By By Megan Hamilton Dec 23, 2014 in Health The results of a recent study of recommendations made by Dr. Mehmet Oz on television may well encourage viewers to be skeptical of the products he touts. A total of 80 recommendations were made during the episodes, but researchers were only able to find evidence to support 46 percent of the recommendations. This doesn't mean that the claims are true, it merely means that at least one piece of scientific evidence supports what Oz said when he was on the air. Weirdly, in 15 percent of the recommendations that were studied, the evidence contradicted Dr. Oz's on-air claims. Then, when researchers looked more closely at the actual evidence, the numbers shrank, and only 33 percent of his recommendations were considered to have evidence that could be labeled as "believable or somewhat believable," Consumerist reports. Another popular television show, "The Doctors" was also studied, and the results for that show were better, but not terribly encouraging. "The research supporting any of these recommendations is frequently absent, contradictory or of poor quality," Christina Korownyk, from the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Alberta and a co-author of the study told the Some patients gobble up Dr. Oz's advice as if it were manna from heaven, and it was driving a few doctors nuts. So the researchers decided to take a closer look. "Some patients come in and say, 'I heard on 'Dr. Oz' yesterday that we should all be doing this.' And then we're left scrambling in our office to try to find answers," Korownyk said. "It got us reflecting, what's being said there? What kinds of things are being recommended and what kind of information is being provided?" The researchers found little that was scientifically valuable enough to back up the claims. "One out of three recommendations from 'The Dr. Oz Show' has believable evidence, and about half of the recommendations on 'The Doctors' has believable evidence," Mike Allan, also a co-author of the study, wrote in a statement, MNN reported. This is not the first time that The Doctor Oz Show has been scrutinized. In June of this year, Oz testified in front a Senate committee regarding his claims that some diet products are "miracles" for losing weight. At one point, Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO), accused Oz of lying, For his part, Oz acknowledged that the products he told viewers to try weren't supported by science and didn't have the research behind them to be presented as fact. "I don't get why you need to say this stuff because you know it's not true," McCaskill told Oz, regarding his praising green coffee extract, raspberry ketone, and garcinia cambogia as products for weight loss. While he said he knew these extracts might not pass "FDA muster" as pharmaceutical drugs, Oz said he disagreed with whether or not the products worked. And later on, he acknowledged that many of the products he touted don't have enough scientific merit to be presented as fact. Yet despite that, he still encourages his audience to use the products. "I actually do personally believe in the items I talk about on the show," Oz said. "I passionately study them. I recognize they don't have the scientific muster to present as fact but nevertheless I would give my audience the advice I give my family all the time and I have given my family these products. Specifically the ones you mentioned, then I'm comfortable with that part." "The scientific community is almost monolithically against you in terms of the efficacy of the three products you called miracles," McCaskill fired back. Then Oz, who is a Professor of Surgery at Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons and Vice-Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the university, told McCaskill he felt that he should be a "cheerleader for the audience," per Buzzfeed. "My job, I feel on the show, is to be a cheerleader for the audience," he said. "And when they don't think they have hope, when they don't think they can make it happen, I want to look everywhere including alternative healing traditions for any evidence that might be supported to them." "The public may see these shows as educational," says Allan. "But in many ways we wonder if that's really what they're for and perhaps they're just their for entertainment." The researchers concluded that people should consult with a doctor rather than try to follow general advice from a TV doctor. "Our bottom line conclusion is to be skeptical of what you hear on these shows," Allan said. The study was published last week in The BMJ , and 40 episodes of the Dr. Oz show from 2013 were investigated, Consumerist reports.A total of 80 recommendations were made during the episodes, but researchers were only able to find evidence to support 46 percent of the recommendations. This doesn't mean that the claims are true, it merely means that at least one piece of scientific evidence supports what Oz said when he was on the air.Weirdly, in 15 percent of the recommendations that were studied, the evidence contradicted Dr. Oz's on-air claims. Then, when researchers looked more closely at the actual evidence, the numbers shrank, and only 33 percent of his recommendations were considered to have evidence that could be labeled as "believable or somewhat believable," Consumerist reports.Another popular television show, "The Doctors" was also studied, and the results for that show were better, but not terribly encouraging."The research supporting any of these recommendations is frequently absent, contradictory or of poor quality," Christina Korownyk, from the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Alberta and a co-author of the study told the Mother Nature Network (MNN). Some patients gobble up Dr. Oz's advice as if it were manna from heaven, and it was driving a few doctors nuts. So the researchers decided to take a closer look."Some patients come in and say, 'I heard on 'Dr. Oz' yesterday that we should all be doing this.' And then we're left scrambling in our office to try to find answers," Korownyk said. "It got us reflecting, what's being said there? What kinds of things are being recommended and what kind of information is being provided?"The researchers found little that was scientifically valuable enough to back up the claims."One out of three recommendations from 'The Dr. Oz Show' has believable evidence, and about half of the recommendations on 'The Doctors' has believable evidence," Mike Allan, also a co-author of the study, wrote in a statement, MNN reported.This is not the first time that The Doctor Oz Show has been scrutinized.In June of this year, Oz testified in front a Senate committee regarding his claims that some diet products are "miracles" for losing weight. At one point, Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO), accused Oz of lying, Buzzfeed reports.For his part, Oz acknowledged that the products he told viewers to try weren't supported by science and didn't have the research behind them to be presented as fact."I don't get why you need to say this stuff because you know it's not true," McCaskill told Oz, regarding his praising green coffee extract, raspberry ketone, and garcinia cambogia as products for weight loss.While he said he knew these extracts might not pass "FDA muster" as pharmaceutical drugs, Oz said he disagreed with whether or not the products worked. And later on, he acknowledged that many of the products he touted don't have enough scientific merit to be presented as fact. Yet despite that, he still encourages his audience to use the products."I actually do personally believe in the items I talk about on the show," Oz said. "I passionately study them. I recognize they don't have the scientific muster to present as fact but nevertheless I would give my audience the advice I give my family all the time and I have given my family these products. Specifically the ones you mentioned, then I'm comfortable with that part.""The scientific community is almost monolithically against you in terms of the efficacy of the three products you called miracles," McCaskill fired back.Then Oz, who is a Professor of Surgery at Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons and Vice-Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the university, told McCaskill he felt that he should be a "cheerleader for the audience," per Buzzfeed."My job, I feel on the show, is to be a cheerleader for the audience," he said. "And when they don't think they have hope, when they don't think they can make it happen, I want to look everywhere including alternative healing traditions for any evidence that might be supported to them.""The public may see these shows as educational," says Allan. "But in many ways we wonder if that's really what they're for and perhaps they're just their for entertainment."The researchers concluded that people should consult with a doctor rather than try to follow general advice from a TV doctor."Our bottom line conclusion is to be skeptical of what you hear on these shows," Allan said. More about dr oz, Dr Oz wrong more than half the time, Dr Oz recommendations rarely backed by science, garcinia cambogia, raspberry ketone More news from dr oz Dr Oz wrong more tha... Dr Oz recommendation... garcinia cambogia raspberry ketone green coffee extract Consumerist buzzfeed mother nature networ...