Is Castor Oil the Magic Cure all? Plus, olive oil buying tips | EP 384

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Dr. Gundry Podcast – "Is Castor Oil the Magic Cure all? Plus, Olive Oil Buying Tips" | EP 384 | Dec 30, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Dr. Steven Gundry dives into three hot topics in the world of oils: how to buy genuinely healthy olive oil (and common mistakes to avoid), the truth behind castor oil's recent TikTok-fueled resurgence, and whether canola oil deserves its notorious reputation—or if organic versions offer health benefits. Dr. Gundry blends myth-busting, practical shopping advice, and stories from his decades-long medical practice, aiming to empower listeners to make healthier choices in their kitchen.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Olive Oil: Tips & Common Mistakes

([01:24]–[11:14])

• Olive Oil is Widely Misunderstood

  • "The oil you cook with every day can either support your metabolism, your gut and your longevity, or quietly work against all three." ([01:24])

• Top Five Olive Oil Mistakes

  1. Ignoring Origin:

     • Single-source oils from reputable regions (Italy, Greece, Spain, Morocco, Tunisia) are best. Avoid blends or ambiguous labels like "packed in Italy."
     • "Olive oil is shipped in tankers like gasoline… when you see multinational oils… run the other way." ([02:57])

  2. Buying "Light" Olive Oil:

     • "Light" refers to flavor, not calories—these are highly refined and lack beneficial polyphenols.
     • "If you see the word light, you know you're not going to get any benefit from that olive oil." ([05:07])

  3. Saving it for Special Occasions:

     • Olive oil doesn’t age like wine or vinegar. Use it within 1–2 years of bottling for best health benefits.
     • Fun fact: Greeks consume ~26 liters per person per year! ([06:44])

  4. Plastic Bottles:

     • Olive oil should be in dark glass or metal. Plastic allows in light and can leach microplastics due to olive oil's acid content.
     • "The last thing you want is an olive oil in plastic. Do not be fooled." ([08:08])

  5. Incorrect Storage:

     • Store in a cool, dark place—not by the stove or over the oven.

• Proper Use Advice

  • Have two olive oils on hand: a quality but less robust one for cooking, and a higher-grade extra virgin for drizzling or salads.
  • Olive oil’s smoke point is not a concern for health or oxidation—as cuisines around the world have cooked with olive oil for millennia.
  • "Four out of the five blue zones cook their food in olive oil. That ought to tell us something." ([10:47])

2. Canola Oil: Rethinking the Controversy

([12:26]–[20:54])

• Why the Reputation?

  • Most negative attention is due to how conventional canola oil is processed—heavy glyphosate (Roundup) usage, not the oil’s fat profile itself.
  • "The industrial version is [the enemy]. If you choose cold pressed organic canola oil, you get a great source of alpha linolenic acid..." ([19:52])

• Organic Makes the Difference

  • Organic canola oil, grown without synthetic herbicides, is rich in monounsaturated fat (like olive oil), has a balanced omega 6:3 ratio, and contains alpha-linolenic acid (ALA)—a heart-healthy, plant-based omega 3.
  • Dr. Gundry highlights the influential Lyon Heart Diet Study:
    • Those consuming rapeseed oil margarine (similar to canola) had fewer heart attacks than those on a standard low-fat diet, suggesting ALA’s cardiovascular benefits. ([15:13])
  • "Just remember, it's not just what we eat, it's how the food that we eat is grown, sourced and processed." ([20:37])

• His Evolving Stance

  • Dr. Gundry once advised against canola oil (e.g., in The Plant Paradox), but now clarifies that high-quality, organic canola is a sensible option.

• Other Noted Oils

  • Perilla and Ahiflower oil: also rich in ALA.
  • "Omega 6 fats are not evil... they're essential." ([17:50])

3. Castor Oil: Fads vs. Facts

([20:54]–[30:08])

• History & Traditional Use

  • Used as a laxative for centuries—"it works really good as a laxative."
  • Recently hyped on social media as a belly button remedy for digestion, cramps, and more.

