National Autistic Society after Netflix to take down Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut, calls it “deeply irresponsible”

Netflix's latest documentary Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut was released on the platform on April 26, 2024. The documentary is getting a lot of attention for its content. However, the National Autistic Society (NAS) has called the documentary "unscientific" due to its casual reference to autism as a "mental health problem."

While the documentary mentions autism multiple times, there are instances when it is referred to as a "disease" that is related to the gut. The Head of Influencing and Researching at the National Autistic Society, Tim Nicholls said that the claims were wrong and offensive to autistic people.

"Autism is a lifelong disability, not a disease or a temporary symptom linked to gut health, and cannot be treated or cured. To suggest otherwise is wrong, deeply irresponsible, and offensive to autistic people and their families," Nicholls said.

LearningDisabilityToday reported that the NAS has called the show unscientific and is also pushing for Netflix to remove the documentary from the platform.

Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut provides a deep insight into gut health and its relation to several health issues. The documentary shows viewers the complex science of gut bacteria and their impact on health.

Directed by Anjali Nayar, Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut follows a German doctor, Dr. Giulia Enders. The doctor has partnered with other experts to explain how the gut works, and how working on gut health can solve other internal issues.

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NAA has urged to take down Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut for referring to autism as a disease

Maya, one of the participants (Image via netflix.com/tudum)

While the latest Netflix documentary has been gaining a lot of attention for its topic and the importance it gives to gut health, it is facing some backlash too. The National Autism Society has called out Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut for the way it discusses autism and calls it a "disease."

The NAS highlighted that autism is a lifelong disability and terms like "disease" spread misconception about it. The society stated that this implies that there is something wrong with a person and autism is something that can be cured. According to LearningDisabilityToday, the NAS also noted that it was "not appropriate" while talking about autistic people.

The Head of Influencing and Researching at the NAS, Tim Nicholls also expressed disappointment towards Netflix for giving a platform to the documentary. Calling it "disgraceful," he said that it "casually promotes dodgy and untested science about autism." He reiterated that autism was a lifelong disability and not a "disease or a temporary symptom linked to gut health."

NAS has urged Netflix to take the documentary down and revealed that the platform received their complaint and thanked them for their valuable feedback. However, there were no updates about Netflix's response or decision at the time of writing this article.

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What is Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut about?

Presenter explaining effects of junk food (Image via Netflix/Youtube)

The Netflix documentary uses quirky animation and interviews to show the intricate workings of the digestive system. It puts special emphasis on the gut microbiome, which is the vast ecosystem of bacteria residing within the digestive tract. Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut also explores the effects of the micro-organisms outside of the digestive system.

The synopsis of Hack Your Health: Secrets of Your Gut reads:

“Delve into the digestive system with this lighthearted and informative documentary that demystifies the role gut health plays in our overall well-being.”

The documentary follows Dr. Giulia Enders and her colleagues as they study the food habits of four very different individuals, Maya Okada Erickson, Daniell Koepke, Kimmie Gilbert, and Kobi Kobayashi.

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Final Thoughts

Since the release of Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut, many scholars and researchers have shared their opinions on the documentary. While the viewers have praised the simple yet interesting representation of the complex topic, the scientific community is not entirely convinced with the content.

The NAS' disapproval of the content and certain statements made in the documentary have people questioning it even as some call for it to be taken down. Like the NAS, people have been calling it out for its claims about certain mental health issues being related to gut health.

As of writing this article, Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut is available to stream on Netflix.