There’s a certain endearing quality to Dr. Rothman that I can’t quite put my finger on. I don’t agree with everything he says (I found myself responding instead of listening to some of his Fish Oil discussion…so I need to go back to that), but the premis of his talk seems right on target:

  • Our food choices are responsible for many/most of our chronic diseases
  • The medical establishment mostly treats the symptoms of these diseases without trying to resolve the cause of them
  • Sugar, vegetable oils, and refined carbohydrates should be considered toxic and removed from diet
  • Cholesterol is not the hobgoblin of ill health it has been made out to be
  • Be weary of statins (and take CoQ10 if you’re on them)


Since he’s an MD, he made the standard disclaimer about not giving out medical advice…but one trying and disheartening moment came when a woman over 65 told him she was prescribed statins because her total cholesterol of 249 mg/dL. I wanted to find her doctor myself and ask him what he was doing. I was glad, however, that Rothman took the time to reviewed the literature about that, and stressed that higher cholesterol in people over 65 is associated with longer life expectancy.

At any rate, it’s a long and informative talk covering a lot of ground. It’s well worth watching, even if some parts might leave you scratching your head (he seems to take a very cautious approach to vitamin supplementation, for example) or shaking your head in frustration while you hurl invectives at the computer and pound the table with your fist (not that I did that, of course).

Enjoy!