Health
Related: About this forumDr. Mercola: Visionary or Quack? (Excellent profile piece from Chicago Magazine)
This is a very long, ~4,700 words, profile of Joseph Mercola so I'm just going to excerpt the first four paragraphs and let everyone here either read the rest, or jump to their preferred conclusions.
He may not have the mainstream name recognition or rock-star appeal of, say, Mehmet Oz (though he has twice been a guest on The Dr. Oz Show). But Mercolas influence is nonetheless considerable. Each month, nearly two million people click to see the osteopathic physicians latest musings on the wonders of dietary supplements and minerals (The 13 Amazing Health Benefits of Himalayan Crystal Salt), the marvels of alternative therapies (Learn How Homeopathy Cured a Boy of Autism), and his take on medical research, from vaccines (Your Flu Shot Contains a Dangerous Neurotoxin) to vitamin D (The Silver Bullet for Cancer?).
Visitors to his site are also treated to heavy doses of the contempt Mercola holds for most things traditional medicine and Big Pharmathe medical-industrial complex, he calls it. Many followers are almost evangelical in their support of his message. If only the world had more Dr. Mercolas! wrote one in the comments section for The Thugs of the Medical World, a Mercola.com article about drug companies. You are a warrior sir, and your tireless, truthful, and fearless efforts to expose these criminals is much appreciated.
Not surprisingly, the medical establishment sees things differently. Some researchers and doctors say that Mercola steers patients away from proven treatments and peddles pseudoscientific misinformation on topics such as flu shots and fluoridation. In their view, he is resurrecting old myths, such as the threat posed by mercury in dental fillings, and promoting new ones, such as the notion that microwave ovens emit harmful radiation. The information hes putting out to the public is extremely misleading and potentially very dangerous, opines Dr. Stephen Barrett, who runs the medical watchdog site Quackwatch.org. He exaggerates the risks and potential dangers of legitimate science-based medical care, and he promotes a lot of unsubstantiated ideas and sells [certain] products with claims that are misleading.
Full article: http://www.chicagomag.com/core/pagetools.php?url=%2FChicago-Magazine%2FFebruary-2012%2FDr-Joseph-Mercola-Visionary-or-Quack%2F&mode=print
MineralMan
(146,351 posts)I've read more of Mercola's garbage than I care to think about. Pure-D quackery, most of it.
onlyadream
(2,168 posts)I think he's right about some things, but crazy about others... Sorta like Ron Paul.
HuckleB
(35,773 posts)Dorian Gray
(13,532 posts)CanSocDem
(3,286 posts)...so I'd avoid enlisting his help in the same spirit that I avoid other agencies that claim to be able to ensure my health for a price. To me, health is like love, suspiciously insincere if administered with a price-tag.
Of course, if the entire culture is based on a materialistic free market economy there are lots of products to sell including salvation, social staus and physical health with no more than a cautionary "Buyer Beware" sign out front. Regular customers are motivated by 'brand' loyalty, as opposed to informed choice. Eating becomes a choice between burgers or tacos, transportation becomes a choice between Ford or Chevrolet and government becomes a choice between Democrats and Republicans.
If the consumer had the guts to look behind the curtain, they would see many more choices, including the free ones that are particularly well hidden.
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HuckleB
(35,773 posts)I'm not going to read the article. That would be a waste of my time.
He is a Quack. And, worse than that, he is a quack who advocates against basic public health. He is a disease promoter.
End of discussion.
Response to HuckleB (Reply #5)
Post removed
HuckleB
(35,773 posts)By now, you should know that I read far more than you could ever imagine.
Mercola has been discredited. It is disingenuous, at best, to ask anyone to waste more time on such a schemer.
provis99
(13,062 posts)LeftishBrit
(41,219 posts)mopinko
(70,366 posts)the perfect place for him, out there with joe "deadbeat" walsh.
kdmorris
(5,649 posts)But have long since decided he's a quack. "Everything is bad for you and the only way you can live a full life is to BUY MY STUFF"...