Nov
28
Secret Food Cures Book Review, Revisited
Filed Under Reader Q&A, Review
A few weeks ago I reviewed a book by the name of Bottom Lines Secret Food Cures and Doctor-approved Folk Remedies
Is Modern Medicine Perfect?
First, many readers seemed to think I was setting up modern medicine as the only source of healthy living. That is, if you want to get healthy, you should see a doctor and start taking some pills. That’s is almost but not quite the complete opposite of what I believe. For the most part, I try to stay away from the doctor’s office. I don’t believe in taking pills for every symptom and I don’t believe medical treatment or surgery is the answer to all my problems. My whole philosophy is based on living a healthy lifestyle so that I DON’T need to go to the doctor’s office.
I would rather eat healthy than take medicine that would lower my cholesterol. I would rather exercise than be treated for high blood pressure. I would rather work out with weights than take some pills that would increase the strength of my bones. I eat fruit and vegetables because I want to lower my risk of death to cancer through healthy living rather than chemo or surgery. So yes, I am a great believer in good ole’ fashioned healthy living as a great alternative to the doctor’s office.
But…
You knew there was a “but…” coming up somewhere. Well, as much as I don’t believe in a life based on medicine only, I also don’t believe in completely unproven and unscientific folk cures. I am 100% sure that some herbs and minerals do have positive medical properties. For example, we now know a lot about the cancer fighting chemical in some vegetables. I also believe that some plants have restorative properties. However, I am not going to go out there and start taking lemon rind soup for my migraines without a bit more information just because my ancestors believed in it. My ancestors also believed that life came from mud, storks brought babies and that the earth was flat.
Reading a book like this and then rushing out to try out all the cures seems foolish to me. I would much rather take a more careful approach. Read the proposed cure and then do some research about it. Are there some chemicals in lemon rinds that might lessen pain or inflammation? If so, what are they and what are their side effects? Are there any articles out there about the long term impact of ingesting these chemicals? Were the articles written by the lemon industry or by some reputable institute?
We have a wealth of information at our fingertips these days so why not use it? I don’t mind reading about old folks cures but I sure as hell am not going to rush out and try them just because a book tells me some people in Eastern Europe in the 1800’s believed this remedy helped cure chicken pox.
The Combined Approach
I believe the right way of doing things is the combined approach. Learn what it takes to live a healthy life. That means eating healthy, being more active and adopting some healthy habits. Some of those healthy habits could involve a few things your old grandmother would heartily agree with. “An apple a day will keep the doctor away.” Yep, eating fruit is healthy. “Chicken soup will cure a cold”. Yep, a nutrient rich broth is easy for a sick body to digest and includes a lot of energy your body needs to fight off some ailments. Aloe for sunburns? Yep, there have been numerous studies on the anti inflammatory properties of the aloe plant. So by all means, adopt these healthy habits that have been used by human beings for centuries. Just make sure there’s some substance behind these claims. Don’t just rush out and try everything you read about in books like these.
However, don’t adopt them blindly and don’t ignore doctors. Have a yearly physical. Talk to your doctor if you’re going to make some changes to your life. Ask their advice before trying some radical change to your eating habits. You’d be surprised how useful doctors can be. Sometimes they’ll tell you “yes, lemon rinds have so and so chemicals in them and can be used in moderation to treat the following things” and sometimes they’ll say “no, lemon rind soup is completely garbage.” Either way, you’ll learn something.
Summary
So no, I am not opposed to folk cures. I am however opposed to blindly trusting my health to some book I bought on Amazon without doing any kind of research or checking with my doctor. Hope that clears things up and gets me a few less angry emails 
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Comments
6 Responses to “Secret Food Cures Book Review, Revisited”
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Personally, I thought you were quite clear about your ideas about modern medicine the first time. Perhaps the people who are chewing you out for disagreeing with them doth protest too much?
I would go one step farther, though, and say that I don’t see any need to coddle people who would try to prevent sick people from getting needed *medical* attention. That Cherry Bark tea for asthma thing, for example — if someone were to blow a bunch of smoke up an asthmatic’s ass and convince them to toss out their inhaler and drink tea instead — well, that’s gone well beyond “silly” or even “stupid”, that’s incredibly irresponsible and downright dangerous.
Or, what if someone had convinced your wife to drink lemon soup instead of seeing a doctor about her migraines? Who knows, the underlying cause may have turned out to be something much more serious than a deviated septum and allergies (and thank the FSM it wasn’t, although migraines suck royally no matter what’s causing them).
Angry homeopaths can feel free to flame me and not Gal for this statement.
I think people just saw my editorial as an insult to their beliefs and I suppose in a way it was. It certainly wasn’t intended as such but it’s true, I really don’t think much of someone who would rush out to try these cures without researching them.
So I suppose angry homeopaths can flame both of us freely
Gal
I am with Gal.
I am looking for a review of the book itself. You are basically debating or comparing modern medicene to healthy living or a combination thereof. How about the book? Is there any good advice in it? Would it be worth buying to learn something valid?
Rob
Rob,
That depends on what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for a book with useful information to apply towards you health, then no. I don’t believe the information in this book is practical or useful.
However, if you’re looking for an interesting read then yes, I would recommend picking it up. I actually found this book to be a fun read. It’s written well and the information is interesting.
Just don’t consider anything you read here factual. If you’re interested in trying out anything mentioned in this book, do some more research and talk to your doctor first.
Gal
If you want healthy food, free of pesticides and chemical fertilizers you should grow your own. It may not be practical for most people to grow their own apples and oranges…but anyone can grow some vegetables in a small plot or windowbox.