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Jan. 30, 2026 - Dr. Oz Podcast
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Omega-3 Chicken Explained Plus Smart Supermarket Chicken Tips | Dr. Oz | S10 | Ep 16 | Full Episode
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Omega-3 Chickens: The New Brain Food? 00:14:25
Is chicken the new brain food?
We know omega-3s can be found in fish, but chicken?
It's an effort to get more omega-3s into the foods that we all eat.
The new breakthrough health trend you haven't heard of.
You feel smarter now?
Yeah.
And supermarket hacks when you're in the poultry aisle.
Plus, Jordan Sparks reveals the health crisis that plagued her family.
Are you ready for season 10?
I love you that guy.
When you hear Omega-3!
Omega-3!
You think of fish, right?
Like mackerel and sardines, which I love, but I'm told it's not your favorite.
But what if a protein that you do like, for example, let's say chicken, could be a new source for these ingredients?
Well, today we investigate the next big thing in the chicken industry, omega-3 chicken.
We're uncovering what you need to know about these new chickens popping up at your supermarket.
Is this food a breakthrough to get you more of that brain-boosting fatty acids that you really need?
Food journalist Mark Shasker's here.
He's our lead chicken investigator.
I like calling you that moniker, the lead chicken investigator.
It's probably you've aspired to your whole life.
I wear it proudly.
Okay, so chicken and omega-3s in supermarkets, what's going on?
So we hear a lot about omega-3s, and there's a very good reason for that.
A lot of scientists are concerned that the modern industrialized diet, way too low in omega-3s, way too high in omega-6s.
And one of the concerns specifically is inflammation, neuroinflammation.
Well, this is something the Department of Defense began thinking about, thinking could this have some connection to some of the psychological problems that soldiers face, like post-traumatic stress disorder?
Well, that's where this chicken comes from.
It's an effort to get more omega-3s into the common foods that we all eat.
Here's the argument, right?
Omega-3s are fatty acids.
That means you can reduce the chance of having a heart attack.
So heart disease goes down, depression goes down, even the symptoms of arthritis.
So these are major benefits to omega-3s.
Most of them is sort of vetted out, but your body can't make them.
We have to eat them.
And they are found in fish like mackerel, and they're in walnuts, and they're in chia seeds.
But good old chicken, which you all love eating, has very little omega-3s.
So I'm interested in how chickens are getting more omega-3s.
And there are a couple different companies doing this.
We reached out to the farmers who are growing these chickens to find out more.
The biggest difference about the omega-3 chicken would be the feed.
The feed is plant-based, no antibiotics, no hormones, 100% vegetarian diet.
It's a blend of wheat and rich flax, which promotes the bird's immune system.
Quality of feed, I believe, makes the biggest difference in changing the nutritional value of the birds.
You can see that we don't use large pellets, it's just small pellets trushed to help their digestive system and really improve the general health of the bird.
So what is what we just saw different from what most chickens that everyone's been eating have been eating?
Okay, so regular run-of-the-mill chicken eats a diet primarily corn and soybeans.
Corn is really high in omega-6s, really low in omega-3s.
So this chicken's pretty simple.
They just change the diet.
Chickens are what they eat just like we are.
So they replace the corn with wheat, they replace the soybean with peas, and they give the chickens flax seed.
That's where they're getting those omega-3s.
So what difference does it make to the actual omega-3 levels in the chicken?
It makes a big difference.
If you look at the regular chicken that you buy in the store, omega-3 is 0.03 grams.
That is super low.
It's tiny.
Now look at this omega-3 chicken.
Oh my goodness.
1.2 grams.
So that's a huge increase.
Now let's think.
Wild salmon is like the poster child for omega-3s.
It's at 1.6 grams.
So 1.6, 1.2.
I mean, it's really closed the gap.
I'm stunned that you could actually match it that well.
Let me ask you, because I know that a lot of animals can't convert.
For example, we can't really make omega-3s that we really need for the brain, these DHAs.
Yeah, exactly.
So how does it make a difference for the chickens?
So the omega-3 story is complex.
There isn't just one omega-3.
There's a family of them.
And we get this one over here called ALA.
That comes from terrestrial land sources, chia, flax.
And when we feed those to, you know, beef, for example, you get that omega-3.
But these over here are the ones you get in fish.
These are the longer chain ones.
All of these omega-3s are important, but these two over here are considered more important.
And here's what's so interesting is that chickens have this ability to convert this one over here to these more complex ones.
So that's really the amazing story here.
Now, you won't find as much of these in the chicken as you would fish, but here's the thing.
We all eat a ton of chicken.
So if you can get more of these healthy omega-3s in your chicken, I think we're all winning.
Well, also, conceptually, since we can't convert it as humans, it's probably better to get it from chicken than to eat the walnuts and chia seeds ourselves in theory.
Exactly.
Let the chickens do the hard work.
Exactly, there's chickens.
So we've all been wondering this big question.
I think I got you over the hump that maybe omega-3 chickens make sense.
But does it taste the same?
