Nutritional Science and the Disgrace of the American Healthcare System

by

Aaron W. White BS, BS, MS

The training of physicians in medical schools in America is a disgrace.  Graduates of medical schools, physicians, have the responsibility of caring for the health of Americans.  They cannot, and do not, do this adequately because medical schools do not teach medical students about the importance of nutritional science in achieving and maintaining good health.

Scientific Articles and the Standard American Diet

A body of scientific literature denoting the importance of food exists for achieving and maintaining good health.  It comprises many thousands of scientific articles, and more are being added every day.  Medical education ignores this.  The results are not pretty. For example, about 28 million people, close to ten percent of the population, have diabetes; 90-95%, type 2 diabetes.  Projections are that by 2050, one-third of all adults will have diabetes.  We can avoid this by changing from the standard America (SAD) diet to a healthy diet.

Medical students are taught the use of drugs and surgical procedures, which are often necessary.  However, most of the diseases, including most cancers, can be avoided with a healthy diet instead of the standard American diet (SAD).  This omission is obscene. 

Millions of Americans are overweight or obese, suffering unnecessarily, and dying prematurely because of their ignorance of a healthy diet.  This problem is compounded by the ignorance of physicians.  If medical students were taught modern nutritional science, then as doctors they would be far more effective and could make their patients aware of the importance of a healthy diet. 

Nutritional Science and the Current Medical Curriculum

A few doctors, such as John McDougall of Santa Rosa, CA, Joel Fuhrman of Flemington, NJ, and Neal Barnard of Washington, D. C., are aware of the importance of modern nutritional science, but they did not learn it in medical school.  Nutritional science must be added to the curriculum in medical schools to stop the epidemic of heart disease, diabetes, and many other afflictions.

Physicians are trained to treat type 2 diabetes with drugs and insulin.  This does not work.  Drugs and insulin may slow the progression of the type 2 diabetes, but they cannot stop it.  These diabetics inexorably become fatter and sicker.  Type 2 diabetes can be treated effectively only with a healthy diet.  This has been described by Dr. Neal Barnard in his book Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes and by Dr. Joel Fuhrman in his book The End of Diabetes.   Recently, it has been shown that diabetic retinopathy, a disease of the eyes arising from diabetes and that often causes blindness, can be reversed with Dr. Walter Kempner’s diet of rice and fruit developed over 50 years ago.  The effectiveness of a healthy diet, ignored by most of the medical profession, is our best tool to maintain our health and well-being.   It is a disgrace to medical educators that such a wide-ranging simple, inexpensive, and effective therapy is being ignored.

The standard American diet (SAD) is toxic.  It causes type 2 diabetes.  Effective treatment of diabetes requires changing from the standard American diet (SAD) to a healthy diet, which comprises fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds.  Physicians are not taught this in medical schools.  It seems unlikely to me that a body of scientific literature so large can be unknown to medical academicians.  Reasons for modern nutritional science being ignored can only be speculated.

The Standard American Diet and Its Connection to Heart Disease

Treatment of heart disease is another needless disaster.  Drugs and surgery are ineffective.  About 1.5 million heart attacks and strokes, both are forms of heart disease, occur in America each year.  All forms of heart disease, the leading cause of death in America, can be effectively treated with diet and exercise.  Drugs and surgery give temporary relief at best.  Dr. Dean Ornish in his book , Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease describes reversing heart disease without drugs or surgery.   Dr. Julian Whitaker in his book Reversing Heart Disease shows that heart disease, which includes high blood pressure, strokes, heart disease, angina, or congestive heart failure, can be successfully treated with a program of diet and exercise.  Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn in his book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease shows that heart disease is effectively treated with a healthy diet.  In his book The Great American Heart Hoax Dr. Michael Ozner also shows that a program of diet and exercise, not drugs and surgery, successfully treats heart disease.

Yet medical schools teach future physicians about drugs and surgery for heart disease.  This is disgraceful.

Copyright ©Aaron M. White 2015

All rights reserved

Aaron White BA, BS, MA, is a guest blogger* on CherubHealth.com and is passionate about informing people about the dangers of the Standard American Diet and the many benefits of the healthier diet of plant-based whole foods.

*opinions expressed in this blog/article are the opinions of the guest blogger and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of CherubHealth.com, Cherubino Health Center or any of its affiliates. (Copyright 2015 Aaron White) Photograph (Damnianos Photography)