James Hyman's Homeopathic Hype: Sedona Shenanigans!

James and Barbara Hyman, having fallen victim to their scams being called out by skeptic's everywhere, have now resorted to hawking and pushing "Detox Retreats" in that bastion of reality; Sedona Arizona! (Hey, isn't that where they allowed James Arthur Ray of "The Secret" fame to charge $10,000.00 per person to ridicule and then commit three separate cases of negligent homicide? Well, now the Hyman's, undeterred, have taken to hawking A "Total Body Cleanse." Proponents of "detoxes" depict the large intestine as a "sewage system" that becomes a "cesspool" if neglected. Some chiropractors, naturopaths, and assorted food faddists claim that "death begins in the colon" and that "90 percent of all diseases are caused by improperly working bowels." The practices they recommend include fasting and periodic "cleansing" of the intestines. Fasting is said to "rejuvenate" the digestive organs, increase elimination of "toxins, and "purify" the body." These ideas are UTTER NONSENSE [5]. Some practitioners add herbs, coffee, enzymes, wheat or grass extract, or other substances to these "purification detoxes." Most course's like those from the highly credible "Fit For Life" costs $985 for 5 days of in-clinic training or $295 by correspondence. The Hyman's are hyping basically the same method, only they have to add to the cost to pad their profit. Recent web site advertisements by the Hyman's hawking their "next great detox" in Sedona Arizona, quoted a price of $1,399.00 for a FOUR DAY COMMUNAL EVENT WHERE THEY EXPECT YOU TO BE "DETOXED" WITH THEIR "ORGANIC JUICE AND SOUP FAST" (gee whiz, I wonder where all that money is going?) ...and THEY EXPECT YOU TO SHARE ACCOMMODATIONS! Some "alternative" practitioners (some?..mmmnn I wonder who?) make bogus diagnoses of "parasites," for which they recommend "intestinal cleansers," plant enzymes, homeopathic remedies (the aforementioned juice and soup fast)... Whereas a 1-day fast is likely to be harmless (though useless), prolonged fasting can be fatal. "Cleansing" with products composed of herbs and dietary fiber is unlikely to be physically harmful, but the products involved can be expensive. (I'll say, $1,399.00 for 4 days of juice and soup?) Ordinary constipation usually can be remedied by increasing the fiber content of the diet, drinking adequate amounts of water, and engaging in regular exercise. If the bowel is basically normal, dietary fiber increases the bulk of the stool, softens it, and speeds transit time. A doctor should be consulted if constipation persists or represents a significant change in bowel pattern. I would advise seeing a board certified internal medical doctor before attempting anything even remotely similar to allowing a self professed "shamanic healer," "qigong master," and his over weight and over bearing ex-wife to dictate a useless protocol like the one being hawked by the Hyman's next month in Sedona (August 2-6 2011). They actually have the nerve to call it "Sedona Shamanic Kidney Cleanse"..if you don't believe me, run your own "Google search!" No system has been approved for "routine" colon cleansing to promote the general well being of a patient.

