(Judyth Piazza chats with Kevin Trudeau)
“If you follow the worlds of dieting and natural health, you’ve probably heard of Kevin Trudeau, either because you’ve seen the infomercials for his books, read one of his books or seen information on his continuing battles with the Federal Trade Commission.
His first book, Natural Cures “They” Don’t Want You to Know About claimed that there were all natural, inexpensive cures to pretty much every disease out there, from AIDS to cancer, multiple sclerosis to ADD, that the Food and Drug Administration was hiding from consumers to help the drug companies make money.
Only problem is, the book didn’t actually include what those cures were, and the New York State Consumer Protection Board said he was misleading consumers by misrepresenting the contents of the book and using false testimonials to promote the book.
Since then he’s published another book on natural cures, which actually does include the products that are said to cure different diseases, as well as a weight loss book and a book on getting rid of debt. It is, of course, the weight loss book we’re most interested in.
It’s not shooting up urine, but it’s still scary
That book, The Weight Loss Cure “They” Don’t Want You to Know About, was published last year. I came across the book at my local library recently and couldn’t resist checking it out. The beginning of the book is a sales pitch, touting the most revolutionary, easy way to cure obesity permanently and to make it so people can eat as much of whatever they want in the future after going through the “weight loss cure protocol” (which is what Trudeau calls it, always in quotes).
And in what’s sure to be music to every failed dieter’s ears, he says that being overweight isn’t the individual’s fault. Instead it can be blamed on about 50 other things, including:
Bovine growth hormone and antibiotics in meat
Artificial sweeteners
Man-made sugars like high fructose corn syrup
Food additives
Trans fats
Pasteurization and homogenization
Lack of sunshine
Having too much yeast in your system
But the real reason behind the weight gain that’s caused by these environmental factors is an abnormally functioning hypothalamus gland. The intent of the diet is to reset the hypothalamus so that the body can burn the fat it’s been holding onto and so it won’t deposit fat in the most unwelcome areas in the future.
Getting ready for the plan
Trudeau’s plan is based on the research of a British doctor, A.T.W. Simeons, who discovered this weight loss method in the 1950s. It has apparently been used since then by royalty and celebrities from throughout the world, but it’s been kept silent because of a vast conspiracy of the medical establishment and food manufacturers, who wouldn’t make any money if everyone were healthy and thin.
Trudeau’s plan is slightly more involved than Simeons’ was, given that there are many more environmental hazards to make us fat these days than there were in the 1950s. He calls for an initial phase of at least 30 days in which people can eat whatever organic food they want as long as they eat six times a day.
They also are asked to consume at least a half gallon of water a day, green tea, yerba mate tea, chamomile tea and a tea for pancreas health, as well as supplements to cleanse the colon, eliminate yeast, provide calcium, probiotics and “whole foods,” remove heavy metals, burn fat and reduce stress, among others.
He also calls for walking an hour a day, using a sauna daily, getting colonics every other day and getting massages once or twice a week during the program. And all that’s not to mention wearing devices to block “electromagnetic chaos,” eliminating all lotions and creams and cutting out all drugs.
HCG: The meat of the diet
The second and third phases are taken directly from Simeons’ work. Phase two lasts 45 days and involves a daily injection of hCG or human chorionic gonadotrophin,1 a hormone secreted in the urine of pregnant women and that is supposed to help people burn fat (our pal PalMD calls that a bunch of woo).
In addition, people are not allowed to eat more than 500 calories a day after the first two days of the program, and they must stick to a strict plan of nothing but tea (at least you have lots of tea choices) for breakfast and 100 grams of beef, chicken or fish, a handful of vegetables and an apple or grapefruit for lunch and dinner.
The third phase allows for regular eating (under the same rules as before of all organics, no artificial or man-made sweeteners, no fast food, etc.), but if you notice you’ve gained more than two pounds in a day you’re supposed to fast until 6 p.m., then eat a giant steak.
Yeah, it would work, but…
There’s no doubt that anyone who could stick to this diet would lose weight. If you’re only eating 500 calories a day, there’s no way not to lose weight. But I can’t imagine it’s as easy and wonderful as Trudeau (who himself lost 36 pounds and eight inches in five weeks on the diet) says it is.
Apparently the hCG injections are supposed to make you not feel hungry because they’re releasing the calories stored in your fat, so it’s completely safe to eat so little for so long, and people won’t feel hungry after the first week, Trudeau says.
I’m not a doctor (but neither is Trudeau, and I’ve never once been sued by the FTC or convicted of fraud) so I won’t say this diet is dangerous, but it sure does send up some red flags. Especially the parts about how vegetarians can’t do the diet (he offers an alternative that someone else has developed), how your thoughts affect what you weigh, the emphasis on electromagnetic frequencies causing weight gain and the use of the Callahan “tapping” technique and dianetics for stress relief and the removal of emotional eating.
Even if it weren’t a dangerous diet, this is not something that the average person could ever do, based on the amount of time and money involved, trips to the doctor’s office for daily injections, plus the effort of finding a doctor who will prescribe the injections or finding someone overseas who will ship them to you. After all that, plain old diet and exercise is starting to sound pretty easy.”
For More Information: www.naturalcures.com
Kevin Trudeau and the Howard Stern Show
