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Dec. 18, 2023 - Dr. Oz Podcast
42:34
Counterfeit Foods Being Sold to You and Your Family | Dr. Oz | S6 | Ep 83 | Full Episode
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Today on Oz, counterfeit foods.
Some of the healthiest options in your supermarket may actually be fake.
How to tell if you're being scammed and how to make sure you're getting the real deal.
Plus, world champion snowboarder Amy Purdy.
The illness that caused her to lose both her legs also inspired her to shoot for the stars.
I know people who have their legs who are a lot more disabled than I am.
Coming up next on Dr. Oz.
A real eye-opener.
Some of the healthiest options in your supermarket, foods that I talk about all the time on this show, may actually be fake.
I'm talking about food fraud.
Counterfeit foods that you may be buying for your family right now.
Today, I'm going to tell you how you're being scanned and figure out whether or not you're getting the real deal.
Carolyn Smith-Dewall is the Food Safety Director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
And Dr. Kimberly Warner is a Senior Scientist at Oceana, the largest international organization focused solely on ocean conservation.
Both are on the front lines of fighting food fraud in America.
So, Carolyn, let me start with you.
What is food fraud?
Please define it for me.
Hi, Dr. Oz.
Food fraud really can come in a number of forms.
It can be like when you order fish at a restaurant and you think you're getting one type of fish, but you're getting something completely different.
It can also be an ingredient that's added to the food, maybe to make it heavier so the producer gets more money for it, or to fool a test.
And that's happened in a number of cases, and that can be very harmful to consumers.
And finally, it can be a counterfeit food.
This is where a company tries to make their product look exactly like another product, perhaps a trusted brand.
Now, to be clear, we've talked about food fraud and counterfeit food on the show before, but this isn't just an issue of tricking consumers.
It's a health issue for me, which is why I care so much about this.
So why is this happening, Carolyn?
Well, a big problem is that the Food and Drug Administration has responsibility for ensuring the safety of about 80 percent of the food imported to the U.S. This can include anything from seafood to spices to about 25 to 30 percent of the fresh fruits and vegetables that we consume to stay healthy.
They're all coming from other countries.
FDA doesn't have the staff to do the job.
In fact, today, they're inspecting less than 2% of imported foods coming into the U.S. Less than 2%?
That's correct.
98% of the products crossing the border never see an FDA inspector.
Alright, so today we're going to reveal some of the biggest counterfeit foods out there, and I'm telling you, you're going to be as surprised as I am.
Let's start with America's favorite seafood, shrimp.
Now in your supermarket, shrimp is often labeled as wild.
It turns out this is actually not the case.
Oceana recently conducted a study of shrimp and made some shocking discoveries.
So Dr. Warner, could you walk us through what you guys found?
Yes, despite shrimp being our most favorite seafood in the U.S., interestingly, nobody had really looked into what we're getting when we actually purchased shrimp.
So, following up on our fish fraud work, we decided to sample shrimp, and so we went into grocery stores and restaurants in New York City, Washington D.C., all along the Gulf States, and over to Portland, Oregon.
And then submitted these shrimp samples to a lab for DNA testing to see what species they were.
And what we found were 30% were misrepresented.
And equally so whether we got it from a grocery store or a restaurant.
One third of all the shrimp is not what people say it is.
It's not wild.
Right.
So what is it?
What's the counterfeit replacement?
So what we're seeing with shrimp is often a consumer thinks they're buying a locally caught wild shrimp, but what they're actually getting instead is a farmed, imported shrimp from India, Vietnam, China, this type of place.
We also saw species substitutions.
You think you're getting a more expensive, rare type of shrimp, but you're getting a less A costly one instead, or mixed species in a bag of frozen shrimp, some which hadn't even been discovered by science genetically.
So basically, you know, you can get shrimp out of your aquarium pretty much.
Right.
We found one of these cute little cleaner shrimps that I've seen when I've been scuba diving inside a bag of frozen wild salad shrimp imported from India.
So I wanted to know if you could spot which shrimp are really the wild caught ones and which ones are the counterfeit ones.
So I invited an audience member, Sandra, to join us.
And Sandra's apparently, I'm told, a big shrimp eater.
So how often do you serve shrimp to your family?
Generally about twice a month and for special occasions.
And so it's mainly for my family members.
I'm single so I don't cook a lot for myself, but I do cook for my family members a couple times a month.
And shrimp's good for you, so why not?
Yeah.
So all you've got to do is a very simple little test here.
I'm going to ask you if you can identify which is the wild caught shrimp.
Do you think you can do it?
I think so.
I'm leaning towards not the pink type of shrimp, but this looks like this may be wild caught shrimp.
I'm going to say that's it.
Audience, what do you guys think?
She's fairly supportive.
What was this about the wild caught shrimp that you liked that caught your attention?
I'm just thinking because it's dark, you know, it's not the fish type of fish I see all the time.
I generally see, I'm thinking more of the pink fish, I mean pink shrimp all the time.
