You are surprised that Newsmax would engage in medical quackery? They make their money engaged in news quackery, they are principal exponents of political quackery, they practice history quackery, they support science quackery in schools — is this a trend yet?
FDA, FTC, where are you?
To the extent this is not quackery, it’s known, published material your physician has access to and can advise you on. To the extent this is not known, published material, it’s quackery. Where the information is good, it should be a violation of journalistic ethics to package this as somehow secret, unknown or suppressed by the medical establishment and news organizations — and available to you alone, if you only pay the fat fee demanded. Where the information is suppressed, it is suppressed because it is dangerous to patients — the real problem with quackery.
Do not ever think that Newsmax is engaged in news, after this.
Here’s the e-mail text Newsmax sent out today — the only thing missing is their actually calling this stuff “snake oil”:
Dear Newsmax Reader:
David Brownstein, M.D., one of the foremost American practitioners of conventional as well as holistic medicine, has some urgent health information that could dramatically affect your health and well-being. Please take a moment to read his information below.
Newsmax.com
How to Prevent Arthritis, Cancer and Alzheimer’s!
Try this simple remedy for rheumatoid arthritis!
Use this mineral to protect against skin cancer!
See what to do now to prevent multiple sclerosis,
Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s!Plus, why a deficiency in this nutrient puts you at greater risk for heart attack and stroke!
Dear Friend,
Today I’ve got important news for you on preventing heart disease, stroke, skin cancer, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s . . .
I’ve got an update on which vitamins (in addition to calcium) can strengthen your bones and fight osteoporosis . . .
I’ve got a simple, inexpensive, and almost entirely overlooked remedy for rheumatoid arthritis . . .
Plus, the risks of diuretic drugs, the importance of detox, and why most people are dehydrated and don’t know it!
Hi, I’m Dr. David Brownstein, editor of Natural Way to Health, the newsletter for folks looking for real solutions, not more drugs with harsh side effects.
In one moment, I’ll show you how to get a FREE copy of my latest report, “A Simple Way to Radically Improve Your Health,” covering all the topics above . . .
Plus, full access to all of my previous reports, including the two most popular ones, “The Biggest Fraud In Medicine: Cholesterol Leads to Heart Disease” and “How To Stop Heart Disease In Its Tracks, Naturally.”
But first, let’s look at how I successfully treated one of my patients for rheumatoid arthritis, and also how to safeguard against multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Crippled by Arthritis But Now
Up and Out of the WheelchairMy patient Susan had suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for 20 years. Her hands were swollen and deformed. Harsh drugs were robbing her of energy. And her painful joints had forced her into a wheelchair.
Susan had tried many conventional treatments, including taking large amounts of the steroid drug Prednisone, but nothing much helped.
“I really did not know what to do,” she told me. “My rheumatologist had nothing good to offer me . . . just one toxic medication after another that I could not tolerate.”
The conventional treatment for rheumatoid arthritis is anti-inflammatory agents such as Naprosyn, Motrin, and Voltaren. But as the disease progresses, conventional doctors prescribe harsh drugs such as methotrexate and Plaquenil.
Unfortunately, these immune-suppressing drugs have bad side effects, including depressed bone marrow function, low white blood cell count, low platelet counts, anemia and loss of energy.
Newer drugs like Enbrel and Remicade are no better . . .
They block a protein the body produces as part of the inflammatory response. But blocking this protein for any length of time increases your risk of life-threatening infections and even cancer.
A Safer and More Effective Course . . .
The first thing I told Susan is I wanted to test her for a bacteria that has been associated with rheumatoid arthritis since 1938 (see your FREE report for details).
Sadly, most physicians, even specialists, never bother to test for this bacteria because conventional medicine focuses myopically on expensive drugs that treat only symptoms (see why just ahead).
When I told Susan that her test came back positive for this bacteria, and that I could prescribe an inexpensive antibiotic to treat it, she was overwhelmed . . .
“I began crying when I found out that I was positive,” she said. “It was the first time that I could connect the dots on why I have rheumatoid arthritis.”
In your FREE copy of “A Simple Way to Radically Improve Your Health,” you’ll get the name of this bacteria (so you can ask your doctor for the test), as well as the name of the antibiotic (and dosage) I prescribed that has proved successful in treating it.
Next, I also addressed Susan’s diet because she was making her arthritis worse by eating refined foods and sugars.
Most people don’t realize how devastating sugar is to their bodies and how it leads to serious problems such as arthritis, arrythmia, arteriosclerosis, edema, and Type 2 diabetes (see your FREE report for details).
How’s My Patient Doing Today?
Within four weeks, Susan began to feel significantly better. After eight weeks, we began to wean her off the anti-inflammatory and steroid medicines.
And the best news of all: On her last visit, she told me, “Now I feel I can get out of the wheelchair.” That’s exactly what she’s doing and today she’s in therapy to strengthen her leg muscles!
You’ll get Susan’s full case study in your FREE copy of “A Simple Way to Radically Improve Your Health.” And I hope you’ll share it with everyone you know who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis.
But why didn’t Susan’s rheumatologist test her for the bacteria? And why didn’t he discuss nutritional alternatives that would’ve helped her?
What Your Doctor Doesn’t Know Can Hurt You
I’m sorry to report that conventional doctors have no knowledge of — and thus very little interest in — natural therapies. And that’s because “health and nutrition” are NOT taught in medical school.
What is taught there? The two Ds: Disease and Drugs.
Physicians are trained to diagnose illness and disease, and then to prescribe the approved drug (or drugs) that will treat that illness or disease. People are often surprised to learn this but . . .
The emphasis is on disease, not health. And on drugs, not nutrition. Nothing is taught about how to achieve optimal health or prevent disease.
How did we get such a narrow-minded medical system in America? In the early days of medicine here, drug makers formed an alliance (some say an unholy one) with the newly founded American Medical Association.
The drugmakers provided education (on drug use) to AMA-affiliated doctors and also helped this fledgling organization win out over its competitors to become the dominant force in American medicine.
In return, the AMA endorses Big Pharma’s drugs and teaches drug therapy in their schools (generally disparaging other therapies).
Don’t get me wrong: Drugs play an important role in medical treatment, and there are times when they literally save your life . . .
But they are not the best solution for every problem. And drugs that do more harm than good should never be promoted in favor of natural therapies that are both safer and more effective.
And yet that’s exactly what happens every single day because of this unholy alliance between the AMA and Big Pharma.
But you don’t have to be victimized by this narrow-minded approach even one day longer. I believe . . .
You deserve to know how to really prevent heart disease, cancer, fatigue, diabetes, arthritis, weight gain and many more health problems!
You’ll discover several of them today, but before we return to these subjects, let me just say . . .
I’m going to extend a special offer to try my Natural Way to Health for just 14 cents a day. That’s not a misprint — I really mean 14 cents a day!
Each month in Natural Way to Health I routinely . . .
- Expose the hidden dangers in common foods and medicines . . .
- Reveal the truth about conflicting medical reports in the press . . .
- Offer safer and healthier alternatives to harsh drugs . . .
- Give easy tips for preventing disease and feeling your best!
And by signing on today . . . you’ll not only get 12 monthly issues of Natural Way to Health for just 14 cents a day but also gain access to all of my previous health reports, plus receive FREE copies of my three most popular health books, just go here now.
But first, let’s get back to the important remedies in today’s report . . .
Today’s Epidemic of Dehydration
This one will surprise you . . .
Today, the majority of people are going through their lives in a constant state of dehydration. And that’s putting them at greater risk for several serious diseases . . .
Heart disease . . . Stroke . . . Multiple Sclerosis . . . Parkinson’s . . . Alzheimer’s are all linked to a sustained state of dehydration. Let’s find out why.
Your body is 75 percent water. Your brain is 80 percent water. Because of your body’s high water composition, you need sufficient water intake to achieve optimal function at the cellular level.
In my own practice, I’ve found that every patient suffering a chronic illness also was dehydrated. Every single one! Can this be a coincidence? No.
We are all creatures of habits, and we’ve developed some bad ones over the years.
Typically, when I ask new patients how much water they drink a day, they tell me they don’t drink much pure water, but they do drink plenty of coffee, soda pop, juice, and even beer, so they’re sure they’re getting enough.
No, they are not! Coffee, soda pop, juice, and alcoholic beverages are all dehydrating. If you’re drinking them, you need even more water!
Caffeine, especially, is a potent diuretic, forcing the body to expel water. It’ll also over-stimulate your adrenal hormones, exacerbate hormonal irregularities, and weaken your immune system.
Are you also fatigued? See your FREE REPORT to find out why!
