Be Real: Boost Your Knowledge with these Health Documentaries

I am recently on a health kick for a number of reasons. One of them might have something to do with the school year being right around the corner. Eek!

Whenever a new school year comes around, I always get this feeling that I need to take a look at our family’s goals and also our eating habits. The summer tends to wreak havoc on our eating – I mean who can say no to fries when you are walking the boardwalk?!

But, the school year means it is time to get things back into order. Book bags need to be dusted off (and don’t forget to remove those summer reading assignments and um, maybe get started on that), school supplies need to be purchased, and schedules need to be coordinated.

In anticipation of the new season, I asked several of my colleagues here at Beebe to recommend some health documentaries for me to watch as I am doing the initial meal planning and thinking about improved healthiness of my family. Here are a few they recommended with some brief descriptions:

1. “Heal.” Director Kelly Noonan Gores' documentary takes us on a scientific and spiritual journey where we discover that our thoughts, beliefs, and emotions have a huge impact on our health and ability to heal. The latest science reveals that we are not victims of unchangeable genes, nor should we buy into a scary prognosis. The fact is we have more control over our health and life than we have been taught to believe. This film will empower you with a new understanding of the miraculous nature of the human body and the extraordinary healer within us all. (http://www.healdocumentary.com)
    
2. “Forks Over Knives.” I recently watched this film which focuses on a scientist – Dr. Colin Campbell – and a medical expert – Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn – who were separately researching why there was poor health in both under-developed nations and also in the United States. Both came to the conclusion that people were sick because of the way they were eating. Incredibly eye-opening! (www.forksoverknives.com)
    
3. “Crazy Sexy Cancer.” Women’s Health Executive Director (and Beebe Women blogger) Bridget Buckaloo went through her own journey with a health diagnosis. She found Crazy Sexy Cancer to be incredibly helpful and now follows many of the health and lifestyle changes suggested by creator Kris Carr. (https://kriscarr.com)
    
4. “The C Word.” This movie is based on the research of Dr. David Servan-Schreiber and addresses the failure of Western medicine’s approach to cancer.
    
5. “Food, Inc.” This is based on a book by Michael Pollan and takes an unflattering look inside America’s corporate controlled food industry.
    
6. “Sustainable.” This is one I hope to watch soon. It is an investigation into the economic and environmental instability of our food systems – looking at soil loss, water depletion, climate change, and pesticide use. (https://sustainablefoodfilm.com/)

Here are a couple bonus recommendations from our team:

• "The Call to Courage" (a talk by Brene Brown)
• "The Magic Pill"
• "What the Health"
• "Sicko" (Michael Moore)
• "Blue Mind" - Manager of Community Kim Blanch recommends this one - both the book and film - because it looks at research that shows the benefits of living near the water. Perfect for those of us who choose to live here in Coastal Delaware!

As we get ready for the school year and the cooler months, learn something new by checking out a documentary. Many of these are available on Netflix or Amazon.