That's what you're all thinking.
Because you don't actually care about it unless it tastes like your chickens.
So our bike club members are back with a taste test.
They are here working hard on the show.
We cooked up some plain omega-3 chicken breasts and some regular chicken breasts.
I have not told you which is which.
Obviously, you each have a red plate and a blue plate.
So let me audit you, if you don't mind, some basic thoughts on this.
I'm curious what your beliefs are.
Well, they're both pretty good.
I'm a chicken person, so this is great.
Thank you for the free food.
But I'm going more towards the red plate.
It just seems more flavorful, whereas the blue is like a little more dry.
So you like red a little bit more?
Yeah.
Both are tolerable.
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
I also love chicken.
I took one bite of that.
I took three bites of that.
You like the blue blue?
Definitely wanted to keep going back for that.
The skin's flavorful.
That one, not so much.
Okay, your throat.
You'd break the tie for us.
Okay, so I choose the red plate.
It's definitely juicier.
I'm sorry, I just, I need to get more.
This is the problem with the bite button.
I keep eating.
It tastes way better than the blue chicken.
All right, so two for red, one for blue, but they seem to like both sides anyway.
What's the answer?
The answer is the omega-3 chicken is the red plate.
Oh, my goodness.
Wow.
How do you like that?
Wow.
So let's talk about cost here.
Is there a big difference with the omega-3?
Because they're feeding it better food.
Yeah, there is a difference.
And you got to remember, we feed regular chickens the cheapest diet possible.
So there is a price difference.
It's not huge.
It's more expensive than conventional chicken, less than organic.
What do you guys, you guys sold?
Yes.
Sold.
You feel smarter now?
Yeah.
Omega-3.
Up next, what to look for when you're buying omega-3 chicken, plus smart shopping hacks to buy the most delicious and healthy chicken at your grocery store.
You're going to love all this stuff.
Stay with us.
Can a brain scan reveal if you're a psychopath, the daughter of a serial killer faces her darkest fears?
Could I have inherited his brain?
She makes a tough decision.
This was the hardest journey I've ever gone on in my entire life.
Well, the results put her anguish to rest.
It took every bit of courage within me to face it.
Or will it make her nightmare come true?
Here you are, and here's the normal all-nuise.
That's coming up tomorrow.
Today, we've been investigating a new type of chicken.
Come into your poultry aisle, Omega-3 chicken.
That's right, omega-3 in the chicken.
It's another way to boost your omegas without eating any fish because you guys keep complaining about that.
So now we're breaking down the smart supermarket hacks to make any type of chicken healthier.
Mark Shasker's back, he's our chicken guru.
The first hack, before you cannot find an omega-3 chicken, because they're all over the place, but they're not everywhere.
And you have a very specific recommendation, which is go for the dark meat.
I love dark meat.
Now I'll say this.
If you can find the omega-3 chicken, you will get more of those omega-3s right here in the dark meat.
But if you can't, I still think this is a great move.
And I'll tell you why.
Remember in the 1980s, we all got so obsessed with fat.
Fat was the enemy.
Everybody got paranoid.
We all started eating boneless, skinless breasts of chicken.
Well, we have since understood that maybe fat isn't quite as terrible as we all thought, but we are still eating boneless, skinless breasts of chicken, which is like styrofoam.
And so we add sauces to it.
Yeah, we added it.
Yeah, and sugar and all sorts of stuff.
Well, all that money we're spending for that boneless, skinless breast of chicken is subsidizing the dark meat.
This stuff is an absolutely incredible deal.
I think it's the most delicious part of the chicken.
So this is my recommendation.
What do you look for when you're buying the thighs?
Well, again, we've now gone to boneless, skinless thighs because everyone is so obsessed with this.
That can be good for things like kebabs.
But I think when it's got the skin on, on the bone, brazen in the oven, gets the skin crispy, it's like cold pork.
It falls off.
It is so delicious.
Guys, if you're going to add junk to it because you can't eat it without the skin, leave the skin on.
It's supposed to be there.
Or hat bit or get a little bit in your mouth.
It's okay.
And here's another, let's say, more practical tip.
You're starting to see a lot of chicken now labeled hormone-free.
Now, a lot of people think this is important.
It is important for beef and pork because they do use hormones in some modes of production for beef and pork.
Chicken never has hormones in it.
So if something says it's hormone-free, they're trying to trigger it.
It's not really being structured.
What if it's all natural?
All-natural, that can have to do with antibiotics.
So that might mean something.
But hormone-free, don't pay attention.
I wouldn't even do the all-natural.
That's not regulated.
You know what it means.
Okay, Anna's here for our next hack.
And you actually inspired us.
So we sent Anna out shopping.
How often do you buy chicken?
I buy it once a week.
All right, like typical family.
You've got to have some chicken.
It's a constant diet staple in our household.
So she enters the supermarket.
The first thing she does, she's going to forget the chicken.
She picks up the chicken.
There it is.
Now watch the time clock, right?
A minute is she's got the chicken.
She's going around.
