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Oct. 20, 2023 - Dr. Oz Podcast
40:08
Surprisingly Common Accidental Ways You Can Die | Dr. Oz | S11 | Ep 173 | Full Episode
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Time Text
Every three minutes, someone in the U.S. dies.
Accidentally.
Workplace falls.
Distracted driving.
House fires.
Get down low, Doc.
But I'm feeling a sort of a dread that I'm stuck in here, and I'm actually, the world's closing in on me.
How can you avoid an accidental death?
Plus...
I sweat a lot.
...solutions for excessive sweating.
Coming up next.
Season 11 starts now.
Every year, 170,000 people die from accidental causes.
Not disease, not cancer, but out of the blue, accidental death.
In fact, it happens every three minutes in this country alone.
And it happens to people who might be walking down a flight of stairs innocently, or they're driving to work like always, right?
Or maybe they're just simply going to sleep.
Today we're revealing the most surprisingly common accidental ways to die with specific things that you can do to avoid the grips of death.
But first, take a look at one of the deadliest, surprisingly common accidental ways to die.
Poisoning.
That's right.
Experts say you may be worried about this snake over here, right?
It's gonna strike out at ya.
But some items in your home might be just as deadly.
In the Middle Ages, poisoning was not uncommon.
A dash of belladonna or hemlock from the local apothecary could be easily snipped into your food or drink.
And for centuries, mankind has felt the poisonous bite of venomous steaks, scorpions, and spiders.
But in the modern era, some of the biggest poisoning threats seem far less ominous.
Hiding in your own cabinets and drawers, the prescription drugs that get you better in the wrong amounts or combinations can prove fatal.
And just a small amount of household cleaning products loaded with toxic chemicals can cut your life short.
The button batteries found inside cute kids toys and remote controls can easily be swallowed and burn a hole in your esophagus or even in your stomach.
Actress Anna Faris and her family left a dinner table with their food half eaten because they felt ill, only to find out they were exposed to the odorless, colorless common household poison, carbon monoxide.
If someone has a reaction to a poisonous household item, just Google the number of poison control hotline or write it down.
It's on the screen right now.
All right, next.
The second leading cause of accidental deaths worldwide is falling.
You may think it's all about the elderly.
You're not wrong.
Top five cause of death there.
But there's another group that died this way that's very surprising.
Men and women on the job.
Like you, your husband, family member, a friend, just working.
Joining me now is safety and security expert Bill Stanton.
Author of prepared, not scared.
You say workplace safety may not always be the number one concern of the employer.
That's right, Doc.
Unfortunately, there are many businesses out there doing the right thing, but there are also businesses doing the wrong thing, where they're watching out for their bottom line and not your bottom.
You know, we see these signs where they say, you know, safety first, yada, yada, yada.
Well, guess what?
You need to watch out for you.
You need to make yourself the priority.
All right, let's take a look at how a fall injury could lead to injury, but also to death, right?
Now this dummy up here represents the employee who may use a ladder or some other kind of equipment, like this scissor lift that we've got him on, multiple times a day to access Shelby, okay?
So he's been instructed, let's say, to receive an item from the top shelf.
There he goes, right?
But while he's about to reach for an item, he's called on a walkie-talkie by another employee.
He reaches down to respond, and within a quick second, boom, loses his balance and falls to the ground.
Ooh, that hurts.
That's going to sting, right?
Now, our dummy is now on the floor, but emergency room physician Dr. Samson Davis is going to tell us what injuries he may have.
Samson, welcome.
This is not new to you.
What a fall.
Ouch.
What a fall.
And there are a couple different ways he might have fallen, so explain to us what could have happened here.
So, yeah, let's go inside the body here, Dr. Oz.
What we worry about here with the fall is...
Here is by the way.
Watch how he fell.
Boom.
Oh, my goodness.
Head first.
Oh, that flips.
That is a tough fall.
Back, neck, arm.
Okay.
Yes, yes.
So inside the body we're gonna go, the first thing we worry about is, situation number one, is long bone fractures.
You can have a fracture of the hip here, or you can fracture the arm, as you can see right here.
This is a long bone fracture of the arm, which we have to splint and put in a cast.
So that's situation number one, which is one of the most common ways to injure yourself from such a fall.
And this can cause neurologic problems, right?
If the nerves get injured, the arteries can be hurt.
So it's not just the bone, and it hurts.
Okay.
So situation number two, we worry about a fracture or a break in the spine right here.
You can see this is the spinal column right here.
So you have your spinal cord behind here.
So if it's a fracture or severing the spinal cord, it could impact your breathing, your heart, and it could ultimately lead to death.
Oh, it's horrible.
And you'd be paralyzed also.
And you'd be paralyzed.
