As someone living with diabetes, what I eat directly impacts my blood sugar levels and health. I've watched numerous Amazon and Netflix documentaries about sugar, diabetes, and healthy diets that provide insights into how sugar affects the body. I shared my top 15 favorite documentaries that have taught me more about a healthier lifestyle.
Below is my overall #1 rated documentary. Remember that there are more documentaries about health on Netflix & Amazon. Use these as a start if they interest you.
My #1 Pick: The Game Changers (2019)
The IMDB rating of this movie is 7.8
This documentary breaks the myth attached to food, especially meat. It focuses on how the marketing industry promotes protein in combination with meat very lucratively.
In the beginning, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the world's most re-known bodybuilder, remarks about food and nutrition and promotes the culture of vegetables.
Louie Psihoyos, an Oscar-winning director, knows how to present in-depth research refreshingly.
The history of nutrition from the age of gladiators to today's athletes is briefly discussed in the documentary. Plant-based diets like green leafy vegetables can better replace meat to fulfill iron requirements. This documentary prefers being vegan over diet and exercise plans containing meat. According to researchers in the movie, a plant-based diet is the best solution if you want to control your cholesterol or even cancer.
What Means Health to You and Me?
Health is a precious gift that often doesn't receive the attention it deserves. A significant portion of our health is tied to our diet. Sugar, for instance, is essential in moderate amounts as glucose, providing us with energy. However, excess (added) sugar consumption can lead to detrimental health effects over time. Being diabetic, I'm particularly aware of the impact sugar has on my health; without proper medication, it can be life-threatening.
A shocking statistic from the DHHS Health and Human Services Department in America reveals that, on average, Americans aged 20 and older consume 17 teaspoons of added sugars daily!
For someone like me with diabetes, prioritizing health is not just a choice but a necessity. However, I recognize I can improve, like increasing my physical activity and water intake. The documentaries I've mentioned are a significant inspiration for leading a healthier lifestyle.Why Are Health Documentaries a Good Educational Resource?
Most of the documentaries on this list focus on healthier living or have links to managing diabetes. I've done some research and experimented with these themes in my balanced diet.
Visual storytelling can leave a lasting impression on us. That's why many documentaries about food and sugar utilize animations to capture our interest. Films centered on nutrition and health provide insights into how our dietary choices impact our lifestyle and well-being.
Starting afresh with a healthy lifestyle can be challenging. It requires a lot of motivation and determination. These documentaries are a great place to kickstart your journey.
Documentaries About Sugar and Food Reviewed
The IMDB rating of this movie is 7.7
This movie can be a life-turning point for you as it was for me. This documentary is based on the personal experiences of different people. It portrays the best picture of the challenges that a diabetic patient or people with other diseases have to face daily.
This whole journey is moving around the life of Dr Lee-Fulkerson. Due to heart disease, he followed a precautionary diet where he learned that the plant-based diet is the ultimate solution to many health issues, including his own.
In short, this documentary proves that disease afflicts can not only be controlled but can also be revised. If you have diabetes or other challenges in life, this is one of the best eye-opening documentaries.
The IMDB rating of this movie is 7.6
Food has been the most profitable business for a long time. Not many people know that the food business is directly related to the medical industry. If you want to summarize the whole documentary in one line; "¼ of your diet helps you to survive, ¾ of your diet will keep your doctor alive."
The message conveyed via this documentary is the regular menu we all share today. This film is directly putting a question on the desk for more significant firms related to health and food.
The problem is how to save farmlands and the health of people. Genetic changes and pesticide sprays on our foods without knowing their behavior have an adverse effect. All credit goes to the bigger pharmaceutical companies.
This movie clearly states that prescriptions from your doctor for medication are not the solution to every health problem. With an IMDb rating of 7.6, it's worth watching this documentary.
The IMDB rating of this movie is 7.4
There is no need to be marveled if you're gaining weight. Around 80% of our food contains (too much) sugar; on average, an Australian consumes 40 spoons of sugar in one day. If you have diabetes or want to cut sugar and processed foods out of your diet but lack motivation, this film can be a good starting point for you. Sometimes a diabetes documentary gets annoying, but the story told here makes you want to watch it.
This movie describes a sugar addiction and how to get rid of it. The journey throws light on the difficulties and changes that occurred in the body of Damon Gameau. Damon will no longer eat "healthy" food for 60 days but will only eat ready-made products from the supermarket with added sugar. Products that manufacturers want us to believe that they are healthy. The animations and fascinating insights into the sugar craving and sugar habit win the heart of viewers.
The IMDB rating of this movie is 7.4
Almost every person listens to conversations about weight loss in their social circles. There's a lot of marketing in the name of weight loss. Alone in America, a 60 billion dollar industry is associated with it.
