?Anyone who says, ?I have a detox treatment,? is profiting from a false claim and is, by definition, a crook.?
? Edzard Ernst, physician and critic of bogus alternative health claims
This article is based on my observations and opinions about a chiropractor in Queens, New York, who uses something called ?Nutritional Response Testing,? which I believe is nothing more than quackery. I?ll call her X. I made the mistake of becoming one of her clients, or more accurately, a victim of her scam ?treatment.?
Therefore, I vowed to avoid going to any chiropractor, who uses this technique, and, on top of that, sells what I believe is snake oil, specifically Young Living Essential Oils and Standard Process supplements, in addition to various and sundry other items, which have no nutritional value whatsoever, such as ice chips.
The Secretive Connection to Scientology
It seems to me that the chiropractor whom I am referring to provides false hope to vulnerable, frightened and sick people. I don?t know if this is intentional deception or not, but the results can be disastrous. Providing false hope and profiting from it, in my estimation, is one of the cruelest things that one human being can do to another. She gives no indication that Freddie Ulan?s seminars on Nutritional response Testing are a front for the notorious cult of Scientology
Freddie Ulan, she claims, is her mentor, and she has a video of him, which plays incessantly in her office. He is a longtime member of the notorious cult of Scientology, and is involved in a scheme called WISE, an acronym for World Institute of Scientology Enterprises. Under its umbrella is a group called Sterling Management, an expensive program that supposedly teaches management skills to chiropractors, veterinarians and dentists. However, nowhere in X?s office in there any mention of Scientology, although her program mirrors a lot of the so-called purification programs that another Scientology program, an anti-drug program, called Narconon, does, allegedly to get people off drugs. Again, it is never honest about its true origin. It consists of people taking massive doses of vitamins and spending as long as 5 hours a day in a sauna. It has actually been lethal for a few unfortunate people, who joined the program with the best of intentions. X?s programs consist of so-called healthy eating and taking lots of supposedly whole food supplements from a company called Standard Process. Her success rate from this is supposedly 95 per cent, although nowhere does she define success.
Here?s another juicy tidbit about Freddie Ulan. He?s one of the founders and leaders of yet another front group for his destructive cult. This one has a wonderful sounding title, but it?s utterly deceptive. It?s called: Citizens Committee on Human Rights, or CCHR, which the Southern Poverty Law Center Defines as a hate group, designed to rid the planet of psychiatrists, psychologists, and all forms of counseling. It defies all logic and common sense. Yet X?s program is similar, as she tries to get her clients off all drugs, without determining which are helping or harming them and without the scientific background to figure any of that out. (Source: https://groups.google.com/d/topic/alt.religion.scientology/MlehiijsTMI)
When you?re feeling desperate, it?s hard to see red flags, but they are everywhere. (Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/415034921883379558/)
Here?s why.
