Review: ‘The Magic Pill’ Is A Terrific Film

      142 Comments on Review: ‘The Magic Pill’ Is A Terrific Film

I mentioned recently that I watch documentaries while walking on my treadmill. Today I fired up Netflix and watched The Magic Pill, produced by Pete Evans and directed by Rob Tate. I met them both when they visited the Fat Head farm in 2015. That’s Pete mugging it up in the photo below, of course. There’s a reason he’s a TV personality. Rob is the quiet guy farthest to the right in the photo.

They didn’t mention the film back then, so perhaps they weren’t working on it yet. Or perhaps they weren’t far enough along to talk about it. Either way – and I don’t say this just because I like them personally – it’s the most compelling documentary I’ve seen on food and health. Period. It’s beautifully shot, beautifully written, and a couple of the stories told over the course of the film will likely bring a lump to your throat.

Before we continue, here’s the official trailer.  If you don’t subscribe to Netflix, you can also buy or rent the film on Amazon.

The film opens with the question Why are so many people around the world fat and sick? Why are we dying of what seem to be preventable diseases that didn’t afflict our ancestors?

The filmmakers interview Aboriginal Peoples in Australia, who, like Native Americans living on reservations, have screamingly high rates of diabetes. The older people remember a time when their parents and grandparents died of old age, not heart disease and diabetes. We learn that several of them will go on a retreat for some weeks and live on their traditional diet.

That story alone would have been interesting, but then we’re taken to meet people in America who are also struggling with the diseases of civilization: obesity, diabetes, asthma, cancer and autism. They have likewise accepted a challenge to switch to a real-food diet of meats, seafood, vegetables, eggs, nuts and fruits — in other words, a paleo diet.

Watching these people empty their kitchens and pantries of what passes for food these days is simultaneously amusing and horrifying. You know what I mean, because you’ve tossed those foods yourself … the cereals, breads, Spaghetti-Os, goldfish crackers, Doritos — oh, and of course the wheat crackers in a box bragging about the whole grains and low fat content.

Then we see them learning to cook and enjoy real foods. It doesn’t always go well. One little girl on the autism spectrum was so outraged at having her goldfish crackers and Doritos taken away, she refused to eat for five days, according to her parents. But once she started eating actual food, she kept asking for more.

While waiting for the results of the dietary-change experiments, the filmmakers take us on a tour through a bit of dietary history. We learn how a low-fat diet based on grains became the standard nutrition advice and what the results have been. Lots of people whose books or other works you know make an appearance: Nina Teicholz, Nora Gedgaudas, Dr. William Davis, Lierre Keith, Dr. Jason Fung and Joe Salatin.

We also learn how ferociously the food industry (and the dietitians they support) will fight back against the real-food movement by seeing some footage from the Tim Noakes trial — the one where he was acquitted of all charges before the HPCSA decided to appeal and go after him yet again.

The lump-in-the-throat moments come around near the end, when we see what happens to sick people who switch to real-food diets. Sure, I knew they’d get better. I expected to see overweight diabetics lose weight and stop taking insulin. I expected to see asthma to go away. I even expected to see cancer go into remission.

But as a father of two girls, seeing the effects of a real-food diet on the little girl with autism got to me. I was also moved by the retired nurse who was fat and miserable and diabetic and taking ever-higher doses of insulin, then lost 45 pounds and now needs no insulin at all. You can tell this was a woman who was ready to give up.

Rob Tate, the director, mentions to her that our treatments for people struggling with obesity and diabetes always seem to boil down to Here, try this pill or that pill. Maybe what we need to try is changing what we eat.

I think I always knew that, she tells him. But I think I didn’t know how.

Bingo. With so much garbage advice being handed down from dietitians, government agencies, “health” organizations like the American Heart Association, etc., etc., it’s been difficult for people to know how to cure themselves with food.

The real magic pill is real food – and it tastes good too. That’s the message of this beautiful film.

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142 thoughts on “Review: ‘The Magic Pill’ Is A Terrific Film”

    1. Tom Naughton Post author

      Yeah, I remember starting a bag of Doritos thinking I’d only eat a few of them. That didn’t usually end well.

      1. BobM

        There’s no feedback mechanism for carbs. Also, if you believe in the proton theory by Petro Dobromylskyj of Hyperlipid, the high-omega 6 oils cause insulin sensitivity (or lowered insulin resistance, if you choose to look at it that way) for fat cells. This means you eat more than you should. (Whereas if they were high in saturated fat, this would high insulin resistance in the fat cells, which would cause you to shut down eating. Don’t know of any good human studies on this, though.)

        My wife says I have tremendous willpower. But that willpower stops at eating carbs. That is, my willpower is to not start eating chips or ice cream or the like. Once I do start eating any of these, I have no willpower.

