time for "sunday house call." joining us, dr. marc siegel, author of the inner pulse, unlock the inner code of sickness and health. >> and doctors, good morning. >> good morning. >> great to have you here both of you. >> we wanted to talk about stroke. it affects a lot of people and there's a shocking new study out that says it affects more young people than previously thought, under 55 years old. dr. siegel, we're all ears.

>> 785,000 americans every year suffer from stroke, the number one disability in the united states. what is it stroke? it occurs when brain cells die. why do they die? because you get blood in the brain or get not enough blood flow to the cells, you get constriction or clot. why are younger people having it? we're down to average age of 69. why is this study? cincinnati which looked at thousands of patients showing that? the answer is i think it's like style. too many people are over weight, smoke, too much diabetes. we have to look at lifestyle. we have to change what we eat. there's another study out of finland that shows we should have more lycopene, which david has talked about. it's in tomatoes. a study shows eating more tomatoes decreased the risk of stroke. we have to have more vegetables, more fruits, exercise more.

there's something for people out there to remember, the american stroke association says look for fast, face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficult, call 911. you see someone with face drooping, arm difficulty, speech difficulty, call 911. >> but doctor, you don't have to see those things confirm it's a stroke? >> exactly right. i think the best and easiest way to really think and understand stroke, think of it as almost like a train that takes off from the station. a journey. and it happens over time. the first stop really, the one that gets in is diabetic. diabetes distorts the lining of the vessels. the second place that the train is going to stop is smoking. now all of a sudden mrs. smoker will get on the train and hang out with diabetes. worst combination because it affects the lining. you want to know the third

passenger? high cholesterol. it's building up the plaque. now it's a great union, smoking, diabetes and cholesterol. what else do we need for the train? >> a new driver. >> there you go. the name of this train is metabolic syndrome. the final stop is high blood pressure because now you have damaged the vessel, you have the plaque, now we put pressure behind it and the last stop is unfortunately something called stroke. now, there's one sharp stop that this train can pass, tis, transi ischemic attack. if you get a quick blindness or blurry or feel dizzy, about to pass out, don't dismiss it. it's important and it's the first sign of stroke that you need to know. what happens in the last stop when you have this stroke? the blood clot goes to the brain, you can't get exogen and you become paralyzed.

it was described by hip ocktys year ago. you want to make sure a friend or someone that recognizes you knows about the fast because that's a quick way to know if it's a migraine or stroke. facial, arms that -- ask them to hold and one falls. speech is slurry and 911, the reason is because you have three-hour period. you get there fast, they can get the mri and dissolve the clot and recovery is wonderful. time lost is brain loss. >> one thing you have to ask is the corotid arteries. both sides. >> good point. >> we check that and one of the ways we prevent the stroke from happening in the doctors office is get blood pressure under control, use stat tens to lower cholesterol. control diabetes. >> he's the driver of the train who is going to make sure the parents don't do harm.

your point is well taken. young people need to be screened more because the sooner you find it and block the cascade, the better we could prevent it from them getting on later on. >> with good percentage? >> absolutely. if you find the bullies you're talking about and other things. >> what was that? >> basically the sound over the corotid. >> a great question. >> thank you. >> that's so important. >> dr. siegel mentioned tomatoes. there's a new study about tomatoes. they're good for you now. >> tomatoes has been my favorite. we talk about prostate cancer. studies show it prevents it but this one comes from finland. they looked at over 1,000 men and found if you're taking lycopene, which is in tomatoes, there's almost 59% lower risk of stroke. amazing. you know where this is more effective? the first stop of the journey because it prevents

inflammation, it's antioccidentals, almost like a scavenger. tomatoes, how much do you need? 2 to 3 portions a week. the question is what if you cook that? would you lose the effectiveness? no. it's still effective. good for your heart, prevents stroke and -- >> you can have raw tomatoes -- tomatoes sauce. >> i want to know in ketchup counts. >> not unless you're a young child. antioxidants are good for you. they say have a colorful plate, fruits and vegetables but there's something about tomatoes and lycopenes. they stop cells from getting inflamed and damaged. that has the same thing in common with lower cholesterol. statin drugs. lipitor, crestor. they decrease inflammation. tomatoes participate in this.

if you decrease inflammation, you don't get the clots, you don't clog the arteries, you don't get heart attacks and strokes. >> there's a test for inflammation? >> we are not totally there yet. that's a research tool, crp. but we basically can tell, if plaque is forming inflammation is there. >> it's lifestyle. sedentary lifestyle. high risk groups. >> and lycopene can -- >> get it from tomatoes. >> also watermelon, papaya and anything that's red. >> sounds good. >> c reactive protein. >> right. >> coming up, we're going to take your questions live. i told you you can go on and ask the doctors about eating disorders. did we pick yours? check it out next. oh no, not a migraine now.

