A New Kind of Doctor - Joel Fuhrman, M.D. by Michael Mantz (an intern for Dr. Fuhrman) I have had the opportunity to intern in Dr. Fuhrman’s office over the past few months shadowing him and observing him with every patient. I have seen first-hand what nutritional excellence can achieve to create superior health and disease reversal & prevention. I had spent time in the office with many physicians who utilize conventional care for a year prior to my internship with Dr. Fuhrman. Patients would come in and out in less than 15 minutes and they usually were prescribed several pharmaceutical drugs to mask/cover up their symptoms. Patients from these doctors never recovered their health because the causes of their problems were never addressed. The underlying theme was always that their patients were genetically damaged goods who needed to be on drugs for the rest of their lives. I felt a sense of gloom about the prognosis of the human race every night that I came home. I thought we must be destined by our genes to suffer miserably with drugs and medical procedures as we age. Luckily, I learned otherwise. If you live in the United States and you’re from a family of five people, chances are that between two to three people in your family will die from a heart attack or stroke. High cholesterol is a prime indicator that a person is damaging their circulatory system and is on the road to a premature death. Millions of Americans have high cholesterol and despite some of their efforts to change their diet to one they think is ‘healthy’ - they can’t seem to get their cholesterol down. Under new guidelines set by the National Institute of Health, 36 million Americans are targeted for cholesterol lowering drugs. Are we just destined for a premature death if we don’t take drugs? Not only do cholesterol lowering drugs come with a host of side effects, but they can cause serious disease, including muscle injury and kidney failure. A Typical Day For Dr. Fuhrman—But Not For Me I do not think other physicians have any idea that they can dramatically lower their patients’ cholesterol without placing them at serious risk of danger with drugs. In one day at Dr. Fuhrman’s office I see many patients who routinely dramatically lower their cholesterol. I wrote this article to illustrate what I observed in just one day last week. We saw about ten patients that day for various conditions. Dr. Fuhrman spends lots of time with each patient. Five of the ten had come for their return visit because they had seen Dr. Fuhrman earlier about dangerously high cholesterol levels. Meet Peggy, Eugene, Keith, Maria and Peter. All five of these people suffered from high LDL levels (the so-called bad cholesterol). Not only was their cholesterol in the danger zone, but each patient had reported numerous health problems. Peggy suffered from chronic anemia, Eugene was tired all the time, Keith had chronic heartburn and allergies and Maria had become severely ill from a statin drug prescribed to her by her earlier physician. Peter had angioplasty and bypass surgery that had failed. The treated vessels had closed up again and he could not walk even one block when he began treatment with Dr. Fuhrman. These five patients needed help and they realized that prescription drugs were risky and not the answer that I have now seen Dr. Fuhrman advise many patients. He had discussed with all five of these patients at their first visit that they were in grave danger of being a part of the 51% of Americans who die each year from heart attacks and strokes. He went into detail how each of their diets had already created vulnerable plaque lining their blood vessels, placing them at risk for suffering and an untimely death. He also spoke to them about their sedentary lifestyles and how exercising daily is an important part of their prescription. In many cases, he emphasized that exercise would do more for them than taking drugs. He prescribed to each of them a class of powerful cholesterol lowering substances: fruits, (especially berries) vegetables (especially green ones), beans, and certain nuts and seeds. Dr. Fuhrman helped them with their menu planning and even gave them recipes to make a gourmet meal. I learned about the natural cholesterol lowering compounds in these natural foods, and which foods had the most potent cholesterol lowering ability. He made sure each patient did regular exercise commensurate with their ability and lifestyle. They also took Dr. Fuhrman’s multiple (Gentle Care Formula) and his LDLprotect formula containing Policosanol and delta Tocotreinol (an expensive vitamin E fragment.) The results were astounding. Astounding because every patient we saw achieved similar dramatic improvements. Observing Patients Recover All five of these patients followed Dr. Fuhrman’s advice and stuck to the program. Not only did they wipe out their cardiovascular high-risk status, but many of their other problems have begun to clear. Peggy’s anemia went away. , Eugene was no longer fatigued. Keith’s heartburn never reoccurred, he stopped his antacids and acid-blocking medication, his allergies already started to improve. Peter could not walk half a block without chest pain, and now he walks over 2.5 miles a day and experiences no pain. His angina is gone. Each patient came back into Dr. Fuhrman’s office like a proud child who had won a school contest. They were enthusiastic about life again. Sure, in some cases, there were some dietary hurdles to overcome after switching from a dairy/meat/processed grain diet to one that is vegetable/fruit based, rich in nutrients and phytochemicals, but they were all temporary. All the patients enjoyed eating this way. They were learning to enjoy the new tastes and smells, the newfound energy, the motivation to do more and to lead a more fulfilled life. In the past, after spending a 9+ hour day shadowing a doctor, I would usually feel extremely tired and beat. Seeing sick patient after sick patient with little positive change from visit to visit is hard to take after awhile. Working with Dr. Fuhrman, however, is quite a different story. After a day with him, I’m left feeling energized. It’s so refreshing to see his sick patients get well again. The patients I see in his office are proof positive of the natural law of self-healing. I observed that the human body is not a defective machine that needs drugs and medications, but is instead the most magnificent machine ever constructed on the planet. When given the proper diet and some regular physical activity, it has an amazing ability to cure itself of almost any problem and return back to an amazing level of health and vitality. *********************************** Dr. Fuhrman treats thousands of patients each year for various illnesses and has been partiularly successful in the treatment of Adult Onset Diabetes (Type II). As he says in Eat to Live, "One in twenty people has diabetes in this country, more than 16 million Americans. As our population grows fatter, this figure is climbing. Diabetes is a nutritionally related disease--one that is both preventable and reversible (in the case of Type II diabetes) through nutritional methods. Diabetes can take a severe toll--causing heart attacks and strokes, as well as other serious complications. More than 70 percent of adults with Type II diabetes die of heart attacks and strokes. The statistics are even more frustrating when you watch people gain weight, become even more diabetic, and develop attendant complications, all while under th ecare of their physicians.  Patients are told to learn to live with their diabetes and to learn to control it because it can't be cured.  "No, no and no!" I say.  "Don't live with it, get thin and get rid of it, as many of my patients have!" Dr. Fuhrman has a pretty good track reconrd when it comes to treating Type II diabetes. As he says in Eat to Live, "More than 90 percent of my Type II diabetics are able to eventually discontinue their insulin within the first month."  Dr. Fuhrman has also achieved stunning results in the treatment of other conditions, such as chronic headaches, migraine, and various autoimmune illnesses, prompting him to say in Eat to Live, "The results are so spectacular that I am subjected to skepticism and even periodic expressions of anger from other physicians."