Why Nutritional Response Testing is Bogus
Nutritional Response Testing has no medical or scientific validity whatsoever. It has been proven over and over again to be no more effective than random guessing. Many studies have proven that NRT is completely bogus, based on pseudo-science. It claims to be able to cure just about every condition from ADHD to fibromyalgia to insomnia, when it actually cures nothing and often prevents people from getting much needed evidence based medical treatment. On top of that, it takes desperate people?s hard earned money. (Source: https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/applied-kinesiology-by-any-other-name/)
Not only X, but numerous practitioners of nutrition and medicine believe it is quackery. NRT is the brainchild of Freddie and designed to make a quick buck and prey on vulnerable people. Check out Tony Ortega?s website, especially the information about the WISE GUYS, the outrageous front group that targets independent practitioners and often tries to recruit them into the Scientology fold. (Source: https://tonyortega.org/2015/12/14/who-are-those-wise-guys-a-tipster-helps-us-get-some-names-of-scientology-operatives/)
Deception Regarding Ulan?s Alleged Credentials and Experience
Ulan claims to be a doctor of chiropractic (DC) and a nutritionist with 25,000 hours of practice. However, there is no registry of his having attended any chiropractic school anywhere in the United States, according to several ex-scientology bloggers, nor is there any record of his ever having studied nutrition. And what legitimate nutritionist speaks of his or her experience in terms of hours, rather than years? (Source: http://www.webquake.net/ocmb/viewtopic.php?t=21317) Therefore, I have written to him via email, requesting his chiropractic license number and asking where he received his nutritional training, since this is mentioned nowhere on his Web site. I explained that providing such information would dispel any doubts about his credentials. Of course, I got no response. Back to WISE: Many mentally ill former scientologists have had horrible experiences, because of this hate group?s message that psychiatric medications are horrible. The group says the same of all psychological counseling, including various forms of talk therapy. Surely, pharmaceutical drugs can do harm. However, some people?s lives and physical and mental health depend on medication. This group opposes all psychiatric drugs and counseling, and even says that mental illness is a hoax. (Source: http://www.scientology-cult.com/mafia-mentality.html) One of its early proponents was Dr. Thomas Szasz, who wrote a book called, ?The Myth of Mental Illness,? and, in his defense of Scientology?s war on psychiatry and all over forms of mental health treatment, he actually said, ?The enemy of my enemy is my friend.? (Source: http://www.ratbags.com/rsoles/comment/cchr.htm) Autistic children often do well with therapy, especially if it?s started when they are very young. Yet, such treatment is anathema to Ulan and his acolytes.
Scientology?s Inordinately High Death Rate
They also believe that epilepsy is not a physical disease, and therefore medicine should not be taken for it. Everyone knows that John Travolta has been one of Scientology?s celebrities for years. His son, Jett, died of a seizure in the bathtub. (Source: https://nypost.com/2009/01/04/avoidable-death/) He was not taking anti-seizure medication, medication that has been known to save people?s lives. He was also believed to have autism, another condition that the cult of Scientology believes doesn?t exist. And a fairly high percentage of autistic teenagers get frequent seizures. Furthermore, when autistic children receive therapy at a young age, beginning when they?re two or three years old, they often recover completely. Yet scientologists never receive therapy for what they erroneously view as non-existent conditions. So they never recover and seldom even improve. Often people with conditions like bipolar disorder can live normal or near normal lives with the proper medication. The list is endless. Yet, CCHR pickets psychiatric and psychological conventions throughout the world. Despite relentless efforts, Scientology has not won and will never win its case against not only psychiatric drugs, but any kind of therapy at all.
X shows a CCHR video on one of her many internet postings.
X Claims To Be A Miracle Healer, But Where?s The Evidence?
The Nutritional Response Testing model actually emulates the very dangerous Scientology ideology, strongly discouraging people from taking much needed medications. Their strategy for healing is merely taking so-called whole foods supplements, whose company, Standard Process, sponsors seminars given by Dr. X (an apparent conflict of interest ). The record speaks for itself. Not only has that treatment not cured anyone, but the death rate from cancer in the scientology community is a lot higher than in the outside world. Why is that? Their members are strongly discouraged from seeking medical treatment early on, and thereby preventing disease or curing it in the early stages. Furthermore, sick people in Scientology are hidden away. They are no longer valued. People with illnesses and disabilities are regarded as less than, on the lowest rung of the human chain. So they often die in isolation way too soon.
