Ronald Hoffman
Encyclopedia
Ronald Hoffman, M.D. is an American
physician
, author, and broadcaster in the United States
who hosts Health Talk, a syndicated radio talk show
. He is the founder and director of the Hoffman Center in New York City
, and is a practitioner of holistic medicine
.
, Hoffman studied Medicine
at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine
and was trained in Internal Medicine
at the Manhattan V.A. In 1985 he founded the Hoffman Center, which is a unique, first of its kind, medical practice that pioneered alternative medical care.
In 1987 Dr. Hoffman started Health Talk, a medical talk show which is broadcast throughout the United States
and Canada
. Dr. Hoffman urges his patients and listeners that the best diet is to exercise five days a week, for 75 minutes, and eating well balanced meals.
Dr. Hoffman is a firm believer in the healthy benefits of nutritional therapy (not just by eating the right meals, but by nutritional supplements) - he personally consumes around 15 different supplements per day. The supplements Dr. Hoffman appears to be most interested in are Vitamin D
, Magnesium
(particularly Magnesium Taurate) and Fish oil
. On almost every show of his he mentions a new medical study that backs his arguments about the risks involved with mineral and/or vitamin deficiency. Deficiency, Hoffman argues, can cause symptoms of diminishing health such as scurvy
, disorders of cell metabolism
, tuberculosis
, poor psychological health (such as depression
), osteoporosis
, tinnitus
, various forms of cancer
, senescence
(premature), cardiovascular diseases, and much more.
Although Dr. Hoffman maintains a friendly atmosphere on his show, he occasionally uses his radio time to voice criticisms of certain medical “experts.” He is a critic of NBC News
Chief Science and Health Correspondent Robert Bazell
, who he accuses of sloppy, inaccurate medical journalism
. On April 30, 2007 Bazell reported on what he perceives to be the “placebo effect
” of supplemental therapy (particularly the supplements glucosamine
and chondroitin
for treating arthritis
.)- this resulted in a fierce rebuttal from Hoffman on his broadcast that same night. (see below links for details.)
Hoffman is also a vehement critic of author and former convicted felon
Kevin Trudeau
, who wrote the famous controversial book Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You To Know About. He considers him to be a swindler that is an embarrassment to the field of complementary medicine
.
Dr. Hoffman moved to New York
for college and has remained there ever since. He owns two homes, one in Manhattan
, and one in the Hampton Bays.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, author, and broadcaster in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
who hosts Health Talk, a syndicated radio talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
. He is the founder and director of the Hoffman Center in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and is a practitioner of holistic medicine
Holistic health
Holistic health is a concept in medical practice upholding that all aspects of people's needs, psychological, physical and social should be taken into account and seen as a whole. As defined above, the holistic view on treatment is widely accepted in medicine...
.
Biography
Born in southern CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Hoffman studied Medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a graduate school of Yeshiva University. It is a not-for-profit, private, nonsectarian medical school located on the Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus in the Morris Park neighborhood of the borough of the Bronx of New York City...
and was trained in Internal Medicine
Internal medicine
Internal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...
at the Manhattan V.A. In 1985 he founded the Hoffman Center, which is a unique, first of its kind, medical practice that pioneered alternative medical care.
In 1987 Dr. Hoffman started Health Talk, a medical talk show which is broadcast throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Dr. Hoffman urges his patients and listeners that the best diet is to exercise five days a week, for 75 minutes, and eating well balanced meals.
Dr. Hoffman is a firm believer in the healthy benefits of nutritional therapy (not just by eating the right meals, but by nutritional supplements) - he personally consumes around 15 different supplements per day. The supplements Dr. Hoffman appears to be most interested in are Vitamin D
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble secosteroids. In humans, vitamin D is unique both because it functions as a prohormone and because the body can synthesize it when sun exposure is adequate ....
, Magnesium
Magnesium sulfate
Magnesium sulfate is a chemical compound containing magnesium, sulfur and oxygen, with the formula MgSO4. It is often encountered as the heptahydrate epsomite , commonly called Epsom salt, from the town of Epsom in Surrey, England, where the salt was distilled from the springs that arise where the...
(particularly Magnesium Taurate) and Fish oil
Fish oil
Fish oil is oil derived from the tissues of oily fish. Fish oils contain the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid , and docosahexaenoic acid , precursors of certain eicosanoids that are known to reduce inflammation throughout the body, and are thought to have many health benefits.Fish do not...
