Seriously, thanks to Timewinder for so eloquently making the point that we do have a method for determining whether something is good for you or not. KarlGauss has been another strong voice here in the past for the use of Evidence-based Medicine, and if we could just get over the whole “Western vs. alternative vs. herbal” medicine bogus smokescreen, and use therapies which have been demonstrated by the scientific method to be effective regardless of where they came from, we’d all be healthier.
Through nuclear fission, perhaps? I can’t think of any other way this could work.
Touting one cure as able to heal “any health problem” is a hallmark of quackery. As is blaming a single cause (vitamin deficiency, aspartame “poisoning”, yeast overgrowth, or what have you) for a wide variety of unrelated symptoms.
Blaming a conspiracy in one or several industries for suppressing an invention or discovery (the drug industry for “natural cures”, the auto industry for 200-mpg cars, et cetera) is another sign of a quack.
He really sounds almost like an Onion article parodying medical quacks to me…
And you know that this “coral calcium” doesn’t have this kind of long-term side effects how, exactly? Because it’s natural? So are hemlock, oleander, death-cap mushrooms, and for that matter toxic minerals like mercury and lead.
His infomercials still play here…several hundred times a day, more on the weekends. Does he maybe have another inofmercial that doesn’t conflict with whatever edict caused him to discontinue his other one?
The feds are keeping a close eye on his current scam, but so far he’s been surfing loopholes skillfully enough that he can’t be shut down. If you listen to one of his infomercials, notice how many times he says “In my opinion…” You can’t stop someone from stating their opinion, even if it’s complete nonsensical crap. He has to make solid claims for his quackery to be required to back them up. I’m sure he’s had every word of his spiel filtered through layers of lawyers this time around.
He even got a dead FDA official to “endorse” the book:
Considering that this guy pleaded guilty to credit card fraud about a decade ago, involving the credit card numbers of his customers, I don’t think anyone should pony up that kind of info to his website.
Actually, couldn’t you make an arguement that oxygen gerenated within the body (as opposed to inhaled) is bad for you?
IANAD but I thought one of the things that led to eventual harm to cells was dna or rna replication errors following an oxidation process within cells. There are theories (I thought) that this could lead to plain aging or in the worst case cancerous cells.
Think about this for a second. The guy is claiming that there is a secret cure, that drug company officials are keeping secret, so their company will make money.
Well and good - but this means that they, and their families, don’t have access to the cure either. And when they get cancer or AIDS or all the other diseases that quacks claim to be able to cure, they are willing to die, or let their family members die, so that their company can make money.
Would you do that? Would you expect that a large number of complete strangers, in companies all over the world, would do that? Every single time?
Why not? People who are frail and bedridden at 65 don’t make it to those very advanced ages. The folks who live exceptionally long times are the ones who are able to be active and lead productive lives for an exceptionally long time as well. Folks who make it to 115 are probably not suffering from debilitating diseases until 110. Once you start breaking hips and going senile, you don’t have a lot of years left.
Your logic makes no sense to me. It’s not as though you have the body of a 40-year-old until you turn 110, and then suddenly a switch is flipped and your bones become more brittle, your mind isn’t as sharp, and you suddenly can’t see or hear as well. For most of us, this is a gradual thing.
My grandmother lived to be 93, but I wouldn’t call the last 30 years of her life “active.”
She had to quit driving at 62 or so because she couldn’t see or hear as well, and her reflexes were poor. After a year or two riding the bus, she quit her volunteer job at the state hospital. She had to rely on others for doctor’s appointments and grocery shopping, and she hated that. HATED it.
She couldn’t eat any of the things she loved, like gumbo or blackberry jam or peanut butter. And no salt. God, she hated that she couldn’t have salt.
For the last 20 years of her life, she hardly left her apartment. For the last 10, her soul had already left her. She used to say, “Why won’t God just let me die??” and she meant it sincerely.
Yeah, I know, I’m not my grandma, but I don’t want to live through all of that kind of slow suffering that my grandma lived through. I don’t believe that you’re just cruising along in life and everything is just peachy, and then all of a sudden you’re struck with a debillitating disease that kills you within one to five years at the age of 115.
I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, but it’s HIGHLY UNLIKELY.
ISTM that giving up all the things that make your life enjoyable in order to prolong it makes little sense. My intent is to be a difficult patient. I am not going to stop doing what I like. If I die at eighty instead of eighty-five, so be it.
Don’t know the original source of the quote, but it appears on one of the James Bond books (You Only Live Twice, IIRC) -
I agree with that philosophy to an extent…I say to an extent because most of the time bad habits don’t kill you, they just make you very sick for a very long time.
All my grandparents lived to their 80’s; however, they were all quite ill those final 20 years. My father died at 70, but had to retire at 55.
My gramma’s in her eighties, and even though she’s got some health issues, she’s pretty happy. Not EVERYONE suffers in old age.
I looked to see if my library had this book, just out of curiosity. All of them were checked out, and there’s a waiting list of about four hundred people! Yikes!