NRT is similar to scientology, in that it strongly discourages sick people from both seeking medical help and taking medication when necessary. So can NRT makes people?s conditions worse? The answer is yes. I know, because I tried it, and it did a tremendous amount of harm in a few short weeks. More about that a little later on. Why did I go? I was really desperate, and getting less than adequate answers from the medical establishment. I have a disease that is not easily diagnosed or treated. I also (sometimes foolishly) like to give people the benefit of the doubt, so I went a few times, and chose to ignore red flags. But when the practitioner?s protocol clearly harmed me, not only did I decide to run the other way, but I decided that I needed to expose this dangerous quackery. X claims on her Web site that her protocol can help everyone, regardless of how serious their condition might be, from ADHD, to severe pain, to insomnia. She is a chiropractor, yet, according to her Web site, she is nothing short of a miracle worker. Can it contribute even more to people?s desperation? Sure it can. This, of course, is my opinion and observation, but, to me, X?s practice is too much like a dangerous cult. Vitamins, rather, whole food supplements that contain vitamins as well as loads of other stuff, the ones they sell only, and a healthy diet, they claim can cure everything. No, they don?t do the sauna, but, otherwise, it?s the same bullshit that Scientology forces upon its members. This seems to me to be deception and magical thinking, as far away from science as one can get.
Furthermore, NRT insists that everyone can only get well, not only by changing one?s diet, but by taking Standard Process supplements indefinitely, which can be extremely costly. There is no evidence anywhere that taking these supplements has ever helped anyone with anything. In fact, here?s a bit of information about their products that you may not know. Although patients, who should really be referred to as customers, are told to eat organic foods, the meats contained in Standard Process are not organic, nor are they even grass-fed. Furthermore, there is no mention of the quantities of so-called foods in their products, and many believe that the amounts are so minuscule as to render them ineffective, at best. Next, although people are told not to eat sugars, many Standard Process products have maltodextrin in them, a sugar that just about all reputable nutritionists tell people to stay away from. Standard Process has been around since 1929, yet there has been zero research on its products. Furthermore, not long ago, several of the supplements were recalled due to possible or probable salmonella contamination. Yet, the company claims that these products are superior to vitamins, because they contain whole foods. They contain very strange things, like bovine spleen and animal glandulars. Where is the evidence that such supplements actually work and don?t do harm? The answer is nowhere. (Source: http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2011/08/standard-processstandard-nonsense/comment-page-2/#comments) As a former patient, mercifully for a very brief period of time, I took merely one half of one tablet and became sicker than I had been in years. However, I was told that even though I felt worse, this stuff was good for me, and this was merely a ?healing crisis.? What bullshit. You can?t be healing from something that?s making you sick. Another ploy is to tell everyone that there are toxins in their bodies, and the only way to recover is to detoxify, so almost everyone is sold (in addition to a bill of goods) some homeopathic liquid in a bottle that?s supposed to help detoxify. That?s ridiculous, too. Only organs can detoxify. Detoxification from a bottle just cannot happen. So it?s clear to me that this program is expensive snake oil. So I needed to physically and psychologically detoxify from her fake, toxic program. Of course, it became clearer and clearer that her M.O. was simply to sell more bogus programs to keep people coming back so she could earn more money. Let the client be damned.
Nutritional Response Testing Does More Harm Than Good
Some of X?s suggestions for me were obviously harmful. Fortunately, I knew better than to try them. For example, she suggested that I use products containing senna and casca sagrada, both stimulant laxatives, which are harmful, especially to people like me, who have serious gastrointestinal problems. She is a sales-person, not a doctor, in my estimation, despite her degree in chiropractic. I told her that I could not use mint, which was incredible that she couldn?t figure that out, since mint is always contraindicated for people with acid reflux. She didn?t even know the ingredients in the products she was trying to sell. She suggested I use a specific toothpaste, of course, one that she sells, which contains mint. She had no idea what the toothpaste contained. Now that behavior is, in my view, the epitome of irresponsibility.
One of my issues is gastrointestinal pain that, at times, can be pretty severe and debilitating. She claims that one of her numerous areas of expertise is dealing and reducing, even eliminating, people?s pain. She had no clue about what to do for my pain, so she brazenly referred me to a so-called holistic pain doctor, who wanted $500 per treatment. I was already becoming suspicious of her, so I reviewed the so-called holistic pain physician?s Web site and reviews. A few people said how much additional pain he caused them and that it was his assistant, who wasn?t even a doctor who (mis)treated them. I decided not to waste my hard earned money on even more bogus treatments.
