Dr. Oz questioned about truth and miracles.

[fractional slacker]

Two things: first off check out this quote.
"These questions have hammered Oz for months. In June, he was hauled in front of Congress, where Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) told him he gave people false hope and criticized his segments as a “recipe for disaster.”

 

(1)Can you imagine getting the chance to hammer Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) with a few questions regarding statism AKA “recipe for disaster," and false hope.

(2)This Oz guy, from what I know which isn't much, seems like Kevin Trudeau 2.0. He is more sophisticated hiding any conflict of interest when it comes to medicine, truth, and personal gain.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/12/19/half-of-dr-ozs-medical-advice-is-baseless-or-wrong-study-says/

[J. D. Stembal]

I don't know about calling anything a miracle cure, but I've used coconut oil for many purposes, originally, as a hair gel, then as a treatment for dry skin and chapped lips. I use it in cooking and as a shaving cream with a straight razor. I can attest to its awesomeness and low cost. Sometimes, I just eat it when I'm hungry. Unlike other vegetable oils, it actually tastes good to the palate. It's very high in saturated fat, and is solid at room temperature, which is what you want in your food.

 

I have no idea about the berry extract he was pushing, but consuming fermented foods promotes the growth of the beneficial gut flora that helps you digest food more thoroughly and efficiently. I brew kombucha for this very reason. Eating sauerkraut or kim chee is probably the best way to go about getting fermented food products. I don't much like sauerkraut, and I would have to drive three hours round trip to get kim chee. That's not happening, so I would have to make it myself if I really wanted some.

 

I found these Congressional accusations very troubling considering we now have Obamacare, the ultimate in moral hazard policies. People that want to be healthy and promote their ideas to others are vilified by government as witch doctors. It probably won't be very long until freedom philosophers like Stefan Molyneux are subpoenaed before a committee and are accused of "giving people false hope." Weight loss is easy once you have the right mindset and foods, just like philosophy when you get the first principles down, and just like self-knowledge when you start asking yourself the right questions.

[J-William]

Congress objecting to some quack selling his BS to gullible people... Is almost poetic.

[shirgall]

Related:

 

http://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g7346

 

Televised medical talk shows—what they recommend and the evidence to support their recommendations: a prospective observational study

 

Results

We could find at least a case study or better evidence to support 54% (95% confidence interval 47% to 62%) of the 160 recommendations (80 from each show). For recommendations in The Dr Oz Show, evidence supported 46%, contradicted 15%, and was not found for 39%. For recommendations in The Doctors, evidence supported 63%, contradicted 14%, and was not found for 24%. Believable or somewhat believable evidence supported 33% of the recommendations on The Dr Oz Show and 53% on The Doctors. On average, The Dr Oz Show had 12 recommendations per episode and The Doctors 11. The most common recommendation category on The Dr Oz Show was dietary advice (39%) and on The Doctors was to consult a healthcare provider (18%). A specific benefit was described for 43% and 41% of the recommendations made on the shows respectively. The magnitude of benefit was described for 17% of the recommendations on The Dr Oz Show and 11% on The Doctors. Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest accompanied 0.4% of recommendations.

 

Conclusions

Recommendations made on medical talk shows often lack adequate information on specific benefits or the magnitude of the effects of these benefits. Approximately half of the recommendations have either no evidence or are contradicted by the best available evidence. Potential conflicts of interest are rarely addressed. The public should be skeptical about recommendations made on medical talk shows.

[Pepin]

He is not exactly selling his audience any product, but rather hope in quick and dirty fixes for their lives, similar to lottery dealers. Of course he is actually selling products, but his audience cares more about information that will not actually change their lives, as opposed to the common sense approach of "eat better, exercise more". It has its roots in mystical potions.

[luxfelix]

I don't know about calling anything a miracle cure, but I've used coconut oil for many purposes, originally, as a hair gel, then as a treatment for dry skin and chapped lips. I use it in cooking and as a shaving cream with a straight razor. I can attest to its awesomeness and low cost. Sometimes, I just eat it when I'm hungry. Unlike other vegetable oils, it actually tastes good to the palate. It's very high in saturated fat, and is solid at room temperature, which is what you want in your food.

 

I have no idea about the berry extract he was pushing, but consuming fermented foods promotes the growth of the beneficial gut flora that helps you digest food more thoroughly and efficiently. I brew kombucha for this very reason. Eating sauerkraut or kim chee is probably the best way to go about getting fermented food products. I don't much like sauerkraut, and I would have to drive three hours round trip to get kim chee. That's not happening, so I would have to make it myself if I really wanted some.

 

I found these Congressional accusations very troubling considering we now have Obamacare, the ultimate in moral hazard policies. People that want to be healthy and promote their ideas to others are vilified by government as witch doctors. It probably won't be very long until freedom philosophers like Stefan Molyneux are subpoenaed before a committee and are accused of "giving people false hope." Weight loss is easy once you have the right mindset and foods, just like philosophy when you get the first principles down, and just like self-knowledge when you start asking yourself the right questions.

 

So in short, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater?

[fractional slacker]

He is not exactly selling his audience any product, but rather hope in quick and dirty fixes for their lives, similar to lottery dealers. Of course he is actually selling products, but his audience cares more about information that will not actually change their lives, as opposed to the common sense approach of "eat better, exercise more". It has its roots in mystical potions.

 

Right. He's selling an idea, much like a politician. That some of those ideas have some degree of truth and or good outcomes, does not absolve him from deception, yes?