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Gary Michael Null (born in 1945) is an American talk radio host and author on alternative and complementary medicine and nutrition. He is also a critic of the medical and psychiatric communities.

Early life and education

Null was raised in Parkersburg, West Virginia, with his two brothers. He holds an Associate Degree in Business Administration as well as a Bachelor of Science degree from Thomas Edison State College in Trenton, New Jersey. He has a PhD in "Interdisciplinary Studies" from Union Institute & University, a private college that gives degrees by correspondence from Cincinnati, Ohio. According to Null, his thesis was titled, "A Study of Psychological and Physiological Effects of Caffeine on Human Health." Union Institute & University is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, but its accreditation does not cover awarding of PhDs in the sciences, only in the humanities. Null is a New York State Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist.

Viewpoints

Null is best known as a promoter of natural and alternative remedies. He has written or produced more than seventy books, booklets, and audio CDs on the topics of health, wellness, nutrition, and alternative medicine. His opinions on medical issues have been published in Penthouse.

Null says he sleeps only two hours a night, promotes vigorous exercise even for the elderly, and says that although "younger people may have enthusiasm...today what they share is a social psychosis. Ninety percent of the people in my support groups are whining all the time."

Gary Null has attacked many facets of mainstream medicine. He argues that physicians are not actively conspiring, but are just trained and conditioned to accept the premises of their profession. Null believes that physicians have an economic interest in sickness maintenance, not prevention. Null co-authored a series of articles on cancer research, new therapies, and political influence for Penthouse, beginning with one entitled "The Great Cancer Fraud". He accused the "medical community of suppressing alternative cancer treatments to protect the medical establishment's solid-gold cancer train." In 1999 Time wrote: "From a young reporter this is to be expected. But two decades later, Null, 54, is still warning of a variety of medical bogeymen out to gull a trusting public."

Gary Null is also a promoter of AIDS denialism, the belief that HIV is harmless or does not exist, and is not the cause of AIDS. Null sells self-produced films on his website that promote AIDS denialism.

Radio and video work

Null's syndicated radio talk show, Natural Living with Gary Null, earned eight Silver Microphone Awards (an award presented to radio commercials) and remains the longest-running continuously airing health program in America for more than 27 years from New York City. He now broadcasts over the Internet on the Progressive Radio Network.

Null has made several self-funded and published documentary films on public policy issues, personal health, and personal development. Null's videos have been aired by PBS during pledge drives, but concern arose within PBS over the sensational claims they contained, with Ervin Duggan, the president of PBS, expressing concern with the network "open the door to quacks and charlatans." Null implied that his recent problems with PBS may have been an attempt to silence him, saying: "The guardians of the gates of orthodoxy at PBS... you don't know who their friends are."

Business interests

Null is the owner of the dietary supplement and media company Gary Null & Associates, Inc. He owns a health food store, Gary Null's Uptown Whole Foods Market, in New York City.

Criticisms

Many of Null's viewpoints are controversial and he has attracted the attention of Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch. Barrett criticizes the validity of Null's PhD thesis, his alternative health claims, and several of his commercial products.

The James Randi Educational Foundation, an organization that aims to promote critical thinking, has accused him, together with Wayne Dyer, of "dealing in nonsense", promoting the notion of eternal youth, and prescribing magnets and "other medieval tools" to prevent aging.

In 2009, Null was criticized for his remarks as a keynote speaker at a political rally against mandatory vaccination against H1N1 influenza at the New York State Capitol in Albany, New York. New York State Health Commissioner Richard Daines said, "Like any number of things he’s wrong about, he’s wrong about that."

See also

• Health freedom movement

References

1. License Information, NY State Education Department - Office of the Professions
2. Gary Null Book List, as listed on Amazon.com
3. New York Times, May 17, 1998
4. Null, Gary and Houston, Robert "The Great Cancer Fraud". Penthouse, 1979 (September): p.76-78, 82, 268, 270, 272, 274, 276-278.
5. Null, G. and Pitrone, A. "Suppression of new cancer therapies: Dr. Joseph Gold and hydrazine sulfate". Penthouse, 1980 (January): 97-98, 160, 162-163. Null, G. and Steinman, L. "The politics of cancer. Part five. Suppression of new cancer therapies: Dr. Lawrence Burton". Penthouse, 1980 (July): 75-76, 188-194, 196-197.
6. ^ The New Mister Natural, Time - May 17, 1999
7. Gary Null's commercial site
8. 'The Gary Null Show' to the Internet on the VoiceAmerica Network, Tech Web, Retrieved on April 14, 2008
9. The Gary Null Show, Modavox.com
10. Bedford, Karen Everhart (1999-01-25). "Gary Null special sparks debate on pledge program standards". Current. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
11. About Us, GNHealth
12. Gary Null's Uptown Whole Foods, NY Site
13. Stephen Barrett, MD. "A Critical Look at Gary Null's Activities and Credentials". Quackwatch. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
14. Randi, James. "Science & Pseudoscience: the Differences", Swift: Newsletter of the James Randi Educational Foundation, JREF, March 19, 2004
15. ^ Charles Scirbona, "Health workers angry over mandatory swine flu shots: DOH commissioner says vaccinations are safe," Legislative Gazette, October 6, 2009, found at Legislative Gazette website. Accessed October 6, 2009.

External links

• Gary Null's website
• Gary Null at IMDb
• The New Mister Natural: article on Gary Null from Time, May 1999

• American businesspeople
• American health activists
• American health and wellness writers
• American nutritionists
• American talk radio hosts
• People in alternative medicine
• Thomas Edison State College alumni
• People from Parkersburg, West Virginia
• 1945 births
• Living people