(mysterious music) - [Kiana] People get scammed
out of billions of dollars every year on bogus health products. - I've got the answer right
here, ladies and gentlemen, to everything that is you ails you. Now, step right up. - If I take this, will I lose weight? - [Kiana] These products
play in to our desires, insecurities and, sometimes, desperations. - This miracle pill can burn fat fast for anyone who wants to lose weight. - When you call a product a miracle and it's something you can buy, and it's something that
gives people false hope, I just don't understand
why you needed to go there. - [Kiana] Offering us the false hope of becoming effortlessly
more attractive, thinner, and healthier if only
we buy their products. In most instances, being
scammed out of a few bucks on a bogus diet or health product will only mildly impact your health. But what if the stakes were much higher? - [Woman] You know, I got the
"New York Times" best seller. That was a door opener. - Somebody swoops in
with the miracle solution to your health problems, there's a huge emotional
motivation to believe them. - I would like to see
somebody go get these people. - Today's video, as far as I know, has never been reported on. It's the result of going
down the rabbit hole and digging further into what sounded like just deceptive marketing and pseudoscience being sold as a miracle cure for weight loss. It will make you think twice about who is selling you what and why, and how easy it is for a bogus product to make it mainstream. And I'm not just tooting
my video's own horn when I say it gets more
disturbing and bizarre as it goes along. In April 2020, "Women's World"
magazine published an article offering to help you
burn fat like a kid again with the Martha's Vineyard Diet Detox, and something felt like a big red flag, even for "Women's World" standards. And if you watched my last video, you know that that is saying a lot. Maybe it was the overly confident
way the doctor of the day and detox inventor
herself, Dr. Roni DeLuz, continuously made statements like "By next week, you
can be down 10 pounds, your tiredness gone, health
problems disappearing." "People say, 'This is a miracle.' I say, 'No, it's just
really good nutrition.'" Maybe it was the title of Dr. Roni's book, "21 Pounds in 21 Days", a promise no one could possibly keep. But whatever it was I
decided to look into it and I never expected to find what I did. Likening what's being sold to a miracle and making guarantees
are two pretty good signs to stay far away from
whatever is being sold and whoever is selling it. But I still did not
expect to find what I did. And this was my first
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a couple bucks a month. Thanks for supporting the channel and thanks again to Surfshark VPN for sponsoring today's video. And back to the video. As it turns out, this
diet was extremely popular in the late 2000s, slash, early 2010s. - [Female host] It's
a vitamin rich regimen from the new book by Dr. Roni DeLuz. - [Announcer] "21 Pounds in 21 Days". - [Female host] "21 Pounds in 21 Days: The Martha's Vineyard Diet Detox". - [Kiana] The book was a
"New York Times" best seller and Dr. Roni was on everything
from "Oprah" to "Larry King" and "The View" hawking this diet. - To Dr. Roni DeLuz.
(audience applauding) Tell us about the diet. - First of all, it's a
detox, I wanna tell you. - Why do you feel we need to do it? - There's toxins everywhere. Toxins are everywhere. - [Kiana] Further Googling
revealed A-list celebrities, like Gisele Bundchen, Mariah
Carey and Angelina Jolie had a connection to it. Howard Stern's co-host, Robin Quivers, claims she lost over
90 pounds on this diet. - [Male Host] Now, the
country's hottest diet. - I've been on the program 10 days and I lost 20 pounds already. - [Kiana] And Steve Harvey was a fan. - This is the Martha's Vineyard's diet. In 15 days, 18 pounds. - Wow. - We're losing a pound a day? - A pound a day.
- Okay, I'm just being clear. - That's just one benefit. But you're gonna lose
21 pounds in 21 days. That's one benefit.