So I'm thinking this looks a little different, so maybe this is the wild caught shrimp.
Dr. Warner, is she right?
Unfortunately, she's not.
Oh no!
Actually, this is the farm shrimp and this is the wild shrimp.
Oh gosh darn it!
But don't feel bad.
A lot of people are duped.
Oftentimes when we go to a restaurant, we don't even see it with its little shell and legs and everything.
So it's hard to tell anyway.
Or if it's in a bag of frozen shrimp.
Until we get better consumer labeling, you know, and good traceability on our seafood from boat to plate, we will continue to be having this bait and switch on us.
Let me point something out.
You mentioned the color of this thing.
So the pink is actually what shrimp is supposed to have in it.
And wild shrimp is actually good for you for a lot of reasons.
And they look the same.
And frankly, you were pretty good just to even notice subtle differences.
But there are significant, I think, health differences between the two.
And let me walk you all through this.
This is important to understand.
Farmed shrimp offers a couple hazards from my perspective.
In a recent study, for example, they looked at farmed shrimp imported to this country.
I'm talking about stuff brought in from other countries.
And it contained an antibiotic that was so strong, it's actually been banned here in the U.S. for food production.
Not allowed to use this antibiotic.
We also found that some of this farmed shrimp contains a coating of chemicals It's not supposed to be in your gut.
It's out there to make what's generally not a very clean process a little cleaner.
And then get to that color.
The pink color of the shrimp comes from a natural antioxidant that our body really wants.
Farm shrimp doesn't make this because we don't feed the shrimp what wild shrimp get.
So to develop this color, they're given a synthetic version Which is not approved for human consumption.
And guess what?
It's devoid of the health benefits of the naturally occurring pink color.
So Dr. Warner, if someone like Sandra, earnestly wants to do the right thing for their family, they want to buy the wild shrimp, what do you recommend?
How do they figure it out?
Well, we always say for seafood, ask questions.
Of whoever it is that's selling you seafood or in a restaurant.
So you're going there, you say, can you tell me what species it is?
Can you tell me whether it's farmed or wild?
Is it imported or is it domestic?
And in grocery stores, some of them are actually selling traced seafood products.
So ask for that.
Can you tell me if this shrimp has been traced from where it was caught to where it ended up here in the grocery store?
If so, you can trust it.
And if people that sell you this seafood know that consumers are interested in this information, hopefully we'll get that and we'll have less of this type of bait and switch going on.
Good luck with the shrimp.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Now, shrimp isn't the only counterfeit food being sold to you and your family.
The next counterfeit food is what I'm sure will surprise you.
It's Greek yogurt.
Carolyn, I just was stunned when I found out this was happening, so please explain it to everybody.
Well, this isn't a risk problem like you have with the antibiotics in shrimp, but it is a consumer fraud problem because with Greek yogurt, it goes through a special processing.
They actually filter the yogurts.
So that it's got that wonderful, thick, custardy kind of consistency.
Well, with Greek style yogurt, what they're doing is adding starches and tapioca sometimes.
They're using added ingredients, calling it Greek style yogurt, and really trying to fool consumers.
Again, not a high risk issue, but it is something that consumers should be aware of.
It's a problem for me because if you're adding other sugars, tapioca, like the Greek-style yogurt, you're actually increasing the sugar content.
The whole reason I talk about Greek yogurt is because it's high in protein and it's low, relatively low in sugar.
And this is flipping this, inverting that, so it's not going to give you the benefits we desire.
So what's the government doing about this?
Well, FDA hasn't done much about this.
In fact, their definition of yogurt's about 30 years old.
They're continuing to let people to use the Greek style as a way of saying, well, it's custardy, but it's not exactly the same.
So don't be duped, everybody.
Greek-styled yogurt is not the same as true Greek yogurt, and I don't want you being taken advantage of.
By the way, how can you tell the difference if it's Greek-style versus regular Greek yogurt?
Well, the big thing consumers should do is look at the ingredients.
It should have milk.
And it should have bacteria, the bacterial agents that form the yogurt.
But it doesn't need much else to be yogurt.
If they've got a lot of added ingredients, it's probably not Greek yogurt, which you're looking for.
All right.
Let's talk about the last counterfeit food.
It's turmeric, a spice that we talk about with great reverence because I admire it.
Why would people fool around with turmeric?
So, turmeric is a spice, just like many other spices that's produced in foreign countries, we rely and always have on other countries to grow many of the spices, over 80% of the spices we consume.
But these countries, China, India, don't always have the same level of control at the point of production and throughout the chain until it's getting to the U.S. So turmeric, for example, spices generally have come in with high levels of salmonella, insect parts, things like that.
But turmeric especially has been found with lead.
With lead?
Yeah.
And lead is a particular concern because if children are exposed to too much lead, it can have very bad effects.
Lead obviously is a major concern.
It has big health impacts in many other areas.
I'm so stunned that they put it in turmeric.
So, what are we looking for?
