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Sept. 15, 2023 - Dr. Oz Podcast
42:41
Medical Mysteries How Can a Sore Throat Lead to a Coma? | Dr. Oz | S11 | Ep 28 | Full Episode
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Medical mysteries.
How can a sore throat leave you in a coma?
It just got worse and worse and worse until eventually I had to call 911. And she thought she had a brain tumor.
But what it turned out to be...
They found the egg.
...was a deadly worm.
Put it under a microscope and out came a tapeworm.
Came out of the egg.
Plus, Dr. Oz gets real on HealthCorp.
The decisions you're making are gonna cost you your life.
Coming up next.
Are you ready for season 11?
*Cheering* Today, a new health alert about a medical mystery as we go into flu and cold season.
Could your sore throat lead to this?
Being in a coma and unable to breathe on your own.
Lindsay was healthy.
Thought she was experiencing early signs of a cold.
But then, it quickly became a life-threatening emergency.
I could tell in her voice that something needed to be done.
She was telling me that it was hard to breathe, that when she took a breath, it was like knives were stabbing.
That's when I said, you're going to have to go to the hospital.
I was at the fire department working, and she had texted me that she had called 911. I kept trying to call her back, and she wouldn't answer.
And when she finally texted me back, she said she can't answer the phone because she can't talk because she can't breathe.
Lindsay's dad called and he was like, where are you guys?
Lindsay's in the hospital.
They took her to an ER. So we all went immediately to the ER where Lindsay was.
They made her go to the bathroom and I remember they came back with her pee and it was like brown.
Like it was just absolutely discolored and we locked eyes and we were like, this is serious.
She was so dehydrated that she had gone into some kidney failure.
That was a clip from HLN's Something's Killing Me.
Joining me now is the doctor of the series, Dr. Alok Patel.
Thank you for being here.
Thank you for having us, sir.
I love your work.
Thank you.
So, let's talk a little bit about Linda.
She's got a sore throat.
Was there anything else going on before she got to the sore throat that might have tipped you off of what was happening?
Maybe caused her to go to the hospital?
You know, not necessarily.
She had symptoms that we can all relate to.
She had the sore throat, but she also had a few days of just kind of feeling ill.
Low energy, but nothing that was really a red flag.
She felt good enough to go ahead and go to New York, felt a little bit of chills on the plane.
I feel that too.
I wouldn't think it was anything serious.
She went on vacation feeling that way.
Anyway, a lot of us would have thought she had the flow.
Dr. Patel, As you review this case, you went through all the medical records.
What did the doctors think was going on when she presented to the ER? So when she first, before she even got to the ER, when she saw her campus physician, he thought, you know what, you're probably recovering from the flu.
Gave her some IV fluids.
Have a great spring break.
And then a few days later, when she first went to the ER, they immediately knew that something was wrong and this was past what the flu could possibly do, past the virus.
They had already checked for strep throat, for mono, for tonsillitis, and they were even thinking that this might be past pneumonia to the point where something serious is happening and we don't know what it is, but your life might be in danger.
In the end, they said, it's none of these things.
It was none of these.
It was none of these.
So she got to the hospital, things progressed pretty rapidly.
Explain where she was.
When she got to the hospital, she was already in multiple organ failure.
So her kidneys were affected, her lungs were affected, her mental status was actually going out.
She was in shock.
And so this, in the series, you'll see this is where the real life medical mystery begins to play out because they're trying to save her life, but they also don't know what's causing it.
So doctors raced to find out what was going on with Lindsay.
In the meantime, she took a turn for the worse.
She had pleural effusions.
She had fluid around her lung, but that was infected fluid.
She was in septic shock.
She was in respiratory failure.
Her kidneys actually shut down, so she wasn't able to relieve any urine.
So the toxicity levels started setting up.
The reason we had to sedate her to the point of coma was that her lung disease was so severe when she came in and she was having so much trouble breathing that even when we put her on the respirator so the machine could do the work of breathing for her, she still felt very, very air hungry.
Up next, what could this be?
And how could her sore throat turn into a coma?
Carcados are everywhere.
Toast, dips, even ice cream.
But have we been super fooled by this super food?
We investigate.
Plus, CBD oil.
They come in many different forms.
There's oils, bombs, chocolates, all kinds of foods.
He claims to help you sleep, but does it really work?
Do we know about side effects?
We break it down.
All new Oz.
That's coming up on Monday.
