we're here for you. we're legalzoom, and for over 10 years we've helped families just like yours with wills and living trusts. so when you're ready, start with us. doing the right thing has never been easier. legalzoom. legal help is here. i'm arthel neville. time now for "sunday housecall". >> i'm eric shawn. as always, dr. marc siegel is here, professor of medicine at nyu's medical center and author of the inner pulse: unlocking the secret code of sickness and help. >> and dr. david samadi, chairman of urology at lennox hill hospital and chief of robotic surgery. great to see you. >> always great seeing you.

>> that's arthel singing our new theme song. >> later. >> this is serious. for 50 years a mission of sesame street has been to help children grow stronger, smarter and kinder. now the popular program is continuing in that end, adding a new character with autism. >> elmo's daddy told elmo that julia has autism, he says, so she does things a little differently. >> this development comes as a new study reveals that the brains of children in adolescence with autism they say are organized differently than those without the disorder. dr. siegel it seems that autism is so widespread in our country. has it been and why, and what is the effect? >> well, first of all, it's increased tenfold over the past 40 years. and it's increasing about 10% to 20% per year. some of that is because we're better at diagnosing. a lot of that is because of changes in the environment which we are not aware of and genetics are involved. and the study you're talking about out of ucla looked at just

17 children with autism and 22 without. but they found that the front part of the brian shows increased blood flow when it's not supposed to and the rest of the brain is not communicating with itself as well as we would like. now, what does that lead to? it leads to changes in communication, changes in difficulty finding words. sometimes autistic children are in their own world. but you know what the sesame street idea is doing which i'm very excited about? they have a digital storybook out called "we're amazing 1, 2, 3." you showed at the beginning eric elmo with julia. julia is going to be the character on there that sesame street does slowly. they're waiting to hear what the autistic community has to say about this, the autism community. but i watched that video, and i am so happy with the idea that it showed elmo playing with this little girl. elmo making her happy. >> well, as he should. these kids are just like everybody else. they're part of our community. their parents love them just the same as they should. but i want to switch gears a

little bit and talk to you, dr. samadi, about this, because eric sort of touched on this. why are there so many more cases? partially because of the diagnosis, dr. siegel said, and will this lead to a cure or possible prevention? ff's an excellent question, arthel, because diagnosing and getting this early on is really the best way to cure these children. study after study shows that when you diagnose autism early and early intervention leads to better communication, better motor skills, better social fitting into the society and on and on. so this is one step forward. this study basically talk bz the mri. our brain has different segments, a frontal, occipital, temporal. frontal part is where the behavior, personality, social skills, communicative skills are. what they're finding out in this is, as kids grow, as the blood

supply goes down, more nerves will grow, et cetera, but in this mri study in autistic children, there's more blood still going there and that's not supposed to be. this is a great, interesting finding. they basically put tracer in the blood and found out there's a lot more activity there. if you can diagnose it early, arthel, and we can engage early on, they can speak better. one out of six, going back to what you were saying, children suffer from this. part of it is because of genetic mutations. men are getting married at an older age. as you have children at an older age, there are more mutations. also, studies show there is genetic kpoenlt components to t parents with schizophrenia, bipolar in their families can lead to this. that's part of this. >> no. i want to ask a question. this is very important. a lot of women these days -- i'm not blaming women at all -- go through ivs, in vitro, various

ways to conviceive children. again, not blaming, is there any correlation to these chemicals women are using to get pregnant? >> excellent point. there was a study out last year about. they haven't showed that ivf is directly related to autism. multivitamins, prenatal vitamins with to late decreases the chance to have an autistic child. to follow up on your point, arthel, that she should be treated mainstream. 40% to 50% autistic children are at or above average intelligence. they may be great in music. they may be great in math. >> cooking. >> you may just have to ask them a question a couple of times before it registers. that's what's beautiful about the sesame street thing. they have them doing that. you have to take into account some of the changes, some of the differences. but treat them the same. >> i think the point marc is bringing up is extremely important because it's autistic spectrum disorder. so it's a huge spectrum of kids

that are completely functional and you may barely detect it to the kid that's are actually like they need a lot of help. so we're basically lumping them all together. but what sesame street is doing is extremely important because their lives matter, they're being bullied in school five times the amount, and we see this in boys actually five times mohr than girls. so now as a result of this i think it's going to shed some of the light on this and help other people. >> great point that it's five times more common in boys. i like that sesame street has a girl as a character because we forget that young girls can get it, too. boys much more often but girls too. >> you should mention something about the genetic component about this. we're finding out more mutation in something called gap 1 has something to do with this. and the whole concept -- i know lot of people may or may not like this -- of vaccines increasing the risk of autism, a lot of environmental factors,

