According to another provider’s review of a sample of Oz’s episodes,
about 78 percent of the doctor’s statements didn’t align with “evidence-based medical guidelines,” an unsurprising finding if you’re familiar with The Dr. Oz Show: The “
green coffee bean extract” for weight loss; the promotion of conversion therapists as “
experts”; the “conspiracy” of GMOs in food; along with more obscure and bizarre cures, such as
lavender soap (for leg cramps) and raspberry ketones (“the No. 1 miracle in a bottle to burn your fat”). But following the 2016 election, like many of the tanned fixtures of daytime TV, Oz found that his particular brand of telegenic hucksterism was in high demand. Shortly before the election, he participated in a bizarre
hourlong televised inspection of then-candidate Donald Trump, giving him a clean bill of health. Subsequently, Oz was
appointed as health council adviser and was reported to have seriously influenced the then-president’s
thinking on hydroxychloroquine, foreshadowing his career as coronavirus expert on Fox News. Last spring, Oz
appeared on the network as many as four times a day.