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Oct. 12, 2023 - Dr. Oz Podcast
42:40
Microwave Do's & Don'ts: Safe Defrosting and Items to Avoid! | Dr. Oz | S11 | Ep 99 | Full Episode
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Time Text
Want to get the most out of your microwave?
We're answering your burning questions.
How many minutes?
Can I make spaghetti?
Is this plastic safe?
How do I defrost?
Fish in the microwave?
We have some major microwave matters we need to get to the bottom of.
Plus, my personal journey with my mom and Alzheimer's and the latest medical breakthrough that could be a game changer.
This Alzheimer's vaccine seemed almost too good to be true.
coming up next.
Are you ready for season 11?
Today we are zapping away the confusion because we're answering all your burning questions about microwaves.
Now, if you've ever wondered what should or should not go into a microwave, like this, for example.
By the way, that's a light bulb in there.
Or if you questioned how long you ought to nuke your food, we are zeroing in on the secret science behind this kitchen essential.
So you can get the most out of your microwave.
So I wanted to gather your top questions.
We hit the streets with our trusty microwave to see what?
You've been dying to know.
I love microwaves.
This baby is my go-to kitchen gadget.
But if you're like me, you probably have some burning microwave questions.
So now, this microwave is officially taking queries.
Does anybody have any burning microwave questions?
Anybody?
You got a microwave question.
Let me see your question, because it is a good one.
I'm going to read it for the people.
OK, here we go.
How do I defrost my food evenly without it being mushy or frozen?
Girl, you talking right.
Yes.
Exactly.
The middle stays frozen.
The edges get all burned or they get mushy.
Exactly.
What do I do?
Right.
Hmm, how do I avoid stinking up the room when I microwave, girl?
Imagine like at work and I bring my lunch in and I heat it up and I have to eat it there and then what about the other people's lunch?
We all use the same microwave.
It's like disgusting.
Okay, here we go.
Is it safe to cover my food with plastic wrap or steam covers when I heat it up?
There is a smell that I get from putting plastic wrap on food.
I wonder what that's about.
Is it safe to put tin foil in the microwave?
No, no, no.
Tenfold does not belong in the microwave.
Well, Dr. Oz, as you can see, we have some major microwave matters we need to get to the bottom of.
So you've narrowed it down to the top four burning questions.
Let's cut them down together.
Number four, how do you defrost food evenly?
Chef Franco Dispirito and Renatha are here to help us get two answers.
So Renatha, I heard you had a defrosting disaster recently.
Oh, absolutely.
It was a mess, Dr. Ives.
Well, you know, all my fruit is always frozen, so I gotta always defrost something.
Don't you laugh at me.
So I was trying to defrost some hamburger meat, some ground beef, and it was hard on the inside and mushy on the outside, and it was all brown.
So, I mean, it was a mess, like I said, but I still used it, because I ain't got time to be throwing no food away.
Okay?
So, Rocco, you argue that as a chef, Renata deserves it.
We're trying to cut corners when she should have been just cooking the food normally, defrosting it normally.
Should we stay away from the defrost button?
Renata should just call me.
I'll come over.
I'll cook some food.
Okay.
We'll take care of those dinners, okay?
Okay.
That's what she needs.
She needs a chef in her house.
Listen, it's not my number one place to defrost food.
I think the best way to use a microwave to defrost food is just not freeze huge batches of protein.
This is three or four or five chicken breasts all piled up on top of each other.
This is not going to work.
You know, you're going to end up with a burnt outside, a raw inside.
So if you could just take it apart.
And cut it into smaller pieces.
You probably have defrosted peas, right?
That works well.
Why is that?
Because they're in uniform, small pieces.
So the heat travels through very...
Renata, will this help you with the defrost depression?
Absolutely!
I mean, Rocco...
Well, we'll help if Rocco came over.
What's wrong with you, Rocco?
We'll help the woman.
I made a gesture.
I'm gonna follow through.
All right, moving on to number three in our burning questioning countdown.
Is it okay to heat your food with plastic steam covers when you use the microwave?
Jenny from our audience is here just in time.
So what worries you about microwaving in plastic?
Well, I've been using plastic since forever.
My grandmother, my mother, and they pass it on to me.
Cover your food with plastic.
Use whatever plastic you could find as long as you wash it, perhaps.
Wash the plastic.
Yes, I guess I freeze it from any chemicals, I guess, to me.
And that's my concern now, if I'm getting food poisoning from the chemicals in the plastic.
Well, there's been a lot of talk about chemicals in your plastic, but let's get the truth back to Jen Cottle, who's joining us now.
Questions always being asked of me.
I've got some examples.
So we've got the usual plastic cover that I put on the food to keep the food in the fridge, not stinking up the fridge.
