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Aug. 4, 2025 - Dr. Oz Podcast
42:43
Supermarket Steak Scam? Dr. Oz Reveals the Shocking Truth! | Dr. Oz | S10 | Ep 102 | Full Episode
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Time Text
Grocery store steak.
So many cuts to choose from.
We're going behind the butcher's counter.
You could slice your meat bill in half if you know what to look for.
Are you getting the biggest bang for your buck?
Plus, what do you feel that moment you press click?
Are you addicted to extreme online shopping?
You're spending between $3,000 and $4,000 a month.
We'll reveal the warning signs.
It's literally affecting your brain the way drugs do.
Coming up next...
Y'all ready for season 10?
Yeah!
Run close.
I love you guys.
Steak.
Steak.
Everyone loves it.
It shouldn't just be for the wealthy, but some of you are being overcharged for beef cuts at the supermarket.
Is there a meat conspiracy going on behind the butcher counter at your local grocery store?
That's the big question.
Brian Roo from America's Test Kitchen is taking us behind the swinging doors to reveal the secrets they don't want you to know.
We all want our best buck, the best bank for the buck.
Money's short supplied.
Meat is something that's desirable.
What's the first tip you'd offer all of us to make sure it goes as far as possible?
Well, the first thing you could do, whether you shop in a fancy meat market or a general supermarket, is get to know the butcher.
Ask them which cuts of meat they like.
I can guarantee you they're not the most expensive ones in the case.
They could tell you which cuts of meat to cook which way, what's the best value that particular day, so you can tap into that resource.
What's a typical way a butcher can save you money?
Well, when you're buying a roast, for example, ask them to trim off the excess fat, excess bone, so you're just paying for the meat that you're going to eat.
Okay, now, not everybody will do this, but you'll be surprised if you ask them what they could deliver sometimes.
I guess it doesn't cost them anything.
They make a better relationship with you.
I never thought of asking for that.
Yeah.
Why pay for bone?
Because you got a pet, maybe.
All right.
My resident coupon, Queen Renata, has another great money saving tip for anyone buying supermarket steak.
She comes up with the best ideas.
All right.
Break it to us.
What's the secret?
Oh, my goodness.
Okay.
The secret is morning meat markdowns.
Okay.
Let me tell you what that is.
Yeah.
Yes.
Now, you go to your supermarket, okay, between 8 and 9 a.m., they're going to be putting out, they're going to be marking down meat.
And it's going to be about 50% off, might be 40% off.
And so I call them my morning meat markdowns.
Yes, you want to call your butcher, call your supermarket, ahead of time and say, listen, what time are you putting that meat out?
Because I need that, okay?
It's on sale.
So that's the tip.
That and it's amazing.
See how this is, seven dollars thirty cents?
Yeah, look at this.
It's down to four dollars ten cents, morning meat markdowns.
I had no idea they ever marketed that.
Absolutely.
I don't think I've ever gone on, in my life, I don't think I've ever gone on shopping at, you know, eight or nine in the morning.
I suspect most people are like me.
That's weird.
Well, when you're a couponer like me, that's when you get to.
This is a ribeye steak too.
Yeah.
That's done with it.
Absolutely.
All right.
I appreciate it very much.
No problem.
Come on over here.
So, Brian, next week we've got to separate the good meat from the not so good meat at the supermarket.
So put your butcher hat on, then teach us a little bit.
First of all, they have those labels on them.
What does that mean, the select the big?
Premium.
The first thing you want to check out is the label.
And you're looking for the grade.
That's Prime, Choice, and Select.
Now, Select is the lowest grade, and you don't typically see that in most grocery stores anymore.
What you tend to come across is Prime and Choice.
Now, Prime is a high-end steak.
It's got the most intramuscular fat, it's the most tender, the most juicy, but it also comes with a high price tag.
What you want to get is choice.
Now, choice, if you know what to look for, can be just as good as a prime steak.
So what do you look for?
You look for the marbling on a steak.
The marbling is the intramuscular fat.
It's the fat within the meat.
These little strips of fat right here.
That's what you want to get.
So if you had three steaks that are all similar cuts, you want to get the one with the most marbling in it.
Now the marbling does a few things for you.
As that steak cooks, that intramuscular fat melts.
And it's going to give you a greater perception of juiciness and tenderness.
And it's going to be a lot more flavorful.
If I want to have a low fat meal though, I could get a slight marbled choice cut and I'm still okay or it just smells like rubber?
No, it doesn't taste like rubber.
It just depends on which cut you buy.
Okay, so choice instead of premiumum.
Correct.
And marbled.
Oh, I like this to save money.
All right, come over here.
The next most affordable thing you have to do is find a steak that can beat a crowd with.
Now Vivian says she and her family love a great steak dinner.
Welcome to the family.
All right.
But it gets a little pricey.
