Dr. Oz Podcast - What to Eat for Weight Loss Energy and Less Bloat | Dr. Oz | S9 | Ep 105

Feb. 2, 2026 - Dr. Oz Podcast

42:45

What to Eat for Weight Loss Energy and Less Bloat | Dr. Oz | S9 | Ep 105 | Full Episode

Large

Audio Only |

Scroll

Time	Text
Gut Type Quiz 00:14:44
	She lost 70 pounds by knowing her gut type.
	Take our quiz to find out yours.
	We identify three basic types plus the five shocking health foods that might secretly be wrecked in some people's guts.
	And 24 hours on the edge.
	I'm really uncomfortable.
	Just born a cigarette.
	In the room with an addict withdrawing from heroin.
	I don't want to live this lifestyle.
	Are you ready to save some lives today?
	Yeah!
	I love you, Dr. Lodge.
	This is the next frontier of medicine.
	Experts are saying we'll change everything we know about what you should really be eating.
	Your gut type.
	Look at this.
	Series of organs, 26 feet of intestines.
	Maybe more personalized than your fingerprint.
	Got 40 trillion bacteria in there and literally better able to identify who you are than these little prints we've used throughout human history.
	Now the latest research helped this woman, look carefully, lose 70 pounds.
	And it increased her energy levels.
	That's a huge transformation.
	She was one of a group of women who took some tests that we've been offering and helped figure out what was going down.
	Now today, a new quiz to find out your gut type based on a cutting edge innovation that gave me insights I never knew even about my own body.
	I asked a team of leading gut experts to help create this quiz.
	Dr. Robin Chuckin is joining us, integrative gastroenterologist and microbiome expert.
	And Dr. Helen Messier, leading chief researcher at Viome, a company researching the latest gut biology.
	So please, if you don't mind, explain the fundamentals of this.
	How do the bacteria in our gut affect our health?
	And why is this perhaps the biggest breakthrough in modern medicine?
	This is the most important frontier in medicine.
	The gut that's doing all the work in our bodies.
	That's who's synthesizing the hormones and vitamins, digesting the food, detoxifying compounds, training our immune system, even turning genes on and off.
	And what we're finding is that so many diseases that we thought were genetic are actually microbial in the sense that it's the gut bacteria that determine whether the disease is expressed or not.
	You know what I love about that?
	You can change that.
	Right?
	Your destiny is not the bacteria in your gut.
	You can change it.
	If it's your genes, they're more difficult.
	So tell us more about the cutting edge research that you've been doing.
	How does it help us understand at the subtle molecular level what's going on inside each of us?
	Exactly.
	This research that we use at Viome has been developed.
	We got it from LANO, Los Alamos National Lab.
	It's taken years of development.
	Finally, we're able to offer this testing to the consumer.
	And what it does is it doesn't just identify the bugs that are in your gut, it identifies what they're doing.
	So all of those functions that you mentioned, we actually can see what foods they're eating and metabolizing.
	We can see what products they're producing.
	We can tell everything about what they're doing.
	And that's the big breakthrough.
	So everyone has their own unique blend of bacteria in their guts.
	But as a jumping off point, we've used research to determine three major gut types.
	We're going to let you find out what you are with our gut ped quiz.
	Come on over so each of you can determine exactly what you ought to be eating to address your issues.
	So everyone in the audience, you all have your little clipboards.
	You got them out?
	Follow along with us.
	Everyone at home, it's not that many questions.
	Just write them down on a piece of paper.
	Or you can take the quiz on DrOz.com after the show.
	So Dr. Chuckin, the first question.
	Which statement best describes your diet?
	A, I'm always hungry.
	B, standard American diet.
	Or C, high-protein diet.
	And you're not all allowed to say A. You have to actually pick one other one if it's more accurate for you.
	So I sort of like, I'm probably a C person.
	Okay, next big question.
	Next question.
	If my partner or friend had to describe my flatulence, that's gas for those of you who are less familiar, it would be described as A, rarely smell, B, smells depending on what I eat, or C, offensive.
	Hmm.
	Hmm.
	Be honest here.
	I'm going to start the honesty cascade here because I know my answer, I've been told by many, is a C. All right, so I'm two C's so far.
	Keep track of your letters.
	At the end, we're going to make a really simple way for you to understand what your gut type is.
	Just keep track of your letters.
	Next question, Dr. Chuck.
	Third question.
	How often in your lifetime have you had to take antibiotics?
	A, occasionally.
	B, frequently, or C, rarely or never.
	Again, think about the last year, how often you've taken antibiotics, and then of course expand beyond that.
	Again, I don't like to take antibiotics.
	I'll give myself another C. I'm a C too.
	You're also C. I'm a C for sure.
	All right, those are three questions so far.
	Helen, you got the next question.
	Take it away.
	Which statement best describes how you feel after you eat?
	Is it A, I rarely feel full.
