Entries by Chet Zelasko

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 […]

Food vs. Supplements

Last week, the health headlines blared that nutrients from foods were better than nutrients from supplements—specifically that excess calcium from supplements was associated with an increased risk of dying from cancer. That will get your attention if you take supplemental calcium, especially if you’re taking calcium because your physician told you to take it because […]

Supplementing Your Diet

Last week, a study was published that concluded that nutrients from food are better than nutrients from supplements. Does that mean you can throw out the supplements and just eat more? Short answer: no. Did you ever notice that one week some vitamin is good for you and the next it’s supposed to be bad […]