        1. Tom Naughton Post author

          I can overeat processed carbs quite easily. But when I eat whole-food carbs — squash, sweet potato, etc. — a small serving is satisfying.

          1. Gerard

            So true! The one thing I hate about the whole paleo/keto movement despite having success on them both is the demonisation of all carbs. Many paleolithic communities lived off 80% carbs in the form of tubers. Tubers always seem to get shoved under the blanket when it comes to these kinds of docos. lol – sorry to say Tom but even fathead didn’t address tubers. ;)….. and inexplicably paleo gives license to eat neolithic fruits. Tubers better than fruit. Infact I would say *real* whole grains like steel cut oats are better than fruit. And legumes – no one ever got obese from eating hummus…… anyways i’ve lost 30kg by switching between keto (5% carb) and potato hack (99% carb)…. Both work for weight loss – never mix fat with carb. Never eat processed crap regardless of if its carb or fat.

            1. Salim Morgan

              Well, for me it’s moot now that I’m diabetic, all carbs ARE demons. I have to deal with them on those terms. Admittedly, had that damage never occurred, a few “tubers” now and then might have been fine. They aren’t now.

              Second, I think it’s nonsense that any major populations lived on 80% starches. Before organized mass agriculture, “hunting and gathering” activities would never yield that ratio except in very very poor environments. That’s a myth. BTW, eating animals head to tail was not “high protein” either!

              I’m no fan of “paleo”. Paleo is ideology, keto is science. I prefer the latter.

          1. Walter

            Only having to get off my butt and go to the store kept me at one big bag.

            Reminds me of one of my neighbors roomates who decided to buy a two week supply of cocaine to get the volume discount and ending up snorting it in one night and because of induced paranoia stopping up the bathtub and opening the facutes and causing a flood. Cocaine is just faster than striped carbs and industrial seed oils{1], but they kill you just the same.

            [1] Gnolls.org

      3. Kathy in OK

        I love Doritos, by the family-size bag. When I switched to plain, “unflavored” potato chips I was so proud of myself. What could be wrong with potatoes, salt & fat? But I still couldn’t stop at a “serving size”. Live and learn.

        1. Tom Naughton Post author

          Got to know your own triggers. I don’t have that problem with Boulder chips, by the way. Probably because they’re cooked in real fats (coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil), I actually find them satisfying enough to happily quit after a small serving.

    2. gallier2

      Funny, not for me, never was. I was quite the lardass with the sweet-tooth but starchy dry stuff never did it for me. This said, I had been lucky that my parents were from the old generation that went through WWII (in Germany) and that they knew how to cook real propers meals without shortcuts and they did. This compensated somewhat for the more and more convenience and fast food (I ate my first pizza when I was 12, my first hamburger when I was 20 and all the other American stuff came even later (I’m 52 now). Don’t get me wrong, there was still a lot to kill me slowly, candy, juices, pasta etc. but I had also learned to appreciate real food. One thing that I noticed from watching a lot of youtube lately, from “we tested food” kind of videos, that most young people especially in north America but also here in Europe, do not know anymore what real food is.

      1. Jillm

        I am worried that the next generation of children will refuse home prepared food. How many children eat a lamb chop and scrambled eggs before they leave for school?

        1. Tom Naughton Post author

          Actually, I’m pretty sure the trend is back towards real food, based on what I see on supermarket shelves.

        2. Nikki

          My daughter does! She even helps us make the eggs most mornings (that’s notable because she’s only 2.5 years old). I’m very happy that I figured out what an actual healthy diet looks like before she was born. Hopefully she’ll never struggle with food the way I have for most of my life. Now, what I can’t really control is what she eats at daycare. I can’t wait until she starts school and we can pack her lunch.

    3. M

      I have not seen the documentary. I viewed the wrong link here, obviously. Not helpful in the least. After reading you generalized statements and comment about dietitians, I knew this was a simple, uneducated opinion. Sad

  2. Lynda

    We watched this just last weekend and LOVED it too!! My grandson was diagnosed with autism when he was 2 years old but we were on to it about six months before and my daughter put him on a special diet plus supplements and methyl-B12 injections. Within a week of the diet change it was like a light had been switched on and a fog lifted. The first week of the B12 saw him say 8 words – prior to that he’d never spoken at all. He is now 4 years old and doing so well that he’s almost “normal”.

    The biggest shock for me in the movie was the grandmother and all of her medications – she would be my age and I couldn’t imagine living like that.

  3. Tom Welsh

    How can I get hold of a copy of the full movie? It looks like a must-buy, just like “Fathead”.

      1. Tom Welsh

        This is the first time I have ever gone in search of a movie and found that it was not available in DVD. I hope one will be published soon. Somehow downloading from Amazon just isn’t the same. I want to watch it on my TV through my DVD player, not just on my computer.

