Kevin Trudeau - a very sad man

[Guest guest]

Kevin Trudeau is the author of Natural Cures " They " Don't Want You to

Know About. You may have seen him in infomercials where he claims,

among many other questionable things, that you can't get cancer in

alkaline cells and that cancer can be cured by changing the pH of the

cancerous cells to alkaline. He has promoted Robert Barefoot in an

infomercial touting the value of coral calcium and has erroneously

claimed that a JAMA study on calcium showed that coral calcium had

cured many cases of terminal cancer (Barrett 2004). Trudeau and

Barefoot claim that coral calcium and alkaline water can neutralize

blood acidity. However, Gabe Mirkin, M.D., warns:

 

Anyone who tells you that certain foods or supplements make your

stomach or blood acidic does not understand nutrition.

 

You should not believe that it matters whether foods are acidic or

alkaline, because no foods change the acidity of anything in your body

except your urine. Your stomach is so acidic that no food can change

its acidity. Citrus fruits, vinegar, and vitamins such as ascorbic

acid or folic acid do not change the acidity of your stomach or your

bloodstream. An entire bottle of calcium pills or antacids would not

change the acidity of your stomach for more than a few minutes.

 

All foods that leave your stomach are acidic. Then they enter your

intestines where secretions from your pancreas neutralize the stomach

acids. So no matter what you eat, the food in the stomach is acidic

and the food in the intestines is alkaline.

 

You cannot change the acidity of any part of your body except your

urine. Your bloodstream and organs control acidity in a very narrow

range. Anything that changed acidity in your body would make you very

sick and could even kill you. (Mirkin 2003)

 

Kevin Trudeau's credentials in marketing can't be denied, but there is

some question as to his credentials in matters of nutrition.

 

During the early 1990s, according to a report in the Wall Street

Journal, Trudeau served nearly two years in prison. In 1990, he pled

guilty to larceny in a Cambridge, Massachusetts, state court in

connection with $80,000 in worthless checks he had deposited at a

bank. The sentencing memorandum said that he had posed as a doctor to

increase his credibility with bank officials. In 1991, he pled guilty

to credit-card fraud in Boston federal district court. Among his

misdeeds in the federal case, he misappropriated for his own use the

credit-card numbers of customers of the memory-improvement courses

that he offered at the time. (Barrett 2004)

 

In the credit card swindle, he defrauded American Express out of

$122,735.68. He also swindled about five grand from several banks,

including Chemical and Citibank. The Smoking Gun has posted a copy of

the indictment.

 

Presumably, Nutrition for Life International Inc. (NFLI) knew about

Trudeau's past when it took him on as a business partner. NFLI, an MLM

outfit specializing in such things as shark cartilage capsules and

other equally beneficial nutritional supplies went into bankruptcy in

2003,* but not before making Trudeau and some other investors very rich.

 

In less than 10 months, Kevin Trudeau and his marketing

organization have persuaded some 15,000 people to plunk down more than

$1,000 apiece for a highly touted opportunity to sell products.

 

The 32-year-old recruiter's delighted business partner, has

already granted Mr. Trudeau so many stock options that he has a paper

profit of more than $11 million. (Emshwiller 1996)

 

NFLI, which at one time traded on the NASDAQ for $35 a share, had

sales of over $32 million in 1995. Then trouble hit:

 

On Aug. 23, 1996, a class action lawsuit was filed in the District

Court of Harris County, Texas, on behalf of purchasers of the common

stock and common stock purchase warrants of Nutrition for Life

International, Inc. (NFLI) during the period July 11, 1995 through

July 16, 1996, inclusive (the Class Period). The complaint charges

NFLI, certain of its officers and directors, the lead underwriters of

its July 11, 1995 offering of stock and warrants, and a major

marketer/distributor Kevin Trudeau and the Trudeau Marketing Group

Inc. (collectively Trudeau) with violations of Texas statutory and

common law, by, among other things, misrepresenting and/or omitting

material information concerning NFLI's business, marketing efforts,

sales and earnings during the Class Period (07/11/1995 through

07/11/1996). In August 1997, the case settled. The company agreed to

pay $2,000,000 in cash to individuals who purchased common stock and

warrants during the class period. The company also agreed to pay the

plaintiffs attorney fees up to $600,000.00.*

 

Even so, some people are still recruiting for NFLI. And Trudeau is

still going strong, despite his having signed an agreement with the

FTC in 1998 to

 

(a) pay $500,000 in consumer redress, (b) be barred from making

false claims for products in the future, and © establish a $500,000

escrow account or performance bond to assure compliance. (Barrett 2004)

 

Apparently, he ignored the terms of his agreement because in 2003 the

FTC issued a preliminary injunction that claimed Trudeau

disseminated direct mail pieces and an infomercial that made claims

that coral calcium is an effective treatment or cure for cancer and

other diseases. The preliminary injunction prohibited Trudeau from

making these claims. The Court ordered that Trudeau cease all

marketing of coral calcium and expressly reserved the right to impose

additional remedial measures.

