STOP TIM BOLEN'S, ILENA ROSENTHAL'S
& BILL O'NEILL'S

DEFAMATION AND LIBEL
JOIN THE BATTLE
Libel and defamation can be stopped by clicking on PayPal. Thanks for your kind support.


Blind Faith: The Unholy Alliance of
Religion and Medicine

by Dr. Richard P. Sloan, PhD
Blockbuster New Book tackling the thorny issues about religion, prayer and medicine. If you've been told that you have an incurable illness, and that prayer will help --- think again.

This book will open your eyes. Dr. Sloan is a professor at the Columbia University School of Medicine and he introduces us to the major players in this new area of Christian evangelism. The studies purporting to show any health benefits from going to church or "being religious" are all so flawed as to render them useless. Using his epidemiological knowledge, Sloan carefully shows the reader how one should analyze claims from the media and claims in journals that purport to show a connection between religious behavior and improved health.

Support HealthWatcher.net

If you would like to support our efforts to combat quackery, health and diet fraud we make it easy for you to donate to the cause.

- Oral Chelation Therapy -
Golden Pride

Don't you just love infomercials?

Have you been scammed by the oral chelation folks? How much money have you flushed down the drain when crackpots, with bogus credentials buy time on local radio stations to convince you that you will go to hell if you don't buy their junk. No matter what it is, you now have a chance to get even. Send us your reports on your most favorite flim-flam guy or gal.
Share your story

Put your story here

I'm totally snowed in Wingham Are your dairy pipes all clogged? Have you felt dragged out, worried about your next payment on your snow-blower. Well CKNX has a solution for your tired bones, your worried masses. Try listening to Bryan Allen in the morning.


Oral chelation is bunk

Complaint - Oral Chelation on CKNX Radio 920

Radio Show: Bryan Allen 
Date: December 17, 2002
Time:  9-10 a.m.

Station: CNKX-AM-920 - Wingham, Ontario (They have no web site) E-mail Bryan Allen: ballen@cknxradio.com Product: Oral Chelation Company name: Golden Pride International - offices in Florida and Ontario Web site: www.goldenpride.com

Shipping and Mailing operation in Ontario: 6969 McKeown Drive Greely, ON K4P 1A2 613-821-4519

In Listowel, Pamela and Robert Coleman are local sales representatives. Their number was given out a number of times on the show. 565 Elizabeth Street West Listowel, ON N4W 3T9 519-291-2207

The complaint is against the radio station, the host, the guest, the manufacture of the products and all sales representatives for the company that sell Oral Chelation. I charge that the efficacy of the products known as Oral Chelation are fraudulent, the testimonials bogus, and the professional qualifications and titles used by the guest were misleading.

Bryan Allen runs what is generally called an open-line show. He has a subject, usually only one, for the whole hour. It seems that more often than not, that the guests have something to sell. It's a book, a supplement, an alternative remedy or procedure. In this particular case, the Oral Chelation Show, with a fellow named Troy Sanford, it seemed that it was strictly promotional. This guy, as slick as they come, hailed from Southern Florida, and he was a "doctors". Gee was I impressed, that is until I heard what he was selling.

Why there was so little factual information delivered by this snake-oil salesman that I thought that when I ran the tape backwards, I was going to find some secret message. But, alas, there was nothing in the entire show that was true, and any way you listen to it, or look at it, this one was a real ripoff.

Why even the cast of characters, who sold the stuff nearby, couldn't be reached for comment. How convenient, their mailbox was full, and/or their number was busy. Do you suppose they were headed for South Florida to deposit all their money with Troy, before the FTC raided their manufacturing plant, whereever that is?

I've been really impressed with Bryan Allen over the years. He did a great job on the Walkerton tragedy, that is until he repeatedly invited a certain other snake-oil dealer to the show. Cass Igram (Ingram), happens to be a formerly licensed osteopathic physician from Illinois, but everyone knows him better as Dr. Oregano.

