Russell Blaylock
Encyclopedia
Russell L. Blaylock is a retired neurosurgeon
and author. He is a former clinical assistant professor of neurosurgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center
and is currently a visiting professor in the biology department at Belhaven College
. He is the author of a number of books and papers, including Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills (1994), Health and Nutrition Secrets That Can Save Your Life (2002), and Natural Strategies for Cancer Patients (2003), and writes a monthly newsletter, the Blaylock Wellness Report.
Blaylock has endorsed views inconsistent with the scientific consensus, including that food additives such as aspartame
and monosodium glutamate
(MSG) are excitotoxic in normal doses and that the H1N1 influenza (swine flu) vaccine
carries more risk than swine flu itself.
in Charleston, SC. He was licensed to practice Neurological Surgery in North Carolina between May 6, 1977 and December 15, 2006. Along with Ludwig G. Kempe
, Blaylock published a novel transcallosal
approach to excising intraventricular
meningiomas of the trigone. He is retired as a clinical assistant professor of neurosurgery from the University of Mississippi Medical Center
, and is currently a visiting professor in the biology department at Belhaven University, a Christian university in Mississippi
. He is associated with the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
and was on the editorial board of their journal.
is toxic to the brain
. He also states that the widely used artificial sweetener aspartame
is toxic and may be the cause of multiple sclerosis
. He has additionally cautioned against heavy use of the artificial sweetener Splenda
(sucralose
). These positions are not supported by scientific consensus or regulatory bodies, as extensive studies support the safety of aspartame, sucralose, and MSG.
Blaylock has also urged avoidance of the swine flu (H1N1) vaccination, which he claims is more dangerous than the infection itself. In various alternative media outlets, Blaylock has given advice on what he feels an individual should do if faced with mandatory vaccination. Current research indicates that an effective vaccine is a vital tool in protecting the public and that the new H1N1 vaccine is both safe and effective. Advertisements selling the 'Blaylock Wellness Report' at newsmax.com contain claims of additional health dangers, including fluoridated drinking water, fluoridated toothpaste, vaccines
, dental amalgam
, cholesterol drugs, pesticides, and aluminum cookware.
's The Law, Friedrich Hayek
's The Road to Serfdom
and The Constitution of Liberty
, and works by Ludwig von Mises
, and Murray Rothbard
.
(CBN), including on the network's The 700 Club
, a talk show started by televangelist Pat Robertson
. Blaylock states that he has also been a guest on over fifty syndicated radio programs.
He has written for, and been on the editorial board of the journal of the politically conservative non-profit organization
Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
. This journal was entitled Medical Sentinel until 2003, when it became the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons (JPandS). He also authors The Blaylock Wellness Report for the conservative website NewsMax
.
Neurosurgery
Neurosurgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spine, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, and extra-cranial cerebrovascular system.-In the United States:In...
and author. He is a former clinical assistant professor of neurosurgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center
University of Mississippi Medical Center
University of Mississippi Medical Center is the health sciences campus of the University of Mississippi and is located in Jackson, Mississippi...
and is currently a visiting professor in the biology department at Belhaven College
Belhaven College
Belhaven University is a private Christian liberal arts university located in Jackson, Mississippi. Founded by Dr. Lewis Fitzhugh and later donated to the now defunct Presbyterian Church in the United States, the school has been independently run by a Board of Trustees since 1972...
. He is the author of a number of books and papers, including Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills (1994), Health and Nutrition Secrets That Can Save Your Life (2002), and Natural Strategies for Cancer Patients (2003), and writes a monthly newsletter, the Blaylock Wellness Report.
Blaylock has endorsed views inconsistent with the scientific consensus, including that food additives such as aspartame
Aspartame
Aspartame is an artificial, non-saccharide sweetener used as a sugar substitute in some foods and beverages. In the European Union, it is codified as E951. Aspartame is a methyl ester of the aspartic acid/phenylalanine dipeptide. It was first sold under the brand name NutraSweet; since 2009 it...
and monosodium glutamate
Monosodium glutamate
Monosodium glutamate, also known as sodium glutamate or MSG, is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, one of the most abundant naturally occurring non-essential amino acids....
