Medical Physicians

Please note that this section contains my personal notes from my readings on this topic.

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I come from a family of doctors so I have the deepest respect for them. I understand the intelligence, diligence, dedication and sacrifice that physicians devote to their careers. When my brother was asking my father, an OB/GYN, for advice on whether he should pursue the medical path, my father said that if he chooses it, he won’t make as much money (for the given money, time, and stress invested) as if he went into business, and so he should view being a doctor as a social service. As an OB/GYN (sacrificing much sleep, and flexibility in his schedule / free time), my father — and our family — views his job as a social service.

Given some relatively serious reasons why my husband has spent time in the hospital with doctors over the past few years, only in those recent years have I come to develop an even deeper appreciation for medical science and physicians. Loving my family as I do, there is nothing I value more than their health and well-being. So, it is with absolutely no disrespect that I have created this section. As a patient, it is important to understand your doctor’s perspective. Doctors who are influenced / trained mainly by Western medicine have a narrow perspective on health (at the same time, those trained in mainly Eastern medicine also have a narrow perspective on health).

In my readings to date, the major areas that I have read about are how nutrition, environmental toxins, and vaccines impact health. I have been fascinated and felt empowered to learn how influential nutrition can be on health. Yet, most doctors are not informed about this link.

Below are my notes on information that I have found valuable to learn as a patient. I will be updating as I learn more. My key take away is that in taking control of the health of yourself and of your loved ones, you must understand what your surrounding experts do and do not know. In the meantime, while also listening to your doctor, become informed so that you can ask the right questions, and use your common sense and instincts to decide what is best for you and for those you love.

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Nutrition

Heart disease, diabetes and obesity can be reversed by a healthy diet. Other research shows that various cancers, autoimmune diseases, bone health, kidney health, vision and brain disorders in old age (like cognitive dysfunction and Alzheimer’s) are convincingly influenced by diet.

– The China Study by Dr. Campbell; page XX

From The China Study by Dr. Campbell, pages 181 – 182:

“Our institutions and information providers are failing us. Even cancer organizations, at both the national and local level, are reluctant to discuss or even believe this evidence. Food as a key to health represents a powerful challenge to conventional medicine, which is fundamentally built on drugs and surgery (see Part IV of The China Study). The widespread communities of nutrition professionals, researchers and doctors are, as a whole, either unaware of this evidence or reluctant to share it. Because of these failings, Americans are being cheated out of information that could save their lives.

There is enough evidence now that doctors should be discussing the option of pursuing dietary change as a potential path to cancer prevention and treatment. There is enough evidence now that the U.S. government should be discussing the idea that the toxicity of our diet is the single biggest cause of cancer. There is enough evidence now that local breast cancer alliances, and prostate and colon cancer institutions, should be discussing the possibility of providing information to Americans everywhere on how a whole foods, plant-based diet may be an incredibly effective anti-cancer medicine.

If these discussions were to happen, it is possible that, next year, fewer than 500,000 people would go to the doctor’s office and be told they have cancer of the breast, prostate or large bowel. The year after that, even fewer friends, coworkers and family members would be given the most dreaded of all diagnoses. And the following year, even fewer.

The possibility that this future could be our reality is real, and as long as this future holds such promise for the health of people everywhere, it is a future worth working for.”

Until recently, only 7% of all medical schools had a required course on nutrition.

– “The Macrobiotic Path to Total Health” by Michio Kushi; page 57

“According to a Senate investigation, doctors receive less than three hours of nutritional training in medical school!”

– Skinny Bitch: Bun in the Oven (2005) by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin; page 68

Click on The Power of Nutrition for more information on nutrition’s influence over health.

Vaccines

“Doctors, myself included, learn a lot about disease in medical school, but we learn very little about vaccines, other than the fact that the FDA and pharmaceutical companies do extensive research on vaccines to make sure they are safe and effective. We don’t review the research ourselves. We never learn what goes into making vaccines or how their safety is studied. We trust and take it for granted that the proper researchers are doing their jobs. So, when patients want a little more information about shots, all we can really say as doctors is that the diseases are bad and the shots are good. But we don’t know enough to answer all of your detailed questions about vaccines. Nor do we have the time during a regular health checkup to thoroughly discuss and debate the pros and cons of vaccines. That’s why I’ve written this book. I’ve done the research. I’ve spent the last thirteen years learning everything I could about vaccines and the diseases they are designed to prevent, and I’ve put it all together in one place so you can get all your questions answered.”

– “The Vaccine Book” by Robert W. Sears, M.D., F.A.A.P.; October 2007; pages XV – XVI

Click to read more about Dr. Sears

Environmental Toxins

A 2006 study that mailed questionnaires to pediatricians showed that although doctors are aware that many major chronic illnesses today’s chldren suffer from — including asthma, autism, attention deficit disorders, and even cancer — can be exacerbated by or even directly result from exposure to environmental contaminants, most doctors have no training in environmental health.  Furthermore, except for lead, they haven’t been taught to gather information about a child’s environmental history and have little to no ability to talk about threats posed by environmental toxins like mercury, plastics, and pesticides.  With 93.5% of the New York State participants reporting that they’ve had a patient harmed by exposure to an environmental toxin, it is no wonder that pediatricians believe environmentally related sicknesses in children are growing.

– The Toxic Sandbox (2007) by Libby McDonald; pages 9 – 10