Influenced to Death

In this episode, Hannah & Victoria check out what the research has to say about MM’s claims and do their best to provide a balanced takeaway. Check out the show notes for Episode #9: Medical Medium, Part 1 for references. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit influencedtodeath.substack.com

In this episode, Hannah and Victoria do their best to keep their s**t together while discussing Medical Medium, a 55-year-old self-proclaimed medium who claims the Spirit of Compassion provides him with medical information years beyond what current science has uncovered.* HistoryFrom his website, Medicalmedium.com:“Medical Medium Anthony William, the chronic illness expert, originator of the global celery juice movement and Brain Shot Therapy, and host of the Medical Medium Podcast, is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of Brain Saver, Brain Saver Protocols, Cleanses & Recipes, Cleanse to Heal, Celery Juice, Liver Rescue, Thyroid Healing, Life-Changing Foods, and the revised and expanded Medical Medium. Anthony was born with the unique ability to converse with the Spirit of Compassion, who provides him with extraordinarily advanced healing medical information that’s far ahead of its time.Since age four, Anthony has been using his gift to see into people’s conditions and tell them and their doctors how to recover their health. Over decades of helping individuals find the answers they needed, Anthony found that he could only help so many as his waiting list continued to grow. Anthony now dedicates much of his time and energy to listening to Spirit of Compassion’s information and placing it into books so everybody can have an opportunity to heal.His unprecedented accuracy and success rate as the Medical Medium have earned him the trust and love of millions worldwide, among them movie stars, rock stars, billionaires, professional athletes, and countless other people from all walks of life who couldn’t find a way to heal until he provided them with insights from above. Over the decades, Anthony has also been an invaluable resource to doctors who need help solving their most difficult cases.”4.8 million followers on InstagramHe declines to give his age in interviews. From what we could find, he’s 55 years old.  Anthony is a “trusted expert” on Goop, and his books have been on NYT bestseller lists. Note: Many of his supplement links go to a company called Vimergy. It’s owned by Phil McCulskey, who appears to be a close friend.  His work and claims are prolific. He may be best known for his hyperbolic claims about the curative properties of celery juice and about the Epstein-Barr Virus. He seems to flat-out make up his own definition and scientific explanation for his claims. He claims that celery juice can cure chronic disease, he details the mechanisms and processes that he says explain his claims but insists that the scientific community just hasn’t discovered them yet. He says he knows about them because the Spirit of Compassion tells him. This includes undiscovered viruses and mechanisms/physiology behind chronic diseases. All of this is woven into snippets of pretty solid holistic health advice - like eat more unprocessed foods, avoid alcohol, the body can heal, etc. He also claims that the worldwide scientific community uses his discoveries to further their understanding of human health and that many doctors successfully use his protocols to treat their patients with chronic diseases.Around 2000, he owned a health food store with his wife, Rachel Schutzman, in Machias, Maine, called Good Earth Organic Market.* Nutrition ClaimsHe claims that certain foods feed viruses in the body and recommends eliminating them. These include meat and eggs.From what I can tell, many of his protocols are strict vegan diets, consisting of mostly fruit and celery juice.He claims that any dietary fat accumulates in the liver. His idea of metabolism:“The idea that your body can switch to burning fat as fuel is also flawed. We don’t run on fat. We run on glucose, which is sugar. If it were true that our bodies could flip from burning glucose for energy to burning fat for energy, as the keto diet suggests, then it would be impossible for someone who was overweight or obese to starve. If the ketosis theory is correct, you could take away an overweight person’s food completely and they’d continue to live for a long period of time, using their fat as energy. But that’s not how it works. Fat does not convert to usable material for our bodies.”He also claims that the brain is a jellyfish-like organ is made of sugar:“There’s a highly popular belief today that the brain is made out of fat and you need to eat a lot of “healthy fats” to have good brain health and function. Sadly, this is more damaging misinformation. High-fat diets are disastrous for the brain. In truth, there is only a microscopic percentage of fat in the brain. Outside of these low traces of omegas, the brain is mostly a jellyfish-like organ made up of sugar.“Epstein Barr virus claims* Autoimmune diseases are caused by viruses, it is not possible for the body to form self-antigens. There is no genetic basis to AID. * Claims there are over 60 forms of EBV* “Doctors have no idea how the virus operates long-term”* “Medical communities are unaware that every case of mononucleosis is only Stage Two of EBV”* From his Epstein Barr podcast episode: “What the scientific community doesn’t know is that EBV causes more things than mono.” “The scientific community thinks that EBV can only be spread when someone has mono, but Medical Medium knows that it can be spread through saliva & bodily fluids by anyone who has it.” (Both of these claims are false - it is researched and documented that EBV can contribute to some cancer and other illnesses, and the CDC explains that EBV can be spread even when someone doesn’t have active mono.) For Breastfeeding moms: ”Just blend avocado, ripe banana, and water or coconut water to create a delicious drink to replace breastmilk or to supplement on top of it.” (THIS IS FALSE INFORMATION, DON’T DO THIS.)He no longer provides private consultations - it seems like he would do phone consults to “scan” peoples’ bodies. According to a Reddit thread, the