A Career Reflection: From the OR to the Café; A Journey in Medicine and a Call to Action.

WOW. Turning 65 this year. Forty years since the start of medical school and that very first anatomy lecture telling us to memorize the brachial plexus (all the nerves from your spinal cord to your arm and hand). A daunting task at the time—seemingly impossible. Then came cadaver labs, animal labs, sleepless nights, and let’s not forget the exams and the dreaded bell curve.

The bell curve is the distribution of exam results showing how you did relative to your peers. It also allowed examiners to “play with the numbers.” Results were posted on a real bulletin board in the hallway—public, not electronic, and definitely not private. The goal? Beat at least 2% of your colleagues.
Guess what they call the person who graduates last in medical school?
Doctor.
I survived.

Then came the truly scary world of the rotating internship—back in the good old days when you could complete one year of training, work as a general practitioner, gain experience, and, if you wished, return for further training. After my internship, I went into family practice “up north” in a tiny community, Merck Manual in hand, terrified of being the only doctor in town. This book—with real pages—was the go-to reference when faced with a challenging patient.

I stayed there for five years. We treated heart attacks without clot busters, diabetes without continuous glucose monitors, and because there was no colonoscopy, colon cancer screening was done by me with a short scope (sigmoidoscopy) and barium enemas. We delivered babies without surgical backup in a tiny 20-bed hospital—half of which were chronic care beds.
I was happy.

There was hunting and fishing. I will never forget the times with Pastor Paul and Minister Rick. Me a Catholic, in a boat with a United Minister and Pentecostal preacher. My son was baptised in the Catholic church be a priest, a minister and a preacher. All based covered!

There was snowmobiling straight from the driveway into mountains of snow and endless wilderness, and in the 6 weeks of summer, picking wild blueberries with our Portuguese Water Dog. Being a big fish in a small pond had its challenges—but it was a great life.

Then I had a moment of psychosis: the idea of becoming a surgeon was planted in my head by a local surgeon. Training required leaving my practice and becoming a student again. I enrolled in a Master’s program at the University of Toronto, completed two years of research, then did a five-year residency in the U.S.—worse than Grey’s Anatomy. I went south because Canada had (has) no “re-entry” positions. Once you complete training in one field, our system does not allow you to retrain in another. You are stuck.

After residency, I completed an additional year in Hand and Microsurgery, returned to Canada, and entered private practice. My practice became one of the first micro-reconstructive surgery services outside a major city. I also performed cosmetic procedures, a broad range of surgeries, and became deeply involved in hospital politics.
Lots of politics.

So—now what after 25 years? Retirement? Oh no.
It is time to talk about the association between diet and disease.

If you haven’t heard: the number one killer today is our food. Diet is the single most important factor influencing health and disease. We now stand with diet and chronic disease where tobacco and lung cancer once stood. In 1963, cigarette consumption peaked at 4,345 cigarettes per adult per year—despite more than 7,000 peer-reviewed articles warning us of the association. We knew smoking caused cancer, yet it took 50 years to truly acknowledge it.

Food advertising today mirrors tobacco propaganda of the past—“Doctors smoke Camels,” “Menthol soothes.” The said: “Your mouth will keep as fresh as a May morning.  . . . Giving you dewy-fresh flavor.” Ugh. Now we have misinformation, confirmation bias, pseudoscience, and ubiquitous influencers pushing keto, paleo, low-carb, omega-3s, creatine, ketone supplements… to infinity and beyond. Why? Because BS baffles and advertising sells.

So instead of slowing down and buying a rocking chair, I opened a café.

We serve kickass coffee and fresh-baked goods—including yummy foods that are genuinely healthy. That’s how MMCafe.ca was born, in a medical building no less. Who would expect healthy food in a “health centre” dedicated to sick care? Seems obvious to me.

The name is intentional: Mindful Meal. Most of us chew, swallow, and hope for the best. Even scarier—many don’t even hope. We assume that if something is on a shelf, in a box, or served in a restaurant, it must be good for us—or at least not harmful.

Don’t get me started on supplements. A $4 billion industry annually in Canada. Influencers, anecdotes (“it worked for someone my friend knows”), and the endless search for a magic bullet—without the hard work.
News flash: it doesn’t work that way.

With my grey hair, an upcoming 65th birthday, and today’s government letter telling me I’ll soon get free drugs—and free drug reviews if I take more than three prescriptions—I’ve earned the latitude to sound patronizing.

My advice: be MINDFUL. Question everything. Follow the science. Recognize our responsibility to educate ourselves, our families, our friends—and especially those who entrust their health to us. Kids even. If you don’t drive, the eat what you provide!

To my physician colleagues: I urge you—implore you—to talk to your patients about lifestyle, even if you don’t practice it yourself. Ouch.

It is your responsibility to understand the associations between diet and diseases, to know the facts and recognize that science evolves. Today’s fact is this: most chronic diseases—perhaps even all, can be ameliorated, prevented, and in many cases reversed through diet and exercise.
Lifestyle.
Your choices.

Lifestyle should be FIRST—capital F. If we lead by example, we can save lives, optimize healthspan, and maybe even extend lifespan. Be an influencer. Share the facts. Yummy food can be healthy. Healthy food can save us, and even the planet.

If you’re not motivated, figure out what’s holding you back. Come talk to us. We can guide you.

As Dr. Dean Ornish so elegantly said in Undo It:
“Eat real food. Move more. Stress less. Love more.”

It’s not too late for a New Year’s resolution.
Today can be the start of your New Year.

In health,
I wish you maximal health and well-being.

Dr. Phil