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April 2, 2025 - Dr. Oz Podcast
42:35
Brain Injury Unlocked Genius Talent: Acquired Savant Syndrome | Dr. Oz | S6 | Ep 143 | Full Episode
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Time Text
Today, struck by genius.
It's so amazing.
See how a blow to the head took two ordinary guys and unlocked extraordinary talents.
It's changed my whole design.
Acquired savant syndrome.
So overall, blessing or curse that this happened.
Plus, almost every child carries one.
A cell phone.
But do they cause cancer in kids?
Coming up next on Dr.
Oz. Dr.
Oz. you Today, meet two of only 30 known people in the world who have experienced one of the most fascinating conditions of the human mind.
These otherwise ordinary guys unlock extraordinary talent, abilities they've never shown before, as a result of traumatic injury to the brain.
Find out how a blow to the head can miraculously result in brilliant musical or mathematical abilities.
The human brain.
Unique, complex.
Complex and mysterious.
But when the brain is subjected to trauma, the consequences can be disastrous or, in rare occasions, amazing.
Cases like Alonzo Clemens, who suffered a brain injury as a toddler and acquired the ability to sculpt any creature down to the tiniest detail.
Or Pippa Taylor, who got a concussion after a fall down a flight of stairs and developed the spontaneous talent to draw expertly.
Or Orlando Sorrell, struck by a baseball at age 10 and left with the staggering capability to recollect precise weather details of every date since his accident.
Neurologists call it Acquired savant syndrome, when brain damage spontaneously unlocks amazing new abilities and talents.
Derek Amato is another example.
I was at a pool party.
I remember striking the bottom of the pool and then coming out of the water, apparently in shock, and I thought my ears were bleeding.
The resulting massive concussion unleashed Derek's dormant musical talent.
I went to visit a friend and in the corner of his apartment was a small keyboard and I was just absolutely drawn to go over and tinker with it for some reason.
I had never a desire to learn or play the piano.
The moment I sat down my abilities were just fluid and non-stop.
I didn't know how to comprehend what was transpiring.
I'm still trying to understand it.
It's unbelievable.
Derek is the only known person to have acquired musical talent after an injury like this and he's here.
I guess I'm listening to you.
I'm sure everyone at home is listening to this.
I wish I would have.
I would have been playing a long time ago.
I would have played when I was a kid.
I love the instrument.
I grew up, my grandmother played the church organ.
So I would go to church and sit next to her and I'd see it.
But I never played one.
Tell your family.
How did they figure out that this was some weird outcome of what could have killed you?
Well, the hard part about it is after you hit your head and you've had head trauma, they already think you're a little goofy anyway.
So to wake up a week later and tell them that I'm playing piano is like a little intense.
So I had to give it some thought.
And how did they deal with it when they finally realized You actually have this incredible talent.
My mother, I took, actually asked my mom to go to the music store.
I was visiting her on holiday and we went to the music store.
We sat down on the digital piano.
I had the salesman turn it on.
My mom sat there.
I played.
She started crying.
I played for 10 minutes maybe.
The salesman come over and tried to sell me the piano and asked how long I'd been playing and I said about five hours.
He obviously thought I was nuts again.
Five hours after realizing you could play.
So you had a career.
You're in the corporate world.
I was a trainer in corporate America in telecom, and then I worked in the fighting industry for years before that.
How has this changed that trajectory?
It's kind of changed my whole design.
Everything's different.
I lost half my hearing, you know, 30-40% this year when I hit.
My memory is terrible.
I think it's made everything just more electric.
I'm still a fairly normal guy.
I just think everything is just electric.
So you lost hearing, just to be clear, but you gained an amazing ability to create things that we hear.
Sort of paradoxical.
So overall, blessing or curse that this happened?
By far a blessing.
I think it's become a voice of inspiration, of faith, of hope.
Well, stay put for one second.
I want you to meet somebody.
While Derek, of course, has this remarkable acquired talent and he sees it as a blessing, not everyone diagnosed with this condition feels the same.
I want you to meet Jason, who is struggling to come to terms with his new mathematical genius.
Jason Paget is a changed man.
I always tell my wife, if you had met me before, there is no way you would have liked me.
Life consisted of going out every night to the bars.
One big carefree goof-off.
All that changed 13 years ago when Jason was viciously mugged.
The attack left him with a severe concussion and an incredible new ability.
The morning after the attack when I washed up in the bathroom and I looked at the water going down the drain it didn't look like it normally did.
Now it looks like it's these little tiny straight tangent lines that are getting smaller as they rotate down in towards the drain.
And now I know it's like a recursive form of the Pythagorean theorem.
Jason is believed to be one of the only people in the world who can draw mathematically accurate fractals by hand.
