
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