So what kind of steak do you get to feed a family of five?
So I like to get ribeye steak.
It's the best type of steak.
I've tried other types of meats and it comes out tasting tough and let's be honest, it can get quite expensive.
Well, I'll tell you, I love ribeye.
It's very precious and then some of its alternatives are precious.
But guess what?
Brian has got something else that is the tasty, most economical choice.
He says it will change your life.
He's bringing it to you here.
What's this cut directly from the sirloin of the steer.
I'm sorry, it's called a tri tip.
Tri tip.
It's cut from the sirloin of the steer.
It has a nice amount of inch muscular fat.
It comes in about two pound pieces, so it's enough in one purchase to feed an entire family or a crowd.
It's really flavorful, and if you slice it thin, it's very tender.
Then you be the judge whether it's tender.
I trust the butcher, but I trust the mom a lot more.
Yes, it's perfect.
It's really tender and juicy.
Would it replace your ribeye?
I think so.
There you have it.
Now, if the taste is acceptable, let's look at the numbers.
This is Brian's promise.
It was tasty, it was economical.
So I'm going to put them up for everyone everyone to see.
The ribeye that Vivian used to buy would cost her about seventy dollars to feed a family of five, about fourteen dollars per servant.
The whole family with the tritip can be fed for forty dollars.
It's a fraction of the cost.
Okay.
Enjoy.
Okay.
Next, don't get caught up in the fancy names.
Ashley and Joy from the audience are here with a little challenge.
They're wearing blinds for a reason.
They're blinded because they're going to tell us honestly what they think they're eating, whether it's good or not.
Ashley, what do you normally order when you go out for a meal?
Well, I love a nice filet mignon, grass fed, usually.
So filet mignon grass fed, probably costs you a little bit.
And you guys both have steaks in front in front of you that are not grass fed filet mignon, but I'm going to hope that you still appreciate the taste.
So Ashley, you go first.
What do you think about this?
Oh, it's juicy.
It smells like it's been marinated for a while too.
Joey, your thoughts?
You know what's very nice?
Succulent, doctor Ashley.
Succulent!
Succulent.
Okay, take off your blindfolds.
Congratulations.
Ryan revealed what they just had.
Right, so a lot of people think that beef tenderloin filet mignon is the best cut in a steakhouse.
It is definitely the most tender, but it doesn't have as much flavor as a lot of other cuts.
So what I've done here is replaced that tenderloin with a hanger steak, and that comes from the plate area of the steer.
And if you slice it nice and thin against the grain, it has a lot of beefy smell to it, and a lot of juice too.
Delicious.
Ashley, you don't have to break the bank.
You could actually serve this at home.
It saves you a lot of money, but actually, I love eating this at home on the barbecue because it's easier to make for me.
What were you going to say?
I was going to say that this steak here is a flat iron.
Oh, they're different.
Yeah, they're different steaks.
Oh.
This is a cut that I like to think replaces the Porterhouse in some way.
It's very juicy.
Yeah, no, it's a high grade beef.
Absolutely.
How much do you think we overpay for meat?
Just because we've been led to believe that some cuts are better than others.
You think we could probably run up half the meat bill where?
Absolutely.
You could.
You could slice your meat bill in half if you know what to look for.
Wherever your butcher is in your life, find him and talk to him.
Our investigation in the supermarket steak continues after the break.
Chef Brian's going to reveal the cheapest, tastiest steak lurking right under your nose at the supermarket.
And he's going to show you how to prepare it like a pro.
So you will not want to miss this.
Thank you.
Did you kill Travis Alexander?
Yes, I did.
Convicted of brutally killing her boyfriend.
The bloody crime scene, it was everywhere.
why her lawyer says taking on her case ruined his life, career, and health plus this life isn't the way i want to live it addicted to laxatives i couldn't get through a day because i was constantly going back and forth to a bathroom.
All new Oz.
That's coming up tomorrow.
We're back with our investigation in the supermarket steak.
Brian's investigated, he's cooked, and he's tasted all the supermarket steaks.
He's going to tell us which is the tasty and cheapest steak to buy, so you don't overspend.
That's right.
It is.
Drum roll.
Drum roll.
Lank steak.
You know, my son has been buying that exclusively.
And it smells so good.
I had never even tried it until a few years ago.
Yeah, it's one of my favorite cuts.
It's nice and even.
It goes well in stir-fries, tacos, or just as a straight steak in the pan.
It's got a nice amount of intramuscular fat, but it's also relatively lean.
And you can obviously see the grain structure of it, so it helps with the slicing.
So why don't more people get flank steak?
Is this a hidden gem?
It just gets overlooked, because it doesn't look like a whole lot, does it?
No, it doesn't, but we can still muck it up, even if you're not.
So what are some secrets to make sure you don't?
The biggest mistake we all make is what?
