Joel Robbins is a (licensed) chiropractor and “naturopathic physician” who operates the Health & Wellness Clinic of Tulsa, Oklahoma (currently Robbins Natural Health, it seems). Robbins has a degree from the British West Indies Medical College, a diploma mill, and a bogus naturopathic “degree” from a diploma mill called the Anglo-American Institute of Drugless Therapy, credentials that are worth paying attention to when assessing both the reliability of his practice and his general character. He nevertheless seems to enjoy a reputation as something resembling an authority in certain woo circles; Judy Seeger proudly mentions studies with him, for instance, and he made it onto this list. According to himself, “Dr. Robbins views traditional medicine as being useful for crisis care – saving a life –but it does little to address the cause of health problems,” a common and ridiculously false trope among altmed hucksters and crackpots that often reflects these people’s crackpot idea of some underlying, magical cause of all disease that scientists don’t recognize, most commonly: “Nutrient deficiencies and toxicity," which Dr. Robbins believes "are the basic contributors to disease.” This is, of course, nonsense.
Robbins is perhaps most famous for being one of the most ardent promoters of live blood cell analysis, which can hardly be described as anything but a scam: based on a picture of the patient’s blood cell, the practitioner will prescribe various treatments and dietary supplements (usually conveniently matching the practitioner’s own store). As a diagnostic procedure, live blood cell analysis has absolutely no scientific merit, and no foundation in evidence or facts. It has, however, been pushed by MLMs. Indeed, the multilevel marketing company Infinity, of Scottsdale, Arizona, which pushes the scam together with “enzyme pills” that can help with the enzyme deficiency their salespeople discover by using the tests (they falsely claim that that “enzyme deficiency” is widespread among American people), lists Robbins as a member of its Professional Advisory Council. Even grand woomeister Andrew Weil dismisses such tests as “completely bogus”.
In addition to bogus nutritional advice, Robbins’s clinic offers and recommends juicing, enzyme therapy and detox programs, as well as vitamin injections (a scam), IV therapy (another scam) to “promote removal of toxins, including heavy metals and chemical, [l]iver cleanse, [i]mmune System boost [and n]utrition replenishment”, and oxygen therapy (yep, a scam, that one too). And rest assured: Robbins’s brand of chiropractic is of the most deranged pseudoscience kind conceivable, based on the idea that “[c]hiropractic care is the art and science of assisting the body in returning to a state of health by increasing the communication between the brain and the body”; according to Robbins’s institute the brain’s “ability to communicate that message to the body for healing is sometimes hindered due to nerve and blood vessel impingement,” which Robbins can fix “by mechanical realignment of bones of the body as needed.” Needless to say, none of this is even coherent from a reality-based point of view.
And if you don’t know what’s wrong with you – or whether anything is – don’t worry: Robbins and his institute have a battery of tests in addition to live blood cell analysis, from “neurotransmitter testing” to “bio-meridian screening”. They will definitely find something, and luckily have a cure to sell you for whatever is found as well.
Diagnosis: He seems to have quietly scrubbed his website of references to his diploma mill diplomas, but the information remains as trustworthy as ever. Crackpot and bullshit promoter.
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