Think Doctors Know Nothing About Nutrition?

Being a personal trainer and nutrition counselor, I have noticed many myths, misinformation and just flat out lies being told about nutrition to the American public by the media, other trainers and nutritionists, and worst of all, doctors! Doctors? I know. I know. Doctors have to learn nutrition in school, right? Sure. Maybe a chapter or two. But if you’re not going to be tested over a subject…….Why learn it? They don’t have time.

In fact, it became such common knowledge that doctors don’t know jack about how nutrients interact in your body, someone finally did something about it. Think Doctors Know Nothing about Nutrition? New Guide Changes Everything....That should fix the problem, right?



Yeah Right. Once again, since the students aren't tested, why would they bother to review the material? Pointless. But let's just say that some do.

I read an article written by a very well respected strength and nutrition coach, Dr. John Berardi, in which he said that after doing a little investigation, he found that although some doctor’s ( by some, I mean few) know of natural methods of treating certain diseases, they still only provide drugs as their patient’s only option. Why do they do this? According to one doctor, it’s because he believes that following a diet program (natural method) is too hard for most people.

I don’t know about you but I don’t think my doctor should be the one deciding how difficult something is for me, especially when my health is on the line.

From the earlier link....



Ok. I think I'm starting to get it now. The case I was referring to from Dr. Berardi was one in which one of his clients had epilepsy. And the doctor, whom Berardi had conctacted, was referring to a Ketogenic diet that can reduce one's seizures significantly. Instead of informing his patient of this diet, he decided to tell the patient that drugs were his only option.

So here we have a doctor who DID know about the benefit of nutrition as a medicine but chose not to inform his patient of such treatments.

So my questions to you, fellow ATS members, are:

1) Why aren't medical doctors given more nutritional training?

2) If some doctors are well educated on the topic, why do they dismiss it and resort to drugging their patients instead?

3) Is there a conspiracy here?

It is unfortunate that most people will believe what a man(or woman) in a lab coat tells them simply because of a few letters after their name.

Thanks,

-Dev

[edit on 9-7-2008 by DevolutionEvolvd]

I agree that was is taught is not enough. However the problem is - lack of enough lecturers with credentials. There is not enough researchers and their results are often contradictory. So there is no conspiracy. Drug companies have to comply with certain guidelines and so there is much more info (usually reliable). Who exactly will give money on correct diet/exercise research? Since scientific approach needs verified sources a person have problems giving lectures without proper background.
I see no conspiracy. The results are not what should be (did you see guidelines for obese kids with high LDL (not for genetic reasons) and statins from age 8? What about sport in schools???) however this is how the system works.

I'm annoyed right now over the whole Vitamin D thing. We are not getting enough viable Vitamin D and we're being told by many in the healthcare field that anything over 400 units/day will cause Vitamin D toxicity.

Thanks for the Reply,

The only connection to conspiracy that I see is with big pharma. As far as nutrition goes, I agree, it's just a problem of information.

There has been plenty of research on the subject of Nutrition and exercise nutrition. Problem is, doctors don't get this information. In fact, most nutritionists with a four year degree don't have this education either. They learn some, however, the real wealth of knowledge is in Nutrient Biology. The study of how nutrients interact with the body.

As far as the Statin drugs for 8 year olds.......That just pisses me off.
Parents who let their kids get to the point of having that bad of health in the first place should be hung by the genitals and beaten with a giant rubber chicken. And for the ones who let their kids be prescribed these deadly statins, well, being stoned is the only thing that seems fitting.

reply to post by Bachrk

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Vitiamin D! Straight from the sun is the best way to get it. I think we all know the benefits of the great vitamin D. Hell, it wasn't too long ago that doctors would prescribe their patients Heliotherapy. Now, you can't go a day in the summer without hearing about protecting your skin from the deadly, most horrendous rays of the sun.

The conspiracy comes from the financial side of the equation, as always. Those that control funding are on an artificialist agenda and favour the pharmacological aproach to medicine, and the main reason is to seperate the people from the cures, as yet another control mechanism.

It's the same logic behind the codex alimentarius. A powerplay. Using money to control education to control sustenance to control people to get absolute power.

The illuminati agenda, give or take. Once you start thinking in these terms every half assed policy starts to make sense and it becomes easy to observe that we have a very efficient shadow government working against us already at a global level.

reply to post by Zepherian

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Well, consider that drug reps latch on to medical students while their still in school. That they buy them supplies and hold their hands to buy the young doctors' allegiance.

Pharmaceutical companies employing doctors to give lectures on the drugs those companies make?? It's just not right. And.....the FDA fits nicely in the scheme of things.....Doesn't It?

reply to post by DevolutionEvolvd

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When is the last time you walked into a Dr.'s office and didn't see a Pharm rep pimpin a new drug? Then you see the Dr with an aliment, he spends 5 mins on you, never asks what your diet is and writes a presciption? "If this doesn't work, we'll try another".....
Biggest scam going........02c

reply to post by Pinktip

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Yeah, this happened to me a few years ago when I contracted the ebstien barr virus, Mononucleosis. It took 'em three visits before they thought, "hey, maybe we should test his blood". Of course, this was after I was prescribed Amoxicillin and given oral steroids. That was the first visit. On the second, they gave me a shot in the arse, steroids too. It kinda pissed me off when I found out what it really was that was bothering me. The prescription for Mono is.....SLEEP.

