Doctors Don't Know Everything. Don't Ask Them About Nutrition.

by Vic Shayne, PhD

Doctors know a lot, but they don’t know everything. Still, that doesn’t keep a lot of them from espousing their opinions on areas of close, to zero, first-hand knowledge. Is the doctor to blame or the patient for asking a non-expert for an opinion? Would you ask your medical doctor what you should do about a clacking noise coming out of your Toyota? Not likely. Would you ask him how to make a good chicken soup? Probably not. Yet it is not uncommon for patients to ask their family doctors for advice on foods and herbs. This is where trouble begins. The question to ask before the question is, “Excuse me, doctor, but have you studied herbs and foods?” The answer would most likely be, “no,” or “not very much.” So why bother asking the next question?

This leads to the important issue of understanding the scope of today’s health care. There is allopathic care and there is natural health care. Natural health care is ancient and goes back to the beginning of time. Allopathic care, also called modern medicine, is, well, modern. It is only less than a hundred years old. Don’t get me wrong here. Modern medicine is very valuable and most medical doctors are intelligent, skilled professionals, bedside manner aside. But they aren’t very well versed in Natural Health Care. They don’t know the health value of alfalfa from a tomato. Logic dictates that, because of this ignorance, they shouldn’t be commenting on the merits of nutrition. It’s not their field of expertise. But they comment anyway. Why? Who knows? Maybe because they have an ego problem and think they know everything. Maybe they are jealous of natural health care and are afraid of losing business. Maybe they don’t want you to become independent of them by treating yourself.

Nowadays, we have internet newsletters that go after medical doctors and vilify them. This is crazy. They are not perfect, but they are not, by and large, evil either. So what’s the best position to take? The middle road. We can utilize the best of both worlds.

Nutrition is the cornerstone of human health. The foods that we eat serve to build our health or destroy it. For any doctor to claim that food has nothing to do with your state of health is to engage in an act of blatant ignorance, defying the laws of nature. The foods you eat have to do with everything. Why? Because foods affect your cells, and anything that affects your cells impacts your health. So if you want to be healthier, don’t ask your medical doctor about your diet and eating habits unless he first tells you his credentials for giving out such advice.

If you have acne, avoid peanut butter, junk food, ice cream, sugar, soft drinks and potato chips. If you have anxiety, stop drinking coffee and eating sugars. If you have headaches, cut out the sugars and dairy. If you have constipation, stop eating bread and meat and eat a lot of salads, vegetables and soups; drink a lot of water. If you have cancer or yeast infections, don’t eat sugar or drink alcohol. These are good bits of advice despite what your doctor may think.

It is very common for medical doctors to make ignorant statements such as “There’s no science behind nutrition,” or “There are no double blind studies.” These statements are untrue. There are thousands of studies done on foods by major universities such as Tufts, Harvard and the University of Maryland. Saying that studies don’t exist is an invention of drug companies who fear competition by the natural health care industry.

To make matters simple, here’s the ideal approach to balanced health. If you are not feeling well, you can go to your medical doctor and get a check up and run tests such as blood tests, ekgs, etc. This is his field of expertise. Meanwhile do some research regarding the foods you are eating because regardless of your doctor’s advice and test results, you can be doing something to help yourself naturally.