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.
Don’t Get on the Scale
I’m a fan of Seth Godin, one of the first Internet marketers, and his daily blog; sometimes it’s a page, sometimes only one or two sentences. His messages deal with all aspects of business and marketing, but sometimes, he uses examples from everyday life. Here’s one that’s brutal but honest:
Don't measure anything unless the data helps you make a better decision or change your actions. If you're not prepared to change your diet or your workouts, don't get on the scale.
Metrics dictate what . . .
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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 […]
Never Going to Happen
I was walking in the cereal aisle of a grocery store the other day. Actually, I walked up, then down, at different times. I can’t explain it, but I’m sure it’s a man thing. Even with a list, I wander around and around. But the way I shop is not the point—it’s the way other people shop.
The first time, a little girl in a grocery cart jumped up pointing to the Fruit Loops shouting, “There they are!” I don’t know whether she saw the television ads or normally ate them, but a three . . .
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The Bottom Line on Handshakes in Healthcare
This week I’ve talked about physicians opinions on human contact in the healthcare setting as well as a couple of studies that establish that pathogens can be transferred from normal human contact such as handshakes in hospitals and other medical locations.
Normal human contact. That sounds much different from talking about handshakes or fist bumps, doesn’t it? Puts a different feel to it. That’s the Number One problem I see with limiting actions such as handshakes in the healthcare setting: we lose the feeling expressed through common human contact. Some people who don’t like . . .
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More Research on Hospital Handshakes
Two studies on handshakes have made the news recently (1,2). Both indicate that avoiding handshakes and perhaps moving to something such as a fist bump might be a good idea in the healthcare setting. Let’s take a closer look.
In the first study, researchers had two healthcare workers start at the ground floor of a hospital and then proceed to the surgical suite on the 5th floor. They pushed the buttons on elevators, used door handles, etc. Then they shook hands with 20 other healthcare workers working on the surgical floor. After contact, the 20 unsuspecting workers were . . .
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Don’t Touch That!
What if this sign greeted you the next time you walked into your doctor’s or dentist’s office:
Handshake-Free Zone: To protect your health and the health of those around you, please refrain from shaking hands while on these premises.
In my head, I’m thinking no way that will ever happen—then my dentist fist-bumped me the other day. I immediately knew what he had read, so this topic went to the top of my list of things to write about. I’ve been tracking some . . .
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How to Reverse Heart Disease
In this final message of the week on reversing heart disease, I’m going to tell you why I think the program was successful, a couple of problems that I have with it, and the bottom line.
The Training
The key to this program in my opinion was education. The program began with a five-hour seminar with limited participation: no more than 12 participants. Here’s what they did in the training:
- Explained the relationship between diet and heart disease in other cultures throughout the world.
- Showed the damage to arteries in very young . . .
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What to Eat to Reverse Heart Disease
We’re going to continue our look at the recently published research on the way to reverse CAD. Remember, 89% of the people recruited for this study were still following the diet more than three years later. Let’s take a look at what they ate and what they didn’t eat.
The paper describes the core diet as consisting of the following: whole grains, legumes, lentils, other vegetables, and fruit. Of course, this is a completely vegan diet. The researchers assured the subjects that they would reach their protein intake every day.
The researchers prohibited many foods as well . . .
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Reversing Heart Disease
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. and Canada in people 65 and older. Many people who are younger have high blood pressure, clogged arteries, and arrhythmias; the side effects of treating those issues impair their lives, and they can’t do all they’d like to do because of physical limitations due to coronary artery disease (CAD). But what if there were a way, without medications, without surgeries, to reverse CAD? This was the question posed in a recently published study (1) that we’ll examine this week.
The primary author is Dr. Caldwell . . .
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Reader’s Edition: How to Treat Obesity
Thank you again for your responses to my question about obesity—you all did a great job. Some answers were short, and some went into a lot of detail. Just like last week, I’ve excerpted some of your answers. Enjoy reading what others have done and are doing, because if you have weight you’d like to abandon, you’ll find some tips in here to help you out.
A New Lifestyle
“It’s a lifestyle decision to make. Eat less by using a salad plate rather than a dinner plate—no seconds. Eat heart-healthy foods . . .
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