You know, when you graph an equation and it makes a certain shape, you can see those shapes, you know, in reality, and they're everywhere.
I draw to express what I'm seeing.
The patterns are just beautiful.
It's awesome.
It's awesome.
These stories are riveting to me.
Thanks for being here, Jason.
That's a...
Picture, I understand, of your hand.
Yes. But it's not how I would draw a hand.
Can you explain what we're seeing and how your mind processes all that?
Ever since I was attacked in a robbery and had a brain injury, and ever since then, when things move, they have this jitteriness to it.
And that jitteriness makes everything look like it's attached to a three-dimensional grid structure.
The best way I can think of to describe it is hitting pause repeatedly on your TV and see it frame by frame with like a line connecting the frames, but in real time.
So if I look at that picture, what do those different lines represent to me?
This is just showing the jaggedness, the smoothness of everything is gone now.
Because of these little picture frames and the line in between them, there is no curve anymore.
So everything has this slightly pixelated and straight lines around all the edges of it.
So curves are gone completely.
So when you look at my face, you also see jagged lines.
Everything is that way, and especially when bright light hits it and when there's motion.
The motion really makes it stand out, or light bouncing off of water will literally draw a grid for you, and do a lot of other amazing things, too.
So you see things none of the rest of us see.
So, I understand that you've not met anyone else who has had this change of awareness after brain injury.
Never. There are not many people who at least are public about it.
Right. I'd like to introduce you to Derek, if you don't mind.
That'd be great.
So at least have it happen on our stage for the first time.
Right. So Derek, come on over.
Hi, it's nice to meet you.
Pleasure, I've never met another...
Me either, yeah.
I've had all sorts of questions that I've wondered about.
I have lots of questions for you.
Yeah, like, I get migraines that are all-encompassing, like they'll knock me down for days at a time, and I was curious if that happens to you.
I go through all that, I go through, yeah, we probably need more time, so we'll have to spend some time together, I would imagine, one of these days.
I would like to ask, I think, probably the big questions everyone's wondering.
And I wonder if you're asking this of yourselves.
Why? Why did this happen?
Why me?
You ever ask that of yourselves?
I ask it all the time.
I think in my personal, I think, I think I was brought here with this gift.
And I think the head injury potentially opened up an area in my brain that allowed me to use it.
That's how I look at it.
And for me, I look at it like as what happened to me.
It was chance for me, you know, that I was that person that just happened to get hit in the right way.
But then after a while, after going through all that tough beginning, I really want nothing more than just to share it because it's so amazing.
Now you said, you know, you want to make sure people are clear on this.
you're actually going to have an opportunity because Jason's actually going to be in a, he's just, you're going to be the subject of a movie.
Yes. I don't know if you're allowed to talk about this yet, but may I inquire who's going to play you?
Yeah, the rights were bought by...
No. Derek's playing Jason.
No. Yes.
The rights or the option for the book was purchased by Channing Tatum and Sony.
Channing Tatum.
Channing Tatum.
So he's taking math lessons now.
You look the same.
Yes. Here, look at that camera.
Look at that camera.
We're identical except for the 50 pounds of muscle.
And so Derek, when your turn comes, because I cannot believe there are people right now watching the show saying, I want to buy him.
Who should play you, do you think?
DiCaprio? Yeah!
Come on over here, play us a little bit.
Play us out the break.
Jason, come on over.
Yeah, you should probably try playing.
I love listening to music now.
You're right, that would make it different.
Come on over.
We'll be right back.
We'll be right back.
Coming up next, an entire generation has grown up with technology.
Could smartphones really be causing cancer in your kids?
The medical world is divided.
Why some experts warn it's the tobacco of the future.
Coming up next.
All new Oz.
Bugs for breakfast?
20 humidifiers just to go to bed?
Dr. Oz breaks down bizarre health behaviors.
Plus, what the secret language of cravings reveals about your emotions.
All new Oz.
That's coming up tomorrow.
Today's big conversation is a major debate in the medical community right now.
Could your smartphone cause cancer in kids?
Some experts say no, but others claim smartphones are the tobacco and asbestos of our future and it's your children who may be at most at risk.
Dr. Lisa Thornton is a pediatrician and the Medical Director of Pediatric and Adolescent Rehabilitation at the Kids Rehab in Chicago.
She says our children are in danger.
So Dr. Thornton, which devices have you concerned?
Well, all devices that emit a cell signal or Wi-Fi signal, so not just the smartphones, but also your computer, these game systems, all of them emit Wi-Fi and emit electromagnetic radiation.
And what is it about these devices that makes you concerned they might cause cancer or other illnesses?
