Entries by Chet Zelasko

Do Birds of Prey Count Calories?

One of the things about bird of prey that surprised me was how light birds such as eagles and vultures really are; that’s a turkey vulture above. While the weight can vary depending on the origin of the eagles, they weigh 6–10 pounds. With a wingspan of 6–7 feet, they seem imposing, but in reality […]

What Can We Learn from Birds of Prey?

When Paula and I spent last week visiting our son and daughter-in-law in Summerville, South Carolina, one of the things we did was visit the Center for Birds of Prey, and it was a tremendous experience. We saw bald eagles, turkey vultures, horned owls, storks, and many more, including a truly amazing flying demo with […]

I’m Alive V2.50

When I opened my eyes yesterday, I said the same thing I’ve said for the past 26 years: I’m alive! When I wake on May 10th every year, it means I have at least one more year of life. It makes no sense in the real world, especially for a guy who talks about science […]

Move Up to Interval Training

Recently I watched an interview with the cast and production staff of the third John Wick movie, which will be released soon. What struck me was the physical preparation to do the action and fight scenes. When the third installment of the movie was announced, Keanu Reeves shouted to himself. “All right. It’s time for […]

How to Bust a Plateau

It happens to everyone when we lose weight: the scale stops moving downward even though we’re doing everything the same as we’ve been doing. How do we start losing again? Patience. While the scale may not move, there’s a lot going on. Hundreds of changes are happening in just about every cell of your body […]

What’s Your Body Mass Index?

You may be tempted to measure how you’re doing on the way to your health goals with body composition read-outs on scales and other outputs related to body fat analytics, but how accurate are they? If the device used is one that has you stand on a scale or hang on to handles of some […]

The End of Constipation

I had a question recently about the difference between a laxative such as Miralax and fiber. While they’re both safe, there are similarities and there are differences. They are similar in that they draw fluid into the intestines. Miralax uses chemicals while fiber uses plant sources; both draw fluid into the gut to soften the […]

The Keto Diet and Fiber

More and more people are trying the ketogenic diet. If you do, the directions recommend that you eat plenty of green leafy vegetables for the vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and especially the fiber. The problem is that many people cut the carbs from all sources and that includes vegetables. The simplest way to give yourself some […]

Food Is Better Than Supplements, But …

Getting your nutrients from food by eating a healthy diet is the most desirable way of getting vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Period. If we could all do it, no question that’s the best way. But you and I don’t live in some fantasy world. We’re busy. We don’t always have enough time to shop and […]

Food vs. Supplements: A Closer Look

There’s no question National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) has done the best job of collecting data on nutritional intake in large-scale studies. I’ve applauded it in the past, and I’m not going to change now just because there’s an NHANES-based paper that critiques the use of supplements. NHANES data were used by one […]