Cheese Aisle Secrets: What to Buy + Oz-Approved Health Hacks | Dr. Oz | S10 | Ep 154 | Full Episode
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The cheese aisle.
So much to choose from.
But not all slices are created equal.
This has less than 51% cheese.
We're investigating what's really between the bread.
You're kidding me.
How are they allowed to do that?
And hacks that will melt your heart, not your wallet.
This is going to save you time and also save you money.
Plus, an Oz approved cheesy Italian dish that won't sink the scale.
Now we give you all calorie count because you'll be shocked when we're done.
Oh my goodness.
Coming up next...
Are y'all ready for season 10?
Yeah!
I love you, Dr. Oz.
Here, so am I. It's the supermarket investigation you have been craving.
Cheese.
Oh, look at it.
Studies have been touting the health benefits of this delicious food.
So today, we're breaking down what's in your cheese aisle.
We are investigating everything from the new trendy non-dairy cheese alternatives to the classics, like the iconic American cheese, the radiant orange slices that have been the gooey glue of American lunches since the 1960s.
Look how beautiful that is.
But what's really in these products?
Even though cheese is more than 4,000 years old, it has never been more popular.
Chef Charles Shed joins us now.
What are the biggest trends in the supermarkets that you're seeing these days?
So based on the supermarkets, a lot of the trends that we're seeing are based around flavor.
And one thing that we're seeing is veggie slices of cheeses and also cheese dips, cheese spreads, and also beer cheese.
Beer cheese?
Yeah.
Not cheese with beers, but beer cheese.
Beer cheese.
All right, and one time real quickly.
So the vegan things I'm always amazed by, have you ever, how many people have tasted vegan cheese here?
Quite a few.
I'm stunned, aren't you?
It actually tastes much better than I expected.
And I'm curious how that's all done.
I gotta say, the spreadables confused me a lot.
They're not all the same.
And then when we're done all that, well, you know what?
Before we get to all that, let's talk about this.
Sliced American cheese.
It's become trendy again, but for a very different reason.
Take a look.
I'll tell you, it gives you a whole new meaning for cheesing it up for the camera.
I love little kids, especially, and they seem to catch the cheese no matter where it touches them.
I don't know about the pets, but the cheese kids work.
So I've always wondered about American cheese.
How does it melt so perfectly?
What's actually in it that lets it do that?
Because most cheese doesn't do the kind of things American cheese does.
I grew up eating this cheese, just like many of the audience members.
So I asked two of them to come volunteer.
So let's ask Melody first.
Why do you love American cheese so much?
Okay, I mean, it's like one of those legendary cheeses, and it melts so well.
You can like pull it apart.
When it gets in your mouth, it just melts right in there.
I mean, how can you not love it?
Well, I think I agree with that.
Right.
And they can do things other cheeses can't do.
Let me just see that.
Put your hand out.
Can it stick?
No, hold like this.
Okay.
Oh.
Oh, that was terrible.
One more time.
We'll give you one more shot.
You got this.
It's got it, though.
Forget about it.
Not bad.
It stuck through my fingers.
I couldn't even throw, right?
It's that stickiness that, however, got me a little concerned.
It does do that, but I'm not sure how it happens.
What do you love so much about it?
It does melt at a different temperature.
Yes, it does.
Actually, American cheese is the only cheese that melts the same way my son melts my heart.
So I always use American cheese when I do his grilled cheese sandwiches.
Yeah, you know what?
You try this.
Try to throw that at me.
Oh, God.
Okay.
Why don't I just throw it at you?
Ooh.
That was actually pretty good.
Between your hands.
All right.
So, hard to deny the multi-perfection of American cheese.
Come over here, Chef.
Let's talk a little bit about why some people fear this kind of cheese because it's processed.
And I hear that, and I say to myself, well, I mean, all cheese is processed.
Yes.
So what makes it different?
So cheese is processed.
It's not a whole food.
Cheese really starts with three different things.
So milk, salt, and enzymes.
The American cheese, on the other hand, is cheese with added different ingredients.
So we're seeing things like cream, salt, emulsifiers, and even coloring.
You know, I look at this and I compare them, but just to usually sanitize it a bit, but rennet comes from the intestines, right?
From the stomach?
Yes.
So it sounds bioscopic, but this actually is not quite as pristine, but it's simple.
And that's I think why people like it.
It's wholesome.
Simple, yes.
And the things like food coloring and the vegetables and this sugar, why do you need to add sugar to cheese?
They just add it for preservative reasons, so also with flavor, so then we just keep going back to it.
But emulsifiers and coloring, those are kind of the things I kind of watch out for.
Yeah, and I noticed you add a little cheddar cheese to it.
Yes, so they do add some cheddar cheese into it as well.
Yeah, so it's not exactly what I thought.
But I look at this concoction, I think to myself, is there a historical reason why anyone bothered doing this?
Yes.
Why would you hack cheese?
Yeah, so back in the day, they wanted a cheese that they can actually ship to the U.S. troops.
So back in the early 1900, they came up with cheese.
Just for the GIs or something?
Yes, yes.
Good for them.
Good for them.
All right.
So some people don't even consider it cheese.
And the FDA has gotten involved in this.