cost was $500 for a 30-min phone consult.According to a Reddit thread: If someone disagrees with him in his telegram group he calls them a “fork tongue devil,” and bullying from the group follows https://www.reddit.com/r/medicalmediumskeptic/comments/1bux0jb/medical_medium_calls_anyone_who_disagrees_with/ * Controversy “In 2013, Kate Gallagher Leong, whose 5-year-old son, Gavin, was seriously ill, handed over $350 for an hour-long consultation. She was desperate, she admitted in a blog post. William, she said, told her that mercury poisoning caused Gavin’s disease, which she had passed to him in utero. William gave her a list of supplements to put him on. Forty-eight days later, Gavin died of a febrile seizure.Gallagher did not blame William for her son’s death but called him “a fraud” who took advantage of her anguish. She said she became a resource for others: “I feel glad when the people who don’t have $500 to lose write to me and I can keep them from handing over their rent money . . . grocery money . . . and their hopes to him.” William declined to comment on the case.” https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/article/gwyneth-paltrow-and-the-snake-oil-salesman-gmk8mcfgr This is Kate’s blog post about her experience from 2016“I explained to him my desperation to get answers about Gavin's mysterious, undiagnosed genetic syndrome. He spent the first ten minutes or so talking about supplements. The history, which brands he prefers, which supplements help with what. Then he told me that mercury was the cause of Gavin's issues - that I passed actual mercury on to him and a mercury sensitivity in utero, causing his physical, neurological and developmental issues and explaining his features. Basically, that he suffered mercury poisoning in my womb. He said that was the cause of all of my miscarriages as well (nine at that time). He also said I had the Epstein-Barr Virus in my system. Then... it was back to supplements again. He was a very nice person so I tried to remain patient. I thought he was just getting off track and would get back to helping me with our medical mystery. He didn't.I watched the clock tick and tock - and watched our money continue to fly out the window - as he spent 95% of our call discussing supplements and telling me to write down which brands of supplements to give Gavin and which I should take. I wondered, in frustration, if he got a kickback from supplement companies! You can read that original post here.”…After Gavin died, Anthony William's assistant called and said he requested that we call him. I suppose he either read that Gavin died on my blog or saw it on social media. I did NOT appreciate being summoned by him when it was my son that died, after all. I never called him - and he never called again.”There are claims that he’s asked his followers to leave positive reviews in exchange for prizes, essentially buying reviews.Accusations of silencing: https://www.reddit.com/r/medicalmediumskeptic/ Dan Adler’s article in Vanity Fair - The Medical Medium and the True Believer:https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2023/04/the-medical-medium-and-the-true-believer Medical Medium podcast - The Plotter Series - goes after Ashleigh Foster, a friend of the woman covered in the Vanity Fair article, and portrays her as a money grabber plotting against Medical Medium.* EvidenceCelery JuiceCelery cluster salts: used nutritionally, this term was coined by MM and appears to be completely fabricated and based on no evidence. Celery and fertility https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28985183/ Celery and MetSyn https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31464016/ Apiaceous veggies and detox https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10837004/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16762476/ Article from Dr. Sarah Ballantyn https://www.thepaleomom.com/celery-juice-fad-or-fabulous/ In some people, excessive amounts of raw celery might contribute to symptoms due to increased amounts of oxalates. According to the Oxalosis and Hyperoxaluria Foundation’s tracker, celery has a moderate amount of oxalates: https://ohf.org/vegetables-oxalate/  Epstein Barr Affects over 90% of the world’s population (some say 98% !) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559285/#:~:text=Epstein%20Barr%20virus%20(EBV)%20is,from%20asymptomatic%20to%20infectious%20mononucleosis. Egg allergy and EBV https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234068531_Identification_of_EBV_infection_in_adults_with_egg_specific_food_allergy#:~:text=Conclusions%20The%20high%20expression%20of,involved%20in%20this%20allergy%20process. Epstein, M. A., & Achong, B. G. YM Bart. 1964. Virus particles in cultured lymphoblasts from Burkitt's lymphoma. Lancet, 702-703. - Article from 1964 when a virus (later found to be EBV) found in tumor cells began the hypothesis that viruses like EBV could contribute to some cancers. Nice write-up on Tony Epstein: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00763-9 - Pathologist who found that viruses can trigger tumors in humans and transformed medical research in that area. * Takeaway:Joe Navarro on dangerous cult leaders: https://www.jnforensics.com/post/dangerous-cult-leaders“They all have or had an over-abundant belief that they were special, that they and they alone had the answers to problems, and that they had to be revered. They demanded perfect loyalty from followers, they overvalued themselves and devalued those around them, they were intolerant of criticism, and above all, they did not like being questioned or challenged.”A good breakdown of how MM likely operates: https://www.dradrianchavez.com/blog/GURUS  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit influencedtodeath.substack.com

In this episode, Hannah & Victoria sit down with Jameson Simpson to explore the underbelly of high-class hippy-dom.There are no show notes—this episode is a mix of tales from Jameson’s chaotic and seriously adventurous life (his current address: Albania) and culminates in the story of a very famous raw food influencer who sold a very expensive product made in Jameson’s filthy (filthy) dirty garage.Names have been beeped out to protect the innocent keep us from getting sued. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit influencedtodeath.substack.com

