Causes Or Cures

Send us a textIn the world of wellness, skepticism around commercial sunscreen is at an all-time high. Wellness bloggers, moms, influencers and others have taken to creating their own sunscreen with various SPF claims. But are these "natural", homemade sunscreens effective at all? What's in them? How is their SPF value being determined? In this podcast, Dr. Eeks has a conversation with Dr. Julie Merten about her recently published research, "Pinterest Homemade Sunscreens: A Recipe for a Sunburn." Dr. Merten answers the above questions and in general, discusses the widespread dissemination of wellness advice from "wellness advocates" on social media and what that means for consumers. Dr. Eeks asks Dr. Merten about concerns over some of the chemicals in certain sunscreens, and Dr. Merten offers her advice on how to avoid them and still protect your skin from sun damage and skin cancer. Dr. Merten is an associate professor of public health at the University of North Florida. Sh

Send us a textAnyone who struggles with depression or knows someone who struggles with depression should listen to this podcast.  Dr. Douglas Watt is a forensic neuropsychologist with over 30 years of clinical practice. He has degrees from Harvard and Boston College, has served as the director of clinical psychology in two Boston teaching hospitals and has been on the faculty of the Boston University School of Medicine for 15 years. He teaches classes on affective neuroscience and its implications. In this podcast, Dr. Watt joins Dr. Eeks  to discuss his theory for depression, The Social Brain Hypothesis, and why he believes depression is an evolutionary shut-down mechanism, the chemical imbalance theory is reductive and why conventional antidepressants fall short. He discusses what social rejection and loss of relationships does to us neurologically and why folks with an impaired capacity to make meaningful social attachments can become addicted to social media as a failed replacement for real-life intimate

Send us a textDo you think the current political climate is impacting our mental health..., or are you living under a rock? If you are living under a rock, do you have room for a few more?  Just kidding, sort of. There's been a surge of requests for therapists due to stress, anxiety and relationship troubles due to the current political situation. Social media sites are saturated with tribal and reductive back-and-forths that only increase our individual and collective sense of angst. Long-term friendships have dissolved, marriages have ended, Twitter is a battlefield and toxic stress is the name of the game. In short, we've come a long way, baby. In this episode, Dr. Eeks chats with Gabriel Nathan, chief editor of OC87 Recovery Stories, about the state of our mental health in the current political climate, why our interactions are toxic and broken, and what can be done to move us towards recovery.    Be mindful that specific people and events are mentioned in this podcast, and though not the intent

Send us a textBenzodiazepines (Benzos) are some of the most commonly prescribed drugs in the world for anxiety. Despite how common they are, most people, including doctors and pharmacists, don't know the extent of benzodiazepine withdrawal, including the vast array of symptoms, nor do they know how to treat it. Many doctors and stakeholders confuse addiction with chemical dependence, which can be extremely frustrating for the person going through withdrawal, who took the medication as prescribed. Folks afflicted often turn to online forums and seek out others with similar withdrawal symptoms for advice. They are part of the "prescribed harm" community. Between searching for answers and managing symptoms, many people become so frustrated and exhausted that they resort to taking their own lives. As Dr. Huff mentions in the podcast, in the past year alone, she knows of at least 30 people who were going through benzo withdrawal and ended up killing themselves.  In this podcast, Dr. Huff opens up ab

Send us a textIn this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks interviews Dr. Fiorella Belpoggi about the potential health risks of wireless technology and radiation from EMFs (electromagnetic fields). The safety of EMFs is in the news due to the rollout of 5G and because of a recently resurfaced petition to the World Health Organization that was signed by 250 scientists warning about EMF exposure and health effects. That said, there have been no randomized controlled animal trials involving 5g. The 2 largest animal trials to date did not evaluate 5g. There has been no formal guidance to minimize exposure and no regulatory body has stated that there needs to be such guidance. Dr. Belpoggi is the head of research at the Ramazzini Institute in Italy and Director of the Cesare Mal-toni Cancer Research Center, where she has worked since 1981. She has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers and has done research on a variety of environmental exposures, including pesticides, plastics, food additives and hormones. To da

