The Best Health Documentaries to Stream in 2023 That Will Make You Healthier!

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The Best Health Documentaries to Stream in 2023 That Will Make You Healthier!

Updated: 2/12/2023

*Please note that streaming networks are constantly changing which documentaries they provide and which they don’t, if something looks like it was crossed off or if a link does not work – it is most likely because that streaming network has removed the documentary from it’s platform.

In this article you will find 20+ life altering Health Documentaries that will make you want to give plant based eating a go and start living a healthier, chronic disease free life. And give you the motivation and encouragement you need to start eating better!

Are you a ‘health nut’, love learning about nutrition, or want some motivation to be a little bit, or a lot, healthier?

Want to know what the most health inspiring documentaries on Netflix Amazon Prime, Hulu, and YouTube are?

Sick of going to watch your favorite Health Documentary only to find that it’s been removed from the streaming service of your choice?

Yeah, me too! That’s why I’ve updated this article for the best health documentaries for 2023.

Grab Your 30 Day FREE TRIAL of Amazon Prime HERE!!

You Need to Watch the Documentaries Below Now!!

Or, at least when you get a chance, I know how hard it can be sometimes to simply sit down and watch something you want.

But, these documentaries are worth the effort to watch, and actually pay attention to!

Everyone has Streaming Services, like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, YouTube, and others, nowadays, right?

Everyone just wants to binge watch, and binge eat during, their favorite show!

But, what if you could change your life and improve your health by watching the beloved streaming service?

Wouldn’t that be great?

I do have to admit that some documentaries are so dry that they’re hard to even watch; these are not!

They’re inspiring and share facts about health, nutrition, and the sociology behind food and eating, along with how destructive animal agriculture is.

(Ok, I may be a bit of a health nut, but even my husband and 3 kids have watched these with me!) So, for now, I want to provide you with a list of 20+ health inspiring documentaries that Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, & YouTube has to offer!!

(These aren’t in any specific order.)

1. What the Health.

This is one of the best health documentaries still streaming on Netflix!

It unmasks how some of the large health organizations react when consumers want to know the reasons behind why they promote certain foods that contribute to the exact disease or health concern that their organization is trying to help. Such as meat and dairy; ever see a pink ribbon on yo-plait yogurts? Turns out that the foods that contribute most to cancers and diseases, even diabetes, use the companies money to sponsor the health organizations that are trying to cure the diseases.

That seems kind of strange…the food companies (like yoplait or fast food chains) sponsor health organizations that are trying to find cures for cancer or diabetes. Then these health organizations recommend to consumers to eat dairy and meat, when those are the kind of foods that contribute to the health concern in the first place?

Watch the documentary to learn more! It’s quite eye opening!

For more info: http://www.whatthehealthfilm.com/

2. Food Inc.

This is the first documentary about food I ever watched; I watched it back in college in my food sociology class (right after I decided to try to become vegan, for the first time).

It was the perfect documentary to watch for the class, too. It shows where food comes from, how there’s a few main food companies that control practically all the food in this country, and it really tells the truth about the ugly side of the food industry.

I do need to warn you, watch it all the way through before thinking about watching it with a child; it shows what happens to animals to get them prepared to be turned into food products. You may not want to eat meat anymore after watching this doc, and not just because of the graphics.

What it on YouTube for free here OR on Amazon Prime here.

3. Hungry for Change.

This is one of my all time favorites, yet I’m not sure why.

I can watch this over and over again; just like how my 2 year old can watch Moana on repeat.

It teaches us that we are not eating how we were designed to eat, we’re not even really eating ‘food’; we’re eating ‘food-like products’. This film did a great job of rounding up experts to explain different food theories to us, like the real reason we gain weight and crave certain foods. They explain all the different things in life that contribute to eating poorly (self love, food options available) and how to fix them (eat more plant based, avoid sugar).

What’s unique about this documentary is that through out the whole film they have a ‘real’ person watching the documentary and then changing their lifestyle according to the suggestions in the film. It’s amazing. And, there’s so much covered in the film I can’t cover it all here, so go watch it to keep learning!