A lot of the microwave products we get now, the frozen products, have covers on them.
And then there are these newer containers.
But does it really matter?
Is there a worry about leaching chemicals out of this plastic?
Yeah, that's actually a great question because there is some concern about that.
You know, studies have shown that chemicals like phthalates and BPA and plastics can actually leach into our food and our drink.
Now, I have to be fair.
I need to tell the other side of the coin, Dr. Oz.
The FDA does say that low levels of BPA found in some foods may be safe.
But this is what I say.
Look, if you're concerned, if we're concerned out there about plastics, the best thing is just to avoid BPA in your products altogether.
So if you're concerned about using plastic, maybe one way to do it is to not have the plastic touching the food.
Theoretically, we would hope that if the plastic is not touching the food, the risk of leaching would be lower.
That is the hope.
And we have an example here.
Like, let's say we've got our microwave here.
Inside, we've got our broccoli.
We've done some steamed broccoli.
This is our...
It did not touch the broccoli.
You know, this is kind of what we're hoping for is that this plastic doesn't actually touch the food.
And once again, even still with these plastic covers, it's okay to go ahead and get BPA-free plastic as well.
That's, again, still what we're pushing and what we're thinking about.
Just to be sure, we reached out to the Plastic Industry Association for comment.
They said this in part, plastic food and beverage containers may be used safely in the freezer, the microwave, the dishwasher, or a combination of all three when these uses are labeled on the package.
All right, let's move on to number two on our burning question.
Countdown, can you make spaghetti in a microwave?
Is that possible?
Italian nonos are notoriously hard to please.
I don't think so, but we can do well.
I think we can make a good attempt here.
Well, Renata has anxiety disorder now because they're trying to make pasta in the microwave.
What is the problem there?
Well, I mean, if I use a pot, who wants to watch a potball?
Nobody.
Nobody wants to watch a potball.
That's why I'd rather microwave it.
All right, take it away.
You have got, I'm told, a way of making spaghetti in the microwave.
It takes all the worries away, so you're not going to enjoy it.
This works really well.
Listen, it's going to be more convenient.
It's not necessarily going to save you time because it takes 7 to 15 minutes to cook in the microwave.
So you want to start with a microwave-safe bowl.
Glass is obviously preferred.
You want to fill it up with water about one-third of the way.
You want to grab your pasta.
You need to do this.
Can I break it with you?
Here we go.
We don't want to break it, but we're going to...
Ready?
What a mess you made.
Ideally, it would fit in the bowl.
Ideally.
Ideally, it would be a longer...
Container and it would fit.
It would be the shape of the pasta.
So if you're cooking little shells here, the bowl is perfect.
You want to add salt because we are rehydrating the pasta with this water.
So you want it to taste good.
There are also some theories that claim salt prevents sticking.
So why not?
Why not?
We're going to cover it, of course.
This is a microwave-safe plastic cover.
Make sure you don't seal it 100% because you could explode.
Once all that water heats up, it's going to evaporate, create a lot of steam.
But this leaks the air out.
Yeah, that allowed the air to go out.
So let's see how it came out.
This took 15 minutes.
Start to finish.
I think a good idea is to set it at 7, check it at 7 minutes, stir it, see if it needs a little TLC, and then let it go for another.
So this is not being cooked, only microwaved?
Only microwaved, that's right.
Never was boiled in a pot.
So you can see there's still water that needs to be removed.
You're going to still have to drain the water out.
But it looks pretty good, right?
Is it al dente?
Take a piece.
Is it al dente?
It's perfectly al dente.
Wow.
Renata!
Yes!
That worked!
Very nice!
It forced me to learn new things.
You're welcome.
I didn't want to learn this.
You're a pal student.
You're really busy living in small places.
It's a fantastic idea.
The best part about it is you can now microwave the spaghetti itself and the pasta.
Don't tell the nonas.
Pasta from pre-made.
You'll be done in no time.
All right, when we come back, the number one birdie question about your microwave has to do with the stink bomb.
Look at this, babies.
You notice this?
My favorite fish.
But what if you microwave it?
My hidden camera microwave prank that got a lot of people mad at me.
Breaking news.
Jussie Smollett re-indicted on six new charges for allegedly staging a hate crime.
And caught in the act.
Hit and run accidents you have to see to believe.
Plus, did you believe that you'll ever know what happened to your daughter?
New details in the disappearance of Natalie Holloway.
Why her mother won't give up until she gets justice.
He will strike again.
All new Oz.
That's coming up tomorrow.
We've been counting down your burning questions about microwaves, and it's time for the number one question for all of you who've ever heeded any of these foods.
Broccoli.
Oh, my favorite.
Popcorn.
Great late at night.
Or this microwave offender, fish.
Now, you probably wondered, how do you avoid sneaking up the microwave?
