I don't/won't dispute that, but I don't know that that doesn't happen in those other places as well. We have members here in some of those countries; I don't know if they'll see this and comment/respond or not.

No, and yes. I understand completely because I've been there.

A few years back I had some rectal bleeding. I was referred to a gastroenterologist who performed a standard colonoscopy & biopsy, and told me that—despite reservations of the pathologist to the contrary—I had Crohn's Disease. I asked if it could be IBS—the result of my taking too many NSAIDs with a bout of flu, and he dismissed the notion. He put me on the "medical establishment" restrictive diet (I asked about the future, and he said I'd never be able to eat salad/roughage or nuts again), and 5-ASA meds—anti-inflammatories that have the same side effects as the underlying disease. Every time I called him because the bleeding & symptoms were getting worse, he told me to increase the dosage, which in turn made the bleeding and symptoms worse. Finally, he said my bowel was so inflamed he'd have to remove 1/3-1/2 of it, and I might have to wear a colostomy bag for the rest of my life. That was when I put my foot down, became my own advocate, stopped the 5-ASA that was only making me worse (upon which my symptoms immediately began to improve) did my own research w/ help of my DW, and got on an alternative diet. My symptoms improved by half within a week, 75% within a month, and cured within a year. Now I can eat anything I want. After that first month I went back to this bozo to tell him about it, and with a sheepish look on his face—the b*****d wouldn't even look me in the eye—handed me a brochure on IBS. I just told him he was fired and walked out. I still think it was my own stupid abuse of NSAIDs when I had the flu, and I can't take NSAIDs to this day without risking a flare of IBS.

Back to the point, while these guys/gals are ostensibly taught critical thinking, it's still colored by politics, fear of litigation, tunnel vision, in some cases greed and/or other foibles, and something I was once naïve enough to think they were taught to be above—personal beliefs (as opposed to hard science). Not so—I've been told by more than one doctor that something or other "isn't part of [their] belief system".

Medicine, it turns out, is very political. There are hardline conservatives, flaming fringe liberals, and anything/everything in-between. So again, for us patients, it's about finding doctors who are not only competent, but good matches for us in other respects.

Not all...

I didn't say "good"; I said above/below average.

I live in an area with 2 major medical centers/teaching hospitals, and more doctors per capita than most places. Most associated with those hospitals do tend to be on the conservative end of the curve.

I've assembled what I think is a good team for me. They aren't perfect; I still have to work around some things they won't accept/do, but by communicating candidly, we know where each other is coming from. They do all exhibit willingness to listen, even if they don't agree. I'm also willing to listen to their reasoning why they don't agree.

I agree an integrative doctor might be more to your liking/needs. They're a little fringy for me, but I've run into my share of hardliners too—like the PN specialist who told me, "I've read they're doing something with R-Lipoic Acid in Europe, but we're not doing that here," as he handed me the scrip for gabapentin. At least I got him to lower the dosage from 300 mg to 100 mg. (I told him if he was right and I needed more, I could always take 3, or titrate, and get back to him.) I tried the RLA, and I haven't needed/taken the gabapentin since. Neither have I been back to that guy, cuz he basically cut me loose after basic testing and pronouncing me "idiopathic". What I pronounced him begins with "idio" too.

Doc

Are you on a statin drug?????
Getting off the nonscientific low-fat, high carb diet is a great choice.
But if you're on a statin for simple high LDL, you need to learn more! Try ** on Internet.