Intended for healthcare professionals

Rapid response to:

Editor's Choice

Food, farming, and flu

BMJ 2015; 351 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h5768 (Published 29 October 2015) Cite this as: BMJ 2015;351:h5768

Rapid Response:

Food is live medicine. Medicine is dead food.

In recent years, healthcare has become so complex, that it is almost incomprehensible. Many physicians have a hard time keeping up with their own specialty, let alone other specialties. There are 24 medical specialties and 88 sub-specialties. How can the average person choose or afford so much healthcare?

There are three kinds of healthcare: traditional medicine, alternative medicine, and complementary medicine. Complementary medicine (integrative medicine) combines traditional medicine with alternative medicine. All three kinds of healthcare use drugs.

Traditional medicine uses prescription drugs, such as antibiotics, tranquilizers, vaccines, and chemotherapy. Alternative medicine uses over-the-counter drugs, such as vitamins, minerals, herbs, and enzymes. Complementary medicine uses both prescription and over-the-counter drugs. So all healthcare uses drugs, and patients have no real alternatives.

Drugs are a mixed blessing. They prolong life, but they also shorten it. This is because drugs are toxins and addictions that fool and block the body’s biochemistry. This is why drugs have so many side effects and adverse reactions. In contrast, nutritious food, which is free of toxins and addictions, fuels and builds the body’s biochemistry. This is why food is live medicine, but medicine is dead food.

Competing interests: No competing interests

02 November 2015
Hugh Mann
Physician
Retired
New York, NY, USA