Of course the sugar in soda pop, in juices, and in alcoholic beverages causes dehydration. And that holds true for what you may think of as healthy fruit juice.
Check the sugar content on that carton of orange juice in your refrigerator; you’ll see it’s got more sugar in it than the ice cream in your freezer.
Another problem with sugar is that it leads to a number of degenerative diseases, including heart disease, kidney disease, osteoporosis, obesity, diabetes, and even cancer.
Did you know that cancer cells thrive on sugar? See your FREE report.
How about diet sodas? Worse yet. The sweeteners NutraSweet and Splenda have their own bad side effects that can lead to serious health problems (see your FREE REPORT for details).
Okay. How much water should you drink a day?
In your FREE copy of “A Simple Way to Radically Improve Your Health” I’ll give you a simple formula that’ll tell you exactly how much water to drink based on your weight, and also what kind of water to drink.
Yes, you can have other beverages, but get your water first. And here’s why it’s vitally important . . .
Dehydration, Toxic Buildup, and Disease
Remember, your brain is 80 percent water. It needs sufficient water to bring nutrients in, and it needs sufficient water to flush toxins out. Neurological disorders such as . . .
Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and multiple sclerosis are occurring at epidemic to pandemic rates today for a reason . . .
Widespread dehydration is causing a buildup and concentration of toxins in the brain, and this problem worsens over time.
Remember, we are bombarded every day with poisonous lead, mercury, aluminum, cadmium, arsenic, and bromine. These toxins are in our food, air, water, and thousands of consumer products, even in medicines!
Your first line of defense is the work your liver and kidney do to remove these toxins. But they can’t do their jobs without an abundance of water. Water makes detox possible.
And if you’re not getting enough water (most people aren’t), toxins will build up over time and become concentrated in your tissue and organs. That’s how disease gets started.
See your FREE report, “A Simple Way to Radically Improve Your Health” for complete details on the link between dehydration and neurological disorders — just go here now.
The Link Between Heart Health and Water
Few people know that dehydration is also an independent risk factor for heart disease, and one that is far more critical than “elevated cholesterol.”
Dehydration promotes thicker blood. And thick, sticky blood is more prone to plaque buildup and eventual clotting that can cause heart attack and stroke.
For more than 30 years, heart disease has been the No. 1 killer in America, and we’ve made very little progress against it. Why? Because we do not treat the underlying causes of heart disease.
The culprit is not “elevated cholesterol.” And if you’re taking cholesterol-lowering drugs, you’re wasting your time. You’d be far better off just drinking more water.
But there’s more you can do . . .
Be sure to read my two most popular reports — “The Biggest Fraud in Medicine: Cholesterol Leads to Heart Disease,” plus “How to Stop Heart Disease In Its Tracks, Naturally” (details on getting FREE copies just ahead).
But look here . . .
In your FREE copy of “A Simple Way to Radically Improve Your Health,” I’m going to show you the startling results of a six-year study in Vienna that compared the amount of water intake to the incidence of heart attack and fatal stroke. After you see these results, you’ll know how much water to drink and why.
Want to know more about these and many more important health issues?
Try Natural Way to Health
For Just 14 Cents a DayEach month in my advisory letter, Natural Way To Health, I report on the most important issues regarding your family’s health, sorting out what’s really useful to you, even life-saving, and also what’s harmful and sometimes life-threatening.
I don’t take anything away from what’s good about conventional medicine — and much is good. But . . .
Those who practice conventional medicine want to make drugs the solution to every problem, even when those drugs are harmful and ineffective. And again, that’s because of the unholy alliance between Big Pharma and the AMA.
You should know that, in many cases, there are safer, gentler, and more effective natural solutions. And you will know once you start reading Natural Way to Health each month.
Yes, I went to medical school and received the conventional training, but I’ve also spent the last 17 years studying holistic medicine.
Today at my clinic, The Center for Holistic Medicine in West Bloomfield Michigan, I’m integrating the best of conventional medicine with safe and natural therapies that in many cases work even better.
I’d like to share these good results with you. And that’s why I’m extending this special offer to try Natural Way to Health for just 14 cents a day. It’s a great time to join us because . . .
Today’s offer includes 12 monthly issues, three of my most popular books FREE (see titles just ahead), full access to all of my previous reports (titles to follow), plus a FREE copy of today’s report . . .
A Simple Way to Radically
Improve Your Health
- Discover the bacteria associated with rheumatoid arthritis and the inexpensive antibiotic that kills it!
- See which foods are anathema for arthritis sufferers and why!
- Find out why most people are dehydrated and don’t know it!
- See why multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s are on the rise, and the simple way to protect yourself!
- Find out why a deficiency in this nutrient dramatically increases your risk of heart attack and stroke!
Also in Your FREE Report . . .
- See a study showing how a Vitamin B-6 deficiency increases your risk for colon cancer!
- See why high doses of both types of Vitamin K should be included in every osteoporosis treatment plan!
- Discover which mineral produced a 57 percent decrease in skin cancer in an eight-year Australian study!
- Find out the risks of diuretic drugs, plus how you may be able to get off of them by following a different plan!
- See how age-related macular degeneration can be avoided by adopting a healthier diet!
There’s more in your FREE copy of “Simple Nutrients and Foods That Can Save Your Life,” too. And don’t forget when you take advantage of my 14-cents-a-day subscription offer today, you’ll gain full access to all of my previous reports, including:
- Stop Heart Disease In Its Tracks, Naturally
- The Biggest Fraud in Medicine: Cholesterol Leads to Heart Disease
- A Safe Effective Vitamin (B-12) That Can Change Your Life
- Hidden Dangers of Popular Stomach-Acid Drugs
- Big Pharma’s Big Lie About Osteoporosis and Aging
- Simple Nutrients and Foods That Can Save Your Life
As a valued Newsmax customer, I don’t want you to get tainted health news, bad advice, or to be strictly limited to drug-based conventional medicine when safer, gentler, and more effective natural therapies are available!
Once you start receiving Natural Way to Health each month, you’ll get the valuable information you need to make smart healthcare, nutrition, and lifestyle choices for yourself and every family member. Now look here . . .
Special Reports and 3 Valuable Books FREE!
Today, you can get a one-year subscription (12 issues) to Natural Way to Health for just 14 cents a day. And your no-risk subscription includes the valuable report we’ve been discussing today, access to all of my previous reports, plus three of my most popular books, ALL FREE!
With your one-year subscription, you’ll receive THREE FREE BOOKS worth $60.00!
You’ll not only get Dr. Brownstein’s newsletter and current issue “Stop Heart Disease In Its Tracks, Naturally” . . .
You’ll also receive three of Dr. Brownstein’s most popular books — Drugs That Don’t Work and Natural Therapies That Do, The Guide to a Gluten-Free Diet, and The Miracle of Natural Hormones (each one a $20 value).
In fact, we’ll even pay the postage for you!
No kidding . . .
You’ve already seen some of the health answers you’ll find in Dr. Brownstein’s issue “Stop Heart Disease In Its Tracks, Naturally.”
But you haven’t seen anything yet.
Just look at all the additional information you’ll read about in your three FREE books . . .
FREE BOOK #1
Drugs That Don’t Work and
Natural Therapies That DoIn Drugs That Don’t Work and Natural Therapies That Do, you’ll see why some of the most commonly prescribed drugs today may be harmful to your health . . . and why you should consider natural therapies in your treatment program for these six common obstacles to wellness:
- Elevated cholesterol levels — Discover how you can lower your cholesterol
naturally . . .- Osteoporosis or brittle bones — See how to maintain healthy bones without inflammation-causing drugs like Fosomax® and Boniva® . . .
- Stomach problems such as heartburn, reflux, and ulcers — See why you should use antacids only as a last resort. (Plus, holistic steps you can take to treat common digestive complaints) . . .
- Depression — Discover how to raise your serotonin levels through diet and amino acid supplementation, the natural antidepressant treatment . . .
- Inflammation — Hear about numerous simple and natural alternatives you can use to relieve the pain, stiffness, and other symptoms of arthritis . . .
- Imbalanced hormonal system — Find out how to balance your hormonal system safely to improve your well-being, slow your aging process, and even reverse many chronic conditions . . .
FREE BOOK #2 —
The Guide to a Gluten-Free DietIn The Guide to a Gluten-Free Diet, Dr. Brownstein will show you why ingesting gluten from wheat, barley, rye, and other grains could be detrimental to your health.
In fact, one in six people suffers from a serious illness that has a safe, effective, and inexpensive remedy: avoiding gluten.
In this eye-opening book, you’ll see:
- How gluten sensitivity is not being diagnosed properly in nearly 97% of patients suffering from chronic illnesses . . .
