Foods that are good–and bad–for your heart

By Robert Davis, Published: February 6

If you’re trying to eat a heart-healthy diet, figuring out what to believe can be overwhelming. The advice we get on everything from eggs to olive oil is often confusing and maddeningly contradictory.
Ironically, this growing confusion comes at a time when scientists who study nutrition know more than ever. Too often, though, we hear about only the latest study (which may be poorly designed) or research that’s cherry-picked to support an agenda. That’s like seeing one or two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and trying to determine what the entire picture is.
To know what the science really shows, it pays to look at all the evidence, assigning greater weight to studies that are more rigorous. In many cases, this can give us a reliable indication of what’s really good or bad. Based on a thorough review of research, here’s what’s believable — and what’s not — regarding some familiar claims about heart health.
Nuts are good for your heart
True. Once regarded as high-fat nutritional villains to be avoided at all costs, nuts are now touted as a health food that can ward off heart disease. And perhaps rightly so. Several large cohort studies (the type in which people are asked about their dietary habits and then followed for years or decades) have consistently found lower odds of heart disease and heart-related deaths among nut eaters, regardless of sex, age, location or occupation.
These findings are bolstered by results from clinical trials demonstrating that nuts lower LDL cholesterol levels, the kind associated with an increased risk of heart disease. Nuts also appear to decrease inflammation in arteries, which may contribute to heart attacks.
So which nuts are best for you? If you listen to producers of walnuts, almonds or peanuts (which, technically, aren’t nuts but legumes), each will tell you that its nut is superior because of some ingredient it contains. The truth is that it’s impossible to say which is best because no one has done a head-to-head comparison.
All nuts are relatively high in unsaturated fats, which are thought to be good for the heart. And all nuts are relatively high in calories, so it’s important to pay attention to portion sizes. About a handful a day is enough to reap health benefits. It may even promote weight loss by helping you feel full. But going nuts and overindulging can lead to extra pounds.
Oats lower cholesterol
TRUE. Oats contain a type of soluble fiber known as beta-glucan, which is also found in barley. It’s thought to lower cholesterol by binding to bile acids and removing them from the body. Bile acids are made from cholesterol, so when the body has to deploy more of its cholesterol to help replace the eliminated bile acids, there’s less of it in the blood.
The Cochrane Collaboration, an independent group that assesses the evidence for various treatments, conducted an analysis in which it pooled results from eight randomized studies involving people with elevated cholesterol and other risk factors for heart disease. Subjects assigned to eat oat cereal every day lowered their total and LDL cholesterol levels seven or eight points more than those on a diet of refined grains. The studies lasted only four to eight weeks, so we don’t know about long-term effects.
To see a benefit, you need three grams of beta-glucan a day, which you can get from 1.5 cups of cooked oatmeal, three cups of instant oatmeal or three cups of Cheerios. Unfortunately, oatmeal cookies don’t count.
Fish oil protects your heart
True. Decades ago, scientists discovered that Greenland Eskimos rarely died from heart disease despite a diet high in fat from fish. Researchers theorized that the fish fat was somehow protective, an idea that subsequent research has largely supported.
Several cohort studies show that people who regularly eat fish are less likely to die of heart disease than those who don’t eat fish. Randomized trials involving heart attack survivors have found that subjects given fish oil supplements were less likely to die of heart disease than those who didn’t take the capsules. And in a randomized study of people with high cholesterol, participants who took fish oil had fewer heart attacks and deaths from heart disease.
The key ingredients appear to be the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, which are found in most fish but especially in oily ones such as salmon, mackerel, trout, sardines and tuna. Studies suggest that these fats may help relax blood vessels, reduce blood pressure, prevent abnormal rhythms and lower blood fats known as triglycerides.
While the evidence of benefits is strong for people who have heart disease or are at high risk for it, it’s less clear whether fish oil wards off heart attacks in those at low risk. Still, it seems reasonable to follow the American Heart Association’s recommendation and eat oily fish at least twice a week. People with heart disease are advised to get twice as much, or 1,000 milligrams per day of EPA and DHA combined.
Eggs cause heart disease
False. Researchers have conducted a number of long-term cohort studies on eggs and heart disease, which have collectively followed several hundred thousand people. In general, the research has exonerated eggs: Eating up to six a week was not associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (i.e. heart attacks and strokes).
So how can this be if egg yolks are high in cholesterol? Most of our cholesterol is made by the liver, which ramps up production when we eat saturated and trans fats. But cholesterol from food appears to have little impact on most people’s cholesterol levels. And in people it does affect — so- called hyper-responders — studies show there can be an increase in good (HDL) cholesterol along with the bad kind, which helps offset any increased risk. Further, dietary cholestrerol may also result in larger LDL particles, which are thought to pose less of a threat than smaller ones.
