Causes or Cures

Send us a textIn this episode, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Piotr Rzymski, who is a researcher with the Department of Environmental Medicine at Poznan University of Medical Sciences. He has over 140 publications in peer-reviewed journals and has a strong interest in analyzing the ingredients in commercial supplements, as well as the presence of any contaminants or teratogenic compounds, meaning things that can harm a developing fetus. This particular conversation will focus around his paper, "Essential and toxic elements in commercial microalgal supplements." The microalgal supplements include Spirulina and Chlorella, both of which are very popular and often called "Superfoods."  The podcast covers his research findings related to these supplements and others, his recommendations to consumers and his advice on how to make the industry safer. 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

Send us a textIn this episode, Dr. Eeks talks with Emily Copland, a registered nurse and nurse educator who has been diagnosed with EMF-Sensitivity. EMF-Sensitivity is also sometimes called EHS, or Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity. The World Health Organization classifies it as IEI-EMF, or Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance to Electromagnetic Fields. (EMF stands for electromagnetic fields or frequencies.) In the first part of the podcast, Dr. Eeks presents background information on EMF-Sensitivity, including what's known about it and what's not. In short, there are a lot of unknowns. Then Emily tells her story, from when mysterious and frightening symptoms first started to appear to figuring out what was wrong and finally to discussing how she manages it. 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

Send us a textIn this episode of Causes or Cures, host Dr. Eeks discusses intermittent fasting with Dr. Mark Mattson. Dr. Mattson talks about his paper on the potential health benefits of intermittent fasting, recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Potential health benefits include Alzheimer's Disease prevention, reduced memory and cognitive decline as we age, improved balance and coordination, prevention of Type 2 Diabetes and obesity and improved prognosis for other diseases, like Multiple Sclerosis. Dr. Mattson also discusses how intermittent fasting may be an effective lifestyle intervention for children with autism. In addition, Dr. Mattson gives his opinion on how intermittent fasting compares to the Keto diet ( discussed on a previous Causes or Cures episode) and how it compares to calorie reduction. Dr. Mattson is a neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins University and founding editor of NeuroMolecular Medicine and Ageing Research Reviews. He is the former Chief of the Laboratory of Neurosciences at the National Institute of Aging and The National Institute of Health considers him "one of the world's top experts on the potential cognitive and physical health benefits of intermittent fasting."  To contact Dr. Eeks, do so through bloomingwellness.com Or follow her on Instagram here. Or Twitter.Or Facebook here.Subcribe to her newsletter here!Support the show

Send us a textThis is a  podcast for diligent, dedicated dog and cat parents on topics that have been in the news lately.Recently, the FDA issued a report citing 16 dog food brands linked to cases of dilated cardiomyopathy ( DCM), essentially a form of heart failure. Specifically, the FDA linked grain-free products and "exotic" foods to DCM. The proposed mechanism of action is that grain-free diets lead to a depletion of taurine, a non-essential amino acid made from cysteine and methionine in the liver, which then leads to cardiomyopathy. As one can imagine, the FDA's report caused massive panic amongst dog parents who worried that their dogs, if on a grain-free or exotic diet, may be at risk for DCM. In the second half of this podcast, Dr. Dodds discusses the FDA report, the data for and against the notion that grain-free diets cause DCM, benefits vs risks of a grain-free diet for dogs, and what dog parents can do if they are worried about their dog having DCM. Vaccines are always in the news. In the first half of this podcast, Dr. Eeks and Dr. Dodds discuss Dr. Dodds' recommended vaccination protocol for dogs and cats, the concept of vaccinosis, dogs at the highest risk for vaccinosis, lifestyle vaccines ( Leptospirosis, Lyme Disease, Bordetella and Canine Flu) vs core vaccines, and why she recommends getting titer tests vs getting boosters. Dr. Jean Dodds received her doctorate of veterinary medicine in 1964 and has been a clinical research veterinarian and hematologist for over 5 decades. She was a grantee of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and has authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications in top journals. She started HemoPet, the first national nonprofit blood bank for animals, in 1986. Some of the services HemoPet provides include: Providing canine blood components, adopting retired Greyhound blood donors as companions and the Hemolife diagnostic division which focuses on hematology ( the study of blood cells), blood banking, immunology, endocrinology, nutrition and holistic medicine. She invented NutriScan, a food sensitivity and intolerance diagnostic test for dogs, cats and horses and is also a Co-Trustee of the Rabies Challenge Fund, a nonprofit project for assessing the duration of immunity and safety of current rabies vaccines in animals. She's an active member of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association and the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Foundation. *Please keep in mind that this podcast is not medical/veterinary advice. It's a conversation. If you have questions or concerns about your pet, ask your veterinarian! 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 newsletterSupport the show

Send us a textThe Keto diet is incredibly popular. Passionate followers say they feel significantly better on the Keto diet, lose weight and even have better lab values. Keto recipes and tips are all over the internet, as it's a favorite diet of many wellness proponents. Yet others claim there is more hype than health benefits to the Keto diet, and that it doesn't really live up to its many claims. Who's right? What does the evidence say? How does it compare long-term to other well-studied diets, such as the Mediterranean Diet? In this Causes or Cures podcast, Dr. Shivam Joshi will discuss these issues, his published paper and more with Dr. Eeks. Dr. Joshi is a board-certified physician who earned his medical degree at the University of Miami and completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital. He completed his nephrology (kidney) fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania and currently works as a clinician and clinical assistant professor at New York University. He has published over a dozen papers on various topics related to diet and health, including plant-based diets and the management of kidney disease, the Keto diet and its effect on obesity and Type 2 Diabetes, and the effect of unrefined carbohydrates on Type 2 Diabetes. He is currently writing a book on how a carnivorous diet impacts health. 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

