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Dec. 7, 2023 - Dr. Oz Podcast
42:35
Outrageous Health Questions from Late Night Hosts | Dr. Oz | S6 | Ep 70 | Full Episode
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Dr. Oz goes late night.
Outrageous health questions from some of the funniest guys in showbiz.
Jimmy Kimmel and Joel McHale.
How big should a hemorrhoid be before you bite its own seat on an airplane?
I'm asking for a friend.
Plus, Dr. Oz takes over the internet.
See the fastest fixes for trending health topics.
And hashtag to healing.
Coming up next on Dr. Oz.
Thank you, buddy.
Thank you, y'all.
Thank you very much.
Today, the Dr. Oz show is going late night.
We're doing it.
I'm answering some of the most outrageous questions I've ever been asked from some of the most outrageous people on TV. Late night hosts.
Now, first, a question from a good friend of mine who is no stranger to the outrageous, Jimmy Kimmel.
Hi, Dr. Oz.
I have a question.
And it's a serious question, too.
If you're not supposed to put Q-tips in your ear, Why does it feel so good?
So I'm glad Jimmy knows that it's bad to put cotton swabs in your ears.
He's learned a lot in his years doing late night, but I know a lot of folks do it anyway.
So who else likes that feeling of putting Q-tips in your ears?
Yes, a lot of very honest members of the audience.
Here, why don't you join me?
You sat in a good seat.
What's your name?
Janelle.
Come on down, Janelle.
All right, so swabbing of ears.
Something you do commonly?
Yeah, I do.
Maybe twice a day after a shower, because there's like water in my ear, so I want to get it out.
Twice a day?
Yeah.
Almost addictive.
It feels good.
What is it about it that you like?
I don't know.
It's like orgasm of the ear, kind of.
It's amazing.
An eargasm.
Yes.
An eargasm.
Yeah, definitely.
Well, you know, there actually are very sensitive parts of your ear.
So let me explain to you, and this will answer Jimmy's question, why it feels so darn good.
You ever have someone nibble at your ears a little bit, blow on your ears?
I'm married, and so are you, Dr. Oz.
I'm not going to do it.
I'm asking.
It's an honest question.
It sort of feels cool, doesn't it?
You get little goosebumps when you have that?
Yeah, definitely.
So we all have erogenous zones all over our bodies.
Okay.
And they're hidden in place we wouldn't expect.
The ear happens to be a perfect example of this.
Okay.
So when you take a Q-tip, for example, one that I've made for this year would look like this.
Wow.
Okay.
Okay.
Mine don't look like this.
So, rub the outside, even, of the ear.
You start to stimulate it a little bit.
Okay.
And so you get that feeling of niceness, the eargasm that you're speaking about.
Right, right.
And if you go in here, and you try to stimulate it a little bit, and you get that sense of pleasure, watch what happens.
All of a sudden, without too much difficulty, you'll get that sense, almost orgasmic, as you mentioned.
And all of a sudden, green lights are going on all over your body.
Right?
The pleasure of doing this is insatiable.
You can do it a lot of times a day.
However...
Go ahead in there.
Look down your ear.
And as you begin to push the wax down further, you go from pleasure into something that's not so pleasurable because you hit the eardrum.
See the eardrum?
Ooh.
Okay.
And when that happens, that doesn't feel so good.
No, that doesn't.
No.
And that's the problem that we have.
Okay.
The truth is a cotton swab was never designed.
This device was never supposed to be in your ear.
That becomes problematic.
In fact, the box of these Q-tips warns you against this.
Really?
I never read the box.
Who's going to read the box?
I just crack it open and...
Exactly.
Like mom used to.
Yeah.
So from that one, you all know that if you're going to use a cotton swab, use it to stimulate the outside of the ear like this.
Okay.
That'll actually get those erogenous zones that are active.
But I'm going to show you a little trick that I personally use because I sort of like the feeling as well.
So what happens when you have a little itch in there?
What do you do?
Exactly.
What do you do about that?
So here's what I do.
I sleep in a t-shirt at night, and I take the t-shirt that I slept in, and I put the little thin cloth on my fingertips.
But you can do this with a Kleenex as well, just tissue paper.
All right?
I want you all to do this.
What you really want to do is stimulate the ear with the one item that you know is safe for our ear.
Because our fingers can't go too far.
So I want to go like this.
We're all going to say thank you, Jimmy, for teaching us.
Ready?
Thank you, Jimmy.
All together.
Thank you, Jimmy.
And we can do that.
And that actually accomplished your goal of drawing your ear out.
You get the wax on the outside of the ear out.
The inner wax naturally moves its way there anyway.
You get that feeling of fulfillment.
Fulfillment, yes.
Now, let me show you what else I would do.
You get wax buildup.
Does it ever happen to you?
Yeah, it has.
It happens once in a while to a lot of folks.
And, you know, it's mostly because the wax in your ear, which is basically a kind of sweat, gets thick.
I'm going to show you, and everybody else who has this problem, exactly how to clean your ears the right way.