In this episode, Hannah and Victoria speak with Angie Alt about the use of continuous glucose monitors in non-diabetic populations.Angie Alt is a writer, community care activist, independent researcher, and former health coach and nutritional therapist. After a decade of helping clients manage chronic illness through nutrition and lifestyle and training practitioners to utilize the autoimmune protocol in their practices, she shifted her focus from teaching individuals about self-care concepts toward community care-centered work more well-suited to the cooperative and social nature of human well-being. Angie now writes at Notes from a Neighbor, a weekly newsletter on new ways to frame the pressing health and wellness challenges we face collectively and the small, slow, simple actions we can take to respond meaningfully. 2022 article Angie wrote that received some pushback from her audience: https://autoimmunewellness.com/are-wearable-health-trackers-helping-or-harming/Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) refers to a medical device that measures glucose levels in dermal interstitial fluid. These levels correspond closely with blood glucose concentrations.History* https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8120065/Continuous Glucose Monitoring Devices: Past, Present, and Future Focus on the History and Evolution of Technological Innovation>> Why CGMs were invented: Traditionally, the principal method of glucose monitoring for people with diabetes has been through self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) without a clear consensus on sampling frequency that varied between four and ten times per day, for insulin-dependent patients with diabetes1999: First cgm system by Minimed: monitored along with calibration via finger stick every 6-12 hours to monitor over 3 days - info sent straight to healthcare provider Medtronic Guardian RT and the Dexcom STS—launched in 2005 and 2006 - patient could see results 2007: Dexcom first continuous monitor that recorded for 7 days2018: Abbott launched the FreeStyle Libre in the United States, the first flash glucose monitoring system Continuous monitoring allows the user to see trends vs. a finger stick which is just one measurement. 2019: Nutrisense2024: FDA approves first OTC CGM by Dexcom - intended for those 18 + who don’t require insulin Pop culture & Influencers:* https://www.instagram.com/jason.wittrock/ “Fit Dad” whose content is videos of him using his CGM to test isolated foods. * Nutrisense: CGM available without an rx, pretty popular on social media with wellness influencers https://www.instagram.com/nutrisenseio/ 2 weeks $1853 month membership $300 per monthEvidence* Review on continuous glucose monitor use in healthy populations: https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/5/2030Authors state that "CGM has a high potential for health benefits and self-optimization. More scientific studies are needed to improve the interpretation of CGM data. The interaction with other wearables and combined data collection and analysis in one single device would contribute to developing more precise recommendations for users."But one author is on the Abbott Advisory Board. Along with Ensure and Pedialyte, they also make...drumroll please...CGMs. https://www.abbott.com/consumer.html#diabetes-care* https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10460390/Authors state that "The inter-day reproducibility of the CGM results was greater for subjects with diabetes (ICC 0.46 [CI 0.39–0.55]) than for normoglycaemic subjects (ICC 0.30 [CI 0.27–0.33]); the value for prediabetic subjects was intermediate (ICC 0.37 [CI 0.31–0.42]). For normoglycaemic subjects, inter-day reproducibility was poorer among the younger (ICC 0.26 [CI 0.21–0.30]) than the older subjects (ICC 0.39 [CI 0.32–0.45]).>> Inter-day reproducibility was poorest among normoglycaemic subjects, especially younger normoglycaemic subjects, suggesting the need to monitor some patient groups more often than others." <<* https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0026049523002445 Continuous glucose monitoring in a healthy population: understanding the post-prandial glycemic response in individuals without diabetes mellitus“There has been a recent trend among individuals without diabetes using these devices as a means of monitoring their health. The increased visibility of glucose data has allowed users to study the effect lifestyle has upon post-prandial glucose levels. Although post-prandial hyperglycemia is well understood in the setting of diabetes, its impact in individuals without diabetes is less well defined. This article reviews the factors which contribute to post-prandial hyperglycemia in individuals without diabetes and how the data obtained from continuous glucose monitoring can be used to improve an individual's metabolic health.”PPHG is defined as a sharp rise in plasma glucose concentrations following food intake and is influenced by many factors including the timing, quantity and composition of a consumed meal [3].* CHO content, complex CHO, protein composition of meals* Glycemic index of CHO foods* Meal timing * Hypothalamus, circadian timing*In metabolically healthy individuals, the glucose curve tends to be biphasic, defined as a curve that shows a peak around 30–60 min after a meal, which then decreases but is followed by another elevation 90–120 min after the meal. A biphasic curve is metabolically preferable over a monophasic curve.* Gut microbiome * hormonal status* stress/cortisol levels* metabolic health* intercurrent illness* Exercise* Genetic variation * Age* BMI* Pre-peri-postmenopause in females* Sleep timing/quality/duration * AM dopamine action/sympathetic tone* Smoking* Rx meds: β-blockers, thiazide diuretics, corticosteroids, and statins* CaffeineOther pubs show:* Vitamin C* Various micronutrients “Based on the published evidence, we suggest most adults could potentially benefit from wearing a CGM, at least for a two-to-four-week period, to better understand their glucotype and recognise how different foods affect their own glycemic response.In addition to reducing the long-term risk of cardiovascular disease such as coronary artery disease and stroke, there is evidence to support controlling post-prandial glucose excursions for weight loss, optimized mental health, suppressed hunger, and improved sleep.”