Posted by IsoM on January 12, 2002, at 17:10:50
In reply to Re: misleading information, unproven products, posted by Dr. Bob on January 12, 2002, at 11:47:09
Dr. Bob, looking back I can see that my comments to Dolphin were uncivil due to feeling upset about losing Cam & perhaps others on this forum.
I do feel however that she is using this forum as a place of business, posting her comments & then later including her e-mail address and/or the name of the company she works for..
> > (Dr. Bob’s comment) ”Which is what makes this different than recommending movies. OTOH, just because someone might benefit from the sale of a product doesn't make it a bad product. Should it be against the rules for people who work for drug companies to post here? Those who own stock in drug companies?”
Yes, it’s hard to distinguish who to allow making posts here, but when I made the comment about her getting freebies, it was based on what she previously posted:
“Not only can I get it free, but they can too.” (and) “If I refer people to Life Force, I can get the products free.” Does someone who owns stock in drug companies get free meds too. If we recommend a movie or restaurant to someone, do we get free tickets or meals? There is a real difference, I believe & others can see it too.> > (Dr. Bob’s comment) *Misleading* information is a different problem. Can you give me an example of something she said that you'd consider misleading?
Yes, quite a few examples actually. These comments may contain some truth to them but when they’re this overblown & not backed up with references, it IS misleading. And the thing is, I’m a very strong believer in eating healthy & agree that foods no longer have the nutrients they were meant to but I prefer to present my information in as factual a manner as I know of & not use it to sell products. Here’s her comments that I feel are misleading:
1. “Body Balance is not a common vitamin. It is derived from hundreds of feet beneath the Arctic Ocean from sea vegetables, which is free from herbicides, pesticides, and heavy metal contamination. It contains every vitamin, macro mineral, trace mineral, enzyme, amino acid, fatty acids, and bioflavonoid known to man. This is everything that our body needs for life.” (from a previous posting of hers)
(my comments - There is no one group of kelps or algae that contains “every vitamin, macro mineral, trace mineral, enzyme, amino acid, fatty acids, and bioflavonoid known to man”.)2. “ Dr. Walford, proved it with the Biosphere Project in Arizona. The test proved, if they keep on the diet designed by Dr. Walford, they would live 165 years.”
(my comments – Where’s the so-called proof?)3. “In 1993 the World Health Organization said our soil is now totally baron and 95% depleted of the basic survival ingredients.”
(my comments – The only place I can find this statement is on other sites promoting their supplements. I’d like to see a reference for this statement. I could find nothing on either the WHO or the FAO [Food & Agriculture Organisation] sites.)4. “The deficiency disease best known in America is death.”
(my comments – That comment is similar to what one author wrote in a novel ‘the cause of death was heart failure – that is, after the gunshot to his head, his heart ceased to beat.’ That’s got to be one of the stupidest comments I’ve read in a long time.)5. “ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and ADDH (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder) are now linked to mineral and enzyme deficiencies.”
(my comments – Oh? Somehow with all the science journals I read & science news sites I frequent, that one slipped through & seems to invalidate previous findings about brain differences & activities in ADD.)6. “Until they find out about people who live 120 to 140, and these people aren’t advanced like America.”
(my comments – The examples of people who live to a very old age can’t always be substantiated due to discrepancies in the way birth records were kept or their validity. There are examples of very old people sprinkled about the world, the States included. While good living & eating habits are definitely a factor, more seems to be linked to genetics. They all have had relatives who have longevity as part of their genetic make-up.)7. “Researchers reported an epidemic condition in Americans called Early Pica. Pica is a depraved appetite and most commonly due to nutritional deficiency. …*Everyone* will end up with Early Pica in one form or another.”
(my comments – Pica is still poorly understood & while it may be caused by nutritional or mineral deficiencies, it’s also caused by developmental delays, metabolic disorders, & psychological & mental disturbances. Everyone’s going to end up with it? That’s quite a blanket statement to make.)8. “Because of a raging nutritional deficiency, over several years, your hardest working veins and arteries develop small leaks and cracks. Your body puts band-aids on these leaks and cracks made out of LDL cholesterol and fat lipids.”
(my comments – Pure tripe. Does it really need a rebuttal?)9. “Heart disease and clogged veins is brought by a lack of vitamin C.”
(my comments – Well, that sure seems to refute a lot of what previous research & studies have led us to believe in the role different types of fats, carbohydrates, exercise, & heredity plays.)10. “An ion is very tiny, a single atom, otherwise known as a metallic mineral. A single atom can penetrate just about anything. When minerals are taken as a drink they absorb as soon as they hit your lips, and since your intestines are negatively charged, the positively charged mineral ions absorb instantly, and by magnetic attraction 98% of these minerals speed through the intestine walls and right into your blood stream.”
(my comments – So does that mean that our high school & university chemistry textbooks are wrong about what ions are? Anybody with the most basic chemistry knowledge knows that ISN’T what an ion is. The rest of her comment is nicely rebutted by Cam in another post.)11. “This means when you take your vitamins, your amino acids, and essential fatty acids, the minerals are waiting right there. Scientist call it Catalysis to do all of the chemistry to keep you feeling energetic and living long.”
(my comments – ALL our metabolic chemical reactions are carried on by enzymes (catalytic proteins), in & out of the cells, it’s not simply because someone takes the supplement mentioned. Our entire metabolism is catalysis.)Dr. Bob, in a fairly recent Scientific American issue, there’s an article titled “Baloney Detector” about distinguishing true science from pseudoscience & a related web-site http://www.skeptic.com With your permission, I’d like to condense the points in the article & post it & the web-site each time fraudulent claims are made. Would that be fine?
poster:IsoM
thread:2609
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20011216/msgs/2641.html