Well you asked so I will give you my straight answer. I wonder how many people have gotten sick and died from his suggestions.
Pap Smears - Most of us have these and get a negative cancer report back. That's wonderful. These people might think they really don't need to have pap smears so Mercola fits right in to what they want to believe. But tell this to the women who have had cervical cancer detected early and it saved their lives!
Mammograms - Who want these? I know I don't but mine is scheduled for next month. Are they needed? We have a member who recently had her annual mammogram and cancer was detected. Now, if she followed Mercola's advice, she probably wouldn't discover it until it metastisized in her body.
Cold and Flu - I personally get flu shots and don't even get colds when I get the vaccine (another thing Mercola is against). Of course antibiotics won't get rid of a viral flu but it can get rid of bacterial pneumonia, which kills thousands a year. Pneumonia is one of the "killers" for the flu. You don't die from achiness...as we all know.
Cholesterol - I take statins. I do to keep my cholesterol extremely low to help prevent heart attack and stroke from diabetes. There have been so many studies on this subject and I don't know how Mercola can call himself a doctor. Tell his advice to a friend of mine. She is thin, eats healthy but has high cholesterol and has had to have a stent inserted because of clogged arteries and chest pains. She is doing fine thanks to a medical doctor that knows what they are doing.
Depression - I do agree that anti-depressants are overly prescribed but for people who truly are depressed, they are a God-send. My husband was severely depressed. He had depression even as a child. Back then we didn't hear about anti-depressants and people who were depressed could find themselves institutionalized. My husband did go to work but would come home, close the draperies, and sleep. He rarely went to social functions and if I did manage to drag him out, he stayed off by himself. Once he was diagnosed and put on Prozac, he became the neighborhood social director! I couldn't believe the amazing change in him. He was finally happy and finally enjoying life. So, Mercola doesn't know what he is talking about when he says anti-depressants don't work.
This is getting very long so I'll stop here. I think you catch my drift. You do know I'm all for using alternative products if they help but I don't cast my fate to the wind over some charlatan's comments. People can die from taking his advice. I know I would be six feet under if I didn't see conventional doctors.
He doesn't believe in vaccines and thinking like that is bringing back tuberculosis and whopping cough. I think we will see more of these nearly eradicated killer diseases come back because people are listening to this type of thing. He is extremely tan, goes out in the sun without sunscreen, and sells tanning beds on his site. I personally have had about five pre-cancerous lesions taken off my skin due to sun exposure when I was a child. Golly, I could go on and on.
Here are a couple of links to articles written recently about Dr. Mercola. The first is from a Chicago magazine. Mercola is from the Chicago area. The second link is from a site called Quackwatch.
http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/February-2012/Dr-Joseph-Mercola-Visionary-or-Quack/
http://www.quackwatch.com/11Ind/mercola.html
So, this is my view of what was said in that article.
Sherrine