Entries by Chet Zelasko

Merry Christmas!

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From Paula, myself, and our extended family, we wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy holiday! And I guarantee our Elf on the Shelf gets into more mischief than yours. What are you prepared to do today?

MRSA at Home for the Holidays

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Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a threat to our health because the potential infections are severe and effective antibiotics to treat it are failing, yet it’s a strain of bacteria that exists just about everywhere, including in our homes. How can we limit exposure, and what can we do to prevent catching MRSA? That’s what […]

How Much Sleep? It May Be in Your Genes

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I know a young woman who goes to work at four in the morning; she has a job with flex time and likes getting out by noon so she has time to spend with her young children. Here’s the thing: she generally goes to bed between 11 p.m. and midnight. She needs only four to […]

It’s Official: Prescription Fish Oil

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the prescription fish oil Vascepa for expanded use on Friday, December 13. The approval for the medication is for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease in patients under the following conditions: Triglycerides above 150 mg/dl for everyone with diagnosed CVD and taking a statin medication. Diabetes and two […]

Holiday Eating: The Best Solution So Far

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In our quest to find the best holiday eating strategy, we may have been looking at the wrong metric. Prior researchers have been looking at the subjects reporting of how well they stuck to their eating habits and exercise program. The final study looked at a hard metric: body weight. Here’s what they did. Researchers […]

Is a Relaxed Holiday Eating Plan Better?

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The Portuguese Weight Control Registry is similar to the National Weight Control Registry. While the amount lost is different, 11 pounds, the members still have to have kept the weight off at least a year. Researchers asked what techniques participants used for weight maintenance, comparing weekdays versus weekends and holidays versus non-holidays. The criteria were […]

Should You Have a Strict Holiday Eating Strategy?

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Tis the season for gaining weight. It began on Thanksgiving, but we’re in it big time now. If you’ve lost weight and want to make sure you don’t see it again, what do you do? Let’s review some of the research on strategies that people who’ve lost weight and maintained it have used. The first […]

Will the Diet of Your Culture Improve Your Microbiome?

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Does the diet of your ancestors impact your microbiome? A review examined whether the common foods found in specific cultures can benefit people of that culture who are following a diet high in refined carbohydrate and low in fiber, as is common in the U.S. Let’s take a look. The Gold Standard: the Mediterranean Diet […]

Does Fiber Improve Your Microbiome?

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Now let’s look at the results of increasing dietary fiber for people with diabetes. Researchers recruited over 50 type 2 diabetics (T2D) for a 12-week study. The control group was given standard recommendations for a healthy diabetic diet. All current medications were maintained and both groups received acarbose, a starch blocker. The experimental group was […]

How Your Microbiome Affects Exercise Benefits

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It seems every day, there are several studies on the microbiome and its impact on our health. At this point, they’re preliminary but the picture is emerging that as goes your gut, so goes your health. I’ve picked three new studies to review this week. As an exercise physiologist who’s done research on this topic, […]