 

In 2004, Trudeau was found in contempt of court for violating the

preliminary injunction. Trudeau signed another agreement with the FTC

that broadly bans him from appearing in, producing, or disseminating

future infomercials that advertise any type of product, service, or

program to the public, except for truthful infomercials for

informational publications. In addition, Trudeau cannot make disease

or health benefits claims for any type of product, service, or program

in any advertising, including print, radio, Internet, television, and

direct mail solicitations, regardless of the format and duration.

Trudeau agreed to these prohibitions and to pay the FTC $2 million to

settle charges that he falsely claimed that a coral calcium product

can cure cancer and other serious diseases and that a purported

analgesic called Biotape can permanently cure or relieve severe pain.

(FTC press release)

 

The unrepentant Trudeau, however, appeared in infomercials after the

agreement was signed. Recently (July 25, 2005), he ran a full page ad

in Newsweek magazine for his Natural Cures book.

 

 

What accounts for Trudeau's success? He defies the FTC and appears to

violate agreements he makes. His Newsweek ad claims that he's sold

over 1.5 million copies of Natural Cures. In a press release issued

just three weeks later (8/8/05), he claimed to have sold 3 million

copies. I can only guess why he's successful with the government

regulators. Their fines are chump change compared to what he's making

from his superb marketing skills. And he can afford to hire lawyers

like David Bradford of Jenner & Block in Chicago to defend him as a

" consumer activist " being persecuted by a corrupt government that is

trying to stifle his free speech. (Bradford got a federal court to

issue an order temporarily enjoining the New York Consumer Protection

Board (CPB) from trying to dissuade cable and broadcast networks from

airing Trudeau’s infomercials for his book.) The New York Times

reported that an FTC lawyer said that books are not included in the

FTC agreements that bans Trudeau from making disease or health

benefits claims. Books are protected under the First Amendment.

Apparently, advertisements for the book are also not included in the

FTC ban.

 

On the other hand, I think I have a pretty good idea as to why he is

able to find many people who will buy into his message and buy his

products. He plays to a particular market that is suspicious of

" Them " : the medical/pharmaceutical/government cartel. This market is

also enamored of anything " natural. " Also, he is a particularly

convincing actor to those who are ignorant of basic nutrition and

biology. He sells hope to those who are prone to magical thinking, who

believe that maybe there are miracle cures that the scientific

community doesn't know about. He sells hope to those who believe in

the doctors/drug companies/government conspiracy: this cartel is

suppressing information to keep us sick so they can control us and

make bundles of money by keeping us ill. He sells hope to those who

are sick but who fear surgery or taking drugs for the rest of their

lives. He's a good-looking man and he looks his market right in the

eye and tells them that he's telling the truth. He has even turned his

felony convictions to his advantage. At calcompnutrition.com it is

written:

 

Kevin Trudeau is fast becoming the nation’s foremost consumer

advocate. Knowing from firsthand experience the power of greed, Kevin

pled guilty to felonies in his youth [he was 28] and spent almost two

years in prison realizing that “the love of money†is the root of all

evil. Kevin then reprioritized his life. His new business and personal

mission statement became, “We positively impact the whole person.â€*

 

Kevin Trudeau is the ultimate persuader. Not too long ago - before he

became the world's greatest marketer of natural cures - he used to be

the world's " foremost authority on memory improvement training. " * He

claimed his methods could cure brain damage, increase reading speed

beyond 10,000 words per minute, and develop photographic memory.* At

one time he advised visitors to his website to look for his new book

Lose 30 Pounds in 30 Days - The Weight Loss Secret " They " Don't Want

You To Know About. He now (1/3/07) just claims to want to give us the

simple steps that will help us lose weight faster and easier " than

ever before. " * In fact, when the book came out as The Weight Loss Cure

'They' Don't Want You to Know About, Trudeau said in his infomercials

that the weight-loss plan outlined in his book is " easy to do, can be

done at home, and ultimately allows readers to eat whatever they

want. " In fact, his " cure " requires severe, lifelong dieting

restrictions and daily injections of a prescription drug that is

neither easy to get nor approved by the Food and Drug Administration

for weight loss.

