A Doctor Can’t Give Nutrition Advice to His Patients? The Absurd Case of Dr. Gary Fettke

November 14 2016 by in Low carb & high fat
Dr. Gary Fettke

Dr. Gary Fettke

Can a doctor advise his patients to avoid sugar to improve their health and prevent disease, when the advice is supported by science?

AHPRA (Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency) has ‘silenced’ Dr. Gary Fettke by forbidding him to do so for life (!), stating that his medical training as a medical doctor and orthopedic surgeon does not make him an expert in nutrition.

It’s simply absurd that a doctor can be forever forbidden from giving nutrition-related lifestyle advice to his patients.

Clearly this has very little to do with what a medical doctor specialized in orthopedic surgery knows. It has everything to do with Dr. Fettke’s views on low-carb nutrition for metabolic problems. Apparently some powerful people feel uncomfortable with them, even though they are well supported by dozens of new studies.

If you think that this is unfair, you can support the not-for-profit Nutrition for Life Community that Dr. Fettke (among others) has helped set up. You can read more about the organization here.

Earlier about Dr. Fettke

“You Can’t Handle the Truth” – Dr. Gary Fettke Censored for Recommending Low Carb

Shooting the Messenger – More on the Censorship of Dr. Gary Fettke

16 comments

  1. 1
    gbl
    November 14 2016
    I'm not surprised because this is happening in other sectors; parenting rights, schools, language , medication use or not, freedom of speech (google Dr. Jordan Peterson) with one common element: pharmaceutical.
  2. 2
    Pierre
    November 14 2016
    “Reform always provokes rage on the part of those who profit by the old order.”
    Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., The Crisis of the Old Order

    "Approaching one trillion dollars in worldwide costs, type 2 diabetes is largely a man-made condition."

    http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2016/11/diabetes-inc/

  3. 3
    gbl
    November 15 2016
    I am reconsidering sending DD links out to friends and aquaintances, therapists and colleagues. Some RD activist totally wigged out on one jelly bean may decide to report you all. I hope because DD originates in Sweden that would not be possible?
  4. 4
    Razal
    November 15 2016 1
    Given this is an issue that affects all doctors and all patients is there some process by which the AHPRA can be asked to publish and explain their reasoning with a clear link to their medical act or code of conduct? Better still can they provide a clear set of guidelines about health practitioners providing nutritional or lifestyle advice as this would enable their reasoning and intentions can be clearly seen and debated.
  5. 5
    Victor
    November 15 2016
    As many physicians as give really BAD nutritional advice (low-fat, low-cholesterol), why is it the physician who encourages low sugar who gets busted for giving advice?
  6. 6
    Jocelyn
    November 15 2016
    I am appalled by the judgement (muzzling) of Dr Fettke by the AHPRA. I cannot understand why a ruling has been made without any apparent comment or discussion by the main stream media of the merits or otherwise of his advice. Apparently such an important subject as a nations health is ignored.
  7. 7
    Tim
    November 15 2016
    I have to wonder why it's bad for a doctor to be manipulated and coerced, while it's good for the greater part of the population to be manipulated and coerced by elitist nannies through taxes and scolding?

    Are doctors somehow better than the rest of us?

  8. 8
    Tim
    November 15 2016
    I think it's better to do what's being done here, and leaving the coercion and scolding to the people recently removed from power. It's no wonder Trump won, people are tired of being told rather than being persuaded...
  9. 9
    Martin
    November 15 2016
    The back story is that the complaints come from dietitians. The dietitians want a monopoly on who can give dietary advice and a specialist like Gary is fair game since they are not like a GP and shouldn't work outside their speciality. Where that breaks down is that nutrition affects all manner of specialist and general medicine.
  10. 10
    chris
    November 15 2016
    the world is revolving whatever they say!
  11. 11
    Minack
    November 15 2016
    Well it seems to be perfectly okay for a dietician to put a cancer patient on a diet! This is even when the patient is on a feeding tube, and has already lost 20+ kg. What are these dieticians actually being taught. The liquid diet a lot of these patients are on is pure carbohydrate and sugar. So I am questioning the validity of any nutritional advice given by dieticians they don't seem to understand nutrition at all. They are supposed to be experts in the field.
  12. 12
    Belle
    November 15 2016
    But...normaly, an orthopedic surgeon knows nothing about nutrition. So shouldnot the education of doctors be altered?
    I know more about nutrition by self education from the internet than my GP!
  13. 13
    Holly
    November 15 2016 1
    Cognitive Dissonance anyone? It appears that over reaction by medical societies is becoming the norm. I posted this in Dr. Kendricks blog but will cross post here.
    Australian Veterinary Surgeons Board issued a lifetime for this pet owner for questioning the care her pet received: http://truthaboutpetfood.com/one-pet-owners-fight-in-australia/

    From the linked article:
    "The Veterinary Specialist Services (VSS) issued a LIFE-TIME-BAN on treating any future pets of Maria’s since learning about her Complaint Letter addressed to the Queensland – Veterinary Surgeons Board (VSB).

    Veterinary Specialist Services – you just showed the world who is more important to you; your relationship with Big Pet Food is more important to you than your sworn oath to pet health. You are little more than a bought and paid for marketing tool for Big Pet Food. Sad."

  14. 14
    Jon
    November 15 2016 1
    Australia has become the nanny country! Just look at the censorship across many areas., the inflated cost of goods and the god-like attitudes of these regulators. Luddites.
  15. 15
    Susanna
    November 16 2016
    This case mirrors what is currently happening in South Africa with Dr Tim Noakes where the dietitians took him to the HPCSA for answering a question on social media from a mother with a baby on low carb. They're all on a burning platform - the groundswell is coming for low carb - people are waking up.
  16. 16
    eibebnam
    November 20 2016
    Carbs are the new tobacco - and the carb fraternity don't like it.

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