Dr. Oz fights back! 'America's physician' lashes out at critics he says are in the pocket of the GM food he criticizes – and his is 'not a medical show' anyway 

  • TV doctor used Thursday's show to hit back at his critics who he accused of having 'conflict of interest issues - and some integrity ones also'
  • Ten doctors signed a letter last week calling Oz a 'charlatan' who promotes 'quack treatments'
  • Oz said he was being targetted because he supports GMO labeling
  • His show featured a report on how some of the 10 doctors have received grants from Monsanto, who manufactures GMO seeds
  • He also told NBC News that the Dr. Oz Show is actually 'not a medical show,' but it will no longer use 'inflammatory' words like 'miracle'

A week after 10 doctors urged Columbia University to sever all ties with him, Dr. Oz has used his syndicated TV show to hit back and claim that the criticism is part of a conspiracy because of his views on genetically modified foods.

The celebrity doctor didn't pull any punches in Thursday's episode of The Dr. Oz Show which was called The Truth About His Critics.

'The 10 doctors who attacked me got what they wanted – sensational headlines and sound bites,' said Oz.

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The celebrity doctor used Thursday's episode of The Dr. Oz Show to hit back and claim that the criticism he's received is part of a conspiracy because of his outspoken views on genetically modified food

The celebrity doctor used Thursday's episode of The Dr. Oz Show to hit back and claim that the criticism he's received is part of a conspiracy because of his outspoken views on genetically modified food

The 54-year-old found himself at the center of a firestorm last week when the doctors sent a letter to the university where Oz serves as vice chairman and professor of surgery at College of Physicians.

The doctors accused him of being a 'charlatan' who promotes 'quack treatments' and as someone who 'has repeatedly shown disdain for science and for evidence-based medicine, as well as baseless and relentless opposition to the genetic engineering of food crops'.

'It's ironic that I am being accused of a conflict of interest by these doctors, when, as you are about to see, some of them have their own conflict of interest issues - and some integrity ones also,' he said on Thursday's show. 

A report followed revealing how some of the 10 doctors 'have big ties to big industry.'

Four who signed the letter, including leader author Henry Miller, have at some point been associated with the American Council on Science and Health. 

The organization has previously received grants from Monsanto, who manufactures GMO seeds.

'They are rent-a-scientists,' said Gary Ruskin, cofounder and the executive director of US Right to Know, of Oz's critics.

Thursday's Dr. Oz Show featured a report revealing how some of the 10 doctors 'have big ties to big industry'

Thursday's Dr. Oz Show featured a report revealing how some of the 10 doctors 'have big ties to big industry'

'What Henry Miller does is he speaks on behalf of big corporations and he tells big lies on their behalf,' said Ruskin.

During the almost half an hour defense of his reputation, Oz also denied having it in for genetically modified foods.

'That is not true. I have never judged GMO foods. But just like 64 countries around the world, I support GMO labeling so you can decide on the foods for your family.'

Another Oz alley, Joel Fuhrman, said the doctors weren't 'representative of the medical profession.'

'It's ugly,' he told Oz. 'Number one, they're not representative of the medical profession. Number two, it is not an attack just against you. It is an attack against all physicians, all health care professionals, all people who maybe don't take a standard party line.' 

Oz also included a statement from the BMJ, which he described as his harshest critic. 

Ten doctors sent a letter to Columbia University urging the school to remove TV celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz from his faculty position because he is a 'charlatan' who promotes 'quack treatments'

Ten doctors sent a letter to Columbia University urging the school to remove TV celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz from his faculty position because he is a 'charlatan' who promotes 'quack treatments'

A BMJ analysis of 40 random episodes of his show revealed that his recommendations were supported by evidence only 46 percent of the time.

On Thursday, Oz shared a statement from the BMJ that said the authors of the study were 'disappointed that the overwhelming commentary seems to be that our study somehow proves that Dr Oz or The Doctors are quacks or charlatans or worse. 

'Our data in no way supports these conclusions.'

Responding to the criticism that he promotes 'quack treatments', Oz said his show's purpose was 'not to talk about medicine' but to discuss 'the good life.'

He told NBC News that the Dr. Oz Show is actually 'not a medical show,' but that he had decided to no longer use 'inflammatory' words like 'miracle'. 

