Learning about Food. (My favorite documentaries)

[FarmerHal]

I'm a huge documentary lover, and naturally, one of my favorite genre topics is about food.
These particular ones have been eye-opening to me. I take some info from others, raise my eyebrows and dismiss some of the info, but it's all fascinating.
Food Matters
Food, Inc.
Fresh
Farmageddon,
Forks over Knives
Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead
Fat Head
King Corn
Hungry for Change
Dying to have Known,
A Gerson Therapy

Books:
Wheat Belly (a MUST read!) (you can also search youtube for wheat belly videos by the author)
the Paleo Solution
The Paleo Diet
Nutrtition and Physical Degeneration

Personally, I find it fascinating how food can affect us. What artificial additives can do to our bodies.

Of course, this comes from me, where I had been in a position where I was on a heavy biologic drug to control my immune system from attacking my joints. The pain was debilitating, so much so that I was ready to give up. At 34, life by age 40 was going to be such a burden, I was ready to give up.
All I had to do was change my diet, eliminate a few things that weren't right for my body and... life is great, no pain, very few symptoms... now if I can get portion control and sugar out, i know I'd lose weight and feel better.

Anyway, thought I'd share some of my very favorite things! Perhaps this will help someone else discover health again...

[oolala53]

ALL you had to do? Eliminate a few things? I'm glad it worked for you, and I have known of at least one other person for whom the kind of diet you're talking about made life more than tolerable again, but for someone who is not suffering from near the problems you're talking about, these are not easy changes. Don't get me wrong, if I had an autoimmune disease, I'd be making even more changes, but so far, No S (and an already freggie-heavy, fiber-rich diet) have been very satisfying.

But yes to smart farming and husbandry, and fewer processed foods!

[FarmerHal]

I understand where you are coming from. And for me it wasn't a simple undertaking! Imagine family thanksgiving dinner, where the only thing I could even eat was turkey and mashed potatoes. No stuffing, no lefse (norweigian flat bread), no sweet rolls, no pie, no cake... all these things, family traditions from my childhood calling to me, Completely not worth the pain.

It's been a big adjustment, but for me having debilitating pain and ready to end it all? Completely worth it. Completely.

[oolala53]

For that, I'd do it, too.

[wosnes]

I'm glad it worked for you, and I have known of at least one other person for whom the kind of diet you're talking about made life more than tolerable again, but for someone who is not suffering from near the problems you're talking about, these are not easy changes.

For someone who doesn't have an intolerance or an auto-immune disease, the changes aren't necessary. In that respect, gluten-free has become another fad.

[Over43]

I have seen several of those documentaries. Fat Head might be my favorite, but possibly Food Inc. Is the most important. But I can't forget Joe Cross helping that trucker from Iowa lose all that weight in Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.

I enjoy documentaries as well. I really struggled with Super Size Me. The ham is worse than heroine statement is where they lost me. Working with teens who use anything from pot to meth I can tell you that Morgan Spurlock' s vegan fiance was a bit off center. But I see where Spurlock was trying to go with the film.

It is good though that people are trying to make the food industry more responsible.

[FarmerHal]

We will have to disagree about gluten free being a fad. Read the book Wheat Belly. It's backed by scientific evidence as to what negative effects it has on the body.

It literally saved life, fad or not. And I'm not celiac nor do I have a wheat allergy, yet if I eat it all my symptoms return. Psoriatic arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, depression.

I personally think its a big deal. Jmo

[FarmerHal]

Rereading my post I sound a little snarky, I don't mean to be, I am extremely passionate about this one truly small change I had to make. Yes I've been told its only a fad, I've been laughed at by my own doctor who said it was impossible to use food to cure myself, yet here I am.

Certainly every body is unique and thrives on certain foods, and the biggest thing is to listen to your body and respect what it's telling you.

All I ever want is to help people, since I was in a very sick state and now far,far better.

