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, offbeat, grassroots show driven by curiosity and a passion for breaking down complex health topics into bite-sized, easy-to-understand insights. Dr. Eeks is a public health professional specializing in applied epidemiology and health communication. She works on complex and timely public health issues and is all about making science relatable, often using 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 and not embrace the weird. ;)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 sidewalks across the world.) 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
May 8, 2023 • 45min
The Story of Trying to Eradicate Polio in Pakistan, with Dr. Anushka Ataullahjan
Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Anushka Ataullahjan about her research on the polio eradication efforts in Pakistan. Wild polio is still endemic in Pakistan, and Dr. Ataullahjan will discuss different eradication programs and initiatives they've tried over the years and the different barriers they've met, including threats of insecurity and people's beliefs and concerns. She'll discuss how various global events impacted polio eradication efforts, including how the CIA's 2011 fake vaccine campaign in Pakistan contributed to widespread vaccine mistrust. She also will offer insights and recommendations for future efforts. Dr. Ataullahjan is a professor, poet and researcher who studies public health issues as they relate to Pakistan, including this study on polio eradication efforts published in Expert Review of Vaccines. You can follow her on Twitter here. *SUBSCRIBE to Causes or Cures + for Bonus Episodes!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
Apr 27, 2023 • 57min
How Women Manage & MisManage Their Health, with Author Susan Salenger
Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with author Susan Salenger about her book, SIDELINED, How Women Manage & Mismanage Their Health. Some of the topics covered in the book and on this podcast include why women put themselves second when it comes to health issues, why "nice girls finish last," the shame and blame game for when women are hit with an illness, a breakdown of communication when navigating the healthcare system, how pharmaceutical industries target women with their ads, the downside of the wellness industry and positive psychology, and an intriguing stroll through history to explain the context for why women mismanage their health. She will also provide tips on how women can better manage their health and even save their lives. You can learn more about Susan on her website. You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com.Follow Eeks on Instagram here.Or Facebook here.Or Twitter.Subcribe to her newsletter hereSupport the show
Apr 10, 2023 • 33min
The Link Between Six Healthy Lifestyle Factors and Risk of Long COVID, with Dr. Siwen Wang
Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Siwen Wang about her research published in JAMA Internal Medicine on the link between pre-infection healthy lifestyle factors and risk of Long COVID. She will talk about the 6 lifestyle factors they assessed and why, how they did the study and created a "healthy lifestyle score", and how they defined "Long COVID" for the purposes of her study. Then she will discuss results, "take-home" points, and implications for a wider population. Dr. Wang is a medical doctor and Research Fellow at the Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com.Follow Eeks on Instagram here.Or Facebook here.Or Twitter.Subscribe to her newsletter here.Support the show
Apr 3, 2023 • 46min
HyperBaric Oxygen Therapy for Better Brain Health & Healthy Aging, with Dr. Joseph Maroon
Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Joseph Maroon about hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), what it is, and how it is administered. He will explain why he believes it is beneficial for improving brain health, particularly for helping people recover from traumatic brain injuries, strokes and PTSD. Dr. Maroon will also explain how it can be used to promote healthy aging and describe his own experience with HBOT at Aviv Clinic, as well as how he uses it with his patients. Dr. Maroon is a neurosurgeon, a former doctor for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Vice President of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, founder of the New Global Aging Consortium, a competitive triathlete and marathoner. You can read his book Square One and learn more about him on his website here. You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com.Follow Eeks on Instagram here.Or Facebook here.Or Twitter.Subscribe to her newsletter here. Support the show
Mar 24, 2023 • 47min
The Fungi-Killing Compounds Named after Keanu Reeves, with Dr. Sebastian Goetze
Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Sebastian Goetze on his and his team's discovery of fungi-killing compounds, which they subsequently named after the famous actor Keanu Reeves. (You can read the study here in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.)While the study has created a lot of buzz for being named after Keanu, in the podcast, Dr. Goetze will describe the need for anti-fungals, particularly in a world experiencing an "anitmicrobial crisis." He will walk us through how they discovered the compounds, break down the chemistry, and teach us what "gene mining" means. He will discuss how these "Keanumycins" may be beneficial for our health (and the Earth's health), the difficult process of developing an anti-fungal drug, safety issues, and answer a question a lot of folks have: why/how he and his team named the compounds after Keanu and not John Wick. He'll end the podcast by describing future avenues of research. Dr. Goetze is a scientist at the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology. You can learn more about him and see his publications here. You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com.Follow Eeks on Instagram here.Or Facebook here.Or Twitter.Subscribe to her newsletter here.Support the show
Mar 21, 2023 • 1h 29min
Decoding Havana Syndrome, a Mystery Illness Targeting the Intelligence Community, with Dr. James Giordano
Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. James Giordano about narrowing in on the cause of Havana Syndrome, a mysterious illness targeting the intelligence community. Havana Syndrome was first identified in 2016, when diplomats and intel officers working in Havana, Cuba began experiencing a mysterious set of symptoms. Dr. Giordano was one of the experts tasked to investigate the cause of Havana Syndrome, and while other reports of Havana Syndrome have occurred in other locations, this podcast will focus on what happened in Havana in 2016. "Dr James Giordano is Pellegrino Center Professor in the Departments of Neurology and Biochemistry, and Chief of the Neuroethics Program at Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington DC. He is Senior Bioethicist of the Defense Medical Ethics Center, and Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences/Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, and is Distinguished Visiting Professor of Brain Science, Health Promotions, and Ethics at the Coburg University of Applied Sciences, Coburg, Germany. He is the author of over 350 peer-reviewed publications, 9 books, and 40 government reports on brain science, ethics, and biosecurity. Dr. Giordano was elected to the European Academy of Science and Arts; is an International Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine (UK); was a Senior Fellow and Task Leader of the EU Human Brain Project; and was an appointed member of the US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections."You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com.Follow Eeks on Instagram here.Or Facebook here.Or Twitter.Subscribe to her newsletter here.Support the show
Mar 10, 2023 • 48min
The Unseen Enemy: Navigating the Silent Epidemic of High Blood Pressure, with Dr. Jay Shah
Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Jay Shah about why he believes that high blood pressure is a silent epidemic affecting millions of people. Dr. Shah will first describe what blood pressure is and how we measure it, what high blood pressure is, and why he believes we are experiencing a silent epidemic of high blood pressure. He will also make the case for why we should be continually monitoring blood pressure versus traditional methods of monitoring blood pressure, such as periodic visits to a healthcare provider or taking measurements at home with a blood pressure cuff. He'll explain the technology he is currently working with to do this. Finally, he'll also offer a few lifestyle tips for improving cardiac health. Dr. Shah is a cardiologist who trained at Massachusetts General Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine. He founded and built the cardiovascular services at The Portland Clinic and served as the medical director of the Aortic Disease Program at The Mayo Clinic. He currently serves as the medical director for Aktiia. You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com.Follow Eeks on Instagram here.Or Facebook here.Or Twitter.Subscribe to her newsletter here.Support the show
Mar 6, 2023 • 53min
WTF!?! How Swearing can Help Manage Physical Pain, with Dr. Nick Washmuth
Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Nick Washmuth about how swearing (cursing, saying "bad" words, dropping "f bombs") can be used to help manage physical pain. He discusses the theories for why swearing helps with physical pain, the evidence for it, specific case studies, and how it might be used in a clinical setting. He also describes if some swear words are "better" than others for managing physical pain and whether or not making up swear words has any benefit. In addition, he'll talk about how swearing might help build a therapeutic alliance and help with physical performance too. Dr Washmuth is a doctor of physical therapy and an Associate Professor at Samford University, School of Health Professions. Disclaimer: If swearing disturbs you, this isn't the podcast for you. If you're fine with it...then let's f'ing go!You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com.Follow Eeks on Instagram here.Or Facebook here.Or Twitter.Subscribe to her newsletter here. Support the show
Mar 2, 2023 • 1h 24min
Final Choices: Exploring Canada's Medical Assistance in Dying Law (MAID), with Dr. Madeline Li
Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Madeline Li about Canada's Medical Assistance in Dying Law or MAID. The Parliament of Canada passed MAID in 2016, allowing eligible Canadian adults to request medical assistance in dying. In 2021 the law was revised to allow for more chronic conditions to be included, and now they are in discussions to expand eligibility to those with a diagnosed mental disorder. Dr. Li is a psychiatrist specializing in cancer and palliative care who also has clinical expertise in applying MAID. She has done eligibility assessments for MAID and helped develop the MAID program for the University Health Network in Toronto, Canada.In the podcast, she tells us more about what MAID is, how the original eligibility criteria evolved since 2016, and describes how the law is applied to people who request MAID. She discusses the reasons put forth for expanding MAID to include those with chronic conditions, including mental disorders, and how she personally feels about that. She talks about the key challenges and ethical concerns. Finally, she offers her suggestions for improving MAID to overcome some of the challenges.You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com.Follow Eeks on Instagram here.Or YoutubeOr Facebook here.Or Twitter.Subscribe to her newsletter here. Support the show
Feb 23, 2023 • 59min
A COVID-19 Vaccine You can Drink?! The Story of QYNDR, with Dr. Kyle Flanigan
Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Kyle Flanigan, CEO and co-founder of US Specialty Formulations about his company's work on creating a COVID-19 vaccine you can swallow. Basically, a vaccine you drink instead of a shot in the arm. He will discuss his company's vaccine platform, called QYNDR, and how it produces oral vaccines. He'll tell us what an oral vaccine is and how it differs from the traditional vaccines we are used to, including differences in immune response, storage, accessibility and scalability. Dr. Flanigan will walk us through how they are testing the vaccine, the funding requirements involved, early results from an early-stage trial in New Zealand, safety concerns, and what's in store for the future.You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com.Follow Dr. Eeks on Instagram here.Or Facebook here.Or Twitter.Subscribe to her newsletter here. Support the show
