Best Backyard Burger? Shapewear Secrets & Brain Boosters | Dr. Oz | S10 | Ep 174 | Full Episode
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It's backyard burger season.
Turkey, chicken, and veggie burgers.
You're probably not getting the nutrition that you think you are.
But what's really the healthiest option?
You think veggie burger has to have veggies in them, right?
And the ultimate Oz-approved beef burger.
This is a cookout classic.
Plus, online memory boosters.
What's really in these pills?
Are they helpful or harmful?
Coming up next.
You ready for season 10?
Yeah!
I love you, Dutta.
Today, an investigation into the hottest debate about one of America's most beloved and classic foods: burgers.
Y 'all adore them.
That's right.
Applaud them.
Is there really a better backyard burger?
That's our question today.
And we got the beef.
We got the turkey.
There's chicken.
There's veggie, right?
Which one should you be eating?
We're revealing what's really in the store-bought burger patties that you're grilling and how to find the perfect mouth-watering burger that even a heart surgeon like me would crave.
Nutritionist Kellyanne Petrucci and butcher Justin DeMarco have been experimenting, you can see it right there, with burgers in their own backyards.
And we had them buy, cook, and taste all kinds of supermarket burgers out there.
Let's start with Kellyanne's experiment with turkey burgers.
Hey there, I'm out here grilling up some turkey burgers.
You know what?
A lot of people think turkey burgers are the healthiest option when shopping for burgers in the supermarket.
But if you buy fresh and even if you buy frozen, that may not be the case.
These turkey burgers may not be as lean and as mean as you think.
So depending on the cut or the type of meat, these turkey burgers may actually have as much fat in them as regular beef burgers.
But now my real question is, why?
Why, why, why?
Are turkey burgers so dry?
Well, I am going to get to the bottom of that.
All right, Justin and Kellyanne are here in studio.
Justin, you looked into frozen turkey burger patties.
What did you find?
As a butcher, tell me the truth.
Okay, so what I found was that turkey burgers, unless said otherwise on the label, majority of the ingredients are the tenderloin, the thighs, and the breast.
What I also found in some cases was they would add skin and fat to them.
Huh.
And dark meat, actually.
So what would happen with that, it was an increase of fat.
In most cases, you would think that would add to the flavor.
Yeah.
But not necessarily so.
So what they technically do is they add dextrose, brown sugar, to try and beef up that burger flavor in the turkey.
You found another key ingredient, Kellyanne.
I did.
I thought it was just regular old turkey.
We all do.
We all do.
But here's the thing.
You could actually have salt, sodium.
And up to 900 grams of this stuff.
So that's a lot.
So I want everyone to put this in perspective.
That's like you go to a fast food restaurant and you order four medium-sized fries.
So you can imagine that's going to make you retain a lot of water, or could make you retain water, and that's going to make you feel and look bloated, which doesn't make good for a date night.
That's right.
It is the worst thing for a date night.
But is the purpose of the salt the increased flavor, as Justin points out, that they need to do something to beef it up?
So to speak?
Well, perhaps.
That's one of the things that they can do.
But there's other ways that they can do that.
So if they add some spices, that's great.
But salt is just not good.
So what do you look for in the label?
And then you give me a hack to make it taste better.
So what you want to look for is 90% lean white turkey meat.
That's the thing.
I also look for organic, because then I don't have to worry about antibiotics.
It just kind of takes that off the table.
And if they add some spices in there, like rosemary or salt or something like that, great.
And they're in there.
I gotta say, my biggest concern with turkey burgers is sometimes, I mean, they get dry, right?
Is that the big problem?
You're chewing on cardboard after a while.
But you've got a hack.
What do you recommend?
Alright, so Dr. Oz, Kellyanne over here gave me a little bit of information about you.
And that information was 2% Greek yogurt.
Okay, so one pound of turkey chop meat.
We're going to do half a cup of the Greek yogurt, a little bit of bread.
What that does, it binds a burger together.
And so your end result is a nice, juicy, flavorful turkey burger.
Cook it the same way.
Absolutely.
Great idea.
Next up, we asked Justin to do a cookout experiment with chicken burger patties.
Take a look.
Hey, Dr. Oz, Justin from the Chop Shop here with your chicken burger experiment.
If you see in front of me, I've got two chicken burgers here.
A frozen and a fresh.
Now, you asked me to deconstruct these burgers to find out what actually goes into them.
Now, just like turkey burgers, chicken burgers can be made with different parts of the chicken.
They can have natural flavors and even sugar added to them.
Now, on the other hand, have you ever had any problems with your burgers sticking to the grill?
I've got a surefire hack to help you with that.
First thing, nice onion.
Second thing, Four.
Nice hot grill.
Place it down.
Couple of rubs.
Grab your favorite chicken burger, beef burger.
There you go.
A non-stick burger.
Dr. Ross, that's your chicken burger experiment.
That is such a good hack, Justin.