Take a look at this hidden camera prank that got a lot of people very angry at me.
I convinced my team, against their better judgment, to microwave an odoriferous combination.
Fish and cauliflower.
We set up hidden cameras and then pressed start.
Oh, someone just left fish here.
It smells like roadkill.
It's disgusting.
Yeah!
So gross.
It's really bad.
It smells terrible.
Why does it smell?
Who did this?
Oh, come on, man.
That's so bad.
What is going on in here?
Who would microwave fish in the office?
I don't know, but it's so awful.
Oh!
Renata is back, along with Chef Rocco Di Spirodo.
Renata says, microwaving stinky foods at a public place is bad etiquette.
Should my staff ever forgive me?
Well, who gon' check you, boo?
Okay, nobody.
Nobody gon' check you.
You gon' be alright.
They'll be fine.
They were mad, mad, mad.
It was based on a true story, because I do that.
I microwave fish, because I bring it.
I bring all the leftovers to work.
I want to eat it.
I heat it up.
Why not?
But it stinks everything up.
People moan, they groan.
But I decided to look into this.
Let me explain how these odors It gets so concentrated when you nuke smelly foods, even if they're good for you.
All right, so, when you microwave food, water molecules bounce around, causing it to heat up.
You already know that, right?
The heat causes some molecules to evaporate.
Those molecules contain all the smell.
That yellow stuff is all the smell molecules.
And there's no place for them to escape and be free.
So they collect on the interior, and then you open up the microwave, they release all over the place.
That smell goes everywhere.
Even though it's packed in a small place, that green odor just gets in your face.
After I did my prank, it actually took hours for the stink to go away.
A lot of effort went into that.
So, let me go back and ask Rocco the big question.
Can a lingering stink actually impact the taste of the food?
So there's not a lot of research done in this, but from my chef expertise perspective, I'm just going to say that I happen to know that.
The way we perceive flavors is a combination of what we smell and what we taste on our palate, so I think you can be fooled into thinking the food tastes like something that was cooked in it previously.
You know, one of the best things to do is just to clean the microwave.
You guys have heard of that, right?
You can actually clean a microwave, because those food particles will, you know, stay stuck on the walls and ceiling, and every time you reheat whatever you're reheating, they're going to smell again.
Does that concern you, all that smell?
Yeah.
What if you microwave something super funky?
I mean, y'all ever heard of chitlins?
Okay.
Gruyere cheese.
Gruyere is right.
All that stuff is stank and funky, right?
So my question is, how do you get rid of the smell without spraying air freshener all day?
How do you do that?
Use lemons and limes.
So any lemons or limes or citrus that you have around will work.
Everyone's got these in the fridge.
These go in a little bowl of water.
You can add these to these.
Just the rinds work as well?
The rinds work.
You know, that's where all those essential oils are.
They're right here in the pith.
Or whole lemons and limes.
Is it called the pith or the rind?
That's the rind, and there's a little pith inside.
Yeah, I knew that.
You knew that?
I didn't know that.
Show off.
I won't let you show off for nothing.
And so it goes in the microwave at least a minute, maybe five minutes, and just leave it in there until you need to use it next, and it should smell much better.
And the whole room.
It will crush in the room a little bit.
All right, Radatha, I'm gonna give the floor to you.
She got one last pet peeve about etiquette, microwave etiquette.
Yeah, and it's because of you men, okay?
You leave time on the microwave, okay?
Yeah, exactly.
Why are you leaving time on the microwave?
Ten seconds left.
You couldn't let that go by?
Or just hit the clear button.
Hit the clear button.
What is the problem?
I was curious, too, because I do that.
So text me at the number you see on the screen right now with your thoughts on why people don't clear the screens after they microwave their foods.
Or if you've got another microwave pet peeve or burning question, I'll answer them as well.
We'll get to as many as we can in the future shows.
I'll be right back.
Very good.
That's funny.
So true, too.
Every Monday in February on Oz.
Cameras are everywhere, and we're bringing you shocking videos.
The good, the bad, and the outrageous.
every Monday in February on Oz.
It's been four months since I stood here on the stage and shared the news of my mother's surprising Alzheimer's diagnosis.
I made a promise to you then that no matter how hard it gets, I will continue to share our journey openly because I firmly believe in the power of one.
And in sharing our individual stories, we grow stronger as a whole.
So today, I want to honor that promise.
My mom has been moved by all of your warm wishes and prayers, so she asked me to give you an update on her health and regimen.
And to do that, I'm going to take you through her story, but also yours.
In just a short amount of time since I brought you news of my mother's diagnosis, there have been major headline-making breakthroughs.
The Alzheimer's blood test.
Today, we asked the hard question, would you get tested?
Assessing the benefits and risks of knowing if you might be getting Alzheimer's.
