BeanDiet

Dear Dr. Oz,

I rarely watch Oprah, but today I scheduled it in, knowing that you would be talking about how to lose weight without counting calories. I was hoping the solution would be a high-fiber diet, which it was. You shared that the average American only consumes 7 grams of fiber in his/her food a day, and should be getting between 25-35 grams to lose weight, prevent diabetes and bowel disorders, as well as lower the risk of cancer.

You even showed some people who were put on a raw food diet of fruits, vegetables and nuts for a week, and how they lowered their cholesterol by 25%, their blood pressure by 10%, and lost an average of 10 pounds - in a week!

So that was good. I couldn't have been more excited to hear a renowned and popular expert such as yourself convey the same information I have spent the past 10 years trying to get "out there".

Unfortunately, after the first 5 minutes of the Oprah show focused on fiber, things got confusing. In the second piece you shared was how consuming a megaload (1200 mg/day) of calcium will help you lose weight. You showed footage of a study where a young man ate a ridiculously high amount of dairy foods to lose weight. The study revealed the calcium from the foods did help in weight loss, but you applied the results to calcium supplements as well - which have not been found to abet weight loss (not to mention other studies on dairy foods and weight loss have had mixed results). Also, you didn't mention that dairy foods such as milk, cheese and yogurt have no fiber, which you had just emphasized as vital for weight loss. Nor did you add that dairy foods in the United States are loaded with hormones and hormone-mimicking substances, such as antibiotics - which cause fat and cancer cells to replicate at faster-than-normal levels.

To add to the confusion, you talked about how important it is to consume fish regularly in order to combat stress (or cortisol) levels. The real compounds that fight stress found in fish are Omega-3 fatty acids, and you did say there are other ways to consume these fats, like eggs with added Omega-3.

Actually Dr. Oz, I find the best way to avoid stress is by not listening to your advice, because it is SO confusing. Fish and eggs have no fiber, and good luck trying to consume 25-35 grams of fiber in your food if you're regularly consuming either. Not to mention that fish (and eggs) are loaded with mercury, PCB's and pesticides. Or that eggs couldn't be higher in cholesterol. I found this ironic, since you are such a proponent of antioxidants in foods, and yet compounds like mercury and cholesterol cause the free radical oxidation (leading to plaque and cancer, among other things) that antioxidants are necessary to fight.

Dr. Oz, you seem like a smart man. Can you not see the advice you are giving is completely contradictory? Consuming large amounts of dairy, fish and/or eggs is mutually exclusive with consuming a high-fiber diet rich in antioxidants, since fiber and antioxidants come only from fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes. It seems strange that you don't realize that calcium supplements would deplete the body's store of other minerals, such as zinc, copper and manganese, since all these minerals compete for absorption and carriers in the body.

I know you are tired of Americans suffering unnecessarily from chronic disease, but I don't think you are bringing much clarity to the question of what constitutes "good nutrition".

Sincerely,

A concerned nutritionist

P.S. Did you notice that even Oprah looked baffled?