![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Mehmet Oz. Photograph by Jason Kempin/Getty Images. As people were getting ready for the holiday season and its accompanying waist expansion late last year, Dr. Mehmet Oz let viewers of his TV show in on a timely little secret. After carefully wrapping his lips around the exotic words “Garcinia cambogia,” he added, sternly: “It may be the simple solution you’ve been looking for to bust your body fat for good.”In Dr. Oz’s New York City studio, garcinia extract—or hydroxycitric acid found in fruits like purple mangosteen—sounded fantastic, a promising new tool for the battle against flab. ![]() ![]() Outside the Oprah- ordained doctor’s sensational world of amazing new diets, there’s no real debate about whether garcinia works: The best evidence is unequivocally against it. The miracle cure isn’t really a miracle at all. It’s not even new. Garcinia cambogia has been studied as a weight- loss aid for more than 1. A 1. 99. 8 randomized controlled trial looked at the effects of garcinia as a potential “antiobesity agent” in 1. ![]() The conclusion: The pills were no better than placebo for weight and fat loss. More recently, a group of researchers summarized the evidence for this “breakthrough” extract in a systematic review of 1. Some trials reported short- term slimming, but the overall effects were so small and most studies were so methodologically flawed that the authors were unable to conclude that garcinia extract has an impact on body weight. One of those authors, Edzard Ernst, has dedicated his career to analyzing research on alternative and complementary medicine; he found that the supplement may be linked to adverse gastrointestinal effects. He told us, “Dr. Oz's promotion of this and other unproven or disproven alternative treatments is irresponsible and borders on quackery.”Still, people march into pharmacies or their physicians’ offices every day asking for Dr. Oz- endorsed treatments—even when these treatments are backed by the barest of evidence or none at all. Oz Fans Blog Free Diet Plans, Healthy Recipes, Weight loss tips and Dr. Mehmet Oz let viewers of his TV show in on a. Oz’s satellite patients spend tremendous amounts of money on products he recommends, a phenomenon that has been dubbed the “Oz Effect.”After he promoted neti pots, for example, Forbes magazine reported sales and online searches for the nasal irrigation system rose by 1. Who can blame his viewers? Oz may be the most credentialed of celebrity health promoters. He’s a professor and vice- chair of surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He earned his degrees at Ivy League universities, namely Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania. He’s won a slew of medical awards (in addition to his Emmys) and co- authored hundreds of academic articles. ![]() ![]() TopConsumerReviews.com reviews and ranks the best Colon Cleanse products available today. Colon cleanse by Dr. This colon cleanse is designed to eliminate crippling bacteria, parasites, and toxic buildup. SportzEdge on the Scene host Erika Wachter tries out and review's Dr. Oz's 3 Day Detox Cleanse. Are you ready for the ultimate detox solution? Oz’s 48-hour cleanse will revitalize you from the inside out. The Difference Between Ointment and Lotion. Oz and dermatologist Dr. Elizabeth Tanzi demonstrate how a skin ointment can lock in moisture and protect skin from.He’s clearly a smart guy with qualifications, status, and experience. It’s reasonable to assume he is well- versed in the scientific method and the principles of evidence- based medicine. He brought out researchers and physicians in white coats who discussed what they said was compelling evidence for the weight- loss panacea. There was an inspiring testimonial from a member of the audience. Plastic models even demonstrated how garcinia could suppress appetite and stop fat from being made. The show had the same easy manner as Oprah discussing Leo Tolstoy with her book club. Throughout the episode, Oz maintained his trademark boyish wonder and excitement as he delivered a message many of us long to hear: A pill could help us “burn fat without spending every waking moment exercising and dieting” and even combat “emotional eating.” Oz peppered his excitement with some caution: “Please, listen carefully,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders and his hands raised defensively in the air, “I don’t sell the stuff. I don’t make any money on this. I’m not going to mention any brands to you, either. I don’t want you conned.”Oz has acknowledged on air that as soon as he mentions a product, manufacturers clamor to get up websites claiming their brand was endorsed by him. They put his face on pill bottles and placards in health- food stores. They link to his show’s website and columns. His PR man, Tim Sullivan, told us that with every product Oz talks about, “the next morning I wake up to 5. Google alerts from companies saying . Millions follow his advice through the TV and radio, as well as his books, newspaper columns, and magazine articles. And examples of his pseudoscience abound. Take a breaking- news segment about green coffee- bean supplements that “can burn fat fast for anyone who wants to lose weight.” Oz cited a new study that showed people lost 1. A closer look at the coffee- bean research revealed that it was a tiny trial of only 1. It was supported by the Texas- based company