Oprah signs off and doctors everywhere rejoice

[cleanhippie]

But for the purposes of this blog, we will say she is gone. And doctors everywhere are rejoicing. Why? Because Oprah is the Supreme Empress of medical woo, disseminating the greatest combination of medical mumbo jumbo and snake oil the world has ever seen.

Well, you might think, Oprah is entitled to her opinions. True. She is selling ratings, and apparently she knows that woo makes for better TV than, say evidence based medicine (a.k.a. the truth). I have no idea if her non-medical stuff is as far off base as a lot of her medicine; however, if you buy the wrong bra or Nate Berkus gets you to hang the wrong wall paper, no one is going to die.

http://drjengunter.wordpress.com/2011/05/26/oprah-signs-off-and-doctors-everywhere-rejoice/


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She goes on cite a few examples:

1) Talking about The Secret. That’s a nifty little book that says good stuff happens to you if you only believe that it will. I guess that means that everyone with cancer, well, you just didn’t wish enough to be healthy.

2) Giving anti-vaccine nut job Jenny McCarthy airtime (two shows!), never mind that there is not one journal article to support McCarthy’s beliefs that vaccines cause autism.

3) Giving Suzanne Somers a platform to spout off about her bizarre bioindentical hormone obsession.

4) Promoting Dr. Christine Northrup. Northrup tells women not to get the HPV vaccine because in her opinion HPV isn’t the cause of cervical cancer, a weak immune system is the culprit!

[BlueIris]

1. Woah. Didn't know that about Christine Northrup.

Going to research that now. I have been a huge CN fan for a few years now so that opinion bears looking into...

[Cerridwen]

4. I found a link.

http://www.drnorthrup.com/monthlywisdom/archive/aug2006.php

[arcane1]

2. Well-said!!!!

[kick-ass-bob]

3. "but The Secret implies that if your life sucks or that you are sick

well, ultimately it’s all your fault for not wishing it all away. Apparently, if you have cancer or heart disease, well, you just didn’t wish hard enough to be well."

Sorry, but that is obviously someone who does not understand what they were actually trying to say and just want to beat them up for it. It doesn't imply that at all unless you don't want to dig any deeper than the first 1/4 inch of topsoil. It's not about "wishing for things."

It's really just a jumping off point anyways -- which is really an aside to this topic so I'll stop here.

[chrisa]

19. "The Secret" is a money scam / woo-woo bullshit.

It's the same as Dianetics, hacks like James Von Praagh who claim that they can speak with dead loved ones, and stuff like that. They feed you bullshit and what you want to hear in exchange for cash.

"The Secret" is 'wishing for things.' It uses the obvious fact that if you have a positive outlook on life, you will do better, and tries to turn it into paranormal, woo-woo bull crap. Like other woo-woo cult scams, it also blames the person for it not working.

[cleanhippie]

23. Yep

[Still Blue in PDX]

29. I DO understand, and it is packaged rubbish.

I happen to be fairly well accomplished in sympathetic magick and energy work (which is essentially The Secret--newsflash, it's not so secret), and it only works within the confines of what is possible.

Sort of like prayer. Yes, you can pray, and you can ask, but quite often the answer is, "No."

[tridim]

5. How do those four examples compare to her shows with sound medical advice?

[RebelOne]

6. Don't forget about Dr. Oz. Some of his advice is off the wall. n/t

[shanti]

26. and some of it is extremely helpful

did you ever see his show on diabetes? he really broke it down in layman's terms.

[K8-EEE]

7. You know, a lot of us like information that doctors won't give us

I have a loved one who was prescribed absolute poison by doctors for years - meds that would cause side effects needing other drugs until she was on 8 drugs and feeling sick all the time. I advocated for medical marijuana WHICH NO DOCTOR HAD EVEN SUGGESTED, did research, found a Dr. online that treated this condition with medical cannabis and now she is off all the poison and treating symptoms totally with MM, and is happy and healthy. So, you know, fuck "the Doctors" wanting to control all the information. The doctors who get wined and dined by pharama reps they hire from beauty pageants. I would like a little counter balance to THAT wonderful system.

[EFerrari]

10. I don't like Oprah but agree with you 100%. n/t

[K8-EEE]

21. I also don't like/watch Oprah

But a lot of people I know have been harmed by listening to their doctors uncritically -- my mom got breast cancer after having been on post-menopausal hormones which they no longer routinely prescribe because of the high risk of cancer! Her neighbor died at age 57 after taking Vioxx for arthritis which is now off the market because of the high risk for heart attacks. DOCTORS ROUTINELY PRESCRIBE POISON for a variety of reasons.

[latinaliberal]

8. Like Oprah,

but not a fan. I find the cultish adoration of her a little disturbing. I think that she is a good person a very caring and giving person, but some of these "celebrities" farewell to her is too much.

[SidDithers]

9. Except that Dr. Oz is getting her time slot...

:banghead:

Sid

[RebelOne]

24. Not here in Georgia.

Our local news station WSPTV is starting an hour earlier now. We already have an hour of Dr. Oz at 10 a.m.

[truebrit71]

11. I am personally thrilled that she is off the air...

I will NEVER forgive her for thrusting "Dr" Phil onto the national stage...

[latinaliberal]

14. Also arnold S.

When California had the recall, and arnold was running, she gave him a whole hour on her show, because maria is her fiend. She did not do the same for Gray Davis.

[lynne]

12. I appreciate an alternate opinion and alternate options -

- although I never watched one day of Oprah. Since when did providing an alternate viewpoint become a bad thing? Oprah certainly couldn't remove our ability to think for ourselves or to draw our own conclusions.

If Dr's. are rejoicing I have to wonder if they think Less Oprah = More Patients for them.

[cleanhippie]

17. An "alternate" implies that something else will work, is effective, or is proven.

When it comes to these topics, they are not "alternates", they are quackery.

[KittyWampus]

25. Quakery- like giving women horse piss at menopause so they get breast cancer?

[cleanhippie]

30. WTF?

[lynne]

13. Duplicate -

[ProfessionalLeftist]

15. Her non-medical stuff is definitely as far off base as her medicine

No doubt. She's a snake oil saleswoman of multiple stripes.

[WilliamPitt]

16. +1

I will miss Mingey and Gary, tho.

:P

[chrisa]

18. lol at "The Secret."

Never have I heard more bunk than the vile shit spewed from L. Ron Hubbard.

If it's such a secret, why are they trying to sell it for money?

[PurityOfEssence]

20. She also brought us the fabulous Dr. Phil, king of the tough-guy, loudmouth self-helpers

Less of him would best for all.

[bobbolink]

22. "everyone with cancer, well, you just didn’t wish enough to be healthy."

Exactly. Peddling guilt.

One of the reasons I couldn't stand the woman.

Unfortunately, she may be gone, but the infection remains.

[Sherman A1]

27. I too am happy she is off the air

with her psycho babble and nonsense B.S.

Buh Bye!!!!!

[Logical]

28. She was a nut! n-t