You have to wonder why the people of the Wingham/Walkerton area of Ontario need to hear from people like Igram on subjects like E. coli, and royal jelly over and over again. He's a bloody broken record, and yet he still asks people what they eat when they call in, and his responses are always the same. Perhaps there's still a problem up there with the water supply, or do people who listen to CKNX have an oregano or bee pollen deficiency?

Who knows, perhaps Hulda Clark was too busy to come on the show to talk about how her zapper kills all those nasty little liver flukes that cause every disease under the sun. Ah, yes, it's Country Radio's parade of quacky stars that fill the airwaves up there in Grey County and beyond.

The December 17th CKNX broadcast has to be one of the most disturbing because the station basically didn't do its job. They should have checked the credentials of the guest before he was allowed on the show. Unfortunately, the producers of the show didn't take the time to do it. They wanted to help the local folks out. They're small business people who need a shot in the arm, economically speaking.

Why not be of service to the community who eats this stuff up likes pigs in a trough full of slurry? Are the citizens in the listening audience really that stupid, or what? This has nothing at all with "natural medicine" vs. "allopathic medicine". It has everything to do with out and out quackery, misinformation and deception.

All the radio stations in this country have to do is to ask a few simple questions, like who, what, where, when, and why about the products being hawked. Just because a product comes into this country and has a fancy label doesn't make it kosher, or for that matter effective, and safe.

Sanford, the alleged dietician and naturopath apparently does a fair bit of barnstorming in Canada, and is on the radio numerous times a month promoting products around North America. Instead of actually "selling products" on the show, they use the trick of "giving you the products for free". The only hitch is that you have to pay the postage. Now where have I heard that one before? We are in Canada folks, and there is a price to pay for living up here.

All you have to pay is $12.95 for a small sample bottle, according to Sanford, is the shipping charge. He actually said it was in Canadian dollars, but he didn't say where it was being shipped from, which may make a big difference. Products that come into this country ARE subject to many additional charges at the customs house.

What is really amazing is the fact that he didn't even, know, or pretend to know what the products sold for in Canadian dollars. This is highly suspicious because it's all over their own web site. Don't you think that if this guy is going to invest his valuable time to help out local distributors for Golden Pride, which I suspect he did, that he would at least have a handle on how much this stuff costs. After all, it's just a little bee pollen, royal jelly, and a couple of other nutrients. And it's supposed to work as good as intravenous chelation, isn't it? Well, that's another story.

And by the way, who is Troy Sanford anyway, where does he live, and is he really a licensed health care professional anywhere in North America? And what about the contention that he is a licensed dietitician and naturopath, according to Bryan Allen?

If he is naturopath, did he actually go to a naturopathic college, or did he obtain a certificate from another source? Where is he licensed to practice?

We were led to believe, by Bryan Allen, that Troy Sanford, was a practicing naturopath from South Florida. Since naturopaths are licensed with the Florida Department of Health it was easy to check on his credentials. Guess what, there is no "Sanford", or "Sandford" who holds a license to practice naturopathy, or dietetics/nutrition anywhere in Florida. So what are his real credentials................hmmm? Could it be that he "graduated" from a mailorder diploma mill? There was little or no attempt to challenge Troy Sanford's claims. And then the callers started to test the water.

Here's a good one for the government folks to sort out. Troy Sanford said that he "worked with the HPB" about 12 years ago to help develop the oral chelation formula. HPB is Health Canada's division known as the Health Protection Branch. Is there any truth to this? Why would our government work with a company based in the U.S. to develop anything? This is an absurd claim.

Health Canada's DPD database has a listing for DIN approved products made by Golden Pride/Rawleigh, but of course their Formula #1 bee pollen, royal jelly, oral chelation products are not listed. Now this doesn't mean that the product doesn't exist, or is banned. It just means that the manufacturer has not applied to have a DIN. It's easier that way for manufacturers to avoid any direct contact with the HPB prior to importing this supplement into Canada.

