Causes or Cures
Dr. Eeks
"For the Nerds and the Nerd Nots"Causes or Cures is a health podcast hosted by Dr. Eeks—an independent, grassroots show driven by curiosity and a passion for breaking down complex health topics into bite-sized, easy-to-understand insights. Dr. Eeks (ErinKate Stair, MPH, MD) works as a consultant in the realm of public health, applied epidemiology, and health communication. She's all about making science relatable and often uses a blue-collar sense of humor to drive the message home.On this podcast, Dr. Eeks talks with experts from around the world (doctors, researchers, public health pros, and more) to dive into the latest hot topics in health and research, all in a down-to-earth kind of way. She also includes people with compelling stories of healing and "characters" because life is too boring and short to leave out characters. ;)DISCLAIMER: Some topics are more controversial than others, so keep in mind that this is information only and not health advice. If you are battling an individual health issue, always check in with your doctor & don't run with anything on podcast as advice. Dr. Eeks doesn't endorse any of her guests' views, and despite a strict health routine, nor does she endorse any products, supplements, oils, magic socks or potions. (If an episode is sponsored by a company she likes, she will say so in the show notes.) While she has a MD, she does not practice medicine (she's a full-time public health nerd) so she does not give out medical advice nor should you treat anything on this podcast as medical advice. Causes or Cures is not a "news site." It's about having conversations, and Dr. Eeks is confident that she can have a respectful conversation with anyone, even people who think far differently than she does. (At least that's been her experience at hole-in-the-walls & on the NYC sidewalks.) The point is to not take anything here as Gospel. Sometimes Dr. Eeks' dog Barnaby makes his opinion known, but the good news is that he's a smart dog. Most importantly, she hopes this podcast encourages folks to stay curious, empathic, hopeful, compassionate, honest, open-minded, and engaged. Freedom of discussion is a beautiful thing, delightfully messy, and one that many take for granted.*The views on this podcast do not reflect the views of anyone she contracts with or consults for on various public health projects. You can help keep Causes or Cure independent and ad-free by hitting the "Support" button in the upper corner.You can contact Dr. Eeks through her website, bloomingwellness.com.SIGN UP for her Newsletter HERE: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/xnqmy06
Episodes
Mentioned books
Feb 22, 2022 • 54min
Pharma's Playbook: Understanding Drug Companies' Role in Shaping Therapeutic Decisions, with Dr. Lisa Parker
Send us a textIn this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Lisa Parker on her research about how drug companies influence DTC (Drug and Therapeutic Committee) decisions at hospitals in Australia. She describes who is part of a DTC and what it does, conflicts of interest with industry, ways DTCs try to decrease industry's influence and the things drug companies do to get around those mitigation efforts. Finally, she makes suggestions for improving the system. Dr. Parker is a honorary senior lecturer in the school of Pharmacy at The University of Sydney and on the faculty of medicine and health. Her research focuses on public health ethics and policy, specifically the influence of values, evidence and industry on healthcare policy. She is also a practicing clinician and works in the field of oncology. You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com.Follow Dr. Eeks on Instagram here.Or Facebook here.Or Twitter.Read Manic Kingdom here.Listen to her short audio parody on the wellness industry here.Subcribe to her newsletter here! You can support the Show here.Support the show
Feb 15, 2022 • 51min
A New Approach to Obesity and Binge-Eating Disorder (BED)
Send us a textIn this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Trine Tetlie Eik-Nes about her new intervention for obesity with binge eating disorder (BED) that was recently tested in a feasibility study and published here. Obesity is an epidemic affecting many developed nations, and rates only increased during the pandemic, for both adults and kids. In the podcast she will discuss in detail her intervention, called People Need People (PnP), along with the link between obesity and binge eating disorder. She will also discuss the relationship of obesity and binge eating disorder with stigma, shame and our attachment style, and why it is crucial to address those issues in order to help someone recover. Dr. Eik-Nes is an Associate Professor at the Department of Neuroscience and Behavioral Medicine at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). She completed her MSc at NTNU and has her PhD in public health. She has worked as a clinician for 20 years in the mental health sector and also conducts research with a special interest in adult psychopathology, the epidemiology of obesity, weight disorders, eating disorders, body image and stigma. You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com.Follow Dr. Eeks on Instagram here.Or Facebook here.Or Twitter.Read Manic Kingdom here.Listen to her short audio parody on the wellness industry here.Subcribe to her newsletter here!Support the show
Feb 8, 2022 • 32min
Asthma and COVID-19: What's the Deal?
