Difference between revisions of "Joseph Mercola"
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| − | Joseph Mercola (born July 8, 1954) is | + | [[image:joseph_mercola.jpg|Joseph Mercola|300px|thumb]] |
| + | [[image:mercola.gif|Mercola's residence in Illinois<ref>[http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/mercola.html FDA Orders Dr. Joseph Mercola to Stop Illegal Claims]</ref>|300px|thumb]] | ||
| + | '''Joseph Mercola''' (born July 8, 1954) is a US-American [[Osteopathy|osteopathic]] physician, businessman, author, and founder of the [[alternative medicine]]-website mercola.com which markets and sells his health-related products. He is also an [[anti-vaccinationist]], [[HIV/AIDS denialism|HIV/aids-denialist]], an outspoken critic of FDA and critic of mainstream medicine, especially regarding the use of prescription drugs. His business practices are regarded as dubious by various sources, and he received several warnings by FDA for violating the law by advertising products using false and exaggerated claims. He is criticized for applying snake-oil vendors' methods, promising expensive products ''free of charge'' and scaring visitors of his website into buying his products with his articles.<ref>[http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/may2006/sb20060523_063274.htm Old-Time Sales Tricks on the Net], Business Week, May 23 2006</ref><ref>[http://www.skepdic.com/mercola.html Joseph Mercola, D.O.] in the Skeptic's Dictionary</ref> | ||
==Short biography== | ==Short biography== | ||
| − | Mercola | + | Mercola graduated from University of Illinois in 1976 and from Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1982.<ref>[http://www.mercola.com/forms/background.htm#education My education], mercola.com</ref> He started his website Mercola.com in 1997 which, according to Mercola himself, has become the most frequently visited natural health website today with over 1.5 million subscribers. Mercola wrote several books. Two of them, ''The No-Grain Diet'' and ''The Great Bird Flu Hoax'', made it to the New York Times bestsellers list. |
==AAPS membership== | ==AAPS membership== | ||
| − | + | Mercola is a member of right-wing, ultra-conservative [[Association of American Physicians and Surgeons]] which condems such alleged evils as abortion, vaccination, and evolution. AAPS further denies that mankind causes global warming, that HIV causes AIDS<ref>[http://www.jpands.org/vol12no4/bauer.pdf Questioning HIV/AIDS: Morally Reprehensible or Scientifically Warranted?], by Henry Bauer. Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons 2007: Vol 12, No. 4</ref>, and claims a "gay male lifestyle" reduces life expectancy by 20 years<ref>[http://www.jpands.org/vol10no3/lehrman.pdf Homosexuality: Some Neglected Considerations], by Nathaniel S. Lehrman, MD., Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, Volume 10, Number 3 (Fall 2005)</ref>, to give just a few examples. It publishes a journal which is neither peer-reviewed nor regarded as "scientific" in the first place.<ref>[http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2009/02/the_journal_of_american_physicians_and_s.php The Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons: Medical "science" as dubious as it gets], Orac at scienceblogs.com</ref> Quackwatch lists it as an untrustworthy non-recommended periodical.<ref>[http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/nonrecperiodicals.html Nonrecommended Periodicals], Barrett, Stephen, MD, Quackwatch. September 15, 2008</ref> | |
| + | |||
| + | ==Cancer claims== | ||
| + | Mercola also promotes the dangerous [[Germanic New Medicine]] of racist [[Ryke Geerd Hamer]] as a "new view of cancer" on his website. In an article dated 2007, he claimed Hamer was "persecuted and harassed by German and French authorities" when attempting to publicize his findings. The [[Victims_of_New_Medicine|total number of victims]] of Hamer's method in and outside of Germany exceeds 140 (as of 2007). Eleven patients died in Italy only. And not even one case of a successful cancer treatment according to the principles of New Medicine has been documented so far.<ref>http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/08/21/a-new-view-of-cancer-german-new-medicine.aspx</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | He also promotes the [[Sodium Bicarbonate Therapy according to Tullio Simoncini]] which must be considered one of the most ineffective and absurd methods claiming to cure cancer patients. Simoncini believes that cancer was a fungus and that it can be cured with baking soda.<ref>http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/08/05/fungus-causing-cancer-a-novel-approach-to-the-most-common-form-of-death.aspx</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Vaccination claims== | ||