With meat?
People don't get the right temperature.
So they overcook it and they undercook it.
This is a problem because people tend to follow recipes and they look at the times in the recipes when you need to be invest in a digital thermometer.
You can get them for just a few dollars online and they make a world of difference.
Even those professional chefs in restaurants use thermometers.
And look at this chart, guys.
Depending on what you want, rare, well done.
So don't go by the outside or just look at the temperature chart, you'll get there.
Do you ever look at that and say, hey, this is rare, not, you're a little scared.
Oh yeah, you can hold your fingers together and pinky to thumb when you hold your palm lightly.
See how firm that is?
Yeah.
That's well done.
So you start off.
This is, oh yeah, this is rare, medium rare, medium rare, well done.
Rare, well done.
Remember that, rare, well done.
Rare, well done.
And that with the temperature chart, you're good.
Okay..
Then you say we got to pack the meat to dry it off.
Right.
So one of the biggest mistakes people make is they don't dry the meat before it hits the skillet.
This is important because in order to get that nice desirable browning and caramelization on the meat, we need to make sure all the moisture is gone.
Once it's dry, salt, pepper.
Right.
So another thing I like about this flank steak is that you can cut it into individual steaks.
So I'll split this one down the middle.
And then I'll cut it into a little steak like this.
So you can have individual portions for your guests.
So all you need to do is just heat up a little oil in a cast iron skillet here.
I'll season the steak up nicely.
A little kosher salt and black pepper.
The oil is spread.
And it starts bubble a little.
You throw it on.
Yeah, you'll start to see the oil start to shimmer and just barely smoke.
And you make sure it's nice and hot.
And then you drop the steak right in there.
You want to hear that sizzle.
Mm.
Okay.
Now, once you've regaled your guests with this, there's a big mistake we all make.
It comes off there and it looks so good, right?
But watch what happens in this little video audience.
This is something that many of you are doing.
You're not letting your meat rest.
It's still hot.
You cut it.
It looks so, ooh, isn't that great?
Like for a commercial?
Big mistake.
Big, big problem.
Why should you let your meat rest?
Well, because when you pull the meat out of the skillet or off the grill, that meat's still cooking.
You need to give it time to come down to temperature where it's even enjoyable to eat.
Another reason why is that as the meat cooks, all the juices in the meat rush towards the center.
Okay?
And if you were to immediately start slicing that, all the juices would pour out onto your board.
I'll put this here so it stops burning me.
But you keep talking.
So you wanna let So five or ten minutes.
I like to do it on a wire rack here, as you see.
And the reason we use a wire rack is so the air circulates around the meat as it cools.
And you're not letting it sit in its juices because you see the juices that come off in the bottom of this pan here.
If it's sitting in those juices, it's going to wash off that nice, chemalized exterior.
All right.
And finally, how to cut it.
Because there are grains here.
And many of us do this wrong.
All right.
And this is probably the biggest key next to temperature to getting a nice, tender cut of meat.
You want to make sure you slice against the grain.
And that's why I love flank so much.
You can really see this pronounced grain.
So turn it.
90 degrees or turn it parallel to the counter's edge and then you just want to put your knife 90 degrees to that and give it some thin slices.
Like this.
And if you don't do this, the meat is just a little chewy.
Right.
If you were to cut it with the grain, the meat would be too chewy.
So this way, it just runs apart nicely and easily.
If I have guests over there that I don't like that much, but with the grains, try it.
You'll see.
In fact, at the same table, you get different responses from your guests if you cut the meat a little different.
Brian, thank you very much.
All the wisdom of a chef and a butcher.
Be sure to check out American's Test Kitchen.
It's Cook's Country magazines on shelves right now.
When we come back, I'll look inside the chicken nuggets recall that's freaking everyone out.
Coming up, what's the deal with all the chicken nuggets recalls?
What do you really need to know about your favorite frozen food?
That's next.
Woo!
Woo!
So, hey, What is the deal with all the chicken nugget recalls lately, right?
They're getting wood chips, I'm seeing pieces of rubber.
Literally, that's what the reports are.
120,000 pounds of nuggets were recently recalled from two major brands for containing contaminants and possible allergens.
So we're going behind the food headlines and cover what is really going on.
Who better to help than Chef Roble Ali, who is here to investigate?
So I gotta say, when I read about rubber, I wasn't quite sure how would ever we get into the chicken nugget.
Well, here's the story.
People started finding little bites of rubber in their chicken nuggets and they started calling in, so they did a little investigation.
And what happened was a piece of like a rubber seal on some of the machinery that they used to make the nuggets fell in there, got mixed in, and it went out.
I mean, I've heard of rubbery chicken nuggets, but I rubber in the chicken nuggets.
It's a little bit much there.
Right.
A different brand recalled 70,000 pounds of gluten-free chicken nuggets.