Her Hype About Young Living Essential Oils
Furthermore, X gives workshops on essential oils. I was appalled by the misinformation she provided when I went to that workshop. She uses only Young Living, which is nothing more than a pyramid scheme, otherwise known as multilevel marketing or MLM. The person or people at the top make big bucks selling inferior but expensive products, while the distributors make little or nothing. Products sold by pyramid schemes are always suspect. Here?s a little information about Gary Young, founder of Young Living Essential Oils and about their products. Although a bogus claim is made that this stuff is pure, therapeutic grade, those terms mean nothing, since they were invented by the company to impress buyers.
However, these oils are far from pure. Furthermore, experts who have studied these products have found synthetic and dangerous chemicals in these essential oils, and 8 of the products were found to contain lead.
Additionally, there are so many lies about the benefits of these oils, that it?s totally ludicrous.
For example, Young claims that one of his oils actually cures scoliosis as well as the ebola virus. Essentially oils are nice, but they have never been known to cure any disease. Even the Association of Aromatherapists is highly critical of Young?s, so-called Raindrop Therapy. (Source: http://englisharomatherapist.com/10-reasons-to-avoid-raindrop-therapy/) She claimed that she used one of these essential oils for a cut on her hand, which was cured almost instantly, which was obviously another blatant lie, a mere ploy to get people to purchase these harmful, contaminated essential oils. I became suspicious right away, because I was aware that Young Living was a pyramid scheme, essentially designed to defraud its customers and its distributors.
X spoke incessantly about how everyone can heal buy eating organic, keeping everything in your home pure, and, of course, using the brand of essential oils and supplements that she sells. I remarked that the carpets on the floors of her office had to contain a lot of toxins and allergens. It?s widely known that carpeting contains many harmful chemicals, and contains lots of allergens, too. Her feeble response was, and I paraphrase, ?The carpet is 15 years old. Therefore, it can?t possibly be toxic.? What poppycock. Since when does an old carpet become less toxic than a new one? Do the toxins miraculously disappear?
Young?s company claims that it?s all right to ingest some of the oils. Hogwash. People who have ingested these items have suffered from serious stomach and esophageal problems. And Young?s so-called information about these products is bogus, completely so. Clearly, Young knows absolutely nothing about science. Not only that, Young and company allows its distributors to give workshops about essential oils without ever having studied them. There are experts on the topic who can give genuine information. They agree that some essential oils can have healing properties, but they must be used with caution, ideally under the supervision of an expert.
Pyramid schemes, multi-level marketing companies are never honest and never have decent products.
X tries to sell everyone diffusers. There are diffusers in her office and she claims that she has one in every room in her house. However, aroma therapy experts all say that these diffusers should only be used for very brief periods of time. Otherwise, benzene can escape into the atmosphere. So is she unwittingly poisoning everyone around her by using these diffusers constantly. I noticed that the diffusers she sells do not have timers. Some do, so that they turn off automatically after a short while.
Here?s some important information about Gary Young?s nefarious history. His present wife is now president of the company, but nothing has changed.
He actually drowned his newborn infant.
He was found guilty of manslaughter in the death of a former girlfriend.
He was arrested several times for impersonating a doctor.
And there?s more. He has been severely criticized by Somalians and Native Americans for exploiting them and not following through on his promises to help. (Source: https://truth-about-gary-young.quora.com)
Propaganda About Ulan, X and Young: False Advertising Red Flag
Here?s something you should know about all three, X, Ulan and Young. Decide for yourself if you think it?s suspect, as I do. All three, Gary Young, Freddy Ulan and Dr. X claim that their protocol has cured them of debilitating diseases and/or injuries, a tactic that is often used by scammers.
Let?s start with Ulan. He claims that he was near death and no doctor could help him. Then he discovered his miraculous Nutritional Response Testing and Standard Process so-called vitamins, and, voila, he was well again, totally. Well, there is no evidence anywhere of his ever having been ill or having consulted any doctor or his ever having been hospitalized.
