Medical Board of California Misses an Opportunity to Protect Healthcare Consumers

The Medical Board of California approved their much-awaited Action Plan on February 6, 2014 to fulfill the requirements of SB 380.  Unfortunately, the Medical Board's actions may amount to nothing more than a couple of insignificant newsletter articles published biannually.

On September 6, 2011, after the unanimous passage by both houses of the California State Assembly, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 380. The sole purpose of this directive is to remedy the widespread lack of basic knowledge of California physicians about human nutrition. Simply put, medical doctors do not know what their patients should eat to prevent, treat, and often cure common diseases, including obesity, type-2 diabetes, and heart disease.

I have made the following suggestions be taken by the Medical Board of California in support of this law:

1. Require continuing medical education (CME) on meaningful diet-therapy* for all newly licensed and relicensed physicians,
2. Require California's 11 medical schools to teach diet-therapy,
3. Require the 393 general acute care hospitals in California to dedicate significant time to diet-therapy at ongoing educational meetings held for their doctors,
4. Audit medical practices for the appropriate use of diet-therapy (similar to what is now performed with drug and surgery therapies), and
5. Send nutritional education materials to physicians on diet-therapy. 

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Do Vegetarians Live Longer Than Health Conscious Omnivores?

By Travis

In the February, May and August 2013 McDougall newsletters, I presented readers with articles addressing the dangers of low-carb and Paleo diets. Please take this opportunity to read these articles.

Although the question as to whether a plant-based diet extends life expectancy is likely determined by the quality of foods used to replace animal foods, numerous proponents of low-carb and Paleo diets have claimed that diets that exclude flesh do not favor longevity, and are even likely to promote premature death. Whenever health benefits are observed in vegetarians, these proponents have often simply attributed this to other healthy aspects of a vegetarian lifestyle, unrelated to abstention from meat.

In this article, I examine a number of these concerning claims, and review the literature addressing the life expectancy of vegetarians and health conscious omnivores. In addition, I address a number of important limitations of studies carried out on vegetarians, and in particular, how paradoxical findings can result as the consequence of participants adopting a vegetarian diet in response to deteriorating health.

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Featured Recipes

• 3 Bean Mole
• Chickpea and Sweet Potato Satay
• Cranberry Spice Granola
• Millet and Black Bean Salad
• Mom's Famous Garbanzos
• Rainbow Tower Salad
• Sweetest Quinoa Bites
• World's Best 'Ajiaco' (Potato Soup)

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