January 26, 2010
Folks, you seem to like Dr. Carolyn Dean so much, I've decided to get her on for another awesome free audio podcast this month! Prepare for a mid-February interview with the nation's leading natural physician. In celebration of the upcoming interview, and the addition of Dr. Dean's book “Death by Modern Medicine” to the BenGreenfieldFitness.com website, I'm releasing another article from Dr. Dean, entitled “Am I Too Hard On Modern Medicine?”
After reading this article, do you agree with Dr. Dean? Do you have questions that you'd like me to ask her about modern medicine in the upcoming interview? Just leave your comment below with the question you'd like to ask Dr. Dean when I interview her in just 2 weeks…
Dr. Carolyn Dean, MD, ND| “Am I Too Hard On Modern Medicine?”
A reader of this blog wrote me to say…
“I do not believe in blacklisting either alternative or mainstream medicine in the good/bad debate of who is the best, etc. There is good and bad in both. Your message would be more powerful if you criticized less and focused on the integrative approach to mainstream and alternative medicine…”
This sounds all nice and harmonious. Sort of how we all think the world “should be” versus how it “really is.” It doesn’t reflect a true understanding of the disastrous medical situation that is taking millions of lives and costing billions of dollars each year .
Not Really About Health
First of all… it’s hard to integrate what are essentially two totally separate fields. What we call mainstream “healthcare” really has very little to do with health. It’s traumatic care.
Drugs, surgery and other invasive treatments are for people on the verge of death – either because of an accident (e.g. jaywalking on the highway) or because they’ve allowed illness to progress to too late a stage (e.g. heart failure from a few too many McDonald’s drive-thrus).
In the area of emergency care, mainstream medicine performs life-saving wonders every single minute of the day. While emergency care could still benefit greatly from more natural therapies (like giving high doses of magnesium to ER patients) – emergency care is not where the big problem with modern medicine lies.
Somewhere Between Death and Health
Trouble started when they took this system of emergency care (i.e. “death prevention”) and applied it to healthcare (i.e. “life enhancement”). With a few exceptions, these methods don’t do much more than prevent death. They don’t cure. They don’t heal. They just keep the patient somewhere between death and health.
Drugs are the big one. They can do wonders at relieving life-threatening symptoms. But they come with three caveats:
- The beneficial results don’t last long. (Which is why most drug studies don’t last long.)
- They produce harmful side-effects that create more problems.
- They cost a lot of money.
As a short-term fix, drugs are often appropriate for emergency situations. But as a long-term “solution” they only help make billions of dollars for pharmaceutical companies.
Surgery can be even worse. It’s simply adding more trauma to the body. Yes, it’s very necessary at times. Other times, it could be avoided. Many common surgeries, such as bypass surgery, have not been proven to be necessary or to extend life.
Modern medicine kills hundreds of thousands of people each year, directly, via properly prescribed treatments (explained in her book “Death by Modern Medicine”, available in February from BenGreenfieldFitness.com). Let’s not even start to think how many people it kills by neglecting to give them safer and more effective treatments based on biology (and not corporate profits).
Traumatic Care Should Not Be Used
For Prevention and Healing
So to say there is good and bad in both – yes, that’s true. The greater problem with mainstream medicine is that it’s gone far beyond its respectful territory and is causing greater harm as a result. Traumatic care should not be used in the fields of prevention and healing. The drug-based approach to cancer has, for example, been proven a total failure. Cancer rates have only risen.
The same point would be true for natural medicine. If a man comes into the ER with four bullet wounds in his back – no amount of good nutrition, exercise, herbal remedies or supplements are going to save him. He needs a surgeon. He needs drugs. He needs advanced medical technology.
Natural medicine would be totally out of place as the chief method of traumatic care. It would be considered crazy. Yet, modern medicine does the reverse every single day.
The Integrated Medicine Myth
The reader suggested I should focus on a more integrative approach…
The whole farce of integrating alternative medicine into the mainstream is just to pacify the public to think they are getting the type of care they actually want. The “alternative medicine” divisions in most clinics are very superficial.
They did the same thing to the Doctors of Osteopathy years ago. They said: “We’ll work together and incorporate your training into medicine.” Now there are only a handful of osteopaths because they got homogenized.
So don’t think for a minute that mainstream medicine is not doing great harm. And don’t be pacified into thinking that any real integration is taking place.
Only one of the 18 books I’ve authored or co-authored, Death by Modern Medicine”, available in February from BenGreenfieldFitness.com, is highly critical of the medical establishment.