Then, there's the Alzheimer's vaccine and a new drug that everyone's talking about.
Could they be game changers that we've been praying for?
Plus, brand new research on which lifestyle changes you can make today that can not only stop Alzheimer's in its tracks, but may actually improve your memory in just over a year.
They each bring me hope in this fight.
And now, the biggest fighter I know, my mom.
Take a look.
Hi, Mom.
Not Pearson, not Susan.
What did you eat today?
What was the food you ate?
Ice cream?
You remember the ice cream?
She remembers she had ice cream, but she wasn't sure what else she ate, which is a problem, because she just ate a couple hours ago.
A couple months ago, I got news that hit me like a gut punch.
My mom has Alzheimer's.
The doctors who told me where as confident as you could be, even though her son, me, had missed the clues completely.
Mom was special.
All moms are special, but my mom had a remarkable ability to deal with me.
And I was not an easy kid.
I think both my parents were proud of me.
My father never told me.
My mother always told me.
And I got absolutely complete and unadulterated love for my mom at every level of my existence.
I loved having my mom on the show, but in the beginning, I didn't know what we'd talk about, and she actually Skyped in from Turkey, and she was a hit.
Inhale all the fresh air, and I feel very well.
Well, you look beautiful, Mom.
I love you.
Thanks for coming on.
Thank you.
I thank you very much for inviting me.
I must tell you though, I love your show.
She came out on the show as recently as two and a half years ago.
Completely coherent.
I have to say thank you very, very much.
You're such a good nurse.
Thank you as well.
And especially with Dr. Scott.
Now my sister just sent me a video that I think demonstrates that to anybody you'd recognize she has a big problem.
Hi, Mommy.
Hi, love.
What are you doing?
She says she's going with her mom, who died from Alzheimer's.
But you can see why, as a caregiver, I get worried.
Because I can't let my mom make decisions if she thinks she's talking to my grandmother.
This picture I think is the best reflection of what Alzheimer's can do to you.
You can see how beautiful my mom's eyes are, but she's not processing what she's seeing like she used to.
This is a painful picture to look at because my mom doesn't remember Daphne anymore.
Gosh, they had a good time together.
I think anyone who has a parent with Alzheimer's has a bunch of conflicting emotions.
One, you're upset and sad at the loss of your parent, but also you're wondering if you're seeing your own future.
So you're worried about that as well.
He's grateful for the days that he has now that she recognizes who he is, because that's not going to last.
I call my mom almost every day, only for one reason.
I know I'm not going to cure her.
I'm calling her to tell her I love her.
All right.
Mom, I love you.
I'll call you again tomorrow.
Mom's a pistol.
I get to talk to her almost every single day, and it's been very emotional to watch her just barely holding on because sometimes she doesn't have all the pieces together.
But most days she's putting them closer together, and I think that's because some of the preventive things we're doing that I want to share with you.
So joining me now is neurologist and co-director of the Alzheimer's Prevention Program at Loma Linda University, Dr. Aisha Sherzai.
Everyone's different, but you advocate strongly for a plant-based diet and other lifestyle changes that you believe could arrest the advancement of Alzheimer's.
I do, I do.
And you know, whatever study that you look at that deals with diet, whatever dietary patterns you look at, whether it's a MIND diet or Mediterranean diet or DASH diet, the elements that stand out are plants.
It's the whole grains, the nuts, the vegetables, the fruits, the legumes and beans.
All of these have the necessary nutrients and the vitamins that allows the brain to grow and thrive.
And, you know, in one study, it showed that people who eat just greens, you know, more servings of greens, they have a better-looking brain and a better-functioning brain.
And their brain functions compared to someone younger, 11 years younger, even.
In my mom's case, it was shocking.
The one thing that everyone in the family noticed is when she does not eat meat and she leans green, she does better.
Of course.
So now that's part of the plan.
And we're moving into things like intermittent fasting because it just seems you notice it.
If you're watching carefully, you'll notice changes you wouldn't have otherwise observed.
Absolutely.
Joining me now also is the director of the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medicine, Dr. Richard Isaacson.
Let's talk about that cutting edge blood test that everyone's been worrying about and bragging about.
It could detect the presence of amyloid plaque of Alzheimer's in our brains 20 years before symptoms develop.
So how accurate is the test, the specific blood test that I've already seen samples of, and how much hope do you have?
So this test is pretty good.
When you take the blood test and you combine it with the person's age, as well as their genetics, you can get 94% accuracy.
94%?
That's really good.
And how long until we're all be doing it, do you think?
Well, I'm hopeful in the next maybe couple of years that instead of having to send someone to these costly, expensive brain imaging tests, we can do a simple screening test.
And if it's positive, we can do something.
So here's the question.
