Half of Dr. Oz’s medical advice is baseless or wrong, study says

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Washington Post

By Terrence McCoy December 19 at 2:53 AM @terrence_mccoy

It’s not hard to understand what makes Dr. Oz so popular. Called “America’s doctor,” syndicated talk-show host Mehmet Oz speaks in a way anyone can understand. Medicine may be complex. But with Dr. Oz, clad in scrubs and crooning to millions of viewers about “miracles” and “revolutionary” breakthroughs, it’s often not. He somehow makes it fun. And people can’t get enough.
....

But is that trust misplaced? Or has Oz, who often peddles miracle cures for weight loss and other maladies, mortgaged medical veracity for entertainment value?

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.” Then last month, a study he widely trumpeted lauding coffee bean weight-loss pills was retracted despite Oz’s assertions it could “burn fat fast for anyone who wants to lose weight.”

And now, his work has come under even greater scrutiny in the British Medical Journal, which on Wednesday published a study analyzing Oz’s claims along with those made on another medical talk show. What they found wasn’t reassuring. The researchers, led by Christina Korownyk of the University of Alberta, charged medical research either didn’t substantiate — or flat out contradicted — more than half of Oz’s recommendations. “Recommendations made on medical talk shows often lack adequate information on specific benefits or the magnitude of the effects of these benefits,” the article said. “… The public should be skeptical about recommendations made on medical talk shows.”
....

[e-mail]

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

[Archae]

1. This is one of those "No DUH!" stories.

Oz is himself a whore.
He'll endorse anything for money.

"Stand on your head and put crystals on your feet, it'll cure your bad breath!"
No, he hasn't said this outright, but that is Oz's M. O.

[MADem]

4. Actually, he may tout alternative practices, but he is not a "whore" (your word).

He specifically says he doesn't endorse products and if you see his face/name on one, it's a fake. He does this on every show I've seen.

I think a lot of his touting is foolishness, but caveat emptor. He isn't selling anything save his show.

He's usually touting 'natural' solutions and explaining how the body or medications work in a very simplistic way--it's geared to a sixth grade intelligence, his show.

[Curmudgeoness]

38. He may say that he does not endorse products,

but he single-handedly makes a huge market for any of the "natural" solutions that are using his face and name.

I still consider him a whore, because he has said that if his show just focused on eating less and exercising more, no one would watch it. He may be staying out of the selling of these products, but he is making some snake oil sales people very rich. I also wonder if it is true that he does not profit from these products. He may not be selling them, but he may have investments in a hidden company that is selling these products. Or maybe selling the ingredients for these products, keeping himself a step away from the actual products. I don't trust him as far as I can throw my refrigerator.

[MADem]

41. He goes out of his way to avoid mentioning brands and always, always issues that caveat I mentioned.

None of the stuff he touts is proprietary--you can wander into any health food store and see ten or more brands of any herb or tincture he is talking about.

If he had investments in those companies after vociferously insisting that he has NO connection to them, we'd know about it--particularly since Congress has already looked into his activities with a fine-toothed comb as a consequence of his excessive enthusiasm about the efficacy of some herbs or methodologies.

I think the "W" word is ill-advised to describe him, for a lot of reasons, not the least of which it's just not accurate. He may not give very good advice (and from all accounts, his enthusiasm for this or that "cure" is often lame), and you may find him less than reliable for that reason, but the accusations that he's secretly profiting from sales of products are inaccurate. Claire McCaskill would have had his head on a plate were that the case.

[LiberalElite]

71. I almost never watch his show BUT -

I've seen various items in health food stores often with a sign saying "AS SEEN ON DR. OZ".

[MADem]

74. I have been forced to watch it (owing to the company I keep and I won't be rude and gripe

about tastes in television) so I have seen enough of them to know that he explicitly says "If you see my name, know that that's BS--I do not endorse" at the end of every program.

[AikidoSoul]

55. Oz is not a whore. The real "whores" are the chem/pharm

lobbyists and their shills... plus the doctors who promote drugs and receive
kickbacks. Add a bunch of politicians and you have the real whores we should worry about.

Oz does not receive kickbacks from any company and will not allow his name to be used to promote any substance whether it be a food, a therapy, vitamin, or whatever.

