Top 3 Tips for Watching Food Documentaries
Hi Everyone! My name is Kelsi and I am just finishing up my staff relief rotations in the Neuro ICU at United Hospital in St. Paul, MN. I am an intern in the distance program and will be concentrating in pediatrics and completing my rotations throughout the Twin Cities in Minnesota.
My internship so far has been an awesome whirl-wind of an experience, and has kept me very busy! I usually start the day off at my internship site, come home to do homework or reading, and if I’m lucky, there’s a little time left at the end of the day to wind down and relax. One of my favorite ways to do this is to turn on Netflix or Hulu and find something to watch. As a food and nutrition student, I tend to navigate towards the food documentary section whenever I am able to. There are so many interesting documentaries available to stream, and with Netflix nearing 100 million subscribers, I’m not the only one watching.
As food and nutrition experts, not only is it interesting to watch these food documentaries, but it is also important to stay tuned-in to the information being presented to people. Recently, a food documentary entitled “What the Health?” appeared in my “Recommended for you” category. I watched it one evening, and then I watched over the next week or so as various health organizations, health professionals and personalities throughout multiple platforms weighed in with their thoughts and opinions on the film. It was a topic of discussion at my internship, as well as at work and within my peer group and family.
While the buzz of that particular documentary has now died down, it did help me to reflect on and realize the impact of films like these on our practice. It seems as if food and health related documentaries are definitely affecting the way people think about their diet and health. As food and nutrition experts, we may be asked to provide guidance on the messages and ideas shared through food documentaries. As a quick reference, I’ve listed my top 3 tips for watching food documentaries with a critical-eye and open-mind here:
1. Be mindful of the credentials of the expert opinions presented
Dietitians are the experts of food and nutrition. We are required to spend a minimum of 4.5-6 years studying food, nutrition and health in order to earn this credential. Does the documentary interview any registered dietitians? If not, they may be missing an integral piece of the picture!
2. Continue the research!
If you find a documentary that really sparks your interest, I encourage you to continue researching the topic, checking credible sources and gathering more information on the whole picture, which brings me to my last tip...
3. Remember there are two sides to every story.
Documentaries are typically made to represent one message or idea, it’s important to consider all aspects of a topic before coming to your own conclusions.
Documentaries are a readily available source of information on a great variety of topics. They can be a great way to learn about something you aren’t familiar with, and may be a source of nutrition or health-related information for many people. As an #RD2B, I encourage viewers to continue watching and enjoying food documentaries with these tips in mind. Stream on my friends!
Hi Everyone! My name is Kelsi and I am just finishing up my staff relief rotations in the Neuro ICU at United Hospital in St. Paul, MN. I am an intern in the distance program and will be concentrating in pediatrics and completing my rotations throughout the Twin Cities in Minnesota.
My internship so far has been an awesome whirl-wind of an experience, and has kept me very busy! I usually start the day off at my internship site, come home to do homework or reading, and if I’m lucky, there’s a little time left at the end of the day to wind down and relax. One of my favorite ways to do this is to turn on Netflix or Hulu and find something to watch. As a food and nutrition student, I tend to navigate towards the food documentary section whenever I am able to. There are so many interesting documentaries available to stream, and with Netflix nearing 100 million subscribers, I’m not the only one watching.
As food and nutrition experts, not only is it interesting to watch these food documentaries, but it is also important to stay tuned-in to the information being presented to people. Recently, a food documentary entitled “What the Health?” appeared in my “Recommended for you” category. I watched it one evening, and then I watched over the next week or so as various health organizations, health professionals and personalities throughout multiple platforms weighed in with their thoughts and opinions on the film. It was a topic of discussion at my internship, as well as at work and within my peer group and family.
While the buzz of that particular documentary has now died down, it did help me to reflect on and realize the impact of films like these on our practice. It seems as if food and health related documentaries are definitely affecting the way people think about their diet and health. As food and nutrition experts, we may be asked to provide guidance on the messages and ideas shared through food documentaries. As a quick reference, I’ve listed my top 3 tips for watching food documentaries with a critical-eye and open-mind here:
1. Be mindful of the credentials of the expert opinions presented
Dietitians are the experts of food and nutrition. We are required to spend a minimum of 4.5-6 years studying food, nutrition and health in order to earn this credential. Does the documentary interview any registered dietitians? If not, they may be missing an integral piece of the picture!
2. Continue the research!
If you find a documentary that really sparks your interest, I encourage you to continue researching the topic, checking credible sources and gathering more information on the whole picture, which brings me to my last tip...
3. Remember there are two sides to every story.
Documentaries are typically made to represent one message or idea, it’s important to consider all aspects of a topic before coming to your own conclusions.
Documentaries are a readily available source of information on a great variety of topics. They can be a great way to learn about something you aren’t familiar with, and may be a source of nutrition or health-related information for many people. As an #RD2B, I encourage viewers to continue watching and enjoying food documentaries with these tips in mind. Stream on my friends!
