Lendon Smith

Lendon Howard Smith (June 3, 1921 – November 17, 2001) was an American OB/GYN, pediatrician, author, and television personality. He was notable for his advice on parenting and advocating children's health and eating issues. He was known to fans as "The Children's Doctor" for his expertise on the issues and an outspoken proponent of the use of vitamins for children.

For the 1950s musician, see The Jesters.

Lendon Smith
Born	Lendon Howard Smith (1921-06-03)June 3, 1921 Portland, Oregon
Died	November 17, 2001(2001-11-17) (aged 80) Portland, Oregon
Occupation	Pediatrician, author, television personality
Years active	1963–2001

Smith was criticized by nutritionists for promoting the dangerous belief that large megavitamin dosages would help cure any disease or disorder.[1]

Background

Born in Portland, Oregon, Smith was a second generation doctor (his father was also a pediatrician), having received his M.D. in 1946 from the University of Oregon Medical School. He served as Captain in the United States Army Medical Corps from 1947–1949, went on to a pediatric residency at St. Louis Children's Hospital in Missouri, and completed it at Portland's Doernbecher Memorial Hospital in 1951. In 1955, Smith became Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Oregon Medical Hospital. He would practice pediatrics for 35 years before retiring in 1987 to lecture, to write, and to continue to help make "megavitamin" a household word and promote megavitamin therapy, in which he advocated the uses of Vitamin A and Vitamin C in massive amounts.[1][2]

Smith was also among the first to caution against sugar, white flour, and junk food known to contribute to sickness, hyperactivity, obesity, allergies, and many illnesses in children and adults.[3] He was also vocal about his feelings towards the use of vaccines and modern drugs: "Modern drugs and vaccines have proven to be a hoax in attaining health. They have brought false hopes......The vaccinations are not working, and they are dangerous.. We should be working with nature." He also argued against the use of experimental treatment in children with ADHD.

Smith was also a fixture on television, which is where he would received the nickname "The Children's Doctor", which was also the title of his 5-minute ABC daytime show that ran from 1967 to 1969. He also appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson a record 62 times and on The Phil Donahue Show 20 times. But he would become more famous for appearing in a 1977 ABC Afterschool Special called My Mom's Having a Baby, about a 10-year-old boy's curiosity about how babies are born. The special proved to be popular with viewers and was awarded a Daytime Emmy. Smith would return in 1980 for the sequel Where Do Teenagers Come From?, which dealt with a 12-year-old girls' puberty. He also authored or co-authored more than 15 books, ranging from parenting and children's issues to nutrition.

Controversies

Smith was placed under probation by the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners in 1973 for prescribing medication that was "not necessary or medically indicated" for six adult patients, one diagnosed as hyperactive and the other five as heroin addicts.[4] He was restricted to practicing pediatrics by the board that same year but was allowed to authorize prescriptions again in 1974. He was placed on probation again in 1975 after the board determined that he was prescribing Ritalin to "too many children," only to be reinstated in 1981. This would be one of the many issues that would result in him surrendering his license in 1987, as he was under pressure from insurance companies and the Board of Medical Examiners over his ethical practices, in which he had signed documents authorizing insurance payments for patients he had not seen. The patients had actually been seen by chiropractors, homeopaths, and others whose treatment was not covered at the clinics in which he had worked.[1][2]

He remained involved with medicine through writing and lecturing, this time promoting alternative medicine. In 1993 he did a video that promoted him as a physician, even though he was not licensed to practice as one, and later help promoted the Life Balances International Program. In 2001 he was involved with the Church of Scientology as he appointed himself as the commissioner of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights.

Smith was featured in a marketing video "Homeopathic Care of Infants and Children", 1993. It has been described by medical experts as dangerous.[5] In the video Smith promoted dubious homeopathic remedies for chicken pox, colds, constipation, coughs, diarrhoea, earaches, flu, headaches, measles and sore throats.[2]

Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch has noted that Smith advocated for pregnant women, "daily supplements of 20,000 to 30,000 units of vitamin A, a dosage high enough to cause birth defects."[2] Nutritionist Kurt Butler described Smith as a quack who promoted dangerous medical advice. According to Butler:

