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

A short note about a book by Kevin Trudeau called... Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You To Know About

The author, who is mainly a marketer and salesperson and who has minimal or no medical training, tries to conjur a kind of conspiracy theory: medicine is driven by the commercial interests of big pharma, who ruthlessly abuse Americans. Government institutions such as the FDA, medical universities and physicians in general are in on this ruthless for-profit game.
What suprises me is the success of this book, which supposedly sold hundreds of thousands of copies.

The first upsetting issue is that the title insults your intelligence. Who really believes that absolutely everybody is in on a conspiracy, that nobody would step out of the conspiracy and get really rich with medications that work? "They" do not exist.

One of the important points in this book is - what does the author recommend that you do after reading all this?
And this is not a joke, he actually recommends NOT to see any healthcare provider that
a) writes prescriptions and / or
b) does surgery!
You need to wrap your mind around this.

The ability to write prescriptions and to perform surgery happen to be the things that require a state license. And they require a state licence because they are powerful, high impact actions that demand training, experience, intelligence and accuracy to do them right and use them for the benefit of others. It demands the committment to go through a substantial, difficult training and qualification process. Those 12 years for pre-med, medical school and specialty training demand quite a bit from you.

And the author recommends NOT to see anybody who has and uses those abilites. What would you think of someone who told you NOT to send your child to a school with licensed teachers? Would you trust someone who told you NOT to have your house built by a licensed contractor? Would you trust someone who recommended that you take your legal affairs to someone who is NOT licensed by the state?
But that is just what the author recommends. He suggests that you put your health into the hand of dubiously, if at all, trained individuals practicing far away from science and from the mainstream.

This recommendation nevertheless may explain the success of his book. Every "health care practitioner" that populates the twilight of the medical underground will most strongly recommend this book to all his friends and "clients". For a very good reason: They need clients and cash, they need credibility. Since they do not have a license to show, maybe a conspiracy theory will do.

Insurances somehow failed to comprehend the author's wisdom and trust those people who write prescriptions and do surgery. But then, they are in on the conspiracy...
The underground practitioners live from the cash payments of misled people. And to them, this author's book is money in the coffers.

The book looks like a planned, slick compilation of strange stories and myths from the medical twilight and health underground. It feels as if the stories were compiled to specifically appeal to those who frequent the medical underground - maybe due to disappointment with scientific medicine or due to sheer lack of knowledge. This is a sufficiently large number of people to make a book successful.

One of the many reasons why I like practicing in the US is that there are less people who believe in the nonsense presented in this book. The general level of edcuation and overall trust in science is very high, at a very enjoyable level. After all, it took humanity thousands of years to rise to the level of today's science. Evidence based medicine is simply...better.

And for the weird stuff, go to www.quackwatch.org


Another book I do not recommend:
Asset Protection for Physicians and High-Risk Business Owners
by Robert J. Mintz, Paperback, from $10.85

This book is by far too general and does not offer truly usable advice.

The main message is: As a wealthy person, e.g a doctor, you are a target for lawsuits. Lawyers go after the deep pockets, meaning you. Asset protection is possible and provides a good shield, but the details are complicated.
Ok, and now you know what the book says.

Mintz writes a lot in vague terms about filing the "appropriate" documents, but never bothers to explain what "appropriate" really means. He implies that you should leave this whole complicated matter to an experienced attorney. An experienced attorney such as, you guessed correctly, the author himself.

The book is mostly a sales pitch for his legal practice. I consequently contacted him with a request to provide me with a structure for my few assets, in preparation for the future. I had very few assets at the time. He did not even bother to answer my email. I assume his fee depends on the assets under management and I assume he is fishing just for wealthy clients...