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.
Life Expectancy Is More Than Living Longer
What’s more important to you: living longer or living better with the years you have? Think about it as you read this Memo and I’ll come back to that later. The Upside of the Study There were three important lifestyle variables that clearly stood out (1). The more exercise you get, the better off you […]
How Much Does a Healthier Life Increase Life Expectancy?
This week is about life expectancy and the results of a recent study on how to possibly extend it. Looking at lifestyle’s impact on mortality, here are the criteria researchers applied (1). Smoking: never smoked BMI: 18.5–24.9 Exercise: at least 30 minutes daily of moderate to vigorous physical activity which included brisk walking Healthy diet: […]
U.S. Life Expectancy Is Down—Again
Life expectancy is the average time a person might live; a baby born in 2017 will be expected to live 78.6 years according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. That’s a long time, but it could be better. After reaching a high in 2015, U.S. life expectancy decreased in 2017 (1). It was only […]
Is Make-Up Sleep Good for You?
The first summer holiday is upon us and I have some good news: if you burn the candle on both ends during the week, you may be able to make up for it by sleeping a little extra on weekends. Based on a Swedish study of over 40,000 subjects tracked over 13 years, consistently getting […]
Losing Weight with the Maduro Diet
“Diets don’t work!” is a mantra of just about every health expert who doesn’t have a diet to sell. “I’ve tried eating less, and even counted every calorie, and I still can’t lose weight!” is something I’ve heard for the 30 years I’ve been doing what I do. Both statements are false. Before you start […]
Health Headline: Diet and Hearing Loss
Researchers examined nutrition data collected between 1991 and 2013 in the second Nurses Health Study to examine whether adherence to a healthier diet reduced the risk of hearing loss. They developed a scoring system for three dietary approaches: the Alternate Mediterranean Diet (AMED), the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), and the Alternative Healthy Eating […]
Health Headline: Ketogenic Diet and Type 1 Diabetes
Researchers wanted to examine the blood sugar control of type 1 diabetics who use a very low carbohydrate, high-protein, moderate fat ketogenic diet. The diet was developed by Dr. Richard Bernstein, himself a type 1 diabetic. They used a unique study design: they requested volunteers from a Facebook group of children and adults who adhere […]
Health Headline: Antibiotics and Kidney Stones
For this week’s Memos, I picked three health headlines from the past week and examined the studies behind them to see if they were headline worthy. Let’s begin with the use of antibiotics and the risk of kidney stones. Researchers in the United Kingdom examined the incidence of kidney stones in over 13 million children […]
Tracking Your Rate of Change
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) just published new recommendations for prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing for men 55 and over. In effect, they don’t recommend PSA testing on a regular basis. I think that’s a mistake. I’ll cover the specifics for PSA testing during the Prostate Health webinar, but I think regular testing […]
I’m Alive V2.49
When I opened my eyes this morning, I said the same thing I’ve said for the past 25 years: I’m alive! If I wake up this morning, it means I have at least one more year. It makes no sense in the real world, especially for a guy who talks about science so much, but […]