• Debunking the Belly Button Trend

  • Claims about 72,000 nerves connecting through the navel have no anatomical basis. As a surgeon, Dr. Gundry says, "There is an old ligamentous connection between the belly button and the liver... but there are, unfortunately, nothing there but ligamental scar tissue. Not 72,000 nerves." ([22:24])
  • No scientific evidence for systemic effects from topical navel application.

• Other Claims Evaluated

  • Weight Loss: Oral use will cause "apparent" weight loss by emptying the bowels—"That’s not real weight. That’s just flushing out all your gut buddies, which doesn’t sound like a very good idea."
  • Menstrual Cramps/Bloating: Only anecdotal and placebo effects.
  • Gallbladder Cleanses: Impossible to pass huge gallstones as claimed online—"Whatever she passed, it wasn’t gallstones." ([28:19])
  • Skin: Safe and moisturizing; good for local irritation.

• Usage Precautions

  • Always do a patch test for topical use.
  • Oral ingestion should be done with caution—strong laxative effect and potential cramping.
  • Not safe for pregnancy or as a "cleanse."

• Memorable Quote:
  "Putting it in your belly button isn’t going to hurt you, but it’s probably not going to do any miraculous things besides a great placebo effect." ([29:10])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "The only purpose of food is to get olive oil in your mouth." — Dr. Gundry ([06:32])
• "If you see the word light, you know you’re not going to get any benefit from that olive oil." — Dr. Gundry ([05:07])
• "Olive oil is the least oxidizable oil there is. Far better than even avocado oil or coconut oil." ([10:02])
• "Organic canola oil, a seed oil, isn’t the enemy. The industrial version is." ([19:52])
• "There is absolutely nothing new about castor oil. Despite what you may have seen with health influencers and TikTok videos, castor oil has been around for centuries." ([20:54])
• "Placebo effect is incredibly powerful… There’s nothing wrong with a placebo effect. We use it all the time to good use." ([24:55])

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Main Olive Oil Buying & Usage Tips: [02:57]–[11:14]
• Canola Oil—Myth Busting & Guidance: [12:26]–[20:54]
• Castor Oil Deep Dive (Claims vs. Science): [20:54]–[30:08]

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Listener Q&A Highlights

• Question of the Week ([30:08]): Is sugar-free pomegranate juice healthy?
  • Dr. Gundry: "If you see the words sugar free on a juice, that's saying there was so much sugar in here already... we didn't have to put any more in... No, pomegranate juice sugar free is not anything you want to come near. Pomegranates are great, but fruit juice is a bad idea."

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Conclusion

Dr. Gundry delivers a practical, science-based, and occasionally humorous take on three oil-related wellness trends. He urges listeners to become savvy shoppers—prioritizing single-origin, extra virgin olive oils, not fearing organic canola oil, and treating castor oil for what it historically is: a strong laxative and skin soother, not a miracle cure. The clear, myth-busting approach equips listeners to make confident choices in their daily routines.

Transcript

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[Dr. Steven Gundry Intro]

Welcome to the Dr. Gundry podcast, where Dr. Steven Gundry shares his groundbreaking research from over 25 years of treating patients with diet and lifestyle changes alone. Dr. Gundry and other wellness experts offer inspiring stories, the latest scientific advancements, and practical tips to empower you to take control of your health and live a long, happy life.

[Dr. Steven Gundry]

Today, we're talking about oils, and I'll tell you right up front, this is one of the most misunderstood topics in nutrition. The oil you cook with every day can either support your metabolism, your gut and your longevity, or quietly work against all three. We're going to break down how to actually buy good olive oil, because most bottles on the shelf are not what they claim to be. I'll explain when castor oil makes sense, what it can and can't do, and why it's been so hyped up lately. And yes, we're going to talk about canola oil, how it's processed and why quality matters so much, and how it can actually fit into a healthy kitchen. If you've ever stood in the oil aisle wondering what's genuinely healthy and what's just clever marketing, this episode will clear it up and probably change what's in your kitchen by the end. So let's get started.

