I might get thrown in the Gulag Americana for writing this, but Kevin Trudeau helped me in at least two medical areas. I’m going to describe how.

But first, although I’ll discuss some minor problems I had with Kevin below, there’s no reason for a vicious judge to throw him in prison – just for publishing a book!

AP reported from Chicago: Federal Judge Ronald Guzman “on Monday sentenced TV pitchman Kevin Trudeau to 10 years in prison for bilking consumers via infomercials for his best-selling weight loss book.”

Doesn’t the First Amendment protect the right to publish books? No more than the Fourth Amendment any more protects the right “against unreasonable searches and seizures” by the NSA, FBI, CIA, etc.

Here’s how Kevin helped me. About a decade ago, I came down with severe pain in my knees. My GP sent me to an orthopedic specialist, who took X-rays, diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis on my knees, and prescribed Celebrex.

I took the Celebrex, and it sure made things better. But I was skeptical because my father had been taking Vioxx, a similar drug, just before a heart attack in 1999 that required a quadruple bypass. Did the Vioxx cause the heart attack? We’ll never know. But according to Dr. Joseph Mercola, Vioxx killed at least 60,000 people and, when recalled, cost Merck a $321 million fine.

Celebrex supposedly is safer. But how much safer? Here’s what Pfizer’s own Celebrex site warns (emphasis in original):

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION All prescription NSAIDs, like CELEBREX, ibuprofen, naproxen, and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. They may all increase the chance of heart attack or stroke that can lead to death. This chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors for it, such as high blood pressure or when NSAIDs are taken for long periods. CELEBREX should not be used right before or after certain heart surgeries. Serious skin reactions, or stomach and intestine problems such as bleeding and ulcers, can occur without warning and may cause death. Patients taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. Tell your doctor if you have: A history of ulcers or bleeding in the stomach or intestines

High blood pressure or heart failure

Kidney or liver problems CELEBREX should not be taken in late pregnancy. Do not take CELEBREX if you have bleeding in the stomach or intestine, or you’ve had an asthma attack, hives, or other allergic reactions to aspirin, any other NSAID medicine or certain drugs called sulfonamides. Life threatening allergic reactions can occur with CELEBREX. Get help right away if you’ve had swelling of the face or throat or trouble breathing. Prescription CELEBREX should be used exactly as prescribed at the lowest dose possible and for the shortest time needed.

“Natural Cures”

So I was open to natural alternatives. I bought Trudeau’s “More Natural Cures Revealed: Previously Censored Brand Name Products That Cure Disease” when it came out in 2006; it’s still available – for now – for as little as 50 cents, plus postage, on Amazon.com.

It recommended a natural oil called Cetyl Myristoleate. I tried the brand from Natrol, which you also can get from Amazon.com for $15.83 for 120 capsules. I dumped the Celebrex and took four capsules of the Cetyl a day. The arthritis came back. Six capsules. No good. Eight capsules – bingo! Arthritis gone.

I am eager to say that I am not a medical doctor and you should not do anything without consulting your own physician. I’m just an old journalist who has written too much, most of it broadsides against the government, and whose carpal-tunnel syndrome also was relieved by the Cetyl Myristoleate.

I consulted other sources. The consensus was that for some people, taking the Cetyl for a month or two would provide a lasting cure; but other folks would have to take it continuously. The latter turned out to be the case for me. But a buck a day certainly is worth it to be relieved of joint pain while not taking a possibly dangerous drug from Big Pharma.

This is from Wikipedia:

Cetyl myristoleate is a chemical compound which is a type of fatty acid ester or, more specifically, a cetylated fatty acid (CFA). It is the cetyl ester of myristoleic acid. Although it is used as a dietary supplement, there is little clinical evidence to support a benefit for any medical condition.[1]… In animal studies, cetyl myristoleate was first reported to block inflammation and prevent adjuvant-induced arthritis at very high doses in rats.[2][3] Other studies using identical and similar methods have failed to replicate this effect.[4] In follow-up studies in mice, a modest anti-inflammatory effect was observed.[2]

Studies, schmudies. It worked on this mouse. As to any danger for the Cetyl, it’s essentially about as “dangerous” as a couple drops of olive oil.

When it worked for me, I recommended it to my father for his arthritis. It definitely helped him until his death in 2008 at age 90.

And over the years, I’ve recommended it to other friends. Results vary, just as people do. But one friend, age 40 and an active runner, complained to me of an old football knee injury. He took the Cetyl for a month, and his pain was gone without continuing the treatment.

Again, I’m not a doctor. I’m just a journalist reporting my experiences under the apparently expired protection of the former First Amendment.

Acid Reflux BioAstin Hawaiian Asta... Best Price: null Buy New $23.49 ($0.47 / Count) (as of 08:25 EST - Details)

Another ailment I suffered from a decade ago was acid reflux. My GP in the late 1990s prescribed Prilosec, which didn’t work. (It’s now over-the-counter.) He then prescribed Prevacid, which did work. But I looked up the Warnings and Precautions, which are on the drug’s Web site:

Symptomatic response with PREVACID does not preclude the presence of gastric malignancy.

