One of the first books I read about physical health and healing. This was what got me on my start to find natural healing in so many ways.
TRANSCRIPT
We’re talking dead doctors don’t lie today.
Oh yeah, Dr. Joel Wallach.
That’s the one. So his theory, right, he thinks pretty much every disease,
even the ones we blame on genetics, could actually be caused by, nutritional deficiencies.
Wow, bold statement.
Right, you’d think a doctor would know better.
Well that’s the thing, he wasn’t always a typical physician.
Oh that’s right, he was a what, veterinarian first?
Exactly, spent years working with animals.
All kinds too.
Oh yeah, farm animals, zoo animals, the whole deal.
It’s kind of wild, isn’t it? You think about all the stuff he must seen.
Oh absolutely, different species, different diets.
Different reactions, different diseases.
Similarities too, that’s what really got him thinking.
Makes you wonder what we’re missing, right?
Makes you wonder.
With human health, I mean.
Yeah, yeah, I mean he became a comparative pathologist.
Oh, the ones who studied diseases across like all the different species.
That’s it, and that experience, it really shaped his theories about, well about us.
Okay, so the book’s called Dead Doctors Don’t Lie.
Catchy title.
But also kind of intense, right? Like his big argument is that every single death, for natural causes anyway, boils down to not having enough of the right nutrients.
Wow, so it’s not the disease that gets you, it’s the lack of something.
That’s what he’s saying, he thinks the whole medical system, they’re too busy treating symptoms. Instead of fixing the root cause, which is, according to him, your diet.
And he has research to back this up.
Decades of it, plus like tons of autopsies, both on animals and humans. Oh, and you know what else he looked at.
What’s that?
How long doctors live.
Oh right. They don’t have the best track record, do they?
Nope. Even with all their fancy medical knowledge, they tend to die younger.
Than the average person you mean.
Exactly. So he’s using that as proof, kinda.
It’s definitely.
Makes you think.
It does, doesn’t it? I mean, he’s got all these stories from his research.
Oh yeah, like what?
Remember the one about the turkeys? Turkeys. Yeah, they kept having these ruptured aortas.
Sounds serious.
Oh it was! But get this, he doubled the copper in their feet.
Okay.
And poof, problem solved. No more ruptured aortas.
Wow, so a tiny change. Huge difference. Crazy.
Right. But that’s not all. He found something else. Super interesting.
Monkeys.
Okay.
They had this condition. It basically looked exactly like cystic fibrosis.
Cystic fibrosis, isn’t that like a genetic thing?
That’s what everyone thinks, right. But with these monkeys, it was all because they weren’t getting enough selenium.
Oh, you’re kidding.
Nope. Makes you wonder about all those genetic diseases.
Right. Like maybe they’re not so genetic after all.
Maybe there’s a nutritional piece to the puffle we’ve been missing.
That would be huge. Totally. But you know, before we get too deep into specific examples.
Yeah, good idea.
Let’s zoom out a bit. Look at the bigger picture.
Okay, zoom out.
Wallach convinced that our modern diets,
compared to say those cultures that live super long lives, Oh right, right. were missing a ton of essential minerals.
Like we’re just not getting enough.
Not even close. He always talks about the Hunza people.
Hunza the Himalayas.
Yeah, them. And the people from Vilcabamba in Ecuador.
Oh, I’ve heard of them. They live long healthy lives, right?
They do. And Wallex says it’s because their diets are packed with minerals. From like glacial melt water and stuff like that.
Oh, interesting. So it’s not just what we eat, but where it comes from.
Exactly. And the way we farm these days, all the processing, it’s stripped the soil bare.
And that means our food is stripped bare too, right?
Of all the good stuff.
Wow. So he’s got this whole new alphabet of wellness thing.
Yeah, 90 essential nutrients. He thinks they’re like the key to preventing all sorts of problems.
90.
That’s a lot to keep track of.
It is, but he breaks it down. He talks about specific conditions like arthritis, heart disease, even cystic fibrosis. He ties them all back to these missing minerals.
And what does he recommend? Like what can people actually do?
Well, he’s big on supplements.
Makes sense. If our food’s not cutting it.
Right. But he also stresses that it’s not just about popping pills.
Oh, so there’s more to it.
Definitely. It’s about understanding where these nutrients come from naturally. Making smart choices about what we put in our bodies.
That’s powerful.
It is, right? It’s about taking control, questioning what we’ve always been told.
I like that. Me too. Before we jump into the nitty gritty though, what are your first impressions?
Of the book, you mean.
Yeah. Wallach claims all that. What sticks out to you?
Honestly,
it’s just, it’s pretty mind blowing. I mean, if he’s even partially right.
I know, right? It changes everything.
It really does. I mean, it really makes you rethink how we view health.
Yeah.
You know, it’s not just about avoiding getting sick. Right. It’s about being as healthy as you can be. I like that. By making sure you’re not missing any of these vital nutrients.
Totally. And it makes you question some things we take for granted, you know? Like with cystic fibrosis.
Oh yeah.
We always think it’s purely genetic.
Right, right.
But then Wallix research with those monkeys in the selenium.
Grows a wrench in things, doesn’t it?
It does. Makes you wonder if other genetic diseases might have a similar nutritional side to them.
It’s a huge question for sure.
It is. And I know you’re really interested in heart health.
Oh, definitely.
And that’s something Wallix gets into too. He says, our typical Western diet, all that high phosphorus, low calcium recipe for disaster, basically.
When it comes to our hearts.
