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Aug. 14, 2024 - Dr. Oz Podcast
36:45
How to Tell if You Have a Parasite Living In Your Body | Dr. Oz | S7 | Ep 78 | Full Episode
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Time Text
The kissing bug.
The fact that it drinks blood out of your lips isn't the gross part.
It actually poops on your face.
Parasites that hijack your body.
How do you actually find that if you have one?
And how to prevent them from attacking.
Plus, Brandy's private health battle.
I didn't want to get out of bed.
You just stopped eating.
I was like a stick.
I didn't have any life in me.
How do you get back from that?
Coming up next.
We'll save lives today. - Hey, hey.
You guys ready to get healthy?
Sometimes on our road to health, we can get derailed by unexpected obstacles.
Today, we want to get you back on track.
In fact, this little guy, he's called the kissing bug, very romantic, has been making headlines lately as he spreads a deadly parasitic infection all across the U.S. And he does it all through a poisonous kiss while you're asleep.
So could you be at risk?
So first up, we're going to talk about parasites and how they're affecting your health.
Now, these uninvited guests can cause more harm than you can imagine.
Then, one family rules YouTube.
They're called The Butlers, and they're led by Dad Shea.
He and his preteen son made a commitment to get healthy, and they are here to inspire and motivate us for a healthy 2016. And finally, she's a triple threat, and she's sharing how she overcame some personal health struggles.
I'm talking about singer, actor, and mom, Brandy.
You're going to love it.
Let's start with those parasites.
Your body is like a planet.
It plays host to 90 trillion other living organisms, which Think about it.
It's 13,000 times the population of the Earth.
It's huge!
And they can affect you from the demodex mites.
There they are.
See right there?
Resting delicately on your eyelashes.
To the most commonplace we think of with parasites.
Our intestines.
Where the microbes in our gut help us digest our food.
Now, we live mostly harmoniously with our body's inhabitants.
But every so often, an invader enters, disrupting the balanced ecosystem we created with our bodies.
They're getting inside of me.
These invaders, they're parasites.
They live and they feed off of our nutrition.
They want you.
One in three of you has one of these babies in you right now.
It might be the reason behind your stomach troubles, your exhaustion, your muscle aches.
So joining us is the host of Animal Planet's Monsters Inside Me.
It gives us an inside look And what happens when someone's body gets hijacked by a parasite?
So if you're showing all these headlines I'm reading about are accurate, you can get this kissing bug even if you've never traveled anywhere outside this country.
They do live in the States.
So the kissing bug is disgusting for a lot of reasons.
It gets its name because it bites your face while you're sleeping, sometimes even on the lips.
But the fact that it drinks blood out of your lips isn't the gross part.
It actually poops on your face while it's doing that.
And the poop...
I know.
The poop can have parasites in it, and that's how you can get this thing called Chagas disease.
Now, people have started noticing these kissing bugs more frequently, but whether they're actually more predominant has yet to be determined.
So the CDC's out on it, but in a nutshell, you don't really have to worry about it too much.
It's pretty rare.
Of all the species out there, including us, how many are parasites?
Well, more than half.
So what's crazy is...
More than half of all of us?
Any...
There are people that have parasites, but then you also have, like, squirrels that have parasites, birds that have parasites.
So if you do a list of all the animals in the world, all those things you find running in your backyard have a whole host of parasites.
So if you do the math, there are more parasites than there are things that aren't parasites.
They're the dominant form of life on our planet.
It's crazy.
Are humans considered parasites?
Some of us.
Yeah, well, yeah, some more than others.
But absolutely, what we do to a maple tree to get maple syrup is exactly what a vampire bat does to a cow.
Same thing.
Oh my goodness.
All right, come over.
Before you go furiously Googling for symptoms about your problems and figuring out what kind of parasites you have, I'm gonna show you the biggest warning signs that you might have a parasite.
It's gonna break it down super simple.
Let's start in the stomach, where I mentioned earlier a lot of us associate these problems.
You can observe in yourself a change in your bowel habits.
You can get, for example, more diarrhea or constipation than you used to have.
If that happens more than two weeks, that's a sign.
You can get cramping, you can get weight loss.
Next, your brain.
Your brain's a big issue.