- Why gluten sensitivity may be responsible for such diseases as cancer, depression, obesity, ADD, autoimmune disorders, acid reflux, thyroid disorders, osteoporosis, and many others . . .
- What you can eat — and still be gluten-free . . .
- How to determine whether you or a loved one might be sensitive to gluten . . .
- Simple strategies to transition to a gluten-free lifestyle . . .
- Gluten-free meal and snack ideas, tips, and recipes to get you started . . .
- And much more . . .
FREE BOOK #3 —
The Miracle of Natural HormonesIn your third free book, The Miracle of Natural Hormones, Dr. Brownstein describes the natural hormones he uses in his own clinical practice — and shares over 50 case histories of the amazing medical successes he’s witnessed in his own patients.
Look at the valuable health tidbits you’ll find between the pages of The Miracle of Natural Hormones:
- 10 chronic health conditions dramatically improved with natural hormone therapy — some even cured for good . . .
- How your risk for pulmonary embolism skyrockets to more than 2,100% with these synthetic hormones . . .
- The No. 1 reason conventional doctors don’t prescribe natural hormones (it has nothing to do with your health at all) . . .
- A deficiency of this one powerful hormone can short-circuit your whole endocrine system . . .
- Two natural remedies for the relief of menopausal symptoms — you’ll be surprised by how simple they are . . .
- Who knew this natural male hormone could benefit women, too?
- Plus much, much more . . .
All three of these easy-reading books (a $60 value) are yours FREE with your one-year subscription to Dr. David Brownstein’s Natural Way to Health.
And just so you know, this is a limited time offer — and only available to those who order from this special letter, so claim yours today!
I Don’t Want to Miss Out On My Three Free Books — Sign Me Up Now!
But along with the savings and book bonuses, our Newsmax guarantee should help make your decision a little easier, because . . .
You’re Covered by Our ‘No-Questions-Asked,’
Money-Back Guarantee . . .I want you to take your time — read your brand-new Dr. Brownstein’s Natural Way to Health at your own pace. (Remember: You can have it delivered right to your home in print form or as a convenient digital download; your choice.)
Absorb what you learn to help yourself and those you care about. If you’re not completely wowed by all the health-saving information you receive in every report, just let Newsmax know within the first 90 days.
Every penny you invested will be refunded, no questions asked. (After 90 days, you’ll still qualify for a pro-rated refund of any unused portion of your subscription.)
Whatever you decide, you can keep the 3 Free Books you received with our thanks, just for giving the newsletter a fair try. How’s that for a deal?
What could be easier?
You have absolutely nothing to lose by saying ‘yes’ to your trial subscription to Dr. Brownstein’s Natural Way to Health newsletter. In fact, when you come right down to it, you just might be making money on this deal!
So, come on — sign-up today.
You know, your health is all you really have in this life. And if you don’t take care of it — nothing else is possible.
And if you’ve read this far, I’m sure you take your health very seriously — and want to do whatever you can to live your best life possible.
Go ahead, you have everything to gain by taking advantage of this limited-time offer.
To Your Lasting Health,
Christopher Ruddy
Newsmax CEOP.S. There’s nothing more valuable than knowing the truth when it comes to your health. Make the decision right now to take charge of your health by claiming your report, Stop Heart Disease In Its Tracks, Naturally, full of critical, life-altering information you don’t dare miss.
You’ll also get your own free copies of Drugs That Don’t Work and Natural Therapies That Do, The Guide to a Gluten-Free Diet, and The Miracle of Natural Hormones ($60 value) with your one-year no-risk trial of Dr. Brownstein’s new newsletter — a Newsmax exclusive. Don’t wait — Subscribe today!
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Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 
Happy you got good results, Cathy.
I am reminded of Voltaire’s cynical assessment of the medical profession, however, that a physician simply holds your hand until you die, or get better. As a consequence, anecdotal evidence is all positive.
Good nutrition is sometimes difficult, because of location, but not expensive. Why, do you suppose, your illnesses returned?
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To all of you, I have read your emails and can see both sides of the argument. I would like to tell you that Dr. Brownstein is my doctor ( or was until insurance companies and the FDa got together and forced him into not accepting insurance). I was his 1st patient of the day, the day after he buried his father. Let me tell you the horrible remorse he had that he was helping others but could not cure his father.
I had been to umpteen doctors complaining of the same horrible symptoms. Dr Brownstein walked into the room , physically looked me over literally from head to toe and before even running any tests told me I was hypothyroid. He did do many tests plus others that the standard medical doctor does not do. When I went back the tests showed many deficiencies not just in thyroid but in many vitamins and minerals etc. He started me o a regimen of supplements plus life style change, very balanced. I was put on natural thyroid replacement and told where to go to find the particular vitamins etc. that he was recommending. I did not have the money to pay for them so he took out his credit card, called the store and ordered a 3 month supply for me!!! Does your doctor do that? Also several weeks later ( because I myself am in the medical field) I came down with a horrible upper respiratory infection . I went to a regular clinic around the corner because I was too sick to drive to his office. the meds they gave me did absolutely nothing, nada, zip, zero! A friend took me to Dr. Brownstein and he hooked me up to what he called a “vitamin cocktail) for around 1/2 hour . I got up the next morning and the illness was almost totally gone, poof, just like that. He also placed me on female hormone replacement therapy that was a cream tailor made for my body and system . Within a week of using a small amount of the cream on the inside of my arm the hot flashes and everything that went with them were gone. He is humble, kind, generous, compassionate LISTENS to the umpteenth degree and LOOKS to the umpteenth degree.
Unfortunately my husband lost his job, we lost our home , we came close to loosing a child with internal birth defects and leukemia and all kinds of horrors beset us at the same time. Long story short I can no longer go see Dr. Brownstein. Are his prices high? Actually pretty normal as doctors go. BUT if he does for others like he did for m e ( paying for needed item out of his own pocket) than he certainly is not getting rich off of his practice. He is in a “strip mall and every business in this mall is holistic , naturopathic, whatever you want to call it and they too are all wonderful and giving in very charitable ways like Dr.. Brownstein.
Unfortunately I am 60 now and have found out that I have Lupus and have had it from birth , which has caused my different organs to “misfire” or totally shut down . I have spent the last 4 years in and out of 7 different psychiatric facilities because the Lupus has spread to m y brain because I suffered a horrible loss of someone I loved since I was 14 years old. They never told me they were suffering with different illnesses and hid it very well and make excuses for this happening and that happening. I got a call one day that this person whom I had loved with all m y heart had died in their sleep during the night and the shock of it killed me and I have brain Lupus now. How I wish Dr. Brownstein had room in his practice for more patients but he doesn’t, he is incredibly busy between being a doctor a researcher , a mentor a husband a father and just an all around wonderful human being. He would just take the time now and then to call the house or even call me at work just to see how I was doing ( free of charge even if he gave me information or used his card again to purchase supplements or scripts for me). Unless you have actually been under his care, none of you, not one single one of you who wrote good or bad cannot speak for him the way I personally can. BTW I haven’t seen him in several years and he called last week to see how I’m doing and I told him about the Lupus, he was agasp and genuinely concerned about me. He does not know of any “good holistic” Rheumatologists that treat Lupus but says that he will continue to “peek in on me and did say the truth, I will probably die from Lupus,…..he’s honest to a fault. He was so very upset that he himself could not take care of me and said ” I need to do more research on autoimmune diseases ” and you know what? Iknow he will, have zero doubt that he will, As I said in the beginning, don’t speak of one you have not been treated by yourself. Dr. Brownstein is a fine , caring, gentle , compassionate man that is spread thinner than you can imagine but never never says a word about himself, his work, his exhaustion. He is truly a gift from god and even though I know I am dying, I would not have had these last 20 years with m y family had it not been for him. God bless you Dr. Brownstein , God is my first hero, and you fall only slightly behind him
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But TODAY? Today, Dr. Brownstein is an “expert” in digestive diseases and digestion problems — what a renaissance man to be an expert in so many different areas!
Or, is it just more medical quackery?
I didn’t listen to all of it, but I didn’t find anything that I hadn’t already learned reading the labels of yogurt containers at our local supermarket and Whole Foods/Sprouts/Cox Farms.
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Except, Mr. Svarrer, by law those FDA panels must be unbiased, and any action by FDA can be challenged in court IF it is not based on science.
Government in the U.S. is not by whim — we say we have a government of laws, and not men. Especially in these science areas, that is true. Sometimes there are close calls, but when they appear to stray, honest scientists go to court.
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Dear faithful listeners and readers
(of https://timpanogos.wordpress.com/2009/07/30/newsmax-turns-to-medical-quackery/ )
Many of you are right in your views, in my humble opinion. Those who see “conspiration” and (!) those who do not see this as conspiry (!).
