How much doesn't your doctor know about nutrition?

[Guest guest]

Doctors are a class of individuals in our society whom are some of the most

revered. In order to become a doctor you have to have a nearly flawless

undergraduate career, score very well on what may be the most difficult of

standardized tests, survive three or more grueling years of medical school, take

another very difficult exam, and from that point there is even more schooling

depending on the specialty. As a reward for all of this hard work, doctors are

some of the highest paid professionals in the country and are elevated to level

of nearly ubiquitous trust. And why not? Should we not trust our doctors to

always know what's best for us and our health? Yes, of course we should, with

the exception of the few individuals out there who don't have their patient's

best interests at heart, one should always take a doctor's recommendation very

seriously.

 

But.

 

Any given doctor knows only what he or she has learned (this rule applies to

anyone, not just doctors.) So, what, exactly does the average physician know

about nutrition? Of course, would-be doctors take nutrition classes as a basic

part of their med-school curriculum, right? Actually, no. According to various

surveys, only somewhere between 30-40% of medical schools have a required

nutrition course. So, at most, 40% percent of physicians have taken one... one

single course in nutrition, most often in their first year. Furthermore,

according to Dr. Colin Campbell, author of The China Study (a book everyone

should read), from a report published in 1999, the educational material provided

to medical schools for their nutrition courses are produced by a consortium

consisting of: The Dannon Institute, Egg Nutrition Board, Cattleman's Beef

Association, National Dairy Council, Nestle Clinical Nutrition, Wyeth-Ayerst

Laboratories, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, and Baxter Healthcare Corporation.

If you're unfamiliar with these companies then just know that they are meat,

dairy, egg, and drug companies. I'm not necessarily crying conspiracy, but ask

yourself if the aforementioned companies would have any sort of vested interest

in controlling what doctors know about nutrition.

 

If you've been a vegan/vegetarian for a while then you've likely run into

someone who says something along these lines, " I was a vegan/vegetarian but my

doctor said I was low on X (where X could be any sort of nutritional

requirement: calcium, iron, protein etc.) so now I eat meat and dairy. "

Remember, it's very likely that your doctor has had no nutritional training,

whatsoever, so he or she essentially knows as much as you do with regards your

nutritional needs. If you had one of those doctors who did take that one

nutrition course in their first year of med-school, that course was likely

nothing more than a veiled advertisement for meat and dairy being essential

parts of the human diet. We've all seen the got milk ads and have been inundated

by the idea that meat is the only source of protein iron and that diary is the

only source of vitamin-D and calcium. So when you walk into the doctor's office

and tell him or her that you are a vegan/vegetarian he or she, as a knee jerk

reaction, will tell you that you have some sort of nutrition deficiency. It's

not their fault, they just don't know any better. In my experience, pediatric

visits can be the worst. Nothing is more terrifying than a person in a position

of authority telling you that you are harming your child. But, again, your kid's

pediatrician likely knows little to nothing about nutrition and if he or she

does, then the one thing they do know is that a kid who doesn't eat meat or

dairy is an unhealthy kid.

 

So, what do you do if you're worried about yours or your kid's nutrition? Go see

a dietitian. Think of it this way, if rain is leaking through my roof, I don't

call a plumber, even though plumbers know a little bit about leaky things, they

don't know how to fix a leaky roof, close but no cigar. Dietitians spend their

entire careers dedicated to the study of human nutrition, though, they are still

not immune to the intense propaganda of the meat and dairy industry. So, if you

live in Omaha, and your a vegan/vegetarian wanting to check on the nutrition

status of your family, go see Martha Nepper, a registered dietitian at Hy-Vee on

50th and Center. She is an excellent dietitian with a very well rounded

understanding of vegan and non-vegan nutrition. She has done a very good job of

taking care of myself and my vegan kids.

 

Also the Vegetarian Resource Group has vegan dietitians onhand that can field

your questions via phone or e-mail or refer you to a vegan dietitian in your

area as well as a wealth of documentation available for delivery about vegan

health. They are an excellent resource for vegan nutrition.

 

Lastly, I thought you might be interested to know that neither Creighton

University nor UNMC have a nutrition course as part of their medical school

curriculum.

 

 

 

(Again, always take your doctor's recommendations very seriously, however, a

second opinion is never a waste of time.)

 

Author: Andrew Hickman