Most people don't think about this, but chronic exhaustion, trouble falling asleep, waking up several times during the night, inability to stay asleep.
Here's something that's important.
It could change your personality.
I'm not talking about one bad day.
I'm talking about sustained changes in your personality.
And finally, let's talk about your skin.
What does your skin tell you?
Well, first of all, itchiness, especially if you don't have a rash.
It's most commonly found, interestingly, around the anus, the ears, and the nose.
I'll get to why that's so in a second, but what's the best way to avoid getting these parasites?
Well, you're making my nose itchy just talking about it, of course.
That's the thing, when you think about these things...
My backside's itching.
Exactly.
You know what, in a nutshell, the best way to avoid parasites?
Don't eat poop.
It sounds simple.
It's a good tip.
But that's how you get them, right?
And so you need to wash your hands after the bathroom.
You need to wash your hands when you're preparing food.
You need to make sure you're getting food from places with clean kitchens.
Because that is how we get most of our parasites, is just from unclean eating.
So Dan brought us a parasite, a couple parasite images today.
One of them is something that's very effectively impacting Americans.
It's called the tapeworm.
Come on over.
Now this tapeworm, it's a little video.
These things can get pretty long.
They can get very long.
They can get to be 30 feet long, which is...
Amazing.
30 feet?
Well, we have a long digestive tract, so it fits in there, and it folds over a little bit.
But yeah, it's crazy how big these things can get.
All right, this is a roundworm.
Pinworms are the kinds that we worry about a lot in this country.
But let's look at this roundworm for a second.
You want to grab your gloves?
Yeah, sure, sure, sure.
Yeah, this is called Ascaris.
But there are a whole bunch of different kinds of things.
Oh, my goodness.
They look delicious, but they're not.
Oh, my goodness.
Yeah, they're just, they're these longworms.
And what's really charismatic about roundworms...
Charismatic?
Well, so there's the one that you mentioned, the pinworm.
These things, while you're sleeping, they will emerge, lay eggs, and then go back inside.
And then you wake up in the morning, and you're itchy, and then you forget to wash your hands, you go make breakfast for your family, and everybody gets pinworm.
It's brilliant!
I mean, it really is.
This is how these parasites operate.
They know what they're doing.
It's great.
Look at these things.
These are not what you want to have.
And again, you get them from food.
And then there's one that is so small I can't show it to you live on stage here.
It's called Toxoplasma.
Here's a picture of what it looks like.
What is that about?
This is a really, really interesting parasite.
You've probably heard, you know, pregnant women aren't supposed to change the kitty litter because there's a danger of this parasite.
This is the one that causes that.
But recent research has shown that people can get this even if they're not pregnant women, and it has subtle effects on the brain such that personality tests you start answering differently.
You actually come up with a slightly different personality.
And there have also been links found between the prevalence of this parasite in people and the onset of schizophrenia.
So maybe big mental health issues are related to parasites in a way that we never suspected before.
One in three people around the world has this, and most of them have absolutely no idea that they have it.
In America, it's about one in eight.
All right, so you can take your gloves off because you're going to a preventive area here.
We don't need them anymore.
Listen, if you think you might have a parasite based on what we've taught you today, you want to talk to the doc about it.
But I just want to warn everybody, we don't learn about this stuff in medical school very much.
It's just not something we spend a lot of time on.
So you want to get a tropical disease specialist or a parasitologist.
There's some natural things you can do right now, though, if you're not already infected, that might help you prevent an infection.
There are things that have been used in other parts of the world for a long time.
Garlic has been shown in lab studies to be anti-parasitic.
You want to have about two cloves a day, mix it into your food.
Don't take it straight up because you won't be very friendly with your friends otherwise if you do.
Straightforward.
And the pumpkin seeds, interestingly, work by paralyzing the parasite so they can't cling to your intestinal wall.
And it causes them to therefore get flushed out.
Now, I know that in animals, when they look at these different parasites, that cats actually have some parasites that knock out the brains of rats.
So rats actually will run towards their feces rather than awake.
Normally rats will run away from a cat's smell, right?
It makes the rat run towards the cat urine.
That's exactly it.
And it's the same parasite we've been talking about.
