Earl Mindell

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Earl Mindell
Earl Mindell at Get Motivated Seminar, Cow Palace 3-24-09 1.JPG
Earl Mindell in March 2009
Born (1940-01-20) 20 January 1940 (age 82)
Saint Boniface, Manitoba, Canada
Occupation Writer, Nutritionist
SpouseGail Andrea Jaffe

Earl Lawrence Mindell (born January 20, 1940) is a Canadian-American writer and nutritionist who is a strong advocate of nutrition as preventive healthcare and homeopathy.

Contents

Early life and education

Mindell was born to parents William and Minerva on January 20, 1940, in Saint Boniface, Manitoba. He immigrated to the United States in 1965 and was naturalized in 1972. On May 16, 1971, Mindell married Gail Andrea Jaffe; they have two children.

Mindell received a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from North Dakota State University in 1963. In 1995, he earned a Master Herbalist Diploma from Dominion Herbal College. Mindell earned his Ph.D. at Pacific Western University, an unaccredited institution. [1]

Relations with the scientific community

Mindell's theories on health and nutrition have been met with criticism in the scientific community. Mindell has previously promoted oral supplements of an "anti-aging" enzyme, superoxide dismutase (SOD). There is no evidence for the supposed benefits of SOD, and it is known that the enzyme would not survive the digestive process if taken orally. [2]

Mindell made several claims about the health benefits of wolfberry juice, commercially known as "Himalayan Goji Juice", while associated with a direct-selling company called FreeLife International Inc. [1] [3] Mindell's claims regarding goji juice include supposed benefits for cancer patients based on evidence of cancer cell inhibition in vitro (i.e. in a dish). [4] In an interview with Wendy Mesley on the CBC consumer television program Marketplace (aired January 24, 2007), H. Leon Bradlow, coauthor of a study that Mindell cites as support for this anti-cancer claim, [4] says that his research does not, in fact, prove that goji has any anti-cancer properties, and that there is no scientific evidence such effects occur in vivo (i.e., when consumed). [1] In addition, Bradlow's study was carried out at Hackensack University Medical Center, not Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center as Mindell had claimed. [1] When faced with this information, Mindell stated in the same interview that he will stop citing the study. [1] Mesley then went on to confront Mindell about the validity of his PhD from Pacific Western University, and Mindell asserted that his degree is "accredited in every state in the Union." [1] [5]

His book Earl Mindell's Vitamin Bible was criticized by James A. Lowell in 1986, in a review reprinted by Quackwatch. [6] The book contains over 400 errors. [6] [7] Professor of pharmacognosy Varro Eugene Tyler noted that Earl Mindell's Herb Bible contained many inaccurate statements and unsupported claims. [8] Mindell has also drawn criticism for his claim that habitual lying by children can be cured by large doses of B vitamins. [9] Nutritionist Kurt Butler has described Mindell as a "pill-peddling charlatan, and that his ideas are totally unsupportable". [9] Mindell has asserted that vitamin A is safe to take in dosages up to 100,000 IU per day, but this claim is considered by some other mainstream scientists as controversial. He has also drawn criticism for stating that many medical doctors are uninformed about vitamins. [10]

Selected bibliography

In total, Mindell has published over 50 books. His most notable publication, Earl Mindell's Vitamin Bible, is a glossary of micronutrients published in 1979 and has been updated and re-released multiple times since. An incomplete list of his books is available below. [11]

Related Research Articles

Orthomolecular medicine is a form of alternative medicine that aims to maintain human health through nutritional supplementation. The concept builds on the idea of an optimal nutritional environment in the body and suggests that diseases reflect deficiencies in this environment. Treatment for disease, according to this view, involves attempts to correct "imbalances or deficiencies based on individual biochemistry" by use of substances such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids, trace elements and fatty acids. The notions behind orthomolecular medicine are not supported by sound medical evidence, and the therapy is not effective for chronic disease prevention; even the validity of calling the orthomolecular approach a form of medicine has been questioned since the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weston A. Price Foundation</span> Organization

The Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF), co-founded in 1999 by Sally Fallon (Morell) and nutritionist Mary G. Enig, is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to "restoring nutrient-dense foods to the American diet through education, research and activism".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quackwatch</span> American alternative medicine watchdog website

Quackwatch is a United States-based website, self-described as a "network of people" founded by Stephen Barrett, which aims to "combat health-related frauds, myths, fads, fallacies, and misconduct" and to focus on "quackery-related information that is difficult or impossible to get elsewhere". Since 1996 it has operated the alternative medicine watchdog website quackwatch.org, which advises the public on unproven or ineffective alternative medicine remedies. The site contains articles and other information criticizing many forms of alternative medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goji</span> Fruit of Lycium barbarum

Goji, goji berry, or wolfberry is the fruit of either Lycium barbarum or Lycium chinense, two closely related species of boxthorn in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. L. barbarum and L. chinense fruits are similar but can be distinguished by differences in taste and sugar content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Gerson</span> American physician

Max Gerson was a German-born American physician who developed the Gerson Therapy, a dietary-based alternative cancer treatment that he claimed could cure cancer and most chronic, degenerative diseases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wheatgrass</span> Freshly sprouted first leaves of the common wheat plant

Wheatgrass is the freshly sprouted first leaves of the common wheat plant, used as a food, drink, or dietary supplement. Wheatgrass is served freeze dried or fresh, and so it differs from wheat malt, which is convectively dried. Wheatgrass is allowed to grow longer and taller than wheat malt.