Then there is Gary Young, who claims that he was in a severe accident that paralyzed him, and he was in the intensive care unit of some unnamed hospital for four months. He only got better once he discovered his brand of essential oils. There is no record anywhere of his so-called injuries or hospitalizations. Note that he never names the hospital he was allegedly confined in.
Finally, there?s the chiropractor, X. Here?s a bit about her story. She claims that she was a sickly child and had a strep throat that antibiotics couldn?t cure. It wasn?t until she discovered, all by herself, healthy eating that she recovered. Usually, when antibiotics don?t cure strep, there are serious complications, including rheumatic fever, heart disease and/or kidney problems. Why they magically eluded her is never revealed. This merely confirms her bias against antibiotics. Sure, antibiotics can be overused, but they are necessary and effective to treat infections. People died of dental infections prior to the advent of antibiotics. She also claimed that she had fibromyalgia for 20 years and didn?t get well until she changed her diet, which she originally claimed she did when she was a teenager, before the onset of the condition she claimed to suffer from, and when she started taking Standard Process supplements. However, there is no record of evidence of any of this, nor whom she went to for treatment, and how she was able to work, supposedly first as a social worker (more about that shortly) and then go to chiropractic school in spite of 20 years of debilitating pain. The people I know with fibromyalgia, despite the best intentions and efforts, could never do that.
She claims that she began doing social work at age 19, working with families of acutely and chronically ill children. That?s a bold-faced prevarication. I am a retired social worker, having been in the field for more than 40 years. In order to be a social worker, you must have at least a Bachelors degree, and in order to have a private practice, you need to have at least a Master?s degree and a social work license. So in order for her to be doing social work at age 19, she would have had to have graduated from college while she was still a teenager. Furthermore, she provides zero proof of where she did social work, or where she had her social work training.
So all three say that they had horrible illnesses that were cured only by their own protocols. All three disparage medical doctors completely, and psychiatrists even more. They claim that only their treatments and their products can cure people of everything, from autism to cancer. There is not one iota of evidence to support any of these claims. They nuance their language carefully, by saying officially that they don?t treat any disease, yet they claim that theirs is the one effective treatment against just about any malady that exists.
Beware: Ulan, X and Young Are Narcissistic Chameleons
I agree that because of the profit motive, our medical system leaves a lot to be desired. Nonetheless, some medical treatments and medications, including psychiatric ones do save people?s lives and prevent serious emotional outbursts. See the ex-scientologist message board for the disastrous consequences of not seeking true medical help when it is needed. (Source: https://www.salon.com/2005/07/01/sci_psy/)
Note that all three of the above mentioned people, have no medical background whatsoever, and present clearly false information to their clients. Beware that very intelligent people often respond to this type of quackery when they are feeling desperate.
I think all are narcissistic chameleons, who fake compassion very well, while simultaneously destroying people?s lives and stealing people?s hard earned money.
Fake Online Reviews
Here?s more on X. I reviewed her Web site with a fine-toothed comb, and these are the conclusions I have come to: Her many glowing reviews are probably fake. One of the biggest giveaways about fake reviews is that the ones with only fantastic reviews are usually not real. She claims a 95 per cent success, although she never defines her definition of success. Furthermore, no human being in any field can reach everyone. Why are there no negative reviews on her website? Could they have been taken down by the swindlers called ?reputation defenders,? who, for a fee, help rid you of negative reviews? The results of my limited contact as a patient of this woman were disastrous. I spoke to some others, too, who felt cheated, that this was a scam. Why is there no mention of that anywhere on her Web site. I posted a negative review, which was brief, but I did mention the connection to Scientology. I got a feeble response, which said she gave me a full refund, which was another lie, as I only received a partial refund. She failed to say anything about the most important part, that this program is a front for Scientology. So I posted a longer review, which was promptly taken down. Therefore, I wrote another negative review, as did someone else I know who figured out her scam faster than I did. Thus far, she has been unable to remove our reviews. However, I won?t be surprised if she removes them again. If she does, I will keep on writing them. Note that it is considered highly unethical to remove reviews, no matter how negative they might me. Obviously, it seems clear to me that this entire practice is unethical.
