Dr. Oz - Entertainer or Scientists, what do you think?

I don't know about psychic predictions or speaking to the dead, but alternative natural medicines/plants/spices have been used with great success for many years without the need for scientific approval.
 

SeaBreeze said:
I don't know about psychic predictions or speaking to the dead, but alternative natural medicines/plants/spices have been used with great success for many years without the need for scientific approval.
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No doubt. All medicines derive from the natural world in one way or another. There is no "alternative" world. You have treatments that have been scientifically tested and proven to be repeatedly effective, and others that have not. What would be the point in refusing to approve a treatment that has been tested and proven to work? People are still grinding Rhino horns to improve their sex lives. Because they happen to have a good time after taking it one night, does not mean it was the Rhino horn.
 
Shalimar said:
Science is subject to change, imperfect. It can only disprove.
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Everything is subject to change. Change is good. Without it we would still be living in caves. Everything is imperfect. Science at least seeks to perfect itself. Science seeks proof through experiment. Nothing can be disproved. That's why we have religion.
 
No idea about this Dr Oz..... However sounds like a quack to me. I have never taken any vitamins, and am fit and healthy, just with a normal diet, including all foods.Nobody had heard of the term vitamin until about 1915, much less used them. They are big business these days.
 
oakapple said:
No idea about this Dr Oz..... However sounds like a quack to me. I have never taken any vitamins, and am fit and healthy, just with a normal diet, including all foods.Nobody had heard of the term vitamin until about 1915, much less used them. They are big business these days.
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I don't think we have anything even close to this type of programme in the UK. I wonder if it would even be allowed with all the 'miracle' stuff that he advertises.
 
When his show first aired I tried to watch a few segments....because the subject matter sounded interesting. Was mostly disappointed. Also, find that what he might consider a "cure" at one time is quickly replaced with another "cure". If anyone followed all the suggestions, on his shows, they would not have time or room for any real food.
 
Underock1 said:
Hi SeaBreeze. No surprise that the alternative medicine industry would defend him. Whether one chooses to believe in them or not, homeopathy, psychic predictions, and speaking to the dead have nothing to do with science.
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Well Underock, there's a lot of very smart people who would disagree with most of what you've said, but you're entitled to believe whatever you want to believe. I prefer an open mind rather than adopting a new religious dogma, i.e. science is all there is and science 'knows' all.
 
Looks like we've been here before. My take is that it's good to know what options you have in dealing with your health - its not always an either/or situation.

I believe allopathic medicine (the use of pharmacological active ingredients or physical interventions to treat or suppress symptoms or pathophysological processes of diseases or conditions) has its place, and so does alternative medicine. Allopathic medicine often does not work and often drugs do not work or will make a person even sicker. If allopathic medicine is so great, why are there still so many people dying of heart disease, cancer and other deadly diseases.

We're all responsible for ourselves and must make our own educated decisions, so before anyone dismisses all alternative treatments, its a good idea to do some research.

The mainstream medical establishment has been fighting alternative healing for as long as I can remember, but will accept certain things only after years of testimonials and after their own efforts have failed. The mainstream medical community has many reasons for this war on alternative medicine, which I won't go into here.

Research on alternative medicine has been scanty due to lack of funding, unlike the drug industry where funding is plentiful and supported by the corporate community, so real data on the benefits of many alternative medications is almost impossible to obtain, relying mostly on personal testimonials.

It has already been established earlier on in this thread that the alleged dangerous diet potions some people are referring to have not been advocated by Dr. Oz.

Link this thread with another thread on the number of ectomies you have had under the treatment of mainstream medicine and how many ectomies people have had under alternative medicine. I have had no ectomies and support the use of alternative treatments together with mainstream medicine, should the need arise.
 
Personally, I don't mind looking into some alternative preventative things, so long as they are natural.. However, I would never substitute alternative medicine for real medical attention from an MD.

I think Dr. Oz is a sellout.. if not a quack, however, I simply don't care enough about him to argue over it.. To each his own. It's only going to take one person dying from following his advise to put him either in jail, or off the air. As with everything. "let the buyer beware"
 
Cookie said:
Link this thread with another thread on the number of ectomies you have had under the treatment of mainstream medicine and how many ectomies people have had under alternative medicine. I have had no ectomies and support the use of alternative treatments together with mainstream medicine, should the need arise.
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If I am not mistaken this thread was about personal opinions about Dr. Oz vs belief in alternative medicine. How I personally view Dr. Oz has nothing to do with alternative medicine. Actually, I am a advocate of alternative medicine. I do use supplements and herbs. In fact, I was brought up using alternative methods of healing. My maternal grandmother and grandfather were what I growing up considered "witch doctors". By profession, my grandfather was a chemist. They grew all sorts of herbs along with using other methods to treat illnesses and accidents. Some days people would line up outside their door, to be treated. And of course, I was a recpient of their somewhat unorthodox treatments. Some of it was way out....oils and prayer. Some I laughed at. Like when a man had his ribs broken, when kicked by a horse. My grandfather lit some herbs on fire, in a glass jar...applied it to his ribs. Then pulled it off...and wrapped his ribs. Yet, now when I go to my accupuncturist he uses the same very effective procedure on my back. Only it now has a name (cupping). But, sometimes, as you said....the need still arises for the medical model. I for one, would not be brave enough to try an alternative treatment for a full blown heart attack or a large, rapidly growing mass, ect.
 
