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Nov. 4, 2024 - Dr. Oz Podcast
42:47
How Safe Is Your Mall’s Food Court? | Dr. Oz | S7 | Ep 98 | Full Episode
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Time Text
Mall food courts.
What I'm about to show you can literally make you sick.
We go behind the counter.
I find some violations.
Dirty Secrets Expo.
Rat traps and droppings are everywhere.
Our investigation takes you inside.
I tested for germs in the dining area.
And what I found might make you rethink your next meal at the mall.
The results are in.
I felt like I was at the zoo.
Coming up next.
It was crazy.
We'll save lives today.
We'll save lives today.
We are great and healthy.
Welcome to the show, which will be very eye-opening for you.
Everyone get comfortable.
Let me answer your question.
How many of you love going to the food court at the mall?
I like going there, too.
A typical Saturday wouldn't be complete without shopping and walking around the mall, especially when the weather's cold.
And when it comes for time to eat, the food court's a pretty popular destination.
But could your mall's food court be filled with critical health violations that could make you sick?
Today, a Dr. Oz show investigation that takes you behind the counter at the food court to show you what's really going on there.
Then, America's favorite weatherman Al Roker and journalist Deborah Roberts spill their personal secrets.
We're going to investigate what makes their marriage work and what we can learn from their success.
And Coco Austin is here.
She reveals the health scare that kept her, almost kept her that is, from becoming a mom.
And she's going to introduce us to her new baby girl, Chanel.
But first, our food court investigation.
I was curious to see if the food court is a breeding ground for germs.
So I sent health inspector Peter DeLucia to one mall in order to show you what's really going on.
Brace yourself.
I'm about to go into the mall food court, and what I'm about to show you can literally make you sick.
Come on, let's go.
As a health commissioner, I start my inspection where you least expect it.
I sneak into the back alley.
It's the shared space of all the food court restaurants.
I'm looking for vermin and I have no problem finding evidence of it.
Rat traps and droppings are everywhere.
Have you seen any lately?
Some are like someone just dead.
Mm-hmm.
And when I come back into the mall, I see live vermin.
Birds!
They're all over the food court.
They're cute, but they can spread disease and belong outside.
Next, I check to see if food is served at unsafe temperatures.
I can use this laser thermometer to get temperatures of both hot and cold foods.
Hot food should be kept at 140 degrees or higher.
If not, bugs that make you sick can start to grow.
I find some violations.
Whirled chicken is supposed to be 140 degrees.
It's hot food, 88 degrees.
And there's also a problem with the pork.
It's only 93 degrees.
Cold food should be kept at 40 degrees or lower.
Again, I find violations.
It's supposed to be 40 degrees.
The seafood salad, 58 degrees.
The third thing I look for, improper cleaning of the food court.
I spot a worker wiping the tables, which you might think is a good thing.
You may have a false impression that this table is now clean, but I've been watching that wiping the court has never touched any sanitizing solution.
So all this worker is doing is spreading germs from one table to the next.
Finally, I tested for germs in the dining area.
I swabbed three allegedly cleaned trays and tables.
And what I found might make you rethink your next meal at the mall.
Westchester County Assistant Health Commissioner Peter DeLucia is here.
We're going to reveal the results of Peter's germ test in just a few minutes.
But first, how surprised were you by what you found at the food courts?
Well, you know, all the years I've been a health inspector, not that much surprises me anymore.
But I tell you, this one in particular food court, I was surprised at how the lack of sanitizer was used with any of the cleaning.
People were going around cleaning the tables, no sanitizer, and the birds doctorized.
I mean, come on.
I felt like I was at the Bronx Zoo.
It was crazy.
What makes food courts riskier than regular restaurants?
Well, you know, I tell you, you go to the mall, you want to go to the food court.
It's typical.
You want to get a quick meal, and there's a lot of choices.
But what happens with all of those choices, each restaurant has a very limited amount of space.
So they wind up having tight spaces to work in, and they cut corners.
And on top of that, think of how many people go and eat there compared to a regular restaurant.
You have thousands of people and all of their germs eating at those tables every day.
So whose job is it to keep the food court clean, especially in between the restaurants?
It's the local health department.
Well, the local health department goes there, and they're supposed to check that area behind the restaurants that they all share.
They check the restaurants.
But you know what?
They only take a snapshot.
When they're in there, if they see violations, they cite them.
If they're really serious, you know, they close the restaurant.
But, you know, more often than not, they're out there operating on their own.
Which is why this show is so important, because we want people to be able to police themselves, and the tricks you're going to share.
Exactly.
Let me go back to the audience a second.
Put your hands up again if you'd like to go to food courts.
You've had a lot of folks up there.
Oh, my goodness.
I could pick anybody.
Let me go to you.
How are you?
Hi.
I'm good.
What's your first name?
Jen.
So Jen, when you go to the food court, how do you pick which restaurant you're gonna eat in?
