Entries by Chet Zelasko

Broken Heart Syndrome

This week’s focus is on American Heart Month and specifically heart disease in women. While heart disease is the leading cause of death in both men and women, there’s one type of heart disease that affects more women than men: broken heart syndrome. Can you die from a broken heart? Absolutely. We’ll find out how […]

The Way Things Used to Be

On the radio, I heard a woman say, “I just want things to be the way they used to be!” That mirrors the frustration that I read from emails people send about being older. I don’t necessarily mean those over 60; I get the same type of frustration from 30-year-olds who find that their bodies […]

Who’s in Charge?

“Make sure you define the disease; it doesn’t define you.” That quote is from physician Dr. Louis Papa in a video I recently watched. What a powerful statement. While the discussion was about heart disease, he said it applies to any disease. We all have health challenges; you won’t escape. Even if you have the best […]

Training Pays Off

Tom Brady is the best quarterback in the history of the National Football League. Ouch—that’s tough for a guy from Buffalo to say, but after this past weekend, it’s true. I talked about how his dedication to training and attention to detail give him the energy and focus to perform. But after all the training, […]

Energy Thieves: Medications

Another class of energy thieves is medications. This may not apply to everyone but based on the latest CDC stats, close to 50% of all American adults take at least one prescription drug and almost one-quarter take three medications or more. There are three ways medications can steal your energy when you need it to […]

Energy Thieves: Food

This week I’m focusing on potential energy thieves, and I’ve identified three areas that can hinder performance; one of those is the foods we eat. The two primary food thieves that affect me and many others are refined carbohydrates and deep-fat fried food, but the reasons are polar opposites: Refined carbohydrates and some starchy foods […]

Paula’s Turn: I’m a Survivor!

For a week in October, I had breast cancer. But maybe I should start at the beginning. In September I got my usual mammogram and was called back for more images, which had happened before so I wasn’t worried. But this time, the radiologist saw something and recommended a biopsy. An ultrasound-guided core biopsy was […]

Special Message: Enough!

You may have seen the news that actor and comedian Robin Williams reportedly took his own life on Monday. I was on a plane when I heard, and the guy next to me just kept saying over and over, “He was only 63!” That was my seatmate’s age and mine as well. One of the […]

Fruits, Vegetables, Weight Loss, and Independence Day

This is a very long holiday weekend so I decided on a very long title for this week’s only message—three topics in one message. Let’s get to it. Research Review: Fruits, Vegetables, and Weight Loss The headlines have read “Eating Your Veggies Worthless for Weight Loss” and “Fruits and Veggies Won’t Lead to Weight Loss” […]

Forks Over Knives

I like writing the Saturday messages because it allows me to review scientific articles or controversies in health in a little more depth. Today I’m going to give you my thoughts on the movie Forks Over Knives, written and directed by Lee Fulker. The movie was exactly what I thought it would be, and at […]