Can You Trust Dr. Oz?

I bet many of you are familiar with Dr. Mehmet Oz, the cardiologist who has his own show (Dr. Oz) and was a frequent visitor on Oprah. He has an engaging personality and always seem to want to help you get healthy. He’s a real doctor, so you can trust everything he says, right?

Not necessarily.

I used to watch Dr. Oz’s show when it first came out. I had to stop. The show was too over the top, for me. I tried to watch one of the shows last year, but it seemed ever worse. More “Take this supplement and it will solve all your problems.” Unfortunately, it’s too easy for people to get caught up in the hype.

Julia Belluz and Stephen J. Hoffman wrote an excellent piece on Slate.com called, Dr. Oz’ Miraculous Medical Advice. In it, the writers look at the research that Dr. Oz is basing his claims on. The expose will shock you if you’re a fan of Dr. Oz.

Can You Trust Research?

And that’s my issue with the “latest research”. When I surveyed FitWatch readers a while ago, you said you wanted more articles based on the latest research. I do want to bring some of that to you, but it’s such a dangerous thing.

Remember all those Acai berry weight loss ads? Someone took a small study that “showed” acai berry had an effect on weight loss. So many people got scammed.

Dr. Walter C. Willett explains, in his book, Eat, Drink and Be Healthy:

“For nutrition research, the rhythm is more a cha-cha — two steps forward and one step back — than a straight-ahead march. If you look at the day-to-day results reported more like sports scores than scientific research, it’s easy to wonder why researchers can’t get it right the first time.”

So, how can you trust research studies? Dr. Willett goes on to explain that we need to wait for the evidence to accumulate until “the weight of the evidence gradually tips the balance in favor of one idea over another. It’s only when this happens that you should make changes in your life.”

Doesn’t that make more sense?

I want to know your opinion. Head on over to slate.com to read the Dr. Oz article — Dr. Oz’s Miraculous Medical Advice — be sure to scroll to end, where the writers do a side-by-side analysis of Dr. Oz’ recommendations vs. the best available research evidence.

Is this shocking to you or have you always taken Dr. Oz’s claims with a grain of salt? Do you tend to get caught up in the hype?