The one that in people is causing these personality differences.
In a rat, it makes them go from being terrified of the smell of cats to sexually aroused by the smell of cats.
It affects their brain.
Like seriously, they get turned on by it.
And that's the parasite.
And of course, as a cat eats them.
And then the mouse shows up like, hey, what's happening?
And then the cat's like, I'll tell you what's happening.
You're dying.
And the parasite gets passed on.
All right, we come back.
Dan is giving us an inside look at some of the most dangerous parasites encountered in his medical mystery series, Monsters Inside You.
We're going to find out all kinds of stuff, and it's going to make you squirm, because I'm going to find out what makes you squirm, too.
Oh, yeah.
Stay here.
Coming up next, if that didn't make your skin crawl, find out what could be eating you next.
Clean up, clear out, and get organized.
Simple, simple, simple.
Quick tips to declutter your kitchen.
That's unbelievable!
Your bedroom.
Did you think when you started today that you and I would be in bed with Dr. Oz?
No.
Your life.
It's about a new year, a new you, and it starts here.
Plus, the trick to achieve your goals.
Everyone's talking about.
This is about harvesting that inner power that folks have and don't realize.
All new eyes.
That's coming up tomorrow.
So how do people get an eye-eating parasite?
It's really interesting because those acanthamibas didn't used to be parasites, but until the contact lenses, we never had a problem with them.
Who here wears contact lenses?
You gonna treat them a little more cleanly now?
That's just from tap water?
Well, it's from just not using everything the way you're supposed to.
So how's Melanie doing now?
You know what?
She's doing great.
She's got 20-20 vision, and not only that, she's a cardiac nurse because she was so inspired by getting through this and surviving and keeping her eyesight.
Did she get the corneal transplant?
She did, and everything went perfectly.
And so she's now giving back to the medical profession by working in it.
So it's great.
It's inspiring.
For more information on animal planets, monsters inside, you go to DrRaj.com and Dan's book, Mother Nature is Trying to Kill You, which he literally means, is available now.
We'll be right back.
Next, never too late for parents and kids to embrace a healthier lifestyle.
Meet a father and son team.
YouTube sensations losing weight together.
Motivation to make a change we can all learn from.
Their 30-Day Health Challenge is next.
We are two weeks into the new year, and so many of you are doing great on the day off a diet.
I'm so proud of you, but I know we're at that point where you may be encountering some obstacles and you might need a little bit of inspiration so your diet doesn't get derailed.
And my next guests are just what we need.
If you're not familiar with Shea Butler and his family, their videos have reached a total of 2 billion, that's right, billion views on YouTube.
And this YouTube phenomenon has taken over the country because they've been chronicling their lives daily for the past eight years, giving their followers an inside look at everything from their family time at the pool to the birth of their youngest son.
Shea's latest project has been a father-son challenge that he's doing with his 12-year-old son, Gavin, and it's motivation for anyone out there who wants to make a change.
Take a look.
Hey, welcome to Shea Laws.
Shay Carl became a source of inspiration for millions of people when he documented his incredible weight loss journey on YouTube.
Even after losing more than 100 pounds and running four marathons, Shay soon discovered that maintaining that weight loss was the hard part.
After gaining back more than 40 pounds, he also realized how his bad eating habits were affecting his 12-year-old son, Gavin.
So if you're having a hard time, you come talk to me.
If I'm like struggling, like I don't want to exercise, then we gotta motivate each other, okay?
We are doing this together, alright?
Shea asked Gavin to embark on a 30-day challenge with him, to eat clean and do 30 minutes of cardio a day, proving that it's never too late for parents and children to embrace a healthier lifestyle.
Please welcome Shay and Gavin Butler.
Howdy.
Howdy, buddy.
Good to see you.
See ya.
Gavin, how are you?
I'm doing good.
It's Gavin's birthday today.
It is?
Yeah.
12. I've gotten you something.
You're so secretive about things.
You're supposed to have a new car here or something.
Is there a new car?
Is it back here?
It's coming.
Where did you put the new car, Dr. Oz?
I have some parasites saved up.
We saw that.
Ew, gross.
You are the first family of YouTube.
And so this is the second time you've embarked on a weight loss challenge.
