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Aug. 16, 2024 - Dr. Oz Podcast
42:48
Are Salads Really Healthy? Dr. Oz Reveals the Truth | Dr. Oz | S7 | Ep 79 | Full Episode
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The war on salad.
Is it overrated?
Find out if you should stop eating salad today.
We break it all down in our Food Truth series.
Plus, famed model and restaurateur B. Smith's battle with Alzheimer's.
How's it changed in the last year?
How's it more difficult?
And the frightening night she went missing.
She was gone somewhere between 14 and 17 hours.
It was...
It was very scary.
coming up next we'll save lives today You guys ready to get healthy?
Here's what I'm excited about in today's show.
First off, we have the war on salad.
An article was published calling salad overrated, claiming lettuce has little nutritional value and is simply a vehicle for fattening dressing.
You know, and it's brewed up into a big food fight.
So, if you're eating a ton of lettuce and salad and you can't lose a pound, but you think you're doing the healthy thing when you choose it, you won't want to miss today's show.
Also, from boosting your metabolism to satisfying your cravings, we've got the 20 soups for weight loss.
And finally, Chef B. Smith and her family join us to share what it's like to live with Alzheimer's.
And we've got the warning signs that you should be looking for.
But first, Let's just start with that big food fight about salad.
Is there merit to saying salad is overrated?
Now, to find out, I sent core team expert and author of The Dorito Effect, Mark Shasker, to investigate.
Remember, the last time he was here, he revealed your frozen Thanksgiving turkey is as good as fresh.
And now, he's going inside the lettuce industry to reveal what you need to know about your greens.
Have you heard what people are saying about salad?
It's overrated.
It's too expensive.
It's nothing more than a vehicle for fattening dressing.
And worst of all, lettuce, the very foundation on which salad is built, is nutritionally empty.
Is it true?
Is salad actually overrated?
Now, it is true that back in the 70s and 80s, salad wasn't so healthy.
It was mainly a side dish of iceberg lettuce.
But in the 90s, new and exotic leafy greens began appearing.
Romaine, arugula, kale, chard.
high in calcium, and vitamins A, C, and K.
Salad evolved from a basic side dish to the main event.
- How do you want this?
- Um, hmm, I don't know.
A big salad? - Is that what I asked for?
The big salad?
What's in the big salad?
- Big lettuce.
- Big carrot.
- And today, not only are people eating healthier lettuce, they're growing healthier lettuce.
We use the non-GMO. Our approach is to enhance it nutritionally.
Elia Raskin is a plant biologist at Rutgers University who recently developed a new super lettuce.
The lettuces you're looking at now, which were bred in our laboratory, have two to three times as many antioxidants as, for example, blueberries will have.
And those are very good for the cells and they do prevent aging in the body.
Have you done any tests on animals, for example, to see if it's having a beneficial effect?
Yes, if animals are just given the powder prepared from those lettuces, they will not gain weight as fast as they normally would.
Even if they're given the bad to the Western high-fat diet, their blood sugar will be more normal and they'll be just healthy animals.
Dr. Raskin's lab even created an artificial GI tract that shows that the antioxidants in his lettuce can be absorbed by the human body.
Big question, how does it taste?
I think it tastes great.
Can I taste it?
Absolutely.
Oh, it tastes good.
It tastes like lettuce, but just a little bit more like lettuce.
My salad education didn't end there.
To address some of the salad haters' other arguments, I paid a visit to New Jersey lettuce grower Ken Vandervried.
So, Ken, some of the salad critics out there are saying that salad is not environmentally friendly, that growing lettuce uses too much water.
Is that true?
Well, in the field, they use a lot of water.
Here, in a controlled environment, we use about 1 20th of the water compared to what they do in the field.
Now, that is sustainable.
Another argument you hear about lettuce is that it's too expensive.
What do you say to that?
I disagree.
A head of butter head lettuce sells for around $2 and change.
You throw some chicken on that, some vegetables, you have a meal for one or two people for under $10.
So today I'm officially calling for an end to the war on salad.
Salad is one of the few good news stories in American food.
We've been making it more delicious, and now we're making it more nutritious.
So haters gonna hate, but I'm sticking with salad, and so should you.
I stand with Mark when it comes to lettuce, absolutely on the same page.
Now aside from that super lettuce you just showed us, when it comes to the average person walking to the average supermarket, what's the bottom line on whether lettuce is worth it?
It comes down to nutrient density.
That is the nutrients per calorie.
So if you look at things like cheeseburgers and potato chips, lots of calories, not many nutrients.
When you look at lettuce, On a per calorie basis, it is extraordinarily nutrient dense.
So the story is eat more lettuce.