We're back investigating a medical mystery that sent a seemingly healthy woman into organ failure and then a coma after she complained of a sore throat. - All right.
They kept saying, oh, any minute now she'll wake up.
She didn't.
Unfortunately, not every patient can tolerate waking up, and sometimes you do get into trouble with some accumulation of these medications.
We just needed to see her eyes.
We needed to squeeze her hand.
We needed to make contact with her.
Her blood cultures came back and it was identified thereafter as Fusobacterium necroforums.
And Fusobacterium necroforum is the bacteria that most commonly causes Lemire syndrome.
We had no idea what that syndrome was and what it entailed.
When you go online, you see a lot of the cases that the patients don't survive.
They don't wake up.
Even though they found a diagnosis that did not mean the medical mystery was solved for Lindsay and her family.
Dr. Lok Patel is back with us.
Folks have never heard of Lemire syndrome.
Lemire, I didn't even know about it until I read about it for the show.
How is it making a comeback?
Here's the creepy and fascinating part.
While doctors are scrambling, trying to figure out what's going on, what's the culprit, the bacteria that most commonly causes this is actually living in all of us.
It is?
Fusobacterium necroforum, the name's even creepy.
Yes, necroforum, like necropsy.
And you all have it, I just learned.
You know, the bacteria is naturally occurring in our mouth, in our gut.
And for one reason or another, when some people get a head and neck infection, head or neck infection, you know, think your sinus, ear infections, or most commonly a sore throat, for some reason, the bacteria can jump ship from where it normally lives into a place it shouldn't be.
Let's demonstrate to everyone why this is so dangerous.
So your neck and head areas are incredibly complicated.
So we made you a little model to demonstrate what's going down.
And it does all start here in the neck.
But if you look deep down, the bacteria, for some reason, travels into the soft tissue, that little red area that we're showing there around the throat, then into the jugular vein.
See the blue thing, the jugular vein?
We all have those jugular veins.
It forms a clot in there that's infected.
You see the yellow clot?
That travels when it breaks off down to the lungs.
And it forms additional clots down there, and if these lungs get infected, now all of a sudden you can't breathe.
That was that fluid that was infected around the lungs they were talking about.
But it can infect other organs as well.
Oh, it's like a runaway train of an infection if it's not caught in time.
And because it's in the venous system, This bacteria, these infected little clots, can go to the liver, the brain, the joints, you mentioned the lungs, the spleen, basically anywhere.
And what's really creepy is that when it actually gets to one of those organs and causes problems, that might actually be the first symptom several weeks after the sore throat.
You see why it's so confusing.
So, Lindsay was in a coma, a bad coma, for seven days.
Amazingly, she survived.
Y'all want to meet her?
I thought you might, because she's here today.
Her brother Kathy joins us as well.
How are you?
Good, how are you?
You're here in the flesh.
I am.
How are you?
That's pretty scary.
Oh my goodness.
So, it's pretty terrifying just watching your ordeal.
If you don't mind, take us back.
When you first got what you thought was the flu or a sore throat, what did you think was happening when it took a turn?
Well, I thought it was the flu at first because that's what my college infirmary told me, but It just got worse and worse and worse until eventually I had to call 911. So Kathleen, your daughter's in a coma after she does call 911 and goes to the hospital and immediately they have to put a breathing tube and all kinds of interventions.
Seven days in a coma.
What was going through your mind?
I mean, your daughter had a sore throat.
When I first walked into the room, We knew how severe it was when you have to be intubated.
You know, that's pretty serious.
And just seeing her there, it was very painful.
Was there a moment during those seven days when you thought you might lose your daughter?
When I first walked in to the room, yes.
Yes.
That thought crossed my mind.
But I just refused to keep my brain in that space.
I needed to go to a positive space.
And we just never gave hope.
You were in mama bear mode.
Yeah.
Proud of you.
Absolutely.
So, Dr. Patel.
Yeah, please.
You argue one of the scariest parts of Lemire disease or syndrome is that it affects young people like Lindsay.
So you were in the hospital actually a month after the coma.
Yes, a month.
So what was that like, trying to get everything to work again?
It was a long month.
There was a lot of TV watching going on, but for the most part, PT. I was laying in bed for so long that I needed physical therapy because I couldn't walk anymore.
Breathing was hard.
Taking like three steps was basically running a marathon for me, so it was rough.
Kathy, she lost a dramatic amount of weight.
She lost her hair.
How was that as a mom?
What did you learn about your daughter as you witnessed what she had to go through?