It's so simple, right?
It sure is, sure is.
And the black gloves look like a mortician, by the way.
Well, it's kind of my M.O. Oh, it is.
I have purple ones for you if you want.
All right, off camera.
When you looked at the ingredient list, what surprised you about these?
Well, it actually surprised me a lot, but in a good way, because the nutritional profile is really solid.
You've got about 150 to about 210 calories.
That's great.
And the protein, about 14 to about 25 grams of protein.
Oh, my goodness.
So that's a really good balance.
Fantastic.
Yeah.
And Justin, what do you look for when you're buying in the store to make sure you get a tasty burger?
So what you do want to look for is obviously the primary ingredient, the first ingredient would be chicken, which you would assume.
Rule of thumb, by the way, if the first word in the label is not the first word in the ingredient list, you've got a problem.
Correct.
So it's chicken.
There should be chicken in chicken.
And then even after that, it would be the chicken, obviously, would be breast or thigh.
And then after that, you don't want to have any other really ingredients such as preservatives or salts or like Kellyanne said, you want to add that stuff after.
And a big thing for me is to have a chicken burger that's made with chicken that was raised without antibiotics.
Okay, so you're both on the same page.
Absolutely.
All right, next up, veggie burgers.
These are growing in popularity.
Now, to be fair, there's some health issues to talk about, but there's also some taste problems with burgers.
So I'm going to do a live taste test right here on the set with a butcher, Justin.
Start eating away.
I want an honest opinion from you.
Actually, don't compare it to a regular burger.
Tell me if it's good enough on its own.
Kellyanne, what did you uncover about how many veggies are actually in the burgers?
Well, here's what's interesting, because you think veggie burger has to have veggies in them, right?
Well, a lot of the companies do.
they have things like mushroom, and they have kale, and they have beans, and it's great.
But then a lot of the companies, What they did instead was the first ingredient oftentimes was water, and then you get into soy protein isolate, soy protein concentrate.
Processed protein.
Yes, processed protein.
So if you think you're getting something like edamame, you think you're getting something like soy, but in fact you're not, and while I'm not saying these are dangerous, what I am saying is you're probably not getting the nutrition that you think you are.
Speaking of that, How does it stack up in nutrition compared to what we've been talking about?
To a beef burger, for example.
Okay, so let's start with the beef burger.
Let's start with the protein.
Because we all know that in a beef burger, we always look to the protein.
You're going to find about 22 grams of protein.
In a beef burger.
In a veggie burger, you're going to find about 4 to about 23 grams of protein in there.
4 to 20. It's a huge spread.
It's a huge spread.
So here's what you do.
So if you're thinking, you know, I really want this veggie burger, but there's not enough protein for me, you want to pair it up.
So a lot of times you'll pair it up with maybe a side of beans, or you do what I do, which is you put an egg sunny side up, you crack an egg over that, and that works really nicely.
And then so we look at the calories.
So the calories in a beef burger, you're going to run into about 350 calories for a beef burger.
And for about a veggie burger, it's about a hundred.
So better on calories, actually.
Better on calories.
If you can hack the protein, it's good on the calories.
Yep.
Okay, now the big question, because the audience generally thinks about veggie burgers and say, why bother at that point?
What do you think about the veggie burger?
Coming from a beef perspective, it lacks a little bit of flavor, okay, but it's a good alternative if you want a healthier, you know, kind of meal.
It was a little bit dry.
A little dry?
It was a little dry.
I could have added yogurt and bread.
You can.
With this, you would add a condiment to it, and obviously a healthier one if you could.
But as far as, you know, for my palate, it was a little bit dry.
Killjoy.
Killjoy.
It's just not worth it.
Can I say something?
I was trying to tempt you to say this, but I'm going to say it myself.
Don't compare a veggie burger to a beef burger.
They're not supposed to be the same thing.
They taste different.
Polar opposite.
So if you can get used to it, does it taste good enough on its own is the question you should be asking yourself.
If you didn't have any beef burgers in the universe, would you be accepting of a veggie burger?
I would accept it, absolutely.
There we go.
Down we're talking.
Alright, nutrition.
Give me a list down.
What should you be looking for when you're buying a veggie burger?
The first thing I want everyone to realize is that you may think that you're looking or getting a healthier option.
You're not.
Actually, these are supposed to be eaten in moderation, so keep that in mind.
You want to look for USDA-certified organic.
The calories you want to run at stay at about 200 or even below.
And with veggie burgers, you can get a little bit of fiber, so you want to look for about 6 grams of fiber.
All right, so up next, the investigation into backyard burgers continues with the ultimate Oz-approved Beef burger that everyone's craving for for their summer cookout.
We're going to find out how you can save calories and still be satisfied.
Even Justin the butcher will be happy with every bite.
Stick around.
We're back with our backyard burger investigation.
We just talked about turkey and then chicken and then we did veggie burgers.
But now it is time to tackle the most popular and classic.