How do you know if the stuff you're buying is at risk for some of the things you've described, including the lead?
Well, you really want to make sure that you're buying from a trusted source.
The big spice companies actually do know about some of this tampering, and I think they're watching out for it.
The other thing is looking at the color.
Make sure it's very bright yellow.
That's a good sign that it's good turmeric.
And then if you're really nervous, you can certainly buy the root and grind it up in your kitchen and dry it.
That'll take quite a few extra steps.
But I think the big thing for consumers is buy from a trusted source.
So I reached out to the FDA because I've been very concerned about this area.
And here's what they had to say, in part.
Food sold in the U.S. is required to be safe, sanitary, and properly labeled.
Combating the food fraud problem is the responsibility of both industry and regulatory authorities.
Well, guess what, folks?
I think we all have responsibilities as well.
We can't outsource or delegate this to somebody else.
In our own homes, we need to be careful about this stuff.
And I don't think we should reward the bad guys by buying their food.
So the little tips we gave you today, please follow them.
Make sure that the good stuff's on your plate, not the bad stuff, and we'll all be better off for it.
Be right back.
Next, world champion snowboarder and double amputee Amy Purdy.
Her remarkable journey through life hasn't let her disability slow her down.
From aspiring actress to her incredible footwork on the slopes, her perseverance is a lesson for us all.
Next.
All new odds.
Jennifer Lopez is here.
She's revealing her health and beauty tips for the new year, her morning ritual, and the big thing she's into now.
All new odds.
That's coming up tomorrow.
Today, a woman who lived and breathed snowboarding until an illness caused her to lose both her legs.
Many thought her slope-streading days were over.
Well, they thought wrong.
Amy Purdy is now a world champion adaptive snowboarder and an inspiration to others.
Amy Purdy, born and raised in hot and dry Las Vegas, always dreamed of snow.
She got her first taste of winter sports skiing with her family.
But as soon as she tried snowboarding, she was hooked.
Amy's goal was to one day compete and win in a professional snowboarding competition.
But at age 19, Amy's dreams almost slipped away.
After coming down with a devastating case of meningitis, doctors were forced to amputate both her legs from the knee down.
But showing extraordinary grit and determination.
Within three months, Amy was snowboarding again.
A few years later, using prosthetics she designed herself, Amy began winning medals in national snowboarding competitions.
Today, she's the only double-leg amputee competing at the world-class level, taking bronze in the 2014 Paralympics.
And just three days after her victory in Sochi, Amy fulfilled another dream.
Performing on the ballroom floor of Dancing with the Stars.
Please welcome Amy Purdy.
Hi.
And I get-- you walk so elegantly with those prestige.
Forget the dancing, just the whole demeanor.
Thank you.
It's special.
Thank you.
So I see drive, I see perseverance, I see all the attributes of someone who just gets ahead no matter what.
Yeah.
Did you ever feel sorry for yourself?
How did you cope as a young woman realizing that part of who you thought you would be, your legs, weren't going to join you for the journey of life?
Yeah, I mean definitely there were moments that were hard for myself where I felt bad for myself.
I know when I first lost my legs after I met my boyfriend, we moved to California and there were all these girls who were in dresses and swimsuits and here I had scars, I had prosthetic legs.
So there were definitely moments where I felt bad for myself, but I couldn't really sit there too long.
It didn't feel good.
And it's all about changing our perspectives.
And I also started helping other people any way I could.
I started a non-profit organization to help kids with disabilities.
I currently am working with a great campaign called Take Action Against Meningitis so that people are aware that there's ways to help protect themselves.
And, you know, just giving back as much as possible is, I think, what's helped me.
Yeah.
You know, I've lost family from meningitis.
Oh, wow.
And it is a deadly illness.
It's just a blessing that you were able to overcome it.
Yeah.
You actually wrote a book.
I did.
That is beautiful.
Thank you.
Why did you decide to share your story?
You know, I think a lot of people know me from Dancing with the Stars and from the Paralympics, but they don't know...
Unbelievable.
I'm going to come back to that in a minute.
Yeah, yeah.
But they don't know the journey that got me there.
That...
Every accomplishment, every failure, every heartbreak, every single thing that I've ever been through is what has led me to where I'm at today.
And, you know, I don't want people to just be inspired and say, oh, what that girl did was inspirational.
I want them to feel and walk away feeling that they can be that as well, that they have those possibilities and those capabilities as well.
Let me push you for a second.
If you could have your own legs back Would you take them?
No, no, definitely not.
You would?
Yeah, without a doubt, definitely not.
I mean, I wouldn't be where I'm at today if I didn't have these legs.
You know, I always say that the legs I was born with, I may have lost those, but these legs of carbon fiber, steel rusted bolts, there's a lot of rusted bolts in there, they've taken me to amazing places.
And, you know, I certainly would not be the person I am today if I didn't go through all the trials and tribulations that I have.
They have taken you many places, rusted legs.
I have a picture of those rusted legs that may not be what the audience expects.
