Does anyone believe in "Kevin Trudeau" and should his ideas apply to runners?

His cousin Jack led the Fighting Illini to the 1984 Rose Bowl.

FYI I think Trudeau is on The O'Reilly Factor tonight. Maybe Bill will ask some probing and hard hitting questions. There is an outside chance he will even be allowed to answer.

Kevin Trudeau is nothing but a deceptive scam artist, who should be locked up in prison again. Trudeau is a twice convicted felon who stole money from his previous customers by stealing money via their credit card numbers long after the business transactions (he admittited to it when he pled guilty, and then went to prison for a few years). Among Trudeau's many fakeries, Trudeau was caught trying to pose as a medical doctor to get a loan approved, and now he continues to claim he has medical knowledge and cures? Anybody who buys anything from con-artist Trudeau is a fool, and as the saying goes "a fool and his money are soon parted."

The Debate Over Kevin Trudeau's 'Natural Cures'

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Read below the Transcript as posted on "The O'Reilly Factor," website.

This is a partial transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," August 10, 2005, that has been edited for clarity.

BILL O'REILLY, HOST: In the "Unresolved Problem" segment tonight, protecting your health. Many of us want to be proactive in warding off disease and physical deterioration. A best-selling book called "Natural Cures They Don't Want You to Know About" plays into that mindset by using an infomercial.

KEVIN TRUDEAU, AUTHOR: "They" in this case are really several government agencies, U.S. government agencies and other agencies around the world, and the drug industry primarily. But also it involves the food industry.

There are certain groups, including government agencies, as well as the food industry, the drug industry, and even some news and television and newspaper organizations, that don't want people to know about cures for diseases that are all natural because people can't make money on all- natural cures.

O'REILLY: Now the pitchman you just saw there and author of the book, Kevin Trudeau, was supposed to be here this evening but isn't. Some kind of foul-up. We're not exactly sure what that was.

But joining us from Chicago is his attorney, David Bradford, and from Boston, a critic of the book, Christopher Dreher from Salon.com.

Mr. Dreher...

CHRISTOPHER DREHER, SALON.COM: Yes?

O'REILLY: ... is this total fraud in your opinion, or is it just some mistakes? Or what's going on?

DREHER: It's more than a matter of just a few mistakes. Basically, Kevin Trudeau has a long history of run-ins with government agencies about lying in the products that he's selling.

In fact he was the first person ever banned from being in infomercials to sell products or services. The one exception there was he could sell a book, which he's gone on and done.

He's used the same techniques and the same ideas that he used to sell other products that were just completely untrue, to sell the book and obviously, very successfully.

O'REILLY: Yes, he sold a million and a half copies. But I need you to tell me what you object to in the book. We know that Mr. Trudeau served time in prison for credit card fraud.

DREHER: Sure.

O'REILLY: It's on his sheet. He admits it and says he made a mistake, says he's a law-abiding citizen now. But you know, a million and a half copies. A lot of folks buying the book. What's wrong with the book?

DREHER: Well, specifically, in the book there aren't natural cures in there. I mean, there are a few who are talking about pretty much common knowledge solutions and things like colds and things like that. You're not going to get any cure for cancer in this. There's no cure for any serious illness.

Most of it, for example, is his advice, you know, ranging from -- he says don't use deodorant. Don't antiperspirant. Don't...

O'REILLY: Yes, his philosophy, because I've read the book, is don't put anything on your body you wouldn't eat. So he doesn't say don't use deodorant. He said don't use Right Guard. Or don't use the others, because they have chemicals. Use a natural deodorant.

But to me, you know, I mean, natural, that sounds good. I don't know how it works or not.

But let me get to you, counselor. I mean, I don't want you to sit there lonely here. It is true that Trudeau has a very shady past. And why should we believe him now when he's saying, for example, the cure for colds is green papaya extract, enzymes, raw ginger, crocodile protein peptide. And I don't know how you get that. But if you have to wrestle a crocodile, I'd rather have the cold. You know what I'm talking about?

DAVID BRADFORD, ATTORNEY FOR KEVIN TRUDEAU: Sure. First of all he's never been found guilty of false advertising. He has been investigated, regulated, scrutinized like nobody else in America, because he is so critical of the government. And he has never, ever been adjudicated...