Send us a textAlzheimer's disease is frightening, heartbreaking and tragic. To some it seems like an unavoidable disease of aging, but others are more hopeful and believe there are things we can do to prevent it and/or slow its progression. One of those people is Dr. Douglas Watt, who happens to be today's guest on Causes or Cures. Dr. Watt took time out of his busy day to talk to Dr. Eeks about all the latest research on Alzheimer's Disease, what really causes it, who is at risk and what you should do if you think you are at risk. Most importantly, he talks about evidence-based things we all can do to significantly lower our risk of getting Alzheimer's disease. As heartbreaking as Alzheimer's Disease is, this podcast should leave you hopeful. Dr. Douglas Watt is a repeat guest on Causes or Cures. In a past episode he discussed the social brain hypothesis of depression, also worth listening to since depression is an independent risk factor for Alzheimer's Disease. Dr. Watt is a clinical neuropsychologist who is on the faculty of Boston University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and the Boston Institute for the Study of Violence. He has served as director and chief of two clinical neuropsychology departments in Boston-area hospitals. In addition to seeing patients with a range of neuropsychological issues, Dr. Watt has published 60 peer-reviewed papers on emotion, cognition, behavior and the brain. He currently lectures all over the world on depression, head trauma, delirium and various forms of dementia associated with Alzheimer's disease. Please listen, share and subscribe. To contact Dr. Eeks, do so through bloomingwellness.comTo read or listen to her new comedic parody on the sleazy side of the wellness industry, check out Yours in Wellness, Krystal Heeling on Amazon.Or you can listen to it from Google Play or Walmart! Or follow her on Instagram here. Or Facebook here.Subcribe to her newsletter here!Support the show

Send us a textMost people think that it's impossible to survive a nuclear bomb. It is if you're stuck in the fallout plume or come outside before it's safe and get a lethal dose of radiation. But.., is it possible to increase your chances of surviving a nuclear bomb? Dr. Andrew Karam, a world-wide nuclear radiation expert says it absolutely is. In this episode, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Andrew Karam. He will talk about where you should go once you hear a nuclear bomb is launched, how much time you have to prepare, what you should eat, drink, what you should do for your kids and pets, and he even talks about when it's okay to use hair conditioner again. And, since Iran was in the news recently, he talks about their nuclear capabilities, which might listen folks from an international relations perspective. Dr. Karam  has a doctorate degree in environmental sciences and a masters degree in geological sciences. He's a graduate of the Naval Chemistry and Radiological Controls School and the Naval Nuclear Power School. Since 1981, Andy has worked in the radiation safety field. He started out working for the Navy and designed numerous radiation safety courses for the military and universities, including The University of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology, American University of Kosovo and The Center for Advanced Defense Studies. He's a board-certified international consultant for all radiological and nuclear matters, including radiological terrorism, and has consulted for the NYPD Counterterrorism division, NYC Department of Health, NASA Lewis Research Center, Honeywell, the International Atomic Energy Agency, Panama Canal, the Canadian Army, Constellation Energy group and more. He's worked as a professor and has written over 200 peer-reviewed articles, several books and over 100 technical papers on the subject. Listen, subscribe and please share. :) 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

Send us a textIn this episode, Dr. Eeks chats with Amber Romaniuk, an Emotional Eating, Digestive and Hormone Expert who now helps women achieve optimal health through mindful eating and teaching them how to overcome their struggles with food. Amber describes her own struggle with emotional eating that involved her gaining and losing a total of 1000 pounds and spending 50,000 dollars on binge foods. She discusses how to identify if you are struggling with emotional eating, how it may be affecting your relationships, how she overcame it and how you can overcome it. She also talks about her Body Freedom program and how it's helping women all over the world. To learn more about Amber, visit amberapproved.ca.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

Send us a text Society loves to shame people for their weight. It's called fat-shaming, and even though it doesn't do anything beneficial for physical or mental health on a societal or individual level, it happens all of the time. It's a form of bullying that often gets a pass under the guise of concern, small-talk or encouragement to lose weight.  Celebrities face constant scrutiny over their looks and weight and when they are fat-shamed, it's in a very public way: a viral social media post, a magazine article, a TV show, etc. And while we can imagine that this is a painful experience for the person being fat-shamed, does it impact the rest of us, and if so, how? Today's Causes or Cures podcast features Amanda Ravary, a clinical psychologist and researcher at McGill University that researched this topic. Specifically, she analyzed high-profile incidents of celebrity fat-shaming and studied the effects they had on a large sample of women.  Click to listen, subscribe to the podcast! :) You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.cFollow 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

Send us a textWhat is Comedic Meditation? Listen to find out, and we promise you'll want to try it. In this episode of Causes Or Cures, Dr. Eeks (Erin) chats with Carla Collins and Katie Reese, co-founders of Comedic Meditation. Carla Collins is an award-winning comedian who performs all over the country. She's also the bestselling author of Angels, Vampires and Douche Bags. You can watch her reality show Carlawood on Amazon Prime. Katie Reese is a former comedian and co-founder of Elements of Wellness, a LA-based functional medicine and wellness center. 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