  6. Lynda

    We watched this just last weekend and LOVED it too!! My grandson was diagnosed with autism when he was 2 years old but we were on to it about six months before and my daughter put him on a special diet plus supplements and methyl-B12 injections. Within a week of the diet change it was like a light had been switched on and a fog lifted. The first week of the B12 saw him say 8 words – prior to that he’d never spoken at all. He is now 4 years old and doing so well that he’s almost “normal”.

    The biggest shock for me in the movie was the grandmother and all of her medications – she would be my age and I couldn’t imagine living like that.

  7. Firebird7478

    The lump in my throat moment was seeing Professor Noakes’ reaction when they handed down the not guilty verdict. His interviews are always with a smile with well thought out commentary. There is just something so likable about him.

    The interesting thing to me is that I live 20 minutes from Riverside, N.J. and also visited West Hartford, Ct. many times while living nearby in Bristol. One of my doctors had an office there and a friend also lived in town. The nurse there in West Hartford had the most telling quote in the movie when she said that as a nurse, she was taught very little about nutrition and that has to change.

    1. Tom Naughton

      Same goes for doctors.

      The not-guilty verdict was a touching moment in the film, but then of course the loons decided to appeal and go after him again.

  8. Heather W

    You forgot the second piece of advice most people who are obese get: “Stop being so lazy and exercise.” Ugh.

    2. Tom Welsh

      I have a relative who is very overweight. Recently he was told by a doctor that his hip joints are “crumbling” and he must urgently lose 160 lb. And what was the advice as to how that could be accomplished?

      “Exercise more”.

  9. Kelly S

    I love this film. I bought it on Amazon and I’ve watched it 3 times so far. It just goes to show how far we’ve gone down the wrong path. Between this, Fathead and the Undoctored book, I’ve started to yell at the TV when commercials for the latest & greatest drugs come on. My husband thinks I’m a lunatic for arguing with commercials. Maybe I am. =)

  10. Tom Welsh

    How can I get hold of a copy of the full movie? It looks like a must-buy, just like “Fathead”.

          1. Tom Naughton Post author

            Don’t watch it on YouTube unless the channel name is Gravitas Ventures, which means it’s legally licensed by the distributor and provides per-view payments to the filmmakers. Any other YouTube version is pirated.

            1. Tom Naughton Post author

              Glad to see people support the filmmakers. We want more films like this, and trust me, profit is a great motivator. Back when our first two distributors were ripping me off and I wasn’t making a dime from Fat Head, I had zero intention of ever putting in all the time and effort to make another film. Then the good folks at Gravitas picked it up and have been sending quarterly checks ever since. They rekindled my desire to make films.

      1. Tom Welsh

        This is the first time I have ever gone in search of a movie and found that it was not available in DVD. I hope one will be published soon. Somehow downloading from Amazon just isn’t the same. I want to watch it on my TV through my DVD player, not just on my computer.

        1. Tom Naughton Post author

          Funny you should mention that. I asked someone at Gravitas (the distributor for both Fat Head and The Magic Pill) if they’d even bother with a DVD for the Fat Head Kids film. Seems like everyone just downloads content now. He told me there’s still a strong market for DVDs. Plenty of people still want the physical product.

        2. Bob Niland

          TMP is available on media, both DVD ($20) and BD ($25), according to Amazon.

          There is still a need for media. UHD and outages aside, many people don’t have broadband suitable for HD (SD is marginal on ours). Many people don’t want streaming hosts snooping their viewing habits (or inserting commercials before, during or after). Many people want to play off-line (on the plane, in the van, at the cabin, on the cruise, etc.) Some people want to be able to loan the show. Not a few still don’t have a streaming-capable home theatre setup. Some of us just find the concept of “buy” to be incompatible with the implication that the host remains in business indefinitely.

  13. Firebird7478

    The lump in my throat moment was seeing Professor Noakes’ reaction when they handed down the not guilty verdict. His interviews are always with a smile with well thought out commentary. There is just something so likable about him.

    The interesting thing to me is that I live 20 minutes from Riverside, N.J. and also visited West Hartford, Ct. many times while living nearby in Bristol. One of my doctors had an office there and a friend also lived in town. The nurse there in West Hartford had the most telling quote in the movie when she said that as a nurse, she was taught very little about nutrition and that has to change.

    1. Tom Naughton Post author

      Same goes for doctors.

      The not-guilty verdict was a touching moment in the film, but then of course the loons decided to appeal and go after him again.

  14. Heather W

    You forgot the second piece of advice most people who are obese get: “Stop being so lazy and exercise.” Ugh.