Anything from, any injury from the spinal cord down is where you lose body function, so you're not able to move.
So this dummy, as he flipped over, hit his spine, but he also hit his head.
Mm-hmm.
And that's situation number three, and this could ultimately lead immediately to death.
And you can see right here, this is the brain, and this is bleeding that's happening in the brain.
And what happens is the brain is squished by the blood and the brainstem, which controls your breathing, your heart, your blood pressure, and it can lead to untimely death.
There's no place for the brain to go, or the blood, because your skull's fixed.
So any fluid in there can cause big-time problems.
So, come on over, talk to Bill Stanton.
So, what can we do to keep ourselves safe from these kinds of injuries in the workplace?
Well, Doc, first let me thank you for not asking me to take that fall.
You were our first choice.
Yeah, thank you.
You turned us down.
Bill turned us down.
Well, we've all been in that situation where we walk by, well, that's an accident waiting to happen.
Well, guess what?
It happens in the workplace, too.
Take that moment, think about what can happen, and not only watch out for you, say something to your employer or to a corresponding agency, because reporting that will not only help yourself, but your co-workers, and you could be a hero.
Don't even assume there's malice involved.
People just don't even realize it.
You're the one who's actually walking the path.
You see a problem there, help people address it.
Exposed wires, fumes, etc., report it.
Alright, you're a doc, but you've also been a patient in this category.
You actually had a workplace injury in the emergency room, of all places.
So Monday, you know, Mondays in the emergency department is so busy, and I was sprinting to see a patient.
I had suffered a tear in my meniscus, my right knee here, playing basketball.
So, I was on my way to see a patient.
It was cold.
I was sprinting forward and I twist the knee.
That was injured already.
My whole body twisted and I further injured the meniscus.
And thankfully everything turned out okay.
But what I learned, and which I knew already, you have to survey your whole surroundings.
You have to look on the floor.
You have to look straight ahead to your sides.
You can't have blinders on because these injuries are very common.
Alright, the next surprising, accidental way you could die is super common.
Distracted driving.
We wanted to find out what really happens in your brain when you take your eyes off the road, even for a second.
So here it is.
So you're in your car on the way to work.
Eyes on the road.
For most people, driving has become a highly practiced skill operated from the back of the brain.
Think autopilot.
Very little activity.
But wait!
You hate the song on the radio, so you look down to change to a podcast.
One report found that taking your eyes off the road to simply check a text can increase the risk of an accident up to 24 times.
And now mom's calling.
You send it to hands-free Bluetooth.
So you're safe, right?
Think again.
A 2013 study published by Dr. Schweizer in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience found that there is a shift from using the back of your brain, which deals with vision, to diverting some of that energy to the front of your brain when doing something like taking Bluetooth calls in the car.
In other words, talking on a cell phone can reduce the activity of the visual area of the brain significantly.
This could literally change the way you see the road.
I don't know about you, but I'm going to show that to my kids.
You should too.
Spread the word.
Up next, we're taking you inside a mobile fire safety trailer and we're breaking down what happens to the body when you're trying to survive a house fire's biggest threat to your life.
So stay with us.
Oh my goodness, look at that.
We're back and right now we're standing in a mobile safety trailer that has caught fire.
There's a fire behind that door, right?
And the smoke is spreading.
Suffocation from smoke is next on our list of surprisingly common accidental ways to die, and you can escape that if you know what to do.
Joining me now is the director of the Bergen County Law and Public Safety Institute, Chief Richard Blom.
So, the most deadly part of a house fire actually in the flames themselves, what is it?
Well, it's the suffocation from the toxic gases that are generated in the fire.
In fact, we can see some smoke.
I don't know if you see that down there.
That's what you'll probably see, right?
So what do you do then?
Well, we get down low and we stay on the protected side of the door.
We feel the doorknob with the back of our hand.
If it's not hot, we can open that up and crack it to see what's going on.
Oh my goodness.
And obviously we can't get out through this way, so we're going to have to find an alternate means.
Get down low, Doc.
It's much more visible down below, and we can see our way out.
Shut up for a second there.
So everyone at home, you can see the smoke, but please explain what I'm feeling here.
I mean, it sounds comical, but I'm feeling a sort of a dread that I'm stuck in here, and the world's closing in on me.
Well, adrenaline and dopamine in your brain and everything start to give you that panic mode and you get nervous.
You don't know what to do.
So it's good to have a plan to get out of your building in case your main means of exercise is not available.
I'm telling you, my lungs are tightening right now.
And it's panic.
It's actual panic.
It's hard to explain it, but if you're in here, you probably feel what I'm feeling.
So Chief Blom says that's pretty typical.
I get it.
It's a fight or flight.
