Netflix - The Magic Pill

#1

If you have Netflix, you should watch, very interesting.

Doctors, farmers, chefs and others weigh in on the controversial ketogenic diet and its potential to eradicate common illnesses.

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(Scott) #2

I was channel surfing last July 4th holiday and thought “well this looks interesting”. I had never heard of keto at that point. Hundreds of videos, a dozen books read I have been keto since July 10th 2018. The Magic Pill is what started it all.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #3

The worm definitely turned when I saw it too. The mango, bananas and star fruit in the poster confuse my keto brain…:persevere: :cowboy_hat_face:

(John) #4

I should really watch this, after hearing about it so often on the forums here. Thanks for the reminder.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #5

Here we go again, sigh. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

(Brian) #6

I watched it a couple of times last year. I enjoyed it. I may not agree with or practice everything in there but I can definitely respect what’s going on.

Maybe people shouldn’t look for miracles but more than a few of us have gotten them. We got to live when otherwise we may not have. Health concerns that were problematic improved. Health happened. Maybe that’s not a “miracle” to some people. It was to me.

Will it work for everyone? Probably not. But it does work for an awful lot of us.

(Central Florida Bob ) #7

I watched that for the first time last month. Definitely worth the time and few bucks to watch.

Does anyone have any input on “Fasting”?

This one is a freebie on Prime, so I guess I’m more interested in whether or not it’s worth the time.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #8

I understand where you’re coming from. I don’t for a moment begrudge anyone’s subjective feelings about something. This may seem trivial (and IS embarrassing!) but to anyone who has endured it as long as I did (70 years!) will understand just how non-trivial it really is. For all my life eating SAD I had excessive flatulence. Not simply your average, occasional fart, but relentless and virtually never-ending, always uncomfortable and often painful. Within a couple weeks of starting keto, it was over! Gone!

I had no expectation about that. It took me completely by surprise. It seemed like a miracle. But it wasn’t. I had stopped putting insufficiently chewed fermentable materials into my gut where they could be fermented into CO2 and sulfur/hydrogen dioxide. And had been all my life until keto.

I see the problem describing things as metaphorical ‘miracles’ or ‘magic’ , even facetiously, is that we all experience things differently. A whole lot of people take things far more literally than ever intended. When their subjective experience doesn’t match their unrealistic expectations, they feel cheated, frustrated and maybe angry. Then conclude keto is hooey and give up.

Sure, we’re not responsible for how others react to or misinterpret what we say. And we all have the right to say what we please any way we please, without violating the forum TOS. But I’d like to think that whatever I post encourages realistic expectations.

(Scott) #9

Not sure if I get this. I guess you are referring to the word “magic” in the title. If you have ever watched it the documentary it looks in depth at how the change in diet of the aboriginal population made them sick. It is not making a case for a magic diet, rapid weight loss plan ect.

I watched it and the statement at the beginning I will never forget “Why can every animal regulate is body weight except man and any animal cared for by man”.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #10

For every you and I and whoever else posting on this forum, there will be a dozen or more who see the title and don’t bother to watch it. Many more who watch the first few minutes won’t understand and/or get bored by it then click on to something more entertaining. Many/most will go away thinking that keto is another ‘magic diet’ that’s going to make weight loss easy, fast and effortless. If and when they find out it doesn’t, they search for the next ‘magic pill’. That’s all. Titles are important because in the long run that’s all many people remember.

@Rclause Stop! Please! You’re killing me! Absolutely right: I can see them now at their local Walmart asking for the magic keto pill. The one you take once a week because it works so well!

(Scott) #11

And these are the people that buy weight loss pills like “If weight loss is too dramatic take one pill every other day”

#12

It’s just a name… I honestly always took it as a play on the words, or an Oxymoron of sorts, being that the actual fact is there is ‘no’ Magic Pill. - But they could have called it anything else they chose, but folks still need to choose whether to watch it or not. And If folks only judge a movie/documentary/etc. by it’s title alone, guess there’s always re-runs.

Either way, it was actually the documentary I watched that introduced me to Keto. :+1:

('Jackie P') #13

When I first joined this site I had been successfully following a Keto WOL for about 10 months.
One time, after a ‘scare story’ in the Daily Mail (don’t judge me! It wasn’t my paper!:sunglasses:) I asked a naive question…If everyone followed a keto diet would we be able to sustain the planet?!
Phew! Got quite a reaction and I learnt a lot! But the best thing was being directed to this film and the explanation of our ecosystem and how crops are damaging our soil whilst proper cattle rearing sustains it. It was a real lightbulb moment (yes another one!) for me and I have done some further reading.
Magic or NSV? Truthfully, being able to do a night shift without farting my way round the hospital and coming home a size larger than I was when I started my shift sure does feel like a miracle to me!:roll_eyes:

(Brian) #14

Hi Michael, No argument with what you’re saying. :slight_smile: And maybe I seemed a little more pointed in my earlier post than I intended. Didn’t really mean it that way although it might have come across that way. (I hate not being able to show inflection in writing…)

Words like “magic” or “miracle” are problematic. Keto is slow motion compared to the impressions one conjures up with those words.