You're not getting a lot of calories.
You are getting what your body needs.
I wanted to put some numbers on this.
I was curious.
So I'll give you an example, everybody.
To get 200 calories worth of romaine lettuce, you need 25 cups.
All of that.
It's going to be hard for you to get 25 cups.
That's more nutrients than you'd ever want, by the way, and doesn't give you that many calories.
Take another healthy food, one that I like a lot, an apple.
200 calories is roughly two apples.
Two.
So I'm not saying apples are bad.
They're great.
But it's unbelievable you get all that salad in you for the same number of calories and all the nutrients that come along with it.
So salad is easy to fill you up.
It takes a long time to get through it.
In fact, you can watch a whole episode of scandal in time it takes to eat that much salad, and you still won't have chumped down too much food.
So use it as a vehicle for the good things instead of just a vehicle for fattening dressing, which is unfortunately what a lot of folks do with it.
That's the trade-off.
And we were saying, and I have said many times, that a lot of times women think salad's good for them because they're eating it all day long.
But it's actually the major way they get calories because of the fattening dressing.
We want to change that.
So you've got three salad boosters instead.
Yeah.
Blow our minds.
Come on back here.
So the key is to make your salad delicious the honest, nutritious way.
So one thing I love are using fresh herbs.
We all know what they are.
They're easy to get.
Three of my favorites are cilantro, dill, and parsley.
You can combine them.
You can use them on their own.
Just chop them up.
They add a ton of flavor, and they're good for you.
You also got some things that give it a little bit more sweetness and savoriness.
Exactly.
You can give it savory notes and sweet notes.
I love pear, for example.
You make sure the skin's on because you get a little bit of that bitterness.
You get the sweet pear flesh.
Sunflower seeds are nice and salty.
So as you're chewing, you get this nice salty point.
You get this nice sweet point.
It's easy and it's great.
Now, folks don't know that besides being a top-notch journalist, you're also a gourmand.
So you're big on olive oil.
There's a way that you can teach us both to pick the right olive oil, but also to make it...
They've been bigger in flavor.
They changed their flavor profile.
So walk us through that.
Okay, so the first thing you want to do is taste your olive oil.
Let's have a taste.
What we're looking for here is a kind of a scratchiness of the back of your throat.
That's a compound called oleocampyl, which is an anti-inflammatory.
It's similar to aspirin, and it can really make your throat light up.
And if you get that feeling, you know this is a good olive oil.
I definitely got that feeling.
I'll save you the trip.
And you know, it keeps going, by the way.
It doesn't stop.
It keeps going.
So this is good for you.
Add to that a squeeze of lemon, citrus.
Really good for you, really delicious.
And also, a pinch of salt.
So many of us are afraid of salt, but the truth is, the foods that are really high in salt are processed foods.
A little pinch in your kitchen is fine.
It really gives a boost to that salad, so don't be afraid of using a little bit of salt.
But you add these right to the olive oil, or you just make it a part of your dressing?
I just make it a part of the dressing.
I put it all in, I toss it, and it's great.
But it brings out the flavor of the olive oil as well?
Absolutely.
It lifts everything.
You know what?
I'm going to give this a taste because we dressed this...
And you're trying some of that Rutgers lettuce right now.
This is it.
This is the red stuff.
You know, it actually tastes more like lettuce than lettuce.
Exactly.
That's unbelievable.
It's true.
This is dressed too impressive even for the haters out there.
This is really cool.
My mouth's full, but I'll do the outro anyway.
I love these kinds of tips.
I'm very happy that Sal was vindicated.
There's no longer part of a food war, hopefully after today.
Thanks again for your wonderful work.
Thank you.
Mark Jaskier, we'll be right back.
Next, can a cup of Joe be part of your day off diet?
Don't take away our coffee.
You'll be happy to know the answer is yes.
But are you drinking it the right way?
The best way to have your coffee and lose the weight too.
Next, My son was shot in the head.
My son suffers every day.
Life coach Ayala Van Zandt helps you overcome your fears.
Right now you're focusing on the fear.
All new Oz.
That's coming up tomorrow.
Earlier in the response, we kicked off the day off diet, and it's not too late to get started.
If you haven't joined us already, many of you have been emailing and posting about how happy you are that coffee is part of the diet.
But are you drinking your coffee the right way to help in your weight loss journey?
Nutritionist Ashley Kopp is here with the answer.
Where does the nutrition community come down on coffee?
Is it thought of as being a good thing or a bad thing for diets?
We're like this.
Don't take away our coffee.
That's what the nutrition community is.
We've got a lot of work to do.
We need our coffee.
I think the biggest issue is that when we do research on coffee, we do research on this.