James Hyman's Shamanic Showmanship: Shenanigans In Sedona

James and Barbara Hyman, having fallen victim to their scams being called out by skeptic's everywhere, have now resorted to hawking and pushing "Detox Retreats" in that bastion of reality; Sedona Arizona! (Hey, isn't that where they allowed James Arthur Ray of "The Secret" fame, the ability to rent space for the purposes of charging $10,000.00 per person to ridicule and then commit three separate cases of negligent homicide? Well, now the Hyman's, undeterred, have taken to hawking A "Total Body Cleanse." For those of you not familiar with this rather unpleasant scam, it's a coffee enema (use StarButts Coffee only), personally I would prefer a Zapper treatment, or simply a placebo (ie. doing nothing). I guarantee it's just as effective! Here is what I can tell you about "Colonic Irrigation" And "Coffee Enema's" From The United States Senate Special Committee on Aging Hearing on Swindlers, Hucksters and Snake Oil Salesmen: The Hype and Hope of Marketing Anti-Aging Products to Seniors September 10, 2001 A Written Response to the Statement of the Honorable Dan Burton (R-IN), Chairman, House Committee on Government Reform By Timothy N. Gorski, M.D., F.A.C.O.G. Assistant Clinical Professor, University of North Texas Health Science Center President, Dallas/Fort Worth Council Against Health Fraud Board Member, National Council Against Health Fraud Associate Editor, Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine According to Dr. Gorski: "Especially shameful was the allocation of $1.4 million to the work of Nicholas Gonzalez and his bizarre coffee enema and psychic hair analysis cancer treatments. Even Barrie Cassileth, PhD, Chief of the Integrative Medicine Service at Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, called Gonzalez' claims and methods "voodoo magic," "silly" and not scientific. "Worse than not scientific. This is pure ridiculousness." "Coffee Enema's" "Enema's" were standard practice of fifth-century C.E. "medicine men" who believed blood letting and purging rid the body of "corrupt humors" [15] Kelley/Gonzalez use of laxatives and enemas seems to endorse this ancient concept when they state that poisoning occurs when people eat "processed foods" and that an "unpoisoned body" can recognize and destroy cancer. From Dr. Stephen Barrett, Editor QuackWatch: Gastrointestinal Quackery: Colonics, Laxatives, and More Stephen Barrett, M.D. The importance of "regularity" to overall health has been greatly overestimated for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians associated feces with decay and used enemas and laxatives liberally. In more recent times, this concern has been embodied in the concept of "autointoxication" and has been promoted by warnings against "irregularity." [1] The theory of "autointoxication" states that stagnation of the large intestine (colon) causes toxins to form that are absorbed and poison the body. Some proponents depict the large intestine as a "sewage system" that becomes a "cesspool" if neglected. Other proponents state that constipation causes hardened feces to accumulate for months (or even years) on the walls of the large intestine and block it from absorbing or eliminating properly. This, they say, causes food to remain undigested and wastes from the blood to be reabsorbed by the body [2]. Around the turn of the twentieth century many physicians accepted the concept of autointoxication, but it was abandoned after scientific observations proved it wrong. In 1919 and 1922, it was clearly demonstrated that symptoms of headache, fatigue, and loss of appetite that accompanied fecal impaction were caused by mechanical distension of the colon rather than by production or absorption of toxins [3,4]. Moreover, direct observation of the colon during surgical procedures or autopsies found no evidence that hardened feces accumulate on the intestinal walls. Today we know that most of the digestive process takes place in the small intestine, from which nutrients are absorbed into the body. The remaining mixture of food and undigested particles then enters the large intestine, which can be compared to a 40-inch-long hollow tube. Its principal functions are to transport food wastes from the small intestine to the rectum for elimination and to absorb minerals and water. Careful observations have shown that the bowel habits of healthy individuals can vary greatly. Although most people have a movement daily, some have several movements each day, while others can go several days or even longer with no adverse effects. The popular diet book Fit for Life (1986) is based on the notion that when certain foods are eaten together, they "rot," poison the system, and make the person fat. To avoid this, the authors recommend that fats, carbohydrates and protein foods be eaten at separate meals, emphasizing fruits and vegetables because foods high in water content can "wash the toxic waste from the inside of the body" instead of "clogging" the body. These ideas are utter nonsense [5]. Some chiropractors, naturopaths, and assorted food faddists claim that "death begins in the colon" and that "90 percent of all diseases are caused by improperly working bowels." The practices they recommend include fasting, periodic "cleansing" of the intestines, and colonic irrigation. Fasting is said to "rejuvenate" the digestive organs, increase elimination of "toxins, and "purify" the body." Cleansing" can be accomplished with a variety of "natural" laxative products. Colonic irrigation is performed by passing a rubber tube through the rectum. Some proponents have advocated that the tube be inserted as much as 30 inches. Warm water—often 20 gallons or more—is pumped in and out through the tube, a few pints at a time, to wash out the contents of the large intestine. (An ordinary enema uses about a quart of fluid.) Some practitioners add herbs, coffee, enzymes, wheat or grass extract, or other substances to the enema solution. The Total Health Connection and Canadian Natural Health and Healing Center Web sites provide more details of proponents' claims. The latter states that "there is only one cause of disease—toxemia" and offers "the most comprehensive in-depth colon therapy on the continent." The course costs $985 for 5 days of in-clinic training or $295 by correspondence. The Hyman's are hyping basically the same method, only they have to add to the cost to pad their profit. Recent web site advertisements by the Hyman's hawking their "next great detox" in Sedona Arizona, (that bastion of reality), were quoting a price of $1,399.00 for a FOUR DAY COMMUNAL EVENT WHERE THEY EXPECT YOU NOT ONLY TO BE "DETOXED" WITH THEIR COFFEE ENEMA'S, (use StarButts coffee only, please!) ALONG WITH AN ORGANIC JUICE AND SOUP FAST (gee whiz, I wonder where all that money is going?) ...but THEY EXPECT YOU TO SHARE ACCOMMODATIONS! Some "alternative" practitioners make bogus diagnoses of "parasites," for which they recommend "intestinal cleansers," plant enzymes, homeopathic remedies (the aforementioned juice and soup fast)... Health-food stores sell products of this type with claims that they can "rejuvenate" the body and kill the alleged invaders. The danger of these practices depends upon how much they are used and whether they are substituted for necessary medical care. Whereas a 1-day fast is likely to be harmless (though useless), prolonged fasting can be fatal. "Cleansing" with products composed of herbs and dietary fiber is unlikely to be physically harmful, but the products involved can be expensive. (I'll say, $1,399.00 for 4 days of juice and soup?) Some people have reported expelling large amounts of what they claim to be feces that have accumulated on he intestinal wall. However, experts believe these are simply "casts" formed by the fiber contained in the "cleansing" products. Although laxative ads warn against "irregularity," constipation should be defined not by the frequency of movements but by the hardness of the stool. Ordinary constipation usually can be remedied by increasing the fiber content of the diet, drinking adequate amounts of water, and engaging in regular exercise. If the bowel is basically normal, dietary fiber increases the bulk of the stool, softens it, and speeds transit time. Defecating soon after the urge is felt also can be helpful because if urges are ignored, the rectum may eventually stop signaling when defecation is needed. Stimulant laxatives (such as cascara or castor oil) can damage the nerve cells in the colon wall, decreasing the force of contractions and increasing the tendency toward constipation. Thus, people who take strong laxatives whenever they "miss a movement" may wind up unable to move their bowels without them. Frequent enemas can also lead to dependence [6]. A doctor should be consulted if constipation persists or represents a significant change in bowel pattern. Colonic irrigation, which also can be expensive, has considerable potential for harm. The process can be very uncomfortable, since the presence of the tube can induce severe cramps and pain. If the equipment is not adequately sterilized between treatments, disease germs from one person's large intestine can be transmitted to others. Several outbreaks of serious infections have been reported, including one in which contaminated equipment caused amebiasis in 36 people, 6 of whom died following bowel perforation [7-9]. (Look out, Sedona!) Cases of heart failure (from excessive fluid absorption into the bloodstream) and electrolyte imbalance have also been reported [10]. Direct rectal perforation has also been reported [11]. Yet no license or training is required to operate a colonic-irrigation device. I would advise seeing a board certified internal medical doctor before attempting anything even remotely similar to allowing a self professed "shamanic healer," "qigong master," and his over weight and over bearing ex-wife to dictate a useless protocol like the one being hawked by the Hyman's next month in Sedona (August 2-6 2011). They actually have the nerve to call it "Sedona Shamanic Kidney Cleanse"..if you don't believe me, run your own "Google search!" In 1985, a California judge ruled that colonic irrigation is an invasive medical procedure that may not be performed by chiropractors and the California Health Department's Infectious Disease Branch stated: "The practice of colonic irrigation by chiropractors, physical therapists, or physicians should cease. Colonic irrigation can do no good, only harm." The National Council Against Health Fraud agrees [12]. Perhaps this is why the Hyman's "retreat" (no pun intended) to Sedona. In 2009, Dr. Edzard Ernst tabulated the therapeutic claims he found on the Web sites of six "professional organizations of colonic irrigations." The themes he found included detoxification, normalization of intestinal function, treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, and weight loss. He also found claims elated to asthma, menstrual irregularities, circulatory disorders, skin problems, and improvements in energy levels. Searching Medline and Embase, he was unable to find a single controlled clinical trial that substantiated any of these claims [13]. Legal Action The FDA classifies colonic irrigation systems as Class III devices that cannot be legally marketed except for medically indicated colon cleansing (such as before a radiologic endoscopic examination). No system has been approved for "routine" colon cleansing to promote the general well being of a patient. Since 1997, the agency has issued at least seven warning letters related to colon therapy: In 1997, Colon Therapeutics, of Groves, Texas, and its owner Jimmy John Girouard were warned about safety and quality control violations of the Jimmy John colon hydrotherapy unit and related devices [14]. In 1997, Tiller Mind & Body, of San Antonio, Texas and its owner Jeri C. Tiller, were ordered to stop claiming that their Libbe colonic irrigation device was effective against acne, allergies, asthma and low-grade chronic infections and improved liver function and capillary and lymphatic circulation [15]. In 1997, Colon Hygiene Services, of Austin, Texas and its owner Rocky Bruno was notified that their colonic irrigation system could not be legally marketed without FDA approval [16]. In 1999, Dotolo Research Corporation, of Pinellas Park, Florida, and its chief executive officer Raymond Dotolo were warned about quality control violations and lack of FDA approval for marketing its Toxygen BSC-UV colonic irrigation system [17]. In 2001, Clearwater Colon Hydrotherapy, of Ocala, Florida, and its vice president Stuart K. Baker were warned about quality control violations and lack of FDA approval for marketing their colonic irrigators [18]. In 2003. the International Colon Hydrotherapy Association, of San Antonio, Texas and its executive director Augustine R. Hoenninger, III, PhD, ND, were notified that it lacked FDA approval to sponsor "research" that had been proposed or actually begun on the devices of five companies [19]. In 2003, Girourd and Colon Therapeutics were notified that his devices require professional supervision and cannot be legally marketed directly to consumers. The letter noted that he had obtained marketing clearance only for use in medically indicated colon cleansing, such as before radiologic or sigmoidoscopic examinations [20]. In 2003, the Wood Hygienic Institute of Kissimmee, Florida, and its owner Helen Wood were warned about quality control violations and the use of unapproved therapeutic claims in marketing their devices [21]. Girouard, Colon Therapeutics, Tiller Mind & Body, operators of the Years to Your Life Health Centers, companies that manufactured several components of Girouard's colonic irrigation systems, and organizations that trained operators of the devices are being sued in connection with the death of a 72-year-old woman who perforated her large intestine while administering colonic irrigation. The suit alleges that the woman was unsupervised when she administered the "colonic," perforated her colon early in the procedure, required surgery the same day, and remained seriously ill for several months before she died from liver failure. The complaint also alleges that Years to Your Life Health Center falsely advertised colonic irrigations as "painless" procedures which provided health benefits including an improved immune system and increased energy, as well as relief from indigestion, diarrhea, constipation, weight loss, body odor, candida, acne, mucus colitis, gas, food cravings, fatigue, obesity, diverticulosis, bad breath, parasitic infections, and premenstrual syndrome [22]. In response to the woman's death and reports of serious injuries to four other patients, the Texas Attorney General filed lawsuits against: Girouard and Colon Therapeutics Abundant Health and Wellness Institute, and its owner, Cordelia Beall Gentle Colonics Inc. and its owner, Denson Ingram Eternal Health Inc., doing business as Years to Your Life and Cynthia Pitre Jennifer Jackson, doing business as Body Cleanse Spa Tiller Mind Body Inc., doing business as Mind Body Naturopathic Institute and Jerri Tiller International Association for Colon Hydrotherapy, Class 3 Study Group and Augustine R. Hoenninger III Linda Gonzalez, doing business as El Paso Health Center. Soledad Herrera, doing business as Body Matters of El Paso Lisa Ramoin, doing business as Alternative Health (Houston) Janice Jackson, doing as InsideOut and Within (Houston) The suits charged all of the defendants with engaging in the promotion, sale or unauthorized use of prescription devices for colonic hydrotherapy treatments without physician involvement. In 2004 and 2005, the cases involving Girouard, Ingram, Beall, the Jacksons, Herrera, Ramoin, and their companies were settled with consent agreements under which they would pay a total of $178,000 in civil penalties, fees, and costs to the state [23-25]. For Additional Information How Clean Should Your Colon Be? References. Chen TS, Chen PS. Intestinal autointoxication: A gastrointestinal leitmotive. Journal Clinical Gastroenterology 11:343-441, 1989. Ernst E. Colonic irrigation and the theory of autointoxication: A triumph of ignorance over science. Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology 24:196-198, 1997. Alvarez WC. Origin of the so-called auto-intoxication symptoms. JAMA 72:8-13, 1919. Donaldson AN. Relation of constipation to intestinal intoxication. JAMA 78:884-888, 1922. Kenney JJ. Fit For Life: Some notes on the book and Its roots. Nutrition Forum, March 1986. Use of enemas is limited. FDA Consumer 18(6):33, 1984. Amebiasis associated with colonic irrigation - Colorado. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 30:101-102, 1981. Istre GR and others. An outbreak of amebiasis spread by colonic irrigation at a chiropractic clinic. New England Journal of Medicine 307:339-342, 1982. Benjamin R and others. The case against colonic irrigation. California Morbidity, Sept 27, 1985. Eisele JW, Reay DT. Deaths related to coffee enemas. JAMA 244:1608-1609, 1980. Handley DV and others. Rectal perforation from colonic irrigation administered by alternative practitioners. Medical Journal of Australia 181:575-576, 2004. Jarvis WT. Colonic Irrigation. National Council Against Health Fraud, 1995. Ernst E. Colonic irrigation: therapeutic claims by professional organizations, a review. International Journal of Clinical Practcie 64:429-431, 2010. Baca JR. Warning letter to Colon Therapeutics, April 27, 1997. Baca, JR. Warning letter to Tiller Mind & Body, June 2, 1997. Baca JR. Warning letter to Colon Hygiene Services, June 20, 1997. Tolen DD. Warning letter to Dotolo Research Corporation, July 21, 1999. Singleton E. Warning letter to Clearwater Colon Hydrotherapy, Sept 13, 2001. Marcarelli MM. Warning letter to International Colon Hydrotherapy Association, March 21, 2003. Chappel MA. Warning letter to Colon Therapeutics, Oct 23, 2003. Ormond E. Warning letter to Wood Hygienic Institute, Oct 23, 2003. Barrett S. Colonic promoters facing legal actions. Quackwatch, Nov 11, 2003. Attorney General Abbott sues ' colonic hydrotherapy ' providers for abuse of medical devices; one death reported: Suits allege unsafe use of devices without physician oversight is a public health issue. Texas Attorney General news release, Dec 1, 2003. Barrett S. Texas Attorney General reaches settlement with three colonic hydrotherapy providers. Casewatch, July 16, 2004. Attorney General Abbott wins court judgment with six colon hydrotherapy providers. News release, March 1, 2005. Conclusions Neither Kelley nor Gonzalez has identified proposed toxins in processed food. Neither has evidence that abnormal protein molecules from necrosing tumors are toxins or that they poison organs. Neither has evidence that the toxins poison oxidative metabolism. Neither has evidence that cancers thrive in an anaerobic environment. Neither has shown that coffee enemas, megavitamin doses, and their special diets inhibit the progress of cancer. Neither has produced evidence that a deficiency of pancreatic digestive enzymes is related to the onset of cancer. Neither has produced evidence that enzymes from animal or vegetable sources can replace enzymes in human organs. There is no evidence that ingested pancreatic enzymes seek out and kill cancer cells. Neither has produced evidence that their regimens are more effective than a placebo for cancer. Gar Hildebrand, president of the Gerson Research Organization (GRO) in San Diego which promotes the irrational "Gerson Method" of cancer treatment. GRO runs a Tijuana cancer clinic at which patients have been charged $9000 for a two week course of unproven care while Mr. Hildebrand lectures them, emphasizing his ties to the NIH [25]. Mr. Hildebrand says that women with ovarian cancer should not receive chemotherapy but should instead "detoxify the body" with dietary measures including "oodles of plant chemicals." Once this is done, he says, "these patients' immune systems become intelligent again. They stop making excess stupid white cells, and create more lymphocytes interested in more types of challenges." [26] Hildebrand also promotes coffee enemas, hyperbaric oxygen and other nonsensical treatments for cancer. Frank Wiewel, head of People Against Cancer (PAC), formerly the Immunoaugmentative Therapy Patients Association. PAC is a referral organization for cancer patients that promotes irrational treatments including the discredited "Immunoaugmentative Therapy" devised by zoologist Lawrence Burton, PhD. PAC also promotes the ideas of Hulda Clark and other notorious cancer quacks [27]. The organization's website states that "you are never told the truth about cancer," [28] a detestable falsehood designed to drive a wedge between frightened and desperate cancer victims and their doctors in order to exploit the sick. Wayne Jonas MD assumed leadership at the OAM in July of 1995, almost a year after the departure of Dr. Jacobs. Dr. Jonas is a homeopath, a believer in a discredited 18th Century mystical prescientific theory of medicine that asserts the truth of preposterous "laws." One of these, "The Law of Similars," from which homeopathy takes its name, asserts that substances that cause certain symptoms are effective in treating those same symptoms. Another, "The Law of Infinitesimals," states that diluting a substance makes it more potent. Thus, homeopathic "medicine" consists of substances diluted to fantastic proportions, to the point where no molecules of the substance remain. Dr. Jonas was enamored of homeopathy as a medical student at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine in North Carolina. After suggesting that a patient with severe pneumonia be treated with homeopathy, his supervisors asked him to repeat his rotation in medicine. But even as a medical student Dr. Jonas was impervious to reason. As OAM Director he told an interviewer that "Just as the discovery of infectious agents revolutionized our ability to care for many diseases at the turn of the century, the discovery of what happens when a homeopathic preparation is made and how it impacts the body might revolutionize our understanding of chemistry, biology and medicine." [29] Dr Jonas co-authored a book on homeopathy in which he makes it clear that he is certain of its effectiveness but is only doubtful about its mechanism. The pattern of nonexistent molecules "must be stored in some way in the diluted water/alcohol mixture" he wrote, suggesting that all manner of occult energies, imaginary "biophotons" or New Age quantum effects could be involved [30]. Of late, Dr. Jonas has become frustrated with homeopathy research, perhaps because of the obvious truth in one medical scientist's observation that such research is nothing more than "a game of chance between two placebos." [31] Dr. Jonas has suggested that validating homeopathy "may require a theory that incorporates subjective variables," [32] which is to say, how the thoughts of patients, doctors, and perhaps their next-door neighbors might influence the effects of a homeopathic remedy. This is in line with mystical beliefs in "nonlocal effects" caused by "intentionality," or, in other words, psychic powers. This is also entirely consistent with Dr. Jonas' new position on the Scientific Advisory Committee of the paranormalism-oriented Institute for Noetic Sciences (IONS). According to IONS, Dr. Jonas "envisions the development of protocols using gene-array procedures to examine possible genetic expression arising from CAM signals in distant healing." He considers it wrongheaded and obsolete that "the current view of the body is grounded in molecular biology." He prefers to think that "bodily parts [can] communicate over long distances almost instantaneously" by means of "nonlocal characteristics in the biological process, with widely separated parts interacting in ways that don't have obvious physical carriers." [33]