Send us a textIn this episode of Causes Or Cures, Dr. Nicole LePera talks about her own personal journey and health struggles, her approach to overcoming them and how that experience, plus her experience with others as a professionally trained psychologist, guided her approach to healing the mind and body. With Dr. Eeks, Dr. LePera talks about whether the holistic lifestyle is accessible to everyone, how aging affects mindset, how to handle the challenges of social media and use it in a way that's beneficial for the mind and body, and the steps anyone can take, right now, to enhance his/her mind-body wellness journey. She's also very candid about facing obstacles and what keeps her motivated.   Dr. LePera was trained at Cornell University and The New School as a traditional psychologist and went on to find the Mindful Healing Center in Philadelphia, where she focuses on relationships, gut health, sleep, cellular health, belief and mindfulness. She has close to 1 million followers on Instagram, and y

Send us a textTalks about climate change are heated and ongoing. You often hear, especially from fans of The Green New Deal,  "We literally only have 12 years to fix the problem!"  Is that hyperbolic, or is that the truth? While there are various governmental committees working on solutions to reduce carbon emissions, one thing we don't hear a lot about is nuclear power. No one really dives into the details of nuclear power. Nuclear power sounds scary and turns a lot of people off. But what exactly is it and how does it compare to oil and coal? What are the risks and the benefits? Should nuclear power be part of the cure for man-made global warming or will it cause a host of problems? In this episode of Causes Or Cures, Dr. Andy Karam discusses nuclear power in detail and its potential role in reducing carbon emissions. Andy 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 a

Send us a text In this episode of Causes Or Cures, Dr. Eek talks with Dr. Marcelo Gleiser about atheism, agnosticism, belief in God and the intersection of science and the spiritual dimension. He explains why he believes radical atheism goes against the scientific method. What's a rational position to take? What about theism vs radical theism? What are the limitations of science, if any, when it comes to explaining how we got here and other "big questions"? These questions and more are addressed in the podcast.   Dr. Gleiser is a theoretical physicist, author of several popular science books and over a hundred papers in peer-reviewed journals, professor of physics and astronomy at Dartmouth College, and recipient of the prestigious Templeton Prize.  Take a listen.  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 textSome people call it the "War On Antidepressants" and others call it the "War Over Antidepressants."  Either way, antidepressants are in the news a lot, most recently related to the topic of withdrawal. Many doctors and stakeholders believe that antidepressant withdrawal ( symptoms that occur when you stop taking the drug) lasts, on average, up to 2 weeks. Others say that isn't true, and that symptoms can last much longer. Some say antidepressants are very effective for clinical depression. Others say that just isn't true. Strong opinions are at the heart of the debate over antidepressants, which has escalated to a heated social media exchange and what some call a "Twitter War."  Today's guest is Dr. Michael Hengartner, a highly published senior researcher and lecturer at Zurich University of Applied Sciences whose area of expertise includes psychiatric epidemiology, public mental health, psychosomatics, health services research, social psychiatry and

Send us a textAmanda Anderson is the founder of Spoonie World And Chronic Illnesses That Keep You Cooped Up, a Facebook support group for individuals with chronic illnesses. The group has over seven thousand members from all over the world and is very active, night and day. Amanda is also a Spoonie and talks to Dr. Eeks host of Causes Or Cures and founder of bloomingwellness.com, about Spoonies, pain, the opioid epidemic and marijuana, with the essential questions being: Would increasing access to marijuana reduce opioid use? Are pain patients being treated unfairly because of the opioid epidemic? Are we overlooking the benefits of opioid medication?  Tune in! To contact Dr. Eeks, do so through bloomingwellness.com Or follow her on Instagram here. Or Facebook here.Subcribe to her newsletter here!Support the show