science doesn't support it. whether this viral load or whether the vaccine load that we're giving to them could do this, there's no scientific data to back that up. >> absolutely. great point to make. with all of the billions of dollars we spent studying vaccines, arthel, we could have been studying other things. we have to study other environmental triggers that could lead to autism. >> this is so important to have a broader understanding for these kids who have this disorder. >> catching it early and treating it is very important. >> and including them. they are very special. >> absolutely. here's this. two studies this week giving opposing views about going under the knife. so how do you know when surgery is the best option? our doctors are going to weigh in. plus, going to pot. a new survey shows the growing number of americans smoking mary jane. the consequences of what this means, ahead. >> smoking what? >> marijuana. i was out for a bike ride. i didn't think i'd have a heart attack.

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surgery is a huge and very personal decision. this week two studies on knee surgery and shoulder surgery giving two opposing views about going under the knife. so how do you know which option is right for you? dr. samadi, you're chief of robotic surgery at lennox hill hospital. how do you know? >> it's difficult for patients to know. every time you decide to go to surgery, look at the pro and con. if the benefit outweighs the risk, that's a very good option. for example, for knee surgery they were talking about the fact that, yes, patients that went for knee surgery and we do about a million knee surgeries in this country did well. but did you try noninvasive modalities, losing weight, doing exercises, eating healthy things, et cetera, getting injections in your knees? try that.

that was that study. when they went for the shoulder surgery, surgery wasn't beneficial. >> was not. >> was not. and holding it in a sling and also pain medication helped them with modality. so the answer is, talk to your doctor, always get a second opinion, have a discussion. when you go to the office, look around and see what goes on. that's how you come to a decision. >> marc, what do you tell your patients? how do you determine whether or not to do it? >> it's a changing terrain. the first study out of denmark did the kind of study we like. one group got the surgery, the other didn't. both groups got the weight loss, the diet, the medication, the exercises. they found that the group that got the surgery did better actually. that's pretty revolutionary because, as david mentioned, close to a million people getting these operations. not everyone needs them but maybe more people need it than we thought. but eric we're moving in a direction now where we have less-invasive techniques. with a knee, there's a partial knee replacement you could get, a less invasive surgery. you get in and out the same day.

like with david's surgery, with the prostate, you can now have it robotically, get in and out in one day. that decreases my worries as an internist for side effects, infections, blood clots, things going on. the more you're in the hospital, the more involved the anesthesia, the longer you're under the knife, the more i worry. so these are the things that all have to be taken into account. >> what about stents or bypasses and these type of things? >> that's a great point. stents if you can get away with it is actually -- i prefer it because bypass is a bigger operation, not everyone can get that. >> i think the big message is also, look at the surgeon. look at what kind of volume they have. do they have the team? does the surgeon actually do the surgery or he may be running a number of rooms he's not even involved. >> how do you find out that information? >> you have to interview them. you have to ask some of their patients what kind of outcome and results they have had. and doctors and surgeons need to be honest. not every surgeon always recommends surgery. there are a lot of times and

you've been involved in the sites we've had, people call in and we tell them, surgery is not the right thing for you. you have to be honest. when you interview your surgeon, you get a good feel as to what's going on. >> but people are afraid to ask the doctors those types of questions. >> i think the doctors know. like i always say on the show david is an excellent prosta surgeon. get a doctor you canner trust. an internist or primary care doctor you can trust. hopefully has a good network. will know the good surgeons. you know your mother always told you to eat your vegetables? a new study shows us a number of us are neglecting this all-important part of our diet. coming up, the docs will tell us what and how much we should eat. >> french fries are a vegetable, right? i'm fine with that. >> don't eat that. we'll be right back. it's like losing some baggage, i don't have to carry it around with me anymore. chantix made it possible for me to quit smoking.

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and we're back with "sunday housecall." a new study shows that our diet may be in a bit of trouble, lacking in vegetables and nutrients. usda says potatoes make up 30% of what we eat of the vegetables, tomatoes 22%, lettuce and other leafy greens

only 7%. so what do we do about this, dr. siegel? lettuce and greens at 7%? you have to eat your greens. >> let's start with a potato. although i love the movie "the martian" and i love he grew his own potatoes and subsisted for months with only those potatoes carbohydrate in one potato. tomato, 4.7 grams. so this ten times as much carbohydrate in a potato. now, doesn't mean that potato is totally bad. they have fiber in them, vitamin c, potassium, tomatoes has vitamin a, c, potassium, as david likes to say, lycopenes in it, which decreases the risk of prostate cancer. the main other problem is that we're not getting what you think we're getting. we're not eating tomatoes. we're eating ketchup, we're eating french fry. most of what we eat is processed food. >> there are mashed potatoes, there is nothing wrong with