Shamanic Energy Healer James Hyman: Shaman Or Shenanigans: The Emperors New Clothes

SHAMANIC HEALER OR SHAMANIC HYPE? The Emperor's New Clothes

James Hyman says his experiments reveal our natural power to heal based on our ability to sense and manipulate "shamanic energy" and "human energy fields." Has he discovered scientific truths, or has he only demonstrated the human talent for self-deception? James Hyman and his "practice manager" ex wife believe many things. They believe in life after death, past life regression, and they believe that chanting mantras can heal you from anything and there is scientific evidence to support these beliefs. Hyman is now focusing his powers of belief on a new field: "Shamanic Energy Healing" "Energy Healing" and "Energy Medicine." On their new web site, located at the following URL; http://www.emotionalrelease.com , Barbara Hyman explains that we all emit "shamanic energy" and there are "human energy" fields." Hyman believes that some amongst us (primarily her "genius" ex-husband, "shamanic healer," "qigong master" and "quantum theta" energy healer, James) can sense each other’s fields, and that healers can influence these fields to heal illnesses and injury. She believes these are not just theories but scientifically supported facts. The web site has numerous “gee-whiz” testimonials of supposed "shamanic healing" and energy healing (which are frankly not very convincing and could be easily outdone by any self-respecting purveyor of quack remedies). She goes on to describe her ex-husband James Hyman's claims that he has the ability to detect and alter this purported "shamanic energy," "quantum theta" energy and human energy fields. Throughout the web site she descends into blethering about quantum physics, the oneness of the universe, the connectedness of all things, and the possibility that "shamanic energy" or "quantum theta" energy awareness will solve all of mankind’s problems. Although given scientific proof to the contrary, she is not deterred, she goes on to describe purported measurements of subtle human energy emissions, Kam Yuen's influence on human energy fields, the power of "The Secret," the healing power of "Qigong" (of which James is of course a "Master") among other phenomena of dubious reality or significance.

She makes a big deal of the fact that humans emit energy (of course we do, it is picked up by EKG, EEG, etc.), and she would like to think "shamanic healers" or "energy healers," especially her "genius" husband James can pick up that energy and decode it in the same way your radio picks up Rush Limbaugh out of the atmosphere. And then she would like to think that "shamanic healers" and "energy healers" can send something back into the patient’s body to enable healing. I know, I know, in this time of sever economic instability, budgetary crisis and nasty political bickering you would think Americans would be fed up with such nonsense, most are, but when it comes to the Hymans, you'd be wrong. Barbara Hyman misses the crucial fact that there is information encoded in the electromagnetic waves your radio detects, but there is no reason to think there is any analogous information coming from the body, much less any way to change that information and send it back to produce healing. I only wish we could use "shamanic healing" or “energy healing” on radio and TV waves to improve the quality of programming! She makes a big deal of the fact that everything affects everything else. She seems to mean this in a holistic, metaphysical, New Age, “the universe is one and is conscious and we can create our own health” sense. Science recognizes that small events can have far-reaching effects, but that doesn’t mean one thing can predict or control another. Theoretically, a change in the magnitude or position of your body mass will enter into the overall gravity equations of the universe, but that doesn’t mean one thing can control or predict another. You could hardly expect to meaningfully influence someone out there beyond Alpha Centauri by losing ten or fifteen pounds (a practice of which Ms. Hyman might be better off practicing as opposed to constantly espousing the same drek over and over again). You can’t expect to change the EEG of an astronaut in the Space Station by exercising to change your own EKG. We are talking about very small influences. If a gnat pushes an elephant, it’s not likely to fall over; it’s not likely to even notice. And then there are inconvenient complications like quantum theory and chaos theory. There is nothing of substance in these multiple free web sites. Indeed the mere fact that she has to repeat the same things over and over again on virtually every free forum offered on the Internet would render any intelligent being to recognize the obvious, i.e. she is attempting what is known in main stream scientific circles as; "Proof By Assertion.' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof_by_assertion Proof by assertion, sometimes informally referred to as proof by repeated assertion, is a logical fallacy in which a proposition is repeatedly restated regardless of contradiction. Sometimes this may be repeated until challenges dry up, at which point it is asserted as fact due to its not being contradicted (argumentum ad nauseam). In other cases its repetition may be cited as evidence of its truth, in a variant of the appeal to authority or appeal to belief fallacies. The Hyman's claims lose credibility because they have never been in a controlled, double blind clinical study. Nothing Ms. Hyman has ever written has been accepted for publication in mainstream peer-reviewed journals. I feel sorry for James Hyman: he’s a smart guy, he means well, he really believes he has found something wonderful, but he has a blind spot and just doesn’t get it when others try to point out the flaws in his methods and reasoning. To put the accusation of “politics” into perspective, consider the Helicobacter experiments. When researchers first suggested that ulcers might be caused by bacteria, they were laughed at. They published their results, peer review had a field day, other labs looked into the idea, more data came in, results from various lines of research coalesced, and within a mere ten years it became standard practice to treat ulcers with antibiotics. It didn’t matter that the idea sounded crazy at first; science responded to good evidence. (See Kimball C. Atwood IV, “Bacteria, Ulcers, and Ostracism,” Skeptical Inquirer, November/December 2004.) If Hyman had evidence of equal quality, he would get an equal hearing by the scientific community. A good scientist considers the entire body of available evidence, not just the claims of one group of researchers. The Hyman's never bring up the fact that other experiments have directly contradicted their assertions. They never get around to mentioning Emily Rosa’s landmark experiment, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1998, which showed that therapeutic touch practitioners could not sense human energy fields as they claimed. She tested twenty-one experienced practitioners of therapeutic touch.1 They all thought they could detect Rosa’s human energy field and feel whether she was holding her hand over their right or left hand, but when they were prevented from seeing where her hand was, their performance was no better than chance. Rosa was nine years old at the time, and the article grew out of her school science fair project. The experiment was beautiful in its simplicity. Adult true believers had published much research on the techniques and effects of therapeutic touch, but in the true spirit of childlike questioning, Rosa went back to basics and asked the crucial question: “Is the phenomenon itself real? Can they really feel something or is it possible they are fooling themselves?”

