The Dr. Oz Effect

(sigh)... Somebody has to say it and I guess I will. I do not know Dr. Oz, yet I am sure he is a nice, genuine guy. He has been teaching for many years about health and is part of a small percentage of doctors that understand the concepts of health in disease prevention vs. symptom management. Heck, he even came to talk to Nature's Sunshine people back in the early 90's before Oprah made him a star. I think his heart is in the right place and applaud him for breaking from the indoctrination that most doctors go through in medical school. However, we must talk about the way he drives the market. First and foremost Dr. Oz is not selling or promoting anything product related. He would probably have the FDA come after him if he promoted a product on national television. Secondly, just because Dr. Oz reports a study of a natural remedy does not mean that the remedy is: a) commercially available, b) the correct product for you based on your specific needs, c) a blanket remedy for everyone, d) an endorsement of that product. The studies that he reports are usually about standardized extracts or chemicals pulled from the working action of a plant. This means that the study is promoting the drug-like effects of the plant. What I mean by this is that a standardized extract is nothing more than a concentrated chemical of the plant that has been enhanced or extracted from the plant to give the plant more drug like response than herbal response.
The herb is no longer in it's whole form. It has been tampered with to make it stronger than what you would find it naturally. This set's up the possibility for a side effect, which in herbalism is rare because you are using the herb, not the chemical taken from the herb.
Let's take the now infamous Raspberry Ketones for weight loss. Ketones can be neurotoxic when isolated from other constituents. However, all the recorded toxic effects came from lab testing on rats and guinea pigs. There are no documented cases where plants with a high ketone concentration have caused toxic effects in humans. The catch is that the whole plant was used, not just the individual ketone. So, a ketone is safe even in large amounts if it is a part of the plant, however, when pulled out of the plant for the specific effect of the ketone, it could be toxic. Also, within the ketone you have different oils called Thujone and Jasmone. Thujone is one of the most toxic members of the ketone family and if used should be used in small amounts for short time periods. Jasmone found in Jasmine is nontoxic. Other Ketones are Camphor, Carvone, Menthone, Nonyl Ketone, and Pinocamphone. What does all this mean? For me, it means instead of getting gung-ho over taking Raspberry Ketones for a weight loss wonder; learn that Dr. Oz is sharing information about a study that was probably performed on animals with isolated ingredients extracted out of a plant. I have worked with Raspberry for years and have clients who have taken it for years and can positively say that Raspberry does not cause weight loss. However, the fact that a chemical that is pulled out of Raspberry may have that effect does not surprise me. Remember that big pharma has been doing this for years. They have no original ideas. EVERYTHING they produce is based on a possible function from something in nature. So, you tell me who is smarter, Nature or Big Pharma? Let me just say now.....THERE IS NO MAGIC BULLET FOR WEIGHT LOSS. Weight loss is an individual process based on your constitutional make up. You will put weight on and lose it in the way that your body naturally works. There is nothing you can take to force your body to do something that will result in long term positive effects. You may temporarily change things, yet because of the quick fix mentality, will end up having a harder time down the line.
I cannot tell you the amount of calls that I take about Dr. Oz and the amount of educational time I have to spend to teach people about these studies. You will see companies jump on this frenzy bandwagon too and promote a product to cash in on what Dr. Oz is saying. These companies will take your money, and laugh about it all the way to the bank. There have been lawsuits in the past because of false advertising that made certain products look to be directly endorsed by Dr. Oz. Yet, he cannot make any direct endorsement because the FDA would destroy him. So, before you lose yourself to all the wonderful things Dr. Oz has to say, please take time to consult with your local alternative health practitioner to get the scoop on what is really going on. If Dr. Oz is talking about an herb or an extract that sounds good for a specific ailment then please pursue your own healing, however, talk to someone who can help you before you make the jump into working with something that you have no idea of if it is right for you. I am grateful for the passion that Dr. Oz has for teaching and educating, and I pray you have that same passion for healing your life. Yet, there are local practitioners that are amazing healers that can go one on one with you to help you see thru to your goals. So, in summary, I am grateful for anybody to learn and I am grateful that there is a doctor out there pushing people back to nature, but please remember it is strictly an educational show, not a promotional platform for any specific product or methodology. If Dr. Oz told the NSP people 20 years ago that they were 25 years ahead of the curve, that should let you know that your very own local alternative healing community has the ability and know how to help you on your healing journey. Here's to your health!