Many of his recommendations are spot on. I've read extensively for decades on the available, well respected research on many vitamins and foods. It's not hard to find substantive information from honorable institutions or individuals dedicated to finding the truth..... not paid whores for the chemical/pharmaceutical companies. And there are plenty of whores in that industry.

It completely amazes me how easily so many DUers cave to the industry funded and promoted ideas of what "real medicine" is. There is a real deficit of truly scientific thinking and knowledge on DU. It is the greatest flaw of this site.

You would think that the ads on tv for drugs would make you think about what is good and what is not. Too many drugs have terrible side effects. I laugh out loud when I hear them being rattled off in the background in the TV ads while we look at images of birds, butterflies, flowers, kissing and other "natural" things. The ads are trying to brainwash us to think that somehow these petrochemical and coal tar based drugs are "natural" instead of synthetically constructed chemical compounds.

I get horrific side effects from many drugs so I only take thyroid medication, but not the synthetic version because it makes me very ill. The female endocrinologist who prescribed it gets a kickback from the company that produces it. She refused to prescribe the natural versions of this which are porcine derived such as NatureThroid and Armour thyroid.

Dr. Oz is a very good guy. I hate to see his name denigrated on DU. His program has provided many examples of natural alternatives and healthy foods containing vitamins and minerals that specifically help prevent, and even cure disease.

Think of iodine. Calcium. Magnesium. CoQ10. Vitamin C. B-Complex, B-12, and many other vitamins that have prevented disease.

And for those of you who doubt that homeopathy works -- you are totally brainwashed and/or too narrow in your thinking to understand how it can work. Truth is you would have to have a deep knowledge of quantum physics to even begin to understand it's mysterious healing powers.

To say Oz is a whore is sickening, ad hominem BS. You should stick to political figures, the war industry and the chem / pharm industries to point your fingers at for being whores.

Oz is a highly respected heart surgeon with real capacity to open his mind and think about how many natural foods and vitamins are preferable to toxic drugs that kill thousands of people every year. Joseph Mercola is also an excellent source of very well documented information about disease, prevention of disease and even natural cures.

Please stop you ad hominem attacks on these good men.

[Dont call me Shirley]

68. +1

Wholistic medicine isn't only used by right wing Christian fundamentalists. Leftie hippies were the ones who really got the wholistic movement rolling.

[Thor_MN]

79. "Truth is you would have to have a deep knowledge of quantum physics to even begin to understand"

[yeoman6987]

9. Thanks Oprah. She gave America this con artist.

[nichomachus]

24. Among so many con artists

Dr. Phil comes to mind -- what a charlatan.

But then, Oprah herself is a charlatan -- so what can you expect. It's a big con artist club.

[1StrongBlackMan]

29. Oprah? A charlatan? ...

Interesting.

Charlatan to me, means someone falsely claiming to have some special knowledge/wisdom that they use to exploit others.

Please elaborate ... because I'm pretty sure we have a different understanding of the word.

[nichomachus]

32. She spent her time foisting quacks on her audience

which was only to willing to gobble them up.

Dr. Oz is one.
Dr. Phil is another

Then she convinced people that she was a literary expert. Her blessing could send a book's sales into the stratosphere, even if the book was shit, which many of them were.

She was a competent actress who turned herself into an "arbiter" of science, psychology, and literature -- which she definitely was not. But, the American people have always had a love affair with charlatans.

[1StrongBlackMan]

35. Okay, I disagree; but, OK. n/t

[Lulu KC]

61. me too but OK

[m-lekktor]

47. yep. Deepak Chopra is the main quack that comes to mind.

I blame her for him.

[RebelOne]

62. But she also spent time promoting Obama during his first run for president. n/t

[CrawlingChaos]

73. Oh, don't forget "The Secret"

It was that that self-help system she promoted where you visualize stuff and it somehow becomes real (some kind of bastardization of some concepts from quantum physics... I forget exactly). People were opting out of medical treatments in favor of believing really hard - such is the power of Oprah. It was an embarrassing episode for her.

