Carlon Colker

Carlon M. Colker, M.D., FACN (born June 21, 1965) is an American physician and dietary supplement industry consultant. He runs a private practice and consulting clinic in Greenwich, Connecticut (Peak Wellness, Inc.), and served as chief medical officer and executive vice president for the dietary supplement company Atlas Therapeutics. He has also served as a researcher, product developer, and spokesman for other supplement companies including LifeVantage, ITV Ventures, Cytodyne Technologies, Muscletech Research and Development, Metabolife International, and Vital Basics. Colker appeared as a guest physician and trainer on the ABC reality TV program Shaq's Big Challenge.^[1]

In 2003, Colker sparked media controversy by attempting to defend the safety of ephedra-based supplement products, which he had previously been involved in researching on behalf of various manufacturing companies.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} In 2004 Colker’s research and radio commercials for V-Factor, a dietary supplement that was claimed to enhance male sexual performance, were the focus of a false advertising complaint from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission which resulted in the manufacturer, Vital Basics, Inc., paying out a $1-million settlement.^[7][8][9]

In 2008, Colker made news headlines after advising actor Jeremy Piven to prematurely withdraw from David Mamet's Broadway play Speed-the-Plow due to alleged concerns of mercury poisoning from consuming excessive amounts of sushi and Chinese herbal supplement products.^{[10][11][12][13]}

Early life

Colker was born to parents of Russian Jewish and Lithuanian descent. Both of them were artists. His father, Edward Colker, was a graduate of New York University, a noted lithographer, a maker of rare hand-bound books, and a Guggenheim Fellowship recipient.^[14] His mother, Elaine Galen, was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and herself a noted abstract painter. As a child, Colker grew up around the diversity of his parent’s art world while being exposed to their penchant for healthy living, organic foods, and vitamin supplements.

Education

Colker received a baccalaureate degree in June 1988 from Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York. He received his medical degree in May 1993 from Sackler School of Medicine. In June 1996 he completed his internship and residency training in internal medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan.

Professional

In 1996, Colker was employed first at Park Avenue Medical Nutrition and then later that year, by Affiliated Physicians, both located in New York City. In January 1996 he established Peak Wellness, Inc., a company with locations in Greenwich, Connecticut and Beverly Hills, California that provides integrative medical services including diet and nutrition guidance, physical therapy and injury rehabilitation, exercise testing and physical performance optimizing, as well as preventive medicine and anti-aging interventions. Colker is an affiliate of Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich, Connecticut.^[15] and Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan.^[16]

As of February 2011, Colker has served as chief medical officer and executive vice president of Atlas Therapeutics Corp. (OTCBB: ATTH; formerly Marvin's Place, Inc.).^[17] In 2008, it was announced that Colker would be serving on the advisory board^[18] of the supplement manufacturing company LifeVantage. In 2005, Colker was named as head of the scientific advisory board of the dietary supplement manufacturer Health Sciences Group, Inc. (OTCBB:HESG),^[19] and in 2006 the company announced that Colker would be assisting in the formulation of the supplement product Sequestrol.^[20] Colker was also a product developer and spokesperson for the dietary supplement Lipistat, marketed by ITV Ventures.^[21] He has also served as a spokesperson, adviser, product developer, and/or researcher for the supplement companies Cytodyne Technologies, Inc., Muscletech Research and Development, Metabolife International, Inc., and Vital Basics, Inc.

Dietary supplement controversies

Ephedra

Colker, a health freedom advocate, has generated controversy regarding his opinions and research on the safety of ephedra-based dietary supplements. Colker was the lead researcher responsible for studies and product development on behalf of supplement manufacturers such as Cytodyne Technologies, Inc.,^[2][22] Muscletech Research and Development,^[23] and Metabolife International, Inc., manufacturers of the ephedra-based weight loss pills Xenadrine RFA-1, Hydroxycut, and Metabolife 365, respectively.^[3][17]

Following the February 2003 heatstroke-related death of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler, in which ephedra was implicated as the cause,^[24] Colker and two other physicians, all speaking on behalf of the industry-affiliated Ephedra Education Council, disputed the role that ephedra played in Bechler’s death.^[4][5] Colker also defended the safety of ephedra, claiming that it "is not a health risk for most people".^[6]