But let me explain what's happening inside our bodies as we breathe.
In this smoke.
So right now, I'm beginning to breathe the smoke.
It's coming into my throat and it's coming from my nose and mouth into my lungs.
Getting harder to breathe for that reason.
The smoke particles, as they enter in my airways, make their way deep into my lungs, possibly causing them to swell.
My body is now receiving less and less oxygen.
I can actually feel how tight my chest is.
Now while my heart continues to pump, it can start to get slower and slower.
And which, of course, could lead to an untimely death.
We don't want that, right?
But that's not the only thing that can put my life at risk.
As I breathe in the smoke, I may also be inhaling other fatal gases that can damage vital organs, like my brain, my heart, and my kidney.
It's getting pretty smoky in here, Doc.
Let's try another means of egress out of the building.
Stay down low on your hands and knees.
Oh, my goodness.
All right.
Well, there's a window here.
So, no matter what, I gotta get out this window, which I could pop open.
I got some air in here.
Just climb out?
Yes, sir.
All right, my goodness.
I feel like I'm a superhero.
I'm jumping on you.
You need help, Chief?
No, I'm good, Doc.
All right, so let's go down to Dr. Sampson over here.
So, you've been in this situation before, right?
How does smoke inhalation work?
If you've got a patient come in like me, or the Chief, we just breathed in a lot of these toxic particles, what do you do?
I mean, oh my God, you survived.
You survived.
I mean, first thing we have to worry about when you come into the emergency department, if you have any respiratory issues, asthma, emphysema, But most importantly, along that is to expose you to oxygen.
So just being outside here, right now, you feel better.
But then we put oxygen on you, that helps to decrease the half-life.
We'll get rid of that carbon monoxide.
Now in extreme cases, we have to put you in a hyperbaric chamber, which helps to dispose of the carbon monoxide in the bloodstream very fast.
But you've got a lot of options.
Lots of things you can do as long as you get out of there alive.
And now that I know it's the smoke that's my enemy more than the flames, it makes me a lot wiser about it.
See, there's something else we can do, something very clever we can do to make a difference between life and death, and we gotta do it every night before you go to bed.
One of the things you should think about, Doc, is close before you doze.
By compartmentizing your home, it prevents the spread of the fire and the smoke throughout your home.
Yeah, if I was sleeping in that trail and the door had been open, I would never have awakened.
The smoke would have taken me out before anything happened.
That's correct.
Oh my goodness.
Alright, thanks Chief Blow, appreciate it very much.
And for the entire team, the Brigham County Executive James Tedesco for making this possible and bringing all this action here to you today.
Be sure to pick up a copy of Dr. Davis' book, Living and Dying in Brick City.
We'll be right back.
Up next, what's your sweat type?
The quiz to help you find the right sweat solution for you.
and someone in my audience is about to get a sweat intervention.
Have your shirts ever looked like this, right?
Everything drenched.
Or even this, right?
It's not even humid on this day, apparently.
This is a shirt on the ground.
There's the dry part here.
It's a little tiny bit at the corners, right?
And how does your makeup seem to slide right off your face?
Because you've been sweating so much.
Well, today, what's your sweat type?
We have the quiz to help you stop that excessive sweating and find out why you seem to be soaked in sweat all the time.
Dermatologist Dr. Denny Engelman is joining us now.
Welcome to the show.
Thank you.
Explain to everyone the science of sweat and why it's so vital to our well-being when we sweat the right amount.
Right.
So when we sweat the right amount, it is essential for regulating our body temperature.
When we heat up, when we sweat, the water evaporates off the surface of the skin and we cool down.
So it's vital to temperature regulation, but at times it can be excessive.
So we got a lot of bottles here.
How much is too much?
So, you know, it's crazy how variable it can be based on your activity and your metabolism, but usually we sweat about one of these bottles.
That would be normal, but some athletes can sweat up to 10 liters of all of this a day.
Can you imagine sweating this much out?
I cannot.
It's a lot of variability.
Alright, so let's take a look at the Sweat Hall of Fame.
I have a confession to make.
I am a big time sweater.
All Turks are here.
So I've got a picture of me, pretty typically sweaty.
This is me.
And there's nothing dry in that.
There's a little triangle of dryness.
The hair absorbs the sweat there.
And there's a few other sweaty opportunities.
This is an interesting one.
They sweat through their jeans and they left it behind.
Behind, right?
This is a chair, and someone sat there, and it's a complete cast at their bottom, right?
And this picture, this picture, is why you wipe down jib equipment, right?
This person was sitting here pushing something away from them, and they left a little residue behind.
And then, of course, An imprint, a sweat imprint of the entire body of this person.
It's like a crime scene.
They get collapsed on the ground after working out.
