Swallowing Cooking Oil
- Wade
No, the title isn't an instruction on a new drink Alex created. It's one of the prescriptions that Tom Cruise and other Scientologists offer the 9/11 firefighters who still suffer from smoke inhalation. For the full story, go here. (Then come back.) (And thanks again to Laura for being my gambit muse.)
First off, Tom Cruise is, and always will be, nuts. Secondly, why don't these people stick to their knitting? Why are you encouraging sick people to ditch legitimate medical treatments for, basically, voodoo?
According to a Scientology website, the Purification Rundown (yes, that's what they call it) "rids one of the biochemical residues that reactivate past drug experiences, it is but the first step in a full resolution to the spiritual devastation caused by drug, medicine and alcohol abuse." Sounds nice, doesn't it? In practicality, though, this rundown sounds downright dangerous. According to various websites, it includes:
- 30 minutes of daily running (sounds fine)
- Daily sauna sessions (hmm)
- Drinking large volumes of water and ingestion of vitamin and mineral supplements (including 5,000 mg of niacin daily-- bad news)
- Drinking vegetable oil (the theory is that by consuming oil and fat you would replace the older fatty tissues that contain toxins.) (Oh, and-- gross.)
Sounds wonderful. Sign me up. Just when you think Scientology can't get any weirder... they recommend that heroic firefighters start doing Wesson shots.
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feedback. Maybe we'll even run your letters in future Gambits. 'The Daily Gambit' is updated every weekday.