We don't do research on a triple, venti, creamy, blah, blah, blah.
So I think what we really have to get to is how is somebody interpreting coffee?
So when somebody says, I have my coffee in the morning, I'm like, all right, let's talk about that.
What are you actually having?
And we start in.
So let's quiz the audience here.
Yeah.
Black coffee.
The kind I have right here.
How many calories does it have?
Thoughts?
60, 80, 20. Oh!
This is why we have the smartest audience in television.
Yeah.
No, I heard a lot of people say one and zero.
Which is?
Is that right?
One is correct.
That's right.
Yes.
For this size.
Yes.
Yes.
One calorie.
If you double it, two calories.
You still get away with murder.
But, of course, as you mentioned, we're not drinking this.
Right.
And that's part of the tip today.
I know you can't drink a coffee black, a lot of you.
You want to add stuff to it.
Yeah, the sugar, the cream, all that stuff.
So, I actually created a guide that breaks down which nut milk is best for all your favorite sweet coffee drinks.
They don't all work equally well, so you won't feel deprived.
And again, I'm going to remind you why nut milks can be a healthy alternative.
Sometimes there are issues if you have digestive problems.
Some people have allergies to them.
But I love nut milk because they can be low in calories.
They have a variety of minerals and vitamins that are important for us as well.
So, I've got three of our guests here.
They've all been on the diet.
Suzanne, Pamela, and Michelle each are holding their morning cup of coffee.
They refuse to put them down.
The first nut milk we're going to talk about is fantastic if you're a latte or a cappuccino drinker, and it is cashew milk.
So if you don't mind, Suzanne, go ahead and give it a taste.
If you don't want to, I'm happy to.
Ashley, tell us why you prefer cashew milk in this setting.
It's nice and creamy and I don't feel like I'm missing the heavy cream that I do like in my coffee that I had to stop with the diet.
This is delicious.
Great.
This is really good.
This is a little bit larger, so I will point out to this size, you know, so we do still want to be conscious.
But interestingly, cashews actually inherently have a sweet taste to them.
So you're also, for people who, you know, in a latte we find a lot of people want that sweetness and they also do get creamy and that creaminess stays if you foam it like this at home.
Excellent.
So this is for regular old coffee drinkers who like them, sort of latte-ish.
It is unsweetened, yes.
Unsweetened.
So the best milk for iced coffee is almond milk.
Again, a lot of people say almond milk doesn't work in my regular coffee, but here it's fantastic.
Why is that, Ashley?
Go ahead and give it a taste.
Yeah, go ahead.
Have you tried it?
Is it there?
This is, it's delicious.
It's like any soda drinkers, like, drink this.
So Ashley, why do you like almond milk for cold coffee?
Yeah, so the interesting thing about almonds, and almonds have so many wonderful benefits for you, but when we're really just talking about putting it in coffee, it actually, I don't know if you've ever tried having it hot, it separates.
So then you get kind of, you don't get that frothiness that we got with the cashew milk, and a lot of times even just visually you're looking at it, it's not giving you a great taste.
So I love it in the cold from an ice standpoint.
And you can do a fair amount of it because unsweetened almond milk is not a significant source of carbohydrates.
You're going to be fine in that way as well.
And you know what else is interesting?
I didn't think we could have coffee.
I ran to my coffee machine.
Yes, perfect.
You got your exercise in.
It's like our friends are back.
Eight pounds in six days.
Wow.
Wonderful.
Congratulations.
The best replacement for heavy cream, which a lot of you love in regular old coffee, is coconut milk.
So if you don't mind, give it a taste.
Now, you're up from Canada, right?
It gets cold sometimes.
It gets cold up there.
It's good.
It tastes like what I would have had at home with half and half in it.
So, Ashley, why'd you pick this?
Yeah, so you really, when you're going for cream, you really want that heavy creaminess, and that's what you're getting from coconut here.
And so in an unsweetened way, you're getting that mouthfeel, and for a lot of people it is that mouthfeel that delivers on it sort of like I've had something that's fatty or creamy, and you're going to get it here and enjoy it.
How about the size here?
That's sort of a big cup of coffee.
Yeah, so I love that we demoed with this.
You know, we have everything here is what you should be doing, and then this is my...
So as a dietitian, I like to say, drink aspirationally.
So if you're looking to be smaller, drink smaller, right?
I think that that's a key thing, because the other part is, you know, if you have all of this, and this has to somewhere come out of, from a nutritional standpoint, what else you're having in the day.
So if I'm having this amount, I can get away with a smaller amount of the coconut milk.
It's good because I tried certain types of soy milk in my coffee before, and it almost curdled and didn't go well, so I definitely will try it.
