The doctors of today prescribe medicines of which they know little, to cure disease of which they know less, in human beings of whom they know almost nothing.
Voltaire 1694-1778
Reading a pretty good book these days recommended by a stand in GP who does not behave like the usual GP. She must be one of the extremely rare GP who actually ask questions before dishing out a conclusion on what is wrong with you. And she is the only GP who actually explain to us what drugs she intends to prescribe and if we are comfortable with the side effects or alternatively, can we adjust our lifestyle so that she can cut back one type of tablet. So impressed with her that Ken went to grab the book she recommends - The Good Body Guide.
The book is an easy read which covers many topics that question what we thought we knew. Starting from the agriculture evolution which encourage monoculture that narrows human intake of dietary variety, Hungerford pose the question if variety is important for optimum health. Even meat we eat are not free ranging anymore. We feed farmed animals crops we grew, which reflects needs other than nutrients. Yield, ease of harvest etc took precedent over a chemistry which we did not yet understand.
Our parents and doctors always tell us common facts like - "take more of this vegetable because this contains iron which is good for health". But nobody ever question where the iron in the vegetable comes from? Minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, selenium, iodine etc - if they are not in the soil that the plant grows, there will be none in the plant. With poor soil health across the globe even in agriculture wonderlands like NZ & OZ, how do we know if the vegetables we are eating contain all these vital minerals at all? How about hydroponics (oh clean soil-less vegetables grown out of water) and GM species?
I was just flipping through a locally published health and lifestyle magazine which ran an extensive article on the importance of calcium, if milk is not adequate, go for tablets supplements. If I did not know better, I would head out to optimise my health by popping tablets after meals. No where is there a mention that too much calcium intake actually competes with our body's vital intake of magnesium and selenium - trace minerals that are associated with prevention of asthma, osteoporosis and depression... so why no mention of such information and need for balance? Who fund the article? Any politics involved in the drug or pharmaceutical industry/ companies which diagnose, fund trials and offer treatment drugs?
A chiropractic clinic promoting healthy lifestyle opened near my office recently. They advised to fix my slightly off-centered spine with a 12 months package which consist of 3 sessions per week for the 1st 3 months and 9 Xrays sessions (5 radiation shoots per session). Are they really concerned about my otherwise healthy 32 yr old body? Absolutely not.
An interesting matter of speech highlighted by Hungerford is one of language and mathematical reasoning of statistical analysis in the industry. Suppose your doctor tells you that Tamoxifen will reduce your breast cancer recurrence by 20% as stated by the drug company. You will most likely opt for the treatment. But if the doctor tells you that your cancer recurrence is 20% and Tamoxifen will reduce the 20% by 20%, reducing your real risk by a mere 4%, will you still so readily opt for a drug that has its own side effects?
Insight into many questions we should be asking... A highly recommended read my friends... Go grab it
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