Eggs are relatively low in saturated fat, and they contain unsaturated fats, which may be beneficial. Plus, they’re a good source of protein and several vitamins and minerals. They can be a healthful and more filling alternative to high-calorie muffins, bagels and sugary cereals.
Olive oil is the most healthful oil
False. Olive oil is often singled out as an especially heart-healthy vegetable oil because it’s high in monounsaturated fat. But it’s also lower in polyunsaturated fat than other oils. Both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are considered good fats that may reduce the risk of heart disease.
Which of these fats is better for us is unclear. Some research suggests that polyunsaturated fats may have an edge when it comes to lowering LDL cholesterol, while monounsaturated fats may result in higher HDL cholesterol. One analysis called it a draw, concluding that replacing saturated fat with either monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fat has an equally beneficial effect on cholesterol levels. Another found that substituting monounsaturated for saturated fat was associated with an increased risk of heart attacks, while polyunsaturated fat was linked to lower odds.
While these results aren’t necessarily an indictment of olive oil, they poke holes in the notion that its high levels of monounsaturated fat make olive oil more healthful.
Another theory is that olive oil antioxidants known as polyphenols make it more healthful than its rivals. Research suggests that virgin and extra-virgin oils, which are high in polyphenols, may be more heart-healthy than refined olive oil. But the evidence is preliminary and doesn’t shed much light on how virgin olive oils stack up against non-olive oils. The upshot is that other oils, such as canola, may be just as healthful as olive oil, possibly more so.
Coffee is bad
False. Cohort studies, which followed tens of thousands of people for many years, have found that coffee drinkers have no greater risk of heart attacks or strokes than those who abstain; indeed, they appear to have a slightly lower risk. Though coffee can temporarily increase blood pressure, there’s little evidence that it causes hypertension. Coffee drinkers appear to live just as long as abstainers, maybe even slightly longer.
One possible reason for the apparent benefits is that coffee is rich in antioxidants. Though some studies have found that as many as six cups a day are associated with benefits, that’s more than health authorities recommend because of the potential side effects of caffeine, which include insomnia, jitters and stomach upset. For many people, the biggest health risk from coffee is weight gain. Though a cup of black coffee has only two calories, that number can rise dramatically if you add cream and sugar or drink blended beverages, which can have several hundred calories.
Margarine is better than butter
Half-true. Margarine, which is made from vegetable oils, is lower in saturated fat than butter. But the process of converting those oils into solids can result in trans fats, which may be even more hazardous to the heart than the saturated kind.
Cohort studies have found that people who eat the most margarine have a higher risk of heart disease than those who use it only rarely. In other studies, researchers had subjects eat various types of spreads and then measured the effects on cholesterol levels. Compared with butter, margarine lowered LDL cholesterol, but it also reduced HDL, the good kind. The big loser in this face-off was stick margarine, which fared worse than butter. Semiliquid margarine, on the other hand, proved to have a more beneficial effect on cholesterol levels than butter.
Manufacturers have introduced some margarines that are low in saturated fat and virtually free of trans fat. That makes them a better option than butter. Still, margarine isn’t exactly a health food. Nor is butter. Your best bet is to minimize your use of both margarine and butter, going instead with healthful vegetable oils whenever possible.
Chocolate is good for your heart
Half-true. Cocoa, a main ingredient in chocolate, is high in antioxidants known as flavanols, which are also found in red wine, tea and certain fruits. Though the evidence overall is mixed, some cohort studies have linked high flavanol intake with lower rates of heart-related deaths. Generally, dark chocolate is higher than milk chocolate in flavanols.
Small, short-term experiments — many of them funded by the chocolate industry — show that chocolate (especially the dark variety) can lower blood pressure, improve blood vessel function, reduce inflammation in arteries and make blood less likely to clot. Even though it’s relatively high in saturated fat, studies show that chocolate doesn’t raise LDL cholesterol and may even lower it. One reason may be that some of the fat is a type known as stearic acid, which doesn’t adversely affect cholesterol levels.
Several European cohort studies of elderly men, middle-aged adults and heart attack survivors have linked greater chocolate and cocoa intake to lower rates of heart attacks, strokes and premature death. But since the chocolate consumed in Europe tends to contain higher levels of cocoa than the chocolate typically eaten in the United States, it’s unclear whether the findings apply to American chocolate eaters.
Many chocolate trials have fed subjects 3¹ / ₂ ounces a day. To get that amount, you’d need to eat two or more standard-size candy bars, which add as many as 500 calories and lots of extra pounds. That’s hardly a formula for better health. Nor is consuming the large amounts of sugar that are typically added to chocolate. Look for products that list cocoa or chocolate liquor — and not sugar — as the first ingredient.