(MSG) are excitotoxic in normal doses and that the H1N1 influenza (swine flu) vaccine
2009 flu pandemic vaccine
The 2009 flu pandemic vaccines are the set of influenza vaccines that have been developed to protect against the pandemic H1N1/09 virus. These vaccines either contain inactivated influenza virus, or weakened live virus that cannot cause influenza. The killed vaccine is injected, while the live...
carries more risk than swine flu itself.
Education and career
According to his website, Blaylock completed his general surgical internship and neurosurgical residency at the Medical University of South CarolinaMedical University of South Carolina
The Medical University of South Carolina opened in Charleston, South Carolina in 1824 as a small private college for the training of physicians. It is one of the oldest continually operating school of medicine in the United States and the oldest in the Deep South...
in Charleston, SC. He was licensed to practice Neurological Surgery in North Carolina between May 6, 1977 and December 15, 2006. Along with Ludwig G. Kempe
Ludwig G. Kempe
Ludwig G. Kempe was born October 16, 1915 in Prenzlau, Germany.He is an author of books in the field of neurosurgery and ornithology-References:...
, Blaylock published a novel transcallosal
Corpus callosum
The corpus callosum , also known as the colossal commissure, is a wide, flat bundle of neural fibers beneath the cortex in the eutherian brain at the longitudinal fissure. It connects the left and right cerebral hemispheres and facilitates interhemispheric communication...
approach to excising intraventricular
Ventricular system
The ventricular system is a set of structures containing cerebrospinal fluid in the brain. It is continuous with the central canal of the spinal cord.-Components:The system comprises four ventricles:* right and left lateral ventricles* third ventricle...
meningiomas of the trigone. He is retired as a clinical assistant professor of neurosurgery from the University of Mississippi Medical Center
University of Mississippi Medical Center
University of Mississippi Medical Center is the health sciences campus of the University of Mississippi and is located in Jackson, Mississippi...
, and is currently a visiting professor in the biology department at Belhaven University, a Christian university in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
. He is associated with the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons is a politically conservative American non-profit organization founded in 1943 to "fight socialized medicine and to fight the government takeover of medicine." The group was reported to have approximately 4,000 members in 2005, and 3,000 in...
and was on the editorial board of their journal.
Allegations of health dangers
Blaylock has been quoted several times in media outlets regarding his position that MSGMonosodium glutamate
Monosodium glutamate, also known as sodium glutamate or MSG, is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, one of the most abundant naturally occurring non-essential amino acids....
is toxic to the brain
Excitotoxicity
Excitotoxicity is the pathological process by which nerve cells are damaged and killed by excessive stimulation by neurotransmitters such as glutamate and similar substances. This occurs when receptors for the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate such as the NMDA receptor and AMPA receptor are...
. He also states that the widely used artificial sweetener aspartame
Aspartame
Aspartame is an artificial, non-saccharide sweetener used as a sugar substitute in some foods and beverages. In the European Union, it is codified as E951. Aspartame is a methyl ester of the aspartic acid/phenylalanine dipeptide. It was first sold under the brand name NutraSweet; since 2009 it...
is toxic and may be the cause of multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
. He has additionally cautioned against heavy use of the artificial sweetener Splenda
Splenda
Splenda is the commercial name and registered trade mark of a sucralose-based artificial sweetener derived from sugar, owned by the British company Tate & Lyle. Sucralose was discovered by Tate & Lyle and researchers at Queen Elizabeth College, University of London, in 1976...
(sucralose
Sucralose
Sucralose is an artificial sweetener. The majority of ingested sucralose is not broken down by the body and therefore it is non-caloric. In the European Union, it is also known under the E number E955. Sucralose is approximately 600 times as sweet as sucrose , twice as sweet as saccharin, and 3.3...
). These positions are not supported by scientific consensus or regulatory bodies, as extensive studies support the safety of aspartame, sucralose, and MSG.
Blaylock has also urged avoidance of the swine flu (H1N1) vaccination, which he claims is more dangerous than the infection itself. In various alternative media outlets, Blaylock has given advice on what he feels an individual should do if faced with mandatory vaccination. Current research indicates that an effective vaccine is a vital tool in protecting the public and that the new H1N1 vaccine is both safe and effective. Advertisements selling the 'Blaylock Wellness Report' at newsmax.com contain claims of additional health dangers, including fluoridated drinking water, fluoridated toothpaste, vaccines
Vaccine controversy
A vaccine controversy is a dispute over the morality, ethics, effectiveness, or safety of vaccinations. Medical and scientific evidence surrounding vaccinations generally demonstrate that the benefits of preventing suffering and death from infectious diseases outweigh rare adverse effects of...