Not because they weren't gluten-free, but because they were containing wood.
Why would there be wood chips in there?
What happened when they did the they looked into this one, they couldn't figure it out.
And they said there might be wood in there.
So according to the USDA, no one has reported adverse reactions after eating the nuggets.
The brand who did recall the chicken nuggets with the potential wood price pieces said it was an island incident and the recall was being done out of an abundance of caution.
Now you say it's often a challenge to determine if there's extraneous material in a chicken nugget.
Why is that?
Well, it's partly because of the nature of the way that they're made.
They chop it up into little bits and pieces and there's like this big old mix.
So let's go to that.
Let's take a closer look at what's actually in the nuggets because we'll understand how stuff can slip in there.
Right.
So you all think chicken nuggets are basically a chicken from a chicken breast, chopping it up into little piecesces, it looks like this, right?
So you paste together a couple of these chicken things that probably looked like that originally.
Is that what we all think?
Some people think that.
What you would think, that's what I would hope.
But it's not quite what goes on.
Explain what happens oftentimes with chicken nuggets.
Okay, so you have water, you have chicken, soy, wheat protein, there's salt, and then there's a little mystery ingredient that really why is that there?
Sugar.
I don't understand.
I mean, you're probably going to dunk into some barbecue sauce anyway and get some sugar, so why do you need to do that?
I don't know.
Now here's the thing.
There's some guys who are doing it the right way, and there's some guys that are not.
So reward the people who are doing the right job.
I bet you most Americans who are making your food are trying to do the right job.
If we open our eyes and pay attention, we're going to support them.
That means more people will do the right job.
If you ignore them, then you get stuff that's not supposed to be done.
Okay, so.
Teach us how to figure out which is the good products to buy, which ones make sense.
It's often not a price issue, by the way.
It's just a big smart issue.
So the first thing is we show chicken breasts.
We need to look for that, right?
Right, exactly.
Like the first ingredient should be chicken and it should say what kind of chicken it is.
It is.
It should say chicken breast.
And then the second thing, which goes for everything else, the less ingredients the better.
And the rest of the ingredients should be like flour and seasonings that go onto the coating.
And that's it.
And you should be able to pronounce and understand everything that's on there.
Yeah?
Chevron, babe.
I appreciate it as always.
God bless you.
We're right back.
Your athleisure wear helps you stay active.
But what happens when your only activity is just putting those stretchy pants off?
We're investigating the tricks that these are playing on you, especially when it comes to gaining weight.
All nuanced.
That's coming up on Wednesday.
Today we're talking about a very real addiction that affects millions of people.
And you may not even realize that you're one of them.
Do you find yourself with your inbox flooded with promotions from your favorite stores.
Suddenly you're filing your online shopping cart filling it up with things that you don't really need.
But in just a click, a new sweater, those shoes that look so pretty, a new skin product, you know, you feel that euforia with every click and purchase and the stress just gone.
But then the dreaded credit card bills come along with panic and guilt.
You all been there?
I'm talking about extreme online shopping addiction.
Retail therapy's gone high tech and very invasive.
For many, every sale tech Every sale text or email means temptation and fuels online shopping addiction.
You can't afford not to buy something because the coupons they send you.
The link is right there, constantly reminding you that you want me, you want to buy me, you need to buy me.
You don't have to get out of bed, you don't have to get off the couch, you don't have to leave your office, you just click and it's there.
I'm a realtor, I have to look good.
It does get expensive.
To keep up to date, to be in fashion, you need slacks, you need skirts, you need everything, and you need the bag to go with it.
I love shoes and pocket books, all types.
Shoes and pocketbooks make me happy.
Can you grab the milk, please?
If I'm not on top of house trends as a realtor, how am I going to effectively sell your home?
You need new dishes, you need new mugs, and then you need new silverware, and it kind of snowballs, and you need new things to go with new things.
Joyce's husband doesn't agree.
I think it's a problem because she thinks she needs it, but actually she doesn't.
She wants it.
He might not know how much.
I handle all the bills, and I was very happy when they went from being delivered in the them in the mail to online because then my husband couldn't see them.
It made my life a lot easier.
We have a security camera at the front door and we get notifications on our phones.
I disabled my husband's on his phone when I know I'm getting a delivery and I fix it after I get the delivery.
But as a UPS delivery man, Eric knows about the rise in online shopping.
Most of the time I deliver to the same houses over and over and over.
It's like, they're addicted to this.
And now that I see it on my house, I know that's a problem.
I'm going to join now with Joyce at her honest acknowledgement of what's crapping.
Thank you for telling the truth.
How bad has your online addiction gotten?
It's gotten pretty bad.
I wake up thinking about it.
I think about it throughout the day because I'm getting the emails, I'm getting the text reminders, it's on my social media, it's pretty much consuming my day.
