In his book, Lies I Taught in Medical School: How Conventional Medicine Is Making You Sicker and What You Can Do to Save Your Life, Robert Lufkin, MD, says, “We are in a medical crisis much worse than COVID-19, and most people aren’t even aware of it.”

If this doesn’t alarm you (it should), continue reading to see why you should be concerned. If this does alarm you, continue reading to learn what you can do to help prevent yourself from becoming part of the new statistic of a shorter life expectancy.  

***

Recently, I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Lufkin speak at a medical conference. At the book signing that followed his talk, I enjoyed listening to him asking questions of the medical providers who eagerly stopped by the table to speak with him. He was unhurried, smiling, and truly engaged with each person he spoke to. He wanted to know about their practice—general questions they had about medicine, or specific questions about challenges they faced in their profession. He even graciously stood up and walked around the table to take photos with anyone who asked.  

The fact that a long line of people were patiently waiting for his signature, holding their books, anticipating a few minutes of his time, didn't seem to faze Dr. Lufkin. He was focused on whoever was right in front of him. He wasn’t in a hurry. He was smiling and chatting, and thanking his audience for taking the time to stop by and see him.

More than an hour into the signing event, his full cup of coffee now cold, and his berry tart untouched on the plate, Dr. Lufkin continued signing and laughing and connecting with the hundreds of nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals who happily stood in the long line just to get a few minutes of his time.

As I waited near his table, it struck me that this renowned medical expert (a USA Today and New York Times bestselling author; practicing physician and medical school professor at UCLA and USC; weekly podcaster with a loyal audience of over 700,000 followers) exuded good health, longevity, and palpable enthusiasm for his work and his life. He appeared to feel ageless in his middle age. This was quite a contrast compared to how he began his lecture earlier that morning.  

“Doing Everything Right” Made Him Unhealthy

He told us how he grew up “doing everything right” to be as healthy as possible. His mother was an accomplished dietician; a professional medical nutritionist who ensured that her family grew up following the food pyramid, eating egg-white omelets, and a low-fat, high-carb diet.

Despite being raised by a dietician and eating exactly what was recommended by health organizations and the infamous food pyramid, at a fairly young age Dr. Lufkin was diagnosed with four diseases that his own father hadn’t developed until he was in his eighties. Dr. Lufkin explains how he was prescribed four different medicines for each of his diseases meant to prevent him from getting sicker from:

• Hypertension

• Gout arthritis

• Dyslipidemia (abnormal blood lipids)

• Prediabetes (high glucose levels)

Except, Dr. Lufkin wasn’t in his eighties, and he had taken every precaution (according to the medical community) to avoid these potentially life-threatening diseases (now known as one disease—metabolic syndrome). At the time of his diagnosis, he had two daughters under the age of 10. Based on what he had studied and taught in medical schools, he knew if he continued on the same path, then he wasn’t going to live long enough to see his girls graduate from high school!

Fortunately, Dr. Lufkin did his own research into these diseases and realized that things he had learned and had been teaching other medical professionals were outdated and now known to be clinically wrong. In his book, he writes, “Today, a full 40 percent of adults nationwide have multiple chronic diseases. As a result, our healthy life expectancy is decreasing for the first time in recorded history!”

How could this even be possible if people were generally following guidelines that the esteemed medical organizations continued to assert were essential for a long, healthy life?

Concerned for Your Own Health and Longevity? You Should Be

Again, if you’re not alarmed by any of this, you should be. And you should be wondering what you can do differently to improve your long-term health, so you’re not part of the shorter life expectancy statistics.  

How do you do that, you’re wondering? Dr. Lufkin advocates the protocol that worked for him: the “right” lifestyle adjustments, that include:

• Nutrition

• Sleep

• Exercise (both physical and mental)

• Mindset and stress

• Removing toxins

• Correcting deficiencies (including replacing hormones)

As a result of his own efforts, Dr. Lufkin became the picture of health and longevity that he is today and no longer needs any of his prescription medications for metabolic syndrome.  

So, what does this mean for you? What kind of nutritional plan, sleep schedule, physical activities, and mitigating deficiencies that Dr. Lufkin recommends can you implement into your life to set yourself up for a long, healthy existence?

The Plan

In the last chapter of Lies I Taught in Medical School, Dr. Lufkin delivers The Plan: Simple Lifestyle Changes Can Prevent and Reverse Diseases Conventional Medicine Causes.

In this section, he lays out a nutritional plan: what to eat, when to eat, how much to eat, what to remove from your diet, and even offers recommendations for products he consumes himself (i.e., natural sugar alternatives, because refined sugar is the root of all evil when it comes to metabolic health—my words, not his, but pretty close.)

In The Plan, Dr. Lufkin also talks about sleep practices, relieving stress (get a dog!), physical exercise, brain exercises, and everything else you need to know about embarking on your own healthy, longevity-boosting lifestyle renovation. Dr. Lufkin generously includes QR codes and websites for free gifts (just for reading his book), and special offers with discounts.  

As I write this and think about my refined sugar intake levels (the daily flavored creamer in my mushroom coffee; a nightly piece of dark chocolate, sometimes two), Dr. Lufkin’s words resonate in my head: “I love sweets, baked goods, and processed foods. But I love my family more and I want to be around for them.”

What is your motivation for making changes that could not only help you live longer, but perhaps help you become less dependent on prescription medications for blood pressure, cholesterol levels, or joint pain?

Perhaps reading Dr. Lufkin’s book is your first right action.