Amazingly, no researcher had ever asked that question before. They had ignored one of the basic principles of the scientific method as explained by Karl Popper: it’s easy to find confirmation for any hypothesis, but every genuine test of a hypothesis is an attempt to falsify it. Emily Rosa's experiment is dismissed by other so called "shamanic healers," "energy healers," or 'therapeutic touch' practitioners as having five “potential problems”: 1. It was a science-fair project done by a young girl. 2. She was the only experimenter. 3. She randomized by flipping a coin, which he calls “an unreliable procedure.” 4. One of the authors was the founder of Quackwatch. 5. The subjects did worse than chance. These objections are just silly; they are either inaccurate or are ad hominem attacks: 1.It shouldn’t make any difference whether Rosa was a young girl or an old man or a sentient purple octopus from an alien planet. It shouldn’t matter whether she did the experiment for an elementary school project, a doctoral dissertation, a Coca Cola commercial, or a government grant. What matters is the quality of the evidence. In this case, her project was well designed and executed, had clearly significant findings, and was of high enough quality to be approved for publication in a prestigious peer-reviewed medical journal. 2.She was not the only experimenter. Others were involved; the experiment was repeated under expert supervision on Scientific American Frontiers. This should preclude any accusations of deliberate cheating or inadvertent failure to follow the protocol properly. Rosa was the only one to carry out the trials, but what would multiple testers have added to the experiment? The results didn’t depend on any special ability or quality of hers, but on the ability of the subjects who claimed they could sense anyone’s energy fields. For the televised trials, they even got to “feel” the “shamanic energy” from each of Rosa’s hands and choose which one they wanted her to use in the trials. About half chose her left hand and half her right. No one objected, “I can’t feel shamanic energy from either hand.” 3.Flipping a coin is not an “unreliable procedure”—unless the flipper is deliberately cheating. The number of heads and tails was approximately equal, and the distribution appeared random. The editors of JAMA found the method acceptable. There are situations where coin-flipping could legitimately be criticized, for instance in psi experiments where researchers are looking for minuscule differences in large bodies of data and even their computerized random number generators have been criticized for not being “perfectly” random. But in this experiment, the results were clearly significant; it is hard to envision how a different method of randomization could have altered the results. The coin flip was only used to determine which of the subject’s hands she would hold her hand over. The subjects claimed to be able to sense "shamanic energy" fields with either hand, so it shouldn’t have made a bit of difference to their perception. Faulty randomization might have allowed the subjects to perceive a pattern and guess, which would have tended to give false positive results rather than the negative results Rosa got. 4. One of the authors, the founder of Quackwatch, was admittedly skeptical of therapeutic touch. Yes, someone with possible bias was indirectly involved in the experiment. If that is an objection, there is an even greater objection to Hyman's own examples: he and his colleagues are all strongly biased toward belief in "shamanic energy" phenomena and they were directly involved in their experiences as told by "testimonials" on their web sites. "Testimonials" are personal accounts of someone's experiences with a therapy. They are generally subjective: "I felt better," "I had more energy," "I wasn't as nauseated," "The pain went away," and so on. Testimonials are inherently selective. People are much more likely to talk about their "amazing shamanic cure" than about something that didn't work for them. The proponents of "alternative" methods like Barbara & James Hyman's so called "shamanic energy healing" can, of course, pick which testimonials they use. For example, let's suppose that if 100 people are sick, 50 of them will recover on their own even if they do nothing. So, if all 100 people use a certain therapy, say James Hyman's "shamanic energy" healing, half will get better even if the treatment doesn't do anything. These people could say "I took a 'shamanic energy healing' therapy session with 'shamanic healer' James Hyman & my disease went away!" This would be completely honest, even though the therapy had done nothing for them. So, testimonials are useless for judging treatment effectiveness. For all we know, those giving the testimonial might be the only people who felt better. Or, suppose that of 100 patients trying a therapy, 10 experienced no change, 85 felt worse, and 5 felt better. The five who improved could quite honestly say that they felt better, even though nearly everyone who tried the remedy stayed the same or got worse! 5. It is simply not true that the subjects did “worse than chance.” Their performance was consistent with chance. If they had done worse than chance (significantly worse) that would have tended to support Hyman’s claim that some kind of "shamanic energy" effect was present, even though it would have been the reverse of what he claimed to find. In my opinion, none of these “problems” invalidates the conclusion that the therapeutic touch practitioners failed to do what they claimed they could do. And if they think these were valid problems, why didn’t they simply repeat her experiment in their own lab with multiple experimenters and a more reliable method of randomization? Why won't Hyman come forward and accept MY CHALLENGE? I HAVE A STANDING OFFER OF TO HYMAN OR ANY OTHER "SHAMANIC HEALER": ANYTIME, ANY ONE OF THEM CAN PROVE THE PRESENCE OF "SHAMANIC ENERGY" OR "QUANTUM THETA" ENERGY OR WHATEVER THEY MAY BE CALLING IT THIS WEEK,...PROVE IT.....SCIENTIFICALLY....AND WALK AWAY WITH THE MONEY!.....PERIOD......WHAT THEY ARE PROFESSING AMOUNTS TO A HUMAN ENERGY FIELD....IF IT IS SUCH AMAZING SCIENCE WHY HAS NO ONE TAKEN ME UP ON MY OFFER? In reality, Nine year old Emily Rosa’s experiment was a great example of a young child being able to see more clearly than prejudiced adults—a real “Emperor’s New Clothes” story. If a rigorous scientist thought he had found evidence that people could detect “human energy fields,” he would maintain a healthy skepticism; he would immediately try to prove himself wrong, and he would enlist his colleagues to help show him where he might have gone wrong. He would try to rule out all other possible explanations (the subject might be sensing heat, sound, motion, air currents, might be able to see under the blindfold, etc.). If the phenomenon proved robust, he would try to refine his understanding by doing things like varying the distance to see if it obeyed the inverse square law and interposing a sheet of cardboard or glass to see if the effect could be blocked. Then he would try to use instruments to measure what kind of energy was being sensed. When a believer thinks they have found something to justify their belief, their approach tends to be less rigorous. What about “if there is no convincing science or plausible mechanism to support them, let’s stop wasting our time chasing moonbeams”? All of energy medicine hinges on one basic claim: that people can detect subtle human energy fields. If the Hyman's are wrong about that, the rest of the claims for so-called “energy medicine” fizzle away. If they don't trust my credibility regarding the $50,000.00 prize, since 1996, the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) has offered a substantial reward (currently $1,000,000) to anyone who can demonstrate an ability to detect a "shamanic energy field," or “human energy field” under conditions similar to those of Rosa’s study. Of the more than 80,000 American therapeutic touch practitioners who claim to have such ability, only one person attempted to demonstrate it. She failed. Miserably! The JREF challenge is admittedly not a definitive scientific test, but prudence would seem to dictate that if no one can even meet this simple challenge, we shouldn’t be wasting research money on what is probably a myth. Others have attempted to establish the “science” of "shamanic energy" or energy medicine and have failed. Even the National Association Of Alternative Medicine (NAAM), which is willing to consider almost any possibility in alternative medicine, is skeptical. It distinguishes between real energy (sound waves, electromagnetism, and other energies measurable by physicists) and the kind of “putative” energy Hyman is trying to validate. It concludes that the “putative” energy approaches “are among the most controversial of CAM practices because neither the external energy fields nor their therapeutic effects have been demonstrated convincingly by any biophysical means.” Another proponent of 'energy healing' Gary Schwartz sounds like a scientist. He tries to talk the talk and walk the walk. He even makes some skeptical noises to try to convince us he is objective. But there is also a lot of very unscientific language in his written work. For instance: Human rage and pain, especially generated by terrorism and war, create a global energetic climate whose negative effects can extend from the physical and environmental—potentially including climate—to the psychological and ultimately spiritual. . . . [P]ollution is not simply chemical, it is ultimately energy based and therefore conscious as well. Really? Conscious pollution? So maybe if we talk nice to pollution it will cooperate and go away? Or should we try doing Reiki to lower the atmospheric CO2 levels? Does Al Gore know about this? "Shamanic Energy, and all other types of "“Energy Medicine's are an emperor whose new clothes still look awfully transparent to critical thinkers and to the scientific community no matter what glorious colors and fabrics Hyman or Schwartz and their colleagues imagine they are seeing. Pseudoscience Since most people have never studied quantum physics they do not understand why these sham ideas are a perversion of it - in fact, this relies on people thinking that quantum mechanics is "too hard" or "only for scientists" in order for the scams to work and stop people questioning them. People do, however, recognize that quantum physics says that nanoscale reality is very different from what we know, and perhaps some pop science authors can take some blame for this. Concepts such as "non-locality" or "quantum probability waves" or "uncertainty principle" have become social memes of a kind where people inherently recognize that something "strange" is going on. Practitioners of fraudulent and silly ideas like the Hyman's can tap into this feeling of mystery to push their sham concepts. i.e: "Shamanic Energy" Healing or “Quantum Theta Energy Healing.” Notes: 1. “Therapeutic touch” is a bit of a misnomer because these practitioners don’t actually touch but simply massage the air a few inches from the patient’s body. They are convinced that they are detecting and manipulating the "shamanic energy field," balancing and smoothing it, and correcting any abnormalities, thus allowing the body to heal itself. 2.Hall, H. 2005. A review of Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis. Skeptic 11(3): 89–93. Available at quackfiles.blogspot.com. 3. Halprin, R 2011, Quackwatch 4/13/11 Undercover Investigation Of Quantum Theta Energy Healing 4. Quantum Flux, 5. Quantum Stirwand Quantum Therapy Quantum healing Quantum biofeedback Shoo!Tag 6. The Dancing Wu Li Masters (William Morrow & Co., 1979, ISBN 0553249142) 7. The Tao of Physics (Shambhala Publications, 1975, ISBN 1570625190) 8. Reviewer Jeremy Bernstein of the New Yorker Magazine, quoted by Martin Gardner in a 1979 review for Newsday, described Zukav's and Capra's physics by saying "A physicist reading these books might feel like someone on a familiar street who finds that all the old houses have suddenly turned mauve." 9. http://www.emotionalrelease.com/ (The Hyman Hawking Hype Web Site) 11. http://www.zpenergy.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=229 12. http://www.quantumagewater.eu/contents/en-us/d1.html 13. http://www.quantumtherapy.net/ 14. http://www.newscientist.com/special/seven-wonders-of-the-quantum-world References: · Rosa, L., E. Rosa, L. Sarner, and S. Barrett. 1998. A close look at therapeutic touch. Journal of the American Medical Association. 279:1005–1010. Schwartz, Gary E., with William L. Simon. 2007. The Energy Healing Experiments: Science Reveals Our Natural Power to Heal. New York: Atria Books. Thanks To Harriet Hall M.D. (The SkepDoc) For The Template & Partial Content ; http://www.skepdoc.org

James Hyman's Deep Emotional Release Bodywork: The Emperors New Clothes?