So your husband Eric kindly joins you.
He's actually in the audience, a safe distance away.
How bad do you think your wife's online shopping addiction has gotten and how is it affecting you and the family?
Well, it's bad.
It's really bad.
I get to the point that we're in an argument.
We told, listen, we have to stop.
And when I get home, I'm excited to see why I recycled so many boxes.
I said, wait a minute, I didn't shop.
And then I find that she continues, I don't know what to do, doctor Ass.
I really don't know.
So how do you feel when you realize this is not just about shopping?
We see the pictures of the closet full of shoes and everyone gaps.
But the bigger, more and deeper pain is when your relationship is destroyed or hurt in any way.
Because of this addiction.
I do feel terrible.
I feel so I feel bad when he's upset at me, but it really doesn't stop me.
I almost need to do it.
When I'm buying something for the family, when I'm buying something for the kids or for him, I'm happy.
Oh great.
You know, he needed glasses, his readers.
So I don't buy him one pair, I buy him three, because I know he's going to break one pair.
So when he says, Oh, I broke my glasses, I'm, Oh, look.
Those seem like excuses to me.
You have ways of justifying it, but I'm still seeing a relationship that starts to get beaten up a tiny bit.
But you know, you're not alone.
And so I'm not going to have you take the heat alone.
Alicia is joining us.
She reached out for some help with her online shopping addiction.
Please join me.
Alicia admits spending between $3,000 and $4,000 a month on online purchases, mostly clothes and shoes.
Thank you for being here.
Thank you, Pat.
How bad has your addiction to shopping gotten?
It's bad.
It's to the point where I wake up in the morning, I want to go online, I go to sleep, I want to go online.
I dream being online, clicking in.
How is your relationship with your family because of the addiction?
Well, currently, right now now, my husband is in Kuwait, which that gives me extra Shopping.
He's in the armed forces?
He's in the army, yes.
Thank you very much for that.
Thank you.
Well, let's help you to help him.
Thank you.
And right now, I have tons and tons of stuff that since he's been gone to help me cope with him being gone, what makes me feel better is shopping.
What's your lowest point?
How bad has it gotten?
My lowest point, I recall, is when he was home one day and he gave me some money to go pay the electric bill.
But there was a sale going on, so I went ahead and I. And I went shopping figuring like, okay, I'll take care of next week, not knowing that it was, you know, due at that time.
So he was working at home and we got a knock at the door and it was the electric people coming to turn off the lights, you know, turn it off.
Turn off the electricity.
Yeah, because of the because of the fact that I forgot to pay it and then you know You forgot to pay it.
You decided not to pay it.
I decided.
So he was, I gather, a little upset about that.
He was and it was embarrassing.
That was it was embarrassing.
I felt like I wanted to just die and just cry, you know, because he looked at me and said, I gave you that money to go pay the electricity bill.
And I was like, I know, I'm sorry.
Let's dive into why that story just happened.
But Joyce, if I can just ask you, what do you feel that moment you press click and buy something?
Oh, it's almost a high.
It's exhilarating.
Yes.
It's almost a high.
It's like a drug.
Sugar does this too, by the way, in the brain.
And it's tapping your brain saying, this is great, this is great.
And it's there for a reason.
Because when you do things that are good for you, you're supposed to feel great, so you do more of them.
But there's ways of hacking that system.
Shopping is one of them.
Makes you feel great where you didn't really do anything great necessarily.
And for that reason, you get the same drug high.
the same addictive reactions, the same interaction problems.
I mean, Eric's over there loving you dearly, Joyce, but has trouble, real trouble.
We joke about it a little bit, but real problem with the fact that you're not honest about what you're doing.
And your husband, I'm sure, he's serving our nation bravely.
And obviously has integrity to be able to do things he's doing, and yet he finds his wife got stolen from him by online shopping or other shopping, sales.
What I'm doing now is I'm taking all the stuff that I have, and I'm actually opening up a little boutique in my house so I can kind of get rid of a lot of stuff.
That helps a little bit, right?
Yeah.
It helps.
But are you open to getting help to deal with the underlying reason that you want something you don't need, that you're willing to compromise the most precious covenant we have with the people we love for an addiction to shopping?
Are you in for this?
Yes.
Absolutely.
All right, coming up, we're going to offer some concrete solutions to help everyone at home with their online shopping addiction because there are a lot of you.
That's next.
Did you kill Travis Alexander?
Yes, I did.
Why her lawyer says taking on her case ruined his life, career, and health.
Plus, addicted to laxatives.
I was constantly going back and forth to a bathroom.
All new Oz.
That's coming up tomorrow.
are back talking about online shopping addiction.
It is a serious problem.
In fact, there's between 5 and 8 percent of Americans we think who suffer from some sort of shopping addiction.
