Dr. Chet’s Health Memos
If it’s in the health news today, I’ll be writing about it as soon as I read the research, both old and new. With my email Health Memos, you’ll know more about making lifestyle choices that will help you get and keep good health. These free, concise updates on health are emailed to subscribers twice a week. Subscribe today and get a free MP3, in English or Spanish, of Dr. Chet’s Top Ten Tips—Small Changes for a Healthier Life.
Supplement Ingredient Follow-up
The Consumer Report messages on supplements also brought out the responses. There were a few that I thought I should write about to bring about some clarity on the topic.
From the list of “15 Supplement Ingredients to Always Avoid,” I wrote about only green tea extract in depth and mentioned caffeine powder. Most were herbs that are not found in conventional supplements such as multivitamins or coenzyme Q10. What seems to be a characteristic of most herbs on the list is that they cause liver and kidney damage when not used properly such as comfrey, kava, and usnic acid . . .
We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.
If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.
Flossing Follow-up
I’ve written the memo for over 16 years and for the past 10 years, it’s been about health, but I never know what kind of response I’m going to get about what I write. Flossing and “dangerous supplement ingredients” really brought out some great questions. I’ll cover them in the next two messages.
Today, flossing. Many readers and listeners thanked me for addressing the issue and challenging the AP report. We think of teeth as being shaped like a blade, but most are closer to square at the gumline. That’s a lot of surface area . . .
We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.
If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.
The Bottom Line on Green Tea Extract
The Consumer Reports article on “15 Supplement Ingredients You Should Always Avoid” included green tea extract powder on the list. Paula and I have used it for a number of years, so I wanted to check out the research behind the potential health issues they claimed could happen to people who regularly use green tea extract powder as part of a supplement plan.
The problem is that the authors didn’t list any references. They had a document that listed their board of experts, the stores they shopped, and a list of criteria they used to select the ingredients; they . . .
We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.
If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.
Supplements You Should Avoid
The second Consumer Reports article about supplements was “15 Supplement Ingredients to Always Avoid.” The best place to begin is with the list so here it is:
Aconite
Caffeine powder
Chaparral
Coltsfoot
Comfrey
Germander
Greater celandine
Green tea extract powder
Kava
Lobelia
Methylsynephrine
Pennyroyal oil
Red yeast rice
Usnic acid
Yohimbe
Along with the list, there was a column that gave claims and benefits of each along with a column of hazards ranging from mild irritation to death. To me, most of the items on the list were herbs I’ve never used and . . .
We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.
If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.
Are Supplements Making You Sick?
Consumer Reports has been a go to source if you wanted to find out about purchasing a good automobile, toaster, oven, or other household product. Years ago they added health to their repertoire, including dietary supplements. In July they published a series of articles on the dangers of supplements. I’m going to talk about two of the articles this week.
The first article was provocatively titled “Supplements Can Make You Sick.” It began with a sad story about a premature baby, went on to talk about the dangers of using “unregulated” supplements that can contain illegal substances and even . . .
We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.
If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.
The Bottom Line on Flossing
Let’s take a closer look at the AP article that questioned the use of flossing for dental health (1). Based on the science to date, it appears there isn’t enough research for the government to recommend that everyone floss daily. Is there no research to support flossing? More important, does flossing contribute to dental health?
A dentist wrote an opinion piece for The Huffington Post blog (2); he addressed the AP article very well by taking a second look at an article the AP used as part of their claim for a lack of support for flossing. In . . .
We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.
If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.
The Science of Flossing
After reading the AP article on flossing, I did what I normally do: I checked the research (1). I specifically looked for research on flossing and periodontal disease, but there wasn’t much. Then I checked the research that the AP investigative journalist used; again the research wasn’t overwhelming and most studies weren’t really positive. If you check out the AP article, the references are listed at the bottom.
The AP article interviewed several experts in the field; most agreed that research as we know it today hasn’t been done to support the use of flossing for . . .
We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.
If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.
To Floss or Not to Floss
There are several health truths that I hold dear. Everyone needs to exercise. We all need to eat more vegetables. We should floss our teeth every day.
Not everyone agrees. There have been books and articles written about why exercise doesn’t prevent heart disease nor help you lose weight. Some diets want you to avoid certain types of plant materials. But I thought flossing was safe from controversy.
Until now.
Writers from the Associated Press Investigative team decided to question the recommendation for flossing from the Department of Health and Human Services and the USDA Guidelines. Using the Freedom . . .
We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.
If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.
Sports Nutrition After Your Workout
The objective of post-workout sports nutrition is to recover as quickly as possible; that means providing nutrients that will replace fuel, help the repair process, and reduce inflammation. These are natural by-products of exercise, especially intense exercise. Nutrition can help the recovery process, and we’re learning more about it all the time.
The first priority is to replace muscle glycogen; that helps the muscle, but it also seems to help the immune system as well. Second is to provide protein for any repair that needs to take place, especially after a hard weight-training workout. Whether from . . .
We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.
If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.
Sports Nutrition During Your Workout
There’s probably more research on what sports nutrition products to use during workouts than any other area. The critical factor is to maintain fluid balance while working out; water is an essential part of these products but that’s not all.
The critical factor is to keep the brain, the nervous system, and the muscles all functioning during workouts; the longer the activity, the more important fluids become. We lose fluids readily as we work out. Part of that is our cooling mechanism, but another is a by-product of making energy using oxygen. Whether you burn carbohydrates or . . .
We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.
If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.