- Okay. - And you know, as a-
- that's a big benefit for a lot of people. - That's a huge benefit and
that's how we, you know, got the "New York Times" best seller. - Celebrity endorsement and the authority of major media coverage shapes our perception of
whatever is being sold and lends credibility to it. It kind of provides this false security that a product is
fact-checked, safe and legit. When in reality, that's simply not true. It's not a requirement at all. - Let's just get this
health thing on board right now because... You know what? Right here, put your name down. Join me. - [Kiana] Here's how it works. For 21 days, you'll consume
nothing but juiced vegetables and berries until dinner, where you'll enjoy a generous
two cup bowl of soup, broth only. - When your body's busy cleansing,
it takes the hunger away. - [Kiana] Chewing is also
forbidden on this detox to allow your digestive system to reset. - Now what's the benefits of not chewing? - Highly absorbable,
- Okay. - because you didn't have to chew. It's readily available
to your cellular level. - [Kiana] And the detox doesn't end with what you put in your mouth. - I love coffee enemas. - [Kiana] Yes, some readers were dismayed to find that biweekly colonics and enemas are a requirement of the
Martha's Vineyard diet. And if you really wanna
take your weight loss to the next level, Dr. Roni recommends a chi
machine, ear candling, body wraps, and a detoxifying foot bath. I'm steelmanning her argument when I say that Dr. Roni
claims that the weight loss you'll experience on her detox comes from some sort of interaction between your fat cells and
all the juice you're drinking. As attractive as we find this idea of detoxing and cleansing the body, it's pure pseudoscience when
applied to juice cleanses. - We had a promise 21 pounds in 21 days, that promise comes from
the right nutrients at the right time designed so
that the body can handle it so that the body can go through what? Rapid repair. - Everything she just said was nonsense. Rapid repair is not a thing. - Why do you think obesity is
such rampant in this country? There's no nutrition! And when you give your body nutrition it's like it says, "Okay, I
know you're not gonna starve me so now I'm not afraid to release the fat." - That is in no way true. - So your body's happy, and so the body is now going
to be releasing the fat because it's satisfied. - That's definitely not how that works. The body doesn't hold fat hostage
because it's in a bad mood and obesity isn't such
rampant in this country because there's no nutrition. But I do think it's safe to say that most people would indeed
lose weight on this detox. - [Reporter] Dr. DeLuz insist
it's not a starvation diet. - Because in addition to
all the colonics and enemas, it's pretty much a starvation diet. It's one of the lowest calorie
diets I've ever heard of. It adds up to, oh, a little
under 300 calories a day. Yet, unless I missed it, Dr. Roni doesn't mention once in her book that you're actually losing weight because your body is in a
massive calorie deficit. - Exercise more. Eat less. Well, we all know that don't work. - Not to mention her guarantee. - You're gonna lose 21 pounds in 21 days. - No one can guarantee anyone that the lose 21 pounds in 21 days. Let alone guarantee
everyone who buys that book that they'll lose 21 pounds in 21 days. And that is not even the only
promise made about this detox. Unlike when you diet, you won't feel hungry,
experience cravings, or later the yo-yo effect
of dropping 10 pounds and then gaining back 15. - It's almost like cosmetic
surgery and a drink. - [Kiana] Dr. Roni's book also states that by days three to seven you'll experience an emotional release, days 11 to 14, you'll enjoy exercise now, and by day 21, you'll
literally see the world through new eyes. Your aches and pains will be gone. You will be able to
read books more quickly and have a keen interest
in developing new skills. I mean, I'm not a lawyer,
but I'm pretty sure you can't just make the wildly exaggerated and highly specific claims in order to get people to buy your book. Like say, "Oh, you are going
to lose 21 pounds in 21 days." - [Kiana] This has been
true as far back as 1917, when it was discovered that the first ever snake oil salesman wasn't even selling real snake oil and was fined and exposed as a fraud. Or as recently as 2010, when Activia yogurt was ordered
to pay 45 million in damages for asserting that it was
clinically and scientifically proven to regulate digestion. After reviewing the scientific evidence, a court ruled that they
were duping consumers by making claims they
simply hadn't proven. So at this point, the next question is who is Roni DeLuz. - I'm Dr. Roni and I'm here today to give you a lot of value. - [Kiana] A quick look at Roni's website shows that her book isn't