My favorite thing from "The Secret" was the advice for people trying to lose weight, which was to not even look at fat people. Just don't look at them! Avert your gaze! As someone said at the time "how am I going to watch The Sopranos"?

As far at the book club goes, it was actually a good thing that she was trying to get people to read, but then it turned into a disturbing mass control exercise where people would only read what Oprah told them to read, and she wielded this frightening power over the publishing industry. But we did get some amusing incidents out of it -- the guy who wrote "The Corrections" who didn't want to be in the book club because he didn't think any *men* would read his book. And my favorite, the debacle over "A Million Little Pieces" and the unforgettable spectacle of Oprah eviscerating the author on television. I'll never forget her fury that he had DARED to commit the MORTAL SIN of making the mighty Oprah look bad (of course she never takes any responsibility for her own dumb-ass choices).

Which reminds me, I keep waiting for her to publicly weigh in on Bill Cosby. Let us not forget, he was her dear, dear friend and partner in tag-team pontificating for so many years. She obviously knew (the accusations have been out there for a long-ass time) but never even asked him about it in the many interviews she did with him. They had plenty of criticism for other people, but never for themselves.

[AlbertCat]

45. falsely claiming to have some special knowledge/wisdom that they use to exploit others.

Well, she did claim she and others who believe in religions have a special appreciation for wonder that atheists don't have.


The bigoted charlatan!

[billhicks76]

63. Armenian Genocide Denier

And that is horrible.

[Archae]

64. You mean Dr Oz?

I never heard of that.

[6000eliot]

2. Quelle surprise!

[DeadLetterOffice]

49. Yes, exactly. Whoda thunkit?

[leftyladyfrommo]

3. Ah. I don't want Dr. Oz to be a fake.

I like the guy.

Shucks! If you can't trust in Dr. Oz then who can you trust?

[Myrina]

5. Another of Oprah's cronies, like non-Dr. Phil ...

.... shouldn't she have some 'splainin to do, as to why she foisted these quacks on us ?

[iandhr]

6. I am SHOCKED SHOCKED to find gambling going on here.

[djean111]

7. To put it in perspective, most campaign blather is baseless and wrong. And affects everyone.

I don't watch Dr. Oz, but it seems to me that his recommendations are not as likely to kill me as the drugs my doctor tries to recommend every once in a while. Or drugs I see on TV. "wefeelwemusttellyouthatthisdrughasbeenknowntocausecanceranddeathsothatyoucannotsueuswhenthathappens".

[AlbertCat]

48. I don't watch Dr. Oz, ....

....but it seems to me that his recommendations are not as likely to kill me as the drugs my doctor tries to recommend every once in a while. Or drugs I see on TV. "

You'd trust someone you don't even watch over your own Dr. who knows your medical history ,as well as others')and how drugs affect them?


THIS is the problem with Dr's like Oz and Phil! They push utterly ridiculous notions like this, and people fall for them! How idiotic!

[LiberalLoner]

8. What bothers me about Dr. Oz and other such popular doctors is the way

Other people use "knowledge" obtained from them, and alternative medicine in general, to:

1. Try to tell me my Multiple Sclerosis is all my own fault, because I ate wrong or lived wrong or something like that;

2. Try to tell me my prescribed medicines are unnecessary and harmful and I should try homeopathy/diet changes/healing crystals/avoiding artificial sweeteners/etc. ad nauseum, and if I DON'T jump to follow their advice, I am not only an ungrateful stupid witch, I am also deliberately remaining ill and so its all my own fault if the MS progresses (which it will) and so I deserve scorn rather than compassion.

[1StrongBlackMan]

31. +1 ...

[DeadLetterOffice]

50. +2

Chronic migraineur here, and if one more person tells me to stay hydrated and avoid my triggers and it'll all be fine, I'm going to blow a gasket.

[hunter]

83. Yes. Chronic migraines are not just a bad headache.

I'd do anything to avoid them. I stay hydrated and I'm absolutely paranoid about suspected "triggers" but a migraine can still can take me out for a day.

The meds I have do work when I feel one coming on, but only so far as to keep me off the bathroom floor curled up in the dark in front of the toilet wishing I was dead. Even with meds the day is still ruined and I'm not fully functional.

