Who does Oprah go to for women's health advice?

Posted on: June 4, 2009 4:30 PM, by PalMD

One of Oprah's favorite resources for women's health is Dr. Christiane Northrup, a gynecologist with bizarre ideas about health and disease. On the air, she has disputed the connection between HPV and cervical cancer, an uncontroversial scientific fact. Her un-belief in an important scientific fact is disturbing, but if you dig around her published writing a bit, it's even scarier. This doctor is to women's health what Dick Cheney is to human rights.

Northrup on fibroids

Uterine leiomyomas, better known as fibroid tumors, are common, non-cancerous tumors of the uterus. They can be completely asymptomatic, or can cause significant pain, bleeding, and fertility problems. These tumors are fed by hormones such as estrogen and progesterone, and manipulation of these hormones can sometimes help with symptoms. That's the facts. In Northrup's world, things are a bit different. If her writing makes you feel a bit like Alice, you're not alone. It starts with some normal ideas, such as the anatomy of fibroids, etc., but as soon as she starts to talk about cause, we are well down the rabbit hole. Click here for the rest of this post...

Note from Andrea: This doctor is obviously not a fan of bioidentical hormones. I include his article on the blog for two reasons: to remind women of the challenges we face when trying to get proper hormone balance (I wish I could tell you this is one of the few doctors who does not believe in BHRT, but you all know better), and that while Dr. Northrup has a huge following, a lot of women have issues with some of her views. Nothing in the bioidentical hormone replacement world (or any world for that matter!) is all good/bad, right/wrong, there is a huge amount of gray area. Have a wonderful Sunday, everyone!