She's getting the milk.
She's getting pasta, produce.
Is that alcohol you're buying?
No, it was orange juice.
All right?
So it buys all these things.
Now look at the time, by the way.
And the chicken has been in the basket for 45 minutes and you're still shopping.
Mark, this worries you, apparently.
Well, listen, there is a concern with chicken with E. coli bacteria.
The longer it's out of the fridge, the warmer it gets, the bigger your risk.
So there's all that time you spend growing in the grocery store, and then you go, you pick your kids up.
And then you get the groceries in the house and your phone rings and you're on the phone and your groceries are sitting there.
We don't really think about it.
So think of it like frozen food.
If you've got some ice cream sitting in your cart, like you don't get that first, you get that at the end.
And then you get home and you're like, I got to get the ice cream in the freezer.
Well, that's how you should think about your chicken.
She also, you know, left the chicken on top of where the baby's sheet is.
So it could drip down there.
These packs aren't necessarily watertight.
You get this, we all love chicken, the chicken juice that comes out not so much.
You don't want that getting on like an apple.
You're going to eat that.
So just get one of these produce bags, stick it right in.
Grocery stores are getting rid of the paper bags and plastic bags and all that junk.
I'm proud of that.
Just get a produce bag for this one item.
It's worth the investment.
Actually, come over here.
Leave that there.
Come over for a second.
There's an easy hack that Mark come up with in order to make a chicken dinner that you're all going to love.
And it involves Greek yogurt, which I always have in my cart.
And use it for a marinade.
This is so simple and almost dumb.
It's stunned.
I didn't think of it earlier.
Yeah, there's a good reason.
There's a problem with chicken, which is when it gets overcooked, like the sawdust problem.
We've all been there.
It's terrible.
Never want that to happen again.
There's a really easy way.
You just get some Greek yogurt and you put it on the chicken.
It's that easy.
Now you want to make it even better.
You add some cinnamon, some coriander, and even best of all is then you make a Greek yogurt sauce.
Not from that Greek yogurt.
Yes.
By the way, I would say put some garlic, some lemon juice in it, and you're going to be happy.
I mean, it's going to be delicious.
How long do you marinate the chicken in the yogurt?
I would say minimum three hours, but you can do it overnight.
So here, taste away here.
We'll see what you think.
Marcus's bit as well.
He made this for us.
He worked all night long.
You guys can have that.
I'm just going in for this guy here.
The dark, of course.
That's why he's a chicken guy.
Are you happy with the solution?
Very good.
I got to say, it keeps it moist, and I applaud you because we have ideas like this that you can use ubiquitously.
It's a really good one.
Chicken man, congratulations.
You can find more tuna market hacks on drozz.com coming up.
We're answering some of your burning chicken questions.
We'll understand more when we come back.
They're called smash and grab robberies.
I can't believe this is happening right now.
We have tips to protect possessions and yourself.
Plus, Charlemagne the God opens up about his battle with anxiety.
En noise.
That's coming up on Wednesday.
In your back or lower abdomen, the fatigue seems to come out of nowhere, knock you down.
A burning sensation when you pee.
Not to mention having to go constantly.
That's called a urinary tract infection, right?
It can stop you down.
But today we're investigating a new surprising headline of what might be causing them.
And it's something you probably least expect.
Is the chicken you're eating causing UTIs?
You heard right, the chicken.
Tatiana, come on over here.
She's very interested with this idea of chickens and UTIs.
How are you?
So describe what a UTI is like for you.
Well, let me tell you, Dr. Oz, it's uncomfortable.
It hurts while I pee, and it burns too.
It really, I don't know what to do.
Okay, come on over here.
Let's bring in one of the researchers who has discovered the link between chicken and UTIs.
The director of the antibiotic resistance center, Dr. Lance Price, is here.
And this headline caught my attention.
Tatiana goes back to.
How can a chicken cause a UTI?
Well, it turns out most UTIs are caused by E. coli, and not the kind of E. coli that cause diarrhea, but the kind of E. coli that we just have in our guts naturally.
But it also turns out that most of the poultry products on our grocery store shelves are contaminated with E. coli.
So one of the things that we've been trying to ask, is it possible that those E. coli and those poultry products are causing urinary tract infections?
Washing Chicken Risks 00:02:42
But it's not just ingesting it, right?
You can get the infection of the E. coli in your bladder without eating the food all the time.
Well, it is possible that you could, but I think the biggest risk is actually handling these raw products in your kitchen and then potentially spreading those E. coli around and then incidentally putting them in your mouth.
Everybody knows to cook their chicken properly, but we're not always aware of what we're doing with our hands when we're in the kitchen.
So lots of reasons to pay attention.
So come on over here, since you're here.
I'm going to show everybody how a chicken could cause your UTI.
And again, how many people do you think a year are getting infections from this?
From this one strain, we estimate that maybe 30,000 people are getting infections just in the U.S. 30,000.
30,000.
Just from that one strain you mentioned.
Just that one strain.
Oh my goodness.
All right, so let's do something.