Well, I typically, I'm a vegetarian, so sometimes it's hard for me to find food to eat in a food court, so I typically wander around and look, but I usually stick with Chinese food, because I can usually find vegetables and rice and things like that from a buffet-style serving.
So, Chinese food's interesting, right?
Because it does taste fantastic, but then you start thinking about what's going into it, and I always think about how long it's been laying out there before I got to it.
Yeah, I probably don't think about that when I'm hungry.
LAUGHTER Thank you very much.
Hands again.
Let me see your hands again.
Good to you.
So, what's your first name?
Donna.
So Donna, as you get your food and you turn around, how do you pick which table to sit at?
I usually first look for cleanliness.
If it's this table that I could see, you know, food or like stickiness, drink, you know, with spilled drinks, I just keep moving.
And if there's nowhere that's clean, I'll just stand.
But if the table looks pretty clean, you'll sit down.
Oh, yes.
I'm so happy you came today.
It seems so safe, right?
Seems so common sense.
Let's go back to Peter.
The first food court warning is actually not up in the tables.
It's before the tables.
It's the serving trays.
And then the tables.
So what did you find on both?
Well, you know, scary enough, we went around and when we sampled all of the trays and the tables, even ones that were just clean, you know, if it looks clean, doesn't necessarily mean it's clean.
We found fungus and we found staph bacteria and fecal bacteria on almost all of our samples.
You sampled just cleaned trays and tables.
Just cleaned.
Right after the person cleaned it, we went in there, and I took a quick swab undercover.
Nationally, this is what we're finding also, that more often than not, you're finding these kind of bugs and bacteria on there.
Norovirus, things like that, too.
Viruses can last for months on an unclean, hard surface.
Scary stuff.
So you pointed out that they weren't using sanitizer.
You're going with the same rag.
Of course, you're going to take the fecal material from one spot, who knows how it got there, and put it on the tray and then put it on the table.
And well-meaning folks, they can't tell the difference.
Yeah, that's all they're doing is taking that rag and they're moving from table to table and tray to tray, just spreading those thousands of germs of all the people eating there all day long.
So these wonderful audience members of mine, what can they do?
What can people at home do right now to avoid this?
First and foremost, instead of using the trays that they give you, ask for your food to take out.
They're all capable of doing that at the mall.
They'll give you your food in a bag.
Alright, the next food court warning is the soda machines.
And I'm always curious about the surprises you bring on the show.
Why soda machines?
Why would you be suspicious of them?
Soda machines in general, they're difficult to clean.
To break down a soda machine for somebody, you've got to unscrew all the nozzles.
Sometimes they break and snap off, so the staff's a little careful about doing that.
They don't always do it.
And you've got a very moist environment.
You've got all that liquid and all that sticky syrup and everything up in there.
It's just a breeding ground for mold and bacteria.
It really is.
And that's just the front of the machine.
I get stuff that we're looking at.
What about Well, that's what I'm more concerned about is ice.
You know, how many people do you consider ice as a food?
Actually, give me some ice.
Ice as a food.
Here's some food for you, then.
Here's some ice.
Here we go.
So ice as a food.
So here's your typical ice container, right?
And you see the scoop should be here.
Technically, it should have a little sleeve on the back here, so your hand never touches the ice.
But in the food court, everybody's busy or a fast food restaurant, they want to get you a drink quickly.
And what do you see happens?
All the time, they take the cup and boom.
Right in the ice.
They dig it in there.
It goes everywhere.
Maybe they even pick up a little ice on the side and throw it in.
And here you go.
There's your bacteria soup that they just served you.
So anything that's on their hands.
Because, you know, they're touching their face.
They're touching everything.
Everything that is on their hands is just in the ice.
And we have had investigations that have led back to the ice for hepatitis A, for salmonella, all these.
Someone touched their hand to the ice?
Right in there.
And some studies have showed that actually the ice will preserve the bacteria a little bit and actually hold it a little longer.
You're kidding me!
No.
So this is stuff you really don't want to deal with.
Here, get rid of this ice.
No more ice.
And the cups, that's it.
So how do you avoid the germs?
You don't determine how they put the soda in the cup.
It's simple.
It's very simple.
Order a bottle of beverage.
And that's it.
Don't even deal with it.
All right, more than a part of protect yourself.
There's lots more you need to learn and your family when you go to the food court when we come back.
Peter's got all the answers.
Next, looking for a quick bite?
The health commissioner reveals the safety tips you need to know to outsmart the food court.
They might not be doing the right thing behind the counter, but at least you know things are working, so you have a fighting chance.
Important signs to look for before you place your order.
Coming up.
We love barbecue.
Who doesn't?
But before you take another bite, see the hidden ingredients lurking in your sauce.
Are they dangerous?
See what we uncovered in our Food Truth series.
Plus, it's a story everyone is buzzing about.
Is the honey you're eating really from bees?
We're getting to the bottom of it.
And is wine causing more hangovers?
What's different in your favorite bottle?
All New Oz.
That's coming up on Monday.