 

The reader who is still convinced that she must take calcium

supplements because there just might be something to Barefoot Bob's

beliefs would do well to compare the cost of coral calcium as touted

in Trudeau's infomercials versus the cost of calcium supplements

available at any drugstore. You'll pay about ten times more for the

calcium from Barefoot Bob (more than $20 per month versus about $2 per

month).* Also, when you buy Trudeau's book you will be advised that to

get the full story on the natural cures you bought the book to learn

about you must visit his website. There you will be told that to get

the full story you will have to to nature cures.com for

either $9.95 a month or $999 for a lifetime. The latter is the much

better deal, of course, because if you follow his advice you will

probably live to be about 150 years old. As Trudeau says in one of his

infomercials: " It's all about money. " Therefore, beware: these prices

may change.

[Guest guest]

I'm not sure what is being said here, but I can assure you that when I have what

I describe as " acid indigestion, " (whatever it actually is), or " acid reflux, " a

very painful condition, I can substantially or completely relieve it by using my

vegetable juicing machine to make a good sized glass of fresh celery juice.

This infallibly rids me of my " acidity, " no matter how intense it is. It has

become a completely dependable, natural remedy, infinitely better in every way

to the addiction I developed, many years ago, to the use of the very unhealthy

TUMS, I took constantly.

 

jp

-

bonehealth2004

Wednesday, October 10, 2007 1:03 PM

Kevin Trudeau - a very sad man

 

Kevin Trudeau is the author of Natural Cures " They " Don't Want You to

Know About. You may have seen him in infomercials where he claims,

among many other questionable things, that you can't get cancer in

alkaline cells and that cancer can be cured by changing the pH of

[Guest guest]

I am not a defender of Kevin Trudeau. I think you have 2 things

confused. Trudeau is talking about the ash or residue of certain

foods after they have digested and are in the bloodstream when he

speaks of acidity. Certain minerals leave a certain pH balance.

This is not talking about the acidity of the stomach. In this case,

Trudeau is right.

 

GB

 

> Anyone who tells you that certain foods or supplements make your

> stomach or blood acidic does not understand nutrition.

>

> You should not believe that it matters whether foods are acidic

or

> alkaline, because no foods change the acidity of anything in your

body

> except your urine. Your stomach is so acidic that no food can

[Guest guest]

It is a known fact that the so called indigestion offers symptoms

that could indicate either excess of lack of stomach acid.This is due

to a " rebound " effect of the parietal glands that produce the

hydrochloric acid.

Those who lack acid and take proton-inhibiting drugs are eliminating

the symptoms but hurting themselves beccause the acid is necessary

for the digestion of protein as a barrier to germs, for the

activation of the B12 precursor etc. The purple pill does more harm

than good!

If you feel lethargic after a meat meal and feel it just sits there

test to improve with apple cider vinegar (one tbs in 6 oz of water)If

improvement you may need to take Betaine hydrochloride to increse

acidity. If it wrsens with the vinegar you may be roducing too much

acid and will improve by taking more veggies or magnesium

bicarbonate. Taking vegetables is a wisw thing to do because they

contains tons of neutralizing minerals such as potassium and

magnesium. taking too many juices (or any liquid0 close to the meals

in not advisable to those with low acidity becasuse dilution of the

acid further agravates the problem.

Good luck

FCR

, " John Polifronio "

<counterpnt wrote:

>

> I'm not sure what is being said here, but I can assure you that

when I have what I describe as " acid indigestion, " (whatever it

actually is), or " acid reflux, " a very painful condition, I can

substantially or completely relieve it by using my vegetable juicing

machine to make a good sized glass of fresh celery juice. This

[Guest guest]

I agree with everything said here. I bought his books on natural

cures and he could have made them small pamphlets without losing

anything. He spends most of the books ranting and raving and wanting

you to say, " oh poor persecuted Kevin. " His website is not much

better, lots of promises. He had a message board where people could

say what they want and they did. The majority is about " how do I get

my money back, " " how do I get the goods I paid for, " " how do I get

them to quit taking money out of my credit card when I don't owe

anything, " etc. Then is was revamped and all that is allowed it so

rave about how great his products are.

 

It scares me how people are falling for his weight loss " protocol. "

It isn't simple from what I have read and it's extremely expensive.

There is NO protocol that lets you eat as much as you want for the

reat of your life. Then he says you can always go back on the

protocol if you regain weight. Wait a minute, didn't he say that you

can eat all you want without gaining weight?!! Then he says you

never get hungry, then 5 seconds later he says he was at his

mother's house eating pizza, pasta, mashed potatoes, pot roast, etc,

etc. I don't even eat that much!

 

In short, I think he is bad for the natural foods/supplements field.

He is the reason people don't trust (and only trust doctors). Shame

on you, Kevin!