Well, there is some suggestion that the electromagnetic rays So, I was curious.
I don't know how many kids have devices, so we put a survey out with DrRoz.com, and we asked how many wireless devices your children had.
Listen carefully.
65% of you.
Two-thirds of you said two or more.
Dr. Thornton, does that surprise you?
It doesn't.
I have a 13-year-old and her and her friends all have.
Probably two devices each and the problem is that not only they're holding these phones up to their ears But they're also putting a lot of things in their laps, which is close to reproductive organs So who determines who regulates how much radiation is emitted from smartphones and didn't we have little games and two devices and etc The FCC regulates the amount of radiation that these can emit and so there is some regulation The problem is that the intensity of usage has gone up over the years So there's a lot more of these devices being used and the studies were not done in children So,
how do you know if you're a parent?
How do you know what the safe amount is?
Well, you don't know what the safe amount is, and that's the concern.
Me, as a parent and a pediatrician, I'm very worried about what is the safe amount.
I don't know.
And as you know, with radiation, the effects can take 10, 20, even 30 years before we see the actual health effects.
So, I looked at a lot of the data, everybody, because I've been curious about this topic.
And I've got to say, many of the studies, the ones that we have available in adults, don't seem to raise that much of an alarm.
I look at major organizations.
For example, the electromagnetic fields produced by the mobile phones Dr. Thornton is mentioning about, they're classified by the World Health Organization as possibly carcinogenic to humans.
So I started thinking, why was that?
Why are they cautious?
Why are they worried?
And then I found out maybe why.
A recent study reported that parts of a child's growing body can absorb up to 10 times the radiation that an adult body would absorb.
Let me explain why this is concerning.
Take a look at this image.
This is an adult brain.
And here's the There's the smartphone down here, the cell phone.
Notice how thick the skull is.
And you can see that even with that thick skull and the scalp above it, the radiation from this cell phone penetrates but not that deeply into the brain.
See how big the brain is up there?
So you've gotten maybe a quarter of the way in.
That's in an adult.
Now look at this image of a ten-year-old.
See the difference?
Same cell phone.
Not much penetration here.
You're over halfway through the brain with the energy that's coming from that cell phone in this child's brain now This child's brain is also because a young kid is dividing faster and they're developing that leaves them more vulnerable So then take a look at a five-year-old because now we know five-year-olds have these I mean goodness It's gone from halfway to pretty much dominating the space of the brain So the question is,
since it's going in there deeper, since there's more happening in the brain of a child, since the child is at risk for developmental issues that we may not even know about, difficult to predict, it becomes a big question mark.
Not an accusation that there's a problem, but a thought that maybe we should have, at least in our minds, a concern about this process.
So Dr. Thornton, what do we know about the effects of this radiation on the body?
Well, we don't know much.
Again, there are these suggestions that there may be problems, but there was one study that suggested even attention deficit hyperactivity disorder may be attributable to some of this absorption, but much more study is needed.
The government device manufacturers, how do they make us aware of these, I think, understandable concerns parents might have?
Well, you know, it's interesting.
The device manufacturers, if you read your instruction manual, actually Do have distance recommendations.
So many of them will say, you know, hold this at least an inch away from your body to limit the amount of radiation exposure.
No, I need to have some advice here.
What would you tell all the parents out there?
Listen, I know my kids aren't throwing away their smartphones.
All these devices are going to be part of our life in probably growing amounts.
What would you do?
Well, when it comes to radiation, distance matters.
So keep these as far away from your child's body as possible.
Use a wired headset.
Remember that the wireless headset is emitting a Wi-Fi, so that's giving you radiation as well.
Use the speakerphone.
Use the text feature.
If you're not going to use the phone, put it into airplane mode.
Don't sleep with your phone next to your head under your pillow.
Teenage girls, don't stick them in your bras, which a lot of girls have a tendency to do.
And then, you know, there is a cell phone case that actually draws the electromagnetic radiation away from the body.
It kind of directs the waves away from the body.
It looks like a regular case, but this little...
So I reached out to the CTIA, that's the Wireless Association, and I asked about the possible carcinogenic effects of smartphones, and they were pretty clear on this.
They said in part, And I've got to say, I understand their position.
I look at these manuscripts.
We're asking a question about kids where there's not as much comfort, at least in my heart.
No one knows the long-term effects of all these new technologies in kids, but we know the government's limit was not conceived with kids in mind.
I know my kids aren't giving up their devices, but I think Dr. Thornton, your advice is very sensible, and we're going to take advantage of them in my household.
Be right back.
Next, it's the best weight loss move you haven't tried.
Training your palate to crave less sugar and salt.
Top Chef star Richard Blais has the taste bud tricks to get you to eat less.