We are now joined by Farnoosh Taurabi, financial expert and host of the podcast So Money.
Let's go through the main causes of this shopping addiction.
There are a couple clear ones.
I want you to keep track of these and tell me which ones resonate with you.
The first is anxiety, stress.
To deal with the isolation that results.
Absolutely.
We feel bad.
We have a string of bad days where we're just down on ourselves.
Often we turn to vices.
And shopping addiction is one of those vices that millions of us turn to.
Social media.
I love social media.
It's fun.
It's engaging.
But on the other end of it, it can be really kind of a rabbit hole where you're following me these feeds, it looks so perfect, right?
So filtered.
And then you start to feel bad about yourself, and then you turn to your vice online shopping.
24/7 availability of shopping on everything, including the phone, which is never outside your hand.
Right, there's no barrier now to shopping.
I mean, you literally shop for something, it's on your doorstep.
I saw it the next day.
And then finally, it's all the targeted emails, it's all the targeted ads that we experience online.
Our web browsers are stalking us.
They know what we like, they know what we've searched for, and then we get those ads.
It's really hard to combat.
So you heard a couple of common causes, which ones resonate with you?
What do you think is going on in your lives?
The feeds for me, they're automatically there when I go on the social media.
You can just click the link and it takes you directly into, oh, just add to a cart.
And if you leave it there, it reminds you to go back.
To go back and look for it.
And if you actually go into a store, on a store's website and you drop it in the cart, it tells you again and it'll send you a coupon.
And then it adds you to the mailing list and it sends you a coupon in the mail.
Not an accident.
No.
They're not doing you a favor.
They're stalking you.
Stalking.
You think it's service.
It's called hunting.
Right.
They see you out there.
You're a big bullseye.
And they just hit the bullseye because you're saying, Here I am, here I am, yelling out.
Okay.
So Farnoosh is going to give us some conc some concrete solutions for everybody, everyone out there watching, including Joyce and Alicia.
We're going to help you all.
First is unsubscribe.
You have to do it.
You have to take it away.
When you get those emails, which we just talked about, all those targeted emails, all those shop sites, your first instinct should be to unsubscribe.
You can just follow the link to unsubscribe.
You'll never get those emails again.
Don't follow the links to go and actually shop.
How do you block these sites?
How do you delay gratification?
So another tip is to block and delay gratification.
So this is like a two-step process.
First, I'd highly recommend, and you can learn how to do this by just googling it.
You can block certain websites.
You can block them on your phone, on your computer so that you don't get the temptation.
If you know you're always on this one particular site, just block it even temporarily.
And then delay gratification.
Look, if you've actually put stuff into your shopping cart because you've gotten that far, my tip is just distance yourself for 24 hours.
Go take a walk, go take a shower, like come back for the next day.
Why?
Because we talked about dopamine levels surging when you're about to buy something.
That's not when you want to be making a rational choice.
So distance yourself.
You'll realize the next day you probably don't want the shoes, let's be honest.
Well, what if you tried that already?
What if you unblocked it and everything, and then you know, you leave it and you come back?
It's like, it's just.
Right.
It's not I'm blocking, you're blocking it.
You're blocking it.
What I want to hear is you guys, they're chumming the water for you.
And you have to stop that.
You can't let them put that stuff around you because you just start gobbling up whatever is around you.
And part of it, I think, is to allow you to do, because some of it's going to be up to you.
Because I think the one big tip is you've got to avoid the prime time online shopping.
So at the end of the day, you have to change your habits.
And what we find is that prime shopping hours online is after work and before we go to bed.
So first, you've given us some great tactics like blocking and avoiding prime time problems.
But how do you get the emotional support so you don't craveve it with the tip of your finger pressing click.
So this is really the crux of it, right?
You have to kind of look within.
What is the emotional void that you're trying to fill with stuff?
Because this isn't about easy access or technology all the time.
Really at the heart of it is, you know, there's something missing.
And I think truly to address that is of the utmost.
And for some people it means therapy.
For others it may mean reaching out to friends.
I think coming on this show and being open and honest with us and your family and friends is an amazing first step.
And I want to applaud you for that.
It's really the first step to recovery.
Let me ask you., since we do think you're filling a void, all of us, with shopping, what is that void?
Where do you need help, emotional support?
I believe mine right now is my husband not being here and, you know, me not having no one to talk to at nighttime and the commercials on.
And I think that's, you know, and then I also like shopping when I'm stressed or, you know, or my anxiety, you know, so, but right now I believe it's because of him not being here.
At least we got a target now.
Let's focus on what we can do.
I'd rather he sends you spam mails.
And you get it from shoppers.
And Eric's here.
So what does he need to do?
What's the void that you're feeling where he might be able to help you?
Well, he could be here, but he's he works.
He's always working and there's always overtime and he's also a soccer coach.