What kind of chicken do you like?
I love me some chicken teriyaki and broccoli, Dr. Oz.
You do?
Well, I love the broccoli part of that.
So let's pretend you're making something, okay?
So go ahead and open this up if you don't mind.
You open the chicken, we unpack it, you're going to marinate it, right?
So go ahead and put it in there.
I'm going to marinate that chicken for you.
Thank you.
See, as you've got that marinated litter there, go ahead and, if you don't mind, chop some broccoli for me.
Sure.
Okay, so as she's chopping the broccoli, I just...
What?
What?
Cross-contamination.
Smartest audience on television.
Sorry.
Well, okay, you know what?
Put that down.
Put that down.
The kids are calling for you.
So dry yourself off.
In fact, if you don't mind, just wash yourself up a tiny bit.
Some hand soap in there.
Okay.
All right, good.
And then, yeah, good.
Perfect, perfect.
That's great.
Drive stuff.
Drive your hands up real quick.
Okay, now, good.
Now, before you run to get the kids, right?
Because the phone just rang and stopped you down.
I want to just look at your hands under here.
Okay?
Because in that marinade, we put some dye.
Sure, from both sides.
You see them all?
So that is pretty cool in a bad way.
So this is actually what's happening.
And you guys all picked up on it, the cross-contamination.
But how many of you in the middle of doing one thing get a phone call?
You got to try to hold it to your neck.
Someone calls at you, and you need to deal with it.
So come on over.
This is what we think is happening.
It's not so much the chicken, because you kick the chicken, right?
That should protect you, but it's not for some reason.
So you see, there's a short trip for that bacteria to travel.
So we've got to be especially careful about this.
Right, exactly.
So what do you recommend people do?
You got to wash your hands frequently when you're in the kitchen.
You've got to be really aware of your hands.
Once you open that package, you're potentially introducing these bacteria all over your kitchen.
Just turning on the faucets, you could have introduced the bacteria to that, right?
And then when you go to shut it off after you wash your hands, you recontaminate them.
So you've got to think about that all the time.
You need a separate knife, separate cutting board for the vegetables and the meat, and then wash, wash, wash, wash the biggest mistake I see.
I don't know if you know this, people wash their chicken to get it clean.
Washing Hands Frequently 00:16:06
Yes.
How many of you do that?
I do that all.
Right?
Bad idea.
It's a bad idea.
Why are you washing the chicken?
All you do when you wash chicken is spray the bacteria around the sink and the next thing you wash gets out in that.
You're going to cook the thing anyway.
You're going to kill the bacteria.
Don't try to sterilize the meat.
Right.
Let the oven do that.
Don't contaminate your sink.
There you have it.
That's why we have, now they all have UTIs up there.
Dr. Nice job.
Dr. Price, well done.
We'll be right back.
Up next, singer Jordan Sparks is here opening up about how she turned her grief into action.
What's up, got a little surprise for her?
Any clue what it could be?
I don't know, but Dr. Oz, you're pretty sly.
Stick around.
Hey, you guys, I'm so, so incredibly happy to be here at Dr. Oz to share something that is near and dear to my heart.
And it makes my heart happy to be here so I can voice it to you.
See you in a few minutes.
She's a pop star icon who won American Idol at just 17 years old, singing away to the top of the charts with millions of fans all around the world.
And today, she's using her voice in a very different way, speaking out about the health crises that plagued her family and opening up about her emotional journey to becoming a mother.
Please welcome my friend, Jordan Sparks.
I know, I know, I know.
I like it.
I like it.
It's good to see you.
Oh, my goodness.
It's good to have you here.
Thank you.
Oh, nice comfy couch and everything.
Hi, everyone.
I remember you probably all dude, 11 years ago, watching this young, beautiful woman sing her way into our hearts.
One American Idol.
How did that change you as a person?
I mean, you know, it's really crazy to think of it now because it's been 11 years at this point.
And from the person I was then, I was a kid in high school.
I didn't know what was going on.
I was just excited to be on this show that I loved.
And now looking back, though, it prepared me for everything that I've had to do now because Idol was, it was like a boot camp for everything that I have to do in this industry.
And even at times when I'm not working, there are tools that I learned that I just draw from.
So anything after that is a cakewalk, except the national anthem.
That always makes me nervous.
That's hard, isn't it?
Yeah, always.
I don't know how anyone does that.
Give me one tool that you learned from that experience that's allowed you to be successful.
I think for me, working best under pressure.
Pressure involves lots of different attributes.
Probably the most pressured thing that most people do in their lives is to become a parent.
Yeah.
And the world watched you become a mom for the first time just last year.
And I gotta say, it was really cool to experience it from outside.
But what was it like for you as a mom?
What is life like?
Life is awesome.
He's so amazing.
I'm tired, but he's just.
He's just the see, look how little he is.
I can't believe.
People say that it goes by so fast, and it's true.
He's five and a half months now.
That must have been, you know, three weeks into it with him smiling his little face.
But he's.
Just wait till he's 20.
