10 Health-Conscious Documentaries to Watch
Being quarantined at home you’ve got a lot of time on your hands. While many tend to binge-watch vapid dramas and mindless reality television, you know you could be spending your time more productively, which is why we’ve put together this list of top-rated, health-conscious documentaries that are both entertaining and informative.
We’re excited to say that Gaia’s recent merge with FMTV has added hundreds of more titles to our catalog, specifically on topics related to food and wellness, and we’ve included a number of those titles in this list.
In a time when illness and disease are running rampant, maintaining our health is paramount. So why not make use of that extra time and educate yourself on the myriad ways you can improve your wellbeing. Enjoy!
1. Stressed
A new exploration into emotional stress and its undeniable impact on humanity, STRESSED explores exciting science surrounding Neuro Emotional Technique (N.E.T.).
The film delves into our history with stress, how we got to where we are today, and where we go from here. Featuring experts and neuroscientists, we get a fresh perspective on the effects of stress. This documentary showcases compelling evidence that this breakthrough intervention can help people to alleviate their emotional stress, as well as deeper insight into this exciting topic.
2. The Gut Movie
In The Gut Movie, we follow the journey of journalist and researcher Kale Brock as, in the quest to discover whether the “optimal microbiome” does indeed exist, he travels from Australia to Namibia to live with The San, an ancient hunter-gatherer people living traditionally from the land. During the excursion Brock monitors his own microbiome and how it changes in conjunction with the new surroundings, and takes microbiome samples of The San to gauge the significant differences in microbiota present across cultures.
With expert commentary by leading gastroenterologist Professor Thomas Borody, molecular geneticist Dr. Margie Smith, immunology researcher and expert Professor Mimi Tang, naturopath and chiropractor Dr. Damian Kristof and others, The Gut Movie provides an insightful yet entertaining look at the explosive research of the gut and its impact on human health.
3. Sensitive: The Untold Story
A groundbreaking documentary about the temperament trait of high sensitivity found in 20% of the population in both men and women. Based on the findings of bestselling author-psychologist Dr. Elaine Aron (The Highly Sensitive Person), who discovered the brains of sensitive people work differently.
Highly sensitive people (HSPs) process all information (stimuli) and experiences more thoroughly, have more empathy and are more aware of the subtleties in the environment they live in. The evidence is in brain studies. The HSPs can make remarkable contributions to our world, but, especially in their youth, they can pay the price of being considered “too shy” or “too sensitive,” and made to feel like misfits.
4. 6th Floor: Expanding Possibility
6th Floor: Expanding Possibility is a documentary that explores what is possible in the realm of healing. American human behavioral specialist Candace Silvers journeys her clients through Bali, Indonesia, where the group gets to experience the island’s native healers.
Ms. Silvers has been traveling to Bali for several years and on this particular trip she challenges herself to learn a specific Balinese healing modality, Siwa Murti, from a healer she refers to as “Teacher Man.” Viewers get a glimpse into what some of these clients get to receive from working on high blood pressure to eyesight, to body image and how Ms. Silvers and the healers work together to create outer physical changes as well as internal.
5. The Cure Is…
THE CURE IS is a groundbreaking film that will forever change the way you look at your health. It explores the relationship of our emotions to our health and clearly demonstrates how our thoughts not only contribute to the disease process but may be the most powerful factors in determining whether we experience disease in our lifetime.
Many believed genetics to be the most significant factor in determining whether we obtain a disease .. Bruce Lipton, Ph.D., one of the first to clone stem cells over 44 years ago, states this is completely false. Genetics only contribute 5-10 percent to our health issues. THE CURE IS focuses on a new health paradigm that is shattering the way we look at our health.
6. Fuel Your Health
A film about the healing power of food and lifestyle, Fuel Your Health features nutrition experts, medical doctors, farmers, research scientists and best-selling authors along with others who will share their inspiring, healing stories. The documentary dives deep into subjects like the gut microbiome, the myth about fat, the fermentation revolution, lifestyle medicine as well as the optimum diet for the body and the brain. The film includes such best-selling authors as Dr. Terry Wahls, Dr. Maya Shetreat, and Sandor Katz, along with such nutritional pioneers as John Bagnulo and Dr. Mark Pettus.
