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.
Just Be Honest
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoOne of the problems that I have with many websites and health gurus is that they won’t tell you what they’re really about. This isn’t the same as reposting websites; they get paid for getting you to click on links and thus don’t really care what they post as long as it’s eye-catching. The people and websites that bother me write most frequently about the food supply and what is and is not healthy for you. Fine. I do that, too. What isn’t apparent is why they do what . . .
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“That Saved My Life!”
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoThis is going to be an opinionated week of messages, starting with a recent conversation. Actually, I’ve had the conversation with many people over the years who feel that at a time when their health was spinning out of control, they heard or read something that made sense, and they feel it saved their lives—a product, a diet, or even a person.
I don’t see it that way. When people get to the point of realizing that the path they’re on is going to kill them, whatever trigger gets them on a better path gets the . . .
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Blood Pressure: Lifestyle First
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoToday I’m going to share a caution from one of the lead authors in the Mayo Clinic arm of the study and tell you what I think is the biggest mistake the researchers made in announcing the preliminary results of the SPRINT Study.
The Mayo Clinic posted a video from Dr. William Haley, a lead researcher in the SPRINT Study; remember there were 102 different clinical sites that provided data for this study. What he said was significant. Here’s my interpretation: The results of a large study such . . .
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Blood Pressure: More Drugs
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoContinuing our look at the SPRINT Study from Tuesday, the study showed a significant reduction in mortality from cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes in subjects older than 50. I can’t argue that those are important results. The question is how did they do it? Here’s how: The group of subjects whose target systolic blood pressure (SBP) was less than 140 were treated with an average of two antihypertensive medications. What did they do with the group whose target SPB was less than . . .
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Blood Pressure: A Moving Target
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoIn a press release this past weekend, the National Institute of Health released preliminary results of the SPRINT Study (Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial) sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. It reported that lowering the target systolic blood pressure (SBP) from 140 mm Hg to 120 mm Hg in people over 50 years old significantly reduced the death rate and cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes.
The subjects were recruited from 102 clinical centers throughout the U.S. (1). The conditions for inclusion in the trial were that men and women must be 50 or . . .
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Rich Foods
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoToday I finish up my look at Southern-style collard greens. On Thursday, I looked at bacon, one of the key ingredients in most recipes. Another is ham. As long as the ham is lean, it has much more protein than fat so that’s not a real concern at 45 calories per ounce. That leaves us with the greens and onions.
Adding a large white, yellow, or red onion doesn’t add many calories but it adds plenty of phytonutrients. It adds flavonols such as quercetin and kaempferol as well as another type of phytonutrient called allicins. Research shows . . .
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Bacon, Bacon, Bacon, Bacon, Bacon
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoBacon and eggs. Bacon on cheeseburgers. Bacon martinis. Bacon-caramel cupcakes. Bacon all by itself. If ever a food craze is in full swing, it’s the obsession we have with bacon. It satisfies the taste buds for salty and umami with a fatty texture. The primary concern from a health perspective is the amount of fat in the bacon.
The typical recipe for collard greens begins with bacon. The amounts vary but in order to add flavor to the greens, the smokiness of the bacon is one of the keys. It can’t be duplicated by simply adding salt . . .
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Poor Man’s Food
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoOnce again the events in my life have led me to write this week’s messages. First, I watched a presentation on flavonoids and their role in health by two of the country’s leading experts. Why we don’t eat more vegetables, herbs, and fruits is beyond me. Maybe it’s because of what happened in a conversation I had with one of the aides who works with my father-in-law in assisted living.
The conversation started when she asked me what I do. When I told her my background in nutrition, she asked how I felt about . . .
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Healthier Eating for Kids
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoIn the last message before Labor Day, I wanted to provide you with a few references to help your kids eat better. It’s something that I’ve never done before but frankly, I just don’t know everything and I’m not going to live long enough to learn it all. I hate that, but every man’s got to know his limitations. Yes, that’s one of my favorite movie quotes.
Two are books that I referenced in earlier webinars; the other two are books by long-time readers who are passionate about helping kids eat healthy. I . . .
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Kids’ Lunches
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoSchools have either begun or are about to begin after Labor Day, so let’s stick to our topic from last week, kids and food.
School lunches have been in the headlines. In a recently published study, researchers compared the amounts of fruits and vegetables kids put on their trays and ate before and after the National School Lunch Program rules mandated every student should eat more fruits and vegetables. The headlines suggested that kids took more, ate less, and threw away more. Sounds bad? They took 0.20 cups more fruits and vegetables (about 24 blueberries), ate 0.06 . . .
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