For sure. Yeah. He says it messes up the balance, and then your body starts pulling calcium from your bones.
Oh no.
And guess where it ends up?
Where?
Soft tissues like your arteries.
Oh, so that calcification everyone talks about.
That’s it. It’s like your body’s trying to fix the problem.
But it just makes things worse.
Exactly. And this goes back to those 90 essential nutrients he talks about.
Yeah.
It’s not as simple as just like popping a multivitamin.
Oh, so it’s more complex than that.
Way more. You need to understand how all these nutrients work together.
And how not getting enough of one can have ripple effect.
Big time. So where do we even start?
Right.
With fixing these potential deficiencies, I mean.
Well, he talks a lot about supplements.
He does. But he’s also really into getting nutrients from whole foods.
Unprocessed natural stuff.
That’s the idea. And this is where those long lived cultures come in again.
The Hunza, the Vilcabamba.
Exactly. Their diets are so rich in minerals.
Because of the soil, the water.
All of it. Like those Hunza people. They irrigate their crops with glacial meltwater.
Wow. Talk about straight from the source.
Right. Makes you think about how much we’re missing out on.
Whether, you know, modern food.
Absolutely. And Wallach says a lot of that comes down to modern farming.
All the chemicals, pesticides.
That and the fertilizers. He thinks they’re depleting the soil.
So the minerals aren’t there in the first place.
And that means they’re not in our food.
Makes sense. So it sounds like there are two big takeaways here. First, we need to pay more attention to the quality of our food.
Organic, local, all that good stuff.
Right. And second.
Supplement.
To fill in those gaps.
Pretty much. But he doesn’t just say like go take a bunch of random pills.
Oh, there’s more to it.
He actually suggests getting a hair analysis.
A hair analysis.
Yeah. It’s a way to see exactly what minerals you’re deficient in.
Oh, wow. So you can target your supplements specifically.
Exactly. It’s all about personalized health.
I like that. It’s like taking control.
Exactly. And it goes back to that whole questioning the status quo thing.
Not just accepting what we’re told.
Right. Being curious. Doing your own research.
Wallach definitely encourages that.
He does. Now this might surprise you. But Wallach doesn’t just talk about physical health.
What else does he get into?
Mental and emotional health too.
Really?
He thinks mineral deficiencies can mess with your mood.
You’re serious.
Totally serious. Like depression, anxiety.
Even behavioral problems. Wow. I never would have thought. It’s all connected, right?
Your physical health, your mental health.
Everything. It’s all part of the same system.
And Wallach’s approach addresses that.
It does. So we’ve covered a lot of ground here. Wallach’s background has big arguments. Some of the key takeaways.
Yeah.
But before we wrap up, I want to talk about healthy aging. Oh, interesting. What does Wallach say about that?
He kind of sees it as like an extension of overall wellness you know.
Okay.
Like if you’re giving your body what it needs.
Yeah.
It just makes sense that you’d age better.
It does. It does. And he brings up those long-lived cultures again, right?
Oh yeah, definitely. The Hunza, the Vilcabamba, all those folks.
The ones with the mineral rich diets.
Exactly. He’s basically saying they’ve been doing this new alphabet of wellness thing forever.
Without even knowing it.
Right. Like it’s just built into their way of life. And they’re reaping the benefits.
So it’s not just about like avoiding disease. It’s about staying, I don’t know, vital.
Totally. Feeling good, functioning well, even as you get older.
Yeah, yeah. That’s what we all want, right?
Absolutely. And Wallach really emphasizes certain minerals for this.
Oh yeah.
Like what?
Selenium, for one.
Selenium, huh? What’s that one do?
It’s all about protecting your cells, helping them repair themselves. Think of it like this. Every day, our cells are getting damaged.
Okay.
From stress, pollution, just the wear and tear of living.
Makes sense.
And selenium. It’s like having a team of tiny mechanics in there, constantly fixing things up.
I love that analogy. So by making sure we’re getting enough selenium.
You’re basically giving your body the tools it needs to age gracefully.
It’s like preventative maintenance.
Exactly.
Yeah.
And that’s what Wallach is all about. It’s not just treating problems when they pop up. It’s about preventing those problems in the first place.
It’s powerful stuff, isn’t it? I mean, it really makes you think about aging in a whole new way.
It does. Like it’s not this inevitable decline. You actually have some control over it.
Through what you eat, the lifestyle choices you make. Exactly. You know, dead doctors don’t lie. Definitely challenges a lot of conventional wisdom.
It does.
But I think that’s a good thing. We need to be challenged to question things.
Absolutely.
And for me, the biggest takeaway is this. We have more power over our health than we think.
It’s a really empowering message. It’s about taking control.
Owning your well-being. Not just waiting for something to go wrong and then reacting.
Right. It’s about being proactive.
And it’s not just about the absence of disease, right?
No, it’s about more than that.
It’s about feeling good, having energy, being resilient.
Yeah. Yeah. It’s about thriving.
Exactly. And that’s something we can strive for at any age.
Couldn’t agree more.
Well, we’ve reached the end of our deep dive into dead doctors don’t lie. It’s been quite a journey. But before we go, I want to leave you with this. Imagine just for a second that Wallach is right. Even if it’s just partially true, what could that mean for the future of healthcare? Could we start focusing more on prevention, on making sure everyone’s getting those essential nutrients? Could we shift away from this reactive, symptom-focused approach? It’s something to think about. And I hope it inspires you to keep exploring the incredible connection between what we eat and how we feel. Thanks for joining us.
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