Russell L. Blaylock (born November 15, 1945) is an author and a retired U.S. neurosurgeon. Blaylock was a clinical assistant professor of neurosurgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. In 2013 he was a visiting professor in the biology department at

Belhaven College Belhaven University (Belhaven or BU) is a private evangelical Christian university in Jackson, Mississippi. Founded in 1883, the university offers traditional majors, programs of general studies, and pre-professional programs in Christian Ministr ...

. Blaylock has endorsed views inconsistent with the scientific consensus, including that food additives such as

aspartame Aspartame is an artificial non-saccharide sweetener 200 times sweeter than sucrose and is commonly used as a sugar substitute in foods and beverages. It is a methyl ester of the aspartic acid/phenylalanine dipeptide with the trade names ...

and

monosodium glutamate Monosodium glutamate (MSG), also known as sodium glutamate, is the sodium salt of glutamic acid. MSG is found naturally in some foods including tomatoes and cheese in this glutamic acid form. MSG is used in cooking as a flavor enhancer wit ...

(MSG) are excitotoxic in normal doses.

Education and career

Blaylock completed his general surgical internship and neurosurgical residency at the

Medical University of South Carolina The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) is a public medical school in South Carolina. It opened in 1824 in Charleston as a small private college aimed at training physicians and has since established hospitals and medical facilities acr ...

in Charleston, SC. He was licensed to practice Neurological Surgery in North Carolina between May 6, 1977, and December 15, 2006. Along with Ludwig G. Kempe, Blaylock published a novel transcallosal approach to excising intraventricular

meningiomas Meningioma, also known as meningeal tumor, is typically a slow-growing tumor that forms from the meninges, the membranous layers surrounding the central nervous system, brain and spinal cord. Symptoms depend on the location and occur as a result ...

of the trigone. He is retired as a clinical assistant professor of neurosurgery from the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and is currently a visiting professor in the biology department at Belhaven University, a Christian university in

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. He is associated with the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons and was on the editorial board of their journal.

Allegations of health dangers

Blaylock claims the supposed toxicity of numerous substances that according to scientific studies are safe at customary exposure levels. He has been quoted several times in media outlets regarding his position that

MSG Monosodium glutamate (MSG), also known as sodium glutamate, is the sodium salt of glutamic acid. MSG is found naturally in some foods including tomatoes and cheese in this glutamic acid form. MSG is used in cooking as a flavor enhancer wi ...

is toxic to the brain. He also states that the widely used artificial sweetener

is toxic and may be the cause of

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

.''Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills'' Health Press, 1994. He has additionally cautioned against heavy use of the artificial sweetener Splenda (

sucralose Sucralose is an artificial sweetener and sugar substitute. The majority of ingested sucralose is not broken down by the body, so it is noncaloric. In the European Union, it is also known under the E number E955. It is produced by chlorination of ...

). These positions are not supported by scientific consensus or regulatory bodies, as extensive studies support the safety of aspartame, sucralose, and MSG.

Views on politics

Blaylock has called the American medical system ' collectivist' and has suggested that health-care reform efforts under President Obama were masterminded by extragovernmental groups that wish to impose euthanasia. He blamed the purported collectivism of American medicine for the retirement of his friend

Miguel Faria Miguel A. Faria Jr. (born 30 September 1952) is Associate Editor in Chief in neuropsychiatry; history of medicine; and socioeconomics, politics, and world affairs of '' Surgical Neurology International'' (SNI) from 2012–present, before that a m ...

. According to Blaylock, the former Soviet Union tried to spread collectivism by covertly introducing illegal drugs and various sexually transmitted diseases into the United States. Schwarcz characterized these positions as "conspiracy theories."

Views on Covid-19

Blaylock supports various Covid-19 conspiracy theories, writing that, "The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most manipulated infectious disease events in history, characterized by official lies in an unending stream led by government bureaucracies, medical associations, medical boards, the media, and international agencies" and that the Covid-19 vaccine is a "Dangerous, essentially untested experimental vaccine." He also refers in his writing to "The designers of this pandemic..."

References

External links

Russell Blaylock's website
No longer active. Available in Archive.org prior to Oct. 24, 2008
The Blaylock Wellness Report

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaylock, Russell 1945 births American neurosurgeons Living people Louisiana State University alumni Pseudoscientific diet advocates Place of birth missing (living people) University of Mississippi faculty