Not with the Q-Tip.
Okay.
But it's going to take some trusting on me.
I trust you.
Thank you very much.
She won't let me nibble her ears, but she trusts me with this.
Which ear do you get the wax in usually?
We could do this one.
Okay.
All right.
So you lean over that side.
Then lean over to the right angle so you don't spill any of this.
And I do this with my kids because my kids get lots of wax.
You take a little bit of baby oil, a few drops of it, and you warm it up a tiny bit.
That way it won't feel weird when it's in your ear.
You drip them in like that.
Okay?
Feel the wax in there?
I feel the oil going in there.
Okay, I'm sorry.
I meant the oil.
The baby oil.
Thank you very much.
Thank you for correcting me.
She's honest.
That's why I'm here.
That's exactly why you're here.
Now, the wax in there starts to dissolve in the baby oil.
Okay.
And as it dissolves, you need to give it a few minutes.
And just sit there and tell people stories until they're, you know, because people get impatient sitting like this.
Then, when you're done with that, you take about a half a teaspoon full of salt.
Mix it in with some warm water.
Again, you won't have to be warm because if it's cold, it's irritating to your ear.
Then put a little cotton swab in there, and then you drip off the water into your ear like this.
I can't hear too well now, you know.
No, you're not going to be that well.
And that washes off pretty quickly.
As soon as you've done that, and the water irrigates the wax with the baby oil, lean over this way, and it all comes dripping out.
You feel that?
Yeah, I hear it.
You can hop on one foot if you need to.
And that will use you.
Oh, I got wax out.
Look at that.
Yes.
Oh, that was pretty cool.
Really?
I didn't know if that would work or not, but it works.
It's pretty cool, yeah.
All right.
You and I, we're going to send Jimmy Kimmel all these supplies with this Q-tip.
That's great.
It's the least we could do for him.
Literally, the absolute least.
Let's send that to him.
All right, thank you very much.
All right, next, the host of a late-night show that I've been featured on many times, many times, but often without my consent.
Joel McHale, host of The Soup, asked me many, many questions that were actually really stumpers.
Hi, Dr. Roz.
Is it too much discharge when you see a rainbow in the sky?
How many inches are too many inches?
You know what I'm talking about.
That's right, tumors.
How much exercise does a tapeworm need?
Why do some people's feet smell like Fritos, but they don't taste like Fritos?
See, I thought I could answer anything.
But for those questions, I got nothing for you, Joel.
Those were tough.
However, he did very kindly ask one more important question.
Hi, Dr. Oz.
How big should a hemorrhoid be before you buy it its own seat on an airplane?
I'm asking for a friend.
All right, Joel.
The truth is, the bigger they are, the worse they feel.
So here's my rule of thumb.
If a hemorrhoid is bigger than a quarter and it's causing you pain, then it gets to have its own seat in the plane.
And Joel, if you say it's for a friend, I believe you, right?
Do you guys believe Joel?
It's for a friend.
Not for Joel.
It's for a friend of Joel's.
All right.
To truly answer those questions, I need to explain how hemorrhoids form.
I need some help from the audience.
So who's had a hemorrhoid?
Again, it's an awkward question.
Thank you very much.
What's your first name?
Valerie.
Valerie, describe your hemorrhoid history to me.
Well, I have three children, so they gave me the hemorrhoids.
Oh, kids do that, don't they?
Yes, they do.
And are they hard to manage those hemorrhoids?
Yes, I don't know how to get rid of them, and I need help.
Okay, pretty common.
75% of us, three out of four of us have hemorrhoid issues.
Stand next to my little tool here I'm going to teach you with, because this is a great way of understanding what hemorrhoids are.
So this is the rectum, right?
It's the very bottom of where your bowel movements come out.
They actually come out over here.
And normally, when you have a bowel movement, if it's a smooth, normally formed bowel, It'll look like this.
Does that look pretty normal to you?
Pretty normal, right?
That's about the size I have.
Okay.
You're what a woman.
All right.
So pass it through.
So it comes from up top.
I'll pass it down to you.
So it comes from up top and hold it here and you pass it through there and glides through and no big deal and it's out, right?
That's what you want.
That's what normally happens when it's soft and, you know, not sharp and too hard.
But sometimes we trade in...
Go ahead.
Ah.
This for this.
And this is not such a friendly sight.
So hold that for one minute.
Now I take the more firmly formed piece of stool, and you begin to apply it against the rectum like this.
And watch what happens.
As you begin to rip down, it begins...
Oh yeah.
And over a couple of strains when it's harder and you're pushing to get out, and you're doing your best, and all of a sudden what ends up happening is, instead of having a nice thing you had before, you end up with this terrible area where you have big hemorrhoids that are popping out.
And watch what happened here.
This one literally came out from below.
Wow, yeah.
See it's popping out from below.
And when it pops up from below, these are the ones you see, but they're actually bigger ones on the inside there that sometimes you're not aware of.
And of course you're rubbing up against these things which can make them bleed.
