The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

*Spoiler Alert* Remember Dorothy’s disappointment when she finally got to meet the ‘wonderful’ Wizard of Oz? Well, Dr. Oz is falling down the same rabbit hole...different children’s story, but you get the idea. Earlier this year Dr. Oz made a berry premature claim that raspberry ketones are “the number one miracle in a bottle to burn fat.”

So…where did this claim come from?

Dr. Oz’s claim comes from one study that was conducted in 2005, where 12 mice were fed a high-fat diet. Out of those 12 mice, six were fed raspberry ketones. Compared to the controlled group, those who consumed raspberry ketones did not gain any weight on the high-fat diet. I should also mention that these six mice were fed more raspberry ketone in a day than what’s in a whole bottle of most brands. So, are we really concluding that the number one miracle in a bottle to burn fat is raspberry ketones? Maybe if you were an overweight mouse, that conclusion would make more sense!

Just to give you some background information – raspberry ketone is the chemical that gives the fruit its scent. It’s now synthesized in laboratories since it’s too expensive to extract from raspberries, and sold in health food stores and pharmacies. According to Dr. Oz, it “naturally tricks your body into thinking it’s thin.” What happened to you Dr. Oz?

Take home message – be careful what you read and hear! I know that sounds hypocritical coming from a blogger, but please critically evaluate all health claims before you spend your hard earned cash on any of them.

Happy shopping and Merry Christmas!

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Image courtesy of Pixabay