| + | Mercola claims that [[Vaccine denialism|vaccines are dangerous]]<ref>http://vaccines.mercola.com/</ref><ref>[http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/04/05/gardasil-vaccine-victims-and-deaths--did-you-know.aspx Don’t Let Your Child Be the Next Victim of This Deadly Vaccine], mercola.com, April 05 2011</ref> because they were full of toxins and that they were produced from aborted human fetuses: | ||
| + | :''Most people are unaware that human cell cultures derived from aborted human fetuses have been used extensively in vaccine production for decades. And vaccine makers are happy that most of the public has remained ignorant of this fact, as awareness of it could blow up in their faces.''<ref>[http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/07/10/this-shocking-fact-is-never-disclosed-on-any-vaccine-informed-consent-form.aspx One of the Most Inexcusable Vaccine Revelations of All...], mercola.com, July 10 2011</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | This claim of course is utter nonsense.<ref>[http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2011/07/joe_mercola_plays_the_religion_card_agai.php Joe Mercola plays the religion card against vaccines], Respectful Insolence, Scienceblogs.com, July 11, 2011</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | In his book "The Great Bird Flu Hoax", Mercola claims the warnings about H1N1 flu were just false alarms and that swine flu was quite harmless. He contends it can be avoided by some simple measures, like optimizing vitamin D levels, avoiding sugar and processed food, the use of krill oil, the use of all-natural antibiotics like olive leaf extract and oil of oregano.<ref>[http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/07/16/Major-Expose-on-Swine-Flu-by-60-Minutes.aspx Major Expose on Swine Flu by 60 Minutes ], mercola.com, July 16 2009</ref> Mercola happens to sell all these products through his website. Swine flu, however, is not harmless; the World Health Organization confirmed more than 18,000 casualties caused by H1N1 until August 2010.<ref>[http://www.who.int/csr/don/2010_08_06/en/index.html Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 112]</ref> | ||
==Mercola on Food== | ==Mercola on Food== | ||
| − | + | Mercola basically advocates a so called [[Paleolithic diet]], consisting mostly of [[Raw foodism|unprocessed foods]]. He recommends the use of coconut oil<ref>[http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2004/07/14/coconut-oil-part-four.aspx Low-Fat Diet Myths and the Advantages of Coconut Oil, Part I] mercola.com, July 14 2004</ref><ref>[http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2004/07/17/coconut-oil-part-five.aspx Low-Fat Diet Myths and the Advantages of Coconut Oil, Part II], mercola.com, July 17 2004</ref><ref>[http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2004/07/21/coconut-oil-part-six.aspx Low-Fat Diet Myths and the Advantages of Coconut Oil, Part III], mercola.com, July 21 2004</ref>, and to avoid most fish (due to mercury content), grain, trans fats, artificial sweeteners, sugar, and pasteurized/homogenized milk. He advises persons with elevated insulin levels (such as diabetics) to avoid all grain products, fruit juices (including fresh-squeezed fruit juices), and canned, packaged or artificial foods. | |
| + | |||
| + | His dietary advice is criticized, as for example studies proved grain my have a protective effect against type 1 diabetes and a whole-grain diet strongly protects against type 2 diabetes.<ref>[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15162131 Cereal grains, legumes and diabetes], Venn BJ, Mann JI , European Journal of Clinical Nutrition(November 2004)</ref><ref>[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10837294 Nutritional factors and worldwide incidence of childhood type 1 diabetes], Muntoni S, Cocco P, Aru G, Cucca F, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (June 2000)</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | The American Heart Association states that saturated fats like coconut oil contribute to heart disease and recommends to limit their ingestion<ref>[http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/FatsAndOils/Fats101/Saturated-Fats_UCM_301110_Article.jsp Saturated Fats], American Heart Association</ref>, a position which is supported by science<ref>[http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2824150 Saturated fat, carbohydrate, and cardiovascular disease], Siri-Tarino PW, Sun Q, Hu FB, Krauss RM American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (March 2010)</ref> | ||
| − | + | Mercola's claims regarding homogenized milk have been called "tenuous and implausible" by the American Medical Association. | |