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[Dr. Steven Gundry]

Also supports your gut, your heart and.

[Dr. Gundry (main speaker)]

Your long term health.

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So go ahead, treat yourself to food.

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That loves you back. Sign up for my free newsletter using.

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The link in this episode's Description.

[Dr. Gundry (explaining canola oil)]

Number.

[Dr. Gundry (olive oil expert tips)]

One Ignoring the origin of the olive oil. Now, good olive oil comes from reputable regions with a tradition of quality. Look for bottles that specify a single source, like Italy, like Greece or Spain or Morocco or Tunisia, instead of blended oils from multiple countries. Single origin oils almost always have better traceability and superior quality. Believe it or not, olive oil is shipped in tankers like gasoline. And believe it or not, when you see multinational oils or you see on the label this olive oil packed in Italy. But these are where they came from. Run the other way.

[Dr. Gundry (main speaker)]

Even if it just mentions two countries.

[Dr. Gundry (olive oil expert tips)]

Of origin, that's one country too many. Now before we get to number two, if you like what we're doing here.

[Dr. Gundry (main speaker)]

At the Dr. Gundry podcast, please don't.

[Dr. Gundry (olive oil expert tips)]

Forget to like and subscribe. And please share with your friends and loved ones. All right. Number two Buying light olive oil. Now, don't be fooled. There is absolutely nothing light about it. The word light just refers to the flavor, not the calorie content. Light olive oil is usually heavily refined and lacks the beneficial properties of extra virgin olive oil, the polyphenols. They also tend to be blended with other inferior oils to to bulk them up and lessen that bitterness that you associate with high quality olive oil. You actually want the bitterness and this is where the nutrients, the polyphenols and the flavor are. So light has nothing to do with low calorie. If you see the word light, you know you're not going to get any.

[Dr. Gundry (main speaker)]

Benefit from that olive oil.

[Dr. Gundry (olive oil expert tips)]

Number three saving it for a special occasion. Now unfortunately, olive oil does not age.

[Dr. Gundry (main speaker)]

Like fine wine or vinegar.

[Dr. Gundry (olive oil expert tips)]

Do not leave that fancy bottle sitting in the cupboard for years. You're wasting it. And please, when you see the fancy.

[Dr. Gundry (main speaker)]

Bottles at the grocery store or at.

[Dr. Gundry (olive oil expert tips)]

The specialty store and it talks about how marvelous it was and single origin and everything, please turn the bottle over and look at when the date it was bottled. Most olive oil is picked or smashed in the late fall, sometimes in early January, and it's good, quite honestly, preferably for one year after it's bottled, two year maximum. The best occasion for good olive oil is every single possible day it's in front of you. I have not been to a restaurant in France, south of France or Italy where they do not put a bottle of olive oil on the table next to you because they assume that whatever they're going to bring you, you're going.

[Dr. Gundry (main speaker)]

To pour the olive oil on.

[Dr. Gundry (olive oil expert tips)]

And I'm serious. The only purpose of food is to.

[Dr. Gundry (main speaker)]

Get olive oil in your mouth.

[Dr. Gundry (olive oil expert tips)]

In fact, let me give you an amazing statistic. The per capita consumption of olive oil in Greece.

[Dr. Gundry (main speaker)]

Get ready. Drumroll.

[Dr. Gundry (olive oil expert tips)]

Is 26 liters per year. You heard that right. 26 liters per person per year.

[Dr. Gundry (main speaker)]

That's a half a liter of olive oil per person. Now that's per person.

[Dr. Gundry (olive oil expert tips)]

A three year old kid isn't having that. So that means most adults are having consuming about a liter of olive oil per week. Fun fact. Now obviously I'm not advocating that you waste oil, but please put it on the table and use it.

[Dr. Gundry (main speaker)]

Number four, plastic bottles.

[Dr. Gundry (olive oil expert tips)]

There is a very new popular olive.

