NCAHF Newsletter articles from January 1989

NCAHF Newsletter archives from January 1989

Chiropractors consulting firm is Scientology-linked. (Church of Scientology, David Singer Consultants)
January 1, 1989... CHIROPRACTORS CONSULTING FIRM IS SCIENTOLOGY-LINKED According to The Cult Observer (Mar-Apr. 1988) David Singer Consultants of Clearwater, FL, a company specializing in teaching marketing to DCs, is connected to the Church of Scientology....

Michigan Supreme Court hears Swan testimony. (suit against Christian Science church, Matthew Swan)
January 1, 1989... MICHIGAN SUPREME COURT HEARS SWAN TESTIMONY On Nov 1, 1988, the Michigan Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a civil suit against the Christain Science church that alleges negligence and misrepresentation by the church and its agents in the...

Test of paranormal healing for hypertension.
January 1, 1989... TEST OF PARANORMAL HEALING FOR HYPERTENSION A prospective, randomized study of the possible effect upon high blood pressure of laying on of hands or healing at a distance versus a placebo control group is reported. Interesting, all three groups...

Nader's safe food petition. (Ralph Nader's petition drive for food without pesticides)
January 1, 1989... NADER'S SAFE FOOD PETITION According to Whole Foods (10/88) Ralph Nader, former Sen. George McGovern and the Americans for Safe Food (ASF) coal-ition have launched a petition drive calling for government to promote the production of food grown...

Laughter, hope and cancer. (ability of the mind to effect diseases)
January 1, 1989... LAUGHTER, HOPE AND CANCER Americans are being deluged with messages about the ability of the mind to affect serious diseases. No one disputes the value of optimism in improving the quality of life, nor that the quality of one's life is of...

California Board denies Gerber appeal. (California Board of Medical Quality Assurance; Michael Lee Gerber's appeal for reinstatement of his license)
January 1, 1989... CALIFORNIA BOARD DENIES GERBER APPEAL The California Board of Medical Quality Assurance (BMQA) has refused Michael Lee Gerber's appeal for reinstatement of his medical license (OAH No.N 32371, 11/3/88). Gerber's license was revoked in June,...

AK inventor disclaims NOT. (Applied Kinesiology; Neural Organizational Technique)
January 1, 1989... AK INVENTOR DISCLAIMS NOT In an article appearing in The Chiropractic Report (Dec. '88), George Goodheart, DC, developer of "Applied Kinesiology (AK)," [AK is the dubious practice using tests of muscle-strength to diagnose and prescribe for a...

Coenzyme Q-10. (dietary supplement Ubiquinone)
January 1, 1989... COENZYME Q-10 Coenzyme Q-10 (Ubiquinone) has been a popular dietary supplement recently. We have been aware of beneficial claims for more than a decade. Obtaining evaluative data on this substance has been difficult, and the final chapter has...

Faith healing exemptions cost Ohio Federal funds.
January 1, 1989... FAITH HEALING EXEMPTIONS COST OHIO FEDERAL FUNDS NCAHF has watched the Ohio legislature with dismay as it repeatedly has failed to enact protection against irrational faith healing for children. Two Ohio judges have ruled the state's religious...

Ability to police deceptive advertising diminished. (Federal Trade Commission)
January 1, 1989... ABILITY TO POLICE DECEPTIVE ADVERTISING DIMINISHED The Federal Trade Commission has lost 20% of its resources and its leadership position in overseeing advertising since 1986 according to Commissioner Andrew J. Strenio, Jr. Strenio told the...

Patients cite MD fraud. (medical doctors)
January 1, 1989... PATIENTS CITE MD FRAUD The annual cost of health insurance fraud is estimated to be about $50 billion. A survey of 700 households found that four out of ten (40%) respondents felt that their doctors had cheated an insurance company at least...

Teen who fought for macrobiotic therapy dies. (Sonja Boden)
January 1, 1989... TEEN WHO FOUGHT FOR MACROBIOTIC THERAPY DIES In July, 1987, the parents of Sonja Boden went to court to fight for the privilege of treating their 17-yr-old daughter, who had Hodgkin's disease, with Macrobiotic Diet, acupuncture, massage and...

Study fails to confirm IQ benefits of supplements. (intelligence quotient)
January 1, 1989... STUDY FAILS TO CONFIRM IQ BENEFITS OF SUPPLEMENTS A report published in The Lancet (Jan 23, 1988) claimed that taking a multivitamin and mineral supplement for 8 months significantly raised nonverbal intelligence scores in a group of 30 British...

Colorado outlaws mental health quackery.
January 1, 1989... COLORADO OUTLAWS MENTAL HEALTH QUACKERY Colorado House Bill 1026 took effect on July 1, 1988. "...in order to safeguard the public health, safety and welfare... and...protect the people...against the unauthorized, unqualified, and improper...

NCAHF alert helps end NHF deception. (National Council Against Health Fraud; National Health Federation)
January 1, 1989... NCAHF ALERT HELPS END NHF DECEPTION NCAHF recently warned the Jefferson County (KY) Medical Society (JCMS) that it had unwittingly formed an alliance with an anti-consumer protection organization--The National Health Federation (NHF). In...

Canadian quackery. (American promoters of worthless remedies in Canada)
January 1, 1989... CANADIAN QUACKERY Even before a free-trade agreement with Canada, yankee promoters of unproven and worthless remedies have found a lucrative market north of the border(*). Mike Petta-piece and Paul Benedetti, reporters with The Spectator...

Consumer advocates or organic food promoters? (Center for Science in the Public Interest)
January 1, 1989... CONSUMER ADVOCATES OR ORGANIC FOOD PROMOTERS? Our curiosity was piqued when we saw that Michael Jacobson, Director of the "Center for Science in the Public Interest," promoted as a panelist with three organic foods (two company presidents and...

Diet & behavior "expert" fakes his credentials. (Alexander G. Schauss)
January 1, 1989... DIET & BEHAVIOR "EXPERT" FAKES HIS CREDENTIALS A Canadian newspaper, reveals that Alex-ander G. Schauss has misrepresented his background and achievements in his curriculum vitae. The investigative report itemizes eight specific examples where...