* A large number of people with prediabetes are undiagnosed - up to 40%?https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/diabetes/reduce-proportion-adults-who-dont-know-they-have-prediabetes-d-02 * Postprandial glucose ranges: https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/24/4/775/23438/Postprandial-Blood-Glucose * Non-diabetic: 140 or < ~1 hour after the start of the meal, return to normal levels 2-3 hours after eating * Diabetic: Peak insulin is delayed, so 2 h after the start of a meal is practical, generally approximates the peak value in patients with diabetes, and provides a reasonable assessment of postprandial hyperglycemia. Specific clinical conditions, such as gestational diabetes or pregnancy complicated by diabetes, may benefit from testing 1 h after the meal“The host response to any respective glucose sensor will define sensor sensitivity, sensor performance, and ultimately sensor longevity. As such, one significant limitation of all implantable glucose monitoring devices is the foreign body response (FBR), which is an inflammatory reaction stimulated by the host’s immune system in response to a foreign substance. An FBR commences when macrophages, particularly pro-inflammatory M1 macrophages, are recruited to the sensor site through the skin’s vasculature. Recruitment of macrophages to the device location significantly affects the accuracy of the glucose sensor given that the metabolically active inflammatory cells consume interstitial glucose.27-29 This results in glucose gradient in which the glucose concentration adjacent to the sensor is vastly different from the true serum glucose concentration.28 Inflammatory cells are also responsible for the recruitment of fibroblasts, which are intimately associated with the FBR. Fibroblasts produce fibrous tissue that encapsulates the device in order to sequester it from the remainder of the body. Nevertheless, the lifespan of transdermal sensor devices has increased from 3 to 14 days over the past decade by addressing the FBR through advances in sensor chemistry, sensor coatings, and improved implantation techniques.30 Initial sensor biocompatibility studies first examined the toxicity of sensor materials followed by analyses of FBRs as in vivo lifespan increased from a few days to weeks.31”* Micronutrients affect glucose regulation https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38192249/ “Cumulative probability ranking showed that vitamin A + vitamin D + vitamin E ranked first in lowering fasting blood glucose (standardised mean difference (SMD) = 41.30, 95 % CI (2.07, 825.60)) and postprandial 2-h blood glucose (SMD = 15.19, 95 % CI (4.16, 55.53)). In terms of insulin resistance index, the first highest probability ranking is vitamin D “Some top food sources of these micronutrients:Vitamin A (preformed A or retinol): liver, cod liver oil, egg yolks, dairy, salmon, herringVitamin D: oily fish (trout, salmon, tuna, sardines, etc.), cod liver oil, mushrooms, dairy. Sunlight exposure is the best source of Vitamin D. Because D is hard to get through food, if you don’t get much sun, supplementation is often needed. Vitamin E: almonds, sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, mango, conch, wheat germ, peanut butter, spinach, kiwi, broccoli, tomato (raw) 500mg Vit C or more can cause a false increase in some CGM readings  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8861798/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit influencedtodeath.substack.com

In this episode, Hannah and Victoria speak with two (hilarious and highly balanced) metabolic experts, Dr. Mike T Nelson & Dr. Tim Sharpe about the ketogenic diet.You’ll want to listen if you’ve been considering going keto to lose weight, boost your fitness, or fix your metabolism.* Sign up to get Dr. Mike’s fantastic newsletter here: www.miketnelson.com or learn if you should go keto at www.shouldyouketo.com* Read Dr. Tim’s newest publication here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38934469/ History * Fasting is the only therapeutic measure against epilepsy recorded in the Hippocratic collection, 500 BC* Five centuries later, fasting as a therapy for seizures was documented in Biblical times. In a quotation from the King James Version of The Bible, Mark relates the story of Jesus curing an epileptic boy (Huisjen, 2000).* The first modern use of starvation as a treatment for epilepsy was recorded by a pair of Parisian physicians, Gulep and Marie, in 1911 (Guelpa & Marie, 1911). They treated 20 children and adults with epilepsy and reported that seizures were less severe during treatment, but no specific details were given. * Ketogenic diet first appears at the Mayo Clnic, 1921: In 1921, two pivotal observations were made. Woodyatt noted that acetone and beta-hydroxybutyric acid appear in a normal subject by starvation or a diet containing too low a proportion of carbohydrates and too high a proportion of fat (Woodyatt, 1921). Concurrently, Dr. Wilder at the Mayo Clinic proposed that the benefits of fasting could be obtained if ketonemia was produced by other means (Wilder, 1921). Wilder proposed that a ketogenic diet (KD) be tried in a series of patients with epilepsy. He suggested that the diet should be as effective as fasting and could be maintained for a much longer period of time. Wilder subsequently reported on patients treated with the ketone-producing diet at the Mayo Clinic and coined the term “ketogenic diet.”  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1528-1167.2008.01821.x * Use decreased when epileptic drugs were discovered, but resurged again when Dateline NBC aired a story in the mid-90s on a 2-year-old named Charlie intractable generalized seizures were greatly helped at Johns Hopkins with KD.* https://charliefoundation.org/connie/ - Incredible accounts of how KD helps some kids * Keto & pop culture: Atkin’s Diet, Dr Atkin’s Diet Revolution published in 1972, 1997 - Atkin’s bars and shakes* Plans range from 20g net carbs (keto) to 100g net carb per day (lifestyle). * From Aktins website: “A low-carb lifestyle focuses on limiting carbohydrates to help the body burn fat instead of sugar for fuel. This contributes to more consistent energy levels throughout the day, providing the energy you need to enjoy the things you love.”* More on Robert Atkins: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1126011/ (He really mistrusted mainstream science and loved working as a clinician.) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit influencedtodeath.substack.com

