East Meets West: A Nutritionist Sheds Light on Vitamins, Nutrition, and Goji An Interview with nutritional superstar, Dr. Earl Mindell on topics of optimal health, the phenomenon of aging, and goji.

Editor's Note: Dr. Earl Mindell is a pioneer in the nutrition world, he helped to popularize the use of vitamins for healthy living with his highly acclaimed book, the Vitamin Bible, first printed in 1979. He holds his Ph.D. in nutrition, is a registered pharmacist in California, and is an herbalist. The author of 53 books, he is leading the movement toward breaking down walls between Western medicine and "alternative medicine". FitCommerce.com Editor-in-Chief, Al Valente, had a chance to catch up with him in Connecticut while he was addressing a local audience.

FitCommerce.com:   Good morning, Dr. Mindell, you are noted for your leading work in nutrition, With 53 books written, , what events in your early career prompted you to focus in on the field of nutrition in the first place?


Dr. Earl Mindell:   It goes back to 1965, when another pharmacist and I opened a long hour pharmacy that was open from 9 a.m. until midnight, seven days a week. We also took night calls from midnight till 9 a.m.

We would be working 15 hours a day Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Even though I was a lot younger, I was in terrible shape from the stress, it was really getting to me.

I asked my associate, who was in better shape and dealing with the stress better, 'What's your secret?' He said, 'I'm taking vitamins'.

Then the light bulb went off in my head because I recalled that my mother would always give me a multivitamin. I got out of the habit when I went to pharmacy school.

So, I started taking vitamin supplements with antioxidants such as vitamin E and C and other minerals, and I started feeling a lot better.

Then we started giving our customers a starter or supply of vitamins in our pharmacy. They reacted well also, and the word spread. This is what sparked my whole interest in the field.


FitCommerce.com:   Prior to the 1900's I don't believe we knew specifically about vitamins, per se, and clearly could not synthesize them for decades later. How did the adoption of vitamins begin to trickle into our society?

Dr. Mindell:   You have to remember that before the second world war, vitamins were a big thing to the medical community. I have books from 1939 to 1940, which really promoted the use of vitamins for better health. When the U.S. was attacked at Pearl Harbor in December, 1941, we were really behind, we had to gear up our war effort and start producing guns, planes, tanks, and whatever. The government knew that the workforce would have to be healthy, so they gave the workers plots of land in the cities, that they called "Victory Gardens". This is where the people could grow their own vegetables and fruits, so that they would be healthier. What people don't know is they also gave the workers vitamin supplements, called "Vitamins for Victory". What's interesting is that this was back 60 years ago. So we knew about vitamins for a while. But, after World War II, with the advent of penicillin and other drugs, the drug companies say, "Hey, let's get rid of all these old things, we can make a lot more money on these synthetic patentable drugs." That's where we are today, we are in a world of patented drugs that have 20 year life spans. If you watch television and read a newspaper or magazine, radio, or billboards, it's unbelievable, all they do is advertise these drugs. FitCommerce.com:   Where did the inspiration come from to write the Vitamin Bible? Dr. Mindell:   It was the research for my Ph.D. dissertation

Dr. Mindell helped to launch the hightened awareness of the benefits of vitamins. His popular book, the Vitamin Bible, was first published in 1979 and has sold over 10 million copies.

FitCommerce.com:   A large demographic that cannot be overlooked are the boomers. The front edge is now entering their 60s, and a lot of their biomarkers are beginning to concern them: blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, etc., why does this happen as we age?


Dr. Mindell:   A big problem is we have not been taught how to take care of ourselves, we've only been taught what to do when we're sick. Personally, I feel that we should start to change that around and do what they did in ancient China, they only paid their physicians when they were well.

Why should they pay them if we're sick? That would change things around, wouldn't it?


FitCommerce.com:   Probably the biggest concern in the US is obesity, some 66% of the population either obese or overweight, what are the systemic trends that got us into this condition?

"Supersize Me" Director, Morgan Spurlock, experimented with the effects of fast food on the human body. For one month, Spurlock ate nothing but McDonald's food, it's shocking what happened to his body in just 30 days. Americans have all heard of "Big Macs" but little of healthier Tofu and Tempeh.

Dr. Mindell:   The percent of Americans that are overweight and obese is growing at a tremendous rate - and affecting the young, too. Our kids may be the first generation in America that may not live as long as the generation before them, because of all these pediatric problems. It's pretty frightening to think that you have young children that are overweight, having heart disease and diabetes, and cancers etc. that were relatively unknown, say 40 or 50 years ago, for this same age group. FitCommerce.com:   During your speech, I heard you say that, in America, everyone's heard of a "Big Mac" but not necessarily of the healthy tofu or Tempeh that Asians and Indonesians eat on a regular basis. Dr. Mindell:   Right, it's pretty obvious that the fast food and processed food companies have done an amazing job in brainwashing youngsters. If you want to see what's happening, watch TV on a Saturday morning. Just watch the commercials and you'll see these slick commercials that totally brainwash the children. The kids don't know anything else. Many schools have also converted to either fast food or processed foods. There is a great DVD that everyone should watch called "Supersize Me", because it goes into quite a bit of detail about the hazards of fast food.

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