Would you do it?
Would you do it?
20 years before symptoms develop.
That means someone in their 40s could find out if they're going to get Alzheimer's.
Do they even want to know the answer to that question?
So we did a text poll.
So far, 93% of you said, yes.
I'm really proud of you.
You want to know if you're getting the disease because you have confidence you could do something about it.
7% said, no way.
Now the poll is still open.
So text me now.
The number's on your screen.
I'm interested in what you think.
Personally, I wanted to know.
Without question, I want to know because I have confidence I can do something about it.
So there's hope out there.
I know we can make changes that can change our future destiny if we know that it's a risk.
So up next, what are those changes very specifically?
We're going to tell you about the latest in the new Alzheimer's vaccine.
It's actually a vaccine for Alzheimer's that's making headlights.
Every Friday in February, it's Celebrity Superfan Takeover.
Here we go!
Kathy Lee Gifford, Morris Chestnut, Tia Mowry, and Susan Lucci share the stage with their favorite doctor.
Only on Oz.
Okay, now we're going to go on to the B-test.
It's the second step where we're going to look at your blood biomarkers.
Let's step right in here.
They draw blood and look for things like my inflammation, metabolism, cholesterol, and my genes.
Okay, one tiny prick.
That was me with Dr. Richard Isaacson at the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medical Center here in New York, which Richard founded.
When my mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, we did deep dive testing.
For me, my whole family was included to measure our hereditary risk.
But despite our genes, or your genes, there are things you can do to reduce your risk of cognitive decline.
So for the first time ever on the show, Dr. Isaacson has recreated his Alzheimer's Prevention Lab right here in our studio.
The lab just published some really earth-shattering information.
If you don't mind, share that with us.
Sure, this is a really exciting study and it's really important because anyone at risk today can grab them all by the horns and make certain changes.
And in just 18 months, we showed that people can improve their memory and thinking skills.
Just 18 months.
We recruited over 150 patients.
And what we did is we asked them to do different things.
Exercise, diet, depending on what we found in the lab.
Things you've asked me and my mom to do.
Yep, you're in the study, Dr. Oz.
You're famous.
Hope I did well.
So in the study, these patients that did this, on average, people got 21 different recommendations.
And if people followed greater than 60%, or say 12 out of 21 recommendations, they were able to improve their memory function, even if they had memory trouble due to early Alzheimer's disease.
All right, so I want to talk to Dr. Ayesha Ksarazai.
She's a neurologist and co-director of the Alzheimer's Prevention Program at Loma Linda University Health.
She's back with some breaking health news around Alzheimer's.
This Alzheimer's vaccine seemed almost too good to be true.
What's the story?
It's very exciting.
So they've developed this vaccine that actually activates your immune system to go and attack the toxic proteins that are involved in Alzheimer's disease, amyloid and tau.
And this is the first of its kind.
So basically what it does is it prepares your body to fight against these toxic proteins and prevent degeneration.
But again, it's only in mice, in mouse studies, and we still have to wait to see how it shows in human clinical trials.
Alright, so we eventually get to clinical trials, eventually it's out there.
Theoretically it will be there for us, but in the meantime there's a drug, there are a couple of trials out there, but one drug in particular that's been shown to slow cognitive decline.
How does this work?
Yes, so aducunamab, and that's a medicine that actually is an antibody.
So it's a disease-modifying drug, as opposed to other drugs that are FDA approved, and those are only for symptoms.
I want to show you how this Alzheimer's drug could work, because this could be a big breakthrough concept.
And part of the reason this is important is because these little bits of amyloid plaque cause immense amounts of inflammation.
So removing them actually reduces the forest fire that is what Alzheimer's really is.
So before you get going, we've got blue circles and red circles.
The red circles are, let's just say, Threats from outside of you, infections, viruses, bacteria, etc.
Then the blue things are threats from inside of you, like those plaques from Alzheimer's.
And they do work with each other a little bit.
So, your body has natural defenses called antibodies.
And these antibodies, these little orange things here, they latch on perfectly to these bacteria, but they don't kill off the blue things.
They only eliminate the bad guys from outside, the bacteria and everything else.
Researchers theorize that just like antibodies can get rid of the bad guys, you can give antibodies, this drug, to latch on to this amyloid plaque, coming in the same way, they're designed this time not for the bacteria or viruses, but for the amyloid, and zap them, eliminating the bad protein.
And when you do that, you reduce the inflammation in the brain.
Now, while we wait for these drugs to be fully tested, We gotta make changes right now that can improve our cognitive health.
Because guys, one third of us are at risk for this.
That's a lot of people.
So let's walk on over to Dr. Isaacson's lab.
Suella is sitting on a bouncing ball with headphones, having the time of her life, ignoring her doctor while she's listening to music.