So if you can, give us the names by which we can sometimes see these cheeses.
So because it's processed, the government came out with, for the American cheese, labeled them as either pasteurized processed cheese, pasteurized processed cheese food, or pasteurized processed cheese product.
But they all look the same.
So they all look the same, but there are varying amounts of cheese in each of these categories.
All right, so for example, processed pasteurized cheese.
Is this real cheese?
This is 100% cheese.
Yes, so this is 100% cheese with added additional ingredients in there.
All right, like you showed us over there.
Yes, yes.
And then for the pasteurized cheese food, this one has a minimum of 51% cheese.
So it could be sort of half cheese and half not cheese.
It could be kind of half cheese.
But this is, on the other hand, this is what we have to watch out for.
So the cheese product right here, this has some cheese and they add things like milk proteins and whey proteins.
This is cheaper to do and this is also what helps with the texture to make it smoother.
So I would go for the pasteurized processed cheese or just a fresh cut from the deli.
Oh yeah, if you get the fresh cut from the deli and they slice it, they don't have to put any of the preservers in it, right?
No, that's the thing.
And it doesn't come from packages.
That's the thing.
So go for the fresh always.
All right, let's go join our American cheese lovers at the grilled cheese station.
They've been throwing their cheese back and forth, practicing it up.
Yes!
While we speak about these, if you don't mind, we like you to taste two of Chef's concoctions.
These are grilled cheese sandwiches made with different kinds of cheeses.
These are made with Swiss and cheddar cheese.
So yeah, you don't have to go to American cheese all the time, although we like the taste.
We've agreed on that.
These might taste good enough for you, maybe even better than American cheese versions.
So Charles, you walk us through it.
Please go ahead and taste it.
Give me your verdict.
Yeah, so I would go for the traditional American cheese actually compares nutritionally just the same as cheddar cheese.
It has a nutritional profile about 100 calories per slice.
So I love it because it has a sharp taste and a sharp cheddar taste that I love.
It's really delicious.
And over here, we have the Swiss cheese.
I love the Swiss cheese just because I love the delicate, nutty flavor.
It melts just like traditional cheese and also releases less.
Oh, look at this.
Look at that.
It really does melt.
Look at that.
Oh, my God.
It's so good.
Well, here, you got to taste one of these.
Okay.
I look how it breaks apart.
Especially the Swiss really does it here.
I know.
And here's another tip, you guys.
If you guys are making grilled cheese sandwiches at home, instead of using the butter, add some olive oil for just a little mixture.
Does it taste the same?
It tastes great.
Yeah, I like the taste of olive oil, but if you don't, you can also use coconut oil.
Awesome.
Yes, I love coconut with a little bit of pink salt and pepper.
Yes.
I need some opinions for me.
Seriously, compare the two of these, cheddar versus Swiss.
And then also, if you can, remember what an American cheese version tasted like.
How does it compare?
I love the Swiss one.
It has like a very distinct, like, and it's not super harsh.
It has like, almost has a little smokiness to it, which I kind of like.
I love that.
A smoky nuttiness.
Yes, exactly.
I actually love the cheddar.
The cheddar reminds me a lot of the American cheese.
So I know my son will love it.
Yes.
We got winners here, no matter what, taste what you want.
Up next, the Cheesemonger Shares, her supermarket staple, she always stocks up on.
Stay with us.
Yum.
So good.
We are back with our investigation into supermarket cheese.
Chef Charles Chen is back to help us break down the truth about the cheese we've got.
We're going to start with pre-cut cheese, like the shredded and the pre-crumbled.
A lot of you love this stuff.
You top your salads with it.
You add it to eggs these days.
So what have you uncovered about shredded cheeses?
So some of the shredded cheeses contain cellulose, which comes from wood pulp.
So cellulose is a plant fiber that we add.
Yes, this is like this.
Yes.
So cellulose is a wood pulp that we actually add to foods for fiber and texture.
And it sounds a little strange, but it actually is safe for your body.
It goes through your GI tract and doesn't absorb.
But the idea of this bothers me a little bit.
I know.
I don't know about eating wood pulp.
It's not bad.
I agree, but we may have a hack, but we'll come back to that in a second.
How about the crumbled stuff here?
So the crumbled cheeses, a lot of times when you get at the stores, they could be a little dry and chalky.
And this is because it's being exposed to lots of air.
And, you know, if you're getting a crumbled feta, for example, it's not going to be the same feta that you're getting from Greece because authentic Greek feta is made from sheep's milk.
So we actually surveyed seven different brands of feta on the market, and none of them actually contain feta, sheep's milk.
It actually came from cow's milk, and they were labeled feta.
You're kidding me.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, how are they allowed to do that?
I don't know how they were allowed to get away with it.
Yeah, so we got to watch and look at the packaging.
The recurring theme in my mind is cheese doesn't come like this normally.
You can buy it the way it normally comes and make it look like this pretty quickly.
In fact, you've got a hack.
You say you agree, you buy cheese blocks.
Yes.
But you show the audiences, if you guys will pay attention to two-second little hack.
Yes, a hack.
It'll save you time.
You don't have to buy the wood pulp in your cheese anymore.
So it's going to save you time and also save you money.