[DeadLetterOffice]

85. Totally.

I hate them. I hate the side effects from the prevention meds, and the treatment meds. And I'm not a huge fan of 31 needle sticks in my scalp every 12 weeks either, but at least those seem to do some actual GOOD.

This is how I try to explain migraine to those who don't get it:
:

[markpkessinger]

72. As a diabetic, I can totally relate to what you are saying! n/t

[kwassa]

86. yes, I just ran into similar bad advice here about cardiovascular disease.

[tridim]

10. Unlike real doctors, who are always right.

Especially when greased by pharmaceutical reps.

"Statin drugs are safe and effective!!!1"

"The Standard American Diet is healthy!!!!1"

For the record I have never seen Dr. Oz, so I'm not defending his show's content. I am skeptical of the entire profession.

[bahrbearian]

14. My real doctor left me disabled , my Holistic Doctor fixed me.

Don't forget Pharmaceuticals that kill and addict .

[Dont call me Shirley]

69. +1

[Major Nikon]

15. "Dr" Oz promotes water memory therapy

Just sayin'

[tridim]

18. And "real doctors" regularly put people on antibiotics for minor viral infections.

It's disgusting, and very common.

The result of which is antibiotics that are no longer effective for their intended use.

[Major Nikon]

22. Antibiotics are generally effective for their intended use

Beyond the placebo effect, water memory isn't, never has been, and never will be effective for anything. That's quackery. Misdiagnosis mistakes aren't. Big difference.

[paleotn]

27. people bitch, moan and flap around until the "real doctor" gives them what they want....

....an antibiotic whether they need it or not. Put down the wide brush, will ya?

[tridim]

28. These medical experts shouldn't allow patients to prescribe serious medications for themselves.

Here's how easy it is... "You have a viral infection, not a bacterial infection, it is irresponsible and dangerous for me to prescribe an antibiotic in your situation. The answer is no."

It's a disgusting practice perpetrated by DOCTORS, for money.

[NickB79]

54. "It's a disgusting practice perpetrated by DOCTORS, for money."

So, am I to assume all the homeopaths and holistic healers you've been to in your life have treated you for free?

At least the doctor can prescribe medication that can actually treat a disease if need be, rather than placebos.

[Dont call me Shirley]

70. This is a ridiculous statement...

"So, I am to assume all the homeopaths and holistic healers you've been to in your life have treated you for free?"

How many of those MDs have diagnosed and treated you for free!? Come on!

[paleotn]

60. Oh my God!!!

doctors are treating people for money! Whoda thought?!

Some Docs do exactly what you described, and I applaud them. Some, unfortunately take the route of less resistance, but moronic patients or worse parents of patients bear significant responsibility as well. Ever seen some idiot pitch a huge fit when you don't prescribe exactly what they THINK their kid needs? MDs don't make shit off prescriptions anyway and your lack of understanding of how these things actually work is really astounding.

I just love folks like you who think ALL MDs are evil, yet when they really, really get sick they're all about getting treated by one of those nasty, evil, licensed and trained medical professional.

[CanSocDem]

80. What would you rather have...??

A pocketful of money or the joy of witnessing the good health of someone else. Be careful, this is a trick question.




.

[Ratty]

51. The only time that happened to me

Was when there was a risk of secondary lung infection (bacterial). I'm surprised it's "very common" doctors prescribe needless antibiotics.

[Kablooie]

11. Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!

[Thinkingabout]

12. It has a lot to do with nothing, i have found good and valuable information on his

Show, it is one of those things, if you don't like his show by all means turn it off and never watch it again.

[L0oniX]

13. Fucking quack product shill.

[FairWinds]

16. At best, medical doctors are . .

glorified plumbers.
Now doctors of Political Science, on the other hand,
are as pure as the driven snow.
[humor alert]

[HappyMe]

17. He's a quack.

[Orrex]

19. But he makes people feel good about their self-diagnosed gluten intolerance

So he must be good.

[pnwmom]

39. Gluten intolerance, like many food intolerances and allergies,

can often only be diagnosed through an elimination diet -- which results in a self-diagnosis.

Celiac disease, which can be proven through a blood test and a biopsy, is only one form of gluten sensitivity. It is not the only serious sensitivity, however. Just the only one with a simple diagnostic test.