The truth is not even in between. Both you sides have in the above revealed the truth.
The food and drug (FDA-) equivalents in the western world are boards who have staff under them in organisations who are geared to testing for instance new therapies, new drugs, new equipment, new packaging, new manufacturing methods (for drugs..).
IFFFF there was no conspiracy, then may I ask, why are several top directors expressing “happiness” when they are being appointed to those boards? They do not express their personal happiness, they declare their corporate’s happiness of being there via them.
Now – in all honesty – how could those (FDA-) boards live/survive and (!) do their professional jobs, without the industry sitting as *part and parcel* of these boards?
So, FDA and its equivalent sisters/brothers in other countries, try to cope with the bias arising from these participants. They try to make business rules, evaluation rules, testing methods, which gets approved both by government bodies and … the same industry.
The industrial parties can be said to have similar interests, namely in speedy approval of products, once they are considered sufficiently safe.
Safe here is: Such sufficiently harmless in side effects such that the amount of complaints will not overshadow the beneficiary outcome of the drug. So, the above creates a prospect inherent conspiracy, where the very authority who is supposed to work as a neutral testing ground for products, become infested with the same industry which is supposed to be regulated.
Thus, depending on which department of FDA (and its sister-equivalents in other countries) a drug or treatment or other product or service is being tested within, it becomes harder or easier to get an approval.
Similarly, when a product from company A is being sent for test, and the director / chief pharmacologist from company B is seated in the vetting board for those products, it is not a secret that these corporate persons do talk to one another and discuss the product, outside of the formal approval channels. It is not even good or bad, it is just .. natural, and normal.
The problem is none of the above. It is not perfect, nor is it fraudulent. It has built in probability of conspiracy – which is not any guarantee that conspiracy will take place – but neither is it any guarantee that it will not.
The problem comes, when now gigantic medical companies spew out loads of products / services, and thereby become very familiar with FDA (or their equivalents). Imagine now, that Dr. Brownstein comes up with his Iodide theory (and documents it via his practice). In the above answers another could-be-doctor comments that it is not possible to measure what is the Iodide level in a human being.
Mass-spectrography or is it called gas-chromatography where you combust a material, and check its spectre, is said to be a way to very accurately state the content of a given raw-material, and the way I got it, it is one of the ways to check for ppm’s of presence of absence of a component in drugs.
What may be more accurate to say is, that given that one now finds a certain level, lets say 13 ppm of Iodide in someone’s blood stream, then one cannot say if that level is what is the optimal level for that human being.
As it is with us humans, we have maybe 98% similarity in our bodies and genetic construction, while our operational mode leaves a lot for deviation.
Thus, for instance, the optimal level for red blood cells is within a certain spectre – while genetic differences for instance in the shape (ie. Sickle Cell) will then cater for deviations from the norm. At different states of our bodies, we will have different levels of for instance white blood cells, depending on if we are having an infection or not, an allergy or not.
Thus, the may-be-doctor commenting on that its not possible to measure Iodide, is inaccurate in his statement which does not serve a serious evaluation of Dr. Brownstein – or his treatments – well.
So – when now some of you call upon FDA, to “regulate” Dr. Brownstein – I would ask you – have any of you found complaints about that Dr. Brownstein’s methods has caused damage? OK. I searched for that, and did not find it, at least not on the internet. Have any of you found complaints that Dr. Brownstein’s methods has plain simple just not worked? I searched, and didn’t find it either. This still does not cater for, that Dr. Brownstein is right! It just states, that throughout his maybe 2 decades of career so far, nobody has been hurt or left with defunct treatment…
Lets assume that we had found someone who was left with non-functioning treatment or with damage caused by his treatment, that would still not cater for saying that Dr. Brownstein is a quack. Why? Because several percent of the existing patients using FDA approved medicine does not see results from the treatment. Furthermore most medicines known and approved by FDA’s of this world, DO have side effects.
Can we take some of the serious ones first: The very same Chemotherapies which Dr. Brownstein complains about, and the very same Psycho-pharmacological products which he also complains about. Just pick ANY of these (and many other) groups of medicines, and read the benefits of using it, and the side-effects. I think I don’t need to give examples.
Less known, are medicines for use in emergency cases, one of them I think is called Amosin (I stand to be corrected here), which has the capability of curing Tuberculosis, but – the side-effect is (or can be?), that the patient looses his hearing for life!!!! So – life traded against hearing? Choose! Most would choose life, isn’t it? Therefore, the arguments being thrown from either side, the pro-Brownsteins and against-Brownsteins, are not serious, scientifically based arguments, and I think we should leave to science to deal with science, while we as normal humans can revert to dealing with what we have in front of us.
So I will end this little ode by saying to you, that I intend now to try his diet, because Dr. Brownstein is the first doctor in more than a decade who has impressed me with a thorough, plainly explained, to-a-certain-degree scientifically based way of improving life quality without any drama, without any profit to Dr. Brownstein (except his minimal charge – was it 0.12 USD per day?) for subscribing to his newsletter – same newsletter can be gotten FOR FREE – by just searching on the internet. I guess the 0.12 USD is a convenience fee for his office to bother sending it to him.
When you now add to it, what several of you above who have *criticized* Dr. Brownstein for having said – that he is not telling anyone anything new – then isn’t that actually to be taken oppositely? How about giving him credit for giving us food for thought?
I completely agree – Dr. Brownstein does not add MUCH new. But check this: I see Dr. Brownstein as a person who has spent his many many years, to collect what he sees as evidence, for a regime of food (his diet) which in his weighed opinion can be eaten with a beneficiary outcome for a healthier life. I have myself extensive knowledge within health, food, diets, not as a professional, but as one who love just to know what is worth knowing.
May I ask you, what does Dr. Brownstein gain when I have downloaded 16 of his PDF-files for free from a plain free search on the internet, have read them all, and have decided that I will follow his advice, not because of that I am sick, but because of that it makes so much sense, and because of that his research outcome matches maybe hundreds of other scripts, reports, journals I have read – just with the difference that he has taken his time to put it all together in – yes – a holistic perspective.
I welcome that this debate continues, because only through dialogue can we develop. I just lost a good friend due to thrombosis (blood clot) in the lungs. He never told me, that he had pain in his legs. If he had, I could have given him my laymans view, that he surely should see a doctor specialised in either metabolism, cardio-vascular systems, or lungs. Pain in the muscles in the legs, coming and going, as someone told me that he had complained about for months, is a typical sign that either nutrition in the blood, oxygen in the blood, or the amount of blood is too little. I would have loved my friend to have known Dr. Brownstein’s PDF-files.
Warmly
David Svarrer
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Brownstein does a good job of scaring people by mixing fables into truth. Let’s start with the very beginning of his video (http://w3.newsmax.com/newsletters/brownstein/video_cancer_prevention.cfm?promo_code=14D20-1) where he states that “you have cancer” and suggests that everyone has cancer. From all the definitions of “cancer” that I’ve found, cancer is, by definition malignant. He suggests a healthy body is able to control cancer but by definition a malignancy is uncontrollable. If it is controllable, it is not a malignancy and is therefore not cancer. Here he builds on a truth (we all may have cancer cells) and suggests we all have cancer.
Brownstein points out the connection between iodine deficiency and some thyroid problems. Again, building on a truth but then weaving in a fable that iodine deficiency is widespread and leads to problems that are just not supported by any studies that I can find (I had to look because he doesn’t provide any verifiable evidence to support his claims). What I did find is:
“overall incidence for a relationship between iodine and cancer is poor”, Thyroid. 2001 May;11(5):483-6. Iodine and cancer. Feldt-Rasmussen U.Source: Department of Medical Endocrinology, National University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University, Denmark. ufeldt@rh.dk
“thyroiditis occur more frequently in areas of iodine sufficiency than in areas of iodine deficiency” Endocr Pathol. 2008 Winter;19(4):209-20. doi: 10.1007/s12022-008-9038-y.
Thyroid cancer, thyroiditis and dietary iodine: a review based on the Salta, Argentina model.
Harach HR, Ceballos GA. Source: Servicio de Patología, Hospital “Dr. A. Oñativia”, E. Paz Chain 36, 4400 Salta, Argentina. rubenharach@arnet.com.ar
“a high dietary intake of iodine may be associated with a high frequency of papillary carcinoma and thyroiditis”
Endocr Pathol. 2002 Fall;13(3):175-81. Thyroid cancer and thyroiditis in Salta, Argentina: a 40-yr study in relation to iodine prophylaxis.Harach HR, Escalante DA, Day ES. Source: Services of Pathology, Dr A Oñativia Endocrinology and Metabolism Hospital, Salta, Argentina. rubenharach@ciudad.com.ar
As far as how serious and widespread the problem is, he says in his video “I always test for iodine levels and have found over 95% of my patients are deficient” (15:34). Sounds very serious. But the American Thyroid Association on their website states “There are no tests to confirm if you have enough iodine in your body.” (http://www.thyroid.org/iodine-deficiency). So what test is he using?