[wosnes]

I don't think gluten-free is a fad if there's a medical necessity. A lot of these authors make it sound like wheat/gluten are bad for everyone. They aren't. The same goes for meat (including poultry and fish), eggs, dairy products, added fats (including olive oil), grains and beans, many fruits and starchy vegetables. It seems the only things good to eat are leafy greens and low-sugar fruits!

From a GF blogger: Wheat Belly, Busted.

In my opinion, there are three main reasons:

It's written by an M.D., which adds a patina of credibility to the book's claims,

It's filled with endnotes of citations that reference scientific peer-reviewed publications, and

Its message—to "lose the wheat, lose the weight, and find your path back to health"—already agrees with the world view of many in the GF community (that wheat and gluten equals bad).

But as you'll see, those three factors are dangerous. They build a facade of trust and credibility. They cause us to let down our guard; to cease being the critically-thinking readers that we ought to be. And sometimes, that means we fail to question information that is suspect; we unknowingly accept and perpetuate a myth; we fall victim to false information.

I know that some popular authors/dietary gurus have misinterpreted studies to suit their cause. Realizing that is what made me stop following new theories and start looking at what others have done.

[Thalia]

Some of the paleo people are opposed to fruit and leafy greens, too, so there's literally nothing left that everyone agrees won't kill you.

[FarmerHal]

Thalia, it's true. It seems like no one can agree on what we are supposed to eat- however each of us is individual and can/can't handle different foods. I guess it makes us all special.

I am a little sad to see people throw down the idea of Gluten free as a fad.
For me, it's not.

I only just wanted to help others who may be struggling with their health.

I'll just stick to posting on my checkin, I only seem to stir the pot.

[wosnes]

Thalia, it's true. It seems like no one can agree on what we are supposed to eat- however each of us is individual and can/can't handle different foods. I guess it makes us all special.

I am a little sad to see people throw down the idea of Gluten free as a fad.
For me, it's not.

I only just wanted to help others who may be struggling with their health.

I'll just stick to posting on my checkin, I only seem to stir the pot.

Don't stop posting here. This is a healthy discussion. Stirring the pot is a good thing. I'm not saying the health benefits you've experienced by eliminating gluten aren't valid.

As for Wheat Belly, a lot of the conclusions he comes to aren't supported by the science he used. Unfortunately, he's not the only one to do this. I wish I could say he's in the minority in doing that, but he's not.

[germanherman]

To call gluten-free a fad may be a little hard, but i like to describe another picture.

Let's say you are a doctor. You know, that around 1-2% of the human population are glutensensitive. It is a real disease and goes far to often undiagnosed.

Furthermore you know, that most people eat way to much in general and especially of so called "bad" food. So they tend to be plain fat and malnourished with a bunch of diseases coming along with that.

If you want so sell books, courses etc. what would you do?

Write a book about how bad wheat is?
It seems like a nice idea. First and foremost tell everybody who is overweight, that it ain't their fault. It is the bad wheat. They don't eat too much, move too little or eating mostly crap without any nutritional value. No, it is the bad wheat. People like to buy excuses!

Next tell them to eliminate the wheat. But that would only help 1-2% of the population, not nearly enough to claim the NYT-bestseller-list.

So you add the restriction on other carbs, like rice, potatoes, corn etc.

Why? Because this low-carb diet would make great cuts in the average american diet. Lots of calorie-loaded-food wouldn't be accessible.

Therefore most people would lose weight on such a diet (just by cutting out a lot of food) and with that they could get rid of a lot of pains, weaknesses and diseases. All of which your book claims wheat to be the reason.

You would get a lot of praises and sell a lot of books.

Just my 2 Cents from an european perspective.

For me gluten-free isn't a fad, but selling it to the people without a medical condition is snake-oil-worthy-scam.

I hope this post isn't to harsh. I'm still working on my english. Sometimes it seems harder than it is meant to be.

I'm happy for anybody who gets any health benefits by eleminating foods from their diets. But i don't like the way paleo or other low-carb is sold.

[vmsurbat]

Thalia, it's true. It seems like no one can agree on what we are supposed to eat- however each of us is individual and can/can't handle different foods. I guess it makes us all special.

