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Mainman - just give this a CHANCE. Just consider this


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#1 calmcookie

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Posted 15 February 2006 - 04:54 PM

error

Edited by calmcookie, 15 February 2006 - 05:01 PM.


#2 calmcookie

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Posted 15 February 2006 - 05:12 PM

MM. I understand your point of view. Really, I do.





After years of conventional training and working with diabetes patients, I too, had some strong beliefs.


But through a series of events (ADA conferences), I met a 72 year old physician and nutrition professor from the University of Toronto, Dr. Bob Bruce (MD PhD). I interviewed him for an article I was writing and the first thing he asked me was "are you open minded?" He went on to explain that although his views were not "radical," he'd experienced a lot of knee jerk, negative reactions.



Okay … that said, let me emphasize that this man has spent over 40 years being deeply involved in BASIC SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH … in a conservative, university setting. He, and I, have no argument with the value of controlled, double blind studies (the scientific method). As an aside, his wife is also a Registered Dietitian. I only say this to emphasize the fact that he is, in a big way, INTO NUTRITION. His office at UT was next to Dr. David Jenkins, the originator of the glycemic index. Man, did they like to debate … which is great … no?




Now please don't REACT to what I'm about to say … just be open minded, for a moment. What would you think if Dr. Bruce said that bananas are not a healthy food? It's risky for me to pull out this specific example, without explaining the details … but I have a reason. That is, almost everyone BELIEVES that bananas ARE a healthy food. Granted, they are better than Twinkies, but it's really not good to be in the daily habit of eating bananas. I understand if you doubt this, for now ... but, stay with me. What would you say if Dr. Bruce told you that prostate cancer is entirely preventable? What would you say if the head of Harvard's school of public health said the same thing … not just some flake on a traders talk board?


Dr. Bruce is a supporter, along with Dr. Walter Willett (MD, PhD, Harvard) of Dr. Barry Sears work (author of "The Zone"). This is not just a silly "diet" book … but is based on sound scientific evidence. Is "The Zone" the panacea of health advice? NO … of course not … no ONE author is 100% correct … just as in trading, no ONE book will give you the RIGHT approach. I only give "The Zone" as a tiny example of how my belief system began to change. Are you familiar with eicosanoids … most doctors have never heard of them, but they virtually CONTROL every aspect of human physiology … especially the proliferation of cancer cells. Eicosanoid research won the Nobel prize in medicine in the early 80's.


Dr. Bruce also told me to read "The Diabetes Solution" by Dr. Richard K. Bernstein. Dr. Bernstein has had type 1 diabetes for over 53 years and his approach is EXTREMELY unconventional. BUT, he is correct! How painful it is to have ones frame of reference challenged. How do you think I felt after reading Bernstein and having my core beliefs blown out of the water? Almost everything I had taught my patients, over 10 years, was simply NOT true. It took me a long time to wrap my head around it … humbling.


Again, no ONE person is 100% correct. Coming to some sort of reasonable "truth" is a matter of sifting through a great deal of information and thinking thinking thinking, over time … and applying things to your own experiences and then designing a system that works for you.


Regrettably, in health or in stock trading, knowledge can be accumulated, but wisdom must be self taught.



The book I wrote (Feed Your Need) is also not a great accomplishment. In fact, I now cringe at it's style (although still believe the basic concepts). Most of my patients found Dr. Sears original book too difficult to read, so my goal was to simplify his ideas (large print, pictures, simple examples) and make practical suggestions. I did not write Feed Your Need to make money … but out of sincere intentions. One continues to learn and add things and tweak information and grow grow grow with new evidence.

If there is nothing here that has even tweaked your curiousity ... or made you consider that there is ANY chance of learning something ... well, so be it ... at least I gave it my best shot.

Kind regards, Corinne

Edited by calmcookie, 15 February 2006 - 05:16 PM.


#3 calmcookie

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Posted 16 February 2006 - 06:48 AM

... no more of this for me ... am back to trading. :P

#4 maineman

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Posted 16 February 2006 - 07:28 AM

