When it comes to our health, we trust the medical professionals to tell us not only what’s wrong, but also why it’s happening, which medications are best, and even how to prevent future illness and ailments. But what if the medical community isn’t always right?
A California physician and professor, Dr. Robert Lufkin, wrote a book on the 10 biggest lies the medical community tells its patients. Learning these lies could drastically change or even save your life.
Who Is Dr. Robert Lufkin?
Dr. Robert Lufkin isn’t just a doctor; he’s also a patient. Over the course of his life, he has been diagnosed with four different chronic illnesses, the same ones that took his father’s life.
While receiving medical treatment for his conditions, Dr. Lufkin said he “woke up” to the flaws in the medical system. So, he decided to write a book he titled, “Lies I Taught in Medical School: And the Truths That Can Save Your Life” in the hopes of helping millions of others.
#1: The Metabolic Lie
Dr. Lufkin says the first lie is that “metabolism is just the body’s way of digesting food.” He argues that the metabolism is actually far more important to physical and mental health as it handles the body’s cortisol.
Cortisol plays an important role in the body. It influences everything from our energy levels to weight loss, as well as regulates blood sugar, fat deposition, and muscle breakdown. Dysregulated cortisol levels in the body can cause a wide variety of health conditions and diseases.
#2: The Obesity Lie
The second lie is that, in order “to lose weight, just exercise more and eat less.” Dr. Lufkin says that obesity is drastically affected by cortisol levels, meaning the condition is more about how the body is functioning and less about the input and output of calories.
The doctor reports that, because cortisol promotes fat storage and breaks down muscle mass, people need to be highly aware of their cortisol levels if they want to lose excess weight.
#3: The Diabetes Lie
Additionally, Dr. Lufkin writes that the type of calories we ingest makes a huge difference to our overall health. He reports that while medical professionals often say “sugar is harmless, other than causing weight gain and tooth decay,” that’s simply not true.
The doctor says that, contrary to medical advice, insulin isn’t the best medicine for people with Type 2 diabetes. Instead people need to change their lifestyle and diet to improve the way the body processes sugar.
#4: The Fatty Liver Disease Lie
The fourth lie is that, “there is no treatment for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.” Dr. Lufkin argues that there is, in fact, a treatment for this condition, and it’s really quite simple.
He explained that high fructose corn syrup in junk foods is a leading cause of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and by removing these products from one’s diet, they could potentially cure themselves of the vicious disease.
#5: The Hypertension Lie
Dr. Lufkin also says that “high blood pressure is best treated with drugs” is also a complete lie. After being diagnosed with hypertension, the doctor said he was prescribed various medications and told to stay away from salt.
However, he found that the best medicine was actually switching to a diet low in sugar and carbohydrates, cutting out alcohol, and increasing his daily exercise.
#6: The Cardiovascular Disease Lie
The sixth lie is that “statins [or prescription drugs that lower cholesterol levels in the blood] are a good choice to prevent heart disease.” However, Dr. Lufkin says, once again, lifestyle choices are far more influential in curing heart disease than statins.
He says that, while statins focus on lowering cholesterol, “metabolic abnormalities are much more strongly associated with heart disease than LDL cholesterol.” The doctor argues that we need good cholesterol to function, so choosing a beef burger or eggs is actually good for our health, and giving up glazed donuts could help cure people from chronic heart conditions.
#7: The Cancer Lie
Next, Dr. Lufkin explained that the belief “most cancer is caused by accumulated DNA damage is a lie.” In fact, he said that this is “one thing [he] regret[s] having taught.”
He says that while some tumors can be traced back to DNA, the idea that gene mutation is the only or even the leading cause of cancer is untrue. Instead, Dr. Lufkin says that lifestyle choices and diet are the major contributing factors to cancer.
#8: The Alzheimer’s Lie
The next lie on the doctor’s list is that “Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, untreatable disease caused by beta-amyloid accumulation.”
While the doctor discusses the possible causes of Alzheimer’s at length in his book, one of the key takeaways is that the disease is likely caused by a dysregulation of ketosis, which is a process that happens when your body doesn’t have enough carbohydrates to burn for energy. In other words, Alzheimer’s is yet another chronic condition caused by lifestyle choices.
#9: The Mental Health Lie
Dr. Lufkin also believes that the widely spread belief “metabolism has little effect on mental health” is a complete lie.
The doctor said, “Mental health is a significant concern, not just in terms of diagnosable psychiatric conditions, but also in how metabolic diseases affect our day-to-day interactions with friends, family, and colleagues.”
#10: The Longevity Lie
Finally, Dr. Lufkin wrote that “aging is the inevitable result of accumulated wear and tear” is also a lie. He said that while he used to believe, as many doctors and people still do, that chronic illness is a natural result of aging, his opinion has changed.
The doctor says that improving life expectancy and prolonging aging will do nothing to protect people from disease. Instead, we need to be improving health span, meaning keeping people healthier through lifestyle choices and diet, into their later years. This one solution could save millions of people from horrific chronic illnesses.