having potatoes or tomatoes. the bottom line, what i learn from this study, is only 25% of america is taking the fruits and vegetables that is necessary. we have been talking about the fact that study after study shows that it can reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and on and on. they follow about 110,000 people for 14 years, and if you take two to three portions of fruits and vegetable, it reduces the risk of all of the diseases. what does it take for america to listen? i don't know. i don't think there is anything wrong with tomatoes or potatoes, but you need to add more fruits and vegetables to your diet. >> green leafy vegetables. >> spinach, broccoli. >> kale. kale is great. >> kale is like eating -- >> no, no. >> vitamin a, folate, iron, kale, spinach, antioxidants, beans and peas and lentils. broaden it out. >> i cheat. i make pasta, i throw a bag of

spinach -- >> that's fine. what you need to do, one thing we said before, you look at your plate, have the seven colors. that's what the american heart association says. half your plate should be full of colors. that's where the fruits and vegetables comes. dry fruits are also good. even if you're desperate and go for frozen, we don't like the canned fruits, but still better than nothing, make sure low in sugar, but start taking your fruits and vegetables. >> studies show that fruits and vegetables to david's point help you lose weight, they help you lower your cholesterol, they improve the amount of vitamins you get. don't need vitamin pills. >> i think people are concerned because sometimes it costs more money to get fruits and vegetables than get your chips and potato chips and other -- >> that's right. >> but you want to stay healthy. it is an investment in yourself and you have to go for it. at least two portions of fruits and vegetables, morning and night. >> fresh, also fresh, not the processed foods. >> seven colors on your facebook

page. >> it does work. if you put lettuce and tomato and on yoion, that's two more. >> but be blueberries, strawber berries are great for you and add a few nuts too. >> you two are -- >> we need to change our culture and start eating fruits and vegetables. >> baked potatoes, okay. >> going to pot, a new report showing the number of adults using and abusing marijuana at least doubled over the last decade. what does this all mean? our doctors will weigh in on this alarming -- the alarming effects next.

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i didn't think i'd have a heart attack. but i did. i'm mike, and i'm very much alive. now my doctor recommends a bayer aspirin regimen to help prevent another heart attack. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. a shocking new report showing the number of adults using and abusing marijuana doubled over the last decade. and the consequences of all that, well, according to the cdc, marijuana abuse leads to short-term memory loss, impaired lung function, decreased sperm count, and impaired immune response. first of all, dr. samadi, what is considered abuse? >> i think that if you wake up every morning and have to have it, it is probably abuse. if it is just done once in a

while, then it is probably recreational. the number ofof adolescents taking marijuana has doubled and addiction levels have doubled over the last decade. american pediatric association basically said it affects the brain of children and adolescents. it affects the memory, cognitive skills and on and on. i think people need to judge for themselves. you 23 states that are legalizing this. four of them are for recreational. i'm not saying i'm pro or con. there are certain cases of seizures and terminal patients that maybe this will have an application. for the most part, i think it can lead to other drugs and it will be a gateway to other drugs, increases their addiction and is -- bronchitis, it has a lot of formaldehyde, thc and other chemicals that can really be addicted. >> that list, you look at that list, talk about impacting your memory, as well as other effects. people think, just getting high,

but really are serious effects. >> users are on the increase. we have 10% of americans now using marijuana. there may be a medical use, but in certain states that's being used as an excuse to broaden the application. more people get it. there is something called marijuana use disorder. 7 million americans suffer from that. that means it is getting in the way of economics, of your job, memory impairment as eric and david were saying, judgment, problem solving. maybe you're losing money as a result of it. if it impairs your ability to function on a regular basis, it is called marijuana use disorder, 7 million americans suffering from that. it is out of control. it is absolutely -- and mixing it with alcohol and another thing that it does is it impairs driving ability. we like to talk about alcohol and driving, but we have a problem with marijuana and driving. >> there is some medicinal properties. people with ms -- >> can be used for pain, can be used for chemotherapy when giving cancer treatments, absolutely. but it is being overused as an excuse and more people use it. >> i think a lot of patients on

chemotherapy and it is they're terminal and suffering from this neurologic patients, patients with seizure, some studies coming in the pipeline that it can help. to use it recreationally all the time, it is not -- >> i agree. >> thank you. >> that will do it for us. texas-sized downpour, more than a foot of rain in some areas in just the last 48 hours. we'll go live to water logged houston. >> plus, we are learning more about the lost and injured a day after a car plowed into a packed homecoming parade in oklahoma. witnesses say the young woman accelerated into the crowd. >> brand-new video just released, check this out, a daring raid in iraq to save 70 prisoners held captive by isis. it is the same raid that took the life of u.s. sergeant joshua wheeler. we'll speak with a veteran who will walk us step by step through that mission.