And, you know, I'll never blame my kids for anything, but we have kids.
And whose kids don't, you know, doesn't take up a majority of their time.
There's always something.
So you're lonely.
You're both lonely, which is probably a big reason why chopping has become what it has, as an addiction.
I think the real person you have to keep company with is you.
Right?
It's inside you, which is I know not we're going to solve that like this, but at least we know what to aim at.
And we're never going to get this, the true sense of fulfillment doing the things you're doing.
Quite the opposite, you chase away people who love you the most, which will just make you even lonelier.
First, what should someone do if they think they've got an online shopping addiction?
Because I bet a lot of people at home right now just kind of woke up to that reality.
Just reach out to someone you trust, a friend, because we've talked so much already about feelings of isolation, feeling lonely.
And so you can only control what you can control.
You control your environment, control your community, reach out to people.
And if you have a friend and you're watching, oh, I have a friend who has an online shopping addictiontion.
Be the friend.
Call your friend.
Show up.
Initiate activities together.
And then over time, you know, break the ice and talk about how you're really feeling.
You have to get this out.
You cannot keep it bottled up.
Okay.
God bless you both for being here.
Thank you very much.
If you think you have a shopping addiction, find out more helpful tips on my website.
I'll be right back.
Your athleisure wear helps you stay active, but what happens when your only activity is just putting those stretchy pants off?
We're investigating the tricks that these are playing on you, especially when it comes to gaining weight.
All nuanced.
That's coming up on Wednesday.
Itch, you scratch it, and then you repeat, right?
We all do it.
We itch, scratch, repeat.
Itch, scratch, repeat.
We're hardwired.
The chances are if you're an eczema sufferer, this is an uncomfortable, embarrassing, and cumbersome cycle that you and your skin are all too familiar with.
So I brought in board certified dermatologist, Dr. Elizabeth Tainsey, who's here on behalf of my trusted sponsorship partner, Ustream, to help you break that cycle.
Thanks for always being here.
So itching is a natural response, but sometimes.
it gets out of hand.
It actually was a classic example.
So explain what it is and what causes it.
So there are several different types of eczema, but one of the most common is called atopic eczema or atopic dermatitis, which is a chronic relapsing inflammatory condition.
It affects 30% of children and 15% of adults.
And unfortunately, the prevalence is on the rise.
And it seems to be, it runs in families.
And it's triggered by certain things.
There's some environmental factors, irritants, allergens, changes in the weather, and just simple stress can flare it up as well.
And it can be really disruptive not only to the person, but also to the family.
So it's not just the person, but also family members as well.
So it's really a quality of life issue.
Remind everybody of the classic symptoms.
So as you can see, this type of eczema is characterized by red, inflamed, dry, and really itchy skin.
It's intensely itchy.
So people start to scratch it, which ends up making it worse, not better, but worse.
And then over time, the skin can actually thicken as well.
Another key factor here is that it's chronic and relapsing.
So you have these flare ups and recurrences, and then you'll have periods of rash free skin.
That's your opportunity.
So let me show you what experts believe happens in an eczema cycle.
And we built a little model that will help you understand what's going on beneath the surface of the skin.
But let's just say this is the surface of the skin and down beneath here is the insides.
Now, the surface of the skin, hopefully most of you have skin looking like this, right?
It's normal, fine, no problems.
With atopic eczema, right?
Something irritates your skin.
So you start to get a little bit of itching.
And then as the irritant becomes more prevalent, you'll start to itch harder and harder and scratch it.
And as you scratch it, you'll start to now see that you have the beginnings of an eczema flare up.
And this eczema flare up becomes problematic because once it's there, it's harder to stop it.
And you know, you get a little wrinkling of the skin.
You can sort of see how it looks irritatingated, it looks out.
And of course, the more you've got it, the more problems you get.
So you don't just get this little scaling, you'll actually get more significant breaks in the skin, which would complicate your life that much more.
So what is the goal when you're treating eczema if you don't want to be like me and itch away at everything?
Right.
You don't want to get to that point where you're breaking down in the skin.
So when you have a severe flare up like this, you may need to go to a dermatologist to get a prescription steroid cream to calm this down.
But since atopic eczema is a chronic relapsing condition, the long term goal is to prolong those flare free periods and reduce the risk of a recurrence.
So the number one, most important thing you can be doing for your skin is moisturizing every day with a product that's specifically made for eczema prone skin.
Okay, so what do you recommend for long term management of eczema?
So, doctor Oz, I like to recommend Userin's Eczema Relief Cream.
It incorporates oatmeal, ceramides, and licorice root extract.
It's an over the counter product that can be used every day to reduce the irritation and dryness of the skin, and it almost forms like a protective seal over the skin to soothe irritation and redness, and it's steroid free, which means you can use it every single day, which is key.