We're back with Health Commissioner Peter DeLucia to reveal the safety tips you need to know to outsmart the food court in your malls.
So let's get right to it.
When it comes to the food court, temperature is a lot more than just is it hot or is it cold.
So the first food court safety tip is how to touch the display case to assess the correct temperature, to teach us.
Exactly.
Now you're not going to go to the food court and have a thermometer, but you do have your hands.
So if you're going to go to look for some cold food at the salad bar, they have sneeze protection, they have the glass there, so you want to first and foremost see if it's even working.
So you put your hand up against the glass and it feels nice and cold, like you just grabbed the cold container of milk right out of your refrigerator.
That at least shows you that the cold section is working.
Same thing with the hot.
You go over to the hot and you put your hand on there.
Now be careful with the hot.
Sometimes they really have a lot of boiling water in there and they really get hot.
You don't want to burn yourself.
But you put your hand on there and as long as you can just keep it there for a few seconds, at least you know the machine is working.
They might not be doing the right thing behind the counter, but at least you know things are working.
So you have a fighting chance.
But if you come over here, let's say it is the right temperature, check that, and you start picking your food out, is there a smart way for us to pick which of the hot foods we eat?
Yes, great question.
What you want to do is ask for food from the bottom.
Because the way these steam tables work or hot tables work, the heat's coming from underneath.
And if the people behind the counter aren't doing the right job and actually rotating the food, they're supposed to be actually, you know, stirring the food if it's a liquid or moving the food, rotating it through it to keep it nice and hot, to hold it at the right temperature, at least if you ask for the food on the bottom, it's going to be hot.
You have another tip which surprised me, and I hate wasting time, but usually I actually need to.
I've got to pick food court restaurants that have the longest lines, which none of us are happy about hearing.
It seems very counterintuitive.
Well, you want to be safe, right?
Why does it make me safer?
Well, it makes you safer because there's a lot more turnover.
Think about it.
If the restaurant is busy and they're pumping out that food, they're actually cooking it, you're getting fresher product, and you're getting warmer or colder depending on what you're ordering food.
So it's one of the things you want to do.
You know, if the food is just sitting there, that's a bad thing.
So you did a little investigation for us, as he always does.
He was undercover.
You should all recognize his face by now, by the way.
I wear a mask.
Show us how long we were sitting at when you did your little investigation.
Well, when we went, we took a look at one Chinese buffet, basically.
Sorry about that.
That's right.
Oh my goodness.
It was somebody's favorite.
We took a look at the Chinese buffet and there was no line there.
And you could see the food piled up, actually whatever it was, the fried rice or the general's chicken sitting there.
And over the hours we were there, we kept an eye on it and it never moved.
Now, all right, so they weren't busy.
People weren't interested in Chinese food that day.
But the other thing was the staff didn't stir that food.
The staff didn't take the food in the back to reheat it in the oven to get it back up to temperature.
Because these tables are meant to hold food, not to actually cook food or heat it, especially the ones that are in the mall.
So that was a major problem.
So lift my spirits, because I do like going to the food courts and all these shopping malls around the country are growing and more and more popular.
Is there any advantage?
Yes.
What is that?
The one advantage, I would say, is you do have a lot of choices.
And by having all those choices, you get to see the people that are at least serving your food.
Sometimes even you get to see the people cooking your food, because it's like a window.
It's a display.
You're right out there.
So, use your eyes and take a look.
If something looks wrong, somebody's got hair all out of order, they're not wearing hairnets.
They're not wearing plastic gloves.
They're not using proper utensils.
And especially, is somebody sick?
Are they constantly wiping their nose?
Are they sneezing?
You know, make the right choice.
You've got a lot of choices.
Move on to the next one and choose wisely.
All right, I'll put Peter in the Witness Protectors program to keep him safe.
We'll be right back.
Appreciate you.
- Thank you, nice time. - Thank you. - Thank you. - Thank you. - Thank you. - Thank you. - Thank you. - Next, Al Roker and Deborah Roberts, let us in on their successful 20 year marriage.
I just hate to say no, even though I'm a present.
She says no to me quite a bit.
From health issues to parenting to balancing their competitive careers, find out what makes their union so strong.
That's next.
He's America's weatherman.
And she's an award-winning journalist.
Al Roker and Deborah Roberts have traveled the world following the most important stories of our time.
Now, they're revealing their own story of a 20-year marriage and what they've learned through health issues, competition in their careers, and even some parenting mistakes.
Please welcome my friends Al Roker and Deborah Robertson.
Nice to see you.
We give all our guests a workout.
How are you?
It's quite a long one over there.
Everyone's out of breath.
Let me check my heart monitor.
You guys are so different from each other.
I see it myself, but you have different backgrounds, different ways of dealing with stress, different senses of humor.
What got you guys to fall in love, do you think?
I know we keep looking at each other going, what was that?
The kids keep asking that, too.
You know what?
I mean, here's the deal.
We are very, very different people, but at our core, you know, we have a lot of the same values.
