The Berman Method
The Berman Method
Episode #165: New Stats About Americans, FDA, Med Schools, etc
What if being your own healthcare advocate was the most vital prescription you could ever receive? On this eye-opening episode of The Berman Method podcast, we delve into the critical importance of questioning medical advice and being proactive in your healthcare journey. Through engaging discussion, we highlight the necessity of understanding who provides the advice you receive, advocating for yourself, and challenging the flaws of a profit-driven healthcare system. We also talk about the role of reviews in healthcare decisions, emphasizing the need to critically assess them, just as you would choose an orthopedic surgeon for a knee issue rather than a general practitioner. Tune in as we offer insights on how to relentlessly ask questions and seek diverse opinions to cut through the noise of pharmaceutical influence.
In the second part of our conversation, we tackle the often-ignored realm of nutrition within the medical field, revealing shocking truths about the minimal formal education doctors receive in this crucial area. We explore how this lack of knowledge leads to an over-reliance on pharmaceuticals to treat symptoms instead of addressing root causes. From misleading food labels to the FDA's pharmaceutical funding influence, we pull back the curtain on the complexities of modern food choices. We don’t stop there; we offer actionable advice on how to adopt a healthier lifestyle, such as shopping the perimeter of grocery stores for fresh foods. Join us for a candid discussion that empowers you to make informed, healthier choices in a system that often prioritizes profit over patient care.
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This is the Berman Method podcast, featuring Dr Jake Berman and physician assistant Jenny Berman. We are here to treat problems and not symptoms. Disclaimer this podcast is for entertainment purposes only and not to treat anyone or to give medical advice. If you are interested in any information that we are giving and would like to use this for yourself, we recommend that you contact your primary care physician or reach out to us and ask us questions about yourself specifically. Enjoy.
Speaker 2:The Berman Method, where we are focused on treating problems and not symptoms. We are, david, going against Goliath, goliath being the corporate medical system, big pharma insurance companies. We do not believe they have your best interests in mind. They are focused on client retention, focusing on profits over patient outcomes every single time. One of the easiest ways to see this is there's not a single pharmaceutical drug in the world that doesn't have at least one side effect that requires another drug to treat that side effect, that comes with another side effect, and so on and so forth.
Speaker 1:Right, Right, that's what they're doing.
Speaker 2:Dr Jake Berman here with my beautiful co-host, jenny Berman, physician assistant. We're super excited to be back. Last week we had a fun episode going over my bad reviews, my bad Google reviews, my one-star and two-star reviews. Had a ton of fun, got us back to some normalcy. If you didn't hear that one, go back and listen to the last weeks, because it's very relevant.
Speaker 2:Reviews are very, very important. However, at the same time, they must be taken with a grain of salt, depending on if it's a five star review, even the five stars, because, think about it, who leaves five star reviews? The happiest customers, the happiest ones. You have to understand that sometimes there are people that might be closer than just a customer. If it's like a friend, that's also a customer that leaves a five star review, that could be misleading, versus just a true customer. So it goes both ways. Who's leaving the five star reviews? Who's leaving the one star reviews? Take them with a grain of salt. It's just meant true customer. So it goes both ways. Who's leaving the five-star reviews? Who's leaving the one-star reviews? Take them with a grain of salt. It's just meant for information.
Speaker 1:Right right.
Speaker 2:Right. So today I wanted to get a little bit deeper into why you should be doing your own research, why you should be your own advocate for healthcare, why you should really be questioning everything, right?
Speaker 1:Always questioning everything.
Speaker 2:Yes, specifically with your healthcare. And this comes back to one of the topics that we talked about I guess it was a few months ago now where it's like you have to understand who you're getting advice from. And I use the analogy if my boat breaks down, I'm not bringing it to the car mechanic.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:To fix it Right. Sure, the car mechanic can fix cars and they're both motors. A car has a motor, a boat has a motor. But if my boat breaks down, I don't want a car mechanic working on it, I want a boat mechanic working on it. I want a boat mechanic working on it.
Speaker 1:Right For the specifics.
Speaker 2:Yes, so if you go to an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in surgery, maybe you should take their recommendation with a grain of salt if they're giving you advice on how to avoid surgery.
Speaker 1:Right, If specifically rehabilitation right. How to rehab yourself.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because they don't specialize in avoiding surgery.