      1. Firebird7478

        I will say this:
        Over the past year I have become more sedentary. I still lift weights 4x week. Pretty intense, pretty heavy. I stopped cardio 10 years ago and have seen my weight go up 15 lbs. My BP and resting heart rate have gone up. I have noticed various joints are aching more and I get a lot of pulled muscles. I have seen a couple of videos from a few doctors that say the joints and spine thrive on movement and you need to move. It can be anything from a pick up basketball game to a walk to gardening, as long as it is something you enjoy. A 30 minute walk takes my body 2 days to recover.

        I’ve seen it happen to my father. 10 years ago he would take regular walks on the beach. Now 81, he has Parkinson’s Disease and it is getting worse. The more sedentary he became, the sicker he got.

        1. The Older Brother

          Hi FB,

          Intense, heavy weightlifting 4x a week doesn’t sound good for anyone who’s not under 35 and a full-time athlete. Seems like aching joints and pulled muscles would be a strong indication of insufficient recovery. The cautions against over-training are pretty well incorporated into the Paleo zeitgeist now. You’re pretty well-versed on all of this (more than me no doubt) — what’s the rationale for that level of exertion?

          Cheers

          1. Firebird7478

            4x/week, 28-35 minute workouts IMO, are NOT overtraining. Intensity is also up for interpretation. A 450 lbs. deadlift for one rep (Which I am proud to have achieved) is pretty intense. It’s different than what McGuff et al, prefer but intense nonetheless. So is a 50 yard sprint. In the 40 years I have been weightlifting/bodybuilding, I have never been the 2 hours in the gym type. I learned a long time ago from the likes Arthur Jones, Mike Mentzer and Vince Gironda that quick, intense workouts are better than those longer in duration. I might be in a gym for an hour, but I do a lot of stretching prior to and after the training is over. I am proud to say that, at age 53, I can still flat palm the floor!

            The injuries, etc. are not a result of weightlifting. I could easily incur the same injury if I swung a baseball bat. Should we all stop playing recreational baseball or softball after the age of 35?

            When I was 12, I shanked a plastic football off the side of my foot that I tried to punt and threw out my back. I turned to weightlifting and bodybuilding as a 13 year old to keep the back strengthened. The condition in my lower back is called “spondylolisthesis”. There is a bulging disc in the lower back accompanied with a touch of scoliosis. This has thrown my body out of balance for decades and according to my new chiropractor, there is a lot of compensation going on…the right pelvis is out of alignment, causing one leg to be shorter than the other, which in turn causes a patella problem, which causes plantar fasciitis and Achilles Tendonitis. That’s just on the right leg. The left leg has sciatica which causes numbness in my toes and tingling in my feet. NONE of this is because of any resistance training I have done. I tweaked my mid back on Saturday tying my sneaker. Two weeks ago I tweaked it reaching for the mouse on my computer.

            Meanwhile, compensation for that nasty “spondy” has gone up the spine to three areas of the mid back. Those are the areas where I get the occasional muscle pull or twinge. Also, there is a loss of curve in the upper back. The neck has lost its cervical curve, plus there is a disc bulge in one area of the neck, and a herniated disc in my lower neck near the shoulder — how that happened nobody knows — could be from when I was hit by a car when I was 9, or it could be from being tossed around a wrestling ring 30 years ago when I wrestled.

            Weightlifting into my 50s has not caused any of that, but I am confident that weightlifting into my 50s has kept it from getting worse. Rarely do I get hurt working out in the gym and the advise from the chiropractor as well as my other doctors is to continue to lift, paying special attention to core training to keep the spine healthy.

            I hope that helps! 🙂

            1. Kathy in OK

              Wow! You’re pretty beat up. Good for you for not lying down and just accepting the hand you were dealt.

    2. Tom Welsh

      I have a relative who is very overweight. Recently he was told by a doctor that his hip joints are “crumbling” and he must urgently lose 160 lb. And what was the advice as to how that could be accomplished?

      “Exercise more”.

  15. Kelly S

    I love this film. I bought it on Amazon and I’ve watched it 3 times so far. It just goes to show how far we’ve gone down the wrong path. Between this, Fathead and the Undoctored book, I’ve started to yell at the TV when commercials for the latest & greatest drugs come on. My husband thinks I’m a lunatic for arguing with commercials. Maybe I am. =)

  16. Jane

    I thought the saddest part of the film was the fact that many of these people had absolutely no real food in their houses. When they cleaned the cupboards and refrigerators, they were empty!

    It’s just so sad what has happened to the food supply in our country and how much garbage there is for people to eat. There is so much noise about what is healthy food that it is no wonder that people have a hard time making choices about the best things to eat. You can’t be judgmental about this, because these are foods that everyone has been told are good for them even though we all know that is far from the truth. I found it all just so incredibly sad.

