The launch this weekend of Vitamania has us thinking about health and our bodies. In the documentary feature film Vitamania, Dr Derek Muller explores the science behind vitamins and supplements to give us all an insight into the multi-billion dollar vitamin industry.
But the explorations into our own bodies don't end there. Streaming now at are a number of great documentaries that explore health, our relationships with our bodies, and those with a political or financial interest in our continued well-being.
We've put together this list of documentaries to get you started:
Vitamania - Debuts Sunday 12 August
Dr. Derek Muller takes us on an epic journey, a world-spanning investigation of vitamin science and history from molecules to marketing, from colds to chemotherapy. What he uncovers will confound opinions on all sides of the vitamin debate.
The Perfect Body
The human body is the result of billions of years’ worth of evolution. Starting from scratch, we would never have designed our bodies the way they are today. They’re full of faults and imperfections - strange relics of evolution. From badly wired eyeballs to inefficient knee joints, these flaws cause illnesses and premature ageing. But recent scientific developments promise a brave new future. Gene editing is fast becoming a reality and bionic modifications are transforming medicine. Within decades, we could have the capability to radically re-engineer our biology. What if we designed the perfect human body from scratch? What would it look like? And how could it change the way we live?
Life After Food
Brian Merchant is on the route to Soylent HQ, where 25-year-old Rob Rhinehart and his crew whip up the internet famous hacker meal - the macro-nutritious shake they think will soon replace the bulk of our meals. It's just one of many visions currently vying for the future food crown. The world's population is still burgeoning, after all; 600-800 million people are going hungry every year, and the spectre of food riots is perpetually percolating; the damage for cheap, nutritious food is greater than ever. Soylent is a total food replacement and Brian will be living on a mixture alone just like Rob, the man who invented it. Soylent, canola oil, fish oil capsules and water - that's Brian's entire diet for the next month.
Forever Young
A unique church in the heart of Hollywood, Florida is filled with parishioners who believe that immortality is attainable through the progression of science and technology.
Killing Cancer
Reflecting on personal losses to cancer, Shane Smith goes inside the world's most cutting-edge cancer research labs to follow the pioneering doctors and researchers who are changing the face of modern-day medicine. The program explores the world of viral treatments for cancer and also features some of the cancer survivors who have already been saved by this revolutionary medical breakthrough.
Fat Chance
Follows a 90kg, pizza binging, single mother who is determined to lose weight and find love before her 50th birthday.
Stoned
Exploring a load of myths and questions from the world of weed. Questions such as: Does weed really affect your short term memory? Does getting high actually make you a bit more gay? Whether or not smoking cannabis makes you a creative genius, and a bunch of other stuff.
Orgasm Inc
Liz Canner's shocking yet entertaining documentary ORGASM INC. explores the strange science of female pleasure, and in the process reveals the often warped mentality of our pharmaceutical and medical industries. ORGASM INC. begins when filmmaker Liz Canner is hired to edit erotic videos to be used in a drug trial for a pharmaceutical company. Her employer is developing what they hope will be the first FDA approved "Viagra" drug for women that will treat a new disease: Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD). Intrigued, Liz decides to make a movie about the science of female pleasure. But she soon begins to suspect that her employer, along with other medical and pharmaceutical companies, might be trying to take advantage of women (and potentially endanger their health) in pursuit of profit.
Frozen Faith
Explore the world of cryonics and meet the people who embrace the notion that technology will become sophisticated enough to actually cheat death through reanimation.
Jabbed
Diseases that were largely eradicated forty years ago are returning. Across the world children are dying from preventable conditions, because nervous parents are skipping their children’s vaccinations. Yet the stories of vaccine injury are frightening, with rare cases of people being seriously hurt by vaccines. This documentary looks at the growing trend of vaccine hesitancy around the world, exploring the reasons for complacency and concerns, and highlighting the impact of delaying or refusing immunisation.
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