	B, I feel tired and achy.
	C, I usually, well, I'm always feeling bloated and gassy.
	I'm a C again.
	My goodness.
	What are you?
	Looks can be deceiving.
	Who would have thought you had offensive gas?
	Never.
	I didn't think I even had those problems.
	I've been told this by my closest friends.
	And Dr. Helen, the last question.
	And which statement best describes your biggest health concern?
	Is it A, I can't lose weight.
	B, daily ailments like heartburn, headaches, and chronic pain.
	C, I feel constipated, have low energy, and I'm moody.
	All right, so which letter did you answer most?
	Those who answered most, the A's, this means you're the always hungry guide.
	What does that mean?
	Yeah, the always hungry gut means you don't feel full.
	It means that you're missing certain bacteria or you don't have enough of those bacteria so that you don't convert some of the fiber in the foods that you eat into a substance called butyrate, which helps us with satiety.
	So it helps us feel full and it also heals the lining of our gut and keeps inflammation at bay as well.
	So we're the always hungry gut person because we don't make the chemicals that everyone else seems to make to help them feel comfortable, that they've eaten enough.
	Absolutely, or missing that chemical.
	All right, how many of B's are there out there?
	Let me see the B's.
	Hands of B's?
	About a third, honest, makes sense.
	If you answered mostly B's, you're the wiped gut.
	The wiped gut.
	What does that mean?
	So a wiped out gut basically has been wiped out by diet and medication and it predisposes us to a lot of not so good things.
	And most people don't know that just five days of a broad spectrum antibiotic of the kind you might take for a sinus infection or urinary tract infection can wipe out up to a third of your gut bacteria.
	Oh my.
	And the same thing with the food we eat.
	So if you're eating the standard American diet, meat and potatoes, lots of processed food, you're not growing a good gut garden.
	You're not giving the bacteria the compounds they need to make butyrate and those other short-chain fatty acids that Dr. Messier talked about that are so important for the health of our gut.
	All right, and how many C's are out there?
	Now that the B's are all scared.
	It's about a third, a third, a third.
	Everyone else is an A, I'm assuming.
	The C's are the gassy gut.
	The gassy gut.
	I'm the prototype of that, I've just learned.
	What does that mean?
	The gassy gut, again, it depends on what bacteria are in your gut.
	And they can take things, foods that we eat, often animal proteins, and turn them into very harmful and often smelly substances.
	So they can ferment those proteins.
	And again, they can harm our gut, harm us, and cause a lot of social discomfort.
	Yes.
	The thing is, this is what's so crazy about it is none of us, I didn't even realize this was even possible to do.
	The idea that we can personalize our diet by understanding our gut is powerful.
	So when we come back, find out more about your type, including a customized gut plan to change your body right now.
	And a couple other surprises.
	Tuna fish.
	Costs as little as $1 per 10.
	But it may cost you your health.
	And the canned white tuna has almost three times more mercury than the light tuna.
	We decode canned tuna.
	All nuise.
	That's coming up on Monday.
	The secret to looking and feeling great actually depends on the trillions of bugs inside your body called the microbiome.
	An unbalanced microbiome can cause chronic conditions like obesity, diabetes, allergies, autoimmunity, depression, fatigue, mood swings, stomach pain, heart disease, eczema, and asthma.
	That's why solving these chronic health problems depends on fixing your gut first.
	Everyone's microbiome is as unique as their fingerprints.
	As a result, foods that are healthy for others may not be healthy for you.
	Now you know why you can't take a shotgun approach.
	That's why we have the gut type quiz.
	The experts are now finding your gut is as distinct as our DNA.
	We identify three basic types of their quiz.
	You can take the quiz on Dr.Oz.com, but our audience here figured it out already.
	About a third of them are A's, which are the always hungry gut type.
	That means the gut bacteria probably aren't making enough of the substances to tell your brain that you're full.
	So you end up eating too much.
	So stop blaming yourself and realize if the bacteria aren't talking to you the right way, of course it's going to be harder for you than the person next to you who's never hungry.
	Then there are the people who have the wiped out gut.
	The way you eat and the medicines you take can wipe out the good bacteria causing inflammation.
	Part of the reason I'm so hard on these junk foods so many folks eat is that it kills off the good guy bacteria.
	They can't eat that stuff, but the bad bacteria can, you end up with the wiped out gut.
	And finally, we got the gassy gut.
	That means the bacteria in your gut that turns the food that you eat into something that's a smelly methane gas.
	It can cause constipation.
	I mean, you can smell anybody out.
	And you've bloated all the time.
	Again, driven not always by the foods that you suspect.
	And that's what's tricky here.
	Now you can take the quiz on Oz.com to find out what type you are, but then spread the wisdom because you've got to start personalizing the food you eat.
	My team of go-to gut experts is back with the customized plan for your gut type.
	Dr. Robin Chuckman and Dr. Helen Messier.
