Shame On You: Kevin Trudeau (Part 1)

Kevin Trudeau has been earning millions thanks to his book The Natural Cures “They” Don’t Want You to Know About, and, frankly, I can’t stomach it anymore.

Here is a man with absolutely no knowledge of nutrition, making the most bizarre and unfounded claims and essentially lying to people. Over the next few weeks, I will dedicate the “Shame On You” segment to Mr. Trudeau and his outrageous claims so you can see for yourself why he is a joke – and an insult – to the field of nutrition.

Before we even delve into his book, though, I would like to share some information on this character.

The cover of The Natural Cures… boasts a round sticker in all capital letters reading, “As Seen on TV”. Yes, true enough. At 2 AM. On informercials HE produces and pays for.

Any other time he has been on television outside of his infomercials, it is to be unmasked as the fraud he is.

Trudeau’s court records don’t tell a very pleasant tale. In 1990, he deposited $80,000 in false checks. He accomplished this by fooling banks into thinking was a doctor when he hadn’t spent a single minute in medical school!

Trudeau has “hit back” by saying that precisely because he is not a doctor, he is the best person to dish out medical advice since he hasn’t been “brainwashed” to “write prescriptions.”

One could certainly make the argument that Western society suffers from “pill syndrome” (believing that medication should be taken the second one feels slightly off-kilter).

However, Trudeau has absolutely no academic background in -- and does not understand -- biochemistry, physiology, disease, or nutrition, and it clearly shows. His book not only makes ludicrous suggestions and arguments, but is backed up by basically no research.

By 1998, the Federal Trade Commission was hot on his trail and fined him half a million dollars for the false claims he was making in many of his informercials.

In 2003, Trudeau was once again sought after by the FTC, this time for making claims that a supplement he was hawking – Coral Calcium Supreme – could cure all sorts of cancers. At the time, Trudeau was making the preposterous, misleading, and downright dangerous claim that diseases like heart disease and diabetes were a direct cause of low calcium intake, and that taking his supplement was the cure everyone needed!

Trudeau hasn’t just been duping television audiences in the United States. The Brits were “lucky enough” to see his infomercial for “Perfect Lift”, a non-surgical procedure which promised to bring back years of youth to a person’s face.

Not surprisingly, the British FTC equivalent quickly took him off the air for telling complete lies.

I will analyze this New York Times bestseller (I think my blood pressure shot up 200 points as I typed that) in detail in forthcoming posts, but allow me to formally introduce you to it.

Acording to Trudeau, pretty much every disease known to mankind is due to nutritional deficiencies, toxins, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, and chemicals in our food. It is these things, he says, that render our immune systems weak and vulnerable to disease.

He claims that by changing the way we eat, we can prevent disease.

Fair enough, I also believe that our dietary lifestyles play a role in our health, along with other factors such as environment and genetics. However, Trudeau’s idea of health and nutrition is as real as an episode of “24”.

Much of his misleading information starts on the cover of his book. “Includes the natural cures for over 50 specific diseases!” it screams. Except that to see this information, you must go to his website and pay a monthly fee. Nowhere in the book does he say what these supposed cures he knows about are (but he does tell you that stress isn’t good for your health. Groundbreaking!)

There is MUCH more to come. You will not want to miss this.