Entries by Chet Zelasko

Eggs: A Practical Solution

Based on Tuesday’s Memo, do we have a “hard-boiled” answer to the question of whether the dietary cholesterol in egg yolks positively impacts LDL-cholesterol levels? Or total cholesterol levels? We can’t “eggsactly” get a complete answer from this study, and here’s why. (Okay, no more puns or “yolking” around.) Study Issues These two issues alone […]

To Egg or Not to Egg?

That’s today’s question. This Memo was driven by another provocative headline from a university press release: “Groundbreaking study finds eggs don’t harm heart health” published in SciTech Daily. I think most informed healthcare professionals have known for a while that there’s little to no relationship between cardiovascular disease and dietary cholesterol from eggs and other […]

Finding New Ways

Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday by replying to Paula’s Memo or on social media. I appreciate the sentiments and the kind words; it’s great to have you along for the ride as we all try to be healthier. After a long, drawn-out process, my email has been whitelisted again by the […]

Happy Birthday, Dr. Chet!

Hi, Gang—Paula here. Today is Chet’s birthday, and he’s letting me take over; that photo above is a few years old, but it’s one of my faves. I’ve done a lot of thinking about what to get him for his birthday, and I decided the best gift would be something you can help me give […]

Artificial Intelligence? Focus on Artificial

Recently, I researched a topic on PubMed, the government database of published scientific research. There was a posting on the home page that the National Center for Biotechnological Information would be down for usual maintenance. That’s something we’ve come to expect from just about any database-based website. But it made me pause for a few […]

Lift Five Kilos to Live Better

Anybody up for knocking out 25 pushups? How about 10? How about just one? Let’s make it more practical: pick up your largest cast iron frypan or Dutch oven. Or pick up a 10-pound sack of flour or sugar and lift it over your head. Can you do it? Who cares? Maybe you should, and […]

Walking and Lower Back Pain

At some point, most of us experience lower back pain. Many people use walking as their mode of exercise—could walking contribute to the development of lower back pain? A recent study examined the rate of lower back pain and walking. Researchers tracked over 11,000 participants in the Norwegian HUNT study. To qualify, the subjects could […]

Better to Wear Out

How did you do on the vegetable and fruit challenge? Paula and I averaged over five per day for the holiday weekend; cutting up vegetables to use in a dip always helps the average. Remember—just send me an email saying, “I did it!” to get an invitation to the Insiders Conference Call next Wednesday evening. […]

The Holiday Challenge III

If you do something more than once, it can become a tradition. I decided to do the Holiday Challenge again with a slight twist. If you remember, the challenge last year was to see who could eat the most servings of vegetables and fruit over the 4th of July weekend. I’m still interested in volume: […]

Just Breathe

As I was lying there before my colonoscopy, waiting for the drugs to kick in to put me in la-la land during the procedures, I used a form of the technique used in this study of dealing with stress: rhythmic beathing. First, the paper. Researchers recruited 27 graduate students to participate in a clinical trial […]