Dr. Oz discusses new show with Channel 9's Erica Bryant

New York,None — "The Dr. Oz Show" debuted Monday on Channel 9.

In cities across the county, Dr. Mehmet Oz is taking the time slot vacated by Oprah Winfrey.

He is using this opportunity to persuade people to finally take charge of their health.

Channel 9 anchor Erica Bryant went to the Dr. Oz studios in New York and found out he has a lot to say.

Two hours before taping, the Dr. Oz studio in New York is controlled chaos. There is script review and revision, prop setup and rehearsal of every segment.

It moves at a frenzied pace, enough to wear most people out, but not the man who’s become known as “America’s Doctor.”

Not only is he in the studio three days per week, he’s also a heart surgeon performing 250 heart surgeries per year.

After the final taping on the day Channel 9 visited the studios, Dr. Oz was on his 13th hour of taping.

“And you still practice surgery. Tell me why that is so important to you,” Bryant asked.

“When I go to the hospital and I talk to a patient, they don't care about all this stuff. It doesn't matter that I’ve got a TV show; they want to know did I show up at the surgery today, does my hand shake, am I focused on them?” Dr. Oz said. “And it also reminds me of why I went into this field, what my calling has always been, which is to take care of people."

And clearly, people are responding.

Lottie Davis was in the audience on this day. She told Bryant that she is a longtime fan.

“Ever since he was on the Oprah show,” she said.

“What is it about him?” Bryant asked.

“Oh, I love him. He explains the medicine and things your own doctor don’t tell you,” Davis said.

And he does it with no nonsense, which Bryant discovered when she asked his take on Charlotte’s health challenges.

“Charlotte, like many great southern cities, is plagued by several issues. For one, you still think gravy is a beverage, which is a problem because although it does taste darn good,” he said “when you use a lot of gravy and the things that go along with it, you are sabotaging yourself biologically.”

“The other thing is, I think culturally people in Charlotte are comfortable not being in great health, so if you got a little bit of sugar, what's a little bit of sugar? Except in diabetes, sugar is like broken pieces of glass shards scraping the inner linings of your arteries,” he said.

“And the last issue for Charlotte, is you're very polite people, and I don't want you to be so polite,” he said. "I want you to be kind and loving but I want you to be able to stand up and say, 'I just don't like the way I feel and I want someone to hear me on this,'” he said. “The ability to have a little bit more of a nudging attitude is something that would be so valuable, especially for the women of Charlotte.”

Dr. Oz has two full-time jobs plus a wife and four children, so you might wonder how he stays so healthy. He told Bryant that he eats well, meditates, does yoga and makes sure to get 7.5 hours of sleep every night.

WSOC