Young, Ulan and X Are All Control Freaks, With Apparent Delusions of Grandeur
I saw something she wrote on one of Freddie Ulan?s many Web pages. Here?s a bit of what she said, praising Ulan?s seminar to the skies. ?By the end of the day I saw more patients than I had seen in a week and I felt in control of every one of them.? Freddie?s Web sites says that it teaches chiropractors and others how to control their patients. Frankly, that sounds like utter madness. Interestingly, if people believe they are in control of others, that?s a big scare. Anyway, why would any reputable practitioner want to control anyone? That sounds a bit like brainwashing and mind control, something that the Church of Scientology is infamous for. Usually, only people who are dictators and/or delusional (often the same people) want to control others. However, I saw that she was, in fact, in control of no one, and, for the most part, there were new patients there, very few returning ones. She also claimed that her seminars were so popular that there was standing room only. I went to one, which was the one that convinced me beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was a fraud. The room was small. There were 10 chairs in the room. No one was standing, and there were a few empty chairs. Another deception, which became more and more obvious to me, is that although the workshops were supposed to be free, they were designed to sell products, in this case the adulterated essential oils from Young Living.
Where is the Transparency? Where is the Accountability?
I certainly couldn?t find either.
Another concern I had and still have is that it seems clear that she gets a commission whenever she sells Standard Process products or Young Living essential oils, since she is a distributor for both. She acknowledges this regarding the so-called supplements, but says nothing about the oils. But the oils are from a multi level marketing company, whose products are sold only through distributors. Why is there no disclosure about her financial incentive to sell these products? Where is the transparency? Where is the accountability?
She also claims that prior to her using Nutritional Response Testing, she wasn?t getting results, although there are no specifics as to what results she is talking about, she was struggling and was even considering bankruptcy. These claims seems preposterous, given the high prices that Ulan charges for his seminars. They run into the thousands of dollars. So how could she be struggling financially and have paid for these classes? Are her patients paying not only for what I and many others believe is bogus treatment, but are paying her bills, too, while going into debt hoping to get some relief?
Furthermore, she claims that her business grew exponentially when she started this program. If so-called healers are more interested in the bottom line than in the well-being of their clients, then there is something seriously wrong.
I noticed that many of the other chiropractors who also use Nutritional Response Testing make almost exactly the same claims as she does. They all recovered from horrendous, debilitating diseases through this protocol alone, and their practices grew enormously, and they never get tired any more and are in control of all their clients, whom they erroneously call patients. All that stuff is taught by Freddie Ulan, himself.
X?s Web site claims that she is a triple award-winning chiropractor, but nowhere does she say from where she got these awards and what they were for.
So I reiterate, please, stay away from these quacks.
Recently I e-mailed X regarding all I learned about Gary Young and his Essential Oils. I got no reply.
Shortly thereafter, I sent her another email, asking if she knew that Freddie Ulan?s NRT is a front for the notorious Church of Scientology. Once again, I got no reply.
Note that if I were working as a social worker today, and someone sent me an email about my program being a front for Scientology or any other cult, assuming I was not aware, I would have responded immediately, and if I found out that those claims were true, I would have dissociated myself completely from that organization.
Finally, X graduated from the University of Bridgeport School of Chiropractic, a school described everywhere as a very expensive school with a shoddy reputation. Furthermore, is it owned by the Moonies, another cult not too dissimilar to Scientology.
Therefore, her practice, and, indeed, all Nutritional Response Testing chiropractic offices are, in my opinion, mere quackery. They need to be exposed and shut down as soon as possible.