Very difficult.
My mom was talking to me about myself, and I was like, oh, I'm so sorry, mom, please.
But it's been incredible.
I've always loved kids.
I've always loved being around them.
You know, when we did the video together, like, I love doing those types of things.
And I knew if I ever had the opportunity to be a mom, I would love it.
And I adore it.
I love being a mom.
Well, you are a wonderful mom.
I had the honor of meeting little DJ.
Yes.
But you delivered him in an unorthodox way, a way that's done, but it's not the usual way.
Yeah, I actually had an all-natural water birth.
I did.
Explain that to everybody so they know what that means.
So it's an unmedicated birth, and I delivered him in a tub in some warm water.
And Dana actually caught him.
So he was the first person that he saw.
And it was definitely crazy.
I labored for a while.
Active labor was, it didn't get difficult until maybe 12 hours in.
So I was in regular light labor before, and then active labor didn't get difficult until a while.
But it took three pushes and he was here.
How long after it became difficult until he actually came out?
About nine hours, I think.
Yeah, yeah.
So it was still, for a first-time mom, it's often that long.
It was still.
And you think it hurt less because you were underwater?
Because your pelvis was underwater.
Yeah, that's true.
You know, I think a lot of it, again, with the whole pressure thing, I think a lot of it had to do with the mentality I took looking at it.
Because right when I was pregnant, I went to a few different hospitals and I was like, this doesn't feel right to me.
I think I want to go natural.
I had a midwife.
Her name was Simona.
She was amazing.
The entire team was.
And my doula, Nina, as well.
So Daphne was delivered by a midwife.
Really?
Eldest daughter.
Yeah.
Yes.
Hey, Daphne, love girl.
But it was incredible to be able to do it.
But I think my mentality, because I looked at it, looked forward to the delivery, like, this is going to be the most amazing day of my life.
And yet, it was risky, not because of the water delivery, but because he had a cord around his neck.
Yeah, he had his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck twice.
Oh, twice.
Yeah.
So my midwife was there, and Dana was right next to her because she obviously was helping him.
And he came out and she saw it first, and she unwrapped the cord and then let him finish.
And it's just crazy how it happened.
Oh, my goodness.
Was he gray?
No, he wasn't actually.
Okay, because Daphne had her cord around her neck and she was completely gray.
My wife thought that she was dead.
Oh, no.
It was the worst feeling.
I was a medical student, so I didn't know that much, but I knew we had a fighting chance.
At least I figured it's over.
Because you don't look that gray and do well, but she picked up once you could breathe.
Of course.
She's never stopped talking since.
I know.
I know.
We had a whole bunch of amazing conversations the other day.
They're like, okay, we're filming now.
Come on.
So how's DJ doing now?
He's good.
He's good.
He's actually just started sitting up this week.
Oh.
He just started sitting up.
So here's a clip of DJ and your husband.
Take a look.
Handsome.
Ooh.
Ooh, the tickle.
That tickle.
Get him smiling.
Is that tickly?
Oh, you can't get over that smile.
It's hard not to be happy when you look at a happy person.
So how has the delivery changed your look on life?
Now that you've actually gotten through it?
The delivery, well, listen, all you women out here, we are super women, and don't let anybody tell you anything else.
It's incredible, like, what we can handle.
And then afterwards, like having to deal with breastfeeding and all this different, the way your body works, I just have so much more appreciation for, I've always had appreciation for women and how strong we are, but even more so now, like my mom, my grandma, everybody that I'm related to, my friends, my aunties, like I look at them in such a different way.
I already held them in high regard, but I do even more now.
And also, my mentality has changed.
The way I sing has changed.
How so?
Because it's from such a deeper place when I sing about love.
It's just, it's different.
I sing about love, and I have my husband and I love him so much, but now there's that agape love that both of us have for him that it just comes from that face.
So when your son looks back on your singing when he's an adult, what do you want him to see?
I would love for him to see that I was, I was, what I wanted to come across was songs that helped people feel something that would touch them or bring them to a place or a memory that mattered to them.
And that's what I hope.
I'm sure he'll say something else about some of the fun ones and be like, why'd you sing about that?
And I'll be like, it's okay.
You get that next time.
We don't talk about it.
Up next, Jordan's going to speak out about the health crisis that plagued her family and how she's turned her pain into purpose.
Can a brain scan reveal if you're a psychopath?
Here you are.
And here's the normal.
The daughter of a serial killer faces her darkest fears.
Could I have inherited his brain?
All new oz.
That's coming up tomorrow.
We're back with singer Jordan Sparks.
She recently experienced the ultimate joy, the birth of her son, but it came after a time of deep grieving.
Can you share with us what happened to your family?
Yes, so in about a week span, there were four people that passed away that I was either close with or a part of my family.
In one week.
About a week span, yeah.
I realized it was that compressed.
Yeah, it was a lot to deal with.
But one of the people who passed was actually my stepsister, Brianna.
And she passed away from sickle cell disease.
So cute.
And yeah, she was a vibrant 16-year-old girl.
