The best documentaries and docuseries about a healthy diet and food system look at what contributes to short-term and long-term health, in terms of personal choices and food policies. They also explore which factors are linked to health problems such as unwanted weight gain, low energy, obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, depression, hormonal imbalances, lack of focus, food addiction, and cancer. Additionally, some of these powerful films look at sustainability and how certain food industries and corporations undermine labor rights, human rights, beneficial food policies, and planetary health. What would knowledge be without action though? Fortunately, many of these films highlight the actions we can all take in our daily lives to help cultivate a healthy lifestyle and better world.
This list of the best documentaries for wellness includes over 30 films and will continue to grow, so be sure to bookmark it to help you reach your goals with self-care, sustainability, and supporting ethically sourced products.
Although many of the films in this extensive list overlap themes, these documentaries have been subcategorized to make it even easier to find the documentary topics that will most benefit or interest you:
- Documentaries that challenge the status quo when it comes to health
- Documentaries about how pervasive and unhealthy sugar is
- Documentaries about the risks and consequences of the industrialized food system and chemical agriculture vs. sustainable, organic farming
- Documentaries about labor rights vs. exploitation in the food system
- Documentaries about detoxing vs. eating a highly processed diet
1. Documentaries That Challenge the Status Quo When it Comes to Health
Here’s the summarized list for this subcategory (scroll down for descriptions and movie trailers.) Each link goes to its own page on RachelAvalon.com that features a documentary synopsis, movie reviews, and other details. Many of them even include my Review by Rachel Avalon.
- Got the Facts on Milk?
- The Game Changers
- Vegucated
- What the Health
- Forks Over Knives
- Food Matters
- Hungry for Change
- Soul Food Junkies
- Super Size Me
- Super Size Me 2
- Lunch Hour
- Dive!
- Sicko
- A Place at the Table
- Beyond Food
- The C Word
- Crazy Sexy Cancer
- Bite Size
- Unrest
Got the Facts on Milk? questions the health benefits of dairy products and examines the dairy industry’s advertised claims on milk. A hybrid road trip along the Bible Belt unwinds across America to uncover the compelling behind the scenes story of milk and ultimately meet with the USDA in Washington DC to get the real deal facts on milk. -RottenTomatoes.com
The Game Changers. Executive produced by James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jackie Chan, The Game Changers follows James Wilks – elite Special Forces trainer and winner of The Ultimate Fighter – whose world is turned upside down when he discovers a group of world-renowned athletes and scientists who prove that everything he had been taught about protein was a lie. Directed by Oscar (R)-winner Louie Psihoyos, The Game Changers mixes real-time, groundbreaking science with cinematic stories of struggle and triumph. -RottenTomatoes.com
Vegucated is a guerrilla-style documentary that follows three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers who agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks and learn what it’s all about. They have no idea that so much more than steak is at stake and that the planet’s fate may fall on their plates. -RottenTomatoes.com
What the Health is the groundbreaking follow-up film from the creators of the award winning documentary Cowspiracy. The film follows intrepid filmmaker Kip Andersen as he uncovers the secret to preventing and even reversing chronic diseases – and investigates why the nation’s leading health organizations don’t want us to know about it. -The film’s official website
Forks Over Knives examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the chronic diseases that afflict us can be controlled or even reversed by rejecting animal-based and processed foods. -The film’s official website
Food Matters. This documentary examines the current state of America’s food supply, and suggests that the over-industrialization of food production is making the nation sicker by the moment. The documentary analyzes the proliferation of chemical additives in “natural” foods, looks at the relationship between the lack of nutrients in the American diet and the nation’s rising health care costs, and offers tips for system detoxification. -RottenTomatoes.com
Hungry for Change exposes shocking secrets the diet, weightloss and food industry don’t want you to know about; deceptive strategies designed to keep you coming back for more. Find out what’s keeping you from having the body and health you deserve and how to escape the diet trap forever. -RottenTomatoes.com
Soul Food Junkies. Filmmaker Byron Hurt examines the soul-food tradition of black culture. Because soul food is often cooked with lots of fat, sugar and salt, it can lead to obesity and other health issues, as happened to Hurt’s father, who died at age 63 from pancreatic cancer. Along the way, he talks with soul-food cooks, historians, doctors, and everyday people; and details the socioeconomic conditions in predominantly black neighborhoods that can make it difficult for residents to find healthy food options. -RottenTomatoes.com
Super Size Me. While examining the influence of the fast food industry, Morgan Spurlock personally explores the consequences on his health of a diet of solely McDonald’s food for one month. -the film’s official website
Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken. Today, chain restaurants tout food that’s “healthy,” “organic,” and “natural.” Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock explores this new reality with an approach even more immersive and subversive than that used for his first film: he sets out to open his own chicken franchise. We follow him every step of the way, from raising poultry and conjuring recipes to designing the brand and scouting a location. Spurlock brings his disarming humor to uncover the truths and lies behind this multibillion-dollar industry. -RottenTomatoes.com