There's the back of their head.
They've got arms.
I mean, look, I see this all the time.
We all have seen this.
So Dr. Dendy's got a quiz.
It's going to help find out your sweat type.
So come on over and we'll get your clipboards out.
Everyone at home, follow along.
It's four simple questions.
Keep track of your answers.
Dr. Dendy, the first question is what?
So, when you sweat, where does it show most?
Palms, soles, feet, and armpits?
All over your body, just like you stepped out of the shower?
The usual spots, but feel especially sweaty along the bra line or my brow?
Just remember what letter it was, right?
A, B, and C. Next question.
When do you sweat the most?
A. I don't want to be like running late to an appointment or when I'm put on the spot.
That happens to me, guys.
B, when I go to bed.
Or C, always.
Remember the letter.
Dr. Dendy.
Okay.
What helps you stop sweating?
A, when my pulse stops running like a racehorse.
B, it just stops sporadically.
Or C, nothing.
And the final question.
When did sweating become a problem for you?
A. It only bothers me before moments of stress.
B. When I turn 50. That's pretty common.
C. It's always bothered me, but it became more pronounced in my 20s.
Audience, did you all keep track?
Who had a lot of A's?
How are you?
What's your name?
Jeanette.
So describe your sweatiness, Jeanette.
And I'm probably an A too, so you're not alone.
So, I sweat a lot, probably just as much as you.
I actually have a story of, I went on a date one night, and I was wearing a grey turtleneck.
My first mistake, I took off my coat, and there it was.
Stains.
Armpit stains.
You have stains, I have stains.
Me too.
This is why I wear a jacket.
We could do it together.
Probably demonstrating.
All right.
So if you answered mostly A's, like Jeanette did, then you're an A. But there's a lot of people...
So your sweat type, by the way, is what?
Do you know?
What does A mean?
If you answered mostly A's, then you're an emotional sweater.
So it's very situationally induced, whether before a big test, before a date.
And it makes you have palms, soles, armpits.
Those are the sites of predilection.
And it doesn't feel good.
And it's hard to stop.
But based around tension mostly?
Yes.
Okay, if you're mostly B's, what's that sweat type?
If you're mostly B's, then that can be hormonal.
That's when your face gets flushed or you feel hot in the chest, your heart pounds.
And that usually lasts two to four minutes, those episodes.
And the C's, sweat type C's.
And sweat type C's we call the super sweaters, and that's those who have hyperhidrosis.
And eight million Americans across the nation suffer with that, whether they're hot, cold, stressed.
No matter what, some of my patients come to me and they say, Dr. Dindy, I sweat all day long.
Every day, and I just can't stop it.
And is hyperhidrosis only the hands, or it can be other parts of the body?
It can be all over, but because we have no sweat glands in the palms and soles under the arms and on the forehead, those are the sites where they notice it the most.
All right, well don't sweat the sweat, because up next we're gonna reveal how to stay dry based on your sweat type.
Plus, we've got the sweat intervention you have to see to believe.
leave.
Stick around.
Thank you.
We're closely monitoring the spread of the potentially deadly coronavirus so you can stay healthy and in the know.
Follow me on Facebook and also on YouTube, where I'll be sharing the latest coronavirus developments each day.
Be sure to check out my Coronavirus Survival Protocol Guide on DrOz.com.
You will find important tips on living a healthy lifestyle, practicing good hygiene, preparation tools so you're ready, and immunity supports if you are sick.
We're back with our sweat type quiz.
Just revealed if you're an emotional sweater, that's when you sweat when you're stressed, anxious, or scared, or you're a hormonal sweater, you suffer intense sweats that flare when you go to bed, and then there are these super sweaters.
You could sweat four times more than the others.
We have sweat solutions for each type, so don't panic.
And get ready, because someone in the audience is going to get a sweat intervention right now.
Whose photo is this?
Let me find the victims.
Anyone recognize themselves?
Is that you?
It is me.
Are you Megan?
I am.
Who gave us that photo?
That'd be me.
That'd be you?
Ron?
Yes.
Big trouble, Ron.
I turned her in.
So your husband, Ron, turns you in.
Why would he do that to you?
Because maybe he wants a divorce.
I'm not really sure.
He wants more space in his life.
I don't know why he would do that, but thanks.
Have you always been a big sweater?
I have, yeah.
I think more so now I notice it because I run a blog and I do a lot of public speaking and networking and I am definitely very aware in those situations where I don't want to be sweating that I am sweating a lot.
So you took the quiz with us.
What category were you?
An emotional sweater.
Emotional.
Yes.
That's what I am.
Yeah.
I know exactly what it's like.
You can't control it and it's always at the worst time.
Right, like right now.
