The Not So Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Posted by skeptologic on May 15, 2008
I think it’s a little ironic that the category of woo that I used to be least interested in is the one I seem to be writing about most, so called “complimentary and alternative medicine” or CAM. Oh wait, let’s add supplements to that so we get a more suitable acronym: SCAM. Much better. Anyway, it has recently come to my attention that Dr. Mehmet Oz, a favorite on the Oprah Winfrey show, is going to get his own show. From what I have seen of him so far, I think this is a bad idea. Normally with out and out promoters of nonsense this is where I would start the name calling. However, I am going to stop short (barely) of calling Dr. Oz a quack. I am sure he is a fine cardiothoracic surgeon and serves his patients well. My problem with Dr. Oz is that in addition to real medicine, he is a big promoter of non scientific medicine that is based on, well, crap.
I have seen Dr. Oz on the Oprah Winfrey show a couple of times and both times he made statements that were misleading and potentially harmful. On one episode a member of the audience asked him about having their feet massaged to relieve stress. Nothing wrong with that, it would have been fine for him to recommend a foot massage as a method of relaxation. However, instead of just telling the person to get a foot massage, he recommended a method of deep tissue massage known as Rolfing. A Google search of Rolfing quickly reveals tons of pseudo-scientific gibberish about how it is supposed to “align the human body with gravity” and can “restore energy flow.” It also leads people to other non evidence based “energy healing” modalities such as Reiki and Reflexology. So what is the problem with this? Nothing if all you want is a massage because it feels good, but many practitioners of these techniques claim that they can use them to actually cure serious diseases. If a person who is seriously ill avoids real medical treatment for one of these methods it can lead to their condition becoming worse or even to their death. By having a real doctor point a largely uncritical audience to these methods, it gives them an air of legitimacy that they don’t deserve.
On another episode, Dr. Oz recommended acupuncture to a woman who had pain in her shoulder. He sends her backstage for a treatment with an acupuncturist and (surprise surprise) when she comes back, she feels better. Many people watching this view it as a test that shows that acupuncture works. In order to test something like this properly, you would need a large group of people with similar symptoms. You would then need to divide them into two groups at random. One group would get so called “real” acupuncture where the practitioner inserts the needles where they should be inserted (acupuncturists believe there are what they call meridian points in the body) and another group would get sham acupuncture where the needles are inserted anywhere or are not inserted far enough. What is most important is that the study must be blinded so each group does not know what they are getting. Better yet, the test should be double blind so that neither the participants nor the person administering the test know which is which. Granted, this would be difficult to do with acupuncture, but some methods have been devised, such as having the needles inside of a sheath so the practitioner and patient don’t know if the needle is going in fully or not. These controls are important to filter out bias, the placebo effect, etc. Many studies have been done on acupuncture and other “energy healing” techniques and the all follow a similar pattern: The better designed the study is, the less of an effect there is and the best designed studies show no effect at all. Again, if all you are looking for is pain relief and you get a placebo effect from it there is nothing wrong with it. But right there on the show the acupuncturist, while giving Oprah herself a “wellness” treatment, claims that “Acupuncture treats any condition from allergies to, obviously, pain to gastrointestinal issues—a wide range of chronic diseases.” Telling people that sticking little needles into their skin can treat “any condition” and “a wide range of chronic diseases” is egregious, irresponsible, and dangerous.
Dr. Oz himself chimed in on the “science” of acupuncture and alternative medicine. The following quotes are taken directly from Oprah’s website:
“Here’s the irony—acupuncture has been around for 2,500 years in China,” Dr. Oz says. “There are a billion people in another part of the world who use these therapies.”
Here Dr. Oz makes logical fallacy of an appeal to ancient knowledge. Just because something has been around for 2,500 years does not necessarily make it valid. Just over a century ago in the west, before medicine became scientific, if you went to the doctor they would do something like try to bleed you with leeches in an effort to “balance your bodily humors.” I wouldn’t want 150 year old unscientific medicine performed on me, much less unscientific medicine from 2,500 years ago. When he states that a billion people use it, that is another fallacy known as argumentum ad populum or an appeal to popularity. How popular something is has no bearing whatsoever on whether it is true or not. Even if every person on the planet thought that one plus one equaled three, that would not make it true, one plus one would still equal two. It wouldn’t make any difference if six billion people liked acupuncture (or something else) and used it, that is not a criteria to judge its efficacy.
“But let’s broaden the discussion, because it’s not just about acupuncture,” Dr. Oz says. “The reason I’m so excited and passionate about alternative medicine is … [because it is] the globalization of medicine.”
Dr. Oz talks about his passion for alternative medicine, saying that it’s the “globalization of medicine,” presumably bringing together east and west. I don’t really like the term western medicine. It implies that where a particular treatment originated it what makes it real or better. The terms western medicine, Chinese medicine, Indian medicine, holistic medicine, alternative medicine, etc, are quite meaningless. This is not about one country or culture being better than the other. This is about whether or not the methods and treatments in question work, no matter where they come from. There is only scientific medicine which is based on evidence, and unscientific medicine which is based on superstition. There are plenty of unscientific medical methods that were made up in the west. Some examples are Homeopathy (Germany), Chiropractic (United States), and Iridology (Hungary). If any of these were to be scientifically proven, they would cease to be alternative and just be part of regular medicine.