  17. Jane

    I thought the saddest part of the film was the fact that many of these people had absolutely no real food in their houses. When they cleaned the cupboards and refrigerators, they were empty!

    It’s just so sad what has happened to the food supply in our country and how much garbage there is for people to eat. There is so much noise about what is healthy food that it is no wonder that people have a hard time making choices about the best things to eat. You can’t be judgmental about this, because these are foods that everyone has been told are good for them even though we all know that is far from the truth. I found it all just so incredibly sad.

    1. Tom Naughton Post author

      Absolutely. I chuckled at the box of processed-garbage crackers with “WHOLE GRAIN” and “LOW FAT” emblazoned on the box, but I used to believe that nonsense myself. Big Food has done a miraculous job of convincing us that the healthy foods are those that only exist because of industrial processing. Just try making canola oil without it.

  18. K2

    Hi Tom,

    Thanks so much for the recommendation! I am in the middle of watching it right now. Coincidentally – or maybe not so much – my dad was told by his doctor today that his blood sugars are getting a bit high and now he has to go back in 3 months for another check up. He’s not diabetic, but the numbers have been creeping up. Best to nip it in the bud. I might sit him down to watch this movie with me when I visit next month.

    Just a heads-up to folks interested in watching. I checked yesterday, 1 May, and you could rent it on Amazon for $4.99. I added it to my watch list, but didn’t submit the rental. Today when I logged in to do so, it was only 99 cents. I have no idea why or how long that will last, but I wanted to share in case your readers want to jump in and save a few dollars.

    Thanks for all you do. Yours is one of the few blogs I read, so I really look forward to each post.

    Take care.

    K2

    1. Mike S

      I watched it yesterday too for 99 cents. Great movie and I liked how they ended it with how it all is enviromentally sustainable. I’ll be getting the DVDs and sending them to my kids and their families. Their cupboards look to much like in the movie.

  19. K2

    Hi Tom,

    Thanks so much for the recommendation! I am in the middle of watching it right now. Coincidentally – or maybe not so much – my dad was told by his doctor today that his blood sugars are getting a bit high and now he has to go back in 3 months for another check up. He’s not diabetic, but the numbers have been creeping up. Best to nip it in the bud. I might sit him down to watch this movie with me when I visit next month.

    Just a heads-up to folks interested in watching. I checked yesterday, 1 May, and you could rent it on Amazon for $4.99. I added it to my watch list, but didn’t submit the rental. Today when I logged in to do so, it was only 99 cents. I have no idea why or how long that will last, but I wanted to share in case your readers want to jump in and save a few dollars.

    Thanks for all you do. Yours is one of the few blogs I read, so I really look forward to each post.

    Take care.

    K2

    1. Tom Naughton Post author

      I hope your dad pays attention. Chareva’s dad ignored his high blood sugar and became a diabetic. The results haven’t been pretty.

      1. K2

        I appreciate the concern and warning. I’m sorry about Chareva’s father. My grandmother was diabetic, and I remember seeing the problems she experienced. You are right: it isn’t pretty.

        Hopefully the movie can be a wake-up call for everyone. Fingers crossed it is widely watched.

    2. Mike S

      I watched it yesterday too for 99 cents. Great movie and I liked how they ended it with how it all is enviromentally sustainable. I’ll be getting the DVDs and sending them to my kids and their families. Their cupboards look to much like in the movie.

  20. smgj

    Thanks for bringing this to my attention. It’s great.
    I’m 45 and can remember nearly all in the shop being real food. It’s sadly not the case anymore.

    I’ll just add that for me, as a non-US citizen (Norway to be specific) Vimeo was the only option I got working.

    1. Tom Naughton

      I’m pleased to see real food making a comeback, thanks in part to films like this one. On our most recent trip to CostCo, Chareva and I noticed more and more minimally-processed foods are being offered.

  21. Mark B

    Thanks for letting us know about this. I watched on Netflix last night and it was fantastic. Just the look on the dad’s face after seeing the improvements in his autistic daughter was worth it.

  22. smgj

    Thanks for bringing this to my attention. It’s great.
    I’m 45 and can remember nearly all in the shop being real food. It’s sadly not the case anymore.

    I’ll just add that for me, as a non-US citizen (Norway to be specific) Vimeo was the only option I got working.

    1. Tom Naughton Post author

      I’m pleased to see real food making a comeback, thanks in part to films like this one. On our most recent trip to CostCo, Chareva and I noticed more and more minimally-processed foods are being offered.

      1. chris c

        That’s good, but it will take some doing to overcome the ads on TV.

        I record most of my TV and jump the adverts but when I watched something live recently I was astonished, pretty much every adverts was for some manufatcured foodlike substance. Oh that was a typo but apt enough that I decided to leave it in.

