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When asked where he would like to buried when he died, Yogi Berra's answer was, "I don't care. Surprise me."

The DOCTOR YOURSELF NEWSLETTER (Vol 3, No 1) November 20, 2002

"Free of charge, free of advertising, and free of the A.M.A."

RALPH NADER SHOULD KNOW BETTER

It's not every day that I publicly state that Ralph Nader is wrong about something. But when the Raiders (that's Nader's, not Oakland's) slam vitamins, it is time to set a few things straight.

"Worst Pills, Best Pills" is a monthly newsletter published by Public Citizen, Ralph Nader's "Health Research Group."

The October, 2002 issue (Vol 8, No 10) contains this statement by editor Sidney M. Wolfe, M.D.:

"You should not take dietary supplements. These products have not been tested or shown to be effective for any use, and their safety is unknown. The only exception to this advice is an inexpensive vitamin or mineral preparation." (page 80)

This statement is untrue. Both the effectiveness and safety of vitamins are well established.

What is harmful to sick patients is an UNsupplemented diet. Mr. Nader's doctor misses this point bigtime.

JAMA has published that over 100,000 people die each year from properly-given pharmaceuticals. ( Journal American Medical Association July 26, 2000; 284(4):483-5. Very good comments at

When a publication's very name is "Best Pills, Worst Pills," don't you think that vitamins, which do not cause even one death annually, might just fit the "Best Pills" category?

I do applaud "Best Pills, Worst Pills" watchdog effort to caution the public about the dangers of pharmaceutical drugs. That is good use of the printed page. But it is not enough to "say no" to medicines. You have to say "yes" to something else. There must be an affirmation. "Alternative health" is still the best overall mindset; switch to what works. Dr. Wolfe, your warning people away from safe and effective nutritional supplements is not serving the public interest, or the public's health.

FRESH OUT OF COLLEGE, I lived up in the hills of Vermont. My elderly friend Maurice LaSalle, an octogenarian of French-Canadian extraction and I were talking one day. I said to him, very facetiously, "Maurice, I'm getting old."

He thought about that for a spell, giving it far more consideration than it was worth.

Presently the old gentleman answered, with a childish grin:

"Keep right on!"

I took that to mean that if you keep right on getting older, you are still here. I mean, consider the alternative! Remember the teaching of one of history's great yogis:

"It ain't over until its over." (Yogi Berra)

If you are alive, you have time.

Should you be afraid that it might be too late for you, remember this: 98% of the atoms in your body are replaced every year. Just think: 98% of you is BRAND NEW in only 12 months. And every one of those atoms can only come from what you breathe, drink and eat.

"I wake up each morning and gather my wits,

I pick up the paper and read the obits;

If my name is not in it

I know I'm not dead;

So I eat a good breakfast

and go back to bed."

(Quoting Studs Terkel in Rolling Stone; original author unknown)

If that is you; if you are sick and tired of being sick and tired;

if your get up and go has got up and went; well, here's some help:

CAN'T MISS BY TRYING

The elderly are the number one user of a developed country's medical and hospital services. Perhaps this is why most of my experience with older persons is with the very ill. From the elderly who are just now learning natural healing methods for the first time, I frequently hear this:

"If only I'd done this thirty years ago!"

For the number one regret of an aging person generally is not about something they'd done badly, but rather about something they had never tried to do at all.

Sometimes, that is something as basic as eating right and exercising.

There is nothing to lose, and a lot to gain, by giving your health priority in your life right now, regardless of your age.

To begin:

I NEVER HARMED AN ONION

Did I tell you about the boy in my fifth grade class who brought in a whole, raw onion for snack time? True, and he really ate it, too. The odor (and resulting pandemonium) filling the room caused sufficient consternation for the teacher to cancel snack time for everyone.

Bummer.

So why did I do it? To get noticed, for one (mission accomplished). Plus, I really liked onions. Still do. They are nutritious, cheap and versatile. If you don't like them raw (you poor soul, you), then plunk them into a New England boiled dinner along with carrots, cabbage, and potatoes for a good hot meal. Better yet, juice the cabbage and carrots, eat the onion raw, and just boil up the 'taters.

Doctor Yourself "STEALTH FOOD" of the Month:

BREYERS YOGURT

Breyers Yogurt has sold out. . . again. It's bad enough that Breyers is owned by Kraft, which is controlled by the Phillip Morris Tobacco Company. Yuk. But now Breyers has, without warning of any kind, started putting food paint in what was once known as a natural yogurt. I have checked "Breyers Fruit on the Bottom" Yogurt, and it contains artificial color. Even worse is "Breyers Smooth and Creamy" Yogurt, with TWO artificial colors, plus a lot of junk like modified food starch, corn syrup and a chemical preservative to boot. Vote with your dollars: don't buy Breyers or any other artificially-colored "food."

Complain about Bryers yogurt directly to Kraft, for free, at 1-800-538-1998. Call early and call often.

READERS ASK:

H. B. writes:

"Your frequent advice to avoid red meat raises questions as to how a person is to get adequate absorbable B-12. I see many reports about vegetarians being B-12 deficient. Whazzup?"

If you eat eggs, fish, yogurt, cheese (or for that matter any dairy products at all), you will get some B-12. If you are a vegan (no animal products at all), then nutritional yeast is a good source of the vitamin. I recommend NEAR-vegetarianism, and I personally am one. Furthermore, any multiple vitamin pill will contain B-12. But you make an important point in using the word "absorbable." For the older we get, the less B-12 we are able to absorb. I have written an article on the how-to's of B-12 supplementation, which is posted at

Alzheimer's Disease and B-12:

L.H. writes:

"Do you give your pets vitamins?"

Sure. My dog gets 500 mg of vitamin C daily, a multiple vitamin, plus 300 mg of calcium because she is getting on in her years. I give her 200 IU of natural (d-alpha) vitamin E once or twice a week. She loves the E and C and will do tricks for them. You stroke a dog's throat to get it to swallow the multiple and the calcium tablets. That, or stick it in some peanut butter. She also eats a middle-quality dry dog food (And no, I will not discuss

brands: Read the labels, check your pocketbook, and decide for yourself.) I mix our carrot pulp, left over from daily juicing, into her dog food. This 12 year old mutt has never needed to go to the vet except to be spayed. She has never been sick and has no signs of doggy cataracts. She can outrun me on a bicycle. (Just to clarify: That's me on the bicycle, the dog on foot.

Feet.)

Our cat gets the same food as the dog, carrot pulp and all. In my opinion, there is rather little essential difference (other than price) between cat and dog food. It is a lot of fun to put identical food in the dog dish and the cat dish, and watch them switch and eat out of each other's bowl. They are sure that the other's food is tastier than theirs. Not in this house, mate.

Getting a cat to swallow a tablet is impractical to say the least, so we sprinkle a couple of hundred milligrams of vitamin C powder on top of the kitty's food. She has to eat through it that way, and does.

Yes, you too can make your pet a health nut. If the animal rejects the good food you offer, fast it for a day or two. Even so-called finicky cats quickly cave in.

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