For those of us who think The Biggest Loser doesn’t qualify as “health motivation and education,” here are five great films to get you thinking about and participating in your greater health.
#1: Hot Yoga
I adore yoga. I think it’s a gentle exercise that emphasizes range of motion, health of the body, and care of your self over punishment, shame, or weight loss, and this particular yoga exercise is a great introduction for people who’d like to give it a try. The aesthetic and soundtrack choices also happen to make me belly laugh, so I highly recommend you give it a try.
#2: Forks Over Knives
Look, some vegetarians and vegans kind of like to rail on people who aren’t about how horrible their lifestyle is. And I get how annoying that is. I’ve striven for all the years of my vegetarianism to approach the topic with an open mind and a lot of sensitivity for different viewpoints. So I personally really enjoyed this documentary because it presents the health benefits of eating a plant-based diet in a way that deemphasizes the typically fat-shaming approach many others take, cutting way down on the “gross out” factor as well as the “but the poor baby cattle!” tear-jerking, and just gives it to you straight in terms of medical data, cancer markers, and clear cut research. It’s worth a look; persuasive or not, it’s useful information even for the meatatarians in our midst.
#3: Deconstructing Supper
Chef John Bishop is a little stodgy (like watching a live broadcast of NPR), but this documentary is incredibly informative about genetically modified crops, organic food, and just what all the fuss is about. The documentary lacks the sensationalism of other such films, which makes it a more accessible and engaging view on the topic in general.
#4: How to Cook Your Life
This documentary follows a Zen practitioner and cook as he teaches culinary classes that incorporate Zen teachings into the incredibly mindful – and incredibly nourishing – art of baking bread and preparing other meals. Good for the spirit and the body.
#5: Wallace and Gromit: Loaf and Death
I honestly believe that laughter is the best medicine, and Wallace and Gromit are among my secret arsenal of awesome that are always guaranteed to make me laugh. Plus, they’re bakers!
3 replies on “Healthy Viewing: Top 5 Netflix Instant Health Watches”
I watched “Fat, sick and nearly dead” and really liked how it turned out for the truck driver. It inspired me to do mini juice jaunts every now and then and I love it. I also decided to go a week without coffee and was amazed at how miserable I felt the first few days without. I was nauseated, had chills and headaches. I’m back on coffee, I just can’t quit him.
Ooh, I’ll have to add Forks and Knives to my queue! I went vegetarian mainly for ethical reasons, so I’m familiar with but not as knowledgeable as I’d like to be about some of the health benefits. I started a new job a few weeks ago and people have asked me lots of questions about vegetarianism after noticing that I never had any meat in my lunches, so it might be something useful to pass along to them as well!
I do NOT recommend “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead.” Full of food-shaming and the unrealistic plan of being on juice fast for months.