7. What’s With Wheat?
More and more people are diagnosed with celiac and non-celiac gluten sensitivity than ever before! You have to ask the question, “WHY?”.
Cyndi O’Meara, nutritionist and founder of Changing Habits, went on a global quest to find out the reason why! She could not understand why, after millions of years of eating wheat, we now have this growing epidemic of wheat and gluten intolerance. Fourteen experts from Australia, United States, England, New Zealand, and India, including Dr. Perlmutter, Sarah Ballantyne, Dr. Terry Wahls, Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, Pete Evans, and others, weigh in on the subject and provide chilling answers.
8. Supercharged
Imagine if you could wake up every day feeling SuperCharged –you just can’t wait to take on your day!
What would it mean to you to sleep deeply every night and wake up refreshed, have boundless energy to get through your day, recover quickly from occasional ailments, and heal any chronic illnesses?
If you already feel healthy and want to optimize your life, this is for you. And if you’re struggling with any kind of health issue, this is even more important, especially if you are frustrated by your attempts to get better. You see, conventional medicines, and even many forms of alternative medicine, have limits. They often address symptoms instead of getting to the root of the problem and promoting real healing.
For anyone who wants to get well and stay well, this could be the most important information you ever get.
9. Food as Medicine
The Center for Disease Control reports that nearly half the population in the United States of America lives with at least one chronic disease. These diseases are the leading cause of death and disability. They are also the most costly and preventable of all health conditions in the country.
It is imperative that we start changing our food culture now. ‘Food As Medicine’ follows the growing movement of using food to heal chronic disease. From individuals empowering themselves to change what is on their plates, to hospital groups administering vegetable Rx programs, we can already see the change happening around us. Join us on the journey of food, health, community, and hope!
10. Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead
One hundred pounds overweight, loaded up on steroids and suffering from a debilitating autoimmune disease, Joe Cross is at the end of his rope and the end of his hope. In the mirror, he saw a 310 lb. man whose gut was bigger than a beach ball and a path laid out before him that wouldn’t end well.
With doctors and conventional medicines unable to help long- term, Joe turns to the only option left, the body’s ability to heal itself. He trades in the junk food and hits the road with juicer and generator in tow, vowing only to drink fresh fruit and vegetable juice for the next 60 days. Across 3,000 miles Joe has one goal in mind: to get off his pills and achieve a balanced lifestyle.
While talking to more than 500 Americans about food, health, and longevity, it’s at a truck stop in Arizona where Joe meets a truck driver who suffers from the same rare condition. Phil Staples is morbidly obese weighing in at 429 lbs; a cheeseburger away from a heart attack. As Joe is recovering his health, Phil begins his own epic journey to get well. What emerges is nothing short of amazing – an inspiring tale of healing and human connection.
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Study Finds Anti-Inflammatory Meds Are Causing Chronic Pain
A groundbreaking new study suggests that commonly used anti-inflammatory drugs and steroids may cause pain to become chronic. Could this lead to a dramatic paradigm shift in how pain is managed and prevented?
For the vast majority of people in acute pain, taking an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory, such as ibuprofen is the usual course of action. Inflammation has, for decades, been seen as a cause of pain and its control, the goal of patients and doctors. A new study suggests, however, that inflammation may actually be necessary to prevent pain from becoming chronic.
Given today’s overwhelming prevalence of chronic pain — pain that persists for more than three months — scientists have lately been turning their focus to studying the process by which acute pain transitions into more lasting and debilitating pain.
Researchers at McGill University recently completed a study in which they observed this process, using several methods. First, they looked at patients with lower back and facial pain.
Upon analysis of their immune cell samples, the scientists were surprised to find that those whose pain resolved showed an intense spike in the activity of inflammatory genes during the acute pain stages, which then rapidly diminished within three months.