What's going on with this modification?
So, sitting is the new smoking.
People don't realize, but actually, people are sitting down more hours a day than they are sleeping per day.
We need to increase sleep and decrease the sitting.
And if you're gonna have to sit and do work, sit on a balance ball.
Looking good right here, look at this.
Listen to headphones, keep the brain active, whether it's listening to activating music or learning something new, listening to a podcast, the Dr. Oz podcast.
You know, when you learn something new, it creates new brain cells.
Learning a new language.
Learning how to play a musical instrument.
These are things that can keep the brain young as we age.
It's fun, and you get to reduce your chance of Alzheimer's.
Okay, next up, Danielle is making a powerful antioxidant and rich smoothie for all of us.
And you threw some cocoa powder in here.
Dr. Sherzai, you blend cooking with medicine.
You come up with these wonderful ideas.
But for brain health in particular, why is cocoa powder one of your favorites?
So cocoa powder has a compound called polyphenol which is found in a lot of green vegetables and fruits and in some of the spices like turmeric and rosemary that have been studied extensively for brain health.
And I love combining other elements like berries and walnuts and chia seeds that are high in omega-3 fatty acids and polyunsaturated fats and you have this beautiful concoction.
It's just like medicine for your brain.
I'll toast to that and much more.
Thanks for all the breaking news research you guys are offering the entire world.
You can find the complete list of lifestyle changes that Dr. Eisenstein recommends on DrRoz.com.
Be sure to also pick up a copy of Dr. Eisenstein's book, The Alzheimer's Prevention and Treatment Diet.
Dr. Scherzer's book, The Alzheimer's Solutions, is also out there.
There's lots of tools.
Take advantage of them.
We'll be right back.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Up next, an act of kindness caught on camera that will make your day instantly better.
Find out how just one simple act can change everything.
It's not all bad news out there.
Today, amazing acts of kindness caught in the act.
Like these officers who were called because a woman was shoplifting.
She was desperate.
Instead of arresting her, they paid for her groceries.
Or this five-year-old who dresses up like a superhero to rescue and feed stray cats in his neighborhood.
How about that?
But the act of kindness that really made my heart melt was caught in this photo.
A school custodian comforting a little girl who was autistic and was having a bad day.
Now, the caption said it all.
A kind word, a hug, a little compassion can make a huge difference.
Joining me now via Zoom is Mrs. Esther.
Mrs. Esther is the custodian at Melba Passmore Elementary School in Texas.
That was her lying next to Kenley, who's also with us, and her mom, Holly.
So, Holly, you actually...
Look at him.
Holly, you actually work at the school, so you saw this go down.
Explain what kind of day your daughter Kenley was having.
Her morning, she was a little frazzled.
We didn't get to stop for her morning breakfast.
The weather wasn't great, and she hates going to the cafeteria in the mornings.
It's really, really loud.
A little chaotic because it's kinder through fifth grade, everybody meeting for breakfast.
So she kind of started to melt down.
She wears noise-canceling headphones, but she had her blanket as well.
And not a couple minutes later, Miss Esther came through and she was like, oh my god, Kenley!
And just went straight to her aide and literally laid down next to her and started patting her back and could hear her talking.
I have no idea what she was saying, but she had such a calm, sweet, nice demeanor that that's really all that mattered at that moment was, you know...
Love.
Yeah, love.
I don't know.
There's not really another way to say it.
It was so simple.
Just going and showing her some compassion and a little empathy.
And that's all it took.
Ms. Esther, what compelled you to comfort Kenley during her time of stress?
I always see Kenley on the table eating breakfast and that day I saw her on the floor.
And I know something was wrong.
Something in my heart told me I need to go over to her.
And that is when I got on the floor, we had to come for help.
Not just Kenley, but all of the kids need so much love.
My job is not just to clean, but also to love the kids.
Some of them do not get home.
God bless you, Miss Esther.
Kenley, how much do you love Miss Esther?
Hey, how much do you love Miss Esther?
I gotta love me again.
Do you love her a lot or a little?
Oh, that's so cute.
So Holly, what do you want others to know about how kindness can come in even the simplest acts?
Kenley, you are something else.
You got a future in television.
She wants one.
She really wants one.
I think to be kind and spread kindness doesn't always have to be this huge grand gesture that people think that it doesn't have to be, you know, going into the restaurant and paying for someone's food or calling Walmart and paying a layaway.
It's literally asking how someone's day is.
Or just giving a hug or a kiss on the cheek.
The simplest things can really impact people the most.
Well, you've impacted me.
I was so moved by this act of kindness.
We want to give you all a big surprise.
We work with the Century Kids Store to get Century-specific toys and products for Ken Lee and all of her classmates.
They put together a basket filled with Century dolls and toys and cushions.