What is the benefit of having 2 billion page views of support for what you're doing?
You know, I made videos to motivate people to exercise and lose weight, but it's a two-way street, right?
In doing that, every morning I would read people's comments and feel motivated to want to succeed.
So it's definitely helped me, you know, become a better person to lose weight, to be more self-conscious of my decisions and who I am, based off of all these people seeing our lives every day and, you know, for better or worse, giving us their opinion on what they think about my daily decisions.
Well, that decision became a bit more of a family issue when you decided to embark on this 30-day challenge with Gavin.
Why'd you decide to include your son in this one?
It's all about family to me.
Like, to me, the most important things are the things that last the longest.
And to me, families are forever.
So, it would just be natural for me to want him to feel as good as I felt, right?
When I lost the weight and it didn't, you know, suffocate me to bend over to tie my shoes anymore.
That's a good feeling, right?
Like I felt great to have that extra energy and I wanted to share that with him.
So yeah, this is a big step for a young guy like you.
What are your hopes?
What do you desire out of health?
Well...
Doing this 30-day challenge, what I was really looking forward to was being able to do stuff that I couldn't do at the time.
Like, if my sister could climb a rope and I couldn't, I wanted to be able to climb a rope because, I mean, I want to be cool like my sister, so.
Oh, did you just admit right here on TV that your sister's cool?
Did you hear that, Avia?
You normally never, no planet would ever say that.
You play with Avia's toys and all those fun things she has?
No.
No, but I like to play with her and stuff, and we do active stuff together as a family and stuff.
Now, I know it sounds fun when you talk about it at the start, but actually doing it, there's a lot of effort.
Did you meet your goals?
We did.
Yes.
We did.
And it wasn't like, there wasn't a weight loss, you know, goal, like, well, let's lose 10 pounds.
I think Gavin lost 8 pounds in the 30 days, and I think I lost 9 or 10. Good.
Alright, so when we come back, the practical tips Shane and Gavin use is to stay motivated even when faced with their biggest temptations.
Next, this determined father and son team is sticking around.
They'll share their tricks to resist some of their favorite but not so healthy foods.
The Better Than You Did Yesterday plan.
Their simple plan to keep anyone motivated on a weight loss journey.
Next.
Quick tips to declutter your life.
It's about a new year, new you, and it starts here.
Plus, the trick to achieve your goals.
This is about harvesting that inner power that folks have and don't realize.
All new eyes.
That's coming up tomorrow.
No cookies, no candy, no pop, no ice cream.
That sounds really lame.
Are we going to do that?
Yeah.
Go along.
Come on, get up.
- Good job, give me those burpees. - So Shay and Gavin Butler's 30 day father son health challenges barred billions of you who follow their journey on YouTube.
Now, it goes to show that as parents, we all want to be our best and healthiest selves so we can keep up with our kids, which I have to say are the same desire you have.
And we want to set a good example, but it's not always easy.
We've all been there.
Nefertari knows it all too well.
She's worried about the example she's setting for her 15-year-old daughter, Olivia.
My name is Nefertari and I need Dr. Oz's help.
I'm concerned about my health and the health of my teenage daughter.
In 2008, while pregnant with my youngest child, I suffered a massive heart attack, which caused serious damage to my heart.
Since then, I've become less active.
I barely have enough energy to cook, so I order out often for my family.
My second oldest daughter, Olivia, has helped me out tremendously, but she has taken on way more than any 15-year-old should have to.
I've also noticed that my sedentary lifestyle has rubbed off on her and she's not as active as she should be.
I feel like I'm setting a bad example for my daughter.
And although I try to show Olivia how to eat right and be more active, I feel as though my efforts have failed.
I know when it comes to parenting, it's practice what you preach.
So I really hope that Dr. Oz can get us back on track.
I got everybody here.
Nefertari, what worries you most about keeping your promise to Olivia?
The fact that I did suffer a heart attack.
When I was Olivia's age, at 15, I was 90 pounds.
So the only person that she knows is this sedentary, this kind of slower moving person.
And I feel as though if I continue just to show her that person, that's who she will end up being, that slow, sedentary person, and eventually the weight will catch up and overtake her.
What do you think about that, Olivia?
