Oprah's Toxins

In her ongoing quest to stroke the fevered ego of America's perkiest pseudoscientists and snake oil salespeople, Oprah Winfrey (pictured here in zero g) is experimenting with crank self-help guru Kathy Freston's Quantum Wellness detox diet. People who have no understanding of basic scientific principles often enjoy using the terms "quantum" and "detox", since they're vague and intimidating. Freston's plan calls for the elimination of all animal-based foods and a daily meditation regimen. Oprah is blogging about her journey (lots of talk about oatmeal and almonds so far--as long as she keeps her bowels out of it, I'm happy/disappointed), though she lays out her rather pliable standards for success here: "Don't know if I'm going to feel better or worse, but I'm willing to try to see if my body at least feels differently." If the bar's set that low, why have a bar at all? And since Oprah is also a practitioner of The Secret (shh, don't tell anyone), why doesn't she just wish for those nonexistent toxins to seep out through her pores? More nonsense here.