The beef burger.
I know you're waiting for it.
There's nothing better than biting into a big, juicy beef burger.
Even heart surgeons love burgers once in a while.
Look at me here.
This is actually true footage.
There it is.
Look at the look.
Look at the eyes.
Have you ever seen me so happy?
But there is an Oz-approved beef burger.
The Salabarios family has a summer cookout every year, and they say they're the pickiest burger lovers.
Here's what they say are their complaints or beefs with most burgers.
I just want to taste good meat.
I don't want to wreck my diet with just one burger.
I really want a burger which is not dry like a cardboard.
All right, we've got the best homemade juicy beef burger patty right here.
It's under 150 calories.
Butcher Justin DeMarco is back.
Now, Justin is a butcher.
He knows all this stuff.
What kind of meat goes into a good burger?
There's stuff behind the scenes that we don't all see.
Okay.
Okay, so there's one thing that I know about, and it's burgers, okay?
So my inputs start with ribeye.
Skirt steak, which lend themselves to being more of a fattier kind of meat.
That tastes good.
Then sirloin and chuck.
And as you can see here, these have less fat.
So what you do is you combine all these wonderful meats together, send them through the grinder.
We'll add a couple more pieces here.
Give a little push on it.
And as you can see, some of that meat's coming right out.
And there you go, you have a fresh burger.
Alright, so it looks like this.
The typical size of a burger should be what?
Trends have gone from eight ounces and now have decreased down to like four to six ounces.
And I think it has to do with, you know, the cholesterol and the fat that's in these burgers.
But it tastes so darn good, it's good enough.
100%.
You don't need four scoops of ice cream.
One or two scoops most of us can be okay with.
After that, it's hedonism.
All right, how about the pre-formed patties that we see everywhere?
Now, these are, again, they're fresh, but they're frozen.
Correct.
So there's two kinds.
a fresh burger patty and a frozen.
If you have to buy a frozen burger, obviously you want to look for a burger that has Anything after that, any preservatives or salts or artificial flavorings, it's just not the best thing.
And how about these preformed fresh?
Are they okay?
Same thing.
Obviously, beef is a primary ingredient.
You want to look for a burger that's four to six ounces and also not so pressed.
If the burger is pressed, when you put it on the grill, it tends to release a lot of the flavors.
And the sell-by date?
Sell it by day is three days prior, and then a day or two after purchasing them is the best time to use them.
All right, come on over here.
We have a studio cookout ready for the ultimate beef burger reveal.
The Saliberios family is here.
They consider themselves the pickiest burger lovers.
You heard them earlier.
Remember, beef burgers are not a daily food, but if you're going to indulge, I want you to choose wisely.
So it is time for the big moment.
Ready?
Drum roll, please.
For the first time ever, I present the ground beef and chopped mushroom mashup burger.
Please!
The Saliberius family is eating, tasting.
Please get a start here.
We're going to see what they think.
They're the experts.
Justin, first off, why would you combine mushrooms and beef?
Well, one, it's a good binder.
And like a lot of mushrooms, for example, the portobello has a meatier kind of flavor.
So combining the two and the moisture from the mushroom really makes for a nice, flavorful hamburger.
Let's talk about beef for a second, everybody, right?
You ought to be buying the perfect beef burger ingredients right.
Make sure it's 100% grass-fed, ground, organic beef.
That's what you want.
I like the ground chuck.
It's got about 15-20% fat compared to 25-30% in regular ground beef.
It's a good balance, guys, between flavor and fat if you do that.
So, how do you make the mashup?
How do you bring the mushrooms and marry them into the beef?
It's super easy.
It's like making peanut butter and jelly, right?
You take a nice pound of chopped meat, dice up some nice mushrooms, whatever you like.
And then you add some nice herbs.
You could do some marjoram.
You could do some rosemary, garlic.
And there you go.
Nice, flavorful burger.
So, before I get your opinion on taste, let me give you the numbers.
A regular beef burger, well, not like this one, like the one you normally would have gotten, about 350 calories.
Okay.
A lot of calories.
It's good.
Tastes great, but a lot of calories.
The ground beef and mushroom mash-up burger that we revealed today has a total of 147 calories.
Less than half.
Let's see what the Saliberios family thinks of the taste.
Will it live up to their beef burger expectations?
So, take it away.
Let's get the kids in there first.
What do you guys think?
Oh, Mr. Dr. Oz.
Sorry, Dr. Oz.
Okay, Mr. Dr. Oz is fine.
It is so good.
It's not dry.
It's not dry like a piece of cardboard, and it's not hard like a hockey puck.
Because I just grew these teeth.
You have passed my flavor test.
I passed!
Give me that one.
I like that one.
What do you think?
I mean, when I first saw this burger, I was like, this is really appetizing.
And then I tried it, and it just went above and beyond.
It's, like, really seasoned well, and I really like it.
I also like mushrooms.