When Ashley told me that you could actually pick the right nut milk to match your coffee cravings, it made perfect sense.
I don't know why we haven't talked about it before, but if you're going to be on a program like this, you want to take the best advice you can get, and we've got a world expert here.
One last thing.
Wonderful.
Ashley's got a way of making coffee into a meal.
Yes.
Which I didn't believe until I just saw it, so walk us through it.
Yeah.
I mean, I think one day I was just playing around with it and I didn't like the plain espresso and I didn't have one of my, I didn't have a little bit of the coconut milk.
So I made my oatmeal and I actually usually do like a nut, a little bit of a nut butter in there as well.
And I threw that in and let me tell you, it's kind of game changer.
Yeah.
It's confusing.
It's like having sweet and sour together.
And you can put cinnamon, you can put cayenne in there.
I mean, I do crazy things with it.
Cayenne with coffee?
Yeah, totally.
Yeah, for sure.
You know, you get a little crazy.
The radical Ashley coffee.
It's good.
That's right.
Exactly.
If you want to get on the day-off diet, you're just in time.
Go to DrOz.com where you can pick up the Good Life magazine for everything you need from shopping lists to recipes, personalized meal plans, all the goodies.
Get it, take advantage of it, and tell your friends about it.
We'll be right back.
Next.
What another way to trim your waist?
We've got the perfect meal for your day off diet.
Boost your metabolism and energy with recipes that will even fight off cravings.
They're kind of like super power ingredients.
The 20 best soups for weight loss.
Next. From tarracha to another food I know you can't get enough of, soupa.
And there are so many.
But you know, just like sriracha, it can help trim down your waist.
Soup is the most nutrient-dense way to fill up, and it's the perfect meal for my day-off diet.
So today what I'm going to do is I'm going to share the 20 best soups for weight loss.
Because remember, soups are slimming down.
Why?
Let's go over it again.
First, they keep you fuller for longer with very few calories because they've got so much liquid in them.
And they're a very easy way to get more veggies and fiber.
So what I'm going to do is ask my favorite clean-eating chef, Candice Kumai, to share her favorite stimming soups that follow my day-off guy.
Welcome, Michelle.
Thank you, my mate.
Let's start with boosting metabolism.
What's your favorite soup choice for that?
So I would say the red lentil soup, Dr. Oz, is the best.
It's full of protein, it's full of iron, it's full of fiber.
So it keeps you full for a really long time.
And, you know, after a hefty workout, you want to keep your metabolism going, right?
Right now, it's a little chilly for a smoothie.
So why not go for a red lentil soup that makes you feel really good?
Just to hammer this home, it's the perfect day-off diet soup because it's got non-starchy vegetables, right?
You've got onions, you've got broccoli, all the good stuff you talked about.
You've got broccoli, Rob.
And you mentioned the lentils because it's a great source of protein with complex carbs together.
If you really want to do this the smart way, that's what you want to accomplish.
And we put sriracha in it, too, to boost your metabolism, because we know you love it.
What a show-off you are.
And, well, we figured you'd like the heat.
And we also put apple cider vinegar in there, too, to help with, you know, the acidity balances out the sweetness from the onions.
Then you're going to get a lot of, like, hearty fat from the lentils and the olive oil.
And then you want just a tiny bit of salt in there from the stock, so it's a perfectly well-rounded soup as well.
You're making me hungry.
Let's move on to an energizing soup.
So you actually do the workout so you can bother with the rest of the stuff.
You recommend a parsnip and leek soup?
Absolutely.
So we know that parsnips are full of protein.
They also have a little bit of vitamin C in them and fiber.
And then B6 is naturally found here in the leek.
So we created a soup for you also that has some powerful ingredients, curry powder and cumin.
Now as you know that they're full of nutrients and I like to say that curry powder is the smartest spice out there because it really helps to keep your brain sharp and you know you want to keep the energy going too with the ginger.
So all of these, they're kind of like super power ingredients that keep you going longer, stronger, and energized.
So to make it, you put all these in a soup, you have vegetable broth, you add a little apple cider vinegar again, Yes, and this is to add flavor again, and again, it's got a lot of benefits to, you know, keeping you healthy and strong as well.
So, we actually have one of our audience, but where's Margarita?
Oh, come on back here.
Margarita tried this.
She tried this.
You're bragging about it so darn much, Candice.
So, I want to hear, honestly, do not try to patronize her.
I'll give you a sriracha sauce if you tell the truth here.
What do you think about the soup?
I love the soup.
I love the soup.
I don't cook, but it was really quick, really inexpensive.
It was filling.
And thank God I was home for the last few days because it's very moving.
Oh, I love that.
You didn't mention that.
