Now, it’s not like Dr. Oz didn’t have spiritual leanings earlier in life. Interviews and discussions with former colleagues have revealed that even during his top surgeon days he had an interest in, shall we say, extra-medical strategies. Of course, at the time, these were things considered in addition to common-sense medical knowledge, not as a replacement. He might have recommended reiki healing, but only AFTER actually getting your gallbladder removed or whatever. So what tipped the scales to send him from “hey, this is a little untraditional, but give it a shot” to “you can cure your ulcers using the power of positive thinking and pond scum pills” territory?
Fame and celebrity seem to be the driving force here. Oz got a taste of fame early on, after performing a successful heart surgery on the brother of New York Yankees manager Joe Torre during the 1996 World Series. His colleague Eric Rose noted that Oz loved the media attention he received as a result of the operation. So when the photogenic doctor that seemed pulled straight from a daytime soap got a call from modern kingmaker Oprah Winfrey to appear on her show, it’s no surprise he jumped at the chance.
It seems, the more time he spent in front of the camera, the faster the needle swung from the title of “medical expert” to the much more accurate and amorphous “health guru.” It’s not exactly surprising, as the fact is: common sense is incredibly boring. It’s the reason that media of all kinds operates on the fringes now. A doctor telling you that the key to losing weight is a controlled diet and exercise can barely fill a single segment, much less a full broadcast slot. We can assume Oz realized the same thing: the wilder he was willing to get, the more people that wanted to watch. The same way a wrestler who starts with folding chairs might later find themselves getting slammed on a bed of thumbtacks and razor wire, suddenly he was cutting promos for healing auras and hydroxychloroquine.