First, two things:
1) Dr. Stephen Mulder’s piece (“The seduction of American medicine,� Jan. 20-27) should have been positioned in the Health and Fitness section, not as a “separate� commentary.
2) This is all the kind of advice you could get from Dr. Weil, at $50 a pop, lecturing soon at Sycamore Hot Springs.
I’m always amazed when an “establishment� physician comes out with such seasoned, common-sense advice about taking care of ourselves — and who has the guts to go up against the big pharmaceutical companies, which have convinced not only the medical profession but millions of consumers that their drugs are safe and necessary. In many cases, as we have been reading recently, they are downright deadly.
Not to brag, but I am a 57-year-old, drug free male. The only pharmaceutical I have ever taken in my life (consciously) is antibiotics, to ward off several lung infections no doubt exacerbated by L.A. smog. I do not need Viagra, Vioxx, Celebrex or any other number of “necessary� drugs for people my age. I can whip around a tennis court better than some 30-year-olds (except Andre, of course!) I don’t eat most junk foods, get plenty of rest, and stay mentally and physically active overall.
I am grateful to be as healthy as I am, but years ago I decided that most advice from institutions was bunk. Heck, they’re even revising the food pyramid … .
William L. Seavey
Cambria
This article appears in Jan 27 – Feb 3, 2005.