The oral chelation products that are listed on their own Florida website are totally and completely without any merit. There is no way that any of their claims are true. Just look at some of their ingredients, which by the way were just glossed over on the show. No evidence that it worked was provided, no studies, no research, nada!!!

Oral Chelation ingredients from Florida site:

Formula #1, Softgels in Canada)

The softgel capsule, a convenient form with less honey than the original liquid formulation, was introduced in 1989 and enhanced in 1997. Loaded with natural sources of vitamins B5, B6, and B12, along with super antioxidants such as lipoic acid and vitamin C, and chelating agents like royal jelly, sodium alginate, and EDTA, it helps support the cardiovascular system. Formula #1 is recommended by chelating physicians and practitioners throughout the USA and Canada.

Formula #1, Liquid

This original cardiovascular food formulation released in 1984 became the pioneer product of this type. Doctors who recommend IV chelation therapy and doctors who own IV chelation clinics use Formula #1 for their patients. Tens of thousands have used this formula for over 15 years to maintain their health. It contains fresh royal jelly protected in honey and fortified with honeybee pollen, vitamin B12, and other nutrients essential for assimilation. Stabilized with EDTA. (In Canada, liquid stabilized with SHMP.)

Golden Pride Links

  • Products: Formulas for Health - Hey, they actually trademarked this name. Wow, am I impressed.

    There are many other kinds of products that are made in the U.S. and marketed from Canada on this web page. Many of them make outrageous claims.

    Here are the links you will need to review the false claims for the "oral chelation" products.

  • Main site in Florida.
  • MLM dealers

    FALSE CLAIMS AND POTENTIAL DEADLY RESULTS

  • FTC actions against similar company that sells bee pollen. While you are there, you can do a search on FTC for "royal jelly", "bee pollen", or "chelation".

  • NCAHF opinion on royal jelly and bee pollen marketers

  • Bee pollen death in Australia kills little girl. ROYAL JELLY DEATH IGNITES DEBATE OVER "ALTERNATIVE" MEDICINE IN AUSTRALIA
    The Age (1/4/94) Melbourne newspaper reports that an 11-year-old Australian girl suffered a fatal asthma attack after her mother gave her 500 mg of double-strength royal jelly. Royal jelly, which is used to make queens, is found in the salivary glands of bees. Royal jelly is sold in health food stores and other sources with an uncritical love-affair with so-called "natural" products. The report also cites the death of a 21-yr-old woman after taking a Chinese herbal concoction for the flu. "Alternative" therapies is said to be a billion-dollar-a year-industry in Australia. The Melbourne Herald Sun (1/5/94) quotes the Australian Natural Therapists Association (ANTA), which represents more than 2,000 therapists, as saying that there was no law stopping uneducated quacks from recommending "alternative" medicines to patients. The ANTA wants to use the tragedies as a lever for licensure. An ANTA spokes-person said that health food store operators who were "no better than delicatessen owners" were also selling medicines. ANTA accused the Australian Medical Association of being concerned about its financial well-being because "alternative" medicine had doubled in size in the past 7 years.

  • Bee pollen - by William Jarvis, PhD Bee pollen is sold as a herbal remedy (pollen is a plant part which classifies it as an herbal). Because of poorly controlled manufacturing practices of herbal remedy makers, bee pollen capsules may be adulterated with many other substances. The most famous bee pollen success story of recent times occurred when Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) became convinced that bee pollen pills had cured his allergies. His enthusiasm motivated him to pursue the establishment of the NIH Office of Alternative Medicine. The product he used was Aller Bee-Gone, a secret-mix concoction which included more than just bee pollen hawked by Royden Brown of Arizona [9]. Not long after converting Harkin to his bee pollen cure, Brown's CC Pollen Company was fined $200,000 by the Federal Trade Commission for falsely claiming that his bee pollen products could cause consumers to lose weight, alleviate permanently their allergy symptoms, and reverse the aging process [10].

    There is no reason to believe that bee pollen has special benefits. Although rare, it can cause serious adverse reactions to some users. Considering its cost and cleanliness, bee pollen is best left to the bees.