In this episode, Hannah and Victoria discuss the recent changes happening at Mercola.com and the strange influencer influencing Dr. Mercola. Show notes: * Carnivore update - Paul Saladino eats some plants now* Dr. Mercola * 1.7 M followers on FB, 512K on IG, 417K followers on X* Osteopath, DO* Stopped treating patients in 2009 to focus on his brand. Net worth in 2017 over 100 million* In the past 10 yeras, he’s been covered by multiple outlets as either a quack or walking a fine line between holistic and kooky: 2012 article in Chicago Magazine - https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/February-2012/Dr-Joseph-Mercola-Visionary-or-Quack/, BRYAN SMITH* During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mercola, his company, and social media site were warned again by the FDA in 2020–2021 for falsely advertising the efficacy of high doses of vitamin C, vitamin D3, quercetin, and pterostilbene products to "mitigate, prevent, treat, diagnose, or cure" COVID-19 disease.[8* https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-24053-4 - study on vitamin D supplementation and covid* https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2023.1131103/full - vitamin D supplementation meta and systematic review* https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-21513-9 - vitamin D status and risk of severe covid* Banned from YouTube - videos taken down and * In 2023, executives of his company Mercola Market complained that JP Morgan closed their bank accounts. The financial institution indicated those accounts were terminated when they became aware of "multiple occasions of regulatory scrutiny, raising concerns about a pattern of deceptive business practices." Source: Wikipediahttps://myfloridacfo.com/docs-sf/cfo-news-libraries/news-documents/2023/chase-letter.pdf?sfvrsn=25b03a95_2 - letter from Jimmy Patronis, CFO of the state of FL, to JP Morgan* From the Chicago Mag article by Smith: “Steven Salzberg, a prominent biologist, professor, and researcher at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, calls Mercola “the 21st-century equivalent of a snake-oil salesman.” “Mercola says that his critics are wrong on all counts. Far from dispensing dangerous misinformation or trading in conspiracy theories, as some allege, he is a champion of “taking charge of our own health,” the doctor insists—a truth teller alerting Americans to what he calls the abuses, hoaxes, and myths perpetrated by the multi-billion-dollar pharmaceutical and health insurance industries.”Even Dr. Oz called him controversial.According to traffic-tracking firm Quantcast, Mercola.com draws about 1.9 million unique visitors per month, each of whom returns an average of nearly ten times a month. That remarkable “stickiness” puts the site’s total visits on a par with those to the National Institutes of Health’s website. (Mercola claims his is “the world’s No. 1 natural health website,” citing figures from Alexa.com.) Mercola’s 200,000-plus “likes” on Facebook are more than double the number for WebMD. And two of his eight books—2003’s The No-Grain Diet and 2006’s The Great Bird Flu Hoax—have landed on the New York Times bestseller list.>> Mercola says he recently donated $1 million to several alternative medicine groups, including the National Vaccine Information Center, which describes itself as a “vaccine watch dog.” Part of the money, according to the group’s website, was used to pay for an ad called “Vaccines: Know the Risk,” which was shown hourly on the CBS Jumbotron in Times Square for several weeks last spring.* Newsletter from National Vaccine Information Center that outlines the issue, June 2024: https://www.nvic.org/newsletter/may-2024/defending-freedom-of-religion* Mrs. Barbara Loe-Fisher* I was proud to work side by side in a trusted partnership with him and thankful for the generous average of $300,000 per year over a span of 15 years he donated through his foundation to NVIC, which we counted on in our annual budget to help our small staff operate four websites and implement nationwide vaccine choice advocacy programs and services.12* On March 25, 2024, NVIC received an email from someone identifying herself as the new CEO of Mercola.com informing us that donations from Dr. Mercola’s Natural Health Products Research Foundation were immediately discontinued.* The only verifiable information I had about what had happened were two articles published in Natural Products Insider on Feb. 1317 and Mar. 1, 202418 informing readers that the Mercola.com company was under new management and that Dr. Mercola was now being influenced by and taking direction from a person, who refers to himself as “the Kai” and claims to be a “psychic” channeling the voice of an “ancient and wise high-vibration entity from the causal plane” called Bahlon.19 20 21* The media articles published in February and March detailed the fact that this self- identified psychic who Dr. Mercola is now consulting with had convinced him that he, Dr. Mercola, is “a god” and “the new Jesus.”22 The articles contained references to videos and descriptions of what had taken place at the Mercola.com company in early February when Dr. Mercola without warning fired top executives, including his own sister, who helped him establish and has worked at his company for 40 years.