A lot of times when people grate their cheese, they go up and down.
This can actually give you hand cramps.
So I always say turn your grater to the side and go from side to side, just like that.
And then you contain all the cheese and you can toss it right into a bowl.
This is a little bit cold.
This is cold.
You want to make sure if you can freeze your cheese or keep it cold so that it doesn't clump up, that's easy.
And then we have a bag right here, Dr. Oz.
Let's put it in the bag.
If we're going to freeze this cheese, add a little bit of cornstarch right here to keep it from clumping.
Super easy.
Add it yourself.
Yeah, so then you can at home, you don't have to add the extra preservatives.
You just add a little bit of cornstarch, just like that, and then you freeze it.
And then when you want to eat it for, you know, pasta dinner, you can just add some cheese on there.
It saves your time, saves your preservatives, and you control what you have.
And it doesn't take much time.
No.
I like the little time savers.
Right?
All right.
Next up, spreadable cheeses.
One of our viewers, Asha, is obsessed with them.
But her mother, Minnie, is not a fan.
That's what I'm told.
So, Asha, why do you love spreadable cheeses?
It's just so decadent.
It's like easy to just spread on anything.
You can put it on bread, on fruits, on veggies.
Like, what can you not put cheese on?
You make some good points, Minnie.
Why do you thumb your nose at this?
About three years ago, I developed eczema, so I don't eat anything named cheese.
I see.
Yeah.
All right, well, we have a social for you.
We'll come back to that in a second.
Charles, the truth about these cheese spreads.
So I did some research on spreadable cheeses, and what I found is that they contain a lot of preservatives, such as kerogen and xanthan gum.
So you got to kind of be careful about that.
So just standing back for a second.
Take that block of cheddar you had back there, right?
How do you see if I look at this thing and it's solid, right?
How do you make this creamy like that?
So to make it a consistency that's spreadable, we have to have it at high temperatures, high heat, and also there has to be a lot of moisture.
We add binding agents and emulsifiers, oils, and then we just keep blending that into a spreadable cheese.
And then you add the carrageen and add the preservatives in there, yeah.
Okay, not the worst thing in the world, but if you don't have to, why bother?
Yeah, why not?
But you've got a hack.
What's your choice for spreadable cheeses?
So instead of going for spreadable cheeses that come in a container, just go for a natural brie from the natural deli.
Then you could just spread it on crackers.
It spreads just like regular spreadable cheese.
Okay.
Yeah.
What do you guys think?
You're happy with this or not happy?
Let's try it.
I'm happy.
I will try it.
Let's see.
So there's brie.
What are the other spreadable cheese?
Mom, go ahead and try it.
You can use a goat cheese as well.
Goat cheese and it's nicely spreadable.
So goat cheese is great.
Goat cheese and brie are my kind of go-to's.
What do you think, Asha?
Not so.
I'm liking it.
You're liking it?
I'm liking it.
I think she's still just creamy.
I love anything that's creamy.
So mom, Minnie.
Yeah.
You told me you don't want to eat cheese.
I just force you to have a little bit, I guess.
Yeah, no, a little bit doesn't hurt me.
It's when I overindulge.
And I'm probably not allergic to cheese as much as I think.
I just have this mental block because I'm okay.
I wouldn't have had you eat cheese if I didn't think it was good for you anyway.
But this is actually not cheese I gave you.
It didn't taste like cheese.
It didn't.
What did it taste like to you?
It tastes a little bit like I want to say yogurty.
Like dairy-like?
It's not really cheesy.
There's no dairy at all in it.
It's vegan.
Ooh.
That was a vegan cheese spread.
I'll tell you.
People, if you push them hard, can sometimes taste a subtle difference, but they can't put their finger on it, and it's pretty close.
So for most folks, you'll go with it.
So these are the alternative dairy cheeses.
Pay attention for a second.
Come on over here, Charles.
So I'm seeing these more and more in my local supermarkets.
Yes.
Explain what these cheeses are.
What do they make them out of so we can answer Minnie's question?
So we're seeing a lot of dairy-free cheeses, and they're made with things like soy, coconut, tree nuts, different types of things, even aquafaba from chickpeas.
And I found that a lot of them, not all of them, are healthy because some of them contain a lot of processed ingredients.
So some of them are good.
Look at the ingredient list.
If you don't have 50 things listed there and you've got some of the healthy items you mentioned, meaning for example, if yours is aquafaba, if you're basically having chickpeas, you don't have the eczema problem, you have a pretty good tasting spread, you go with it.
And it's actually pretty easy to make these into spreadable cheeses or to make them solid like this.
And these, if you look at them, they're very, they look appetizing.
They actually are.
I encourage you to try them out.
You can use these cheeses the way you use regular cheese.
Yes, you can use them as regular cheese.
They're designed to melt, bubble, and spread just like regular cheeses.
So you can add them to your pastas, pizzas, lasagnas.
Yeah, I could make a nice ravioli out of this one.
Right.
What do you think, guys?
We have happy customers there?
Yeah, good.
It's good.
All right.
All right, we have a supermarket cheese bonus tip.
We send certified cheese professional Elena Santa Grade to the supermarket to find the best buy when it comes to cheese.
Okay, Elena, take it away.
