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> If I had a serious disease I would probably also look into alternative treatments (In Addition to the usual options) because I think most doctors have a very

> If I had a serious disease I would probably also look into alternative treatments (In Addition to the usual options) because I think most doctors have a very narrow view on things. What bugs me for example is the focus on fixing things vs preventing. Doctors should put much more effort into to promoting healthy lifestyles than they do now. My understanding is that doctors receive zero nutrition training, including ones that graduate from Harvard. How they can the be the ones we look to for preventing illness, when they don't even have a baseline understanding of nutrition?

Ididntdothis 7y ago
But somehow they still claim to be the guardians of our health.
mmaunder 7y ago
Well your understanding is wrong. Both SCCA (Fred Hutch in Seattle) and City of Hope in Los Angeles have dedicated nutritionists on staff that advise patients on diet for best outcome. But hey, that jump you took to that conclusion was spectacular. You missed your calling. "How they can the be the ones we look to for preventing illness, when they don't even have a baseline understanding of nutrition?" This thread is unbelievable. Have all the rational people left HN?
- generalpass 7y ago
  > Well your understanding is wrong. Both SCCA (Fred Hutch in Seattle) and City of Hope in Los Angeles have dedicated nutritionists on staff that advise patients on diet for best outcome. > But hey, that jump you took to that conclusion was spectacular. You missed your calling. > "How they can the be the ones we look to for preventing illness, when they don't even have a baseline understanding of nutrition?" > This thread is unbelievable. Have all the rational people left HN? I stated doctors receive zero nutrition training. And thanks for the personal insult.
- tzs 7y ago
  > Well your understanding is wrong. Both SCCA (Fred Hutch in Seattle) and City of Hope in Los Angeles have dedicated nutritionists on staff that advise patients on diet for best outcome. I fail to see how that addresses his claim that doctors do not retrieve nutrition training. I did a bit of Googling. It looks like most doctors probably do receive some nutrition training, but not much, and even that seems to focus more on biochemistry than diets and food choice. Some results: > Despite the connection between poor diet and many preventable diseases, only about one-fifth of American medical schools require students to take a nutrition course, according to David Eisenberg, adjunct associate professor of nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health ... > “Today, most medical schools in the United States teach less than 25 hours of nutrition over four years. The fact that less than 20 percent of medical schools have a single required course in nutrition, it’s a scandal. It’s outrageous. It’s obscene,” Eisenberg told NewsHour. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/doctors-nutrition-education/ https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/doctors-n... > Part of the problem stems from the fact that doctors don’t know how to provide information beyond the basics. > Inadequate instruction during medical school, residency and other additional training is a primary reason for this dearth of expertise, according to an American Heart Association science advisory published Monday in the journal Circulation(link opens in new window) that looked at gaps in nutrition education over the decades. https://www.heart.org/en/news/2018/05/03/how-much-does-your-doctor-actually-know-about-nutrition https://www.heart.org/en/news/2018/05/03/how-much-does-your-... > Modern medicine maintains the importance of proper nutrition, yet on average, U.S. medical schools only offer 19.6 hours of nutrition education across four years of medical education, according to the perspective authors. “This corresponds to less than 1 percent of estimated total lecture hours,” they wrote. “Moreover, the majority of this educational content relates to biochemistry, not diets or practical, food-related decision making.” https://www.ama-assn.org/education/accelerating-change-medical-education/whats-stake-nutrition-education-during-med-school https://www.ama-assn.org/education/accelerating-change-medic... > A total of 106 surveys were returned for a response rate of 84%. Ninety-nine of the 106 schools responding required some form of nutrition education; however, only 32 schools (30%) required a separate nutrition course. On average, students received 23.9 contact hours of nutrition instruction during medical school (range: 2–70 h). Only 40 schools required the minimum 25 h recommended by the National Academy of Sciences. Most instructors (88%) expressed the need for additional nutrition instruction at their institutions. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2430660/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2430660/

Ididntdothis 7y ago

But somehow they still claim to be the guardians of our health.

mmaunder 7y ago

Well your understanding is wrong. Both SCCA (Fred Hutch in Seattle) and City of Hope in Los Angeles have dedicated nutritionists on staff that advise patients on diet for best outcome. But hey, that jump you took to that conclusion was spectacular. You missed your calling. "How they can the be the ones we look to for preventing illness, when they don't even have a baseline understanding of nutrition?" This thread is unbelievable. Have all the rational people left HN?

generalpass 7y ago
> Well your understanding is wrong. Both SCCA (Fred Hutch in Seattle) and City of Hope in Los Angeles have dedicated nutritionists on staff that advise patients on diet for best outcome. > But hey, that jump you took to that conclusion was spectacular. You missed your calling. > "How they can the be the ones we look to for preventing illness, when they don't even have a baseline understanding of nutrition?" > This thread is unbelievable. Have all the rational people left HN? I stated doctors receive zero nutrition training. And thanks for the personal insult.
tzs 7y ago
> Well your understanding is wrong. Both SCCA (Fred Hutch in Seattle) and City of Hope in Los Angeles have dedicated nutritionists on staff that advise patients on diet for best outcome. I fail to see how that addresses his claim that doctors do not retrieve nutrition training. I did a bit of Googling. It looks like most doctors probably do receive some nutrition training, but not much, and even that seems to focus more on biochemistry than diets and food choice. Some results: > Despite the connection between poor diet and many preventable diseases, only about one-fifth of American medical schools require students to take a nutrition course, according to David Eisenberg, adjunct associate professor of nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health ... > “Today, most medical schools in the United States teach less than 25 hours of nutrition over four years. The fact that less than 20 percent of medical schools have a single required course in nutrition, it’s a scandal. It’s outrageous. It’s obscene,” Eisenberg told NewsHour. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/doctors-nutrition-education/ https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/doctors-n... > Part of the problem stems from the fact that doctors don’t know how to provide information beyond the basics. > Inadequate instruction during medical school, residency and other additional training is a primary reason for this dearth of expertise, according to an American Heart Association science advisory published Monday in the journal Circulation(link opens in new window) that looked at gaps in nutrition education over the decades. https://www.heart.org/en/news/2018/05/03/how-much-does-your-doctor-actually-know-about-nutrition https://www.heart.org/en/news/2018/05/03/how-much-does-your-... > Modern medicine maintains the importance of proper nutrition, yet on average, U.S. medical schools only offer 19.6 hours of nutrition education across four years of medical education, according to the perspective authors. “This corresponds to less than 1 percent of estimated total lecture hours,” they wrote. “Moreover, the majority of this educational content relates to biochemistry, not diets or practical, food-related decision making.” https://www.ama-assn.org/education/accelerating-change-medical-education/whats-stake-nutrition-education-during-med-school https://www.ama-assn.org/education/accelerating-change-medic... > A total of 106 surveys were returned for a response rate of 84%. Ninety-nine of the 106 schools responding required some form of nutrition education; however, only 32 schools (30%) required a separate nutrition course. On average, students received 23.9 contact hours of nutrition instruction during medical school (range: 2–70 h). Only 40 schools required the minimum 25 h recommended by the National Academy of Sciences. Most instructors (88%) expressed the need for additional nutrition instruction at their institutions. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2430660/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2430660/