Robert Young (naturopath)

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For other persons named Robert Young, see Robert Young (disambiguation).

Robert O. Young is an author of books relating to alternative medicine and the alkaline diet.

1 Education and professional affiliations
2 Alkaline diet
3 Critics
4 Footnotes
5 External links

[edit] Education and professional affiliations

Young studied biology and business at the University of Utah in the early 1970s.^[1]^[2] In the 1990s, he earned an M.S. in nutrition, a D.Sc. in science, a Ph.D in nutrition, and an N.D. (naturopathic doctor) from the Clayton College of Natural Health,^[1]^[2]^[3] a correspondence school in Birmingham, Alabama which is not accredited by a recognized accreditation agency.^[4]^[5]

Young's website claims that he is a member of the American Society of Microbiologists and the American Naturopathic Association^[1], although his name does not appear in either directory.^[6]^[7]

[edit] Alkaline diet

Dr Young is the primary proponent of the alkaline diet approach to health. An alkaline diet, also called an acid-alkaline diet, is a diet which is approximately 80% alkaline producing and 20% acid producing. The theory behind this diet is that the pH produced by our diet should reflect the pH level of our bloodstream, which is approximately 7.36, and that if it does not, the pH of our bloodstream may be disrupted. This diet was first recommended in the psychic readings of Edgar Cayce.

This approach is based upon the premise that all foods and drinks that are consumed are burned down to an ash residue when metabolized. The outcome of this is either an alkaline or acidifying effect on the body, particularly the blood. He attempts to classify common foods and drinks as either acid or alkaline with vegetables, certain fruits, nuts, grains and seeds being classed as alkaline and processed foods, sugar, meat, dairy, caffeine, alcohol, refined foods and saturated fats being the most common acid-forming foods.

He claims that health depends primarily on proper balance between an alkaline and acid environment - as when our bodies become too acidic, our bodies will take whatever action necessary to regulate the acid-alkaline balance of the blood. According to Young, in this environment our bodies will begin to break down and show signs of disease including cancer, obesity, osteoperosis, yeast overgrowth, flu, skin disorders etc. ^[8] A common example used by Dr. Young is the suggestion that the body uses its stores of the alkaline mineral calcium in order to neutralize excess acidity - which in turn can lead to lower bone density or osteoporosis.

He also offers a microscopy course^[9] in which he promotes work done by Antoine Béchamp on bacterial pleomorphism and trains individuals to be able to understand live blood analysis.

He has authored five books on this subject that have been published worldwide by Time Warner.

[edit] Critics

Although he claims that health is dependant upon these principles, his research has been categorized as quackery by some sources^[10]^[2] (mainly because of his questionable medical titles and the lack of publications in a recognized scientific journal).^[11]^[12]^[1] Scientific journals are a crucial part of the scientific literature, they validate scientific results and rely deeply on peer-review; this is an important component of establishing effective techniques. Books published by university presses are usually considered more prestigious than those published by commercial presses. The relatively weak peer review often applied to books and chapters in edited books means that Young books status is doubtful.^[13]

Medical science states that metabolic acidity in blood pH is only attributed to kidney failure, diabetes ketoacidosis and shock; alternatively, it could also be associated to ingestion of toxic substances such as antifreeze or aspirin overdoses.^[14] Just as with other biological homeostasis, like body temperature (Thermoregulation) and electrolyte balance, the human body corrects for either respiratory or metabolic acidosis to maintain normal pH.^[15]^[16]^[17] The acid/base status of the body (pH) is continuously regulated by the kidneys and the lungs;^[18] a healthy human-arterial blood pH varies between 7.35 and 7.45.^[19] The alkaline diet has similarities with the Dr. Hay diet which is also based on avoiding presumably acid food. The vast majority of the medical community view this diet as pseudoscience.^{[citation needed]}

With regards to his microscopy course, a declaration made by the United States Department of Health and Human Services in July 2001, "all laboratories that offer Live Blood Cell Analysis were unable to meet requirements pertaining to the establishment and verification of test methods."^[20] Contrary to what modern medical science supports, pleomorphists believe that germs come from inside the body and that can exist in extreme morphological variable shapes, e.g. as a virus, fungus and bacteria.^[21]

Young also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of attempted practice of medicine without a medical license and was promised that the charge would be dismissed if he stayed out of trouble for 18 months. Young claimed that he had looked at blood samples from two women and simply gave them nutritional advice.^[22]^[2]