Now you're the expert here.
I just walked everyone through the options.
What is your pick if you could look at any cheese out there?
So my supermarket pick is blue cheese every time.
Blue cheese?
Yep.
I love blue cheese.
It's so good.
But people, they don't like the color of it.
They don't like the fact that there's fungus there.
It could be intimidating, but if you go for it, it's got a ton of flavor.
And in this little piece, it has a huge amount of added value.
You could have a little bit of it with honey to take the edge off, a little sip of sparkling wine if it's end of your workday, or put some on a steak, let it melt into the meat.
It's amazing.
It mellows out and it's really lovable.
So you guys are all afraid of the blue cheese because of the mold that's on that cheese, but that's the same family of spores that's used to make penicillin.
That's what gives us this thing to flavor.
You're taking a product that actually has saved countless human lives.
It's not bad for you.
So when you're looking to buy blue cheese, fat and cheese, what do you look for?
Well, you want to look for a few things.
You want to look at the color, make sure there's not like any major discoloration.
You also want to make sure that if the cheese is wrapped in plastic, that you're not seeing any liquid separate from the cheese itself.
You can trust your own instincts when you're at the grocery store.
And if the cheese looks good, go ahead and try it.
And I know you've got a hack for everybody like me who likes to get their cheese.
You guys, you all get it wrapped in plastic, right?
A lot of cheese is wrapped in plastic.
You say do not leave it in the plastic.
Yeah, if you're not going to enjoy it right away, I say take it home, re-wrap it.
You don't need fancy cheese paper if you don't have it.
Put some right on a little bit of wax paper.
Wrap it as snug as you can.
I'll do a little quick wrap here for you.
I notice how you immediately turn the cheese around.
Yeah, at an angle.
At an angle.
Get it, you know, wrap it nice and snug.
And then you're kind of, you're trying to create an environment where the cheese can breathe, but it also is protected so it doesn't dry out.
So put it in a Tupperware or a bag like this, and don't close it all the way.
So now it's kind of got its own little home.
Put it in the coldest place in your fridge, the bottom back, and it'll be set.
Why don't you close the bag all the way?
What's the wrong with that?
So the reason you don't close the bag all the way is because cheese is, you know, good cheese, real cheese, is filled with microbial activity, right?
Cheese is sort of alive.
You don't want to suffocate it.
So you don't want to suffocate it.
It's giving off gases as the microbes in there are still doing their work.
So you want to let it breathe, protect it from drying out, and you're going to love the piece.
Yeah, you learn something every day.
Thank you very much, Ryan.
Appreciate it.
Coming up, the Oza-proof cheesiest, meltiest, and healthy Italian meal.
You won't want to miss this.
It's tasty.
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.
We've been talking all about buying cheese and all this cheese talk.
It makes me hungry.
You probably do too.
You guys hungry?
All right.
So get ready for the cheesiest, the meltiest Italian meal that even I can approve of.
Carmine's Italian restaurant chef Glenn Ralnick is here with a healthier Italian dish you're going to want to make tonight.
So what is your favorite?
Your favorite Italian cheese that everyone can find at the supermarket right now is my favorite is Romano cheese.
Romano.
Yes.
Grimo Romano, yes.
You can put some romano in this.
Oh, absolutely.
You do the tartness of it.
Yeah, I do.
I like it.
It's got a little saltiness.
It's a little bitter, you know, but I like the tartness of it as well and the texture.
All right, so it is the star ingredient.
It's our cheese.
On the healthier take on eggplant parm that Chef Glenn's got for us.
What other ingredients make it tasty?
Of course garlic, eggplant.
When you make the eggplant really crispy, it always gives it a lot more flavor.
So we put a lot of garlic, we put olive oil on, and the Romano cheese, and then of course we have to use a low-fat mozzarella that we put in as well.
All right, so walk us through it.
Pay attention, all the healthy things you're doing.
I'm going to give you all a calorie count because you'll be shocked when we're done.
This.
Okay.
Okay.
So here.
So we have two eggplants, which you'll see the recipe for.
It's basically two eggplants, slice about 3/8-inch cuts.
Skin on, skin off.
I personally like the skin on.
A lot of people don't like the skin.
So your choice.
I'm good with the skin.
I'm good with the skin as well.
Okay, so we slice those, and then what we do is we mix these ingredients, which is, of course, garlic, pectacarino, romano, olive oil, olive oil, garlic, and then fresh herbs, of course.
All right, so we can start right here.
We'll put the olive oil in.
Little bizazzo, this at the milk.
Yeah, it looks good to me.
Okay.
All right, then you can put any of the ingredients in.
So salt, oregano, pepper, brown black pepper, parsley.
You can go a little heavier on the parsley.
Yeah, whatever.
You want that.
It also adds a little color, too.
All right, the garlic.
How much?
The whole thing.
You're not talking to anyone tonight.
We're not talking to anyone tonight.
It's not Carmines, we use garlic.
That's why there's mouthwash in the bathroom at Carmines.
Is there really?
Yes, there is.
Of course.
All right.
All right, we got that going.
Okay, so the pecorino and romano, you have two choices.
You could either put some in now, or personally, what I like to do is I like to sprinkle it on top.
