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Category: Nutrition


Nitrites- Not the evil I thought.

5 December, 2008 (05:27) | Nutrition | By: Joe

As I have been going low carb, I have always feared my morning sausage and bacon was hurting me. Seems me and many others in the low carb realm have been misinformed.

Which of these sources will give you the most ingested nitrites:

 467 Hotdogs or 1 serving of arugula?

Find out in this article:

Does banning hotdogs and bacon make sense?

 

Talking ‘Toxic Fat’ With Zone Diet Creator Dr. Barry Sears

2 December, 2008 (05:48) | New Findings, Nutrition | By: Joe

Reduce CRP without taking a statin?

13 November, 2008 (18:53) | Nutrition | By: Joe

C-reactive protein (CRP) has been brought to the for front by the JUPITER study. CRP is a marker for inflammation and risk of cardiovascular events.
The question it brought to my mind is “Can the reduction in CRP be accomplish without the expensive side effect laden drug?”

The answer is yes it can!!!

Check out this post by Dr. William Davis Cardiologist and author of the book, Track Your Plaque at his blog The Heart Scan Blog.

The steps are simple, but not necessary easy. Here are a couple:

Vitamin D

11 November, 2008 (20:14) | Nutrition | By: Joe

I have talked about vitamin D before. But it continues to make news. Seems the Canadian Pediatric Society has seen the light and is boosting their recommendations to 2000 IUs per day for women who are pregnant or breast-feeding.

The Vitamin D council recommends 5000 IUs for anyone who regularly avoids sunlight exposure. Please go to their website it is very informative.

Whole Eggs: Dietary Evil or the New Superfood

23 October, 2008 (14:52) | Nutrition | By: Joe

By Tom Venuto

www.BurnTheFat.com

QUESTION: Tom, I’m really confused about eggs.
I’m not even sure if you’re going to be able to answer this or
not, but to me and I’m sure others, it’s a very confusing
and important topic. I only use egg whites because I did believe that
the yolks are bad because of cholesterol and saturated fat. But with
the studies coming out saying we are missing all of the best nutrients
by throwing the yolks out it is very confusing. Could you please help
clarify this issue? I have attached an article I got from another
e-book author for your reference about what I’ve been reading,
which spurred my frustration to contact you.

tom venuto comments on whole eggsANSWER:
It’s overly simplistic to say that the saturated or animal fats
cause heart disease. It’s even more simplistic and incorrect
to say that foods high in dietary cholesterol such as egg yolks, will
always lead to an increase in cholesterol in the blood.

Many other factors are involved, including the type of saturated fat,
individual genetics, current health status, exercise and the big
picture of what else is consumed in the rest of the diet.

Research Says Eggs Are Not Evil

Recent research has been showing that the cholesterol in eggs is
handled by most people’s bodies in a way that doesn’t cause heart
disease and that dietary cholesterol does not necessarily translate
to increased blood cholesterol or an unfavorable ratio of HDL to LDL
cholesterol.

After a recent study published in The Journal Of Nutrition, Dr. Robert
Nicolosi at the University of Massachusetts said, “Our data shows that
eating an egg a day is not a factor for raising cholesterol.”

A study reported at the 2006 experimental biology meeting in San
Francisco made similar findings. The researchers discovered that
when people ate three or more eggs per day, the amount of low density
lipoprotein (LDL) in their bloodstream did in fact increase as
previously reported.

However they also found that the subjects actually made bigger LDL
particles which were less likely to enter artery walls and build up
as artery-clogging plaque.

As a result of these and similar findings, head researcher Christine
Green said that a growing body of scientific evidence suggests that
eggs should not be considered a “dietary evil.”

Whole Eggs Have “Super-Food” Qualities

Whole eggs have a lot going for them nutritionally speaking. The egg
yolks contain a highly bioavailable source of lutein and zeaxanthin
which are carotenoids that protect against cataracts and macular
degeneration.

Eggs are a great source of high biological value, complete protein and
the protein is split almost evenly between the yolk and the white. One
large egg contains 6.3 grams of protein with 3.5 grams in the white
and 2.8 grams in the yolk.

Although whole eggs appear to have been exonerated, it still may not be
wise to suggest that anyone can eat eggs in unlimited quantities, for
both health and body composition reasons.

Dr. Udo Erasumus in his book, Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill, said that
in 70% of the affluent populations of the world, increased cholesterol
consumption decreases cholesterol production in the body through a
regulating feedback system that protects them. The other 30% of the
population may not have adequate feedback, and are wise to limit their
dietary
cholesterol consumption.

Unlimited egg consumption is also not wise from a caloric perspective. In a fat burning program, you need to consider calories as well as nutritional value and health impact.

Whole Eggs And Fat Loss

Whole eggs are not low calorie foods - they’re
fairly calorie dense, while egg whites are extremely low in calories,
which is why egg whites are one of the top choices for lean protein on
fat loss and
bodybuilding diets
.

Now that this news about the health value of whole eggs is starting
to become more widely circulated, bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts
have been criticized for their long held practice of throwing away the
egg yolks.

However, In all my years of training and consulting, even back
in the late 1980’s, and 1990’s I’ve never thrown away
all my yolks.

My menu plans typically contain one or two whole eggs with 8-12 egg
whites. I know that’s a lot, but that’s a man-sized
bodybuilder meal. For non-bodybuilders or people with lower calorie
needs, it might be one whole egg and 3-6 whites.

Why do I do this? Because this provides the high protein without so
many calories.

Take a look at this egg white - egg yolk comparison:

3 whole large eggs: 225 calories, 18.9 g protein, 15 g fat

8 egg whites & 1 whole egg: 211 calories, 34.3 g protein, 5 g fat

Do you see what was accomplished here? I didn’t remove egg
yolks because I’m afraid of cholesterol. I removed most of
the egg yolks because I was on a calorie budget and I was
on a higher protein diet and I wanted more protein with fewer calories. Make sense?

