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.
Health Headline: Diet and Hearing Loss
Researchers examined nutrition data collected between 1991 and 2013 in the second Nurses Health Study to examine whether adherence to a healthier diet reduced the risk of hearing loss. They developed a scoring system for three dietary approaches: the Alternate Mediterranean Diet (AMED), the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), and the Alternative Healthy Eating […]
Health Headline: Ketogenic Diet and Type 1 Diabetes
Researchers wanted to examine the blood sugar control of type 1 diabetics who use a very low carbohydrate, high-protein, moderate fat ketogenic diet. The diet was developed by Dr. Richard Bernstein, himself a type 1 diabetic. They used a unique study design: they requested volunteers from a Facebook group of children and adults who adhere […]
Health Headline: Antibiotics and Kidney Stones
For this week’s Memos, I picked three health headlines from the past week and examined the studies behind them to see if they were headline worthy. Let’s begin with the use of antibiotics and the risk of kidney stones. Researchers in the United Kingdom examined the incidence of kidney stones in over 13 million children […]
Tracking Your Rate of Change
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) just published new recommendations for prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing for men 55 and over. In effect, they don’t recommend PSA testing on a regular basis. I think that’s a mistake. I’ll cover the specifics for PSA testing during the Prostate Health webinar, but I think regular testing […]
I’m Alive V2.49
When I opened my eyes this morning, I said the same thing I’ve said for the past 25 years: I’m alive! If I wake up this morning, it means I have at least one more year. It makes no sense in the real world, especially for a guy who talks about science so much, but […]
Sugar vs. Sweetener Research: Meaningless in the Real World
I’m in a slight disadvantage in evaluating this study; I was able to read only the convention-session abstract and the press release. There were no recordings of the presentation that I could find, so there are details I don’t know. I have questions about the process, not the results, so here are my thoughts. The […]
What They Got Right in the Sugar and Artificial Sweetener Research
Whether it’s a new form of treatment, a new medication, or even examining a phytonutrient for potential benefits, it all starts with basic research. That’s what the study I began talking about Tuesday is all about: basic research. I like it because this is the way all research has to begin. This is where test-tube […]
Artificial Sweeteners, Obesity, and Diabetes
Last week, you may have seen headlines that said something like “Artificial Sweeteners May Cause Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes!” Just about every news organization picked up a press release from the Experimental Biology meeting. In the press release, researchers gave some of the results of a paper that was presented at a scientific session, […]
“My Doctor Told Me”
I get asked health questions all the time about weight loss, fitness, diet, and more. If a physician told the questioners something they should or should not do, they will let me know, and then I know my job just got harder. That’s why “my doctor told me” are four of the most powerful words […]
Physicians as Teachers
As the interview in JAMA continued, Dr. Devries continued talking about the lack of training and why it was a problem in his mind. He cited a study published in 2013 by the U.S. Burden of Disease Collaborators which concluded that the leading risk factor for degenerative disease and mortality was a poor diet. A […]