Right now.
Come on up.
I got some clues for you.
Why don't you take the mic since you're good at this.
Come on up.
Dr. Denny Engelman's here to help out.
She's got a sweat solution for everybody.
But let's start up.
There's a drink you say we could try, a tea, if we're an emotional sweater.
Go ahead.
Oh great.
So Megan, I want you to try sage tea.
We have found that that has magnesium and vitamin B in it and that can help to diminish sweating.
So, little known fact that you can drink your way to less sweating.
Paradoxically, you're drinking something.
Oh, and it tastes good, too.
Okay, good.
Now, if that doesn't work, is this something that's more traditional?
Yes.
So, over-the-counter, I want you to look for deodorants and antiperspirants that contain aluminum chloride.
Okay.
It actually blocks the sweat ducts and stops sweating, and so it's an active ingredient that's in a lot of over-the-counter deodorants and antiperspirants, and you can also get it prescription strength.
Awesome.
And I think for emotional sweaters, this is a good one-two punch.
Yeah.
But I'm gonna ramp it up, because there's people who have more of a sweat problem.
So go join Ryan, keep him company, or maybe you're not.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Now, what about the folks with hormonal sweaters or who aren't happy with the solution we just gave, Megan?
So if you fail over-the-counter traditional antiperspirants, then there's some, if you know your triggers and you know that you always sweat after hot showers, lower the temperature of your shower.
Or you can put cold packs under the pillowcase.
That was one that my patient taught me.
But there's also something called glycopyronium.
Which is a new ingredient that's available in wipes, topically, that you can use under your arms, hands, feet, in order to diminish sweating.
You just wipe the material on there, or you leave the wipe there?
You just wipe it on, and it transfers, kind of like a topical treatment that blocks the communication between the nerve ending and the sweat glands.
So they can't talk to each other, so they don't start sweating.
So for hormonal sweaters, it's a real asset to try this.
Yes.
Now, what about the super sweaters?
So for super sweaters, we often have to pull out the big guns because, you know, they've already failed the traditional treatments.
How are you, Mehmet Oz?
Sweating.
What's your name?
Alexis.
Alexis, have you had a problem with sweating?
Yes, my whole life.
Your whole life?
Yeah.
Genetic.
I understand you've numbed up Alexis' underarms.
Yes, so I have.
I'll let you get going, but while you're doing this, you can explain why this would have been work.
Okay.
What you're doing.
So, I already put topical numbing on Alexis backstage, and she is a patient of mine who's talking about suffering from sweating.
On her hands, her feet, her forehead, and under the arms.
I'd be sweating now, too, by the way.
And she's a physician's assistant and wears gloves every day.
And it really affects how she works.
And so it affects all of her activities of daily life.
You ready to try Botox?
I'm ready.
That's what you're doing, right?
Yes.
So I'm using Botox, and not just to make people's fine lines and wrinkles better, but this actually helps to block acetylcholine, which is the neurotransmitter that communicates from the nerve to the sweat.
Hold on.
And so we just inject about 50 injections.
50?
Through the axilla.
But the good news is she doesn't have to undergo this often.
The longevity of this effect, are you okay Alexis?
Mm-hmm.
Is nine months.
So it really is quick.
How's it feel to you?
Are you okay?
I don't feel anything.
Yeah.
So it's not bad.
You don't feel anything?
Nothing.
The topical numbing really does help.
Well, the needle's tiny.
It is a tiny needle.
So this takes about three to four minutes per underarm, and we can do it in the palms and soles as well.
That's a little bit more painful, as you can imagine.
But then after that, I mean, she can go right back to her activities.
It usually takes about two to three weeks to activate, but then again she has relief for nine months.
What would that mean to take control of your sweating?
I mean, it would change my life.
It affects me all day, every day.
Is this going to affect your pants at all or not really?
It won't.
We have to inject locally into the area in order to affect it, but it really makes a huge difference in people's lives.
I hope it helps you.
Thank you.
Thanks for being a PA. Thank you so much.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
We'll be right back.
I really didn't feel that.
You did great.
Today's our big frying pan investigation.
We test out your favorite non-stick pans.
What's really in that coating that makes flipping this baby so much easier?
Whether it's my favorite food...
God, I love fish.
Or it's eggs, which I'm a little bit predisposed to as well.
Or it's pancakes, right?
Whoa!
Made it.
These nonstick pans are your kitchen heroes.
There's less oil, there's less butter, there's less stress about flipping and cleaning, as you just saw.
But you ever wonder how these pans make this?
Happens so easily.
Well today, the big frying pan investigation to tackle your burning questions about your favorite pan.
We teamed up with Inside Edition's chief investigative correspondent, Lisa Guerrero, and Chef Rocco Despirito to test non-stick pans to get the answer that you say you need before you flip.
