The documentary review activity will provide you the opportunity to practice your academic literacy skill by listening to a discussion regarding a current healthcare topic.
Each student will watch the documentary listed below and answer a series of questions regarding what they learned. It will be helpful to take brief notes while watching the documentary to assist in answering the questions.
Directions:
- Watch the documentary identified below.
- Download this document and use page two as your template. Your analysis must include answers to each question identified on page two.
- List the documentary and all other sources in an APA formatted reference list at the end of your submission.
- Your submission should contain a scholarly style and a formal tone. Answers should be full of insight and demonstrate that a thorough analysis of the documentary has taken place.
- You must use APA formatted in-text citations for all paraphrased and quoted material.
- You do not need to write a research paper, but instead should follow the format on page two of this document and answer each question presented.
- Please read the journal and documentary review grading rubric before beginning this assignment. The rubric will provide you with further information regarding what the instructor is looking for about grading. You can find the rubric attached to the assignment on Blackboard.
- The week one lecture provides additional information regarding academic literacy, citation development, plagiarism, and professional practice.
- Direct all questions regarding this assignment to the course faculty.
Documentary:
Supplements and Safety: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/supplements-and-safety/
- An investigation into the hidden dangers of vitamins and supplements, a multibillion-dollar industry with limited Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight.
Questions:
1. Discuss the main issue or idea presented in the documentary.
The main idea which has been highlighted through the documentary is the ill effect of using nutritional supplements or any health supplements within our body. In the last few years, instead of relying only on colloquial medicinal treatment like allopathy, many other supplementary treatments have been populated. In states of foreign countries like the USA, people are adopting these nutritional supplements over natural healthy food sources. This supplement claims to be without any side effects, but the reality is actually depicted through this documentary and it clearly states that these supplements are way more dangerous than we can even think. Some experts even stated this innovation is much more harmful than the use of Tobacco.
2. Describe one aspect of the documentary that caused you to think in a new way or help you to understand something more thoroughly than before. Describe how it changed your thinking.
More than one piece of evidence is highlighted here in the document which claims that the use of nutritional supplements is harmful for human use. Among them, I want to draw attention to the use of omega-3 supplements. The reason behind choosing this option is the 3rd most widely used supplement in America is fish oil. Massive publicity regarding the use of fish oil omega 3-rich pills in the markets is very popular. It is mostly accepted in people who do not consume fish in their daily diet directly or where the availability of fresh natural fish is not possible. The companies claim that, if someone’s diet is deficient in fish sources, then their body may face the deficiency systems of the omega 3 fatty acid. They stated that it is beneficial in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases and in lowering high blood pressure. To combat this deficiency administration of one omega, 3 fish supplement is enough. Initially, this information seems to be credible, but after reviewing this documentary it makes me think deeply about the authenticity of their publicity and the quality of their products. The most dangerous aspect of fish oil is the rancidity and the oxidation of these extracted oils can lead to the inflammation of the cell tissue and also make the body prone to cardiovascular disease. Andrew Gray, in his peer-reviewed journal, shows no positive association between cardiovascular diseases and fish oil pills. It has been reported that this association may be seen if natural fishes are consumed directly. Some amounts of beneficial clinical benefits like lowering bad cholesterol, or improving healthy good cholesterol can be seen if fish are consumed naturally instead of artificially extracted forms. These aspects make me review the old concepts of believing blindly dietary and nutritional supplements. This will also lead me to analyze thoroughly in this aspect.
3. Was there any aspect of the documentary that was unconvincing or seemed out of place? Explain your answer.
No, according to my opinion, none of the aspects of the content of this documentary seems unconvincing or out of place for me. All the pieces of information shared here through this documentary are very informative and can spread knowledge and educate the population before blindly adopting what the social media or the product manufacturing company claims.
4. Discuss how evidence-based practice was demonstrated in the documentary or discuss how evidence-based practice was violated.
There is more than one evidence-based practice that states that the content of this documentation is very relevant. Among them, one which can be taken as an example is the products manufactured by the Purity First Company. One of the customers of this company, named Vincent Grosso, claimed that, by the use of vitamin B50, many adverse consequences set in. Changes in the voice, blood loss in the head, changes in the reproductive hormone, and the emergence of female characteristics in the males, was the most reported complication by the clients after the usage of this product. The most dangerous constituent that the expert reports as the core component of the B-50 vitamin are the anabolic steroid. Studies have shown that steroids always prove to have different negative effects on human health. The owners of this company were also interviewed and questioned about the mal effects of their products on human health. This demonstrates the evidence-based practice depicted in this documentary.
Another instance, which can be taken as an example of how evidence-based practice was violated is the study reported by Steven Newmaster. He claimed that to resolve the debate of whether nutritional supplements are beneficial to us, he has collected the mother plant and the artificial supplementary pills, which claim to have the same beneficial effects as that plant. It was very surprising to note that, 1 among the 3, samples tested proved to be fake and doesn’t possess similar DNA characteristics to their mother plants.
The reason behind this which has been stated by the FDA is that all of these companies do not have to show any registration or any authentications in their product. All the prescribed meditational drugs, have to show their composition and the nutritional labeling, but in the case of these dietary supplements, no credible sources are evidenced. The only thing that, they show is the quality of the products used here. The composition of the various constituents used is not mentioned in most of the company’s products. FDA also reported that it is very difficult for them to take any actions against this manufacturing company because they don’t have any registration number therefore it is very difficult to identify them.
5. Find one peer-reviewed journal article that directly relates to the information you learned from the documentary. Provide a summary/analysis of the article including how the information has enhanced your knowledge of the subject matter and how it connects to the information learned from the documentary. Be sure to include the article in the APA formatted reference list at the end of this document.
The article seems quite relevant to the documentary entitled, “ADVERSE EFFECTS OF NUTRACEUTICALS AND DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS”. This paper highlighted that, in the states of America, more than 70|% of Americans are dependent every day on nutritional supplements, to combat their daily nutritional needs. The marketing strategy and the media publicity have a huge influence on the masses and contributed to about 28 billion dollars in business nationwide. How these nutritional supplements affect human health, is the main focus area of this paper (Ronis, Pedersen & Watt, 2018, p.584).
Dietary supplements are well known for their consumption with the regular daily diet to give additional benefits to health. According to, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), the most commonly used supplements includes, vitamins and minerals, herbs, vitamin D, amino acids, vitamins C, E, and fish oil or omega 3 supplements. Although the marketing company claims that, these supplements are very beneficial for achieving a healthy body, their words do not show any authentication.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported that the credibility of all the companies is always susceptible to query because they don’t have any registration numbers, as the other authentic medical licensed company has. The actual compositions of the material used are not written anywhere. Not only that FDA doesn’t know the actual number of companies involved In the arena of the nutritional supplements manufacturing business, which makes it more difficult for them to identify their authenticity.
In most cases, the supplements have proved to show toxicity, in the human body. Various important organs like the liver, brain, heart, and kidney have been shown to have adverse effects due to the use of dietary supplements over prolonged periods. Not only that this article also shows the herb-drug interactions within our body. Therefore, it is recommended that before opting for a supplement in the daily diet, it is highly crucial to take the expert guidance and opinion of doctors. Prolonged consumption of useless administration of this stuff can create toxicity and lead to affect human health adversely.
This article is an appropriate choice in supporting the content depicted in the documentary, as both of them are dedicated to showing the adverse effects of the usage of dietary supplements on mankind.
Reference:
Ronis, M. J., Pedersen, K. B., & Watt, J. (2018). Adverse effects of nutraceuticals and dietary supplements. Annual review of pharmacology and toxicology, 58, 583-601.