PPI therapy may be associated with increased risk of Clostridium difficile associated diarrhea.

Bone Fracture: Long-term and multiple daily dose PPI therapy may be associated with an increased risk for osteoporosis-related fractures of the hip, wrist or spine.

Hypomagnesemia has been reported rarely with prolonged treatment with PPIs.

So when Kevin’s book came out, I looked up a natural alternative. He recommended “digestive enzymes.” I drove over to our local Mother’s Market health food store and bought a bottle of Dr. Michael Murray’s Multi Enzyme High Potency Vegetarian Formula, about $25 at the time for 120 capsules. I took four capsules a day for a month, and the acid reflux was gone. Check Amazon for Pricing.

A couple of years ago, the acid reflux returned. I repeated the treatment. Gone again.

I have recommended this to several friends, and it has worked for them as well. Dr. Murray’s Formula is not available on Amazon.com. But it is available at other online stores, and likely at your local health-food store. Other brands of digestive enzymes also might be worth trying.

Weight loss

To quote the late Chris Farley, I have “what doctors call a little bit of a weight problem.” So I bought the book for which Kevin was lynched, when it first came out in 2007. It cost about $30. You still can get it – for now – on Amazon.com for as little as 65 cents plus postage.

The main recommendation from Kevin was to go on a 500-calorie-a-day diet with HCG injections, which are legal. I didn’t take up that therapy. But that’s what got him in trouble with the U.S. government. AP reported: “He sold more than 850,000 copies of the weight book, generating $39 million in revenue, prosecutors say. But his lawyers have argued it can only be said 67 buyers were defrauded because that’s how many complained to consumer protection agencies.”

Will Judge Guzman also throw in prison a Chicago citizen named Barack Obama, who famously lied when he promised, “If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan”?

How is lying political speech about health care, which is protected by the First Amendment, any different from an alleged lie in a health-care book?

And who are these whiny Americans who claimed to be “defrauded” of a mere $30 for a book? I bought Obama’s last book, “The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream,” for about $20 in a local bookstore when it came out in 2007, the same year as Trudeau’s diet book. Should I ask the government to put him on trial because I was “defrauded”? Well, I won’t. (Although the president should be impeached and removed from office for, say, murdering wedding parties.)

Trudeau’s diet book also makes alternative recommendations for those who can’t follow his more rigorous program. Basically, he says to switch to a diet based only on organic food. I did that for a couple of months and I did lose weight. It worked! And I felt great.

Then I went off it and regained the weight. Old story. Trudeau and other health-care gurus blame agribusiness and fast-food companies, both of which are hooked into the government, for getting us addicted to artificial substances. They probably have a point. But it’s also the old problem of trying to get rid of bad habits described by Aristotle; or by St. Paul, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Part of the problem for me also was that organic meat costs about three times that of non-organic. And other organic food costs about twice as much. Maybe if I weren’t taxed so much to fund Kevin’s persecutors, I could afford what I need.

Based on this, I’ve devised my own diet (with apologies to Steve Martin), in two parts: First, get a million dollars. Second, move to a tropical island and eat only organic food prepared by an expert chef.

Kevin’s problems

I didn’t like everything about Kevin’s books. He pushed Scientology and new-age therapies. But hey, I’m a big boy. I can decide these things for myself.

As to his past criminal activity, according to Wikipedia:

After being incarcerated for fraud in the early 1990s,[11] Trudeau joined a multi-level marketing firm, Nutrition for Life. The firm was successful until the Attorney General of Illinois charged that it was running a pyramid scheme. Trudeau and Nutrition for Life settled cases brought by the state of Illinois, and seven other U.S. states, for US$185,000.[11][12][13][14][clarification needed]

But there’s a big difference between actually ripping people off with a Bernie Madoff-style pyramid scheme, and selling a book.

AP reported: “U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman blasted the 50-year-old Trudeau before the sentencing, saying that for decades he ‘steadfastly attempted to cheat others for his own personal gain.’ Guzman called Trudeau ‘deceitful to the core.’”

Again, the judge didn’t distinguish between the pyramid scheme early in Trudeau’s career, and selling a book. And again, why don’t federal prosecutors arrest President Obama and almost all members of Congress for promoting the ultimate pyramid scheme, Socialist Security?

Big Pharma

What’s really behind this, of course, is Big Parma’s symbiotic relationship with Big Government. Because I paid $30 for Kevin’s “More Natural Cures Revealed,” I cost Big Pharma already thousands of dollars.

And Big Government doesn’t like independent medical advice, either, because then we don’t need Obamacare or whatever new scheme Republicans will devise to “repeal and replace” it.

Free Kevin Trudeau!

The Best of John Seiler