Reprinted from “Coffee Is Good for You” by Robert J. Davis, PhD, by arrangement with Perigee, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Copyright 2012 by Robert J. Davis, PhD, MPH. Davis teaches health communications at Emory Unversity’s Rollins School of Public Health.

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Eat Like Laird Hamilton

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Eat Like Laird Hamilton – Best Life Magazine

A big-wave legend’s 10 rules for eating healthfully

People think I look as good as I do at 44 because I exercise a lot. That’s only half the equation. The other half is what I eat. I love Japanese food. I love Hawaiian food. I love food in general. But I don’t eat haphazardly. I eat for performance and health, and let’s not forget pleasure. Those are the elements of what I call “food intelligence.” Not that I’m obsessive. My meals don’t take three hours to prepare, I don’t measure food by the gram, and if I get into a position where I have to eat an airplane meal or a Big Mac, I’m not going to love it, but it won’t put me into toxic shock. Instead of being like a high-performance car that is sensitive to any impurities in the fuel, I’m more like a diesel truck. If a little water gets in there, it’s still going to be okay. Here’s how I power my body.

1. Push Start
I like to begin the day at the blender with a smoothie. My favorite recipe contains five supplements that help me optimize my nutrition. A single tablespoon of Catie’s Organic Greens, for instance, equals seven servings of green vegetables. I also add apple or cherry juice and frozen bananas and berries for a nice consistency. My morning smoothie gives my body a huge amount of nutrients, which are easily absorbed because liquids are easier to digest than solids. Less than an hour later, I’m ready for whatever activity is on the agenda.

2. Don’t Graze
I don’t like to eat unless I’m hungry. When I sit down to a meal, I want my body to be in a state of craving. Not eating until you’re hungry means you’re not snacking much, if at all.

3. Chew Slowly
All too often we take our food for granted. I’m always reminding myself to eat more consciously, to savor what I’m chewing. Nature has given us millions of unique flavors. Our job is to explore and appreciate them. It also makes you hyperaware of how much you’re eating.

4. Eat Real Foods
Be wary of any food that has been created by humans rather than nature. The ingredients on the labels of processed foods, such as the average cracker or potato chip, are mind-boggling. If I don’t know what it is, it’s not going into my body.

5. Be Diverse
The food universe is vast, and in it there are hundreds of nutrients, minerals, enzymes, essential fatty acids, bioflavonoids, phytochemical, all kinds of elements. Each one provides something unique to our cells. That’s why the more diverse your diet, the healthier you’re going to be. Mix it up when you grocery shop. Don’t just buy the same stuff every time.

6. Experiment
Eating colorful, interesting foods exposes me to new flavors, and that’s really what makes eating fun. There are countless things you can try, but strange fruits, vegetables, and grains, such as acai berries, seaweed, and quinoa, are becoming easier to find. A palm fruit native to the Brazilian Amazon, has 30 times the amount of antioxidants of red wine. Try mixing it with bananas and granola for breakfast. Edible seaweeds such as limu kohu and nori contain minerals and elements you won’t get anywhere else. Next time you have sushi, try a seaweed salad instead of edamame. Quinoa, unlike other grains, is a complete protein, which means it contains all nine essential amino acids.

7. Listen to Your Body
Cravings have a bad reputation because they’re often related to sweets, but I think they’re the body’s way of indicating that it’s looking for something. Listen to your body to figure out what the craving really means. If my body wants sugar, I eat fruit, such as papaya or pineapple, instead of candy or doughnuts.