I learned that she's not only physically strong but mentally strong.
She was able to go through all of the treatments and all of the PT with style and grace and always kept a smile and was always joking and having fun with the staff members at Lenox Hill.
It must feel good to hear that.
Yes.
So, there could be millions of people panicked right now because they think of themselves as young and healthy and still susceptible to this.
What are the warning signs that what you have is more than just a sore throat?
Well, the first thing I have to say is always listen to your mom if they say go to the doctor.
I think one thing that's really important to note here is that even though Lemire syndrome is relatively rare, what's not rare is the fact that you could think that you have a normal virus, a normal sore throat, and it just doesn't go away and you have to really listen to your body.
And so everyone needs to know that no matter what the illness is, if it's not following the course that we think it should be, just check in with the doctor or your mom.
It's part of the big message, right?
We can all be a disease detective.
Spot your diseases and signs.
Dr. Pell, you argued there are few, but the biggest one, as you just mentioned, if it's not doing what it's supposed to do, get some help because something's out of the ordinary.
Check out Something's Killing Me, airing on Sunday nights at 9 p.m.
on HLN. Up next, another medical mystery that will shock you.
One woman thought she had a brain tumor.
Turns out it was something from this.
That's a tapeworm, my friends.
How did it get there?
Stay with us.
Nice to have you done.
Happy to be back.
The Preppy Murder.
The side you haven't heard of the story you thought you knew.
That's coming up on Tuesday on Dr. Oz.
We're back with medical mysteries that will shock you.
Imagine being told you had a malignant brain tumor.
You're preparing for the worst.
But when doctors went in to operate, they found something from this.
It's a tapeworm.
They can get up to 23 feet long.
How could this happen?
Well, it did to Rachel, and she's here to talk about this medical mystery.
Unbelievable that you're still here.
After going through that and all the different ups and downs, you're trying to figure out what was causing your issue.
So take me back to the beginning.
What were your first signs and symptoms?
When did you know something wasn't right with your head?
I knew in January of 2018 that there was something wrong with my motor skills.
I'd have my normal cup of coffee and all of a sudden the cup would just drop out of my hand.
At work, my pen would just drop.
I just lost sensation in my right hand, but thought maybe I was just stressed out.
Maybe it was just in my head, you know, so I kind of ignored that.
As time went on, I wouldn't know what year it is.
I wouldn't know that a key opens the door.
So they brought me to the emergency room and as soon as they ruled out a brain bleed, they sent me home.
What a mystery.
So you're having weakness of your extremities, you're having bizarre behaviors, and they can't find out what it is.
Understandably looking for strokes and bleeds and the like.
I think what was most frustrating was my symptoms mimicked that of psychiatric symptoms and I felt that I was being blown off so we sought out better treatment.
I went to Mount Sinai Hospital and I was set up with a neurologist who did an MRI And right away, you can see on the MRI... Let's show everybody.
This is a fabulous image, and I just love being able to show this to everybody because you don't have to be a neuroscientist to figure this out.
So this is your head, your neck is down here, your chin's over here, it's your eyeball right there, okay?
Orient you.
That is not supposed to be that little circle.
You don't have circles like that in your brain, right?
And that turned out to be something fascinating.
Concerning, but fascinating.
So let me just take, if I took a cut through the top of your head, at that level, image would look like this.
Right?
That's the same thing, but cut through the top.
You see it over here.
So now you know where it is.
It's on the left side, up front.
I have a little animation to show you how a surgeon could go in there.
So again, this is your face, with your eyes closed, turning sideways, left side, just above the ear.
And if you make a little cut there, you see this structure.
The white is inflammation or scar or something.
The green, we have no idea what that is.
I mean, it could be an alien.
I have no idea what's going on in there, but something is fishy.
That could explain, based on its location, a lot of things you're complaining about.
So that was the first scan.
And where it's located, I guess, at the time I didn't know this, I would have trouble with word formation.
I would have trouble recognizing, if somebody asked me for a pen, I would hand them, let's say, a straw or What did they say this was?
They said this was a lesion that just needed to be monitored.
It wasn't normal.
They never said it was normal.
But it was just something to be monitored and possibly it would go away.
But it didn't.
Six weeks later I came back for a second scan and right away he said it has changed.
It's changed contrast.
It's changed size.
We need to go and get it.
So we did.
We went in for the surgery and I woke up and they said, well, it wasn't a tumor.
It was a tapeworm.
So that's the tapeworm, by the way.
