Bonus Sample: The Naturopaths Are At It Again - Conspirituality

Summary4 min read

Conspirituality Podcast: Bonus Sample - The Naturopaths Are At It Again

Date: August 18, 2025
Hosts: Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, Julian Walker

Episode Overview

In this bonus episode, Conspirituality host Derek Beres investigates claims spreading through the wellness and alternative medicine space, focusing on a familiar line of conspiratorial thinking about sunblock and vitamin D. He dissects how prominent figures like Dr. Michael Holick and Dr. Joseph Pizzorno are cited by wellness influencers—even as their credibility is called into question. Derek highlights the broader pattern of the “conspirituality” movement where misinformation harms public health, and sets up a forthcoming deeper dive into PragerU’s promotion of questionable natural health narratives.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The “Sunblock Causes More Cancer Than It Prevents” Claim

[00:03] The episode opens with a controversial claim attributed to Dr. Michael Holick:

“For every death we save from skin cancer… we cause 55 cases of breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer and lung cancer, because deficiency of vitamin D hugely promotes many kinds of cancer in the body.”
This claim is used frequently by naturopaths and alternative wellness proponents to stir doubt about mainstream public health advice.

2. Debunking Dr. Michael Holick’s Authority

[00:42] Derek Beres:
- Expresses exasperation at the repeated invocation of Holick, whom he frames as a “poster boy for the tanning industry”.
- Details Holick’s questionable professional history:
  - Paper retracted for claiming vitamin D treats COVID-19 due to incomplete reporting on cause of death.
  - Cited by antivaxx and wellness influencers to discredit vaccines.
  - Received $163,000 from pharmaceutical companies, including manufacturers of vitamin D tests.
  - Testified to defend child abusers, attributing injuries to “connective tissue disorder”; parents later indicted.
  - Barred from treating children at Boston Medical Center and forced to leave dermatology for promoting sun exposure, after financial ties with tanning bed companies.
  - Relegated to medicine at Boston University, but not in dermatology.
- Memorable Quote [01:49]:
  
  “The head of that department called Holick a, quote, poster boy for the tanning industry. He might be friends with RFK Jr. I don’t know.”
- Emphasizes that this episode is not about Holick specifically, but the larger phenomenon.

3. PragerU and the Infowarsification of Wellness

Derek previews an upcoming episode focused on PragerU’s “fantastically” revisionist content, right-wing propaganda, and their foray into health misinformation.
- Calls out a PragerU Kids show cartoon in which Christopher Columbus minimizes slavery (“Slavery, actually, it wasn’t all that bad.”).
Points out connections between natural medicine narratives, right-wing media, and efforts to “avoid chronic illness” via unscientific means.

4. What Do We Know About Sunblock and Vitamin D?

[03:10] Derek Beres:
Clearly refutes the central wellness myth:
- No reputable scientific basis for the claim that sunscreen leads to a trade-off of 55 other cancer deaths for every skin cancer prevented.
- While sunscreen does reduce vitamin D synthesis in skin, it does not cause vitamin D deficiency.
  - Multiple studies and clinical reviews show regular sunscreen use, even at maximal recommendations, does not lead to significantly reduced serum vitamin D.
  - Most people apply too little sunscreen to totally block UVB, and still get enough incidental sun exposure for vitamin D.
  - General guideline: as little as 5 minutes per day; usually 10-30 minutes, 2-3 times per week is sufficient, depending on melanin and season.
Memorable Moment [04:10]:

“Yet, as with everything on this wellness beat, they take it to the extremes, which Pizzorno does repeatedly throughout this episode.”

Notable Quotes & Speaker Attribution

[00:03] Guest (quoting Holick):

“For every death we save from skin cancer… we cause 55 cases of breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer and lung cancer, because deficiency of vitamin D hugely promotes many kinds of cancer in the body.”
[00:42] Derek Beres:

“Oh, fuck, here we go.”
[01:49] Derek Beres:

“The head of that department called Holick a, quote, poster boy for the tanning industry. He might be friends with RFK Jr. I don’t know. This episode isn’t about Michael Holick, though.”
[03:35] Derek Beres:

“There’s no reputable scientific basis for the claim that preventing one death from skin cancer causes 55 deaths from other cancers due to vitamin D deficiency.”
[04:10] Derek Beres:

“Yet, as with everything on this wellness beat, they take it to the extremes, which Pizzorno does repeatedly throughout this episode. I’m Derek Beres, and you’re listening to a Conspirituality Bonus. The Naturopaths are at it again. Let’s get into it.”