This is what you're saying.
And it browns nicely.
All right, so what we'll do is we'll put the eggplant down, and then you'll take the brush.
Bring this over so we don't leak.
Yeah, we don't want to leak.
No, you don't want to drip.
You take a lot of this every night at Carl.
Oh, we do.
Eggplant Parm, we probably sell about 60 of the family style orders every night, and that's on a slow night.
A lot of my friends like to try to juice these.
Yeah?
I'm kidding.
That would be self-defeating, wouldn't it?
Yes, definitely.
Definitely.
That's about enough, you think, of that one.
That's perfectly fine.
Both sides or just one side?
So you could do both sides.
I personally like both sides, but to keep it a little lighter, we'll do it on one side.
Okay.
All right.
So the trick this is to bake it slow.
All right.
You don't fry this.
No, we don't fry this.
We bake this.
All right.
This is a baked eggplant parmesan.
Oh, I like the idea.
So that's what makes this very healthy.
So we're taking this, we're putting it in a 400-degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes.
It comes out looking like that.
This is what it comes out.
But what we didn't do is sprinkle the Romano cheese on top.
How could I have forgotten?
Oh, yeah.
All right.
Generously, because flavor.
Yeah, flavor.
All right?
Saltiness flavors.
So here you go.
This is what we roasted right here.
So as you roast it, you get the crispiness.
We kept the skin on.
The cheese browns nicely, so you have a lot of nutty flavor on top of the eggplant.
So this is adding the flavor to the eggplant, right?
So the tomatoes have a good flavor, because of course we put garlic in the tomatoes.
Our tomato sauce at Carmine's is a very light.
It's olive oil, garlic, fresh herbs, a little bit of pepper.
Now you stack it.
Yes, now we stack it.
So let's try a little bit.
So what temperature for how long?
This is about 400 degrees for about 12 to 15 minutes, depending on your oven.
So let's put a ladle on the bottom.
Spread it out nicely.
Okay.
Then we're going to take the roasted eggplant and start layering it.
You could overlap it a little bit.
There's no problem at all.
I love this.
So this is about four layers.
At Carmine's, ours is eight layers.
Of course.
You have to outdo everybody.
So it's going to be...
Not that they're competitive, by the way.
Okay.
All right, now you're going to put some of the grated loaf outside around.
Good.
A little pecorino or romano.
Of course.
With saltiness.
Yeah.
And a little parsley.
Good.
All right, and then we make another layer.
And then you can't do it four times.
Four times.
And how long do you cook?
You bake this thing for how much longer?
Yeah, this bakes in the oven for about 35, 40 minutes at 350 degrees, uncovered, which is very important because you want it to crisp up and you want it to brown nicely.
So here you'll see the finished product, which is brown nicely, a good amount of cheese, and very low fat.
I get it.
I actually get one little taste here, just for quality control purposes.
Sounds good to me.
Oh my goodness.
Excellent, right?
Yeah, and you don't miss the breading, the frying, the things that torture the...
Because now you taste the eggplant, right?
You're tasting the red sauce and the eggplant, which is, to me, the flavor.
So eggplant parmesan could be a healthy dish.
It could be a healthy dish.
All right, we're going to do a little comparison just to prove it to you.
The fried eggplant parmes, you guys are usually getting sucker punched with 389 calories per one cup serving and everyone eats more than one cup serving.
And then Chef Glenn's roasted version is only 257 calories per one cup serving.
But forget about me.
Forget what I think.
I want to know what the bike club says about this easy and healthier version.
So please describe.
Use your, you know, honestly, you don't have to patronize me or Chef Glenn.
He can take the hit.
Well, I can take the hit.
He can.
But tell us what you think.
I have to say, I love it.
I dine out all the time.
I'm always looking to mimic the flavors at restaurants at home in a healthier way.
I love that the cheese is a strong flavor, but you can still taste all of the ingredients.
Yes.
It fills your mouth.
It does.
Yeah.
I agree.
It's not oversaturated and full of flavors that are heavy.
You taste the eggplant, the tomato, the pecorino, the sharpness.
It's delicious.
This tastes amazing.
I love it.
Like, it's really good.
I'm a nurse.
I'm always looking for healthy ways to cook things.
And I love cheese.
So it's good.
Jeff, go over here.
Yeah, sure.
Now that we know it's safe for you, because you know you're unhappy.
The bike club, they bite.
They did a great job.
Congratulations.
Chef's happy.
You're happy.
I'm really happy.
We think we've hit all the buttons.
Yes.
You know what?
Yours, you want a little bit?
We're going to chop that up and pass it out in the break.
In the meantime, we'll post the recipe on Dr.Oz.com so you can enjoy it as well.
We'll be right back.
Fast food pizza.
We're investigating the quality of this comfort food and revealing some surprising ingredients.
This is really wood pulp.
Yeah.
Next up.
That's coming up on Wednesday.
As many as 60% of women in the U.S. won't sit on a public toilet seat.
And they go to great lengths to avoid any bathroom surface, from elbowing the door open, you know who you are, to squatter, right?
Getting in good shape doing this.
And then sometimes you even channel your inner karate kid when flushing, right?
Hit that plunger.
But are we ready?
