Consumer Health A Guide To Intelligent Decisions Book – Stephen Barrett (1)

You have suffered from severe tension at work and at home. You have read an advertisement for “stress vitamins.” What action should you take to reach an intelligent decision about using such vitamins? 2. You visit a health-food store to buy some rice flour. While you are browsing, a clerk engages you in con¬ versation, learns that you are troubled by occasional headaches, and suggests several herbal products to help you. The clerk also learns that your mother has arthritis and suggests several products for her.

What should you do about these recommendations? promotes dubious treatments for many serious diseases. He hosts radio and television talk shows, writes books, gives lectures, and has marketed supplement products. He has spoken out against fluoridation, immunization, food irradiation, mercury-amalgam fillings, and many forms of proven medical treatment. Null’s supplement products have included Guard-Ion (an “antioxidant” for¬ mula claimed to help protect athletes from free radicals the body cannot control); Candida Complex (to bolster the body’s defenses against yeast infection); Rebalancer (a “cleansing formulation” for adults exposed to air pol¬ lutants, pesticides, or preservatives or who have “inter¬ nal metabolic imbalances”); and Gary Null’s Immune Nutrients (“to nourish and stimulate immune function, not merely at a marginal level of preventing disease and degeneration, but…

for optimal health”). Andrew Weil, M.D., is described on the covers of his best-selling books as “the guru of alternative medi¬ cine,” “one of the most skilled, articulate, and impor¬ tant leaders in the field of health and healing,” and “a pioneer in the medicine of the future.” His advice is a mixture of sense and nonsense. The sensible part in¬ cludes standard advice about diet and exercise.

The nonsense includes such ideas as “improper breathing is a common cause of ill health” and the recommendation that following surgery, patients should get massive in¬ travenous doses of vitamin C. He tends to prefer the use of “natural remedies” rather than conventional medi¬ cines. He has published nothing in scientific journals to objectively document his personal experiences with al¬ legedly cured patients or to substantiate his claims that the nonstandard remedies he advocates are effective.’^* His “Ask Dr. Weil” Web site contains an interactive “Vitamin Advisor” questionnaire that leads to a “per¬ sonalized formula of my recommended vitamins, supplements and tonics”—typically 6 to 10 products per person that would cost about $2 per day.

The explana¬ tions for these recommendations are poorly reasoned. Trade Organizations Health-food retailers have regional and national trade organizations that provide political, legal, and educa¬ tional support.

Professor Emeritus of Food Science Professor Emeritus of Science, Technology and Society The Pennsylvania State University University Park, Pennsylvania William M. London, Ed.D, M.P.H. Associate Professor of Health Care Management Director, Graduate Program in Health Care Management College of St. Elizabeth Morristown, New Jersey McGraw-Hill A Division of The McGraw-Hill Companies CONSUMER HEALTH: A GUIDE TO INTELLIGENT DECISIONS SEVENTH EDITION Published by McGraw-Hill, a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

Copyright ” 2002, 1997, 1993, 1989, 1985, 1980, 1976 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning.

Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the United States. This book is printed on recycled, acid-free paper containing 10% postconsumer waste. 1234567890 QPD/QPD 0987654321 ISBN 0-07-232366-3 Vice president and editor-in-chief: Thalia Dorwick Executive editor: Vicki Malinee Senior developmental editor: Melissa Martin Senior marketing manager: Pamela S.

Cooper Project manager: Richard H. Hecker Production supervisor: Enboge Chong Coordinator of freelance design: David W. Hash Cover designer: Lisa Gravunder Cover illustration: Linda Frichtel Senior photo research coordinator: Lori Hancock Supplement producer: Jodi K Banowetz Compositor: Shepherd, Inc. Typeface: 11/13.2 Times Printer: Quebecor World Dubuque, lA Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Consumer health : a guide to intelligent decisions / Stephen Barrett.

. . [et al.]. eb 7th ed. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 0-07-232366-3 1. Medical care. 2. Health products. 3. Quacks and quackery. 4. Consumer education. I. Barrett, Stephen, 1933- . 11. Cornacchia, Harold J. Consumer health. RA410.5 .C645 2002 362.1aEdc21 2001030923 CIP The Internet addresses listed in the text were accurate at the time of publication. The inclusion of a website does not indicate an endorsement by the authors or McGraw-Hill, and McGraw-Hill does not guarantee the accuracy of the information presented at these sites.

www.mhhe.com About the Authors Stephen Barrett, M.D., a retired psychiatrist who resides in Allentown, Pennsylvania, has achieved national renown as an author, editor, and consumer advocate. In addition to heading Quackwatch, Inc., he is Vice-President and Director of Internet operations of the National Council Against Health Fraud (NCAHF); a scientific adviser to the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH); and a Fellow of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP).

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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