Fake medical skeptics must realize that instructing someone from a position of scientific authority, claim to facts or likelihood, to not undertake a treatment or protocol, constitutes quackery as well.
Americans are successfully employing supplements to improve their well being, and as well are increasingly sharing this success with others. As this industry inflection point unfolds, it is such a joy to witness the trolls of pretend science scoffing angrily from their parents’ basements. A wage well earned.
In a November 2017 Business Insider article journalist Erin Brodwin tendered copious amounts of medical advice concerning the supplement industry, and in particular which supplements one should and should not be taking. For example, I should be taking zinc and magnesium she instructs, but not vitamins C, cobalamine (B12), NADH (B3) nor l-methylfolate (B9). She expertly opines that most all this constitutes “pills and powders which are ineffective and sometimes dangerous”, and follows this modus absens scientific claim with an even more amazing claim, that “[All/unnamed] Public health experts recommend that people stay away from supplements altogether.” Let’s be clear – this constitutes a medical treatment advisement to me based upon a psychic diagnosis on the part of a pretend medical professional appealing to unnamed scientific authority. No more, no less. I lost count of how many times Erin cited the size of the supplement industry ($37 billion) in the article – as if this revenue turnover, which would simply inflate four-fold in price if the pharmaceutical-regulatory industry gained control of it, immediately in and of itself served to condemn such well-being management activity. As it turned out, Erin Brodwin was not simply wrong – but the medical advice she offered up to me in this article, is the same as that which has served to impart significant harm to my life for decades. In this article she was acting in the role of a quack, plain and simple.
I contend that the majority of suffering experienced by especially our US population, stems from a lack of available health knowledge on the part of its average citizen. Shill agency or no, knowledge which is squelched in the media by such fake medical skeptics as Erin Brodwin. Millions suffer, she gets a pharma-guaranteed celebrity boost to her career. Fake medical skeptics must realize, that instructing someone from a self-claimed position of scientific authority, set of ‘facts’ or even probability, that a treatment is ineffective/harmful/quackery – constitutes the making of a medical recommendation as to diagnoses, cures and appropriate treatments. Instructing someone that, not administering a treatment or arguably beneficial approach, constitutes the right medical treatment for them – is pretending to be a medical professional and offering unskilled medical advice – even if offered to a group of individuals. One cannot simultaneously make an accusation of ‘ineffective and/or dangerous’ and then qualify the accusation with the de rigueur ‘there are only anecdotes of its effectiveness’ permissive apologetic. This is dishonesty in inference, and in itself constitutes the most harm-imparting form of quackery.
Information that constitutes medical advice [is] the provision of a professional’s [or poseur’s thereof] opinion about what action an individual should or should not take with regard to their health…
Dana C. McWay, Legal and Ethical Aspects of Health Information Management1
If I could sue the skeptic-quacks who instructed me through highly publicized media releases, purported to be ‘communicating the science’ of medicine, that the following list (see ‘The Quackery’ below) was quackery – I would sue them for millions for the harm they created in my life over decades of suffering – through wrong diagnosis and erroneous treatment. An example of just such a quack-study can be found in this May 2019 ‘publication’, in the Annals of Internal Medicine no less (was simply a press release in reality): Chen F, Du M, Blumberg JB, et al. Association Among Dietary Supplement Use, Nutrient Intake, and Mortality Among U.S. Adults: A Cohort Study. A study wherein a student at Tufts University advises an entire national population as to a medical/health protocol they should not undertake (modus absens). The study was based upon death statistics among large cohorts who recalled ever taking a vitamin pill in their life, and what food they ate over 6, two year intervals. Not to mention recalling how much copper and 30 other nutrients that food had in it. Of course those who are still living are going to recall that this longevity is because they ‘ate healthy’ – this is how self-deception works in humans, and this study sought to exploit that foible. In other words, its analysis bore the agency and student conflict-of-interest (seeking to impress potential future employers) which sought to exploit noise-infused cohort stat-hacking bullshit. No wonder the study and its data are all hidden behind a paywall. An extraordinary claim to an absence (a monumental task of inference), affecting hundreds of millions of people through a medical diagnosis and treatment recommendation – and they don’t want to show the data or study. Right. A notorious trick of those seeking legislative rule (and extractive earnings) over American lives and rights.
