Savita Patel's Polarity Therapy

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Savita Patel is a proponent of something called Polarity Therapy.

I haven't been able to find a good picture of her, so here's a gratuitous photo of an adorable bunny rabbit, instead.

(Image credit)

What is Polarity Therapy? I'm glad you asked.

"Would you like to look and feel great? Remove pain and suffering? ... Polarity Therapy produces a surges [sic] of strength and healing. The tremendous power it releases expels toxins, banishes mental fear and worry, and removes stress and strain. As a result of this, many kinds of illness simply disappear..."

Among the illnesses which "simply disappear", according to Savita's handout (available here and here), are

"ALL STRESS RELATED PROBLEMS - ABDOMINAL, EYE, SHOULDER, BACKACHE, NECK & SHOULDER PAIN, JOINTS OF KNEES or of any kind - DIGESTIVE PROBLEMS - SCIATICA - HYPERTENSION (Blood Pressure) - RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS, ASTHMA - DIABETICS - GASTRITIS - CONSTIPATION - COLON PROBLEMS - OBESITY - INSOMNIA - MELANCHOLIA - MIGRAINE..."

Can Savita pull a rabbit out of the hat, and produce clinical evidence to support these bold claims?

Let's find out. ASA complaint follows!

"SAVITA PATEL / AYURVEDIC FACELIFT

I'm writing to complain about a handout for Savita Patel, which I picked up from a stall at the 'Mind Body Spirit' exhibition in London on 26th May.

The handout promotes the advertiser's "Polarity Therapy" treatment, and contains some health claims which I suspect are misleading.

1. "Would you like to look and feel great? Remove pain and suffering? ... Polarity Therapy produces a surges [sic] of strength and healing. The tremendous power it releases expels toxins, banishes mental fear and worry, and removes stress and strain. As a result of this, many kinds of illness simply disappear..."

I'd like to challenge whether the advertiser can substantiate their claim that Polarity Therapy "expels toxins" and causes "many kinds of illness [to] simply disappear".

2. "Functions improve and instantaneous healing occurs in many people... Dr. Stone says blocked energy is the only disease. When the blockage is removed, healing starts. Polarity therapy has been successfully used alongside conventional medicine to treat serious conditions."

I'd like to challenge whether the advertiser can substantiate their claims that Polarity Therapy causes "instantaenous healing [in] many people", that the only kind of disease is "blocked energy", that Polarity Therapy can unblock this energy causing "healing to [start]", and that Polarity Therapy "has been successfully used alongside conventional medicine to treat serious conditions".

3. "Among the conditions that have been successfully treated or otherwise beneficially influenced by Polarity Therapy are all sorts of pains - such as: ALL STRESS RELATED PROBLEMS - ABDOMINAL, EYE, SHOULDER, BACKACHE, NECK & SHOULDER PAIN, JOINTS OF KNEES or of any kind - DIGESTIVE PROBLEMS - SCIATICA - HYPERTENSION (Blood Pressure) - RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS, ASTHMA - DIABETICS - GASTRITIS - CONSTIPATION - COLON PROBLEMS - OBESITY - INSOMNIA - MELANCHOLIA - MIGRAINE"

I challenge whether any of the claims can be substantiated, whether they are misleading, and whether they may discourage essential treatment.

I can confirm that I have no connections with the advertiser or with the alternative medicine industry in general."