Are Saturated Fats Good For You?

fatty steak

Is Everything We Thought We Knew About Fats Wrong? Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney Bring out the fatted calf! Headlines are proclaiming that saturated fats don’t increase your risk of heart disease – and that they may actually be good for you. The study (Annals of Internal Medicine, 160: 398-406, 2014) that attracted all the attention in the press ...

Can Diet Alter Your Genetic Destiny?

Bad Genes

Disease Is Not Inevitable Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney Many people seem to have the attitude that if obesity [or cancer, heart disease or diabetes] runs in their family, it is their destiny. They can’t really do anything about it, so why even try? Most of us in the field of nutrition have felt for years that nothing could ...

Are Dietary Supplements Safe?

Jungle

It’s a Jungle Out There Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney It's a jungle out there. You probably already know that there are some bad players in the food supplement industry. There are companies that make products that don't work, products that haven't been tested for safety and efficacy, products are contaminated, and even products that are dangerous. There ...

How Strengthening Can Hurt Your Muscles

biceps

Preventing & Healing Repetitive Strain Injuries – Part 2  Author: Julie Donnelly, LMT In part I of this series we explored “how” muscles cause joint pain and prevent us from moving easily and without pain. In Part II we’ll take a look at the “why.” When a person can’t freely move a joint they are frequently told they ...

Do Selenium & Vitamin E Increase Prostate Cancer Risk?

Vitamin E

Should Men Avoid Those Supplements?  Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney You’ve probably seen the headlines saying “Supplementation with selenium and vitamin E increases the risk of prostate cancer.” The authors of the study even said “Men aged greater than 55 should avoid supplements with either vitamin E or Se (selenium) at doses that exceed recommended dietary intakes.” In a ...

How Muscles Cause Joint Pain

Quadriceps

Preventing & Healing Repetitive Strain Injuries – Part 1  Author: Julie Donnelly, LMT   Using the words “pain” and “free" in the same sentence causes people who love to exercise laugh since it seems to be a contradiction of terms, but it is not only possible, it’s easy to achieve. It is understood that exercising, or even just ...

Will Non-GMO Foods Be Less Nutritious?

Cereal

The Unintended Consequences of the Proposed Non-GMO Labeling Laws Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney Post Foods recently announced that their Grape Nuts cereal will be completely non-GMO. General Foods followed suit by announcing that their Original Cheerios will also be non-GMO. That’s good news, right? Maybe, but it turns out that the new non-GMO Grape Nuts will no longer ...

Are Toxic Chemicals Lowering Our IQ?

Confused Child

Is Chemical Brain Drain A Pandemic?  Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney In a past issue of “Health Tips From the Professor” I examined the evidence suggesting that toxic chemicals in the home could cause childhood asthma. That is alarming because asthma can predispose individuals to other diseases and affects quality of life. But, what if that were only the ...

The Dirty Dozen

Environmental Toxins That Affect Brain Development  Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney  In a recent review, Drs. Grandjean and Landrigan (The Lancet Neurology, 13: 330-338, 2014) identified 12 toxic chemicals which are abundant in our environment and are developmental neurotoxins. These are all chemicals that damage brain development. They can cause decreases in IQ and aggressive or hyperactive behavior in ...

Health Tips From The Professor