Userin conducted a study.
in which they looked at four out of five children who were using Userin's Eczema Relief Cream every day, and it showed that they were flare free for six months with everyday use.
And if you're a parent with a child and that type of eczema, six months of no flares is a very, very big deal.
And for the adults that were using it, they showed improvement of their mild to moderate symptoms within two weeks of daily use.
So we gave Userin's Eczema Relief Cream to two of my viewers to try.
Teresa has been using the cream every day for a few weeks, and Patricia has been using the cream for three months.
So, Teresa, we're going to start with you.
Don't mind.
So describe how your skin looked.
You have a picture, I believe, before you started using this approach.
Yeah, well, first of all, eczema came into my life out of nowhere while I was pregnant with my second child.
Congratulations to the baby.
Thank you.
And actually, he actually has a little bit of eczema too, and I've started using it on him.
But first, I started taking care of my diet, thinking it's from the diet.
You know, I cut out dairy, I cut out a lot of things, driving myself crazy.
Then I started using all the natural creams, you know, YouTube and Google and literally took over my life and changing detergents, changing sheets and everything that you can think of.
And some of it went away, like I mentioned, but the knuckles, the parts that get constant touch as I'm a busy mom of two constantly rubbing off on zippers and such, they actually kept saying and in fact getting more irritated and cracking and that was just uncomfortable and just having that on your hand and it just never was getting a chance to recover and anything that I was using was going to take longer to recover.
So, oh my goodness, look at this.
Yeah.
Huge difference, huge difference.
She's just trying to get us to pay attention to the ring.
This is another thing.
How do you look at the ring when you have this eczema here?
So I have to get rid of it.
Are you surprised by what Theresa is saying?
So no, you know, as dermatologists, we hear a lot about eczema and how it affects people's, how it affects people's lives.
There are real physical, psychological and social issues that come across that are really important with atopic dermatitis.
I mean, people have trouble.
They feel itchy in their clothes.
They're sometimes embarrassed to show their skin.
And also, it can really affect your sleep pattern.
I mean, if that's happening in your family, it's extremely disruptive.
I wanted to mention this actually.
I just mentioned as actually as I started using it on my son, he's been having better sleep, for sure.
Are you happy with your result?
Absolutely.
Good for you.
Yeah.
Now, Patricia, you've been using Ucerin Eczema Relief Cream for about six months, so a little longer.
Yeah.
Well, we've been using it actually for a very long time.
We've been using Ucerin.
My daughter actually started with eczema when she was about one and a half, she's eight now, so we've been using Ucerin for a very long time, but much more consistently every single day we use it, and we have had zero flare-ups, so I'm very excited that I don't have any flare-ups.
See, doctor Oz, Patricia knows you have a child, a young child with eczema.
It is a very big deal to be using it every day to prevent flare-ups.
If you can prevent flare-ups for months on end and the kids are sleeping, it's a really, really helpful thing.
How does your skin feel differently now?
It's actually soft, it's moisturized and usually in the winter months is when I'll get a flare up.
This winter, I have no cracks on my hands, my legs where I usually will get eczema are free of it.
So it's amazing.
But the key question is, are your friends jealous of you and your happiness?
Totally.
Does it make you feel good?
Totally.
No.
Very good.
Quite the opposite.
Thanks to our trusted sponsorship partner, Userman.
Meeting tomorrow at 12pm Eastern Time.
The first 5,000 people who go to dr. Oz.
com will receive a coupon for a free tube of Userin's Eczema Relief Cream, so you can feel as wonderful as these women do.
And I'm not going to stop there.
My entire studio audience is also going home with not one but two tubes of Userin's Eczema Relief Cream.
One for you and one for your friends, so they're not jealous.
We'll be right back.
Today, the new science says your brain power changes with the seasons.
Your brain may have to work harder depending on whether it's hot or cold outside.
Who loves the cold weather here?
Cold weather lovers?
Yeah, Adam.
And who's missing the sunny and hot days right now?
We're all a little different.
Here's the deal.
A recent study looked at brain activity and memory in the warm and cold temperatures.
So for sustained attention tasks, people's brains have to work harder in the summer compared to the winter.
So don't get frustrated if you're having a hard time getting through your summer beach read, when it's, you know, because in the summer time, your brain has trouble doing that for a long period.
However, working memory, that's tasks like remembering a phone number or, you know, the last thing on your shopping list, people's brains have to work harder around that that when autumn came compared to spring.
That's a medical mystery as to why this happens, but it might be because of our circadian rhythm and changes in daylight.
So here's the deal.
In winter and in spring, your memory is a little bit of a leg up, right?
So maybe that's why there is no school in this summer.
Think about that.
Proving that there is a best time for everything.
Next time you think your memory or your tension span is lagging, I give you permission to just blame it on the weather.
Together, everybody, change is happening.
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