Live Blood Analysis (also known as “nutritional microscopy”) is a quack diagnostic technique which was described as ‘fraudulent’ by Professor Edzard Ernst as long ago as 2005 and which has already been covered many times on this blog.
When I first heard about Live Blood Analysis, I was so shocked by what I found that I was moved to act. Happily, the ASA had just extended their online remit to include company websites.
The following list details the outcomes of all the ASA complaints I know of concerning live blood analysis and its practitioners.
Adjudications
- Live Blood Test (Errol Denton). Adjudication against a leaflet here (13/10/10). Blogpost by complainant, Jo Brodie here.
- Fitalifestyle (t/a See My Cells) (Errol Denton). Adjudication against false claims for liquid chlorophyll here (01/06/11). Blogged here.
- My CityDeal Ltd (t/a GrouponUK). This was regarding a promotion for Errol Denton’s Live Blood Test. Adjudication here. Blogged here. I also reported further Groupon deals for other practitioners which also made misleading claims regarding live blood analysis. These were passed to the ASA’s compliance team. Groupon were later referred to the OFT due to broader, ongoing compliance problems.
- Optimum Health UK. Adjudication here. Blogged here. Optimum Health UK no longer advertise live blood analysis on their website.
- Fitalifestyle (t/a See My Cells) (Errol Denton). Adjudication against claims for “nutritional microscopy” here. Blogged here and here
- *NEW* The Natural Health Clinic (Stephen Ferguson) Adjudication here (16/01/13). Blogged here.
- *NEW* Live Blood Test t/a Errol Denton Adjudication here (27/02/13). Reported here.
- *NEW* Steps To Perfect Health (David Parker) Adjudication here (06/03/13). Blogged here.
- *NEW* Live Blood Test t/a Errol Denton Adjudication here (24/04/13).
Non-compliant online advertisers
The following advertisers continued to make problematic claims on their websites despite repeated requests for changes by the ASA’s compliance teams.
- Fitalifestyle Ltd (t/a See My Cells) (Errol Denton). Following the ruling mentioned above, Denton moved his ludicrous claims regarding liquid chlorophyll to a different page of the same website. The ASA statement relating to this is here. My blogpost is here.
- London Natural Therapies (Katrin Hempel). Following a credulous Evening Standard article on live blood analysis (which was blogged here), Jo Brodie complained to the ASA about the website of the featured practitioner. The ASA statement is here. Jo’s blogpost is here.
- *NEW* The Natural Health Clinic (Stephen Ferguson). Ferguson was added to the list on 15/02/13 for failure to comply with the ruling mentioned above (16/01/13). The ASA statement is here.
- *NEW* Live Blood Test t/a Errol Denton Denton was added to the list on 12/03/13 for continuing to feature problematic claims on his website livebloodtest.com after the adjudication dated 27/02/13. The ASA statement is here.
- *NEW* Steps To Perfect Health (David Parker) This advertiser was added to the list on 25/03/13 for failure to amend their website following the adjudication dated 06/03/13. The ASA statement is here.
Informally resolved
These advertisers all agreed to amend their advertising after I reported them to the ASA.
- Jackie Reader (t/a Solar Health). Resolved 06/05/11. Blogged here. The website is still online but the specific claims I had highlighted have gone.
- Inhealth UK (Brina Eidelson) Resolved 15/06/11. Mentioned on my blog here. The website is still online but the claims I’d highlighted have gone.
- Dipika Joshi (Good Medicine Clinic) Resolved 20/07/11. The website is no longer active.
- UK Blood Clinic Resolved 03/08/11. Blogged here. The website is no longer active.
- Ruth Daber Resolved 17/08/11. Website here.
- Steps To Perfect Health Resolved 25/05/11 (as mentioned here) after agreeing to remove problematic claims from this website.
- Steps To Perfect Health Despite assurances, the misleading claims were not removed. A second complaint was informally resolved on 07/09/11.
- *NEW* Marianne Greenwood t/a Alchemy Microscopy. Ms Greenwood assured the ASA that she has taken down the Alchemy Microscopy website. She was directed to CAP for advice regarding future advertising claims. Resolved 27/02/13.
Unresolved complaints
The unresolved complaints related to the following companies:
- Live Blood Test (Errol Denton) The website is here. My posts tagged “Errol Denton” are all here.
- The Natural Health Clinic (Stephen Ferguson) The website is here. My posts tagged “Stephen Ferguson” are here.
- Food for Life (Gareth Edwards) The website is here. Details of my complaint are here.
I will update this post as outcomes of further complaints come to light.
Further reading
A new era of scientific discovery? Edzard Ernst, The Guardian, 12/07/05
Live Blood Analysis: The Modern Auguries Mark Crislip, Science-Based Medicine, 13/02/09
Radio 4 You & Yours investigate unregulated ‘live’ blood tests Josephine Jones 17/03/12
The Pseudoscience of Live Blood Cell Analysis Thomas Patterson, Skeptical Inquirer, Nov-Dec 2012
Live Blood Analysis Wikipedia entry
All my posts tagged ‘Live Blood Analysis’ Josephine Jones
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Brina Eidelson’s site mentions that there’s an intention to set up an Association for Live Blood Microscopists http://www.inhealth.uk.com/choosing-a-live-blood-analyst.htm
I was also surprised to see this comment “It puts microscopy in a bad light as we’ve learned to our cost with a client complaining recently to a Radio 4 programme.” http://www.inhealth.uk.com/choosing-a-live-blood-training-course.htm
Jo
Yes, it would seem that Eidelson is trying to distance herself from from some of the other live blood quacks.
It is my feeling that all live blood analysts are peddling the same kind of quackery (they are, or were, making similar claims on their sites, based on similar pseudoscience). The difference is that some are willing to comply with the ASA whereas others are not.
I wonder if the Association will ever get off the ground. It could be an interesting development.
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http://www.livebloodtest.com/latest-news.html
I note that MR Denton is now saying he is not a medical doctor, well I don’;t think he has any other right to call himself a doctor, espedially not a Dr with regqrd to being a Live blood specialist (no doctorate for that as it is nonsense), or a natural helath doctor (as health is what real doctors deal with). As far as I can see his biography says he studied TCM, but not that he even finished a degree in it, let alone a doctorate of any sort. It looks like he is giving himself a title he has no right to, to deliberately imply medical knowledge. What a complete scumbag. For completeness Errol, if you read this you have no medical knowledge and sell over priced supplements off the back of a BS test that has absolutely no medical validity. You know this to be the case, but this is your way of getting the money and adulation you think that you deserve after spending too long listening to Tony Robbins, scamming people about their health is what scumbags do, your actions mark you out as a complete lowlife scam artist.
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Optimum Health UK *is* still advertising live blood analysis on its website, though not obviously linked from the front page. References are made on the page about wedding health & beauty (http://www.optimumhealthlondon.co.uk/wedding_health_beauty.html), price list (http://www.optimumhealthlondon.co.uk/prices.html) and the main page is http://www.optimumhealthlondon.co.uk/live_blood_microscopy.html
Thanks for letting me know. I’ve submitted a complaint to the ASA.