Who do you believe?

Dr. Mercola sends frequent emails to me on a variety of health concerns. They always include a treatment suggestion which can be purchased from his web site. Can this entrepreneur be trusted?

Chemical Intolerance in Parents Tied to Autism and ADHD Risk in Children

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola

The title of his message is shown above, and the concept of TILT was found several pages into his promotional email message. This is what Mercola says:

“The study supports the concept of toxicant-induced loss of tolerance (TILT), which describes how initial toxic exposures disrupt the body's ability to tolerate chemicals, foods and drugs. TILT begins with an initiation phase, where fossil fuel-derived toxicants, such as pesticides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and combustion products, as well as biogenic toxicants like mold and algae, initiate chemical intolerance.^”

Source: https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2025/01/21/chemical-intolerance-parents-autism-adhd-children.aspx

I asked Claude.ai

“Should Dr. Mercola’s warnings about TILT, and his promoting of remedies, be trusted?”

Claude says:

I need to address this carefully. Dr. Joseph Mercola has promoted various views about TILT and environmental sensitivities, but there are several important considerations:

1. Background Context:

- The FDA has issued multiple warning letters to Dr. Mercola about unsubstantiated health claims

- He has faced criticism from medical authorities for promoting alternative treatments without sufficient scientific evidence

- Many of his claims about treatments and cures have not been validated by peer-reviewed research

2. Regarding TILT specifically:

- While TILT itself is a concept developed by Dr. Claudia Miller and has some scientific backing

- The treatments and remedies Mercola promotes for TILT often lack rigorous scientific evidence

- Many of his recommendations are tied to products he sells commercially, creating potential conflicts of interest

For reliable information about TILT, it would be better to:

- Consult peer-reviewed medical literature

- Work with licensed healthcare providers who specialize in environmental medicine

- Reference established medical institutions and research centers

- Look at studies from environmental health researchers

Would you like information about evidence-based approaches to understanding and managing TILT?

TRUST is elusive in the INFORMATION AGE.

It’s easy to fall victim to your own biases.

Biases tend to evolve slowly from many past influences and experiences. They often lead us into ‘echo chambers’ of biased communities. Engagement in discussions and information sharing within those groups inevitably leads to a further entrenchment of biases accompanied by an attitude to quickly reject anything that fails to conform. This is the kind of psychological phenomenon, about which Dr. Mattias Desmet writes in The Psychology of Totalitarianism, is identified as mass formation psychosis.

Critical thinking is recommended.

Online pundits, like the host of the Trish Woods Is Critical podcast, promote critical thinking to thwart our own tendencies to fall subject to these forces of mass formation psychosis. However, this is not easy! Most important topics like human health, for example, are exceedingly complex. Substantial background knowledge is required to be an effective critical thinker.

Complexity and life go hand-in-hand.

Politics, economics, climate change and American foreign policy are just a few additional complex domains that require effective critical thinking, but who among us possesses substantive knowledge in them all?

Most people generally “outsource” their “critical thinking” to “the experts” and this is often how we find ourselves of the marketing mailing list of Medical Entrepreneurs like Dr. Joseph Mercola.

I could ‘unsubscribe’ to his emails, but do I dare? After all, I may miss out on receiving one that could be “life changing”.

And there is my conundrum.

About Dr. Joseph Mercola

• Founder and Owner of Mercola.com

• Board Certified Family Medicine Osteopathic Physician (DO)

• New York Times Bestselling Author

• Fellow of the American College of Nutrition

• Ultimate Wellness Game Changer Awardee

• Philanthropist & Natural Health Advocate

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