I just discovered a great blog by Dr. Steven Novella, a neurologist at Yale University School of Medicine. He produces a popular podcast called The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, and also contributes to a number of other blogs that are devoted to the improving an understanding of science among the public.
A recent blog post of his recounts his experience appearing on the Dr. Oz show. Dr. Oz gained fame when he appeared regularly on the Oprah show. So popular was he on Oprah's program that he got his own spinoff. In this episode Oz asks "why are doctors afraid of alternative medicine?" Dr. Novella does an excellent job explaining that doctors are not afraid of anything and that the problem is that either quality scientific evidence is lacking, or that evidence is available and that it has shown that many "alternative" treatments, such as acupuncture, are no better than placebo. In response, Oz claims that Novella is being "dismissive" of the possibilities and then tells the audience that if "alternative treatments work for you, don't let anyone take that away from you."
I highly recommend Novella's blog. And here is the video of Novella's appearance on the Dr. Oz show.
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