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.
Recent Research: Milk and T2D
Health news headlines got my attention this past week. They announced that full-fat milk products may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and becoming overweight. I don’t know about you, but it’s been decades since I drank whole milk or ate whole-fat yogurt or ice cream. It’s not just about the calories; it just doesn’t seem to taste as good. Have I been missing something? Headlines tend to exaggerate, especially when they’re based on press releases. Let’s take a look at the first study behind the headlines.
In the first paper . . .
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Curcumin and Your Health
Curcumin certainly has the health experts excited. I understand, but I also think there are some things that you have to know about this phytonutrient before you begin taking mega-doses every day.
Absorption and Bioavailability
Curcumin is not well absorbed in the digestive system—in fact, it’s very poorly absorbed, with some studies showing that no measurable curcuminoids reach the bloodstream at all. That’s why a focus of research has been to get the active part of turmeric into a better delivery system. I mentioned combining it with piperine, a component of black pepper, on . . .
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Curcumin Research
Curcumin is fast becoming one of the most researched phytonutrients in the world. As evidence, in 2000, there were about 100 papers published on curcumin; in 2015, there were 1,100 papers published. And in the first quarter of this year, there were over 400 papers published. Why all the attention on this yellow phytonutrient?
I mentioned the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant qualities on Tuesday. The focus of a lot of research is for curcumin’s use as a potential cancer treatment and preventive for Alzheimer’s disease. Most of these are test-tube studies. Researchers are trying to examine . . .
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Curcumin and Pepper
I’m just back from Peoria, and there’s nothing like spending a couple of days with health-conscious people to yield some very interesting questions. This week, I’m going to examine one question in detail: is turmeric absorbed as effectively without pepper in the blend? A phytonutrient found in turmeric called curcumin is being extensively studied for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. But pepper? I checked into it and here’s what I found.
In a study done in 1998, researchers examined the absorption of curcumin with and without piperine, the phytonutrient that provides the pungent smell . . .
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Gaining Muscle and Losing Fat with Protein
Can you gain muscle while losing weight? Let’s take a look at the final study in this week’s Research Update on protein.
Researchers recruited 40 young overweight men to participate in a four-week diet and exercise weight loss program with an average age of 23 and average BMI of 29.7. The subjects were randomly divided into two groups. The control group had a diet that reduced calories by 40% and provided 1.2 grams of protein per kg of body weight per day. The protein group had their intake reduced by 40% but were given 2 . . .
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Protein Intake and Sleep Quality
Today we’re going to look at two studies from Purdue University, Paula’s alma mater, on the role of protein intake and sleep during a weight loss program (1). In the first, 14 subjects were given a diet with an increasing percentage of protein intake. After two weeks on their normal diet, subjects were put on a diet that reduced calories by 750; every four weeks, the protein content was increased, beginning with 10%, then 20%, and finally to 30% protein. Their sleep was assessed using the Pittsburg Sleep Quality test before and then after four weeks on each . . .
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Research Update: Protein
Two recent studies on protein mean it’s time for a research update. Let’s begin by covering a couple of basics about protein.
By definition, a protein contains all nine essential amino acids. That includes all animal sources of protein. It also includes most beans and nuts; that’s how vegetarians get enough protein. When you have the nine essential amino acids, your body can make the other 11 amino acids you need to make everything from hormones to muscle. The benefit of getting protein from plant sources is that you also take in the phytonutrients you can’t . . .
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Dancing Your Way to Fitness
Does the way dancers train make them some of the fittest and leanest athletes? On Tuesday, we looked at heavy weights and fewer repetitions. Let’s look at light weights and many repetitions.
In ballroom and other forms of dance, the resistance is almost always body weight. Yes, there are lifts and there are powerful turns and jumps, but the only resistance is often body weight. Think of repeatedly doing half-squats, push-ups, or abdominal curls for hours on end, plus the muscle needed to hold . . .
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Do Dancers Rule the Fitness World?
Dancing with the Stars began a new season last night, and once again Paula asserted that dancers have the best bodies: great musculature and shape without being unnaturally bulky. She wondered if dancing was the equivalent of exercising at high reps with low weight as opposed to typical weightlifting that emphasizes systematically increasing weight when a specific number of repetitions are met. I do as my wife commands, so this week I'm looking into the difference in results between high reps at low weight and fewer reps at high weight.
Let’s look at fewer reps at . . .
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The Bottom Line on the Latest Sucralose Study
“Sucralose causes cancer.”
“Sucralose prevents cancer.”
You’ve got to be confused when you read those recent headlines about the same research study! You read or listen to my messages because you want to know what I dig out of the original research to get past the confusion. Well, let’s get to it.
The Data
The data were messy (1). When you look at the numbers in the table that reported the incidences of cancers, the patterns were not clear. Using the data on the male mice, the incidence of cancers went . . .
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