I'm Curious About The Dr. Mehmet Oz Contradiction... page 4

[979roadrunner]

I have watched Dr Oz one time, and, while he did have a few smart things to say, he also embarked on such an obviously 'junk science' experiment to 'prove' an idea, I've never watched him again.

[Meg-a-Tron]

The only intelligent thing I have heard from his mouth was that "automated eating" makes it a lot easier to stick to an eating plan.

Before I started getting into nutrition research, I saw an episode about makeup. The guy literally made things up as he went along, it was sick.

[979roadrunner]

Well, the 'smart things' he said were stuff most folks with any sense know anyway, like the myth of getting a cramp and drowning if you swam right after eating being a myth, so maybe 'obvious but some folks don't know any better' should replace 'smart' in my post

[kennelmom]

I don't watch Oprah and I've never watched Dr. Oz, but my sister and mom do. I'd been talking about Primal Blueprint for weeks and my sister - the cardio and carb queen - would have none of it. Then one day she got really interested in eating primally because of something Dr. Oz said. She read the Primal Blueprint, switched cold turkey and has never looked, felt or performed better. So, while Dr. Oz may be a quack, he must have said something right at least once LOL

[Katt]

I don't watch Oprah and I've never watched Dr. Oz, but my sister and mom do. I'd been talking about Primal Blueprint for weeks and my sister - the cardio and carb queen - would have none of it. Then one day she got really interested in eating primally because of something Dr. Oz said. She read the Primal Blueprint, switched cold turkey and has never looked, felt or performed better. So, while Dr. Oz may be a quack, he must have said something right at least once LOL

Excellent!

[maddie427]

I don't watch Oprah and I've never watched Dr. Oz, but my sister and mom do. I'd been talking about Primal Blueprint for weeks and my sister - the cardio and carb queen - would have none of it. Then one day she got really interested in eating primally because of something Dr. Oz said. She read the Primal Blueprint, switched cold turkey and has never looked, felt or performed better. So, while Dr. Oz may be a quack, he must have said something right at least once LOL

That is great news! Even if he just mentioned it, anything having to do with Oprah is great marketing!

[Aeneas]

Nah, they're generally going to have a rather narrow view based on their research area. They aren't going to have a broad, integrated knowledge of research in hundreds or thousands of lines of inquiry. They often are not going to have the knowledge of general physiology and pathology needed to make the bridge between bench science and clinical practice. Actually, that bridge is generally addressed in clinical trials, which in fact are headed by MDs. But obviously, a person can't practice medicine all day and be a research scientist all day.

It really should be the province of nutritionists to have this detailed, integrated knowledge. What a shame it isn't.

Unfortunately, true nutritionists with good, in depth understanding of biology and biochemistry are very rare. Many are steeped in the CW doctrine to achieve state certification as dietitians. Without state certification nutritionists have the same pseudo-standing as herbalists. While good basic research does occur in nutritional science at the whole animal and cellular level, it's generally poorly funded by the gov't as much of it would question CW according to the FDA and USDA (thereby hurting the bottom line of the big-business concerns who run those agencies), uses less than optimal model systems (only humans are humans, right?) and doesn't necessarily reflect extremes that the primal/ paleo community go to with our lifestyle commitment.

The best experiment (albeit uncontrolled) has been conducted in the American Society in the decades since WWII under the authority of the FDA and USDA under which CW became ingrained into our national culture. When our eating patterns and lifestyle changed so has our overall health has suffered. They tried pushing carbs and limiting fat and protein, and yet on a national level we suffer from metabolic disease at higher rates than any other country. We in the primal/paleo community are at the forefront of a tidal wave of change that will come, but we have a lot of established and ingrained "knowledge" and bias to overcome.

A growing number of PhD scientists are coming to understand the importance of nutritional science and integrating it into their research or making it the primary focus of their work. Academics and intellectuals generally are at the forefront of paradigm shifts such as the primal/ paleo transition we support. Molecular nutrition is just beginning to get some legs as an independent field of study and (hopefully) will continue to develop. PhDs, trained in the biochemical and molecular techniques with an open mind and an unbiased interpretation of solidly designed experimental research, will lay the groundwork that will allow for clinical trials to be conducted, but this takes time, and a group of clinicians dedicated to wellness and not acute illness.

[avocado]

Aeneas, well said. I find all the new things being discovered fascinating, in light of the former concept that we pretty much understood nutrition fully. What a laugh!