Unfortunately, it’s not easy to find to watch for ‘free’ on streaming services anymore.

You can rent or buy it on YouTube or Amazon Prime. You should also be able to watch it for ‘free’ on Hulu here.

For more info: http://www.hungryforchange.tv/

4. Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.

Have you ever heard of juicing before? Like, juicing fruits and veggies?

The first time I really heard of it was when I watched this film. Sure, I watched it a few times before actually buying a juicer for myself and family. But, that’s just because I hate spending money on myself and it took a few times of me watching it for my husband to over hear it and want a juicer, too. This is the juicer we ended up buying (it was much cheaper 5 years ago)!

This film is incredibly inspiring; following an Australian guy, Joe Cross, around as he ventures on a 60 day juice fast while traveling the U.S. It shows us how powerful a juice fast can be at helping people lose weight and practically reset themselves and use the ‘reset’ to live a healthier life!

Find it on Amazon Prime here, YouTube here, or you can even find it on Vudu.

For more info: http://www.fatsickandnearlydead.com/ 

5. Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead 2.

A sequel to the film I mentioned above; this time Joe Cross travels the world to promote juicing and living a healthy lifestyle.

He shows in this documentary that living healthy is not a piece of cake. It can have challenges through out, and not having enough support to live healthy can actually cause it to go haywire.

This film also shows how anyone, anywhere in the world can go on a juice fast. It is almost as inspiring as the original documentary; which is hard to do. If possible, I’d recommend watching these two films back to back, but that’s just me.

Find it on YouTube here.

6. Forks Over Knives.

This film features some of the leading experts in the field of nutrition and health, real health; Dr. Campbell, Dr. Esselstyn, and others. If either of the names I mentioned are not familiar to you, then watch this film now!

It will change your life. Not only for listening to the experts, but also by watching the journey to health and improvements in the quality of life for individuals who work with doctors who believe in the power of ‘food as medicine’. More specifically, plant based food as medicine. It’s truly amazing what these doctors do for their patients; take them grocery shopping, teach them plant based meals to cook. In all honesty, I wish I could have a doctor like these.

This film also has a website that I’m personally subscribed to. They keep sending me all of these plant based recipes, and it’s pretty awesome!

You can watch it on Vudu, YouTube (rent or buy), or Amazon Prime (rent or buy).

For more info: www.forksoverknives.com 

7. Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue.

This is somewhat like a sequel to the film I just mentioned.

It’s about Rip Esselstyn (Dr. Esselstyn’s son) teaching others how to shop and cook for a plant based diet. It does feature his book, which is titled the same as the film.

But, the main thing that sets this one apart from the others is that it actually shows him helping 2 different couples about what should and shouldn’t be eaten. He goes through their fridges and cupboards and pretty much does a health make-over to them. He shows the couples what to look for on the nutrition labels at stores before just buying them, and he shows the preparation of a few ‘American’ meals turned plant based.

You can find it on Amazon Prime (rent or buy), YouTube, Vudu (rent or buy).

8. Vegucated.

This documentary was filmed in New York City and followed three non-vegans around as they are challenged to stay
vegan for 6 weeks. During this time, their eyes are opened to the animal cruelty that goes on behind closed doors at farms and slaughter houses, and all of the vegan alternatives there are to ‘regular’ food.

This health documentary debunks some myths and answers some questions about vegans that many meat-consuming Americans have.

It also proves that simply by going vegan you can lose weight, improve your blood work (such as cholesterol) and improve blood pressure. If you are thinking about transitioning to a vegan lifestyle, start watching this documentary; it might just encourage you to start sooner rather than later!

Watch it on Amazon Prime (with Food Matters TV subscription), OR on YouTube (for FREE).

For more info: https://vegucated.com/film/

9. The Kids Menu.

If you enjoyed Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead and you have children then this is a must watch. In it, Joe Cross visits children at schools, and experts, teachers and youth program directors to find out how regular people can make a difference in how children eat.

One expert, a professor from Cornell University, even states that how you ask a child what they want to eat can make the difference between a healthy choice vs an unhealthy choice.