Send us a textIn this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Tonya Winders, CEO of the Allergy and Asthma Network, an organization that represents millions of Americans, about the relationship between asthma and COVID-19. The relationship has been "confusing" to decipher from news articles, so she will shed light on that for us. She will also discuss what her organization prioritized during the pandemic to address COVID. In addition, she will provide information on the types of tools her organization offers for folks struggling with asthma and allergies and talk about advances being made in research, the social determinants of health that lead to worsening asthma and her thoughts on lifestyle changes and steroid treatments. You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com.Follow Dr. Eeks on Instagram here.Or Facebook here.Or Twitter.Read Manic Kingdom here.Listen to her short audio parody on the wellness industry here.Subcribe to her newsletter here!Support the show
Feb 6, 2022 • 41min
How Measles can Wipe Out Your Immunity to Other Viruses? On Immune Amnesia, with Dr. Guillermo Barrios Morales
Send us a textIn this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Guillermo Barrios Morales about his recent research that modeled the effects of Mealses-induced "Immune Amnesia" while another outbreak is happening simultaneously. In this podcast he will discuss what immune amnesia is and its association to Measles, his predictive model and the assumptions he made, and the impact immune amnesia could have on the immune system's ability to fight off other viruses, both at the individual and population level. Could Measles wipe out herd immunity for another virus? Find out. Dr. Barrios Morales is a scientific researcher and physicist affiliated with the Universidad de Granada in Spain. A link to his study on measles and immune amnesia is here. You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com.Follow Dr. Eeks on Instagram here.Or Facebook here.Or Twitter.Subcribe to her newsletter here!Support the show
Feb 1, 2022 • 23min
A new, AI-Powered, At-Home Test for COVID-19- How Does it Work?
Send us a textIn this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dave Hickey, president of Life Sciences at BD about their new AI-powered, smartphone-enabled, at-home test for COVID-19 called BD Veritor. We discuss the importance of testing, how accurate the test is, cost and accessibility, which are two current and concerning barriers for many people. You can visit BD's website here. To contact Dr. Eeks, do so through bloomingwellness.comOr follow her on Instagram here.Twitter here.Or Facebook here.Subcribe to her newsletter here!Support the show
Jan 31, 2022 • 40min
Addressing Childhood Vaccine Concerns in a Religious Orthodox Community, with Blima Marcus
Send us a textIn this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Blima Marcus, an oncology nurse practitioner at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and an Assistant Adjunct Professor at the Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing, about her community-level, grassroots initiative to address concerns about childhood vaccines in her religious orthodox community that experienced a Measles outbreak not too long ago. (In general, there have been concerns about increases in Measles outbreaks in various countries due to lower vaccination rates during the pandemic.) Blima will discuss why she pursued this initiative, what "PIE" is, her approach to people who think differently than she does about vaccines, the type of feedback she's been getting and how she handles negative feedback. Blima has a doctorate degree in nursing and is also the president of EMES, where you can go and learn more about her "PIE" initiative and even get a copy for yourself. You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com.Follow Dr. Eeks on Instagram here.Or Facebook here.Or Twitter.Read Manic Kingdom here.Listen to her short audio parody on the wellness industry here.Subcribe to her newsletter here!Support the show
Jan 22, 2022 • 24min
Should We Try Intermittent Fasting to Fight Obesity? With Dr. Nathorn Chaiyakunapruk
