copyright Bettina Network, inc. 2013

Considering we are a network which tries hard to be as organic as possible – which means in food, lifestyle, building structures, etc. – it was quite something to be a part of a breakfast conversation which resulted in all saying they were turning off Dr. Oz and his television program and anything he says.

This came from a television program in which he talked about Alzheimer’s and about metals as being looked at as possible causes and naming those metals – iron, zinc, copper – and – another program in which he dissed supplements.

Why did those two things cause so much conversation?  It wasn’t about the organic things he talks about, but by the fact – as this group took it – that he galvanized many who were looking for information on how to live more organically and is now using that group to promote the agenda of the worst of those who brought us to this impasse of much money spent and no results, – or rather, much profits being pocketed by a few who leave the many ill, troubled and in dire circumstances.

Let me summarize the conversation:

It started because of conversation about aluminum and its being one of the possible causes of Alzheimer’s.  We were talking about the fairly controversial Bettina Network blog suggesting that we all give up deodorants and anti-perspirants because they work by clogging our underarm pores with aluminum, etc. – read that blog for more information.  One person let loose because she was fairly angry at Dr. Oz and felt he had led her down the ‘primrose path’ only to misuse her following of his programs to promote himself and get lots of money from the large corporations and big pharma.  She talked about this program in which he attributed the increase in Alzheimer’s to our use of Zinc, Iron and Copper and that he and his invited guests strongly advised that we stop using iron and copper pots and use very little zinc.  Her point was that no one uses copper pots in which to cook foods; iron pots have been used for generations with no increase in Alzheimer’s; and zinc has been great whenever she threatens a cold or other such infection and why was he so intentionally silent on aluminum.

The conversation was heated:  Copper is used on the bottom of pots to make the heat more even and outside some other kinds of kitchen utensils, but copper would not withstand being used on the inside of a pot for cooking.  So what did using those kind of copper utensils have to do with Alzheimer’s, since we didn’t have direct contact with the copper used on pots and besides, she said, he totally made no mention of what we believe to be the main cause of Alzheimer’s, which is our overuse of Aluminum, especially in pots – in which we directly cook foods which are in direct contact with aluminum and add to that  all of the aluminum products which our bodies take in like deodorants and anti-perspirants.  To totally eliminate aluminum from such a conversation when the research shows it is probably implicated was a real clue that maybe Dr. Oz isn’t as free of taking support, in exchange for protecting those from whom he takes it, as most of us think.

There was – especially-  a lot of response to his including iron pots since iron pots have been used for generations – hundreds of years – without any indication that using these iron pots was increasing Alzheimer’s.  Alzheimer’s did not become a problem until recently and the time line for the increase in Alzheimer’s totally lines up with the introduction of those Aluminum pots into general use in the 1950’s.  A set of such pots were a great wedding present and many people still use the pots given to them decades ago when they married.

The second irritation that came out, as the conversation heated up, was Dr. Oz’s show on supplements.  What made lots of people deride Dr. Oz and where he is coming from were those who knew that supplements were coming up for a vote, in the U. S. Congress, just days after Dr. Oz’s show dissing them and talking about how dangerous some could be and how useless were others and intimating that we needed a doctors advice or prescription for supplements and the FDA’s regulation of them.  The claim that supplements should be regulated – is an old story – and Dr. Oz giving the case in favor of such regulation, in that time frame,  showed exactly where he is coming from and the interests with whom he is aligned.  The time frame in which his show discussed supplements looked to us as another political outlet for the arguments for doctor and FDA intervention.  We know about budgets being allotted for such political issues and apparently, Dr. Oz was included in that budget.

That was a total misuse of his audience – both those physically present and his television viewers.

His show should start each segment by acknowledging to whom he owes allegiance and what he has been paid by the industries being touted – and that payment in any form.

We all agreed to lock out his shows and most of us had been Dr. Oz devotees.  We felt used, abused, sold-out and that done under the table.

Good-bye Dr. Oz.  You were great for awhile, but the public is a lot more astute than given credit.  It may take a while, but we do catch on and move on.  So many has-beens, and if we have our way, that will also be your road – a dead-end constructed by an intelligent, astute, understanding  world-wide public.