Nutrition: Medicine's most neglected topic?

Abstract

No topic in all of medicine is simultaneously as important, neglected, and misunderstood as nutrition. The reason for this is the medical education system itself. It has devolved into a utilitarian model that prioritises monetisation of knowledge over the pursuit of learning. Consequently, intelligence is prioritised over intellect. Intellectual development demands that one question everything, act according to norms and values, and be developed through a liberal education model. The utilitarian model curriculum is therefore easily hijacked by parties with vested interests in what students are taught. At medical school, pharmacology, surgery, and device therapies are prioritised over the understanding of philosophy, nutrition, sleep, exercise, social interaction, avoidance of harmful substances, and other aspects important to both disease prevention and treatment. We should refrain from viewing prevention and treatment as separate, but rather consider them as a continuum.

A common assumption among medical students and doctors alike is that atherosclerotic heart attacks are a fact of life. There is no deep understanding or questioning regarding the root causes of atherosclerosis. There is also no broad understanding that most heart attacks, and virtually all deaths from this disease, are, in fact, preventable. Heart attacks are not an inevitable consequence of ageing. I will discuss 3 lines of evidence that clearly document this fact.