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.
Does Protein Decrease Lifespan?
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoJust when we’ve accepted that carbohydrates are bad for us and everyone seems to be doing the paleo or ketogenic diets, a new study from an Australian research group created headlines by suggesting that high-protein diets are unhealthy because they decrease longevity. For years we’ve been told that high-fat diets are bad. Then scientists suggested […]
Fasting: A Metabolic Do-Over
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoThe changes that occur during fasting are remarkable. Blood sugar is maintained within normal ranges. Protein and other breakdown products can be used to make glucose. And there’s one more significant finding: levels of purines and pyrimidines increased during the fast. These are some of the substrates for making proteins and nucleic acids used for […]
Gluconeogenesis: Making Sugar
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoOn Tuesday, I said that blood sugars remained stable in all subjects throughout the study. How can that be when they would most likely use all their stored sugar in 24 hours or so? Their bodies made glucose out of protein and scraps from the breakdown of other substances. Many hormones and connective tissue are […]
A Case for Fasting
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoDuring the food poisoning episode last week, I didn’t eat for 30 hours. Of course, I had slept most of that time and eating was the last thing I wanted to do. Even though I could have started eating again, I decided to continue the fast to at least 60 hours. I continued to drink […]
Report Food Poisoning
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoWhat should you do if you get food poisoning? Report it. The procedure may vary state to state, county to county, and even city to city, but here’s what we did. The first thing: Paula called the restaurant where we ate and told the manager what happened, what we ate, and when. We can’t be […]
The Most Likely Culprit: Salmonella
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoFood poisoning happens more often than we think it does. Most often, we throw up once or have a single bout of diarrhea with no fever and no fatigue and it’s over. The question is how we know which type of bacteria was at fault. There’s no way to know for certain unless stool samples […]
Is It Food Poisoning?
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoIt all began Saturday evening. Paula and I had gone out to dinner to celebrate the 31st anniversary of our first date and were watching a little television. After finishing a show, she said she felt like throwing up. She decided to get ready for bed while I channel flipped for awhile. I found out […]
Vaping: Better Than Tobacco
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoToday’s final look at vaping and quitting smoking considers the following question: Does the use of vaping to quit smoking result in eliminating the dependence on nicotine? Based on the research, the answer is no, because there’s no research that attempts to answer that question that I could find. Knowing the powerful addictive qualities of […]
Do Vapes Help People Quit Smoking?
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoThe only answer at this point is maybe. In the most recent review of the literature, population-based studies that rely on surveys and questionnaires suggest that vaping helps; the problem is that while they tells us something about the population as a whole, it tells us nothing about an individual. We’re still missing randomized placebo-controlled […]
Warning: Vaping Update
/in Memos/by Chet ZelaskoA couple of months ago, I happened to read a story about a couple of graduate students who came up with a business plan to replace cigarettes with vapes; they wanted the nicotine from the vapes but none of the harmful chemicals in tobacco products. Turns out, the company in the commercial was their company […]