. On almost every show of his he mentions a new medical study that backs his arguments about the risks involved with mineral and/or vitamin deficiency. Deficiency, Hoffman argues, can cause symptoms of diminishing health such as scurvy
Scurvy
Scurvy is a disease resulting from a deficiency of vitamin C, which is required for the synthesis of collagen in humans. The chemical name for vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is derived from the Latin name of scurvy, scorbutus, which also provides the adjective scorbutic...
, disorders of cell metabolism
Metabolism
Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that happen in the cells of living organisms to sustain life. These processes allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. Metabolism is usually divided into two categories...
, tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, poor psychological health (such as depression
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
), osteoporosis
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a disease of bones that leads to an increased risk of fracture. In osteoporosis the bone mineral density is reduced, bone microarchitecture is deteriorating, and the amount and variety of proteins in bone is altered...
, tinnitus
Tinnitus
Tinnitus |ringing]]") is the perception of sound within the human ear in the absence of corresponding external sound.Tinnitus is not a disease, but a symptom that can result from a wide range of underlying causes: abnormally loud sounds in the ear canal for even the briefest period , ear...
, various forms of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, senescence
Senescence
Senescence or biological aging is the change in the biology of an organism as it ages after its maturity. Such changes range from those affecting its cells and their function to those affecting the whole organism...
(premature), cardiovascular diseases, and much more.
Although Dr. Hoffman maintains a friendly atmosphere on his show, he occasionally uses his radio time to voice criticisms of certain medical “experts.” He is a critic of NBC News
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
Chief Science and Health Correspondent Robert Bazell
Robert Bazell
-Education:Bazell graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, USA, in 1967 with a B.A. in biochemistry and Phi Beta Kappa honors. As an undergraduate, he wrote a science column called "Science for the People" for the Daily Californian...
, who he accuses of sloppy, inaccurate medical journalism
Medical journalism
Medical journalism is the dissemination of health-related information through mainstream media outlets. Medical issues are widely reported, and these reports influence doctors, the general public, and the government. The coverage is often criticized for being misleading, inaccurate, or speculative...
. On April 30, 2007 Bazell reported on what he perceives to be the “placebo effect
Placebo effect
Placebo effect may refer to:* Placebo effect, the tendency of any medication or treatment, even an inert or ineffective one, to exhibit results simply because the recipient believes that it will work...
” of supplemental therapy (particularly the supplements glucosamine
Glucosamine
Glucosamine is an amino sugar and a prominent precursor in the biochemical synthesis of glycosylated proteins and lipids. Glucosamine is part of the structure of the polysaccharides chitosan and chitin, which compose the exoskeletons of crustaceans and other arthropods, cell walls in fungi and...
and chondroitin
Chondroitin
Chondroitin is a chondrin derivative.Types include:* Chondroitin sulfate* Dermatan sulfate...
for treating arthritis
Arthritis
Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
.)- this resulted in a fierce rebuttal from Hoffman on his broadcast that same night. (see below links for details.)
Hoffman is also a vehement critic of author and former convicted felon
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
Kevin Trudeau
Kevin Trudeau
Kevin Mark Trudeau is an American author, radio personality, and infomercial salesman best known for promoting alternative medicine. A number of his television infomercials and several of his books, including Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About, allege that both the U.S...
, who wrote the famous controversial book Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You To Know About. He considers him to be a swindler that is an embarrassment to the field of complementary medicine
Alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any healing practice, "that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine." It is based on historical or cultural traditions, rather than on scientific evidence....
.
Dr. Hoffman moved to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
for college and has remained there ever since. He owns two homes, one in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, and one in the Hampton Bays.
Books
Books authored by Dr. Ronald Hoffman include:- 1997: Natural Therapies for Mitral Valve Prolapse Keats Pub (ISBN 978-0879837655)
- 1999: The Natural Approach to Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), McGraw-HillMcGraw-HillThe McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., is a publicly traded corporation headquartered in Rockefeller Center in New York City. Its primary areas of business are financial, education, publishing, broadcasting, and business services...
(ISBN 978-0879837792) - 1999: Lyme Disease (Good Health Guides), McGraw-HillMcGraw-HillThe McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., is a publicly traded corporation headquartered in Rockefeller Center in New York City. Its primary areas of business are financial, education, publishing, broadcasting, and business services...
(ISBN 978-0879836177) - 2006: How to Talk With Your Doctor: The Guide for Patients And Their Physicians Who Want to Reconcile And Use the Best of Conventional And Alternative Medicine (with Sidney Stevens) (ISBN 978-1591201120)