Speaker 1:Or if you're one that isn't wanting surgery and you're preferring a rehabilitation option, okay, how can I rehab this without going and getting surgery? Seeing a surgeon is probably not your best choice.
Speaker 2:It just makes sense when you say it like that. Now, the exact opposite is true. If you're considering having surgery, which procedure to be done? You know physical therapists might be an okay option. However, we're just taking information third hand. You really need to go to the orthopedic surgeon to get their advice on what surgery they think is best, because they're the expert in it.
Speaker 1:Right, and every individual is different as far as how their bodies will respond to certain procedures and options.
Speaker 2:Yes. So make sure you understand who you're taking advice from and take it with a grain of salt If you don't believe it, if it doesn't make sense, then continue asking, keep asking. Become an askhole. That was on a podcast that we listened to years ago with Jack I can't remember his name right now. He wrote the book Chicken Soup, chicken Noodle Soup for the Soul, and one of the interviews that I heard him on he said you got to become an askhole. Ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, like a four-year-old. I want a cookie, mom, I want a cookie. Please, let me have a cookie, stella. No, mom, I'm really dying right now. The life is leaving my body. Okay, here, have a damn cookie right.
Speaker 2:We experience this daily so ask like a four-year-old, become an Keep asking questions. There's over 6 billion people on this planet. Ask somebody, Ask somebody different, Ask the same person, Ask, ask, ask. So one of the podcasts that we listened to a few weeks ago was with Callie and Casey when they were interviewed on Tucker Carlson. It was a two hour or or three-hour interview and it was more of the same of what we've been talking about for years now. It was just really interesting to hear some of these stats that they were dropping some of the true stats and the reality of why you have to question who you're getting advice from. So real quick. I wanted to go over some of the stats that were quoted in that podcast. I didn't fact check these, However. The last time I did. They're very similar, so do your own research. Let me just rattle these off real quick, then we'll go through and talk through a little bit more. Stanford Med School is funded 50% by the pharmaceutical industry.
Speaker 1:school is funded 50% by the pharmaceutical industry, the medical school.
Speaker 2:The medical school.
Speaker 1:That's teaching students how to become a medical doctor.
Speaker 2:Yes. Is funded by a pharmaceutical company 50% of the funding comes from pharmaceuticals Right From pharmaceutical companies. 90% of med schools don't require a single nutrition class we all know that's a thousand percent true yes, because we have friends that are doctors and they're like, yeah, we never.
Speaker 1:They maybe mentioned something for an hour on a slide we have clients that are physicians that will straight up tell me because I'll talk to them and be like. You may already know this, but I'm going to explain anyways. They're like I actually have no idea what you're talking about, coming from functional medicine standpoint, talking about prediabetes, insulin resistance, metabolic concerns, and they have no idea what I'm talking about. And they're medical doctors. One of them, an ER doctor, saving your life every single day, has no idea what I'm talking about when it comes to metabolism.
Speaker 2:So there you go Another one, a nationally renowned heart surgeon.
Speaker 1:That's true, indeed, yes, and so it's so hard. You know we'll be talking about things like soluble fiber is important to lower your cholesterol value. Me telling this to a heart surgeon and he's like what's soluble fiber, like what classifies as soluble fiber, and I'm like, excuse me, you're the one supposed to be teaching your heart patients about this.
Speaker 2:Exactly. So, but it's not taught in school 90% of med schools don't require one single nutrition class. 80% of the course load in medical school is on pharmacology. So you go to school for how many years to become a doctor?
Speaker 1:Well, it depends on your specialty, but at least seven.
Speaker 2:And 80% of that is on pharmacology. Yeah, this one is the one that actually caught me off guard. I did not know that it has gotten this bad this fast. 74% of American adults are overweight or obese. Close to 50% of American children are overweight or obese Like that. That just blew my mind because I thought it was still at a third. We're at. Over half of American children are overweight or obese. Of American children are overweight or obese. 120 years ago there were case reports written about you if you were obese or you were put in the circus. Think about that. Back in 1900, if you were overweight, they made case reports. You were a specimen. People studied you or they're like wow, you are so large, get in the circus.
Speaker 2:Right right 120 years ago Now 50% of our kids.
Speaker 1:Right, I was going to say 120 years ago really wasn't that long ago and now over 50% are obese. This is nuts.