[Dr. Gundry (main speaker)]

Oil that I'm seeing in high market.

[Dr. Gundry (olive oil expert tips)]

Grocery stores and I'm shocked that it's sold in a plastic bottle. Olive oil is sensitive to light and heat and plastic lets in far more light. Always opt for dark glass or metal containers to preserve the oil's integrity. If you see a high quality olive oil in a plastic bottle, I actually would be very concerned about its quality. Now another thing about plastic for storing olive oil. Olive oil contains acid. Believe it or not, extra virgin has nothing to do with how virgin the olive oil is, but it actually has to do with the acid content of the olive oil. Acid is notorious for leaching microplastics out of plastic. So the last thing you want is an olive oil in plastic. Do not be fooled. All right, Number five, not storing it correctly. Now, proper storage is the key. Please keep your olive oil in a cool, dark place away from direct light and heat. Now this prevents the oxidation and helps maintain the oil's flavor and health properties for longer. I can't tell you the number of people I see storing their best olive oil right next to the stove or over the oven where they're exposed to much higher temperatures than normal. That's the last place you want to keep it. Just don't do that. Okay?

[Dr. Gundry (main speaker)]

That was my top five olive oil mistakes. But there is one more mistake I see all the time.

[Dr. Gundry (olive oil expert tips)]

People generally don't know how to use.

[Dr. Gundry (main speaker)]

Their olive oil properly, especially for cooking.

[Dr. Gundry (olive oil expert tips)]

My recommendation is to always try and have two olive oils at hand for cooking. A more readily available one that's a bit cheaper but still very good quality, but probably doesn't have that distinct Robust flavor that usually come from what you're really looking for, like in a salad dressing or drizzling. These usually come in bigger bottles because you're going to use a lot more of it and then have a nice high quality olive oil that usually comes in a smaller bottle that packs all that flavor and is full of polyphenols. Now, olive oil does have a much lower smoke point than many other cooking oils. That means that at certain temperatures it will begin to smoke. Now, high temperatures have absolutely nothing to do with its benefits or its flavor. And in fact, olive oil is the least oxidizable oil there is. Far better than even avocado oil or coconut oil. The fact that it's smoking has nothing, and I repeat, nothing to do with whether it's oxidizing or not. People have been cooking with olive oil for over 5,000 years and if it was that dangerous, we should have figured it out by now. In fact, four out of the five blue zones cook their food in olive oil.

[Dr. Gundry (main speaker)]

That ought to tell us something.

[Dr. Gundry (olive oil expert tips)]

But if you really want to spend a lot of money on high quality olive oil that has that big power of polyphenols, don't waste it for sauteing. Save that for the end. Use a less expensive but high quality olive oil for your sizzling.

[Dr. Steven Gundry]

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[Dr. Gundry (explaining canola oil)]

How many of you have heard that canola oil is bad for you? Including my own book, the Plant Paradox. Now I know what you may be saying.

[Dr. Gundry (main speaker)]

What the heck?

[Dr. Gundry (explaining canola oil)]