I think it's simply a matter of time and money.

I mean, prescribing pills only takes several minutes out of the doctor's day, which means he can see more patients, which in turn means he makes more money. If he works at a hospital, this will make the administration happy, who will then allow him to keep on working. If he works for himself, he will be able to keep his clinic (or whatever) running.

Educating and counseling a patient takes time, which means the doctor will see fewer patients, which in turn means he makes less money. If he works at a hospital, this will piss off the administration, and get him fired. If he works for himself, his business will collapse.

If I were a doctor, my decision would be pretty clear.

reply to post by Kontagion

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So its about quantity, not quality? I always suspected this also. But what you're saying doesn't make it right.

Actually, I have a question. Exactly what would be the reason for you to hypothetically lose your hypothetical business? More specifically, what could the gov. do, through tax exemptions maybe, that would help you stay in business by conducting a sound medicinal practice?

reply to post by DevolutionEvolvd


Answer: because the pharmaceuticals make no money off good diets. They do make money off of befriending professors in the medical field to convince them they should concentrate on the wonders of the latest drug they developed.



Answer: because the pharmaceuticals make no money from good diets. They do make money off of pandering to doctors about how wonderful their latest drug is, and the doctor gets to spend less time with more patients for the same amount per. Win-win situation, as long as you don't count the patients.



Answer: I quote Homer Simpson: Du-oh!

TheRedneck

Hi Devolution,

I agree, it isn't right.

As far as your first question - a clinic or doctor's office is a business first and foremost, and like all businesses, profits must outweigh losses, otherwise bankruptcy will ensue. It costs a lot to maintain a primary care facility - diagnostic procedures are *really* expensive sometimes, and employees' salaries are often high - and so doctors are more or less forced to cut corners where they can.

And to be honest, I don't have a solution - it seems like physicians are stuck between a rock and a hard place. As long as hospitals and primary care facilities are profit-based, treatment plans aren't going revolve around the patient's best interests, and yet, to further socialize medicine will only increase the patient to doctor ratio, which in turn forces physicians to treat patients like cattle rather than people. Even the simplest government interferences tend to mess things up.

All-in-all, I'd say the system is irreparably f'ed up.

reply to post by Kontagion

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Right, which is why I think the government should stay out of healthcare completely. I can't remember exactly what Ron Paul said about the issue, but I think it had something to do with the churches. I might be wrong.

What you're referring to as just keeping a business from going under, sounds a lot like malpractice. Just handing out drugs instead of addressing symptoms and at least providing a diagnosis. None of this..."Well Mr. Deer, we're not really sure what's wrong with you, so we're just gunna put you on some "said drug" to help with the problem. Let us know if you have any more symptoms so we can see you immediately and prescribe something else." I mean, this type of practice reminds me more of a poorly constructed science experiment.

I understand your argument, I really do. However, I think something needs to be done to prevent this from happening. There would have to be other ways of "herding the cattle" through the offices to cut down on loss. Possibly by having patients phone in or fill out a symptom form online. Ideas like this could benefit the patient's health while streamlining the process for the doctors.

Hi Devolution,

I completely agree; a solution is necessary. I just can't think of any - I can only poke holes in other people's ideas .

And, not to get off topic or anything, but it's too bad Ron Paul's campaign didn't go anywhere. He was probably the most qualified person to help fix this country's health-care problems.


[edit on 10-7-2008 by Kontagion]

You are all forgetting that nearly all EU countries healthcare systems are Government, meaning the Doctor is paid a specific salary regardless of how many or few patients they see.

The EU doesnt generally have the same problems as the US system does because money as such is not so involved to influence anyone.

Hi Wotan,

Yeah, but if we switched to socialized medicine, wouldn't we just be trading one set of problems for another? Damned if we do, damned if we don't.

This topic depresses me.

The medical miracle/saint doctor meme is backed by a long history of repetition and layering in the collective subconscious.

Nutrition is the answer in so many cases, but the competition is there from the pharmaceutical, fast food, and diet book industries to keep it as unsexy as possible.

Supporters on the other hand include naturopaths, fitness consultants, the home gardening industry, sustainable & organic farming and increasingly schools and educationalists who have discovered that cutting artificial colors and preservatives from children's diets dramatically improves their behaviour and academic perfomance/

About qualified naturopaths, most people not having heard the word naturopath in their lives are skeptical or suspicious of these usually very very professional people who have to study longer than a doctor to obtain their nationally-recognized qualification.


[edit on 14-7-2008 by undermind]

What problems would they/that be?

Higher taxes, greater number of patients, even more bureaucratic red-tape, longer waiting periods for treatment, lower motivation amongst medical personnel (not much point in rushing to treat a patient when you know the government will send you a paycheck in two weeks regardless) and so on and so forth.

Look, I'm not interested in a pissing contest. America has its fair share of problems - lack of health-care for our poor, interest in capital gain rather than healing, and everything else that has bee discussed here are all major issues. My point is that it is foolish to jump from one sinking boat into another.

What would be awesome is if we could come up with something better than either socialized or capitalistic medicine. I, for one, can't think of anything.