Its symptoms can be similar to lactose intolerance -- a condition that doesn't seem to be scorned the way gluten intolerance often is -- or much worse. There are people with gluten-sensitive Crohn's disease, elevated liver enzymes, and migraines -- but no simple tests for the effect of gluten on any of these conditions. Just trial and error or, as you put it, "self-diagnosis."

[Orrex]

46. You and I have discussed this previously, and IIRC we're more or less on the same page

I was mocking Doc Oz, rather than those diagnosed with gluten intolerance.

[Kalidurga]

20. Omg he's molting

?fit=1200%2C1200

[Spitfire of ATJ]

37. ...

[oldandhappy]

21. Not sensible and very very annoying the way the ads pop up all over the place

Go away Oz man. I do not know who you are scamming today. Not me.

[Derek V]

23. Can't WAIT to show this to my Sister!

Very intelligent woman, but she worships Oz.

[sunnystarr]

25. Half empty or half full?

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.

same link as provided by OP. Bold added my me.

That is saying that half of the recommendations are valid and not contradicted by other evidence. Better odds than I get from my doctor.

Oz should be recognized for educating viewers about food, nutrition and nutrients. He makes the connection that what we eat affects our health. Most of the public never gives that a thought.

[DeadLetterOffice]

52. If more than half of your doctor's recommendations to you...

...have no evidence to support them or are contraindicated by the best available evidence, then you need a new doctor. Like, immediately.

[Throd]

53. Half empty or half full of shit is a bad ratio no matter how you slice it.

[markmyword]

26. Non Traditional Medicine

Dr. Oz has a lot of advice that doesn't fit in with your standard conventional medical advice. I don't watch his show regularly, but when I do ,I try some of the foods he recommends.
I do not bother with buying any products he has on the show.

Who would be threatened by doctors like Dr. Oz? The AMA and the pharmaceutical companies.
If everyone started eating healthy, did more exercises, maybe their health would improve WITHOUT Pills!!!
If you use alternative medicine, then regular doctors would be left in the stone age, because their only cure is to prescribe a medication. How many doctors get a commission for every pill they prescribe?
Who paid for this study? We're finding out that more and more university departments and their professors are being paid by the pharmaceutical companies to write papers or to make speeches to other doctors.
Don't forget that the Koch brothers now make a donation to a university department, which entitles them to HIRE a professor who promotes their agenda.
46% of what he does is substantiated, some of the other advice hasn't gone through years of testing.
Dr. Oz promotes healthy foods, who cares about a test and whether it's substaniated.How can you go wrong eating more fruits and vegetables?

Is this the most important thing Congress has to do?
How about PROSECUTING WAR CRIMINALS!!!!!!!

[jeff47]

36. So what should I have eaten to fix my broken shoulder?

I used "conventional medicine" to repair my shoulder - surgery and a host of evil pills to deal with the pain.

What should I have eaten instead?

[Warren Stupidity]

82. Fine. So put your alternative medicine through the same testing

as conventional medicines. If it works, good news. If it can't be demonstrated to work...

[Scuba]

30. Absurd that he didn't research Medline, Zynx or another evidence-based-medicine reference ...

... before spouting his advice on TV. These things aren't secrets.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

33. He'll use the FOX "News" defense that it's okay to lie to millions of people.

[jmowreader]

34. All ye need to know: Joseph Mercola is one of Oz's favorite guests

He s also a huge believer in homeopathy.

[War Horse]

40. I make my living as a subtitler

I've had the (mis)fortune of subtitling Dr. Oz a lot. I wish he would speak in complete sentences more often than not, but other than that...

As a subtitler, in order to give the wiever a decent product, you really have to delve into what the person is saying in order to fairly reproduce it in a foreign language. And the Dr. has given some decent advice over the years, I actually have to give him that. But boy, have I had my fair share of WTF moments with him. I think that on the whole, he does a lot more damage than good.

[Iggo]

67. "I wish he would speak in complete sentences more often than not, but other than that..."

That made me laugh.

Thanks.