Brownstein very inventive. So it surprises me that he who plug into the old and tired drug company conspiracy theory, suggesting that the drug companies are making more from selling cancer treatment medication than looking for ways to prevent cancer. This makes no sense. If the drug companies had medication that could reduce your chances of getting cancer, wouldn’t you buy it and take it every day for the rest of your life? I would. So what Brownstein is saying is that the drug companies would rather sell short term treatments to a small percentage of people that have cancer (Brownstein says it doesn’t work so it would be short term) than sell a drug that would almost guarantee a life-time commitment from a much greater population.
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I have MS and was diagnosed years after suffering the symptoms that Drs claimed after numerous thyroid, hormone and blood tests was in my mind. I was suffering full body numbness, spilling boiling water on my foot and not feeling it when they finally got off their backsides and did an MRI. I had done weeks of research and suspected the diagnosis so I was happy to have an answer after the results came in. My father is an MD and my mother is a nurse and both of them sent me to a place called the Gawler Foundation in Victoria Australia (I am an Australian). Everything that Dr Burnstein says is exactly the same as what Ian Gawler and Dr George Jellinek taught all of us. After 3 weeks on their eating program I regained full functioning of my body with zero numbness, leaving my Neurologist (who told me I would be in a wheelchair in 12 months and dead in 3 years) shocked. That was 4 years ago. I have a beautiful daughter, am expecting a son and I have never felt better in my life. I know their are quacks out there, and it certainly is smart to do your own research, but from personal experience I can vouch for what this man says and the difference it has made to my life. Dont discount everything “just because”…it may save your life and the life of your family.
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The problem is the MONEY he is asking for his stuff (isn’t it always). If I had some specific medical/holistic knowledge (I don’t) that will help anyone I would offer it FREE.
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Dr. B is NOT a quack. Just because he presents an integrated approach, you think he’s off base?
All you have done is present is email, sit back and fold your arms as if the email and its contents are suspect.
Please tell us, point by point, what you feel is wrong with the doctor’s approach.
I happen to have Celiac, the allergy to gluten, and I’m under the care of a leading expert at a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital. I’ve done massive research from all the so called “legitimate” sources, and Dr. B’s information on the topic is absolutely correct across the board.
My mainstream PCP is part of a practice, again centered at Harvard, that offers what is now being called “integrated” medicine and includes yoga, acupuncture, meditation and many other modalities that I’m sure you would call “quackery”.
The fact is this. Western medicine is changing, and it’s opening up to these different ideas, and adding many ancient components. Top-notch mainstream medical doctors are leading the way, and they all agree with much of what Dr. B has to say.
Sure, if you break your leg or get an STD, you’re not going to get it treated with a yoga session. The point is though, is that there’s a time and a place for an ever-widening and growing set of modalities from various cultures and historical times.
You’re wrong. Period.
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Dave Letsgo, we treat cancer when prevention doesn’t stop it first. Where Brownstein is “brilliant” is where he relies on run-of-the-mill, standard medicine. When he turns to diet supplements and other quackery, the fact that his brilliance is borrowed becomes clear to people who follow science and read the science and medical journals.
You might get better information, for free, if you sign up for the Mayo Clinic newsletters, and if you follow CDC and NIH.
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more often than not the truth hurts, take the epidemic America has with cancer.Dr Brownstein correctly observes .cancer is treated not prevented. I find his work to be brilliant,
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Holistic medicine is whole body and traditional is not? You’re MD, and emergency surgeon if you are ever unfortunate to need one, have spend about a decade learning about a hundred years of the science of human physiology, in an attempt to keep your whole body alive. Quackery has always thrived on the simple fact that a majority of us always think we could be healthier. It’s the “I’m not feeling very well today” syndrome and the fact that most of us have to go do something every day to keep the lights on whether we feel well or not. So we think “I could get ahead of this rat race if only I felt better”. Which is heartbreaking because working class people less of a chance of becoming millionaires through their efforts at labor as than they do from winning a million dollar lottery, which may explain why get people get tired, don’t feel very well, give up and play the lottery. They end up taking blame for something that is largely not their fault. And there is always someone waiting in the wings, ready to jump at the chance to take advantage. It’s a despicable way to make a living.
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A lot of what Dr. Brownstein says is nothing new;
it is things that doctors and nutritionists have
been telling us for 50 or even 100 years. The only
thing new in his presentation was the idea that most
of us are deficient. We KNOW that cigarette smoke
is harmful. I am surprised that Dr. Brownstein did
not say anything about second hand smoke which is
just as dangerous. We KNOW that many metals are
toxic–I would have added a few more to the doctor’s
list: antimony, beryllium, thalium, uranium, and the
worst one of all, plutonium. Aluminum is used a lot
for cookware; that is how people are getting exposed
to it. A possible alternative to aluminum cookware
might be magnesium; contrary to popular belief, magnesium; in bulk form is not flammable–only in finely divided form, and magnesium is an essential nutrient. Pesticides are harmful; there are better ways of controling pest insects such as juvenile hormones which keep insects from maturing eexually and having babies.
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Does anyone really need to look any deeper than Newsmax to know this is a scam? I mean really, why would anyone bother to read that pile of garbage? It’s in a class with Weird Nuts Daily and Stormfront.
Preferred by tinfoil hatters and conspiratards nationwide…
Jim
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JamesK: no need to wait, let’s hear your ridiculous side of the story as if you really disagree with what he wrote.
You know the problem with people today? They have a stubborn mindset. They get this thought in their mind and instead of listening and becoming educated, they instead will do everything they can to defend their thoughts – perceived true or not. There’s a quote I love and it applies here for many of the commenters, especially JamesK:
“It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts” – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Stop defending stupidity when a little humility will set you free.
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Ed, wow. Accused you of perfidy? Claim to have superior information? I made no such statement. Seriously, if I’ve offended you in any way, I apologize. I was simply trying to make the point that people often read into others’ motives without knowing them, and I felt you were doing that to me. If not, then great. It happens all the time on the web… that’s the pitfall of not being able to hear a voice with intonations, or see body language, etc… lots of misunderstandings!
I don’t claim to have superior knowledge. I am just willing to share my personal experience with Greg, who is suffering, only if he is interested. Time is valuable, so no, I’m not willing to type a lengthy explanation publicly for the two reasons I have already stated: first, Greg might not be interested or even following this post, and two, it’s not relevant to this thread! I’ve already explained myself. Again, we are drifting off topic. I respect your right to your opinions in a debate. My personal experience is not open to debate. It is what it is. Your opinion of it would not actually change the experience. I think this post about Dr. Brownstein is played out. I wish you well. Have a great day. :)
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I just found it very curious that you claim to have good information, but you won’t share it. You claim you’re not selling anything — so why not share the information?
I ask the question, and though you don’t know me, you accuse me of all sorts of perfidy.
Either you’ve got good information worth sharing, and you’ll share it, or you don’t.
Don’t accuse me of being on a pedestal when you have the gall and hubris to claim to have superior information but you won’t correct me in my error. Were I in error, I would think you would be happy to help out another human being who is suffering.
I suspect you don’t have anything worth sharing. You’ve all but absolutely confirmed that for me, in your quick-to-judge, I-know-better-than-you-but-won’t-tell answer.
Thanks.
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Greg let me know when you come back here so I can tear your october post apart for its stupidity.
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Ed, like Greg, I’m not interested in confrontation with you. You don’t even know me and you’re accusing me of being afraid of something. You also place yourself on a bit of a pedestal when you assume that I care about your criticism. I have already said all I needed to say about Dr. Brownstein. I simply saw another human being (Greg) who is suffering and I am willing to share my experience with him in the hope that I might help him. IF (and only IF) he is interested in what I have to say, THEN I will spend time typing my personal story which is completely off-topic from this blog post about Dr. Brownstein and his work. I am NOT willing to spend time typing my information if Greg is not interested or no longer following this post. Nor am I interested in going off topic on a post… a little pet peeve of mine. Sorry to disappoint you, but no fresh meat from me today!
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Why not share it here? Afraid of public scrutiny?
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Greg,
As mentioned, I too have been a fan of Dr. Brownstein’s work. There is other information that I’d like to share with you that has helped me (no I’m not selling anything… it’s some very good dietary info and links). If you’d like to communicate about this, send me a private message at maryellen.azzi@facebook.com.
