dr robert mendelsohn’s confessions of a medical heretic

A while back I reviewed that landmark book, HOW TO RAISE A HEALTHY CHILD IN SPITE OF YOUR DOCTOR.  Today we will tackle 1979’s Confessions of a Medical Heretic.  I recently pulled this book off my shelf, and in about 40 minutes, thumbed through everything I had highlighted.  A great book that proves the old point that the more things change, the more they stay the same.  Jodi-Hummingbird said it best in her Amazon review of his book, “This 1979 book is an interesting read. It is a bit dated and the book would likely be very different if written today, yet it is also true that the same core issues of ignorance and corruption in medicine remain.  Hospitals are still causing lots of unnecessary suffering for their patients and for many doctors their `high and mighty’ attitude is as present as ever.  To get the best care, we need to question established medical practice and all of our doctors as much as possible. The medical profession is very slow to change and slow to admit they were wrong about anything, if they admit it at all.  Mainstream medicine and media is so far behind when it comes to the best health information in many fields. You have to do your own unbiased research and be your own advocate.“

So; which review of Dr Mendelsohn’s work is more accurate?  I have to say that they are both accurate.  While it is true that his books are dated, the mainstream medical community is fighting the exact same problems today that it was fighting back when he wrote this book (I was 13 years old). Mendelsohn’s folly was believing he could tackle some of the biggest sacred cows in modern medicine and come out unscathed.   A few that come immediately to mind are VACCINATIONS, FLOURIDE & CHLORINE, ANNUAL PHYSICALS, FEVER, and THE MYTH OF EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE (it went by a different name back then — “Science-based Health Care“).