Speaker 2:50% of the country has prediabetes or diabetes, 30% of teens. It was 1% of Americans in the 1950s, so 70 years ago, less than 70 years ago, in the 1950s, 1% of Americans had prediabetes or diabetes. Today, 50% of the country has prediabetes or diabetes and 30% of teens.
Speaker 1:Right, which I could go on a rant about these things. But go ahead, I'm going to bite my tongue for a minute until you're done throwing stats.
Speaker 2:Yep 75% of the funding for the FDA, the Food and Drug Administration, comes from Big Pharma, not taxpayer dollars. So this is one that we could spend hours and hours on. Is it an FDA-approved drug? Is it an FDA-approved intervention? Yes, it is Okay. Well, 75% of the funding comes from pharmaceutical companies. So which things do you think the FDA is going to approve and not approve?
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And then we get into some fun things. 50% of our TV news spending comes from the pharmaceuticals.
Speaker 1:Which we know that just watching football. Every other commercial. It's probably two to one right. Two commercials are pharmaceutical to one normal yeah, you know the us, this one.
Speaker 2:I almost lost it when I heard this one. The usda recommends 10 of a two-year-old's diet come from sugar 10 10.
Speaker 2:So the usda right now. The food pyramid, the people that make the food pyramid right. The food pyramid, you know this goes really deep. We can talk hours on this too where they invented the food pyramid back in the 80s when they started attacking the tobacco industries. And then it's like wait a minute, we got to move our money somewhere else. So that's when they invented the food pyramid and it's like look at what's supposed to be part of your daily diet. Now they're recommending the usda recommends 10 of a two-year-old's diet come from sugar. Are you effing kidding me?
Speaker 1:and not healthy sugar, like not fruit sugar.
Speaker 2:No refine yeah.
Speaker 1:No refine.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and here's the icing on the cake 28% of the commercials on a children's network are advertising ultra processed food 100%, which have five different seed oils in them, and potato starch and wheat.
Speaker 1:Yes, potato starch and wheat.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:And then we wonder why so many kids have eczema and psoriasis and reflux and are on prescription medications. And then, by the way, why girls are starting their menstrual cycles at eight years old and then being diagnosed with PCOS by the age of 14.
Speaker 2:Are you freaking, kidding me? Like it's screaming at us. It's yelling at us in the face right now. This is what's happening. The people in charge I'm doing air quotes right now the people in charge are the ones that are saying that this is okay, because where are they getting their paycheck from?
Speaker 1:The pharmaceuticals.
Speaker 2:Yes, so this is not meant to be some conspiracy theory thing. This is straight up facts. It is screaming at you in the face and it we're almost 200 episodes into this podcast. If you don't agree with this podcast, why are you still listening?
Speaker 1:to us get out of here.
Speaker 2:go listen to something 30% of the commercials on Nickelodeon are advertising ultra processed food. That means that it's so processed that your body doesn't even know what it is. So you're eating this thing, this stuff, this chemically Synthetic. Yeah, this fake thing that was composed and filled with sugar. They don't call it sugar, though, because there's 48 different names for sugar.
Speaker 1:That's like that Gatorade protein bar that I recorded the other day at the office. The word sugar, and all different forms of sugar, was in this label of a protein bar. Quote unquote protein bar. Right, it's actually horrible. 18 times, 18 times the word sugar in the ingredients on a label.
Speaker 2:In a protein bar.
Speaker 1:In a protein bar 18 times. Which, by the way, had 28 grams of added sugar in a protein bar. So and that's what they're selling at the grocery store so let's put this into perspective.
Speaker 2:I live with jenny, I'm married to jenny, I live, sleep, breathe this lifestyle. I looked at that same exact protein bar a month earlier. When one of my clients came in saying, hey, I found this new protein bar. I'm like, oh wow, I didn't know that Gatorade made one. He goes what do you think about it? And I looked at the label and I'm going, wow, this is really surprising. It actually looks like it's good.
Speaker 1:Because it had 20 grams of protein.
Speaker 2:Because it had 20 grams of protein. But the point of it is that, even with all the information and knowledge that I have, I still was not able to see that the word sugar was in there 18 times.
Speaker 1:Here's the thing you should look at. Number one okay, it has 20 grams of protein Fantastic. But the first thing you should always look at is the carbohydrates and the sugar on the label. Right, Look at the carbs and the sugar, but then look at how many ingredients are on there. If there's more than 10 ingredients, we got a problem.
