All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Copyright 2013 by Pamela A. Popper and Glen Merzer
BenBella Books, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this title. Popper, Pamela.
Food over medicine : the conversation that could save your life / by Pamela A. Popper, Ph.D., N.D., and Glen Merzer.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-937856-80-9 (trade cloth : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-1-937856-57-1 (e-book) 1. Nutritionally induced diseases--Popular works. 2. Diet in disease--Popular works. 3. Food habits--Popular works. 4. Health behavior--Popular works. I. Merzer, Glen. II. Title.
Text design and composition by Elyse Strongin, Neuwirth & Associates, Inc.
PRAISE FOR FOOD OVER MEDICINE
Very few people, and even very few doctors, really understand how powerful nutrition can be in preventing and in treating most of the illnesses that afflict us today. Food Over Medicine is an outstanding resource for anyone wanting to maximize their health and minimize their dependence on western medicine.
JOHN ROBBINS,
author of No Happy Cows and Diet for a New America
Food Over Medicine explains nutrition in an original, highly compelling way. A totally digestible, accessible approach to learning how to maintain or regain your health.
RORY FREEDMAN,
author of Skinny Bitch
Reading Food Over Medicine is like having nutrition explained to you in a no-nonsense way by a dear friend. This is not some dry textbook; its a jargon-free conversationone that will change your life!
LINDSAY S. NIXON,
author of the bestselling Happy Herbivore cookbook series
Food Over Medicine is brimming with useful information that is both detailed and yet easy to understand. The question-and-answer format is very effective with excellent points. Its the sort of book that everyone who cares about their health should read.
LEE FULKERSON,
director of Forks Over Knives
Food Over Medicine is a must for anyone remotely concerned about health. It is incredibly funny, totally engaging, and promotes a diet that just happens to be the best for the planet.
ED BEGLEY JR.,
actor and environmental activist
Reading Food Over Medicine could be the best health insurance you ever had. This no-nonsense approach to solid health information may save your life!
HOWARD F. LYMAN,
author of Mad Cowboy and No More Bull!
Food Over Medicine is an excellent book that reveals the truth that health is more about dietary choices and plant-based nutrition than about doctors, diagnostic tests, surgeries, procedures, and medications. The book is easy-to-read, entertaining, and humorous. But, above all else, it is incredibly informative, enlightening, inspiring, and self-empowering. It will open your eyes. It will encourage you to take charge of your life.
DR. WALTER R. JACOBSEN,
author of Forgive to Win!
Food Over Medicine cuts through every nutrition-related controversy to give you the information you need for a lifetime of health and trim weight.
JANICE STANGER, PH.D.,
author of The Perfect Formula Diet
FOOD
OVER
MEDICINE
This book has been written and published strictly for informational purposes only. All of the facts and opinions expressed in this book come from medical files, clinical journals, scientific publications, personal interviews, published trade books, magazine articles, the personal practice experience of the authorities quoted or the sources cited, the personal experiences of both authors, and the professional experiences of Dr. Pamela Popper. You should not consider the educational material herein to be the practice of medicine. Nor should it replace consultation with a physician or other practitioner. The authors and publisher of this information are providing you with this information so that you can have knowledge. You can choose, at your own risk, to act on that knowledge. In no way should the information in this book be used as a substitute for recommendations from your own health care practitioner.
You may also consider the possibility that your health care practitioner may not be fully informed about some of the subjects covered herein.
All the decisions about your health are ultimately your own to make, including the decision about where best to seek out information and which information to believe and to act upon.
This book is dedicated to all of the people who have listened to my lectures, read my books, joined the Wellness Forum, improved their health, and shared their stories during the last sixteen years. You have all inspired me to continue to tell the truth about diet, health, and medicine.
And also to the great pioneers who have influenced my workDr. John McDougall, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. Alan Goldhamer, Dr. Doug Lisle, Dr. Peter Breggin, William Lessler, Dr. Ralph Moss, and many other colleagues from whom I continue to learn every day.
Last but not least, to my parents who taught me that anything is possible with hard work and persistence.
Pamela A. Popper
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W e would like to express our gratitude to Amanda Crichton, who helped in more ways that we can count, to Jill Hiller, for her assistance with graphics, and to Nicole Swartz for her assistance in archiving the research for this book. Thanks also to Kelly Sherman, Gary Morse, Del Sroufe, and Cindy Beebe, who help to run The Wellness Forum, often without Pam, which allows for projects like this book.
Thank you to Chef Del for contributing many of his delicious recipes.
Thank you also to Robert Merrill and Robert Metzger for the photography, and to Nicole Schlosser and Erin Kelley for their superb editorial assistance. We appreciate as well the input of Jana Germano, David Nemtzow, John Tanner, and Dr. Pamela Russo.
And our most heartfelt thanks go to the many Wellness Forum members: Darcy, Maureen Yatwa, Jill Collett, Barry and Elisabeth Small, Patty Yeager, Martin, Ellen Seigel, Cat Timmons, Janet Triner, Larry Nicol, and, once again, the incomparable Wellness Forum Chef Del Sroufe for sharing their very personal stories so that others can learn from them and regain their health.