User:Jenfit001/Dr.Colker

CARLON COLKER

Carlon M. Colker, M. D., FACN (Born June 21, 1965) is a nationally renowned physician, celebrity doctor, author, reality TV star, public speaker, sought after industry consultant, and controversial media figure best known for establishing and popularizing the culture of optimal wellness. He is the Chief Executive Officer and Medical Director of Peak Wellness, Inc., with centers in Greenwich, Connecticut and Beverly Hills, California. His practice specialties include internal medicine, sports medicine, and nutrition. He is an attending physician at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, and Greenwich Hospital, in Connecticut.

INTRODUCTION

Carlon Colker was born June 21, 1965 in New York, New York to parents of Russian and German Jewish descent. His parents were artists. As one of the youngest winners of the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship, his father Edward Colker was a graduate of NYU, a celebrated lithographer, and maker of rare hand-bound books. His mother, Elaine Galen, was an ivy league graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and herself a noted abstract painter. His sister, Pamela Colker, Esq. received her law degree from the University of Buffalo and practices in New York City. He also has a son, Zackary Colker. As a child, Carlon Colker grew up around the richness and diversity of his parent’s art world while enjoying their penchant for healthy living, organic foods, and vitamin supplements. His family travelled considerably during his upbringing, affording him the benefit of considerable multicultural exposure.

BACKGROUND

Though he is well known for his deep intellect and an astonishingly diverse fundament of high-level skills, these attributes did not reveal themselves until much later in life. Instead, early on he was reportedly distracted in school and it seems by all accounts to have been more interested being physical and athletic. He competed in a number of sports and was undefeated as a junior league boxer up until his 16th birthday when, though he won in a dramatic split decision, sustained a double epigastric hernia. The injury necessitated surgical repair and put him on the rehabilitative track of structured exercise and weight lifting. This experience led him to competitive bodybuilding where he participated in a number of competitions including the NPO Mr. Apollo, NPC Mr. Long Island, NPC Mr. Metropolitan, and finally winning his class at the East Coast Regional Bodybuilding Championships. With his interest in weightlifting grew an equal passion for mixed martial arts in which to this day he continues to work and train with numerous UFC champions.

EDUCATION

In tandem with his physical pursuits, his intellect blossomed and he enrolled in the pre-medical track at Manhattanville College in Purchase New York. He attended on a partial academic scholarship taking a full load of classes while astonishingly also working full-time as a personal trainer, along with other various jobs. Beginning to realize his desire to be enterprising and entrepreneurial despite the rigors of pre-med and work, in the late 80’s utilizing a corporate subsidy in the form of a grant from the Nestle Corporation, he helped design and build the first wellness program on the east coast called Healthworks. Along with a partner, in January of 1993 he established Peak Physique, Inc., a personal training institute in Greenwich, CT. He graduated early from the baccalaureate pre-med track at Manhattanville with three areas of study including biology, philosophy, and English writing. Thereafter he entered medical school at Sackler School of Medicine where he functioned as class president and received his medical degree in May of 1993 earning honors in medicine, surgery, and obstetrics and gynecology. In June of 1996 he completed his internship and residency training in internal medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan.

PROFESSION

His first job as a physician out of residency in August of 1996 was on Park Avenue at Park Avenue Medical and Nutrition. Thereafter in September of 1996 was employed at Affiliated Physicians in the now infamous North Tower of the World Trade Center. These experiences left an indelible impression on him as to how he did and did not want a medical practice to function. In January of 1996 he established Peak Wellness, Inc. in order to provide truly integrative medical services that went beyond just traditional medical care and also included diet and nutrition guidance, physical therapy and injury rehabilitation, exercise testing and physical performance optimizing, as well as preventive medicine and anti-aging. In 1997 while building his practice, he functioned as a medical intensive care unit attending physician, emergency room attending physician, and hospitalist at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Stamford, CT. Logging numerous hours, he also worked as an internal medicine intensive care unit physician and outpatient clinic teaching attending at Stamford Hospital in Stamford, CT. Currently he maintains staff privileges as a physician at both Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich, CT and Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. In tandem with his considerable work as a busy clinician was his pivotal work as a clinical researcher for some of the largest and most successful dietary supplement companies in the world. With 49 peer-reviewed scientific publications he is often credited with having single-handedly legitimized the biggest products in the dietary supplement industry which, prior to his important work, were nearly bereft of substantive scientific support. This fact made him one of the most oft cited commercially referenced researchers in the world.