Mary Ellen
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This is for JamesK. It is a quote from the book, “The Best 106 Reasons Not to Vote for Obama:”
Section 5: The Auto Bailout — a colossal failure of crony capitalism Obama apologists would argue that the Auto Bailout worked because GM posted record profits in 2011, or because GM and Chrysler still exist. There are several ways these defenses ring hollow. 1. The bailout of GM and Chrysler was intended to prevent bankruptcy It did not, with both companies declaring bankruptcy after the bailout. This would seem to be the definition of failure. In a humorous twist, Obama is now attempting to take credit for the fact that GM and Chrysler still exist while pretending his opponent, Mitt Romney, would have destroyed the companies. In reality, Romney advocated managed bankruptcy — precisely the route the companies eventually took (but not until $80.3 billion in taxpayer money had been flushed down the toilet). 2. Ford did not take the bailout and instead opted for bankruptcy restructuring — they have since been the most successful of “The Big Three” Ford made $800 million more than GM this year despite a smaller market share and made $3,100 profit per car against GM’s $1,900.[55] 3. Chrysler, after receiving bailout funds from the American taxpayers, is now majority-owned by a foreign company (Fiat) So much for saving the American auto industry with American money. 4. GM is the recipient of one of the most corrupt tax-breaks in history Obama, in his continued effort to make GM into a winner to justify the unjustifiable government involvement in private business, has given GM the ability to write off $45 billion on their taxes. This resulted in GM paying NO taxes at all — despite making the “record profits” that Obama is now crowing about. Actually, it is worse than that: GM paid less than nothing — they received $110 million from the IRS. The cherry on top? This “crony capitalist” tax deal is good for 20 years.[56] Fair share, indeed. 5. As another example of crony capitalism perpetrated by Obama, one of GM’s cars, the Chevy Volt, comes with a $7,500 tax credit from the US Government Obama is pushing for the credit to become $10,000.[57] At what point did it become acceptable for the federal government to incentivize products for one company while giving the middle finger to that company’s competitors? Ford, as well as all free-market Americans, should be livid.
Allen, Lawrence (2012-08-05). 2012 Election: The 106 BEST Reasons NOT to Vote for Obama (Kindle Locations 491-505). . Kindle Edition.
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Thank you, Ed. Thank you very much.
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Good luck in your job search — and good luck getting a solid diagnosis on your arthritis. There is that stuff that is no bacterially-linked, and is painful, and difficult to treat. We’ll hope you can get treatment.
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Ed, my doctor has never given me this test. I have asked him repeatedly to do something about my arthritis, which is crippling me. I have to make several corrections as I type because of it. I don’t want to get into any personal arguments here. My comments have been generalized without attacking anyone. I just want to point out that there are things that I have learned from Dr. Brownstein that my doctor has never told me. Like I said, The VA just wants to dope you up or give you devices like testing kits. To get real medical care, I would need to get medical insurance and start seeing a doctor recommended by my parents and their rich friends, which is ultimately what I will do, and may have to do under Obamacare. Thank you for not getting in my face like the guy before you. That is just so rude. All the bailouts did was line the pockets of bankers. One of our car makers did not take a bailout, and they are doing just fine. But please correct me if I’m wrong. I don’t have time to Google it. I need to look for a job. Just please don’t rub it in my face with snide comments. That is something I see all the time on forums like this and especially on YouTube, and it is rude, crude, lude, and usually something that this younger generation seems to relish in doing. I’m surprised that I was not called a “dumbass,” which is the derogatory term they usually use. I don’t like stooping to those levels, and I don’t expect others to do it, either. I remain skeptical but open minded (a great combination, kind of like a cat).
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Greg, the surest and most clear path to better health among the public is to increase the number of visits most people have to their physicians — those guys are rarely so stupid or conspiratorially evil as you paint them.
Here’s a clue: While touting “natural” and “alternative” medicine, the first example given is right out of non-natural, mainstream medicine — testing for a bacterial infection that may be the cause of a specific arthritis.
How can we tell the quacks from the non-quacks? There are ways: See Robert Park’s great essay, “The Seven Warning Signs of Bogus Science.” Does the NewsMax guy pass the tests? I don’t think so. According to you, most of what his newsletter says is rather common sense, basic preventive health care. But, he’s figured out a way to get you to pay him for it.
That’s not health care, it’s marketing.
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To quote:
Then came the famous bailouts, which did little for the American people, but a LOT for our corporations
Okay..and what do you think letting the Big Three automakers collapse would have done for the American people?
As for Newsmax and its supposed credibility…yeah it has all the credibility of HItler claiming he was pro-Jew or the KKK claiming they were pro-black.
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The following is an excerpt from http://www.angioprim.com/learnmore/Medicalacceptance.asp and says it better than I ever could:
If Oral Chelation Therapy is so Good, Why Is It Not More Widely Accepted?
James P. Carter, MD, Dr PH
Dr. Carter is Professor and Head, Nutrition Section, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Reprinted from the Journal of Advancement in Medicine, Volume 2, Numbers 1/2, Spring/Summer 1989, pages 213-226 .
ABSTRACT: A summary of medical politics, turf struggles between medical specialties, and the medical economics of Oral chelation therapy is presented to answer the question, “If Oral chelation therapy is so good, why is it not more widely accepted?”
Most people, including physicians, are not aware of the medical politics, legal machinations and economic sanctions that covertly control the practice of medicine in the United States. A physician who introduces an innovative and nontraditional type of therapy often becomes the target of those forces. That is especially true if a new therapy, like Oral chelation:
1) involves a major shift in the scientific paradigm;
2) if acceptance of the new therapy somehow implies that currently used medical practices are inappropriate; or
3) if the new therapy threatens the financial well being of a politically powerful and well established branch of the medical profession. Quite the opposite occurred with the immediate and widespread acceptance of bypass surgery and balloon angioplasty, which quickly brought wealth and fame to surgeons, cardiologists, large teams of health care professionals, and the hospital industry.
When a radical new therapy like chelation is first introduced, physicians who do not utilize that therapy feel threatened, both professionally and financially. Their professional integrity is threatened by obsolescence of their scientific knowledge and they lose patients who seek out the new therapy. They forget that if their established treatments were really successful, and without major disadvantages, patients would not look to another type of treatment.
As with Oral chelation therapy, major pressures are brought to bear on the “deviant” physician to coerce him back into the accepted mold. He is ostracized by his peers; he comes under professional attack for “lack of ethics;” his medical and mental competence are questioned; he is accused of “exploiting” his patients for personal gain; and epithets of “quack” and “charlatan” are hurled his way. Ad hominum attacks are common, in the absence of more cogent and scientific criticisms.
Well known historical examples of that phenomenon occurred with the introduction of the germ theory of disease. That simple concept took 50 years for complete acceptance by the medical profession.
Lister was viciously attacked when he proposed that wound infections were not inevitable after surgery if aseptic techniques were used. Semmelweis was likewise dealt with when he urged doctors to wash their hands before delivering babies to prevent maternal deaths from puerperal sepsis. Lister’s recommendations were not accepted by mainstream medicine for many decades, and Semmelweis was persecuted to his death by medical colleagues, who were incensed by the notion that they themselves transmitted disease from patient to patient on their unwashed hands. Has human nature changed since that time?
The history of medicine is replete with examples of medical “heretics” who were eventually credited with major advances. They were often not recognized for their achievements until after death. Paracelsus, for example, is exalted as one of the great pioneers in medicine, but he was the original “quack” in his own time. Paracelsus introduced the use of mercury to treat syphilis. There was no other cure for syphilis at the time, although, as with many treatments today, the lethal dose of mercury was close to the therapeutic dose. Paracelsus was viciously attacked by his medical peers and derisively called a “quack” (short for “quacksalber,” the old German word for mercury).
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This is a followup reply to my first reply. It is a little long, but I found it necessary to digress into politics and finances in order to make my point about the medical profession.
Well, it took 11 days for my books, DVD, and the first installment of the newsletter to arrive. So, they have made good on their end of the bargain. It seems like legitimate medical advice to me, and most of it consists of things that my doctor never told me about. Like I said before, the VA just wants to drug you, and it is through the sales of the medications that they are able to keep their ancient albatross alive, although it is still sinking fast along with the rest of the federal government. There’s just not enough money to keep it afloat for too much longer. I wonder what most of the vets, especially the older ones, are going to do when the system collapses. Anyway, I digress.