Simple techniques to curb those cravings you just can't resist.
Next. Can you trick your taste buds into eating less?
Top chef Richard Blais says yes, and he's here to prove it.
He's the host of a new show called Hungry Games, investigating the science behind our food cravings and choices.
So how's the show changed how you cook and how you eat?
It's made me stop and think about every choice that I make, whether it's shopping at a supermarket or what I order off of a menu or even what I'm cooking in my own home or restaurant.
It's just given me that pause to be like, OK, what's going on here?
Why is this happening?
So it's been an amazing experience.
Changed my life.
So let me ask you about taste buds,'cause we always talk about, you know, esoterically how they're important, but how critical are they to what we eat and what we taste?
I mean, they're very important.
Obviously, as for us to get pleasure, they're very important, but also there's a lot of interesting things that can happen if you can pause your taste buds.
Pausing taste buds?
Yeah. Like, for example, Alright. So pretzels...
By the way, this is a taste bud trick he says will work for all of us, and he thinks it's going to be helpful and interesting because he's going to be able to eat less if he follows instructions.
So for everyone who likes to binge on salty foods, we'll use pretzels as an example.
Take it away.
Yes, and that's me.
I like to binge on salty foods.
So if you want to get yourself to stop eating A salty snack, right?
What you do is you eat one, right?
Everyone, please put your pretzels out.
Eat a pretzel, everyone.
Just have one.
Everyone at home, you don't have to do this if you don't want to, but you probably have pretzels by you anyway, so take a bite of them.
All right.
So it's sort of salty, tasty.
Salty, delicious.
I could have another one.
And what happens is your saliva, the salt dissolves in your saliva activates your taste buds.
So if you stop your saliva by patting your tongue with a paper towel, Just pat it?
Uh-huh, just pat it.
Just blot it a little bit.
Everyone do this.
It doesn't taste very good.
It doesn't taste very good.
This is also a great way to pick up people at a bar or start a conversation, I think.
The latter.
All right, so now your mouth is dry, and then you have a pretzel.
All right.
Question, let me ask you, audience.
How does that second pretzel taste to you all?
Who wants to answer that question?
Just stand up if you don't mind.
Just like the first one?
Just like the first one.
All right.
Second thoughts, come up here.
How does the second pretzel taste?
The taste is very exfoliating.
You can taste it more.
It's more salty.
More salty.
Other thoughts on the second pretzel?
How do you compare the second pretzel to the first pretzel?
I'll tell you what I tasted.
I didn't taste the salt.
The first time around it was strong.
Who thinks that was the same?
Go ahead.
I didn't think it was as salty.
You didn't think it was as salty?
No. Alright, and how about over here?
I agree with you.
It was less salty, it was a little more bland this time.
Blander, and?
Not that much like the first.
Not like the first.
Where are you from?
From Poland.
So everywhere in the world I think this is the case.
Yeah. So you actually can trick your taste buds.
You know, I'll tell you, it's interesting.
I think truly drying your tongue is a little more difficult than it seems.
You really have to pat it out there, and then quickly put the pretzel in, otherwise you immediately wet it again.
Yeah, and I think what also the people that said, oh, it tastes just like the first one, what's happening is the saliva's coming back in their mouth, and then you get that salt again, and then you're like, okay, there it is, that's a pretzel.
But without the saliva, the chemicals in the food doesn't melt, and you can't taste it.
All right, next, for everyone who loves spicy foods like hot wings, this is a big one.
Richard says that spicy foods like hot wings actually make you eat more, and I actually thought it was the opposite.
You would think that it is the opposite, but it's not the case.
All right, so we did a little experiment to figure out how to trick your taste buds when eating spicy food.
Take a look.
These are our spiciest wings maybe known to man.
Whoa! Oh, man, my lips are on fire.
Time to test our neutralizers.
What do you think will eliminate the burn the best?
Capsaicin dissolves in alcohol, so in theory, beer should help.
Try the peanut butter.
Avocado is up next.
This looks like it makes sense, right?
It's so creamy textured.
Tomato juice.
Honey. We've tried everything.
It's time for the final verdict.
Let's do a little survey here.
Everyone at home, follow along with us.
Raise your hand if you think the best way to deal with spicy food is beer.
Nobody. Who thinks that it's peanut butter?
Hands up.
A few folks there.
Yeah. Avocado lovers?
A lot of avocados.
There we have it.
How about tomato juice?
And how about honey?
A couple people.
I would say most people picked avocados.
Let me just do this little experiment.
These are pretty hot.
You made these?
They're pretty hot.
Pretty spicy.
Maybe not as spicy as the ones that we saw on the clip.
Oh my goodness.