Applied Food Sciences Inc., a manufacturer of green coffee- bean products. Oz didn’t mention the potential conflict of interest, but he did say he was skeptical. To ease his mind, he conducted his own experiment: It involved giving the pills to two audience members for five days and seeing what would happen. Unsurprisingly, both women reported being less hungry, more energetic, and losing two and six pounds, respectively. There are many reasons why this made- for- TV “study” would not be published in any reputable medical journal or meet the approval of Oz’s peers: The sample size was minuscule. The women were not followed for long enough to know whether the effects of the supplement were real. They were neither randomly selected nor unaware of what they were taking. They also knew they were going to have to announce their weight in public to millions of viewers. That pressure, combined with a strong placebo effect, was the most likely cause of their shape change, if one can call it that at all. As another example, for Day 6 of his “7- Day Miracle Plan to Boost Your Metabolism,” Oz told viewers “zinc reduces hunger by increasing your level of leptin” and that they might take 1. He probably based his claims on a study of mice that raised a possible link between zinc, leptin, and weight loss. But experiments involving people don’t bear this out. A double- blinded, randomized, controlled trial in humans found that zinc supplements did not cause significant changes in weight, body mass index, body fat percentage, or waist circumference. Nor did leptin increase. One study suggested zinc may even lower leptin levels. On a Jeopardy- themed episode about the “best flat- belly foods of all time,” Oz shared advice on what to do to get rid of a “muffin top.” He recommended almonds, yogurt, and olives, which he said are “great for keeping your belly flat.” Besides the fact that consuming any of these high- calorie foods in excess will do the opposite of keeping a person slim, there’s also no good evidence for targeted fat loss such as shedding love handles, especially by eating particular foods. He has recommended fish oil supplements for improved cardiovascular health and vitamin D to stave off colon, prostate, and breast cancers and to slow aging. While some evidence supports the importance of fish and vitamin D in the diet, studies on supplements have not shown protective effects. All studies on raspberry ketones have been conducted on rodents or cells, never in people. At the end of a blog post on Share. Care, the website for “quality healthcare information” that Oz co- owns, even he concluded: “Positive early results in the lab can be promising, but these do not always mean the same outcomes will occur in humans.”Sullivan, Oz’s PR representative, tried to soften the claims. He explained, “An adjective like . Our audience are not scientists, and the show needs to be more lively than a dry scientific discussion.” Even with the multiple warnings, the little miracles flew off store shelves. A legion of doctor- bloggers has dedicated thousands of hours to dissecting and debunking Oz’s claims. One of them is Steven Charlap, a preventive medicine physician in Delray Beach, Fla. Oz suggested the supplement as a “quick fix” for nights when you have one too many gin and tonics. The herbal remedy, according to Oz, “boosts your liver’s enzyme function, which helps to detoxify the body from excess alcohol.”But Charlap noted that while some studies suggest milk thistle may be helpful for people with liver disease, the evidence is unclear on its other health benefits. So when a woman on milk thistle came into Charlap’s clinic for her annual wellness visit, he asked if she had any problems with her liver, an abnormal liver- function test, or any other medically justifiable reason for using the product. The answer was no: She used milk thistle because her “other doctor” told her to do so. She was taking Oz’s medicine. Oz, Charlap noted, has also encouraged people to take two baby aspirin every night before bed to prevent heart attacks. For people at high risk for coronary heart disease, the authoritative U. S. Preventive Services Task Force would agree with him. But for healthy and older folks, aspirin can have damaging side effects—including bleeding ulcers—which are well- documented and may outweigh any potential benefits. Aspirin can also hurt patients who are on anti- coagulants or who have a history of gastric or stomach ulcers, a warning Oz does not mention on his show. An exasperated Charlap asked: “Where is the . As Edzard Ernst put it: “Prominent people like Oz do have considerable influence. If this influence is used to promote quackery, bogus treatments will seem credible. Using bogus treatments for serious conditions may cost lives.”Interestingly, for all the health wonders he promotes, Oz himself doesn’t rely on magic pills or quick fixes to maintain his salubrious air. He monitors his weight and exercises daily. According to a New York Timesprofile, his diet consists of berries, spinach, raw walnuts (soaked in water to “amplify their nutritional benefit”), and a dark green concoction of juices from cucumber and parsley. The Times journalist called it “the most efficient, joyless eating I have ever seen.”This doesn’t make for good TV, though, which gets at the tension between the worlds of science and entertainment.
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