We should go in the business together, and we got our testimonials right here.
What do you think?
It literally checks off all my boxes.
To have it be healthy, delicious, low-calories, I don't have to feel guilty about having a burger.
This is a cookout classic, no doubt.
I think you said it right.
There's some taste that belong together, right?
Peanut butter and chocolate go together.
Peanut butter and jelly go together.
I couldn't add peanut butter to beef.
Maybe we should try that next.
Mushrooms and burgers, they go too well.
Put the recipe on DrOz.com.
Share with your friends.
Brag about it.
We'll be right back.
Stop.
Up next, the Oz lie detector about a secret that you're all keeping.
We're going to reveal our big shapewear experiment.
Find out what happens to your breathing when you're wearing shapewear.
Today, the ugly truth about a secret that you're keeping about an item that millions of you rely on every single day.
Your shapewear.
We are uncovering the biggest lies we tell ourselves about these so-called slimming secret weapons.
Could they be causing you more harm than good?
Now think about this.
Shapewear, and it comes in all forms, has exploded over the years.
And there's a new dirty little secret that more and more women are keeping about their shapewear.
Joining us now, investigative reporter Mara Scavacompo.
Mara, explain what is going on with all this shapewear.
Yeah, a lot of women now are doubling up.
They are wearing one pair of shapewear on top of another.
Celebrities like Gayle King, Kim Kardashian, even Beyonce admitting to this two-at-a-time trick to get an extra slimming effect.
I'm guilty of it, too, right now.
You are.
Absolutely, Dr. Oz, but the question is, what's the cost?
Who else out there is doubling up?
Let me see, show of hands.
Any other Seafwear secrets?
Oh, here we go.
How are you?
We got two victims right here.
How are you?
How you doing?
What's your first name?
My name's Christine.
Christine.
Nice to meet you.
You feel good the way you are now?
Yes.
Well, I gotta tuck in a little bit.
Why do you double up?
Bring it home for me.
Hey, if it works for Beyonce, it works for me.
That's a pretty good reason.
She doesn't look good in those photos.
And Christine, how long have you been wearing the doubled up version of shapewear?
Oh, a couple of months once I found out about it.
Before, it was just one, and that was it.
But when I heard about doubling up twice, I was like, that's for me.
And what does it feel like when you're wearing it?
Oh, it's uncomfortable.
It's tight.
It's the worst, but it looks good, so paint is beauty.
That's all that matters.
How many hours do you generally wear your doubled-up shapewear?
Depends where I'm going, but honestly, I would say at least, like, five hours.
Five hours.
All right.
So here's the deal.
Let's first uncover the first lie about shapewear, that the pain is worth it.
It was funny, but is it true?
While shapewear may make you look good on the outside, we wanted to investigate the truth about how you feel on the inside after using the shapewear double-up method.
So Mara, God bless her, did a 12-hour shapewear experiment wearing two pairs.
There's a difference, right?
There's her baseline, the two pairs.
What we uncovered might shock you.
Take a look.
Shapewear has become a way of life, offering the hope of form-fitting us into our favorite outfits.
The promise?
To flatten tummies and smooth out lumps, making us look and feel our best.
Now, some are going as far as to wear one body shaper on top of another one to increase the effect.
Recently, Kim Kardashian revealing she'll wear two pairs when she feels heavier.
But is there a downside to doubling up?
To find out, I'm gonna wear two body shapers at the same time to find out what happens throughout the day.
I'm just heading out for the day.
Definitely feels really snug.
So it's been a few hours now and I ate breakfast and I'm drinking tea and I've been sitting.
Now it's really starting to get uncomfortable.
It's like digging into my sides.
I made the mistake of getting seltzer water, which I always get, but the bubbles are making my stomach really hurt in this double shapewear.
They keep rolling down on the side and it's like impossible to pull up.
Because they're under my clothes.
I am dying to take this shapewear off.
It is killing me, but I still have two hours left in this experiment.
I'm eating my dinner standing up because it hurts to sit down at this point.
Next, I wanted to see how wearing shapewear was affecting my breathing.
So I'm visiting Dr. Sandra Gelbard, who'll conduct a series of lung function tests.
I'm going to have you...
You can sit forward, absolutely.
For the first test, I'm not wearing any shapewear.
And breathe out.
Six seconds.
Out, out, out, out, out, out, out.
Keep going.
And breathe in.
Excellent.
Okay.
Then I wear two pairs of shapewear for comparison.
Let's see.
Now that you're wearing two body shapewear garments, if you're more restricted with your airflow.
Okay.
I can tell you it definitely feels like I can't breathe as well.
Right now.
Keep going, keep going, keep going.
And deep breath in.
Excellent.
Dr. Gelbard looks over the test results and you won't believe what she found.
All right, it's time for the results of Mara's breath test.
Dr. Sandy Gelbord joins us now.
So we just saw you test Mara's lungs.
You breathed out for six seconds.
