In this, the third episode of Myth or Science, Dr. Jennifer Gardy returns to examine one of the most fundamental elements in our lives – food. It's so fundamental we're constantly bombarded with advice. ➢ Sugar makes children hyper. ➢ If you want to lose weight eat a diet designed especially for your blood type. ➢ You can safely eat food left on the floor for five seconds. ➢ You should drink 8 glasses of water a day. ➢ Caffeine improves your memory. ➢ Natural salt is better for you than table salt. ➢ Frozen veggies and fruit are less nutritious than fresh veggies and fruit. But, are any of these claims true? Once again, Dr. Gardy, will find out. Her mission: Use unorthodox experiments, traditional scientific investigation, and her own body, to discover if we can fight disease, lose weight, even improve our memory by putting food claims to the test and finding out… once and for all… whether they’re myth or science.

Home > Our Work > Myth or Science: You are What You Eat

MYTH OR SCIENCE

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

 
 

CBC TELEVISION, THE NATURE OF THINGS

2015 | 44 mins

Myth buster for science, Dr. Jennifer Gardy, continues her mission to separate science fiction from science fact. Once again she uses her own body, and unorthodox tests, to put popular food and diet claims under the microscope and discover if they’re myth or science.

Today, we can put almost anything we want on the table. But making the right choices isn’t easy. We’re inundated by so many new diets, food fads and food myths, it’s easy to be swayed.  In Myth or Science: You Are What You Eat, Gardy puts these food and diet claims to the test.

  • Working with a mother’s group, she puts on a treat-filled party for a gaggle of 5-year-olds to find out whether sugar makes them hyper.

  • She visits a frat house where the students throw pizza onto the floor after a party to help her test the five second rule.

  • In the heart of summer she stops drinking water for 72 hours to discover if we really do need to consume eight glasses a day.

  • To find out if all the hype is true, Gardy puts herself on the Blood Type Diet to see if it actually works.

  • And she gets drunk with her girlfriends to see if a few too many makes people look more attractive.

In the process Gardy offers an unexpected and revealing perspective on the pop-science questions of the day. Using the latest tech, unexpected experiments and traditional scientific investigation, she provides a humorous and unique take on the science that affects our lives and health.

 
 

View Credits

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Written By
Dugald Maudsley

Director
Jeff Semple

Host & Narrator
Dr. Jennifer Gardy

Executive Producer
Dugald Maudsley

Editor
David Murray

Director of Photography
Jerry Vienneau
Music By
Alex Khaskin

Researcher
Monika Delmos

Production Manager
Diane Marcotte

Production Coordinator
Gillian Main

Sound Recordist
Michael Kennedy

Visual Effects Designer
 Mark Alberts, Electric Square

Post Production Supervisor/Online Editor
 Eric Wiegand

Additional Camera
 Terry Zazulak

Additional Sound
 John Martin

Music Clearance
 Elizabeth Klinck

Sound Design
 Grant Edmonds
The Dark Studio Sound Company

Colour Correction
 Technicolor Creative Services Canada Inc.

Publicist
 David Mccaughna

Stills Photography
 Glenn Lowson

Intern
 Dylan O’Reilly

Archival Material Courtesy Of
 Infield Fly Productions Inc.
 Dr. Lewis Halsey

Special Thanks
 Pedro Aloise
Baker Street Station
Adam Brumberg
Cornell University
Dipietro’s
Susan W. Farmer
Delta Guelph Hotel and Conference Centre
Jiangyu Gao
Golden West College
Groove Garden Recordings
Michelle Kim and Helen Song
Le Marche St George
Rio Geatros, Finlay Porter, and Scott Walhovd
Lizbell Agency
Luke’s Funhouse Crew
Metro Edinburgh & Stone
Skin Care Centre
Steamworks
The Boathouse, English Bay and Kitsilano
The Guelph Parents & Their Children
Trout Lake Farmers Market
University of British Columbia
University of Guelph

Executives in Charge of Production for CBC the Nature of Things
 Sue Dando, Executive Producer
Caroline Underwood, Senior Producer

For Infield Fly Productions
 Producer
 Dugald Maudsley

Business Affairs
Gillian Main

Production Accountant
 Anne Sinclair

Legal Counsel
 David Steinberg, Dentons

With the Participation Of
 The Canada Media Fund
The Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit
Ontario Media Development Corporation
Rogers Telefund

Produced with the Cooperation Of
 Writers Guild of Canada
Canadian Federation of Musicians

Produced in Association With
 The Nature of Things with David Suzuki

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
cbc.ca/natureofthings
Copyright 2015
@ 2015 IF: Myth 3 Productions Inc.

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