The Crime of the Century

I was surprised when I first heard it on the news; the government is now suggesting that most people may need to take vitamin and mineral supplements. That people should take supplements was not surprising—given the overprocessed, chemicalized and refined stuff that passes for food in America, they had better take them. What surprised me was that the government has finally realized it. 

For years, many of the so-called "experts"—government health officials, registered dieticians, medical authorities, nutritional researchers—have steadfastly maintained that dietary supplements were unnecessary. According to them, the white-sugar, white-flour, fat-loaded American diet was perfectly adequate, and no advantage could possibly be gained by taking additional vitamins and minerals. 

Also, for years, the proponents of health foods have challenged the official position. Adelle Davis, Michio Kushi, Gary Null, Carlton Fredricks, Paavo Airola and many others tried to warn the American people that their diet was killing them, but few listened. 

Why did it take several decades for the truth about nutrition to become accepted? The main reason was that government officials and the medical establishment ridiculed and ignored those with differing views. Billions of dollars were poured into high-tech medical research, and almost nothing went into investigating the connection between diet and disease. 

Heavy-handed tactics were sometimes employed against those who promoted the nutritional truth, some of which are still going on today. Doctors using alternative medicine lost their licenses after being put through the ringer by state medical boards. Health centers were closed down, and all their books and supplies confiscated. The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) conducted guns-drawn raids of alternative doctors' offices. The ultraconservative American Dietetic Association, funded with $1 million by the American Medical Association, tried to push legislation that would have made its members the sole providers of dietary counseling. 

Study after study now link dietary deficiencies with cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, and many other health problems. How many lives could have been saved if this knowledge had been made available 30 years ago? How many people have suffered and died of unnecessary cancers, heart attacks and other diseases? How many children have been born with deformities, all for the want of a little folic acid in their mothers' diets? We're talking about millions and millions of people who could have been saved needless suffering and death! It's the crime of the century. 

I blame those in the medical and scientific establishment, who were too busy with their high-tech pursuits to listen to the few who promoted prevention and healing with inexpensive vitamin and mineral supplements. I'm not saying that they consciously caused the deaths of millions of people, far from it. I'm sure they chose their professions, in part, to help humankind. But they were blinded by their own egos. For example, forty years ago the Drs. Shute in Canada had proof that vitamin E helped with heart disease, yet they were ignored by those in power who could have brought this simple treatment to the people. 

When confronted with their massive crime of ignorance and arrogance, those responsible will probably say that there was inadequate nutritional research available in the past for them to have promoted nutrition. But the truth is that they ignored the evidence that was there, and, in so doing, allowed millions to die. 

Although it will never happen, I would like to see the following confession and apology from the medical and scientific establishment: We now know that nutrition is one of the most important factors in preventing and healing disease. Unfortunately, for years we ignored the many people who tried to tell us this, and the evidence they provided. As a result, millions of people suffered and died needlessly. For this we are truly sorry. 

But we have learned from our errors, and, in the future, we promise not to ignore those with reasonable evidence supporting ideas and practices that differ from our own. From this point on, we will embrace the true spirit of science, and never again pass judgment without proper and unbiased scientific evaluation. To make up for our past errors, we are dedicating 50% of our budget to research in nutrition and alternative medicine, which we have unfairly ridiculed and suppressed over the years. 

To protect ourselves from the future misuse of power in the area of health, I think it is now time to add a provision to the Bill of Rights that guarantees people the right to control their health choices. Because the glaring failure of the scientific and medical establishment to understand the importance of nutrition has now come to light, it is the perfect time to push for such a law. In matters of health, the government should become the informer, rather than the enforcer, giving its opinion, but not forcing that opinion on the people.