That's the actual image of the worm that came out of your brain that neurosurgeons took a picture of.
So what was it like to wake up and realize you have a new lease on life?
Not only do you not have a brain tumor that could kill you, but you actually are going to start being you again.
Yeah, that all took a little while to process.
What was explained to me was actually that they found the egg and then they said, this is not like any tumor we've ever seen.
And they took the egg out and they put it under a microscope all during the surgery and out came a tapeworm.
I mean, look at these things.
You see, this is a bigger one.
This is from New York Medical College, by the way, from our friends there.
They lent this to us.
But, you know, these are not rare.
They're not rare.
It turns out that you were infected by an egg, as you know.
And the egg of a tapeworm can be found in food or can be found in water contaminated by feces.
And you have no idea how you got this.
Have you traveled to foreign countries?
Never.
Eat a lot of sushi?
Never.
Raw pork?
Never.
Turns out, this is the part that I was fascinated by, and this is the part you should all be paying attention to, you don't have to do any of those things, obviously, to get the tapeworm.
Because when it's ingested, the egg can get into your bloodstream and travel throughout your body.
Yes, the highest incidence is occurring in Latin America and Asia and Africa.
Did your doctor share how they think you got this?
They have reached no conclusion.
I had none of the risk factors for contracting this.
Infectious disease doctors have come and seen me in the hospital.
They do not have any idea how I contracted it.
May I help you with this?
We looked into this medical mystery.
We made a lot of phone calls and I think we have a solution.
The way to solve this medical mystery is to examine what could have contaminated you, and I suspect there was another human being.
I bet you someone didn't wash their hands properly.
It's passed in our bowel movements, right?
Anything that you ate or drank could have been contaminated because accidentally someone touched something that had it.
80% of our seafood, 80% is imported.
So is a lot of our meat.
So that would have increased your risk, and I think that's probably what happened.
The reality is we can't be immune from infections, even with tapeworm from another country, because we're not immune to the food that they make there.
So how has this changed your perspective on life, to have survived, now that you know that you're a tapeworm carrier, but not a tumor carrier in your brain?
I'm just so grateful to the doctors at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Well, I'm happy you're doing well.
God bless you.
Thanks for sharing your story.
We'll be right back.
Coming up, health court is in session.
This case is the tale of two sisters-in-law.
Both are diagnosed with diabetes, but one is on a harmful path and the other one wants to save her life.
Plus, our expert witness Sam Talbot delivers undeniable evidence that makes this case our most heartfelt health court.
Bickering couples, roaring neighbors, friends and family divided.
When it's time for resolution, it's time to take them to HealthCorp, where Dr. Oz rules.
The plaintiff says her sister-in-law was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes but isn't taking it seriously and is even sneaking bad foods.
She's worried it could have devastating results and wants her to quit sugar and carbs forever.
But the defendant says nothing is forever.
She's in a stressful time right now but will get her blood sugar in balance with meds eventually.
Health court is now in session.
In this case, one of the most important ever.
So, why was it important for you to bring your sister-in-law into court today?
I love Jamie.
I really care about her.
And I know her daughters care about her, too.
But she needs to do something.
She works three jobs.
She's very busy.
But I'm just concerned about her health.
I see you brought some evidence.
I gather these are the kinds of foods that your sister-in-law, the defendant, has been eating.
Please present them to the court.
Yes.
Peanut butter.
Is that white bread, ma'am?
White bread.
Okay.
Crackers.
Mashed potatoes.
Sugary cereal.
Popsicles.
And all kinds of good stuff.
She goes to the Chinese buffet.
And has a ball.
So defendant, you were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, I am told.
What happened?
Well, years ago, 30 years ago, when I had a child, I was gestational diabetic, and then I was fine after that, and apparently I ignored my health, and within the last five years, I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Have you done much to change the kinds of foods you're eating, or is what the plaintiff's declaring as your traditional diet indeed what you usually eat?
Unfortunately, she's correct.
I do walk and I take medicine, so I am trying.
She invites me over to the Chinese buffet.
So Jorgen, there's a bit of an enabling element here to your sister-in-law.
Yes.
So I see the back and forth here.
Plaintiff, I understand that you have type 2 diabetes or had it?
Yes.
In July, I wasn't feeling well.
I was actually at a party and I went to urgent care.
My A1c was 8.1 and I said to myself, I'm not gonna allow this to happen.
I'm gonna do something about it.
I went and I joined Planet Fitness.
I started changing my food plan.