And she loved, you know, makeup and fashion and music.
And she wanted to be a model, but she was also a fighter.
She was incredibly strong.
And we were only stepsisters for a very short time.
And I didn't talk about it a lot just out of respect for her family and her as well.
But she went through the ringer dealing with sickle cell disease her entire life.
And after she passed, I thought to myself, this has to go forward.
Like we have to talk about this and bring it to the forefront.
And so I was really happy when Novartis and the SCDIA approached me about Generation S, which is on my shirt, if you guys see.
Is that what that means?
Yes.
And so Generation S, the S stands for sickle.
So basically what we're doing is we're trying to change the face of what sickle cell disease look like.
Change the narrative.
You can't look at somebody and know that they have sickle cell disease.
And so what we're doing is encouraging people to go to joingenS.com and to share their story in their own words so that other people aren't narrating the story for them.
You tell your story in your own words and hopefully that'll inspire somebody else to do the same.
I'm going to come back to sickle cell in a second.
Let me ask you about the way you cope with the grief.
Losing four family members in a week.
Where did you even start?
I mean, if I'm going to be completely honest, and I love you, so I'm going to be completely honest with you.
I don't know if I've completely dealt with it all.
With what I do, sometimes we learn to compartmentalize and go, the show must go on, right?
And it was a lot happening all at one time.
So all four of them passed.
And then it was, okay, I have to go be with my family with Brianna and also my cousin.
And then my two friends that passed away, you know, they were reaching out about going to the funeral there and not being able to be everywhere at once was a lot.
And I think I'm still grieving.
There are moments when I have moments when I think about them and I get happy because I had the honor of knowing them and having them in my life for a little bit, but then it hits me like, oh, they're not here anymore.
They're not here.
Like, how is this possible?
So I'm still dealing with it, but I think that that is a good place to start is knowing that I'm still in that space of dealing with it.
A lot of folks try to rush it.
You can't.
I've learned that from patients.
Sometimes it passes much more rapidly than you expect.
Oftentimes the opposite.
Let me help everyone with sickle cell because you know a lot about it.
Obviously your stepsister had it, but there are 100,000 people in America who have sickle cell anemia and one in 13 African Americans, that's a lot, have the trait that can be passed on.
So your kids could have it.
So let me show everybody what it really means.
And this is an ailment that we learn a fair amount about because it's effective.
Yeah, come on up.
Oh, I can't.
I'm coming to you.
Thank you.
It's effective in helping people avoid malaria.
That's one of the reasons that it exists.
But when you have blood like this, you notice these blood cells are all round.
They look pretty normal to make.
Having studied blood for my whole life, this is just a white blood cell.
It's supposed to look like that.
That's normal.
But these cells, because they're round, they're little balls.
They can roll through capillary, small little places where blood vessels go.
When you have sickle cell anemia, you have this.
And you have red cells, some normal, some of them look like this.
You have this little crescent here?
Sickle-shaped.
Sickle-shaped, right?
The sickle that you cut the grass with, the gardening tool.
And these little sickles are unfortunate because they can't roll through capillaries.
They get stuck.
They clump onto each other and they block things up.
And then that stops the blood flow.
So it causes intense pain, right?
Sometimes you can't breathe, you get dizzy, you get fatigue, this clumps up in your heart, you have a heart attack, it clumps up in your brain, you have a stroke.
It's a problem, which is why we have spent so much time as a nation trying to figure this out.
You become an advocate.
Absolutely.
In the meantime, for those who are diagnosed with sickle cell to help them.
So I took the opportunity to get some videos from people.
Okay.
Just offering thoughts.
So take a look.
Hello, Jordan.
My name is Halima Hayward, and I have sickle cell disease SS.
I lost a two-year-old sister and many cousins on both sides of my family to sickle cell disease.
So I want to thank you for using your platform to advocate for the awareness of sickle cell disease and what a deadly illness it can be.
This is Elizabeth and I am Chandra.
And on the behalf of our little sister, Teresa, whom just recently passed from sickle cell anemia, and it hurts my heart to know that there are many others still suffering from this life-threatening disease.
That's why we will personally like to thank you, Jordan, for helping spread the awareness for sickle cell anemia throughout the nation.
That's so sweet.
Oh, thank you.
I want you to meet one more person, if you don't mind.
Geneva, come on out, Geneva.
I want you to meet General.
Hi!
Oh, hello!
Hi.
Oh, okay.
Let's get ourselves together.
I wasn't supposed to cry right now.
I know me either.
So my son, Dylan, was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia at five weeks old.
This is Dylan.
He's five years old now.
And thank you.
Over the last five years, it's just been really a challenging road.
It just, we've experienced so many things, including numerous hospital stays.
And as a mom, one of the most vivid memories I have is at two years old, he had a pain crisis in his legs, and he was unable to walk.
And that just, that stays with me.
Right now, he's healthy, thankfully.
It's just, I want to say thank you so much for what you're doing because I now have hope that in his lifetime we'll find a widespread cure for this disease and he won't have to experience what so many sickle cell patients experience.
