Time Magazine in "The New Rules of the Heart" Feb 8, 2016, pronounces basic principles of naturopathic cardiology, known and practiced for at least decades, as "new science."

 

"New" discoveries made by authors Alice Park and Jeffrey Kluger are listed below.  After each, we give references from literature of several years ago and older. Choose Your Foods Like Your Life Depends On Them, a 2007 book by Colleen Huber, NMD, a Tempe, AZ  naturopathic physician, covers most of the concepts described as new in the article.

 

Dr. Huber says, "I cannot take any personal credit for these ideas.  They were known and written about by numerous naturopathic physicians before me, as well as other writers." 

 

These include Sally Fallon, Nourishing Traditions, science writer Gary Taubes, Uffe Ravnskov, MD, PhD, Stephen Sinatra MD and others.

 

Time has "discovered" the following:

 

(1) "Full-fat dairy has a place in a healthy diet, science has shown, as do modest amounts of red meat.  And in moderation, both appear to be better than the refined carbohydrates that filled the American diet when the low-fat message took hold."

 

In Dr. Huber's book, she discusses this concept at length throughout many chapters.  However, the much more widely known and frequently cited 2002 article by Gary Taubes, "What if It's All Been a Big, Fat Lie?" established the science behind this to a much larger audience.

 

(2) "If you haven't already had a heart attack, [taking a baby aspirin everyday] is not advised."

 

Dr. Huber referred to the problems with aspirin and the similar but more beneficial effects of Vitamin E for cardiovascular health in her 2007 book, with many earlier and later writers discussing the same at much greater length.

 

(3) "It was premature to damn cholesterol altogether."

 

Robert Waters, PhD and Dr. Huber co-authored a 2015 paper, "Cholesterol and Diet in Cancer Survivors," showing that cancer patients with higher cholesterol have significantly better outcomes than those with lower cholesterol. Uffe Ravnskov wrote more extensively about the necessity of serum cholesterol as well as dietary cholesterol in The Cholesterol Myths in 2000.

 

(4) "Statins are not for everyone." and "Scientists are learning that not everyone who qualifies for a statin drug needs one." 

 

Legions of writers have explained problems of statin drugs, perhaps most notably Stephen Sinatra in The Great Cholesterol Myth.

 

If the mass media were to look into naturopathic medicine, it begs the question: what other new discoveries could they make?