time now for "sunday hou housecall" and joining us is dr. david samadi, chief of robotic surgery. >> good morning. >> also dr. marc siegel is here, associate professor of medicine at nyu. good to ssee you. >> good to see you. >> hope everyone is well. >> welcome back. >> thank you. great to be with you. i'm going to start with this brand new study that questions the brain benefits of omega-3s. those are the acids most likely found in fatty fishes and nuts.

they have been tied in this new study to brain boosting. some of us do aim to be smarter, but most of us don't want to have demencha, so can we do anything to boost our brain, give us more brain power? >> the simple answer to that is to exercise your brain. so you want to be active. you want to make sure the same exercise you do for your body and muscles, you do the same by reading, puzzle solving, and getting engaged and playing cards, et cetera. those are everyday kind of things you can do. when it comes to omega-3 fatty acids, we have spoken so many times about this. it's time to put it to rest and go over the good, bad, and ugly. what's good about omega-3 fatty acids is it helps with rheumatoid arthritis. it reduces inflammation so for the health, it's heart healthy. it may have roles in depreshz. it has good benefits about this.

the bad thing about this is we have talked about dimensiona and alzheimer's. it doesn't make a huge difference in your cognitive skills and memory, unfortunately. now, in babies, preneat aprenat, it may play a role, but in adults, it doesn't. the ugly thing is the recent news that came out with prostate cancer. high doses of omega-3 fatty aciacid s increases the rick of prostate cancer by 70%. that's the ugly part. what's the message to a lot of people watching this? if you take .5 milligram or 1 gram, that's enough. two portions of salmon a week, that's more than enough. the problem is that a lot of doctors on tv push flaxseed, fish oil, salmon, multivitamins,

omega-3 fatty acid. that accumulative dose is not good. >> this is the first time and i have been doing this show for many years, i never heard a bad thing about omega-3s and fish oil. 70% increase in prostate cancer? what else should we know? >> that we talked about, and i liked that study and david that study because it was well done. here's the issue, omega-3 fatty acids, the american heart association says 1 gram a day. today, we're talking about dimensiona. there's advantage with omega threes and depression. i'm not that impressed with this study because it was done over six months only and used rats other thaen people and had them do puzzle solving and memory. i'm not totally convinced we can say this is something that's related to alzheimer's. there was a study a few years

ago that showed a 40% reduction in alzheimer's in people who had a lot of omega-3s in their diet. i think the jury is still out on omega-3s, but what we're coming on is this idea, you have to know why you're doing something. if you eat fish, maybe it's because you're not eating meat. maybe it's part of a healthier lifestyle. maybe that's why we're seeing some of the advantages of it, so what's wrong with that? you exercise, you eat right, you're on the mediterranean diet we talk about, and you eat a couple portions of fish a week. do it with moderation. >> keep popping the fish oil? >> don't do it because omega-3 fatty acid in fish oil, it can cause with coumadin and antiplate lts cause more bleeding. >> talk to your doctor. >> absolutely. that's great advice to definitely have the discussion. >> exactly. now to talk about kidneys and kidney failure.

kidney failure is one of the leading causes of death in our country. and according to the cdc, it's actually killed 50,000 people in 2010, but now we're learning more about an implantable artificial kidney device that is used in the market. dr. siegel, artificial hearts, now an artificial kidney? >> i'm going to start on this and turn it over to david who is the resident expert. 45 gallons a day of fluids go through the kidneys. our kidneys are miraculous. they get rid of waste, of water, excess fluid. they calibrate our electrolytes, our sodium, everything. if your kidneys fail like in the 50,000 we're talking about, we're using these huge dialysis machines to filter out our blood. they're not perfect and they only last a certain amount of time. now people are looking at art financial kidneys. there was one at the university of michigan that took up an

entire room and worked well. university of california san francisco has got one that's going to be a lot like the pump we talked about that helped the heart that dick cheney had. we had one that helped the heart. now we're going to have one that helps the kidney in the same way. like a power pack for the kidney. that is not going to be in clinical trials until 2007. you ask that, eric, when will we see it in the doctor's office. the one in california is 2017. it uses actual kidney cells and sulacone and it's really amazing. this one that we're talking about today, a company is promoting an artificial kidney. again, i want to hear what david has to say, but it's a filter. >> how can we protect our kidneys? >> drink a lot of fluids and make sure you're not diabetic, and making sure that your blood pressure is in moderation and you control your blood pressure. those are major risk factors for kidney disease. >> a lot of people don't understand the connection between blood pressure and kidneys.

