Earl Mindell

Earl Lawrence Mindell is a Canadian-American writer and nutritionist who currently resides in Beverly Hills, California. He is a writer who has authored over 45 books on health and wellness, and is a strong advocate of nutrition as both preventive and homeopathic medicine. His most notable publication, Earl Mindell's Vitamin Bible, is a glossary of micronutrients published in 1979 that was recently updated and re-released in 2004.

Mindell's controversial theories on health and nutrition have met with criticism in the scientific community.^[1] For example, Mindell has previously promoted oral supplements of an "anti-aging" enzyme, superoxide dismutase (SOD). There is currently no evidence for the supposed benefits of SOD, and it is well known that the enzyme would not survive the digestive process if taken orally.^[2]

Mindell is associated with FreeLife International, a multi-level marketing company based in Milford, Connecticut.^[3]

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Personal life

Mindell was born to parents William and Minerva on 20 January, 1940 in St. Boniface, Manitoba, Canada. He immigrated to the United States in 1965 and was naturalized in 1972. On 16 May, 1971 Mindell married Gail Andrea Jaffe. They have two children, Alanna Dayan and Evan Louis-Ashley.

In his spare time, Mindell is an amateur historian. In an effort to preserve the history of pharmacy, Mindell has turned his personal garage into an old-time apothecary shop containing historical items that date back to the 1800s.^[4]

Education

Mindell received a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from North Dakota State University in 1963 or 1964. He earned a Master Herbalist Diploma from Dominion Herbal College in 1995.^[5] Mindell's Ph.D. was conferred in 1985 by Pacific Western University, an unaccredited distance-learning institution.^[6][7][8]

Controversy

Mindell's controversial theories on health and nutrition have been met with criticism in the scientific community. For example, Mindell claims that eating foods that are high in DNA and RNA will help reverse the aging process. However, these nucleic acids are digested and never reach human somatic cells in such a form that would directly benefit the consumer. Similarly, Mindell has previously promoted oral supplements of an "anti-aging" enzyme, superoxide dismutase (SOD). There is currently no evidence for the supposed benefits of SOD, and it is well known that the enzyme would not survive the digestive process if taken orally.^[2]

CBC program

Mindell has made several claims about the health benefits of wolfberry juice (commercially known as "goji" juice) on behalf of his partner company, FreeLife International, which sells the product via multi-level marketing. Mindell's claims regarding goji juice include supposed benefits for cancer patients. In an interview (see external links) with Wendy Mesley on the CBC consumer television program Marketplace (aired 24 January, 2007), H. Leon Bradlow, the author of a study that Mindell cites as support for this anti-cancer claim, says that his original research does not, in fact, show that goji juice has any anti-cancer properties. In addition, Bradlow's study was carried out at Hackensack University Medical Center, not the "prestigious" Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center as Mindell had repeatedly claimed. When faced with this information, Mindell stated in the same interview that he will stop citing the study. Mesley then went on to confront Mindell about the validity of his Ph.D from Pacific Western University. Mindell asserted that his degree is "accredited in every state in the Union."^[9] Shortly after this comment, he ejected Mesley and her crew from his house and threatened to call the police.^[6] Mindell's claim that his PhD is "accredited in every state in the Union." is clearly contrary to fact (see above). The California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocation Schools has recently confirmed that his degree is legal and valid in California.^[10] FreeLife International have a response to the Mesley interview here.

Career

Mindell has been a frequent guest on radio and television programs, such as Oprah and Regis, typically speaking on nutritional topics. He is currently a registered pharmacist in the State of California and Professor Emeritus at Pacific Western University, a distance learning institution currently unaccredited (see above) as a college of higher education.^[5]

Mindell is also responsible for the recent promotion of functional foods such as Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), soy, and Lycium barbarum (wolfberries). He currently lends his expertise to Free Life International, a multi-level marketing company based in Milford, Connecticut which sells a wide array of health products.^[3]

In February 2007, Mindell was inducted into the California Pharmacy Hall of Fame. ^[4]

Selected bibliography

In total, Mindell has published over 45 books. An incomplete list of his books is available below.^[11]

See also

• Nutritionist
• Wolfberry

References