O'REILLY: All right. But the Federal Trade Commission bans Trudeau from the air waves last year in an attempt to, quote, "shut down an infomercial empire that has misled American consumers for years." I mean, that's what the FTC says. So I don't think we can put a happy face on that, can we?

BRADFORD: In fact, Mr. Trudeau agreed not to make sales of products through infomercials because he wants people to know he has no vested interest, no financial stake in any product, any program, any service that he discusses. And he's the one man who we all know has no financial incentive to steer people one way or another and can be a true objective consumer advocate.

O'REILLY: OK. But he's putting himself up -- he's putting himself up as a medical expert.

For example, natural cure for tumors, and tumors, this is serious business now, a tumor. He says hydrogen peroxide therapy, ozone therapy, flax seed oil mixed with protein, shark cartilage. Again, do I have to wrestle a shark?

I'm worried about it. I'm just worried that people might buy into this if they have a tumor and wind up dead. Mr. Dreher?

DREHER: I mean, that's really the crux of a real serious problem with this book. I mean, when Kevin Trudeau is selling things like Sable's Hair Farming System or whatever, where they said that, you know, you put on whatever, the serum, and suddenly the hair sprouts back. And in six months you'll have a full head of hair for the rest of your life. I mean, you know, it's obviously false.

In this case we're talking about issues where people's health is, you know, in the balance. And my concern, really, I think everyone's concern should be that people are actually going to follow some of his advice.

O'REILLY: Well, that is my concern, too. Now, Mr. Bradford...

BRADFORD: If I might respond to that. He says...

O'REILLY: Go ahead. But I have a question for you as well. But go ahead.

BRADFORD: But right up front in the book the first he says is "I'm not a doctor. Don't do anything I tell you without seeking a licensed health care professional."

DREHER: He's required to say that. He's required to say that.

BRADFORD: Let me finish if I might. He says it repeatedly, not just once but dozens and dozens of times throughout the book.

O'REILLY: OK. Mr. Bradford...

BRADFORD: He encourages people to seek medical advice.

O'REILLY: That's true.

BRADFORD: And he is trying to expose people to a broad spectrum to make a point...

O'REILLY: Let me ask you one thing, and this is personal to me, and I have to ask you, Mr. Bradford. He says in the book, and this really threw me, the sun does not cause cancer.

Now, my father died from melanoma. My father was a sun worshiper and did not use sun block back then. And every doctor I know, every dermatologist I know, I have to douse myself with SPF-30. And all Irish guys and Scandinavian guys and German people should, as well.

And this guy, Trudeau, says the sun doesn't cause cancer, going against every single study I'd ever seen. When I read that that's when I knew I had a book of stories, sir, because I think that's fallacious and dangerous. Go.

BRADFORD: These are his opinions. He makes it very clear that they are his opinions. In many cases he backs them up with references to various studies, articles, and so forth. But he makes it clear that these are his opinions.

The larger point, rather than picking one small passage in the book, is he is exposing people to a broad spectrum of alternative health possibilities which are not promoted in television advertising, because they're not patented. Nobody is going to pour billions of dollars into promoting these alternative health opportunities, because there isn't the kind of profit to be made that there is on patented pharmaceuticals.

We're spending more in pharmaceuticals than...

O'REILLY: I've got to stop. I think we both got our points across, all three of us did, and we'll let the audience decide. Gentlemen, thanks very much. We appreciate it.

Content and Programming Copyright 2005 Fox News Network, L.L.C. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Transcription Copyright 2005 eMediaMillWorks, Inc. (f/k/a Federal Document Clearing House, Inc.), which takes sole responsibility for the accuracy of the transcription. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No license is granted to the user of this material except for the user's personal or internal use and, in such case, only one copy may be printed, nor shall user use any material for commercial purposes or in any fashion that may infringe upon Fox News Network, L.L.C.'s and eMediaMillWorks, Inc.'s copyrights or other proprietary rights or interests in the material. This is not a legal transcript for purposes of litigation.

Kevin Trudeau is nothing but a con artist who has a following as devoted and brainwashed as David Koresh. Trudeau, who has spent time in prison, has ruined more lives then anyone I know. In the past he set up phone rooms to sell his latest gimmicks and MLM (Nutition For Life). He cons people to leave their current lives for promises of Finmancial Freedom that has only come to a couple of mindless drones who serve as his personal slaves. The rest find their futures filled with bad credit, unemployment, divorce and bankruptcy.

