IGNORANCE IS IGNORING FACTS
C. Norman Shealy, M.D.

Dr. Edward Bach of Bach Flower Remedies emphasized some years ago that ignorance in ignoring truth or facts. Thus ignorance of the law is no excuse!

My recent article on Vegans led the radical Vegans to write me several attack letters. All of them were ignorant of the literature. One claimed that taurine is not essential and that we can make it out of cysteine. The sad FACT is that a majority of adults do not have cysteine oxidase to make the conversion. Those who are well informed consider taurine essential for humans as it is in cats. This individual also claimed that we need little vitamin B 12 as it is recycled. Please tell that to those with serious disease from B 12 deficiency! THE FACT IS THAT THERE ARE USUALLY MORE THAN TWO OPINIONS ABOUT ALMOST EVERYTHING–THE GLOBAL WARMING CONTROVERSY IS A  SIGNIFICANT EXAMPLE! I review thousands of articles every year and I choose an opinion based upon my experience and interpretation of what I consider the BEST recommendation.

Others emphasize that one should eat only organic foods. One recent study stated that there is no significant difference in vitamin and mineral content between organic and commercial foods. On the other hand the first article did not evaluate pesticides, etc. Another article stated that most organic veggies have no pesticides and lower nitrogen levels. Lairon, D. “Nutritional quality an safety of organic food, a review.” Agronomy for Sustainable Development (2009) DOI: 10.1051/agro/2009019.

Personally we raise organically at least 85 to 90% of our veggies and about 70% of our fruits. We travel 45 minutes each way to get organic chicken and turkey and 7 miles to get grass fed beef. I strongly prefer these. BUT if you cannot afford or find the organic products, saunas and adequate vitamin C will do a great job of detoxifying the body. Having a more positive attitude, exercising, not smoking, and keeping your BMI between 18 and 24 are significantly more crucial to health than being vegan or insisting on organic foods.
Ultimately practical, pragmatic reality is far better than ignorance!