Robert Young, PhD, the creator of the alkaline diet,
that became popular among celebrities like, Kate Hudson and Jennifer
Aniston is in the news for the wrong reasons.
Young faces prison time for practicing medicine without a
license, the BBC reported. He also allegedly defrauded terminally ill
cancer patients, treating them with baking-soda infusions instead of
traditional medical treatments.
Young co-wrote the book ‘The pH Miracle’ in 2010, claiming that diseases are caused
by acidity in the blood. His theory inspired a series of high-alkaline diets
and cleanses, aimed at balancing pH levels by eating fewer foods that
metabolize into acidic compounds in the body, and more that metabolize into alkaline
ones.
In 2016, Young was convicted of practicing medicine
without a license, a charge that carries a prison sentence of up to three years
and eight months.
A jury was deadlocked on several other charges against him,
including defrauding patients out of money.
Prosecutors argued that he led terminally ill cancer
patients to believe he could cure them with expensive baking-soda treatments to
flush dangerous acid out of the body, he told them at his California ranch.
Young has touted himself as a doctor and a naturopath over
the years, but his doctorate in nutrition is from a non-accredited, now-defunct
correspondence school, and he does not have a medical degree, according to the
BBC.
The BBC reported on one of those cancer patients, a
27-year-old British woman who flew to California and paid Young more than
$77,000 in 2012, in hopes that his treatments could save her life. She died
after spending about three months at Young’s ranch.
When reporters asked Young if he felt remorse for his
actions, he told them he did not, “because of the thousands if not millions of
people that have been helped through the alkaline diet program.”
0 Comments