Regretably I worked for a company he once owned. I saw first hand the deception and empty promises the encompasses this poor excuse for a human being. I remember telling mothers with children who were Autistic that his mega memory and mega speed reading programs could help them. His new book is his latest scheme praying on the paranoia many have about the government and big business.

Listen to your doctor...not a cult leader!

P

seriously the guy used to do infomercials for a golf instruction thing with this crazy guy in knickers. how can anyone believe anything he says about medicene

i was taking a deposition of a guy who will die shortly of meso (a type of cancer) the guy was on o2 and the depo was taken in his home since he was too ill to leave.

on the coffee table was his book titled, something like "1000 cures the govt does not want you to know about."

his late night infommercial now offers a cd he calls "banned by the fda" and claims the fda will not let him title it as he wants.

everything he says is that the govt and the fda are in league with eachother to stop known cures from getting out.

on one commercial he ripped the development of vioxx (powerful painkiller) as just a "lifestyle drug" and claims drug companies spend there time on those things and not finding cures for diseases - putting aside the fact that a person in chronic long term pain from cancer...might not be so quick to call new pain killers "lifestyle drugs."

i am not sure i recall this correctly, but as i recall, in that infommercial he was on with, i think, tammy fay baker and "cured" her instantly desire for chocolate.

get your medical advice from a doctor, not a tv salesperson.

yes by all means, i have his book and i totally believe in it.there has been many people healed from all kinds of deseases. please dont believe that he is wrong and that our crooked government is right. if u have any more questions feel free to ask

bathing suit area wrote:

In the eradication of smallpox? Nope. In pushing for better water supplies so that you, in your status as a citizen of a developed nation, no longer suffer from bouts of cholera and dysentery? Nope. In the near reduction to zero incidence of childhood diseases like Measles, Mumps, Rubella, H. influenzae, Parvovirus, etc., etc.? Nope. Reducing the incidence of invasive streptococcal disease? Nope.

If expressive clarity was required, there would be few of you medical quacks left to belittle and harass the rest of us.

You say U.S. public water supplies are safe, although they contain more than 60,000 priority pollutants, most all of which are not tested for and much less monitored. To the contrary your medical organizations promote the dumping of additional toxic pollutants into public water supples, such as fluoride wastes that cause mottled teeth and bone cancer, then publish reports to say this is a good thing!

The medical organization's opposition to improvements in sanitary conditions was one the primary reasons for major outbreaks of infections diseases. Only when sanitary conditions improved, in spite of medical organizations attempts to block such improvements, did we see major reductions in those infectious diseases.

It is ironic that you medical quacks try to take credit for the things you continue to oppose.

I haven't read Kevin Trudeau's book, but it sounds like a good one.

Dunes Runner,

If the water supply is so bad how do people live to be 100? My grandparents lived to be 103, 84 and 85. One of them died in an accident when he was 40. Teh two that died at 84 and 85 died from prostate cancer and breast cancer.

We all know countless people that make it to their late 80's and 90's. How is this possible if our water is killing us for our whole lives?

You are a fool.

That's amazing one of your grandparents died at 40 and still lived to be 103.

Our grandparents were fortunate to grow up in times that were not as heavily polluted as today, and when the medical quacks were realized for what they are... which is quacks.

The definition of a quack is a practictioner using mercury. Hats used to be made with mercury, and hatters often became delirious from it's use, hence the phrase "mad as a hatter".

Today we see a plethora of medical quacks and dentists etc, who are "mad as a hatter".

It is interesting that you think 60,000 priority pollutants dumped in public water supplies, and prostrate and breast cancer are "okay".

This shows the reality of our society's progress in the last 50+ years.

msnbc has an article about this book

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9006287/

it appears he is being investigated for fraud in ny. trudea has filed a lawsuit in ny asking the court to stop ny from investigating his book claiming he is protected by the 1st amendment.

the big claim against his book is that it does not list the alleged "cures" for the diseases he claims.

he counds like a crook to me.

here are a few comments from amazon.com:

--

Natural cures I won't tell you about, unless you spend more money. That should be the title of this book.