Dr. G, why did you change your mind? About something you've been warning about for so long. But here's why I recommended organic canola oil on a really good Cry podcast recently. First of all, canola oil has gotten a bad rap over the years, mainly due to how it's grown and processed, not because of the oil itself. Now, many people think that canola oil was genetically modified from rapeseed. That's not true. Rapeseed is an incredibly popular oil in Europe. It's used throughout Europe. It's grown everywhere. And rapeseed has a toxin that in the 1950s, because of adulteration with a batch of rapeseed oil, several people about 50 became violently ill. And it was chalked up to rapeseed oil. And this toxin, in fact, it wasn't anything of the sort, but it had an effect. So what happened through the years is Canada hybridized canola oil, rapeseed oil, to eliminate that toxin. Most people think that it was genetically modified, but that's not true. Now, the problem is that canola oil in Canada and the United States has been and is usually sprayed with glyphosate Roundup to make it easier to harvest. The same as our wheat, the same as our oats, same as our soybeans, same as our corn, even though they're not genetically modified. And that's why I originally asked people to avoid canola oil. So let's separate though, now that there is organic canola oil, why it's worth you looking back into. So remember, it's derived from rapeseed that's low in uricic acid and it's been hybridized out. Canola oil is naturally rich in monounsaturated fats, the same fat that's in olive oil and avocado oil. It's rich in plant steroids, but it's got quite a bit of alpha linolenic acid, ala is short chain omega 3 fat. Now, that's really important because one of the most important heart studies ever done in Europe was the lion heart diet trial. It's actually the Lyon heart diet trial, but nobody can pronounce Lyon. And it was done in Lyon, France. Half the people were put on a Mediterranean diet, but they were made to use a margarine made out of rapeseed oil. The other group followed the low fat American Heart association diet. These were people who had a heart attack. They were followed for five years. The trial was stopped after three years because the group getting the rapeseed oil margarine had so few heart attacks compared to the American Heart association that it was Unethical to continue. Now here's the deal. When they broke down every part of the diet that people were doing, the only difference between the two groups was the amount of alpha linolenic acid in their blood. Ala so only the rapeseed canola oil group was getting it from their diet. And that was the only difference. Wasn't different in cholesterol, wasn't different anything else, just the amount of alpha linolenic acid. So that makes a very, very strong point for canola oil as long as you don't spray it with Roundup. I mean, it has a great neutral taste, it has very high smoke point. That makes it a very versatile cooking oil. So what are the health benefits of organic canola oil? Again, it's one of the easiest ways to get alpha linolenic acid into your diet on a routine basis. And if the Leon Heart diet study is any example, that's a really good way to support your cardiovascular health. There are even more compounds that have even better amounts of alpha linolenic acid. And you know, in my books I promote perilla oil is probably the best. Also, Aji flower oil is another great one. Now, the Omega 3 and Omega 6 balance is important in oils. And organic canola oil provides a much more balanced ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 than all the other vegetable oils except for flax and perilla oil. Now you have to have both. Believe it or not, omega 6 fats are not evil. It's an essential component of the mitochondrial membrane. The reason omega 6 fats are called essential is because they're essential. We don't make them, we have to acquire them and they have to be used in our mitochondrial membrane. The problem is our American diet is overloaded with omega 6 and not enough. Omega 3. Canola oil has naturally occurring phytosterols which can help block cholesterol absorption. If you worry about cholesterol, that's a good thing. It's got a pretty nice vitamin E content which supports skin health and immune function. Now again, why is non organic canola a problem? Sadly, it's sprayed with heavy doses of glyphosate. Roundup. The non organic crops are treated with synthetic herbicides which are known endocrine disruptors or potential carcinogens. Why do they do this? Well, it is much cheaper and much more efficient to spray these herbicides to kill the plant as a desiccant. Drying out the plant cuts down on harvest costs. And when a plant can be harvested. And what does glyphosate do to the body? Well, as you know, Bayer now owns glyphosate Roundup, they bought Monsanto and Bayer now is paying out, I think it's up to $8 billion to victims of Roundup for cancer. That's just the start of it. We also know Roundup glyphosate is a really good way of killing off your good gut bacteria. Now, how can we know that this organic canola oil isn't contaminated by nearby fields using glyphosate? Well, we don't. But organic canola oil is grown without these chemicals. And remember, it's not gmo. It was never gmo. And organic is grown without herbicides. Cold pressed, minimal processing. Organic oils are usually cold pressed, meaning no high heat or harsh solvents were used, which preserves the integrity of the nutrients. Finally, there is an environmental and ethical impact. Organic farming supports soil health, biodiversity and lower pollution levels. So organic canola oil, a seed oil, isn't the enemy. The industrial version is. If you choose cold pressed organic canola oil, you get a great source of alpha linolenic acid, a short chain omega 3 alpha linolenic acid blocks the absorption of LPSs, those little pieces of you know what. So what's not to like? Now just remember, it's not just what we eat, it's how the food that we eat is grown, sourced and processed. So when you choose organic canola oil, you're choosing not just for your health, but you're choosing for the planet too.

