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
Feb 6, 2022 • 42min
Can Measles Wipe Out Your Immunity to Other Viruses? On Immune Amnesia, with Dr. Guillermo Barrios Morales
Send us Fan MailIn 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 Fan MailIn 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 Fan MailIn 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 Fan MailIn 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 Fan MailIn 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 Fan MailIn 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.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 Fan MailFluvoxamine 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
Jan 1, 2022 • 23min
A mRNA vaccine for Lyme Disease is in the Works: With Dr. Erol Fikrig
Send us Fan MailWe have heard a lot about mRNA vaccines in relation to COVID-19, but researchers are studying the technology to see if it can be used to make vaccines for other diseases. Lyme Disease is one of the most prevalent vector-borne diseases in the US that can have both short-term and long-term consequences, like chronic fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, arthritis, kidney dysfunction, constant muscle pains and more. In this episode Dr. Erol Fikrig, an infectious disease expert and professor of epidemiology at Yale School of Medicine who runs a lab studying vector-borne diseases, explains his preclinical research on an mRNA vaccine for Lyme Disease. He explains what is in the vaccine; how it works (differently than ANY other vaccine out there), results from his research conducted in animals, current studies and whether or not he sees this as something that might come to humans. 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
Dec 17, 2021 • 23min
Prescribing Food as Medicine, with FarmboxRx CEO Ashley Tyrner
Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Ashley Tyrner, CEO of FarmboxRx, a company that helps get healthy and fresh foods to low-income and senior communities. Physicians can prescribe these food boxes for their patients, and Farmbox is partnering with a growing number of health insurance companies. Farmbox recently partnered with the USDA.Ashley was a single, Hispanic mother who started out in fashion and struggled herself with access to healthy foods. Passionate about connecting marginalized communities to healthy, affordable foods that are shown to cut down on rates of chronic illness, Ashley went on to create Farmbox. Here she discusses the beginnings of Farmbox, how the program works, the types of food in one box, successful case studies and current research, partnerships with health insurance companies and how anyone interested can sign up with Farmbox. 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
Dec 15, 2021 • 41min
Former CIA Officer Discusses His Experience with Havana Syndrome, a Mysterious Illness Targeting the Intelligence Community
Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with former CIA officer Marc Polymeropolous about his experience with the mysterious Havana Syndrome that has impacted many people in the intelligence community. Marc discusses when he was first impacted in Moscow, his symptoms, the CIA's response, what he thinks might have happened to him and what he hopes to accomplish by sharing his story. 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
