Health Food Junkie

Obsession with dietary perfection can sometimes do more harm than good, says one who has been there.

by Steven Bratman, M.D.

Originally published in the October 1997 issue of YOGA JOURNAL.

Reprinted by permission of the author.

Twenty years ago I was a wholehearted, impassioned advocate of healing through food. In those days I was a cook and organic farmer at a large commune in upstate New York. Today, as a physician who practices alternative medicine, I still almost always recommend dietary improvement to my patients. How could I not? A low-fat, semivegetarian diet helps prevent nearly all major illnesses, and more focused dietary interventions can dramatically improve specific health problems. But I'm no longer the true believer in nutritional medicine I used to be.