5 Enlightening Health Documentaries
- Forks Over Knives
- The Truth About Alcohol
- Kids in Crisis
- Unrest
- Cooked
People who work in healthcare and related fields of expertise may enjoy learning about relevant topics by watching documentaries. A documentary goes in-depth on a subject. These are the five best health documentaries to enjoy watching this year.
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1. Forks Over Knives
When perusing the five best health documentaries, Forks Over Knives deserves a top mention. This documentary sets out to convince viewers to switch to a plant-based diet for health reasons. It delves into the research about the health risks of high meat consumption. The lives of scientific and medical researchers are followed by the hosts. This documentary also follows individuals who have made the change to a diet of plant-based foods and were able to cut their use of medications.
2. The Truth About Alcohol
In The Truth About Alcohol, British emergency room physician Javid Abdelmoneim takes a look at what prompted the United Kingdom to lower its recommended maximum intake of alcohol for men to be the same as what it recommends for women. He examines the risks of drinking, health benefits of low to moderate alcohol consumption and why the UK’s government changed its guidelines. This ranks as one of the five best health documentaries because it also explores the metabolism of alcohol consumption and why some people get inebriated faster than others.
3. Kids in Crisis
According to mental health website Happiful, it is a good idea to include mental health subject when looking for the five best health documentaries to watch. One of their picks is Kids in Crisis. This documentary explores children’s mental health, with a particular focus on obsessive-compulsive disorder. The story of a child is told through the eyes of the parents. The parent’s worry and frustration with the healthcare system are highlighted, as is the fact that there is a major lack in the availability of quality and affordable mental health services for young children.
4. Unrest
Chronic fatigue syndrome is an often misunderstood chronic condition that can besiege anyone at any time. The documentary Unrest takes a look at one woman’s story and how the condition has affected her career path, education, interpersonal relationships and ability to socialize with others. One doctor told the woman that it was all in her head, which is a common experience for people who have problems that are not obvious to the naked eye and not able to be diagnosed with a simple laboratory test.
5. Cooked
This documentary features Michael Pollan, the acclaimed author and cook who has been featured on many television and cable shows. Pollan takes a balanced and data-driven approach to healthy eating rather than a hysterical one. In this documentary, Pollan takes a look at many different controversial topics around the foods that people eat. Some of the topics covered include factory farming versus ethical and sustainable meat, modern bread production versus the gluten-free movement and farm subsidies that play a role in supermarket prices and what is available and when. Pollan advocates for people to get into the kitchen and prepare their own food. He suggests visiting the food growers, going to farmer’s markets and slowing down the process of preparing, cooking and eating.
Each of these documentaries offers a close look at a topic related to health. Even if it is not in one’s area of expertise, all types of health are interconnected. Delve into a new topic or look at one more closely by watching one or all of these five best health documentaries for people who work in healthcare and related careers.