All kinds of bad stuff happens and then they get strangled on the outside and they get uncomfortable.
So...
How do you get rid of them?
How do you get rid of them?
Well, the first is to avoid what I just did.
Right.
To trade in the hard poop for the soft poop, which, you know, we can talk about that.
That's a pretty big topic for the show.
But if they're having pain or irritation or, you know, they're itching, then you actually want to get to them in a more aggressive way.
So what I have found to be the best tool, and I've had many, many patients advise me on this...
Are these witch hazel cleansing pads.
They come in many different forms.
You can also get witch hazel in a bottle and pour it on a cotton swab.
But you take these pads, and as you rub on these, and just use them like you would a toilet wipe.
As you wipe on them gently, it'll actually, because it's an astringent, shrink them down and take away a lot of discomfort you feel from them.
So this is a little gift for me.
Thank you.
For those three wonderful kids.
Thank you.
But before you all go, the fact of the matter is, if these things are still painful after using the witch hazel, and if they're so large you've got to buy them their own seat in the plane, doctors can help you with these.
We put a little rubber band around the base of them, it strangles them, and they fall off on their own.
It's super simple to do.
In addition, I recommend that Joel take a little bit more fiber in his diet, wouldn't you?
Yes.
Because it would help.
Yes.
This from stopping his life from being as comfortable as it should be.
Final question comes from Larry King.
He's host of Larry King Now on Aura TV. Larry sent me an email and it says, Dr. Oz, can wearing suspenders help or hurt my posture?
Interesting question.
So I have some good news.
Not only do these suspenders...
Actually make you look great.
They may actually improve your posture.
Here's the idea.
The theory is that by applying pressure to your shoulders, they may stimulate the brain and the body to straighten itself up.
So Larry, keep wearing them and stand tall.
Thanks to all my guests.
We'll be right back.
Next, everyone's health is going viral and we're on the pulse.
Find out what's trending and what people are asking about their health online.
The health solutions you need now.
Fast fixes to your most pressing health questions.
Coming up next.
All new Dr. Oz.
You touted as safe.
Now, e-cigarettes called into question why the smoke-free alternative could be more dangerous than you think.
That's coming up tomorrow on Dr. Oz.
Today I'm taking over the internet to answer your health questions and problems, all the ones that are trending online right now.
I've got the fastest fixes to get your health back on track.
There's no lines, no waiting room, no being put on hold, just the health solutions that you need now.
Now I've invited super tweeters who are tweeting right now over there in the audience.
I've got my entire digital team here along with YouTube sensation Damon Patterson.
Best known for his viral food reviews.
He's been collecting the online health problems that have all gone viral.
You've got your pulse on the web.
Yes.
Are there a lot of health questions being asked out there?
I mean, the biggest thing is every individual is going through it when it comes to headaches.
You know, they're working all day long, they're getting stressed out, whether it's the lighting through the course of the day.
I know for me, when I'm shopping with the wife, now, you know, I'll tell her it's the lighting, but it's because she has me going shopping.
All right?
But I mean, just everything is, you know, whatever they're going through, hashtag the headache is happening.
Yeah.
So let's talk about headaches a little bit.
We're going to start with the most tweeted problem.
So they're tweeters.
They're talking about it.
Give me a list.
Besides the one you complained about, your wife, that she's going to see this show and get you in trouble.
What are the other causes they're listing off for headaches?
Like I said, the biggest thing is loud noises.
Loud noises are giving them headaches.
Stress building up, that's giving them headaches.
And it's also that one that a lot of individuals know about, the hangover headache.
Yes.
We may get to that one.
All right.
So let's look at some of these tweets.
We got them all over the place.
Read that to me, Damien, if you don't mind.
All right.
We have Sarah Braun.
I feel relatively confident there are tiny elves with jackhammers having a party in my head and sinuses right now.
Hashtag headache.
All right.
Come on.
Let's walk over here.
Let's fix this headache pain tweet that we're seeing here.
I brought a little demo for everybody over here.
You can go to the other side.
So I want you to all...
I'm going to do this right now for you, actually.
You know what?
I'm going to tweet it out right now so you all have it.
I'm going to say it's going to take acetaminophen with...
A shot of espresso.
Send.
Why is that?
Why acetaminophen with some espresso?
Here's the deal.
A lot of the over-the-counter medications will work.
Acetaminophen has to be a pretty good choice.
A lot of doctors like it because it's so safe.
But the coffee, the caffeine, adds to it.
Here's the deal.
This is your brain, right?
And all these blood vessels, they start to get engorged with those loud noises, with the hangover you mentioned earlier, with your wife yelling at you in some rare cases.
Right?
So, these blood vessels, they begin to get large and they touch the nerves.
All these are the wires of nerves.
And when they touch them, they actually cause pain.
So the acetaminophen targets this area and gently removes the sensation that the nerves might have so you don't sense the pain, decrease the pain literally.
The caffeine seems to accentuate that so these nerves don't get irritated so much.