the only thing she's selling. A subscription to her website. 24.95. A detox kit made up of
cheap discontinued products from other brands, $213. A bizarre song on iTunes. - [Roni] And he said, "I
can't do this anymore." I said, "You can't do that life anymore?" (cash register rings) A health coach appointment, 1.95. - You can not do the program unless you have the
microcirculation device. (cash register rings) - [Kiana] An obesity
essential oils kit, $146. - But what I really want
you to do is join me right here on Martha's Vineyard. - [Kiana] And Roni's infamous
retreat at Martha's Vineyard, which will run you almost $15,000 if you decide to stay the
entire 21 days of your detox. Typing in the Martha's
Vineyard Retreat to Google reveals something bizarre, a news story. - They told me that I only
had a few months to live, but Mariah Carey definitely saved my life. - [Reporter] Mariah immediately
wired more than $25,000 so Deborah could undergo a 30-day detox at a holistic retreat. Deborah claims the nutritional treatment and acupuncture restored her health. - Naturopathic doctor Roni DeLuz suggested that Deborah
seek a holistic treatment at her Martha's Vineyard,
Massachusetts clinic. DeLuz said she was certain she could help and offered to take on the case at the deep discount of $25,000. And that was the moment that I realized that cancer and chronic illness actually came up an awful lot. - Now that you know that I
specialize in detoxification and chronic illness or
21 health conditions. Because we use this program
also for chronic illness. It's the minimum of what we do for some of our chronic
illness clients and patients that come to the retreat
on Martha's Vineyard. And he got that diagnosis, stage four. - [Kiana] Dr. Roni's website seemed to specifically
target cancer patients and the attitude of promising miracles and making guarantees no one
could possibly keep continued. - No matter what it is that
you wanna get healthy from, I'm going to do that for you. It could be anything. You wanna lose some weight, fine. You wanted to have a
chronic illness like cancer, post arthritis, autoimmune, whatever. - I don't know about you guys, but the idea of someone who
deceptively markets a book, promises people miracles, sells
kits, essential oils kits, for cancer, HIV and obesity, and frankly comes off
as highly incompetent. - A lot of your drinks are
designed through nanotechnology, which means the ability
to absorb very fast. - I don't know what nanotechnology is, but I know it's not relevant
to juicing vegetables. The idea of this person
treating vulnerable individuals just doesn't sit right with me. Exploiting people's desire to lose weight as fast as possible through
a risky starvation diet and pseudoscience to sell your book is obviously a serious issue. But it almost seems inconsequential when compared with the high stakes game of peddling hope to people
with chronic illness, peddling hope to people
who maybe have none at all and who are willing to give
every last thing that they have to save their lives or the
lives of someone that they love. - Quackery. The word comes from the
old Dutch, kwakzalver, one who quacks like a duck
about their salves and remedies. - [Kiana] Unproven, ineffective, and sometimes dangerous treatments have been peddled
throughout human history. The term quack originates
in the 17th century where fraudulent or ignorant
pretenders to medical skill would sell tonics, potions and elixirs that promise to cure everything
from the bubonic plague to syphilis and smallpox. - Friend, this has a secret ingredient which will absolutely
relieve every single symptom. - Investigators say he
misdiagnosed patients and administered unnecessary,
and often painful, and dangerous treatments. - [Announcer] Preying on the
desperate and vulnerable, including women with breast cancer and the parents of autistic children. - She recommended that we
take the most potent dosage that was available for $5,000. - [Kiana] Today, the FDA
would consider this practice health fraud, the promotion
for profit of a medical remedy known to be false or unproven. - Jesus is still the healing the business. - [Kiana] But motto quacks aren't all fraudsters and charlatans deliberately exploiting their victims. Many are true believers and
see themselves as healers and their methods as viable. Nevertheless, good
intentions are not enough. And in the case of chronic
illness and cancer treatments, good intentions can be downright deadly. Alternative treatments can
delay patients from receiving evidence-based, potentially
life-saving, standard care. One of the most popular
alternative treatments is Gerson Therapy, and Garrison therapy looks a
lot like Dr. Roni's detox diet. Founded by a doctor named