8. Don’t Be Thrifty
People say that buying quality food is too expensive, but then they’ll go out and buy giant plasma TVs. So you’re eating like crap but you’re staring at a nice screen? I don’t understand that logic. Instead, budget so that you can spend a little more money for better food. In particular, be sure to upgrade anything you eat on a regular basis. If you have coffee every morning, for instance, buy the best beans you can find. Or, even better, drink espresso. It contains less caffeine than drip coffee, delivers more antioxidants, and isn’t as acidic.

9. Skip Starches
If I eat any bread, it makes me want to go to sleep. In general, I avoid wheat and other starchy foods such as potatoes, rice, and pasta. I’m not saying I’ll never eat a waffle or a sandwich, but it’s a rare thing, and I’m not going out of my way to do it.

10. Eat Sustainable Foods
If you eat meat or seafood, look for terms such as free range, grass fed, organic, or locally caught. The closer it is to wild, the better. Sadly, one of my favorite wild foods is tuna. Buy only yellowfin or ahi, and make sure it’s caught by trolling or with poles; long-lining produces bycatch, which means that other ocean creatures are wastefully killed in the process.

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Cinnamon: The latest hope for Alzheimer’s? | Health

Can an extract from this fragrant spice ward off the devastating brain disease – and maybe even diabetes?

Researchers discovered that an extract in the cinnamon can delay the effects of five aggressive strains of Alzheimer’s-inducing genes.

A new Israeli study shows that the common spice cinnamon seems to delay the progress of Alzheimer’s disease, a degenerative brain condition.

The research builds on the work of Prof. Michael Ovadia of Tel Aviv University, who discovered about a decade ago that an extract of cinnamon — one of the aromatic ingredients in the incense used in the ancient Jewish Temple – has powerful anti-viral properties.

Curious about other applications, Tel Aviv University PhD student Anat Frydman-Marom added Ovadia’s cinnamon extract, CEppt, into her line of research on compounds that may fight Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Initial results surpassed her expectations and took her research in a new direction.

Now her work has the sweet smell of success: CEppt can delay the effects of five aggressive strains of Alzheimer’s-inducing genes, according to a multi-lab research paper co-authored by Frydman-Marom, Ovadia, Ehud Gazit, Daniel Segal and Dan Frenkel in the medical journal PLoS ONE.

Could help diabetes as well

Using in-vitro tests and then Drosophila fly and mice models, the team of scientists found that amyloid plaques, which can lead to Alzheimer’s, had been dissolved by CEppt.

The extract also showed pharmacological properties that could be more effective against Type 2 diabetes and Parkinson’s disease than other compounds they were studying, Frydman-Marom tells ISRAEL21c.

The notion that cinnamon works to fight disease is “for me, a matter of fact, but it’s also a spiritual story,” says Frydman-Marom, referring to the biblical connection.

In their paper, the researchers note that cinnamon is one of the world’s oldest herbal medicines, mentioned in Exodus, Proverbs and the Song of Songs, as well as Chinese texts as old as 4,000 years.

The special healing abilities of cinnamon are due to components such as cinnamaldehyde, eugenol, cinnamyl acetate and cinnamyl alcohol, and a wide range of other volatile substances like safrole, coumarin and cinnamic acid esters.

Scientists have already shown cinnamon can help control blood sugar and has both anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties. The researchers hope that this novel material, as a food additive, drug or vitamin, could be used in younger people to prevent the effects of Alzheimer’s later in life.

Toxic effects, take note

“My lab was in charge of the fly work, and in part was involved in the in-vitro work,” Segal tells ISRAEL21c. “It’s exciting because it seems we are onto finding some kind of molecule that may be able to alleviate some, if not all, the symptoms of Alzheimer’s so this could be prevented in younger ages, and in older ages too.

“Since it is an edible fraction of a common edible plant, it should be quickly translated to compounds made available for users pending doctors’ instructions. As a food additive in combination with others, we expect it to be highly effective,” Segal adds.

He believes that some health benefits could be derived from drinking cinnamon tea, but cautions against self-medicating, since the bark-derived spice also has elements that can be toxic in large doses.

But it’s certainly a pleasant material to work with, notes Frydman-Marom. “It’s very nice to work in the lab — where everything smells so bad — and then suddenly everything smells like cinnamon.”