JAMES HYMAN'S DEEP EMOTIONAL RELEASE BODYWORK: SHAMANIC HEALER OR SHAMANIC HYPE?

The Emperor's New Clothes

James Hyman says his experiments reveal our natural power to heal based on our ability to sense and manipulate "shamanic energy" and "human energy fields."

Has he discovered scientific truths, or has he only demonstrated the human talent for self-deception?

James Hyman and his "practice manager" ex wife believe many things.

They believe in life after death, past life regression, and they believe that chanting mantras can heal you from anything and there is scientific evidence to support these beliefs.

Hyman is now focusing his powers of belief on a new field: "Shamanic Energy Healing" "Energy Healing" and "Energy Medicine." as well as rehashing an old field from the 1990's "Deep Emotional Release Bodywork!"

On their new web site, located at the following URL; http://www.emotionalrelease.com , Barbara Hyman explains that we all emit "shamanic energy" and there are "human energy" fields."

Hyman believes that some amongst us (primarily her "genius" ex-husband, "shamanic energy healer," "qigong master" and "quantum theta" energy healer, James) can sense each other’s fields, and that healers can influence these fields to heal illnesses and injury.

She believes these are not just theories but scientifically supported facts.

The web site has numerous “gee-whiz” testimonials of supposed "shamanic healing" and energy healing (which are frankly not very convincing and could be easily outdone by any self-respecting purveyor of quack remedies).

She goes on to describe her ex-husband James Hyman's claims that he has the ability to detect and alter this purported "shamanic energy," "quantum theta" energy and human energy fields.

Throughout the web site she descends into blethering about quantum physics, the oneness of the universe, the connectedness of all things, and the possibility that "shamanic energy" or "quantum theta" energy awareness will solve all of mankind’s problems.

Although given scientific proof to the contrary, she is not deterred, she goes on to describe purported measurements of subtle human energy emissions, Kam Yuen's influence on human energy fields, the power of "The Secret," the healing power of "Qigong" (of which James is of course a "Master") among other phenomena of dubious reality or significance.

She makes a big deal of the fact that humans emit energy (of course we do, it is picked up by EKG, EEG, etc.), and she would like to think "shamanic healers" or "energy healers," especially her "genius" husband James can pick up that energy and decode it in the same way your radio picks up Rush Limbaugh out of the atmosphere.

And then she would like to think that "shamanic healers" and "energy healers" can send something back into the patient’s body to enable healing.

I know, I know, in this time of sever economic instability, budgetary crisis and nasty political bickering you would think Americans would be fed up with such nonsense, most are, but when it comes to the Hymans, you'd be wrong.

Barbara Hyman misses the crucial fact that there is information encoded in the electromagnetic waves your radio detects, but there is no reason to think there is any analogous information coming from the body, much less any way to change that information and send it back to produce healing.

I only wish we could use "shamanic healing" or “energy healing” on radio and TV waves to improve the quality of programming!

She makes a big deal of the fact that everything affects everything else.

She seems to mean this in a holistic, metaphysical, New Age, “the universe is one and is conscious and we can create our own health” sense.

Science recognizes that small events can have far-reaching effects, but that doesn’t mean one thing can predict or control another.

Theoretically, a change in the magnitude or position of your body mass will enter into the overall gravity equations of the universe, but that doesn’t mean one thing can control or predict another.

You could hardly expect to meaningfully influence someone out there beyond Alpha Centauri by losing ten or fifteen pounds (a practice of which Ms. Hyman might be better off practicing as opposed to constantly espousing the same drek over and over again).

You can’t expect to change the EEG of an astronaut in the Space Station by exercising to change your own EKG.

We are talking about very small influences.

If a gnat pushes an elephant, it’s not likely to fall over; it’s not likely to even notice.

And then there are inconvenient complications like quantum theory and chaos theory.

There is nothing of substance in these multiple free web sites.

Indeed the mere fact that she has to repeat the same things over and over again on virtually every free forum offered on the Internet would render any intelligent being to recognize the obvious, i.e. she is attempting what is known in main stream scientific circles as; "Proof By Assertion.' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof_by_assertion

Proof by assertion, sometimes informally referred to as proof by repeated assertion, is a logical fallacy in which a proposition is repeatedly restated regardless of contradiction.

Sometimes this may be repeated until challenges dry up, at which point it is asserted as fact due to its not being contradicted (argumentum ad nauseam).

In other cases its repetition may be cited as evidence of its truth, in a variant of the appeal to authority or appeal to belief fallacies.

The Hyman's claims lose credibility because they have never been in a controlled, double blind clinical study.

Nothing Ms. Hyman has ever written has been accepted for publication in mainstream peer-reviewed journals.

I feel sorry for James Hyman: he’s a smart guy, he means well, he really believes he has found something wonderful, but he has a blind spot and just doesn’t get it when others try to point out the flaws in his methods and reasoning.

To put the accusation of “politics” into perspective, consider the Helicobacter experiments.
When researchers first suggested that ulcers might be caused by bacteria, they were laughed at.

They published their results, peer review had a field day, other labs looked into the idea, more data came in, results from various lines of research coalesced, and within a mere ten years it became standard practice to treat ulcers with antibiotics.

It didn’t matter that the idea sounded crazy at first; science responded to good evidence. (See Kimball C. Atwood IV, “Bacteria, Ulcers, and Ostracism,” Skeptical Inquirer, November/December 2004.)

If Hyman had evidence of equal quality, he would get an equal hearing by the scientific community.

A good scientist considers the entire body of available evidence, not just the claims of one group of researchers.

The Hyman's never bring up the fact that other experiments have directly contradicted their assertions.

They never get around to mentioning Emily Rosa’s landmark experiment, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1998, which showed that therapeutic touch practitioners could not sense human energy fields as they claimed.

She tested twenty-one experienced practitioners of therapeutic touch.1

They all thought they could detect Rosa’s human energy field and feel whether she was holding her hand over their right or left hand, but when they were prevented from seeing where her hand was, their performance was no better than chance.

Rosa was nine years old at the time, and the article grew out of her school science fair project.

The experiment was beautiful in its simplicity.

Adult true believers had published much research on the techniques and effects of therapeutic touch, but in the true spirit of childlike questioning, Rosa went back to basics and asked the crucial question:

“Is the phenomenon itself real?

Can they really feel something or is it possible they are fooling themselves?”

Amazingly, no researcher had ever asked that question before.

They had ignored one of the basic principles of the scientific method as explained by Karl Popper: it’s easy to find confirmation for any hypothesis, but every genuine test of a hypothesis is an attempt to falsify it.

Emily Rosa's experiment is dismissed by other so called "shamanic healers," "energy healers," or 'therapeutic touch' practitioners as having five “potential problems”:

1. It was a science-fair project done by a young girl.

2. She was the only experimenter.

3. She randomized by flipping a coin, which he calls “an unreliable procedure.”

4. One of the authors was the founder of Quackwatch.

5. The subjects did worse than chance.

These objections are just silly; they are either inaccurate or are ad hominem attacks:

1.It shouldn’t make any difference whether Rosa was a young girl or an old man or a sentient purple octopus from an alien planet.

It shouldn’t matter whether she did the experiment for an elementary school project, a doctoral dissertation, a Coca Cola commercial, or a government grant.

What matters is the quality of the evidence. In this case, her project was well designed and executed, had clearly significant findings, and was of high enough quality to be approved for publication in a prestigious peer-reviewed medical journal.

2.She was not the only experimenter.

Others were involved; the experiment was repeated under expert supervision on Scientific American Frontiers.

This should preclude any accusations of deliberate cheating or inadvertent failure to follow the protocol properly.

Rosa was the only one to carry out the trials, but what would multiple testers have added to the experiment?

The results didn’t depend on any special ability or quality of hers, but on the ability of the subjects who claimed they could sense anyone’s energy fields.

For the televised trials, they even got to “feel” the “shamanic energy” from each of Rosa’s hands and choose which one they wanted her to use in the trials.

About half chose her left hand and half her right.

No one objected, “I can’t feel shamanic energy from either hand.”

3.Flipping a coin is not an “unreliable procedure”—unless the flipper is deliberately cheating.

The number of heads and tails was approximately equal, and the distribution appeared random. The editors of JAMA found the method acceptable.

There are situations where coin-flipping could legitimately be criticized, for instance in psi experiments where researchers are looking for minuscule differences in large bodies of data and even their computerized random number generators have been criticized for not being “perfectly” random.

But in this experiment, the results were clearly significant; it is hard to envision how a different method of randomization could have altered the results. The coin flip was only used to determine which of the subject’s hands she would hold her hand over.

The subjects claimed to be able to sense "shamanic energy" fields with either hand, so it shouldn’t have made a bit of difference to their perception.

Faulty randomization might have allowed the subjects to perceive a pattern and guess, which would have tended to give false positive results rather than the negative results Rosa got.

