rkj@ides.UUCP (Rick Janka) (03/21/86)
I recently heard Dr. John McDougall on a local radio talk show. He has
just published a new book ("McDougall's Medicine" or something like that)
and is apparently on a promotional tour. He interested me enough to buy
and read his first book "The McDougall Plan." In brief his thesis is that
the diet we Americans (as well as most of those in the Western world) have
been taught is required for sound mind and body, namely meat, dairy
products, eggs, and veggies, are, with the exception of veggies, really
nasty. The high fat of meat and dairy products, as well as the cholesterol
content of eggs is recognized even by the mainstream media now, but what
really intrigued me about McDougall was his assertion that in the US we
basically overdose on protein, and that in the course of metabolizing this
excess protein that the body cannot store, large amounts of calcium are
excreted, and this is a primary cause for osteoporosis and other ailments
due to calcium deficiency.
I think McDougall is not a particularly good writer, and I think he writes
from the point of view that the reader already accepts his thesis, so he
does not write in an argumentative style (perhaps I should laud, rather
than criticize this style). He does, however, fill his book with extensive
references to the medical and nutritional literature.
I have not yet had time to check into any of the references, and so would
like to ask if anyone else out there has. Is McDougall on the "lunatic
fringe" or just slightly ahead of his time. I took just enough
biochemistry in school to be dangerous, and the "diet book fad" industry
is rather scary, but it seems like this fellow makes good sense. Our
family is not big on meat in the first place, and I am considering making
the big switch. My wife, who grew up in Poland and can relate to a low-
meat diet, especially considering her grandparents' diet and health. But
to her, the thought of withholding milk from our children is tantamount
to child abuse.
I certainly would appreciate hearing from anyone who has checked out this
McDougall fellow and/or the ideas he expresses and who has gone through
similar experiences in making the break from the all-American diet of
garbage.
Rick Janka
AT&T-IS
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