And as of today, I lost 20 pounds.
Diabetes, serious diagnosis, doesn't have to be a death sentence.
And I'm serious about that because it does cause that, unfortunately, a lot of people.
So I want to bring in an expert witness who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 12. And he had to build a very different relationship with food.
Thankfully, he's a top chef and author of The Suite Life, Diabetes Without Boundaries.
Please welcome Sam Talbot.
Wow.
Wow.
Now Sam has brought some evidence.
We'll get to that evidence in a minute.
But first, how do you balance your love of food with a disease that, for you, is actually very genetic?
Sure.
You know, for me, I think it starts with continuously knowing what your blood sugar is.
For me, I do that with a Guardian Connect.
It measures it.
I know it.
I'm in charge.
Second, exercise.
Exercise is also a really crucial element.
And then of course, third is the food that we eat.
As a diabetic, whether type one or type two, we have to have, we really have an extra responsibility and we need to get you there.
So Mr. Talbot, you have some questions for the defendant and perhaps for the plaintiff as well.
Sure.
So for the defendant, is food, you know, food's my passion, right?
Food for you, cooking, is it a daunting task or do you find joy in it?
Is there any sort of comfort in it?
Well, I was married to a firefighter so he did all the cooking and he passed away so I don't cook.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry to hear that.
How long ago did you lose your husband?
Four years.
I get that you're lonely, and being by yourself is about the most stressful thing we can envision for any of us.
We ignore it sometimes, but it's there.
And I'm going to come back to that.
But I am still the judge, and I've still got to make decisions about what is a life-threatening problem here, which is why I do think it's the most important health court that we've ever had on the show.
So, Sam, you brought some examples with you.
Let me turn to you.
These are some hacks that you believe could be valuable.
Less harmful choices with people with diabetes who still want to have some carbs.
Still, I mean, you know, carbs are a crucial part to our energy, to a crucial part of our day.
And there's a way that you can still have carbs in your life, and it's really simple.
It's like the easiest trick in the world.
So all you have to do is, if you're right here, we're talking about brown rice.
It's been seasoned with cider vinegar, lemon zest, and Himalayan sea salt.
Three or four really key ingredients, but The trick is you refrigerate it, right?
Put it in the refrigerator, come back to it 12 hours later, come back to it the next day, and when you eat this, your body has now turned it into a resistant starch, making your pancreas, making your organs not have to work as hard, not giving those blood sugar responses.
So you can still eat your carbs, but to keep it simple, do it cold.
It helps process, keeps your pH level and balance.
Wow.
I appreciate, as our expert witness, that you provided some hacks to our defendants, but I've gotta say, you still have to take care of the basic bodily processes of diabetes.
It doesn't matter what hacks we give you, you still gotta keep track of it, because it'll work better in some people than others.
Let me explain why this is so vitally important.
The body will break down carbs and sugar.
You all know that, but your body regulates the sugar by releasing a hormone, insulin.
Now, this hormone's goal is to keep your blood sugar imbalanced.
As you can see, when it's perfectly balanced, everyone's happy.
But when you have an imbalance that's called diabetes, you end up with too much sugar.
It weighs you down, drags you into a pit, an abyss of illness, and it can wreak havoc on your organs, your eyes, your heart, your kidneys.
These cold carbs that you mentioned, Mr. Talbot, can be very valuable because it doesn't force your insulin to keep up quite as much.
But no matter what, if you're having dessert every night, Because you're by yourself and your husband's not there with you, which I completely get why that might be a temptation, you're still gonna end up Creating such a scenario that you won't be able to see your future because it will affect your eyes.
You won't be able to feel your future.
You'll end up with all the consequences of diabetes.
So the big question remains, does someone with diabetes need to give up sugar and carbs forever?
We look at the defendant's blood sugar levels to see how her occasional sweet treats are affecting her from the inside out.
I will make this decision, this ruling, based on the data.
Avocados are everywhere.
Toast, dips, even ice cream.
But have we been super fooled by this superfood?
We investigate all new Oz.
That's coming up on Monday.
We're back with Health Court.
I'm presiding over the case of the sugar-shaming sister-in-law.
The plaintiff upholds that the defendant needs to lay off the sugar and carbs for good now that she's been diagnosed with diabetes, but the defendant is tired of everyone in her life shaming her for her sugar intake.
She's been through a lot.
Here to help us sort out this case is my expert witness, top chef and author of The Sweet Life, Sam Calvert.