That's amazing.
It's moving, yeah.
Well, it must have been the secret fiber.
Emotionally moving?
It's moving, and I felt lighter.
Yeah.
That kind of moving.
Yeah, that kind of moving.
She felt good.
Yeah.
All right.
Next, to fight off the cravings that you might have after you've gone moving.
Nicely stated, by the way.
You're going to make us this.
I've never seen this.
Is this like a squash or something?
What is this called?
I cannot wait to introduce you.
Okay, my mom and I are both so excited.
This is kabocha squash.
Kabocha.
Kabocha.
It's a Japanese squash that's actually, it's a green winter squash.
So you probably see this in the market all the time and walk past it.
It is full of vitamins A, C, and fiber.
And my mom said, you know, today I can't believe you are going to show Dr. Oz the kabocha.
Ha ha!
She said, it is so full of the benefits.
And you know, in Japan, we use kabocha all the time.
That is so...
It is the best.
Mom is the best.
You copied her perfectly.
Absolutely.
What's mom's name?
Her name is Miho Kumai Guzdowski.
Miho.
My father is Polish, and it is Gwizdowski, yes.
I'm very proud of your daughter.
She's doing a wonderful job.
Aw, thank you, Mehmet.
All right, so show us how to make a short clip.
All right, so what we do is we put some onion and garlic in here, and you're going to cook it down.
You're going to add your bay leaf.
That also adds some nutrients in there.
And you're going to cook down your squash, and you're going to add your stock.
And as we know, bone broth has a lot of benefits, too.
Here goes the try.
Oh, it's hard.
Well, this one isn't done yet.
We might want to try the one that's finished.
But sure, you can try it raw, too.
It's sweet like chestnut, pumpkin.
It melts in your mouth.
Have you guys ever heard of this?
Cabocha.
It's fantastic.
Just that's the right word to describe it.
It's smooth.
Smooth, delicious.
It's full of those nutrients that you need for beautiful skin.
I'd like to think that...
It's not bad raw either, by the way.
It's delicious, right?
You could definitely use a peeler on it, but I think Japanese women have beautiful skin because they eat lots of vegetables and sea vegetables, and a lot of these contain nutrients that you need for great skin, like vitamins A and C. But the point of the kabocha squash is that it's about satiation, about feeling fuller longer, fighting those cravings.
So you're just going to add that stock.
And as we know, bone broth has a lot of nutrients in it as well, and even protein.
Then we have our quinoa, which is another starch.
You can opt to leave this out if you'd like, because sometimes you don't want two starches are too much, right?
And then we have kale.
So we're going to finish this off.
Vitamins A and C and K. And I've got to keep it Japanese for mom, so a little touch of shoyu or soy sauce.
So everybody has that.
Just to finish off your soup, cook this down for just a bit.
You're going to smell the whole house.
It's going to smell amazing.
People are going to come over.
They're going to say, what is this green pumpkin kabocha soup?
Finish it with some sunflower seeds or pepitas.
All right.
Margarita, this is also going to be very moving for you, I think.
Okay.
Put all that kubacha in there.
Let's see what you think about this.
I must say, I love the smoothness of it, and I would add the quinoa.
What do you think, Margaret?
I love it.
Can I have this?
Oh, absolutely!
Yes!
Thank you very much.
Wonderful advice.
I want you to check out Candace's book, Clean Green Eats.
For the recipes and the rest of the 20 best soups, you can go to DrRoz.com.
All these soups work for weight loss.
We'll be right back.
Next, restaurateur and model B. Smith on her battle with Alzheimer's.
How she and her family are dealing with one of the toughest medical struggles there is.
And the horrible night she went missing.
It was very scary.
Next.
My son was shot in the head.
My son suffers every day.
Life coach Ayala Van Zandt helps you overcome your fears.
Right now you're focusing on the fear.
All new Oz.
That's coming up tomorrow.
V. Smith has been many things in her life.
A successful model, a famous restaurateur, a TV host, and a loving mother and wife.
Now, she and her family are going through one of the toughest medical struggles there is, Alzheimer's disease.
Today, B. Smith and her husband, Dan Gadsby, are back with an update on her condition and to tell us about the horrible night B went missing.
It was a harrowing experience that lasted nearly 14 hours when former model and famed restaurateur B. Smith went missing.
Smith, who has Alzheimer's disease, disappeared while traveling to New York City in November of 2014. Thankfully, she was found unharmed at a Manhattan restaurant close to where she once lived.
This distressing incident focused a spotlight on this debilitating disease and what it's doing to a beloved American icon and her loved ones.
When you're used to doing things and doing a lot of things at one time, it feels like the air has been taken out of you and you're not quite the lady that you were.