In this documentary, filmmaker Carlo Ledesma tries to explain the monopoly and damages of the diet industry by creating a fictional role played by a woman who is obsessed with her eating and want to get rid of this obsession.
There are also interviews on eating habits conducted in this documentary with many famous advocates, like Dr Cristiane Northrup and Joe Cross. Gaining weight is a very common thing when having diabetes. Always take care of your body.
The IMDB rating of this movie is 7.5
The story of this movie revolves around Joe, who is on a countryside journey surviving on a juice diet for 60 days.
During his journey, Joe met a truck driver who suggested he do this juice diet to reduce his weight and work on his health conditions.
After many ups and downs, interesting evolvements come hand in hand with many dramatic changes in Joe's life.
The message we can take from this film is very clear. Loving yourself should be your number one priority. You can easily program your mind according to your will. You only have to focus on what you learn your body to like, to eat, and not to eat. You and your body will get used to it.
The IMDB rating of this movie is 7.7
Do you love sugar but have diabetes? This documentary is made for you. Stephanie, the director of this documentary, tries to cover all aspects of sugar and its effects on the human body. You should not miss this one if you want a perfect Netflix documentary about sugar with eye-opening knowledge.
Our body reacts to sugar the same way that it does to cocaine. Research tells us that if sugar consumption remains the same, every one in three people in America will develop serious diseases like diabetes.
This number is increasing drastically in children. The story shares a major discussion about the Coca-Cola company. We are members of this system, and our approach is extremely disturbing. We must control our health for a better future and a diabetes-free environment.
The IMDB rating of this movie is 7.2
Life is a gift, but when we don't value this gift, the situation will only get worse. This documentary is about Morgan Spurlock, the director of this movie, and claims that he eats more than an ordinary man.
Taking it as a 30-day challenge, Morgan starts an experiment to see how overeating fast food affects his body. He starts eating all his three meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, at MacDonald's. Before the challenge, Morgan had a complete medical check-up of his heart, liver, stomach, and skin.
In the last week of his challenge, his body starts behaving oddly, and he feels the same effect of alcoholism. Morgan, during this challenge, gains around 30 pounds with different severe medical conditions. Morgan says that we must avoid or ban McDonald's before it kills us all.
The IMDB rating of this movie is 7.2
This documentary by Kip Andersen states that our diet plans and food are all part of a big reel. We are not eating food by our own choices, but we are forced. Bigger food industries, pharmaceutical companies, and governments are involved in it. The primary concerns related to this documentary are the meat and dairy industry. Kip says that most of the major diseases like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease are because of these industrial-revolutionized meat and dairy products.
Many people with higher degrees in food science or any medical field believe that anything they say is the truth. One of the experts in this documentary says that sugar has nothing to do with many common diseases. Most of these experts receive funds from these food industries. If you want an in-depth food industry view, this documentary is the naked truth.
The IMDb rating of this movie is 7.7
This documentary says that making a diet plan is not rocket science. If you want to prepare a diet plan, you can easily.
Michael Schwartz gives a brief answer to many questions in this documentary. From the beginning, we have been very picky about what we eat. Eating and eating healthy are two different things. In this movie, Schwartz tries to make things simpler and easier to understand.
He said if you want to live a healthy life, eat less than your stomach desires. Complete research on American eating habits is also a major part of this documentary.
The IMDb rating of this movie is 7.3
This documentary is about the misconceptions that we have about foods and nutrition. Many companies and larger food firms completely manipulate us and spread false knowledge about this topic.
Michal Siewierski, the director of this documentary, recently became a vegan. He explores in this film how a plant-based diet helps us to live a healthier life. For this purpose, he interviewed many athletes, doctors, and nutritionists.
One of the biggest problems is the lack of knowledge about nutrition and the false marketing formulas companies use to sell their products. This documentary specifically hits the main components of our diet like; protein, calcium, dairy, eggs, omegas, machismo, B-12, and others. You must watch this documentary if you want a complete nutritional guide in one box.
The IMDb rating of this movie is 7.1
If you are searching for a documentary about sugar on Netflix, then this film can be a great starter.
This movie is breaking the rules of so-called societies who see vegetarians as aliens. Being vegan is treated like being religious. In this documentary, Marisa Miller took three New York citizens who want to be vegan. From prior education to motivation during their journey of 6 weeks, everything is provided by Marisa. The best thing is that if you re a vegan, you can easily control your sugar without any hassle.
This movie is not giving you any in-depth knowledge or provides any thumb rules to be a vegetarian but covers all perspectives for a beginner. The whole documentary is filmed in a very casual, or you can say a genuine way, to make it more realistic. With an IMDb rating of 7.2 it's the best educational documentary for vegetarians.