I am a little sad to see people throw down the idea of Gluten free as a fad.
For me, it's not.

Please don't stop posting! Your experience is very valid and valuable. To say gluten-free is not the cure-all for everyone is not to bash it as the cure for some, or even many.

Like Germanherman, I live overseas (although I'm American). Believe me, the kinds of diets touted as the latest, greatest diets to end all health issues are pretty laughable and so very Americo-centric. No way would they fly in most of the world. It is very easy for me to see that the latest, greatest is NOT going to be the answer.

For MOST Americans and MOST Westerners the simple fact of overeating and under-moving explains the obesity epidemic.

Are there other issues for some? YES. As in your case. As in the case of my father-in-law (very healthy, very fit, proper weight) but needed to adjust diet (drastically reduce grains) to get a sudden cholesterol problem under control. Do I now think Lo-Carb everything is the answer for everybody? NO. It was the answer for him, though.

And that is why keeping the discussion going as you did so very well IS helpful.

Personally, I like hearing "XXXXX worked FOR ME" because it gives me something to think about.

I loathe "XXXXX worked for ME and therefore is the answer for EVERYBODY."

I love NoS but I don't think it is THE answer for everybody, either!

[germanherman]

I love NoS but I don't think it is THE answer for everybody, either!

I liked the whole post, but here i would like so add: But it seems to be a good answer for a lot of people.

I got my own pack of diets under my belt and this "diet" is the first i recommend by saying: Eat normal and in moderation.

[FarmerHal]

NoS has always worked well for me as long as I commit. I mean it has a certain "duh" factor to it when I can slim down my overweight dog by cutting back her portion and keeping snacks to a bare minimum, I just find it far easier to whine about my situation than commit!

Thankfully I have committed again and I am already feeling better on day. 5.
I also eat gluten free/paleo style (because I think the gluten free replacement products are also junk) and this combo works well for me, as I've said.

On another note, we had the opportunity to move onto a lite farmette and the chance to be a good steward to the land and animals (chickens to start) has me thrilled beyond belief . Several of the documentaries were inspirational to getting us started.

[germanherman]

I also eat gluten free/paleo style (because I think the gluten free replacement products are also junk) and this combo works well for me, as I've said.

I'm a little bit jealous about that. Paleo didn't work out for me (did nothing for me). It's always nice to hear, that for some people even such small changes can bring big wins in terms of comfort and health. I wish you the best.

[FarmerHal]

Thank you, GermanHerman,

Eating paleo style (I include a few non-paleo things- I listen to my body's response) has helped me with my health issues, but NOT my weight.

I think for me, I need to just MOVE MORE. My body needs to work to move that fat along sufficiently. It's another character flaw that needs work, I hate to sweat! LOL

[leafy_greens]

I agree with germanherman.

I love NoS but I don't think it is THE answer for everybody, either!

Unless you have a medical condition, there's no reason why vanilla No S can't work for you. No S materials repeatedly cover the danger of cutting entire food groups. If you do have a condition that requires cutting wheat and you combine that with No S, then that's great and will probably help two aspects - your medical condition and food issues. If you don't have a medical condition, but cut food groups and combine it with No S, then it's just another diet.

[vmsurbat]

I agree with germanherman.

I love NoS but I don't think it is THE answer for everybody, either!

Unless you have a medical condition, there's no reason why vanilla No S can't work for you.

Ahhh. I didn't say NoS wouldn't work or be a help or anything of the sort. I personally LOVE vanilla NoS as I state in my siggie.

But, having hosted hundreds (literally) of people from all over the world, I've learned that the cultures/customs/family rituals that surround eating differ all around the world, and NoS as stated does not describe ALL of them. That is what I mean by NoS not being THE answer for EVERYONE. Yes, the principles of moderation, set meals, limited sweets may be widespread but not codified as Reinhard puts them (he even states this in his book).

And frankly, I REALLY appreciate that in his book Reinhard states that his approach is one good solution to one problem: overeating, and doesn't make overarching claims on all health issues related to foods and diets....

Just so you know where I'm coming from....