Who is Kevin Trudeau?

weight loss, plus "Debt Cures

I awoke to one of his infomercials one morning. Heard something about vinegar as a "cure" for indegestion because the problem is a lack of acid to break down the food, so antacids are opposit... I tried it next time I had indegestion and it worked. Tastes horrible and burns your ears, but it works.

Naturally, a 39 cent bottle of vinegar in leiu of a 4 dollar bottle of Pepto bismol helps cure debt problems too. :wink:

Real snake oil vindicated?
Given Dr. Richard Kunin's 1989 analysis [3], it appears that the Chinese snake oil made from Chinese water snakes is very high in EPA. This substance is known to be a pain reliever, as EPAs are absorbed through the skin and are the parent of the series 3 prostaglandins which inhibit the production of pro-inflammatory series 2 prostaglandins, and the Chinese snake oil products may contain up to 4% of it. Snake oil does not have the dubious reputation in China that it has in the US and elsewhere in the Western world, and it is used widely in traditional Chinese medicine. However, it is not seen as a panacea in China either; there it is used only as relief for arthritis and joint pain.

From a purely pharmacochemical perspective, it is likely that the genuine Chinese snake oil is not fraudulent, at least for its intended purpose, since EPA indeed is an effective anti-inflammatory agent. On the other hand, American products made from rattlesnake fats, which have at most 1/3 of the EPA concentration of Enhydris chinensis fat, are likely to have been inferior or even useless for similar purposes because of their lower or even nonexistent anti-inflammatory contents - aforementioned Stanley's snake oil containe no EPA at all! 19th century snake oil peddlers and apothecarians seldom had any serious knowledge of chemistry or pharmacology. It is likely that they did not understand the action mechanism of the Chinese product, or even know its functional ingredient.[citation needed] Instead of analyzing and reverse engineering the authentic remedy, they tried to imitate it with unimpressive results. Such inferior or even fraudulent products gave snake oil the reputation it has today.[[4]]

I keep vinegar handy for that amomg other purposes. But, the negative feedback on the link I posted has made me afraid of Trudeau.

edgarblythe wrote:

I keep vinegar handy for that amomg other purposes. But, the negative feedback on the link I posted has made me afraid of Trudeau.

anyone can compile a list of home remedies and sell it, particularly if they are dishonest. i never intended to imply that he is wrong about everything. lots of home remedies work very well... obviously vinegar is one of them. but as for a compilation of remedies, i wouldn't trust anything from trudeau unless i was able to test it first without risk, or had found it in other places already.

But, he has branched out into other topics. The weight loss book seems to be outright fraud, when compared with his statements on TV. I was interested in that book for someone else. That's when I began looking at the man in earnest. So far, I don't like what I have found.

He's among the worst of the snake oil hawkers. He was prohibited from selling his "oils" so now he sells books ABOUT them. He is horrible, a true sociopath.

Kevin Mark Trudeau (born February 6, 1963) is an American author, pocket billiards promoter (founder of the International Pool Tour), convicted felon, salesman, and alternative medicine advocate.[1] He is known for a number of television infomercials selling his products, and for several books, including Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About. Trudeau has had numerous interactions with the U.S. judicial system, including multiple fines and a larceny conviction.[2] The Federal Trade Commission currently restricts his ability to promote and sell any product or service. However, he is permitted to promote books and other publications due to free-speech protection under the First Amendment as long as they are not used to promote or sell products or services.[3][4]

An example of unregulated commercialism.