Entries by Chet Zelasko

I’m Alive V2.49

When I opened my eyes this morning, I said the same thing I’ve said for the past 25 years: I’m alive! If I wake up this morning, it means I have at least one more year. It makes no sense in the real world, especially for a guy who talks about science so much, but […]

Sugar vs. Sweetener Research: Meaningless in the Real World

I’m in a slight disadvantage in evaluating this study; I was able to read only the convention-session abstract and the press release. There were no recordings of the presentation that I could find, so there are details I don’t know. I have questions about the process, not the results, so here are my thoughts. The […]

What They Got Right in the Sugar and Artificial Sweetener Research

Whether it’s a new form of treatment, a new medication, or even examining a phytonutrient for potential benefits, it all starts with basic research. That’s what the study I began talking about Tuesday is all about: basic research. I like it because this is the way all research has to begin. This is where test-tube […]

Artificial Sweeteners, Obesity, and Diabetes

Last week, you may have seen headlines that said something like “Artificial Sweeteners May Cause Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes!” Just about every news organization picked up a press release from the Experimental Biology meeting. In the press release, researchers gave some of the results of a paper that was presented at a scientific session, […]

“My Doctor Told Me”

I get asked health questions all the time about weight loss, fitness, diet, and more. If a physician told the questioners something they should or should not do, they will let me know, and then I know my job just got harder. That’s why “my doctor told me” are four of the most powerful words […]

Physicians as Teachers

As the interview in JAMA continued, Dr. Devries continued talking about the lack of training and why it was a problem in his mind. He cited a study published in 2013 by the U.S. Burden of Disease Collaborators which concluded that the leading risk factor for degenerative disease and mortality was a poor diet. A […]

A Doctor’s Nutrition Training

“Essentially zero.” That’s the answer a physician gave in an interview when asked how much nutrition he received in medical school. The lack of substantive training continued all through his internal medicine residency and specialty training. His expertise? Cardiology. What’s worse is that he said that nothing has changed since. The interview with Dr. Stephen […]

Yum, It’s Fiber Soup!

Every day, I put a combination of psyllium fiber, inulin fiber, and a probiotic into a glass, add water, stir it up, and drink it down. Then I follow it with another glass of water to make sure the fiber doesn’t have to draw fluids from my gut. That gives me around six grams of […]

Giving Up Those Pointless Battles

Every morning you can hear a “boink” on one of the back windows of the house. Every 15 seconds or so, another one. Then it begins to travel to another window. Boink. Boink. Boink. It’s a female cardinal. Time after time after time. Day after day. Upstairs windows, downstairs windows; the back of our house […]

Your Payment Is Due

Today is Tax Day here in the U.S.—if you owe the government any money, today is the day you have to file your taxes and pay up. There are penalties if you’re late, so you want to be sure you pay up on time. Good health is the same way. The things you do that […]