Entries by Chet Zelasko

A Must-See Movie

/in /by

The holiday season has been filled with one blockbuster movie after another, but if you want to see a movie that can help you decide what to eat, you have to see “In Defense of Food” with Michael Pollan. It also happens to be free on your PBS station or On Demand depending on your cable or satellite offerings.

There have been many movies that examine the foods we eat today. Most are more political and a criticism of business, government, and especially meat more than anything else. Not this movie. Pollan, a journalism professor, takes a look at food . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.

One Goal: Learn

/in /by

As we reach the end of 2015, many of you are setting your goals for 2016. For those goals related to health or business, I challenge you to do one thing with each goal: learn all you can in the process. Here’s what I mean.

 

Health Goals

Most of you will set a weight or fitness goal. Fantastic. You’re probably going to use an established program, you’ll follow it, and you’ll get results. Excellent. What do you do when you achieve your goal, whether it takes a few months or the entire year . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.

Merry Christmas

/in /by

Every year when we bake Christmas cookies, Paula and I watch our favorite Christmas movies again. There are so many we’ve accumulated, we don’t watch them all, but one that really captures the essence of what Christmas is all about is a British film called “Love Actually” even though it’s not exactly G-rated. Here is actor Hugh Grant’s opening voiceover:

“Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow airport. General opinion makes out that we live in a world of . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.

The Bottom Line on a Probiotic for Weight Loss: Misdirection

/in /by

One of the basic tenets of magic is misdirection. The magician gets you to look at his right hand when it’s actually his left hand that’s hiding something. I’m going to use that analogy as we finish our look at the probiotic Akkermansia muciniphila.

Let’s start with this. The microbiome of people who weigh less is different from the microbiome of those who weigh more. It seems if we could figure out what bacteria are different between those groups, we might be able to help those who weigh more lose weight. It makes sense . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.

A New Probiotic for Weight Loss?

/in /by

Weight is always a hot topic, so I’m telling you about two weight-loss studies this week. The idea is to give you some idea how the next great thing could hit the market—or it may not—but if it does, you read it here first. The potential solution is a good bacterium called Akkermansia muciniphila. This probiotic may be a key to weight loss, or it may not. Let’s take a look at the first study. I’ll only hit the highlights because these were two of the most complicated research papers I’ve . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.

Gourmet Detox Weekend: Creating Healthier Habits

/in /by

A long-time reader shared an interesting email response regarding the message on Fast Day. When he read that I was only doing liquids as part of the Gourmet Detox Weekend, he said that he has done one fast day with just liquids as well. When he does, he feels great and actually has more energy at the end of the day. He’s adapted it to fit his work schedule, but it’s a habit he’s had for over 20 years—20 years!

That’s . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.

Fast Day

/in /by

Tomorrow is the beginning of the Gourmet Detox weekend that I mentioned last week. Personally, I’m going to begin with a one-day fast. Why? Here is an excerpt from Real-Life Detox:

It’s a bit like rebooting your system. When your computer starts acting weird or the apps aren’t working right on your phone, you know it’s time to reboot—turn it off and then turn it back on. Usually your phone or computer work normally after a . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.

Reach Higher

/in /by

The Michigan State football team is in the final four for the national collegiate football championship. They may win, they may lose, but they made it to this point. Their motto this year was “Reach Higher” and they did. They worked harder, lifted more weights, studied more film, prepared better. They built the habits necessary to win. More than that, they learned to win on the field.

They didn’t do this in one season; they’ve built the attitude over the past eight years. They failed a lot before they began to win. When new players joined the team . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.

Why Now?

/in /by

In the last two messages, I’ve challenged you not to waste the entire month of December before changing to a healthier lifestyle after January 1st. Why now? Why didn’t I just wait until the New Year when everyone is “ready”? Maybe the latest report from the CDC will put things in perspective.

Researchers from the CDC and Emory University analyzed data from NHANES studies conducted between 2005 and 2012. They were interested in finding out how many people with high LDL cholesterol were taking medication and making lifestyle changes. There were a lot of results reported in the . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.

Clean Start

/in /by

On Tuesday, I called December a month of opportunity. You can choose to grab hold of a healthier lifestyle right now or ignore things until the New Year and waste this opportunity. On my Facebook page, I took things one step further. I asked people to take some measurements: body weight as well as chest, waist, and hip circumferences. I’m asking you to do the same thing today. You could also include a measurement of a particular spot that you’re troubled by such as your upper arm or above the knee.

Why? To measure it again on January . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.