As Reuters reports, "He went to prison for fraud and was ordered by the U.S. government to stop touting health products on infomercials, but Kevin Trudeau's book "Natural Cures 'They' Don't Want You to Know About" is a bestseller."

Why?

The reason has less to do with Trudeau's credibility -- he has none -- and more to do with the rigid public posture that the medical establishment has often taken toward alternative, complementary and holistic approaches to maintaining health and curing disease.

The reality is, we've evolved a system where doctors prescribe pills and cut into our bodies to treat our symptoms rather than the underlying causes, and where preventative healthcare is not prioritized. The result: a 25 percent U.S. obesity rate, along with increases in the rates of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Statisticians predict that our expected lifespans will soon decrease for the first time in U.S. history because of this crisis.

Just as food companies like McDonald's are gradually jumping on the healthy-food bandwagon under public pressure and the threat of lawsuits, so the medical establishment -- from the FDA to individual healthcare practitioners -- must recognize that a greater emphasis on diet and nutrition is more critical than any new drug or surgical remedy.

And that means doctors like New Hampshire's Terry Bennett -- who bluntly told his female patient that she was obese and needed to lose weight, and was censured as a result -- should be considered heroes. Until that happens, the Kevin Trudeaus of the world will continue to rake in the bucks.