Max Gerson in the 40s, patients on Gerson Therapy
follow a diet of raw juices, supplement enzymes, and
perform coffee enemas up to several times a
day to detoxify the body as a means of curing their cancer. Several groups have
investigated Gerson Therapy over the years, but found no evidence that it was useful in treating cancer. The Gerson Institute was
also asked to provide clinical trials documenting their success, but in their 80 plus years of
operation have yet to do so. They're therefore not allowed to operate in the United States choosing
to set up clinics in Mexico and Hungary instead. In addition to being ineffective, there's also documentation
of premature death linked with the therapy, believed to be connected to
the excessive coffee enemas. - Quacks and their nostrums can kill. - I'm a big believer in the
power of diet and lifestyle to help us live longer,
happier, healthier lives, but eating and prevention is really not the same as treatment. So at this point, we
have to ask ourselves, are we dealing with a
well-intentioned healer or a scam artist who views the
chronically ill as a payday? And honestly, after
reviewing all the information and trying to keep an open mind, I'm not sure where I stand on Dr. Roni and her place in this whole thing. The story suddenly makes much more sense as we introduce the co-author of the book. - If I could make a record
and I can make people famous, I think I could do a book. - James Hester. Before becoming a "New York
Times" bestselling author, James Hester was working
as a successful publicist. His Facebook page reveals him schmoozing with the likes
of Oprah, Naomi Campbell, Michael Jackson, and even bill Clinton, and, oh yeah, Mariah Carey. Turns out James Hester
is close personal friends with her backup singer, as well as literally every
other semi-famous person that is connected with Roni's book. - I was a regular nurse
minding my own business, decided to do a book because James has to
say, "Let's do a book." - [Kiana] As the story goes, James met Roni at her retreat in 2003, moved in, lost weight,
and was so impressed that they decided to partner up on a book. - I left an illustrious
life in New York city to work with this woman that
was a nurse in a nursing home my mind's venue with no platform. - [Kiana] But court documents
between 2002 and 2004, tell a slightly different story and provide some insight into
James Hester's character. It turns out a freshly
unemployed James met Roni during a legal battle with
his previous employer, billionaire heiress and
songwriter, Denise Rich. After being fired by Denise
for his poor performance, James sued her for $30 million in damages claiming he was discriminated
against and fired for his sexual orientation as an openly gay HIV positive man. But the court saw it differently. His co-workers and previous
assistants testified against him with stories of
unpredictable fits of anger, rude, abusive, cruel, inappropriate, and unprofessional
behavior in the workplace, refusal to join an
anger management program and even a complaint of sexual harassment. His case was dismissed. And it's safe to say
that when James met Roni, he was looking for a new opportunity. - 13 Weeks on the "New York
Times" bestseller list, 300,000 books later.
(hosts applauding) - And suddenly the book's immense success, celebrity endorsement and media coverage makes so much more sense. Like I mentioned earlier, we're biased toward assuming
that celebrity involvement and being on the news means some sort of
credibility or factfulness. But in this case, it was
clearly more about who you know, in this case, a billionaire heiress. With a "New York Times" bestselling book, frequent celebrity endorsements,
and a $25,000 retreat, James and Roni are cashing
in on their partnership. So the question remains
how much of this is real and how much of it is savvy marketing? And did James find a golden
goose or did he make one? Roni's website notes that she received a
doctorate in natural health from Clayton School of Natural Healing, comma, American Holistic
College of Nutrition. It's never a good sign when you can't choose what
school you got your PhD from and it's possibly a worst sign when Googling Clayton School
of Natural Health reveals this. "The Biggest Quack School
in Natural Medicine Closes." An unaccredited internet
correspondent school that has faced criticism
over its academic standards is preparing to cease operations. The Clayton School, for years, has been a classic diploma mill operation, offering doctorates and other degrees to students of natural healthcare without providing clinical training or educational standards of any kind. Other news articles
reveal alumni being sued for bogus cancer treatments
that resulted in financial ruin and in several cases, death. That's right. If this is true, Dr.