Besides encouraging people to poison themselves and their kids with toxic doses of supplements, he recommends raw milk, avoiding foods you are allergic to because they cause obesity, diagnosis by hair analysis and cytotoxic testing, taking thyroxin pills, taking glandulars, fasting to the point of feeling weak and sick, and lots of other nonsense. Smith’s books are hoaxes because there is not a scrap of scientific evidence to support his claims.[6]

In his book Dr. Lendon Smith's Low-Stress Diet, he recommended his readers to practice fasting and take only distilled water and supplements for several days to cleanse the liver. He was criticized for this erroneous belief. During fasting the liver is not cleansed but overworks by saturating it with toxins produced by starvation.[1]

Published Works

Children, Vitamin C and Medical Progress[7]

Lendon H. Smith, M.D., of 2233 S.W. Market St. Drive, Portland, OR 97201, published this 6 page article that appeared in the 1991 issue of the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine. In this article, Smith explained his views on nutrient deficiencies as it relates to the health of the patient. In this article he references the work of Dr. Frederick Klenner. According to Smith:

"Dr. Klenner began in the late 1930s to use vitamin C for almost any pathology, from viruses to germs, injuries to shock, coma to burns and snake bites. "While you are pondering the diagnosis, give vitamin C." He experimented on his own children: When one would come down with chickenpox or measles, he would give a small dose of C to help take the edge off the symptoms — maybe 200 mg two or three times per day. But his wife, Ann, upset with his experimenting, would plead, "Get them well, Fred." He would give them 1,000 mg every couple of hours and they would be well in a day or two."

Clinical Guide to the Use of Vitamin C, The Clinical Experiences of Frederick R. Klenner, M.D.[8]

In 1988 Lendon H. Smith, MD abbreviated, summarized, and annotated the 27 papers Dr. Frederick Klenner had written from the early 1940s to the early 1970s. According to Smith:

"After Frederick Klenner died in 1984, his friend (and mine), Arthur Rybeck, a nutritionally-oriented dentist practicing in Wheeling, West Virginia, asked if I would be interested in going over the 27 papers Klenner had written from the early 1940s to the early 1970s. The whole idea would be to let the world know how thoughtful and careful a researcher he was, and to encourage others to continue his work. If a compendium of Vitamin C (and other nutritional) therapy could be compiled from the published work of Dr. Klenner, maybe we could get more traditional medicine-oriented doctors to use his methods for the relief of sickness and suffering.

Standard doctors tend to believe studies and reports if published, but tend to disbelieve hearsay stories about treatments that patients have read in a “health” newsletter.

I have used Dr. Klenner’s methods on hundreds of patients. He is right. It helps almost every condition and situation, and my failures were due to inadequate amounts.

The timing of such a paper might be most appropriate. Doctors are suffering from low public esteem because they are perceived to be money-grubbing and mistake-laden. This would be a scientifically documented - from the medical literature - therapy for a variety of conditions: cardiovascular, allergies, infections, malabsorption, (see index), and even AIDS, for which prescription drugs may be hazardous. Now the doctors can say, “We have a safe, reasonably natural way of treating your condition that is fairly cheap. We might just keep you out of the hospital.”

That last part might make the insurance carriers perk up their ears. The patients might dash back to the doctors’ offices because the word is getting out that doctors are helping people without side effects. Notice also, the dates on these articles and references - these things were known decades ago.

Take this booklet to your M.D. and suggest that he read about these documented studies. Take Dr. E. Cheraskin’s “Vitamin C Connection” along for further documentation. If your doctor doesn't know, how can he help you?"