    Bad Business & Lawsuits

  • Google News - Bee Pollen

  • Google News - Royal Jelly

  • Banks accuses ex-partner of greed, cheating - Topline International of New Zealand Auckland mayor John Banks' private business life was laid bare in the High Court yesterday with details of a luxury car lease and allegations against a former partner of greed, cheating and money laundering. He accused his former partner, 27-year-old lawyer Ben Cook, of greed, of systematically cheating a supplier of bee pollen, planning to import cheap bee pollen from China and laundering money through a secret bank account. Mr Banks was summonsed to give evidence against Topline International, which stands accused of falsely marketing its Nature Bee Potentiated Bee Pollen capsules.

    THIS IS SERIOUS AND I BELIEVE THAT ACTION MUST BE TAKEN TO STOP THE FALSE ADVERTISING, THE SALE OF THE PRODUCTS, AND THE RADIO STATION MANAGEMENT MUST BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT FOR THIS PROMOTION:

    SUMMARY OF COMPLAINT

  • ORAL CHELATION ADVANCED AS EFFECTIVE - IT IS NOT
  • FAILURE TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT POTENTIAL SERIOUS OUTCOMES OF PRODUCT
  • CLAIMS BY TROY SANFORD THAT HE WORKED WITH HEALTH CANADA TO DEVELOP THE PRODUCTS
  • CLAIMS MADE BY BRYAN ALLEN THAT TROY SANFORD IS A DOCTOR, A DIETICIAN, AND A NATUROPATH IN SOUTH FLORIDA
  • THE BOTTOM LINE IS THIS - WHY HAS HEALTH CANADA ALLOWED THIS PRODUCT ON THE MARKET AND WHAT WILL THEY DO ABOUT IT? I AM NOT HOLDING MY BREATH.

    More links

  • Dennis Courtney's Web TV show - interviews Troy Sanford on September 23, 2002. Unfortunately for us, Troy doesn't show up on the program until it's nearly over. So, be patients and you can listen to his southern drawl and drivel as he tries to convince one of North America's most convincing chelationists that his product, when taken as directed, under the tongue will do the same job as Courtney's i.v. stuff.

  • British based affiliated companies
      Regina - maker of royal jelly products - Hey, it's royal jelly fit for a queen. And they have celebrity endorsements. These included
      *  Margaret Thatcher
          * Elton John
          * Mikhail Gorbachev
          * Candice Bergen
          * Cliff Richard
          * Sarah Ferguson
          * The late Princess Diana
          * Jimmy Saville
      
      I don't know about you, but Margaret Thatcher also took money from Philip Morris tobacco company for years. That's a real endorsement.If you want to see what it does, then click here.

  • Royal Jelly bibliography

  • Bee therapy

  • Asthma on About.com There's no supporting data for the health benefit claims made when royal jelly is ingested. The danger to asthmatics and others with allergies is well documented in the medical literature. Royal Jelly has been implicated in at least one asthma death. There's also been one case of haemorrhagic colitis associated with royal jelly ingestion.

  • Direct Marketing Association says that they are MLM - i.e. Multi-Level Marketing stuff.
  • A second opinion from the UK Royal Jelly is produced by bees in relatively small quantities. Naturally, its supply is limited and it has to be sold at a high price. In her book, Royal Jelly , Irene Stein claims that it can cure 46 ailments: acne, AIDS, allergies, angina, arthritis, bronchitis, cancer, cold sores, . . .. She also makes miraculous claims about using royal jelly on animals; treating an anorexic tortoise, a dog with a slipped disc and bringing a cow back to life in Ireland! In an interview in 1989, Irene Stein was asked whether someone with cancer or Aids, reading her book, could get hope and might easily believe that taking royal jelly could help to cure them. She replied, 'I hope they do.'

