Is There Such a Thing as TV Medical Malpractice?

As regular readers of this blog know, we’ve challenged the advice of numerous TV docs and celebrity nutritionists (see previous posts on Dr. Oz, The View’s Dr. Steven Lamm, Joy Bauer and Jillian Michaels). Each is guilty of falsely propagating fear of trace amounts of mercury in all fish and encouraging viewers to eat less seafood despite copious research advising us to eat more.

Today, we add another to the list of offenders: "The Doctors." Back in June, we wrote to its producer and cautioned him—and by extension the show’s on-air talent—to clarify the full content of the FDA advisory when discussing trace amounts of mercury in seafood. 

In our June 10, 2010 letter to producer Jay McGraw, we wrote: 

"The joint EPA and FDA advisory that was issued in 2004 couldn't be clearer. The only populations that need to consider mercury in commercial seafood are women who are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, are nursing, or young children…

"We ask that in the future your program be more precise when it provides advice on fish consumption. In turn, I can put you in touch with our staff dietitian and director of nutrition communications, who would be happy to speak with your producers to answer any questions you might have."

We’ve never received a response to our letter.  So perhaps we shouldn’t have been surprised when yesterday ”The Doctors” dedicated another segment to fish and mercury and—again—failed to correctly communicate the FDA’s advisory.

Dr. Travis Stork misled his viewing audience for a second time when he told them (as well as referred them to the show’s Web site) to avoid certain species of fish. Again, unless you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, are nursing, or you’re a young child watching his show, this advice does not pertain to you. And if you’re thinking that avoiding seafood altogether is a sound “better safe than sorry” strategy, there’s plenty of scientific evidence that says otherwise:

• A study by the Institute of Child Health showed that children whose mothers ate less than two servings of seafood per week consistently scored poorer on all measures of cognitive development compared with the pregnant women who ate more than two servings of seafood.

• Earlier this year, two of the world’s leading researchers in brain development began urging mothers to eat more fish. “There is persuasive new evidence that consumption of more than 12 ounces per week of most marketplace species will actually improve fetal neurodevelopment. This improvement occurs in spite of methyl-mercury in most, if not all fish,” wrote Drs. Thomas Brenna and Michael Crawford in an open letter to the FDA.

• Researchers from Harvard estimated 84,000 Americans die every year because they do get enough omega-3 fatty acids, the most important nutrient found in fish – America’s second leading cause of preventable death.

We're baffled as to why "The Doctors" continue to reinforce an error that has already been brought to their attention. I wonder what his patients think of a doctor who apparently puts more stock in the word of environmental activists than in the latest scientific research from the world’s leading authorities on health and nutrition.