We were both raised in large families.
You know, family was very important to us.
And we enjoy doing a few things together.
Yeah.
Not a lot.
Yeah, I like it a lot.
Almost nothing, actually.
Well, opposites do attract.
Let's talk about the marriage specifically.
That's what we're going to focus on today.
Al, you've summed it up, I think, pretty accurately by saying you've weathered it all.
As a weatherman, you can say that.
You've weathered it all.
You've been through ups and downs, specifically around health issues.
How has that brought the marriage together?
Well, you know, it's been a work in progress.
I mean, as you can see, Deborah, obviously, very healthy, eats well, exercises.
Up until, you know, 10 or 12 years ago, I was the opposite.
I was a slug.
I weighed over 340 pounds.
I didn't exercise, and Deborah was concerned about that.
And, you know, I had the gastric bypass and kind of got my health together.
Good for you, by the way.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I think it's the most underperformed operation in America.
It works so well.
Yeah, and, you know, you still have to do the work, but it's still...
Deborah is still worried that there's a fat guy ready to burst out of this.
It's not even about that.
It's about fitness and nutrition, and I just sort of feel like he's learned a lot, and I'm kind of the food police in the house, I guess.
The kids would probably say that, too.
I just want him to stay healthy, and frankly, even if he hadn't had that struggle...
Wives tend to do that.
They're always on their husbands about what they're eating.
Does it work, Anel?
No.
He says no.
He says just get off my back.
Like last night I said to him, you smell like peanut butter.
Have you been eating peanut butter?
Have you been eating peanut butter?
He goes, I had some peanut butter.
Get off my back.
See, Debra's concern is that I'm like, in a sense, an alcoholic.
It just takes one Snickers bar.
And I'm off the wagon.
I'm gone.
And I'm saying, I just want a taste so that I'm not craving it all the time, so that it's not this binge that it's like, you know what?
I've given myself permission to have this.
And finally, for the most part, Debra has come to realize.
I've learned.
I've learned.
And this is all about what we've lived and what we've learned.
And I've learned to back off and let him make those choices.
Does he stop after the single bite of the chocolate bar?
I'm not going to get involved in that.
Well, no, I'll have the whole bar.
You know Halloween when it says the fun size and it's this little bar?
That's not fun.
And I'll have the one fun size.
A fun size?
No.
You want a fun size?
You give me a bar that's two or three sizes times the normal one.
That's fun!
You hollow that thing out, make a canoe.
So we still struggle with this particular issue, as you can see.
But my goal is to just sort of let him do it.
It's his battle.
It's his struggle.
And it's his life to live when it comes to trying to be fit.
So, how do you guys deal with the discipline issues here?
So, Al, you apparently are the no man.
Yes.
You're comfortable saying it, and you just love to please people.
You have the disease to please.
I do have the disease to please, and not the kids necessarily all the time.
I'm a little better about that, but just, I overbook myself.
I try to do too many things.
Somebody wants me to come.
I have to work.
I have to go to a party.
I have to do this.
I just hate to say no, even though I'm present.
She says no to me quite a bit.
Yeah, that's true.
I don't have a problem saying no to the kids.
And how about you?
You don't have a problem saying no to the kids?
You know, that's my default.
It's kind of like no.
Although I have learned, I'm learning from Debra, that on occasion, yes, even if you want to say no, but you're thinking about your kids and you may say yes.
You may live to regret that.
Or you wanted them to know that you considered it.
Yes.
That's all.
So is there a time that you said yes to your daughter and you did something maybe quite awkward?
Yeah, my teenage daughter wanted to go to a Drake concert.
A Drake concert?
Drake, yeah.
Duke it out.
Yeah, I mean, and it wasn't just Drake.
I don't know if you've been to a rap concert, but there are like three or four rappers, you know, so you're going to give up about five to six hours of your life.
Of music that you normally don't listen to.
And it's loud.
I mean, it's really loud.
This was me.
Oh, my goodness.
Look at you.
Look how happy you are.
Yeah, look at how thrilled I am.
But our daughter had a great time.
He was father of the year.
He was father of the year.
I'm turning up the heat in this power couple.
Deborah versus Al.
Who's a better driver?
Who's more romantic?
Who has more annoying health habits?
I bet you're going to find out when we return.
Coming up next, Al and Deborah have a lot more to share.
They're revealing each other's big secrets, and we're guessing whose it is.
Who's the bigger roommate?
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
Plus, we're making one of Al's favorite health habits.
Coming up next.
Charlie is back.
There are some reports that you sent angry.
Tex, a little alarming for me to hear.
Is he ready to face his truth?
According to Denise, you said, I'm going to kill you, and I'm going to kill your mom.
All new Oz.
That's coming up on Wednesday.
We're back with news power couple Al Roker and Deborah Roberts there.
They're about to reveal each other's secrets, like who's the bigger romantic, who has the most annoying health habits, all the things couples talk about each other.
So the entire audience has paddles, so they can guess whose secrets we're revealing.