4. One of the authors, the founder of Quackwatch, was admittedly skeptical of therapeutic touch. Yes, someone with possible bias was indirectly involved in the experiment. If that is an objection, there is an even greater objection to Hyman's own examples: he and his colleagues are all strongly biased toward belief in "shamanic energy" phenomena and they were directly involved in their experiences as told by "testimonials" on their web sites.

"Testimonials" are personal accounts of someone's experiences with a therapy.

They are generally subjective:
"I felt better,"

"I had more energy,"

"I wasn't as nauseated,"

"The pain went away," and so on.

Testimonials are inherently selective.

People are much more likely to talk about their "amazing shamanic cure" than about something that didn't work for them.

The proponents of "alternative" methods like Barbara & James Hyman's so called "shamanic energy healing" can, of course, pick which testimonials they use.

For example, let's suppose that if 100 people are sick, 50 of them will recover on their own even if they do nothing.

So, if all 100 people use a certain therapy, say James Hyman's "shamanic energy" healing, half will get better even if the treatment doesn't do anything.

These people could say "I took a 'shamanic energy healing' therapy session with 'shamanic healer' James Hyman & my disease went away!"

This would be completely honest, even though the therapy had done nothing for them.

So, testimonials are useless for judging treatment effectiveness.

For all we know, those giving the testimonial might be the only people who felt better.

Or, suppose that of 100 patients trying a therapy, 10 experienced no change, 85 felt worse, and 5 felt better.

The five who improved could quite honestly say that they felt better, even though nearly everyone who tried the remedy stayed the same or got worse!

5. It is simply not true that the subjects did “worse than chance.”

Their performance was consistent with chance.

If they had done worse than chance (significantly worse) that would have tended to support Hyman’s claim that some kind of "shamanic energy" effect was present, even though it would have been the reverse of what he claimed to find.

In my opinion, none of these “problems” invalidates the conclusion that the therapeutic touch practitioners failed to do what they claimed they could do.

And if they think these were valid problems, why didn’t they simply repeat her experiment in their own lab with multiple experimenters and a more reliable method of randomization?

Why won't Hyman come forward and accept MY CHALLENGE?

I HAVE A STANDING OFFER OF TO HYMAN OR ANY OTHER "SHAMANIC HEALER": ANYTIME, ANY ONE OF THEM CAN PROVE THE PRESENCE OF "SHAMANIC ENERGY" OR "QUANTUM THETA" ENERGY OR WHATEVER THEY MAY BE CALLING IT THIS WEEK,...PROVE IT.....SCIENTIFICALLY....AND WALK AWAY WITH THE MONEY!.....PERIOD......WHAT THEY ARE PROFESSING AMOUNTS TO A HUMAN ENERGY FIELD....IF IT IS SUCH AMAZING SCIENCE WHY HAS NO ONE TAKEN ME UP ON MY OFFER?

In reality, Nine year old Emily Rosa’s experiment was a great example of a young child being able to see more clearly than prejudiced adults—a real “Emperor’s New Clothes” story.

If a rigorous scientist thought he had found evidence that people could detect “human energy fields,” he would maintain a healthy skepticism; he would immediately try to prove himself wrong, and he would enlist his colleagues to help show him where he might have gone wrong.

He would try to rule out all other possible explanations (the subject might be sensing heat, sound, motion, air currents, might be able to see under the blindfold, etc.).

If the phenomenon proved robust, he would try to refine his understanding by doing things like varying the distance to see if it obeyed the inverse square law and interposing a sheet of cardboard or glass to see if the effect could be blocked.

Then he would try to use instruments to measure what kind of energy was being sensed.
When a believer thinks they have found something to justify their belief, their approach tends to be less rigorous.

What about “if there is no convincing science or plausible mechanism to support them, let’s stop wasting our time chasing moonbeams”?

All of energy medicine hinges on one basic claim: that people can detect subtle human energy fields.

If the Hyman's are wrong about that, the rest of the claims for so-called “energy medicine” fizzle away.

If they don't trust my credibility regarding the $50,000.00 prize, since 1996, the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) has offered a substantial reward (currently $1,000,000) to anyone who can demonstrate an ability to detect a "shamanic energy field," or “human energy field” under conditions similar to those of Rosa’s study.

Of the more than 80,000 American therapeutic touch practitioners who claim to have such ability, only one person attempted to demonstrate it.

She failed.

Miserably!

The JREF challenge is admittedly not a definitive scientific test, but prudence would seem to dictate that if no one can even meet this simple challenge, we shouldn’t be wasting research money on what is probably a myth.

Others have attempted to establish the “science” of "shamanic energy" or energy medicine and have failed.

Even the National Association Of Alternative Medicine (NAAM), which is willing to consider almost any possibility in alternative medicine, is skeptical.

It distinguishes between real energy (sound waves, electromagnetism, and other energies measurable by physicists) and the kind of “putative” energy Hyman is trying to validate.

It concludes that the “putative” energy approaches “are among the most controversial of CAM practices because neither the external energy fields nor their therapeutic effects have been demonstrated convincingly by any biophysical means.”

Another proponent of 'energy healing' Gary Schwartz sounds like a scientist.

He tries to talk the talk and walk the walk.

He even makes some skeptical noises to try to convince us he is objective.

But there is also a lot of very unscientific language in his written work.

For instance:
Human rage and pain, especially generated by terrorism and war, create a global energetic climate whose negative effects can extend from the physical and environmental—potentially including climate—to the psychological and ultimately spiritual. . . . [P]ollution is not simply chemical, it is ultimately energy based and therefore conscious as well.

Really?

Conscious pollution?

So maybe if we talk nice to pollution it will cooperate and go away?

Or should we try doing Reiki to lower the atmospheric CO2 levels?

Does Al Gore know about this?

"Shamanic Energy, and all other types of "“Energy Medicine's are an emperor whose new clothes still look awfully transparent to critical thinkers and to the scientific community no matter what glorious colors and fabrics Hyman or Schwartz and their colleagues imagine they are seeing.

Pseudoscience

Since most people have never studied quantum physics they do not understand why these sham ideas are a perversion of it - in fact, this relies on people thinking that quantum mechanics is "too hard" or "only for scientists" in order for the scams to work and stop people questioning them.

People do, however, recognize that quantum physics says that nanoscale reality is very different from what we know, and perhaps some pop science authors can take some blame for this. Concepts such as "non-locality" or "quantum probability waves" or "uncertainty principle" have become social memes of a kind where people inherently recognize that something "strange" is going on.

Practitioners of fraudulent and silly ideas like the Hyman's can tap into this feeling of mystery to push their sham concepts. i.e: "Shamanic Energy" Healing or “Quantum Theta Energy Healing.”

Notes:
1. “Therapeutic touch” is a bit of a misnomer because these practitioners don’t actually touch but simply massage the air a few inches from the patient’s body.

They are convinced that they are detecting and manipulating the "shamanic energy field," balancing and smoothing it, and correcting any abnormalities, thus allowing the body to heal itself.

2.Hall, H. 2005. A review of Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis. Skeptic 11(3): 89–93. Available at quackfiles.blogspot.com.

3. Halprin, R 2011, Quackwatch 4/13/11 Undercover Investigation Of Quantum Theta Energy Healing

4. Quantum Flux,

5. Quantum Stirwand
Quantum Therapy
Quantum healing
Quantum biofeedback
Shoo!Tag

6. The Dancing Wu Li Masters (William Morrow & Co., 1979, ISBN 0553249142)

7. The Tao of Physics (Shambhala Publications, 1975, ISBN 1570625190)

8. Reviewer Jeremy Bernstein of the New Yorker Magazine, quoted by Martin Gardner in a 1979 review for Newsday, described Zukav's and Capra's physics by saying "A physicist reading these books might feel like someone on a familiar street who finds that all the old houses have suddenly turned mauve."

9. http://www.emotionalrelease.com/ (The Hyman Hawking Hype Web Site)


11. http://www.zpenergy.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=229

12. http://www.quantumagewater.eu/contents/en-us/d1.html
13. http://www.quantumtherapy.net/
14. http://www.newscientist.com/special/seven-wonders-of-the-quantum-world

References:

· Rosa, L., E. Rosa, L. Sarner, and S. Barrett. 1998. A close look at therapeutic touch. Journal of the American Medical Association. 279:1005–1010. Schwartz, Gary E., with William L. Simon. 2007. The Energy Healing Experiments: Science Reveals Our Natural Power to Heal. New York: Atria Books.

Thanks To Harriet Hall M.D. (The SkepDoc) For The Template & Partial Content ; http://www.skepdoc.org

Shamanic Energy Healer James Hyman's "Sedona Detox": Sham Or Scam?

James and Barbara Hyman, having fallen victim to their scams being called out by skeptic's everywhere, have now resorted to hawking and pushing "Detox Retreats" in that bastion of reality;

Sedona Arizona!

(Hey, isn't that where they allowed James Arthur Ray of "The Secret" fame, the ability to rent space for the purposes of charging $10,000.00 per person to ridicule and then commit three separate cases of negligent homicide?

Well, now the Hyman's, undeterred, have taken to hawking A "Total Body Cleanse."

For those of you not familiar with this rather unpleasant scam, it's a coffee enema (use StarButts Coffee only), personally I would prefer a Zapper treatment, or simply a placebo (ie. doing nothing).

I guarantee it's just as effective!

Here is what I can tell you about "Colonic Irrigation" And "Coffee Enema's"

From The United States Senate Special Committee on Aging

Hearing on Swindlers, Hucksters and Snake Oil Salesmen:
The Hype and Hope of Marketing Anti-Aging Products to Seniors
September 10, 2001

A Written Response to the Statement of the Honorable Dan Burton (R-IN),
Chairman, House Committee on Government Reform

By Timothy N. Gorski, M.D., F.A.C.O.G.
Assistant Clinical Professor, University of North Texas Health Science Center
President, Dallas/Fort Worth Council Against Health Fraud
Board Member, National Council Against Health Fraud
Associate Editor, Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine

According to Dr. Gorski:

"Especially shameful was the allocation of $1.4 million to the work of Nicholas Gonzalez and his bizarre coffee enema and psychic hair analysis cancer treatments. Even Barrie Cassileth, PhD, Chief of the Integrative Medicine Service at Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, called Gonzalez' claims and methods "voodoo magic," "silly" and not scientific.