Anyway, still enjoyed the movie. And I hope it’ll be a help to someone who’s struggling. I think it kind of affirmed where my wife and I are right now… actually where we were when we watched it…, that it’s OK, and it’s going to be OK. There are some variations in ways of eating that can work, and that’s OK, too.

Maybe my perspective is a little different than many. The reason I say that is that I spend a lot of time as a gardener. I’ve been accused of being a farmer in the past but mostly I consider myself a gardener. I planted some little plants out in the garden today. I’ll look after them, water them when I have to, support them as needed, and they’ll slowly grow into some eggplant and cabbage. Had I planted the seeds myself (I bought these particular plants), I’d have planted the seeds, and spent a few weeks getting them to where they are today and then planted them in the garden. It’ll be a couple of months before I’ll get much. Back a couple of months ago, I planted a couple of rows of green peas. (I know, not particularly keto but we enjoy them on occasion.) They’ve got a bunch of small pods on them that are starting to fill out and still a bunch of blossoms. Tomatoes are just starting to blossom, peppers are small but so pretty, squash and cucumber plants are blossoming. It’s really kinda neat to be a part of all of that from day to day, watching tiny little changes as they happen. I guess the point is, none of it is instant. There isn’t a single seed that I can plant today and have food to eat from it tomorrow. Most take months. But the care each little plant gets along the way, day in and day out, will be likely to get me a reward when the harvest finally comes, hopefully some to share. (Actually, there is reward right now, the time in the sun and fresh air taking care of it all…)That mentality isn’t so prevalent these days as instant gratification is pretty big.

Anyway… rambling on…

Have a good day! :slight_smile:

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #15

@CrackerJax :smirk: Yeah, baby!

@Bellyman I had a homestead for the better part of a decade at Lake Laberge, Yukon, about 30 miles north of Whitehorse (40 miles downstream by river). We grew a lot of what we ate, so I know well the feeling of dedication and accomplishment successfully growing your own food. It was interesting that although I could grow food plants in abundance, I could not grow a flower! My lady was the green thumb with flowers. We also had goats, chickens and rabbits so I also experienced the reality of killing what you eat raised from birth each with a name and personality. Yes, even chickens have individual personalities. I also hunted/killed a bear and/or moose each year. Moose are pretty big, even in the Yukon. The Indians said, “If you can’t bring the moose to camp, bring the camp to moose.”

BTW: it IS a catchy title and I like it. Has it been on the cover of Nationial Enquirer yet?

(Kirk) #16

On the marge, of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam MacGee.

(Khara) #17

I really liked Fasting. It goes pretty in depth. I feel the first half hour or so is most pertinent. It talks of time restricted eating windows and shorter fasts. Then once it gets into religious fasting it doesn’t really apply to my sensibilities much but it’s still worth a watch. The end goes into eating disorders and how fasting can be taken to an extreme. I think it’s actually important information. My take away with the more extreme examples were to listen to your body and if you’re not feeling well to end the fast. I do recommend it.

#18

The Magic Pill was also my gateway to keto. I had followed low carb off and on for years, but never maintained it. Something about this video spoke to me in a way that nothing before had. I know that everyone doesn’t respond to keto the same way, but for me, it has been a magic pill.

#19

Watched this video on Netflix the other night.

I’m getting restarted from being Paleo years ago, and thought this was a good to jumpstart my husband to join in with me.

Back when we started Paleo we watched some whole-food/Paleo/carbs&sugar-are-the-real-enemy documentaries. But when my husband talked to me about what he learned from The Magic Pill I realized that he hadn’t learned as much as I thought he had back then.

He was like “I didn’t know the body could run on just ketones! I thought you always needed some glucose!” And he was also found the upside-down food pyramid really helpful for visualizing what he should eat. I guess he previously thought that this diet meant just deleting the bottom layer? And keeping the rest the same? So then you just have less food? IDK.

I didn’t much like the title of it either, but about halfway through, around the Dr. Fung clip, I think they explain why they chose it. That previously when the world suffered from infectious diseases, magic pills came along to take them away. And now that the world is suffering from diseases of civilization, people still think that there will be a magic pill to take the disease away. But actually the “magic pill” is just a dietary change. That’s my take on it.

Overall, I think this documentary is better than the previous ones from a decade ago or so. It hit more of the main points, and better. But I didn’t find it all very consistent when it came to diet. I mean they used the words LCHF and ketosis, but then they showed the one girl making almond milk, another making 'bread" and the little girl eating strawberries in the garden with her grandma. I understand that these things can be a part of the diet for some people (and little girls should eat strawberries with grandma!), but for people who watch and have no idea, I think they could start thinking that that’s what this diet entails, and not realize the 95% of what’s on the menu if you go keto, or even just LCHF. Maybe they made the decision to be more visually appealing to people, instead of showing plates of hamburger patties or whatever. But if someone wants to start eating this way after watching the documentary, I think they might be a bit confused…