It is quite a pitch: “Lose weight while sleeping!”
This “miracle in a bottle” is the “only dietary supplement you need to burn belly fat!”
All you have to do to reach your perfect weight, goes the pitch, is take a few pills from that magic bottle and then go on living your life while you get skinny!
Unfortunately, raspberry ketones don’t work.
Green coffee beans have not been proven to help people shed weight.
And there is no magic cure for eating too much and not exercising enough.
Even Dr. Mehmet Oz — the man promoting such cures — should know that. Congress recently chastised him for his aggressive marketing of unproven supplements on The Dr. Oz Show, his syndicated daytime television show, over the last five years.
Several of the products he has promoted on the show — describing them as “magic” and “amazingly effective” — have sold out in days from suppliers around the country even though there are no scientific studies to prove their efficacy, and no mandatory safety guidelines on marketing or selling these supplements to the public.
After all, he is not a certified nutritionist, dietician or expert in the field of supplements — although you would never know that by some of the advice he dishes out on his television show.
Dr. Oz was called to Congress to explain his allegedly deceptive practices — which involve claims about weight loss that have not been scientifically validated, or even studied in many cases, as he acknowledged in his testimony.
Before we get to his appearance and whether such supplements might be dangerous, here is some background on our wizard, Mehmet Oz, M.D. He is a board certified cardiothoracic surgeon, meaning that he focuses on the chest. He completed four years of medical school, during which time he also obtained his master’s degree in business (interesting, isn’t it?), and then went on to do five years of surgical training followed by three more years specializing in cardiothoracic surgery.
That’s a lot of intense study, all in highly specialized surgical procedures that save lives. Fewer than 1 percent of doctors are in his field. It’s considered to be one of the most demanding specialties in all of medicine.
So why is a cardiothoracic surgeon touting the effects of weight loss supplements?
After all, he is not a certified nutritionist, dietician or expert in the field of supplements — although you would never know that by some of the advice he dishes out on his television show.
He often has guests on his show discuss their area of interest to introduce certain supplements and products that can be found in local stores. Although these guests are sometimes referred to as “scientists,” a little research reveals that their expertise is usually based on their personal experiences, rather than on science.
They don’t endorse specific brands, at least not most of the time. They tend to focus on an ingredient, discussing how to find it, in the context of the show. Dr. Oz doesn’t specifically say where the product can be found, but internet retailers promote the ingredients he endorses — and they have made millions of dollars.
Is Dr. Oz acting responsibly when he makes recommendations, especially those without scientific evidence to support the claims?
The question brings up another one, which is more interesting. In terms of research, how do you prove something works?
Some say one of the greatest medical advances was the development of the double-blinded clinical trial. In this type of test, two almost identical groups of people are studied.
Neither the people involved nor the researchers know who is in which group. This is the double-blind part. The clinical trial involves testing something, a medication or a supplement, or something else. One group gets the treatment, the other does not. A comparison is made of the two groups at the end of a particular point in time, and any differences in the groups are measured. The expectation is that the ones receiving the treatment will be different in some way than those who are not.
Getting back to the supplements touted as being so effective by Dr. Oz. In his field of cardiothoracic surgery, thousands of these double blinded trials have led to the development of a carefully followed protocol for patients who receive heart surgery. The proof is clear to anyone in the scientific community, so he should certainly know this “gold standard” for research in medicine.
The best advice I have is not fancy. It is not going to sell millions of books and it isn’t going to get me a wildly popular and influential television show. It isn’t even easy to follow.
Yet he admitted to the Senate panel that the supplements he has recommended for weight loss have not had double-blinded clinical trials that prove they work.
In fact, there is no indication that the supplements he discusses on his show have scientific evidence to support many of the claims that he and his guests make. (See video of his testimony here.) Anecdotal case reports — like your auntie saying it works for her — is all the research that is done before a supplement is labeled wildly successful and, soon enough, pitched and sold to the public.
And there is little, if any, regulation of the supplement industry — his “miracle cures” — in the United States. What is listed on the bottle is not even necessarily what’s in it.
The Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission haven’t really clarified who is responsible for making sure that supplements sold in the United States are monitored.
When such products are made in other countries, little, if any, testing is required. In fact, no meaningful proof that such supplements are effective is required before they can be marketed to the public in the U.S.
Regulation, evidence and scientific research should offer a firm foundation of knowledge. In this case, they don’t.
As a doctor, I am always willing to listen to people who want to use a particular supplement or ingredient in their diet. However, when they ask me if there is any proof that it works, I tell patients the truth. There is no research to prove it. Since no study is required, what company is going to spend the money to test their product given that it could be shown to be useless? Not many. Perhaps not any.
Can you use supplements? Sure, that’s fine. But please be careful. There are no miracle cures for aging, or weight loss or any disease.
The best advice I have is not fancy. It is not going to sell millions of books and it isn’t going to get me a wildly popular and influential television show. It isn’t even easy to follow.
But here goes: Watch your diet, eat healthy and exercise regularly.
Even Dr. Oz admits, when he is being honest, that this is the only proven way to improve your health.
And it doesn’t come in a bottle.
Click here to watch Dr. Mehmet Oz’s testimony before the Senate panel.