Speaker 2:In a protein bar In a protein bar.
Speaker 1:And if you can't read Really, with anything but yeah, and if you can't read the word, Right, right, I think I got to like the sixth ingredient and I was like I can't even pronounce this word. That's horrible. And, by the way, the very last ingredient was water, water. So the only good thing in the protein bar was the very last ingredient. And if you don't know about labels, the label is listed from the most to the least on the ingredient list. The very first thing on the ingredient list was sugar, so that means the bar was primarily sugar. The very last thing on the ingredient list, which means there's the least amount in it, was water. So there you go. The last thing on the ingredient list, which means there's the least amount in it, was water. So there you go. Anyways, I don't even know how we got off on this tangent, but I did make a YouTube video on this protein bar, so you should go look at it, or maybe we'll link it to this podcast. That would probably be best. But anyways, how did we get on the subject?
Speaker 2:Kids. Yeah, we're ranting right now we're ranting, and the biggest thing is the big take home messages of this episode is doctors are graduating with zero courses or classes on nutrition. 80% of what they're learning is pharmacology, which means they're spending 80% of their education learning which drugs to use for which symptoms. Now listen to that again they're learning which drugs to use for which symptoms. They're not learning what's causing the symptom.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Where's the problem? It's just whack-a-mole. Got high blood pressure, take a high blood pressure medication. You've got cholesterol high cholesterol take a high cholesterol medication. You've got GERD acid reflux take a pep pip. Or acid acid, acid reflux and a thingamajiggerPI PPI. That's what I was trying to say Versus figuring out why is your blood pressure high? Why is your cholesterol high? Why do you have acid reflux? Why do you have ass piss? It's been a while since I said ass piss on the podcast.
Speaker 1:Thank you for bringing it back.
Speaker 2:Only because we've been living through it in our house this week too.
Speaker 1:Goodness poor stella, this is parenting.
Speaker 2:The some of the highlights of parenting.
Speaker 1:This is awesome anyways coming back.
Speaker 2:So doctors are graduating medical school and never, ever even taking a single class on nutrition and how you can actually heal your body with what you're putting into it, and how you can destroy your body with what you're putting into it, how everything is hidden. The commercials are pushing these things as healthy and they're not healthy at all. When's the last time you or I have seen a commercial a nationally televised commercial that was actually something that was in your health's best interest.
Speaker 1:I can't say that we've seen one.
Speaker 2:I can't think of anything that was on a nationally televised event that had your health's best interest in mind.
Speaker 1:Not even liquid IV y'all. Liquid IV isn't good either.
Speaker 2:Like. This is nuts. It's absolutely nuts. Over 50% of American kids are overweight or obese. They're pushing some maglutide like it's candy, with zero side effects. And zero lifestyle adjustments to go with it, and the thing you have to understand is, once you start it, it's a lifetime thing.
Speaker 1:If you don't make the lifestyle adjustments to go with it. Correct yeah.
Speaker 2:And that's what you guys are doing. When you choose to use semaglutide, it's contingent on a lifestyle adjustment.
Speaker 1:Right, and that's what we talked about with the podcast last week. Go back and listen to that. About the negative reviews or the ones associated, where the clients want the quick fix and the prescription medicine without making the lifestyle adjustments, and we are not willing to do that. You're going to make the lifestyle adjustments if you want to utilize a medication to help with whatever we're treating.
Speaker 2:Exactly 75% of the funding for the FDA comes from the pharmaceutical industry, and the FDA is what approves foods to go on the shelf.
Speaker 1:Right, right. Well, it's just like the whole podcast that we've been recording right now. I've been thinking about this, that meme I guess I don't even know if it's a meme, but it's the label of ketchup 50 years ago versus the label of ketchup now. And the differences? Have you seen this? No, the differences in the label. So the label of ketchup 50 years ago was three ingredients and now it's like Was it tomatoes, water and salt?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yes, exactly. And now it's like nine different ingredients, with seed oils involved and sugar being added to the ketchup. Yeah, but that's what's being approved now, because it extends the shelf life, it makes it cheaper.
Speaker 2:It makes it more palatable, I suppose the sugar. Think about it. Yeah, yes, people use more of it because the sugar is there.
