Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About

  Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You To Know About is a book written by Kevin Trudeau promoting a variety of non-drug and non-surgical cures for virtually every disease. Trudeau accuses pharmaceutical companies and the United States government of censoring these products and methods on the basis that it would cut into their profit-margin.

The book has been the focus of much controversy since its publication, with widespread accusations of fraud. The New York State Consumer Protection Board issued a warning in 2005 that the book "does not contain the 'natural cures' for cancer and other diseases that Trudeau is promising." It asserted that "Trudeau is not only misrepresenting the contents of his self-published book, he is also using false endorsements to encourage consumers to buy Natural Cures They Don’t Want You to Know About."^[1] The Board also alleged that Trudeau is selling the consumer's contact information to other marketers without their consent and hitting purchasers with unauthorized charges.^[2]

Natural Cures has sold more than 3 million copies and remained on The New York Times best-seller list for over nine weeks.

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Premise

In the book, Trudeau claims that there are "all-natural" cures for serious illnesses including cancer, herpes, arthritis, AIDS, acid reflux disease, various phobias, obesity, multiple sclerosis, lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome, attention deficit disorder, muscular dystrophy, and that these are being deliberately hidden from the public by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission because the government cannot regulate and control "all-natural" cures. Trudeau cites an alleged pattern of payoffs, conflicts of interest, and bribery, as well as commissioners from the FDA going to work directly for drug companies upon leaving the FDA and use their clout to protect their companies' interests. Trudeau also argues that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is also involved, shutting down Trudeau and others who advocate "all-natural cures" in order to protect the drug companies' profits.

Trudeau begins his book Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About with a personal story. It says that at the age of 21, he discovered he had a mitral valve defect in his heart, and that this was an incurable debilitating condition according to established medicine. He writes that his life was saved by a live cell injection procedure, which he underwent in Mexico because it was banned in the United States. The story has been criticized by consumer watchdog groups and medical doctors as being inconsistent. The symptoms of the condition he names (mitral valve prolapse) are generally surreptitious. Consumer groups and doctors say the treatment he describes could not have altered the structure of his heart.

FDA

Trudeau says in his book that the Food and Drug Administration is actively banning all-natural cures so that consumers are forced to buy drugs and therefore support the drug industry. He also says that there are all-natural cures for serious ailments such as cancer, attention deficit disorder, arthritis, acid reflux disease, herpes, and many other diseases. He writes that "It's all about the money! See why I am mad as all hell and not going to take it anymore??" (Updated Ed., p. 16)

Trudeau has no medical training or expertise, although he says that this fact makes him the most qualified to make these claims, as he is not a part of the pharmaceutical industry, American Medical Association, or FDA. His book refers to various studies supporting its claims, only vaguely, without specific citations to verify them. He also says that the book's claims are only his opinions, and in the chapter "I Should Be Dead Now" that there are virtually no medical facts.

Treatment plans

A repeated criticism of the first edition of the book was the lack of treatment plans for any illnesses within its pages, instead containing references to Trudeau's subscription-based website where the actual 'cures' were supposedly posted. Trudeau himself acknowledges that "if you are looking for a particular cure for a particular disease, you are missing the point to this book." He says that people have been "brainwashed" by the drug industry to think that a cure is a chemical compound which, when ingested, causes disease to simply disappear; according to Trudeau, this form of cure does not exist and never will. Instead, the cures he promotes are actually "lifestyle changes" which "help the body to heal itself."

He says that almost all diseases are caused by either nutritional deficiencies, toxins in the body (such as pesticide, herbicides, artificial colors from food, sweeteners, and preservatives, or fluoride and chlorine in conventional tap water), electromagnetic chaos ("I've been able to cure men of infertility by having them stop using laptop computers"), or stress; this weakens the body, making one vulnerable to infection and disease. Treating the causes will result in eliminating the disease. For example, he advocates organic homemade juice fasts for the purpose of getting nutritional benefits without ingesting the chemical additives found in conventional processed food.