| − | + | Mercola argues against the use of microwave ovens and claims they were hazardous<ref>[http://www.mercola.com/article/microwave/hazards2.htm The Proven Dangers of Microwaves], mercola.com</ref>. Instead, he recommends buying his "Aroma's Turbo Oven" which, as he claims, miraculously protects the nutritional values of food.<ref>[http://products.mercola.com/turbo-oven/ Mercola Turbo Oven]</ref> Various scientific papers proved such claims absolutely unfounded. Due to the short heating periods in microwave ovens, nutrient content is actually preserved and not destroyed.<ref>[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7047080 The effect of microwaves on nutrient value of foods], Cross GA, Fung DY Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition (1982)</ref><ref>[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3894486 Effects of microwave cooking/reheating on nutrients and food systems: a review of recent studies], Hoffman CJ, Zabik ME, Journal of American Diet Association (August 1985)</ref> | |
| − | Mercola | + | ==Further Claims== |
| + | Mercola promotes various [[Pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]] ideas on his website, so e.g. that [[HIV/AIDS denialism|HIV was not the cause for AIDS]]<ref>[http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2001/09/05/hiv-aids.aspx HIV Does Not Cause AIDS], mercola.com, September 05 2001</ref>, that sunscreen increases the likelihood of skin cancer<ref>[http://blogs.mercola.com/sites/vitalvotes/archive/2007/06/19/The-Sunscreen-Myth-How-Sunscreen-Products-Actually-Promote-Cancer.aspx The Sunscreen Myth: How Sunscreen Products Actually Promote Cancer], mercola.com, June 19 2007</ref>, and that prescription drugs were harmful and should be avoided<ref>[http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/01/11/the-year-in-pills.aspx How to Solve Nearly Any Illness - Without Drugs], mercola.com, January 11 2011</ref><ref>[http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/04/06/7-drugs-that-can-kill-children-with-a-single-pill.aspx 7 Drugs That Can Kill Children with a Single Pill], mercola.com, April 06 2010</ref> | ||
| − | + | Mercola also claims medicine kills more people than it saves, in a series of articles titled ''Death by Medicine''.<ref>[http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/11/26/death-by-medicine-part-one.aspx Death by Medicine, Part I], mercola.com, November 26 2003</ref><ref>[http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/02/04/death-by-medicine-an-update.aspx Nearly 250,000 Deaths From ONE Common Mistake: Here's How to Protect Yourself], mercola.com, February 04 2011</ref> Among the authors of the series ''Death by Medicine'' are dubious writers like [[Gary Null]] (dubious credentials and products) and [[Carolyn Dean]] (had her registration certificate revoked because of "disgraceful, dishonourable and unprofessional conduct" in 1995).<ref>[http://www.casewatch.org/foreign/dean/dean.shtml Disciplinary Action against Carolyn Dean, M.D.], Casewatch</ref><ref>[http://www.reocities.com/healthbase/death_by_medicine.html The Quack-Files: Death by Medicine], by Harriet Hall, MD</ref> The articles are full of pseudoscience, false claims, and fallacies.<ref>[http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/death-by-medicine/ Science-Based Medicine on "Death by Medicine"]</ref> | |
| − | == | + | {{OtherLang|ge=Joseph Mercola|en=Joseph Mercola}} |
| − | Mercola | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
<references /> | <references /> | ||
| + | |||
| + | {{DEFAULTSORT:Mercola, Joseph}} | ||
| + | [[category:Author]] | ||
| + | [[category:Anti-vaccinationist]] | ||
| + | [[category:HIV/AIDS-Denialist/Critic]] | ||
| + | [[category:Businessman]] | ||
Latest revision as of 15:58, 17 August 2011
Mercola's residence in Illinois[1]
Joseph Mercola (born July 8, 1954) is a US-American osteopathic physician, businessman, author, and founder of the alternative medicine-website mercola.com which markets and sells his health-related products. He is also an anti-vaccinationist, HIV/aids-denialist, an outspoken critic of FDA and critic of mainstream medicine, especially regarding the use of prescription drugs. His business practices are regarded as dubious by various sources, and he received several warnings by FDA for violating the law by advertising products using false and exaggerated claims. He is criticized for applying snake-oil vendors' methods, promising expensive products free of charge and scaring visitors of his website into buying his products with his articles.[2][3]
Short biography
Mercola graduated from University of Illinois in 1976 and from Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1982.[4] He started his website Mercola.com in 1997 which, according to Mercola himself, has become the most frequently visited natural health website today with over 1.5 million subscribers. Mercola wrote several books. Two of them, The No-Grain Diet and The Great Bird Flu Hoax, made it to the New York Times bestsellers list.
