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..... 11 ....
Big Medicine: Whose Health
Are They Protecting?
WHEN IS THE LAST TIME that you went to the doctor and he or she told
you what to eat or what not to eat? You've probably never had that ex-
perience. But the vast majority of Americans will fall prey to one of the
chronic diseases of affluence discussed in Part II, and, as you have seen,
there is a wealth of published research that suggests these diseases are a
result of poor nutrition, not poor genes or bad luck. So why doesn't the
medical system take nutrition seriously?
Four words: money, ego, power and control. While it is unfair to
generalize about individual doctors, it is safe to say that the system they
work in, the system that currently takes responsibility for promoting
the health of Americans, is failing us. No one knows this better than
the tiny minority of doctors who treat their patients from a nutritional
perspective. Two of the most prominent doctors in this minority have
spent many years emphasizing diet and health, both in public within
their profession and in private with their patients. They have had ex-
ceptionally impressive results protecting their patients' health. These
two doctors are Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., whose work I discussed in
chapter five, and John McDougall, an internist. My son Tom and I sat
down with these men recently to discuss their experience advocating a
whole foods, plant-based diet in the medical setting.321