Those seeking to keep Americans chronically sick – knowing that nutrient is being diluted from our food more and more each decade,2 they insist that all nutrient must come from our food alone, and then are mystified as to why Americans compulsively consume more calories each decade as well.
The incumbent weight battle and health harm were all imparted to me through instruction as purported medical and science aficionados, that the below approaches were quackery. When indeed all the below protocols turned out to be highly beneficial; critical in the recovery and maintenance of my well being. Such pseudoscience gets very personal and as a result, I am not afraid to call people like Brodwin and Chen, Blumberg, et al. incompetent and malicious fakers.
It is one thing to cite that the claimed benefits of a treatment have not been study-confirmed by the FDA. It is another level of harm-imparting potential to then call that same thing ‘ineffective or dangerous’.
Never trust a person who does not understand the ethical difference – and certainly never get your science nor medical advice from them, no matter what letters they may flaunt after their name.
“Supplements are an ineffective and sometimes dangerous waste of money.”
The Most Injurious Statement a Quack Can Make
Such fakers should be held legally accountable for the medical misinformation they spread. Be careful medical skeptics – the world does not suffer a lack of your cudgeling voice as to what constitutes the entire set of falsehood. Claims to absence and falsity require a much higher rigor in inference than do claims to presence,3 yet ironically such claims are doled out like candy by celebrity-seeking medical skeptics and journalists. Those foisting final claims to conclusive confidence, regarding topics about which they in reality know very little. That emotionally impaired propensity, the ‘Bunk! – I am the smartest person in the room and cannot be fooled’4 bravado, adds no value whatsoever to society. Such emotional frailty inevitably serves to impart harm, an affliction upon us all derived from one’s lack of critical knowledge and circumspection. If that is what you are here to add into the fray, then your life is of a net negative value to mankind. Celebrity or no – Doctor or no. You might help one person, and then definitely harm 10,000 in the next breath. Such sad circumstance mandates a long look in the mirror on your part.
You harm people like me – persons who no longer accept your claim to personal representation of medicine, science, science communication nor skepticism. Americans are successfully employing supplements to improve their well being, and as well are increasingly sharing this success with their friends and families. As this industry inflection point unfolds, it is such a joy to witness the trolls of pretend science scoffing angrily from their parents’ basements. A wage well earned.
The Quackery
Now first please note, that I am not a medical professional. The protocols I undertook below, while beneficial for me, do not constitute recommendations nor non-recommendations by me as to diagnoses, cures, treatments or protocols for adoption on the part of any individual. It should also be noted that each of these successes were accompanied by many more protocols I personally tested, which either failed or did nothing for me.
That being said, the following protocol introductions changed my life substantially, in order of critical benefit – each of these were pooh-pooed by skeptic-quacks over the decades (and in particular the article and study cited above), those who caused me much injury by recommending specific not-protocols, which turned out to bear harm:
l-Methylfolate (L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate)
Transitioning from the feeling like I was dying, weakness, sweating, light-headedness and anxiety – to feeling like it was a warm spring summer day and I was well again. I could run 3 miles on an 8 minute pace in my daily workouts, but could not even walk through the grocery store nor sit through an hour and a half professional conference lecture – without wondering whether I should have them call an ambulance. It ceased within 10 minutes of taking my first l-methylfolate and has never come back. My daily folic acid vitamin I took over the decades was completely useless this entire time.
Methylcobalamine/Adenosylcobalamine
All the same maladies as cited under l-methylfolate above, as I take this in combination with that supplement. These and more ceased within 10 minutes of taking my first methylcobalamine and have never come back. Doctor confirmed that my red blood cell count, months after starting this, had risen barely back above the anemic level. I was in the bottom 3% of the range – but to me it felt invigorating and wonderful just getting to that point.
