Alternative healthcare practitioners are often subjected to charges of "quackery"–that claims they make about treatment are false, and the treatments themselves worthless. I tend to be suspicious of such charges, for two reasons. First, I have spoken with many individuals who have gained relief from alternative treatments. Second, the people who level such charges tend to be upholders of traditional American medicine, which clearly doesn’t have all the answers to medical treatment.
With the previous being said, I feel compelled to follow up my previous entry with further information about circumstances surrounding the Mexican medical clinic at which Coretta Scott King spent her last few days. The clinic is operated by an American chiropractor, Kurt Donsbach.
I wanted to write further about Mr. Donsbach, and in researching him and the clinic, I came across some reports that questioned his background, and pointed out his run-ins with American medical regulatory authorities and courts. It turns out that Mr. Donsbach has had a long list of legal encounters with the American system, which are described on a web site, Quackwatch.
One of the first examples mentioned in the Quackwatch article is Donsbach’s affiliation with Royal Lee, founder of Standard Process, a Wisconsin vitamin company. According to the article, Lee received a one-year suspended prison sentence in the 1960s for mislabeling and making false claims about certain vitamins. I’m not sure what happened back then, but I do know that today, Standard Process is one of the most highly regarded makers of supplements by alternative healthcare providers. I base that on a number of interviews I did with practitioners in connection with my recent BusinessWeek Online article about Standard Process.
The Standard Process example is followed by many more, and the compilation seems quite diligent. It’s enough to make even a sympathizer like myself suspicious.
I tried to contact Kurt Donsbach, but alas, was unsuccessful. A woman who answered the phone at his clinic invited me to fax a request to interview him, which I did. But he failed to respond. I don’t think his failure to be interviewed says anything pro or con about him, since I suspect he’s got his hands full dealing with Mexican authorities. Talking about his problems publically, no matter what he says, could create complications with the Mexican authorities, in Donsbach’s view.
I listened to some recordings from his radio show, and I must say he sounded quite reasonable in answering listener questions. In answer to one woman who reported possible liver problems, and explained that medical tests had come out normal, he said, "Let’s not try to treat something that doesn’t exist." He advised other listeners to reduce sugar and alcohol consumption.
The entire experience has reinforced my sense that "quackery" is a murky area. It’s nice to think of any field, medicine included, in terms of good guys and bad guys. Unfortunately, it’s just not that simple.
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