        At least we don’t (yet) get the pharmaceutical ads in the UK, but we do for OTC drugs and stuff like shampoo and makeup which contains god knows what.

        1. Tom Naughton Post author

          Our ads for industrial food are interspersed with ads for drugs to treat the effects of industrial foods.

  23. Dave

    Tom,
    I grew up in the 50s/60s with every animal, vegetable and fruit known to Man. Mom also provided us with wonderful desserts, most containing butter and lard with the flour. Our Saturday treat, versus the week of scrambled egg in butter, buttered toast and whole milk, was the large Shredded Wheat with melted butter, sugar and cream. Overall, we had a balanced diet (60 fat, 20 protein, 20 carb).

    I think we were very much like the French, where all the saturated fat protected us against the harmful effects (unknown at the time) of the processed carbohydrates. I always think of Mom’s spaghetti and chili, both containing all the fat from the ground beef. The government then frightened many to just keep the ground beef out to avoid the fat. Who, outside of academic biochemistry departments, were talking about macronutrients?

    So, a government sponsored disaster, supported by processed food and pharmaceutical industries. Think of the sauce commercials of today, 100% carb plate of spaghetti. 40 years without saturated fat and little protein was what gave us today’s mess, in my opinion.

    The real shame is that those “scientists” who gave us this mess will never suffer any negative consequences.

    Dave

    1. Tom Naughton

      As Nassim Nicholas Taleb explains in his latest book “Skin in the Game,” these top-down decisions are usually made by people who don’t bear the costs of their bad decisions. While he mostly writes about the effects of economic decisions, he’s no fan of the standard dietary advice handed down by supposed experts either.

  24. Mark B

    Thanks for letting us know about this. I watched on Netflix last night and it was fantastic. Just the look on the dad’s face after seeing the improvements in his autistic daughter was worth it.

  25. Dave

    Tom,
    I grew up in the 50s/60s with every animal, vegetable and fruit known to Man. Mom also provided us with wonderful desserts, most containing butter and lard with the flour. Our Saturday treat, versus the week of scrambled egg in butter, buttered toast and whole milk, was the large Shredded Wheat with melted butter, sugar and cream. Overall, we had a balanced diet (60 fat, 20 protein, 20 carb).

    I think we were very much like the French, where all the saturated fat protected us against the harmful effects (unknown at the time) of the processed carbohydrates. I always think of Mom’s spaghetti and chili, both containing all the fat from the ground beef. The government then frightened many to just keep the ground beef out to avoid the fat. Who, outside of academic biochemistry departments, were talking about macronutrients?

    So, a government sponsored disaster, supported by processed food and pharmaceutical industries. Think of the sauce commercials of today, 100% carb plate of spaghetti. 40 years without saturated fat and little protein was what gave us today’s mess, in my opinion.

    The real shame is that those “scientists” who gave us this mess will never suffer any negative consequences.

    Dave

    1. Tom Naughton Post author

      As Nassim Nicholas Taleb explains in his latest book “Skin in the Game,” these top-down decisions are usually made by people who don’t bear the costs of their bad decisions. While he mostly writes about the effects of economic decisions, he’s no fan of the standard dietary advice handed down by supposed experts either.

  26. Susan

    Try “my big fat diet” about a reserve in British Columbia that switched to a native diet. Intetesting.

  27. Susan

    Try “my big fat diet” about a reserve in British Columbia that switched to a native diet. Intetesting.

  28. Kerryn Wheeler

    I enjoyed watching this, but it was preaching to the converted in my house. But like you Tom, I also found the part about little girl at the end an emotional moment. As a society what are we doing to our children and grandchildren!? I will be pushing everyone I know with children to at least watch the film and see if it all makes sense to them.

    1. Tom Naughton

      You and I don’t need convincing, but I hope the film reaches some people who do. I think about that nurse who said she knew she should switch to a healthy diet, but didn’t know how. Multiply her by millions.

  29. Francois

    It’s a nice film but I preferred yours. You were more upbeat and funny, not much there that I didn’t see on Fathead.

    1. Tom Naughton

      Thank you. I enjoyed the beautiful photography and the touching stories in “The Magic Pill” very much, perhaps because it’s different from the kind of work I produce.

  30. Kerryn Wheeler

    I enjoyed watching this, but it was preaching to the converted in my house. But like you Tom, I also found the part about little girl at the end an emotional moment. As a society what are we doing to our children and grandchildren!? I will be pushing everyone I know with children to at least watch the film and see if it all makes sense to them.

    1. Tom Naughton Post author

      You and I don’t need convincing, but I hope the film reaches some people who do. I think about that nurse who said she knew she should switch to a healthy diet, but didn’t know how. Multiply her by millions.