EDTA and Doxycycline (Both are required)
As verified by catheterization by a top cardiologist (“Well TES, I have good news and I have bad news. The bad news is, you are going to die of cancer in your mid to late 90’s most likely…”). Two years of daily therapeutic dose in the morning completely eliminated arterial plaque from both my heart (head cardiologist of a major cardiac center confirmed) and (I conjecture) my brain fine capillaries and other plaque-vulnerable organs. Significant cardiovascular boost and significant boost in cognitive skills. Significant change in endurance and required breathing for heavy activity. I lost my feet and finger callouses, while my veins became supple like cooked spaghetti (according to my regular phlebotomist). The cardiologist suggested I stop, since the job was done. I did – but the benefits have sustained without diminishing, for well over 15 years now. In my 50’s, with training, I beat one third of my high school 5K cross country times. Cardiologist cited that I was a “1 in 10,000 exception in terms of plaque-clear cardiovascular system – and the reason I cite 10,000 is because that is the number of heart-caths I have conducted.”
Digestive Enzyme Pancreatin/Ox Bile/Betaine HCL
Daily left lower quadrant pain (after all other possibilities were eliminated by doctor first) was eliminated via taking this with each meal and at bedtime. Helped clear up skin.
Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NADH/NAD+)
Significant boost in daily energy, mental clarity and feeling of well being. If one gets dizzy, then back off on the supplementation amount.
Negative Ionic Fulvic Acid Suspension
Energy all day long, reduction in anxiety, reduction in autoimmune measures (thyroid peroxidase antibodies and thyroid supplement required). If I go without this for more than 48 hours, I can tell physically. The first ingestion of this afterwards is akin to drinking water after being very thirsty. Very refreshing and reinvigorating. Hair thickness boost.
Quercetin and Bromelain
Significant reduction in face sores and rosacea. Reduction in the sick-bloated feeling after evening meal.
Vitamin C in Larger Dose (Not ‘Mega-Dose’)
Significant reduction in time to get up off the floor. Significant improvement in flexibility. Significant reduction in joint pain. Lower rate of flu and cold styled illnesses per year. Dropped from sick once per year – to once every other or three years.
Vitamin D3
Nominal boost in overall well being, skin and hair tone. Lower rate of depressive winter funk.
Amla (Indian Gooseberry) Powder
Significant reduction in illness, sick feeling, brain fog and rosacea – along with an increase in well being, energy and fresher morning feeling (no bad taste in mouth). Much less joint pain in knees and ankles, and more flexible workouts.
Eliminating Toxic Agriculture from My Diet
Significant quality of life improvements were achieved by my whole family, through the elimination of the following toxic foods from our diet:
Soy (All types and forms)
Soy-fed animal proteinsGMO Corn
Wheat/Barley/Rye/Oats/Bran
Non-Grassfed Butter
Dairy (All types and forms)
Peanuts/Legumes/Peas/Lentils
GMO Oils (Soybean, Canola, Cottonseed)
Night and day difference in overall well-being, lessened anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome, thick and slow sick/toxic feeling, autoimmune reactions – along with a significant reduction in facial redness/rosacea and increase in metal acuity/attention/alertness.
My doctor of course has helped me through one surgery and a broken ankle. I celebrate those successes. However, the endless profit-minded monitoring of my blood pressure, A1C and cholesterol – has served to dissuade the doctor’s work from my real medical needs. Decades of undiagnosed pernicious anemia. Decades of autoimmune maladies and years of painful IBS. These were the important things (which probably eventually cause out-of-range blood pressure, A1C and cholesterol in the first place).
The money-making measures were never out of line – and my doctor falsely regarded that because of this, I was therefore fine. This, to my harm and suffering. I no longer want my blood pressure, A1C and cholesterol checked by my doctor. Neither do I bathe myself in ice-water when I get a nominal 101 degree fever. Instead I look for the cause. Otherwise, to focus on only the symptom …is well, quackery.
