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In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Jamie O'Driscoll and Jamie Edwards about their research recently published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine on what is the best exercise for maintaining a healthy resting blood pressure. In the podcast, they explain how they conducted their study, their results, and the theories behind why one exercise did significantly better than others at lowering blood pressure. They will tell you how you can do the best exercise right now and also offer advice on how their findings should impact current exercise guidelines when it comes to high blood pressure, a serious health problem that affects millions of people!
Dr. O'Driscoll is a researcher in Cardiovascular Physiology at Canterbury Christ Church University and a Clinical Scientist in Cardiology. You can learn about him here. Jamie Edwards is a PhD student at Canterbury Christ Church University.

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In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Tera Fazzino about her research on how the biggest US tobacco companies owned the leading food companies from 1988 to early 2000s and disproportionately produced hyper-palatable foods (HPFs). She explains what a hyper-palatable food is and how they are created, the theory for why some Americans get hooked on them, and how these foods may impact our health. Then she takes us back in history to describe when and why the tobacco industries owned and controlled leading food companies (Kraft, Nabisco, General Foods...) and how her and her team determined that they were making hyper-palatable foods. She also discusses what is happening with the current food industry, why this is a big public health issue, and what we can do to move toward a healthier food supply.

Dr. Fazzino is Associate Director of the Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment at the University of Kansas and a Professor in the Department of Psychology.  She has a doctorate in experimental psychology and her research focuses on addiction, obesity, eating disorders and health-risk behaviors. 

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In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Jay Joshi about his new book, Burden of Pain, a Physician's Journey through the Opioid Epidemic. Dr. Joshi was a practicing physician at a clinic in rural Indiana when his world was turned upside down. The DEA, using a fake patient and a prescription monitoring system, investigated Dr. Joshi for his opioid prescription practices. He was eventually arrested, tried in court and served a prison sentence. While in prison he wrote the book Burden of Pain, which is his side of the story. After serving his time, he is back to practicing medicine. No matter your views on the causes and perpetrators of the opioid epidemic, in this episode Dr. Joshi provides valuable insights on the complexity of the epidemic; how we view and treat pain; the patient-Doctor relationship, the role of the DEA; and what he feels are the best steps forward. He also shares what it was like to be a doctor in prison, coming out and starting over.

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In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with journalist Kristina Marusic about her book A New War on Cancer, the Unlikely Heroes Revolutionizing Prevention. In the podcast, Kristina discusses how rising cancer rates are linked to our widespread exposure to chemicals, specifically chemicals in everyday products that we all use. She provides an overview of how the United States regulates these chemicals compared to other countries and what testing is or isn't done before a chemical hits the market. She talks about the public health researchers and health advocates who are revolutionizing our understanding of cancer and its causes, as well as leading the fight against chemical pollution and corporate influence with scientific evidence. Finally, she describes her vision for the new war on cancer, including putting a "face" to prevention. 


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Why do some people NEVER get sick from COVID?
In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Jill Hollenbach about her recently published research on how a person's genes may keep them from getting sick from COVID. In the podcast, Dr. Hollenbach explains why genes influence how a person responds to a virus; she describes the specific genes she studied and why, and then explains how she carried out her research in an easy-to-understand way. She also discusses the potential public health implications of her work, including how it may impact future vaccine development.
Dr. Hollenbach is a Professor in the Department of Neurology and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco.  You can learn more about her and her lab here.

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In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Michelle B. Slater, PHD about her book Starving to Heal in Siberia.  After working with a team of medical experts, trying everything in the book and contemplating assisted suicide, Michelle went all the way to Siberia as a last effort to heal from late-stage Lyme Disease, a chronic illness that devestated her. She spent months in Siberia where she was monitored by a Russian physician and engaged in a rigorous dry-fasting routine, along with other more unconventional therapies. Michelle credits dry-fasting for putting her on the path to healing.
What drives a person to go all the way to Siberia to engage in an unconventional therapy that many would consider risky and dangerous? What did her team of conventional doctors, friends and family think? What do folks suffering with chronic illness do and feel if all conventional approaches to treatment have been exhausted, but the person just isn't getting better?  Michelle answers that, and more, in the podcast.
*PLEASE NOTE: Eeks does not recommend anyone hopping on a plane to Siberia to try dry-fasting. She does not endorse dry-fasting. This podcast episode is not an endorsement of Siberia or dry-fasting or dry-fasting in Siberia. Eeks works in public health, doesn't practice medicine, and advises everyone to work with their team of doctors when it comes to overcoming a chronic illness. She didn't know much of anything about dry-fasting until she read Michelle's book, and there are currently no peer-reviewed published studies to support its effectiveness. She doesn't think she'd make it through the Siberia routine, but everyone is wired differently. (She once went to a juice camp where they ban coffee, but feeling like a tranquilized bear, she ended up breaking the rules and running to a mini mart to sneak some in.) However..., she recommends reading Michelle's book because it's a compelling close-up look of what it's like for someone struggling day after day with a chronic illness and what happens when a feeling of hopelessness starts to set in. This is a podcast (not news or advice or Gospel), and this episode is one woman sharing her story. (Apologies for the long disclaimer, but we need them in today's painfully reductive, slap-label-happy world.)