The IMDb rating of this movie is 7.8
Population increases daily, and the need to provide for that population too. This documentary, presented by American director Robert Kenner, throws light on the industrial revolution in the food industry. It covers great insight into the production of food on large scales.
When agriculture advanced, the percentage increased to compensate for the masses.
In this documentary, three issues were raised;
- False advertisement schemes
- Inhumane animal treatment
- New usage of corn
Corn is the major edible food in Western countries. Its excessive use, you can say it's an overdose, resulted in my allergies. The US law ensures that 30% of agricultural land must produce corn, which is unfair and needs changes. The other miserable things that happen to food consumers are fake advertisements. Companies show a traditional farming way in ads, whereas in reality, mass production can be shockingly different.
The IMDb rating of this movie is 7.1
If you have a revolutionary mindset and need motivation, sit back and prepare for the ride of your life.
This documentary is no less than a journey and magical illusion. Dr proposed a modern theory on fat and carbohydrates and the perfect diet plan. This movie focuses on healing your body by eating certain food and avoiding sugar and junk processed food items. The core theme of this film is a keto diet plan as a cure for many major diseases.
A delusion created in the early '50s is that fat is harmful and carbohydrates are good for you. The scenario was created to benefit the pharmaceutical, processed food, and weight loss industry.
The IMDb rating of this movie is 8.2
No one knows how many processing phases your food passes through before it goes from the field to your kitchen shelf.
Our food is a marketing product with a good smell, taste, and great-looking packaging, which we eat without knowing anything about.
This Netflix documentary describes some of the biggest food scams in history. Our bodies start resisting our food, and we don't know the reasons behind it, yet.
The director of Revolution Food tries to show us the bitter truth about the food supply chain and the people attached to it.
The farmer wages, the store profits, and more. Everything in this documentary is presented in a detailed way. Whenever food becomes a commodity, the food industry becomes the most profitable business industry. In this documentary, farmers and those who consume are victims of this food industry. The whole story revolves around human food and the history of crimes related to them.
The Game Changers Is My Top Sugar & Health Documentary
Adopting a healthier diet and regular exercise can significantly boost your overall well-being. This is especially true for those with diabetes, as it can dramatically improve your blood sugar levels.
Even if you don't have diabetes, these lifestyle changes can reduce fatigue and enhance your quality of life. Enjoy the documentaries, and be sure to apply what you learn!
Have you watched any of these documentaries about sugar and food? Let me know in the comments which are your favorite and if you have any other recommendations!
Sources
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This article made me consider how much sugar I’m actually consuming daily. Any specific tips from the doc, Ely, on balancing diet for someone with diabetes?
I think the key takeaway from documentaries like The Game Changers is the undeniable link between diet and health. It’s not about becoming vegan overnight but understanding the effect of our food choices.
But aren’t there healthy meat eaters too? It’s all a bit more complicated, isn’t it?
Absolutely, it’s a complex topic. The key is nutrition and making informed choices, regardless of being on a plant-based diet or not.
So if I start eating like The Game Changers, does it mean I’ll become an unbeatable athlete, or just unbeatable at choosing salads?
Watched The Game Changers, totally changed how I see food and health. Never knew how much diet impacts everything, not just weight.
health documentaries are all the same just trying to tell us to eat grass lol. anyone actually think they learn new stuff from these?
I’ve always believed in the power of documentaries to change perspectives! This one sounds like a must-watch. Thanks for sharing, Ely Fornoville.
Ely Fornoville, great pick with The Game Changers! Made me rethink my diet completely. Anyone else felt the kick to switch up their eating habits after watching?
I dunno, felt like they overhyped the benefits a bit. It’s not like flipping your diet overnight makes all the difference.
But did it show any cons or it’s all pro vegan? Curious before I dive in.
Lol, another doc telling us sugar is bad. Ain’t it all about balance? I eat what I want and just work out, seems fine to me.
Hey, after reading bout The Game Changers, do you think it’s realistic for everyone to go vegan for health? I mean, how do you manage when you’re out with friends?
I saw that doc and tried it. Not easy but there are more places now where you can find good vegan options. It’s all about planning ahead.
The Game Changers is a fantasy film completely devoid of science, do you really recommend a high carb, vegan diet for diabetics?
Hi Mark, I understand where you are coming from but I don’t recommend a high carb diet to diabetics. I do recommend a vegetarian or vegan diet. I am on a semi-low carb and as good as a vegetarian diet and it improves my lifestyle and I need less insulin. This movie was for me an eye-opener and helped me. 🙂