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.
Distress Is Normal!
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoWe’ve experienced ever-present stress over the past three years, from pandemics to politics to prices of just about everything. It hasn’t slowed down, and that can take its toll—if you let it. Am I saying that stress is normal? I already said that in the last Memo. The objective is to train the body to […]
Living in Anxious Times
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoA psychologist I’ve interviewed on my local radio show on WGVU-FM, the Grand Rapids NPR affiliate, called me recently to talk about a wave of anxiety that seems to be impacting people: increased visits to doctors and ERs for chest pain, headaches, high blood pressure, and many more symptoms that don’t have a physiological explanation. […]
My Nutrition Questions for This Next Year
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoIs 100 years a long time? How about 10,000 years or a million? The answer: it depends on the reference point. In human terms, 100 years is a long time, but in terms of changes within a specific type of food or in terms of the microbiome, maybe not. In the next year, there are […]
I’m Alive: V2.53
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoWhen I opened my eyes this morning, I knew I had another year to do what I was created to do: teach people how to be healthy and fit. For those of you who are new readers, here’s the story: when I wake on May 10th every year, my superstitious belief is that I have […]
Knowing Your Health Patterns
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoThe reason it’s important to track health variables is to find any patterns in the results. Remember the study on hs-CRP and cancer? Paula immediately looked up her CRP levels and found two things. First, it had gone down consistently over several years. Second, she hadn’t had it tested every year, but she will from […]
Track Your Health Issue
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoOver the past few months, I’ve written about my blood pressure increasing from being sedentary for five weeks after my knee replacement. I’ve also written about hs-CRP in the study on inflammation and cancer. In addition, I’ve gotten questions about the impact of foods on the digestive system and the variation in blood sugar readings […]
Causes and Risk Factors
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoRather than making this a statistics Memo, I’m going to use a couple of examples that illustrate the problems with establishing what prevents or causes disease. Back in the late 1940s to early 1950s, there was a significant increase in cardiovascular disease. Trying to establish a single cause was complicated because there were so many […]
What Is Science?
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoAlong with all the disagreements and conflicting info about covid-19, there has been some confusion about science. Many people seemed to think anything science discovered about covid was complete and final, but that’s not how science works. Science is a constantly changing body of knowledge, or as the Science Council puts it: Science is the […]
Side 2: Why Powders Are Better than Plants
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoYou might have thought that I was a food-only proponent when it comes to nutrition. Not in the least—I’m a big fan of the right kinds of supplements. I think we should start with real food, but we also have to acknowledge that the average person’s plant intake is woefully low: one or two servings […]
Side 1: Why Plants Are Better than Powders
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoA month ago I addressed the increased interest in getting vegetables and fruits from powders; now let’s get into more detail. First, eating vegetables and fruits automatically increases our fluid intake. The exact water content of different plants varies, but the average plant is about 90% water by weight. The water is somewhat purified by […]