Take a look at this image from the ESPN body calendar.
Isn't that something else?
Unbelievable.
They're very shiny in that picture.
I know.
So is the rest of you.
We shine them up, yeah.
So when you see that photo...
Yeah, I'm proud of myself for doing that because when I look at that, I don't see disability at all.
I just see ability.
And that's something that I hear from a lot of people.
They say, oh, I didn't even know that you had prosthetic legs until I really took a look at it.
And I think that's just what's important, is just knowing that we all have a choice every single day if we are going to be disabled or not.
Because I know people who have their legs, who are a lot more disabled than I am, That's so beautifully said.
But that scene in the stars is a far departure for you.
What was that like?
It was a departure.
However, I am very artistic.
I love music.
I love dancing.
I've never done ballroom dancing before.
But I knew that I would have a lot of fun with it.
And it was really challenging.
I mean, as you can imagine, I've got two prosthetic legs.
I was competing against people, professional dancers, ice dancers, who had their legs.
And that's the first time I've ever done anything like that.
But, you know, I just had to adapt every single week.
I ended up dancing in these feet that are wood and foam.
So you would think I would be in these really high-tech, dynamic feet, but I wasn't at all.
The feet were the most low-tech and basic that's out there.
So it was really challenging.
For example, the waltz was the slowest dance, and it ended up being the hardest dance that we did.
Why?
It's kind of like riding a bike slowly.
So if you can imagine, if you're riding a bike slow, you're kind of teetering and wobbling.
Doing the waltz was this very, very slow dance.
And the human foot has over 150 bones and muscles for balancing.
Dr. Purdy.
That's good.
That's good.
You know, I have one piece of carbon fiber.
That's it.
So moving very slow and then also the waltz requires you to go up and down.
You kind of get this rise and flow and that comes from your ankles.
But not having ankles, I pretty much had to just lunge the entire time.
So if you can imagine, six hours a day for seven days a week lunging.
My quads were so sore.
You win all these competitions, and most importantly, the competition of life with your mind.
So, you must be reasonably good at teaching some of these things.
Could you teach someone like me to dance?
Sure!
I'd love to dance!
What do you want to try?
What do you want to teach me?
I'm going to teach you salsa.
Salsa?
Yeah.
All right.
This is a big challenge.
Her biggest challenge to date.
Yes.
Watch Professor Purdy take it on.
Yes.
Okay.
Oh.
It's really easy.
It's just a three-step.
Okay.
So follow me.
Just hear me.
Okay?
One, two, three.
One, two.
So we'll step out.
One, two, three.
- Three, yep, we start.
And then, and then.
And you can let your arms loosen it up.
And then.
- Love you.
- Awesome, thank you. - You can find Amy's store book on my own QC in stores now, we'll be right back.
Fabulous.
- Thank you. - Fabulous. - Next, do you forget simple things like what you needed at the store or even where you parked your car?
Learn how to train your brain with fun memory boosters you can use every day.
Tips and exercises to challenge your focus so you can stay sharp.
Coming up.
Misplaced your keys.
Again, forget what you need at the grocery store as soon as you get there?
Well, not to worry, I'm on the case.
Today I have fun memory boosters to keep your brain sharp.
There's lots of new neuroscience research that shows that challenging your brain with new tasks, for example, playing brain games four times per week, may help boost your memory.
So, I wanted to show you something, an example of what's going on in your brain when you do these games.
This is the same person.
This person is just sitting down there not doing anything, and then that same individual, a few minutes later when he's playing one of these brain games, has all this extra yellow stuff happening.
What does that yellow stuff mean?
That shows more blood flow to the brain.
So literally, you're stimulating the brain by giving it more blood by doing some of these games.
So, let's get right to it, and we get this blood flowing in all your minds with some fun memory boosters.
I want you all playing together with us, with Karen, who is leading the charge.
How are you, Karen?
Oh my god, it's you.
I love your hair.
Thank you.
Memory, what kinds of things are you forgetting these days?
Let me tell you, I never remember where I parked my car.
I have one of my girlfriends that anytime I go shopping or anything, like literally she has to come with me.
I'm like, doop, doop, doop, doop, doop, doop.
I could never remember where I parked.
That's my biggest thing, parking lot.
Alright, I'm going to improve that and everything else in your memory with these little games, okay?
We're going to start together.
We're going to put them on the screen right here.
The first game is to keep your brain sharp with puzzles.
Okay.
And this is a different kind of exercise than we normally would do.
This is called a Find It puzzle.
You know, like, where's Waldo?
You're looking for something?
Yes.
So, what's wrong with this?
What's wrong with it?
Yeah, let's read it.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Looks pretty normal, huh?
Yeah.
Can't find the mistake?
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. You're going to love this game.
Look at the words though.
Audience, what do you guys think?
There's two thes in the middle.
Can you find a the?
Oh my god!
Now, that's why our brains are always headed in one direction, so we often don't see what's going on around what we're focused on.