	First up, the always gut, always hungry gut, the folks who say they have to eat meat because they never feel full, they have to add one inulin-rich food to every meal.
	So Helen, please define what an inulin-rich food is, and then we'll get to some recipes.
	These are all examples of inulin-rich foods.
	So inulin is what we call a non-digestible fiber.
	That means that we can't digest it.
	It was made just for the microbes.
	So the bacteria in our guts can digest it and they love it.
	And they turn it into that beneficial short-chain fatty acid, that substance that helps us feel full.
	And so these are examples.
	Oats, artichokes, onions, white beans, leeks, and garlic are all very full of that, what we call non-resistant starch.
	So one day that chemical they make is called butyrate.
	Butyrate.
	You'll be injecting it into your veins, maybe.
	But today, the better way of doing it is eat foods that the bacteria convert to that.
	So examples, Dr. Chuck.
	These are all great examples.
	And I was looking at this, I think, five of these foods I ate in the last 24 hours.
	So oats, great way to start the morning, some steel-cut oatmeal.
	Onions and leeks, I chop up and I saute into whatever I'm cooking.
	It's a stew, a soup, a curry.
	Great way to start.
	And the same for garlic.
	And then white beans are fantastic because they're high in protein, they're high in fiber, and they also help to keep us full.
	So these are all foods that we should be incorporating as frequently as possible.
	Real surprise for a lot of you artichokes.
	There's so many great recipes, we don't even think about it.
	Okay, next up, the wiped gut type.
	Again, these are the folks who are not feeding the bacteria the right thing, or they may have taken antibiotics or something else recently.
	And you need to add one polyphenol spice to every meal.
	So Dr. Chuck can tell us more about these spices.
	Polyphenols are compounds that when they are converted by gut bacteria in our colon, they produce substances that actually have a prebiotic effect, meaning they help to actually feed the healthy gut bacteria.
	So I want you to forget about how you normally think about eating in terms of what you like and whether you're hungry and think about eating to feed your gut bacteria.
	What do my gut bacteria want?
	What can I do with this meal to actually enhance my health, to decrease my risk, not just of smelly gas, but my risk for developing diabetes and cancer and all kinds of other conditions?
	And this is where it's at.
	These polyphenols, prebiotic, help to feed the healthy bacteria, mustard seed, thyme, chili powder, curry powder, turmeric.
	So you can put a lot of these in teas.
	You can put cinnamon or some turmeric in a tea.
	Tea itself also has polyphenols in it, so that's sort of a two-fer.
	And again, thinking about the gut differently in terms of how you feed it.
	And again, they're all very different.
	So you mentioned tea, the ECGC in tea, and some people can get converted into a very beneficial substance by the gut bacteria, and other people don't have it.
	And I looked at yours, Dr. Oz.
	You have that bacteria that's capable of being a lot of fun.
	I love green tea.
	Probably the gassy gut.
	This is what I'm waiting for.
	You've got to switch to a fiber-rich protein as opposed to the usual protein.
	How will this help Helen think?
	Yeah, so the gassy gut is the gut that has those bacteria that convert proteins a lot from animal proteins into things like you mentioned methane, but also hydrogen sulfide.
	That's the rotten egg smell.
	And if we now feed our gut more of the vegetable type proteins that also have those fibers that feed those good bacteria that we need, we can go a long way to helping cure that gassy gut.
	Dr. Chucky, specific examples.
	So when people think about protein, they often think about animal protein, but plants are full of protein too.
	So again, we have legumes like white beans and lentils, quinoa, which is actually a seed, but it's a high-protein seed.
	Chia seeds, it's great to sprinkle some chia in your oatmeal or put it in a smoothie, and again, artichokes.
	And again, it's not just a matter of not having gas.
	We know that if you eat a diet that's too high in animal protein, doesn't have enough plant protein and fiber in it, you're actually increasing your risk of inflammation.
	So again, a great example of food as medicine here on the table.
	Stop beating yourselves up, everybody.
	Take advantage of the wisdom that's out there.
	Start customizing it to yourself.
	When we come back, I want you to find out how this woman, look at her carefully, she lost 70 pounds by knowing her gut type, plus the five shocking health foods, foods that really always felt good for you, that might secretly be wrecking some people's guts.
	Stay with us.
	A dad's desperate three-year search to find his missing kids were last seen by their mother with reported history of mental illness.
	The goal is to find them no matter what condition they're in.
	All new oz.
	That's coming up on Tuesday.
	We've been talking about your personal gut type, and now I'm revealing the five foods that are secretly wrecking your gut bacteria.
	And here's the shocking part.
Five Foods Wrecking Gut Bacteria 00:06:57
	They're all foods we consider healthy.
	It's really important.
	More and more weight loss research says it's not about the calories, but it's about the gut chemistry.
	Now, Shana and Anaya are both here.
	They each took the new test to see what's in their guts.