The best she could possibly do before and after with the doubling up of the shapewear.
What did you find?
There was more than half a liter decrease in the amount of air she was able to breathe out when she was wearing the shapewear.
Half a liter?
Yeah, really statistically significant.
So here we have the baseline without the shapewear.
It's over three liters, and it drops under.
It's a huge difference.
What's it like more of seeing that?
To me, it's worth it.
You know, the difference is so big.
It's not my chief correspondents here.
Like my partner is telling me she'd rather give up a couple years of healthy life, but you'll look marvelous.
Because I feel so confident in it that, you know, it's worth that sacrifice.
Maybe because I love you so much.
I'll just show you a little demonstration of what's happening in your body.
This maybe might compel you.
This is what you're all doing when you put shapewear on, right?
So normally, everyone take a deep breath.
Everyone together, deep breath in, right?
What happens is, The lungs fill with air when the chest expands.
But when you put the shapewear on, right, let's put the shapewear on this little, oh, look at it.
It squeezes everything, right?
Now it restricts your chest expansion.
Therefore, you cannot pull air into your lungs, making it difficult for you to breathe, right?
It makes you feel lightheaded, tired.
You get anxious.
So let's go over this again.
Mars lung function decreased by more than half a liter.
That's a lot.
Much more than I expected, by the way.
That's beyond what you'd expect even between a person in the morning and the afternoon, right?
Oh, absolutely.
It's way more than you'd expect between...
We see that in situations where people are pregnant, if they have scoliosis, wherever you're restricting the chest wall or the rib cage.
So this was a big finding.
And that was just, you just had it on for one day.
For one day, and I do this regularly.
The next slide about Shaper I want to cover is that you guys are always telling yourselves squeezing into a smaller size makes you skinnier.
Mara, you've admitted to me that many people, I won't mention any names, have actually used the extra slim version by making, getting a size that they couldn't possibly fit into.
It has the opposite effect.
Yeah, you get an intent, you intentionally get a smaller size because it makes you even smaller.
When you wear this over time, you're actually weakening your core muscles.
So you could be making your stomach look worse.
So the bottom line is you're not gaming the system, you're not getting slimmer, you're just kind of putting a band-aid on.
Can you help me with something?
Where does the flab actually go?
All right, so that's a very good question.
You're squeezing it like a toothpaste tube, but where does it go?
Yeah, so you're compressing it, like if you were to push your stomach in with your hands.
I'm actually getting short of breath right now because I'm pushing even more on this.
But what ends up happening a lot of times is that it gets pushed up, and that's where you get that dreaded rollover.
And so all day, we're basically fighting to pull this shapewear back up because the flab is trying to be free.
All right, Dr. Govard.
Free at last, free at last.
Thank God Almighty.
Dr. Govard, interestingly, despite the fact that you're an expert in this area, you actually wear shapewear yourself.
So you must have some hack, some prescription for wearing it without causing pain or other bodily harm.
Yeah.
So the first and foremost is wear the right size.
If you're a medium, don't grab a small.
Wear it for a limited amount of time.
Don't wear it days on end, sleeping in it.
That's going to lead to bad results down the line.
I understand the allure of wearing these garments, but you have to wear them the way they were intended to be worn.
If you're going to be squeezing into a really tight shapewear, you may look better, but down the line you're going to feel worse.
So the key question that I'm taking away from this is, So up next, the at-home test are two of them to detect if your shapewear is the right size for you.
You'll want to see this.
Thank you very much.
I love getting to talk with you on my show every single day.
But when the cameras stop rolling, the conversation is not over.
I still have a lot that I want to talk about.
So download the Dr. Oz podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Today, the biggest lies you tell yourself about shapewear.
You ever get the dreaded rollover, right?
Or the indentations in your skin from trying to squeeze into your shapewear?
We're back with the two self-tests to detect if your shapewear is right for you.
Fashion expert Denise Caldwell is here.
She says there's a science to shapewear.
Why is that?
Well, unlike a blouse or a dress, Dr. Oz, your body shaper should actually fit tight.
But sometimes people don't know the difference between too tight.
And tight enough just to do the trick.
You want it to be cinched and secure, but not where you can't breathe or move.
So let's uncover the two tests to make sure your shapewear isn't too tight.
Shapewear fanatics Teresa and Ivana are here to try them out.
Thank you for sharing the experience with the entire audience.
You're going to judge how these tests work on you, and we'll all learn from that.
All right?
The first test, the waist twist to prevent shapewear rollover.
Explain how it's done.
So after you've put your shapewear on, you actually just want to move to the side.
Move to the side.
You can even go to the side this way too, but you're twisting your body.
And then if your shapewear starts to kind of dig and cut into your skin, or if you feel like it's rolling down or bulging, You need to go up a side.
Gotta go up a side.
So, Teresa, when it's not too tight, does it feel okay for you guys?
Mine's a little tight.
It is.