Sam was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
He's mastered balancing his diagnosis with his love of food.
Age 12, You've learned that you've got diabetes.
You take on the challenge.
You still have the love of food.
What have you done?
What swap outs have worked for you?
Yeah, you know, it's about life hacks.
So I love pasta, but we can't eat pasta every night because we just know we can't eat pasta every night.
So for me, I use a shirataki noodle, right?
It's like legitimately a quarter of the amount of carbs that you would find in regular pasta.
And then my personal favorite, these are great on the road, they're great when you're traveling, they're just great in general, is dried mango.
You can buy them online, you can buy them at the grocery store, and this is low on the glycemic index, packed with fiber, and just a really great snack.
To try it.
I barely heard you say I tried.
No, I said I should try it.
You should try it.
These dried mangoes, they're I mean, I'm so bad.
I'm like, dried mango?
I don't know.
You were bad.
You were bad.
OK. Well, I'm hearing the defendant, and I appreciate your honesty, but we are in court, and things you say will be used, especially by the plaintiff.
OK. But you are under oath as well, sort of.
So we've got one more bit of evidence though that will not lie, can't be swayed, and is pretty black and white.
We had both of you tested for hemoglobin A1C, which as everyone knows is a gauge of how long your blood sugar is elevated in your blood.
You can't cheat it.
It will measure for months how you're doing.
So one good day, one bad day doesn't change it.
It's just out there.
So it reflects the average blood sugar for several months.
Please, you have the records.
You ready?
Robert, please do.
All right.
I'll take the defendants first.
And the defendants...
Actually, you know what?
We'll do the plaintiffs first since it's on top.
Are you ready?
Now, according to the plaintiff, Please correct me if I'm wrong.
These are your sugar results, and you say they have decreased since you were first diagnosed with diabetes in July.
Well, I don't know.
This is the first I'm hearing of it.
It was 8.1 in July.
All right, so you have not been checked since then?
No.
I should point out that you should have been checked, but...
You were checked since then.
Well, just now.
Yeah, but I mean, I haven't been checked.
There'll be no arguing between the plaintiff and defendant during the case.
So, Peg, the plaintiff, her hemoglobin A1C, and remember, you ideally wanna be below 5.7, but if you're less than six and a half, you're not a diabetic.
Okay.
Your number is 5.9.
Woo!
Wow!
Oh my God.
Okay.
I mean, thoughts on that?
I'm shocked.
I'm ready to cry.
I can't believe it.
I've just been exercising like crazy, and I cut out all carbs, soda.
It shows.
So defendant, are you impressed by, before I get to yours, are you impressed by the plaintiff's achievements, your sister-in-law, or are you just jealous of her?
No, I'm impressed.
I'm impressed.
It matters.
All right.
Now let's get to the defendant.
I understand what you've been through, and I know it's difficult to go through the painful change of losing a loved one, but there are lots of other people who still love you.
And so I'm gonna reveal your number.
I have not looked at it yet.
Your hemoglobin A1c, ideally less than 5.7, but at least less than 6.5, or the decisions you're making are gonna cost you your life.
Are we clear?
Your hemoglobin A1c is 8.6.
Please approach the bench.
Please approach the bench.
Careful.
So we're doing this together.
What has always allowed us to go in life is the fact that we're here in this time, in this moment.
And that wonderful man who had such good taste to marry you and saved many of our lives as a fireman left you with some pretty good allies, which I'm sure he would want you to take advantage of.
This is not a number that I can let you go home with without some intervention.
Okay.
Will you cook for me?
I'll come cook for you.
I'm gonna send Sam Talbot over to cook for you.
He's a good-looking guy.
Are you single?
Yeah!
You're not single, but I can still cook for you.
Come back over here.
All right, so...
My girlfriend's gonna kill me now.
I'm not even gonna give this to you, because I don't want this in your memory.
I'm ripping this up now, because I don't want to see that number again.
And it's not gonna happen based on what we're gonna do.
So here's my thought.
Health court is about dealing with problems and making decisions, black and white, so you can go forward.
So I'm gonna connect you, not with Sam, who's gotta go back and cook, but with a man I trust the most to take care of these issues.
He's called the enforcer for a reason.
He's a chief wellness officer at the Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Michael Roizen.
He has agreed with his team to take on not just a defendant's case, but both of your cases.
Wow.
Which is a big deal.
He's going to coach you and give you meal plans.
And believe me, he's like a brother to me.
