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What The Health:

Tyler Anderson
Nutrition 1020
Prof. Lora Holtrop Kohl
December 7, 2022
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What The Health

research paper on a book or documentary regarding the subject matter of the class, from a list

supplied by the instructor. Among the options listed I tried to pick what I hoped would be a

factual documentary, with no preconceived agendas, as I have felt the assignments outside of

the textbook have been largely biased toward plant only diets. Another factor was access to the

documentary on streaming services; but unfortunately, I did not read the synopsis of the film I

picked on Netflix, ended up with the very biased film What The Health (Films).

While occasionally bringing up intriguing points, which I will discuss below, this 2017

film was not at all a balanced view on nutrition and health, but rather a propaganda project by

presenter Kip Anderson. I do not use the phrase propaganda lightly—as this is a phrase thrown

around all too often in our polarized world—but in reality, there is no other message in this film

besides that of a plant only diet being the “cure all” for virtually every chronic disease humans

face. Below I will outline various topics covered in the film, as well as provide information from

external sources to both support and counter claims made in this film.

What The Health Are They Talking About

The basis of this film is supposedly the journey or writer/director Kip Anderson, as he

researches his risk of genetic predisposition for developing cancer, to learning that processed

foods and meats are the biggest risks for cancer and many other life-threatening diseases.

Where the film starts to veer into a clearly biased direction is when claims such as type 2

diabetes is not caused by consumption of high sugar content, but instead is almost exclusively
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linked to the consumption of meat and animal products. By contrast, the textbook for the class

states that type 2 diabetes can be a development as result to overnutrition, or the prolonged

consumption of more nutrients than the body needs, as opposed to being the result of animal

product consumption alone (Wardlaw, 57).

A point that the textbook does mostly match the film, is that of diet being linked to

increased risk of cancer. According to the text, “one of every three cancer deaths in the United

States is linked to excess body fat… (Wardlaw, 365).” But again, where the narrative differs is

that in which the film states that those that eat even a small amount of animal products are at a

disproportionally higher risk of developing cancer, as opposed to the overall BMI of the

individual being considered.

And while the textbook for this class definitely promotes a more plant-based diet, it

does not exclude meats and animal products from being a healthy part of a balanced,

moderated intake of a variety of foods (Wardlaw, 223). Yes, there is overwhelming evidence

that a more plant-based diet is healthier, the trouble that comes with claims made in What The

Health, is those of miracle cures that are seemingly dangerous. These claims are what set it far

apart from a suggestion of trying veganism, to saying it WILL cure you.

What The Health Did They Just Claim

In the film we meet multiple patients with chronic diseases, such as a woman who

suffers from chronic pain, asthma, and was told “she would have a heart attack within 30 days,”

by a physician. She shows the many bottles and bottles of medications she takes; she is bound

to using a walker and wheelchair to get around because of pain, and we are led to believe her
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diet that includes animal products is compounding these issues, without really going into her

diet. We return to this woman two weeks later. She has been on a strict plant-based diet, for

those two weeks, and we learn about this as she is walking outside with Anderson without her

walker or wheelchair. She claims that by simply being on a vegan diet, she has reversed her

chronic pain, her cardiac issues, and has stopped taking all her medications. At no point does

she mention that this was done with medical supervision, or where the advice came from. This

narrative of the film dangerously suggests, with no evidence, to the viewers that by switching to

plant-based diets, that they can simply stop taking all medications and be miraculously cured of

their ailments in two weeks. This is vagrant disregard to medical safety in the name of a biased

self-serving production team.

Who The Health are the Production Team and Interviewees

To distinguish the validity of the subject matter in this film, we should first look at those

presenting the information as fact.

This film was written and directed by Kip Anderson and Keegan Kuhn, neither of whom

have a background in nutrition or journalism, and whose other films include the unsettling

Cowspiracy, which is a truly disturbing look into the atrocious factory livestock industry. When

wondering if these filmmakers are truly providing an unbiased view of the effects of nutrition

on health, we simply have to look at the website for What The Health itself (Films).

Upon opening the website for the film, the very first option to explore, is titled “Take

Action,” in which the user is taken to a page promoting a switch to vegan diet with a “30-day

Vegan Challenge.” And while this clearly could be just a helpful resource for those inspired by
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the filmmakers, and those that truly believe the arguments put forward in the film, the next

option on the page should give those investigating the integrity of this project pause. Bright red

letters proclaiming, “check out our meal planner,” appear over a paragraph describing the

perks of their very own vegan recipe and nutrition site, ending with a promotion to save 40%

when you sign up to their paid subscription for a year (Films). Interesting for these filmmakers,

who talk about the—unfortunately true—money deals between the food industry and health

advocate societies, to use their own form of health advocacy to make money off those they

could easily give this service to for free.

To the filmmaker’s credit they do have a page linking to the sources of the subjects they

present. And while there are studies in this page that are from reputable government

organizations or peer reviewed journals, there are just as many with links to stories on nutrition

websites that make unsubstantiated health claims. A point of contention I found in the sources

used was the inclusion of 29 articles by Dr. Michael Gregor from the website NutritionFacts.org,

the most cited single individual on the site (Nutrition). Dr. Gregor is one of the physicians

predominately interviewed in the film, making incredible medical claims. When I looked at the

info listed about Dr. Gregor on the film’s website, I was very amused to find that the website

NutritionFacts.org, from which these 29 articles were pulled, was owned and operated by Dr.

Gregor. When self-publishing your articles, you cannot then have them used as peer reviewed

facts.

This is the problem with many such documentaries with a one-sided view or discussion

on any topic. The public at large is going to take the subject presented in these films as facts,

believing the filmmaker is telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. But
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often, we are being sold half-truths that need to be fully researched to come to a concise

understanding of the issue. Anderson and Kuhn have a track record of being biased in their

films, and there is no reason to believe that there were no contradicting experts to interview.

While I do accept that I have been very hard on this film and those involved with it, it is not

from a place of anti-veganism or that I don’t agree with many issues with the factory farm

industry they bring up. I have been so hard on this film because of how irresponsible the

filmmakers have been in their final product, and how it can negatively impact individuals that

use it to self-treat based on the falsehoods they present.

Citations

Films, A. U. M. (2017). What The Health Film. WHAT THE HEALTH. Retrieved December 7,
2022, from https://www.whatthehealthfilm.com/

NutritionFacts.org. (2019, February 20). NutritionFacts.org | The Latest Nutrition Related

Topics. https://nutritionfacts.org/

Wardlaw’s Contemporary Nutrition: A Functional Approach. Sixth edition. (2021). McGraw-

Hill Education.