why medical advice cannot save us

If there is a more prestigious medical institution on the planet than Johns Hopkins Medical School and Hospital of Baltimore Maryland, I am not quite sure what it would be.  Unfortunately, the sort of advice they are dispensing these days is going to kill people — most particularly women.  In a February 17 column (Another Reason to Watch Your Waistline in the New Year!) by a Johns Hopkins “Health Expert” (Lillie Shockney, R.N.), women were given some truly terrible dietary advice.  In discussing a recent study from the Cancer Research Journal, Shockney, speaking specifically to women stated, “Ladies, a low-fat diet is key“.  She was discussing the fact that BREAST CANCER RATES are higher in overweight rats, and eating a “low-fat diet” is her idea of the best way do address this particular issue.  Let’s take a moment and dissect her advice in light of what the scientific literature says about BREAST CANCER, OBESITY, and WEIGHT LOSS.

The first thing to understand is that most breast cancers (about 75%) are fed by Estrogen, the primary female sex hormone.  Secondly, Estrogen is made in two very different areas of a woman’s body.  We all know that Estrogen is made by the female sex organs (ovaries).  But few people realize that the other primary producer of Estrogen is fat cells.  There are plenty of peer-reviewed medical studies touting this fact (see links below).   Not only can this be problematic in and of itself, but it has the potential to end up in the middle of a vicious cycle. Think about it this way.  Estrogen helps fuel obesity, and fat cells manufacture Estrogen.  Repeat cycle ad infinitum.

According to many experts in the field, many if not most American women are ESTROGEN DOMINANT.  Expert in the filed, Dr. Bruce Rind (M.D.) says this on his website, “Estrogen Dominance (ED) affects about half the women in the United States.”  Estrogen Dominance is so common, it is known as female “E.D.”   Due to things like XENOESTROGENS (Estrogen-like compounds found in most chemicals or petroleum products), and exogenous sources of dietary estrogen such as the hormones that are found in most commercially-raised animals (yeah, farmers want FAT CATTLE; Estrogen is the hormone that makes their cattle fat), both the women and the men of this country are swimming in a sea of the female hormone. 

Oh, and ladies (and men); if you value your health as well as the health of your family, do not take nurse Shockney’s dietary advice.  Are you old enough to remember the LOW FAT / FAT-FREE CRAZE of the late 1980’s and 1990’s?  How’d that work out for everyone?  I’ll tell you how.  People are fatter now than they have ever been in the history of the world, and many got that way following a low-fat lifestyle.  Low fat (or no fat) diets are incredibly destructive to your health.   If you want to understand why, all you need to do is take a moment to read THIS.   What do I recommend for those of you who are leery of EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE?  How about a PALEO DIET.