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>Food shock: what the labels don’t tell you

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(This article is adapted from the June 2011 issue of Consumer Reports ShopSmart magazine.)

You could be eating meat and drinking milk from cloned or genetically modified animals without knowing it. The reason: the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not require labeling on most products that contain genetically engineered plant materials, or on meat and milk from cloned animals. So there’s no way for consumers to tell.

The agency claims that such labeling could confuse consumers and turn them away from products that currently are deemed safe.

The genetic engineering issue has caused problems with imports and exports because the U.S. government stands virtually alone in its opposition to such labeling. Many importing countries require it and labeling is authorized by international guidelines.

Where the modified genes are

Genetically modified versions of corn, soybeans, canola, and cotton are widely sold in the U.S. The grains make their way into lots of stuff—an estimated 60 to 70 percent of processed food sold has genetically modified ingredients.

Last fall, AquaBounty Technologies petitioned the FDA for approval to sell salmon that is genetically engineered to grow at twice the normal rate. If approved, it would be the first genetically engineered animal to enter the U.S. food supply.

Along with other consumer and environmental organizations, Consumers Union (CU), the nonprofit publisher of this website and Consumer Reports, testified against the AquaBounty petition. CU’s testimony cited concerns that the fish could trigger or worsen allergic reactions, and also noted the overall lack of solid safety data.

The labeling of genetically modified fish also came under debate. CU noted that the FDA should require labeling based, in part, on the fact that the inserted genetic material, which is from the Chinook salmon growth hormone gene, and the resulting products are man-made food ingredients.

In addition, CU pointed out that FDA should require labeling to insure that any unexpected or unintended effects of engineering this salmon come to FDA attention. The decision whether to approve the salmon is on hold while the FDA is gathering more information.

What you can do

If you’d prefer to avoid milk and meat from cloned cows and genetically modified plant ingredients, you should buy products labeled “USDA Organic.” According to our Eco-label center, there also are some other reliable labels certifying “no genetic engineering.” They include: the Food Alliance (FA) label; the Maine Quality Trademark Seal.

Unlike the labels above, a label claim, such as “GMO-free,” is not independently verifiable or meaningful, according to our Eco-label center.

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>Train More or Eat Less?

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What’s the Best Way to Boost Fat Loss?

by Lonnie Lowery, PhD – 5/18/2011

I hear it all the time. “Chris, my fat loss has slowed down. Should I drop calories again?” Then I find out these guys are already eating like Girl Scouts. And not those nice husky Girl Scouts either.

There are limits to calorie reduction – a line in the sand where the negatives outweigh the positives. But there are also drawbacks to doing more cardio. We asked Dr. Lowery set some guidelines and give us the real scoop.

– Chris Shugart

The Decision

If your goal is fat loss, then there’s going to come a time when you have to make a decision: How much more am I going to diet? How much cardio or extra exercise am I going to do? Which is better?

Typically, there are four basic strategies when it comes to getting ripped:

Strategy #1: Drugs

Most of us aren’t going to go this route, nor do we need to, but I have to mention it because it’s a method commonly used by professional bodybuilders.

I was reading an old bodybuilding interview from the Tom Platz era where the competitor said, “Oh, you really don’t need a lot of cardio.” I’m thinking, well, you didn’t, dude!

But if you’re not artificially elevating your basal metabolic rate, jacking around with lots of thyroid meds, clenbuterol etc., then at some point you have to bring cardio into the equation.

Strategy #2: Cardio

There are two basic types here: the non-panting, semi-fasted variety that I’ve written about before and high-intensity work like sprints and intervals. These can be used in conjunction with each other or independently depending on your state of training.

Strategy #3: Food Restriction

Sure, this is obviously part of any diet plan, but you can only push it so far.

There’s a miniature literature review here on the site that outlines how far one can go while avoiding “starvation mode” (metabolic slow-down) by sticking to just moderate kcal restrictions.

Strategy #4: More Weight Training

Although we don’t think about it often, a longer weight-training workout does lead to extra calorie expenditure, some derived from fat oxidation.

We shouldn’t forget that hitting the iron itself increases subcutaneous abdominal fat breakdown and “burning.” (Ormsbee, et al. 2009) If you’re going to try to avoid cardio, your only other options are more volume, finishing work, or accessory work during your regular training session.

Of these four strategies, two get the most attention: cardio and diet. So let’s take a look at each and establish some guidelines.

