The past 2 months we have touched on a variety of topics to help you transition your life style to a healthier and more holistic one. We’ve covered cleaning products, eating more greens, breaking down detox and dairy. For more information on the premise of our blog and the holistic transition journey see our original post here. 

Part of making better choices is to be educated. This week I have decided to review one of the many documentaries on changing the way we think about food and our bodies. If you haven’t gotten on the documentary train, I highly recommend it. There are so many curious, inventive and creative people in this world who have profound questions about truth. A select few of those people make it a mission to harness truth and document it for us all to see. It’s raw education and a privilege to watch it. It was hard to choose which documentary would be the first one for me to write on but I think Fed Up is a good place to start.

The Synopsis

“Everything we’ve been told about food and exercise for the past 30 years is dead wrong. FED UP is the film the food industry doesn’t want you to see.From Katie Couric, Laurie David (Oscar winning producer of AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH) and director Stephanie Soechtig…”

As I mentioned, most documentaries come from someone’s curiosity. The movie begins with Katie Couric, a well known news anchor, sharing how she reported on the obesity epidemic for 30 years and it continually escalated. Asking “Why?”, was the conception of the documentary called Fed Up.

Think about that for a minute.

Fed Up presents us with the common translations of what healthy eating means to so many Americans. Majority of us truly believe that we are eating healthy or making healthy choices with what is presented to us. But in fact, we are filling our body with everything we shouldn’t. We have been misinformed. 

Throughout the movie you are able to follow various families on their journey to healthy eating and weight loss. You will see the “healthy” food choices they are making. Maybe you will relate. There may be items in their pantry that you have also purchased feeling like it’s the healthy option but it really isn’t. 

They break down the reality of label reading and words like “low fat” and what that really means. It is good for us to understand why there is so much processed food available and why it’s marketed the way that it is.

The food industry is incredibly powerful and I think you’ll be surprised how their power has infiltrated your household. The movie presents the facts very well. Politics do play into both sides of the food crisis and I think they present that factually and realistically. 

What I liked about this movie…

I really enjoy when documentaries show us visually how the body is working inside when I consume certain foods. It really is pretty basic but it’s not logical for those of us who haven’t studied the body and nutrition. One of the examples was sugar. It showed that sugar is processed in the liver.  When the liver is pushed to the max, the pancreas helps it by producing an excess hormone called insulin (the energy storage hormone). Insulin turns sugar into fat for storage. High levels of insulin block your brain from receiving the signal that you’re full. Having a visual like this pops into my brain when I am making food choices that may have sugar added. 

What I didn’t like about the movie…

Don’t get me wrong, everyone should see this movie so don’t take this as a reason not to. They showed a lot about what America is eating that’s wrong which is really valuable and a wake up call that is long overdue. But I do wish that they put a bit more time into what changes need to be made. They do offer a challenge to the viewers at the end which really does sum this up. But again, I am a visual person so for me there wasn’t enough visual for what the changes should be. For instance, when you follow these families, they are making horrible choices in the name of health. Because I’m educated on this I was shaking my head screaming “no you’ve got that all wrong!” But for those who are watching and purchasing the same items, I wish they would have had someone come in and clear the pantries right then and there. Maybe we’ll review some Jamie Oliver next time for that. 

At the end, Michael Pollan said it best “The most important thing you can do is cook real food.” If you’re in the kitchen and you’re cooking with real food, your family will be eating much better. Perhaps this is really the baseline America needs to accept to make better choices. 

I recommend you watch this movie to get some background knowledge about why you make the choices you do with food. You have been influenced and set up to make the wrong choices. That’s the reality but by gaining this knowledge you allow yourself to break out of that mold and take back ownership of your food choices and the food choices you make for your family. At the end of the movie, they give you the opportunity to join The Fed Up Challenge. Click the link to learn more and here how it has changed the lives of families. Let me know what you thought of the documentary.