[sakabatou]

42. Not surprised.

[AlbertCat]

43. Only half?

[pnwmom]

44. What is the average percent of medical advice doled out by doctors that turns out

to be baseless or wrong?

Without context, it's hard to know how much worse Dr. Oz's advise is than most practicing doctors -- such as the many doctors who prescribe antibiotics for viral infections.

Another example. My elderly mother was in rehab after a surgical procedure, and she was experiencing symptoms of delirium. The MD associated with the rehab facility recommended that she be put on an anti-psychotic, "to help her sleep better." It turns out that anti-psychotics are commonly given to nursing home patients, even though the FDA has given a "black box warning" against them being prescribed to elderly patients with her symptoms. Why do so many doctors prescribe it anyway? Probably because of the huge marketing campaigns of the drug companies -- campaigns that have brought them heavy fines from the FDA.

Research has also shown that SSRIs help people with serious depression, but for mild or moderate depression, SSRIs work no better than a placebo. Doctors prescribe them anyway.

I'm willing to believe Dr. Oz is giving out a lot of bad advice. But I'm not convinced that he is such a big exception.

[Dawson Leery]

56. About TV doctors and lawyers who advertise on the sides of buses:

STAY AWAY FROM THEM!

[MisterP]

57. so, par for the course, then? XD

[yellowcanine]

58. Dr. Oz buys the wheat belly bs.

Which is ably refuted here.
http://www.forksoverknives.com/the-smoke-and-mirrors-behind-wheat-belly-and-grain-brain/

It is clear that Oz does not base many of his claims on actual science.

[cyberspirit]

59. Weight Loss Drug - Obesity is a disease

What I heard is that the pharmaceutical companies are coming out with less than effective weight loss drugs. Because Obesity has been labeled a disease only doctors can prescribe weight loss products. They're going after Dr. Oz, because they're setting the stage by discrediting everything and everyone involved in weight loss and then they will come out with the weight loss commercials and spread their drugs. it's all about money.

[AngryOldDem]

65. This is breaking news?

Not questioning why you posted, don't misunderstand. But I thought it was pretty obvious the man was a hack for a long time now. I have absolutely no use for his fear-mongering and other bullshit.

He needs to go, along with that other irritation, Dr. Phil.

That said, people should know that they should take whatever they hear on these shows with an ENORMOUS grain of salt. But they don't, which is what makes these shows and their hosts so dangerous.

[Thor_MN]

66. Half baked woo...

Betting your health on the advice of of a quack is a fool's errand.

[Skittles]

75. his show is complete shyte

I've stumbled on it a couple of times due to insomnia (night worker) and I shudder to think of the kind of people who enjoy such crap

[longship]

76. And he supports that lunatic, John of God!!

Which alone should warrant him being struck off the roles.

If you don't know who John of God is, well he's a kook, faith healer who does an old carny trick called psychic surgery and bilks people for their money claiming that they are healed, when he is just doing carny tricks, long ago debunked, as documented here and here.

And even on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show,

by James Randi. Amazingly, the NBC operators were flooded with calls that night with requests to get in touch with the psychic surgeon, in spite of the fact that Randi exposed it as an utter fraud.

That's how scammers and frauds like Mehmet Oz, and Peter Popoff, and John of God, and Benny Hinn and idiot homeopathists and chiropractors and all the eastern mythos new age kooks all get away with it, and get rich, peddling their quackery. They have nobody to hold them accountable. All this stuff is unregulated. The quacks have free reign.

That is, unless somebody holds their feet to the fire and shows their frauds.

[AZ Progressive]

77. All this talk just shows more evidence that Americans don't give a shit about ethics

This is the curse that greed has done to America. You can't trust anyone anymore. What sad times, these days.

[DesertFlower]

78. i don't normally watch his show but the

other day i was having my nails done and they had his show on.

he had a woman on who was at least 30 lbs overweight telling us how to make healthy foods taste good. that did it for me. is he that desperate for guests?

[Warren Stupidity]

81. Shocking!

Who could have anticipated this development?

[hunter]

84. Think of the brighter side, he's got a better record than television news!

Just another reason I don't watch any television. No broadcast, no cable, no satellite, nothing. My television is a DVD and video cassette player, a tool for watching movies.