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.

July4th

Four Tips for the 4th!

We are fast approaching the three-day holiday weekend to celebrate the 4th of July here in the U.S. It got me to thinking: just because it’s a holiday, it doesn’t mean we should completely abandon some of our health habits that might be strained a little bit, given the celebrations associated with Independence Day. This […]

CVD-Omega3

Should People with CVD Take Omega-3s?

Last time, I talked about some research that hasn’t been done to definitively know whether DHA contributes to arrhythmias or not, but I implied that there may be one issue that may have contributed to this latest study. Let’s talk about research bias. Research Bias Some of the researchers who examined the data from the […]

Omega3-Heart

Omega-3s and Heart Disease

In addition to the research papers on omega-3s I talked about last week, another paper was presented at the American College of Cardiology in May that suggests EPA seems to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD), while DHA seems to neutralize the benefits. Let’s take a look at this recent study to see what they found. I […]

Omega3-Knight

Omega-3s May Kill Tumors

As exciting as Tuesday’s Memo might have been on omega-3s and superbugs, today’s Memo probably tops that. Before we get too excited, it’s important to remember that this was another test-tube study. That’s fine; that’s how research into any topic begins, but it still has to be proven in human trials. Researchers in Belgium exposed […]

Superbugs

Omega-3s: New Weapon Against Superbugs?

One of the biggest concerns with hospitalization is catching an antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection. It happened to my father-in-law about 15 years ago, and it was a serious infection requiring over a week in the hospital. He survived, but more superbugs are still around and have gotten worse. Researchers in Australia examined one such superbug to […]

TreadmillCoach

High-Intensity Walking Is Better for Peripheral Artery Disease

As I said in Tuesday’s memo, high-intensity walking was better than low-intensity walking in terms of physical measurements after one year; subjects were able to cover more distance in a six-minute walk and they were able to walk for a longer period of time on a treadmill. Another important outcome was that there was no […]

PAD

Exercise for Peripheral Artery Disease

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a narrowing of the arteries in the arms or legs, usually caused by the build-up of plaque similar to what can happen in the arteries of the heart or the neck. The result is pain in the muscles of the legs, sometimes mild, other times severe. As you might expect, […]

EmptyPlate

Fasting: Another Piece of the Puzzle

Fasting is gaining popularity. Actually, periods of complete abstinence from food within a 24-hour cycle is what really seems to be gaining in popularity, but this study doesn’t address intermittent fasting. It examines fasting for a specific period of time before a dietary change—in this case, to the DASH diet. We don’t know if the […]

VegetableJuice

How Fasting Affects the Microbiome

How did you do? I asked you to reduce your caloric intake to fewer than 1,200 calories and keep it vegan if you can. Paula and I did okay, but not completely vegan. Before I describe the study, you need to know that wasn’t the actual fasting part of the study—that was the fasting preparation […]

Irises

Summer Body Prep Time

This week culminates with the first outdoor holiday of the summer season, and for many of us, the first family cook-out in over a year. Next week I’m going to review a study on the benefits of intermittent fasting, but I want to challenge you to mimic part of the study before the weekend to […]