Can I use my non-stick frying pan to cook anything?
Are the eco-friendly or natural non-stick pans safer?
Should I be using oil in my non-stick pan?
What if I scratch my pan?
Do I throw it out?
I just can't seem to get this right.
Chef Rocco Dispirito and Lisa Guerrero from Inside Edition set out to find the answers, testing nonstick pans.
They're here to dish the details on what they found.
Rocco and Lisa, join us in person.
So Lisa, you're an investigative journalist, lots of things you could study.
What made you passionate about investigating non-stick pans?
Have you seen all those crazy commercials where you can throw anything in these non-stick pans and they don't stick?
It's like a miracle.
But there's so many out there on the market, so we wanted to take a deep dive and figure out how safe they are and how to use non-stick pans safely.
So the market has exploded indeed.
There's a dazzling and dizzling amount of nonstick options out there.
So, Michael, take us to just a couple of the options.
Yes, of all the options out there, the hundreds of pans that exist, there are basically two types of nonstick surfaces.
There is a man-made polymer known as PTFE. So when they discovered how much it repelled water because its coefficient of friction is so low, it's one of the lowest on the planet, they decided, let's try it in pans, see if we can make cooking easier.
So that's how we ended up with a nonstick pan in the 50s.
So just PTFE, which people can't actually...
Polytetrafluorethylene.
Nice job.
Oh my goodness.
I looked at the word for like a half an hour and I thought I'm not going to even try it.
We use the surface in the operating room.
It's all over the place.
Even in heart valve grafts.
It's an amazing preponderance of use.
So it's sprayed onto a base of some kind, whether it's aluminum or stainless steel or cast iron, and usually there's two or three coats.
It's heated up to 1200 degrees, it's cooled, and that's how you get this non-stick surface.
So whether it's for that brand or this brand or the other brand, if it's a PTFP pan, it's always the same surface.
Perfect.
The other kind is a natural substance, it's ceramic.
So they simply melt sand, they color it, usually white or green or copper, and then they paint it onto these pans, which have the same exact base as a PTFE pan, and it's a great nonstick pan as well.
The one downside for ceramic is that it wears off a little faster than a PTFE pan.
So let's explain exactly why they are nonstick.
Come on over, Lisa, right?
It's one of the biggest burning questions you say.
So for a nonstick pan to be nonstick, you've got to reveal a few things about pats and pans in general.
So let's zoom in on a regular pan, right?
Expand it there, and look at the surface.
You see how rough the coating appears, right?
It's all pocketed up there.
Now, when you cook a food like, I don't know, like an egg, right?
Throw an egg on there, right?
It adheres to the rough surface.
So as the egg breaks, it starts to heat up.
You see how it's going into the nooks and crannies there?
You see See that?
Right?
It sort of makes sense that it would stick, right?
And those ridges are a problem.
But if you can sort of coat out those ridges like we just did, right, it gets nice and smooth and frictionless.
So the egg doesn't get into nooks and crannies and stick like it would have otherwise.
So it sounds simple, but what do we know about the safety of these different coatings?
Dr. Oz, a lot of people in the last few years have heard a term called PFOA. That term has disturbed a lot of people because that is the substance that binds the pan to the PTFE. That is dangerous.
And in 182 countries, it's banned completely.
Here in the United States, factories have now said that they're going to phase out PFOAs by 2015, but some of those pans are still floating around out there anyway.
So when you go to buy a new pan, you want to make sure it's PFOA-free.
The American Cancer Society says PTFE's are safe, and you should be able to use that coating.
It's not cancer-causing, but just make sure you use those pans directly as directed.
This is an example of how your voice matters, because America got upset about the fact that there was something potentially carcinogenic that was just used as a sort of a glue almost, and now it's gone, right?
So congratulations, it works.
Yes.
All right, now industry says that all reputable manufacturers have removed that PFOA substance from the production of PTFE coatings, so I'm gonna move on to the next question we wanted to investigate, which is, can your non-stick pan get hot enough where the coating actually breaks down?
So, Rebecca, you're a chef.
How hot does the average at-home cook make their pan?
And what does a chef do in the kitchen?
So, in the commercial kitchen, we're heating pans to 400, 500, 600 degrees regularly.
That is way too hot for a home stove, if your stove can even get your pan that hot.
At 600 degrees, this coating will melt off and become a gel.
You'll smell chemicals in the air.
That's when you know you've ruined the pen and it's time to throw it out.
So what I recommend is you use a thermometer like this.
They're about $10 now.
And just, it's a surface temperature thermometer.
It'll tell you the surface temperature.
Oh, it fires a little laser beam.
