Food Over Medicine
Read Food Over Medicine Online
Authors: Pamela A. Popper,Glen Merzer
“Very few people, and even very few doctors, really understand how powerful nutrition can be in preventing and in treating most of the illnesses that afflict us today.
Food Over Medicine
is an outstanding resource for anyone wanting to maximize their health and minimize their dependence on western medicine.”
—
JOHN ROBBINS
,
author of
No Happy Cows
and
Diet for a New America
“
Food Over Medicine
explains nutrition in an original, highly compelling way. A totally digestible, accessible approach to learning how to maintain or regain your health.”
—
RORY FREEDMAN
,
author of
Skinny Bitch
“Reading
Food Over Medicine
is like having nutrition explained to you in a no-nonsense way by a dear friend. This is not some dry textbook; it’s a jargon-free conversation—one that will change your life!”
—
LINDSAY S. NIXON
,
author of the bestselling Happy Herbivore cookbook series
“
Food Over Medicine
is brimming with useful information that is both detailed and yet easy to understand. The question-and-answer format is very effective with excellent points. It’s the sort of book that everyone who cares about their health should read.”
—
LEE FULKERSON
,
director of
Forks Over Knives
“
Food Over Medicine
is a must for anyone remotely concerned about health. It is incredibly funny, totally engaging, and promotes a diet that just happens to be the best for the planet.”
—
ED BEGLEY JR
.,
actor and environmental activist
“Reading
Food Over Medicine
could be the best health insurance you ever had. This no-nonsense approach to solid health information may save your life!”
—
HOWARD F. LYMAN
,
author of
Mad Cowboy
and
No More Bull!
“
Food Over Medicine
is an excellent book that reveals the truth that health is more about dietary choices and plant-based nutrition than about doctors, diagnostic tests, surgeries, procedures, and medications. The book is easy-to-read, entertaining, and humorous. But, above all else, it is incredibly informative, enlightening, inspiring, and self-empowering. It will open your eyes. It will encourage you to take charge of your life.”
—
DR. WALTER R. JACOBSEN
,
author of
Forgive to Win!
“
Food Over Medicine
cuts through every nutrition-related controversy to give you the information you need for a lifetime of health and trim weight.”
—
JANICE STANGER, PH.D
.,
author of
The Perfect Formula Diet
FOOD
OVER
MEDICINE
FOOD
OVER
MEDICINE
......................................................
THE CONVERSATION
THAT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE
PAMELA A. POPPER PH.D., N.D. and GLEN MERZER
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Copyright © 2013 by Pamela A. Popper and Glen Merzer
BenBella Books, Inc.
10300 Central Expressway, Suite #530
Dallas, TX 75231
Send feedback to
[email protected]
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this title. Popper, Pamela.
Food over medicine : the conversation that could save your life / by Pamela A. Popper, Ph.D., N.D., and Glen Merzer.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-937856-80-9 (trade cloth : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-1-937856-57-1 (e-book) 1. Nutritionally induced diseases--Popular works. 2. Diet in disease--Popular works. 3. Food habits--Popular works. 4. Health behavior--Popular works. I. Merzer, Glen. II. Title.
RA645.N87P663 2013
616.3’9--dc23
2013004503
Editing by Erin Kelley
Copy Editing by Lisa Miller
Proofreading by Chris Gage and Michael Fedison
Text design and composition by Elyse Strongin, Neuwirth & Associates, Inc.
Cover photography by Robert Merrill
Food Photographs by Robert Metzger
Printed by Bang Printing
Distributed by Perseus Distribution
To place orders through Perseus Distribution:
Tel: 800-343-4499
Fax: 800-351-5073
E-mail:
[email protected]
Significant discounts for bulk sales are available. Please contact Glenn Yeffeth at
[email protected]
or (214) 750-3628.
This book has been written and published strictly for informational purposes only. All of the facts and opinions expressed in this book come from medical files, clinical journals, scientific publications, personal interviews, published trade books, magazine articles, the personal practice experience of the authorities quoted or the sources cited, the personal experiences of both authors, and the professional experiences of Dr. Pamela Popper. You should not consider the educational material herein to be the practice of medicine. Nor should it replace consultation with a physician or other practitioner. The authors and publisher of this information are providing you with this information so that you can have knowledge. You can choose, at your own risk, to act on that knowledge. In no way should the information in this book be used as a substitute for recommendations from your own health care practitioner.
You may also consider the possibility that your health care practitioner may not be fully informed about some of the subjects covered herein.
All the decisions about your health are ultimately your own to make, including the decision about where best to seek out information and which information to believe and to act upon.
This book is dedicated to all of the people who have listened to my lectures, read my books, joined the Wellness Forum, improved their health, and shared their stories during the last sixteen years. You have all inspired me to continue to tell the truth about diet, health, and medicine.
And also to the great pioneers who have influenced my work—Dr. John McDougall, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. Alan Goldhamer, Dr. Doug Lisle, Dr. Peter Breggin, William Lessler, Dr. Ralph Moss, and many other colleagues from whom I continue to learn every day.
Last but not least, to my parents who taught me that anything is possible with hard work and persistence.
—Pamela A. Popper
....................................
1
Deep-Fried Butter on a Stick and Other Atrocities
....................................
W
e would like to express our gratitude to Amanda Crichton, who helped in more ways that we can count, to Jill Hiller, for her assistance with graphics, and to Nicole Swartz for her assistance in archiving the research for this book. Thanks also to Kelly Sherman, Gary Morse, Del Sroufe, and Cindy Beebe, who help to run The Wellness Forum, often without Pam, which allows for projects like this book.
Thank you to Chef Del for contributing many of his delicious recipes.
Thank you also to Robert Merrill and Robert Metzger for the photography, and to Nicole Schlosser and Erin Kelley for their superb editorial assistance. We appreciate as well the input of Jana Germano, David Nemtzow, John Tanner, and Dr. Pamela Russo.
And our most heartfelt thanks go to the many Wellness Forum members: “Darcy,” Maureen Yatwa, Jill Collett, Barry and Elisabeth Small, Patty Yeager, “Martin,” Ellen Seigel, Cat Timmons, Janet Triner, Larry Nicol, and, once again, the incomparable Wellness Forum Chef Del Sroufe for sharing their very personal stories so that others can learn from them and regain their health.
....................................
N
utrition must rank near the top of subjects that are vitally important to the human experience, and yet are still poorly understood. Textbooks on the subject tend to be dry, intended to be read only by professionals in the field, such as nutritionists and dietitians. Popular books that address the subject generally take the form of diet books, designed to hawk the latest weight-loss fad and skew all research in favor of the diet being sold. The news offers us only snippets of nutritional information, devoid of context and misinterpreted, leaving millions of Americans believing that fish oil will protect them from heart attacks, that chocolate holds the key to longevity, or that low-fat ice cream is a health food. And so they continue to eat themselves into an early grave.
Furthermore, even those who eat a sound diet may still end up experiencing poor health as a result of interaction with the medical system. There is little evidence to support the use of many of the tests, drugs, supplements, and procedures commonly recommended by a majority of health care practitioners. Most medical professionals do not make full and honest disclosures about the minimal (or nonexistent) benefits of these medical interventions, or about their risks and side effects.
Sorting out the confusion perpetuated by the barrage of conflicting information on the topic takes more time and expertise than the average person has. We may not all be up for reading a scientific textbook, but on a matter as important as our own health, we’re all up for a good talk. So we thought we’d take a shot at bringing these subjects to life through conversation.
We hope you’ll like it, and we hope you’ll walk away with an understanding that will improve your health.
Pam Popper
Glen Merzer