[Dr. Gundry (main speaker)]

Let's talk about castor oil. First of all, there is absolutely nothing new about castor oil. Despite what you may have seen with health influencers and TikTok videos, castor oil has been around for centuries. Most people know about it from their grandmother or their great grandmother who had a bottle in her medicine cabinet and used it as a laxative. And quite frankly, it works really good as a laxative. But now TikTok and wellness blogs are pushing all new exciting uses. Putting castor oil in your belly button, for instance, to flatten your stomach, fix bloating, and even help with menstrual cramps. And let's not forget the castor oil gallbladder cleanse. I'll mention my patient about that in a minute. So is this science or is it just another social media gimmick? Let's start with the belly button trend. Now, this practice is sometimes called the pati method in Ayurvedic circles. Now, the claim says it helps digestion, menstrual cramps, inflammation, weight loss, even glowing skin. And it's based on the claim that the navel or belly button is a central hub where supposedly 72,000 nerves all come together so that oil there can spread benefits throughout the body. Now, here's the problem. This connection of 72,000 nerves has never been identified in modern anatomy. It is true that the umbilical cord enters your body and funnels blood through your liver and your circulation while you're a fetus inside of mom. But that connection is severed, obviously at birth. And, and if there were important connections, they're long since gone. Now, as a heart surgeon, I was a general surgeon before I could become a heart surgeon. And I can assure you I've operated on or near and through many belly buttons. And there is an old ligamentous connection between the belly button and the liver. We can see it, we can cut through it, we can do anything we want to it, but there's unfortunately nothing there but ligamental scar tissue. Not 72,000 nerves. If there were, then when I sent a specimen of the umbilical connection, the pathologist would say, wow, there's a lot of nerves in here. Nope, there aren't. So what do we know about castor oil? It was used as far back as ancient Egypt. It was used for skin care, it was used to treat wounds, and it was promoted for digestive health, primarily to keep bowel movements normal. It is FDA approved today as an oral stimulant laxative. And as I mentioned before, it really works as a laxative. Now what about putting it on the skin? Well, it does have antimicrobial and anti inflammatory properties and it can improve skin hydration. No doubt about it. Now some people also use it as a pack for comfort or relaxation. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. But there's really no hard clinical evidence that putting castor oil in your belly button has any systemic benefits. How about promoting a flat tummy and bloating?

[Dr. Gundry (olive oil expert tips)]

Sorry.

[Dr. Gundry (main speaker)]

There is absolutely no clinical evidence that belly button oiling reduces gas or drains lymph. What about menstrual cramps and endotoxemia? Well, there are anecdotes. There are anecdotes for everything. And just remember, the placebo effect is incredibly powerful. If you believe a treatment is going to work and is going to do what is claimed it's going to do, a lot of times that will work. That's called the placebo effect. And just because we have someone's report about how their menstrual cramps went away by putting castor oil on their belly button, that didn't mean that putting the castor oil in Their belly button was the cause of the menstrual cramps being alleviated. Let's keep that in mind with all of these modern remedies. It's not a magical pathway and it can't. And there's nothing wrong with a placebo effect. We use the placebo effect all the time. To good use.

[Dr. Gundry (explaining canola oil)]

How about weight loss?

[Dr. Gundry (main speaker)]

