The Emperor’s New Clothes — A great story that seems to have survived the ages. Like most Americans, I heard the Hans Christian Andersen (19th century) version in childhood. In case you missed it, the subject was two fellows employed as weavers, who offered the emperor a suit that would be invisible to those who were not smart or appropriate for their jobs. The Emperor wears his new suit for a big public parade in front of the subjects, to great acclaim by all. Nobody mentions the emperor is wearing nothing but underwear until a kid yells it out at the top of his lungs. Read more on The emperor has no clothes!…
Filed under News, weight by on Oct 19th, 2016. Comment. 
I thought that everyone knew by now that if something is a supplement that is supposed to help you lose weight by gulping down a pill, it is going to turn out to be a lie. One of the first things they teach you in debating is that your weakest argument is an appeal to authority. Everyone who follows Dr. Oz has noticed that his recommendations seem to “flip-flop.” Perhaps individual supplements come to him with some inducement to publicize them? Whatever. This stuff does not work terribly well. Garcinia cambogia is also tamarind, often used in different cultures to aid with weight loss. It is a wildly fibrous fruit, so it fills people up. This seems to be responsible for at least some of the alleged weight loss properties. It may be one reason that despite the use of this fruit in Mexico, it does not seem to have ever really caught on with American tastes. Read more on More Fake Diet Methods On The Market…
Filed under Alternative Medicine, News, weight by on Aug 8th, 2013. Comment.
I accidentally watched Dr. Drew Pinsky’s “Life Changers” and it put me in a state of utter stupefaction.
That was fortunate, as I found myself unable to destroy the television. Doubly fortunate, in that this was a hotel-room TV and the bill would have been padded for replacing the set.
Okay, so I was in a hotel flipping channels during the day. I do this once in a while to see what is being communicated to the TV-watching public, especially about health.
Dr. Oz has a show. His guest was Rachel Ray showing how to fix things you might screw up in the kitchen. Common sense fixes with repartee. I did not see this as a health problem and I did not make it to the end of the show. Read more on Dr. Drew Pinsky’s “Life Changers”…
Filed under Psychiatrists, PTSD by on May 23rd, 2012. Comment.
There must be magic in African Mango extract, if you believe all you see on the internet.
Of course, believing all you see on the internet is grounds for commitment to psychiatric treatment in some jurisdictions – or at least, it should be.
This is not the first weight loss “marvel” I have seen for sale on the internet. However, it is the first one that claims to be endorsed by Dr. Mehmet Oz. Read more on Magic Mangos from Oz (Dr. Oz that is)…
Filed under News, weight by on Dec 1st, 2010. 6 Comments.
I was up and watching Dr. Oz on June 3, in the morning, because I knew he was popular and wanted to see what he was doing. I only saw the end of the show. He was dancing (in scrubs) with some Brazilians who presented a form of self-defense camouflaged as dance. He was fairly lithe, not overly muscled, and moved well, to the great enjoyment of the audience.
Obviously he was beloved as a personality. But did he really have knowledge? He has the good looks required to get a shot at TV, but there are a lot of caring and skilled doctors who aren’t photogenic or charismatic enough for the ‘tube (and probably don’t dance well, either).
It seemed that people were cheering for him as a personality.
He entertained questions from the audience. A woman had the tail end of a Bell’s Palsy. She asked him how to get rid of it. He told her to wait longer and it would probably go away.
I could tell right away that despite the lovely slide he flashed on the monitor, this woman had been the victim of her Bell’s Palsy long enough that she would probably be stuck with it for life. He got a round a round of applause, presumably for hugging her and telling her that her smile was beautiful. Read more on Dr. Oz: Being On TV Doesn’t Make One A Wizard…
Filed under Celebrities by on Jun 8th, 2010. 1 Comment.