You're not making tea with that, Barb.
What are we making it with?
No.
You can't...
I know, but...
To keep B's mind stimulated...
You're gonna read it out loud, right?
Yeah, I am gonna read it out loud.
Her husband, Dan, reads the paper with her every day.
They also do word games.
Clam.
Okay, great.
What word is this?
Not always successfully.
J-U-N-K? J-U-N-K. It makes me feel the way I am right now, tearful.
Because I don't want him, you know...
You know, this is the tough part of it.
I mean, we know that we're in a fight.
I mean, and we're gonna fight back.
Me, Smith, and her husband, Dan Gasby, are here.
Good to see you again.
Good to see you as well.
Thank you.
Thank you for having us.
So I was so inspired last year when we sat down and I really began to understand what you're struggling with.
How are you doing this year?
I'm great.
It's like a whole new me and I'm feeling good and doing my best to be my best.
That you've always been able to do.
Thank you.
Dan, you're a beautiful wife, 66.
I was told I could mention that because no one's going to believe you're 66 if I don't say it.
I didn't tell.
No, yes.
He's very proud of all this.
You guys have been here 25 years.
Yes.
You're her primary caregiver.
Yes.
How are you keeping up?
Well, you know, they always say in football, everybody goes to the coach, but who does the coach go to?
Yeah, that's right.
And I have my ups and downs.
I mean, that's the thing that we want people to know is that it's not easy being a caregiver.
They're first responders.
So let's go to this really scary event that happened, where you went missing, Bea.
Yes.
Maybe, Dan, we'll start with you.
What actually happened?
Give us the whole story.
Well, the long and the short of it, I put Bea on a bus to go from where we lived in Long Island, Sac Harbor, into Manhattan, to be picked up by our daughter.
And everything went fine going in.
And then they had a day together and met with some folks, and then our daughter Was going to put her on the bus and take her and I was going to meet her at the other end.
And what happened was where she met her originally was the first stop you got off.
And where she put her on was the next to the last stop.
So just a subtle little change.
One little change.
And what happened was she put her on the stop before the last stop And she got off at the last stop and stayed and walked throughout Manhattan all night long in a snowstorm, sleet rain storm with just a thin jacket and high heels.
She was amazing.
She was going somewhere between 14 and 17 hours walking up and down the streets from lower Manhattan To Midtown, up to Harlem and then back.
Oh my goodness.
So we estimated that, based on that, she did a marathon and a half in high heels.
You know, Dana, if your daughter's here, Dana, what was it like for you?
You put your mom on the bus, your dad probably called you an hour or two later saying, where's mom?
Then you have 14 hours of terror.
Tremendous guilt.
I realized that one little change in the plan, and that just, that changed everything.
I realized that repetition has to be a part of my life when I'm dealing with her because I know that small changes can mean the most.
So, B, do you remember this evening at all?
I saw you getting emotional as you saw all the fear in our faces following this saga.
What do you remember about what happened that night, those 14 hours?
It was...
It was...
Scary.
It was very scary.
Very scary.
But...
And when they finally found you?
When they found me, I was still standing.
So...
I have a list of things Dan shared with us since this incident that are sort of the rules of the family.
Bea can no longer be on her own.
There has to always be someone with you.
She has an ID bracelet and you're not allowed to drive anymore.
That's the biggest bone of contention.
Why is that a big issue for you, the driving?
Because I've had my own car for years, and it makes me crazy that some people don't want me to...
No, I'm just kidding.
No, that's not some people, that's one people.
One person doesn't want me to drive.
Here's the thing, Doctor.
My wife literally could do just about anything and do it effortlessly and now it's hard to imagine someone who looks like her has this ability or had this ability to do everything now has You know, struggles to do certain things.
And I try to tell her, you know, a friend doesn't tell you what you want to hear or let you do what you want to do.
They tell you what you need to know.
And that's what I try to do.
Alright, we'll take a quick break.
When we come back, Bea and Dan's warning about Alzheimer's.
You want to hear this.
Stay here.
Thank you.
Next, the Smiths help us understand how to deal with a disease, what changes they've made to slow it down, and what you and your family need to know about living with Alzheimer's.
If you don't create awareness, you can't create change.
Hallelujah.
Next.
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Did I get it right?
Thank you.
And her husband, Dan Gaspier, here.
They have an update on B's struggle with Alzheimer's.
There are about 5 million Americans that have Alzheimer's.
It's a disease that destroys memory and eventually a lot of bodily functions.
And while we don't know what causes it, we are learning more and more about it, and that's where the power is.
So I wonder if it's okay with you, show you a brain scan of someone who has Alzheimer's, and then we'll talk a little bit about what's going on in your life.
