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.
“Sit-Ups Make You Fatter”
When I spot a headline like that, I have to click on it to see what they’re talking about. And I usually end up disappointed because it’s about some product to help you lose belly fat. What about the sit-up claim? They say doing crunches or sit-ups or leg lifts will make the muscle under […]
The Microbiome of Your Lungs
When we think of the microbiome, it’s logical to think only of the digestive system and our skin. In reality, the microbiome includes every microbe in and on our entire body, including our lungs. At one time, the lungs were thought to be microbe free; that certainly seemed to be the case for newborns. As […]
Potatoes and Your Microbiome
A Cherokee legend talks of two wolves inside us, one good and one evil. Which one will win? The one you feed. It applies to our microbiome as well. We have good and bad microbes within us at all times. Which ones dominate? It depends on how we feed them. In a recent study, researchers […]
Fiber and Your Microbiome
Researchers used gnotobiotic mice in a recent study to test the importance of fiber; gnotobiotic mice are born with no bacteria of any type. Researchers used a synthetic human microbiome to introduce a bacteria colony into the mice. Once the colony was established, they withheld fiber from the diet of the mice. Then it gets […]
How to Limit Your Processed Food
There are two strategies that you can use to control your intake of processed foods. The first is the simplest yet the most difficult, especially if it’s something you really love to eat: Don’t buy it. If it’s not in the house, you can’t eat it. Whenever I tell that to someone, the next words […]
What’s Wrong with Processed Foods
If you do an Internet search for processed foods, you’ll get a whole lot of opinions on why they’re a bad thing. There isn’t a substantial amount of research behind the opinions when you look closely. In fact, there isn’t a substantial amount of research on processed foods at all and why they’re difficult to […]
Why Can’t I Stop?
If there’s one question that frustrates all of us, including myself at times, it’s “Why can’t I stop eating ____?” For me, it’s salty and crunchy such as nuts and chips. For others, it’s refined carbohydrates such as baked goods, or sweets such as chocolate or cookies. Why can’t we just stop eating them? Why […]
How to Live to Your 90s
Today’s message is based on my father-in-law, Don Jones, or Joner as most of us knew him. As I said Wednesday, he passed away last Sunday. He lived to 94 years and six months; Peggy, the sister he was closest to, died at the exact same age. How was he able to live that long? […]
I’m Alive V2.48
When I opened my eyes this morning, I said the same thing I’ve said for the past 24 years: I’m alive! I’ve come to believe that if I wake up this morning, it means I have at least one more year. It makes no sense, but I can’t change the way I think about this […]
Why You Should Get “Cooked”
While Paula and I were visiting our son and his wife last week, I suggested that all of us watch a series on Netflix called “Cooked”; it’s a series written by Michael Pollan from the book of the same name. I talked about him early last year and his movie “In Defense of Food.” I […]