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In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Raj Khanna, director of NYU's Pain Research Center and professor of molecular pathobiology at NYU School of Dentistry,  about his and his team's new research on potential future ways to tackle chronic pain. Given that chronic pain is a growing issue that impacts people of all ages and that there really are no good, long-term, reliable solutions out there, this is a key area of research.  Without reliable, long-term solutions from conventional medicine and therapies, many suffering from chronic pain seek out more alternative and unconventional approaches to find some relief. This is an especially timely topic given the ongoing US opioid epidemic.

In the podcast, Dr. Khanna starts with the basics and defines chronic pain and its causes. He describes his and his team's research and why a "special" sodium channel and a "special" protein that regulates this sodium channel are important when it comes to regulating chronic pain. He explains how he and his team used gene therapy to influence the interaction of the "special" protein and sodium channel, tested their hypothesis in animals and cells, and the results and outcomes related to chronic pain. Towards the end of the podcast, he discusses if the field may move towards replacing animals in research with other ways to test treatments, alternative approaches to chronic pain, and what the future of chronic pain treatment may look like.

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In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Kirk Schneider about his new book Life-Enhancing Anxiety: Key to a Sane World.  In the podcast, Dr. Schneider tells us about himself and his own struggle with anxiety and how that got him on the path to discovering life-enhancing anxiety. He explains how we get from a state of anxiety to a state of Awe and why it's important that we go through that entire (often difficult) process and not plug or drug it away. He discusses ways to overcome the fear of uncertainty, COVID and life-enhancing anxiety, the shortcomings of Positive Psychology and even how life-enhancing anxiety can be used to bridge political divides.

Dr. Schneider PhD is a licensed psychologist and leader for contemporary existential-humanistic psychology. He was a 2022 Candidate for President of the American Psychological Association and cofounder and current president of the Existential-Humanistic Institute. He is a presenter of the bridge-building dialogue approach the Experiential Democracy Dialogue and a trained moderator for the conflict mediation group, Braver Angels. He is also a faculty member at Columbia University and Saybrook University. You can learn more about him and his book here.

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In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Andrew Sikora about the link between HPV, the most common sexually-transmitted disease, and head and throat cancers in men. While we hear more about HPV-linked cervical cancer in women, Dr. Sikora will discuss the  types of cancers HPV causes in men, risk factors, signs and symptoms, how it is treated once diagnosed, and prognosis after treatment. He will also talk about prevention and the HPV vaccine.
Dr. Sikora is professor and director of Research in the Department of Head and Neck surgery at University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. He is also the Co-Deputy Division Head for Research in the Division of Surgery at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
His clinical expertise is in throat cancer and HPV-related heaed and neck cancers and his research focuses on tumor immunology and immunotherapies for cancer. You can learn more about him here.

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In this episode of Causes or Cures,  Dr. Eeks chats with filmmaker and documentarian David Krissman about his investigative podcast series, "The Great Social Experiment," about America's only experiment with universal healthcare, the treatment of patients with kidney failure.
David takes us back to 1972, when congress guaranteed healthcare coverage for people with kidney failure regardless of race, socioeconomic status and age. And while on the surface, this sounds like a great and altruistic endeavor..., David describes why it is a cautionary tale of inequity, faulty decisions  on life-or-death matters, putting profits first, questionable incentives and at the core, a cautionary tale about what drives human behavior.  Throughout the podcast, David references media reports, government data, interviews with prominent experts and kidney patients. So fasten your seatbelts, because this is an incredible story by an amazing storyteller. (And after you listen to this, absolutely check out David's podcast here.)

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