Page 77 - Summer2009

All Thumbs Book Reviews

periods by years; and to win lucrative tax credits 0DUNHWLQJ KDV QR SODFH LQ PHGLFLQH 3HWHUVHQ VD\V ÀDW RXW 6KH FDOOV
which have allowed them to pay far lower taxes for science to become honest again, for physicians to stop taking drug
than other industry groups. company money, for marketing fraud to be stopped, for patients to arm
Petersen’s disclosure of facts alongside nu- themselves with knowledge and independent thinking, and for a revolution
merous human interest stories are a compelling WR VWDUW DPRQJ FLWL]HQV DW WKH JUDVVURRWV ZKR ZLOO HOHFW RI¿FLDOV WR GHIHQG
moral indictment of a corrupt and corrupting them and their rights.
“industry.” One can even marvel at the lunacy She even questions the belief that we need so many pills to be healthy,
it has created in our medical system: “There is and wonders whether disease prevention might not be a better route. While
a kind of madness in it. The drug companies all of her recommendations are noble, no one can deny that their realization
pay hundreds of millions of dollars in govern- is a long way off; in the meantime her book serves to educate and sound
PHQW ¿QHV IRU SURPRWLQJ WKHLU SURGXFWV LOOHJDOO\ a moral alarm. Following Our Daily Meds with Fight for Your Health:
and hundreds of millions of dollars more to the Exposing the FDA’s Betrayal of America by Byron Richards will complete
families of the victims who suffered or died, then the picture of corruption in the American medical system as well as bolster
raise their prices and promote their products even those who understand that taking full responsibility for one’s health is
harder.” always the best path. Review by Katherine Czapp

THE LIBERATION DIET
By Kevin Brown, CPT, NC & Annette Presley, RD, LD, CPT

This book covers a wide range of topics—calories, lipid hypotheses, water, salt, soy, exercise, milk and other things.
Many try to get the facts straight on all these subjects. Few succeed. This one actually succeeds, and succeeds well.
Some important histories are covered, including the history of the lipid hypothesis and the invention of Crisco. One of
the most important keys to understanding what is really going on and what is wrong with nutrition today is understanding
the history of how we got here.
There is a brief and very instructive section that explains how drugs came to dominate medicine. About one hundred
years ago Carnegie and Rockefeller, who had a large vested interest in pharmaceuticals, established the accreditation
system for medical schools. Only schools teaching a pharmaceutical approach to medicine received accreditation. Before
that there was plenty of competition from natural, homeopathic and nutritional approaches. After that, there was very little
competition.
Most Americans put a lot of faith in anyone with a degree and a lot of fancy letters after their name from an accredited
school. It’s good to know exactly what that really means and how vested interests can appear to be philanthropic while
influencing entire cultures and educational systems in ways that are not in our best interests.
Brown and Presley also cover what I call the birth control diet. Reverend Sylvester Graham was a preacher in the 1800s
who had a thing against sex. He figured out that a vegetarian, grain-based diet reduced sex drive. He and Dr. John Harvey
Kellogg (also against sex) were instrumental in promoting the base of today’s government approved food pyramid.
Readers of The Untold Story of Milk by Dr. Ron Schmid will recognize a quick recap of the history of milk in the U.S.
In the 1930s, salesmen went so far as to show prospective customers samples of partially digested homogenized milk and
unhomogenized milk, claiming the homogenized milk was better digested. Of course, to obtain these samples, regurgitation
was necessary at some point. This makes me suspect that Americans didn’t give up their raw milk due to science, safety or
convenience. They were just desperate to put a stop to this sick Ralph and Earl roadshow. I give this one a thumb up.
Review by Tim Boyd

SUMMER 2009 Wise Traditions 75