In May 2003, a California Superior Court judge handed down a $12.5 million judgment in a class action suit against Cytodyne Technologies for falsely advertising Xenadrine RFA-1, the product implicated in the death of Bechler. Colker had been enlisted by Cytodyne to conduct a clinical study on the effectiveness of Xenadrine RFA-1, and upon the study’s completion, the company paid Colker approximately $5,000 to field calls from customers and make conference appearances.^[2] Referring to Colker's research, the judge noted that Colker lacked credibility^[2] and concluded that Cytodyne had "not just exaggerated the findings of the clinical trials it commissioned, but had also cajoled some researchers into fudging results", and that those involved in the research on Xenadrine RFA-1 had set out "to create a study that justified the money being spent by Cytodyne and that would ensure that they received further work from the company". In June 2009, journalists for the New York Times commenting on Cytodyne's research noted that the legal case raised "serious questions about the way makers of ephedra and other dietary supplements use -- and often misuse -- the promise of scientific proof to market their products".^[3] Colker was also named in other lawsuits for allegedly conspiring with another ephedra company to produce deceptive ephedra research data.^[25] In July 2003, Colker provided testimony to the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce regarding his research on the safety of ephedra-containing products.^[26]

V-Factor

Colker previously served as a researcher and radio spokesperson for “V-Factor” (a combination of yohimbine, L-arginine, and Gingko biloba), a dietary supplement marketed by Vital Basics, Inc. of Portland, Maine as a men’s sexual performance enhancer. In 2004, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission registered a complaint against Vital Basics and its owners^[7][8] alleging, in part, that the company’s advertising of V-Factor violated Federal law; specifically, that the company made unsubstantiated claims about V-Factor’s safety; falsely represented that a clinical study of V-Factor conducted by Colker proved that the product was safe and effective; and misrepresented paid commercial advertising featuring Colker (Vital Basics Health Show radio infomercials) as independent radio programs. The defendants settled the FTC’s complaint by paying $1 million for consumer redress and agreeing not to make unsubstantiated claims in the future.^[9][27]

Jeremy Piven and mercury poisoning

In December 2008, actor Jeremy Piven announced that he would be withdrawing from the lead role as Bobby Gould in David Mamet’s Broadway play Speed-the-Plow. Piven, who had previously sought an early release from the production, cited mercury poisoning from eating sushi and taking herbal supplements as the reason for his decision to leave the show prematurely.^[10] Colker, who said that Piven had come to him soon after the show had opened and complained of excessive fatigue and exhaustion, was responsible for making the diagnosis and providing Piven with medical advice that “he should end his run immediately.” According to a letter sent by Colker to the show’s producers, he stressed that “it’s important to underscore that” withdrawing from the play was not Piven’s decision and said “it was my decision.” Writers for the magazine Variety and Gawker expressed skepticism about the legitimacy of Piven’s excuse for withdrawing from the play,^[11][12][13] and Mamet wryly commented “my understanding is that he is leaving show business to pursue a career as a thermometer.”^[10][28]

Media

Carlon Colker with Shaquille O'Neal striking a bodybuilding pose.

Colker appeared as a guest physician and trainer on the ABC reality TV program Shaq's Big Challenge.^[1] In a 2013 Twitter post, Shaquille O'Neal stated that he was "Back w Carlon Colker, M.D. again", his "personal physician and trainer of nearly 20 yrs!" ^[29]

In 2008 Colker and model Christie Brinkley on behalf of Xbox 360 and Boys & Girls Clubs of America promoted the inaugural National Family Fitness Day.^[30]

Colker also appeared in the 2008 movie Bigger, Stronger, Faster.^[31]

Books

• Extreme Muscle Enhancement: Bodybuilding’s Most Powerful Techniques (1st edition). Prosource Publications, Inc.; Manasquan, N.J.,; January 9, 2005.
• The Greenwich Diet, Advanced Research Press, Ronkonkoma, New York; Publication: May 1, 2000.
• Sex Pills: From Androstenedione to Zinc, What Works and What Doesn’t, Advanced Research Press, Ronkonkoma, New York; Publication: March 1, 1999.

References