Holford Watch: Patrick Holford, nutritionism and bad science

I was planning to blog something about Patrick Holford, but then I saw The Apprentice last night: they gave contestants a visit to the Energy Clinic as a prize, and Sir Alan Sugar recommended the clinic as a place where companies often send their ‘highfliers’. If wealthy business people and corporations want to waste their money on unpleasant herbal teas and implausible energy spa ‘treats’, we have no particular objection. However, the Energy Clinic (formerly called the Energy Bank) has had a darker side.

As we noted on this blog, at the Energy Bank there were

claims of efficacy for treating Aids. In 2003, BBC2 broadcast Annie Kossoff’s Kill or Cure series. Warwick Powell worked with Energy Bank to attempt to counter Aids. Powell eschewed conventional treatment because it offered disease management rather than a cure. After following the Energy Bank programme for some time, Powell has a blood test and is distressed to learn that his T-cell count has not improved. (more…)

Answering - or trying to answer - some of our criticisms of Life’s 4 Living, Lynton Guest gave what might seem like a clear explanation of Stephen Russell’s role in the charity:

The Barefoot Doctor [Stephen Russell] helped with fundraising events. He has now resigned. He did not work with clients.

Explaining why there was a PDF on Life’s 4 Living’s website implying that Russell did work with clients, Lynton stated that

Over many months discussions took place and documents were worked up and updated until by December 2007 the final version was ready to post on the website. Unfortunately, the wrong document was posted. It was not the final version as approved by the directors and trustees of Life’s 4 Living Trust but a much earlier draft. This early draft was posted in error.

As soon as this mistake was discovered, early in 2008, the posting was removed from the website and replaced by the correct version. However, until the last few days it appears that the old posting was still available, if only on the server.

Of course, we all make mistakes. However, we thought it might be worth checking some of the details around Russell’s role in Life’s 4 Living. Some of what we found raises additional questions:

• Claire Sutton is Director of Life’s 4 Living. Claire’s ecademy page state’s that

Creation Film & TV will create a powerful 3 part documentary called Life’s 4 Living. Accompanied by our Patron - Barefoot Doctor (AKA Stephen Russell) the film follows a group of five children (ages 5 - 12 years old) and five young adults (ages 16 - 24 years old) on a journey of healing and discovery - which will take them all the way to China where they will experience the ancient healing arts of World-Leading Masters.

To me, that implies that Russell will be accompanying the children and young people on their journey to China (more…)

Lynton Guest - in support of Life’s 4 Living - has posted again on this blog in response to some of our concerns. We’re disappointed to see that his ‘response’ is largely more prevarication - lengthy prevarication - while dodging the serious questions we raise. We will deal with Lynton’s latest posting below, quoting at length. Apparently, this is his penultimate posting on this site: hopefully the next one will actually answer some of our questions. Please.

For the moment, I’d just like to say something to those of you who have suggested that my postings are too long, that I display a lack of brevity. Well, have you got short attention spans? Is it all too much for you?

The issue is not short attention spans, but the sheer irrelevance of most of what you post. For example, while we were sad to read your anecdote about your girlfriend, this does not exactly address our concerns.

Spamming this blog by posting long comments several times does not make us more sympathetic, either. (more…)

We have posted several times on our concerns about the charity Life’s 4 Living (see here, here and here).  We have been disappointed that Life’s 4 Living have failed to address most of our concerns, despite commenting on this blog at great length.  To help clarify matters, then, we will summarise our questions for Life’s 4 Living below.  We would be grateful if Life’s 4 Living - and other commenters - tried to keep discussion focused on these issues. (more…)

We were delighted to see Life’s 4 Living posting a response (written by Lynton Guest, AKC) to our serious concerns about their practises. However, we were disappointed to see that they resorted to (long, boring) ad hominem attacks on us bloggers, instead of address our substantive points. To be blunt, we might well be malevolent and sinister - my mum would be so proud - but what is important is whether or not our criticisms are right and whether or not Life’s 4 Living are dealing appropriately with their (potentially vulnerable) clients. Unfortunately, Lynton fails to address this. Read his comment in full here, and our response (quoting extensively from Lynton, and based on a blog comment) below.

Holfordwatch: A Combination of the Sinister and the Secretive

Thank you for our new strapline - eeeeeeeeeexcellent. (more…)

Another break from Patrick Holford, to look some more at Life’s 4 Living (L4L). They are offering a “unique opportunity” for young people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) to participate in a documentary on an ‘alternative’ MS treatment. Participants are asked to spend 3 months in China, for a documentary by Creation Film and TV (apparently they would like to broadcast this on Channel 4, although we hope that Channel 4 will be forewarned and will avoid this documentary). We’ll look over their PDF document on this ‘opportunity’, and find that L4L combine a highly stereotyped attitude to Chinese people with an unfounded denigration of evidence-based medicine, unjustified claims to cure MS, and demands for young people with MS and their families to commit a lot of time and money. However, we will also consider how - despite the serious problems with L4L’s treatment plans - they are still likely to be able to produce a TV documentary showing MS to be ‘cured’.

Firstly, it’s a fascinating coincidence that L4L chose to do a documentary on MS: a condition that can naturally go into remission. (more…)

Holfordwatch was initially concerned that Life’s 4 Living was unaware of the chequered history of The Barefoot Doctor Stephen Russell in his dealings with his clients. However, it now looks as if some vulnerable young people and their families are invited to accept treatment and support from an organisation that is staffed by people who believe that their energy therapy can treat and mitigate cancer, Aids, Cerebral Palsy and a variety of chronic or terminal illnesses as well as disabilities. And who are willing to work with people such as Barefoot Russell who manifest a shaky sense of appropriate sexual boundaries with clients and vulnerable people. (more…)

There is no connection between the Barefoot Doctor Stephen Russell and Patrick Holford unless you are playing a New Age version of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.^[1]

However, looking into the Barefoot Doctor, who would have been well-advised to stick to games of footsie or standing on one leg while looking tranquil, Holfordwatch came across a series of associations that suggest the need for a version that should be entitled Six Degrees of Sleaze. (more…)