But there's another step too.
It actually, that caffeine, makes these blood vessels A little smaller.
So by 40%, accentuates the benefit of what you're getting.
Imagine a 40% benefit, all of a sudden your brain's a whole different party.
That is a good result.
And when those blood vessels aren't touching and not being irritated, your headaches will rapidly drop down.
So with a 40% benefit, add a little caffeine to your over-the-counter headache medication like acetaminophen, and you'll be good to go.
All right, let's keep going.
Thanks very much, Damien.
So what are these Instagrams?
I've got them over here.
What do they have in common?
Now, let's go through these.
We've got an ice cream sandwich.
We've got chips and cookies over here.
I love these little cheese doodles, although I don't eat them anymore.
And they've got donuts and these sort of trigger wafers or something, right?
They all have one thing in common.
Hashtag diet fails.
Which you've seen a lot on the web these days because so many people are admitting that they're having problems.
Maureen is joining us.
You had an epic diet fail, I understand.
Yeah.
This is your post on Instagram.
Couple.
You remember this meal?
Do you remember that?
What was that all about?
Well, I was at a party, and I'd been eating all day, obviously, and this came out at the end, and I couldn't resist.
Well, the fast fix for this problem, the hashtag diet fails, is to block some of that fat absorption with alginate.
Alginate has been shown to interfere with the way our bodies absorb fat, and there are great portable snacks that are out there right now.
We have seaweed chips, there's seaweed crisps, the little sprinkles are fantastic.
Taste those, see what you think about them.
Please do.
I want you to eat this little snack after one of your hashtag diet fails as you're about to post it.
Oh, actually, that's really good.
They're all good.
I happen to love these things.
So put them in your pocketbook, and next time someone walks out with one of those party platters, use this as your remedy.
Okay.
Thanks very much.
Thank you.
Now, I asked my digital team to come up with a meme.
On this algae tip, I want you to post it to Facebook and tag three others.
It says, you told me I could be anything, so I became a fat blocker.
So I just read the word and take advantage of the alginics.
Okay, let's check in with my super tweeters.
We look at their Twitter feeds, and there's one common health problem.
It was sort of hinted at a little earlier, stress.
It comes in many different forms.
If I don't mind, I'm going to start off here with Lauren.
Would you mind reading your tweets?
Sort of a good description of what's stressing you out.
I would love to.
So I tweeted this the other day.
Today it was snowing.
Windshield wipers broke on van.
Baby playing in dirty toilet.
Ran out of milk for baby.
Hashtag not a good day.
Hashtag stressed.
How dirty was the toilet?
I won't comment.
Won't comment.
Okay.
Let's just say her nine-year-old brother had just gone to the bathroom.
All right.
That's bad news.
So the fast fix when you're stressed is a call to your original lifeline.
Y'all know what the original lifeline is?
It's mom.
Science backs us up.
A call to mom actually reduces the stress hormone cortisol.
Okay.
It actually increases oxytocin.
That's the feel-good hormone.
Did you know if you got a phone on you?
Who is that?
Who's calling?
Hello?
Hello?
Who's this?
Hello, it's Julie.
It's Lauren's mom.
Now, who would have thought?
So, Julie, I'm with your daughter Lauren here.
Thanks for calling in and surprising her.
That's a nice surprise.
Hi mom!
Hi babe, how are ya?
Oh good, how are you?
I'm sitting with Dr. Oz right now.
How are the kids?
Oh I know, they're so exciting.
Your grandchildren are playing in dirty toilets, but we'll get to that later Julie.
Oh she knows.
So what's her mood like after she speaks with you mom?
Oh good, we have a great relationship.
I love talking to her and hearing stories about the kids and the Everything.
You have to ask her sometime about the mouse and the spatula story.
That's a hysterical one.
The mouse and the spatula?
Yeah, he said she said mouse and spatula.
All right, we won't get into that one.
We have to tell the story already.
Thanks very much, Mom.
Thanks for calling in.
Surprising.
Thanks for coming.
The next health tweet comes from one of the most followed tweeters in the world, Katy Perry.
So, David, what did Katy tweet?
Remember, kids, there's a reason the word pain is in champagne.
You all do know that, right?
Can I explain to you why you should be careful about pain and champagne because they do travel together?
Here's what happens with that bubble that hits your body.
You tip a few back and that carbonation actually increases the rate.
See the alcohol there rising up in...
Really fast in your blood, especially to your brain, which means you get drunker faster, which means you'll probably drink more too, which is a whole separate problem you'll have down the road.
Let me come on up here.
I got a fast fix for this hangover problem as well.
You brought it up in the very beginning.
Let's end with it.
It's prickly pear juice.
It actually reduces nausea.
It reduces Dry mouth, it reduces your appetite issues.
So across the board, it's a really good solution.
Take it as soon as you think you've drunk too much.
Don't even wait until the morning.
But no matter what you do, what you could do is make a little mocktail about it in the morning.
A little lemonade, a little mint.