This is not a book on natural cures it's an advertisement and the title is very misleading. Do you really want to pay $30 dollars for an ad?

--

This book rates a 2 star average out of 751 current reviews with most reviewers stating they didn't even want to give it one! I too would give it zero stars if I could.

--

After the months of hype about this book I happen to pick it up and browse through it while at my local bookstore. After reading several key points in the book I failed to find anything that was touted as being a cure. I did find many references to a pay for access website though.

It is interesting to note that Kevin Trudeau is a convicted felon. He was convicted of selling healthcare products via infomercials. Different product but it seems like the same game to me.

I hope as many people as possible are able to get a refund for this book.

--

First of all, all this book does is direct you to none other than Mr. Trudeau's PAY TO USE website. The book never really comes out and gives you any of the answers or "secret" cures that are promised on this man's infomercial.

--

This is hog wash. It's such a pity to see someone profit from human misery. Snake oil is alive in America.

--

The book is truly worthless - it is several hundred pages of the "Them" against the rest of the world and no practical information. Any time a cure is mentioned - he tells you to go to his website for the information - which conveniently you have to pay to join his website. Or, you are told to go to another website that he works in conjunction with and guess what - each of those are paid access only as well.

--

THIS MAN IS IN PRISON AND HIS BOOKS ARE STILL BEING SOLD ON AMAZON? GO FIGURE?

--

Hardly any cures..mostly directions to his website or other websites that recommend....going to a doctor.

--

This book is like a bad boyfriend; promises, promises. No delivery. Not even close. Sad to offer sawdust to such vulnerable populations. That in itself is a spiritual crime in my opinion.

--

amazon goes on and on with the reviews, virtually none are positive. the common thread: no cures listed in the book and all it does is direct the buyer to go to his website where you have to pay to get access to the info that was supposed to be in the book.

it gets 1 star by most reviewers.

Kevin Trudeau is a FRAUD bullshit marketer. The claims he makes undermine basic principles of biology and are blatantly intended to decieve people who are suceptible such misinformation. It's deplorable. Any discerning person should be able to tell that he is attempting to mislead viewers. LOOK at how he markets that bullshit book of his. He spends the entirety of the informercial attacking the government and the drug industry. Well, news flash, the fact that drug companies are profit-driven does not prove that any of the advice in his book is valid.

I flipped through the book at a bookstore today, spent about an hour reading it, and was appauled at what Trudeau is getting away with. It is a WORTHLESS book. He barely proposes any remedies or cures at all... he just kind of bullshits his way through hundreds of pages without saying anything.

I can't believe that this book has sold 1.5 million copies. it's just so sad that he is profiting from what he does.

dunes,

do you suppose that we might have more instances of cancer rates today than in decades past because diagnosis is more accurate and more people seek medical attention than before?

and BTW -- I am in Southern California right now, and while the air is far from ideal, it was far, far worse 20-40 years ago. Just ask Steve Ovett.

bump

dunes runner wrote:

That's amazing one of your grandparents died at 40 and still lived to be 103.

Actually, his grandparents died at ages 103, 84, 85 and 40.

Most people have four grandparents, not three. That is, of course, unless your parents were half-siblings.

I had suffered for years from all different kind of conditions everything from kidney stones, to fibromyalgia, to chronic fatigue. I already knew about a lot of things that were in Kevin Trudeau's book but had learned some new things that I didn't know. I believe that people have to take responsibility for their own health and that your health is your responsibility, not the government, not your doctor, not your friends and family. It is your responsibility! I also feel that people should have made available to them all options not just the FDA approved ones. We live in the information age and I'm glad that this information is now getting out to the masses. I didn't start getting relief until I got away from doctors and pharmaceutical drugs and started doing natural cures myself. I speak from personal experience. You can't argue with results. I do not agree with everything that Kevin Trudeau says or does but I am glad that he wrote the book. I am not against medical doctors or pharmaceutical drugs in emergency situations they can save lives but when it comes to preventive maintenance and overall health and wellness traditional Western medicine has failed us. Check out the writings of Dr. Andrew Weil for more information.

peace

Montag

Actually, the memory course tapes he was selling about 10 or 12 years ago were pretty good. I would let some of you guys borrow them, if I only remembered where I put them.

I agree with you Monag....personally I loved his book. It has changed by life and running.