PHILOSOPHY

He has been a staunch proponent that, if you get to your body early enough, everything you need to heal yourself can be found in nature. Though he freely admits that his own extensive utilization of pharmaceutical drugs in his years of inpatient and emergency room medicine has undeniably saved lives, he believes that most all outpatient drugs are designed and targeted to only maintain a person with their disease and not truly cure them. Beyond his theory that we can take control of our health by living right and fortifying our bodies with specific naturally occurring nutrients, he believes that naturally occurring substances are what really cure disease. At his philosophical extreme, he believes that since most every disease is by itself “naturally occurring”, so must be the cure even if it lay as yet undiscovered before us.

CONTROVERSY

Perhaps his most controversial tenet is his belief that our access to natural elements in the form of dietary supplements is the single most precious tool we have as free people to access nature and thus determine our own health, find our own cures, and prevent illness and disease from killing us. With this controversial view, coupled with his equally controversial research, he has not been without a firestorm of challengers and detractors. In July of 2003 he was invited to testify in front of congress for his role as key researcher of some of the dietary supplement industries most successful ephedra-containing products. In addition to presenting his clinical research and opinions in support of the findings of world renowned forensic expert Michael Baden, M.D., he boldly challenged the notion that that MLB pitcher Steve Bechler’s tragic heatstroke death was a result of taking ephedra. While this position earned him positive recognition in Michael Fillon’s book Ephedra Fact or Fiction and Mike Ellis’ book The Metabolife Story, it also drew the ire of personal injury attorneys. These attorneys in conjunction with their media connections went on the attack. Despite his usual diligent actions in a study for Celldyne Inc. on their product Xenadrine RFA-1, with the resultant findings being previously upheld as competent and reliable in a Utah federal court by Judge Kimbel, in 2004 the tide turned. With the personal injury attorneys shopping around far and wide for a state judge at a lower level to be sympathetic to their cause then Judge Kimball, they found Judge Styn in San Diego. The same information was presented and Judge Styn mysteriously came to a different conclusion. In his decision he specifically attacked the researcher’s credibility including Colker in the text of his decision. The result was an awarding of $12.5 million to the plaintiffs. Though the decision was successfully challenged and eventually completely vacated on appeal, this fact to this day is perpetually omitted by bias reporters that want to rehash the event and not tell the whole story. But at the time Styn’s reckless words were all the lawyers needed to fuel legal problems for Colker. Due to this bad press coupled with his research on products for other companies like Muscletech, Inc., he was named in a subsequent 11 lawsuits including major cases in West Virginia, Illinois, and Missouri. Personal injury attorneys again playing fast and loose unleashed a barrage of bad press with allegations that he falsified data and hid side-effects. After numerous depositions, including one in a Missouri case that lasted for two days, along with over 30,000 pages of documents produced, the plaintiffs came up empty and were forced to withdraw their allegations. Despite the disparagement, through years of costly defense, eventually he was exonerated as the personal injury attorneys one-by-one had to drop him from every suit. To this day not a single disparaging comment has ever been shown to be true nor has even one single case ever been adjudicated against him.