, dental amalgam
Dental amalgam controversy
The dental amalgam controversy refers to the conflicting views over the use of amalgam as a filling material mainly because it contains the element mercury...
, cholesterol drugs, pesticides, and aluminum cookware.
Views on politics
Blaylock wrote that the Medical University of South Carolina (where he did his internship) was "deeply embroiled in a leftist-initiated war on Western Culture". He called the American medical system 'collectivist', and blamed this collectivism for the retirement of his friend Miguel Faria. Blaylock wrote that it was around this time that he began "exploring for the first time some of the classics of liberty", including Frédéric BastiatFrédéric Bastiat
Claude Frédéric Bastiat was a French classical liberal theorist, political economist, and member of the French assembly. He was notable for developing the important economic concept of opportunity cost.-Biography:...
's The Law, Friedrich Hayek
Friedrich Hayek
Friedrich August Hayek CH , born in Austria-Hungary as Friedrich August von Hayek, was an economist and philosopher best known for his defense of classical liberalism and free-market capitalism against socialist and collectivist thought...
's The Road to Serfdom
The Road to Serfdom
The Road to Serfdom is a book written by the Austrian-born economist and philosopher Friedrich von Hayek between 1940–1943, in which he "warned of the danger of tyranny that inevitably results from government control of economic decision-making through central planning," and in which he argues...
and The Constitution of Liberty
The Constitution of Liberty
The Constitution of Liberty is a book by Austrian economist and Nobel Prize recipient Friedrich A. Hayek. The book was first published in 1960 by the University of Chicago Press and it is an interpretation of civilization as being made possible by the fundamental principles of liberty, which the...
, and works by Ludwig von Mises
Ludwig von Mises
Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises was an Austrian economist, philosopher, and classical liberal who had a significant influence on the modern Libertarian movement and the "Austrian School" of economic thought.-Biography:-Early life:...
, and Murray Rothbard
Murray Rothbard
Murray Newton Rothbard was an American author and economist of the Austrian School who helped define capitalist libertarianism and popularized a form of free-market anarchism he termed "anarcho-capitalism." Rothbard wrote over twenty books and is considered a centrally important figure in the...
.
Television and radio
Blaylock has appeared on the Christian Broadcasting NetworkChristian Broadcasting Network
The Christian Broadcasting Network, or CBN, is a fundamentalist Christian television broadcasting network in the United States. Its headquarters and main studios are in Virginia Beach, Virginia.-Background:...
(CBN), including on the network's The 700 Club
The 700 Club
The 700 Club is the flagship news talk show of the Christian Broadcasting Network, airing in syndication throughout the United States and Canada. In production since 1966, it is currently hosted by Pat Robertson, Terry Meeuwsen, Kristi Watts, and Gordon P. Robertson, two of whom will host on any...
, a talk show started by televangelist Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
. Blaylock states that he has also been a guest on over fifty syndicated radio programs.
Books
- Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills Health Press, 1994. ISBN 0929173147
- Health and Nutrition Secrets That Can Save Your Life Health Press, 2002. ISBN 0929173422
- Natural Strategies for The Cancer Patient New York : Twin Streams, 2003. ISBN 0758202210
Articles
Blaylock is the author or co-author of two case reports in the Journal of Neurosurgery, and a 32-page report entitled Multiple Sclerosis (Pritchett & Hull, 1988).He has written for, and been on the editorial board of the journal of the politically conservative non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons is a politically conservative American non-profit organization founded in 1943 to "fight socialized medicine and to fight the government takeover of medicine." The group was reported to have approximately 4,000 members in 2005, and 3,000 in...
. This journal was entitled Medical Sentinel until 2003, when it became the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons (JPandS). He also authors The Blaylock Wellness Report for the conservative website NewsMax
NewsMax Media
Newsmax Media is a conservative American news media organization founded by Christopher W. Ruddy and based in West Palm Beach, Florida. It operates the news website Newsmax.com and publishes Newsmax Magazine.Christopher W...
.