diet

I recently read about a letter 10 physicians sent to Columbia asking the university to remove Dr. Oz from his position as vice-chairman of the department of surgery. Their complaint stated he “has repeatedly shown disdain for science and for evidence-based medicine.” They specifically mention his opposition to genetically engineered crops. Not surprisingly several of these doctors have been national proponents of genetically engineered crops which has shifted the focus away from Dr. Oz’s credibility as a physician to a fight between doctors over GMO’s. And I’d like to join.

I first heard about GMO’s in 1999 at an art exhibit. The gallery was on the second floor of a newly renovated building in Brooklyn. The exhibit felt like an art student’s senior thesis, and it might have been. I think I was there for the free wine. As I wondered around looking at the frightening collages on the walls-grotesque images of mutated corn swirling in a tornado of chemical symbols- I kept coming across these three letters. G-M-O. Finally I admitted my ignorance to the woman passing out the wine.

“Genetically Engineered Organisms,” she said, astonished. “You haven’t heard about them? They’re horrible. We’re all going to end up mutated and stuff.”

I was a medical student at the time and fascinated by science, especially genetic engineering. I was like a nuclear scientist before the bomb, filled with limitless expectations of how this new technology would improve the world. I distinctly remember thinking how foolish this woman and the artist were to be scared of something that could only make things better.

I can’t remember when my feelings changed. There was never a Hiroshima-esque seminal moment to sway my opinion of GMO’s, although watching Food, Inc. several years back was very influential. But even before then I was experiencing a profound shift in how I viewed the manipulation of food’s genetic code. And these ideas, just like Dr. Oz’s, were not based on science or evidence-based medicine. Instead they came from my own life experience.

After years of practicing medicine in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States I’d seen my patients getting sicker and sicker. I’d watched the average body size continue to expand and people present younger and younger with adult onset diabetes. Since childhood I’d heard my grandparents bemoan the lack of flavorful vegetables they remembered from their youth only to discover these amazing flavors by buying directly from organic farmers. Paying more attention to my diet made me realize how many processed, sugary and calorie laden foods I was eating, not to mention the average American. Its from my personal experience and the experience of my patients I’ve drawn my conclusions. Food science, especially the modification of sugars and fats, can be bad for you.

The wisest advice I’ve heard on the subject is to eat how your great-grandparents ate. This makes a lot of sense. The human body has had tens of thousands of years to evolve in harmony with the natural food it ingests. Scientists haven’t had enough time to know all the consequences of the modern processed food diet on our health. So far it doesn’t look good. And to me, even though there is no negative scientific evidence about GMO’s, genetically engineered food fits in the category of food our great-grandparents did not eat.

Perhaps one day science will prove people like me and Dr. Oz right. Maybe not. But I’m not going to wait for science to reach the same verdict as my personal experience and beliefs. I’ll keep eating, as much as possible, the foods my ancestors would have recognized and hope the organic, whole foods movement continues to gain momentum and become affordable for all.

A few weeks ago, while I was sitting at a crowded bar on a popular open mike night in my new island home, a man I’d met a few times before started telling me about the problems he’d been having with a new blood pressure medication. This is not unusual. Once people find out I’m a doctor, especially if they’re the most peripheral of acquaintances, I’m bound to find out intimate details they’d never tell their friends. Suddenly I’m craning over the person in the bar seat next to me, shouting over another spirited rendition of Wagon Wheel what I hope is helpful advice. But also vague advice, because I know nothing about this man’s medical record or his exam. It ends up being much more than I meant to say, and much more than the poor man is willing to listen to in the midst of swinging drinks and belted choruses. Because the problem with pills is not so easy.

I’ll start by saying pills are neither all bad or all good. Millions of people are alive today because of pills. That said I have strong reservations about how Western Medicine uses pills. When I went to Medical School there was no emphasis on how exercise and nutrition can prevent and combat illness, and very limited emphasis on how to help people make better lifestyle choices when it came to alcohol, tobacco, or drug use. There was, however, a pill for almost every disease. Even if the pill did not cure the disease it could reduce some of the symptoms.

This is not surprising. Throughout history humans have used various plants, animals, and inanimate objects as ways to help heal. And human nature seeks an easy fix. Not to mention, pharmaceuticals are incredibly lucrative. But after ten years of practicing medicine I know that pills alone are not the answer. In fact any medication, even a medication as ancient and benign as aspirin, can have life threatening side effects.

There are some people who will always need medications. Type I diabetics, for instance, who cannot produce insulin. Or people like a friend I had in medical school whose family history of high cholesterol was so bad two of his brothers had had heart attacks before thirty. But many of the patients I’ve seen suffer from health problems that could have been prevented or reduced by significant lifestyle changes. There are so many variables that effect a person’s health-from genetics, to stress, to environment-all of which we have limited or no control over. In fact, we have little or no control over anything that happens to us. We do have control over two important things, though. What we put in our bodies and what we do with our bodies.

Here comes the hard part. Taking pills is the quick fix we seek. Changing how we eat and drink and how we exercise is not. Changing these things takes a significant amount of hard work that can seem overwhelming and impossible. But it’s not. Take small steps, challenge yourself, keep going. You may still end up needing to take pills but I guarantee you’ll need less medication overall. And its never too late to start to make these changes. Even small changes like losing 5 pounds, walking twenty minutes a day, or eating less processed foods will give you significant health results.

So that’s what I tried to tell my acquaintance at the bar, a pretty hard sell over half-price cocktails and greasy appetizers. Preaching health at a happy hour is like promoting abstinence at a brothel. But that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. -The Anecdotal Doctor

The Anecdotal Doctor

unsubstantiated musings on health

GMO’s

The Problem with Pills