They're really hot.
Those were incredible.
Give me that beer.
Yeah. There you go.
That makes a lot of sense.
Yeah. Yeah.
It doesn't work.
No. Yeah.
It doesn't work at all.
It's worse.
Yeah. Natural inclination is to grab a beverage, right?
It makes sense.
You went for the first two beverages.
Give me the answer.
The answer is, surprisingly, it's honey.
Honey? Honey is the answer, yeah.
Because what's happening with the honey...
Well done.
Oh, that worked!
That's the Dr. Oz shot now, I think.
But what's happening with the honey is it's actually tricking your palate, and it's coating your tongue, and the sweetness is sort of masking...
The spice.
See, this would work.
This could be a Dr. Oz shot.
I think that's it.
I think that the honey lager, I think, might be the way to go.
It actually is very good.
And you know what?
This will work for my wife as well.
Honey is a spicy food.
I'm telling you.
Now, the people that said avocado are not that far off.
Like, you would think that avocado are foods that are high in fat.
So avocado and peanut butter, they will do the job, but not as good as the honey.
And then tomato, because it has acidity, is also good, but there's not enough acidity in the tomato juice to really do the job.
Calm the spice of the wings.
And beer is probably not the best idea.
The honey was instantaneous.
Yeah. It immediately coats your tongue.
I never thought about that.
Yeah. Neither did I. But I'm glad I did, because in this segment, those were spicy wings just like they are today.
Next, for everyone who binges on candy, does the color of your candy affect your taste buds?
So to figure it out, we set up a Dr. Oz experiment to find out.
We set up shop at the Dr. Oz production offices, where we conducted an experiment with eight real women.
They thought they were here as a focus group to give their opinion on an episode of The Dr. Oz Show, but really, we wanted to see if the color of the candy they were provided affected the amount they ate.
We gave one group a bowl of just green-colored chocolate candy.
We gave the other group a bowl of multi-colored chocolate candy.
As they chatted amongst themselves, we watched to see how much candy each group ate.
So would single or multiple colors make a difference?
Very, very tricky question.
Richard, what were the answers?
All right, the answer is, surprisingly or maybe not, that you'll eat more of the multicolored variety.
So if variety is the spice of life, it might be the fat of life, too, because you're more likely to keep going into the bowl With multicolored candies.
We actually literally hand-counted every one of these in these two bowls to make them identical.
And we were just watching you do it in the backstage area.
People instinctively come after the multicolored ones.
Absolutely. So take away the trick-or-taste buds.
Separate the colors of your candy before you start eating them or serving them to your friends.
That way you'll eat a lot less of them.
You can catch Richard Blaze on Hungry Games Mondays at 8 p.m. on the Food Network.
Be right back.
Nice to meet you.
Thank you.
*Cheering*
Tell us, how has this show helped you lose weight?
I love the recipes on DrOz.com.
I pick two per day, one for lunch and one for dinner.
I've been doing this for seven weeks and I've lost 21 pounds.
Head to DrOz.com slash recipes now.
Coming up next, tennis superstar Caroline Wozniacki, a fighter on the court and in her everyday life.
She fought to get back to the top of her game.
How she reclaimed her strength and determination that can inspire you too.
Coming up next.
All new Oz.
Bugs for breakfast?
20 humidifiers just to go to bed?
Dr. Oz breaks down bizarre health behaviors.
Plus, what the secret language of cravings reveals about your emotions.
All new Oz.
That's coming up tomorrow.
Tom Frank, tennis player, Caroline Wozniacki is a fighter.
Whether it's on the court or in everyday life, She finds strength from unexpected places.
And today, she's going to show you how you can, too.
Come on out, Caroline Wozniacki.
Come on out, Caroline.
Oh my goodness, you always travel with rackets?
I do, and I have a racket for you from my sponsor, BabbleApp.
Oh, I have a racket!
Yeah, yeah.
I play with this racket, actually.
Here, go over there.
All right.
Let me see.
I'm going to help you.
I'm wearing heels here.
Oh, come on.
Caroline, keep up, please.
Come on up!
One more!
Caroline! Come on!
Try your hardest, Caroline!
Stay with me!
Oh, Caroline!
I don't want to roll an ankle here!
Come over here!
I put her in high heels to do that!
I love it!
Come on over!
Oh my goodness!
You know, I don't think I can do that in high heels.
That's difficult, isn't it?
That's a talent.
That takes training.
Yeah, training.
It's a different kind of training.
So last season was a tough one for you.
It was.
Yeah, it was a little bit up and down.
Had a tough start to the year.
Didn't play very well, but came around and played really well the second half of the year.
And yeah, just was injury-free and could really practice 100%.