Is it Al's secret?
Let me see your paddles, guys.
Or is it Deborah's secret?
Okay, you guys show the picture of the person you think.
I love my picture, thank you.
Yes, it's a beautiful picture of you.
First question, who is a slower driver?
Let me see your paddles, guys.
Slower driver, everyone, everybody thinks he's out!
My goodness!
I understand, Debra, I read in the book, which is fantastic, that you think Al's not only a slower driver, but he honks that horn all the time.
I know.
First of all, he drives like a little old lady.
And I'm sorry.
And I like to just get going and get where I am.
I say to Al, he's kind of got the New Yorker in him, if somebody pulls in front of me, now he says I drive too fast, but if somebody pulls in front of me, I just do a little polite beep-beep.
I just feel like it's polite.
Al goes...
What are you doing?
This is a woman from the South who 22 years ago wouldn't get in a cab.
Now is like Mario Andretti.
Hey, what are you doing?
Get out of here!
You know, I mean, she works that finger, you know.
I do not.
I never do that.
But my thing with a horn is, you go beep, beep, who hears that?
It's more polite.
It's more polite.
That's why it's a horn.
Okay, well, you know.
Otherwise, they'd give you a bell.
Different driving styles, what can I say?
Different forms of road rage, right.
Next question.
Who's less comfortable with technology?
And I'll give you a little clue.
They're known for accidentally hitting the reply all button.
Dangerous thing to do on emails.
This is more split.
A lot of Al's still, but a lot of Debra's.
This side seems to think more of Debra.
Al, what's the answer?
Oh, she's the queen of reply-all.
She'll call me and say, you won't believe what I just did.
I said, reply-all, yeah.
Why do you do that?
I don't.
I actually don't.
But you know when people send you these...
You don't.
You just said you did.
I don't do it that often.
I don't do it that often.
I've learned that.
Well, it's not every day.
When people send these group messages and you're emailing back, sometimes I think we all do it.
I just, I think we ought to talk to each other more.
I've got to tell you, the buttons and the technology...
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
You think we should talk to each other more?
This is a woman who doesn't like me calling her!
Well, he calls too much.
I mean, he calls, like, six times a day!
How clingy he is!
How clingy!
Oh, my gosh!
I actually want to tell my wife I'm thinking about you!
Oh, my God!
I know, you know, he's very, very nice.
Oh, yeah!
Yeah!
But you're romantic too.
You like to unplug on Sundays.
I do.
I do.
But I feel like technology is just taking us all over.
I mean, our kids are constantly looking in their hands and we're crossing the street and we're looking in our palms.
And I just feel like...
And we don't even have a phone.
Yes, exactly.
And I'm trying to get the family to just take them down.
I've done some of that research.
I've done stories on the fact that, you know, the technology and slowing down the brain and the light that's emitted from the screen can interfere with sleep patterns.
So I'm trying to get the family for a few hours, just put all the stuff in a basket, and let's just all sit around and enjoy each other.
So in those few hours, I'm curious, who's the bigger romantic?
What do you guys think?
Hold your paddles up.
Is Al the romantic or Deb?
Al.
All the women say Al.
There's like a whole batch of Al's over there.
They're right.
Is he right?
They're right.
And it's not to say that I don't try.
No, you do.
But this is a guy, when I'm traveling and I get home really late at night, like at midnight, I come in, he's got candles up the stairs.
Oh!
To light my way.
What a show-off.
He's making all men look bad, Al Roker.
And if that fire hadn't happened, we'd still be in the same house.
Who has the most annoying health habit?
Paddles again.
Let me see what you guys think.
Much more split with Deborah getting a lot of votes now.
I have very good health habits.
Not me.
Al!
What is it?
I used to drink this kombucha, which I've kind of gotten off of, but now I make a ginger mint tea constantly.
I always have it with me.
And that's the thing, too.
When Al starts something, he keeps it going constantly.
I'm going to show you.
I love kombucha.
Why'd you stop drinking it?
You know what?
I did a cleanse for a month, and when I came back off the cleanse and tried the kombucha, I lost the taste for it.
I don't know what happened, but my taste buds changed.
So this is your ginger mint tea?
This is my ginger mint tea.
So I'll take a bunch of mint.
I usually take a little more time, but I will just about fill this whole thing up with mint.
And then I will chop up about a half a cup of ginger, throw that in, and then I'll pour in Boiling water.
Now I'm trying to find him sometimes.
And he's downstairs cooking up like mint and ginger.
Ginger mint.
He's got a brewery in the basement.
Then I add a couple of teaspoons of stevia.
Let that steep.
Then I chill it.
And now your folks have drained it off.
I actually eat the mint and the ginger along with drinking the tea.
Let's do it the way you do it.
So he's always got a mouthful of ginger and mint.
And Debra's always saying you've got green stuff in your teeth.
At least it's meant.
A toast to your health.
I love you both here.
Alan Deber's new book is out there.