Yeah, I love that.
Absolutely.
That's what we're looking for.
We need to get that crisis.
He doesn't have to deal with that anymore.
Exactly.
Absolutely.
What's so pretty?
What's it like to hear all these women pouring their hearts out?
Okay, I can't.
I'm super emotional.
It's just, it's when you, I think of Bree, you know, she was in hospitals maybe three weeks out of every month almost, and it affects people differently.
So there are some kids that will have a crisis every once in a blue moon and adults as well, or there are some that are constantly hospitalized.
And I just think of you and I think of Bree's mom and my stepdad James and I think of the family members who have to be strong for them.
And it's just incredible to know that already with just this small work that we're doing, there's so many people that have been touched by it.
But that's also the other thing is there's so many people.
There are so many people who go through this and we don't talk about it enough.
There are a lot of people who are suffering silently.
And what I want him to know is there's a lot of people that don't want him to have to feel weird about having it or not want to talk about it.
And for you too, that's why we're encouraging people to tell their stories.
So somebody watching you right now doesn't feel alone.
God bless you, Jory.
Thanks for stepping forward.
Thank you.
We'll be right back.
Calling all nursing students, the Dr. Oz show wants to celebrate you.
Walk Through Medicare Advantage 00:06:42
If you're currently enrolled in nursing school, you could have a chance to win $10,000 and be on my show.
Go to DrRoz.com to enter by November 15th.
It's one of my favorite phrases, and I don't get to say it enough, so I'll do it right now.
Zero dollars, right?
We all want things for less, especially if they can improve our health.
So here's a question for all you: which of these items can you get for $0?
Can you get a cup of coffee for $0 or a pack of gum?
How about a newspaper, which they're both on, right?
Not so easy.
Or how about a health insurance plan that may include access to wellness programs, to vision, dental hearing benefits, may even include prescription coverage, right?
Which one can you get for $0?
If you guess these, you're right, because it's available now for some folks.
Believe it or not, it is possible to get health insurance plans now with a $0 monthly premium.
Millions of people already are doing it, and so could you, which I'm going to take a few seconds here.
I want to talk about healthcare today because I know it can be expensive.
I hear from you all the time.
So let me walk you through this a little bit.
You only have so much money in your piggy bank, right?
It's just only so much there.
And counseling and gym memberships, right?
They can cost a little bit of money.
And so these programs can sort of build up.
Prescription drugs can cost a lot of money, especially if you have to take more than one.
Plus, you got dental and vision and hearing coverage, right?
And no wonder it feels like your piggy bank just begins to melt away in front of you to almost nothing.
But Medicare beneficiaries have another option.
With Medicare Advantage, you can get a plan with $0 monthly premium, which could mean lots more money in your piggy bank, which is the goal here.
Here to tell us more is Jaleesa Jackson, who's here on behalf of my trusted sponsorship partner, MedicareAdvantage.com.
Jaleesa is an experienced licensed insurance agent who has helped thousands of people learn about their Medicare options, which is why I trust her.
So, Medicare Advantage, walk folks through what it is.
Awesome.
So, a Medicare Advantage plan is an option for our Medicare beneficiaries who are actually looking to expand their coverage.
These plans are offered by private insurance companies and provide the exact same coverage as your Medicare parts A and B.
However, a lot of these plans do provide you with additional benefits that a lot of people need, such as prescription drug coverage, as you mentioned.
The dental, the vision, hearing, and wellness programs.
And I found that those are game changers for a lot of people looking to expand their coverage because Original Medicare doesn't provide services for any of those items that I just named.
Medicare Advantage plans also include what we call an annual maximum out-of-pocket limit.
So if you have a medical emergency or costly procedure, you're only guaranteed to spend a certain dollar amount for the year before the plan picks up.
And that's really great.
That's a valuable layer of protection because if you just have Medicare parts A and B, there's no cap to how much you can spend out of pocket in a year.
So how many of these plans are there out there?
They sound good.
It really is a lot to get out of one plan.
And honestly, Dr. Oz, there's no other option on the market like this for our Medicare beneficiaries.
Over 2,000 Medicare Advantage plans are available nationwide.
And most of our Medicare beneficiaries do have access to the zero-dollar premium plans, depending on the area that they live in.
I would think if I could get potentially zero dollars expense for some of the things we just talked about, I'd be signing up.
So why are not more folks signed up?
Well actually over 20 million people are currently enrolled into a Medicare Advantage plan.
So that's a lot of people.
However, that's only about a third of our Medicare beneficiaries.
So there's still millions of people who can have a Medicare Advantage plan, you know, with less cost, more benefits if they simply just look into it.
Can I speak to the audience on this?
I bet a lot of folks are sitting at home right now thinking, I'm just not going to think about this right now, right?
Seriously.
So since this show started, almost 10 years ago, enrollment and Medicare Advantage has increased by over 70%.
The fact is everyone around you is signing up, which is why I want you just to focus and see if it makes sense for you.
