Fat Sick and Nearly Dead

I'm a sucker for a vegan-related documentary, so when I spotted Fat Sick and Nearly Dead on hulu, I made a point to watch it.



In a nutshell: Fat, sick dude from Australia named Joe goes on a 60 day green juice fast and he loses a bunch of weight and eventually gets off his medication. For the last 30 days of his fast, he goes on a road trip across America for a change of scenery and talks to a bunch of people along the way.

The best part of the film is Phil the Truck Driver, whom he meets and later helps. Phil's transformation is amazing! I admit: I had tears in my eyes toward the end, I was so happy for Phil. I won't give away more than that, though.

At the beginning of the film, I thought, There is no way I'd go on a juice fast for 60 days. Then halfway through, I thought, Well, I could do a ten-day fast... And by the end of the doc, I thought, If someone gave me one of those nice Breville juicers, I'd go 30 days!

Also, the words "vegan," or "vegetarian," or even "plant-based diet" are never mentioned. All that's said is that, after the juice fast, Joe sticks to a "micronutrient diet" of "mostly whole foods." Meat and dairy products aren't mentioned, but I don't know if it's actually a vegan diet he sticks to. Still, it's healthier than the Standard American Diet (SAD).

Fat Sick and Nearly Dead is no Forks Over Knives, but it was still an interesting flick, I loved watching Joe and Phil's transformations, and it always gives me hope to watch people take charge of their health and wellness in a more nutritious way, letting food be their medicine.