Netflix Missed the Point: What They Could Have Said About Healing

by Chris Joseph, Certified Radical Remission Coach

The new Netflix series Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) is the latest in a long line of “gotcha” wellness takedowns. The formula is familiar: mock the natural remedy, spotlight fringe believers, interview a few smirking experts, and call it a day.

But let’s be clear—this wasn’t just a jab at the non-western medicine world. It was a broader dismissal of people trying to take control of their health outside the pharmaceutical playbook. And that’s what makes it so frustrating.

If Netflix really wanted to be helpful—if they truly cared about what helps people heal—they could’ve focused on the ten factors identified in Dr. Kelly Turner’s Radical Remission research.

 These are not fringe ideas. They’re practical, scientifically proven, and deeply human strategies used by thousands of people who’ve reversed serious illness and radically changed their lives.

So using the framework of Radical Remission, here’s what Netflix could’ve said—if they weren’t so busy rolling their eyes.

1. Radically Changing Your Diet

Instead of trivializing nutrition as “clean eating fads,” they could have examined how reducing sugar, refined carbs, processed foods, and industrial seed oils can decrease inflammation, improve insulin sensitivity, and support the immune system. Real food changes lives. That’s not controversial—it’s factual.

2. Taking Charge of Your Health

The show mocked people for “doing their own research”—but self-advocacy saves lives. Whether it’s getting a second opinion, diving into PubMed, or simply asking better questions, patients who take ownership of their healing journey are often the ones who do best. That’s not dangerous. That’s smart.

3. Following Your Intuition

Instead of writing off intuition as magical thinking, a thoughtful approach would explore how body awareness and gut instinct can guide people to better choices. Intuition isn’t anti-science—it’s inner wisdom honed by experience. Many survivors say: “I just knew something wasn’t right.” That matters.

4. Using Herbs and Supplements

Rather than lumping every natural remedy into the “woo-woo” bin, Netflix could’ve discussed evidence-based options like curcumin, vitamin D, melatonin, or medicinal mushrooms. There’s a growing body of research supporting many plant-based compounds—and it’s possible to be both skeptical and open-minded. To be clear, we do suggest that patients discuss these options with licensed practitioners. 

5. Releasing Suppressed Emotions

The emotional dimension of healing is real, even if it doesn’t fit neatly into a petri dish. Therapy, journaling, EMDR, and somatic practices all help people process long-held trauma—often unlocking profound physical shifts. Netflix could’ve covered this with compassion. Instead, they ignored it entirely.

6. Increasing Positive Emotions

Joy, gratitude, laughter, love—these aren't just “nice to have” feelings. They shift brain chemistry, lower cortisol, and improve immune function. The show could’ve included stories of people finding humor and purpose in the darkest times. Instead, it played for cheap laughs.

7. Embracing Social Support

Isolation is a public health crisis. We know that strong relationships improve recovery, longevity, and resilience. Radical Remission survivors often cite community as central to their healing. Netflix could’ve explored this. Instead, it portrayed wellness circles as echo chambers of misinformation.

8. Deepening Your Spiritual Connection

This isn’t about religion. It’s about meaning, connection, surrender. Meditation, time in nature, prayer, or even a quiet moment of awe—these things help people tap into a larger sense of purpose. If you want to understand healing, you have to go there. Netflix didn’t.

9. Having Strong Reasons for Living

Hope is measurable. People with a compelling reason to live often make radically different health choices. Love for family, unfinished creative work, spiritual calling—these can fuel the will to heal. A good documentary would have explored this. A snarky one, of course, wouldn’t dare.

10. Exercising or Moving Regularly

Healing bodies thrive on circulation, strength, lymphatic flow, and flexibility. Regular walking, strength training, yoga, dancing—these are all part of a healing path. The Netflix version? Crickets.

In Conclusion:

The real missed opportunity was failing to explore how people are actively transforming their health through the power of mindset, lifestyle, and self-agency.

The ten Radical Remission factors reflect what so many survivors have discovered: that healing is not just a medical process—it’s a personal, emotional, and often spiritual journey. These factors offer a roadmap for anyone who wants to move from fear to empowerment, from symptom management to true transformation.

This is the story that needs to be told. Not one of blind faith or magical thinking, but of people reclaiming their power, listening to their bodies, and making meaningful changes—often with life-altering results.

If we want to inspire real hope, we have to look beyond quick fixes and start honoring the whole human experience of healing.

That’s where the truth lives. And that’s the story worth telling.

Chris Joseph is a certified Radical Remission Coach, Certified Terrain Advocate with the Metabolic Terrain Institute of Health, and Thriving with 3rd Stage Pancreatic Cancer since 2016.

Connect with Chris at: chris@terrainnavigators.com