12-19-2005, 02:21 AM
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article.../1082/life
Read healthy message, but ignore messenger
By Julie Deardorff
KRT News Service
In Kevin Trudeau's peculiar view of the world, medical facts don't exist. Opinions are what matter, especially his. And according to the late-night television infomercial star, every illness and disease - including cancer, multiple sclerosis and diabetes - can be cured by using natural, non-drug and non-surgical methods.
The reason you don't know this is that the government, corporations and entire industries, including the media, are suppressing the information to keep you sick. Why? It's all about the money. But if you buy Trudeau's best-selling advice book, "Natural Cures 'They' Don't Want You to Know About" (Alliance Publishing, $29.95), you'll find natural remedies for more than 50 conditions, from arthritis to tumors.
What's that? Some of the cures promised in his infomercial aren't actually in the book? Don't worry. If you go to Trudeau's fee-based Web site, you can ask him questions, get the names of products and licensed health-care practitioners and learn secrets he - oops! - left out of the book, such as how he quit smoking.
Never mind that Trudeau has no training or background in medicine or health and a long history of deception. He has learned from youthful indiscretions, including prison time for credit card fraud and larceny, and hefty fines by the Federal Trade Commission for creating infomercials with false and misleading health claims.
You can trust him, because he's not one of "them" - a conventionally trained doctor, government regulator or someone with ties to the pharmaceutical industry. Instead, for the sake of mankind and society and your health, he is exposing long-hidden secrets.
Best seller mixes fact, opinion
Remarkably, millions of Americans are buying into this notion. Trudeau's controversial book has been one of the best-selling nonfiction books in the country since June, according to Publishers Weekly, and is one of the most successful self-published books ever.
The appeal is that, con man or not, Trudeau's message resonates with a nation that is fed up with the current managed-care health system. For those seeking more control over their wellness, there's just enough truth in what he says to give him credibility.
What makes the book so annoying and somewhat dangerous, however, is that Trudeau mixes common sense and balderdash, leaving consumers with the task of sorting out which is which. Many of his unsubstantiated claims are simply his opinion. Readers are instructed to imagine everything they read is prefaced with "It seems" or "I believe this to be true." "You need to choose the opinion that makes the best sense for you," he writes.
The repetitive 570-page tome, which reads like an infomercial, centers on Trudeau's intriguing declaration that "all non-prescription over-the-counter drugs and all prescription drugs cause illness and disease."
To stay healthy, he advises getting off the poisonous drugs, detoxifying the body, improving nutritional deficiencies and releasing trapped mental and emotional stress. He also recommends eating organic, avoiding trans fats, walking an hour a day, avoiding stress, practicing tai chi and quitting smoking.
So far, so good: Diet, exercise and lifestyle changes are hardly new or revolutionary.
But in the chapter on natural cures, which somehow was left out of the original version of the book, he clearly gets carried away. Diabetes can be cured with a series of cleanses, exercise, digestive enzymes, raw apple cider vinegar and an herb mixture researched at the University of Calgary (unbeknownst to university officials).
Autism supposedly can be cured by trying some of the remedies in Chapter 6. These include getting 15 colonics in 30 days, jumping on a mini-trampoline 10 minutes a day, avoiding sunblock, deodorant and non-stick cookware (in his opinion, they can all cause cancer), using magnetic finger and toe rings and avoiding tap water.
Arthritis, colds and bladder and viral infections supposedly can be cured using crocodile protein peptide.
Trudeau is a dubious messenger with a decent message: Our society relies too heavily on prescription drugs, and simple lifestyle changes can make a tremendous difference. Prevention is a key to good health. But getting to the real information requires wading through too much garbage, including his incessant references to his Web site and grandiose, unsubstantiated claims. If you must read it, don't expect too much, and go directly to Chapter 12 ("Still Not Convinced?"), an excellent resource that references some legitimate authors and books on alternative and holistic approaches to health.
Read healthy message, but ignore messenger
By Julie Deardorff
KRT News Service
In Kevin Trudeau's peculiar view of the world, medical facts don't exist. Opinions are what matter, especially his. And according to the late-night television infomercial star, every illness and disease - including cancer, multiple sclerosis and diabetes - can be cured by using natural, non-drug and non-surgical methods.
The reason you don't know this is that the government, corporations and entire industries, including the media, are suppressing the information to keep you sick. Why? It's all about the money. But if you buy Trudeau's best-selling advice book, "Natural Cures 'They' Don't Want You to Know About" (Alliance Publishing, $29.95), you'll find natural remedies for more than 50 conditions, from arthritis to tumors.
What's that? Some of the cures promised in his infomercial aren't actually in the book? Don't worry. If you go to Trudeau's fee-based Web site, you can ask him questions, get the names of products and licensed health-care practitioners and learn secrets he - oops! - left out of the book, such as how he quit smoking.
Never mind that Trudeau has no training or background in medicine or health and a long history of deception. He has learned from youthful indiscretions, including prison time for credit card fraud and larceny, and hefty fines by the Federal Trade Commission for creating infomercials with false and misleading health claims.
You can trust him, because he's not one of "them" - a conventionally trained doctor, government regulator or someone with ties to the pharmaceutical industry. Instead, for the sake of mankind and society and your health, he is exposing long-hidden secrets.
Best seller mixes fact, opinion
Remarkably, millions of Americans are buying into this notion. Trudeau's controversial book has been one of the best-selling nonfiction books in the country since June, according to Publishers Weekly, and is one of the most successful self-published books ever.
The appeal is that, con man or not, Trudeau's message resonates with a nation that is fed up with the current managed-care health system. For those seeking more control over their wellness, there's just enough truth in what he says to give him credibility.
What makes the book so annoying and somewhat dangerous, however, is that Trudeau mixes common sense and balderdash, leaving consumers with the task of sorting out which is which. Many of his unsubstantiated claims are simply his opinion. Readers are instructed to imagine everything they read is prefaced with "It seems" or "I believe this to be true." "You need to choose the opinion that makes the best sense for you," he writes.
The repetitive 570-page tome, which reads like an infomercial, centers on Trudeau's intriguing declaration that "all non-prescription over-the-counter drugs and all prescription drugs cause illness and disease."
To stay healthy, he advises getting off the poisonous drugs, detoxifying the body, improving nutritional deficiencies and releasing trapped mental and emotional stress. He also recommends eating organic, avoiding trans fats, walking an hour a day, avoiding stress, practicing tai chi and quitting smoking.
So far, so good: Diet, exercise and lifestyle changes are hardly new or revolutionary.
But in the chapter on natural cures, which somehow was left out of the original version of the book, he clearly gets carried away. Diabetes can be cured with a series of cleanses, exercise, digestive enzymes, raw apple cider vinegar and an herb mixture researched at the University of Calgary (unbeknownst to university officials).
Autism supposedly can be cured by trying some of the remedies in Chapter 6. These include getting 15 colonics in 30 days, jumping on a mini-trampoline 10 minutes a day, avoiding sunblock, deodorant and non-stick cookware (in his opinion, they can all cause cancer), using magnetic finger and toe rings and avoiding tap water.
Arthritis, colds and bladder and viral infections supposedly can be cured using crocodile protein peptide.
Trudeau is a dubious messenger with a decent message: Our society relies too heavily on prescription drugs, and simple lifestyle changes can make a tremendous difference. Prevention is a key to good health. But getting to the real information requires wading through too much garbage, including his incessant references to his Web site and grandiose, unsubstantiated claims. If you must read it, don't expect too much, and go directly to Chapter 12 ("Still Not Convinced?"), an excellent resource that references some legitimate authors and books on alternative and holistic approaches to health.