Oprah and the "Salt Retention Slavery Hypothesis"

Oprah made a mistake.  Brian Smedley, Research Director at The Opportunity Agenda, writes:

During a May 2007 Oprah show, “America’s Doctor” Mehmet Oz asked Oprah, “Do you
know why African Americans have high blood pressure?” Oprah promptly replied that
Africans who survived the slave trade’s Middle Passage “were those who could hold
more salt in their bodies.” To which Oz exclaimed, “That’s perfect!” 

Of course, we all make mistakes but reaching eight million viewers daily, Oprah's words carry enormous weight -- so much so that it's been lampooned.  This "salt retention slavery hypothesis" has long been discredited.  To read more about this topic, click here for a fact sheet (PDF) written by Brian Smedley and his co-authors.

Comments

[bainbridge island florist]

I think it's quite scary that most of her viewers just eat and swallow whatever she says. Sure, in her own thing she means well, but what she says and her vault of opinions shouldnt be the end all and be all of the viewers lives.

[Kevin]

Thanks for the comment, bainbridge. Her viewers would do well to take what she says with a grain of salt... hahaha. I crack myself up.

I suppose we can only ask for so much journalistic or academic rigor from our talk show hosts...

There is also a problem with Oprah in many ways perpetuating this myth of "pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps." Her personal success story is incredible and inspiring, but does not discount many of the institutional barriers to opportunity that persist in the U.S. Given her influence, it would be enormously helpful for her to address the need for us to support efforts and policies that encourage community, mobility, and economic security.