Speaker 1:Yes, it's a dopamine hit so it's just disgusting the things that have changed and you know. And then people want to blame their problems off the fact that this is what's available to them. But you don't have to shop the middle aisles of the grocery store.
Speaker 1:Say it again you don't have to shop the middle aisles of the grocery store. The middle aisles is where all your processed food is going to lie. You should be shopping the perimeter, where everything is refrigerated or frozen on the perimeter. Those are your fresh ingredients. That's why they have to be in the refrigerator.
Speaker 2:Because there's a limited amount of time before they expire.
Speaker 1:Correct, because the majority of them are not filled with genetically modified organisms and preservatives. It's not true about everything. Fruit and vegetables we know now are also being injected and they're in the refrigerator, but your organics are still in the refrigerated section, so we should be shopping the parameters.
Speaker 2:Yes, and don't let this episode be like doom and gloom. Where do I start? If I can't start anywhere, I'm going to start nowhere. This is just to shed light on it. Just know where you're getting your information from. Question everything. Just know that. How many times have we had customers come do work with us, downstairs and upstairs, where they're like I can't believe. This is the first time that I'm hearing this oh, yeah, why is this the first time that I'm hearing this?
Speaker 2:And these are people that have spent thousands and thousands of dollars going to I'm doing air quotes again the best experts in the country I mean, I'm talking about one percenters that are chasing down the nationally known best quote unquote or air quotes again best experts in the country and spending thousands of dollars for their expertise, their advice, and they've not heard this.
Speaker 1:We deal with that all the time of clients who come in. They're like I've seen three different allergists but yet they've never been told that the skin allergy testing is only been told that the skin allergy testing is only IgE allergies and not looking at sensitivities or looking at cross reactions of foods, which is where majority of your problem is coming from. So the skin testing is not giving you all the answers that you need and you're spending all this money traveling and seeing all these different allergies and all this money on allergy shots. That, yeah, may cost you 50 bucks a shot, but when you're doing them three times a week, multiply that by 12, there's your money that you can spend at Berman Health and Wellness and be fixed, as opposed to doing shots for the rest of your life.
Speaker 2:Mic drop. Can I drop this mic?
Speaker 1:right now. Oh, all right. Anyways, going back, do your your research become an ask hole. But trust your provider too. You know, there's a, there's a fine line. I wouldn't say a fine line there but if you're gonna ask, then trust, yeah, that they're doing their research. But I guess you have to research and make sure that they're doing their research. This is don't know, this is getting deep.
Speaker 2:Oh my goodness, let's just stop.
Speaker 1:Okay, let's keep going.
Speaker 2:Make sure you share this episode with somebody that has kids. Share this episode with somebody that has kids, because parents need to know what their kids are eating. You need to know what you're putting in their body. You need to know that ultra-processed foods and sugars are chemically altering the way their bodies are going to grow and develop. Do you think it's any surprise that there's this explosion of people wanting to convert from dude to chick and chick to dude? Let's go down this rabbit hole.
Speaker 2:No, let's not, let's not Right Hormones are getting really messed up right now and it's because of what we're putting into our mouth. Let's get back to the basics organic as much as you possibly can. Read the labels, understand what you're reading. I'm guilty of that. I thought the Gatorade protein bar was okay, although I definitely questioned it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, which we should. And you know, it's something where we have two different parents, right? We have the parent that will feed their kid better than they'll ever feed themselves, and then you have the opposite parent that will feed their kid this box food, like the Go-Gurts and the Gushers. But would you eat that as a parent? If you're not going to eat it, why are you feeding it to your kid, right? So you kind of have to be, you need to be an example. Feed your kids what you're feeding yourself, but make sure you're feeding yourself the quality ingredients.
Speaker 2:That's a good one.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:All right.
Speaker 1:Have a great week everybody.
Speaker 2:Like, subscribe and share. Ciao for now.
Speaker 1:Thank you for subscribing on your social media and podcast platforms to the Berman Method Dr Jake Berman with Berman Physical Therapy and Jenny Berman, physician Assistant, with Berman Health and Wellness. You can find more information on our website wwwbermanptcom for physical therapy, bermanptcom forward slash wellness for the health and wellness. You can also find us on social media, facebook, instagram, and on your podcast platform, so be sure to follow us, like us, subscribe to us and, if you would like any further information, definitely visit our website and reach out to us. You may also find our free reports on the websites as well, where you can download this free information for yourself. Have a great day.