arts & entertainment
Magical Thinking?
In a new book, Dr. Paul Offit explores the claims of alternative medicine.
"There's really no such
thing as alternative
medicine. If it works,
its medicine; if it
doesn't work, its not an
alternative." - Paul Offit, M.D.
Suzanne Chessler
I Contributing Writer
S
ome disappointing care as a
young patient influenced Paul
Offit to become a pediatrician
speaking out on medical issues he deems
important to patients of all ages.
His latest focus has become products
and services defined as alternative treat-
ments — vitamins, supplements, thera-
pies — and the celebrities, like Suzanne
Somers, and even Dr. Mehmet Oz, who
promote them.
While the doctor wants to see ques-
tionable products tested and regulated
by the Food and Drug Administration,
he also wants to call attention to recom-
mendations that discourage patients from
conventional treatments — like vaccines
— proven to be helpful.
Do You Believe in Magic?: The Sense and
Nonsense of Alternative Medicine (Harper;
$26.99) documents the points he makes
and will be his subject at this year's JCC
Jewish Book Fair.
Offit, chief of the Division of Infectious
Diseases and director of the Vaccine
Education Center at the Children's
Hospital of Philadelphia, opens Health
Awareness Day at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 15,
at the Jewish Community Center in West
Bloomfield.
"I'm trying to urge people to be skepti-
cal:' says Offit, who recently discussed his
upcoming presentation in a phone conver-
sation with the Detroit Jewish News. "We
should bring the same level of skepticism
to alternative medicine that we bring to
conventional medicine!'
Offit, whose expertise has made him
a resource for television news programs
(Good Morning America, 60 Minutes,
Dateline NBC) and major publications
(New York Times, Washington Post, USA
Today), co-invented the rotavirus vaccine,
RotaTeq, recommended for universal use
in infants by the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
Here, Offit provides answers to ques-
tions about his Michigan appearance:
JN: How will you illustrate the points
you want to make?
P0: I'm probably going to reweigh
events that occurred when I went into a
GNC center a few weeks ago and asked
the 25-year-old behind the counter what
he would recommend if I had a variety of
symptoms.
I'll talk about what his recommenda-
42
October 24 • 2013
JN
•
Do IOU Believe
i n Magic?
effectiveness instead of just making wink-
and-nod claims.
People think these products are good for
them and can't possibly hurt them. Neither
of which is, for the most part, true.
111E SENSE Ary.
NONSENSE OF
MIFF
•
tions were and what data support or don't
support those recommendations. I'll also
cover what the potential harm would be in
following those recommendations.
It was a typical encounter one could
have in a health-food store.
JN: What points should people keep in
mind as they think about what has been
termed "alternative medicine"?
P0: There's really no such thing as alter-
native medicine. If it works, it's medicine;
if it doesn't work, it's not an alternative.
We should not abandon science in pursuit
of our best health.
If someone makes a claim, such as black
cohosh helps with premenstrual syndrome
or saw palmetto can shrink the prostrate,
then those statements should be tested. It
can be determined whether they are true.
It is galling that this industry is free
from the reins of the Food and Drug
Administration.
JN: Was there one dramatic experience
that influenced your writing of this
book?
P0: When I had surgery on my left knee
and was recovering, my orthopedist rec-
ommended that I take chondroitin sulfate
and glucosamine. There is no good data to
support that recommendation, and it was
an eye-opening moment.
I had thought there was alternative
therapy on one side and conventional
healers on the other, but that's not true.
The conventional community has come to
embrace this $34-billion-a-year industry
because, at some level, we have become
MEDICINE
waiters in a
restaurant
instead of
doctors in a
Paul A. Offit, NO •
hospital.
Instead of
helping patients wade through this dense
thicket of medical information by set-
ting professional standards, we're offering
things people want. It's sort of an anti-sci-
ence movement among people who should
be embracing science.
JN: How does this book fit in with the
way you practice medicine?
P0: I'm head of the Therapeutic
Standards Committee at Children's
Hospital Philadelphia, and I think with my
research for this book along with [work
done by] our clinical coordinator on the
committee, we have become the first free-
standing hospital to remove dietary sup-
plements from the formulary (approved
prescriptions).
We do have vitamins and amino acids
in our formulary because we were able to
identify products that we felt met some
sort of manufacturing standards.
JN: What's the best way to shop for
vitamins?
P0: Look for a seal that says USP
(United States Pharmacopeia) verified.
That guarantees it's made under good
manufacturing practices and that the label
is accurate.
JN: Have you learned anything new
since completing the book?
P0: Things are actually worse than I
thought.
There has been attention to vitamin
products because they were contaminated
with anabolic steroids, which caused [seri-
ous side effects]. A product put out for
arthritis caused some deaths.
I wish I had this information when I
published this book because I was more
general.
JN: Does any of your writing relate to
Judaism or Jewish teaching in your
background?
P0: I'm writing another book, which
is currently called The Faith Healer Next
Door. The subtitle is: The Clash Between
Modern Medicine and Religious Belief
It is about those who use the Old
Testament or the New Testament as medi-
cal advice books.
❑
JN: What would you like to see done to
regulate vitamins and supplements?
P0: I would like to see the Food and
Drug Administration accomplish what it
wanted to accomplish in the 1970s with
vitamins and in the 1990s with dietary
supplements.
Before these products can be put on the
market with any sort of claims, they need
to be tested and proven for safety and
Dr. Paul Offit will speak at 10 a.m.
Friday, Nov.15, at the JCC Jewish
Book Fair in West Bloomfield as part
of the JCC Jewish Book Fair's Health
Awareness Day. No charge. (248)
661-1900; www.jcc.org/bookfair.
Check next week's JN for our special
JCC Book Fair package.