Enjoy it, play with it, but most importantly, be kind to each other.
God bless you.
Thank you so much.
We'll be right back.
Thank you so much.
Caught in the act.
Hit and run accidents you have to see to believe.
The car stopped and rolled over my legs again.
I'm screaming in pain and shock.
All new Oz.
That's coming up tomorrow.
What makes the perfect partner in life?
Is it the ideal compliment to your needs or the one who relaxes and calms you down?
Or maybe it's the silky smooth to your rough and bumpy, right?
But today I'm talking about a whole different kind of partner in life.
The one you need for your skin.
Here's Alice Moore's board-certified dermatologist, Dr. Elizabeth Tanzi, who's here on behalf of my trusted sponsor partner, Eucerin.
Now, folks, Eucerin has been a partner of my show for nearly a decade, and Dr. Tanzi and I have worked together for just as long for that reason.
As a dermatologist, what makes you turn to Eucerin over and over again, year after year?
So I've been recommending Eucerin for years.
So I've been in practice about 20 years now, and I see the skin care needs of my patients change.
They can change from day to day, it could be year to year, and the changes may be because of seasonal changes or hormone changes or just simply aging.
But what I find that's consistent is that I can find something in the Eucerin line that works for them.
They have lotions and creams that address lots of different skin needs.
So, eczema-prone skin, dry skin, they have formulations to calm the skin or rough and bumpy skin.
And with all different formulations and textures, I really do feel that Eucerin can be your go-to skincare partner for life.
You're a partner.
Yeah.
You're a partner.
All right, now I'm gonna bring in some potential new partners.
So we've created our very own skin lab with Dr. Tansey.
Basically, he's offering up a little office here who should be giving free skin counsels.
Who wants to be examined by Dr. Tansey?
Come on down.
Come on down, man.
I'll pick on you.
How are you?
Thank you for volunteering.
You put your hand up first.
That's why I picked that.
Oh, awesome.
What's your first name?
Risa.
Come have a seat, Risa.
Okay, thank you so much.
So what's the issue with your skin?
My issue is I have itchy, flaky, dry skin, and nothing seems to help it.
It's a really tight feeling.
So, Risa, your skin is pretty dry and it looks like it needs some moisture.
It's probably related to potentially a weakened skin barrier that allows moisture to escape.
Okay.
So, are you moisturizing regularly?
I do.
I try to, but nothing really seems to work.
Okay.
And when you do moisturize, how do you like that lotion to feel?
I don't want it to feel greasy.
I want it to feel nice and lightweight but soothing at the same time.
Right.
Good.
So, in this case, I would recommend Userin Advanced Repair Lotion.
Okay.
I like it very much.
I recommend it a lot.
Okay.
Because you get immediate relief of your dry skin, but it also provides 48-hour moisturization.
So, you get repair of the skin over time, and they actually did clinical studies.
With regular use, you can get, you can double the hydration in your skin.
Oh, wow.
It's got a unique combination of ceramides and natural moisturizing factors such as amino acids.
So what it does, it's basically two-fold.
It is helping to strengthen the skin's moisture barrier to prevent the dry skin from coming back, but it also allows your skin to retain and hold on to its own moisture.
Oh, that's great.
How does it feel?
Oh, it feels so soft and smooth and so lightweight.
Is this an everyday, twice-a-day application?
How often do you do it?
Oh, absolutely.
I use mine every day also.
Okay.
And since it's fragrance-free and paraben-free, even sensitive skin patients can use it.
And I'm like you.
I like my lotion to feel lightweight.
But for people who prefer a richer cream, it comes in a cream formulation also.
Oh, that's great to know.
Do you give free samples in your office?
Yes, I do.
Every day.
Take the Eucerin.
Just take it.
Grab it.
I'm serious.
Don't give her a chance.
She'll change her mind.
Walk away, that's what I would do.
You're paying for the doctors.
Who else wants to come into the line?
I tell you, y'all put your hands up.
I was getting nervous.
I knew I was going to pick women though.
The men don't get to pick.
What's going on with you?
What's your first name?
My name is Valerie.
What's bothering you about your skin?
So my skin is very rough and bumpy.
I live at the Jersey Shore, so as you can imagine, I'm very...
If you don't mind, just turn this way a little bit.
I just want to be able to see it a little bit.
Very active lifestyle, so...
And it makes me very self-conscious.
So, in my office, I see people with all sorts of skin issues, dry skin, rough and bumpy skin, sometimes people call this chicken skin, and in some cases, it's actually a skin condition called keratosis pilaris.
Have you heard of that before?
No, I've never heard of it.
Sit for one second.
Let me show you what happens to make your skin rough and bumpy, because it's pretty common.
And I've sort of built you a little model of rough and bumpy here right now.
