Berland has not denied giving Mentos as part of a curative blessing to those dealing with terminal illness. However, his defense attorney defended the practice, saying that "the cure he [Berland] gives is deep in the spirit world and not the material world. Does anyone really think he started a medical start-up and succeeded where all the doctors in the world could not?
“It doesn’t matter if it is Mentos or Tic Tacs, the blessing he gives is the cure. He gives his blessing using a material means, therefore no matter if it's Mentos or Tic Tacs, it's the cure. If you believe in blessings then you believe in the cure. If you don’t, you don’t.”