"Worse than not scientific. This is pure ridiculousness."

"Coffee Enema's" "Enema's" were standard practice of fifth-century C.E. "medicine men" who believed blood letting and purging rid the body of "corrupt humors" [15] Kelley/Gonzalez use of laxatives and enemas seems to endorse this ancient concept when they state that poisoning occurs when people eat "processed foods" and that an "unpoisoned body" can recognize and destroy cancer.

From Dr. Stephen Barrett, Editor QuackWatch:

Gastrointestinal Quackery:
Colonics, Laxatives, and More

Stephen Barrett, M.D.

The importance of "regularity" to overall health has been greatly overestimated for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians associated feces with decay and used enemas and laxatives liberally.

In more recent times, this concern has been embodied in the concept of "autointoxication" and has been promoted by warnings against "irregularity." [1]

The theory of "autointoxication" states that stagnation of the large intestine (colon) causes toxins to form that are absorbed and poison the body.

Some proponents depict the large intestine as a "sewage system" that becomes a "cesspool" if neglected.

Other proponents state that constipation causes hardened feces to accumulate for months (or even years) on the walls of the large intestine and block it from absorbing or eliminating properly.

This, they say, causes food to remain undigested and wastes from the blood to be reabsorbed by the body [2].

Around the turn of the twentieth century many physicians accepted the concept of autointoxication, but it was abandoned after scientific observations proved it wrong.

In 1919 and 1922, it was clearly demonstrated that symptoms of headache, fatigue, and loss of appetite that accompanied fecal impaction were caused by mechanical distension of the colon rather than by production or absorption of toxins [3,4].

Moreover, direct observation of the colon during surgical procedures or autopsies found no evidence that hardened feces accumulate on the intestinal walls.

Today we know that most of the digestive process takes place in the small intestine, from which nutrients are absorbed into the body.

The remaining mixture of food and undigested particles then enters the large intestine, which can be compared to a 40-inch-long hollow tube.

Its principal functions are to transport food wastes from the small intestine to the rectum for elimination and to absorb minerals and water.

Careful observations have shown that the bowel habits of healthy individuals can vary greatly.
Although most people have a movement daily, some have several movements each day, while others can go several days or even longer with no adverse effects.

The popular diet book Fit for Life (1986) is based on the notion that when certain foods are eaten together, they "rot," poison the system, and make the person fat.

To avoid this, the authors recommend that fats, carbohydrates and protein foods be eaten at separate meals, emphasizing fruits and vegetables because foods high in water content can "wash the toxic waste from the inside of the body" instead of "clogging" the body.

These ideas are utter nonsense [5].

Some chiropractors, naturopaths, and assorted food faddists claim that "death begins in the colon" and that "90 percent of all diseases are caused by improperly working bowels."

The practices they recommend include fasting, periodic "cleansing" of the intestines, and colonic irrigation.

Fasting is said to "rejuvenate" the digestive organs, increase elimination of "toxins, and "purify" the body."

Cleansing" can be accomplished with a variety of "natural" laxative products.

Colonic irrigation is performed by passing a rubber tube through the rectum. Some proponents have advocated that the tube be inserted as much as 30 inches.

Warm water—often 20 gallons or more—is pumped in and out through the tube, a few pints at a time, to wash out the contents of the large intestine. (An ordinary enema uses about a quart of fluid.)

Some practitioners add herbs, coffee, enzymes, wheat or grass extract, or other substances to the enema solution.

The Total Health Connection and Canadian Natural Health and Healing Center Web sites provide more details of proponents' claims.

The latter states that "there is only one cause of disease—toxemia" and offers "the most comprehensive in-depth colon therapy on the continent."

The course costs $985 for 5 days of in-clinic training or $295 by correspondence.

The Hyman's are hyping basically the same method, only they have to add to the cost to pad their profit.

Recent web site advertisements by the Hyman's hawking their "next great detox" in Sedona Arizona, (that bastion of reality), were quoting a price of $1,399.00 for a FOUR DAY COMMUNAL EVENT WHERE THEY EXPECT YOU NOT ONLY TO BE "DETOXED" WITH THEIR COFFEE ENEMA'S, (use StarButts coffee only, please!) ALONG WITH AN ORGANIC JUICE AND SOUP FAST (gee whiz, I wonder where all that money is going?) ...but THEY EXPECT YOU TO SHARE ACCOMMODATIONS!

Some "alternative" practitioners make bogus diagnoses of "parasites," for which they recommend "intestinal cleansers," plant enzymes, homeopathic remedies (the aforementioned juice and soup fast)...

Health-food stores sell products of this type with claims that they can "rejuvenate" the body and kill the alleged invaders.

The danger of these practices depends upon how much they are used and whether they are substituted for necessary medical care.

Whereas a 1-day fast is likely to be harmless (though useless), prolonged fasting can be fatal.

"Cleansing" with products composed of herbs and dietary fiber is unlikely to be physically harmful, but the products involved can be expensive. (I'll say, $1,399.00 for 4 days of juice and soup?)

Some people have reported expelling large amounts of what they claim to be feces that have accumulated on he intestinal wall.

However, experts believe these are simply "casts" formed by the fiber contained in the "cleansing" products.

Although laxative ads warn against "irregularity," constipation should be defined not by the frequency of movements but by the hardness of the stool.

Ordinary constipation usually can be remedied by increasing the fiber content of the diet, drinking adequate amounts of water, and engaging in regular exercise.

If the bowel is basically normal, dietary fiber increases the bulk of the stool, softens it, and speeds transit time.

Defecating soon after the urge is felt also can be helpful because if urges are ignored, the rectum may eventually stop signaling when defecation is needed. Stimulant laxatives (such as cascara or castor oil) can damage the nerve cells in the colon wall, decreasing the force of contractions and increasing the tendency toward constipation.

Thus, people who take strong laxatives whenever they "miss a movement" may wind up unable to move their bowels without them.

Frequent enemas can also lead to dependence [6].

A doctor should be consulted if constipation persists or represents a significant change in bowel pattern.

Colonic irrigation, which also can be expensive, has considerable potential for harm.

The process can be very uncomfortable, since the presence of the tube can induce severe cramps and pain.

If the equipment is not adequately sterilized between treatments, disease germs from one person's large intestine can be transmitted to others.

Several outbreaks of serious infections have been reported, including one in which contaminated equipment caused amebiasis in 36 people, 6 of whom died following bowel perforation [7-9].
(Look out, Sedona!)

Cases of heart failure (from excessive fluid absorption into the bloodstream) and electrolyte imbalance have also been reported [10].

Direct rectal perforation has also been reported [11].

Yet no license or training is required to operate a colonic-irrigation device.

I would advise seeing a board certified internal medical doctor before attempting anything even remotely similar to allowing a self professed "shamanic healer," "qigong master," and his over weight and over bearing ex-wife to dictate a useless protocol like the one being hawked by the Hyman's next month in Sedona (August 2-6 2011).

They actually have the nerve to call it "Sedona Shamanic Kidney Cleanse"..if you don't believe me, run your own "Google search!"

In 1985, a California judge ruled that colonic irrigation is an invasive medical procedure that may not be performed by chiropractors and the California Health Department's Infectious Disease Branch stated: "The practice of colonic irrigation by chiropractors, physical therapists, or physicians should cease. Colonic irrigation can do no good, only harm."

The National Council Against Health Fraud agrees [12].

Perhaps this is why the Hyman's "retreat" (no pun intended) to Sedona.

In 2009, Dr. Edzard Ernst tabulated the therapeutic claims he found on the Web sites of six "professional organizations of colonic irrigations."

The themes he found included detoxification, normalization of intestinal function, treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, and weight loss.

He also found claims elated to asthma, menstrual irregularities, circulatory disorders, skin problems, and improvements in energy levels.

Searching Medline and Embase, he was unable to find a single controlled clinical trial that substantiated any of these claims [13].

Legal Action

The FDA classifies colonic irrigation systems as Class III devices that cannot be legally marketed except for medically indicated colon cleansing (such as before a radiologic endoscopic examination).

No system has been approved for "routine" colon cleansing to promote the general well being of a patient.

Since 1997, the agency has issued at least seven warning letters related to colon therapy:

In 1997, Colon Therapeutics, of Groves, Texas, and its owner Jimmy John Girouard were warned about safety and quality control violations of the Jimmy John colon hydrotherapy unit and related devices [14].

In 1997, Tiller Mind & Body, of San Antonio, Texas and its owner Jeri C. Tiller, were ordered to stop claiming that their Libbe colonic irrigation device was effective against acne, allergies, asthma and low-grade chronic infections and improved liver function and capillary and lymphatic circulation [15].

In 1997, Colon Hygiene Services, of Austin, Texas and its owner Rocky Bruno was notified that their colonic irrigation system could not be legally marketed without FDA approval [16].

In 1999, Dotolo Research Corporation, of Pinellas Park, Florida, and its chief executive officer Raymond Dotolo were warned about quality control violations and lack of FDA approval for marketing its Toxygen BSC-UV colonic irrigation system [17].

In 2001, Clearwater Colon Hydrotherapy, of Ocala, Florida, and its vice president Stuart K. Baker were warned about quality control violations and lack of FDA approval for marketing their colonic irrigators [18].

In 2003. the International Colon Hydrotherapy Association, of San Antonio, Texas and its executive director Augustine R. Hoenninger, III, PhD, ND, were notified that it lacked FDA approval to sponsor "research" that had been proposed or actually begun on the devices of five companies [19].


