Tag Archives: neem oil

Pesticide Found in David Avocado Wolfe Tooth Treatment

Posted on by
2
David Wolfe neem oil pesticide header image

In this artist’s depiction, a Moms Across America stormtrooper charges across a field of GMO “Bt” corn armed with a bottle of David Wolfe’s neem oil pesticide/tooth treatment.  Moms Across America members are prone  to running through corn fields in unnecessary protective gear.  Scientists are still trying to understand the phenomenon.

David Avocado Wolfe has never met a pesticide he likes, even going so far as to trump up a charge against a plant derived chemical for allegedly causing premature death of fruit flies.1,2,3 Oh, the humanity!

For a man who has essentially proclaimed “no pesticide shall pass these lips!” it seems rather odd that Wolfe is selling a tooth polish made with a pesticide:4

longevity warehouse neem oil--a pesticide

A 15ml bottle of Neem Enamelier from David Avocado Wolfe’s store. (click/enlarge). Neem oil is an organic pesticide.

Ah, yes, neem oil!  Made from a tree common to India, neem is praised for its alleged ability to keep your teeth, gums, and mouth healthy.  Oh, and its proven ability to kill insects.  Perhaps David Wolfe needs to visit his local gardening store more often:5,6

Pesticide (Neem Oil) sold by Lowes.

Neem Oil, a broad spectrum pesticide/fungicide/miticide sold on Amazon. Click to enlarge.

Pesticide (Neem Oil) sold by Lowes.

Neem Oil pesticide sold by Lowes. Click to enlarge.

In addition to not knowing what’s in his own products, David Wolfe doesn’t seem aware that organic farming uses pesticides, if you believe the false words that spill forth from his keyboard like Noah’s Flood.7  Or, maybe he just doesn’t care.  Here at Bad Science Debunked, we’ve lost count of the products sold by Wolfe’s Longevity Warehouse that contain the same chemicals he falsely claims will kill you.

Now, it is possible to process neem oil to remove azadirachtinone, one of the more irritating chemicals,8 but processing an all-natural product would go against everything Wolfe believes in and, in fact, I contacted the manufacturer of his tooth enamelizer and they confirmed that indeed, it comes to you, the end user, straight from the tree, untouched and unprocessed in any way.

According to the National Pesticide Information Center (a cooperative agreement between Oregon State University and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), neem oil can be slightly irritating to skin and eyes, but its component azadirachtin, which I mentioned previously, can be very irritating to the skin and stomach.8  And you’ll find it in every bottle of Wolfe’s enamelizer.

Over the lips and through the gums David Avocado!

“There’s a sucker born every minute” — attributed to P.T. Barnum

#DontCryWolfe

 

References
(1)  These 4 Fruits Have the Most Toxic Pesticides. Avoid Them!  (David Wolfe)
https://www.davidwolfe.com/4-fruits-pesticides-avoid/
Warning: Not a scholarly or scientific article.  Contains false and/or misleading information.
Retrieved 11 Feb 2018

(2) Wash Pesticides Off Your Produce
https://www.davidwolfe.com/wash-pesticides-off-your-produce/
Warning: Not a scholarly or scientific article.  Contains false and/or misleading information.
Retrieved 04 Mar 2018

(3) This Popular Artificial Sweetener Is Actually A Powerful Insecticide

Uric Acid Crystals: Finding A Solution


Warning: Not a scholarly or scientific article.  Contains false and/or misleading information.
Retrieved 18 Mar 2018

(4) Longevity Warehouse Neem Oil Enamelizer 15ml
Warning: Not a healthcare product.  See FDA disclaimer on package.
https://www.longevitywarehouse.com/longevity-warehouse-neem-enamelizer-15-ml
Retrieved 09 Feb 2018

(5) Southern Ag Triple Action Neem Oil (Amazon.com)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004QJ33AA/
Retrieved 10 Feb 2018

(6) Lowes Garden-Safe Neem Oil Extract 16 fl oz
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Garden-Safe-Neem-Oil-Extract-16-fl-oz-Organic-Garden-Insect-Killer/1000344111
Retrieved 10 Feb 2018

(7) Warning: Why You Should Never Buy Produce Labeled with the #8 Sticker
https://www.davidwolfe.com/what-the-numbers-on-your-produce-tell-you/
Warning: Not a scholarly or scientific article.  Contains false and/or misleading information.
Retrieved 18 Mar 2018

(8) Neem Oil General Fact Sheet (National Pesticide Information Center [NPIC])
(NPIC is a cooperative agreement between Oregon State University and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/neemgen.html
Retrieved 11 Feb 2018

 

Image Credits
The lead image of an irate “Occupy Monsanto” member running trough a cornfield was used under provisions of Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, commonly known as “fair use law”. This material is distributed without profit with the intent to provide commentary, review, education, parody, and increase public health knowledge.

Similarly, the image captures of David Wolfe/Longevity Warehouse’s Neem Oil product, and Lowe’s Neem Oils Pesticide, are used under provisions of Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, commonly known as “fair use law”. This material is distributed without profit with the intent to provide commentary, review, education, parody, and increase public health knowledge.