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>> did you know an estimated 8 million people in our country suffer from eating disorders. for many it's an addiction. it's a serious problem, very widespread. how can people deal with it, especially if you have a loved one with it. >> it's more common than we think. kids are under tremendous amounts of pressure. not just from the school and the piers but look at what's going on in the media, from the minute you're born, you have a beautiful barbie toy that's always very pretty to all the reality tv shows, the kardashians. there's a way for parents to be involved and catch them early. subtle signs that you see. kids like this or perfectionists, cutting food in certain ways. it starts by a diet pill or

competition for sports. it becomes part of their personality. >> not just kids, 8 million people must be adults. >> you grow with it and it stays with you. that's part of the problem. because the personality is flexible over time. they can't control their job or school, food is the only thing they have control over. they're going to take it out on that. the parents have to be involved and recognize it. not to judge. nobody should judge these kids but partner with them. try to understand them and reward good behavior and get help when it gets out of control. >> let me ask you, we invited you folks to participate in the show. we have a live chat still going on now with the doctors on our website. the "sunday house call" page at foxnews.com. you brought it up, this is a question from judy, a parent. she writes as parents of an 18-year-old college freshman suffering from an eating disorder, how much do we leave

it up to her to take charge of or how much do we step? >> they have to step in. family therapy is much more effective than single therapy for one person. i want to point out eating disorders, up to 10% of young women have eating problems. now men are getting it as well. this is a complex thing that involves nutritionists, physicians like me, psychiatrists, families, everyone has to get involved because it's like an addiction, it's like stepping into a pothole. at first you diet. next thing you know your body image is off. then you're binge eating or bulimia. binging and purging. or an res i can'tener -- anorexia nervosa where you starve yourself. those patients, hospitalizations are up 18%. i get involved because their

electrolytes are out of whack. i have to treat them in the hospital. there's a risk of dying from this. this is not something to say i hope my child in college can take care of this. parents and doctors have to step in. you can lose people this way. i lost a patient -- a patient of mine lost a child recently. >> i think about karen carpenter of the carpenters, if you're in my age category. that was so public. when you know that you could die from something like anorexia, how do you get it under control yourself if you don't have a loved one that does an intervention? can meditation help? >> sometimes antidepressants are needed. psychotherapy is needed. as david pointed out we role model celebrities to look like this. posh, other celebrities that are so thin, we want to be like that. we teach young girls to be like this. that ends up leading to a cascade of problems which we can't reverse. the time to start is when kids

are young, not to teach them to be ultra thing but healthy. >> i hated barbie, she had a 3-inch waist. >> the big part is having open communication with them. in the era where the father is checking all his emails and mom is on twitter, the kids are wandering around, not spending quality time with parents. >> the family meals. >> this eating disorder is -- you always think about this anorexia but something that doesn't come up often, obesity, on the other side of the spectrum, is also an eating disorder. stress, a lot of pressure in the community and society can do it but you need to be aware. having friends and family around that can calmly and in a subtle way tell you, look. >> it's so difficult and so hard, but so important. >> let me thank judy for sending that question. keep your questions coming to our website. the doctors will stick around and answer some of them as well.

>> very informational. >> you know about the deadly meningitis outbreak. it's raising new questions about the effectiveness of shots for back and neck pain after that rare illness linked to the injections. we'll have more on what you need to know about what to do about back and neck pain and these shots when we come back. look at those toys. insurance must be expensive. nah. [ dennis' voice ] i bet he's got an astate agent. they can save you up to 30% more by bundling your polies. well his dog's stupid. [ dennis' voice ] poodles are one of the world's smartest breeds. are you in good hands?

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you heard about the meningitis situation. there's serious questions brought from there about stir steroids for back and neck pain. dr. siegel, apparently 15 deaths so far. how worried should people be and what about steroid shots in the first place for neck and back pain. >> we talked about fear and how we shouldn't be afraid of getting sick. do people need as many shots as they're getting? 8.9 million every year. up 159% the past decade. a lot of times people are going to the wrong doctors and getting them for the wrong reasons. the only reason to have a

epidural in the back or spine is if you have a problem with the nerve root. nerve root is where the cord leaves the spine. it leaves the spinal cord and there's a nerve root and discs compress it. if you have an acute problem, not chronic, an acute problem where you were fine a week ago and suddenly you have inflammation and they image you with a ct scan and figure out it's accuse inflammation. then the shots can help you. whenever you put a shot in your body, you have to ask, am i taking a risk introducing a foreign substance into my body. arachnoid items,itis, the nerve roots clump. nothing is free in this world. >> if you go to -- the easy answer is a shot. >> that's not the answer. i think, look, population are

getting older. that's one thing. we're living longer. so those discs, they're getting -- it's wear and tear. the other thing is we didn't have computers two decades ago. now sitting, all that pressure gives you back pain. we've had segments about this before. the answer is not to immediately get the shot. that could fix what medicine never works and backfires. the truth is you want to exercise, there are things such as yoga, some pressure exercises you can have. but make sure you see a good doctor. we haven't talked about good chiro practicers. the knee-jerk reaction will not cut it because you'll end with no sterilize legislation -- sterilization.

if you absolutely need it, it's the best thing. >> good point, exercise, get on the roller and stretch. >> even if you did get scared just now because you said don't get anxious, no worries because we're going to talk about anxiety next. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] this is anna, her long day teaching the perfect swing begins with back pain and a choice. take advil, and maybe have to take up to four in a day. or take aleve, which can relieve pain all day with just two pills. good eye. , bob...

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>> back now at sunday house call. do you feel anxious and restless and frazzled? if you are experiencing anxiety a lot, don't know why, you to have an anxiety disorder. what should we look out for and how do we treat it? >> i wrote a balk about this and called it the cycle of worry. you worry, become sleepless, then get for worried and the lack of sleep gets you more worried and then you drink alcohol to calm down and then your heart rate bows up and you get more worried. that's what you have to look at. the figures also has to look for thyroid disease and underlying diseases that causes the hormones in your body that are not supposed to be there, that are only supposed to be there if someone is attacking you and you are literally in danger. if you are not in danger, you don't need it. over time the cycle of worry becomes anxiety. your doctor has to look for things like thyroid and underlying problems.