And I want you honest to put in, Damien, since you're a food blogger extraordinaire, what do you think about my mocktail here?
It's not eggnog.
Not eggnog.
Eggnog's actually not very good for hangovers.
It causes other problems.
Trust me, man.
Trust me on this one.
All right, let's do it, man.
See what you think.
Oh, that's sweet right there.
That's nice.
That's smooth.
Did I tell you?
Okay.
Did I tell you?
Next time from the front of the car.
Take care.
We'll be right back.
Toast y'all.
Coming up next, do you have dreams of turbulent waters?
Or being caught naked in public?
What does it all mean?
Your dreams could be an x-ray to what's going on in your body.
Learn what your dreams may be revealing about your health, next.
Have you ever dreamed you're rushing to get somewhere and your car breaks down?
Does that happen to you?
Yeah.
What about being caught naked in public?
Perhaps in the middle of a big speech, everyone's laughing at you.
Or like me, have you ever dreamed about snakes?
Snakers are stithering all over the place.
I'm not alone here.
So what the heck does it all mean?
Today I'm revealing what your dreams say about your health.
Dream Analyst Lori Lohenberg is here.
Welcome to...
So, Laura, you argue that dreams are like an x-ray of what's going on in our bodies.
How's that?
Absolutely.
Our dreams are a very powerful and intelligent part of who we are because they're a product of the subconscious mind.
And the subconscious mind is like a second brain just under the surface.
Observing what's going on during your day, consolidating memory, gathering information.
So when we go to sleep and we dream, our subconscious will give us lots of information about ourselves, about our lives, and about our body.
So some of my viewers, and I'm included in this, wrote down our dreams for a week.
Some pretty crazy dreams on my side.
I know there's some in the audience as well.
Lori pondered all of these, and she went to look for health clues from our dreams in these journals.
So many of you actually were willing to share your dreams very openly.
And the first dream, which I think is ripe with meaning about your health, is in this little video.
I'm on the road.
I'm late for work so I'm driving pretty fast.
I hear my car start to sputter.
I smell smoke.
What is that?
My car is slowing down.
I pull over to the side of the road.
I can't believe my engine just died!
What does this mean?
So Donna dreamed about car trouble.
How often do you have that dream?
I have that dream quite often, Dr. Oz.
It wasn't really about car trouble, it was about speeding along and all of a sudden I'm speeding and speeding and speeding and I have no brakes and I can't stop and my heart starts palpitating and I get all excited and then all of a sudden I just wake up.
Before you crash.
Before I crash.
I never crashed.
Not yet.
So, Laurie, what does this dream reveal about health?
I hope a good thing she didn't crash.
It is a good thing that you haven't crashed yet.
So, your dream is showing you that you've got a lot going on.
You're going, you're going, you're going.
And something, you need to put the brakes on something.
Otherwise, you're likely to have an energy crash.
It's a warning.
I hope that's helpful.
Being out of control is something we feel a lot anyway.
You can get it in different ways.
Alright, the next dream is one of the most common for women.
It's a beautiful day at the beach.
I'm relaxing on the sand reading my book.
I hear a low rumble in the distance.
It gets louder and louder.
I see the ocean water rising.
Tsunami.
I begin to run as fast as I can.
The water is lapping at my feet.
I fall and the wave engulfs me.
I'm gasping for air.
I'm drowning.
What does this mean?
Yeah, what does dreaming about water mean?
So threatening water like tidal waves, tsunamis, is connected to an emotional surge, feeling overwhelmed.
If you get this sort of dream a lot, it's a good idea to have your hormones, your hormone level checked because it could be a hormonal imbalance.
Let's talk about other water issues.
These are some of the water dream images that we've been collecting.
There are some waters that are muddy and dirty like this.
What does that mean?
The muddy, dirty water is showing you that you've got depression, negativity, frustration, dirtying up what should be a clean psychological flow.
And what about if you've got overflowing water like this image?
Overflowing water is really common once a month you may find right before you start your period.
Well, not you.
Not me, yeah.
People I know.
People close to me.
People you know.
So that's really common.
But if you're beyond that age, then overflowing water can be connected to swelling or bloating.
Take a look at this other very common dream.
It's time for my big speech.
There are hundreds of people.
The crowd is waiting.
I walk out on stage.
I hear laughter.
That's strange.
I look down to see that I am completely 100% naked.
What does this mean?
So how many of you have had this naked in public dream before?
Is it a lot of us?
A fair number of folks have this.
It's just a weird thing.
Most of us don't speak publicly.
You certainly don't go out nakedly in public either.
So what does that mean?
Okay, the naked in public dream is really common when you're in a situation where all eyes are going to be on you.
It's connected to anxiety over how others perceive you.
Now, I found that the naked in public dream is also pretty common when you have to go through tests at your doctor because it's a very exposing process.
You know, the doctor's looking at you.
You're getting poked and prodded and polished and massaged.
And you're naked.
And you're naked!
And it's also worry about what the doctor might find.
