Facts Kevin Trudeau Doesn't Want You to Know

Kevin Trudeau is the author of several alternative medicine books, claiming to reveal secret "cures" that the medical community has hidden for decades. He's also a convicted con-artist. He used to appear regularly on informercials hawking "miracle" products, until he was prosecuted by the Federal Trade Commission for making fraudulent claims, and he ended up consenting to an agreement whereby he wouldn't sell any other products on infomercials.

So after he was barred from selling products, Trudeau turned to literature. Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You To Know About reached #1 on the New York Times' Hardcover Advice bestseller list. A follow-up book, More Natural "Cures" Revealed peaked at #8, and his latest offering, The Weight Loss Cure "They" Don't Want You To Know About has reached #3 on the list.

In an ingenious PR move, Trudeau is very upfront about his checkered and felonious past, as part of an effort to dilute criticisms of his 'work.' He chooses to paint himself as a victim of overzealous government regulators and insidious agents of Big Business, presenting himself in advance as someone who "they" want to censor, so that any attack on his books' veracity is spun as an effort to hide the "truth" from the American public. And, presumably, the world public, since nobody's scored a cancer cure in Asia or Africa, either. Any critic of his is labelled as part of the Big Pharma conspiracy.

Trudeau's best bit of doublespeak is possibly his claim that he can be trusted on medical matters, not in spite of but because he has no education, training, or experience in medical matters. This also, presumably, makes Trudeau the person you should go to for advice on legal matters (since he didn't go to law school), religious counseling (since he didn't go to seminary), and dentistry. Be on the lookout for his next book, Natural Pet Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About, where Trudeau will tell you how to solve all of your pet's medical problems. And you know you can trust him, because he's never gone to Vet School.

IMPORTANT: Trudeau says you "can" trust him, not that you should. This is a highly critical distinction. Anyone can say you "can" trust him, and con-men often say you can trust them; only a person willing to vouch for the reliability of his statements will say you "should" trust him. And in fact, Trudeau explicitly states that the reader should NOT trust him, and that readers should take his advice only at their own risk. The following is from the disclaimer on NaturalCures.com:

Neither NaturalCures.com nor the Content can be relied upon as preventive, cure, or treatment for any disease or medical condition. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU CONSULT WITH A LICENSED MEDICAL DOCTOR OR PHYSICIAN BEFORE ACTING UPON ANY RECOMMENDATION THAT IS MADE VIA THE NATURALCURES.COM WEBSITE. USE OF NATURALCURES.COM IS AT YOUR OWN RISK...NATURALCURES.COM DOES NOT REPRESENT OR ENDORSE THE ACCURACY, CURRENTNESS, OR RELIABILITY OF ANY ADVISE, OPINIONS, STATEMENT, OR INFORMATION DISPLAYED, UPLOADED OR DISTRIBUTED THROUGH NATURALCURES.COM.
It would be funny if the stakes weren't so serious. Even better, though, is the disclaimer from More Natural "Cures" (and yes, those quote marks are part of the official title):
This book is considered by some a work of fiction, yet inspired by a true story. Some truth is sprinkled in to spice things up. On occasion, names, dates, and events have been changed or made up for fun. It contains the opinions, theories, and conclusions of what some people call a raving lunatic, conspiracy theorist, snake oil salesman, political activist, consumer advocate, believer in immortality, and delusional fraudster. Believe what you will. It is for entertainment purposes only. Remember, the author is not a doctor and has no medical training. He is a two-time convicted felon. Yet...then again, did he say it's all 100 percent true?
The answer to that last, somewhat rhetorical question would appear to be "No." He didn't say it's all "100 percent true."

Nowhere on the book jacket does Trudeau say that what he's written is 100 percent true. The closest he comes in the text is in Chapter 3, which is essentially a 3-page version of this disclaimer, containing the sentence "Although I personally believe that everything in this book is 100 percent true, please be aware that I could be totally delusional in my thoughts, opinions, and beliefs...Read this book for entertainment purposes only." And "I personally believe it's true" and "It's true" are very different creatures.

Some may say Trudeau isn't hurting anyone. But he's selling bad and dangerous information under the auspices of reliability, and he's getting Americans to shell out of millions of dollars for it. He doesn't deserve a penny of the money he's taken from his unwitting customers, and the American public deserves to be free of hucksters like him. The volume of material below may be overwhelming. If you merely wish to sample the goods on Mr. Trudeau, I recommend:

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