	I took this test too.
	We're going to share this with you just as an example.
	There are several new tests like this out there right now.
	We took the viome test.
	And Shana, you lost 70 pounds after testing.
	So what did you learn?
	And look at those pictures.
	It's going to be four in the act.
	It's unbelievable.
	So what did you learn from the violin test that sort of turned you on the mistakes you were making?
	Well, Dr. Oz, I have to be honest.
	I've tried everything, everything.
	In fact, I was scheduled for the gastric bypass prior to being presented with this opportunity.
	I learned that foods that I thought were healthy for me were clearly not working.
	It was actually having a counter effect and irritating my stomach.
	So what were you not supposed to eat that you thought was good for you and vice versa?
	Tuna, almonds, bell peppers.
	These are not to be eaten.
	Not to be eaten.
	Come on over here.
	Sure.
	I'm going to put a list up here.
	These are so surprising to me.
	And I will do you as well.
	Because normally, you mentioned tuna, almonds, bell peppers, shrimp and crab was a problem?
	Yeah.
	I wasn't playing with this diet.
	I took it head on.
	Okay, audience, when you look at these foods, I hope you think healthy.
	Is that what you think?
	Healthy, good for me, eat more.
	All right.
	Now, this is a big, big shift in how we think about this.
	I stand on this stage all the time.
	and I shotgun ideas out to you all.
	I say, eat your bell peppers, they have vitamin C, lemon and lime, antioxidants, get them in, right?
	And they do have those benefits.
	Right.
	For most of us.
	Right.
	For most of us.
	But listen, we know when we prescribe medications, they usually only work for 80%, 90% of the people.
	They're not going to work for everybody.
	And so foods, similarly, it turns out, because of the bacteria in your gut, being unable to recognize or use them the right way, can mess with you.
	So, Anaya, what surprising foods did you find?
	Well, it's so funny because some of the same things that she was mentioning was the same thing as me.
	Beans and the almonds, well, nuts in general, were so shocking because all my life I heard they were protein, they're good for you, you know, stay away from all the carbs and eat things with protein.
	But again, it was the beans and the almonds that totally threw me off.
	You got barley there.
	And can I be clear on this?
	Yeah.
	These aren't bad for you.
	They're bad for your gut.
	And you can change the bacteria in your gut.
	So once your bacteria shifts, one year you might be in this space.
	A year from now, you might be fine with the azuki beans.
	And that's why I stayed away from all beans and all nuts for over six months because I said, you know what?
	I'm not going to even chance it.
	I didn't even know what a azuki bean was to begin with.
	But I mean, I was just like, wow, this is great information.
	And I was so glad.
	How did it impact you physically?
	Well, physically, more energy, less bloating, less swelling.
	I now do a thousand crunches in the gym.
	Dr. Oz.
	Now we're talking.
	Ya!
	Ya, sonny!
	You're two of a larger group of women that six months ago we asked to get this testing.
	I got it done too.
	Yeah.
	Because I'm curious.
	Again, there's lots of ways of checking these gut bacteria, but you got to start getting more personalized.
	So here's my numbers.
	Agave, and this is not from tequila, by the way.
	This is from agave.
	I get who figures.
	Couscous, which again, I happen to like.
	It's kind of weak.
	Big problem with wheat.
	That I sort of knew, but I never had a problem with white rice that I noticed.
	See, that was on my can eat list.
	Yes.
	So you can get away with white rice.
	And here's the beauty of it.
	Instead of torturing yourself and not eating white rice, go ahead and eat it.
	For me, I can get away with it.
	I don't have to have white rice in my life.
	I can get something else in there.
	And so we can get smarter and smarter at how we customize our care.
	You guys are angels for doing this to me.
	The entire group of women for teaching us so much.
	Thank you.
	All right, let me bring back Dr. Helen Messier.
	She's a leading chief researcher at Viome.
	It's the company that makes the test that Shana and Naya and I took and a bunch of other women as well.
	So how did you discover that there are some foods that seem good for us that some folks, because they're gut bacteria, shouldn't be eating?
	Yeah, exactly.
	At Viome, we've had the opportunity now to test thousands of people.
	And through that opportunity, we've learned that, you know, in the past we thought that the food that we eat, our body digests it and our body uses it.
	But what we've now learned is that the first thing that gets exposed to everything we eat is our bacteria.
	And they digest it and metabolize it first.
	And they convert it into either beneficial or harmful substances that then we absorb.
	So food, depending on that collection of bacteria in your gut, can be very harmful for you or really beneficial for you.
	All right.
	So you have a list of five surprising foods that you're finding are present in more people than we would like.
	And these are all healthy foods.
	They're present in more folks than we would have expected.
	So walk me through this list.
	It shocked me.
	Yeah, absolutely.
	So things like walnuts and raspberries contain a substance that needs to get converted by our gut bacteria.