Are we playing it too safe?
Or is there really a reason to protect our assets, pardon the pun, against what may be lurking underneath us?
Today, women's health expert at the Evelyn Minaya helps us reveal the five things you really can get from a toilet.
There are five of them.
You see, our bathroom behavior could actually make us sick.
Absolutely.
And really, heart surfaces can hold on to bacteria and viruses.
However, you know, it's more your behavior, and we're going to look at that.
It's definitely the behavior that you're doing over the toilet.
All right, so you think you're doing the right thing, but maybe you're not.
We're going to put some of that bad behavior on trial today, counting down the five kinds of bacteria and diseases that you may catch by doing this stuff.
The first, to face off at our potty podiums, we have our own little potty podium we built up here.
Husband and wife, Brian and Jill.
We're better to have a mic than on the potty podium.
So Brian says, dear Jill is guilty of the lid up flush.
You're going to get to defend yourself in one second, but let Brian present his case.
Why does this worry you?
I just, I feel like, you know, when the lid's up, flush the toilet, things are flying out of there.
The mold, the poop, the pee, getting on the toilet, the toothbrush, on your brush, on your hair.
Here, now it's in my beard.
Oh, your beard.
It's an extra problem.
Now, normally the guys have a problem because they leave the toilet up like that.
Have you ever gotten in trouble for this?
I do sometimes.
And has Jill ever fallen into the toilet because you left it up at night?
She has not.
That's happened in my family.
So now I've learned to always leave the lid, at least the seat down, but you're arguing the lid also has to come down.
I think it should always be down when you're flushing.
Yeah, Jill, you leave it like this.
What is your defense?
It needs to just air out.
And you're in rushing.
We have kids.
So I'm like, flush and go.
Let's just get out of here.
Judge Minaya, can flushing with the lid up, even if the seat is down, make you sick?
Well, unfortunately, you're the one that's wrong, and he's the one that's right.
Oh, my God.
I know.
And that is because there is such a thing as toilet plume.
Okay, and we actually have a graphic and it actually, when you have the force.
Look at this.
This is hard to capture, guys.
There it is.
You see that?
That is microscopic.
Here play it again.
It's flush again.
One second.
What is it?
Microscopic particles you said?
Yes.
A poop, pee, and whatever it is that you have in that toilet, and it goes everywhere.
And it goes up several feet.
And that's really, that's pretty gross.
And then it lays on, like he says, his toothbrush, his beard, and also, you know, on your faucet handles and everything else like that.
So the germs can be on that, unfortunately, on that flume.
So what is an illness you might catch, for example, by not closing the lid before you flush?
Well, you know something?
You can actually get the flu.
And remember, in heart surfaces, especially, the flu stays there.
The influenza virus stays there.
So Jill, going forward, you think you might be able to protect your assets a little better?
Yeah.
Yeah, you should.
Start spray.
Case is closed.
The case is flushed, I'll say.
The case is flushed.
You're both dismissed.
All right, next up, I've got Kira here.
Kira says her sister, Keisha, is guilty of the cell phone poop.
Kira, what is a cell phone poop?
Well, she brings her phone with her when she goes to the bathroom.
Eyebrow evidence.
Yeah, eyebrow evidence.
Yeah.
She's face-timed me with that phone while she's on the toilet.
Oh, amazing.
The cute unicorn.
Thank you.
Yeah.
But is your sister telling the truth, Keisha?
Yeah, that's definitely the truth.
I like to just get things done when I'm on the toilet.
And if I need to talk to her, you know, I might be in there for a while, so I'm just like, I have stuff to say.
Hold that, just in case.
So what bad bathroom behavior can lead to issues?
This is one of them, I guess.
Yes, this is one of them.
Okay, and it's just TMI, my darling.
It really is.
But remember, first of all, when you sit on the bathroom, you're putting a lot of pressure on your caboose, okay?
And you do have veins there, and they can come out.
And those are called hemorrhoids.
Hemorrhoids, they can cause hemorrhoids.
Yes.
Oh, yeah.
Like very close veins.
And they can be very, very uncomfortable.
They can be very, very itchy.
And it is the number one cause for rectal bleeding, believe it or not.
Hemorrhoids are.
Yes.
Absolutely.
This case is flushed.
Up next, a disease you can get from a visit to the bathroom that accounts for 10 million doctors' appointments every single year.
Stick around to find out what it is.
Take a look at this creepy crawly.
He's swinging around like an acrobat.
It's like Circto Soleil going on behind me.
This parasite is known as pubic lice or crabs.
And many of you think you can get it from a toilet seat, don't you?
Why not?
It's right there, right?
Thaw somebody else.
It classically comes off of our pubic areas.
But guess what?
You can't catch it from a toilet seat.
You can only catch it by touching someone else in that area.
So you're good to go sitting on a toilet.
Even if you think someone else may have been dirty when they sat there.
But there are five things you can get from some of our bad bathroom behavior, and we are revealing them today.
Facing off over our next potty faux pas are Cherise and her friend, Shauna.
And Sharice says Sean is guilty of the squatter sprinkle.
So what is it about the squatter sprinkle, the squatter sprinkle that worries you?
There's just so much that worries me about it.
