Netflix doco: Game Changers

Big on the plants, small on the evidence

Let me start by saying I am a huge advocate for a diet full of plant foods! On the plus side this doco has certainly got people talking about plants and hopefully consuming more. On the downside, Game Changers uses weak studies, dramatic experiments, anecdote and opinions that draw out some fragments of truth and expand them beyond anything that is reasonable. We could talk all day about the specific details, but here’s a few examples of this to bring the situation back to reality, followed by my recommendations.

So, what’s at steak?

Often docos like this provide misleading information to create a specific outcome rather than letting actual facts shape the story. This one uses a lot of population-based studies (epidemiology) which actually don’t prove anything other than associations between studied groups (not causation ie. A will lead to B). Likewise, the doco talks a lot about relative risk (likelihood of something happening in one group compared to another) instead of what’s actually relevant – absolute risk (likelihood of something happening to someone under specific conditions). They use fear mongering and an overwhelming amount of ’facts’ based on controversial sources taken well out of context to prove their point, without a full understanding of the research.

Some examples:

- a study used to back up the claim that meat impairs blood flow and increases inflammation was a pilot study of 11 (!!) people that actually looked at avocados modulating the inflammatory response caused by one hamburger, not assessing a plant-based diet vs animal diet at all, and it was supported by Hass Avocado Brand (go figure!).

- the research used to back up the claim that milk lowers testosterone in men was a study with 7 (again !!) men and found that milk reduced testosterone secretions, not overall testosterone and this was only a temporary effect.

- one of the studies used to prove the health benefits of removing animal products actually concludes (which is not mentioned but very relevant to the firefighter situation): “However, whether these associations are primarily due to the consumption of a plant-based diet (and the avoidance of animal tissue proteins) or other lifestyle practices associated with vegetarianism can be difficult to ascertain.”

- using “plant-based” without a definition of what this means not only creates confusion (is plant-based 51% plants, 70% or 100%?) but allows studies using vegan or vegetarian diets to be referenced. One study referred to as improving athletic performance on a “plant-based” diet was actually a study using vegetarians who not only ate eggs and dairy products but also took supplements.

- endothelial function is affected by hydration, blood volume and oxygen concentration, amongst other things, but here is attributed solely to the contents of one burrito. We then do the highly scientific and validated ‘eyeball analysis’ to see that, yes the bean burrito led to superior endothelial function (!?). Not to mention that they don’t talk about the proposed mechanism of action for this effect on endothelial function or consider the host of other contributing factors such as sleep, fatigue, stress, medical history, tobacco and alcohol intake, hydration, the list goes on (including the fact that one subject of this demonstration was already vegan and the other two were fast food lovers – many variables uncontrolled for!). When you actually look at the research, none of the studies show a negative impact from meat on endothelial function, they simply suggest a benefit of eating more plants – we already know this full well.

- the doco presents claims that there are deadly toxins in animal products that are as dangerous as cigarettes. However, there is far less research into these compounds than we are led to believe, and the results of emerging studies are far less conclusive than those done on cigarettes.

On to protein - to say all protein originates in plants, and animals are just the middlemen is an oversimplification to say the least. Try going straight to the source, eating grass alone and being sustained! Animals clearly can be helpful in performing processes that the human body cannot. Proteins are made of amino acids, of which there are 20 different ones. Complete proteins are defined as proteins which contain all essential amino acids (9 of the 20 are essential because our bodies cannot make them, so they must be supplied through the diet). Animal proteins can be considered superior in terms of providing all essential amino acids from one source, as individual plant sources generally do not contain them all, however by eating a variety of plant proteins throughout the day it is possible to consume all of the amino acids. Also, to say that 3 ounces of beef has the same protein as a peanut butter sandwich is technically correct, if you have about 5 tablespoons of peanut butter in your sandwich (sounds sticky, not to mention the amount of fat and calories you’ll be consuming!).

Quick mention about the athletes - vegan athletes often supplement big time - heavily fortifying their diets with pea, hemp or rice proteins which are highly processed foods and unlikely to be mirrored by the general population consuming a “plant-based” diet. Their testimonies are without scientific control and are therefore purely anecdotal, lacking evidence to draw conclusions that removal of animal products alone will improve athletic performance. None of the studies presented actually show that removing animal produce improves performance, however this is implied throughout.

Also just saying - the executive producer of Game Changers is the CEO of Veridant Foods, a huge American company that produces plant-based proteins (conflict of interest?). And, almost all of the medical professionals interviewed sell vegan products (hmmm…). Not to mention none of them are qualified dietitians!

Conclusion

In general the doco shows one side of the story with grand extrapolations from small studies.

It implies that either you eat animal products and suffer, or avoid them and thrive. However, how about just eating more vegetables? Most of us need to do this and the scientific evidence for health benefits is well established and very convincing. This is a positive approach about what you can add to the diet, rather than focusing on what you need to cut out. Any qualified, experienced dietitian would recommend this. This doesn’t have to be an all or nothing, either or situation. Keeping a little bit of animal products in the diet isn’t going to kill you and there are plenty of unhealthy vegans - cutting out meat but continuing to eat highly processed foods full of fat and sugar is not the answer. There is no one size fits all and everyone should be on a journey of improving their diet that is sustainable and enjoyable.

Also, how about sleep, mental health, exercise, stress reduction? There are many things that contribute to overall health and having a great diet but ignoring the rest is also not ideal.

Advice

Adopt a long term change not short term diet – last week the keto doco was informing our diet and this week its Game Changers, what will it be next? Let’s not jump on the latest fad or be too extreme…

1. Eat real food (minimally processed, as close to it’s natural form as possible, stuff that your grandma would recognise).

2. Not too much (portion sizes have increased dramatically over the past few decades which has contributed to our increasing waistlines).

3. Mostly plants (aim for 4-5 vegetarian days a week, 1 red meat and 1-2 white meat; fill half your dinner plate with veges; have veges for snacks; and minimise meat, dairy and highly refined foods).

A diet based mainly on plant foods will always come out on top (regardless of the macronutrient distribution) and is far better for our planet. Side note - if you do completely remove animal products I’d recommend a B12 supplement and keeping a close eye on calcium, iron, zinc and omega-3 intake.

Some more details on this way of eating and the benefits to our planet to come in future posts.