	And when it gets converted into another substance, that's the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory substance.
	And that doesn't happen until those bacteria convert it.
	It turns out that only 49% of people have the bacteria to do that.
	Unfortunately, you're one that doesn't have that bacteria that's able to do that.
	I love walnuts.
	I like the taste.
	It's not bad for me.
	No, it's not a bad thing.
	But it's not as good for me as it would be if I had that better bacteria.
	So hopefully by changing my diet, I'll grow more of that bacteria and I'll have more benefit for my raspberries and my walnuts.
	Exactly.
	And that's the point is that instead of wasting your time right now eating foods that you think are healthy, you want to test and find out what you really need so that you can eat the foods that you're going to benefit the most from.
	And a lot of this is my mom's fault, right?
	Oh, you get your microbiome from your mom, so you can always blame her.
	One more thing to put on that checklist.
	Okay.
	Now, I got to say, I don't know how many times in this show I bragged about spinach.
	Certainly miso soup is a favorite of mine.
	What is the issue with these health health?
	Yeah, absolutely.
	Now, these are examples of food where bacteria can turn them into harmful substances in some people, in about 30% of people.
	So that means you don't want to, you want to minimize these.
	You don't want to eat a lot of them.
	It's not going to kill you, but you will definitely be harmed if you eat too much of them.
	Only if you have that specific type of bacteria.
	So two out of three people eat your spinach.
	One out of three persons.
	Exactly.
	So when I say here and say, the spinach is really good for you, eat more of it, I'm unfortunately only speaking to two-thirds of people.
	And I can't tell who they are.
	You can't even tell who they are.
	We've got to get smarter.
	We've got to personalize the care we're getting.
	Just like we give the right antibiotic for your problem.
	Exactly.
	You know, be smart.
	And that really drives home the point that there's no one healthy diet that's right for everyone.
	We all need different diets.
	And the only way to find that out is to look deep inside your microbiome and find out what's going on.
	Are there any fried foods that are good for you?
	I can't think of anyone.
	I'm kidding.
	I'm kidding.
	You don't have to answer every question.
Why Medical Detox Matters 00:13:37
	We'll be right back.
	Go in your biome.
	Up next, 24 hours on the edge of a detox.
	An eye-opening look of the new realities of one of the deadliest drugs in our country right now.
	All week long, we've been taking you through a raw and revealing 24 hours on the edge.
	And today, a gut-wrenching look at what it takes to detox for one of the deadliest drugs in our country right now.
	Heroin.
	Now, we've followed many stories of addiction, but never expected this roller coaster of events that took us to the edge of one woman's desperate attempt, her journey to fight her opioid addiction.
	Over the span of 24 hours, our cameras, along with interventionalist Brad Lamb, could barely keep up with her.
	And she took us through the ups and downs and ultimately brought us to the rock bottom place we never thought our cameras would go.
	I'm on my way to pick up Cassandra.
	She's fed up with her addiction and has decided to stop using today and enter detox.
	But here's what happens when I arrive.
	Hey, Cassandra, it's Brad.
	We're here in the parking lot and waited now for a couple of hours where we agreed to meet.
	And I'm going to wait for a little while longer before leaving.
	Hope you're okay.
	After two hours, Cassandra finally texts me to say...
	She said she just woke up, which may or may not be true.
	She said she hasn't taken care of her car yet and she's afraid that if she loses her car, she won't have any place to stay if things don't go well for her.
	Cassandra started using over a year ago and has already overdosed three times.
	She grew up in a volatile living situation, no doubt, where drugs were ever present.
	The next day we finally meet electronically.
	Will you let me help you tomorrow?
	Of course.
	Anything I can do to get help.
	I don't want to stay.
	What did he want?
	I don't know.
	I don't want to live this lifestyle.
	I'm happy when I'm sober.
	I'm not happy when I'm like this.
	Talking to Cassandra, I'm pretty confident.
	But later that day, bad news.
	Cassie's been arrested.
	Whoa.
	Brad Lamb is here.
	So when you first heard that she was in jail, that Cassandra had messed up, what'd you think?
	First I was surprised and honestly I was relieved because immediately I thought she's not going to die today.
	Whenever I lose someone like that at that point and they're a person who uses heroin, I'm so worried that they're going to be one of the 150 a day in America that die.
	So immediately I think it was relief.
	And then I was a little ticked off, you know?
	But you really can't get into that emotion of anger if you're trying to help somebody who's addicted like her because you will just get sidetracked by anger.
	Walk us through this.
	For 24 hours you're worried about it.
	Your team is struggling.
	You're wasting your time.
	How hard is it to struggle with someone who's dealing with addiction?
	I mean you offered her a medical detox.
	Yeah.
	And she's not there for you.
	It's almost like, you know, she reached out and said, hey, can you help me?
	And I said, oh, I've got a winning lottery ticket here for you.
	All you have to do is pick it up, right?