It fires a laser beam right onto the pen.
And at 250, 300, 350, you're starting to be able to cook almost anything.
So I recommend 350 for vegetables, 350 for chicken, and steak a little bit higher, 400. But never heat this pan over 500 degrees.
And never heat it empty.
We should never have to heat it to 500 degrees.
It's a mistake if it went there.
It's too hot.
And by the way, our home stoves don't really have the capacity to do that.
So we reached out to the Cookware Manufacturers Association, and here's what they said.
PTFE can release noxious-smelling fumes if overheated, like Rocco said.
While this can cause discomfort, there is no evidence of long-term harm.
These fumes are a danger to birds, which have very sensitive respiratory systems.
This is why canaries were carried into coal mines.
Just keep that in mind.
It's a very good statement, actually, and I think it's true.
I don't think it's an issue, except that it's sort of a nauseating smell.
All right, let's get to the next burning question.
What if the nonstick scratches or flakes off, right?
That surface is gone.
Is it still safe?
Here are photos of nonstick pans who have seen better days.
Look at these.
Oh, my goodness.
Why are they still in kitchens?
So, Christina brought in her scratched-up pan that she's held for almost 15 years.
Yes.
Have you held it in that position the whole 15 years?
Not the whole 15. I mean, look at this.
What is going on here?
It's been through a lot.
It's been through.
A lot of good memories there.
Yeah, a lot.
So there have been some concerns about chemicals being exposed from these scratches, because obviously if it's nonstick here, who knows what's underneath there.
Right, that's what I'm worried about now, because I've used this pan for a lot of things, meat.
But now it's like the pancake pan, but I'm just worried what's underneath.
Well now it's modern art, so hang it on your wall.
Lisa, can you get sick from using a scratched up nonstick pan?
Okay, so that's a great question, and many people are worried about this, because what about, where did those little particles go, right?
Right.
Into your system, you're consuming them.
So a bunch of experts say, it's gonna pass right through your system, no problem, but do you really want to be consuming part of your metal pan?
No.
No.
Time to toss it, and by the way, once it's compromised like that, and once it's scratched up, it's not nonstick anyway anymore.
I like the artistic solution.
Put it on the wall.
It's a family heirloom now.
How do we say if we use non-stick pants?
Well, first of all, as Lisa said, if it's scratched, chuck it.
If the coating's flaked off, it's no longer non-stick, first of all, and no longer safe.
So you want to try to avoid that by directly using pans that you know are degraded.
The other thing is avoid high heat, as we discussed.
Don't ever heat up your pan over 500 degrees.
And avoid heating your pan with nothing in it.
So an empty pan on the stove is a great way to burn the coating off your pan.
Yeah, that makes no sense, and why bother doing it?
All right, up next, which pan should you be using if you need a good sear?
We got the frying pan guide, so you never have to ask which pan is good for what.
We are back with our big frying pan investigation with Chef Rocco Di Spirito and Inside Edition's chief investigative correspondent, Lisa Guerrero.
They just uncovered what's really in your nonstick pans, and now we have the frying pan guide to reveal which pan you should be using for what.
And there are lots of options out here.
There are ones you know, but there's also stainless steel, anonized, right?
I can't even pronounce some of these words.
Ceramic, of course.
Anonized, ceramic, copper, nonstick, stainless.
It can be overwhelming.
It is.
So what we're gonna do today is break it down so folks know exactly which of these to use when, because pans are not one size fits all.
We've seen lots of frying pan fails because of that.
For example, have your pancakes ever ended up looking like this?
I've been there.
Or have your eggs ever been ruined?
Oh, what happened there?
Catastrophe.
The bomb went off.
So what is the best pan, Rocco, to use for delicate foods like eggs and pancakes?
So I maintain to this day, even though I love cooking in copper, stainless steel, and cast iron, that the best pan for pancakes and low-temperature cooking eggs is nonstick.
Whether it's PTFE or ceramic, nonstick will get you the best results.
So at least you have some tips for maintaining the coating so it doesn't wear away.
I didn't realize that that coating doesn't last that long.
I thought it was on there forever.
Right, some people keep them for years, but here's the problem.
A lot of folks use the metal utensils and of course that scratches them up.
So what you need to be using are either wood or silicone utensils.
Do not put them in the dishwasher.
Wash them by hand and don't use them at too high temperatures.
And professional chefs love using wood utensils.
We use wooden spoons for almost everything.
Why is it so much better?
Because it feels great in the pan, the results of stirring are just better, and you know our moms and grandmothers did it, so we're just imitating what they do.
Speaking of moms and grandmoms, you have a really cool dispirito hack, a family hack.
So this is also inherited as a family heirloom.
So the best way to flip something in a pan is to literally flip the pan.
