The dangerous world of alternative therapies never loses its allure for those who want a miracle cure. Now, a toxic product called Miracle Mineral Solution, first introduced in the late ’90s, is picking up steam thanks to a new ingredient: The notoriously irresponsible conservative pundit Alan Keyes, who now seems to be promoting it.
The product contains sodium chlorite, a bleach solution used in disinfectants. The former diplomat, who worked in the Reagan administration, has been seen with it on his desk in MMS broadcasts, according to the Daily Beast. And Keyes has talked about the product on IAMtv, an online conservative channel he hosts. In one segment this past summer, “Is Our Health Care System Holding Back?” he had on a woman who advocates for the bleach cure after giving it to her child with autism.
Read MoreFDA Warns Against Its Use
The FDA first warned consumers about products with sodium chlorite in 2010, but notes they’re “still being promoted on social media and sold online by many independent distributors. "Ingesting these products is the same as drinking bleach," acting FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless said in the latest warning, released in April. "Consumers should not use these products, and parents should not give these products to their children for any reason."In addition to Miracle Mystery Solution, the FDA says they’re known by names including Master Mineral Solution, Miracle Mineral Supplement, MMS, Chlorine Dioxide (CD) Protocol, and Water Purification Solution (WPS). When mixed according to package directions, they become a strong chemical that is used as bleach.
Origins of Toxic Bleach ‘Cure’
The term “Miracle Mineral Solution” is credited to Jim Humble, according to the Daily Beast, a former Scientologist.
Humble’s website details the origins of the solution. “In 1996, while on a gold mining expedition in South America, I discovered that chlorine dioxide quickly eradicates malaria,” reads his website. He goes on to list other diseases he claims the mixture can cure. “I know it sounds too good to be true,” the site reads, “but according to feedback I have received over the last 20 years, I think it's safe to say MMS has the potential to overcome most diseases known to mankind.”
Humble also founded the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, which holds MMS as a central sacrament. In 2016, journalists from ABC7 went undercover at a church meeting, where they found Archbishop Mark Grenon preaching about the substance. They also captured him on tape saying “Everybody start a church and do it from there. You can sell them anything! Tell them Jesus heals you while you drink this.”
Why People Turn to Alternative Therapies
A Yale study, published in JAMA Oncology in July, which collected information from 1.9 billion people in the National Cancer Database, found that people who decided to go the alternative therapy route were more likely to die.
Still, almost 40% of Americans believe that these unproven treatment methods can cure cancer.
When asked why people would choose one of these methods, the Yale study author Dr. James Yu told SurvivorNet that "this is kind of like the anti-vaccine crowd in a way. My guess is that when faced with a tough decision like a cancer diagnosis or cancer treatment, these are patients who are wondering if there's another way."
Interestingly, a survey from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) study found that younger people are more likely to believe in alternative therapies. Almost half (47%) of Americans aged 18 to 37 believe these methods could cure cancer, compared to 21% of people aged 72 or older.
Doctors Aren’t Holding Back on Treatments
Dr. Jason Westin, leader of the diffuse large B-cell lymphoma research team at MD Anderson Cancer Center in the Department of Lymphoma and Myeloma, told SurvivorNet that "many patients wonder, 'Are [doctors] hiding a treatment that might be good for us?'” The answer. he says, is, "Absolutely not."
Dr. Jason Westin, Oncologist and Lymphoma Researcher at MD Anderson Cancer Center on the dangers of alternative therapies
Dr. Westin explained that if there were to be something out there that worked better than the proven treatment options that doctors usually usesuch as chemotherapy or targeted therapiesresearchers would be studying it in clinical trials.
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