Dr. Mercola Brand Facial Cleanser Contains Pesticide

Posted on by
15

mercola

Dr. Joe Mercola is infamous for his zero tolerance policy on “harmful” chemicals (read: those not sold via his online store).  He’s pontificated about clearing an entire building due to a mercury spill smaller than the size of a tooth filling, so I find it ironic that after writing nearly three dozen articles on pesticide dangers, he’s selling a personal care product that contains…. wait for it… a pesticide.

Surprised?  You shouldn’t be.  Grab your credit cards and breathing gear.  It’s time for a shopping trip to Mercola.com.

Why look!  Here’s a nice bottle of organic facial cleanser:1

mercola facial cleanser

Let’s let doctor Mercola himself describe some of the key ingredients in this product:

dr mercola organic facial cleanser

Partial ingredients list for Mercola’s facial cleanser, according to Mercola.com. (click/enlarge)

 

Neem oil is really interesting.  Mr. Mercola, if you’d be so kind as to elucidate:1

“Neem oil is the unique ingredient which makes Daily Facial Cleanser clearly stand out.”–Mercola.com

Neem oil stands out, indeed:  It’s a pesticide used in organic farming!  You can pop over to your local lawn and garden shop and pick up a bottle during halftime of next weekend’s football game and be home in time to kill off a large population of the creepy crawlies in your back yard:

Neem oil, found Mercola's facial cleanser, is an organic pesticide (insect killer). (click/enlarge)

Neem oil, featured in Mercola’s facial cleanser, is an organic pesticide (insect killer). (click/enlarge)

If Mercola was here to defend himself, no doubt he’d say this is an all-natural, organic pesticide, and that it’s been used for centuries in folk medicine, with no ill effect. Except there have been ill effects:

“Twelve children were admitted with convulsions and altered sensorium following ingestion of locally obtained neem oil.  Ten died within 24 hours.”–Indian Journal of Pediatrics 2

and…

“This report highlights the toxicity associated with neem oil poisoning in an elderly male. […]  In the emergency department, the patient developed generalized convulsions with loss of consciousness. “–Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine 3

There are a lot more examples.  Don’t believe me?  Spend some time on PubMed.  True, neem oil can be refined to remove toxic components, but given Mercola’s aversion to refining natural compounds, that isn’t likely a recipe he’d find palatable.

But I’m not here to do Mercola’s research for him.   My goal is to simply point out that the fear mongering de facto king of snake oil salesmen rants, ad nauseam, about pesticide use and then, without blinking an eye, uses a known insecticide in one of his facial care products.  For the record, Mercola isn’t the only pesticide-hater hawking neem oil. His compatriot, the Food Babe, does so as well–in a children’s product!

This isn’t the first time we’ve caught Dr. Joe vending products that contain chemicals (or classes of chemicals) he says are dangerous.  Who can forget the dozen or more highly toxic chemicals in his Himalayan Pink Salt (lead or mercury for breakfast, anyone?), or the Joe-Banned sweetener in Mercola Brand protein bars?

When will the public catch on to the fact that these health care gurus are taking them on an costly, extravagant ride?  At first glance, the answer might seem to be “never”:  Mercola has over one million followers, and most seem to be so indoctrinated that no amount of evidence is ever going to sway them.

I have a more optimistic outlook, however.  There are billions of people who have never heard of Joseph Mercola.  Think of them as unvaccinated, and Mercola as a virus.  Now, what if skeptics such as you and I are a verbal vaccine?  If we can reach out to the uninfected–those who have never been shopping at Mercola.com–and warn them about what they’re going to find there, perhaps we can build up a measure of immunity and save them from this nonsense.

Food for thought.

Oh, anyone need any facial cleanser?

neem oil is a common organic pesticide

Neem oil has many uses, including the killing of annoying insects and, apparently, cleaning your face.   (click/enlarge)

Image Credits
Mercola.com screen snapshots and product image captures are used in strict compliance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 of United States copyright law (commonly known as “fair use law”). This material is distributed without profit with the intent to provide commentary, review, education, parody, and increase public health knowledge.

Commercial neem oil pesticide product image captures are used in strict compliance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 of United States copyright law (commonly known as “fair use law”). This material is distributed without profit with the intent to provide commentary, review, education, parody, and increase public health knowledge.

Mercola in the garden parody image by the author, used under parody provisions of Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 of United States copyright law.

References
(1) Organic Daily Facial Cleanser–Mercola.com
http://shop.mercola.com/product/organic-daily-facial-cleanser,1030,488,0.htm

(2) The Indian Journal of Pediatrics
May 1982, Volume 49, Issue 3, pp 357-359
N. Sundaravalli, B. Bhaskar Raju M.D., K. A. Krishnamoorthy M.D. (1)
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF02834422

(3) Neem oil poisoning: Case report of an adult with toxic encephalopathy
Indian J Crit Care Med. 2013 Sep-Oct; 17(5): 321–322.
Ajay Mishra and Nikhil Dave
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3841499/