Alternative medicines, Dr. Oz says, deal with the body’s energy—something that traditional Western medicine generally does not. “We’re beginning now to understand things that we know in our hearts are true but we could never measure,” he says. “As we get better at understanding how little we know about the body, we begin to realize that the next big frontier … in medicine is energy medicine. It’s not the mechanistic part of the joints moving. It’s not the chemistry of our body. It’s understanding for the first time how energy influences how we feel.”
I keep having to remind myself that this guy is a actually a medical doctor. Statements like that make me wonder if he ever cracked a science book in all those years of medical school. People who practice or promote unscientific healing techniques seem to think that energy is a substance. Their ideas center around “restoring the flow of energy”or “unblocking energy.” In this context the word energy is completely and utterly meaningless. Energy is not some kind of substance that can be manipulated to promote healing. Energy is a measurement of the capacity of something to perform work. In other words it is the potential or actual ability to move things. If Dr. Oz could prove or “measure” things like Chi, Prana, Auras, or any of the types of mystical “Life Force Energy” claimed in these practices, he would win the Nobel Prize for physics. Did he? Did I miss that news story? Of course not, it would major news because it would change everything we know about reality. Keep in mind here that energy is not something you measure, energy is itself a measurement of work. Sorry Dr. Oz but the next frontier in medicine is not “energy medicine” as you claim. Here’s a news flash for you: Metaphysical concepts such as vitalism were abandoned by medical science in the 19th century. You are over a century behind the times on that one.
In an ideal world, people like Dr. Steven Barrett, Dr. Steven Novella, or Dr. Mark Crislip would get their own television shows about the wonderful scientific medicine we have that has doubled our life expectancy in just the last century. As for Oz, just like in the movie, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, the magic he is pushing is not what it’s cracked up to be.
Alexa Fleckenstein M.D. said
Don’t you think you are throwing out the baby with the bathwater? Not every person who tries alternative methods is a flaky airhead – some methods have been tried and proven for thousands of years (and, yes, scientifically validated!) .
There is a reason that patients are seeking alternative healing environments – conventional medicine has failed them pitifully – may I just mention thalidomide, terfenadine, trovafloxacin, troglitazone, rofecoxib, quinidine, among others. Not to speak of ten-minute medicine and sky-rocking costs?
As a physician I suggest you make yourself knowledgeable about alternative methods because there are quacks out there. Unfortunately, there are also some in conventional medicine.
Alexa Fleckenstein M.D., physician, author.
skeptologic said
Doctor, I disagree. If any so-called alternative therapy becomes scientifically validated then it would simply be part of standard scientific medicine. You give some examples of what you think is wrong with medicine, including some harmful drugs. Nobody is saying that no mistakes are ever made in conventional medicine. Drug side effects, inadequate doctor/patient time, and high costs have nothing to do with whether the treatments I questioned in my blog entry are effective or not. The fact that many people are seeking out these ineffective treatments is due to many factors, especially a lack of critical thinking. Modern scientific medicine has doubled the average life expectancy in the last century. Medical science has eradicated small pox and is close to getting rid of polio. Thanks to science we have marginalized diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis A&B, HiB, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, to name a few. It is difficult to hear that there isn’t a cure or vaccine for everything yet, but that doesn’t mean that there won’t be in the future. Running to methods that have no scientific validity is not the answer.
Johanna said
Thank you! It is a great relief to read scientific reasoning in a world where every one is a scientist and everyone knows best, regardless of their educational background and their research. The scary part is that so many of these ‘experts’ are so very skilled at selling their ideas, and of course in extension, their products. I mean Dr. perricone, Dr. oz. must bothy be filthy rich by now, which would be fine and dandy if their fortunes were not amassed by selling falsities. the thing is there is no miracle cures to anything and all these ‘doctors’ are doing is selling false hope and worthless products.
Lousy Canuck » Wherein I explain how Oprah is quantifiably damaging humankind said
[...] now with his very own show with which to promote all manner of nonsense medicine and self-help; Dr. Oz is getting his own show too, where he’ll no doubt promote some ridiculous medical advice [...]
Anthony Bailey, MD said
Doctors like Oz amaze me. With the strong educational background like Harvard and going on to pursue a rigorous specialty like CT surgery, he has got to know that his ideas defy what we know about science and medicine. Based on the fact that he is heavily marketing his ideas, which he has to know are nonsense for monetary reward, combined with his obvious intelligence and “slicknesss”, the most likely explanation is antisocial personality disorder. People with this disorder are often intelligent, witty,financially successful, and cover their tracks with acts of philanthropy. It occurs in as many as 2% of the population. I do not think that he is delusional, based on his achievements, and the fact that he embraces so many different marketable ideas. He also graduated from Wharton, a wonderful business school, prior to medicine, suggesting an intent to pursue fortune. People like Oprah and others are easy prey. He will continue to do well.