where it all happens. >> high blood pressure is a major risk for kidney failure and diabetes and cardio vascular disease. one of my favorite things that will come and change the face of medicine. and going back to what mark was talking about, if you have gone to a dialysis unit, it's depressing. patients are dependent on this machine. they're bleeding, the needle sticks, the potassium shoots up and down. it's really difficult, but it's necessary. a transplant, on the other land, also involves surgery. immuno suppression for life, and you have to adjust to the risk of infections. when it comes to this, they're using their technology in a kind of implantable kidney which is the size of a cup of coffee. you can either wear it outside or implant it inside. phenomenal. the good thing is it continues. it can filter 45 gallons of your

blood through this and get rid of the waste and keep the nutrients. >> but it's not there yet. >> it's going to happen, ucfs is doing amazing research, i'm excited about this, and hopefully they're starting the clinical trial in about two months and hopefully it will be there soon. if it works out well, i'm optimistic it may last about ten years which is going to change the whole field of medicine with kidney disease. >> watch your blood pressure. that's a way to protect your kidney kidneys. >> control your blood sugar. >> both great things to do. we hope folks will stop smoking, too. but i digress. >> a new study examining the critical first few months of life. now researchers have new information for mothers about breast feeding every parent will want to know. >> do you take a statin? millions of us take statins to control cholesterol levels? but they talk about different side effects and concerns from muscle aches to the liver. the doctors in a moment will

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it's the news of the day but with a little heat. join me week nights at 9:00. well, back to "sunday housecall." glad to have you here. a new study on newborns that finds during the first two months of life, mow new mothers have kwerns about breast feeding, but a lot choose to do it, but now it's enough to have a bunch consider giving up and switching to formula. you wouldn't imagine this because moms are under inimpression they're doing something great for their kids. >> i was surprised to see that only 16% of first-time moms are breast feeding in the first six months of life. i just couldn't believe it. now, the nice thing about it is that 92% of them started thinking about breast feeding and they were really serious about it based on the study coming, looking at 532 first moms. they find out something happens in the first three days.

maybe they feel like they don't have enough milk, maybe the baby is not happy, didn't latch to the breast, some kind of problem, and that's when moms are falling off the bandwagon and saying i'm going to put in the formula. i was quite surprised. big message over here is the best milk is really through the breast because especially in the first five days, you get the gold liquid, which has a lot of iga antibodies you can transfer to the babies. reduces asthma, the risk of diabetes. i think especially world health organization recommends breast feeding for the first six months and up to two years adding formula. if you can, you should get a support group and help. >> but some women can't, dr. siegel. >> for those women, there's formula, but there's a lot of women who worry they're not going to get enough milk, and they're in the work force more than they used to be, so then they worry about breast pumps, they worry about their babies

being fussy, breast pain is another issue. i'm a huge fan of breast milk. when the baby is born, for the first three months, they have antibodies from the mother. after six months, they're making their own antibodieantibodies. between six and three months, they're undercovered with the antibodies. the breast milk provides protein, antibodies, it doesn't have as much sugar in it. it's much better for you. and the cdc says three quarters of women start breast feeding in the united states, but they don't all continue, as david said. it's 16% by the end of six months. not enough. >> for a short period of time, even, if you can. >> absolutely. the longer the better, up to six months. beyond six months, there's some disagreement on it, when the baby starts developing teeth. >> a lot of moms say it makes them feel close to their child, too. >> that bond is actually quite important.

also gives them self confidence in the future. there's a psyche behind this. a lot of people talk about having this kind of support, jamie, before pregnancy. prepare them for this so when they face it in the first three or four days, they're ready to basically bounce, and i know we're a big fan of breast feeding on this program. >> i just want to say when i was a baby, my mother, i'm still mad at you because you didn't breast feed me. i have been trying to compensate it for the rest of my life. >> my wife breast fed all of our children and i'm a good proponent of it. >> parents lied to us about the sleep. l little babies don't sleep in the first few days, no one told us. >> you have to get up anyway, right? good to know from a medical point of view, the docs want you to consider it and get help if you need it. >> statins, you take them? a lot of people do in our

country. our viewers want to know about the benefits and if the benefits outweigh the risks. we heard about muscle cramping and liver damage and all that sort of thing, so the doctors will fill us in on these miracle drugs coming up. >> if you love to eat fruit, i asked the docs what can we say? berries, they say. anything that ends in berries. now there's suggests some berries are better than others when it comes to boosting your immune system. with the flu season we're going to get, i hear, a good time to boost it up. we'll be right back. wait for it... wait for it... ah! ah! wait for it... wait for it... [ laughs ] you know, i'm not trying to be ungrateful here or anything... but i just don't think i should have to wait for it! who do you think i am, quicken loans? ♪ at quicken loans, we won't make you wait for it. our efficient, online system

