"Food is Medicine" is Misleading
- Justin Bieber shared a photo on Instagram which read “the right healthy food is actually medicine”
- A U.K.-based surgeon responded to Bieber’s post by saying it was “misleading,” and shared a video explaining the dangers of insinuating foods are equal to medicine
- Nearly half of Americans believe alternative medicines can cure cancer and other illnesses, but studies prove those who undergo alternative therapies as opposed to standard treatment are more likely to die
Bieber, 26, shared a post on Instagram which read: “The right healthy food is actually medicine.” Even though Bieber’s caption shows he meant in regards to mental health, U.K. based surgeon Dr. Joshua Wolrich, who hosts a podcast titled “Cut Through Nutrition,” commented on the post and stated it was misleading.
Read More“There is no shame in getting help through talk therapy and/or meds. Saying ‘just change your diet’ minimizes the pain and sorrow felt by millions who suffer from anxiety and depression,” the user wrote.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CD9cjZ-HNoN/
Initially, Bieber apparently took the remark personally, and shared the doctor’s comment on his Instagram story and wrote “bro literally f*uck off.” That prompted the doctor to create his own Instagram post, where he laid down the facts on why he believed so strongly on this issue.
“Food can’t cure cancer. People that go on juicing diets to try and cure their leukemia die. We know that. When you say ‘food is medicine’ you are also propagating that,” Dr. Wolrich captioned in the video.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CD_QZo9h-rK/
In the end, Dr. Wolrich shared that he and Bieber spoke personally about their short-term Instagram feud, and the singer went back to his Instagram post to edit his written caption by making it less factual and more personal to him. However, not much was changed to the caption overall.
Alternative Medicine is Not the Answer
As Dr. Wolrich said, believing certain food products such as asparagus, bitter melon, apricots, and more can cure cancer and other illnesses can have dangerous consequences. These “treatment” methods are commonly known as alternative medicine, and they’ve become far more common over the years. A 2018 national survey from American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) found that nearly 40% of Americans believe that alternative therapies can actually cure cancer, with the majority being younger adults. However, a study from Yale University, which was published by JAMA Oncology, found that people who choose to go through alternative therapies are twice more likely to die than those who undergo conventional treatment such as chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.
Related: The Difference Between Integrative Medicine and "Alternative Medicine"
"When someone's diagnosed with cancer they and their loved ones will get on the internet and try and find what's the cure, [but] sadly, there is a lot of information on the internet that's not well-curated and sounds great and perhaps too good to be true," says Dr. Jason Westin, leader of the diffuse large B-cell lymphoma research team at MD Anderson Cancer Center. "I would say, make sure, if you're finding information on the internet about something that sounds too good to be true, talk to your doctor about it and see what they think before you try some alternative treatment that may cost a lot of money and may not give you the results that you want."
Dr. Jason Westin explains why searching the internet isn't the best way to find cancer treatment
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
