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.

Cat-With-Cup

What Am I Supposed to Drink?

Why would someone ask that question? It was in response to a health news report on a couple of studies that suggested that if you drink too much fruit juice, any soda at all, or five or more cups of coffee, you’ll have an increased risk of a first stroke. Let’s take a look at […]

BRI-vs-BMI

BRI: It Just Doesn’t Matter

Continuing our look at the BRI, the mathematician demonstrated that BRI is associated with body fat distribution. It makes sense; the waist measurement would provide an indication of fat around the waist. The next question is: would the BRI be a better predictor for cardiometabolic disorders than BMI? BRI and Mortality A group of researchers […]

RoundMan

Body Roundness Index

The Body Mass Index (BMI) has been used to provide an indication of whether someone is under weight, normal weight, overweight, or obese and the degree to which they are obese. There’s no measure of percentage of body fatness implied, but physicians and other medical professionals have used it for that purpose for a couple […]

FoodWorld

Expand Your Food World

Paula and I watch a lot of cooking shows; most are competitions and the styles of cooking vary from diner food to high-end restaurants. The one thing that is prevalent is that you see a lot of foods and cooking techniques from other continents and cultures. This weekend, I’m going to challenge you to try […]

LemonadeStand

A Little Help from My Friends

Do you realize that it’s been six months since I introduced a new product? Have I had ideas? Yes—in fact, so many of them, I get stymied at where to begin. Because you are my readers, and therefore potential customers, what would you like from me? Let me help you get started. I want to […]

SoccerTeam

The Point of Youth Sports

Malcolm Gladwell, the author of The Tipping Point among many others, published Revenge of the Tipping Point, a look back at what he got right and what may not have turned out to be correct. As I was listening to a new podcast interview, he made a comment on youth sports that stuck with me: […]

FolicAcidBabies

Should I Use Folate or Folic Acid?

In the past few years, there has been a trend toward using folate, the natural form of vitamin B9, versus using folic acid, the synthetic form. Many times I’ve answered the question “Which form is better? I’ve heard…” I said on Tuesday that the study on folic acid, blood lead levels, and autism had a […]

Lead

Folic Acid, Lead, and Autism

Every once in a while, a research study provides an important lesson as well as some interesting findings. Let’s begin with the study. During 2008 through 2011, researchers selected almost 1,900 pregnant women as subjects from 10 cities across Canada for the study. The overall goal was to identify environmental impacts on the mothers and […]

WeekendWarriors

Do Weekend Warriors Improve Their Health?

Let’s finish the week with a question no one asked but was the topic of a recent study: what’s better for your health—being a weekend warrior or working out according to established guidelines? The major component of the guidelines is more than 150 minutes of moderate to intense exercise a week spread out over most […]

Psyllium

What About Fiber?

Here’s one more thing you might want to add to your smoothie: fiber. In this case, it depends on the type of fiber more than anything else. Let me illustrate. My grandson Riley and I have something we call “soup” almost every night. It has two kinds of fiber as well as a probiotic mixed […]