Good example, because it works a different part of your brain, forces your brain to talk to itself a little more effectively.
Okay, different kind of game.
This is called a rebus puzzle.
These are really cool.
Can you put together this puzzle?
Sound it out to yourself now.
These are sometimes challenging.
So, what's the thing in the middle?
The ear.
The ear.
So, H with it?
H. Plus ear?
Plus T? Oh, I love it.
A grenade?
What did you say?
I don't know!
A hand grenade?
A herringade?
A herringade.
We're getting close.
Arnie, what do you think it is?
It's heart.
Oh, my God!
That was a warm-up one.
Okay, okay.
This one's for real.
Are you ready?
Okay, take this one now.
What is this?
Don't say anything, audience.
Describe what you're thinking, because this is what your brain's doing now.
Your brain's processing faster.
First aid?
That's so, so good!
So good with first aid.
All right, come over here.
We'll get to the next memory booster to sharpen your brain.
It's called the Stroop test.
We actually do this in the hospital a lot.
It's a color test.
Okay.
I'm gonna explain it to you, and then we're gonna do it together.
Okay.
All right, you're doing really well.
Thank you.
So, take this color here.
Okay.
Blue, all right?
Yes.
Now, you notice that it spells a word, blue, but it's actually in the color green.
Yeah.
So, the way you pay this test is you have to find a way of not reading the word, but just figuring out what color the word is in.
Okay.
So, for example, this would be green.
All right.
Are you ready?
Here it goes.
Okay.
Start.
What is that?
Purple.
Good.
Yellow.
Good.
Red.
Good.
Yellow.
Oh, she is really good.
Red.
Oh, my goodness.
Two more.
Blue.
Yes.
Green.
Oh!
She hammered it.
Come over here.
Those simple little tests will dramatically change the blood flow to different parts of your brain in a way that allows you to connect dots you wouldn't normally connect.
So when you're trying to think about parking, for example, it's often because you've never really made the brain work together to figure out where you parked.
This next little test is going to really reinforce that.
Okay.
I want the audience to do this with me.
Put your fists up like this.
Everyone put their fists up.
Not going to punch anybody.
Now, what you're going to do is stick out a thumb on one side and a pinky on the other.
Everyone do this together, right?
And all you've got to do is spontaneously switch.
All right?
Think about this.
What?
Yep.
Now watch.
Watch.
Okay, so thumb and pinky.
Got it.
So drop your pinky.
Thumb.
Thumb goes out, thumb goes in, pinky goes up.
Right?
And then back like this.
It's pretty hard, isn't it?
Kind of.
All right.
Now, a little bonus tip.
You keep going.
Keep practicing.
When you clench like this, this is for your car parking people out there, when you clench your right hand, you actually form a stronger memory of an event.
Okay.
When you clench your left hand, it helps you recollect that memory later on.
So you try to figure out where I parked.
Squeeze your right hand and memorize it.
When you get back there, squeeze your left hand.
Really?
It works.
I'm telling you.
I'd have to be doing a lot of squeezing because...
Work those fingers.
Work those fingers.
Come on now, guys.
All right.
You're wonderful.
We'll be right back.
Thank you.
Next, is the harsh winter weather unkind to your appearance?
From puffy eyes to dry hair and skin, we're revealing simple beauty treatments every woman can use.
Winter proof savers to keep you looking smooth and glowing all season long.
Next.
All new Oz, superstar Jennifer Lopez is here.
I'm excited to be on Dr. Oz.
Her beauty, that body, JLo reveals how she keeps it all together.
You ever look at your urine?
That's the first time in 10,000 interviews that I've done in my life that anybody asked me the color of my pink.
All new Dr. Oz.
That's coming up tomorrow.
With harsh winter weather, every year comes the same dreaded complaint.
Dry hands.
Some people have static and frizzy hair.
I'll just get chapped and puffy eyes.
But the good news is today I have the winter proof sabers to keep you smooth and glowing all season long.
Let's start with your constantly dry hands.
Here's a quick test to see how your hands are faring.
Are they really dry or not?
Take a piece of scotch tape, apply it to the back of your hand like this.
Everyone in the audience has one.
Folks at home, easy to do.
Once you're stuck at the top of your hand, just rub it in a little bit.
Rub it, rub it, rub it like that.
And then, ready?
Rip it off!
I've got a lot of hair on mine.
And look at the back.
You see little pieces of, oh my goodness.
You took your whole hand off.
Here, stand up for me.
What's your first name?
Chloe.
Chloe.
Everyone look at these.
I see the horror in everyone's face.
Look at this hair, Chloe and mine.
Both of us did not do so well here.
That's Chloe.
Are your hands normally this dry?
Yes, unfortunately the winter is the worst for me.
I try everything.
It's like my pocketbook is a walk-in pharmacy.
I have baby ointment, petroleum jelly, eczema cream.
You name it, I've bought it to try to see if it'll work.
My hands make a zone sound effect.
That's how dry they are.
Come over here.
I want to show everyone how you can actually create a moisturizing sleep environment.
