The Aftermath of "What the Health"

What the Health seems to be the new must see documentary these days.  I had heard about it, but never made any real effort to watch it.  One night, my husband made the suggestion and without thinking, I said, "Sure."

At the time, it never occurred to me how much of an impact it would have on those in my social circles.  What will be more interesting is seeing how many people let the film impact their lives long term or if veganism will be a passing trend for them.

WHAT THE HEALTH from AUM Films & Media on Vimeo.

A little over a year ago, I tried to give up meat.  It lasted inconsistently for about 2 weeks. After the first two days of detoxing and feeling like crap, I loved how I felt not eating meat.  

Unfortunately, the inability to plan meals in advance was my down fall and I went back to meat.  I revisited the idea of giving up meat again a few weeks before I saw What the Health. 

I cook most if not every meal for my family.  Over the years, I have had random moments where cooking would low key make me gag.  In the weeks leading up to watching the documentary, meats and melted cheese were making me sick to my stomach just looking at them or smelling it.  I had a fear that I was pregnant it got so bad. Fortunately, no baby was on the horizon.

While I think there is propaganda and bias associated with What the Health, I definitely thought it had some interesting information.  I won't ruin it for you if you haven't seen it, but it make me reevaluate my eating habits and what I considered healthy eating

On Monday, I started my journey to being vegan.  It has been difficult since I still do all the cooking and time management and planning are not my forte.  But my biggest motivation is losing weight. 

Several of my friends and even my sister have begun cutting meat out of their diet and have started seeing results in their waist line.  I am now over 240 pounds and that is horrifying to me.  Diabetes runs in my family and my weight has always been an insecurity of mine.

I'm only a few days in and have only cut out meat so far, but I will definitely share more about my meatless journey along the way. If you are open minded about changing your diet, I definitely suggest you check out What the Health.  

We are living in an age where money is the top priority over our health.  The government is more concerned about lining their pockets than the impact of the meat and pharmaceutical industry on our lives.  It is more expensive to eat healthy than it is to eat cheap burgers from the drive through window.  You can't tell me there is nothing wrong with that.

I am not trying to persuade anyone to cut meat out of their diet.  At this point, my change isn't about a moral issue with animals.  But if you are interested, you can also check out a few others about the meat industry: Food Inc., Food Choices, and Cowspiracy

So have you watched What the Health yet?  What did you think? Share your comments below.