"Prestigious Institutes"

[bindeweede]

Earlier today, I received a flyer from a young man who "is a graduate of Loughborough University and the prestigious Institute for Optimum Nutrition, co-founded by Nobel Prize winner Dr Linus Pauling."

When I look up my Chambers, for "prestigious", I get...

"having prestige, esteemed; lending or conferring prestige; deceitful, juggling, using legedemain (obs)".

I am assuming this chap is trying to build a career in his chosen field, and I wish him no harm, but I wonder if he is aware of the two meanings of "prestigious".

He also claims membership of the "International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine" and the "Life Extension Foundation". I wonder if anyone is familiar with these organisations.

Well, he has a nice smile, as you can see here.....

www.healthrevclinic.com (http://www.healthrevclinic.com).

EDIT. Perhaps I have posted this in the wrong category.

[Admin]

The Institute for Optimal Nutrition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_of_Optimum_Nutrition


This is quackery as far as I'm concerned.

No doubt this guy will make a good living however.

See also: http://www.holfordwatch.info/

[bindeweede]

John,
Am I wrong, or was Linus Pauling advocating huge intakes of vitamin C years and years ago, for.....I can't remember what.... curing the Common Cold.............or improving memory;)

[Admin]

Linus Pauling was a brilliant chemist who, sadly in later life, did indeed advocate the use of megadoses of vitamin C as a wonder tonic. I think he even advocated its use in cancer prevention etc. - even after his wife died of cancer!! (IIRC)

An example that even the most brilliant of minds are not immune from irrationality.

[bindeweede]

Linus Pauling was a brilliant chemist who, sadly in later life, did indeed advocate the use of megadoses of vitamin C as a wonder tonic. I think he even advocated its use in cancer prevention etc. - even after his wife died of cancer!! (IIRC)

An example that even the most brilliant of minds are not immune from irrationality.

John,

Your last sentence. Where does that leave the non-brilliant, non-scientifically trained people? Who to believe? Who to question? Who to even try to challenge?

It's abugger.

Edit. But isn't life........?

[Mojo]

Linus Pauling was a brilliant chemist who, sadly in later life, did indeed advocate the use of megadoses of vitamin C as a wonder tonic. I think he even advocated its use in cancer prevention etc. - even after his wife died of cancer!! (IIRC)

See also here (http://web.archive.org/web/20040701020010/http://www.nci-management.com/clients/gillianmckeith.shtml).


Worked with Linus Pauling (PhD), world�s leading researcher in Vitamin C and Nobel Prize winner (New York, USA).

[Mojo]

And here (http://www4.dr-rath-foundation.org/THE_FOUNDATION/About_Dr_Matthias_Rath/dr_rath.htm).

[Muttley]

See also here (http://web.archive.org/web/20040701020010/http://www.nci-management.com/clients/gillianmckeith.shtml).


Worked with Linus Pauling (PhD), world's leading researcher in Vitamin C and Nobel Prize winner (New York, USA).

The amusing thing about the Gillian McKeith site, on my PC at least, is that the text is full of question marks! I wondered if something was wrong with the html tags, but I've just looked at the source code, and it's "smart quotes", which the text is peppered with, which are being displayed as quesion marks on my screen.

It looks as if someone has gone through the page marking all the bits which look dubious. ;D

And isn't "Dr. Gillian McKeith (PhD)" tautological? ::)

M.

[Mojo]

The amusing thing about the Gillian McKeith site, on my PC at least, is that the text is full of question marks!
Actually, that's not on McKeith's site: it's an old version on archive.org of a page from her management company's website. I suspect the question marks are something to do with that.

Pauling doesn't appear to be mentioned on McKeith's current website, as far as I can tell.

[Muttley]

Actually, that's not on McKeith's site: it's an old version on archive.org of a page from her management company's website.

Yes, sorry. I realised that after I had posted.

M.

[Matt]

isn't "Dr. Gillian McKeith (PhD)" tautological? ::)

M.

It is though adding PhD does remove any doubt that she might be a medical doctor. However the PhD that she claims to have is rather dubious too coming from an non-accredited correspondance school in the USA.

http://www.badscience.net/?p=362

I belive that the correct term is TAPL* Gillian McKeith.

*That Awful Poo Lady