  31. Dave P.

    I am a high school biology teacher. Tom I was shown your movie Fat Head a few years ago by a colleague of mine. I use to only show Super Size Me to my class as a way for them to be more aware of the impact of the misuse of fat food on the body. I do always preface that my students watch and listen to any documentary with critical eyes and ears. After seeing Fat Head though now I show both to my students and have hem critique both side by side.
    I recently came across Magic Pill on Netflix and saw many similarities between it and your movie.
    Did you help consult on Magic Pill?

    1. Tom Naughton

      No, I didn’t have anything to do with The Magic Pill. Pete Evans became an advocate for paleo diets long before we met.

      Glad to hear you’re giving your students an opportunity to see opposing viewpoints.

  32. Francois

    It’s a nice film but I preferred yours. You were more upbeat and funny, not much there that I didn’t see on Fathead.

    1. Tom Naughton Post author

      Thank you. I enjoyed the beautiful photography and the touching stories in “The Magic Pill” very much, perhaps because it’s different from the kind of work I produce.

  33. Dave P.

    I am a high school biology teacher. Tom I was shown your movie Fat Head a few years ago by a colleague of mine. I use to only show Super Size Me to my class as a way for them to be more aware of the impact of the misuse of fat food on the body. I do always preface that my students watch and listen to any documentary with critical eyes and ears. After seeing Fat Head though now I show both to my students and have hem critique both side by side.
    I recently came across Magic Pill on Netflix and saw many similarities between it and your movie.
    Did you help consult on Magic Pill?

    1. Tom Naughton Post author

      No, I didn’t have anything to do with The Magic Pill. Pete Evans became an advocate for paleo diets long before we met.

      Glad to hear you’re giving your students an opportunity to see opposing viewpoints.

  34. Brenda J Huff

    I just inhaled this documentary. My journey with learning about the sad state of nutrition in the US began with me watching the Fathead movie three or so years ago. Thanks for that movie. And thanks for continuing to share new information with us. I hope that the director’s of the “Magic Pill” movie will have a followup documentary in a year.

  35. Brenda J Huff

    I just inhaled this documentary. My journey with learning about the sad state of nutrition in the US began with me watching the Fathead movie three or so years ago. Thanks for that movie. And thanks for continuing to share new information with us. I hope that the director’s of the “Magic Pill” movie will have a followup documentary in a year.

  36. Stephanie

    What was the doctor’s name that did the study in the ’50’s and convinced the American Heart Association to pick up his nutritional guidelines?? I’m doing a research paper. I also work with obese kids who are type 2 diabetes that are put on the same diet as the Magic Pill film and their results are extraordinary! I’ve started changing my diet and have lost 12 pounds in one month. I’m almost out of the obese category 1 of my BMI.

  37. Stephanie

    What was the doctor’s name that did the study in the ’50’s and convinced the American Heart Association to pick up his nutritional guidelines?? I’m doing a research paper. I also work with obese kids who are type 2 diabetes that are put on the same diet as the Magic Pill film and their results are extraordinary! I’ve started changing my diet and have lost 12 pounds in one month. I’m almost out of the obese category 1 of my BMI.

  38. Amber

    You need to get your facts straight. The Paleo diet and the Keto diet are not the same. Even the synopsis on Google only says Paleo diet. It is particularly significant to those of us with Epilepsy given that the Keto diet was created in the 1920s as a treatment for Epilepsy given that there was so few. If you want to review one of the very few resources that exist for us on this please don’t start by confusing these.

  39. Amber

    You need to get your facts straight. The Paleo diet and the Keto diet are not the same. Even the synopsis on Google only says Paleo diet. It is particularly significant to those of us with Epilepsy given that the Keto diet was created in the 1920s as a treatment for Epilepsy given that there was so few. If you want to review one of the very few resources that exist for us on this please don’t start by confusing these.

    1. Tom Naughton Post author

      Where did I call the paleo diet a keto diet? I never used the word “keto” in my review.

      1. Salim Morgan

        That’s exactly the problem! (with you and MANY others). The film is about KETO, not Paleo.

        1. Tom Naughton Post author

          No, the film is about paleo. It so happens that a paleo diet is often keto as well. Pete Evans is more paleo-focused, which is why he doesn’t include dairy products. Many keto dieters are big on butter and cream. Your complaint seems to be that the film didn’t label the diet as you wanted it to be labeled. That’s a bit silly.

  40. Salim Morgan

    NOT “paleo” but “keto”. Please don’t make the same “mistake” many of the critics are making, mocking it at the “caveman” diet, etc. Keto.

  41. Salim Morgan

    NOT “paleo” but “keto”. Please don’t make the same “mistake” many of the critics are making, mocking it at the “caveman” diet, etc. Keto.

