I keep hearing stories of how people are changing their diet and amazing their doctors in terms of the positive change they've been able to make. One person I spoke with had been given a prescription for a high cholesterol drug by his doctor, and was told that changing his diet alone could only lower his cholesterol 10 points. He was told he would need to be on statin drugs for the rest of his life. Refusing to believe that information, he did not fill the prescription and instead started altering his
diet, removing animal products, cheese and
fried foods, and boosting his
consumption of blueberries and other nutrient-dense superfoods.
When he went back to his doctor a few months later, the doctor was astonished at how much positive change had been made -- and was surprised that he wasn't taking any medication at all. His total cholesterol had gone from 234 to 195, his LDL cholesterol had gone down, his HDL was up, and his total triglycerides had fallen substantially. This is a person who made remarkable gains in his blood chemistry profile simply by changing what he was eating, and this isn't the only person I've seen accomplish something like this. So why are so many doctors so skeptical about the healing power of foods?
My theory is that a lot of patients actually lie to their doctors about what kind of dietary changes they are making, just like they might lie about alcohol or tobacco consumption. When doctors ask, "How is your diet?" the patient may say, "I've stopped eating meat, cheese, fried foods and drinking soft drinks." But most patients actually have not made those changes, and the doctors are left with a misimpression that dramatic dietary changes have very little effect on blood chemistry. It's an interesting phenomenon I've observed over the years -- when people are describing their dietary habits to doctors or nutritionists, they invent a fairy tale of healthfulness that simply isn't reflected in what they actually eat day to day. Most people have selective memories when it comes to what they eat.
But the stories sound great, and patients claim to be eating really well even when they're not. Over time, the doctors who have heard this for years and years grow skeptical about the power of foods to make changes in health. Because of this, they are missing out on the best medicine in the world -- the natural medicine provided by nature. This medicine can create astounding healing effects in patients if they would actually start consuming healing foods and avoiding dangerous foods. When a patient genuinely pursues courageous behavioral changes in their food choice and eating habits, they will, without question, show remarkable healing benefits that can be readily verified.
Another important factor to consider here is the nutritional illiteracy of most physicians. The vast majority of conventional doctors are no more nutritionally literate than the average person who has not sought out nutritional information on their own. In four years of medical school, they often do not receive any schooling whatsoever about the healing power of foods, phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals. Across the United States, Canada, most of Europe and even Australia, there is virtually no requirement that doctors learn nutrition before they receive medical licenses and begin to practice medicine -- a fact I find absolutely astounding. There are exceptions in certain schools and regions, of course, but most medical schools teach no nutrition.
How much can healing foods and a healing lifestyle change you in terms of blood chemistry? As you may know, I posted my own blood chemistry results at www.HealthRanger.org to prove a point on this. By consuming a healthful diet based on an organic, partially raw / vegan diet with nutritional supplementation, a fair amount of physical exercise, and minimal animal products, I've achieved LDL cholesterol of 67, HDL cholesterol of 62 and a resting pulse of 48.
These numbers are not unattainable, even though they are astonishing to many doctors. They should not be considered unusual, either, because these numbers represent a level of health that all human beings are capable of achieving if they just stop poisoning their bodies with unhealthy foods, beverages and prescription drugs.
Statin drugs, in my view, are toxic to humans, but hugely profitable for Big Pharma. But in reality, there's no need for patients to be on statin drugs for the rest of their lives when foods offer a far more powerful healing benefit with far lower cost and zero risk of side effects.
As long as drug companies and the FDA continue their medical monopoly in the United States, doctors will continue to emerge from medical schools utterly ignorant of the foundations of nutrition. The FDA will regulate, ban or outlaw more herbs and nutritional supplements while Big Pharma pushes patented chemicals as the solution for every health symptom, disorder, or disease... fictitious or otherwise. But the truth is that nature provides all the medicine we really need, and it's available as open-source medicine from plants, with no royalties, no patents and no profiteering monopolistic prices.
Food, herbs and supplements are our best medicine. The healthiest people in our society already know that. But sadly, most doctors still do not. It's as if they were attempting to create French cuisine but only had the experience of microwaving a bowl of macaroni and cheese. They don't know the recipe for genuine health, and the results that have been achieved by conventional medicine clearly demonstrate this: plagues aside, the U.S. population remains the single most chronically diseased population ever observed in the history of humankind.
And the trend is towards even more disease, not less. Doctors, industry disease groups and medical associations are doing practically nothing to actually prevent disease. Prevention does nothing for boosting the revenues of conventional health practitioners.
But they sure love to "manage" disease with expensive drugs or surgical procedures, all while pretending that foods, herbs and nutritional supplements have absolutely no medicinal value whatsoever. In time, even medicine will be forced to acknowledge the healing properties of foods and plants, but until that happens, it's up to you to stay ahead of the curve and inform yourself about the miraculous medicines provided by nature.
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About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health author and award-winning journalist with a passion for sharing empowering information to help improve personal and planetary health He is a prolific writer and has published thousands of articles, interviews, reports and consumer guides, impacting the lives of millions of readers around the world who are experiencing phenomenal health benefits from reading his articles. Adams is an honest, independent journalist and accepts no money or commissions on the third-party products he writes about or the companies he promotes. In 2010, Adams created NaturalNews.TV, a natural living video sharing site featuring thousands of user videos on foods, fitness, green living and more. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also a noted pioneer in the email marketing software industry, having been the first to launch an HTML email newsletter technology that has grown to become a standard in the industry. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and enjoys outdoor activities, nature photography, Pilates and martial arts training. Known on the 'net as 'the Health Ranger,' Adams shares his ethics, mission statements and personal health statistics at www.HealthRanger.org
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Thursday, January 04, 2007
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