Well, I fear too, because since my mom suffered a massive heart attack, that's all I really know.
I only know the take out, the no walking anymore, because we used to be active when I was so young when it happened.
I just didn't know what to do at that point.
I know it's hard, and I could talk about this as a doctor, but I always find it more useful to have you meet people who actually have done it themselves.
That's why I wanted to bring you together with Shane Gavin.
They've been there, and they know how tough it is.
They sit there late at night like you do, trying to figure out how to do it better.
And they have practical tips that they use in that 30-day challenge you all read about and heard about and watched it.
Yes, on YouTube, yes.
So we're going to take you through these steps that you and everyone else can do.
And I'm respectful about the physical activity issue.
So there is a little bit of activity, but activity I think you can do with your heart.
Okay.
But most of it's not about that.
It's mostly about your mindset and the foods you're putting in your body.
Okay.
So first is the better than you're doing yesterday plan step.
What kind of step is that?
That's a long word.
It's a great step to start with.
It's the first one.
And sometimes it's the hardest because you're like, where do I go?
Like, what do I do?
So what I've come up with, me and Gavin are like, well, what if it's just like the better than you did yesterday plan, which is real simple.
Think to yourself, did you do a pushup yesterday?
If the answer is no, if you did just one pushup today, that's better than yesterday.
If you did one sit-up today that you didn't do yesterday, that's better than yesterday.
A walk around the block.
You said you used to walk?
Yes.
That's a great place to start.
Show them.
I'm going to bring this to practice.
Come up to the monitor here.
It could be one less nacho today than yesterday.
It could be a lot of steps.
Take it away.
Don't take away the nachos.
Just kidding.
Yeah, so listen.
You all live somewhere, right?
That's a rhetorical question, of course.
So what do you got to do?
Where do you start?
Day one, you know, after your doctor finally says, you know, you leave the hospital after a heart attack, it's like, what do I do?
As simple as just getting outside.
Just walk down to the corner.
Literally, like, where's the end of your street?
Maybe it's like...
50 steps, and that's it.
But maybe those are 50 steps you didn't take yesterday, right?
That's day one.
You just go real quick.
Notice we walk past the ice cream store, though.
Say no!
You flip that place off when you walk by.
Okay, so day two, right?
You go a little bit farther.
You pass the ice cream store again.
This time, maybe you know the guy.
And you make it over to the grocery store, where you get what?
Fresh fruits and vegetables.
Say it with me.
Fresh fruits and vegetables.
Did you guys practice this?
They've had some practice on that.
And remember, when you go to the grocery store, stay on the perimeter.
All the stuff in the middle is boxed, canned stuff that Dr. Oz will tell you is not going to help you live.
That's day two.
Day three, what are you going to do?
Let's see where these little dots take us.
Having a great day!
Maybe you've downloaded a running app by now and you have a playlist with songs.
You're around the block, you're back home, so all of a sudden you get into what's called the motivation cycle, right?
You've walked around your block, you get your blood pumping, and now you're going to start seeing results.
And because of those results, you're going to want to work harder.
And because you work harder, you're going to see more of what, Gavin?
Results.
Results.
You know what you're going to do after you see more results?
Work harder.
Because why?
Because you get more results.
Because you feel motivated, right?
I love this.
It's like a training.
Come over here.
The motivation takes us to the next table, which is a big problem because I know, Gavin, come on over here.
I want you to tell the story with us.
Temptation has a lot to do with motivation because it tries to pull you off and you want the results that you were bragging about earlier.
So have a seat.
I got you some good stuff here.
I'm drinking some of this right now.
He's drinking the water to get ready because it's a big part of the challenge.
So you're halfway through.
Everything's going well.
And I understand you guys got a little temptation in front of you one night.
What's the story?
That's a lot of temptation, Dr. Ross.
Do you want some pizza?
Sure.
I'm kidding you!
Are you kidding me?
So yeah, we were on like week two of our challenge, and we went out to dinner, and this is a favorite dessert.
It's called the asphalt pie.
At our local restaurant in town, and we all, well, we didn't order it, obviously, but...
My wife and our daughters ordered...
Enablers.
Yes.
They're sugar partiers.
