A Documentary Review
Hack Your Health - The Secrets of Your Gut
The closest thing I’ve ever written to a review is a book report in grade school. This Hack Your Health documentary just came out on Netflix , and is a gentle, easy to understand exploration of the micro biome, that massive collection of bacteria that we rely on to keep us alive. Instead of the usual microscope slide view of bacteria, they use whimsical creations made from felt to represent them. While it may seem a little childish, it’s an excellent way to present a complex subject in a way that easier to absorb. It also tends to blunt the perception most of us have, that all bacteria is bad and dangerous.
The movie opens with German scientist Giulia Enders introducing us to the gut. We are told that bacteria living in the gut are essential to digestion of food and extracting the nutrients from it. These bacteria can also affect other parts of the body, including the skin and the brain. In addition to bacteria, the micro biome is also host to fungi and yeasts. Using animation, Giulia shows that there are both good and bad organisms living there. When everything is balanced, the beneficial organisms keep the harmful ones in check.
When things are not in balance, there is a condition called dysbiosis. This can lead to health problems, both physical and mental. The documentary also points out that the organisms in the gut must be given adequate material to support themselves. This is mostly in the form of fiber from our food. If it is not available in sufficient quantity, the organisms may begin to consume the mucous lining of the gut. That can lead to a condition known as “leaky gut syndrome”, which allows foreign particles to enter the bloodstream, causing many different problems.
After explaining how the population of gut bacteria is unique to each person, the show moves on to introduce four individuals. First is Maya, a Michelin Star pastry chef. She has recovered from anorexia, and is now obsessed with healthy eating. She eats mostly vegetables, with many different supplements. Next is Kobi, from Japan, a competitive eating champion. He is retired, and is concerned with the effects that his competing has had on his body. Psychology student Daniell has a history of eating lots of sugary snack foods, and now has issues with many foods causing pain, discomfort, and anxiety. The final subject of the documentary is Kimmie, an entrepreneur dealing with morbid obesity. I can identify with her, having spent several decades of my life in obesity. Her hope is to find out whether gut bacteria is a factor in her issues with weight. Although she has lost weight on different diets, it always comes back.
At this point the focus moves to the experts who are studying the gut biome. They have collected samples from people all over the world in an attempt to identify the various species of bacteria. The goal is to discover if the presence, or absence, of a specific type correlates with a given health condition. This type of research has been going on for a while, and we are beginning to develop a much better understanding of how the gut biome affects the rest of the body. How the samples are collected gets into cringe territory, but they manage to keep it light and avoid anything disgusting.
The outcome of the studies of gut bacteria has led to treatment using fecal transplants. As the term suggests, it means taking fecal material from one person and introducing it into another. Currently the procedure has only been approved for treatment of one specific bowel disorder caused by a species of bacteria that can be defeated by exposure to other bacteria from a healthy donor. Research is being done to see if this technique can be beneficial for other issues like those from the four featured individuals. It’s still early days for this research, but it does look promising.
One of the subjects, Daniell, has been experimenting with transplants herself using donor material from others. She’s doing this in her kitchen, which seems like a very bad idea. It seems to have helped her with her food symptoms, but also introduced problems that were experienced by the donor. For example, one donor has issues with depression. Daniell experienced depression and switched to a different donor. Current research has shown that certain bacteria are common in people with depression, so this is not surprising. She tried a different donor - and got different problems. So transplants alone may not be the answer.
I’m a little surprised that Daniell’s experiments were included in the documentary, since it seems like this practice definitely belongs in the “Don’t try this at home” category. It also seems like a very bad idea to prepare capsules of fecal material in one’s kitchen. But after dealing with severe allergies for more than 60 years, I understand what desperation can lead to.
The final third of the documentary focuses on testing the four subjects and coming up with options to help them. It also addresses how to improve your gut micro biome with your diet. Up to this point I had found it to be very good, with solid information that is supported by the many books I’ve read. But I did notice a bias. The only time meat or dairy appeared was in examples of bad eating: a hamburger, ice cream, etc. Recommended foods were all plant-based, which is the same thing seen in a previous Netflix documentary You Are What You Eat - A Twin Experiment. A vegan diet does help to provide the necessary fiber to keep the gut biome healthy, but it is not sufficient in the long run. Vitamin B12, in particular, is not available in a plant-only diet. Of course this can be supplemented, but it’s not the way our bodies were designed to work. The raising of animals for food has been thrown into the political fray over climate change and going vegan is the new magic bullet. Our bodies were not designed for that type of diet, and the plant-based “meat” is not a substitute for the real thing.
A lot of people turn to probiotics for gut issues, and there are certainly a lot of them to choose from. The program pointed out that commercial probiot are very general types of bacteria, and are not likely to resolve serious gut issues. Mention is also made of the “old fashioned” probiotics in the form of fermented food. These are things like yogurt, sauerkraut, and kimchi. The latter two are cabbage based, so they provide both fiber and beneficial bacteria. I try to eat each of these foods at least once a week, and the results have been far better than taking over-the-counter probiotics.
For 8 years my wife and I have followed a very healthy diet that incorporates meat, eggs, and dairy. It’s also 75-80% plant-based. The result has been the best health of our lives. I would encourage everyone to watch the program, understand the importance of the micro biome, and hopefully adjust your eating to make it better. Don’t assume that being vegan is required, but do avoid sugar as much as possible. Read labels and don’t eat anything that contains these ingredients that will harm you: High fructose corn syrup, corn oil, cottonseed oil, canola oil, soybean oil, safflower oil, or sunflower oil. All of those oils break down when heated and become toxic in your body. If you can eliminate these elements from your diet you will lose weight and feel better. Assuming that it’s a diet, and that you can resume your old way of eating is a mistake. It will bring back all the weight and health issues. Keeping excess weight off, and staying healthy requires a lifetime commitment.