* More in a 2001 NYT article by Arthur Allen: https://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/06/magazine/questions-for-barbara-loe-fisher-on-the-costs-of-vaccination.html * Barbara Loe-Fisher sued Paul Offit over a piece that was published in Wired magazine in 2009. “As the Complaint puts it, "Offit disagrees adamantly with the . . . positions taken by Plaintiff Arthur and advocated by her and by NVIC." In response to those positions, Defendant Offit is quoted in the article as saying that "`Kaflooey theories' make him crazy" and that Plaintiff "makes him particularly nuts as in `You just want to scream'" because "She lies." He goes on to say that Plaintiff "inflames people against me. And wrongly. I'm in this for the same reason she is. I care about kids. Does she think that Merck is paying me to speak about vaccines? Is that the logic?" In her Complaint, Plaintiff contends that, Defendant Offit's statement "she lies," is defamatory and that he and the Magazine Defendants have published a false statement of fact and have committed defamation per se, causing her to appear "odious, infamous, and ridiculous." Arthur v. Offit, Civil Action No. 01:09-cv-1398, 6 (E.D. Va. Mar. 10, 2010)* From Natural Products Insider, March 2024: https://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/supplements/dr-mercola-allegedly-plans-to-introduce-psychic-advisor-to-followers- “In the article, Mercola described his consultations with “a collective source energy aimed at bringing self-awareness to Earth,” whom he referred to as “Bahlon.” Mercola fired CEO Steve Rye; Chief Business Officer Ryan Boland; and Chief Editor Janet Selvig, Mercola’s sister, Feb. 7, as detailed in a Natural Products Insider exclusive Feb 13.The Bahlon “entity” is claimed to be channeled by a man identifying himself as Kai Clay and who also appears to present himself as Christopher Johnson. LinkedIn profiles under both names feature photos of the same man. Hours of video of Clay consulting with Mercola as Bahlon have been shared with Natural Products Insider.”* Kai Clay/Bahlon* I can find absolutely nothing on him prior to 2020/2021. One article mentioned that he used to be a high-profile business executive, but there is nothing on this. * He claims he has been channeling Bahlon for decades. * https://www.reddit.com/r/spiritualbusiness/comments/17pisey/mondays_free_spiritual_entrepreneur_mentoring/ * Bahlon is trademarked. So is Spiritual Mind, Kai Clay’s business listed on his LinkedIn. * Brings his 8 y/o daughter Sera Clay into his events/readings/channelings - she’s part of his podcast, True Future Podcast* In this video podcast preview you can hear Kai “channeling” Bahlon, speaking the “language of light”, and Sera “translating.”* Kai Clay published a book, sold on Amazon in Nov 2023 about trance channeling, now out of print. “Channeled Insight for Manifestation: Guidance for Spiritual Conscious from Bahlon (Channeled Insight from Bahlon)”* https://bahlon.com/* https://www.instagram.com/bahlonkaiclay/ - 27k followers - not a huge following on X, hasn’t posted since 2023* You can also join his Light Circle Membership: One month $99, one year for $1000* How I Became A Trance Channel (Kai Clay’s account): * People reporting experiences of mediumship have higher dissociation symptom scores than non-mediums, but below thresholds for pathological dissociation: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5782403/ * A Yale team enlisted help from mediums to help them better understand why those with psychosis hear voices: ​​https://news.yale.edu/2016/09/27/psychics-help-psychiatrists-understand-voices-psychosis * Varieties of Voice-Hearing: Psychics and the Psychosis Continuum “We found the hallucinatory experiences of psychic voice-hearers to be very similar to those of patients who were diagnosed. We employed techniques from forensic psychiatry to conclude that the psychics were not malingering. Critically, we found that this sample of non-help-seeking voice hearers were able to control the onset and offset of their voices, that they were less distressed by their voice-hearing experiences and that, the first time they admitted to voice-hearing, the reception by others was much more likely to be positive.” https://academic.oup.com/schizophreniabulletin/article/43/1/84/2511864?login=false * Anomalous information reception by mediums: A meta-analysis of the scientific evidence“ Conclusions The results of this meta-analysis support the hypothesis that some mediums can retrieve information about deceased persons through unknown means.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32660815/ Anomalous information reception by research mediums demonstrated using a novel triple-blind protocol (Randomized Controlled Trial): This study design is pretty complicated, it was making my brain hurt while reading. The mediums in this study were communicating with deceased relatives. The results suggest that certain mediums cananomalously receive accurate information about deceased individuals. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17234565/ * Takeaways:* Who’s influencing the influencers? * How far can people go before their followers think it’s too far?* How can someone who’s not a medical professional separate the good stuff from the crap? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit influencedtodeath.substack.com

In part 1 of this “meaty” extravaganza 👀, Hannah and Victoria explore the history of the Carnivore diet and their biases.Be sure to listen to part 2 for the full Carnivore story.Full show notes:Definition: A carnivore, or meat-eater, is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements are met by the consumption of animal tissues whether through hunting or scavenging.Likewise inspired by observations on an indigenous diet in St. Lucia, Dr. John Rollo in 1797 successfully treated 2 patients with diabetes with a diet consisting only of meat and fat. Rollo recommended the near-complete elimination of plant foods, a prescription that was widely adopted and empirically optimized to prolong the life of people with diabetes in the 19th century. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5112440/ Meatrition.com (hahaha): The Philosophy of the Stomach; or an Exclusively Animal Diet is the Most Wholesome and Fit for Man. By Bernard Moncriff, London 1856.https://books.google.com/books?id=CG_HmgEACAAJ&pg=PP12&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=1#v=onepage&q&f=false "The most wholesome diet is that which requires the least quantity of matter to be introduced into the digestive cavity for the support of the system."