Pfiesteria: Crossing Dark Water - The True Story Behind the Pfiesteria Menace That Now Threatens the Nation's Tidal Waters

by Ritchie C. Shoemaker

Crossing Dark Water tells the true story of this public health menace. It describes how the "doc from Pocomoke" made the first confirmed diagnosis of human illness, and then developed the first successful treatment for victims of the disease. Dr. Shoemaker explains how the conclusions of a blue ribbon state commission -- which blamed pfiesteria blooms on runoff of nutrients from chicken farms -- were not supported by water quality tests done by the State of Maryland. At the same time, the doctor's own "predator-prey" theories of pfiesteria show how simple substitution of agricultural fungicides and copper in animal feeds could prevent pfiesteria blooms in the Chesapeake Bay. He also demonstrates how a simple nontoxic chemical can be used to stop active toxin production in a kill area. This is the story of how one physician took on an entrenched bureaucracy, challenged environmental dogma and won. Crossing Dark Water is a story of media, politics, economics, medicine and a remarkable scientific discovery.

350 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1998

About the author

Ritchie C. Shoemaker MD is board certified in Family Practice. He has practiced in a rural area of Maryland, between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean for 23 years. Named Maryland's Family Physician of the Year 2000, and finalist (1 of 5) as the National Family Physician of the Year 2002, Shoemaker combines a career as a bedside doctor with a passion for making the biochemistry that underlies how things work in the human body abundantly clear to his patients and readers. Shoemaker is an acomplished writer, having published 4 books, numerous scientific articles and multiple essays previously.His interest in weight loss started in medical school in his role as a primary care advocate at a tertiary care institution, Duke University. Much of what was taught then (and still today!) about weight loss just doesn't fit the physiology of what actually happens. Thinking "outside the box" seems to be Shoemaker's basic lifestyle. A simple example is Shoemaker's use of a diabetes drug, Avandia, with his No-Amylose diet. With FDA and IRB approval, Shoemaker showed that the drug is safe in non-diabetics, activates uncoupling proteins, primarily in fat cells, that directly burn fat. The results, not found when Avandia is used without the No-Amylose diet, are astounding. By looking at how things work, Shoemaker showed that the most refractory weight loss patients "burned their hips." His presentation to the Endocrine Society 83rd annual meeting, 6/01, was selected as 1 of 150 papers for special media attention (out of 2400 papers presented). Recently, GlaxoSmithKline sent out a copy of Shoemaker's paper to each of its diabetes sales force due to the number of physician inquiries about the use of Avandia in weight loss.
Shoemaker continues to practice full time, though his patient load increasingly comes from patients all over the country seeking help with illnesses characterized by chronic fatigue and multiple other symptoms related to environmental exposures to neurotoxin forming organisms, including toxin forming fungi (sick building syndrome), dinoflagellates (Pfiesteria is endemic in the Pocomoke River), including ciguatera, blue-green algae and chronic Lyme Disease. His collaboration with researcher Dr. Ken Hudnell, neurotoxicologist, has generated several academic papers already. They have abstracts on several topics that promise to "revolutionize" thinking about biotoxins, pro-inflammatory cytokines and their combined role in human health and illness.

Shoemaker takes his science seriously, but not to the point that the reader will be turned off. His approach to dieting parallels his approach to life-make it full, make it fun, make it right. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Reviews

[Syd · Rating 2 out of 5]

The overall information was good, although everything is repeated over and over again - it felt like to make it long enough for a book. Also, the writing is poor and on top of that, poorly edited. It is still worth the read to understand how agriculture, the environment, and government intersect to cause a horrible mess.