In 2003, Girourd and Colon Therapeutics were notified that his devices require professional supervision and cannot be legally marketed directly to consumers. The letter noted that he had obtained marketing clearance only for use in medically indicated colon cleansing, such as before radiologic or sigmoidoscopic examinations [20].

In 2003, the Wood Hygienic Institute of Kissimmee, Florida, and its owner Helen Wood were warned about quality control violations and the use of unapproved therapeutic claims in marketing their devices [21].


Girouard, Colon Therapeutics, Tiller Mind & Body, operators of the Years to Your Life Health Centers, companies that manufactured several components of Girouard's colonic irrigation systems, and organizations that trained operators of the devices are being sued in connection with the death of a 72-year-old woman who perforated her large intestine while administering colonic irrigation. The suit alleges that the woman was unsupervised when she administered the "colonic," perforated her colon early in the procedure, required surgery the same day, and remained seriously ill for several months before she died from liver failure.

The complaint also alleges that Years to Your Life Health Center falsely advertised colonic irrigations as "painless" procedures which provided health benefits including an improved immune system and increased energy, as well as relief from indigestion, diarrhea, constipation, weight loss, body odor, candida, acne, mucus colitis, gas, food cravings, fatigue, obesity, diverticulosis, bad breath, parasitic infections, and premenstrual syndrome [22].

In response to the woman's death and reports of serious injuries to four other patients, the Texas Attorney General filed lawsuits against:


Girouard and Colon Therapeutics

Abundant Health and Wellness Institute, and its owner, Cordelia Beall

Gentle Colonics Inc. and its owner, Denson Ingram

Eternal Health Inc., doing business as Years to Your Life and Cynthia Pitre

Jennifer Jackson, doing business as Body Cleanse Spa

Tiller Mind Body Inc., doing business as Mind Body Naturopathic Institute and Jerri Tiller

International Association for Colon Hydrotherapy, Class 3 Study Group and Augustine R. Hoenninger III

Linda Gonzalez, doing business as El Paso Health Center.

Soledad Herrera, doing business as Body Matters of El Paso

Lisa Ramoin, doing business as Alternative Health (Houston)
Janice Jackson, doing as InsideOut and Within (Houston)

The suits charged all of the defendants with engaging in the promotion, sale or unauthorized use of prescription devices for colonic hydrotherapy treatments without physician involvement.

In 2004 and 2005, the cases involving Girouard, Ingram, Beall, the Jacksons, Herrera, Ramoin, and their companies were settled with consent agreements under which they would pay a total of $178,000 in civil penalties, fees, and costs to the state [23-25].

For Additional Information

How Clean Should Your Colon Be?
References.

Chen TS, Chen PS. Intestinal autointoxication: A gastrointestinal leitmotive. Journal Clinical Gastroenterology 11:343-441, 1989.

Ernst E. Colonic irrigation and the theory of autointoxication: A triumph of ignorance over science. Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology 24:196-198, 1997.

Alvarez WC. Origin of the so-called auto-intoxication symptoms. JAMA 72:8-13, 1919.

Donaldson AN. Relation of constipation to intestinal intoxication. JAMA 78:884-888, 1922.

Kenney JJ. Fit For Life: Some notes on the book and Its roots. Nutrition Forum, March 1986.

Use of enemas is limited. FDA Consumer 18(6):33, 1984.

Amebiasis associated with colonic irrigation - Colorado. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 30:101-102, 1981.

Istre GR and others. An outbreak of amebiasis spread by colonic irrigation at a chiropractic clinic. New England Journal of Medicine 307:339-342, 1982.

Benjamin R and others. The case against colonic irrigation. California Morbidity, Sept 27, 1985.
Eisele JW, Reay DT. Deaths related to coffee enemas. JAMA 244:1608-1609, 1980.

Handley DV and others. Rectal perforation from colonic irrigation administered by alternative practitioners. Medical Journal of Australia 181:575-576, 2004.

Jarvis WT. Colonic Irrigation. National Council Against Health Fraud, 1995.
Ernst E. Colonic irrigation: therapeutic claims by professional organizations, a review.

International Journal of Clinical Practcie 64:429-431, 2010.

Baca JR. Warning letter to Colon Therapeutics, April 27, 1997.

Baca, JR. Warning letter to Tiller Mind & Body, June 2, 1997.

Baca JR. Warning letter to Colon Hygiene Services, June 20, 1997.

Tolen DD. Warning letter to Dotolo Research Corporation, July 21, 1999.

Singleton E. Warning letter to Clearwater Colon Hydrotherapy, Sept 13, 2001.

Marcarelli MM. Warning letter to International Colon Hydrotherapy Association, March 21, 2003.

Chappel MA. Warning letter to Colon Therapeutics, Oct 23, 2003.

Ormond E. Warning letter to Wood Hygienic Institute, Oct 23, 2003.

Barrett S. Colonic promoters facing legal actions. Quackwatch, Nov 11, 2003.

Attorney General Abbott sues ' colonic hydrotherapy ' providers for abuse of medical devices; one death reported: Suits allege unsafe use of devices without physician oversight is a public health issue. Texas Attorney General news release, Dec 1, 2003.

Barrett S. Texas Attorney General reaches settlement with three colonic hydrotherapy providers. Casewatch, July 16, 2004.

Attorney General Abbott wins court judgment with six colon hydrotherapy providers. News release, March 1, 2005.

Conclusions

Neither Kelley nor Gonzalez has identified proposed toxins in processed food.

Neither has evidence that abnormal protein molecules from necrosing tumors are toxins or that they poison organs.

Neither has evidence that the toxins poison oxidative metabolism.

Neither has evidence that cancers thrive in an anaerobic environment.

Neither has shown that coffee enemas, megavitamin doses, and their special diets inhibit the progress of cancer.

Neither has produced evidence that a deficiency of pancreatic digestive enzymes is related to the onset of cancer.

Neither has produced evidence that enzymes from animal or vegetable sources can replace enzymes in human organs.


There is no evidence that ingested pancreatic enzymes seek out and kill cancer cells.
Neither has produced evidence that their regimens are more effective than a placebo for cancer.




Gar Hildebrand, president of the Gerson Research Organization (GRO) in San Diego which promotes the irrational "Gerson Method" of cancer treatment.

GRO runs a Tijuana cancer clinic at which patients have been charged $9000 for a two week course of unproven care while Mr. Hildebrand lectures them, emphasizing his ties to the NIH [25].

Mr. Hildebrand says that women with ovarian cancer should not receive chemotherapy but should instead "detoxify the body" with dietary measures including "oodles of plant chemicals."

Once this is done, he says, "these patients' immune systems become intelligent again.

They stop making excess stupid white cells, and create more lymphocytes interested in more types of challenges." [26] Hildebrand also promotes coffee enemas, hyperbaric oxygen and other nonsensical treatments for cancer.

Frank Wiewel, head of People Against Cancer (PAC), formerly the Immunoaugmentative Therapy Patients Association. PAC is a referral organization for cancer patients that promotes irrational treatments including the discredited "Immunoaugmentative Therapy" devised by zoologist Lawrence Burton, PhD. PAC also promotes the ideas of Hulda Clark and other notorious cancer quacks [27].

The organization's website states that "you are never told the truth about cancer," [28] a detestable falsehood designed to drive a wedge between frightened and desperate cancer victims and their doctors in order to exploit the sick.

Wayne Jonas MD assumed leadership at the OAM in July of 1995, almost a year after the departure of Dr. Jacobs. Dr. Jonas is a homeopath, a believer in a discredited 18th Century mystical prescientific theory of medicine that asserts the truth of preposterous "laws."

One of these, "The Law of Similars," from which homeopathy takes its name, asserts that substances that cause certain symptoms are effective in treating those same symptoms.

Another, "The Law of Infinitesimals," states that diluting a substance makes it more potent.

Thus, homeopathic "medicine" consists of substances diluted to fantastic proportions, to the point where no molecules of the substance remain.


Dr. Jonas was enamored of homeopathy as a medical student at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine in North Carolina.

After suggesting that a patient with severe pneumonia be treated with homeopathy, his supervisors asked him to repeat his rotation in medicine.

But even as a medical student Dr. Jonas was impervious to reason.

As OAM Director he told an interviewer that "Just as the discovery of infectious agents revolutionized our ability to care for many diseases at the turn of the century, the discovery of what happens when a homeopathic preparation is made and how it impacts the body might revolutionize our understanding of chemistry, biology and medicine." [29]

Dr Jonas co-authored a book on homeopathy in which he makes it clear that he is certain of its effectiveness but is only doubtful about its mechanism.

The pattern of nonexistent molecules "must be stored in some way in the diluted water/alcohol mixture" he wrote, suggesting that all manner of occult energies, imaginary "biophotons" or New Age quantum effects could be involved [30].

Of late, Dr. Jonas has become frustrated with homeopathy research, perhaps because of the obvious truth in one medical scientist's observation that such research is nothing more than "a game of chance between two placebos." [31]

Dr. Jonas has suggested that validating homeopathy "may require a theory that incorporates subjective variables," [32] which is to say, how the thoughts of patients, doctors, and perhaps their next-door neighbors might influence the effects of a homeopathic remedy.

This is in line with mystical beliefs in "nonlocal effects" caused by "intentionality," or, in other words, psychic powers.

This is also entirely consistent with Dr. Jonas' new position on the Scientific Advisory Committee of the paranormalism-oriented Institute for Noetic Sciences (IONS).

According to IONS, Dr. Jonas "envisions the development of protocols using gene-array procedures to examine possible genetic expression arising from CAM signals in distant healing."

He considers it wrongheaded and obsolete that "the current view of the body is grounded in molecular biology."

He prefers to think that "bodily parts [can] communicate over long distances almost instantaneously" by means of "nonlocal characteristics in the biological process, with widely separated parts interacting in ways that don't have obvious physical carriers." [33]