I think it's one of the best things to do for our hands.
You know, all day long, we're going through a hundred things.
We don't have a lot of time to deal with our hands.
You just listed a whole litany of things a lot of us try to do.
Right.
But you win the battle at night when you're sleeping.
Because your skin can work for you for eight hours.
Why?
Hopefully eight hours if you're sleeping that long.
So the temperature of the room has a little to do with this.
Are you a cold temperature, warm temperature person?
It's so extreme because I live in a building so it's heated.
You know, heat.
So it goes extreme to 100 degrees to 50. And there's no in between.
So it's extremely dry and hot sometimes.
Or extremely cold and dry.
So, if you can humidify your bedroom, it'll make a big difference for your hands.
Oh, wow.
So, I want you to get a humidifier.
They provide additional moisture.
Huge benefit for everyone who has scratchy, itchy hands as well.
And these things, you can set the humidity level.
You know, if you actually look at them, they're all different.
But 30 to 50 percent is what you want to do if you can.
Then we've got a lot of moisture in the air around you, which is what your skin wants more than anything else.
Okay.
Then, step two, is you're going to buy some cotton gloves.
These things cost pennies.
Oh, okay.
I bought these for you myself.
Well, thank That's the least I could do.
And before you put them on, you're going to put on some moisturizer cream.
And everyone's going to say, my darn, Chloe, how'd you do that?
Look at your hands.
And they do feel nice.
You could actually do a lot of things with those gloves.
They look very fashionable, I think.
Don't you think, Chloe, let's do it with those gloves?
Let me start.
Stay well.
The next place we're going to winter-proof your life is your hair.
I know a lot of you guys think your hair can't seem to catch a break during the winter, so I wanted to see how bad it gets.
I asked my viewers to take a photo of their worst winter hair.
Are you sure it's some of those photos?
Here they are.
There they are.
Look at this baby over here.
This is what I love the most.
So, Jen is here.
You were kind to share one of your images.
May I share it with everybody?
I guess so.
This is Jen on a bad hair day.
I think it looks better than some of the ones I just looked at.
So, how often does it get static like that?
Well, Dr. Oz, my hair gets static every time I put a shirt on, a jacket, a scarf, anything besides a bikini, pretty much.
Well, I can't put a bikini on you, but I can challenge you with winter wear.
Is that okay?
Okay, sure.
Here, please allow me to assist you.
Thank you, sir.
So all these things obviously have a little static energy to them.
You've lived it.
Here, you can put the head on.
I'm going to put the scarf on you.
There.
Put you up like this, and like this, and like this, and like that.
All right, now, when you take it off because you go into work, what happens?
Let's see what the hair looks like.
Well, let's see.
Pull it around.
Pull it around.
Got to take this off.
I got to take all of this.
And boom.
Here's my static.
And I just got a shock from you.
Yes.
I felt the shock.
So let's talk about this.
If you get one of these dryer sheets, super easy.
And you get them because they work for a lot of things.
You can use them in your dryer as well.
But I'm going to take this dryer sheet.
I'm going to show you how it works in your hair.
You take it like that and you basically coat it through.
Very gently.
Oh, you're making my hair smell nice, too.
What do you think?
Well, you can get scented, too, if you want, I guess.
I like it.
But this is a simple little technique that takes a lot of electric, static sting out of there.
Very inexpensive, obviously.
You can walk around with these drawer sheets anyway.
People may ask you what you're doing with them.
You can share a little secret.
And it's going to keep my hair with volume?
Yes.
Because I need volume.
It'll keep the volume, but you will lose some of this craziness that happens.
Don't want him crazy.
No, we don't want him crazy.
You'll be happy with happy hair.
Thanks for being here.
Thank you.
All right, for the next way to winter-proof your hair, I turn to celebrity hairstylist, Harry Josh.
Hi, I'm Celebrity Hairdresser Harry Josh, and during these winter months, frizz and static can be out of control and very unruly.
What I recommend is finding a silicone-based serum, applying it right on wet hair, the size of a little dime here, emulsify it, press it through, style as usual, and you're good to go.
Good tips.
Next, we're winterproofing your eyes.
So how do you winterproof your eyes?
Pretty simple.
Saline drops.
Saline drops lubricate your dry eyes.
They help maintain that moisture that your eyes desperately need.
That way they don't get irritated.
You can buy these things at any drugstore.
Use them as you need it.
You can get pure saline drops.
Even use that contact solution.
You don't need anything special in there.
It gives your eyes what they naturally desire.
Be right back.
Next, it's one of the most dreaded signs of aging.
Achy joints.
Learn three easy steps that can age-proof your body and combat the pain.
A prevention plan we can all follow right now to keep your joints healthy and you feeling young.
Next.
We are bringing a healthy back this season and want you to bring it too.
Grab your prescription pad for fun and sign up for free tickets today.
You can go to DrRoz.com/tickets and sign up.
It's one of the most dreaded signs of aging: achy joints.
