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A Pharmacist Who Would Rather Practice “Farmacy” Instead of Pharmacy

https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/article ... ug-stores/

“As a 55-year-old retail pharmacist, I think about this every day. In fact, I joked to my wife that I would prefer to practice ‘farmacy’ instead of pharmacy. Our diet and lifestyle make so much of what we treat preventable. We (our US population) eat too much sugar and meat and not enough fruits and vegetables. We don’t exercise. Smoking is just a given as far as something that one can give up and instantly see improvement.”

“My typical encounter is an overweight customer in drive-through picking up their cholesterol, diabetes, blood pressure and pain pill. Often times a person picking up their asthma inhaler is smoking a cigarette. My thought is always ‘Why are we even playing this game?’ I hope it gets better but I doubt it. I am one of those who has gone vegetarian to avoid the same meds I dish out every day. Thanks again for the article and for listening to a pharmacist who struggles every day with the meaning of his job.”

[continued]

nice to see this realism expressed by a pro.

as for the vegetarian piece, less certain. i worry about dietary extremism, especially among scared and vulnerable patients.

reducing collective societal overconsumption of animal foods, and excluding or severely reducing the less healthy options is definitely smart.
that said, the idea that 'less is good so none is better' is inconsistent with the mediterranean diet which has shown so much evidence for benefit in the general population and MS patients*, too.

re animal products, for me these are carefully selected, diverse, nutrient dense, sustainably produced, as local and seasonal as i can manage, and modestly portioned (as per the last mediterranean food guide i checked, 'one serving' was 60g).

i still like that one mantra (my emphasis added):
eat real food (ie whole/minimally-processed), not too much, mostly (ie not entirely) plants.

*Lifestyle and Mediterranean diet adherence in a cohort of Southern Italian patients with Multiple Sclerosis (2021)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 4820307100

jimmylegs wrote: ↑Sat Feb 26, 2022 2:21 am i still like that one mantra (my emphasis added):
eat real food (ie whole/minimally-processed), not too much, mostly (ie not entirely) plants.

In Defense of Food