He was going to bother you all the time to make sure you know you are never alone.
Because none of us are.
Period.
So, if you're willing to take with this, I'm ready to make my final ruling.
Will you accept this help?
I will.
Alright.
For anyone out there with diabetes, having a treat once every once in a while doesn't have to be a death sentence.
But when your levels are as high as we just saw today, and your doctor is suggesting you take insulin, I rule in favor of a low carb diet.
Right?
No sugar.
You can't get it in there.
You're gonna have to push stuff.
I know it's not easy, but your plaintiff's sister-in-law did it.
So if nothing else, just copy her, which is a pretty good tactic to use in life anyway.
Someone successful, copy them.
So I rule in favor of the plaintiff, and I remand the defendant to the custody of your sister-in-law so you can both help each other.
You may hug.
I'm so happy with the verdict.
Not because I wanted to call Jamie out, because I love her and I want to help her.
He kind of scared me and I really have to take it more serious and take care of myself from the bottom of my heart.
Thank you.
Do you want to take someone in your life to HealthCourt?
Go to DrOz.com slash HealthCourt to submit your case.
It's a topic, it's a topic, I gotta say, that could be embarrassing to discuss.
And it's the big elephant in the room, or in this case, actually, the bathroom, talking about feminine care and why so many women don't talk about it.
These are some of their thoughts.
Why does pH matter down there?
Doesn't the vagina clean itself?
Splashing water on my intimate area is enough, right?
Is there a proper way to clean your vagina?
Here to help put an end to the uncertainty is gynecologist Dr. Sheri Ross, who's here on behalf of my trusted sponsorship partner, Summers Eve.
No topic is off limits these days, and I hear about everything, yet when it comes to feminine hygiene, it's still taboo.
It's a topic you don't get to.
Why?
Well, everyone's becoming very educated on their health in general, but when it comes to the lady parts, No one is talking about it.
There's no courageous conversations.
There's misinformation.
And this is a real problem.
So we're now talking about it, which is really exciting.
And what I like to tell patients is there are many products for your feminine cleansing areas.
Ideally, you want to take care of your vagina, your vulva, like you do your face.
You want to take care of it, clean it, hydrate it, and moisturize it.
And if we do that, our lady parts are going to age a lot more gracefully.
So, I gotta say, men generally don't use even the words around that area.
But the biggest misperceptions that you hear in your office when you're privately talking to women are what?
That the vagina is self-cleaning.
And I like to think of it this way, because it sort of is.
I use the metaphor.
If your oven is self-cleaning, you still have to clean the stove top.
Yes, that's a good point.
Yeah, the vagina is self-cleaning, but the external, the vulvar area has to be clean because it's exposed to bacteria every day.
Alright, the biggest mistake when it comes to feminine hygiene, in addition to understanding that the outsides actually have to be cleaned a bit, is what?
The biggest mistake is no one's really cleaning the vulva.
No one's giving it special attention.
You don't want to use the same bar of soap for your underarm, for your feet, that you clean your face, right?
So, same is with the vulva.
You want to clean it special, you want to take good care of it, you want to use pH balance products that won't disrupt the pH balance.
So you have to respect your body and the differences within your body.
So there's one key element, let's go back here and show everyone this, that a lot of folks don't appreciate.
It's a key component of maintaining the right pH for the feminine hygiene area.
So let me just go over pH again.
You all remember this, or maybe you don't want to from when you're in school, but your pH goes from 1 to 14. 1 is acidic, like, you know, putting a lemon in your mouth.
Pretty acidic.
And then the alkalines, the 12, 13, 14, well, bleach will get you there, right?
And if you look at your blood, the pH is sort of supposed to be in the middle, around seven.
So explain what the right pH level is, not for your blood, but for the vulva area, the feminine hygiene area.
Yeah, well, the vulva loves an acidic pH.
That may surprise you, but this is what the sweet spot is literally.
Most soaps are definitely alkaline, and that's not what you want.
You want one that's pH balanced.
So this is the sweet spot, four to five.
You want to find a soap that's pH balanced.
A typical soap that I might wash my underarms with is what?
Most soaps you buy that you use under your arm and your feet are gonna be alkaline and that's very basic.
That can disrupt the pH balance of the vagina, the internal and the external.
So instead of being an eight or nine, which again we don't use in our face either because it destroys that acid peel we're supposed to have to protect it, you want something that, as you point out here, the intimate area of pH matches it.
So what do you recommend?
What do you do in your practice?
