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Earl Mindell

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Earl Mindell
Earl Mindell in March 2009
Born (1940-01-20) 20 January 1940 (age 84)
St. Boniface, Manitoba, Canada
Occupation(s)Writer, Nutritionist
SpouseGail Andrea Jaffe

Earl Lawrence Mindell (born January 20, 1940) is a Canadian-American writer and nutritionist who is a strong advocate of nutrition as preventive medicine and homeopathy. Mindell's ideas have been widely criticized by medical experts.

Early life and education

Mindell was born to parents William and Minerva on January 20, 1940, in St. Boniface, Manitoba, Canada. He immigrated to the United States in 1965 and was naturalized in 1972. On May 16, 1971, Mindell married Gail Andrea Jaffe; they have two children.

Mindell received a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from North Dakota State University in 1963. A number of years later, he earned a Master Herbalist Diploma from Dominion Herbal College in 1995. Mindell's Ph.D. was conferred in 1985 by Pacific Western University.[1]

Controversy

Mindell's ideas on health and nutrition have been met with criticism from medical experts.[2][3] Mindell has previously promoted oral supplements of an "anti-aging" enzyme, superoxide dismutase (SOD). There is no evidence for the supposed benefits of SOD, and it is known that the enzyme would not survive the digestive process if taken orally.[4]

Mindell made several claims about the health benefits of wolfberry juice, commercially known as "Himalayan Goji Juice", while associated with a direct-selling company called FreeLife International Inc.[1] Mindell's claims regarding goji juice include supposed benefits for cancer patients based on evidence of cancer cell inhibition in vitro (i.e. in a dish).[5] In an interview with Wendy Mesley on the CBC consumer television program Marketplace (aired January 24, 2007), H. Leon Bradlow, coauthor of a study that Mindell cites as support for this anti-cancer claim,[5] says that his research does not, in fact, prove that goji has any anti-cancer properties, and that there is no scientific evidence such effects occur in vivo (i.e., when consumed).[1] In addition, Bradlow's study was carried out at Hackensack University Medical Center, not Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center as Mindell had claimed.[1] When faced with this information, Mindell stated in the same interview that he will stop citing the study.[1] Mesley then went on to confront Mindell about the validity of his Ph.D from Pacific Western University, and Mindell asserted that his degree is "accredited in every state in the Union."[1][6] Mindell and his FreeLife organization were the targets of a 2009 class-action suit which claimed that the company and its spokespersons "misrepresent[ed] the value and health benefits of Himalayan Goji Juice, GoChi, and TAIslim".[7]

His book Earl Mindell's Vitamin Bible was criticized by James A. Lowell in 1986, in a review reprinted by Quackwatch.[3] The book contains over 400 errors.[3][8] Professor of pharmacognosy Varro Eugene Tyler noted that Earl Mindell's Herb Bible contained many inaccurate statements and unsupported claims.[9] Mindell has also drawn criticism for his claim that habitual lying by children can be cured by large doses of B vitamins.[10] Nutritionist Kurt Butler has described Mindell as a "pill-peddling charlatan, and that his ideas are totally unsupportable".[10]

Mindell's advice on vitamin supplements has been described as "potentially dangerous".[2] Mindell has asserted that vitamin A is safe to take in dosages up to 100,000 IU per day. However, there are documented cases in which a daily dosage of 25,000 IU of vitamin A has caused toxic levels to build up in the body over periods of months or years. He has also drawn criticism for stating that medical doctors are uniformed about vitamins.[2]

Selected bibliography

In total, Mindell has published over 50 books. His most notable publication, Earl Mindell's Vitamin Bible, is a glossary of micronutrients published in 1979 and has been updated and re-released multiple times since. An incomplete list of his books is available below.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Getting Juiced". CBC Marketplace. January 27, 2007. Retrieved 2013-01-22.
  2. ^ a b c Barrett, Stephen; Herbert, Victor. (1994). The Vitamin Pushers: How the "Health Food" Industry is Selling America a Bill of Goods. Prometheus Books. pp. 357-358. ISBN 0-87975-909-7
  3. ^ a b c Lowell, James A. (June 1986). "An Irreverent Look at the Vitamin Bible and Its Author (Earl Mindell)". Nutrition Forum.
  4. ^ Schwarcz, Joe (2006-08-19). "Beware of Juices That Claim to Cure". The Montreal Gazette. CanWest MediaWorks Publication Inc.: J11.
  5. ^ a b Li G, Sepkovic DW, Bradlow HL, Telang NT, Wong GY (2009). "Lycium barbarum inhibits growth of estrogen receptor positive human breast cancer cells by favorably altering estradiol metabolism". Nutr Canc. 61 (3): 408–414. doi:10.1080/01635580802585952. PMID 19373615.
  6. ^ GojiJuiceNewsCenter.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-21. "Link to page as it appeared on 2007-05-03". Archived from the original on May 3, 2007. Retrieved 2013-01-27. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help).
  7. ^ Barrett, Stephen (September 2009). "Class-Action Suit Filed against FreeLife and Earl Mindel". MLMWatch.org. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
  8. ^ Jacobsen-Wells, JoAnn. (1989). "Speakers Urge Quackdown Against Health Fraud in Utah". Deseret News. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
  9. ^ Tyler, Varro Eugene. (1992). "Book Review Earl Mindell's Herb Bible (1992)". Quackwatch. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Butler, Kurt. (1999). Lying for Fun and Profit: The Truth about the Media: Exposes the Corrupt Symbiosis Between Media Giants and the Health Fraud Industries. Health Wise Productions. p. 81. ISBN 978-0967328102
  11. ^ "WorldCat.org". Retrieved 2007-03-21.
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