Connie, I believe the debate that we are having here is critical to the health and well being of humans. As an Internist I am acutely concerned about my patient's health. It's what I do. Please don't get defensive when ideas are challenged. Debate among the educated is the pinnacle. I am open to all ideas. I am fully aware that there is so much yet to learn and I hope I am around long enough to see the next study, the next advance, the next life saved. Let me give you a brief idea of where I am coming from. I was a typical baby boomer, minding my own business when the sixties hit. Off we ran, tuning in, turning on an dropping out. The "journey" took us from rock and roll, to "everything". We became vegetarians. We danced in the streets. Marched on Washington. Went to Woodstock. Dropped out altogether. Moved into the woods. Built a dome. Became Macrobiotics. Ate brown rice, sat out under the stars and learned how to meditate. Followed Gurus. In a few short years I had become an expert on health and sanity. I "knew" how to live forever, by eating right. I "knew" how to remove stress by meditation. How did I Know? I read books by people who were "experts" and told me so. I hung out with people who "knew" the same stuff and we reinforced each other's views. We helped set up food co ops and health food stores. Ultimately I had a brilliant idea. I would go to medical school where all the numbskulls were, and "incorporate" my alternative knowledge into modern medicine. I would show them! I rolled out of the woods after several years, cut my hair, pounded the school work, graduated A+ from ivy league, went to Top NYC medical school. So what happened? Knowledge, wisdom, age, time, reason. I studied physiology. I excelled in biochemistry. I found out what was REALLY happening in the human body. I found out how one could prove or disprove through the scientific method. I learned how to QUESTION. In the hippy days we used to shout "Question Authority" while falling lock, stock and barrel for DOGMA. Now, finally, I was learning how to ask the right questions and find the right answers. Ultimately I chose Internal Medicine. We are the "geeks" of medicine. We don't make any money. We are the ones who have to learn every disease process, every aspect of every disease so that we can diagnose when you walk through the door or are lying in a coma. We are the ones who have to manage chronic illness. We don't cut people open, or put casts on broken limbs. We have to keep up with the expanding world of pharmacology, physiology, etc. We are the ones who sit with you when you have anxiety, depression and loss. We try to get you to come in for a check up and prevent major illness. We have to sit with you for the 18th year and try again to get you to quit smoking, lose weight. We have to tell you that you have a terminal disease and help you to die with dignity. So there I am. Sort of the opposite of you. Sounds like you started out mainstream and drifted to the "alternative". I went the other way. Just my story, but thought you should know that I'm not your stereotypical luddite, pharmacy hugging, prescription-writing numb nut of a "doctor". I still eat well, and practice meditation. But when I walk into my white coat, hospital, office I am there under a solemn contract with you, the patient, to provide rational, proven care. For me it is fully "holistic". My advice ranges from diet, to exercise, to lab test, biopsies, x-rays, to drugs. In other words, what ever it takes to make my patients healthy, keep them alive and whole. I have to tell them the truth. So, yes I will tell my overweight high cholesterol factory worker to cut down on high fat foods, (and others) and exercise. And yes, I will tell my skinny, anxious "healthy" female to stop taking 40 vitamin pills every day. And so on. Whatever it takes, Man. And, (boring) I will read the New England Journal of Medicine every week, along with the Cleveland Clinic, Green Journal, Annals, etc. and try to understand the evolving world of our knowledge. So, keep the dialogue going. I'm learning new ideas from you every day. You challenge me and I listen. maineman
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#5 Echo

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Posted 16 February 2006 - 11:28 AM

Maineman, Thanks for sharing your background. You set a great example for the medical profession and you sound very compassionate. Good health to you so you can keep doing what you do best. Echo

#6 Rogerdodger

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Posted 16 February 2006 - 08:50 PM

Maineman, You are the Main Man!

Great story. I wish guys like you could live and practice a couple hundred years instead of the few short years you get after all that training.

Can I make an appointment? Do You make house calls. Do you take Aetna? :lol:

Now here's a GREAT medical story:

Last Friday at 7am a great surgeon cut into my wife to remove her badly diseased gall bladder.
She had a little bit of genetic and gender predisposition going against her.
(She had tried "alternative" cures which almost poisoned her.)
At 11 am she was not only out of surgery but back home in her OWN BED!
4 days later I had to tie her up with a rope because she felt so good she wanted to take our 15 month old grandson to the ZOO!

WOW! This used to be an extended stay in the hospital and major surgery with lengthy recovery.
And her Doctor began "treatment" at her pre-op visit as he made her feel very positive about both his care and expertise and the procedure itself.
(I'm a big believer in the mind's curative powers.)

Two month's earlier she had knee surgery with similar positive results.
A couple of years before that a very successful repair of a cervical disk.

When it comes to medical care, we are blessed like no other generation in history.
Since you are an old hippy dude, I say to you: "Keep on trucking Doc."
[img]http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:YHY8t7zv-RwaMM:http://cougar.slvhs.slv.k12.ca.us/~pboomer/chemlectures/qual/keepontruckin.jpg[/img]

#7 maineman

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Posted 16 February 2006 - 11:37 PM

Thanks for the nice thoughts RD, Yes I take Aetna Yes I make house calls, but nowadays the house calls are usually for the dying...so I hope you don't my help there any time soon... And I am as amazed by the advances you mentioned. Laparoscopic surgery is amazing! home the same day. Neck DISK surgery home the same day. Our neurosurgeons have started putting in TEFLON disks - home in a few hours!!! with 100% range of motion and no pain. I just hope I live long enough to see more cool things. So, on that note I'm going to juice up on some lycopene and green tea and lie down in my hyperbaric oxygen chamber for a bit while I listen to the music of the artic tern accompanied by the tinkling of crystals as clinked by the "over 100" club from Georgia, Russia. G'night maineman
He who laughs laughs laughs laughs.

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