Frank Lipman

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Frank Lipman
Against allopathy
Alternative medicine
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Clinically unproven
Woo-meisters


Potentially edible!
Food woo
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Fabulous food!
Delectable diets!
Bodacious bods!

Frank Lipman (1954–)[1] is a South African-born celebrity doctor, alternative medicine practitioner, anti-flu vaxxer and cholesterol denialist.

Lipman is the founder of the Eleven Eleven Wellness Center in New York, which claims to "combine Western Medicine with Alternative Therapies, creating sustainable wellness through the marriage of mind, body, and soul."[2] Lipman is a fan of acupuncture, biofeedback, Chinese medicine, herbal medicine, meditation and yoga.[3] He is associated with the pseudoscientific Goop website.[3][note 1]

Pseudoscientific detox program[edit]

Lipman is a fan of pseudoscientific detox cleansing that is popular amongst celebrities.[7][8][9] He promotes a two-week detox program featuring his supplements and smoothies.[10] Unsurprisingly, Gwyneth Paltrow was one of his clients.[10]

Lipman has written about magnesium deficiency. Instead of recommending a balanced diet, he suggests that people soak in a bath of magnesium oil or Epsom salt and detox on green smoothies.[7]

Anti-flu vaccination[edit]

Lipman has argued against swine flu vaccination.[11][12] He recommends exercise, washing hands, homeopathic medicine, and vitamin supplements.[12][13]

Physician Peter Lipson of Science-Based Medicine has commented that:

His self-declared status as an expert in prevention is irresponsible. He makes no evidence-based recommendations, and many that are downright dangerous. He illustrates one of the fundamental contradictions in the alternative medicine movement: the claim to be pro-prevention but actions that completely belie the claim. It would be sad if it weren’t dangerous and irresponsible.[12]

Cholesterol denialism[edit]

The research is clear – statins are being prescribed based on an incorrect hypothesis, and they are not harmless.
—Frank Lipman[14]

Lipman is a cholesterol and statin denialist. He argues against the scientific consensus by claiming that blood LDL cholesterol levels do not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and advises people not to take statins.[14] He also argues against the scientific consensus by claiming, "long term studies have not shown a correlation between saturated fat intake and blood cholesterol."[15] In reality, saturated fat consumption is linked to the increase of blood LDL cholesterol levels.[16][17][18][19]

Alternative medicine guru Joseph Mercola has promoted Lipman's inaccurate statements on cholesterol and statins.[14]

Anti-GMO hysteria[edit]

Predictably, in the case of the fractally wrong, Lipman has also jumped on the GMO panic and anti-soy bandwagons.[20]

External links[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. The Goop website is known for promoting and selling products and treatments that have no scientific basis and have been criticized by the medical community as harmful or misleading.[4][5][6]

References[edit]

  1. Here's to good health (but no toast) Here's to good health (but no toast)] by Bee Shapiro (December 17, 2013) International Herald Tribune.
  2. Eleven Eleven Wellness Center
  3. 3.0 3.1 Dr. Frank Lipman. Goop.
  4. Gwyneth Paltrow and Goop: Another triumph of celebrity pseudoscience and quackery
  5. Is Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop pseudoscience winning?
  6. 4 Goop Doctors: A Look at Their Pseudoscience
  7. 7.0 7.1 The sickening business of wellness
  8. How to Do a Cleanse: All the Details on Celebrity Guru Dr. Frank Lipman's Be Well Program
  9. I Tried This Celeb-Favorite Cleanse & It Changed My Approach To Detox Forever
  10. 10.0 10.1 Here’s to Good Health (but No Toast)
  11. Swine Flu: What To Do?
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 The Huffington Post is at it again. Science-Based Medicine.
  13. HuffPo still pushing antivax nonsense
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 7 Factors to Consider if You’re Told Your Cholesterol Is Too High. Joseph Mercola.
  15. Dispelling the Myths About Fat. Frank Lipman.
  16. Facts About Cholesterol. "Only saturated fats increase blood levels of cholesterol and heart-disease risk… Eating foods with a lot of saturated fat raises your risk for heart disease; this causes the amount of bad LDLs in your blood to increase while good HDLs decrease."
  17. Saturated fat. "There are different types of fat in the food we eat, and saturated fats are the type that raise blood cholesterol.
  18. The truth about fats: the good, the bad, and the in-between. "A diet rich in saturated fats can drive up total cholesterol, and tip the balance toward more harmful LDL cholesterol, which prompts blockages to form in arteries in the heart and elsewhere in the body."
  19. The Skinny on Fats. "Your body naturally produces all the LDL cholesterol you need. Eating foods containing saturated and trans fats causes your body to produce even more LDL, raising the level of “bad” cholesterol in your blood."
  20. Diane Hatz, "NO NO NO to Impossible Burgers!" drfranklipman.com. July 12, 2019. Accessed July 15, 2019.