The Vitamin Pushers: How the "Health Food" Industry Is Selling America a Bill of Goods (Consumer Health Library)

"I'm going to give this a read just to see what he has to say. However, it's strange that the only healthy elderly people I know (people between say 75 and 95) eat a balanced diet, take supplements, and REFUSE to take perscription drugs. I plan to follow in their footsteps."
~ Written on 2007-10-04

"Barrett's book is a worthwhile read for anyone with an interest in the subject matter. As a critic of several modes and practitioners of alternative medicine, Barrett has been a natural lightening rod for criticism by those whose scams he has exposed. The negative Amazon reviews here should be taken with a huge grain of salt. Many of these reviews reflect ideologically opposition to criticism of alternative medicine; they don't even discuss the content of Barrett's book...the critics probably never even read it. Barrett's most outspoken critics have been involved in court cases against him and most of what they say is just slanderous mudslinging. Sources that matter, like the Journal of the American Medical Association and Canadian Medical Association, give Barrett the thumbs up. We need more people like him guarding consumers against healthcare fraud. Buy this book and learn how to protect yourself against con artists."
~ Written on 2007-04-15

"I have not read this book and I do not plan to. If I had followed the "medical model" I would be on a plethora of prescriptions now that would only serve to mask the symptoms, rather than address the cause. Instead, I chose to educate myself and get to the cause of my health problems. In my case, the cause of my arthritis was cows milk and wheat. Since the elimination of these two foods, my arthritis is gone and my digestion has improved immensely. I am not in the business to make money off supplements. In fact, I am an RN with a master's degree currently enrolled in the nurse practitioner program. In other words, I am not "biased" against the medical model. I also am a nutritional consultant and I have earned a doctorate degree from Clayton College of Nutrition. My main objective in pursuing these alternative programs was to educate myself, not to make money off others. However, when I start my practice as an ARNP, I plan to do everything I can to direct my patients toward healthier lifestyles and to motivate them to become active participants with regard to seeking the root cause of their health care issues. It is my belief that too many practitioners strictly follow the medical model with no consideration of their patients' ability to take responsibility for their health. "
~ Written on 2007-04-10

"Stephen Barrett aka 'quackbuster' has an agenda against pretty much everything outside the established medical industry. His group has been backed by big drug companies, has launched malicious lawsuits (all of which they have lost by the way). His bias is so conspicuous and his opinions so lacking in fact and objectivity that nothing he writes is to be believed. To attack vitamins where the cost is low, substantial benefits have been proven in trials and toxicity is virtually non-existant is ludicrous. Especially when you consider that the conventional medical industry which Barrett and his gang represent is one of the leading causes of death in the USA (over 100,000 annual deaths caused by prescribed drugs alone), it is even more laughable."
~ Written on 2006-12-31

"Dr Barrett could best be described as the red-neck, white supremacist of orthodox medicine. Don't understand it? Fear it? The knee jerk reaction is the same: incite hatred against it. I wouldn't mind if Dr Barrett could at least affect to do some actual research in these areas, but on many issues he appears to be woefully ignorant. Acupuncture meridians do exist and can be mapped by "awfully scientific" MRI scanners by his "awfully scientific" cronies - or are they also quacks? He states there is no such thing as food addiction - I suggest Dr Barrett familiarises himself with Medline out checks out the copious research on GABA receptors and the various foods that bind with them. He also claims "that there is no such thing as acidity or alkalinity of the body". Goodness gracious! Where did Dr Barrett attend medical school? I learned about acid-base balance in school biology. Why do his cronies run around the ER shouting "Metabolic acidosis! IV bicarbonate, stat."?
Dr Barrett has about as much balance as a drunk newt with Merieres disease. As I said, UTTER PIFFLE!"
~ Written on 2006-08-30