You Are What You Eat

Has anyone watched "You are What You Eat" on BBC or BBC America? I've been watching a few episodes this week, and it is both riveting and utterly disgusting.

Here's how an average episode goes: an overweight, unhealthy family (or person) is profiled based upon what they eat. The nutrition expert, Gillian McKeith, a "holistic nutritionist", comes in to examine their cupboards and fridge and chastise them for having too much yeast* in their systems. They bring the family to a table (more like a huge wheelbarrow) containing all the food they ate in the past week. This display is usually all meat, white bread, and cookies (biscuits) or crisps (potato chips). The only thing that could make the display more disgusting is if they had showed the food AFTER they'd eaten it. Speaking of disgusting, she also examines their "poo", describing it in graphic detail. Yummy! Watching this show is a great diet aid: watch it before a meal and lose your appetite!

After all that fun, Gillian tells them what they should eat. The people usually protest a bit, but they eventually are convinced to switch to veggies and beans. After a month or so, we get to see the before/after pictures, resulting in better health and lower weight for the family. Hooray!

*I'm not really sure where this obsession with yeast comes from. I've never heard anyone in the U.S. railing against the amount of yeast in our diet or bodies. Gillian explains that the yeast in the body is not the same as the yeast you eat, but the yeast you eat can cause you to have yeast in the body. Wha-? This really smacks of quackery, so I did a little more investigation, and found that she indeed does not have a proper degree in nutrition or diet. I think I'd rather listen to someone like Mehmet Oz, the "Oprah Doctor" who was a heart surgeon and professor. He says similar things about eating vegetables and fruits and beans (and even loves to discuss "poo"), but I've never heard him even mention yeast as an issue.

I wonder if any of the people profiled were able to stick with the healthy diet. I imagine it would be a huge adjustment going from eating a table full of meat and chips to eating beans and greens. I'm sure I'd relapse once in a while and eat a dozen cookies. Heck, I'm a pretty healthy eater, and I ate a half dozen of them the other night!