Calories: How Low is Too Low?

You’ve heard this applied to other topics, and it’s true for calorie intake as well: “You can only go so far to the left before you’ve got to go back to the right.”

How many calories can you get away with before your metabolism really slows down and you go into starvation mode?

Starvation mode is something you have to avoid at all costs. Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is about 65 or 70% of all the calories you put out every day. So when you slow that down, even a cardio workout that burns 400 calories may just be making up for a depressed BMR.

In the classic underfeeding studies in the 60′s and 70′s, college-aged men were fed 3500 calories per day, then dropped to only 450 per day. These poor guys experienced up to a 45% drop in BMR in a single month. (Bray, G., 1969)

That’s true starvation mode: their bodies were trying to keep from dying, their metabolisms were “panicking” and slowing down because it was assumed they were in the middle of a famine.

When you do a literature review, the magnitude of reduction becomes fairly clear: somewhere around 600 or 700 calories less than your maintenance intake is about as far as I’d want to initially go.

What’s maintenance intake? It’s about 3000 kcal per day in a typical (non-lifter) college male. (Borel, M., et al 1984)

Okay, so if the average college male needs 3000 calories per day, the first step might be to drop to 2400. That’s definitely below maintenance for any adult male who’s lifting weights.

That may be the first stage. I don’t think it’s a good idea to jump right into a very aggressive diet. You probably aren’t relying on lots of drugs, so you really have tiptoe here – or at least show some respect. Ease calories down in a more controlled manner rather than going from a full-on mass phase to a crazy-strict 1600 calorie diet.

Hormones change fairly quickly in response to eating patterns. As my old endocrine professor said, “When it comes to hormones, you have to nudge the body.” You don’t force it, because then homeostatic mechanisms kick in and make you pay the price tenfold.

It’s not that painful to get down to a 2400 calorie intake. If you do something practical like cut the carbs out of your dinner and stop drinking calories (other than protein shakes and peri-workout drinks), you can get there easily. Just cut out the obvious junk food and 2400 is an easy mark to hit.

Do that for the first month or so. After the first month, you’re used to eating clean: no more junk, a lower carb dinner, etc. Then, in a month or two, continue the negative calorie balance with some cardio rather than dropping calorie intake again right way.

I like the non-panting morning variety (walking on a treadmill) because it doesn’t overtrain you. You’re not crossing any stress hormone thresholds. That said, you could do some high-intensity interval work after your weight-training workout if that’s your preference. I’ve been known to switch to this when I really needed the extra hour of sleep the prior morning (making pre-breakfast cardio impossible).

But frankly, I usually don’t have anything left in me after the weights. When I hear people say they do “lots of interval work” after their regular workouts, I worry that they’re not going to achieve their best muscular gains. That can be easily overdone: you’re dividing your body’s resources – half into the weights and half into the constant aerobics training. Not good.

Although controversial due to methodological differences, sub-optimal training responses have been well-documented in spaceflight, military, and other studies. (Carrithers, J. et al. 2007; Docherty & Sporer 2000; Dolezal & Potteiger 1998; Dudley & Djamil, 1985; Santtila, M., et al. 2009.)

Now, at bodybuilding shows, I hear my fellow competitors talk about how they quickly reduce calories to very low levels, then stay there for 12 weeks. Well, in open competitions, when the competitor is on lots of “gas,” he can do that. I can’t, so I try to coax the body fat off with a 20-week diet that starts “easy” and gets more aggressive toward the end. This is not only metabolically smarter, it’s psychologically better – for me at any rate. It builds momentum.

During the first month, I just cut down the calories moderately. (Sometimes I’ll do some very limited interval work on the bike just to set the stage for the following month.) The second month I add in regular non-panting cardio, keeping calories the same. With the pre-breakfast style cardio that I do, I usually drain off 400 more calories.

So if you’re eating 2400 kcal per day, you’re now down to 2000 in a sense because you’re “bleeding off” another 400 with the extra work. Now you’re in a calorie deficit through a combination of dietary manipulation and cardio.

Practical Tip: If you’re using a piece of gym equipment that claims to measure calories burned, it damned well better ask you what your body weight is.

If it doesn’t ask you, it’s going to assume you’re a 150-pound dude. If you’re not, then you’re burning far more calories than it tells you.