Listen, if you sprinkle when you tinkle, be a sweetie and wipe the CD.
That's all I'm asking.
First of all, how do you not just sit on it?
Well, if I'm sprinkling, then you should be the one squatting.
Why would you sit on a nasty toilet seat?
That's disgusting.
No, no defense.
How do you, when you go to the bathroom, how do you squat?
Of course, I mean, you get down in a good stance, just like a regular squat, then you kind of just hover there, you know what I'm saying?
Is that hard to do that?
It's not hard.
I mean, you got to have some sort of muscular structure.
You don't have any muscular structure.
You'll be fine.
It's worse than sitting down.
So I think we're going to be able to flush this case very easily.
Dr. Minaya, is this bad bathroom habit behavior, could it make you sick?
Yes.
It could.
It could.
Not you, okay?
Believe it or not, I know you're going to get wet, and that's the most horrible part of it, but you.
Okay, even though you are very good at your squat, so am I, okay?
The problem is that when you squat, you're holding your pelvic floor muscles.
Guess what happens?
You're holding onto your urine.
You're not emptying it out completely.
Don't you find that sometimes you kind of like stand up and it's like you got a little dribble?
Okay, yeah.
Well, all of that, still, the urine is still in there.
And we think the longer that the urine stays in the bladder and it's not emptied out completely, that increases your risk for a urinary tract infection.
Because it's cooling in there.
Look at that.
UTI caused by squatting.
Yeah, if I'm squatting.
She's like, not squatting now.
You feel better about that?
I feel amazing.
It may feel a little bit wet.
Yeah, exactly.
Your bum is still going to be wet.
It was all worth it, though.
Just to come here and you were not squatting.
And to flush your opponent.
What should squatters do?
Because people don't like sitting on the toilet.
And I don't blame you.
And I don't blame you.
But instead of squatting, maybe just put a cover on it, maybe a little toilet paper like your mother used to do.
And even with little kids, you have portable lids also.
So you can always use that instead.
I'll be using one of those then.
You're in on that?
Yeah.
That's what I do too.
When I have kids, especially, you never know.
Yes, I never know.
So I have one of those portable things.
All right, guys, we've got two more, two more things you can catch on a toilet seat that are on droughts.com.
You'll want to know what they are, so check them out.
We'll be right back.
Fast food pizza.
We're investigating the quality of this comfort food and revealing some surprising ingredients.
This is really woodpal.
Yeah.
Next Oz.
That's coming up on Wednesday.
If you want to live longer and feel better, just sleep more.
Right?
Which was so easy.
Or reduce your stress.
Doesn't that drive you crazy?
It's hard to do that.
But without real solutions, hearing advice like this actually stresses you out even more.
Well, it frustrates me too, and that's why with my partners at ShareCare, we are always looking for new and innovative ways to reduce your stress and help you fall asleep.
And there's actually ideas out there that work.
And today we're giving you a brand new tool.
And the best part is, it's free.
And all you need is your phone, your tablet, a smart TV to access it.
So, to give you an example, right?
You're going to love this.
Take a look and listen.
Oh.
Gentle rainfall shot at dawn.
Isn't that unbelievable?
And how about this?
Take a look at this.
Come on.
Well, imagine listening to beach waves crashing on the shore all night long.
These videos are sleep programming.
Yes, the videos that you can use to relax or meditate with, even fall asleep or at your fingertips.
They're part of ShareCare Windows Sleep Well Channel, which was originally developed in conjunction with the experts at Stanford Sleep Medicine Center.
And these scenes were shot around the world by award-winning filmmakers.
I mean big-time guys.
And 1.8 million minutes of content are already streamed every day.
Right?
Where are you?
How come you don't know about this?
Well, thanks to my partners at ShareCare, you can have free access as well from now on.
So get on it.
Now to show you it could work, my go-to tester, Rinatha, is here.
She's a tough critic.
She always tells me she's a new way to relax, right?
You tell me that stuff.
Yes.
Are you stressed out now that I'm talking to you?
Oh yeah, absolutely, Dr. Ross.
It's always you stressing me out, okay?
All right, so you just saw those shared care videos.
Did you use those to relax, decompress, maybe sleep better?
I mean, I would use those to relax, decompress, sleep better, but didn't you tell me, Dr. Roso, that we should reduce screen time, though, when we're trying to relax and sleep?
You told me that, Dr. Marshall.
Yes, I did.
You're a very smart pupil.
It's like having a sister pecking you like a duck.
All right, so if my prize pupil, let me answer this for you and everybody else.
The videos have been desaturated of all the blue spectrum light.
What keeps you up is the bright light that makes your phone and your screen and your TV set so bright.
This is blue light.
That stuff you're talking about.
You don't want that.
But that blue light suppresses our body's melatonin secretion, which affects our circadian rhythm.
Our sleep cycle doesn't work well.
And we don't get that REM sleep, the restorative sleep that's so important.
So these videos I was just showing you, there's many more, they've reduced the brightness levels until they basically become like a nightlight.
Very subtle, right?
The content also features extremely low light soothing HD images with white, pink, and brown noise.
That's the kind of experience, if you're out in the wild, which is what our DNA still seeks, that's what you would sleep to.
Exactly.