My Favorite Episodes of my Favorite Podcast: Skeptoid « Skeptologic said
[...] #3: New Age Energy (episode #1): The first episode is one of the very best. The word energy has been used and abused by so many new age, pseudo-scientific, and quack ideas that this episode kills a whole flock of birds with one stone. It’s simply an explanation of what energy is, and more importantly, what it is not. Energy is not a thing, it’s a measurement. If people can just get that concept they will be better equipped not to fall for false health scams like straight chiropractic or acupuncture. Can somebody please explain it to Doctor Oz? [...]
Oprah and Dr. Oz Sue Quacks, how Ironic! « Skeptologic said
[...] called psychics who claim they can help police find missing children), detoxing, anti-vaccination, energy medicine, Airborne, Suzanne Somers and her crazy hormone and vitamin mega-dosing, therapeutic touch, [...]
wrlord said
” I am sure he is a fine cardiothoracic surgeon and serves his patients well. ”
hardly. My father was his patient, and Oz didn’t give a damn about his post-operative complications. He barely even ever showed up after the surgery. He let his PAs do the follow-up, which led to a horrible infection in the wound.
SB said
The author, as entitled as they are to their opinion, epitomize Western sentiment about natural healing methods that don’t cost as much as “scientific” methods. This is a culture that the FDA has encouraged over its decades of existence, that if something costs little or nothing, it must be weeded out (The Big Pharma lobby will help the FDA come to that decision).
Over the decades, many simple drugs that Western drug companies manufactured were banned from USA citing strange and artificial reasons. The drug would then be sent to other parts of the world for continued usage without any problems. Tedral SA is one ephidra drug that comes to mind.
In the USA, unless science looks at each and every natural method and proves its validity, people don’t want to accept. Of course after science does it, some one puts a sticker price on it, and it suddenly becomes appealing.
Examples: India has been practicing Yoga and meditation for centuries, gaining health benefits. The West caught up centuries later after experimenting Yoga using scientific techniques.
Turmeric has been extensively used in South Asia as a remedy and food ingredient. The West then finds out and tries to patent it.
skeptologic said
Your entire comment is simply a false premise. The cost of a particular item or method has nothing to do with its safety or efficacy. The FDA’s primary job is to make sure that the drug companies can only sell drugs that do what they say they can do. So called natural healing practitioners are under no such restrictions, but they should be. They make unsubstantiated claims for all kinds of herbs and nonsense because they can get away with it by putting a disclaimer on the bottle. And did I miss something, since when does big placebo give away their snake oil for free? Go into any “natural health” store and you will find all kinds of untested crap being sold for very high prices. They talk about how terrible “big pharma” is because their drugs are expensive, while selling people expensive little vials of water with nothing in them (homeopathy). Drugs that are proven to work are expensive because it takes many years and hundreds of millions of dollars to research and develop those drugs, and they must be tested and proven to work and be safe. You said “In the USA, unless science looks at each and every natural method and proves its validity, people don’t want to accept.” I can’t even begin to tell you how false that is. Here in America s.c.a.m.s (supplements, complimentary, and alternative medicine) are widely accepted by a large segment of the population. Go to any major drug store like Walgreens or CVS and you will see detox diet items, herbal remedies, unnecessary supplements, homeopathy, and many more unscientific and unproven items. Your example of yoga and meditation is just plain silly. Yoga is exercise and meditation makes you calm. Gee, exercise and being calm are good for your health, what a surprise! Yoga is not a way to cure a disease or condition, it is simply good for your health in general, like any other exercise.
Zev Zwuurfman said
Do you believe that everything you now know & the things you were taught are true? Do you believe that the AMA was formed for the public good? Do you think you know everthing about body, soul, spirit, what we are, why we are here, and so on? Is the basis of every one of your very own belief systems perfect?
skeptologic said
I only “believe” in what can be shown to be true based on good quality scientific evidence. Yes, I think the AMA, and for that matter the FDA were created for the public good to promote a quality standard of care in medicine. Before organizations like that, any yahoo could sell snake oil out of a wagon and make whatever claims they wanted to about it. Unfortunately today under current regulations (DSHEA) snake oil is back under the guise of herbs and supplements (with a disclaimer most people don’t even notice).
“Do you think you know everthing [sic] about body, soul, spirit, what we are, why we are here, and so on?”
Interesting question. I see what you are implying and it is a logical fallacy. No, I do not know everything about the human body and neither do doctors or scientists. That is what science is for, to learn as much as we can. Just because we do not know everything does not make the things that we do know invalid. Nor does it allow you or anyone else to fill in the gaps with whatever mystical belief system you choose. As far as a soul or spirit, these are metaphysical concepts for which there is no scientific evidence.
“Is the basis of every one of your very own belief systems perfect?”
Let me clear this up for you. I do not have any belief systems, therefore I don’t make any claim to them being “perfect,” whatever that means. Any person can make up any belief such as religions, ghosts, conspiracy theories, alternative medicines, etc. Am I supposed to believe them all? Of course not. As a skeptic, I only believe in what can be proven to me scientifically. If that is not clear enough, here is a video that explains it very well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T69TOuqaqXI