So how do you do that?
How do you get your mind back-centered?
For all of us who are watching, who go through hard times and then better times.
I think everyone will go through Bad times, good times.
It's the same in sports.
It's not always easy.
It will always go up and down.
I just always keep fighting.
I hate losing.
I come from a competitive family.
We're all bad losers.
That's what really motivates me.
Every time it's going the wrong way, I just keep going.
You make fun of each other when you lose in your family?
Oh, we do.
All the time.
It's terrible.
Brutal. It's terrible.
So there's no way I'm ever losing to a family member in anything.
So you turned to strength outside your family from actually a very unexpected place.
Yes. Serena Williams.
Yeah. And you're good friends, from what I understand.
How did she help you?
Yeah, she's a great friend.
We have so many things in common.
And, you know, I was going through a few personal things last year and she was just there for me, which was great.
And it's nice to have someone on tour who Who's just a friend, because it's an individual sport.
You play tennis, you travel the world all the time, and to have a close friend there who just, you know, it's fun to hang out with.
We sing karaoke.
You do.
We talk design.
We do all kind of fun stuff.
So what kind of advice did she give you?
She said, just keep going.
You know, it's not going to be easy always, but it's going to be worth it in the end.
And at the end of the day, everything's meant to happen.
It happens for a reason.
And you're going to come out stronger.
And she was right.
She's very sage.
So most of us are used to seeing this side of Caroline, but I want to show you a different side of Caroline.
You look very comfortable in a bathing suit.
Look at this.
This is her at the recent Sports Illustrated spread.
I mean, were you at all self-conscious taking that picture?
I was, definitely.
It was the first time I was doing something in a bikini.
But when I was asked by Sports Illustrated, I was so excited.
And when I came on set, I was like, I don't know what I'm going to do out here.
This is not what I usually do.
But the whole crew out there were amazing.
They're always saying how great I looked.
So that made me feel confident and comfortable.
Well, they're accurate.
It was fun.
Thank you.
What do you do to stay in shape?
Well, when I go crazy, I choose to run a marathon.
You run marathons?
I ran the New York City Marathon last year.
You're not worried about getting hurt?
That's a lot!
You know, I wake up every morning and something hurts, so I thought, what's the difference?
And yeah, it's always been on my bucket list.
So I ran the New York City Marathon last year and had a blast.
It was amazing.
I did it for charity, which was great.
And it was good for my mind.
I started training after Wimbledon, so around July time, and the marathon was in November.
And that whole stretch, I was playing great tennis, some of my best tennis ever.
So I was thinking maybe to do it again this year, but it didn't work.
It's still a working process.
I don't know.
I ran a couple of those.
Probably not.
I couldn't even stand in the OR after running the marathon.
I don't know how you play tennis.
What kind of things do you eat?
How do you make sure your body is getting the right nutrients?
I try and eat healthy.
I mean, I know that obviously the food is the fuel for my body and I need to take good care of it.
I love to just have some pasta before matches, chicken, protein.
But at the same time, I have a sweet tooth.
So I love to indulge.
What's your favorite sweet tooth?
I love chocolate.
Any chocolate.
If it's milk chocolate, white chocolate, with caramel.
I love chocolate.
The best kind.
It is, yeah.
So, Sheryl Caroline is a brand ambassador for USANA Health Sciences.
They're one of our trusted sponsorship partners.
Why'd you pick USANA?
Well, USANA has been a partner of the WCA Tour for many years and I've used their products and I love it.
I love how they make me feel and USANA as well makes sure there's nothing in the vitamins that can be banned or when you take over-the-counter things sometimes, you know, you don't know where it's been, where it's coming from and we get directed so many times and it's important for me that I'm 100% clear in my head that what I'm taking is good and yeah, just have made me feel good and strong and healthy.
So as you point out that your sign of products are used by over 700 professional and Olympic athletes around the world, so Caroline's not alone.
So what products I use the USANA Essentials, which is the multivitamin, and the Bio-Omega, because I don't eat seafood.
Boo! Spoo!
I know, I know.
I get judged about that one.
And the good thing is that it has a lemon taste so it doesn't have that fishy taste that I hate whenever I've taken fish oils and stuff like that.
So that's good and it keeps my joints pretty healthy.
It keeps you smart, too.
Exactly, yeah.
So we're going to exchange a little gift here.
I'm going to give the audience at home a gift.
You can go to DrRoz.com and enter for a chance to win one of a thousand bottles of Usana's by Omega.
Now... Normally, normally, we would actually give the audience in the studio a gift as well, but Caroline is, well, she's very judgy, as she said, very competitive.
So, here's what we're gonna do.
I'm gonna go to the audience.