I will probably want to read the rest of the newsletters, so I will go ahead and pay the “fat” fee of $40 to allow it to come for one more year. That’s a “whopping” $3.33 a month. I’ll do a reassessment a year from now. If this doctor was a quack, I can’t see how the FDA would allow him to continue. You know, it’s very popular today to be skeptical about everything, and everyone has to put their two cents in. Okay, fine. Go ahead and question everything, and don’t allow any new information to enter your life and possibly benefit you. That’s your choice. But I am more open-minded, and I like to give people the benefit of the doubt.
This trend of skepticism has become rampant now, and is actually just another manifestation of the insecurity we are feeling due to the political and financial turmoil in this country and around the world. People are running from here to there trying to find something — ANYTHING — that they can believe in to make them feel more secure in a VERY insecure world. All of our politicians seem to be lying, and of course they are, but that has been going on for centuries. It’s just that now it seems to be more rampant. Every time we vote a new party into office, they fill us full of promises that are never kept. That includes Congress and our presidents. The last president who had a balanced budget under his belt got caught with his pants down — literally. That ended his reign. The two presidents we’ve had since then have led us down pretty much the same merry path of financial ruin and destruction: one got us into two wars that lasted about a decade each, and we still have not pulled out completely, and we never will. We have bases in hundreds of countries around the world, and that number will continue to grow. It’s called Empire, and every major power the world has ever known has engaged in it. It is what ultimately leads to their downfall, and of course, it is doing the same to ours. That, along with record-breaking gas prices, financial instability, and turmoil in the middle east, is making people feel more insecure than ever — even more so than during the “cold” war, which was actually hotter than most people realize. We don’t know whether the next 9-11 is just around the corner, if Israel will nuke Iran/Syria or the other way around, if gas will go up another dollar, and which bank is going to fail next, and it’s driving everyone insane. Married people are arguing about the issues, losing their jobs and their houses, and are breaking up over it and the financial ruin that they find themselves in. Others keep having children because they represent hope for the future. Single people are searching for that “special someone” who will make them feel secure. Of course, people have always done that, but it means so much more in a world that is as insecure as ours is right now. The nightclubs are experiencing record sales. People can’t wait for Friday and Saturday night so they can get obliterated and try to forget about it all. Then Monday comes along, and they are in worse shape than before. Still others find their solace in religion. People are turning to God and Jesus Christ in record numbers. Some truly do find peace, but others are stuck in a merry-go-round of religious dogma. No wonder people have become so skeptical!
G.W. got the debt machine rolling and completely obliterated the balanced budget. Then came the famous bailouts, which did little for the American people, but a LOT for our corporations, WHICH ARE NOW GLOBAL IN SCOPE. “Made in the USA” is very hard to find these days. We are buying junk, and people are starting to get fed up. Even Apple computers are failing at rates closer to their competition. That is one company that you used to be able to rely on for a higher-quality product. Sure, you paid more, but it was like the difference between driving a Chevy or a Ford and driving a BMW. Our next president came along and promised us change, but he merely got handed the torch and continued running down the same merry path with a few minor changes that don’t really amount to much of anything. Remember the old song by the Who that went, “meet the old boss — same as the old boss?” And, “we won’t get fooled again?” Those lyrics were encased in a record sleeve that depicted the band members urinating on a lone concrete wall, very much like the monolith in “2001: A Space Odyssey.” THEY WERE PISSED OFF! Well, guess what, folks? We DID get fooled again. And again. And again. And again, ad infinitum. And that’s the way it’s been since the dawn of political time. When will the human race wake up and smell the coffee? So you see, all of this political turmoil here and instability abroad, a monetary system on the verge of collapse, and astronomically-priced crude oil from the middle east, has made America and the rest of the world a very insecure place.
So it’s no wonder that people have become skeptical. They are skeptical about their politicians, which is totally justified, but they are also skeptical about so-called “medical quacks,” without giving them the benefit of the doubt. Don’t be so quick to dismiss Dr. Brownstein. His claims are backed up by documented evidence. If he was faking all of this, he would lose his license so fast that it would make his head spin. That’s why we have the AMA and state medical malpractice boards. Thousands of doctors lose their licenses to practice medicine every year. So go ahead and be skeptical. A lot of doctors with ground-breaking techniques were considered quacks in their time, but those same techniques are now part of standard medical procedures.
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I can understand those of you who are young and healthy to be skeptical. But when you get into your 60s, you begin to look at life a little differently, especially if you begin to come down with multiple medical disorders at the same time. You know something is wrong, but your doctor tells you that your tests show that you are in the “normal range” (whatever that is), and that you just need to lose a little weight, eat better, and exercise more. I wish it were that simple.
I am a vet and go the VA for medical care, and I swear, sometimes I think they are not treating me and other vets properly so that we will kick off sooner and take some of the burden off of an already overtaxed system, both literally and figuratively. Basically, they just drug you up and give you free stuff like blood sugar testing kits, blood pressure testing equipment, and prosthetics. Beyond that, you literally have to be in a life or death situation like having a heart attack, stroke, acute respiratory attack or some kind of seizure before they will treat you properly or send you to surgery. I don’t think I am getting proper care at the VA.
I paid very careful attention to what Dr. Brownstein said, and I do not think he is a quack. You have to get your information out there somehow, and Newsmax is a convenient way to do so. Yes, some of the financial gurus are ripping people off, because you can get the same stuff at Amazon for a LOT less money, but that doesn’t mean that every doctor who advertises his books and videos via Newsmax is a quack.
I just checked Amazon, and yes, you can get these same books there. However, they are all currently in print and are in the $15-$20 range (even used). If you ordered three of his books, the total would be the same price as what they are charging you here for a year’s subscription to the newsletter, but you get the books for free, plus the DVD and the other freebies, including two PDF downloads. Since you can cancel at any time, I do not see what anyone could complain about. Now, if I get ripped off down the road or am not able to cancel if I wish to do so, I will certainly come back here and report it, but I think that this is valuable medical advice, and I also believe that the general medical community is out of touch with holistic medicine, including my own doctor. He has good intentions, but I have many of the symptoms and disorders that this doctor talked about. My tests have not shown any thyroid dysfunction, but my body is telling me another story. I am going to give a copy of the DVD to my doctor to prove to him that the tests are not the only indicator of health, and that he needs to take a different approach in my treatment. I have started taking a multivitamin with iodine, and I can’t begin to tell you how much better I feel after just a few weeks. So, the part about iodine, at least, is true. I now want the rest of the story and I want it documented in black and white as well as the video.
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To Bob (the “medical provider” who thinks this is BS cures, inc.)
I don’t know anything about newsmax and don’t care. I do know about Dr. Brownstein … I read some of his books a few years ago. I think the email was a schlocky sales pitch, but that doesn’t mean all of his information is quackery. On the contrary. I obtained very good information about iodine deficiency and also his discussions of anti-depressant use were invaluable.
His book about iodine cites studies and draws important links between iodine deficiency and breast cancer. Iodine used to be common in baked goods. It was displaced by bromine which inhibits iodine absorption. I’m sure that many women can relate to the sensitivity and pain when their breasts are touched. It shows up on x-rays as white blotches. After supplementing with iodine, all of that sensitivity went away. There are strong timeline correlations between the displacement of iodine in our diets (and use of iodine inhibitors) and the rise in breast cancer.
I am SOOOO TIRED of conventional doctors acting smug and condescending. Holistic medicine has been practiced for THOUSANDS of years. Allopathy (drugs and surgery) has only been about 150 years at best. If you had the answers, humans would be getting healthier, not sicker. Get your head out of big pharma’s a**! Start earning your money and research the researchers! You’ll find that a lot of junk science is coming wrapped in legitimate packages… corporate money is producing junk science from top universities and published in well-respected journals. You act like everyone else is gullible, when it is actually you who refuses to think outside the corporate-bought “study” box!
Please open your eyes. Anecdotal information is NOT useless! It should be an indicator of where to put research money, not something to laugh about over cocktails! But that won’t happen because there is no big corporate money in natural cures and prevention. So, keep giving out that tired old info that isn’t working. Keep prescribing drugs that make people sicker and lead to other drugs. Keep doing that and telling yourself you have the educated answers. In the meantime, don’t condescend to those who are curing themselves.
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This is bull shit cures INC. I’m afraid…
I am a licensed medical provider and there is a place where you can go for evidence based medical evaluations actually 2: The Cochrane Coalition, and the British Journal of Medicine put out books on the meta analysis of all these ” natural ” cure claims as well as many that are supported by high degree evidence…a few have reasonable evidence that states trying ” might help” and won’;t hurt to mostly , ” there is zero evidence that there is a statistically significant effect from the treatment…. you have to get research from a trusted source…read and then you decide… be real, not emotional…. the evidence is classed A-D, 1-4 based on all available research.