Oh, we have those, too, because my other children are stick skinny, so we have enablers often.
It's not fair, right?
It's not fair, no.
And you're sitting at the table, and it was just like that, remember?
There's a bunch of spoons that came out, and I'm like, dude, should we have a cheat day?
Like, we've gone 14 days, and we've done really good.
We've been strong.
Let's just have one bite.
So we need a good cop, bad cop, basically?
You can both be good cops.
Okay.
Because one day, one day will be bad.
One day, the other one will be bad.
But that's okay.
Okay.
We're much stronger together, because then you're crushing for each other.
Okay.
Okay.
So listen, there are lots of tips we can give you.
We're going to put a lot of them on drraz.com.
Drinking a lot of water came up earlier.
You got one little practical tip, Gavin, I want you to share with everybody.
This is when you have a soft drink, which I wouldn't advise you get, but if you're going to get one, what's the tip?
Making sure you don't overdo it.
Well, I think before, like when you sit down, you should right away just get a water and then chug that water and then you can order a soda, but if you order a soda, you can draw like an imaginary line right here and just imagine you can only drink it until that line and then you can't have any Oh, that's going to be hard for me.
I'm a soda addict.
Then never bring it in.
Don't bring the trigger in there.
But if you've got someone at the table, draw a little, through the condensation, a little line.
These are all small little things.
Okay.
Helpful.
Ultimately, you've got to commit to make it happen for each other.
Yes.
So look in each other's eyes right now.
Tell me, will you do this 30-day challenge on your own?
Yes, we will.
Let's do this 30-day challenge together.
Thank you, Gavin.
God bless you all.
Shane Gavin's book, Fat Dad, Fat Kid, is available in stores.
I didn't mind using the word fat.
I was hesitant, but you did it.
But listen, as long as you're here, let me have that with her.
I love playing football.
I play in college.
This is a little ball for you.
Happy birthday, and I'm very proud of you.
and go out there and turn it on.
We'll be right back.
Happy birthday.
Woo!
Next, Grammy Award winner and actress Brandi opens up about her private battle with a condition the public did not see.
It was really dark for me.
I didn't want to get out of bed.
You just stopped eating.
I was like a stick.
How she fought her way back.
Coming up 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.
Go to DrRogs.com/tickets and sign up for free tickets.
Grammy award-winning singer and actress Brandy has been through a lot these last few years.
But with a successful run on Broadway just behind her and a brand new TV show in front of her, Brandi is finally back and right where she wants to be.
Brandi has been a star ever since getting her big break on the hit TV series Moesha in 1996. She was later hand-picked by Whitney Houston to play the very first African-American Cinderella in a Disney remake and went on to score three top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100 list.
To the outside world, everything seemed to be perfect, but failed relationships and loneliness sent Brandi spiraling as she faced a year and a half battle with depression.
With the support of friends and family, Brandi recovered and made a return to acting, joining the cast of the BET comedy series, The Game, and tackling the role of Roxy Hart in Chicago on Broadway.
Today, Brandi on her road to recovery and being back on top.
Please welcome Brandi Oh This is great!
Aw, thanks for having me.
I'm so happy you're here.
Aw, thank you.
Hi, everybody!
Oh, my God, I'm so nervous!
Why?
Did I make you nervous?
Because you're Dr. Oz.
This is great.
Well, I love having you here.
Thank you.
It has been a long road back.
You look so fabulous.
Thank you very much.
I feel awesome.
I feel like life is fresh and new for me now.
So, I'm dreaming again.
So, I'm excited.
I want to talk about your dreams.
And I want to understand how you got them back again.
You know, folks look at you and they say she's got a successful career, TV shows, everything you touch seems to be gold.
And yet you got very depressed and very down a while back.
Yeah, I went through a lot.
You know, I had to come through a heartbreak, unfortunately.
And that really took me to a place that I didn't want to be.
It was really dark for me.
And I didn't want to get out of bed.
I didn't want to do anything.
You know, and that's not a good place to be.
I stopped dreaming.
For an artist, that's really bad.
For a person, that's bad.
So I had to change my mind and tell myself something different, start to affirm and dream again.
In the dark moments, how did it affect you physically?
How did it affect you spiritually?
