Monday, September 12, 2011

Dr. Oz Softening Stance on Fat

I recently read an article in the 9-13-11 edition of Time Magazine.  It was the latest nutrition recommendations from Dr. Oz.  As some may know, I am not a big fan of his. He has a lot of influence over what people feel is a healthy way to eat.  That could be good or bad depending on what he has to say.  Typically his recommendations were in line with our government recommendations that has done nothing but correlated with our country getting sicker every year.  I believe, that unlike our government, Dr. Oz is starting to pay attention to the latest research coming out.                           

I don't actually have the article in front of me, so I am going to paraphrase.  Please tell me if I am inaccurate.  First he tells us that cholesterol in the food you eat does not raise cholesterol in the blood.  This has been know for a while but is now becoming more widely recogniozed.  Also, he goes on to tell us that eggs and whole milk aren't as bad as they've been made out to be and we should consume in moderation because they do have some health merits.  WHOA!  That kinda blew me away.  He also said the same thing about saturated fat filled coconut products.  
Although there was plenty more in the article I didn't agree with, I have a silver lining attitude today.  He is moving in the right direction.  Who knows, maybe next year he will be full blown paleo in his recommendations as he continues to pay attention to the latest nutrition info rather than perpetuating the ineffective status quo.

CP  

7 comments:

MAS said...

Yep, I sensed that Dr OZ was softening his stance. It was his radio show interview with Taubes that made me think something was happening.

Be said...

One can only hope, but he is a pragmatist and it seems he changes his opinion based on who he is talking to. I hope your optimism proves to be true.

MAS said...

Dr. Oz has 2 conflicting loyalties. One to his patients and audience. The other is to his advertisers. If is too honest with the first, he loses his platform by upsetting the second. I think we will see Dr Oz slowly move away from some the most harmful conventional wisdom.

Chuck said...

@MAS
I wish Oz's TV interview of Taubes was more like his radio interview. I believe that day by day, it is becoming harder for analytical people who also have integrity to uphold conventional nutrition ideals.

As I said, it is unfortunate but Oz wields a lot of influence. It may be that he is actually reading books like Why We Get Fat. Next on his list should be Wheat Belly. I wonder if Dr. Davis is on their radar as a guest?

MAS said...

@Chuck - No way they invite Dr. Davis. He is a direct threat to their advertisers.

Chuck said...

@MAS
Well, you may be right but Taubes is also a threat. I don't pay attention too closely to his other guests but I would guess he has had other people on who don't exactly align with his advertisers.

Chuck said...

Robb Wolf had a bit different take on Oz's article
http://robbwolf.com/2011/09/14/framework-matters/

robb is passionate and that is needed. he needs to stay with his mantra of helping people who want to be helped.