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. and back now on "sunday

house call." could i please have your opinions on statins. my doctor wants me to take high doses to bring down cholesterol levels. i have heard about the bad effects on your liver. >> statins are the number one most prescribed drug in the world. you have to do the stuff that we have been talking about on the show from the beginning, exercise more, change your diet, cut down on high cholesterol foods. you also have to have a doctor assess exactly what your risk factors are, what is your family history? do you have high blood pressure? do you have diabetes? if you have cardiac risk factors and you have high ldl cholesterol, then i think

statins are absolutely a home run. there's an increased risk in diabetes, muscle aches are the most common problem and i monitor people every day for muscle aches and i check a muscle enzyme and i decide whether they can or can't tolerate statins. but this issue of whether it affects cognitive memory -- the mouse wasn't as good it memory. lipitor, there was no problem whatsoever. so i think before we jump, we should stick with it when it's useful. >> and you talk about a muscle enzyme. when i go to the doctor, what should i ask for in regard to statins. >> the question is should you be on these medications. mark calls it a miracle drug and the reason why he calls it is that people are living longer and we're extending their life

by lowering their cholesterol. i think that's giving too much credit. before you have a discussion about your muscle and your liver, you need to lower your weight, you need to exercise, you need to eat healthy. omega 3 fatty acids, that's going to lower your triglycerides. how about taking a little bit of garlic every night. the herbals are not always great, but in some things, for example omega 3 fatty acids or niacin. >> but if you're on satins. >> then you should check your liver. >> i agree with all the things he's saying here, including blueberries, by the way. if you have a high risk of heart disease or stroke, and these tests have been shown to retard or reduce plaque in those

arteries. >> i'm going to ask you really quick when we come back, what percentage of people can actually lower their cholesterol without drugs, some people have to take them a and how many people could get away with not taking them. i want to be fair to those who need it and maybe they need those superfoods we're going to talk about. boosting your body's immune system, we're getting stronger. [ male announcer ] this is pam. her busy saturday begins with back pain, when... hey pam, you should take advil. why? you can take four advil for all day relief. so i should give up my two aleve for more pills with advil? you're joking right? for my back pain, i want my aleve. you're joking right? for a strong bag that grips the can... ♪ get glad forceflex. small change, big difference.

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there was an olympic for all the berries, strawberries and blueberries will go to the olympics. the one that gets the gold medal is going to be blueberries. that's my favorite. full of antioxidants, great for fiber, full of vitamin d, it boosts your immune system, it can reduce the belly fat which is what we're worried about and also through the flavenoid can boost your -- you can never go wrong with blueberries, and that's the gold medal. enjoy it. >> one of the greatest discoveries in the 20th century, it used to just grow in the wild, only 80 calories a cup. i'm a huge believer in blueberries also. it's got a lot of fiber in it. diabetics have been studied and

your blood sugar goes down. it's good for your memory, it's a great, great thing to eat. >> strawberries, blackberrys? >> strawberries have more sugar in them. i like blueberries better than strawberries. >> cranberries are a big part of this, but blueberries play a role and they reduce the risk of any kind of adhesion from e. coli and bacteria. >> you know, absolutely. i think if you drink your coffee, you drink a lot of water, you have your blueberries and the rest of the seven secrets that we have posted on facebook, you'll do great. >> blueberries as an immune funk thing. it works with vitamin d. capsn can work with blueberries. >> we will see you next week,

we'll check out all your social media stuff. >> put the blueberries in pancakes, that's what we do in our house. right now media buzz with howard kurt, so stand by for that. on the buzz meter this sunday morning, it looks like we're heading for a government shutdown at midnight tomorrow. there's a blame game much of it targeting ted cruz. >> how stupid ted cruz believes not only the american people but members of his own republican caucus. >> how stupid is ted cruz? and he is so wildly out of control stupid, he is insistent that blocking the bill is the very best way to support the bill. as the press pick sides in this showdown and fail to