So, I kept my dream journal, and I dream about snakes sometimes, crazily.
And I had one of these snakes dreams, but it was a weird one.
The snake was entered, not through my mouth, through my cheek.
And when it got into my head, I actually felt this weird feeling of warmth.
Not pain, because you'd think you'd have pain if a snake's going through your cheek.
But I didn't trust the snake, for good reason.
So I was very unnerved by the fact that I actually felt comfort by this craziness.
So what was going on in my mind?
That's so interesting.
Interesting good or interesting bad?
Interesting.
Well, no, it's good.
I find it especially interesting that you got it because I found in my research that a lot of times a snake can symbolize health, medicine, and healing.
And that's what you do.
You know, we see it in the symbol for physicians.
We see it on the side of ambulances.
So it's really interesting how the snake is going into your head, through your cheek.
So I think that's connected to medical knowledge that you get all the time.
You're constantly...
You know, learning new things.
That's why it was a good dream.
I feel better about it now because I felt weird that I actually didn't mind it and I should have.
Thank you very much, Laurie.
We'll be right back.
Next, do you lay in bed wide awake regretting that last cup of Joe?
You could be caffeine sensitive, but you don't need to give it up.
Learn how to stop caffeine from wrecking your sleep.
The caffeine game plan for everyone who loves coffee and their rest.
Next.
All new Dr. Oz.
Touted is safe.
Now, e-cigarettes called into question why the smoke-free alternative could be more dangerous than you think.
That's coming up tomorrow on Dr. Oz.
Let's face it, America's fuel is caffeine.
Coffee is the brew, kickstarting a nation of bleary-eyed, foggy-headed sleepwalkers.
But I don't want you to worry.
Today I'm going to show you how to stop the caffeine from wrecking your sleep.
And the good news is you don't have to give it up.
Sleep specialist Dr. Michael Bruce is here with a caffeine plan for your day.
So when it comes to sleep, he needs to watch out for caffeine.
Well, it turns out there's new research that we now know that certain people are more caffeine sensitive than others.
The rough amount that you should probably have during any given day is somewhere between 200 and 250 milligrams at the maximum.
But believe it or not, we now know how to tell who's caffeine sensitive and who's not.
So you've got to scale.
I want you all to pay attention to this.
Do a little quick test here to figure out where you are in this pattern.
So what I want people in the audience to do is raise their hand if they had a cup of coffee at night and it would affect their sleep always.
So go ahead and raise your hand if it would always affect your sleep.
Keep your hands raised.
They're caffeine sensitive.
How about the next round?
So people who...
Usually it would affect your sleep.
Keep your hands raised.
Keep your hands raised.
Usually affect your sleep.
All right.
How about sometimes affect your sleep?
Sometimes affects your sleep.
I'm on occasion sometimes as well.
Everybody who's got their hand raised actually turns out to be caffeine sensitive.
Everybody.
Everybody.
Believe it or not, now let's ask the audience, how many people out there are never affected by caffeine?
So, believe it or not, you people might be able to actually have caffeine a lot later in the day, and it's not going to have nearly as big an effect on your sleep.
So let's go back and go with this plan to stop caffeine from wrecking your sleep.
You mentioned 250 milligrams of caffeine.
What does that actually equate to?
So roughly two cups of drip coffee, you'd fall into about 100, 110 milligrams of caffeine per cup.
With tea, you're looking at probably somewhere between 60 milligrams or so.
And the big thing that people need to remember is if you're drinking more than this, don't go cold turkey.
I've had patients end up in the ER with heart palpitations, anxiety, even to the point of feeling nauseous.
So if you're drinking a lot of caffeine, you need to narrow it down slowly.
Let's help Gladys.
She drinks five cups of coffee.
I understand.
How are you, Gladys?
I'm trying.
Hey, Gladys.
Good to meet you.
You took that quiz with us.
Where would you put yourself in terms of how caffeine affects your sleep?
Everything.
I don't get any sleep at all.
I'm a light sleeper, a pin drops, and I'm up all night.
That's it.
So obviously the coffee is important to you, otherwise you would have given it up.
So I want you to do me a favor.
Take this pitcher of coffee and I want you to pour it in the different times that you normally take your coffee.
So what time do you get up in the morning normally?
Six o'clock.
I have four kids that have to go on the go to get them to school.
So six o'clock will be my first.
Alright.
Now I'm back.
From taking the kids to school.
So it's 8 o'clock.
Finally some time to yourself.
Yes, I get to enjoy that one.
But I'm already thinking I have runs.
So 10 o'clock.
So that gets me going.
Now I'm picking the kids up by 1. 1.50.
2 o'clock my next one.
That's your fourth cup of coffee so far.
Yes, already.
Now, I have cheerleading basketball practice for kids.
Last one, six o'clock.
These are the demanding kids you have.
Yes.
All right, so that's five cups of coffee spread throughout the day.
Dr. Bruce, give us the game plan.
This is important.
What are the best times to drink the coffee to avoid these headaches?
Okay, so here's what we're going to do.