    In a television interview, Professor John Garrow of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London called her attitude irresponsible saying, 'Imagine the situation of a patient or the relative of a patient who can't afford royal jelly and who is, therefore, put in the position that maybe they are not doing their best for their wife or husband or child or parent. I think that it is totally irresponsible and cruel. And I think that anyone who is going to make claims of that sort has a very, heavy responsibility to be sure that what they say is true. And far as I can see, that responsibility has been totally ignored.'

    Now, several years later, Irene Stein's claims are still unproven. Although she no longer markets royal jelly herself, her book is still on the market and royal jelly may still be bought.

  • Advertising Standards Authority - New Zealand. They have strict codes that protect the public against flim-flam operators who use the radio, and other media. While you are there click on the Medicine Act. Principle 3 - Advertisements should not by implication, omission, ambiguity or exaggerated claim mislead or deceive or be likely to mislead or deceive consumers, abuse the trust of or exploit the lack of knowledge of consumers, exploit the superstitious or without justifiable reason play on fear.

    Principle 4 - Any scientific information in an advertisement should be presented in an accurate manner. Scientific terminology should be appropriate, clearly communicated and able to be readily understood by the audience to whom it is directed.

    Code for Food Advertising

    (a) All nutrient, nutritional, health and therapeutic claims should be factual, not misleading, and able to be proved. A high standard of substantiation is required, such as authentication by ANZFA and/or appropriate government agencies or significant scientific agreement among experts that the claim or message is supported by publicly available scientific evidence.
    (b) The nature of the audience should be taken into account particularly when advertisements contain nutrient, nutritional, health and therapeutic claims.

  • EASA - European Advertising Standards Alliance

  • Advertising Standards Authority - a totally useless association. Some of its members are beer, liquor, and tobacco interests. They are not linked to the government. Don't bother to complain. But, they have a great page with links so you can file complaints. However, there are no links to Quebec, where there are strict rules about infomercials in radio and TV.

  • ASAI - Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland - Simply put it states that an advertisement should not suggest that the product or treatment is safe or effective merely because it is 'natural' nor should it refer to the omission of any ingredient in a way that suggests that the ingredient is unsafe or harmful. Ads should not use unfamiliar scientific terms for common conditions, and they should not claim that a food supplement is capable of preventing, treating or curing disease.

    Make sure that you click on the Code of Sales Promotion where you will find a list that lays out how the promoters share responsibility.

  • Honey puffs stung by advertising rules - U.K. Toxic Substances Board member Dr Robert Mann, who says potentiated pollen should "not be permitted for human consumption" in the absence of proper facts. "On the one hand, honey, for example, is subject to the Medicines Act as soon as it claims anything beneficial about itself. It's like someone who produces a bottle of water, and as soon as they say it will quench your thirst if you are dehydrated, it becomes therapeutic terminology.

    "On the other hand, it seems that other bee pollen producers can make the most outlandish claims and get away with them."

  • Search beekeeping.com - There is not a single bloody reference for chelation on their entire site.
  • A Canadian Tragedy - Go down to this section and see what can happen when parents are brainwashed.

  • National Council Against Health Fraud

    SHMP - sodium hexametaphosphate = Calgon

  • EPA description of SHMP sodium hexametaphosphate: a chemical added to water to increase the solubility of certain ions and to deter the precipitation of certain chemicals. For example, it is used to prevent calcium from precipitating out of water and clogging pipes. Its thin, passivating film protects metals from corrosion.

  • Dog bisquits coated with SHMP don't remove calculus - The most significant conclusion of this study is that conventional dog biscuits are of NO EFFECT as a teeth cleaning aid for dogs. Sodium hexametaphosphate is commonly used as part of household detergents! So, why would Troy Sanford want to sell you a chelation agent that contains SHMP? Hmmmm.

  • Proctor and Gamble / Crest Toothpaste Research with SHMP

  • MSDS for SHMP

  • HealthWatcher.net
  • Canadian Quackerywatch
  • DietFraud.com
  • ChiroWatch.com
  • Search this site!
      
       
    Add search to YOUR web site!