An ethical skeptic eschews such fake knowledge which stands in substitution of the critical knowledge, path or need.
The Ethical Skeptic, “Oh the Quackery!”; The Ethical Skeptic, WordPress, 25 Jan 2020; Web, https://theethicalskeptic.com/?p=44156
- McWay, Dana; Legal and Ethical Aspects of Health Information Management. Cengage Learning. p. 164. ISBN 9781305686328.
- The Ethical Skeptic, “Calorie-Diet Pseudoscience Proves False” The Ethical Skeptic, WordPress, 25 Aug 2017, Web; https://wp.me/p17q0e-6Hu
- The Ethical Skeptic, “The Map of Inference”; The Ethical Skeptic, WordPress, 4 Mar 2019; Web, https://wp.me/p17q0e-9r6
- The Ethical Skeptic, “The Hermit of Nosnix Who Couldn’t be Fooled”; The Ethical Skeptic, WordPress, 16 Dec 2018; Web, https://wp.me/p17q0e-98Z
Be ethically skeptic. It is tougher to do this and takes more thought , but the results are amazing. For 8 years I have known of the quackery. I thank the ethical skeptic for leading me to start my research and writing. The reality is modern agriculture is too “new” for Homo sapiens. The trend is continuing as we are on a plant based food phenom that will undoubtably lead to more misery. we are coming closer and closer to eating plastic than we are to a meat. Around 20 million years of evolution tells us our diet. Ancel Keys… Read more »
[…] Imagine if a magician started his show with ‘All things being equal, the simplest explanation tends to be the correct one’. He would quod erat demonstrandum, then be God by the end of the show. This is why a simple explanation only appears to fail less often. It is much more difficult to challenge, because it hides its epistemology. This is in part, an illusion. A very costly and uninformative illusion. Science is, the very task of employing the leverage power of reducing or falsifying the increment, and not affirming the ‘simple’ per se. For example, in terms of what is… Read more »
Dear ES, I have a comment on bathing oneself in ice water when having a fever. I recently had a viral fever while traveling in the tropics. High fever for 4 days, didn’t want to do anything except sleep. I refused all suggestions I see a doctor, thinking the fever was killing the virus or bacteria or whatever was ailing me, as it may well have been doing. By refusing to do anything except sleep, however, I was allowing the fever to kill me, I believe. My husband eventually didn’t listen when I said I didn’t want a doctor. They… Read more »
Thanks Alberta, and yes – there are times when the fever has to be directly handled. I will modify my wording accordingly… great point!
Thanks for the readership. :-)
TES
My father is/was a well-liked and succesful physician in my hometown (retired now, in his 70s), and quite a humanitarian one at that. He often made it clear in conversations we’ve had that much of what is going on in medicine – and especially in medical journalism – is highly problematic, bordering on the inhumane or even a travesty, depending on the topic/circumstances. There are trends that vanish as quickly as they arise, and often they are as ill-founded as they are widespread. And “science” is often just barely more than a buzzword, used to purport a semblance of soundness… Read more »
So well said TS. The only way in which I even ever heard of pernicious anemia was through a Twitter chat, where a person suggested methylfolate and cobalamine. I did not believe it until I was about to pass out at a conference. I took the two out of desperation (this had been growing worse for 25 years and was coming to a head – and had hurt my career). BOOM… In 10 minutes my life was changed. My doctor carries about as much credibility now with me as an average person on the street – except on specific corrective… Read more »
I sincerely wish you the best and hope that you don’t suffer any more from such agonizing conditions! Everyone needs to find what is best for her/him and should not feel intimidated by some “authority” (what an absurdity!) that finds it appropriate to dictate a persons’s means to feel well. The “anecdotal” evidence for being well is all that is needed for the “anecdotal” entity that is a human being :)
And thank you for your reply!