Newguy Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Is Dr. Mercola at Mercola.com a trustworthy and accurate source of nutrition info? Thanks in advance for you opinions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastWind Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I saw Dr Oz quoting Dr Mercola sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razz Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Haven't read much of his stuff, but what I've read seems good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quick Start Test Smith Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 From what I've read, DM is correct about a lot of things. In general, though, I dislike him. He is a salesman more than anything else, and I got tired of seeing the flashing red banners for the new supplement that just came out and that you can't live without if you want to be healthy. He's simply too marketed, in my opinion. A more humble and down to earth approach is far more attractive and believable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastWind Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Patrick, I agree. The products are good, but pricy. But his articles and studies are interesting and I think he's fair when he's giving an advice. There are more producers who sell vitamins & stuff for less, I personally get those from other sources. Well, not everything, but some which I can afford. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newguy Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 Sweet, I get my vitamins from somewhere else too, but I like reading his articles everyonce in awhile (even though he is more targeting the general public) But I just wanted to make sure he was not horribly inaccurate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RatioFitness Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Contrarian point of view here.I think he's a quack.I used to read him some years back, but haven't in a long time.He's anti-vaccine and anti-almost any type of pharmaceutical. He also promotes B.S. cancer cures and other such nonsense.Here's an article that talks about some different quack beliefs by Mercola. It's about an appearance he had on the also quacky Dr. Oz show.http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/ind ... ame-dr-oz/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastWind Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 There is a huge debate regarding the vaccines, and these involve not only single doctors, but also journals of medicine, so a lot of parties. I share his ideas regarding vaccines, but not the same with allopathic pharmaceuticals, which I just heard about. Don't know about his cancer cures & all recommendations he makes, but what I read seemed pretty good to me, especially regarding a healthy nutrition. I only get in contact with his articles from time to time (not very often), so I don't know everything he says, however, I don't deny that some articles might be approached cautiously, especially if he's thrashing allopathic medicine, which has its place under the sun. But it's the first time I read about some of his beliefs, so thank you for the warning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RatioFitness Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 There is a huge debate regarding the vaccines, and these involve not only single doctors, but also journals of medicine, so a lot of parties. I can't say I agree with this assessment about the level of debate, but this board isn't really the place to take up such a topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Malin Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 This is a very messy topic. It is my firm belief that the best way to evaluate these sort of things is to educate oneself with how the body works. It is a long endeavor that spans many topics; however, the value of developing an ability to think critically cannot be priced. Once you begin to understand the physiology of the body, particularly the hormones and neurotransmitters, making a decision as to whether you feel a claim fits in with your knowledge and experience becomes easier. It's also important to remember that a person will rarely be right or wrong 100% of the time. Especially because as human beings, we take in and repeat out so much hearsay. If you want the best chances for a helpful reply, I'd narrow down the topic. What are the questions that are most on your mind right now, Newguy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastWind Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 RatioFitness & coreathlete: You're both right. Sorry for what I wrote. This isn't the right place for such subjects and the initial question was too general. Maybe dr. Mercola is right about some things regarding nutrition and maybe he's not about others, so the topic on his nutrition advices must be eventually narrowed down. I'll just follow the subject with interest, as I am interested in finding out more about what's useful or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newguy Posted July 8, 2011 Author Share Posted July 8, 2011 Well, it was intended to be somewhat of a general question, to get your guys opinions on whether he was/is a trustworthy source of info. Or whether he was a snake oil salesman?! If you guys think he is right on in one subject and a wrong in another, feel free to give your opinions! (only if you want to, of course) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Malin Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 @deodatus. My comments weren't directed to anyone in particular Newguy, when it comes to the medical field, I don't draw a distinct line between allopathic, naturopathic, etc. and say that I'll stay on that side of the sand no matter what. To me, medicine is what is effective without causing harm. You can interpret that many ways, but my feeling is that the treatment must ultimately be about healing, not about ego, money, modality. There are things that work and things that do harm or don't work. When you go to evaluate information someone offers up, it's important to look at why they are writing/speaking. Is it a crusade? Is it to make themselves money? Is it to better your life? You get the idea. Sadly, it's often a short walk to follow the money trail in the medical fields. I'd also look at if the claim makes sense. Does it fit in with what I've learned of the body and processes or does it completely contradict logic? This can at times be sticky because we at times don't realize we've stood on wrong assumptions or information; but largely there are no miracle cures. Usually it's simply allowing the body to do what it's supposed to do in the first place. But to answer your question directly, I'd first look to some science writers before worrying about Mercola. Gary Taubes has some excellent books in the area of nutrition that illustrate the sort of thought process you need to evaluate claims. Use that as a guideline to apply elsewhere--does person X making Y claim back it up with critical thinking, applied science, and practical experience? If not, it might really be too good to be true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razz Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 I think Mercola has a lot of good stuff out there, but yes, he can be very commercial. Then again Jonny Bowden also has great stuff, but holy crap his emails are the most commercial stuff EVER. Poliquin also has shitloads of good stuff but can be pretty damn commercial too..Guess that's how it is. Same with Di-Pasquale.If you want non-commercial info listen to Robb Wolf, Mat Lalonde and Cordain..Probably others too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newguy Posted July 9, 2011 Author Share Posted July 9, 2011 Thanks Core, Good advice, And Thanks razz thats a nice list of people I am going to have to check out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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