It's fantastic.
It says, been there and done that because they've actually have been there and they have done that.
It's out now and the entire audience is going home with a copy.
We'll be right back.
We love it.
Coming up next, celebrity personality Coco Austin on life as a new mom.
It's a beautiful experience and I love breastfeeding.
And overcoming a serious health issue that almost stopped her from having a baby.
What she had to do to make her dream come true.
Next, Our next guest and her husband Ice-T are proud new parents of an adorable baby girl named Chanel who was born just this past November.
Now you're all going to get to meet baby Chanel in a few minutes for her first ever television appearance.
But first, her mother Coco is here to talk about life as a new mom and about overcoming the serious health issues that almost stopped her from having a baby.
Plus, she's going to share some of her favorite exercises for a killer butt and tight abs.
episode.
Coco, come on out.
You're wonderful.
Thank you for coming.
Yes, I love this color!
Well, I did it to match you.
Yes!
It's coordinated.
And the baby's matching, too, backstage, so...
Baby is beautiful.
I should say this, but just get this out of the way.
That baby's so darn beautiful.
You know, I have a grandson now.
I heard!
About the same age.
About the same age.
So I thought as long as we're here...
There he is, little John.
I could maybe bring him by.
He could meet the in-laws.
We can hook him up.
Wouldn't that be nice?
Wait, so that's...
Chanel's the wifey.
Yes.
Of your new nephew.
What do you think?
Yeah, let's do it.
Let's save some time.
It's arranged marriage already.
Two months into it, is it everything you dreamed of being a mom?
Oh my God.
More so.
More so.
I love the bonding.
I could be pregnant for the rest of my life.
No kidding.
I'm so serious.
People are like, yeah, right.
That's because you had an easy pregnancy.
But really, I love knowing that I grew something inside me and it was moving around and I did it.
You know, like, you know, there's many people that have been pregnant just like I have, but it's a beautiful experience.
And I love breastfeeding.
You like breastfeeding?
I love it.
It's a bonding.
I love looking down and seeing her kneading me.
Oh my god, it just melts my heart.
So the delivery itself was about three weeks early, right?
She was a little premature.
Was it tough to deliver her?
Easy peasy.
Easy peasy?
Easy peasy.
Yeah, I had the epidural, which was like a martini.
I love epidurals!
Oh my god!
That was awesome!
I was like, Ice was in the room, I was laid out, I was like, hey honey, what's going on?
Did he help at all?
What did Ice do?
Did he just sit there and watch her?
Yeah, apparently he took some pictures that I didn't know of until, like, afterwards.
Guys.
They told me I couldn't videotape it.
And I was like, okay.
So they showed me how to push.
There's a procedure how to push.
And it's laying back and doing a crunch.
As soon as I knew it was an ab crunch, I was like, oh, I got this!
I know how to...
Now, you stayed in remarkable shape throughout.
You gained 13 pounds, if I have it right.
Most doctors say, you know, 25 to 35 pounds is sort of what's expected.
Was there any thought maybe you hadn't gained enough weight?
I was, yeah, I was concerned.
I went to my doctor every week, you know, asking, because I myself wanted to see a bump.
I wanted to feel pregnant.
I didn't feel pregnant until the end of my trimester.
And so they said, it's okay.
It's, you know, it's normal.
It's what athletes go through.
If you have a real hard core and real tight abs, it takes longer for you to develop a bump.
So it took longer for me.
First babies also.
But 13 pounds is still not a lot of weight.
13 pounds.
Well, let me tell you though.
During pregnancy, since I stopped alcohol, meaning I'm the girl that stops at the end of the day with a glass of wine or a cocktail, and so I stopped that during pregnancy and I lost 10 pounds right away.
Oh my goodness.
So while I was pregnant, I lost 10 pounds.
Yeah, go figure.
I got pregnant and I was losing weight.
How does that happen?
People are going to hate you.
They get mad at you about this.
I was trying to lose those 10 pounds forever, and I got pregnant and lost it.
And that has a lot to do with the alcohol.
Thank you.
You know, you have a ton of followers on social media, and when people start talking, they say things.
And some folks have said there's just no way that you could actually have had that child, that you must have had a surrogate, it's impossible, you look too good, you didn't gain enough weight.
How do you answer them?
Well, it bothered me in the beginning, and that's why I took so many pictures, because I want you to see my development process.
And that's why I did it before and after, so you can see my little baby inside me.
Oh, there it is.
There's the picture.
There it is.
Yeah.
So you can see that's how big she is underneath my tummy.
But now I have nothing to prove.
I did whatever I could do.
I wanted to be pregnant.
I wanted to show my journey.
I wrote a journey, a baby blog about my journey.
And, you know, if you don't believe me, there's nothing I can prove.
So screw the haters at this point.
I don't know.
What do you want me to do?
Let's move on to something more serious.
You had high blood pressure, which is a major scare, but you actually found out about yours in a particularly concerning way.
Well, I actually had high blood pressure since six years old.