If you can hit the ball right to me, and I can catch it, then you all get a free bottle as well.
Are you ready to play?
I'm feeling the pressure now.
You feel the pressure?
I do.
All right, there are your balls right there.
All right, I'm gonna go over here.
So cheer me on now.
Come on, come on, come on.
Come on, audience.
Now.
I don't catch it.
One of you can still catch it, and everyone goes home with a bottle of Usana's by Omega.
All right?
But if no one catches it, then Caroline's taking them back home with her.
That's the deal.
All right.
Just to make it clear, it's not my fault if I hit it right at you and you don't catch it?
That's still your fault.
No spins.
These pros, they spin the ball.
I'm ready.
Come on.
Come on, coach.
Oh, no, I can't get it!
Oh! Oh, I dropped it!
One more, one more.
I dropped that one.
It was close.
Oh, no!
Yes! Yes!
Audience, you're all going home with USADA's Buy an Egg.
A big thanks to Caroline Wozniacki and USADA.
We'll be right back.
We'll be right back.
Coming up next, are you suffering from back issues, everyday muscle aches and chronic pains, but can't always get to a doctor?
Empower yourself and learn to be your own chiropractor.
Healing remedies that you can do right at home.
Coming up next.
Thank you.
Let's face it, you can't get to a medical doctor's office for every little aching pain you have.
Today, I'm introducing you to two chiropractors who say they can help ease your back pain at home without pills.
They've even worked on my back, so I trust them.
Please welcome Drs.
Michael and Lori Smack.
They're husband and wife, so if you want to work with your wife in a car, you guys help each other do the work.
We do.
One person holds the patient down.
Exactly. So, Michael, who can benefit from home remedies?
Again, today we're going to focus on what you can do at home even without going to a chiropractor's office.
Well, anybody with muscle aches and pains on a daily basis, there are simple remedies that you could do at home to help lessen the pain.
So you may not appreciate this, but I suspect you do.
People go to extreme measures to try to relieve their own back pain.
So I want you to take a look at some videos we found on YouTube.
About to crack my back.
Amazing. I would not try that at home.
Actually, Laura, you said cracking your back's not a very good idea.
It's not.
Just because you hear a noise doesn't mean you're actually helping yourself.
Sometimes you could be doing more harm than good.
The noise you hear is just gases being released from the joint.
So what can we do if we want to loosen up our back and joints and the like?
The things that work?
Right, exactly.
So we have some home remedies today to show you.
All right, let's get to it.
Some exercises.
Wenda's joining us from the audience.
She says she's got some occasional back pain.
It's affecting her life.
How are you, Linda?
Good. How are you?
So if you don't mind, just describe what's going on with your lower back.
Well, I have day-to-day pain in my lower back.
You know, just, you know, the normal things, just getting up in the morning.
You know, I have a stiff and achy back.
And when I go to bed at night, I have to position myself.
You know, to make sure that, you know, my posture is good when I go to sleep.
I teach young children.
Oh. So I'm constantly bending and stretching and sitting and standing.
Chasing after those little guys.
Well, going down to their level.
So you find yourself slouching often.
And also, you know, I'm on several devices throughout the day.
So I'm either emailing or, you know, writing up reports or, you know, just creating plans.
The classic modern life.
Right. Exactly.
So the first thing we're going to do is called a spinal press.
Lori, please explain what this is.
Okay. First, you're going to lay face down.
So find yourself in a comfortable position.
Turn your head to one side and arms down to your side.
So in this position, I want you to consciously release the tension from your low back and your legs.
And stay like this for a couple of minutes before you begin.
I'll be asleep in a couple of minutes.
The second position is to bring your hands, your elbows underneath your shoulders.
Bring your body up and look straight ahead.
Relax your stomach to the mat.
And look straight ahead and take a few deep breaths.
And think about...
Think about relaxing the lower spine.
How long do you stay here?
Stay in this position for 10 seconds and repeat 10 times.
And you can do it twice a day.
Okay. This exercise is specific for low back pain.
Because as we lean forward all day in our daily activities, we're now counteracting that motion and we're opening up the disc spaces in the lower spine.
Okay, next is the stretch and roll.
How does this work?
So now we lay on our back.
Extend your legs, lay flat, and relax your lower back to the floor.
Bend both of your knees, putting your feet flat on the ground, hip-width apart.
And again, tuck your pelvis in just a bit so your pelvis is reaching towards the ground.
Bring one knee to the floor.
Slowly, and then the other knee at the same time into your low back.
Oh, this feels good.
Pushing your low back into the ground.
Great. And now you can lift your head up or you can leave it down and roll from side to side.
I feel like a bowling ball.