'The purpose is not to throw at you the biggest articles published by doctors that week. Frankly it's not very much fun to listen to [those], either. It's to have a conversation with people who may be feeling the way you feel right now and maybe got better.'

The Harvard-educated doctor joined the faculty at Columbia in 1993. He has been hosting his health and wellness talk show since 2009.   

Dr Miller had led the campaign against Dr Oz. 'He's a quack and a fake and a charlatan. I think I know the motivation at Columbia.

'They're star-struck, and like having on their faculty the best-known doctor in the country.

'But the fact is that his advice endangers patients, and this doesn't seem to faze them.'

From left to right, Dr Phil McGraw, financial advisor Suze Orman, host Oprah Winfrey, Dr Mehmet Oz and interior designer Nate Berkus participate in The Oprah Winfrey Show live from Radio City Music Hall in 2010

From left to right, Dr Phil McGraw, financial advisor Suze Orman, host Oprah Winfrey, Dr Mehmet Oz and interior designer Nate Berkus participate in The Oprah Winfrey Show live from Radio City Music Hall in 2010

He told CBS News that 'a person who endangers patients and is a menace to public health should not be on the faculty of a prestigious medical institution'.

The nine other doctors from across the country included Dr Joel Tepper, a cancer researcher from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, and Dr Gilbert Ross of the American Council on Science and Health in New York City.

The doctors sent the letter to Lee Goldman, the dean of Columbia's Faculties of Health Sciences and Medicine. 

The physicians accused Dr Oz of pushing 'miracle' weight-loss supplements with no scientific proof that they work.

The doctors wrote that Oz, for years a world-class Columbia cardiothoracic surgeon, has 'misled and endangered' the public.

The letter read: 'He has manifested an egregious lack of integrity by promoting quack treatments and cures in the interest of personal financial gain.

'Thus, Dr Oz is guilty of either outrageous conflicts of interest or flawed judgments about what constitutes appropriate medical treatments, or both.

For more, visit Extra online 

The authors of the scathing communique took a particular issue with what they described as Oz's 'baseless and relentless opposition to the genetic engineering of food crops.'

CNN Money and the New York Times reported that some of the doctors opposing Oz have strong ties to the GMO food industry, namely the advocacy group American Council on Science and Health. 

Dr Miller, a researcher with a conservative think tank, has been a vocal proponent of genetically modified foods and has spoken out against mandatory labeling.

Dr Oz insists that he is not opposed to GMOs on principle but wants them to be properly labelled so that educated consumers would know exactly what is in their food.

'I do not claim that GMO foods are dangerous, but believe that they should be labeled like they are in most countries around the world,' he said in his statement Friday.  

The New York Ivy League school responded Thursday, issuing a statement to The Associated Press saying only that the school 'is committed to the principle of academic freedom and to upholding faculty members' freedom of expression for statements they make in public discussion.'

The authors of the letter took an issue with what they described as Oz's 'baseless and relentless opposition to the genetic engineering of food crops'
The surgeon has been a vocal proponent of mandatory labeling of GMOs, while some of his critics have been advocating for the GMO industry

Special interests: The authors of the letter took an issue with what they described as Oz's 'baseless and relentless opposition to the genetic engineering of food crops.' The surgeon has been a vocal proponent of mandatory labeling of GMOs, while some of his critics have been advocating for the GMO industry 

Dr Oz first came to public attention as a frequent television guest of Oprah Winfrey.

For the past five years, he's been the host of The Dr Oz Show.

Last year, he appeared before a US Senate panel that accused him of endorsing products that were medically unsound.

At the time, the doctor acknowledged some of the products he advised his viewers to use 'don't have the scientific muster to present as fact.'

A show representative did not immediately return a call Thursday from the AP seeking comment.

As vice chairman of Columbia's surgery department, Dr Oz still occasionally teaches, said Douglas Levy, spokesman for the Columbia University Medical Center.

The controversy did not die down after his testimony. The company behind the'miracle' diet supplement in question later agreed to pay a $3.5 million settlement over false advertising. A study that purported to prove the product's weight-loss benefits turned out to be based on fraudulent data and was retracted. 

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