HEALTH

Oprah's Quack Medicine

Media mogul touts risky medical procedures.

When Oprah features a product on her show—a wrinkle cream, book, or type of food—it immediately starts flying off the shelves. But what happens when her endorsements are bad for viewers’ health? Newsweek reports that Oprah had actress Suzanne Somers on her show to praise non-FDA-approved “bioidenticals,” hormone injections that keep the actress feeling younger but increase risk for heart disease, cancer, and other illness. "We have the right to demand a better quality of life for ourselves," Oprah said, after she allowed a few doctors to argue against the hormones. "And that's what doctors have got to learn to start respecting." Oprah also had anti-vaccine activist Jenny McCarthy launch her platform on her show, praised risky cosmetic surgery procedures, and featured medical experts spouting half-truths about weight loss and various medical conditions.