doctors and nutrition

If anyone still labors under the illusion that the average doctor has the slightest idea what he's talking about when it comes to nutrition and supplements consider this:

I just heard from my colleague, Ray Sahelian, MD, a really smart doctor/ nutritionist who sits with me on the editorial advisory board of Total Health Breakthroughs . Like all docs, Sahelian has to take a test every 7 years to maintain his medical board certification.

This is what he wrote in his newsletter:

"This test is prepared by the American Board of Family Medicine. The last time I took the test I clearly remember a multiple choice question regarding osteoarthritis. The choice of answers disturbed me. The question basically asked the ideal long term treatment for osteoarthritis. The choices were a) The use of aspirin, b) The use of NSAIDs such as naproxen or ibuprofen (Motrin), c) The use of acetaminophen (Tylenol) up to 4 grams a day, and d) Combination of aspirin and other NSAIDs. What disturbed me was that there was no option provided for glucosamine and chondroitin or other natural methods. In fact, throughout the whole test, I hardly remember any questions regarding the use of nutrition or nutritional supplements in the treatment of common medical conditions. Later I found out their "correct" answer was c) Acetaminophen.

FYI, a new research study just came out comparing glucosamine to acetaminophen). Researchers from Madrid, Spain, compared the benefit of glucosamine sulfate versus acetaminophen (Tylenol) on the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis during a 6-month treatment course. Patients were randomly assigned to receive oral glucosamine sulfate 1,500 mg once daily, acetaminophen 3 gm a day, or placebo. There were more responders to glucosamine sulfate (39%) and acetaminophen (33%) than to placebo (21%). The findings of this study indicate that, in the long run, glucosamine sulfate is more effective than placebo and as or more effective than acetaminophen in treating knee osteoarthritis symptoms.


I just finished the manuscript for "The Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth" where i did a massive amount of research about research- i.e. combing journals, PubMed, etc for any research I could find on any of the vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, herbs and natural treatments that have been used to help prevent disease, treat disease or ease the symptoms of disease. There's an enormous amount of this research and much of it is very compelling. Yet go to any doctor in America who has been conventionally trained, and they'll tell you it doesn't exist.

Meanwhile, acetaminophen- Tylenol- is the most common cause of admittance for liver poisoning in US hospitals and in my opinion can do damage to the liver at doses commonly consumed. It's a ridiculous thing to routinely prescribe, especially when the same people prescribing it sound like Larry Craig talking about homosexuality when you bring up the subject of vitamins for the masses.

As you'll read in "The Most Effective Cures on Earth"-- asking your doctor about nutritional supplements is like asking your accountant to recommend a tennis racket.

I hope it changes- but i'm not really optimistic.

If you want an MD who really knows nutrition- and they do exist, I know them and talk to them all the time- you'll have to find one who has taken the time to educate him or herself on his own, with seminars, courses, books and graduate degrees. That's the only place they'll find out about nutrition.

They certainly don't get that info in med school.