Bibliography

Bibliography for Lendon Smith

Year	Title	Author(s)	Publisher	ISBN	Pages	Summary Note	Find copy of book
1988	Dr. Lendon Smith's Low-Stress Diet Book	Lendon H. Smith  (Author)	McGraw-Hill; Reprint edition	ISBN 0070585008 ISBN 978-0070585003	179	The physician and author presents a weight-loss and weight-maintenance plan that stresses diet and reduction of stress and can be adapted to individual types and circumstances	https://smile.amazon.com/Lendon-Smiths-Low-Stress-Diet-Book/dp/0070585008
1993	Feed Your Body Right: Understanding Your Individual Body Chemistry for Proper Nutrition Without Guesswork	Lendon H. Smith (Author)	M. Evans & Company; First Edition, 1st Printing edition	ISBN 0871317419 ISBN 978-0871317414	270	If you are overwhelmed by the toxic soup surrounding us this book will give you the leverage you need to be well in today's dicey environment.—Consumer Advocate Newsletter	https://smile.amazon.com/Feed-Your-Body-Right-Understanding/dp/0871317419
1979	Feed Your Kids Right	Lendon H. Smith (Author)	McGraw-Hill; First Edition edition	ISBN 0070584966 ISBN 978-0070584969	251	A well-known pediatrician tells parents how a nutritional diet can keep their children healthy and provides nutritional concepts and programs for the prevention of sickness and the maintenance of health during pregnancy and through the stages of growth from birth to sixteen years	https://smile.amazon.com/Feed-Your-Right-Lendon-Smith/dp/0070584966
1998	How to Raise a Healthy Child	Lendon Smith (Author)	M. Evans & Company; 2nd edition edition	ISBN 0871318229 ISBN 978-0871318220	390	Gives parents choices about what to do to help their children regain their health.	https://smile.amazon.com/Raise-Healthy-Child-Lendon-Smith/dp/0871318229
2000	Doctor Mom's Quick Reference Guide to Natural Healthcare	Kathy Duerr  (Author), Dr Lendon Smith (Author)	Findhorn Pr	ISBN 1899171185 ISBN 978-1899171187	79	Dr. Mom's (Dr Mum's in the UK) is a must for any home with small children. In our modern-day, quick-fix world we have come to rely heavily on antibiotics and chemical drugs which can suppress the immune system and subject our children to short-term side-effects and long-term consequences. We have forgotten just how effective and reliable are the common, natural and safe remedies used by generations before us. Herbalist and lay homeopath Kathy Duerr has successfully nursed her own three children without the use of pharmaceutical medicine. What she has to offer here are tried and tested physician-endorsed natural remedies for treating minor illnesses without having to resort to chemical drugs. Some frequently asked questions addressed are: * Is my child really hyperactive? * Are immunizations really safe and effective? * What do I need to keep in the medicine cabinet? * Does my baby have colic? * How can I get my child to sleep? * My child has a fever, is it dangerous? * How can I soothe a sore throat or cough? * What is the best way to deal with minor cuts and scrapes? The answer to these and many other problems is as easy as opening this book. We know that when your child is crying and miserable you need help immediately, you don't have time to search through long complicated explanations—you need simple, quick, down-to-earth advice from one parent "who has been there" to another.	https://smile.amazon.com/Doctor-Quick-Reference-Natural-Healthcare/dp/1899171185

Death

Smith died on November 17, 2001, after having open heart surgery.[9] He was 80.[9]

See also

• Orthomolecular medicine
• Vitamin C megadosage

References

1. Butler, Kurt. (1992). A Consumer's Guide to "Alternative Medicine": A Close Look at Homeopathy, Acupuncture, Faith-healing, and Other Unconventional Treatments. Prometheus Books. pp. 58-61. ISBN 0-87975-733-7
2. Barrett, Stephen. (2009). "A Critical Look at Lendon Smith, M.D.". Quackwatch. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
3. from Motheraid.com
4. from casewatch.org
5. Barrett, Stephen; Victor, Herbert. (1994). The Vitamin Pushers: How the "Health Food" Industry is Selling America a Bill of Goods. Prometheus Books. pp. 182-183. ISBN 0-87975-909-7
6. Butler, Kurt. (1999). Lying for Fun and Profit: The Truth about the Media: Exposes the Corrupt Symbiosis Between Media Giants and the Health Fraud Industries. Health Wise Productions. pp. 81-82. ISBN 978-0967328102
7. Smith, Lendon (1991). "Children, Vitamin C and Medical Progress" (PDF). Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine. JOM – Volume 6, Number 3-4, 1991: 181–186 – via International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine.
8. Smith, Lendon (1988). "Clinical Guide to the Use of Vitamin C The Clinical Experiences of Frederick R. Klenner, M.D., abbreviated, summarized and annotated by Lendon H. Smith, M.D." AscorbateWeb. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
9. from Find Articles Archived 2011-05-05 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Lendon Smith on IMDb
• "Pediatrics: TV Doctor" from Time (June 16, 1967)