Would You Believe TV Doctors?

Recently, LA Times published an article called "TV not always a healthy channel for advice". This article caught my eye because I have noticed that my mother loves watching Dr. Oz's new talk show. Now, I am not trying to bash on Dr. Oz because he is an intelligent man (I mean, look at his credentials!). But, does he honestly think he can give women in this country advice about nutrition and food? Just having registered dietitians and certified nutritionists on the show isn't hiding his thoughts. It makes me look at him skeptically because I know he didn't study to become a dietitian; he studied to become a cardio thoracic surgeon.

So why are people believing everything that doctors on television are saying? This article gave great examples on why people should be more skeptical when watching health shows on television. My favorite one was the first example: probiotics and digestive enzyme supplements. Dr. Steven Lamm, an assistant professor at NYU, guaranteed on The View that in Less than half a decade, everyone will be taking a probiotic and a digestive enzyme supplement. (WAIT, WHAT?!) This man was promoting his book "No Guts, No Glory" where he claims that probiotics and digestive enzymes are crucial to overall gut health. Unfortunately, there is no real evidence about that. An enzyme expert (you see, someone with the education and certification), Dr. John Willams, has stated that the only people who need to take digestive enzymes are those with pancreatic diseases. It is also worthy to note that Dr. Lamm is a paid consultant for Ezymedica (a company dedicated to providing enzyme-focused supplements). 

I found this story so interesting because my sister was interested in "The Beauty Detox Solution" by certified nutritionist Kimberly Snyder. In this book, Snyder promotes probiotics and digestive enzymes. She even has her readers make raw saurkraut (it's so you can get natural probiotics and digestive enzymes) and eat a cup of it before dinner everyday. Now, maybe it's because I never liked saurkraut that I find this a little far-fetched, but I don't think I would take the time to have cabbage ferment for 3-5 days in a room, let alone make sure I always have enough. 

I realize that now more than ever people are more aware of their health and are trying in every possible way to stay healthy. Unfortunately, people are looking in the wrong places. If you were dating a guy, would you take advice from a friend who has been single for over a year? Because chances are, that person does not know how to keep a guy. Therefore, why are you listening to someone who studied a different category in medicine for most of their adult life? Chances are, they don't know much about nutrition.

Leave in a comment your thoughts about this!

LA Times Article