This past weekend I attended a showing of the new movie “Hunger for Change”. This film discusses diets, the food industry, cravings and weight loss through several health and nutrition speakers on these various subjects. Each speaks to a different aspect to these main topics and what is produced is a good introduction to why we should consider what and how we eat and our ability to take responsibility for our health. The trailer and website for this movie can be found here.
The speakers featured in this film have large followings, but the ones that I am most familiar with are David Wolfe, Christiane Northrup, Kriss Karr and Dr Joseph Mercola. Together they represent a cross of expertise in areas of mind body awareness, juicing and detoxifying foods and the connection between illness and diet.
The movie raises some good eyebrow raising facts about the food industries. Most notably was the description of how many foods we consume contain and can be defined as sugar. Here are the few I jotted down while watching the film: bread, pasta, crackers, corn, waffles, pancakes, sushi…yes even sushi and finally which I was familiar with but well spoken about by Jaime Oliver (who is featured in the film but not one of the main panel of speakers-reason not listed above) was the sugar content in milk. Jamie displayed in his video clipping the amount of sugar that is found in milk and then goes on to bring out a barrel full of sugar to demonstrate the amount a child can consume in a years time. Its startling! The movie speaks to how our beta endorphins kick into gear when we are under stress and rush to soothe us with our cravings for sugar. According to the film the average American consumes 150 pounds of sugar in a year and 22 teaspoons of sugar in a day. The film encourages us to read labels and consider getting our sugars from natural sources.
The other piece that I felt was well explored was the importance of how we approach our health when we are dealing with severe illnesses, addictions and obesity. The film encourages us to consider how we approach making changes to our health. Starting off with one small change. and incorporating it into your daily routine can have marked results. This can be helpful when we are changing our diets. Incorporating a detoxifying food into our daily food intake such chlorophyll from adding dark greens, parsley or cilantro, a heavy metal binder. Imputing what they termed “gentle foods” into your diet. It also spoke to juicing as a means to get your vegetables into your day, especially if you are on the run.
I would have liked that in the films depiction of obesity and weight loss addressed some of the environmental challenges to these issues. Perhaps through interviews with health educators they could have examined programs aim to address some of the challenges that are a part of loosing weight particularly in low-income communities in which safety, access to descent sidewalks and a food store with ample fresh produce are limited.
A most important piece that I enjoyed having reaffirmed is the importance of the positive reinforcement and visualization that is is key to having our emotional well-being support our changes. We must be kind to ourselves and be aware of the messages we speak to in and around our environment. I find this to be a true to having any and all the other areas of health work to synchronize and I encourage it as a good approach to any lifestyle change.
Hope you have a chance to enjoy the movie in your local area. Due share your review of this or other films you find of interests related to health. Enjoy!