Well, physically, like I said, I didn't want to do anything.
I wasn't, you know, really moving my body.
I was just doing whatever I had to do.
Did you stop eating?
Did you lose weight gain weight?
Yeah, I stopped eating, of course.
And, you know, I lost weight.
I was like a stick.
Like, I didn't have any life in me.
How about spiritually?
Spiritually, no hope, no faith.
I stopped praying.
I didn't really know what to ask God or tell God.
I was just like, whoa, what's going on?
How do you get back from that?
This is interesting.
You describe it so beautifully.
Thank you.
Because I think that happens when the world becomes gray.
We lose hope.
And the places we used to get hope from, our vision, our imagination, our God, no longer seems to speak to us.
Yeah, and it was for a year and a half where I felt that way.
And I had a conversation with one of my friends and I told her, I said, listen, I'm just tired of feeling this way.
I was exhausted from feeling exhausted.
And she told me that I had to just do the work.
And so I started to do something different.
I got out of bed and I went to the gym.
And I started meditating and writing down my thoughts every morning.
And then slowly but surely, my life started to change.
You have a 13-year-old beautiful daughter.
I do.
Zahra.
I do.
There she is.
She really is something else.
You look like sisters, by the way.
She's so cute.
We do?
Yes.
That says a lot about my mom and jeans.
Thank you.
It is always difficult when we're down, when we're depressed.
Yes.
Because it affects our kids.
Did you worry about her?
I did because she saw me in such a weak place and I wasn't the best example.
We all go through things in life and no one's perfect, but she was one of the reasons why I had to push through and get back up.
Because if she doesn't see me being the best version of myself, then what am I really teaching her?
So what's the new version of you?
You do the work.
Yes.
I love that whole concept.
Yes.
Are you able to pray again?
Oh yeah, I pray every morning.
I have a morning routine.
Like I said, I meditate.
I write down my thoughts every morning.
I say my affirmations and then my day gets started.
Is that half an hour of time?
How much time does that take?
Sometimes it takes me an hour and a half.
I like to have that quality time with myself and my inner self.
If I could share a little quote.
I know your Instagram page is fabulous.
Thank you.
It has really all these fantastic inspirational quotes, and I'm going to read one to you.
Okay.
The strength doesn't come from what you can do.
It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn't.
So what would you say to someone right now, because there are many out there watching you, saying, I'm just where Brandy was when she was at her lowest.
I would say to that person that you are bigger than your circumstance.
You have the power of the entire universe inside of you, and all you have to do to activate that is tell yourself a million times a day that you're great and that life is exactly where you want it to be if you just look forward and push through.
You can do it.
I want to join the Church of Brandy.
It's Church Brandy.
When we come back, three things Brandy can't live without.
You won't want to miss it. - - Coming up next, Brandi sticks around to share what she does to stay positive and focused.
The challenges of parenthood.
It's art imitating life.
And what she does to stay so healthy.
You might want to keep a mirror handy.
Coming up next.
Quick tips to declutter your life.
It's about a new year, new you, and it starts here.
Plus, the trick to achieve your goals.
This is about harvesting that inner power that folks have and don't realize.
All new eyes.
That's coming up tomorrow.
Brandy is back.
She's taking the high road.
Yes, took the high road.
It's a clip from a new show, Zoe Ever After.
And today, Brandy's going to let us sit on three things she cannot live without.
She has to stay focused and stay positive.
The first thing, I should say, it's a person that Brandy can't live without.
It's her daughter, Sarah.
Yes.
And this is an interesting thing.
So, in the show, you're a single mom.
Yes.
So, it's art imitating life.
Absolutely.
How'd you make that transfer?
Well, I wanted it to be sort of similar to me because there are a lot of single moms out there that are, you know, raising their kids on their own and I'm a working mom and I love it.
I love taking care of her and being an example.
What's the most challenging issue, the biggest concern you have about raising a 13 year old?
I want her to really trust her intuition and learn how to think.
And it's been tough for us because she doesn't really like being the daughter of someone in the limelight.
That's been tough for us.
So what does she tell you?
She just wants her own identity.
She doesn't want people to like her or to embrace her because she's my daughter.
So that's what we're dealing with.