Important Timestamps & Segments

00:03 – The episode opens with the “sunblock causes more harm than good” argument, attributing it to Dr. Michael Holick.
00:42 – Derek Beres provides Holick’s controversial background, setting the tone for critical examination.
02:20 – Segue to PragerU and its problematic role in propagating wellness conspiracies blended with right-wing politics.
03:10 – Refutation of sunblock/vitamin D deficiency myth with supporting science.
04:10 – Derek Beres tees up the episode’s deeper analysis before directing listeners to subscribe for the full content.

Summary

This Conspirituality bonus sample spotlights how alternative health figures are repeatedly cited in corners of the wellness industry to stir doubt about basic public health interventions—here, using sunscreen. Derek Beres unpacks both the problems in the claims themselves and the questionable credibility of those who promote them, weaving in the broader trend of right-wing and wellness spaces merging in their opposition to mainstream science (with a coming episode focused on PragerU’s role). The episode is delivered with the podcast’s signature mix of skepticism, journalistic rigor, and irreverence, aiming to arm listeners with facts and context for the next time the “natural health” narrative resurfaces.

To hear the full episode and access years of bonus content, listeners are directed to the Conspirituality Patreon.

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Transcript3 lines

[00:03]
A
Is it more harm than good, these sunblocks? So Let me quote Dr. Michael Hollock. He's one of the guys who've done a huge amount of research on vitamin D and has published a lot. And he made a statement that made the conventional medical community quite angry with them. He said that for every death we save from skin cancer, by putting these lotions and potions on people's skin, we cause 55 cases of breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer and lung cancer, because deficiency of vitamin D hugely promotes many kinds of cancer in the body. So by putting all these blocks on, we're decreasing people's vitamin D levels.
[00:43]
B
Oh, fuck, here we go. You know what, though? Michael Hollick has done a lot of research on vitamin D and he has gotten in trouble with the medical establishment. Let's think about what he's done. He had a paper retracted for suggesting vitamin d could treat COVID 19. It's the very paper that many conspirac and wellness influencers have used to shit on vaccines. But it turns out that there was a lack of information provided on how patients died in his study, which is pretty important if you're claiming that a vitamin staves off death from a virus. The medical establishment also didn't Love Holic receiving $163,000 from pharmaceutical companies over a four year period, including from companies that make vitamin D tests. They didn't love it when he defended child abusers in court by saying that their baby received injuries from a connective tissue disorder instead of being beaten, even though the parents were later indicted for beating their child. Shortly after this, Holic was barred from evaluating or treat children at Boston Medical Center. And yeah, he's in Boston because he's a professor of medicine at Boston University Medical center, yet was asked to leave the division of dermatology for promoting sun exposure and accepting money from a tanning bed company. The head of that department called Holic a, quote, poster boy for the tanning industry. He might be friends with RFK Jr. I don't know. This episode isn't about Michael Holic, though. This Thursday, we're all going to do an episode on Prageru, the right wing media organization that's really a propaganda vehicle for Heritage foundation and conservative Christians and Zionism because the whole company basically fantastically rewrites history. You might have caught my Instagram post clipping a video from a Prageru kid show in which an animated Christopher Columbus says slavery. Actually, it wasn't all that bad. Yes, I'm serious. Go check out our Instagram feed. While watching too many hours of their content in preparation for Thursday, I stumbled across their show Real Talk, and it's titled natural medicine pioneer Dr. Joseph Pizzorno on how Americans can Avoid Chronic Illness. It's hosted by Marissa Strait, whose latest show, I should note, is a puff piece, which is with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. So I guess she's taking part of Tucker Carlson's playbook here. Back to the opening clip, though there's no reputable scientific basis for the claim that preventing one death from skin cancer causes 55 deaths from other cancers due to vitamin D deficiency. In fact, while sunblock does lower vitamin D synthesis and production in your skin and it does not cause a deficiency, multiple studies and clinical reviews have found that regular sunscreen use, even at the maximum recommended amounts, does not lead to significantly lower serum vitamin D levels, nor does it cause deficiency. That's because it's usually not applied thickly enough to block all the UVB rays out, and most people generally get enough incidental sun exposure to meet their requirement, which is as little as five minutes a day, depending on your melanin level and depending on what time of year it is. General guidelines are 10 to 30 minutes, two to three times per week. Yet, as with everything on this wellness beat, they take it to the extremes, which Pizzorno does repeatedly throughout this episode. I'm Derek Barris, and you're listening to a Conspirituality Bonus. The Natural paths are at it again. Let's get into it. You've been listening to a Conspirituality Bonus Episode Sample. To continue listening, please head over to patreon.com conspirituality where you can access all of our main feed episodes ad free, as well as four years of bonus content that we've been producing. You can also subscribe to our bonus episodes via Apple subscriptions. As independent media creators, we really appreciate your support.
[05:23]
C
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