On the side, it's a little tight, so I think I would definitely have to go up a side.
Go up a side, yeah.
At least a self-check.
Come on over here.
Second big task.
It's called the leg check to avoid skin indentations.
So Denise, I'll stand.
You guys sit and demonstrate and explain.
Yes.
So basically, ladies, we're going to sit and we're going to cross our legs just like Ladylike if you can cross all the way over or just to your ankles.
But the thing here is you'll feel that band.
We all know sometimes our shapewear has that band right here.
If you feel that band start to dig into your skin or it's even causing an indentation in your skirt and something that you don't really want.
Then you should get a bigger size.
How does shapewear feel with this second test?
Is it digging into your thighs?
Yeah, mine's good.
Mine's good.
Yeah, perfect.
So then it's just the waist part.
Just the waist.
So how about if one you pass one but not the other?
Well, they have so many different types of shapewear.
They have them where they're shorts.
They have them a little bit longer like I was talking.
Just by the shape.
Then you can have some that stop right at the waist or some that are higher up.
So there's different ones and then they have ones with straps.
So you kind of have to have an arsenal of shapewear in your underwear drawer.
All right.
Find the ultimate shapewear buying guide at DrOz.com.
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Up next, an investigation into memory boosters and brain games being pushed online.
Can they really help optimize your brain's cognitive function, or is it just a big scam?
Stay tuned to find out.
Stopping scammers in their tracks before they get to you and your family.
Whether it's a game, an app, or a pill, everywhere you click online, someone is trying to sell you another memory booster, and you're buying them.
Sales are in the millions, and they're climbing every day.
But do brain boosters really work?
And are they safe?
Tricia from our audience is here.
Thank you for playing this little game with us.
How's your memory, you think?
Not good.
Not good?
No, not at all.
I'm a busy mom, and I'm always multitasking, and I'm trying to, you know, do grocery shopping, and it just doesn't work.
How many kids do you have?
I have two kids.
You're sure?
You remember that, right?
Yes.
See how bad it is.
All right, so, ready to test your memory?
Yes.
All right, so I showed you a card before the show.
There's some pictures on the card.
Right.
I'm going to ask you some details about those pictures.
See how much of the detail you remember.
Okay.
First question.
Everyone at home, you can see the card right now.
It's in front of you, but we're not showing it to you.
Okay.
What color was the flower?
Yellow.
What time was the clock set to?
Three o 'clock?
Three o 'clock.
Do you remember?
No.
I didn't think so.
I don't.
What was the finger pointing away from?
To the right of the hamburger.
Oh my goodness, that's good.
What color was the dog?
Brown.
You know what?
I want to bring in the author of The Alzheimer's Solution, Dr. Ali Shurzai.
Dr. Shurzai, come on over here.
That was pretty good.
That was really good.
You did very well.
Absolutely.
You say memory lapses are normal.
How do we know what's normal and how do we improve on it?
You know, memory lapses, a few of them are okay.
Especially for you.
I'm a mom.
I understand.
You have kids.
You have a lot of things to take care of.
And multitasking.
There's no such thing as multitasking.
It's doing multiple things badly.
But they're of no concern.
The brain is a very complex organ and there's so many ways you can actually make it healthier.
So getting half of them right, which is what you got.
Yes, yes.
That's okay.
Yes, absolutely.
And a lot of memory is affected by focus and attention.
You know, focus is actually the gateway to memory.
And there's so many things you can do to improve your attention and focus.
Right, so you're going to move from knowing there's a clock to knowing what time the clock was.
Right.
Knowing there was a dog to the right color.
Okay, thank you very much, Trisha.
Pay attention, it's important.
Dr. Sherzai, who is using these online memory boosters and what do they claim they do?
A lot of people.
A lot of smart people are using these memory boosters.
College students, entrepreneurs, athletes, and a lot of baby boomers and elderly people who are afraid of going down the path of cognitive decline, Alzheimer's, dementia, are using these.
Alright, let's get into the investigation about whether the memory boosters are legit or a scam.
First, we're going to look at these memory pills.
What specific pills are we talking about?
So we're talking about the types of pills that people can order online.
And you can find them over the counter at different pharmacies, in health stores.
They come in the form of pills, capsules, syrups, etc.
These are over the counter.
What's really in these pills?
And you broke it out for us here.
Right.
So I'm glad that we're explaining all of this.
It's a combination.
It could be one compound or it could be a concoction of different things together.
So, you know, they might have vitamins like vitamin B12, which is the same.
Same thing as cyanocobalamin or vitamin B5, B6, thiamine.
But they'll put all the names there.
It makes it sound legit.
These vitamins do have a role, by the way.
Absolutely.
Not in everybody, but in some people.
Absolutely.
So there's the vitamins.
And then?
And then we have chemicals.
We have chemicals like L-arginine, which is a non-essential amino acid, and it has been implicated in many different brain diseases.
And then the other category is, you know, herbs and foods.