And I get that.
I get that.
I can't relate, but I get that for sure.
What do you guys do together to stay healthy?
We play tennis.
You do?
We love tennis.
Who wins?
Yeah.
She's gonna watch you now.
We don't play competitively.
We just get back and forth.
The second thing you probably do together, something that you love, which is water.
Yes.
And I'll give you a little demonstration of what you apparently make for her all the time and for yourself.
Yes.
Tell me why you make the water this way.
Because it's pretty.
I mean, everybody, it's very pretty.
And I think, you know, it's hard to drink water all the time.
So I think when you decorate it and put, like, beautiful fruit in it, it makes you want to drink it.
So I add lemons and apples, but you actually add all kinds of blueberries, blackberries, all kinds of things.
It's purely to decorate the water?
Yes.
How many of these would you drink a day?
I would say one big Jar.
Gallon.
A gallon.
I'm gonna say a gallon.
A gallon it is.
I'll toast you to your gallon.
This is not a gallon.
No, no.
I'm just toasting to it.
I'm getting ready for this because when we come back, the third thing that Brandy can't live without, well, I'm gonna try it.
And let's just say I'm trading my purple gloves for a different kind of pair.
Be right back. - Bizarre.
Most people thought I was crazy.
Obscure.
Nobody could figure out what was wrong with me.
Out of this world.
It was through dying that I truly learned how to live.
Medical mysteries solved.
Let me show everybody what goes into this diagnosis.
And botched butt implants.
I started to lose my breath.
I honestly thought I was gonna die.
The new cosmetic procedure putting women in danger.
All new Oz.
That's coming up on Wednesday.
And we are back with Triple Threat, singer, actor, and boxer, Brandon.
As you can see, she's got one more thing she can't live without.
It's her workout routine that means getting into the ring.
Break it up, break it up, break it up.
Oh, she's beating on my camera guy.
So why?
What is it about boxing for you?
When did you start?
Well, when I started going to the gym, I just thought it was kind of boring to just do the weights and all of that, so I felt like boxing would be something that would be fun, and it was, and I loved it, and I wanted to get my arms really ripped up, and they told me that that's what this boxing does not.
Let me show you all things, and everyone else should know this too, why boxing's such a great workout.
Take a look at this little video.
Boxing is a total body workout.
It's roughly 20-30% aerobic and 70-80% anaerobic, which means the muscles are stressed at high intensity for short periods of time.
Boxing improves balance and coordination.
It boosts speed, strength, and gives you a sleep-defined body.
And the potential burn rate is 13 calories a minute.
Now, here to help us is Brandy's trainer, Jade Alexis.
You're going to turn us loose after this, right?
She's going to be the ref for a while, then we'll see what happens.
So Jade, take us through a typical workout you might do with Brandy.
All right, ready?
Yes.
Let's go.
One, two, three, six.
You said six?
One, two, three.
One, two, three.
Duck.
Two.
There you go.
One, two, three.
Slip.
Two.
She's powerful.
Yeah.
Okay.
Woo!
Again, here we go.
Oh, bring it up, bring it up, bring it up.
There's a lot of impact on those.
Yeah, she punches her.
You got something we can both do?
Yes.
All right, you ready?
Oh, no.
Oh, we're not going head on?
We need the bell.
Oh, we need the bell.
All right, go ahead.
I want to find Dr. Oz.
Ready?
Let's go!
Okay.
Six, go!
Three, four, five, six, duck!
Woo!
Let's go!
Three, four, five, six, duck!
Go!
Let's go, go!
Yeah!
Let's go!
Woo-hoo!
Yeah!
Here we go!
Oh, I can do this!
I can do this!
Yeah!
I did it!
Oh!
Oh my goodness!
Thank you for you broken up.
I'm very proud of you from bouncing back and all the things you are doing.
Thank you.
And I love the way you've weaved it all together with your family and your sports and your faith to make it happen.
Thank you so much.
Keep beating her up now.
I will do my best.
All right, thank you.
Go, J.D. You can catch Brandi on her new show, Zoe Ever After on BET. Remember, healthy and happy.
Where does it start?
At home.
It starts at home.
See you next time.
Maybe in a boxing ring.
Woo!
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