Food Matters?

So my husband and I watched the documentary Food Matters last night. It was...disorganized. I really wouldn't recommend it, though it had some valuable ideas in it. My primary issue was that it used a very broad brush to set up pharmaceuticals - any pharmaceuticals - as bad, bad, bad and nutritious food as the magic bullet to cure all ills.

At first, I was a little confused, but on board. The film opened with a discussion about how few doctors (under 6 percent) have any training whatsoever in nutrition and that nutrition is not a requirement to become a physician. Then it moved on to discuss how we under-nourish our soil, and therefore the plants grown on large, industrial farms may be lacking in some nutrients. Okay, so far so good. I think all doctors should be required to be able to answer basic questions about nutrition and that buying local is best when possible.

Then the movie went on to discuss that organic is best. Okay, still on board, but this assumes a lot about the viewer - mainly, that you can afford organics all the time, then moved on to discuss the "superfoods." Right...I know there are "superfoods," which are supposed to be excellent sources of nutrients. But at the same time, if your focus is on buying local organic food and the superfoods don't grow in your region, then what?

So the film continued to food as a cure-all for all illnesses, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, even brain damage. Okay, I can buy that healthy eating would help prevent and even in some cases counteract the effects of heart disease and diabetes. And evidence shows that it can prevent cancer, too. But brain damage? Epilepsy? Most, if not all, disease as the movie claimed? If that were true, and we've moved away from the healthy eating we did before as the movie claimed, then why do we die? Why do we live longer? After all, the movie eventually states explicitly - "your food is killing you," and "your body will always repair itself if you ingest the right nutrients." Riiiight.

Sounds too easy. My take: the movie brings up some good points. You should eat healthy to avoid chronic, preventable illnesses. However, I think it's irresponsible to set up an us and them mentality with the medical profession. Sure, they're there to make money. But I don't think most physicians have it as part of their annual plan to make X amount of patients sick so they can make more money off them. Our health system is clearly flawed, as is the way we eat. But I don't think that everything can be fixed by healthy eating, just like I don't think that everything can be fixed with a pill.