Alternative medicine

One of his suggestions for losing weight is to have 15 colonics over a span of 30 days.^[3] On his first infomercial advertising his book, Trudeau gave out his medical opinions, such as the idea that if one's body's pH is alkaline, one will virtually never get sick. He also says that, through his research, all cancer patients he has observed have an acidic body.

Critics have disputed this statement, asserting that one's body can be neither basic nor acidic as blood pH is essentially neutral, tending to slightly alkaline, with a normal pH range of between 7.35 and 7.45; and any significant deviation from that could result in serious illness or death (acidosis or alkalosis).

On one of his latest infomercials, Trudeau offers a companion CD, Lose 30 Pounds in 30 Days — The Weight Loss Secret "They" Don't Want You to Know About, the title of which Trudeau says has been "censored by the FTC". Trudeau earlier promoted a version of this book on a CD with the title covered in an effort to establish his claims of censorship.

Support of the Church of Scientology

In Natural Cures, Trudeau recommends practicing Scientology/Dianetics to live a healthier lifestyle. It is uncertain whether he is a Scientologist himself, as he doesn't openly promote himself as such.

Retail

In August 2005, the drug store chain Walgreens pulled the book from its shelves, but the book continues to be sold at Sam's Club and elsewhere. Millions of copies have already been sold through retailers Barnes & Noble, Costco, and Wal-Mart.

Versions of the book

The original book contained 271 pages. An "Updated Edition" was sold shortly thereafter, containing 563 pages. This adds a new Introduction, a Frequently Asked Questions chapter and a chapter on website information. It also adds three appendices, containing newsletter articles, "No-Hunger Bread: A True FDA Horror Story," and locations of several health care practitioners. The FDA article, originally a short letter and summary of the case in the original book, is included in its entirety in the updated edition. One omission in the updated edition is a Glossary section containing several New Age techniques.

According to Trudeau, the chapter "The Cures For All Diseases" was completely censored by the FTC in the original book. The chapter is included titled as "Natural Cures for Specific Diseases" in the updated edition.

His website contains a number of references and articles, notably "FDA Horror Stories" such as "No-Hunger Bread," which describe alleged instances of the FDA suppressing natural cures. Another article addresses 714X, a disproven cancer treatment developed in Canada.

Criticism

As for the "natural cures" themselves, some are not cures at all but just obvious healthy lifestyle suggestions: eat less, exercise more, reduce stress. Some of the natural cures are flat-out wrong, such as oral chelation for heart disease, whereas others are laughably ludicrous, such as a magnetic mattress pad and crocodile protein peptide for fibromyalgia. Worst of all are the natural cures that the book directs the reader to Trudeau's Web page to find. When you go there, however, and click on a disease to get the cure, you first have to become a Web site member at $499 lifetime or $9.95 a month. It is a classic con man's combo: bait and switch (the book directs them to the Web page) and double-dipping (sell them the book, then sell them the membership).^[4]

Shermer and other critics have suggested that Trudeau has used Natural Cures to circumvent a Federal Trade Commission decision ruling that Trudeau is barred "from appearing in, producing, or disseminating future infomercials that advertise any type of product, service, or program to the public." The FTC issued its decision after it found that Trudeau had defrauded consumers by making numerous false claims about his merchandise in infomercials.^[5]

Others have criticized the book for making incoherent claims like "If your body is alkaline, you cannot get cancer. . .and if you have cancer, it goes away."^[6]

The book makes extensive unreferenced claims that some drugs cause such conditions as AIDS, headaches, bloating, indigestion, heartburn, nausea, allergies, asthma, fibromyalgia, arthritis, diabetes, constipation, yeast infections, dandruff, acne, halitosis, fatigue, depression, stress, and inability to lose weight.

References

Further reading

• Trudeau, Kevin, Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You To Know About, Alliance Publishing, 2005. ISBN 0-9755995-1-8
• Candice Choi, Associated Press, No Sure Cure, The Detroit News, page 3b, 25 Sep 2005, in court records.