I agree with your way of thinking Nona, and that your opinion of Dr. Oz is separate from that of your opinion about alternative medicine. And sorry, I think I could have worded my statement better about alternative medicine and ectomies. What I mean is that following a preventative lifestyle (which may include healthy lifestyle recommendations by alternative health practitioners) might eliminate the need for many surgeries.
 
No problem, Cookie. Although I have always wanted to believe the healthy preventive lifestyle theory, at this stage of the game I wonder. As an example, I have one sister. Same gene pool, she started smoking and drinking in her teens. Never exercised. Always ate meat and shellfish. Yet, has had only one surgery, for occupation related carpal tunnel syndrome. Except for hypertension and arthritis, is healthy.
I never smoked or drank, a vegetarian and exercised since childhood. YET?
 
I agree, Nona. There's no guarantee the healthy lifestyle is going to save us. I believe genes play a role, not just a healthy lifestyle. My mother in law is still going strong in her late 90s, and everyone on her side of the family lives to be over 100-110. She eats a traditional mainstream diet and is as healthy as a horse. After her husband (who had been overweight) died of a heart attack in his 60s, she lost a lot of weight and watched herself. There are always exceptional cases. And people from the same family can also inherit somewhat different genes. My friend who was a strict vegetarian for the last 30 years died of a brain tumor not too long ago, yet his sister, who had exactly the same diet is perfectly fine to this day. I do my best with what I have and what I know, not perfect, but trying.
 
ndynt said:
No problem, Cookie. Although I have always wanted to believe the healthy preventive lifestyle theory, at this stage of the game I wonder. As an example, I have one sister. Same gene pool, she started smoking and drinking in her teens. Never exercised. Always ate meat and shellfish. Yet, has had only one surgery, for occupation related carpal tunnel syndrome. Except for hypertension and arthritis, is healthy.
I never smoked or drank, a vegetarian and exercised since childhood. YET?
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This is a fascinating subject Nona and I guess really needs a new thread, but the fact that there is another element at play here apart from lifestyle and diet, has always fascinated me.

While studying Chinese Medicine, where the adage is you only pay your doctor when you are well, is based on balancing the body energies. If you develop symptoms of illness your doctor has failed, so he doesn't get paid.
In modern terminology this means not only a good diet and lifestyle, but also dealing with stress and the emotional body. Listening (Counselling) is also a component of Chinese Medicine as is ensuring a healthy connection with nature. I do believe there is something in this.

Several years after I completed my studies, I came across a book that kind of blew my mind, I have reread it several times since and I would recommend it, but I see they asking silly money for it on Amazon now (I bought it for $12 in 2002) $580 new and $183 S/H (I must insure the one I have on my bookshelf) :D http://is.gd/UXPr5W maybe there are cheaper sources or a library perhaps.
It may be considered flaky by some, and is written by a couple of German psychotherapists leaning towards the spiritual side of life, I found it a thought provoking book. If nothing else read the reviews on Amazon.

Quotes from the cover

Contrary to conventional opinion, illness is not some quirk of nature you have to fight. A truer understanding of illness actually helps you stay healthier. When you "understand what your symptoms are telling you," you view them as bodily expressions of inner conflicts. Their symbolism will reveal the real problems you're facing. Pick a current health issue and see the difference when you treat it as a sign of healing instead of as a negative, following the approach of two psychologists, one trained in spiritual traditions and the other in natural healing and psychotherapy. Troubles with infection, allergies, respiration, digestion, skin and nervous system, heart and circulation, sexuality and pregnancy, even accidents, come with practical actions to take to remedy them.

This radical book deprives us of illness as an alibi for our unresolved problems. It attempts to show that the patient is not the innocent victim of some quirk of nature, but actually the author of his or her own sickness. In this way Dethlefsen and Dahlke bring the metaphysical aspect of illness to the fore. From this viewpoint symptoms are seen to be bodily expressions of psychological conflicts, able through their symbolism to reveal the patient's current problems.
 
Merlin, that book sounds very interesting and I'd like to have a look at it. I've bookmarked the page and will search for it in my library. I agree that energy fields and stress are big contributors to health issues. Thank you. You seem to have a lot of information about these things.
 
Cookie said:
Merlin, that book sounds very interesting and I'd like to have a look at it. I've bookmarked the page and will search for it in my library. I agree that energy fields and stress are big contributors to health issues. Thank you. You seem to have a lot of information about these things.
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I studied complementary and Chinese medicine during the '80s and '90s Cookie, and ran an Alternative Health Centre in the '90s so I picked up a lot information, though my memory is fading a bit, and I may have to revert to reading comics soon :)

You could borrow my copy if it wasn't for the miles between us :(
 

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