Dr. Joel Wallach talked about the human body's innate ability to heal itself through natural means and supplementation. Wallach addressed what he considers to be one of the biggest myths in medicine today-- the idea that cholesterol is harmful. Cholesterol is an essential nutrient and necessary for many body processes, he said. The statin drugs prescribed to reduce "bad cholesterol" are actually associated with causing many ailments and diseases, such as Alzheimer's, early menopause, erectile dysfunction, and Type II diabetes, he claimed. "Alzheimer's disease did not exist until statin drugs came out," Wallach continued, adding that cholesterol is needed to maintain and repair brain function.

Speaking about chronic Lyme disease, he suggested that 85-90% of the people diagnosed with this condition don't actually have it, but have just tested positive for the antibodies, indicating that they were exposed to the bacteria at one time. Most of their symptoms can be treated by going on a gluten-free diet, and supplementing with essential nutrients, he offered. The biggest health issue for the western world is nutritional deficiencies, he argued. Even though this population gets plenty of calories and protein, their diet lacks various essential vitamins and minerals, which leads to disease and birth defects, he explained.

In the first half, registered pharmacist and nutritionistBenjamin Fuchs discussed alternatives to prescription drugs, such as foods, nutritional supplements, and physical strategies to better treat diseases and maintain well being. He noted that Alzheimer's has lately been referred to by some as Type 3 diabetes, and that control of blood sugar is one of the most important things you can do to handle diseases of any kind. Many foods nowadays have added sugar, and are depleted of needed nutrients, he commented, but laying off insulin spiked foods such as deserts, pastas, and soda will help to keep blood sugar stable, and certain foods and supplements can reduce sugar cravings. Something as simple as a niacin deficiency can cause memory problems, he added.

In the first half of the show, Dr. Joel Wallach, discussed the human body's innate ability to heal itself through natural means and supplementation. The mainstream medical system has failed Americans terribly-- according to one report medical doctors kill, injure, or infect 15 million patients annually at hospitals and clinics, he cited. The problem of over-prescribing medications is rampant, and patients with a chronic issue are on the average given 27 different pharmaceutical prescriptions, he continued. "I think insurance has been one of the most terrible things for human health," as with this kind of system, patients don't get second opinions, he added.

Wallach believes that most diseases and medical problems are the result of mineral or dietary deficiencies. One study he cited showed that the ingredients in commercially available baby formulas didn't meet the nutritional needs of growing infants. It takes minerals to maintain the health of connective tissue, and a number of conditions such as peripheral neuropathy (pain in the hands and feet) can be improved with the right supplementation, he said. Wallach also suggested that the real cause of obesity is nutritional deficiencies, rather than poor diet and lack of exercise.

Pharmacist and nutritionist Benjamin Fuchs discussed the dangers of prescription drugs and what we can do to avoid becoming another tragic statistic. According to Fuchs, there are "millions of adverse reactions, serious ones, every year" due to prescription medications, including paralysis, organ damage, and death. Despite the shocking number of injurious effects of these medications, he lamented, "we have them branded on television as if they were selling Happy Meals." To that end, Fuchs decried such advertising of prescription drugs because it causes the public to lose perspective on the powerful nature of the medications they see nonchalantly promoted in television commercials.

He argued that "the human body is a healing system" and relying on pharmaceutical medications to cure illnesses ignores this critical aspect of improving overall health. As such, Fuchs advocated using foods, nutritional supplements, and emotional as well as mental strategies to better treat diseases. "I think of anything that we can apply to restore the body back to its God-given state of balance as medicine," he declared. Ultimately, Fuchs advised that people should learn to be more attuned to their own bodies so that they can better understand the messages being conveyed and then become proactive in finding natural solutions to improve their wellness without using harmful drugs.

• Audio Dr. Joel Wallach Coast to Coast AM April 5 2015

George Noory welcomed Dr. Joel Wallach, who discussed the human body's innate ability to heal itself through natural means and various minerals and supplements. Many diseases and ailments are the result of dietary deficiencies, particularly minerals and rare earth minerals, rather than genetic causes, he argued. In February 2015, the Journal of the American College of Nutrition wrote that 40% of Americans are deficient in four minerals and three vitamins, and to flourish (rather than just survive) people need as much as 2500 times the minimum daily requirement of many nutrients, he reported.

The environment of a person's stomach is important in terms of how nutrients are absorbed, and people will react quicker to supplement treatments, when they have good absorption, he explained. Cancer, he remarked, is not genetic and can be related to dietary causes such as cooking meat well-done, and consuming oxidized oils in such foods as salad dressings and rancid nut butters. The pharmaceutical industry, he added, is only designed to treat symptoms over a long period of time (except for antibiotics). "There's no money in the cure, so doctors always treat people for 25 years rather than cure them in three weeks," Wallach declared.