“My face, from being rather shallow, became clear and youthful, my eyes serene and mirrors of happiness. It gave me unknown, or rather, forgotten pleasure, to jump over ditch and hedge, and to make those exercises which required muscular strength”."I have not felt the slightest disagreeableness arising from the bowels, either in the shape of eructations from the stomach, or obstruction, or dysentery, or of any denomination whatever. Indeed, it if was not from memory, and from books, I should not know that I had such things as a stomach and intestines. The evacuation of the bowels takes place with ease and regularity once every other day.”Clinical calorimetry: XLV. Prolonged meat diets with a study of kidney function and ketosis - 1930 - “Two normal men volunteered to live solely on meat for one year.” https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021925818768427 Inspired by Inuit peopleScurvy wasn’t present in native pop, but when it occurred in scientists it was cured by eating raw meatAfter one year, gingivitis had disappeared in one of the men. The total acidity of the urine during the meat diet was increased to 2 or 3 times that of the acidity on mixed diets, and acetonuria was present throughout the periods of exclusive meat. Meat diet contained less calcium, but study didn’t report a deficiency.Dr. Shawn Baker “invented” the modern carnivore diet: https://carnivore.diet/dr-shawn-baker-md/ - surgeon, author, athlete, fatherThe Carnivore King, https://www.youtube.com/@ShawnBakerMD Dr. Paul Saladino (psychiatrist)(Google him if you must, we’re not giving him a backlink.)“Learn which foods are b******t.”Liver King: Brian Johnson - owns Heart and Soil supplement company with Paul Saladino.“Whole Package” male hormonal support supplement is most eye-catching; contains beef testicles, liver, blood extract:2023 article in The New Yorker by Manvir Singh titled Red Shift: Is an all meat diet what nature intended? quoting Raw Egg Nationalist (213K followers on X), who talks about soy globalism and how a low-fat veggie diet tanks testosterone. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/10/02/is-an-all-meat-diet-what-nature-intended This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit influencedtodeath.substack.com

In this episode, Hannah and Victoria welcome Brooke Cates, founder of The Bloom Method and passionate pre and postnatal fitness pioneer. They discuss the #fitmom trend and research showing that influenced postpartum fitness leaves women worse for wear. Full show notes:History of PP fitness: https://www.eternalblossombirthandbeyond.com/the-history Historical overview of pregnancy fitness, not PP fitness, but SUPER interesting to see pregnancy fitness history from the 1700s (!!!) to present: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3563105/ Great blog describing #fitmom influence: https://buildnurturerestore.com/body-image-postpartum-healing-versus-getting-your-body-back/ “A novel 2022 experimental study found that women exposed to body-focused social media posts targeted at new mothers experience not only higher rates of body dissatisfaction but also cultivated an unhealthy relationship with food, resulting in eating less and feeling guilt after eating (3).“The #fitmom study: https://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12884-022-05089-w#Tab2 “Our finding that this improvement in body dissatisfaction appeared to happen among mothers in our control group, but not for mothers in our intervention group, suggests that exposure to body-focused social media prevented intervention mothers from the progression of feeling better about their bodies as they move further from birth toward 12 months postpartum”#fitmom hashtag has 29.5 million videos on IGhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7926552/ - Recovery of Abdominal Muscle Thickness and Contractile Function in Women after Childbirth“Therefore, abdominal muscle exercises might help prevent postpartum symptoms; however, because deterioration of muscle function is significant in the first four months, careful attention should be paid to exercise intensity. The study limitation was a relatively small sample size, thus future studies should involve more participants.”Pelvic organ prolapse Strenuous physical activity, exercise, and pelvic organ prolapse: a narrative scoping reviewhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10238337/Eight prevalence studies were retrieved. Prevalence rates of symptomatic POP varied between 0 (small study within different sports) and 23% (Olympic weightlifters and powerlifters). Parity was the only factor associated with POP in most studies. There is scant knowledge of exercise and POP in the postpartum period. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit influencedtodeath.substack.com

In part 2, Hannah & Victoria go full carnivore nerd and explore the full spectrum of evidence surrounding an all-animal food diet.What’s the evidence for carnivore?PubMed search for “carnivore diet” returned 21 results, but only a small handful are applicable to this conversation, i.e., this diet has not been thoroughly studied.* https://journals.lww.com/co-endocrinology/abstract/2020/10000/can_a_carnivore_diet_provide_all_essential.11.aspx Can a carnivore diet provide all essential nutrients? Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and ObesityBy L. Amber O’Hearn, aka @ketocarnivore on X, “Eat Meat, Not Too Little, Mostly Fat” major nutrient she reports as possible deficiency is calcium, likely due to acid loadMore on her background:https://twitter.com/ambimorph * https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34934897/ Behavioral Characteristics and Self-Reported Health Status among 2029 Adults Consuming a "Carnivore Diet" * social media survey was conducted 30 March-24 June 2020 among adults self-identifying as consuming a carnivore diet for ≥6 mo* 2029 respondents (median age: 44 y, 67% male) reported consuming a carnivore diet for 14 mo (IQR: 9-20 mo), motivated primarily by health reasons (93%)* Most common sx were GI related, but still low (3-5%)* Among a subset reporting current lipids, LDL-cholesterol was markedly elevated (172 mg/dL), whereas HDL-cholesterol (68 mg/dL) and triglycerides (68 mg/dL) were optimal. Participants with diabetes reported benefits including reductions in median [IQR] BMI (4.3 [1.4-7.2]), glycated hemoglobin (0.4% [0%-1.7%]), and diabetes medication use (84%-100%)* BSL and OHH were supported by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases grants K23 DK119546 and R03 DK123541 to study a low-carbohydrate diet. JTM was supported by National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health training grant T32AT004094. The funders had no involvement in the design, implementation, analysis, and interpretation of the data. Author disclosures: Dr. David Ludwig: DSL reports royalties for books that recommend a carbohydrate-modified diet; his spouse owns a nutrition education and consulting business. All other authors report no conflicts of interest.* Carb/insulin model - obesity is caused by excess consumption of carbohydrate which then disrupts normal insulin metabolism leading to weight gain * Biggest issues were altered lipid profiles, specifically high LDL. Authors state that for those with a more extreme LDl response, meds could be considered. * Authors propose benefits could be due to eliminiaton of reactive foods/plant chemicals, (though they do state that plant compounds have proven benefits) * Calcium might be a problem * Did a great job of stating limitations* Limitations of Self-reported Health Status and Metabolic Markers among Adults Consuming a "Carnivore Diet" editorial“The authors are aware of many of the limitations of their study design and the generalizability of the results. It is also abundantly clear that higher-quality research is required to determine the carnivore diet’s long-term positive and adverse health effects. However, considering the propensity of media outlets and the lay public to misinterpret, exaggerate, and disseminate findings from scientific research, we believe caution should be exercised when discussing the study’s conclusions. In particular, discussion relating to the changes in health status and metabolic markers recorded in this study requires considerable reference to the unverifiable nature of the data.We congratulate the authors on taking the first steps towards scientifically quantifying the health effects of the carnivore diet and welcome any future, high-quality studies that may provide valuable data to fill the sparse literature on this specific eating pattern.”Ancestral:Some traditional people ate close to exclusive meat and fat diets due to what was available (Arctic), but most ancestral people ate plant foods. Katharine Milton laid this out in an editorial for AJCN in 2000…she looks rad af: https://nature.berkeley.edu/miltonlab/index.html She says, “The hunter-gatherer data used by Cordain et al. (4) came from the Ethnographic Atlas (5), a cross-cultural index compiled largely from 20th-century sources and written by ethnographers or others with disparate backgrounds, rarely interested in diet per se or trained in dietary collection techniques. By the 20th century, most hunter-gatherers had vanished; many of those who remained had been displaced to marginal environments. Some societies coded as hunter-gatherers in the Atlas probably were not exclusively hunter-gatherers or were displaced agricultural peoples. Because most of the ethnographers were male, they often did not associate with women, who typically collect and process plant resources.Finally, all the hunter-gatherers that were included in the Atlas were modern-day humans with a rich variety of social and economic patterns and were not “survivors from the primitive condition of all mankind” (6). Their wide range of dietary behaviors does not fall into one standard macronutrient pattern that contemporary humans could emulate for better health. Indeed, using data from the same Ethnographic Atlas, Lee (1) found that gathered vegetable foods were the primary source of subsistence for most of the hunter-gatherer societies he examined, whereas an emphasis on hunting occurred only in the highest latitudes.”https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10702155/ Net base/acid load of ancestral diet:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12450898/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10702160/ Anecdotal: Some people feel crazy better!Mikhaila Peterson’s video on the Lion Diet article by the Mayo Clinic: The Mayo Clinic article: https://mcpress.mayoclinic.org/nutrition-fitness/a-meat-only-diet-is-not-the-answer-examining-the-carnivore-and-lion-diets/ For reference: 44,000 people follow The Lion Diet on FB, 165K on YouTube, and many post their success stories. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit influencedtodeath.substack.com

In this episode, Hannah and Victoria do their best to keep an open mind as they discuss Breatharianism, aka the influencer-led trend of living on breath alone.No food.No water.Just prana.- Dunning-Kreuger effect: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10626367/ - Wiley Brooks: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2508172/How-Michelle-Pfeiffer-seduced-deadly-cult-says-live-air-alone.html, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV6Xizszik8, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkN8cmcNC6Y - Ellen Greve aka Jasmuheen: https://jasmuheen.podia.com/darkroomretreats - Ray Maor: https://raymaor.com/expand-your-consciousness-portal/retreats/ (Some retreats cost over $3000) - Audra Bear: https://www.instagram.com/audrabear/ - “Claims of anomalously long fasting: An assessment of the evidence from investigated cases”: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550830720302032?via%3Dihub- Nirjal Upvas in Ayurveda- Inedia: Latin for “fasting”- Bigu in Taoist tradition: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5728740/, https://journals.sfu.ca/jnonlocality/public/journals/1/PREPRINTS/BiguStudy081413r.pdf - Survival into the 21st Century: https://www.amazon.com/Survival-into-21st-Century-Planetary/dp/0933278047 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit influencedtodeath.substack.com