It also shows how children, and teens, are more likely to eat plants if they grow them themselves. Making you feel like your not alone, this film shows how a lot of parents go through the trouble of getting kids to eat healthy and that the packaging for food is of no help.

So, believe this film, and me, to know that you are not alone when it comes to trying to get your kids to eat for their health.

My five year old also wants you to watch this; in her own words “because it has fruits and veggies in it”!

Watch on Amazon Prime, YouTube (rent or buy), or Vudu.

10. Food Choices.

Answering questions that most people have about plant-based diets. Such as “where do you get protein?” and “will you be nutrient deficient?”. You know, those questions that if you know anything about nutrition, makes you want to be like “REALLY??”

Luckily, experts on the subject answer these questions, and explains why these questions are so ridiculous in the first place; in case you don’t know why. They also explain the difference between vegan and plant based diets, because there is a difference; depending on how much you rely on processed foods, it can be a huge difference.

This film is also an excellent one to watch if you’re an athlete or a parent. It shows the perspective of parents raising kids on a plant-based diet. It also shows how you can thrive on a plant based diet; athletes thrive and do better on a plant based diet than they ever did when eating a diet with meat or dairy or fish. So, give it a try!

Watch on Amazon Prime, Vudu, or YouTube.

For more info: http://www.foodchoicesmovie.com/

11. The Game Changers.

The Game Changers was first released on Netflix and is now nowhere to be found on their streaming platform or anywhere for ‘free’. It’s kind of upsetting because it’s such a great documentary, especially to help men see the importance of eating vegan or plant-based.

This documentary is really stirring people up, especially men, as they see pro athletes accepting and committing to a plant based life to improve their performance!

It shows the science behind a plant based diet and how quickly it can change your life and body for the better; with a little simple experiment done for the documentary using three real football players. Having them eat regular food (with meat) in it one day, taking some tests, and then a completely plant-based meal another day, and showing them right there how quickly their bodies and tests improved with the healthier diet!

Watch on Amazon Prime (rent or buy), Vudu, or YouTube (rent or buy).

For more info: https://gamechangersmovie.com/

More Health Documentaries Worth Watching!!

12. Live and Let Live

13. In Defense of Food

14. Bite Size

15. The Invisible Vegan

16. Plant Pure Nation (free with Amazon Prime subscription)

17. Cowspiracy

18. Fed Up

19. Food Matters

20. Foods That Cure Disease

This documentary is quite long, but it also gives cooking demonstrations for plant-based recipes.

21. Heal

22. The Sugar Film

Watch how sugar can physically, and mentally, affect the human body.

23. Diet Fiction

24. Supersize Me

25. The Food Cure

26. Eating You Alive

27. Plan Eat

Grab Your 30 Day FREE TRIAL of Amazon Prime HERE!!

Go Watch One!!

If you exit out of this article without feeling the need to watch any of these documentaries then I failed you, and I apologize for that.

But, if I have inspired you to flip over to one of these films rather than the show you’ve been binge watching, even if just for a few minutes; then just wait til you actually watch the film!

You’ll probably want to order some groceries for healthy, plant foods and try to get rid of you animal products ASAP.

I know halfway through What the Health, my husband was over hearing it, paused it, and we jumped in the car to get some food to replace the meat he usually eats. That is how inspiring some of these Documentaries are!

Also, if you need more help or practical tips on becoming vegan, go ahead and read 10 Useful Tips for those wanting to be VEGAN.

Let me know in the comments which one inspires you the most, or what your reactions are to any one of them!! I’m excited to find out!

Related Posts:

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115 Vegan Quotes: For Health, the Planet, & the Animals!

25 Vegan Kids Books To Help Teach Little Ones About Veganism

The Top 10 Foods To Eat Daily For Better Health

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2 Comments

    1. I’m sorry about that. The link it was attached to wasn’t working which is why it was crossed off, I have it fixed now! I would absolutely NOT change my mind about watching the Game Changers, whenever I ‘accidentally’ watch that movie while my husbands in the room it helps remind him and encourage him to eat more plant-based!

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