Lunch Hour. A feature length documentary that explores the National School Lunch Program, childhood obesity, and our addiction to unhealthy foods. -the film’s official website
Dive! Inspired by a curiosity about our country’s careless habit of sending food straight to landfills, the multi award-winning documentary DIVE! follows filmmaker Jeremy Seifert and friends as they dumpster dive in the back alleys and gated garbage receptacles of Los Angeles’ supermarkets. In the process, they salvage thousands of dollars worth of good, edible food – resulting in an inspiring documentary that is equal parts entertainment, guerilla journalism and call to action. -the film’s official website
Sicko. Acclaimed filmmaker Michael Moore sets out to investigate the American healthcare system. Sticking to his tried-and-true one-man approach, Moore sheds light on the complicated medical affairs of individuals and local communities. -RottenTomatoes.com
A Place at the Table. 49 million people in the U.S. – one in four children – don’t know where their next meal is coming from, despite our having the means to provide nutritious, affordable food for all Americans. Directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush examine this issue through the lens of three people for who are struggling with food insecurity…Their stories are interwoven with insights from experts including sociologist Janet Poppendieck, author Raj Patel and nutrition policy leader Marion Nestle; ordinary citizens like Pastor Bob Wilson and teachers Leslie Nichols and Odessa Cherry; and activists such as Witness to Hunger’s Mariana Chilton, Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio and Oscar-winning actor Jeff Bridges. -RottenTomatoes.com
Beyond Food. On a mission to explore extraordinary health & personal empowerment, directors Juan Paredes & Tomas Reyes travel across the US to have in-depth discussions with a wide variety of people who are thriving, including athletes, doctors, health experts, and biohackers who challenge mainstream health advice. -RottenTomatoes.com
The C Word. A look at cancer prevention focuses on two individuals: French neuroscientist Dr. David Servan-Schreiber; and the film’s director, cancer survivor Meghan O’Hara. -RottenTomatoes.com
Crazy Sexy Cancer. On Valentine’s Day, [Kris Carr] got the unexpected word that she was suffering from a rare and virulent form of liver cancer, for which there were few treatments and no known cure. Rather than give in to illness and depression, Carr decided to make a film about her journey through treatment, determined to use her art to help keep her focused and sane through this profound challenge. Carr’s documentary Crazy Sexy Cancer is her visual record of her struggle to regain her health and how she found a new life along the way as she faces a battery of treatments and therapies with irreverent humor and take-no-prisoners attitude. -RottenTomatoes.com
Bite Size. America’s battle against childhood obesity is an issue too big for many to fully comprehend. With one in three children overweight, the epidemic is sweeping our nation at an unforgiving rate. But in spite of these odds, Bite Size showcases the stories of four inspiring kids from diverse backgrounds who are fighting for their health one day at a time. Proving that it’s not just about the number on a scale, what really matters is learning what keeps you active and makes you happy. -Rotten Tomatoes.com
Unrest. Journalist Jennifer Brea documents her struggle with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. After spiking a 105 degree fever shortly after being accepted to a PhD program at Harvard, Brea manifested a mysterious cluster of symptoms, including extreme weakness, fatigue, full-body pain and mental confusion. After being dismissed by doctors, she discovered a community of patients similarly struggling with the mysterious disorder after making videos from her bed about her situation and posting them online. -RottenTomatoes.com
2. Documentaries About How Pervasive & Unhealthy Sugar Is
Here’s the summarized list for this subcategory (scroll down for descriptions and movie trailers)
Fed Up. For the past 30 years, everything we thought we knew about food and exercise is dead wrong. FED UP is the film the food industry doesn’t want you to see. From Katie Couric, Laurie David (Oscar winning producer of AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH) and director Stephanie Soechtig, FED UP will change the way you eat forever. -RottenTomatoes.com
That Sugar Film is one man’s journey to discover the bitter truth about sugar. Damon Gameau embarks on a unique experiment to document the effects of a high sugar diet on a healthy body, consuming only foods that are commonly perceived as ‘healthy’. -RottenTomatoes.com
3. Documentaries About the Risks and Consequences of Industrialized Farming and Chemical Agriculture vs. Sustainable, Organic Farming
Here’s the summarized list for this subcategory (scroll down for descriptions and movie trailers)
GMO OMG. Who controls the future of your food? GMO OMG explores the systematic corporate takeover and potential loss of humanity’s most precious and ancient inheritance: seeds. Director Jeremy Seifert investigates how loss of seed diversity and corresponding laboratory assisted genetic alteration of food affects his young children, the health of our planet, and freedom of choice everywhere. -RottenTomatoes.com
In “Food Inc.,” filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation’s food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that’s been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government’s regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation’s food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. -RottenTomatoes.com
Living Downstream. Based on the acclaimed book by ecologist and cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D., Living Downstream is an eloquent and cinematic documentary film. This poetic film follows Sandra during one pivotal year as she travels across North America, working to break the silence about cancer and its environmental links. -RottenTomatoes.com
Sustainable. An investigation of the economic and environmental instability of America’s food system, from the agricultural issues we face; soil loss, water depletion, climate change and pesticide use down to the community of leaders who are determined to fix it.