So things like mushrooms.
Your mushrooms are incredible and there are extracts of mushroom including that we We have green tea or coffee extract.
And then different types of foods and herbs like menthol, ginkgo biloba, caffeine.
A lot of these memory pills are just dressed up caffeine pills.
And that's why when people take them, they initially get a boost of energy.
They think, wow, I feel really good.
But it can affect you negatively in so many ways.
We know what caffeine does to our sleep patterns and we know how important sleep is for memory.
Popuri of these, some combination is used.
They're all different, obviously, but let's go inside the body to see how they're supposed to work in theory.
Now, these pills are all different.
We just told you a bunch of different things that might be in them, but generally, when you look inside, this is what they're supposed to be able to do to your body, in theory.
Now, they say these memory pills can help with circulation, right?
So, that actually changes the oxygenation of the blood, where the oxygenation of the blood goes up into your brain, so your brain has more of that oxygen.
Theoretically, that might be beneficial.
Some also claim to change brain waves.
Now, brain waves are interesting.
There are certain brain wave frequencies that can shift your cognitive state.
This can be something that puts you in a deep sense of calm or a highly focused place so you can concentrate.
That's a classic caffeine effect.
And then when it comes to older individuals, these memory pills claim to enhance communication and cognitive abilities.
So lots of things they potentially could do.
Trying to figure out what makes sense.
When you study the brain, you know about things that work and don't work.
Are you concerned about these?
I am, and I'm so happy that we're talking about this.
So your best recommendation when it comes to purchasing memory pills online?
I think it's very important for people to be cautious.
Now, if there are specific factors that have been studied and it's backed up by research and your physician or doctor recommends it, then go for it.
But you have to be careful because a lot of them have, you know, They even found trace heavy metals in some of these memory pills, you know, and they could be very dangerous, and people actually can suffer from the side effects of these compounds, you know, having things like gallstone, pancreatitis, kidney stones, etc.
So be very, very careful.
If you're thinking about purchasing memory pills, you want to look for the ingredients huperzia or bacopa.
Those two have been found to aid in brain function to some degree, so at least don't waste your money.
Next, we investigated games to help the brain, because these brain games have gotten super popular.
This, by the way, is what it looks like when I talk to my kids.
I see the tops of their heads.
I see top head, top head, top head.
Are you all living the same life I am?
There's been a surge.
Of recent brain training apps that have gone out there, they're all over the place.
Every smartphone user out there has brain training games.
The question is, do they have any real cognitive benefit?
So there are some brain gains and they have been studied and they have been able to show, scientists have been able to show that participating in those brain games can be helpful.
But then on the same side, there's a lot of controversial data showing that, you know, all of these games don't really affect anything and it doesn't really affect successful cognitive aging per se.
So, here's the bottom line, everybody.
If you like the brain games as a way to de-stress, I'm fine with that.
Just set a screen limit, time limit, so you're not dealing with all this that I'm dealing with right now.
People won't pay attention otherwise.
Memory pills, brain games, they're not the only things to get your memory in check.
When we come back, investigate some natural ways for you to boost your memory with items you have right at home.
So stick around.
*applaudissements*
Drink up.
We've got an Oz-approved three-day tea tox.
We took all of the best teas and we combined them with food.
Get results safely without feeling hungry.
Next, Oz.
That's coming up on Wednesday.
We were talking about memory boosters and brain games are being pushed online.
Now, Chef Nicky Dinky, author of Meat on the Side, has some natural memory-boosting recipes you're all going to love.
The first natural memory-boosting recipe is golden milk overnight oats.
I've heard of golden milk and heard of overnight oats, but only you could put them together.
Well, I've been loving this idea of overnight oats.
It's been very trendy.
Recently, I've been doing this golden milk latte thing, which is basically just a nut milk combined with some ginger and turmeric and all these warm, just delicious spices.
So then I thought, why don't I just put them all together and make it super easy and super nutritious?
And thus, we have our golden milk overnight oats.
As a neurologist, thoughts?
There's turmeric in the oats now, right?
The oats are potentially beneficial for brain function.
Yes.
First of all, genius, combining both of them together.
And then, my goodness, I mean...
It's a potent anti-inflammatory, and it actually binds to the bad protein amyloid that is involved in Alzheimer's disease and gets rid of it.
So, put both of these together.
Is it true they have less Alzheimer's in India, maybe because of the turmeric, the curry sauce that they eat?
There is a perspective there, yes, because of the curries that they eat, and they combine it with different kinds of spices, so you get anti-inflammatory effects of all of these different spices in your food.
To make it pretty straightforward, you mix it like you normally would?
Yeah, all this stuff pretty much just goes in the jar.
Your oats, your milk.
It's a salad with fish oil dressing.
You all know fish oils are essential.
I never thought about putting it in a salad dressing before.
You know, I used to take a lot of this and, you know, whether it's in a pill, you're putting it on a spoon, it's not the most pleasant thing.