AAPS membership
Mercola is a member of right-wing, ultra-conservative Association of American Physicians and Surgeons which condems such alleged evils as abortion, vaccination, and evolution. AAPS further denies that mankind causes global warming, that HIV causes AIDS[5], and claims a "gay male lifestyle" reduces life expectancy by 20 years[6], to give just a few examples. It publishes a journal which is neither peer-reviewed nor regarded as "scientific" in the first place.[7] Quackwatch lists it as an untrustworthy non-recommended periodical.[8]
Cancer claims
Mercola also promotes the dangerous Germanic New Medicine of racist Ryke Geerd Hamer as a "new view of cancer" on his website. In an article dated 2007, he claimed Hamer was "persecuted and harassed by German and French authorities" when attempting to publicize his findings. The total number of victims of Hamer's method in and outside of Germany exceeds 140 (as of 2007). Eleven patients died in Italy only. And not even one case of a successful cancer treatment according to the principles of New Medicine has been documented so far.[9]
He also promotes the Sodium Bicarbonate Therapy according to Tullio Simoncini which must be considered one of the most ineffective and absurd methods claiming to cure cancer patients. Simoncini believes that cancer was a fungus and that it can be cured with baking soda.[10]
Vaccination claims
Mercola claims that vaccines are dangerous[11][12] because they were full of toxins and that they were produced from aborted human fetuses:
- Most people are unaware that human cell cultures derived from aborted human fetuses have been used extensively in vaccine production for decades. And vaccine makers are happy that most of the public has remained ignorant of this fact, as awareness of it could blow up in their faces.[13]
This claim of course is utter nonsense.[14]
In his book "The Great Bird Flu Hoax", Mercola claims the warnings about H1N1 flu were just false alarms and that swine flu was quite harmless. He contends it can be avoided by some simple measures, like optimizing vitamin D levels, avoiding sugar and processed food, the use of krill oil, the use of all-natural antibiotics like olive leaf extract and oil of oregano.[15] Mercola happens to sell all these products through his website. Swine flu, however, is not harmless; the World Health Organization confirmed more than 18,000 casualties caused by H1N1 until August 2010.[16]
Mercola on Food
Mercola basically advocates a so called Paleolithic diet, consisting mostly of unprocessed foods. He recommends the use of coconut oil[17][18][19], and to avoid most fish (due to mercury content), grain, trans fats, artificial sweeteners, sugar, and pasteurized/homogenized milk. He advises persons with elevated insulin levels (such as diabetics) to avoid all grain products, fruit juices (including fresh-squeezed fruit juices), and canned, packaged or artificial foods.
His dietary advice is criticized, as for example studies proved grain my have a protective effect against type 1 diabetes and a whole-grain diet strongly protects against type 2 diabetes.[20][21]
The American Heart Association states that saturated fats like coconut oil contribute to heart disease and recommends to limit their ingestion[22], a position which is supported by science[23]
Mercola's claims regarding homogenized milk have been called "tenuous and implausible" by the American Medical Association.