What we want to do is we actually want to have you drinking your first cup of coffee.
Okay.
Alright, now that's going to be a little, might be a little bit difficult for waking up in the morning, but I want you to see if you can do it by 9. Then the next one that you're going to have, we're going to actually have iced coffee.
So a little bit different.
I know it's chilly outside, but what I want you to do is do iced coffee, and here's why.
You're going to cool down the temperature of the coffee itself.
You're going to drink it very quickly, and then you're going to take a 20-minute nap Oh, nice.
I like the 20-minute nap.
So I call this the Napa Latte.
And it works really, really well.
Because here's what happens.
It'll take your system about 20 minutes for the caffeine to tick up and be able to have its effect.
And you'll reduce your sleep drive by getting about 20 minutes of stage 1, stage 2 sleep.
You'll be good for 4 hours.
And what we've done here now is we've reduced her amount of caffeine by almost half.
We've got more for you though.
These are two other ways that are going to help you keep the coffee feeling without so much caffeine.
And this next one is all about making your morning caffeine buzz last longer using Echinacea tea.
So this is really interesting.
So it turns out that Echinacea actually takes that alert feeling and actually spreads it out a little bit longer.
So that's why we're able to take away some of those morning cups of coffee because we're actually going to be able to push that feeling throughout the morning all the way up into your Napa latte.
So I would ask you to take this at around 11. Your tank now is going to feel like you're overwhelming with energy.
Okay, I like the energy.
Okay, the last tip.
This is a really important one for people like me and most of you who have low caffeine sensitivity.
You're going to break down any remaining caffeine that might have stuck through the lines before you go to bed.
How do you neutralize caffeine?
So it turns out that foods in the brassica category, so what we're talking about is kale, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, all of these actually help break down the caffeine a little bit more quickly so that it metabolizes through your system.
Because again, I think that that very last cup of coffee is really doing some serious damage.
The thing people don't realize is caffeine has a half-life of somewhere between 7 and 10 hours.
So that means that half of it is still on board.
So if you're drinking it at 5 o'clock or 6 o'clock before cheer practice, the big problem there is it's definitely going to last into your sleep.
Thank you.
Thank you for being here.
We'll be right back.
Coming up, television icon Marlo Thomas, a trailblazer for women, activist, and author.
She's dedicated her life to helping thousands of sick children.
Now, Dr. Oz honors her with a special tribute she doesn't see coming.
Next.
Whoever said a doctor's visit isn't fun has obviously never been to the Dr. Oz Show.
Is that right?
Make your appointment today.
- Today, go to DrOz.com and sign up for free tickets.
I'm honored as someone I consider a true friend is joining us today.
After receiving a huge honor at the White House, Marlo Thomas became a trailblazer for women as television's That Girl.
But her greatest legacy is helping thousands of sick children at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Please welcome back Marlo Thomas.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much.
What a great honor.
So, you know, we give awards to civilians in this country because we honor people in that way.
And the nation's greatest civilian award is called the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
You probably have heard about it.
The only given people who do amazing work.
And you just got it.
Yesterday.
It was so exciting.
Look at her.
Isn't that amazing?
What does that honor mean for you?
Wow.
It was so exciting.
I knew that it was going to be exciting.
I didn't expect it to be so emotional.
And President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, they were so kind.
Oh, and they played Hail the Chief, and we all stood up.
Really, it was like out of a movie.
And I've been in movies.
This was better.
Than any movie.
It was really wonderful.
Let's talk about your dad for a second.
Yes.
Of course, Danny Thomas, you all know, founded St. Jude over 50 years ago to help children with cancer.
Just to remind you, all treatment costs are taken care of.
No big hospital bills ever, which is a big deal when you've got kids that are sick.
What would your father say to you if he was aware of this Presidential Medal of Freedom?
Well, obviously, as my daddy, he would be thrilled.
But I think he'd be mostly thrilled that I'm working for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and that this medal brings great honor to St. Jude.
And all the kids were so excited about it.
I'm going to go down next week and bring them the medal so they can all see it because medals are a big thing to kids.
And so I think that's the most important thing is that all the work that I've done there, The money that we raise every year coming on shows like this and you help us.
The people who send money in for thanks and giving.
It all is part of the package of allowing families to come and not have to pay for anything.
Well, while you're down there, you're going to be visiting the Marl Thomas Center for Global Education at St. Jude, which is this remarkable building.
Actually, Hillary Clinton was just down there.
Yes.
Cutting the ribbon to open it.
I know.
I'm having quite a week.
What is it like to have a building named after you?
Well, talk about emotion.
I mean, to have a building named the Marlowe Thomas Center on St. Jude Children's Research Hospital campus next to buildings named from my father, I really felt like I'd fallen down a rabbit hole.
I mean, it was very exciting.
And my whole family was there, of course, and my husband, and we cut the ribbon.
But this is a great center because it's an education, global education and collaboration center where the doctors and scientists are going to come from all over the world To collaborate in these huge conference rooms and build their information together.