So I thought, how can I get this into our food?
And by combining it with things like Greek yogurt and orange juice and honey, you can really make a very delicious salad dressing that, of course, you can use on salmon.
You could use it as a spread on sandwiches.
And it's just such a fun alternative way to get that fish oil into your body.
I don't know why I don't taste the fish oil so much.
You know, we're using a lemon-flavored fish oil, so that's already taking on a little bit of that fishy taste.
And then I think the Greek yogurt is key.
That just kind of mellows it out and makes it something that, well, we want to eat.
Diabolical.
Right?
Sneaky.
And it makes sense for the brain.
Absolutely.
It's a synergy.
The last memory booster, where we'll have to see if it appeals to your taste buds, is a shot of beet and ginger juice.
So, Dr. Scherzai, before you take the shot, health benefits.
Why is it so good?
If you can do it.
I love beets.
And beets are an incredible vegetable because they're very rich in nitrates.
And so the nitric oxide that you get from beets actually expands the arteries so you get more blood flow to your brain.
It's basically like Viagra for your brain.
It's an amazing thing.
Here, quickly, Nikki, quickly.
Oh, okay, okay, okay.
All right, I'll toast to you guys.
Cheers.
Everyone wants Viagra for the brain.
The audience, you want some Viagra for the brain?
All right.
Oh, it's got some punch to it.
Oh, please.
Wow.
Don't let me force you.
That'll keep you young.
You may never forget this shot.
Be sure to head over to dros.com for my natural memory-boosting prescription plan.
If you remember, we'll be right back.
What do you think?
Whoa!
Yeah!
Many people in my audience have a pair of glasses with them right now.
May I see?
Let me see.
Oh, I see you have them better like this, right?
So glasses are something we take for granted.
For those of you like me who use them for reading, you can get them for just a few bucks.
I buy a bunch of them, right?
Get them at the pharmacy, leave them everywhere so I don't even think about them.
But what if the world looked like this?
A little out of focus, right?
And you didn't have access to glasses to get it back into focus, like this.
The simple things you do every day, from reading to driving a car to seeing your loved ones, would become impossible.
It's a reality for billions.
That's right.
Billions, with a B, of people all around the world.
Joining me now are two people who have teamed up to help us see the world more clearly.
Optometrist Dr. Jordan Kasselow.
Welcome, Jordan.
And Rabbi Jennifer Krause.
First off, Dr. Kasselow, I just described the problem as affecting billions.
Put some numbers, put some meat into this thing.
Set it up for us.
Well, as you know, Dr. Oz, vision is our most critical sense.
700 years since the invention of glasses, most people in the world still don't have access to glasses.
Our research shows that a simple pair of glasses can increase someone's productivity by 30%, increase their educational performance, and decrease road traffic fatalities.
Is it road traffic fatalities?
That's correct.
How so?
Well, 59% of road traffic fatalities have a visual component associated with them.
So if you can see clearly, you can be safer on the road.
So it benefits not just you, but the people around you then.
Absolutely.
So what's your vision and why you get so passionate about this vision?
Pardon the pun.
What do you hope to do?
How are you going to make a difference?
Well, I started an organization called VisionSpring.
Our goal is to ensure that everyone has access to affordable glasses throughout the world.
We deliver eyeglasses and vision services right to people where they live, work, and go to school.
Last year, we helped over 1.2 million people get glasses, and collectively over 5.5 million people in the world VisionSpring has provided glasses for over the last number of years.
Why we're doing this is I've always wanted to live a life that had a deeper purpose beyond just myself.
And I discovered that purpose when I was a student.
I joined a mission to Mexico, and I met a seven-year-old boy from the School for the Blind.
In fact, though, he wasn't blind.
All he needed was a really strong pair of eyeglasses.
And when he put the glasses on his face, I gave him his vision and he gave me my vision.
And it was just a wonderful moment and it's a way that I can make a difference as an eye doctor and we all can make a difference as well.
Rabbi Jen, the benefit of giving is more than just accrued by the person who gets the gift.
It actually benefits us spiritually, emotionally.
How so?
Absolutely.
There are studies that show that when we do something for other people with some consistency, that we sleep better, we're less stressed, we're more connected to the people we love.
So when we do something to heal the world, we heal ourselves.
Beautifully stated, Rabbi Jax.
Guys, it's right there.
This is a great excuse, pick something you want to do, but I tell them, just to be clear, I checked into this.
For five bucks, all loaded, including the examination and everything else, and getting the glasses to the person, you can take a kid out of a school for the blind and make him productive, which I love is feasible.
So for more information on how you can help the world see clearly, please check out VisionSprings' website.
We've got a link to it at DrRaz.com.
You can check out Rabbi Jen and Dr. Kasselow's new book, Dare to Matter, Your Path to Making a Difference Now.
It's part of the proceeds of that book.
We'll go towards helping people get access to glasses as well.