A few problems with What the Health

Have you seen the documentary, 'What the Health'?

My husband and I watched it together, and it has led to some interesting questions and conversations with clients and friends.

Any food film that gets people thinking a little harder about where their food comes from and how it's impacting their health is a good thing.

However, there are quite a few problems with this film:

1) It assumes everyone will react the same (positive) way if they go vegan.

Having experimented with vegetarianism and veganism in my 20's, I have learned the hard way that this diet doesn't work for everyone. I felt great for a few years, but slowly became nutrient deficient and ran into problems. Since then, I have seen the same issues in many of my clients as well.

Many women, especially those of child bearing age, really struggle to get all the nutrients they need without any animal protein, particularly iron, zinc, calcium and B12. This can lead to low energy, hair loss, infertility, anemia and other concerns, especially among active women.

2) It writes off all meat as bad

Yes, many meat products do not enhance our health. Some processed meats have been linked to cancer. And it is a good idea to limit factory produced meat due to hormones, antibiotics, corn and grain feed and stressed conditions for the animals.

But grass fed beef is very different from a McDonald's hamburger- with lower fat content and more Omega 3 fatty acids than factory meat. Wild salmon or other seafood is packed with anti inflammatory compounds and natural poultry and eggs are a great source of lean protein.

3) It promotes a high carbohydrate diet