January 28, 2010 ↓ 11 Comments

Dr. Oz Break Your Sugar Addiction Sham

This bit makes for good television but it will not work. It takes 5 minutes for Dr. Oz to explain how to get off sugar in just four weeks! From the advice he gives, I can tell he’s never struggled with chronic sugar consumption/addiction. First of all, he advises Charmel (spelling?) to “be smart about it” and to go ahead and add a one teaspoon of sugar to her morning cereal during her first week. During the first week you should not be adding sugar to anything! He also labels the first week “detox week”. It should be called detox month.

He goes on to week two and explains that she should eliminate hidden sugar from her house. (My guess is that she’s gonna need to throw out half of her kitchen.) What is she supposed to eat during that time?

Week three is supposedly where it “gets fun.” NOT! He waits three weeks to begin introducing alternative sweeteners. He introduces Agave and Stevia which he says is not the same as sugar, it’s just a replacement. And then suddenly you’re into week four.

Week four is the last week in his 28 day program. This is the week where you, “take your taste buds and trick them a little bit.” He then asks how many sugars Charmel puts in her coffee. She says, “five.” He’s stunned! Stunned? He then advises her to replace sugary tastes with spicy tastes and says, “...that might be enough.”

Finally he holds her hand and confides that she is possibly his most challenging subject and that she is teaching her son to eat sugar as well. He also makes her feel GUILTY about it!

This makes me angry. Why? Because he’s setting her up to fail! What is she supposed to eat during week two after she threw out everything in her kitchen? How about for the next two weeks? Why does he make her feel bad about it? She already feels badly enough and now he’s outing her on national television and making her feel ashamed. Bad move.

Here’s my prediction. Four weeks will pass and Charmel will be magically “cured” of her sugar addiction. She’ll claim she did well. They’ll have video updates showing her doing the steps. She’ll say it was hard but she made it happen. The audience will clap and they’ll all think they can do it as well. Then reality will set in for her and the television viewers. They won’t be able to sustain it.

I don’t meant to be all gloom and doom, but when has this kind of thing ever worked? Four weeks to mad riches! Four weeks to massive weight loss! Just four weeks to gain confidence and reduce awkwardness!

It doesn’t happen like that. Don’t believe Dr. Oz. It’s not that Charmel can’t do well in four weeks. It’s that as simple as the plan is, it is flawed and unsustainable. Getting off sugar takes time and skill. Sugar-free eating is a skill that you are either taught or that you have to teach yourself. As with any skill, a four week program gives you a clue as to how to pursue a sense of mastery in that discipline. I’d say eating a sugar-free diet is as difficult as going vegetarian. It’s as tricky as learning how to cook foreign cuisine 365 days a year. It’s like training for a marathon or a boxing match. Four weeks just ain’t enough.

Remember: Not eating sugar is a skill that requires practice.

Charmel’s best bet for getting off sugar is if she repeats the prescribed four week cycle for an entire year. Television does’t have the time for that but thank goodness we in the real world do.

(11) Comments: Dr. Oz Break Your Sugar Addiction Sham

PDM
Jan 28, 2010

Thank you for this - I was screaming at the TV - I only watch him to see how badly he’s hoodwinking the public. Thank you for sharing this!!!!!!!!!

Wendy
Jan 28, 2010

I didn’t see this episode, but I saw her follow up episode. The update show aired a couple months ago. I can’t remember all that she said, but she said that she did well and lost weight. I don’t agree at all with asking her to replace with agave. That’s worse than sugar. Going off sugar reminds me a lot of going vegetarian. I’m also going off grains right now. I have to totally get used to eating different foods.

Angela
Jan 29, 2010

Wendy- I’m curious how agave is worse than sugar? I have heard that the good thing is it does not cause your blood sugar to spike after eating it, and I haven’t heard anything particularly bad about it.

I’m very disappointed that the more I see of Dr. Oz, the less I like him. I had reports of other people liking him, and I wanted to think there was someone giving good medical/nutritional/informational support to the popular culture, but it seems that 90% of what he does is scare people, or make generalizations that are too broad to be useful.

Angela
Jan 29, 2010

P.S. David: I’ve poked around the support forum, but I can’t seem to find any options for “join” or “register” or “post” or “reply”, or anything except reading things that are already there.

Unsweet David
Jan 29, 2010

Angela, the Join/Register thing is in the upper right hand corner. I have to work on the forum because you’re not the only one who has said this… I thought I had it worked out.

Wendy, I’m also curious too as to why you feel Agave is bad.

jen
Jan 29, 2010

Your words are encouraging as I have stopped and started sugar so MANY times!! It is nice to hear that it takes a long time to “master” stopping sugar vs. “I am weak and a failure” for not succeeding each of these past attempts.

After downing my last binge cookie today (shamfully, but honestly admitting) - I am ready to start my “detox month” of trying this challenge again - but realizing it is a “work in progress” vs “all or none”.
THANK YOU FOR CREATING THIS SITE- your support is needed and appreciated.

p.s.
here is a link of why Agave is considered not the best option by some:
http://articles.mercola.com/sit es/articles/archive/2009/07/02/Agave -A-Triumph-of-Marketing-over-Truth.a spx

Wendy
Jan 29, 2010

I consider Agave still a sugar, 90% fructose. Even though it’s low GI, it still reacts as sugar in the body and is also just as addictive. Here’s another article about it.
http://www.living-foods.com/art icles/agave.html

Kirin Bir
Feb 09, 2010

Maybe getting off the sugar is doable in 4 weeks, but that’s only if you have mentally prepared yourself beforehand. That means coming to terms with the foods you will have to cut out, getting to know the harm of eating sugar and the benefits of being off sugar, and learning about what foods you should eat instead. You really have to make a decision to take better care of your body and mind, as well as want to put only good things inside your body. You can’t just cut out ketchup and barbecue sauce and eat plain rice every day. You can still eat really really good food while off sugar.

To come to the point of being mentally prepares can take years…as it has for me. It’s really a long term process as opposed to a short quick decision.
Personally, i think that eating agave would just make it harder to keep off sugar.

Trevor
Feb 12, 2010

I agree with Dr. Oz. I am a bodybuilder who is switching to fitness modeling so that I won’t have to use steriods to compete. I have one cheat meal a week. Other than that all my sugars are natural. This is a very strict program, but very possible. I don’t think you should deprive yourself forever, but cleaning up your diet is a must for almost all Americans. One month with little to no sugar is not that hard, and anyone who has no medical condition and who is determined can accomplish this task. If I can do it, anyone can.

Unsweet David
Feb 12, 2010

Trevor, of course it’s doable. Anyone can stop eating sweets cold turkey if they want—especially if it means they’ll make more money as a fitness model and not need to use steroids. However, you’re as out-of-touch with sugar addicts as Dr. Oz is. In all honesty, your comment makes me wonder if you work for him. But let’s assume that’s not the case. His six minute explanation was elementary at best. It makes sugar addiction seem as easy as making soup without meat. The solution to not eating sugar is simple: stop eating sweets. However, there are many other factors that stop people from doing so and Dr. Oz didn’t address any of those issues.

shanti
Feb 26, 2010

I just stumbled upon your blog, and wanted to say thank you! I gave up sugar back in October, and am still {pretty much} sugar free. I do indulge in some frozen yogurt with the fam once a week, but that’s pretty much it. It’s so nice to hear other people’s struggles with this addiction…and it IS just that. I CANNOT just eat a “couple” M&M’s…my husband can. I CANNOT just eat ONE cookie…my husband can. Stinker.
Anyhoo, thank you for your site. I look forward to reading more!