Think about each of these bumps is where a little hair follicle is, right?
And so when those hair follicles get clogged, they give you this rough and bumpy skin that you see in the surface.
So think of your back of your arm is looking just like this.
So what are you gonna do?
You need a key ingredient that can actually sort of smooth this out.
So I'll smooth you demonstrate.
What you want to do is you want to look for a product, a lotion or a cream with the ingredient urea.
Urea is very effective to help exfoliate all those dead skin cells around the hair follicles, plus it helps to hydrate the skin underneath.
So it's doing two things at the same time.
So conceptually, if you're smoothing out part of your skin, as you see here, with a urea-containing lotion, and just compare it to part of the skin you haven't applied it to, you'll allow yourself both to the exfoliation and other benefits to take away some of those follicles that have been clogged up.
So you'll smoothen your skin out again and prevent this little, was it chicken skin?
Is that what you said?
Yeah, some people call it chicken skin.
Is that the official term?
No.
It's not the official term.
So let's help our patient.
What do you recommend to people who have rough and bumpy skin?
Okay, so in this case, I would recommend Eucerin's Roughness Relief Cream because it's got a very high concentration of that crucial ingredient, urea.
It's been clinically proven to help smooth rough and bumpy skin and hydrate it all at the same time.
So this is a cream, it has a nice rich formulation, but for people who prefer a lighter weight product, it comes in a lotion as well.
Again, the perfect life partner.
Are you happy?
I do.
I like it, because sometimes light is too light.
And this feels nice and rich, and I like it.
Well stated.
Sometimes light is still.
You want the marriage.
You want the perfect partner.
Thank you for being our patient.
Thank you.
So if your dry skin needs a new partner, Eucerin has something for you.
Beginning tomorrow at 12 p.m.
Eastern Time, the first 5,000 people who go to DrOz.com and enter will receive a coupon for one free Eucerin lotion or cream.
And we can't stop there.
I couldn't call on the entire audience, but I can help you all, because the entire audience is going home with a bottle of Eucerin's Advanced Repair Body Lotion.
We'll be right back.
Today, I got a new type of yoga you can do anywhere for the body part that needs it the most.
You ready for this?
It's eye yoga.
It may help relieve dryness, stress, and the strain that your eyes are feeling.
Here with five, actually, you know what?
Just enough easy eye yoga exercises is an instructor, Melanie Hyman Tillis.
She teaches my team's yoga classes.
Thanks for teaching us and for being here.
Thank you for having me.
You love eye yoga.
You've been bragging about it, telling us about it.
Why?
It's great.
Basically, we sit at computers way too long.
We look at our phones too long.
Just like our spines need to move and get away from this position, our eyes need to move and get away from this position.
All right, so you guys can all do it with me now.
Ready?
Everyone in the audience who's going to follow along can try this at home as well.
The first move is something that you can do if your eyes are tired from the screen time.
It's called eye rolling, but this is not the kind of eye rolling my kids do to me, right?
Or me.
Yeah, bad jokes or requests or stupid basic things.
No, not that kind.
Right?
So how do we roll our eyes to improve our eyes?
Okay, so first close your eyes.
Everyone do it together, guys.
All right, close your eyes.
Take a nice deep inhale.
And a nice deep exhale.
Good.
Then just let your eyes softly open.
And as you inhale, just your eyes, you're gonna look up towards the ceiling, like you were looking at 12 o'clock.
And as you exhale, you're looking down towards the floor at 6 o'clock.
And as you inhale, you're gonna look to the right.
And as you exhale, you're gonna look to the left.
Good.
Then bring it back to the center and then circle your eyes clockwise.
It can make you dizzy.
Be careful.
I'm getting dizzy.
And counterclockwise.
Oh my goodness.
Then come back to the center.
Close your eyes again.
Gaze right between your eyebrows.
Take a nice deep inhale again.
And a nice deep exhale.
All right, you got one more easy one for us.
One more easy one.
This one is my favorite.
This is the warming eye palm rub.
Easy to do.
Yes, great for stress release.
So you're gonna rub your hands together.
You can do this for five seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds.
And then gently take the heel of the hand, very important to fit the heel of the hand right over the eyes.
Don't press too hard.
The palm on the forehead and the fingertips on the skull.
And then take a nice deep inhale.
And exhale.
Good.
And just notice how you feel.
See if it changes.
You know what's nice about this?
You can do it at your desk.
It's free.
Exactly.
You can do it as much as you want.
Co-workers, everyone else.
Plus, you're teaching your kids how to roll their eyes at you.
Well, hopefully not then.
Thanks so much.
We're gonna put these eye yoga moves online so you can practice them.
Remember, the power of change lies in the power of you.
One person with one voice speaking the truth.
Goodbye, everybody.
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