Yeah, so I have been using Summer's Eve for decades.
Millions of women use it every year.
It is gentle, it's pH balanced, and it doesn't leave any film on your skin.
It's ideal.
So comparing it head to head with the soap, just so we're all clear, different pH.
You mentioned that it didn't leave the residue.
Yep.
Did I miss anything?
You know, the main thing is that it's been tested, extensively tested, just for the vulva, and many soaps have not been, so it keeps things very balanced.
All right, so we have a little demonstration.
She very proudly came over here to show this to us.
Because in your office, you could do this.
Okay, so, witness.
What happens?
Go ahead.
This is regular old water, and you're gonna wash your arms.
I washed my arms.
We're gonna put this to the test.
We're gonna use a regular bar of soap here, and we're gonna then compare it to Summer's Eve, and we're gonna look at the pH balance.
It's all about pH.
So, you wanna do the honors?
These are pH strips, you might remember them again from class when you were in school.
So this is the average bar of soap, and we're gonna compare it here to Summer's Eve, which has been tested and found to be in the slightly...
One more time, so the soap, I'll put the soap over here, is roughly, what do you think, eight-ish?
Maybe a little bit more, right?
And Summer's Eve is more like the four or five that you promised us it would be.
Exactly.
And it came off right off your skin.
Everyone that touches their skin.
So how do you recommend that you use the Summer's Eve Cleansing Wash?
So this is meant for everyday use.
You want to use it everyday.
There's no harm.
It's been tested clinically.
It's made for the vagina and the outside especially.
And it smells clean and fresh.
Back in the day, I remember talking about a self-cleaning oven that you brought up earlier.
And one of the issues was we didn't want to have irritating chemicals, fragrances and the like.
The actual scent that, for example, Summer's Eve has, is that an issue at all for the hygienic area?
Yeah, not at all with Summer's Eve because all the fragrances have been clinically tested to be safe scents.
And that just means they've been rigorously tested and found to be safe for daily use.
Where do you find Summer's Eve Cleansing Wash?
You can find these products anywhere you find your personal care products.
I appreciate you coming on.
And thanks for being honest about something that we ignore.
No more taboo topics.
Thanks to my partner, Summer's Eve.
Guess what?
Everybody here in the studio audience, you all go home with a $50 coupon to buy Summer's Eve products of your choice.
We'll be right back.
What's your health?
Addiction.
Anxiety.
Love.
Hero.
Cancer.
Survivor.
Personal story.
We want to know.
Send us your story on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram using hashtag What'sYourStory.
Can you please help a sister out, Dr. Oz?
Today, a What's Your Story that may sound very familiar to a lot of you.
Someone wrote me on Facebook, Dr. Oz, my family is trying to go meatless one day a week and we love it.
But we're getting, well, at least we're starting to get bored.
What's a great recipe my family will love and not miss meat?
First of all, I applaud you for doing this.
We all ought to be making a little bit more of an effort to lean green and a little bit less meat.
So I reached out to the top food blogger, Chrissa Benson, for a tasty meatless recipe And she made an Oz exclusive option that will leave your family wanting more.
Today, I'm going to show you how to make a quick, easy meatless meal using one peculiar ingredient, canned jackfruit.
No one is even gonna know that isn't chicken.
My plan is working.
We are using it to make my barbecue jackfruit sliders with a simple and light coleslaw at the top.
This recipe is.
First, you'll wanna drain the canned jackfruit and rinse off any of the brine.
Then take the pieces and either shred them with a fork, or if you're a no fuss kind of gal like myself, just get on in there.
Just get on in there, use your fingers, rip them apart.
Don't worry, I wash my hands, it's fine.
Now we're gonna move on to the barbecue sauce.
You can buy barbecue sauce at a grocery store, but you can make it at home too.
Throw that saucy goodness into a pan with the shredded jackfruit, mix and heat it up.
Stuff these buns with the barbecue jackfruit and top with that fresh, crunchy slaw.
And you've got yourself a winning meatless meal in just minutes.
Now it's time for the taste test.
Let's see how this goes here.
Mmm.
Mmm.
So messy.
It's so good.
Praise hands.
Happy feet.
Mmm.
So good.
You can follow Chris on Instagram, that physical kitschness.
Thank you, Chris.
We'll be sure to post this recipe at DrRoz.com.
Send us your favorite meatless recipe for a chance to be featured on the show.
Remember everybody, the power of change lies in the power of you.
Just one person with one voice speaking the truth.
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