Okay, B? Come on back.
That's fine.
So you get to be escorted by me and dad.
I have two men too!
How lucky we are!
How lucky we are!
Wow!
That's a healthy looking brain, right?
You're supposed to have a little bit of yellow in there and sort of that blue.
Now let me show you the brain of someone who has Alzheimer's disease.
And these big red areas there, that's buildup of amyloid plaque.
These are like potholes, literally potholes, in the network of roads in the brain.
And these potholes force us out of alignment.
So we're off the road altogether sometimes.
Do you feel like that?
Sometimes, yes.
Yes.
And the thing about Alzheimer's is that sometimes you can drive on roads that are okay.
I know when you're interacting with the audience, and I love this, you care about them so much that you're at peace.
I don't know, Dan, if you noticed it too.
That's who she is.
I mean, that's what happens when your loved one has Alzheimer's.
They do things that amaze you, and then they do things that Bewilder you at the same time.
So let's sit down again.
Okay.
So the thing about Alzheimer's, because it's such a bewildering disease, Dan's point, is we're trying to figure out what causes those plaques, what causes those potholes and speed bumps that throw you out of alignment.
And there's no cure.
I know.
Which is why I'm so passionate about your story.
Because I want to understand more about your resilience and what the game plan is.
Because remember everybody, although Alzheimer's can't be cured, there are ways of slowing it down.
And I'd love to know, Dan, what you and B are doing to try to accomplish that.
Well, there's a couple of things.
One, we eat a healthy diet.
There's no sugar in the house.
We have lots of vegetables, fresh fruits, exercise, doing exercise that's strenuous and interval exercising.
So she gets on an elliptical and does things, sort of sprinting to get her heart rate up.
That's how you stay sexy looking.
Yes.
I thought it was me, but no.
And the other thing, I mean, we do meditation.
And the other thing is just positive attitude.
And medicine.
You know, she takes a medicine that keeps her mental clarity up.
And that's it.
And then the other thing we believe, quite honestly, doctor, is that Saweetie's been blessed to be able to do a lot and impact a lot of people.
We didn't want to hide.
We didn't want to make excuses.
We didn't want to put our hands above our eyes and make like things wouldn't happen.
We know that if we create awareness and understand that just like the President of the United States, President Reagan had Alzheimer's, my wife has it, it can happen to anyone, but we need to...
We spend billions of dollars on things like Ebola that basically five or six people have in this country.
And Alzheimer's, like you said, five million people have it.
By 2030, 2040, it'll be 15 million people.
50 million caregivers will be at that point.
And it's amazing.
And then one other reason that's very important.
I believe that It's a 21st century civil rights issue, to be quite honest.
Two out of three people who have Alzheimer's are women.
If you're over 65 years of age, you're more likely to have Alzheimer's, twice as likely to have breast cancer.
You know, blacks are two to three times more likely to have it.
The impact, it runs somewhere between fifty and a hundred thousand a year to care for somebody.
So the people who have the least have the most to be impacted and the government is spending a pittance on it and so I want to make sure If we can buy time, I believe in our country.
I believe in science.
I believe in medicine.
I believe in the things that you're doing to break down stigmas.
And if we can break down this stigma, you know, people don't want to talk about it.
If you don't talk about it, you can't create awareness.
And if you don't create awareness, you can't create change.
Hallelujah.
So, B, Dan, just beautifully describe what we need to do.
Right.
I want to understand how you find hope.
How I find hope.
How do you keep strong in the face of Alzheimer's?
I went back to my family and I started working with the family too so that they understood what was happening with me and still...
Sweetie's a positive person.
I can tell you honestly, this woman wakes up with a smile.
She goes to bed with a smile.
I see the smile line.
God bless you.
Listen, what I would applaud you for is Before I Forget.
That's the name of the book, Before I Forget.
Good.
Because I would never forget to say it.
It is beautiful.
You write parts of it.
I really want you guys to all pay attention to this because it's really important stuff.
God bless you.
I'm going to see you again.
Don't get lost anymore.
You scared the heck out of us.
Thank you.
God bless you.
I won't get lost anymore.
What you do every day is you demystify things that people need to know because you can never assume people understand unless you can explain it in very simple terms.
Because we're so scattered today with all the information coming at us, we can get the wrong information and it builds up to the point that things can't be understood.
You demystify and I want to thank you for that.
Thank you very much.
God bless you.
We'll be right back.
Next, are you concerned you might have Alzheimer's?
It's so hard to watch someone you love go through that, but it also makes you think, like, what's going to happen to me?
Become more aware of your behavior.
Learn to recognize the four key signs.
When to worry and when not to.
