The End of the Rainbow for Dr. Oz?
Some of it has been pretty minor stuff, like butt-busting brownies and a fast-food diet. Some of it’s been considerably dicier. He’s railed about arsenic in apple juice, sending the FDA into attack mode. Last year he “investigated” reparative therapy, asking, “Is there a gay cure?” and welcoming “experts on both sides” — including the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality. Though he claimed on his blog that “I have concerns about the potentially dangerous effects when the therapy fails,” he also defended the show and its guests, saying, “You have to present multiple perspectives.”
And while Dr. Oz explicitly states that he does not endorse “any brand name or commercial supplier,” all it takes is one mention of an exciting! possible! breakthrough! — usually concerning looking younger or losing weight - for anything to do with it goes flying off the shelves. He’s devoted shows to ways to “supercharge your body with human growth hormone” and started a run on SeroVital - despite the fuzzy evidence of its effectiveness. He examines green coffee beans for weight loss, and zing! suddenly coffee bean extract is a thing.
Last month, Oz did an episode about the HCG Diet, and featured the glowing testimonial of Dr. Sheri L. Emma on his website — with a handy link to her own site and its $149.95 “starter kit.” He’s invited the controversial Dr. Joseph Mercola on repeatedly, gently stating that he doesn’t agree with everything the man says but praising him for “defying convention and thinking largely outside the box.” Mercola’s outside-the-box thinking: advising against mammograms and selling an $8,000 “Whole Body Vibration Training Machine” on his website.