Should we buy food with health claims on the label?

These days, we are seeing more and more health claims that go beyond the usual. These include “trans fat-free,” “gluten-free,” “heart healthy,” and foods spiked with vitamins, such as my new favorite: Diet Coke Plus, with vitamins and minerals.

We see whole-grain Pop Tarts and Tyson chicken with misleading labels such as “raised without antibiotics.” We see natural sweeteners called Sweet Fiber. We see whole-grain Cheerios that are still full of sugar.

Now you can get “health food” like salads at McDonald’s, but with salad dressings that have more calories than a Big Mac.

And we also see antioxidant-spiked junk food and ginkgo-spiked energy drinks.

What should we make of all these marketing claims? Do they provide any benefit?

Scientists have discovered a powerful new drug that may help cure all chronic illnesses.

It is a drug you take every day.

What is it?

Well, you can find it at the end of your fork.

It’s called food.

Mounting research shows that there is no magic bullet to treat heart disease, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, allergies, digestive disorders, headaches, fatigue, or any of the myriad problems we suffer from in the 21st century.

But increasing evidence also shows us something else.

Ninety-nine percent of Americans are deficient in this nutrient – but if they eat it, it could poison them!

What am I talking about?

Omega-3 fatty acids, which are often found in fish oil.

Research suggests that the omega-3s in certain fish may cure or treat most chronic illnesses, including depression, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, dementia, autism, ADHD, inflammation, and autoimmune diseases. In fact, about 60 percent of your brain is – or should be – made of fish oil.

But getting those omega-3s can be dangerous.

For example, a recent laboratory study of tuna sushi from a selection of New York City restaurants found levels of mercury so high that they exceeded the safe limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and would allow the Food and Drug Administration to take legal action to remove the fish from the market.

Now, we’ve got more media coverage and more headlines, but not much more understanding. Should we eat fish or shouldn’t we?

Today, I’m going clear up the confusion.

"There are no studies that prove the benefits of nutritional or integrative therapies..."

It's a refrain that I hear time and time again.

And I hear it from my colleagues.

But they couldn't be more wrong!

They just have not done their homework -- or perhaps they are reading the wrong medical journals.

One of my favorite medical journals is the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," which every month publishes more than 300 pages of research with NO ADVERTISING. 

This is very unlike my other medical journals -- such as the "Journal of the American Medical Association" or "The New England Journal of Medicine" -- which have pages and pages of color glossy drug ads.

So today, I thought I would take you on a journey through just one issue of the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" to see just how much research is being done on how food and nutrients affect our health. 

"Where can I find a doctor who practices the type of medicine that you do?"

That was the question I was asked a few weeks ago after I gave a talk about UltraWellness and Functional Medicine to the top health writers and publishers in America, who deal with all the leading edge nutritional and medical advice.

These were the key people from Reader's Digest, Time-Life Books, Rodale, Healthy Directions newsletters, More Magazine, and Agora publishing. 

They're the top thinkers, creative leaders, and very connected to the health world.

Yet even they were asking for help finding a doctor!

Unfortunately this is a question that I hear over and over again, wherever I go to speak about the new paradigm in medicine that deals with the roots of illness, not just the symptoms.

Everybody wants it.

But nobody can find it.

I often send people to the Functional Medicine website, which lists practitioners who attended an intensive 6-day training course. 

But that doesn't mean they have much experience -- just an interest and some basic training.