But I got good news.
The pain is preventable.
Today I'm giving you a three-step plan to keep your joints healthy and you feeling young.
Cindy is here.
Now, she says her achy joints make her feel older than she is.
So describe those achy joints.
It's a throbbing pain in my knee, especially when I go jogging, which I love to run.
But I can't get to that third mile without feeling that throbbing pain start.
So what have you been doing trying to help it out?
I try to soak it in a hot bath, you know, take a hot bath.
I'll put my legs up, but I have to admit, the easiest thing to do is reach over for that pain medication, over-the-counter pain medication.
I've got some better ideas than that.
Okay.
So let's talk about the knee for a second.
Here's some purple gloves just for you.
Oh, boy.
Okay.
I have color coordinated.
I have purple gloves as well.
This, my friends, is what an actual knee looks like.
Oh, boy.
And we've not been able to show this too often on the show because it's hard to get real bones like this.
But this is someone who actually had arthritis of their knee.
Okay.
You'll notice that you have this nice glistening surface.
Feel that if you don't mind.
Oh, smooth.
Pretty smooth, right?
Yeah.
And then you see this little white stuff here?
That's actually the cartilage.
Okay.
Now, I want you to know something else.
You see that white area there?
Mm-hmm.
Can everyone see that?
Go ahead and feel that if you don't mind.
Right here.
No, no, right there.
Oh, right here.
Oh, that's like rough.
That's roughened, right.
So we want to keep all of this as lubricated as possible because if you've got irritation of this bone, you'll sometimes get these kinds of crevices, and that raw surface will actually be quite painful over time.
Oh, my.
Okay.
It results in a lot of friction because you don't want it.
In fact, I've got a better example than this given, if you don't mind.
I have an x-ray.
I'm going to show you what we look for when we x-ray your knees.
Have you had any x-rays of your knees?
No, I haven't.
So hopefully, if you did an x-ray, it would look like this.
Again, the thigh bone here, the shin bone here, you notice there's a lot of little dark, evenly placed space there.
You want that.
These are the ligaments, by the way.
These are the white things.
But that nice dark area means there's good space between the bones so the bones aren't touching each other.
Stay right here, but look over here.
See this bone here?
See how there's no darkness here?
The bone is touching bone.
This is what inflamed, irritated bones become over time, especially if you don't address them in a meaningful way.
So I want to keep your bones looking healthy like this.
Me too.
So there are three important steps to make us feel that way, look that way, and age that way.
I'm going to walk you through them.
Pardon the pun.
Walking through them.
Okay.
I think of this stuff all night long.
All right.
So step one is to reverse inflammation.
Okay.
And we do that by taking two important steps.
The first is a dietary do and the other is a dietary don't.
So give me an idea of the kinds of foods you eat during the day when you're not out there running.
I love apples.
I love salad and tomatoes and I throw avocado in there and broccoli.
It's like one of my favorite vegetables.
All wonderful choices.
But they don't actually, any of those foods, have a rich source of omega-3s.
Which I want you to include.
Omega-3s are like dousing the fire of your body.
There's this beautiful oily substance that sort of lubricates everything, including your joints.
Great for lots of other parts of your body as well.
But I want you to get Omega-3s in every meal.
So I've taken the liberty of preparing some.
This is a chia seed with almond milk breakfast.
You know, I have a bag of that at home, but I don't know what to do with it.
Taste that, if you don't mind.
Please.
Wow.
I know it looks sort of crazy, but when you actually taste it, I like the stipperness of the chia.
It actually grows a lot.
Oh, wow.
It swells with fluid.
Wow, that's pretty...
Yeah, I like it.
And very filling as well.
That was good.
This is a salmon salad.
Everyone knows salmon has omega-3s.
Yogurt doesn't have omega-3s, but walnuts do.
Okay.
Another good source.
You can put some honey on it to make it sweeter.
There's a snack in the middle of the afternoon.
And this is an interesting one that sort of surprises a lot of folks.
This is a tofu stir fry, but tofu has omega-3s.
I didn't know that.
I did not know that.
Most people would be surprised, but there's many ways of getting them, but you've got to pick the right foods.
Now, there's a dietary don't that I hinted at.
Okay.
Sugar.
Oh.
I like my sweets.
I do.
I like them.
Everyone likes their sweets.
And I hear the groans in the audience.
But sugars trigger this release of inflammatory chemicals that make your knee feel like the one I had on there earlier.
But more importantly, because they cause these cytokines, these messengers from the body to say, hey, panic, there's a problem here.
You don't want to have those sugars in your body.
Independent of the weight gain.
So if the word ends with O.S.E. on an ingredient level, like fructose or sucrose, you want to be very careful about it.
Okay.
So that's step one is eat the right things.
Step two is you've got to actually restore function of your joints with exercises for two reasons.
They bring more blood to the joints if they're being moved around, but they also strengthen themselves.
You want those muscles so strong they literally are pulling the joint apart, preventing the bones from touching.
