Why Is My Doctor So Dumb?

Book Review by Jim Edwards, DC, DABCO, LAc

Title:

Why Is My Doctor So Dumb?

Author:

William Ferril, MD

Publisher:

Bridge Medical Publishers

Type:

Softbound, 406 pages

Part #:

T-250

Dr. Ferril received his medical degree from the University of California at Davis and is married to a chiropractor. He completed his postgraduate education at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Washington, and resides and practices in western Montana.

This book is divided into five main sections: Thinking Outside the Box, Nutrition Imbalance-Caused Disease, Skinny on Fat, Medical Myths That Promote Suffering, and Methods for Dumbing Down Doctors. Overall, there are 16 chapters, as well as an introduction and an extensive bibliography section.

This book is not what I expected from the title. I envisioned something light and entertaining. Wrong. My advice is this: Put on your thinking caps, ladies and gentlemen. Very little time is spent on doctor bashing; instead, the focus is on explaining what all doctors should know. The author introduces the main topics of the book by asking the reader to answer a series of 130 short questions. I grudgingly admit that initially, I scored terribly. And while this is a somewhat technical body of work, it remained highly readable and understandable. My advice is to bring a yellow highlighter and plan on staying awhile; this could be a life-changing and life-saving kind of experience.

The author begins by introducing the main components necessary for proper glucose metabolism and the role of insulin. He continues by expanding on the interplay of the adrenal glands, cortisol, glucagon, growth hormone, and epinephrine. He explains the lifestyle and dietary factors that lead to the eventual breakdown of cellular function and the necessary, but unhealthy compensations the body is forced to use to adapt to this breakdown. He emphasizes the necessity of proper nutrition and the importance of both vitamins and minerals in restoring normal cellular and glandular function. He describes the actions of various hormones and neurotransmitters within the brain and bloodstream, their effects on day-to-day energy levels, and their roles in premature aging.

In section five, Dumbing Down Doctors, Dr. Ferril lists and discusses 29 methods used by the government, pharmaceutical companies, food and agribusiness conglomerates, hospitals, insurance companies, the AMA, and mainstream medical schools to manipulate and control the information available to the general public, in order to protect their vested interests. This makes for some very interesting and thought-provoking reading.

My one and only complaint about this book is that it seems to be repetitive in several places. Many chapters contain duplicate information, and some paragraphs seem to simple restate the information contained in the previous paragraph. Whether this is an editing issue or perhaps intentional for the purpose of learning, I cannot say. In any case, this is a minor point.

Dr. Edwards' Rating:

9.5 out of 10