So... Dr Oz...

Samby_v1
Samby_v1 Posts: 202 Member
in Chit-Chat
This is really a question for American MFPers. As a Brit I was only somewhat familiar with his name, but I've seen him mentioned a lot here and nearly always attached to some fad or pseudo-scientific (and sometimes dangerous) ideas.

So what happened there? He is actually a proper doctor (unlike our own fake 'Dr' Gillian McKeith, who was debunked a few years ago), but is essentially a snake oil peddler. There's been a bit of investigation done into his methods and articles questioning him have been written in newspapers quite recently. So how does he get away with it?

I love the fact the mere mention of his name is like kryptonite to MFP members. After a quick snoop around the net, I can see why!

Replies

  • maab_connor
    maab_connor Posts: 3,927 Member
    he is a real Doctor. he's a cardiac surgeon. and when he first "hit the scene" on Oprah and Larry King, he was actually giving good advice. "eat less, move more, talk to your doctor before you end up on my table".

    but then he got Famous.

    and now he sells snake oil to make money.

    it's really sad. but he's gone from Cardio God to Walking Joke. and he has no one but himself to blame.
  • ajmaccar
    ajmaccar Posts: 65 Member
    Every time I hear or see anything from Dr. Oz all I really hear is QUACK!!!!!
  • ashleyisgreat
    ashleyisgreat Posts: 586 Member
    Yeah, he sold out to make money. He is actually a legit cardiac surgeon, and he still does heart surgery many times per year (and he's good at it, I've read). But the show has TOTALLY fallen into the trap of luring in viewers, mostly women, with promises that they'll tell you "THE number one secret to losing 7 lbs in 7 days" and "the one little pill that THEY don't want you to know about!"

    And I've watched it many times since it's on in the daytime and my work schedule often means that I'm home in the afternoons, and it's all such a huge load. He's the one who popularized such garbage as raspberry ketones and green coffee extract. He does occasionally dish out good advice, like to eat more fruits and veggies and to be sure to get enough protein, but this good advice is always coupled with some nonsense about eating X number of servings of kale per day or whatever. It's like...he sometimes gets close to decent advice, and then he blows it.
  • brewji
    brewji Posts: 752 Member
    he is a real Doctor. he's a cardiac surgeon. and when he first "hit the scene" on Oprah and Larry King, he was actually giving good advice. "eat less, move more, talk to your doctor before you end up on my table".

    but then he got Famous.

    and now he sells snake oil to make money.

    it's really sad. but he's gone from Cardio God to Walking Joke. and he has no one but himself to blame.

    This.
  • rowlandsw
    rowlandsw Posts: 1,166 Member
    he's like most doctors: out for money and to sell snake oil, i take him and any other tv doctors with even less than a grain of salt. He's big on fear mongering just like that tv show "The Drs" that's on during the day. I lost even more faith in Dr oz after that old guy fell over dead after trying something on the show. While the old guy was to blame for not checking with his personal doctor but Dr oz has to realize there's alot of folks out there who are sheep when it comes to dr advice.

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