And my entire 48-week Future Health Now! program doesn’t waste one sentence on criticizing the mainstream model – it’s too packed full of positive strategies and actions you can take to improve your quality of life and avoid unnecessary trips to the doctor.
So I spend about 5% of my time in critical mode.
And I do feel that’s necessary .
Don’t Be Deceived!
To depend on mainstream medicine for your health is a sure way to remain constantly in need of medical assistance. Modern medicine runs like a business focused on profit before service. They want backend sales. Healthy patients are bad customers.
Just look at anybody you know who is sick and does what their MD says. They swallow their pills and hang around in waiting rooms and subject themselves to “prevention” screenings. Once and a while they’ll go in for surgery. Are they getting better? No. They just get worse. Drugs may keep them alive. That’s about it.
Our “healthcare” system doesn’t make people better. Yet few people question this. Drugs and surgery. They don’t prevent or cure disease. They just manage the symptoms. Yet it’s the first line of defense with the mainstream model. It should be a last resort.
Most People Can’t Face the Truth
Still, most people can’t believe the medical system has fallen so far down the hole of corruption. They tell me how “nice” their doctors are. I’m sure they are wonderful people. But if they are kept ignorant of what will make you better… all their niceness won’t help you one bit.
Medical doctors have been taught to give harmful blood pressure medication instead of an exercise program, dietary recommendations and a bottle of magnesium.
They think you should avoid sunlight and take chemotherapy drugs – when overwhelming evidence shows vitamin D (from sunlight or supplements) could eradicate 50-80% of all cancers.
Instead of a low-carb diet they would rather prescribe diabetics life-shortening drugs and recommend aspartane sweeteners.
My Five Years of Medical Brainwashing
I’ve experienced the mainstream model from the inside. In my five years of medical training at Dalhousie University we didn’t learn a thing about prevention. Nothing about nutrition. Nada about exercise.
And supplements…. pure quackery.
Doctors are literally brainwashed into thinking that they know it all and there are no other “alternatives.” I don’t even like the term “alternative medicine.” It makes it sound like there are only two forms of medicine. Or that natural therapies are an “alternative to medicine.”
There are hundreds of forms of medicine: Homeopathy, Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture, herbalism, etc. Most of them much better suited to making you healthy.
“Modern Medicine is Our Number One Cause of Death”
If you want to see the facts and stats — check out my book Death by Modern Medicine”, available in February from BenGreenfieldFitness.com.
I’ll warn you up front. What you’ll read doesn’t fall into the “nice” category. After reviewing my book, Dr. Julian Whitaker said: “As Dr. Dean makes crystal clear in this very important book, modern medicine is our number one cause of death.”
But don’t get hung up on the corruption of the mainstream model. Know enough so that you can draw your own boundaries and be a “smart shopper” when you do need the help of a doctor.
Otherwise focus on taking care of yourself with YOU in charge. Find a health program that works for you. Make sure it includes the Seven Pillars of Health. Follow it religiously. Then put it out of your mind.
One of the best places to start – in my completely biased opinion – is with a free one-week trial of my Future Health Now! program. If you haven’t signed up (no credit card needed) for a free copy of Module One, please click here.
Do you agree with Dr. Dean? Do you have questions that you'd like me to ask her about modern medicine in the upcoming interview? Just leave your comment below with the question you'd like to ask Dr. Dean.
Such an informative post
Dr. Dean is not being too hard, she’s calling the wolf a wolf even though it’s wearing sheep’s clothing.
However, I disagree with her when she says “don’t get hung up on the corruption”. I’ve been drawing boundaries for years…birthing at home because it’s not a medical condition, saying no to vaccines, seeing private doctors, being responsible for my own health, knowing who’s funding medical information, etc. But our health care system is just getting worse and I don’t think turning a blind eye is the right thing to do. As Margaret Moore (previous podcast guest) says “Wellness and economics are now intertwined. The next financial crisis, tenfold larger than the one we are in now, will be caused by healthcare costs related to preventable diseases. It has begun – Starbucks spends more on employee healthcare than coffee.” And in light of the recent Supreme Court decision, things are just going to get worse. We need to not only take charge of our own health, but take charge of what goes on in our state and federal governments and in our economy.
Ben, that’s an excellent article. I love the split between “health care” and “traumatic care…” I have a doctor friend who says his job is just like a car mechanic’s. He treats the human body like a car and replaces parts when he can.
One question: you call it the “Integrated Medicine Myth.” What would it look like if it really WERE integrated? What would that kind of health system offer?
Once again, thanks for the article. I’ve linked to it on my blog.