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.
The Big Chill: Do You Need a Flu Shot?
In this final installment of The Big Chill, I’m going to take a look at flu shots: should you get one or not? Before I do that, a word about echinacea.
Echinacea
Many readers have read that echinacea shouldn’t be used long term or used at all if you have an autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis. The problem is that there are no studies to support either position and no studies to suggest it’s harmful, either. In that situation, the approach is always to proceed with caution until we know more. The only problem with waiting . . .
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The Big Chill: Immune-Boosting Supplements
Getting ready for cold and flu season, let’s turn to dietary supplements that may help keep your immune system strong. Dozens of supplements are promoted to strengthen the immune system, but let’s stick to what I know works based on the research and my experience: echinacea, garlic, and vitamin C.
Make sure you read this first before you go to the amounts of each supplement to take below because in this case, close enough is. Don’t obsess about the difference between 200 mg or 250 mg, and if I say 300 mg three times a day, don . . .
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Get Ready for the Big Chill
If you live almost anywhere in the continental U.S. and Canada, you’re in for some chilly weather for the next 10 days at least, so it’s time to boost your immune system for the cold and flu season. Let’s start where your immune system starts and that’s your gut. You guessed it—we’re talking about the microbiome, the 100 trillion or so microbial organisms that live in and on our bodies and contribute to our health.
There are three ways to give your microbiome a boost:
- Eat more raw vegetables and fruits . . .
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Fat Crash-Test Dummies
A company made headlines this week, and while I’m never really fond of science by headline, this one is a little different. This week, we’ve found out that we’re fatter than ever and that most of us are storing our fat in our abdominal region (1,2); because of those trends, Humanetics, the company that manufactures crash-test dummies, is designing new dummies that reflect the obesity rates in the U.S. and Canada.
I think it’s a good idea. The old crash-test dummies were based on a body that weighed 167 pounds. That model . . .
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The Problem with Belly Fat
Let’s take a closer look at abdominal obesity: why it’s worse than having fat more generally distributed, and what could explain the increase (1,2).
There are two types of fat storage: subcutaneous and visceral. Subcutaneous means the fat is stored just under the skin. Though it’s flabby and not great to look at, it’s more a storage location and not metabolically active for the most part. Intra-abdominal fat or visceral fat is more metabolically active. While scientists don’t really know why, conditions such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance are . . .
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How Fat Are We?
Sometimes I miss Jay Leno. There were times he would ask a question such as “How fat are we?” and hit one-liner after one-liner. While his jokes were usually outrageous, they were indicative of where we are in the U.S. today. I’m going to review a couple of studies this week and believe me, there are no jokes in the latest research.
To answer Jay’s question, we’re fatter than we’ve ever been (1). Based on statistics from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the percentage of Americans who are overweight is 68.5 . . .
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Taurine and Caffeine
Today we’re wrapping up our look at the potential benefits of adding more taurine to your diet. One of the topics I get asked about most often is the effect of caffeine and taurine in combination on the heart. The concern is that energy drinks contain both nutrients; would that have negative effects on people with heart issues such as hypertension? Let’s take a look at a recent research review.
The authors of the review paper examined the available research on the potential interactions between caffeine and taurine because of the increase in energy-drink consumption. The effects . . .
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Taurine and Diabetes
We’re continuing our look at taurine and some interesting research on its potential benefits. Today, we’re looking at taurine and diabetes but let me be clear: this is mostly theoretical at this point; there has been substantial animal research but not as many human trials as I would like. Still I think it’s worth talking about now.
There are three areas that are affected substantially if you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes: the heart and cardiovascular system, the eyes, and the hands and feet. In this review paper, researchers found an association between diabetes and . . .
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Taurine and Energy Drinks
Taurine is typically found in energy drinks, but many people don’t understand how it works. Let’s start with the obvious: how could taurine help with increasing energy levels in the body?
In a review article, the authors explained the role of the beta-amino acid taurine in energy production (1): not supplying calories, but having a role in the production of energy inside the mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell. It’s an extremely complicated biochemical process, but let’s see if we can break it down into simpler terms.
Taurine contributes to the production of proteins inside . . .
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Extracts vs. Foods: Tomatoes, Lycopene, and CVD
In today’s look at foods versus extracts, researchers examined a series of studies on the effects of whole-tomato products versus the phytonutrient lycopene on markers of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Tomatoes vs. Lycopene
Researchers reviewed well over 100 published studies that used either tomatoes (both raw and cooked) or the phytonutrient lycopene (1). Their objective was to see whether the whole food or the extract was more effective in reducing markers for CVD such as blood pressure, inflammation, and serum lipids. Based on a medical model of treatment and results, they felt the research was underwhelming on the effects . . .
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