CELEBRITY

Carlon Colker has emerged as an internationally recognized consultant in health and fitness and has worked with governments, large health systems, and private companies, as well as with Olympic and professional athletes and celebrities. He is widely recognized as America’s premier wellness coach and pioneer of optimal wellness. Marquee athletes and world champions from the NBA, NFL, MLB, USTA, UFC, and WWE credit him with improving their lives and performance. Colker is also a long time columnist and contributing editor for Muscular Development, and has appeared repeatedly in such health magazines as Muscle & Fitness, Ironman, Mind & Power, Body, Runner’s World, Walking, Let’s Live, Self Magazine, Strive, Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, and Cosmopolitan, just to name a few. He has authored over 160 popular press articles and columns and has published a number of books on wellness matters. As a familiar person in the field of medicine, nutrition, and fitness, he has been a regular guest medical correspondent on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends”. Offering his expert opinion and advice, he has appeared on such shows as ESPN Outside the Lines, NBC’s Health Segment, Court TV, Bloomberg, Good Morning America, and ABC’s World News Tonight. He has also been interviewed on national television over a variety of topics from the serious to the not-so-serious by everyone from Barbara Walters and Katie Couric to Jenny Jones, Montel Williams, and Roseanne Barr. As Shaquille O’Neal’s physician and trainer, he currently battles childhood obesity on ABC’s Shaq’s Big Challenge. Similarly, teamed up with supermodel Christie Brinkley, Colker is spearheading the charge for Microsoft and XBOX 360 to get kids and families active and healthy. He has managed to combine his remarkable experiences to help countless people, dozens of world champion athletes, and numerous celebrities reach their true maximum potential.

ACHEIVEMENTS

American Medical Associations Physician Recognition Award – Awarded March 1, 2004. American Medical Associations Physician Recognition Award – Awarded March 1, 2001. American Medical Associations Physician Recognition Award – Awarded April 1, 1998. Appointment to Committee on Quality Improvement overseeing Beth Israel Medical Center (North and South Divisions), St. Luke’s Hospital, Roosevelt Hospital, and Kings Highway Medical Center—February 1999. Election: Fellow, American College of Nutrition—May 2001 Certified: Advanced Cardiac Life Support, American Heart Association Certified: Advanced Trauma Life Support, American College of Surgeons Certified: Basic Life Support, American Heart Association Certified Team Physician, American College of Sports Medicine Certified: First Aid, American Heart Association Certified: Volunteer Army Medic Assistant, IDF, Chemical Warfare Division, Gulf War, Tel-Aviv, Israel

In addition to his many achievements, he has a special interest in protecting the health and wellness of children, so much so that he puts his own life on the line. As a Deputy Sheriff on Blue Ridge Thunder Task Force in Bedford County Virginia, he serves search warrants and executes arrests of people that harm children. To this end he has tirelessly donated his money and time to appear with other celebrities in support of the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) initiative and Safe Surfing Society.

BOOKS

Extreme Muscle Enhancement: Bodybuilding’s Most Powerful Techniques 3rd EDITION, Prosource Publications, Inc. Manasquan, N.J., ; ~June 1, 2008.

Extreme Muscle Enhancement: Bodybuilding’s Most Powerful Techniques 2nd EDITION, Prosource Publications, Inc. Manasquan, N.J., ; ~May 1, 2007.

Extreme Muscle Enhancement: Bodybuilding’s Most Powerful Techniques 1st EDITION, Prosource Publications, Inc. Manasquan, N.J., ; ~February 10, 2005.

Essentials Diet and Nutrition Manual, Vital Basics, Inc. N.Y., N.Y.; February 13, 2001.

Essentials Cookbook, Vital Basics, Inc. N.Y., N.Y.; February 13, 2001.

Essentials Exercise Guide, Vital Basics, Inc. N.Y., N.Y.; February 13, 2001.

The Greenwich Diet, Advanced Research Press, Ronkonkoma, New York; Publication: May 1, 2000.

Sex Pills: From Androstenedione to Zinc, What Works and What Doesn’t, Advanced Research Press, Ronkonkoma, New York; Publication: March 1, 1999.

Dr. Colker’s Guide to Supplementing for Health and Wellness, HSPG, Inc., Foster City, California; Published January 1, 1999.

AUDIO CD’s

Anti-Aging and the Antioxidant Myth Codex Cure Conspiracy: Some Doctors Won’t Lie Cure Conspiracy: Why My Partner Is A Chiropractor