Send us a textIn this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Nathorn Chaiyakunapruk about his recent study on intermittent fasting, published in JAMA Network here. He will discuss his study, what he and his research team learned about intermittent fasting when it comes to health benefits and health associations; the health differences between intermittent fasting and plain ol' calorie restriction; what the evidence says about intermittent fasting working for specific diseases and most importantly, if there is enough evidence to say that we should try intermittent fasting in our battle against a growing obesity problem. Dr. Chaiyakunapruk is a researcher and professor in the Department of Pharmacotherapy at the University of Utah College of Pharmacy in Salt Lake City. He earned his Doctorate of Pharmacy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his PhD in Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research and Policy Program from the University of Washington. You can read his full bio and research publications here. You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com.Follow Dr. Eeks on Instagram here.Or Facebook here.Or Twitter.Read Manic Kingdom here.Listen to her short audio parody on the wellness industry here.Subcribe to her newsletter here!Support the show
Jan 18, 2022 • 42min
Dr. Azza Halim MD Shares Her Top Wellness, Beauty & Immune-Boosting Tips
Send us a textIn this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks interviews Dr. Azza Halim MD, a board-certified anesthesiologist and doctor who specializes in aesthetic, regenerative and anti-aging medicine. She is a national medical director for several aesthetic startup companies and runs her own medical consulting company. You can learn more about her and follow her on Instagram here. You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com.Follow Dr. Eeks on Instagram here.Or Facebook here.Or Twitter.Read Manic Kingdom here.Listen to her short audio parody on the wellness industry here.Subcribe to her newsletter here!Support the show
Jan 10, 2022 • 51min
A COVID Calculator Figures Out Your Risk of Hospitalization & Death, with Dr. Ariel Israel
Send us a textIn this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Israel's Dr. Ariel Israel, MD, PhD about his new study that resulted in the creation of a web-based calculator for determining your risk of hospitalization and death once infected with COVID-19. While the study is still in preprint and not peer-reviewed, statistical tests show that the predictive model is accurate. Anyone can access the calculator here and put in his/her risk values to determine overall risk of hospitalization and death. (Keep in mind that nothing is written in stone yet.)In this podcast, Dr. Israel discusses the study that resulted in the formation of the COVID calculator; what the predictive model tells us in terms of risk of hospitalization and dying of COVID-19, and he also discusses the current COVID and vaccine situation in Israel, along with what early treatment drugs they are using and how they assess vaccine safety vs how the US does. Dr. Israel is Director of Leumit Research Institute in Israel and has been highly published throughout the pandemic. He has an MD and PhD degree and his expertise is in Data Mining and Analytics, Bioinformatics, Human Genetics, Computational Biology, Machine Learning, Database and Network programming, Mobile Applications development, VPN and Network Security.You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com.Follow Dr. Eeks on Instagram here.Or Facebook here.Or Twitter.Read Manic Kingdom here.Listen to her short audio parody on the wellness industry here.Subcribe to her newsletter here!Support the show
Jan 2, 2022 • 40min
Could this Cheap, Generic Drug Get Us Out of the Pandemic? The Story of Fluvoxamine with Dr. Eric Lenze
Send us a textFluvoxamine is a cheap, generic, oral drug that is classified and used as an antidepressant. That said, recent trials have tested its use as early, at-home treatment for COVID-19 and so far, the results look extremely promising. So promising that an application was recently submitted to the FDA for emergency use authorization as early treatment for COVID-19. In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Eric Lenze, a psychiatrist and clinical trialist at Washington University in St. Louis, who ran one of the randomized controlled trials on fluvoxamine. His study was published here in JAMA. In this episode, he will discuss what fluvoxamine is, why he and his team decided to study its use against COVID-19, results of the trial and subsequent trials, dosing issues, side effects, concerns about withdrawal and how the drug can help bring an end to the pandemic. You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com.Follow Dr. Eeks on Instagram here.Or Facebook here.Or Twitter.Read Manic Kingdom here.Listen to her short audio parody on the wellness industry here.Subcribe to her newsletter here!Support the show
