Infomercial Doctor Question (1 Viewer)

[Ike]

Being a bit of a late night TV junkie, I've seen these infomercials that present themselves as medical shows. There is one that features a doctor (Bob Barefoot) saying that high cholesterol is not bad for you, and in a lot of cases, could be good. He says that some form of acid is trying to eat through your arteries, and if it succeeds, you die, so the body hardens the arteries, and they crack, and it seals the crack with cholesterol. So in essence, it saves your life.

He also says that scientists have found the cause of cancer -that there was even a Noble Peace Prize awarded for finding the cause of cancer.

Is this guy full of it, or is he telling the truth? His basic message is that most diseases are a result of the lack of calcium. For the members more in the know about medical stuff, how much of what this guy says accurate?

 

[Cees Alons]

Difficult to judge from here. But what you are telling us sounds mostly like, sorry, BS.

There isn't "a" cure for cancer, because there isn't "a" disease called cancer. We're beginning to know more and more about this large group of diseases (the word disorders would be more approriate), and the results are certainly encouraging. But anyone claiming to know about "a" (general) cure - is either malinformed or a liar.

Now about the cholesterol. That's interesting. Although some people question the simplicity of "low cholesterol diet is good for everyone" (the story is simply much more complicated, including the involvement of hereditary factors), the story of that guy, as you tell us is utter nonsense. What's his point? Would lowering the level in people having high cholesterol endanger the repair?

Damaged vessels mainly repair in a quite different way, plaques of cholesterol aren't "saving" your arteries: they weaken them, make them fragile and tend to stop them up.

I wonder who that "doctor" is working for.

Cees

 

[Ike]

Here is one of the books on Amazon.
The infomercial I saw it on is a series-I've seen the same host doing promos for Atkins, using only a slightly different format.

There isn't "a" cure for cancer, because there isn't "a" disease called cancer.

I mistyped that-I meant to type cause, not cure. But I get what your saying.

 

[Lawrence]

Not all cancers can be explained by one common cause. Some specific types have been related to a causitive agent, but this is nothing new. How long have we known that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer? That excess UV exposure causes skin cancer? Then there are hundreds of other theories regarding diet, alcohol, and exercise when it comes to pancreatic and other GI carcinomas. And of course there is a huge genetic component as with prostatic and breast cancers.

In regards to cholesterol, he is partially right. The "acid" he refers to is theorized to be homocysteine. High homocysteine levels are thought to cause degradation of the arterial walls. Cholesterol is the body's natural way of repairing these cracks in the wall. However, the repair causes some stenosis or narrowing of the vessel, which is where the harmful effects come from. Cholesterol is also necessary in cell synthesis and hormone production pathways.

Basically I would say this so called "doctor" has taken commonly accepted medical knowledge and exaggerated the information. We do know the causes of some cancers but that doesn't mean we know the cure. Cholesterol is a very necessary substance to survival but that does not mean that high levels are beneficial. Current studies are showing that all people would benefit from lower cholesterol levels due to preventative effects against heart disease, stroke, and possibly even Alzheimer's disease.

 

[Paul D Young]

Dear Ike,
How can you not trust a doctor named Bob Barefoot? Especially if he is on late night TV. He sounds pretty respectable to me!
Sorry, did I forget the ?

 

[Jon_Are]

My doctor, Fritz Freckletoes, gives Bob Barefoot his unconditional endorsement.

(You can find Dr. Freckletoes on a streetcorner of downtown Detroit, preaching the healing powers of daily high colonics to all who will listen).

Jon

 

[Ike]

That excess UV exposure causes skin cancer?

From what I heard of him, Bob "Twinkle-toes" Barefoot doesn't think this is such, and provided statistics that people that get more sun have less cancer.