Since age six?
Six years old, yeah.
No one knew about it until when I hit 30. I'm 36 now.
Because every time I went to the doctor's office, I was nervous, and they thought that the high blood pressure was...
I was nervous.
Sure.
White Coat Syndrome.
So they never caught it until later, and it wasn't until I was folding clothes, doing the laundry, I completely blacked out, meaning I couldn't see.
I couldn't see through both eyes.
I'm fully awake and it freaked me out.
I dropped to my knees and I crawled downstairs.
I was on the second floor at that time.
I crawled downstairs trying to find ice because I didn't know what the hell was going on.
I was like, oh my God, I cannot see through my eyes.
And I was screaming for him and I was like, honey, oh my God, what's going on?
And he's like, calm down.
He wanted me to calm down.
You'll regain it.
Hold on.
So I did regain my eyesight, but it freaked me out.
How do you know you regain your eyesight?
Well, I was worried, because what if I was driving at that point?
Sure.
You know, and I just blacked out, because it had nothing to do with anything.
I just happened to be folding laundry.
So what did the doctors say?
Well, I found out it was high blood pressure.
Really high.
174 over 111. Ooh.
For my whole life.
So that's my normal.
I've been on those numbers my entire life.
But what you just told me sounds like it could have been part of a stroke.
Right.
They said I probably wouldn't make it to 40 years old.
Yeah.
They said those numbers are incredible.
They can't believe that I was riding on those numbers for so long.
Well, why would they let you have a baby?
That would make it even worse.
They didn't want me to have a baby.
They said, you can't have a baby until you get this under control because something will go on with you or the baby, either or.
So on top of that, I could get a stroke or have a stroke during the baby and, you know, not survive.
So what gave you the confidence that you could have this beautiful Chanel without risking your own life?
Well, no, I got under control.
I started taking the pills that they wanted, the medicine.
I take one in the morning and at night.
Good for you.
I eat more fish.
I hate fish, but I eat more fish because they tell me to.
And it helped.
You know, it worked out.
So I just listened to it.
So what's your blood pressure now?
You know what?
After the baby, it's right on.
Like, I don't even have to take as much medicine because of it.
Good for you.
So, you did important things in your life at many levels to have this beautiful child.
And I gotta say, I've been privileged to just get a little glimpse of her, but I would want the audience, because I know they are desperate to see her as well, to have a few moments with her.
Is that okay?
Can we bring her out?
Yeah, yeah, let's see.
Let's meet Chanel!
Hey, baby!
She's wide awake!
Yeah!
Oh, she's so beautiful.
Look at...
Is it cool?
Here.
Oh my goodness.
Thank you for bringing her out.
Oh my goodness.
You see all those people out there?
Yeah.
And she smiles the camera on you.
Come on now.
Yeah, she was 5'7 when I had her.
Completely healthy.
Babies lose a little weight when they're born because of all the swelliness.
So she went down to 5 pounds and now she's like almost 8 pounds now.
Yes.
What do you hope for her future?
As your mom told this beautiful little gems angel.
That she has a chance in life.
She has a chance and she's happy.
And I have a baby!
Well...
I love her.
I don't get to do this too often.
Everyone's going to love her.
But I've got a special...
Makes me cry when I see her.
Because I made this little girl.
Because they said I couldn't.
And I did!
Screw the haters.
And you did.
You know what?
She deserves you too.
Thank you.
It's gonna be special.
She'll keep you excited and jumping up and down.
I've had a bunch myself, as you know.
They're unique little beautiful angels that come into your life and change it for the better in everyone.
They are.
Even when she makes you mad, she'll have all your buttons.
It's true.
I'm her little guardian angel right now.
So I'm gonna give you a little present, but it's a unique present in some ways.
Oh, how cute!
I had many things I could have gotten, but most importantly, the back says Dr. Chanel.
Oh!
Look at baby!
So we're going to turn her into a doctor.
What do you think?
I love it.
That's awesome.
And then you blinged it out, too.
Of course.
I mean, it's your child.
I've got to bling it out.
Yes, of course.
One more kiss.
Oh, too beautiful.
Listen, we're going to take a quick break.
Up next, Coco's going to show you some of her favorite moves.
They're going to get you to have the kind of butt and the tight abs that you want.
Is that the promise?
That's the promise.
Hopefully, I can help you out.
Stay with us.
Coming up next, Coco's back with Kicks a Butt.
Or at least show us how to get a great one.
You gotta work all three muscles in the booty to get the killer butt.
Don't get to the med school.
Her favorite exercise is to help her get her body back after baby.
Are you serious?
Coming up next.
Before you take another bite of barbecue, see what we uncovered in our Food Truth series, All New Oz.
That's coming up on Monday.
We are back with the amazing Coco who just gave birth to her beautiful baby girl, Chanel, just two months ago.
Now, she recently posted photos online comparing her stomach one week before giving birth and then one week after, which I think is unbelievable in the shape you're in.