Roni is no doctor at all. - I was a regular nurse. - Work with this woman that
was a nurse in a nursing home. - And rumor has it, Clayton's doctorate course
was only 100 hours long. For reference, to become a
real doctor or an oncologist takes upwards of 10 years of study. And knowing this Roni's awful grammar and peculiar understanding of the body seems a lot less comical
and a lot more terrifying. - I also want everyone
to understand one thing that detoxing at home has, it
has been done over the years for many, many, many years. Now I'm not afraid to release the fat. And the other thing is is
that we're very sedative set. You know, we don't exercise. When you extract the
vital, vital nutrients and the vitamins and minerals... Dip the strip into the urine. Your fat cells is your trashcan. When you take an enzyme, you can assure during the detox that your body went on vacation. Readily available to your cellular level. The point is is that we
believe in nanotechnology a lot of... - The doctorate was fake,
the detox is bullshit, the success was manufactured
and the retreat, ooh, the retreat, the retreat might be the
most disturbing of all. "This place is a complete
scam. Save your money." "This is a scam. Dr. Roni is a con artist and a sociopath." "This program touts a
vegetable juice detox. She provides three powdered
shot sized drinks per day, available at any Whole Foods and one veggie juice that's prepared hours before you are to consume it." "Mold, mold, mold." "The amenities, a scabby
basement with a hot tub in it that you can request to be
turned on a day in advance of when you want to use
it, a dusty chi machine or vague memories of an
outdated exercise bike." "Half of the services she promises are at a hotel six blocks from her house." "My room smelled like urine
and all the bedding was dirty." Apart from a handful of awful reviews, the only other clue as
to what really goes on at Martha's Vineyard is
a disturbing news report at the address of the retreat. While responding to a fire in the basement of 209 Franklin street, firefighters discovered
unsafe living conditions and debris piled three to four feet high resulting in the house being condemned by the town Board of Health. Shocking photos and eyewitness accounts state that the house had
been illegally subdivided into multiple windowless living spaces, including three outdoor sheds that appeared to be used
for year round housing. One tenant estimated that 18 people were living on the property,
neighbors estimated 11. Obviously, there's no way to
know what's actually going on at that retreat. But given everything,
I think it's reasonable to wonder if Roni is housing
terminally ill individuals in windowless living spaces
and sheds in her backyard. And again, I have no way
of knowing or confirming what is really going on there, but that photo of the "Mega
Cures" book sitting on the chair of that room is deeply unsettling. And very least we know that this retreat is not
what it promised it would be like everything else. Deceitful and overhyped
weight loss results were clearly just the beginning for Roni DeLuz and James Hester. Roni went on podcast after podcast choosing to discuss
chronic illness more often than weight loss. The Mariah Carey cancer story was orchestrated by James Hester. He was even in a bunch of the videos. Why bothered to get publicity for treating an illness like cancer unless you're hoping to
recruit cancer patients? Roni's new book is all about
healing 21 health conditions and she recently opened Healed Care Home where you can recuperate
from a health crisis or live permanently for the generous price of $8,000 a month. And disturbingly Roni has
recently taken a position. - [Announcer] Phoenix Life Sciences chief medical officer, Dr. Roni DeLuz. - [Kiana] Controversial
and incredibly sketchy pharmaceutical company. How sketchy? Well, their former CEO was charged with 32 counts of securities
fraud in the state of Colorado and arrested in 2019. And it's unclear exactly what
Phoenix Life Sciences does, but according to news
articles they've signed a deal with the historically
corrupt government of Vanuatu to test their products on patients as part of a clinical trial. - [Announcer] But they
don't have medical approval to do so in any other country. - [Kiana] Leading local
health professionals to express concern due to
a lack of ethical oversight on the trials and to the
experimental nature of the drug, putting patients at risk. - [Interviewer] What
gives you the confidence to put your name behind something like
Phoenix Life Sciences? - [Roni] Only for one reason and that is, the demand is there. You know, the CBD industry is reaching over a billion in sales. - There are still a lot of
loose ends in this story. What the hell is going on in Vanuatu? And what kind of company
hires a chief medical officer who doesn't have a real degree? That was a really easy
find on Google, too. So it really makes you wonder
what kind of company this is and what the heck is going on there. Also from my understanding, Gerson therapy is not allowed
to run its clinics in the USA, so why is Roni allowed to run hers? If someone believes Roni's
promise of 21 pounds in 21 days and gets scammed of 25
bucks on a lame book or 250 bucks on a detox kit, well, that sucks but they'll
probably get over it. And I think that's why
there's no real urgency to stop "Woman's World"
from doing what they do because it's seen as trivial. But when you apply those same
tactics to chronic illness, it really highlights the predatory nature of selling lies to people,
whatever they may be. So long story short,
always question authority, and don't do sketchy diets because they may be the gateway
to other forms of scams. So yeah. Hope you guys enjoyed it and I
will see you in the next one. (upbeat music)