The threat of terror attacks has all of us on edge.
My son was shot in the head.
My son suffers every day.
Life coach Ayala Van Zandt helps you overcome your fears.
Right now you're focusing on the fear.
Ayala's life-changing tip.
All new Oz.
That's coming up tomorrow.
We're talking Alzheimer's B. Smith shared her story.
It's powerful.
And now the question many of you are probably asking yourselves is, is it really a sign of Alzheimer's when I do these things?
When do you have to worry about something you've done and when is it not important?
So I've got Michelle from the audience here.
Why are you concerned about Alzheimer's?
Well, as a kid, I watched as my grandfather was affected by Alzheimer's.
It's something that started gradually, and eventually, over time, he wouldn't even recognize you.
And it's so hard to watch someone you love go through that, but it also makes you think, like, what's going to happen to me or my parents or my brother?
So we're going to address that.
I think a lot of folks aren't sure if the little things you do wrong really amount to it.
So I want you all to recognize the signs of Alzheimer's so you don't have to worry about it.
Okay.
That's the real power of knowledge here is you worry about things that are important, but you don't waste a lot of time on things that are important.
So there are four kinds of Alzheimer's I want to go over.
The first is when you have a difficult time performing multiple tasks.
Like, for example, when you get in the car, do you ever have trouble starting it up?
Not my car.
He asked me to meet my husband.
He's got like a club on the shift, and that's a whole story.
No, that's not a simple task anymore, right?
It perfectly made it hard for you.
Yes.
It's his wagon for that, by the way.
But the difficulty with tasks, you know, things like brushing your teeth, tying shoes, things that weren't problematic before, or starting your car is one of those red flags when I think I could worry.
Next, what happens when you're constantly getting lost or disoriented?
It's the wrong way to wherever you're at.
Right?
The flag item here is if you're getting lost going to a familiar place, you should be able to think about your own home, right?
Find your house that's an issue, you can't get to the neighborhood, the grocery store, places you've been in all your years.
That's a concern.
The next item, this is something that women come out there all the time, and you talk about it in circles, like repeating conversations.
My husband, yes.
I'm okay with that.
Sometimes, I know you forget what you're going to say, but it's really not something that happens to me all the time.
All right.
So, without, it's not going to be settled.
It's important.
You'll find yourself repeating stories.
Most of the one you care about is telling you the exact same story they did before.
So, besides the mis-words, you can't normally be able to use it, but it doesn't just happen on occasion.
It's repetitively happening.
You probably ought to talk to some of that.
And the last item, the final thing about today, is you have trouble making choices.
Splitting, and we have to make choices all along.
Everyone has difficulty with this.
But the red flag item is here to be clear.
You have bad jokes in your decisions.
I hear about this all the time.
Famous people make jokes and we turn it off to them being bad jokes.
Sometimes these folks have bad jokes because their brain is clouded.
Okay.
We think about it, maybe a problem that's causing their issue.
There are things here as well.
You can behave in a socially appropriate way.
It's that just aren't who they are.
It's things that Alzheimer's worry about.
Because they aren't the person they used to be.
Exactly.
Are those helpful to you?
Helpful, yes.
At least you don't seem to have any of them.
Thank you.
I think it's a good sign, just so you all know that you're worried about it.
That way, if you worry, you get nervous.
And with awareness, power, and attention.
So thank you so much.
Thank you.
I wish you the best of luck.
If it's easy, go to DrIs.com and get a tip if your brain's short for long.
I'll be right back.
*Clapping* *Clapping* *Clapping* *Clapping* *Clapping* *Clapping* The Danger Kill.
I didn't even know this was that big of an issue.
Plus, these dogs sniff out cancer and MS. A 90% accuracy rate is extraordinary.
On Thursday.
On Thursday.
What are you going to do in your body?
Tomorrow we'll be talking about exercises to sharpen your brain.
It's an easy one.
Everyone has their own name.
They name two I for every letter on the first day.
For example, I'm a planet.
That's how you speak.
So it could be moth and magic.
The M. It could be elephant and deer.
And H could be honey and blue.
Or...
Or something like that, right?
You keep off and so go.
That's why you sort of work on brain exercises.
Let me go to another one.
Simple.
Who knows the alphabet of months?
What does that mean?
The alphabet of months.
You have to tell me the beginning of the year, but in alphabetical order.
So what is the first alphabetically aligned month?
April.
April, you got it all right.
What's third?
What's third?
No, it's December.
Alright, who's last?
Last month?
September.
Test yourselves at home.
You guys are very well, by the way.
But when you put yourself on this stuff, you're going to have all the answers to all the pain tweezers on muchmoreand.com.
Thank you for joining us.
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