	Meet me in a parking lot.
	I have it for you.
	And so there's a piece of you that says, oh my God, why wouldn't you take this?
	But the reality is it's a great lesson of how difficult it is to consider stopping using heroin when you're hooked on it.
	A lot of these folks understandably are scared about going cold turkey because that's the only way they've tried it.
	How is that different from what you were offering, a medical approach?
	Well, a medical detox is so different.
	It's not only do you have a bed and medical care, but you have great medical care, an ASAM-trained doctor, a psych nurse, medication-assisted therapy, so you don't get those symptoms that make you say, I have to go back to the drug.
	But instead of that, now she's in a jail, which means she's actually going cold turkey.
	She's starting to struggle with her symptoms.
	She's by herself alone.
	So how do people react when they're by themselves going through cold turkey?
	That withdrawal.
	Describe that.
	Well, the cold turkey thing is really.
	They get real severe flu symptoms, like your bones are gonna rip out of your body and and sweats and diarrhea and vomiting, and that's no way to live, is it no?
	And this is what she's going through.
	So let's look at what happened when Brad picked Cassandra up after a day in jail and more than 24 hours since her last hit of heroin.
	It's just past 540 a.m.
	We're on the way to the jail to pick up Cassandra.
	She's most likely in serious withdrawal right now.
	Good news is we know exactly where she is.
	We've arranged to pick her up and take her directly to detox.
	Hello hey, i'm Brad.
	Hi uh Cass Finally, nice to meet you.
	Nice to meet you too.
	You ready to get some help?
	Yeah okay, I just want your 110 commitment this time too, that we're gonna go in, you're gonna stay put and you're gonna follow this through.
	I will Cassie, tell me the story of when you started using drugs.
	I started using, when I was 12 marijuana, and then I went to alcohol, and then it was to meth, and then it was to meth and then on to opioids.
	Well, opioids weren't until much later.
	So the 24 hour a day for you these days is really just the search for the drug, the using the drug, the impact of the drug.
	So it's just that, over and over and over again, no way to live no, it's not and be a miserable way to die.
	I don't want to do this anymore.
	Yeah, I can do that to my family.
	It would kill my sister.
	And it would kill my grandma.
	Yeah.
	In the midst of all the emotion, Cassandra's withdrawal symptoms are starting to catch up with her.
	I'm anxious and my nose is running and my body is aching.
	I just don't feel good.
	Feels like you have the flu.
	Yeah.
	You feel like you have the flu and there's one thing that will make you not feel like you have the flu and that's using more heroin.
	People are going to take that option every time, except when they don't.
	And that's what we're doing right now.
	Cassandra enters detox dedicated to getting clean, but she's getting sicker and is anxious for something that will ease her withdrawal symptoms.
	Well, I've been in jail, so it's been over 24 hours since I've gotten high.
	So you're withdrawing up pretty good.
	Yeah.
	I just need a cigarette.
	I'm really uncomfortable.
	I just want a cigarette.
	Going 24 hours without anything is not.
	It's giving me a lot of anxiety.
	Like I'm in like really bad anxiety.
	Coming up, are the physical symptoms too much for Cassandra?
	Will she stay in detox?
	or she'd disappear again.
	Mercury levels in tuna fish can be high.
	There's tons of cans.
	What do you buy?
	We decode canned tuna all nuise.
	That's coming up on Monday.
	Another good thing about being here at the hospital, the doctor's going to come see you right away, okay?
	Hi there, Cassie.
	I'm Dr. Diamond.
	Nice to meet you.
	It's good to meet you.
	Since starting opioids, Cassandra has never tried medical detox before.
	You got very lucky today because the only open room we have is this room.
	So it's one of our larger rooms.
	So this is your room.
	Oh my gosh.
	This is incredible.
	Oh, okay.
	So you're in the room.
	You made it here safely.
	You're about to get your first dose of detox medication.
	And do you feel your body in withdrawal right now?
	Yeah.
	Yes.
	So what does that feel like?
	Like my body is achy.
	Achy.
	My nose is running.
	Your nose is running.
	I don't feel good.
	Feels like I've heard it described too, like your bones feel like they're going to break, but it's like that fluy, achy feeling.
	Yeah.
	Yeah.
	Once you get your detox medication, it's going to immediately relieve that within 10 minutes, okay?
	A medically assisted detox involves giving the patient medication to manage withdrawal symptoms.
	You'll get several doses throughout the day.
	There is a myth that people feel that for them to stop using drugs, they have to go cold turkey and they have to suffer.
	That couldn't be further from the truth.
	They go underneath your tongue.
	Okay.
	And you just let them dissolve.
	It's important for three things.
	First is it's important for their safety.
	Second, it's very important for their comfort, making sure that they feel well while they're going through this process.
	And third is to keep them engaged in treatment and prevent them from leaving.
	Exactly, to prevent them from fleeing.
