She is very powerful, and so she will probably destroy Newsweek for reporting this, but: Oprah's popular show, when it is not about giving you free things, is about promoting stupid and often dangerous quackery and pseudoscience.

Often, yes, it is about heartwarming stories of one woman's triumph over adversity, but sometimes that "adversity" is a medical condition and the "triumph" involves disproved, insane, and potentially harmful treatments. Like when Oprah had the thyroid problem, and her spiritual holistic OB-GYN recommended soy milk and iodine, both of which will just make it worse, if you for real have a thyroid problem, and aren't just fat and sad.

What causes thyroid conditions, again? Oh, right, nonsense.

Thyroid dysfunction, which affects millions of Americans (mostly women), occurs when the thyroid gland located in the neck produces too much or too little thyroid hormone. Too much (hyperthyroidism) and the metabolism races, sometimes causing anxiety and weight loss. Too little (hypothyroidism) and it slows, which, if severe, can lead to depression and weight gain. Many things can trigger the disease, especially autoimmune disorders.

But Northrup believes thyroid problems can also be the result of something else. As she explains in her book, "in many women, thyroid dysfunction develops because of an energy blockage in the throat region, the result of a lifetime of 'swallowing' words one is aching to say."

This lengthy article is actually far too kind (and brief) to baby-killing nut Jenny McCarthy and her anti-vaccine crusade, and yet it still manages to be a very damning indictment of how Oprah is trying to kill your poor mother. "At some point, it would seem, people will stop looking to Oprah for this kind of guidance. This will never happen."