Coco does this with a fitness app she has called Coco's Workout World.
Today, she's going to show us some of her favorite exercises for tight abs and a killer butt.
Did I get it right?
Right.
Exactly.
You've got to have a killer butt.
All right.
We've got three ladies from the audience.
Can you teach them, too?
Yeah.
All right, come on out, ladies.
Definitely.
All right, they're going to do whatever you say.
Okay, I'm going to kick my shoes off.
You're kicking your shoes off?
Yeah, I actually have a...
Here, I'll kick mine off, too.
Oh, kick them off.
Kick them off.
I've been wanting to do that for a long time.
Well, these are a little bit of time, so I'm going to kick them off.
Oh, you're placing them off.
Placing them off, just making sure.
Just so you know, during pregnancy, I stopped working out because I wanted to just concentrate on her.
But I was still active throughout the whole workout.
But during my app, these are actual moves I do.
I like to do combinations like the squat.
Of course, everybody knows the squat.
But the squat is you're going to squat.
Right?
And when you push up, you're going to twist your pelvic in.
Yes, push it in.
Like that.
Come on, help me a little here.
So when you squat, you push up in.
Right?
And then you're going to do a diagonal lunge.
What?
Squat.
Make sure you push in and do a diagonal lunge.
Are you serious?
You're making yourself.
You do this.
Right?
And then diagonal.
You can pick up the pace.
We didn't stress that time.
Right?
Yeah, exactly.
But it's not supposed to be like that.
You're supposed to just slowly listen.
Right?
Okay, so that's something that...
Did you guys get that straight?
You weren't embarrassed doing that?
Alright, okay.
Alright, but now there's a plank twist.
This is good for the abs and good for the core.
Now, I'm telling you, when I was pregnant, it was all about the abs.
If you want to get pregnant, don't worry about anything else in your body other than your abs.
This is called the plank.
Everybody knows the plank, right?
But what we're gonna do is a twist.
Oh, God.
Whoa.
Throw your back out.
Now, does Ice-T ever do these with you?
Do you guys partner up?
Yeah, he actually goes to the gym like three times a week with me.
But we also work out outside the gym, if you know what I mean.
What do you mean?
Well, you know, I have a pleasure product line.
Oh, my goodness.
I know.
Sorry, guys.
It's called Cocoalicious.
It's pleasure product line.
And Ice and I, we do homework at home.
So that's our homework.
I'm turning the color of my shirt.
Yes.
Well, you're into a lot of things.
I'm very proud of you.
Thank you.
And I'm particularly proud that you're able to bring life into the world.
A little miracle that she is Chanel.
A little miracle.
Coco, thank you very much.
Yes, thank you.
You can watch Coco answer our quiz, this or that, to Switzerland at DrOz.com.
I'll be right back.
I'm gonna keep doing more of these things.
According to Denise, you said, "I'm going to kill you, and I'm going to kill your mom." Is he ready to face his truth?
All new Oz.
That's coming up on Wednesday.
Breaking news.
Could your heartburn meds lead to an increased risk of dementia?
A brand new study that's making headlines across the globe reveals that people 75 years or older who regularly take acid reflux medications like Prilosec or Dexium, Prevacid, they had a 44% increased risk of dementia.
Right now, it's unclear just how these meds may increase the risk of dementia.
It might be because it changes the way we absorb nutrients.
Who knows?
But what we do know is that there's a possible relationship between the two.
So let me ask the audience, raise your hand if you don't mind, if you've taken one of the medications, the heartburn medications that I mentioned earlier.
Let's start with you.
How are you?
Good, thanks.
What's your name?
Barbara.
And how long have you been taking the medications?
For about two or three years.
And what started it?
Heartburn.
Just regular old-fashioned heartburn?
Yeah, I do get heartburn quite often.
And when you see these studies, does it concern you?
Yes.
Very.
And have you tried to get off the medications before?
I do, and then I end up taking something over the counter if I stop, usually.
Okay.
So let me give you and everybody else some advice.
There are 15 million Americans who are taking these pills, so you're not alone.
They work pretty effectively, obviously, if you've got this reflux.
It works to reduce the amount of acid in the stomach.
You need that acid, too.
It's not just there by accident.
So a couple basic rules of thumb for heartburn medications.
Again, for everybody to pay attention to.
If you have reflux two times per week chronically, and it's related to GERD, then I think it makes sense.
But, this is important, you can still try to get off it.
Talk to your doc about tactics that might work to reduce the symptoms enough so you can get off the medications.
And if you're having periodic acid pains and it's not more than a couple times a week, just use the regular old antacids.
The old-fashioned technique, it probably will help a lot of folks.
Thank you.
Remember, happy and healthy starts at home.
To me, everything is family.
Whatever I'm going through, my family's going through too.
Family all together is what's going to get her through this.
She should know how much I love her and how much I need her and how much her grandkids need her.
I love my grandma.
She makes us all laugh.
She's a great cook and we all love her.
My family wasn't here to support me through all this.
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