Rotten: Season 1. In a world where huge global supply-chains are increasingly intertwined and consolidated, this series starts on your dinner plate… and follows the money to the shocking consequences–intended or not–of regulation, innovation and greed. -RottenTomatoes.com Netflix episodes include: Lawyers, Guns & Honey, The Peanut Problem, Garlic Breath, Big Bird, Milk Money, and Cod is Dead.
Rotten: Season 2. Netflix episodes include: The Avocados War, Reign of Terroir, Troubled Water, a Sweet Deal, Bitter Chocolate, and High on Edibles.
4. Documentaries About Labor Rights vs. Human Exploitation in the Food System
Here’s the summarized list for this subcategory (scroll for descriptions and movie trailers)
Food Chains. There is more interest in food these days than ever, yet there is very little interest in the hands that pick it. Farmworkers who form the foundation of our fresh food industry are routinely abused and robbed of wages. In extreme cases they can be beaten, sexually harassed or even enslaved – all within the borders of the United States. Food Chains exposes the human cost in our food supply and the complicity of the supermarket industry. -RottenTomatoes.com
The Dark Side of Chocolate is a 2010 documentary film about the exploitation and slave-trading of African children to harvest chocolate still occurring nearly ten years after the cocoa industry pledged to end it. – Wikipedia.org
The Price of Sugar follows a charismatic Spanish priest, Father Christopher Hartley, as he organizes some of this hemisphere’s poorest people, challenging powerful interests profiting from their work. When he arrives in the Dominican Republic, he’s warned against entering the sugar plantations where most of his parishioners live. Breaking a centuries old taboo, he discovers shocking examples of modern-day slavery intrinsic to the global sugar trade. -RottenTomatoes.com
5. Documentaries About Detoxing vs. Eating a Highly Processed Diet
Here’s the summarized list for this subcategory (scroll for descriptions and movie trailers)
- May I Be Frank
- Fat Sick & Nearly Dead
- Fat Sick & Nearly Dead II
- Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days
- Raw -the Documentary
May I Be Frank. Frank Ferrante is a 54 year- old Sicilian from Brooklyn living in San Francisco. A lover of life, great food, beautiful women and a good laugh, Frank is also a drug addict, morbidly obese, pre-diabetic, and fighting Hepatitis C. This film documents the transformation of Frank’s life when he stumbles into a local raw and vegan restaurant, becomes friends with the staff, and strikes an agreement to turn his life over to three twenty-something young men to be coached physically, emotionally and spiritually. -RottenTomatoes.com
Fat Sick & Nearly Dead. Morbidly obese Joe Cross endeavors to drink only fruit and vegetable juice for 60 days in an effort to lose weight, reboot his health, and inspire others along the way. -the film’s official website
In Fat Sick & Nearly Dead II, Joe travels around the world and meets with experts who present viable strategies to make and maintain long-term improvements to eating behaviors and overall health. -the film’s official website
Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days. Six Americans suffering from diabetes take on a 30-day challenge that requires them to give up meat, dairy, sugar, alcohol, and much more in favor of an entirely organic, raw, vegan diet in order to reduce or eliminate their illness. Includes interviews and commentary from actor Woody Harrelson, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, as well as commentary from a variety of noted doctors and health practitioners. -RottenTomatoes.com
Raw -the Documentary. The incredible journey of Janette Murray-Wakelin and Alan Murray as they embark on a journey to run 366 consecutive marathons around Australia, in their 60’s, all on a RAW plant-based diet. This powerful and moving documentary will have you redefining the way you think about health and lifestyle choices. -IMDB.com
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