So you mentioned you go running.
Do you do any exercises for your knees at all?
I love doing dance moves and I love doing light aerobic with weights.
Oh, perfect.
So when you do the aerobics to wakes, you can do it this way as well, but I'm going to do it without it for now.
I want everyone in the audience to join me for this.
Please stand.
Let's get everybody up.
You'll be thanking me forever for this.
This is one of the best ways to protect them.
This is to strengthen my knees?
To strengthen your knees.
If the muscles are strong around the knees, then the bones won't be touching.
You'll have less friction, less irritation.
Okay?
So like a mummy, put your hands on your chest.
Okay.
I won't do it up there.
No one fall, please.
Especially for the higher up there.
Then slowly sit down like you're sitting on a toilet bowl.
Touch your bottom and come back up again.
When you want to do 10 reps of these, pretty straightforward to do.
Not too difficult, right?
No, that's not bad.
Guys, you did very well.
Thank you.
Have a seat.
All right.
Now, stage three is I actually want you to repair the cartilage, if you can, with a joint health supplement.
And this is really important because we're learning more and more about how simple nutrients that we found in the environment can actually be helpful to us, and some of them we make ourselves.
Two key ingredients for everybody, glucosamine and curcumin.
Do you take any supplements at all?
Vitamin D. I take a B12 and calcium.
So to really specifically strengthen up the knee area and help provide the lubrication we're speaking about, I want you to think about what I'm saying right now.
Okay.
Glucosamine is naturally produced in their body.
Our body makes it to help keep the fluffiness and the juiciness of the joint and the cartilage in particular.
So some studies have shown that supplementing yourself with glucosamine actually seems to help those suffering from osteoarthritis.
So I like that.
You should check that little box off.
Okay.
Curcumin is interesting.
It's very potent as an anti-inflammatory.
It's found in lots of foods.
It's what gives turmeric that yellow color, if you eat Indian food, for example.
And they did a cool study recently where they took two grams of curcumin, and they actually used it for people with joint pain.
You mentioned you don't like to grab the over-the-counter anti-inflammatory pills.
It was equivalent to ibuprofen in reducing osteoarthritis of the day.
So I think when I have natural ingredients, I'd like to take advantage of that.
Yes.
So I've got a gift for you and for everybody else.
Thank you.
This is your gift.
Oh, great.
But before you grab it, our trusted sponsorship partner, USANA Health Sciences, makes a product called Procosa that has these two ingredients in it.
USANA's Procosa contains a proprietary blend of vegetarian glucosamine and a highly absorbable form of curcumin.
And it's used for over 700 professional Olympic athletes all around the world.
And folks, if it's good enough for them, it is good enough for you.
For me.
So beginning tomorrow at 3 p.m.
Eastern Time, you can go to DrOz.com to be one of the first to receive one of the 1,000 bottles of Usana's Percosa that we're giving away.
An audience that will never forget about you either.
You all going home with Percosa as well.
Thanks to our friends at Usana.
You know what?
You get this.
We'll be right back.
All new Oz.
Superstar Jennifer Lopez is here.
I'm excited to be on Dr. Oz.
Her beauty.
That body.
Shayla reveals how she keeps it all together.
You ever look at your urine?
That's the first time in 10,000 interviews that I've done in my life that anybody asked me the color of my pink.
All new Dr. Oz.
That's coming up tomorrow.
As a father, I'm always trying to pry my kids away from their electronics.
So this cartoon made me laugh.
You know the scenario, you've got snow on the ground, a father and a son, and a shovel.
And it says, sorry son, there's no app for that.
I'm gonna torture my son with that.
It may not be as hot or trendy as Instagram or Facebook, but just 15 minutes of shoveling snow will engage all your major muscles and torch through over about 100 calories.
Now it's time for In Case You Missed It.
Today we talked about counterfeit foods being sold to you and your family.
And these fakes may be bad for your health, and some of them are just frustrating to me because you're trying to do the right thing and not get any advantages.
One of the biggest fraudulent foods is Greek yogurt these days.
Greek yogurt, I love it.
You know I talk about it.
It's thick and it's creamy because they straighten off parts from the regular yogurt.
That leaves it with less sugar, fewer carbohydrates, and a lot more of the protein.
Fake Greek yogurt is just regular yogurt with added thickening agents like starch, corn, tapioca, gelatin.
So how do you tell the difference?
Well, a couple of things.
If it says Greek style, be concerned about it.
But only good stuff...
We'll say milk and live cultures on the ingredient list.
And that's probably a pretty good way of making sure you've got the right stuff.
And finally, a trick to winter-proof your hair.
Get rid of those static frizz that you'll always find, especially if you're putting on winter garments, with dryer sheets.
You can put them in your purse.
You can easily work them into your cycle.
They get rid of static clean really quickly.
You can buy fragrance-free, which is what I prefer.
That way you won't have any reactions to the aromas.
Finally, please be careful of dubious people online that make it seem like I'm endorsing their products.
I don't.
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