Mercola argues against the use of microwave ovens and claims they were hazardous[24]. Instead, he recommends buying his "Aroma's Turbo Oven" which, as he claims, miraculously protects the nutritional values of food.[25] Various scientific papers proved such claims absolutely unfounded. Due to the short heating periods in microwave ovens, nutrient content is actually preserved and not destroyed.[26][27]
Further Claims
Mercola promotes various pseudoscientific ideas on his website, so e.g. that HIV was not the cause for AIDS[28], that sunscreen increases the likelihood of skin cancer[29], and that prescription drugs were harmful and should be avoided[30][31]
Mercola also claims medicine kills more people than it saves, in a series of articles titled Death by Medicine.[32][33] Among the authors of the series Death by Medicine are dubious writers like Gary Null (dubious credentials and products) and Carolyn Dean (had her registration certificate revoked because of "disgraceful, dishonourable and unprofessional conduct" in 1995).[34][35] The articles are full of pseudoscience, false claims, and fallacies.[36]
Versions of this article in other languages
- Deutsch: Joseph Mercola
References
- ↑ FDA Orders Dr. Joseph Mercola to Stop Illegal Claims
- ↑ Old-Time Sales Tricks on the Net, Business Week, May 23 2006
- ↑ Joseph Mercola, D.O. in the Skeptic's Dictionary
- ↑ My education, mercola.com
- ↑ Questioning HIV/AIDS: Morally Reprehensible or Scientifically Warranted?, by Henry Bauer. Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons 2007: Vol 12, No. 4
- ↑ Homosexuality: Some Neglected Considerations, by Nathaniel S. Lehrman, MD., Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, Volume 10, Number 3 (Fall 2005)
- ↑ The Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons: Medical "science" as dubious as it gets, Orac at scienceblogs.com
- ↑ Nonrecommended Periodicals, Barrett, Stephen, MD, Quackwatch. September 15, 2008
- ↑ http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/08/21/a-new-view-of-cancer-german-new-medicine.aspx
- ↑ http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/08/05/fungus-causing-cancer-a-novel-approach-to-the-most-common-form-of-death.aspx
- ↑ http://vaccines.mercola.com/
- ↑ Don’t Let Your Child Be the Next Victim of This Deadly Vaccine, mercola.com, April 05 2011
- ↑ One of the Most Inexcusable Vaccine Revelations of All..., mercola.com, July 10 2011
- ↑ Joe Mercola plays the religion card against vaccines, Respectful Insolence, Scienceblogs.com, July 11, 2011
- ↑ Major Expose on Swine Flu by 60 Minutes , mercola.com, July 16 2009
- ↑ Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 112
- ↑ Low-Fat Diet Myths and the Advantages of Coconut Oil, Part I mercola.com, July 14 2004
- ↑ Low-Fat Diet Myths and the Advantages of Coconut Oil, Part II, mercola.com, July 17 2004
- ↑ Low-Fat Diet Myths and the Advantages of Coconut Oil, Part III, mercola.com, July 21 2004
- ↑ Cereal grains, legumes and diabetes, Venn BJ, Mann JI , European Journal of Clinical Nutrition(November 2004)
- ↑ Nutritional factors and worldwide incidence of childhood type 1 diabetes, Muntoni S, Cocco P, Aru G, Cucca F, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (June 2000)
- ↑ Saturated Fats, American Heart Association
- ↑ Saturated fat, carbohydrate, and cardiovascular disease, Siri-Tarino PW, Sun Q, Hu FB, Krauss RM American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (March 2010)
- ↑ The Proven Dangers of Microwaves, mercola.com
- ↑ Mercola Turbo Oven
- ↑ The effect of microwaves on nutrient value of foods, Cross GA, Fung DY Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition (1982)
- ↑ Effects of microwave cooking/reheating on nutrients and food systems: a review of recent studies, Hoffman CJ, Zabik ME, Journal of American Diet Association (August 1985)
- ↑ HIV Does Not Cause AIDS, mercola.com, September 05 2001
- ↑ The Sunscreen Myth: How Sunscreen Products Actually Promote Cancer, mercola.com, June 19 2007
- ↑ How to Solve Nearly Any Illness - Without Drugs, mercola.com, January 11 2011
- ↑ 7 Drugs That Can Kill Children with a Single Pill, mercola.com, April 06 2010
- ↑ Death by Medicine, Part I, mercola.com, November 26 2003
- ↑ Nearly 250,000 Deaths From ONE Common Mistake: Here's How to Protect Yourself, mercola.com, February 04 2011
- ↑ Disciplinary Action against Carolyn Dean, M.D., Casewatch
- ↑ The Quack-Files: Death by Medicine, by Harriet Hall, MD
- ↑ Science-Based Medicine on "Death by Medicine"