Patrick Holford is a British author and entrepreneur who endorses a range of controversial vitamin tablets. As an advocate of alternative nutrition and diet methods, he appears regularly on television and radio in the UK and abroad. He has 36 books in print in 29 languages. His business career promotes a wide variety of alternative medical approaches such as orthomolecular medicine, many of which are considered pseudoscientific by mainstream science and medicine.

Superfood is a marketing term for food claimed to confer health benefits resulting from an exceptional nutrient density. The term is not commonly used by experts, dietitians and nutrition scientists, most of whom dispute that particular foods have the health benefits claimed by their advocates. Even without scientific evidence of exceptional nutrient content, many new, exotic, and foreign fruits or ancient grains are marketed under the term – or superfruit or supergrain respectively – after being introduced or re-introduced to Western markets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juice Plus</span> Line of dietary supplements

Juice Plus is a branded line of dietary supplements. It is produced by Natural Alternatives International of San Marcos, California, for National Safety Associates. Introduced in 1993, the supplements are distributed by NSA via multi-level marketing. Juice Plus supplements contain fruit and vegetable juice extracts with added vitamins and nutrients.

Live blood analysis (LBA), live cell analysis, Hemaview or nutritional blood analysis is the use of high-resolution dark field microscopy to observe live blood cells. Live blood analysis is promoted by some alternative medicine practitioners, who assert that it can diagnose a range of diseases. There is no scientific evidence that live blood analysis is reliable or effective, and it has been described as a fraudulent means of convincing people that they are ill and should purchase dietary supplements.

The University of Beverly Hills is now defunct, UBH was an unaccredited school of arts and sciences which operated in the State of California until 2007. Its main facility was located in Beverly Hills delivering on-site and distance education programs, currently lacks association to a campus, performing arts center, or laboratory facilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vitamin C megadosage</span> Consumption or injection of very large doses of vitamin C

Vitamin C megadosage is a term describing the consumption or injection of vitamin C in doses well beyond the current United States Recommended Dietary Allowance of 90 milligrams per day, and often well beyond the tolerable upper intake level of 2,000 milligrams per day. There is no scientific evidence that vitamin C megadosage helps to cure or prevent cancer, the common cold, or some other medical conditions.

FreeLife International is an American multi-level marketing company established in 1995 by Ray Faltinsky and Kevin Fournier that supplies dietary supplements.

<i>Fit for Life</i> Book series

Fit for Life is a diet and lifestyle book series stemming from the principles of orthopathy. It is promoted mainly by the American writers Harvey and Marilyn Diamond. The Fit for Life book series describes a fad diet which specifies eating only fruit in the morning, eating predominantly "live" and "high-water-content" food, and, if animal protein is eaten, avoiding combining it with complex carbohydrates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann Louise Gittleman</span>

Ann Louise Gittleman is an American author and proponent of alternative medicine, especially fad diets. She regards herself as a nutritionist. Gittleman has written more than two dozen books and is known for The Fat Flush Plan, a "detox" diet and exercise program that she developed into a series of books. Gittleman's ideas on health and nutrition are regarded as pseudoscience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maureen Kennedy Salaman</span>

Maureen Kennedy Salaman was an American author, proponent of alternative medicine, and candidate of the American Independent Party for Vice President of the United States in the 1984 election.

Anthony William Coviello, known professionally as Anthony William or the Medical Medium, is a self-proclaimed medium who offers pseudoscientific medical and health advice based on alleged communication with a Spirit. He authors books and offers advice online on forums such as Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop column and his own website. William believes that the Epstein-Barr virus is responsible for multiple ailments, including cancer. He claims to be the originator of the lemon juice in water morning detox as well as the celery juice fad, which he claims can offer many health benefits. Critics allege that he is practicing medicine without a license and that he has, at times, improperly solicited positive Amazon reviews for his books.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Getting Juiced". CBC Marketplace . January 27, 2007. Retrieved 2013-01-22.
  2. ↑ Schwarcz, Joe (2006-08-19). "Beware of Juices That Claim to Cure". The Montreal Gazette. CanWest MediaWorks Publication Inc.: J11. ProQuest   434365733.
  3. ↑ "Goji: Health Elixir or Pricey Juice?". ABC News.
  4. 1 2 Li G, Sepkovic DW, Bradlow HL, Telang NT, Wong GY (2009). "Lycium barbarum inhibits growth of estrogen receptor positive human breast cancer cells by favorably altering estradiol metabolism". Nutr Canc. 61 (3): 408–414. doi:10.1080/01635580802585952. PMID   19373615. S2CID   33542464.
  5. ↑ GojiJuiceNewsCenter.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-21. "Link to page as it appeared on 2007-05-03". Archived from the original on May 3, 2007. Retrieved 2013-01-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link).
  6. 1 2 Lowell, James A. (June 1986). "An Irreverent Look at the Vitamin Bible and Its Author (Earl Mindell)". Nutrition Forum.
  7. ↑ Jacobsen-Wells, JoAnn. (1989). "Speakers Urge Quackdown Against Health Fraud in Utah". Deseret News . Retrieved November 22, 2018.
  8. ↑ Tyler, Varro Eugene. (1992). "Book Review Earl Mindell's Herb Bible (1992)". Quackwatch. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
  9. 1 2 Butler, Kurt. (1999). Lying for Fun and Profit: The Truth about the Media: Exposes the Corrupt Symbiosis Between Media Giants and the Health Fraud Industries. Health Wise Productions. p. 81. ISBN   978-0967328102
  10. ↑ Barrett, Stephen; Herbert, Victor. (1994). The Vitamin Pushers: How the "Health Food" Industry is Selling America a Bill of Goods. Prometheus Books. pp. 357-358. ISBN   0-87975-909-7
  11. ↑ "WorldCat.org" . Retrieved 2007-03-21.
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