Another reason that bodybuilders use liquid egg whites
so often is for convenience. They can pour them from the carton right into the
fry pan and they don’t have to do all that shell cracking and
egg white separating.

Let me leave you with a funny story.
 vince gironda

Whole Eggs - “Better Than Steroids?”

When I started bodybuilding as a teenager, I latched onto the
teachings of a bodybuilding guru trainer from North Hollywood
named Vince Gironda.

Gironda trained all the top movie stars back in his day including
Erik Estrada, Clint Eastwood, Tommy Chong, Carl “Apollo Creed”
Weathers and too many others to mention.

He was also the Trainer of bodybuilding champions such as Larry
Scott, the First Mr. Olympia, and believe it or not, he was Arnold’s first trainer when Joe Weider sent the budding young
star to America from Austria.

Gironda had been saying from day one (back in the 1950’s and 1960’s) that the whole egg was
“nature’s perfect food” and he compared them to “natural steroids.”

On some of his low carb “muscle definition” diets, he said
you could eat as many whole eggs as you wanted and even scramble
them in butter. He said that he had some of his champion bodybuilders
on up to three dozen eggs a day!

I didn’t really understand what a ketogenic diet was at the time,
but being an obedient, guru-following teenage bodybuilder, desperate for muscle, I did what he said. I ate up
to 3 dozen whole eggs a day for months on end.

Well, there was no miraculous steroid-like effect, and I didn’t
drop dead of a heart attack either.

One thing I did notice is that I DID NOT LOSE FAT like Gironda said I would.

The reason should be obvious: three dozen whole eggs is 2700 calories
(more if you use extra large or jumbo eggs). I was at nearly
maintenance calories from the eggs alone, and eggs weren’t the
only thing I was eating.

Gironda, like many other low carb gurus, did not place any
restrictions on calories, only on foods. Gironda was a genius, years
ahead of his time, but this was the flaw in his program. Even on low
carb diets, you STILL need a caloric deficit to lose body fat.

Thus, my approach changed and I started removing yolks to keep
me more easily within my caloric deficit without losing the quality
protein… but I never cut all the yolks because of their
nutritional value.

To this day, I still keep one or two yolks in my
omelettes and scrambles… sometimes more, as long as it
fits in my calorie budget.

Get crackin!

Tom Venuto

Fat Loss Coach

www.BurnTheFat.com

P.S. One last thing. Keep in mind that the
quality of the egg is only as good as the quality of the bird it came
from. This is why many health experts recommend free range eggs and/or
omega-3 eggs.

P.P.S. For more information about fat burning nutrition, visit: www.BurnTheFat.com

About
the Author:

Tom Venuto is a
natural bodybuilder, certified
strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) and a certified personal
trainer (CPT). Tom is the author of “Burn the Fat, Feed The
Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or
supplements using methods of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness
models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your
metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com

Vitamin D Criticism

17 April, 2008 (12:10) | Nutrition | By: Joe

I have been studying the affects of Vitamin D. Many feel Vitamin D supplementation is not effective. I agree to a point. I believe the supplementation we receive is too little and of the wrong type. The D we need is D3. Most of what we get is a D2. What Dr. Fuhrman writes I believe is a good starting point but in the Northern Latitudes during the winter I believe even more is needed.

Here is the criticism:
Thousand Oaks, CA (PRWEB) January 21, 2008 — Low blood levels of vitamin D have long been associated with disease, and the assumption has been made that vitamin D supplements may protect against disease. In the light of new knowledge that hundreds of genes are dependent on vitamin D, this assumption needs to be reconsidered.

In a report published in the current issue of the journal BioEssays(1), Trevor Marshall, Ph.D., professor at Australia’s Murdoch University School of Biological Medicine and Biotechnology, explains how increased vitamin D intake affects much more than just nutrition or bone health. The paper explains how the Vitamin D Nuclear Receptor (VDR) acts in the repression or transcription of hundreds of genes, including genes associated with diseases ranging from cancers to multiple sclerosis.

“The VDR is at the heart of innate immunity, being responsible for expression of most of the antimicrobial peptides, which are the body’s ultimate response to infection,” Marshall said. “Molecular biology is now forcing us to re-think the idea that a low measured value of vitamin D means we simply must add more to our diet. Supplemental vitamin D has been used for decades, and yet the epidemics of chronic disease, such as heart disease and obesity, are just getting worse.”

“Our disease model has shown us why low levels of vitamin D are observed in association with major and chronic illness,” Marshall added. “Vitamin D is a secosteroid hormone, and the body regulates the production of all it needs. In fact, the use of supplements can be harmful, because they suppress the immune system so that the body cannot fight disease and infection effectively.”

Here is the support by Dr. Fuhrman of diseaseproof blog:
Evidence is emerging that more than 17 different types of cancer are
likely to be vitamin D sensitive. A recent meta-analysis concluded that
1,000 IU of oral vitamin D per day is associated with a 50% reduction
in colorectal cancer incidence. That is taking the supplements result
in dramatic benefits.
In general, the most critical outcome related to any intervention is
mortality, and a recently published meta-analysis examining the effects
of vitamin D supplementation is the most important information we have.
The authors of this study evaluated 18 randomized, controlled trials of
vitamin D supplementation for any indication. The mean daily dose of
vitamin D was 528 IU, and the mean follow-up period was 5.7 years.
Vitamin D supplementation was associated with a significant reduction
in all-cause mortality compared with placebo.

Please click over to the diseaseproof blog to read the whole posting.
Also check out the Vitamin D councils website for more on Vitamin D in general.