WHAT THE HEALTH

In the midst of local, national and global tensions this week, a new film grabbed my attention. WHAT THE HEALTH is a stunner! It is the second groundbreaking documentary by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn. Their first was COWSPIRACY, an eye opening exploration of the impact of animal agriculture on environmental health. WHAT THE HEALTH focuses on the impact of food choice on human health by exposing the collusion and corruption at every level of animal agriculture, our food system, medical/pharmaceutical industries and government making us sick, keeping us sick and costing us trillions in healthcare dollars.

Leaders in the burgeoning lifestyle medicine movement--Dr. Alan Goldhamer, Caldwell Esselstyn, M. D., John McDougall, M.D., Michael Klaper, M. D., Joel Kahn, M. D., Milton Mills, M. D., Michelle McMacken, M. D., Neal Barnard, M. D., Michael Greger, M. D., Garth Davis, M.D., and former president of the American College of Cardiology, Kim Williams, M. D.--deliver a stinging critique of current medical/pharmaceutical practice and the underlying nutritional information war. All of these highly regarded medical professionals urge us to rethink everything we’ve ever been told about the impact of food choice on personal health and our body’s incredible power to prevent, fight and even reverse the chronic illnesses that are unnecessarily killing us. The film demonstrates the power of dietary change from animal-based to whole plant-based foods to restore health in real persons suffering from debilitating disease.

Most troubling is the revelation that trusted medical groups--American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society and Susan G. Komen--are all in deep collusion with Big Food and Big Pharma for Big Bucks! Not only do these groups accept millions from pharmaceutical and food industry companies, they knowingly recommend patients eat the very meat and dairy products which are destroying their health! According to Caldwell Esselstyn, M. D. and his colleagues, “Animal protein plays an enormous role in the causation of cardiovascular disease and cancer.” This is not news to many of us. The news is the blatant promotion of a diet that is known to be carcinogenic, diabetic and cardiovascular-disease-causing by those who claim to advocate for health and healing!

This is a film about corruption, collusion and greed among the animal agriculture industry, the medical/pharmaceutical industry and government. It's about the power of special interest groups to drive unhealthy consumer spending habits. It's about the failure of nutritional training for doctors. It’s about environmental racism and the impact of animal agriculture on community health.

The swamp is vast and deep, but change is on the horizon. It has already begun as individuals and groups discover for themselves the healing power of whole plant-based foods and the disease promoting power of animal-based foods. The film features athletes and patients who discover restored health, strength, vigor and endurance when they drop animal foods and adopt a plant-based diet. The word is out--“you don't need to eat dead animals to be healthy.”