The reason many of us can't sleep is our bodies couldn't keep up with modern technology, and it'll take hundreds of years for us to.
So let's go back to the fundamentals.
Natural sounds, water flowing, trees rustling, even urban sounds like traffic, right?
They can sometimes work to help people fall asleep.
We also have videos, look at this, to help you de-stress during the day.
This is the part I love, right?
Watch.
As you fold your laundry, you need a moment to chill and you're actually in a waterfall.
Wow, did you feel wet?
The water's crashing on me.
There's a lot of videos out there.
They're all nature-themed.
And we know it's a proven way to de-stress.
In fact, there was a Dutch study that showed nature scenes were twice as likely to help people reduce their stress levels.
The tools are out there.
So what is it like hearing that the answer might be at the tip of your fingers and now it is actually free with ShareCare?
I mean, it's amazing.
I can't wait to get started, Dr. Ros.
I want to try it.
I want to feel it crashing over me, even though it's really not.
Yes.
Which scene do you like the most?
You like the waterfall?
I like the waterfall.
Yeah.
I'm going to come back to that in a second.
So we asked one of our favorite test couples, Chastity and Ryan Stebmans, to join us.
They actually gave the ShareCare Windows program a try in their own bedroom and they're now joining us via Zoom.
Welcome to the show.
Now, Chassis, your husband, I understand, needs to fall asleep to the TV, but you do not like that.
Why is that?
Because he wants to have sounds and noise.
And for me, I need a peaceful rock-a-bye-baby night-night kind of rest.
And all of that noise is wearing me out.
And I ain't getting no kind of sleep.
Well, Chassis, let me ask you the question.
When you wake up in the middle of the night, when you've been woken up by the TV, do you ever turn it off?
Yes, I do.
I turn it off because I cannot take the sound and the noise.
It's too much.
Now, here's the crazy thing about TVs.
Unfortunately, when you turn the TV off, it often jolts people out of their sleep.
The ShareCare Windows videos, everybody, they run for nine to ten hours.
That's because that's how long you sleep, hopefully.
You don't want to get awakened because the waves stop hitting the shoreline.
So Rahi, you tried ShareCare Windows videos for the past few nights in part to appease Chastity.
I don't know if did it help you fall asleep?
How did the experiment go?
It went well.
Yeah, I did.
The first time that I watched it, once I realized, you know, the first video that I saw, we were walking through the forest.
And once I realized that like a bear wasn't going to jump out or like a monkey was going to blow up something, I was able just to relax and just be real calm.
And really, it was real peaceful.
And it put me right to sleep.
I really enjoyed it.
It's weird to see, they're so vivid, aren't they?
It's like you're actually there.
Especially when you put it on your smart TV, but it works on my phone too when I'm traveling.
And just so you all know, sleep and stress are two of the biggest health indicators we use to determine your real age.
That's how old your body thinks you are.
And the last item I'm going to bring up is happy wife, happy life.
Chassis, are you happy with your husband's new sleep tool?
Actually, I was pleasantly surprised.
I had a change of heart.
I told him, I was like, this is making me want to go and rest and calm and de-stress.
So happy wife, happy life.
Now they're happy.
This biggest scene you both like.
Yeah, now you can all access ShareCare Windows at home for free.
You can go online to sharecare.com slash windows and the sharecare app, which has been used by tens of millions of people, it's there too.
Take a look at that.
If you have a smartphone, smart TV, any way you get technology, it's available to you.
And to help you manage your stress and relax in a truly beautiful place, my partners at ShareCare are taking up a little bit more, one notch more.
They're offering a chance to win a trip for two to the fabulous four seasons resort Maui at Wailea.
To learn more, visit sharecare.com slash Hawaii giveaway.
You'll all love it.
We'll be right back.
Ball of snacks.
Because I know you do.
Today I want to introduce you to a totally different type of snack.
Listen carefully.
It's a 20-second exercise snack.
You heard me right, exercise snack.
There is new research that suggests that 20 seconds of brisk exercise cannot boost your heart health.
And that's the type of exercise just about anyone can fit into their schedule, right?
20 seconds.
You all have 20 seconds?
Good.
So I've got some super energetic people in my audience here who are ready to start doing jumping jacks.
That's what we're going to pick, right?
Just put 20 seconds on the clock.
If you're at home, just get up for just 20 seconds.
All we need, 20 seconds.
Got 20 seconds?
Start it up.
Jumping jacks.
Okay, now, it's super simple.
Those a lot of characters.
These are short bursts of hit or high-intensity interval training, which experts say can have the same benefits as long picks of cardio.
You're doing it.
You're doing it.
Give it up.
It's a little bit more.
It reduces your blood pressure and reduces your blood sugar, elevates your metabolism, and you're done.
You're done.
You're finished.
You did it.
That's all it took.
Now your stack can be a quick run down the block, a few flights of stairs, whatever speeds up your heart rate.
It's just going to last 20 seconds.
That's all we did now.
It's all you have to do.
It's so cool.
A little picnic benefits you.
You can skip the caffeine, the sugar, and you can try the exercise snack instead.
Y'all knew this?
Wasn't that hard.
Get some half-yards to this.
Find out more about Exercise Stacking and my website.