	Hey, Cassie, just want to check and see how you're feeling.
	Just 30 minutes after her first dose of buprenorphine, Cassandra is already feeling better.
	The aching, the anxiety, they're dissipating.
	So that's what our cameras captured during an unpredictable 24 hours on the edge of a heroin detox.
	Cassandra, who started using heroin a year ago, has already overdosed three times.
	And during the time our cameras followed her, she hit rock bottom, ending up in jail.
	Interventionalist Brad Lamb is back.
	He's been helping Cassandra through a medical detox in California.
	So we're watching the first stage.
	This is the physical part that so many of us have seen in movies and heard about.
	Maybe if we have relatives who are afflicted.
	Walk us through what the issues are.
	First, it's really the hardest part of detox, which is getting them in through the door, honestly.
	And then you interrupt the withdrawal symptoms by medication.
	The reason why it's so important to have a medication-assisted therapy is if you don't, you run the risk of things like increased risk of stroke, seizures, and you need not die trying to detox.
	Let me explain if I can why this is so critical for folks to take advantage of.
	When people detox on their own without medical supervision, which is what Cassandra's getting now, but not what you got in jail, they start to experience physical symptoms like sweating and vomiting.
	They feel really sick, start scratching.
	You mentioned, Brad, earlier, the idea of your bones popping through your skin, but there's the idea your skin itself is being peeled off you.
	And as you saw with Cassandra, the body is desperate and it's looking for immediate relief.
	So I want to go back inside of you to see that battle.
	This is the battle that's being waged inside the brain for the first 24 hours at least, and maybe even longer.
	Now, inside the brain, there are receptors.
	So as you look here, these little things, these little bulbs, these are receptors.
	And these orange things are your naturally made opioids, like endorphins that help with pain and stress.
	This is really important.
	We talk about a runner's high.
	When you exercise and feel good, it's because these receptors, right, they're catching this little balls of endorphins, the body's natural morphine.
	And you feel good.
	You want this to work.
	When you take drugs like heroin, you flood your body with the drug.
	So you actually don't make your own natural opioids anymore.
	Your receptors start to turn off.
	So now you need to get even more heroin to keep feeling good.
	There's no end to it.
	So when you detox, those receptors, they're empty.
	There's none of those little orange balls that you naturally would normally make endorphins tickling them.
	And instead, you get this very loud sign that I need drugs.
	I need drugs anyway I can get them.
	Any form from anybody.
	I'll do anything to achieve this.
	And that's that issue.
	Now the physical withdrawal symptoms usually happen for 24 to 72 hours.
	But what happens next is a roller coaster of emotions.
	So Brad, this is an area you've spent a lot of time personally.
	What's the second stage of withdrawal for Cassandra and why is this especially problematic?
	It's called PAWS, P-A-W-S.
	It sounds like a nice puppy, but it's not that.
	It's post-acute withdrawal syndrome.
	And so things that we can do to help with that are things like acupuncture.
	So your mood swings, anxiety, low energy.
	I only bring up these classic signs because you think you're through the hard part.
	This is actually more painful long term for a lot of people.
	So right before we shut our cameras off, Cassandra had one more thing to share about what's really motivating her fight against heroin.
	How is this experience supporting you doing it differently?
	God, this is the most amazing experience I've ever had.
	I mean, it's just, it's so nice to have people be nice.
	You know, I'm 28.
	I just like, I can't keep doing this anymore.
	I want to actually have a career and family.
Cassandra's Fight Against Heroin 00:05:01
	Yeah.
	You know, and this is like giving me the motivation to be able to do that.
	So your sister sent this and she wants to tell you that Her and Declan are behind you 118%.
	Okay.
	Isn't he the cutest?
	He is.
	Isn't he the cutest thing ever?
	And they totally want their auntie back.
	He wants his auntie back healthy and whole.
	Okay.
	It's actually sweet.
	I think it matters the most to us, the people in our lives.
	Love is leveraged, too.
	Love is leveraged.
	So what's the latest on Cassandra?
	How's she doing?
	Good news.
	I talked to the hospital this morning.
	She's plugging away.
	She is staying put.
	That's always my first question: is she present and accounted for?
	She is there.
	She's, you know, in some distress.
	It will be hard to move through this and emotionally break from the drug.
	What is next is come Sunday.
	I've offered her a scholarship to Breathe Life Healing Center, 90-day program.
	It's a sub-acute trauma program that I think will do her good.
	That's Brad's program, by the way, that you'll throw away.
	Congratulations.
	We're going to keep checking in with Cassandra.
	Thank you for letting us know.
	She's doing a wonderful job saving another life.
	Thank you.
	I know it's just temporary for now, but hopefully a long-term issue.
	For anyone who's struggling with addiction, we're going to put information from Brad on our website, including how to find a safe detox center.
	Up next, I had a life-changing conversation about addiction with the mayor of Nashville, who lost her son to an overdose.