And you know how important in medicine collaboration is, which we've done for years, but now we're doing it in a more formal setting and being able to take in a lot more people.
So, you know, I love you dearly.
Yes.
I couldn't have you come out without giving you a little surprise.
So I asked some folks, there are so many who would have offered, but I asked some folks to just send you a message, a heartfelt message.
And the women who are volunteering, you're going to hear them from them, they're mothers of kids who know all too much about kids and cancer.
Oh my!
In 2010, my four-year-old son Max started bruising very easily.
In November 2009, my daughter Kaelin Became very ill.
Right before my son, Tyron, turned three, we found a lump on the side of his neck.
It was revealed that Max had acute myeloid leukemia.
Tyron had Burkitt lymphoma, stage four.
They diagnosed her with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
I didn't know that day how long my son had to live.
It was very scary.
But St. Jude Children's Research Hospital took us by the hand and led us all the way through.
Tyron is now eight years old.
He will be nine years old in two weeks.
He's doing very good.
He likes to sing.
He likes to dance.
Today, Kaylin is ten years old.
She's very active in her school where she started the school play.
She sings in the church choir.
She's enjoying all the things that a little girl her age should enjoy.
Today, Max is a healthy, energetic nine-year-old boy.
He loves to play video games, and he really enjoys going back down to St. Jude to visit his St. Jude family and friends.
I want to say thank you to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for giving me my little girl back.
Thank you, Marlo, for carrying on your father's vision, and thank you, St. Jude, for saving my son's life.
Thank you, St. Jude.
I love you, Marlo.
You like that?
These are specious, I guess.
It's lovely.
Thank you so much.
You know, they love you so much.
We all do.
But these moms in particular, they wanted to come here themselves with the kids.
Oh, that's so sweet.
Come on now, St. Jude fans.
Unbelievable, man.
How wonderful.
Now are you happy finally?
Oh, that's so great.
Look at you.
You look so beautiful on television.
I was so proud of you.
Thank you, Mom.
We're proud of all you do.
Listen, if you want to help St. Jude kids like Tyron, Max, and Kalen, it's easy.
You can participate in their Thanksgiving campaign by donating more than 60 big retailers this holiday season.
And you can go to dros.com to learn more.
more.
Be right back.
All new Dr. Oz.
Touted as safe.
Now, e-cigarettes called into question why the smoke-free alternative could be more dangerous than you think.
That's coming up tomorrow on Dr. Oz. - You know, I love being active, and basketball is one of my favorite sports of all.
I started playing when I was young.
I still play on the weekends with friends, and I thought, with all that practice, I certainly must be getting pretty good at it.
But I'm definitely not as good as this guy.
Check out this amazing video of Harlem Globetrotter Thunder Law.
Got it!
Oh!
Whoa!
That was from 89.
82 feet away.
Here's some more views of it, by the way.
I love it.
Look how far away he is.
82 feet.
He actually set a world record with this shot.
I love this angle.
Fantastic.
It's the longest backwards basketball shot ever made.
Ooh!
Not all of us can shoot hoops backwards, but it's worth trying.
There are lots of other benefits, though, of doing things backwards.
For example, like walking.
Research has found that when you exercise by walking backwards rather than forwards, your heart rate goes up by 50 extra points, helping you burn more calories and lose more weight because of that.
So try it out, plus it works your brain very nicely.
Now it's time for, in case you missed it, first, fast fixes for your most viral health problems.
We had lots of folks tweeting us, and many of you asked how to get rid of a headache.
The answer is don't just pop the pain pill from over the counter.
Instead, pick something that's going to work quickly if you accentuate it.
So take your acetaminophen, Tylenol, things like that are very safe ways to deal with headaches.
Then take a shot of Espresso.
Literally wash it down with Espresso.
The Espresso with the caffeine makes your pain pills work 40% better.
Then we talked about dreams.
Can they really be a window to your emotional health?
Well, the next time you have a dream, let's say you're naked in public, don't just laugh it off.
Try to pinpoint what's in your life that might cause you anxiety and then address it.
In fact, the part of your body that is naked might be a subconscious sign.
For example, are you naked from the waist up?
Maybe you're worrying about breast cancer, or you can do a self-examine if you have that problem, or maybe it's time for your mammogram.
And lastly, we talked about caffeine and how it's wrecking the sleep.
But you don't have to stop your caffeine in order to save your sleep.
You've got to boost your caffeine in the morning and then break it down in the evening.
To do that, I want you to boost the caffeine and keep that buzz with a cup of coffee with a cup of echinacea tea, because together they'll last longer.
Here's the big deal.
I want you to break down any caffeine, because most of us have some sensitivity, and end your day with brassica foods like this.
Broccoli, sprouts, kale, broccoli, all these will help break down caffeine.
So even if you're sensitive, you're literally going to be getting rid of lingering caffeine so you can fall asleep more easily.
Finally, please be careful about dubious people online that make it seem like I'm endorsing their products.
I don't.
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