Yeah. This exercise is very specific for any kind of low back tension or muscle spasm.
And then slowly bring your knees down, feet down, and repeat.
What do you think, Winda?
I think we need to bring yoga mats into all the schools.
Yes. All right.
Good luck to you.
Take care of those little ones.
All right.
Let's get to an exercise called the neck push.
This is for anyone in the audience who's got neck discomfort.
Who's the neck pain person?
We've got a victim right here.
Come on over.
Come join us.
What's your first name?
Ada. Ada.
So what gives you neck pain?
Come stand over here with us.
Well, I have a strain.
And it happens from carrying my eight-pound pocketbook and my six-year-old daughter.
Yes, the classic balancing act.
Laura, show us how to stretch our neck the right way.
Okay, great.
So you want to stand a little more room.
You want to bring your hands behind your head, interlace your fingers together, and hold your abdomen in, pull your abdomen up so you're standing up straight, and push your head back into your hands.
And resist the push.
And your elbows may come a little closer together, and then release.
And then again, push your head back into your hands, and release.
Michael, why is this a big problem, neck strain?
Well, what happens is we live in a digital age, with the computers, then the texting, and our head weighs about 12 to 13 pounds.
And we have our head forward, and we're texting for hours a day.
And that's causing what is now called Tex Neck or Military Neck when your head is forward.
And this specific exercise attempts to reverse that and bring the natural curve back in the spine.
One last thing for upper back pain, if you'll stay with us.
This is called the Happy Hummingbird.
I want the entire audience to do this.
So please, if you don't mind, everyone stand up.
You're going to like this.
Show us how to do the Happy Hummingbird and why it's important.
Okay, so again, stand straight.
Bring your abdomen in.
Bring your arms out to the side, bending your elbows.
Look straight ahead.
Palms facing forward.
And you're making slow, round movements backwards.
So you can feel your shoulder blades coming together.
And then you can lean from side to side.
Go to one side.
It's like happy hands.
And then the other side.
Making small, round movements.
This, again, is the reverse The slouching positions we're in during the day, it's relaxing the muscles in between the shoulder blades, increasing the blood supply.
People dance like this, you know.
Yeah. People at home are gonna say, you guys dance weird on the show.
Oh! Oh!
That's right.
Greg, what's the rule of thumb for anyone who wants to go get some help from a chiropractor?
Who should they be seeing?
You know, when do they need to see them?
Well, if you try all of these things and other home remedies, and the pain persists, it's time to see a chiropractor.
Thank you very much for being here.
I appreciate the tips.
Good luck with your neck.
For more back pain relief items, you can check out DrOz.com.
We'll be right back.
All new Oz.
Bugs for breakfast?
Who wants to have crickets?
Here. *Screams* 20 humidifiers just to go to bed?
It seems a little excessive.
What's up with all the crazy celebrity health quirks?
Dr. Oz and a panel of experts break down bizarre behaviors.
Plus, are you angry, lonely, or seeking comfort?
We decode the secret language of cravings and reveal what it says about your emotions.
All new Oz.
That's coming up tomorrow.
You know when you get a Catchy song stuck in your head, you just can't get it out.
Some people refer to this as having an ear worm.
Others call it a tune wedgie.
Very descriptive terms.
Well, researchers just found the best treatment for this terrible condition is...
Chewing gum.
The repetitive action of chewing gum interferes with the repetitive loop of music in your head.
So for all the parents out there who have the Frozen soundtrack playing on repeat, you'll know what to do.
Now it's time for In Case You Missed It.
First, the major debate about whether your smartphone could cause cancer in kids.
Many experts say no, but others argue that kids are specifically at risk, and here's why.
Look at these two images.
One is of a 10-year-old's brain, and then there's an adult brain next to it.
You notice how thin the 10-year-old's skull is?
So the radiation, that blue stuff, penetrates further into the child's brain, and some experts are concerned about the greater exposure.
So here's what you can do just to be safe.
Have your kids hold the phone away from their head.
Use a speakerphone, or maybe get them earbuds with a microphone.
Just simple ways of making sure there's no risk whatsoever.
Next, you can trick your taste buds to help you eat less.
For all you candy lovers out there, separate the colors of your candy before you start eating.
For example, make them all green instead of the mixed colors here.
Turns out when people are given an option, they'll eat three times more when they're given mixed candy colors than if it was a single color.
Similar little trick that you might want to dry your tongue off before you have too many salty foods.
A dry tongue doesn't taste salt, so you won't crave those junk foods like the potato chips that have salt all over them quite as much.
Finally, I'm going to close with a warning.
Please be careful about what you're buying online, especially weight loss pills.
Dubious people online make it seem like I'm endorsing their products.
I don't.
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