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Martha Stewart Gets Bamboozled By Detox "Doc"

Alejandro Junger and Martha Stewart

Detoxification is all the rage but it's simply modern day snake oil salesman and I'm going to show you one of the biggest names in the detox business working his flim-flam on Martha Stewart. If you haven't heard of detoxification you will soon because con men are making big money from ignorant people. The myth they perpetuate is that our air, water, and food has turned into a toxic soup and the poisons are the root of all of human ills. Only by using shakes, pills, secret tonics, foot pads or other costly treatments can our bodies remove these toxins. There isn't one scientific report validating any of these claims yet people continue to believe based on the power of personal persuasion.

One of the detox prophets is Alejandro Junger. This smooth talker pushes his book and $425 three week plan of pills and shake formula. He's done the TV circuit. He's a snazzy dresser. He has a smooth foreign accent. He's got loads of personal testimonials. He's even got a celebrity endorser - Gwyneth Paltrow advocating his detox plans which of course is an ancient ritual that was lost to society until he rediscovered it. But like all detoxers there's no science or facts or tests which prove his theories.

In place of facts he's got "sciency" sounding words and a few parlor tricks. These terms and tricks exploit basic ignorance of physics or chemistry lessons you probably slept through in 10th grade or have forgotten. In the video I'm going to show you Junger uses a "precipitator" device. This is 2 iron bars connected to electricity that when dunked in water make the water murky with ferric oxide (rust) and, if you leave it in the water long enough, produces a filmy gunk. It's completely harmless but looks yucky. Historically this scam was successfully used to prove how "dirty" a homeowner's water is to sell water filtration. The salesman would actually use 2 devices: one with iron bars which would make the water murky and another with aluminum bars which does nothing to the water (because aluminum doesn't oxidize the same way).

Back to Junger. His view is that our entire world is toxic. So in Martha Stewart's break room he took the opportunity to illustrate how toxic her water is. He "proved" this using his very own AC powered precipitator. Turn up the volume to hear him declare the murkiness and sludge is "prescription medications and anti-depressants". Scary stuff! Only it's not (of course). The sludge originates from the device he dunked in the water, but Martha Stewart wants to believe. She even asks him to test her favorite water: Evian.

Near the end you can hear Junger pushing a water filtration expert to come out to Martha's house. Ultimately what this is about is money. Like the charlatans before him Junger is using his power of persuasion to make money. There's nothing wrong with that until he exploits people's ignorance with flim-flammery tricks and deceit. If detoxification was effective he wouldn't need shady sales techniques. Instead, there would be scientific studies demonstrating its effectiveness. Mr. Junger should want these tests to validate his beliefs. He resists efforts to measure and verify his treatment because it would be revealed as the scam it is. Don't believe the testimonials. Instead insist on double blind tests.

If you want to learn more about the precipitator scam here are a couple links:


--MR
michael@michaelrobertson.com


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