	This is the mayor.
	What she says will make you see addiction in a whole new light.
	A dad's desperate three-year search to find his missing kids were last seen by their mother with a reported history of mental illness.
	The goal is to find them no matter what condition they're in.
	All new oz.
	That's coming up on Tuesday.
	I recently sat down with the mayor of Nashville, Megan Barry, and it made me see addiction in a whole new light.
	And what you're about to hear may help save someone in your life.
	Mayor Barry's in a club that no parent wants to be a member of.
	Her son, Max, died last year of a drug overdose after a failed attempt at detox and treatment.
	We've started the conversation about the night she got a knock on her door that changed her life forever.
	It's 3 a.m.
	Yeah.
	You're at home.
	You're the mayor.
	Phone rings.
	What do you think?
	What's going on?
	For me, it was a knock on the door.
	The phone, I hadn't picked it up, so they had to dispatch somebody to come over.
	I see a police officer, and I think something catastrophic has happened in our city.
	It never occurs to me that this has anything to do with me and my family.
	And the words that come out of his mouth are, I'm really sorry, Max is gone.
	It was the most devastating thing that has ever happened to me.
	Any warning signs at all in retrospect that there was an issue?
	Max had been in rehab a year ago.
	He got help, and he'd been on a really good trajectory his senior year in college.
	Max was just 22 when he died of a combined drug intoxication.
	At the time of his death, he had in his system a combination of Xanax, cocaine, and the opioids methadone and hydromorphone.
	This is, I think, from the eulogy.
	Oh, yeah.
	So Max was our beloved boy.
	He made us laugh and he made us crazy.
	We will never ever hear him say mama or pops again.
	We'll never dance at his wedding or celebrate another milestone with him.
	But we will remember him for the sweet, sweet soul that he was.
	Max was the kindest person we ever knew.
	Boy, that about says it all.
	Thanks for reminding me of those words.
	I wrote those the day after he died.
	I'm Megan Berry.
	Megan Berry has been the mayor of Nashville since 2015.
	Last year in Nashville, there were 245 deadly overdoses involving opioids.
	That's 120% jump from the year before.
	Why is there a problem in Nashville?
	This city is known for its music, its sports, its vibrancy, and now drugs.
	Yeah, I mean, I would tell you we're not unique.
	I wish I could say that we were, but we're not.
	This is an epidemic across our country.
	Lots of cities are struggling with this.
	Our rural communities are really struggling with this.
	And it means from a public policy perspective, we have to think of new and different ways to treat this.
	And it is about treatment.
	You go public in a brutally honest way, and I commend you for that.
An Epidemic Across Our Country 00:02:25
	Thank you.
	I appreciate that.
	Why do that?
	What do you want people to take away from you sharing your stories so openly?
	Well, I want others to know that, first of all, not to be ashamed.
	You got to talk about this.
	You know, we've got to save our kids.
	And the way you do that is by actually having frank conversations and about saying that this is an epidemic and saying we actually need to get in front of it by creating better public policy with less access to narcotics.
	Max's death is still hard for Mayor Berry to process.
	But she takes comfort in the last text she received from him just hours before his death.
	One of the things that makes me the happiest is the last time we were texting.
	He said, Mom, I love you.
	And I said, I love you.
	And those were our last words.
	When we come back, breaking news, the tragic school shooting in Florida.
	What you need to know about what to do next and protecting your loved ones.
	You're all aware of the tragic school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
	As we all continue to grasp the details of what happened, there are three things you can do to help deal with the anxiety you or your loved ones may be feeling.
	First, don't get trapped in trauma.
	It's easy to go down the rabbit hole of all the details and get sucked into a constant replay of the tragedy.
	Next, focus on things you can control.
	Don't let worrying and fear take over.
	Have a plan with your family of what to do when disaster strikes.
	There are heroes in this.
	The teacher who got 19 high school students into a closet.
	The coach who lost his own life selflessly shielding students from the bullets.
	And the brave officers who rushed in to help victims and reassure traumatized students throughout the campus.
	Now, they all knew what to do and they were prepared.
	And finally, if you see something, say something.
	Remind your loved ones that if someone tells you they're having violent thoughts, do something about it.
	We can take back control by caring for those who are crying out for help.
	Trust your gut.
	It is smarter than you give it credit for.
	As we search for answers, we have to take responsibility for our own future and our own safety and find solace in each other and the goodness that is humankind.
	Without it, we are lost.
	But with it, we heal.
	Let's remember something those high school students started the day with on Wednesday, the morning before they knew their lives would change forever.
	They all heard this affirmation.
	Life supports me in every way possible.

Chapters

00:00:00 Gut Type Quiz
00:14:44 Five Foods Wrecking Gut Bacteria
00:21:41 Why Medical Detox Matters
00:35:18 Cassandra's Fight Against Heroin
00:40:20 An Epidemic Across Our Country