Next on Oprah: A Grain of Salt

Next on Oprah: A Grain of Salt: "The big cover story in this week’s Newsweek is a look at the health information — apparently in most cases, misinformation — propagated by Oprah Winfrey’s signature television talk show:

In January, Oprah Winfrey invited Suzanne Somers on her show to share her unusual secrets to staying young. Each morning, the 62-year-old actress and self-help author rubs a potent estrogen cream into the skin on her arm. . . . According to Somers, the hormones, which are synthesized from plants instead of the usual mare’s urine (disgusting but true), are all natural and, unlike conventional hormones, virtually risk-free (not even close to true, but we’ll get to that in a minute)."

(Via Well Fed Network.)

I don't watch Oprah much myself. I lose interest in daytime television talk shows pretty quickly as they cover lots of topics I'm just not interested in to fill the many, many hours. I have watched the show occasionally, though. It just takes the magical coincidence of me having actually seen a promo for the show during a program I normally watch AND that promo trumpeting a compelling topic.

Dr. Oz is a pretty interesting guest. I've read recaps of his appearances on Oprah's web site for the "embarrassing" medical questions he's answered. It's not always 100 percent in sync with what I've read elsewhere, but it's generally good and interest-grabbing.

While the article and my post to an extent are kind of down on Oprah, I do in fact have a lot of respect for her and what she's achieved. She is generous to charitable causes and she empowers women. Spirituality and alternative treatments are important and often neglected by conventional medicine, too, though Oprah sometimes seems to take them to an extreme.

In truth, I wish Oprah had taken the time to speak to Newsweek for this article. While it raises valid points, it seriously suffers from a lack of counterpoints from Oprah's side. Guests who appeared on her show and gave bogus info or stayed silent while hearing it are allowed to simply give statements that distance themselves from Oprah and sort of pin the blame for their actions on her in the article without any challenge.