Well, drinking castor oil will produce weight loss. You have about four to five pounds of stool in your body at any one time. So getting rid of that four to five pounds with an impressive laxative will impressively cause a four to five pound weight loss. Works every time. But that's not real weight. That's just flushing out all of your gut buddies, which doesn't sound like a very good idea. So that's not safe weight loss. You see so many of these weight loss teas using the exact same effect. They'll use a diarrhea producing agent like senna or senokot, which is in most of these miracle weight loss teas. And of course, you're going to lose weight when you use them because you got rid of that 4-5 lb gut buddies. How about skin benefits? Well, there's no harm of putting castor oil on your skin. It does moisturize. It can calm the irritation. That part at least makes sense. Now, let me tell you my favorite gallbladder cleanse story. If you follow the Internet, you know that putting a castor oil pack over the right side of your abdomen, where your liver is, is said to make you pass gallstones. Fair enough. One of my patients did the castor oil gallbladder cleanse, and she swore she passed giant gallstones and actually brought in the photos of what she claimed were in her stool to prove that these were giant gallstones. Now, I mentioned that I was a general surgeon before I became a heart surgeon, and I've taken out many gallbladders. I've explored many common bile ducts, the tube leading from the gallbladder to the intestines. And the photos of the gallstones she showed me, they were about the size of a golf ball or a shooter marble. And unfortunately, the gall bladder duck is only about the size of the tip of this pen. Yes, gallstones can get stuck in the gallbladder duct and we have to operate them because they can't get through. So what she's claiming that castor oil did was taking this and expanding it to that so that that big gallstone could pass through that duct.

[VRBO Announcer]

And.

[Dr. Gundry (main speaker)]

And unfortunately that can't happen. So she was not passing gallstones from her gallbladder. And whatever she passed, it wasn't gallstones. But the good news is it didn't.

[Dr. Steven Gundry]

Harm her at all.

[Dr. Gundry (main speaker)]

So if you think that something is going to benefit you, go ahead, but you're not going to pass gallstones the.

[Dr. Gundry (olive oil expert tips)]

Size of a golf ball.

[Dr. Gundry (main speaker)]

Topical Use Whenever you're using any new topical treatment, do what's called a patch test. Put it on someplace that's not too visible, particularly a sensitive area of skin. Oh, sometimes on the backside of your arm or the inside of your leg. And do a small area first just to make sure you're not going to get an irritation, because you never know what's going to irritate your particular skin. Finally, an oral use. It is a laxative, so buyer beware. It can produce dangerous cramping. It can clean you out very effectively. And remember, it's not a recommended treatment for contractions of pregnancy. We just don't know the effect on a fetus, so that's not something you want to play around with. Okay. Castor oil. Been around for a very long time. Putting it in your belly button isn't going to hurt you, but it's probably not going to do any miraculous things besides a great placebo effect. And it's not going to move your gallstones out of your gallbladder. Sorry about that. If you want to use castor oil, think about skin and comfort. But if you really need it, it's great blasting powder for your intestines, but used with caution.

[Dr. Steven Gundry]

Now it's time for the Question of the Week. The Question of the week comes from M47 on YouTube. On my episode about the benefits of pomegranates, they asked, I get sugar free pomegranate juice. Is that good? Well, that's a great question about sugar free juices in general. As I've said over and over again, if you see the words sugar free on a juice, that's actually saying that there was so much sugar in here already from the fruit juice, we didn't have to put any more in. So no, pomegranate juice. Sugar free is not anything that you want to come near. Pomegranates, on the other hand, are great, but be careful with any fruit. Fruit in moderation, in season is a great idea. Otherwise juice is a bad idea.

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[Dr. Gundry (explaining canola oil)]

Huzzah.

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You're welcome.

[Dr. Steven Gundry]

Now it's time for the review of the week. The review of the week comes from sjanz on YouTube. On my episode about canned fish, they said, I was just looking into the benefit of oysters for the zinc. You expanded on my inquiry immensely in this video. Thank you, Dr. Gundry. I'm your new fan from California. Well, thank you, Ms. Janzi. I'm always looking for ways to improve your health, give you some new options. And I'm glad to have another new fan here in California. Thanks for writing it.

[Dr. Steven Gundry Intro]

I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Dr. Gundry podcast. If you did, please share this with family and friends. You never know how one of these health tips can completely transform someone's life when you take the time to share it with them. There's also the Dr. Gundry Podcast YouTube channel where we have tens of thousands of free health insights that can help you and your loved ones live a long, vital life. Let's do this together.