Compared to other health documentaries, In Defense of Food makes a more modest yet still compelling argument for healthy eating that serves to transform the viewer’s perspective of food. This documentary was made in 2015 by PBS and journalist Michael Pollan based on his book of the same name, a follow up to The Omnivore’s Dilemma.

Pollan summarizes his advice in 7 words: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. “Eat food” turns out to be more complicated than it seems. Most of the “food” eaten in the Western Diet is processed food, junk that Pollan deems unworthy of the moniker “food” and calls “edible food-like substances” instead.

Actual food would be recognized by your great-grandmother and can rot. Processed food is easy to spot because it is “loud” due TV ads and screaming health claims like REDUCED FAT or LESS SODIUM.

Pollan argues that quieter food is healthier and sums this up in his usual creative way: “If it came from a plant, eat it. If it was made in a plant, don’t.” This is one of his many Food Rules, a list of pithy recommendations that he reveals throughout the documentary.

The narrative moves at a rapid clip, sliding from topic to topic, occasionally diving in political waters like when he advocates for a beverage tax as a means to reduce sugar intake. He also addresses psychological issues that lead to overeating and offers simple suggestions like using smaller plates, eating slower, and serving vegetables first.

As in most health documentaries, he recommends a predominantly plant-based diet but doesn’t suggest that you stop eating meat entirely but rather consider meat a “flavoring or special occasion food.”

The most inventive concept is his discussion of Nutritionism, which Pollan defines as nutrition complicated into an ideology. He explains that so-called food experts redefine food as a collection of nutrients and have historically made faulty assumptions that contradict previously held ideas. The consequences of this over complication of nutrition is contradicting health claims that have led to a decline in health, the opposite of what it was meant to do.

This may be his most controversial contention since he leaps to the opposite extreme by suggesting that nutrients are unimportant. Still, he makes a relevant point in calling out the preoccupations of nutrients over actual food endemic to the many ineffective fad diets (Atkins, South Beach, Ornish, Pritikin, etc.) Nutrients are important, they just shouldn’t be a substitute for eating real food.

In his most effective segment, Pollan exposes how processing food takes out naturally occurring nutrients and vitamins. Food companies have reacted to pseudo-scientific Nutritionism by using marketing strategies that tweak nutrients. They enrich processed food with vitamins or artificially adjust nutrient content (hence the REDUCED FAT or LESS SODIUM above) to make unhealthy processed foods sound healthy.

This convoluted reasoning is why many people believe that sugary drinks like Gatorade or VitaminWater are actually good for you. The government, in turn, has subsidized processed food ingredients like high fructose corn syrup and hydrolyzed soy protein to create an inexpensive “calorie conveyor belt” that fuels the obesity epidemic.

Practically every health documentary has identified the same problem, but Pollen makes an interesting and quite sensible case as to how we got here. In my experience, many people think they are eating healthy foods when they are not and become frustrated when they continue to gain weight or find their blood sugar and cholesterol have worsened despite their efforts.

I do what I can during a 15-minute office visit to challenge a lifetime of misinformation that has led to poor food choices, but this nearly 2-hour documentary does a more exhaustive job. I highly recommend it. No insurance or co-pay required.

Pollen’s thesis is that we have been devaluing actual food with disastrous results for our health and our happiness. His food rules offer reasonable suggestions for how to shift into a healthier diet. For individuals with obesity-related disease who are not ready to commit to a strict vegetarian or vegan diet, this documentary offers a moderate course towards healthier eating.

Biggest criticism: Pollen never bothers to match any of the health claims in this documentary with an actual source. I suspect the book version does cite sources, but the documentary just expects you to take his word for everything he says. That doesn’t work for me, even when I agree with him.

Best Quote: “We’re eating fat on fat on fat on sugar on fat, sugar, and salt.” – former FDA Commissioner Dr. David Kessler describing Buffalo wings.

The full quote is worth reading: “Take Buffalo wings. What are they? You start off with the fatty part of the chicken, usually fried in the manufacturing plant first. That pushes a lot of fat into that chicken wing. Fried usually again in the restaurant – that pushes more fat into that wing. Then red sauce, what is it? Sugar and salt. Then white creamy sauce on the side. That’s sugar and salt. What are we eating? We’re eating fat on fat on fat on sugar on fat, sugar, and salt.”

Eew. I can feel my arteries clogging just thinking about it.

In Defense of Food is available for streaming on Netflix and on the PBS website.

About the author

David Z Hirsch is the pen name of the author of the award-winning novel Didn’t Get Frazzled, a medical comedy-drama described by BlueInk Review as “the best fictional portrayal of med school since ER” (starred review). He also published (under his actual name) the award-winning novel Jake, Lucid Dreamer hailed as “a fantastical tale with a powerful message” by SPR.

Also, check out his YouTube channel featuring educational videos on common medical conditions.

He is a practicing internal medicine physician in Maryland.

Check out my other reviews:

A medical review of the documentary What the Heath

A medical review of the documentary Forks Over Knives

A medical review of the documentary Super Size Me

A medical review of the documentary Sugar Coated

A medical review of the documentary Fed Up

A medical review of the documentary Feel Rich