So what my mom used to do was she'd just take another pan, and she wouldn't try to do this kind of thing, right?
Because who can do that?
She would just put the pan on top of there, and then just flip it over like that.
And that is an easy way to do it.
It's kind of like cheating, but it works.
But it works.
I like those kinds of hacks, all right?
What's the best pan to use for sautéing veggies?
Well, Dr. Oz, there are lots of pans out there.
Chefs use all kinds of pans for vegetables, but the number one pan for vegetable sauteing is?
Stainless steel.
We're going to come back to stainless steel.
Everyone has a stainless steel pan at home, and it does well with high heat, low heat, and it can be nonstick if you cook it properly.
What else besides veggies should be using stainless steel?
So you can literally cook everything in stainless steel.
The reason people avoid stainless steel is because the cleanup isn't as easy as nonstick.
So if you don't mind getting out that scrub brush and cleaning the pan, this is a great way to go.
I mind.
There's one exception though, which is searing.
If you had a crispy crust on your proteins, fish, meat, you say you struggle with this issue.
I do, because you want to get that crispy crust, but I always burn my steaks.
So I'm not a chef, so how do you do it, chef?
So here's the thing, you're seeing all these IG videos of those beautiful encrusted steaks that have been basted in butter and they have a, you know, like a, you can almost hear it, tap it like a drum.
Right.
And the answer is that it's a family heirloom.
It's something you should buy at a garage sale.
It is a cast iron pan and the older the better.
When you buy a cast iron pan, give me some advice.
Because it can be expensive, but since they're heirlooms, people don't sell them too often.
That's true.
So if you didn't inherit one from your grandmother, then literally I recommend to look for them at garage sales or yard sales.
Make sure it's cast iron.
There are a lot of sort of cast aluminum pans that look like cast iron that don't work as well.
And they're among the least expensive of all these pans.
Buy them used.
Buy them used for sure, yeah.
All right.
And here's a little tip for you.
I learned this from a professional mom who was a very young surgeon.
If you're anemic, for example, if you're a premenopausal woman or if you've had a procedure, use cast iron to cook your food.
Because you actually pull some of the iron, the elemental iron, out of the pan, and it helps you treat your anemia.
That's what your red cells need.
How do you figure?
That's amazing.
It's a curative pan.
It's a supplement and a pan.
All right, we're gonna put this frying pan guide up online, share it with your friends.
Give it to your parents, they'll appreciate it.
We'll be right back.
We'll be right back.
Follow me on Facebook and also on YouTube, where I'll be sharing the latest coronavirus developments each day.
Be sure to check out my Coronavirus Survival Protocol Guide on DrOz.com.
You will find important tips on living a healthy lifestyle, practicing good hygiene, preparation tools so you're ready, and immunity supports if you are sick.
How many times do you brush your teeth a day?
Turns out new research is saying you should be brushing them three times a day to keep heart failure away.
And seven out of ten of us only brush twice.
How many of you brush twice a day?
Hands up.
That's what I used to be as well.
Who brushes three times a day?
Oh, how are you?
What's your name?
Camille.
Come join me if you don't mind Camille.
Sure.
Three times a day, huh?
Sometimes four.
Why do you brush your teeth so much?
Well, I'm obsessed with fresh breath and white teeth.
And I think it's really good to have a really good clean mouth for oral hygiene or overall health.
When do you fit in your third brushing?
So I brush in the morning, after lunch, and after dinner, and sometimes right before I go to bed.
Show me how you brush.
I put a toothbrush in.
This is clean.
Unused, I should say.
Okay.
You can put it in the water, but the water has been used.
So I brush for about two minutes a day.
Two minutes?
All right, keep going.
Here's why you brush.
Brushing helps get rid of the bacteria.
As Camille mentioned, it hides between the crevices of your teeth and your gums.
It may help prevent bad bacteria from going into your bloodstream.
That increases inflammation, which is why it's so important to talk about heart failure.
Because brushing three times a day in this study was associated with a 12% lower risk of heart failure.
That's pretty good.
That's a big difference.
Now, two minutes a day is a long time.
Now, in another study, I did a little homework on this segment, 45 seconds is the average amount of time people brush their teeth.
Does that sound right to everybody?
Uh-uh.
Yeah, about right.
If you brush for two minutes, you move 26% more plaque.
Here's the deal.
I want people from now on To schedule their third brushing, because you gotta do three like Camille does, during the last segment of my show, which is two minutes long, roughly, right?
You can brush while you watch.
It can help your heart and your teeth.
Got that, guys?
I also brush my tongue.
Brush your tongue, too.
Brush it all.
Remember, the power of change lies in the power of you.
Just one person with one voice speaking the truth.
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