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DO not tie the freebies to the subscriptions, let them both stand alone if they are rue and as a good as you say!
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Give me the Freebies without the subscriptions tied to it. Let me decide if I want to try a trial subscription myself, and then renew it if it is that good.
Automatic forced subscriptions to anything uis not good and only lead to misunderstandings a eventually Fraud
If the Subscriptions are that good they should be able to stand on thier own just as any Magazine or News Letter. Give a reduced rate to start, but DO NOT tie them to a Supposed Freebie?
Jerry
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Newsmax is not a new quack organization and the said
Dr.Brown is not mor3e a quack than is any medical doctor. However, Newsmax advertisers and/or Newsmax absolutely use deceitful mehtods when gettin gyou to sign up for “Free Stuff” with the obvious intention of tricking you into providing your CC info under the auspices of merely charging you or the “postage” for the procuct. Then as has been noted by previous commentors, they charge you for continuing stuff you supposedly got for free with an automatic renewal for eternity. I am still trying to get to the bottom of this scam. I am not easily scammed.
But Newsmax hurts its creds by partnering with these places. I havealways considred the principle a sneaky-looking and acting character in the first place. Anyone who was once allied with and is now “against” the Clinton has to be looked at pretty closely. Did Slick rub off on him or is it the other way around. Dunno.
I reseach news article from every source before believing it. I have yet to find any claim of news that is baseless. I also agree, due to a long history of dissapoointmetns with the mainstream AMA tactics, that there is a lot of good alternative treatments. Had I relied on the AMA touted remedies (on lack of) I would have been daead over fifteeen years ago.
Where is the FDA. Likely among all the liberals who also bel3ev ethat lies are a good justification as a means to an end. Or in bed with the big pharms.
But ya know, a better bet for consumer safety is “Buyer Beware.” We can not regulate morality or intentions or stupidity enough to do any better. Just as one is responisble for hisor her own saftey and the saftey of his family, so are we resposible for our own gulibility. Due diligence.
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Glad I made you laugh. Not original with me tho’. I stole from a commenter on a blog. Couldn’t tell you now which one. Anyway, I’ve been passing it along ever since.
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Actually, Nick, those words were from my Sock Puppet named Stan, not Stan himself.
Ellie? So, you’re saying qi is carried in the blood? (I really laughed at that.)
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I’m putting this in all caps in the hopes that certain people might actually for once pay attention.
IF YOU ARE GOING TO ENGAGE IN A DEBATE THEN ANY CLAIMS MADE BY YOU HAVE TO BE BACKED BY EVIDENCE THAT YOU PROVIDE.
IN THE GAME OF LOGIC A CLAIM IS NOT HELD TRUE JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE SAYS IT. NOR IS IT HELD TRUE UNTIL PROVEN FALSE. IF YOU DON’T ATTEMPT TO BACK YOUR CLAIMS THEN DON’T EVEN BOTHER OPENING YOUR MOUTH, METAPHORICALLY SPEAKING, HERE.
NOR IS IT UP TO OTHER PEOPLE TO FIND THE EVIDENCE TO BACK YOUR CLAIM.
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Stan writes:
“It’s not fair to call this quackery ‘quackery.’ I’m sure there are studies that support the quack claims — I can’t show you where, but I’m sure you can find them on the omnipotent internet. I wouldn’t recommend quack cures myself, but some of the quack cures might work, and they can’t hurt, even if they keep you away from the doctor, right?”
It’s your claim that some of them might not be quack cures so its up to you to find the studies that prove it.
And as for your last sentence does that mean if I tell you that me whacking you over the head with a nerf bat will cure you of whatever ails you you’ll let me proceed to do it just as long as you might not be harmed?
Sorry, I’m not interested in returning to 18th-19th century. And if you’re not willing to try quack cures yourself don’t sit there and recommend them for anyone else.
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Nurse: Doctor! The patient is bleeding to death!
Doctor: Quick, nurse! Recharge his qi!
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Shorter Stan B:
Yeah, well, when you find the studies and you can make specific recommendations, let us know.
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I am always amazed at publications that tell you something is quackery then list the whole content of what they consider to be quackery. After reading the whole thing it is obvious this is sensationalism and not true to any studies but it is also true that by the time one finishes reading the whole article by the doctor it can get pretty confusing as to what is trying to be said. However to say that just because something is listed as holistic it is somehow not medicine than I am afraid that you are buying into a lie as big as the form email this supposed doctor wrote.
All Holistic means is a whole body, be it male, female and in a lot of cases animals, treatment using all means possible without using today’s medicines that often change one molecule in a prescription and call it something totally new.
There is a lot to consider when speaking of holistic medicine but the most important thing to remember is that before there was modern medicine there were people who from the times of cave persons used natural herbs, and other natural items to treat all types of diseases. And before you start condescending , remember that throughout history natural treatments were and still are in many cases better for you and have little or no side effects when used as directed by the person dispensing them.
The Chinese in modern medical hospitals use mostly herbal treatments. They do this and in most cases although most including myself do not know why but the treatments work. Yes they do still use modern medical treatment and dispense drugs when they feel the other treatments are not sufficient but they do in most cases use herbal treatments, acupuncture and other holistic approaches to the treatment of most of their patients.
I have not listed these treatments as they are easily looked up on line and in books because this is not a medical blog. I am just saying that to put aside a treatment because it is natural, and holistic is like cutting off a limb because it itches. The persons that have used these approaches to medical treatment are often scorned because they have no license or their self taught. That is foolish and without basis unless of course you are a college or a doctor committed to their trade and then the distortions and lies pervade the truth. These people are self educated and it took them a lifetime to amass their skills. After all isn’t that what a doctor does?
I like yourselves go to doctors and use drugs but when it is available, tried and true than I would and do use holistic approaches. It is safer and works. But you have to do your homework and this is where a lot of people fall short. It’s a lot of work but the rewards are great and the results can be as good or better than the use of modern drugs that often as you have seen on the tube have side effects that often can maim or kill you.
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Good heavens! What do you do that you come in contact with so much heavy metals?
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Just stumbled on this and was curious to read what this blogger is calling medical quackery. But when I read the piece I found myself saying, “This makes good sense.”
I don’t know Dr. Brownstein, and I don’t subscribe to his newsletter, but I do know that doctors who combine holistic medicine with conventional medicine (using what’s best for the patient) do get good results, and I can speak for that firsthand. Several conventional doctors could not get to the bottom of my problem: why I was so fatigued and got sick so often. But a doctor who combined the two disicplines easily found my problem — too much sugar and refined foods in my diet, and mercury and lead in my body that were suppressing my immune system. After changing my diet and going through a heavy-metal detox program, my health dramatically improved, and has remained good with no drugs needed. And regarding the latter, I’ve tried various prescribed pharmaceuticals over the years and have found many to have bad side effects without really helping. Why is it that when you visit a conventional doctor, the solution to every problem is a drug? But getting back to this particular piece, obviously it’s an advertisement, but does that make it quackery? And just because the blogger says so? If he had researched the doctor, visited his office, talked to his patients, maybe he could make a judgment, but he didn’t do that. He just condemned the doctor and his publisher based on an ad that, frankly, includes information that makes good sense. Higher standards of criticism are needed here. For now, I side with Dr. Brownstein. — DS
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The moment the words “holistic medicine” appeared, it became evident it was quackery.
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Newsmax. LOLZ.
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Pepi,
How long ago did you sign up?
Are you receiving bills from them?
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Signed up for the free trial but, never received anything and now that I’m trying to cancel I cant find a phone # or a way to do it. Doesn’t smell good.
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There is no getting rid of asthma. Period. It can be treated, yes, but there is no cure.
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They automatically renewed a subscription which I did not authorize and I was treated rudely by Joyce. I turned this in as fraud to my bank! Not even a notificatioin was sent!!
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I subscribed health letter of dr.brownstein but from that time to now I didn’t receive any letter by mail or by internet .so now I didn’t beleive you .I cancel the subscription now ,I can’t wait for you
LU HA
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This doctor is not a quack–believe it or not. You can choose whatever you want with healthcare—but if you are like most people, you will not get healthy with what most doctors are taught in medical school. However, you need to think outside of the box first. I am a nurse, and used to have asthma. I no longer do because of natural healing that I learned. It doesn’t matter to me if you don’t believe me–because it is people such as yourself who keep me employed… Hospitals count on sickness to keep them going. So I say, keep up the good work and keep doing what you are doing now and you probably will one day be like many of my patients in the hospital eating 10 plus drugs at a time and not getting any better.
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Newsmax has always carried stuff like this. My inner “social darwinist” wants to think that this is a good way to raise our nation’s IQ (by getting rid of more gullible Newsmax readers). :)
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