By: Chrysa Smith

Dr-Oz

First there was the wizard–the mysterious voice behind the curtain that granted wishes in the land of Oz. And more recently, there’s the other Oz—the one of television fame, whose medical advice is dished out daily to those of us hungry for some self-help. Whenever I’m home for lunch, I tune in. And each time, I pick up a trick or two; a piece of knowledge or two that makes me run to the whole food market or nutritional store for the latest Rx that will cure my woes.

He’s an outstanding success. And I believe it’s because he’s an interesting mix of trained western medicine, eastern medicine and nutrition.  I often wonder how the larger medical community handles him because he’ll send women to the grocery store to get cranberry juice for urinary tract infections; telling them they don’t need antibiotics. He’ll tell you how unusual foods can help attain healthy bodies–things like Fenugreek, Yacon, Hemp, Chia. But he’ll also tell you about supplements–like Raspberry Ketones and Garcinia Cambogia for weight loss. He’s a trained surgeon who still practices, so you know he’s exceptionally knowledgeable. But perhaps most interesting to me, are his props.

Oz feels no squeamishness about whipping out a preserved human organ. Plastic tubes imitate veins and arteries. I even saw an audience member smashing a make-shift zit or boil, demonstrating just what happens beneath the surface, so to speak. Unlike some physicians, he talks in real language, taking the time to explain what’s really going on inside the body, rather than listening to your complaint and handing you a little white piece of paper. He makes you understand your body just a little bit better, making you a better healthcare consumer. And he believes strongly that what you eat plays a direct role in why you are feeling great, or like a Mack truck just ran you down.

For those of us living life ‘in the middle,’ this kind of stuff in invaluable. I don’t know about you, but I’m so much more health conscious than ever. Sure, I just wolfed down more peanut M&M’s than I care to attest to this weekend, but generally, I’ve weaned almost completely from diet soda. At least I never buy it for the house, although I will have it out occasionally. I buy much more organic meat, mostly local farm milk and produce when possible and have added more servings of fruit and veggies to our diets. An increased exercise schedule completes it and I must say, generally, I feel better both with the sore and strained muscles and clarity of mind.

If you’re not already an ‘Ozzie’, check your local listings and see if this wizard of health doesn’t cause you to make a few changes of your own.