If it doesn't, it's fine.
But if it does, stop waiting on the sideline.
So how can folks sign up today?
So now is actually the best time to do it because it's Medicare's open enrollment until December the 7th.
And for a lot of people, this is the only time of the year to get a Medicare Advantage plan.
That's good.
I'm lucky we're doing it today.
So navigating this can be tough.
So letting Medicare itself can be difficult to understand.
So I want you to get the right decision and make it the right way.
So I want to take your questions.
So put your hands up if you've got a question.
Who's got it?
Here's your.
Go ahead.
Take it away, ma'am.
So who will be eligible for this Medicare Advantage plan?
Oh, that's a great question.
So generally, if you currently have your Medicare parts A and B, or someone 65 years of age or older, or under 65 with qualifying disabilities, will qualify for a Medicare Advantage plan.
Okay.
Is your mind being changed a little bit?
Perhaps.
Perhaps.
I like that.
Very discerning viewer.
Go ahead, take it away.
Now, can my husband and I be on the same insurance plan or do we have to each have our own separate plan?
Awesome.
So actually, the Medicare Advantage plans aren't family plans.
So each of you would have to enroll.
But the good thing is, these plans are based on your needs.
So your husband's needs may be different than yours.
So he can have his own plan and you can have yours.
Awesome.
That's perfect.
It is, right?
More optimistic about this idea?
I want to nudge you.
I don't want to shove you.
But think about this because 70% increase since I started the show means a lot to me.
All right, who's got the last question?
Take the way.
You said now is a good time to sign up.
Are there any other times we have that option?
Yes, so now is actually the best time of the year because it's Medicare's open enrollment until December the 7th.
However, there are other times to enroll.
It's just depending on your circumstance.
Thank you.
What I'm hearing is stop waiting on the sideline.
Is that what you're all hearing?
It's the time of the year.
Take a moment, think about it, decide now.
So, MedicareAdvantage.com has set up a special phone number for Oz viewers who want to speak with a licensed insurance agent about Medicare Advantage.
So, give them a call today.
Learn about your options, see what works for you.
They're available to answer all your questions.
Did I miss anything with the viewers?
You did great.
Oh, I got a good passing grade from the insurance agent.
We'll be right back.
Can a brain scan reveal if you're a psychopath?
Noses Tell Tales 00:02:44
The daughter of a serial killer faces her darkest fears.
Could I have inherited his brain?
She makes a tough decision.
This was the hardest journey I've ever gone on in my entire life.
Well, the results put her anguish to rest.
It took every bit of courage within me to face it.
Or will it make her nightmare come true?
Here you are, and here's the normal, all-new Oz.
That's coming up tomorrow.
You know the feeling.
The cough, it just won't go away.
How about this?
Yeah, ruddy nose.
And constant sneezing.
You ever wonder why your colds are so much worse than everybody else's?
You ever think that?
We've got two people here in the audience who think that's the case.
Shakina, how are you?
Hi.
And Lourdes.
Yes.
Hi.
You're best of friends, I understand.
Yes, we're good friends.
So you follow each other's illnesses.
Problem.
Who gets more cold, sniffles?
You do.
Always me.
Always me.
I don't understand it.
So you actually have witnessed it.
You agree that you get less for these problems than Shakina does.
Yeah, sometimes I think she's making it up, but she's really in bed.
See, I'm like sick.
I'm like you.
I don't get sick, but other people in my life that I care about do, and I'm always accusing them of, you know, not toughing it up and all.
But turns out they're right.
There's a difference between us.
Come on over.
You're going to love this.
Brand new research on this topic, looking at why some people get colds worse than others.
So it's not about whether you get the bacteria of the virus in your nose.
It's about what happens once it gets there.
So there's different noses, right?
We all have different noses.
Three of us have different noses from each other, right?
Turns out each of our noses has a microbiome.
Just like our intestines do.
There's good bacteria and there's bad bacteria that live in there.
So they have a couple ideas.
Like in the gut, you could eat differently, but unfortunately, you can't just pour yogurt up your nose, right?
We could try that.
We could try it.
We can't stuff probiotics up our nose.
We have to figure out a smart way.
And we're working on that.
And I actually believe pretty soon we're going to be able to identify what's the best bacteria to have that we can all get and how to get it so we can all become resilient like Lourdes.
I need that.
I need that.
Yes.
In the meantime, I've got a hack.
Are you ready?
I'm ready.
I want you to drink hot lemon water.
Wow, okay.
Two reasons.
Because it's hot, it gives off steam, right?
That's a decongestion.
And it has vitamin C.
And it turns out vitamin C shortens the duration of symptoms.
So that's your little hack.
So next time I'm going to go somewhere Lourdes Important, start giving her pre-game with hot lemon water.
I'm going to give her a tea kettle.
Yes.
You heard him.
You have to make it though.
Not me.
I don't know about that.
Partners in life.
Don't make it happen.
Thank you both very much for being here.
Telling the truth.
Other change is happening.
Our journey's just beginning.
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