  42. Tara

    I noticed the interchanging of terms as well. The Netflix description calls it keto, but they very clearly eat sweet potatoes in one scene at least, and as Tom said, they exclude dairy, which is a paleo principle.

    Regardless, I think this film was very well done, and I was grateful to see the portion about the kids. As a parent if one VERY picky eater (who loves carby junk and was incidentally flagged for autism by his teachers though subsequent testing showed he’s not autistic) and one kid who will eat anything, it is a real struggle to get the one to eat real food.

    I’m going to try to get my parents (both type 2 diabetic) to watch. My dad is a recovering vegan (went vegan for two years after the type 2 diagnosis). He had good results on vegan but couldn’t maintain it. His doctor finally convinced him to go LC, but he’s not as committed as he was to vegan, so his results aren’t as good. I keep telling him the vegan success was largely due to elimination of all the junk, some of which he still eats on LC, which he does about 75% of the time. At least he tries though— my mom has pretty much given up, kind of like the nurse. It’s really sad to watch.

  43. Tara

    I noticed the interchanging of terms as well. The Netflix description calls it keto, but they very clearly eat sweet potatoes in one scene at least, and as Tom said, they exclude dairy, which is a paleo principle.

    Regardless, I think this film was very well done, and I was grateful to see the portion about the kids. As a parent if one VERY picky eater (who loves carby junk and was incidentally flagged for autism by his teachers though subsequent testing showed he’s not autistic) and one kid who will eat anything, it is a real struggle to get the one to eat real food.

    I’m going to try to get my parents (both type 2 diabetic) to watch. My dad is a recovering vegan (went vegan for two years after the type 2 diagnosis). He had good results on vegan but couldn’t maintain it. His doctor finally convinced him to go LC, but he’s not as committed as he was to vegan, so his results aren’t as good. I keep telling him the vegan success was largely due to elimination of all the junk, some of which he still eats on LC, which he does about 75% of the time. At least he tries though— my mom has pretty much given up, kind of like the nurse. It’s really sad to watch.

  46. Bob

    I watched this movie. I was not impressed with the lack of evidence to support no carbs which also help with energy. This is one sided. I am a plant based vegetarian and can tell you that the Keto diet is not healthy.

  47. Bob

    I watched this movie. I was not impressed with the lack of evidence to support no carbs which also help with energy. This is one sided. I am a plant based vegetarian and can tell you that the Keto diet is not healthy.

    1. Tom Naughton

      Yeah, I remember starting a bag of Doritos thinking I’d only eat a few of them. That didn’t usually end well.

      1. BobM

        There’s no feedback mechanism for carbs. Also, if you believe in the proton theory by Petro Dobromylskyj of Hyperlipid, the high-omega 6 oils cause insulin sensitivity (or lowered insulin resistance, if you choose to look at it that way) for fat cells. This means you eat more than you should. (Whereas if they were high in saturated fat, this would high insulin resistance in the fat cells, which would cause you to shut down eating. Don’t know of any good human studies on this, though.)

        My wife says I have tremendous willpower. But that willpower stops at eating carbs. That is, my willpower is to not start eating chips or ice cream or the like. Once I do start eating any of these, I have no willpower.

      3. Kathy in OK

        I love Doritos, by the family-size bag. When I switched to plain, “unflavored” potato chips I was so proud of myself. What could be wrong with potatoes, salt & fat? But I still couldn’t stop at a “serving size”. Live and learn.

        1. Tom Naughton

          Got to know your own triggers. I don’t have that problem with Boulder chips, by the way. Probably because they’re cooked in real fats (coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil), I actually find them satisfying enough to happily quit after a small serving.

    2. gallier2

      Funny, not for me, never was. I was quite the lardass with the sweet-tooth but starchy dry stuff never did it for me. This said, I had been lucky that my parents were from the old generation that went through WWII (in Germany) and that they knew how to cook real propers meals without shortcuts and they did. This compensated somewhat for the more and more convenience and fast food (I ate my first pizza when I was 12, my first hamburger when I was 20 and all the other American stuff came even later (I’m 52 now). Don’t get me wrong, there was still a lot to kill me slowly, candy, juices, pasta etc. but I had also learned to appreciate real food. One thing that I noticed from watching a lot of youtube lately, from “we tested food” kind of videos, that most young people especially in north America but also here in Europe, do not know anymore what real food is.

      1. Jillm

        I am worried that the next generation of children will refuse home prepared food. How many children eat a lamb chop and scrambled eggs before they leave for school?

        1. Tom Naughton

          Actually, I’m pretty sure the trend is back towards real food, based on what I see on supermarket shelves.

    3. M

      I have not seen the documentary. I viewed the wrong link here, obviously. Not helpful in the least. After reading you generalized statements and comment about dietitians, I knew this was a simple, uneducated opinion. Sad

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