That’s still no guarantee that it’s accurate. Those consoles on the cardio machines are just glorified calculators, not portable metabolic carts, but at least it’s a step in the right direction.

The Exercise Factor

Remember, exercise is not just anti-eating. Exercise builds structures like capillaries and mitochondria. In other words, exercise builds your fat-burning machinery.

Let’s say your maintenance level is 3000 calories per day. After a month or so of easing calories down, you drop 600 calories, then spend another 400 calories on cardio several days a week. Now you’re 1000 calories sub-maintenance.

Now is when you have to start making decisions based on your results and individual needs. You’re eating less and doing more cardio – you’re pushing it pretty hard. At this point, I’d suggest a couple of things:

First, if you feel like the diet is really easy, maybe you can restrict down again food-wise. You take it down to 2000 calories of food per day if you’re not already there.

Second, if you’re already having a tough time with diet, the flipside is to add more calorie output in some way with physical activity. If you’re already doing the fasted morning stuff, maybe you try some HIIT after a weight-training workout, or vice-versa. If you can’t do both because of your schedule, you can start adding sets in the gym.

Once you’re 1000 calories below maintenance, you really have to decide whether you’re fresh enough to do this physically or dietarily. It’s a subjective call. If this is coming at the end of month two or during month three of your cutting phase, and you find yourself having a tough time sleeping, getting head colds, upper respiratory tract infections, or cold sores, you’re probably overtraining.

There’s a clear link between your immune system taking a hit and overreaching. Your body could be saying, “Listen, I’m struggling here. Enough with the extra exercise volume!”

Practical Tip: Use motivation to train as a feedback mechanism. The lower your motivation level gets, the more burned out you’re getting. In addition to sets and reps, I always log training motivation on a scale from 1 to 7.

Use this to decide where you’re going next. If my motivation to train was humming along at 6′s and 7′s and now it’s routinely a 3 or a 4, I’m burning myself out. Now I know not to add any more cardio or sets in the weight room.

I do the same thing with hunger. This is where experience plays a roll: Is it “munchies” calling, or is it truedepletion? There’s being “empty and weak” and then there’s “wishing you had a bag of chips.” The latter is just your love handles calling. The former may be your muscles calling, so go ahead and feed them a little.

The 1200 to 1600 Calorie Rule

As a rule of thumb, most authorities will tell you – rightly – to never go below 1200 calories a day. But frankly, that’s usually for smaller women or for those who aren’t physically active. Why 1200? Because you can’t possibly get all the nutrients you need from a variety of foods with a ceiling below that!

For college men, I’d never go below 1600 calories per day, and then only temporarily. That’s ridiculously low, especially if you’re already doing cardio as part of your plan.

Right now I’m two weeks from a bodybuilding show, in strict contest prep mode, and I’m sitting at 1600-1800 cals. Let me tell you, it’s not even fun right now! I’m just trying to hold myself together. The little nagging injuries are starting to accumulate. (Then again, I’m 42, with lots of mileage on this chassis.)

In any case, if you’re strung out and under-eating, you may start cramping and getting little injuries that just don’t go away. This is especially obvious to the older, more experienced lifter. That’s because you’re eating so little that your tissues just aren’t turning over.

Let’s say you’re well into a diet, say month four (weeks 13-16 out of 20). You’re at a rock-bottom 1600 kcal per day and doing cardio. First, realize that this isn’t sustainable. You should have a target date where the diet is “finished.” Now, consider NEPA.

The NEPA Factor

One of then things I have people do is buy a pedometer that measures steps taken per day. First, get some baseline data of how many steps you take when you’re eating well – your normal diet. Let’s say you’re walking around getting a good 8000 steps per day.

But now, months deep into your diet, you look down and you’re getting 4000 or 5000 steps per day. You’re moving around less in part because you have less thyroid and leptin. You’re less energized. You’re sluggish. Your body is trying to conserve energy.

This decreased NEPA (Non-Exercise Physical Activity) is yet another factor to keep in mind. It’s one more thing you can “ballpark” measure.

I don’t think people really understand NEPA. Most of us are closer to sedentary than we think, even if we go to the gym and do our cardio. To achieve “very active” status in one of those formulas that determines your calorie needs, you have to have a manual labor job, then go work out, then go dancing all night!

Most of us fall into the middle of the NEPA category: light to sedentary work but with intense recreational exertion. Overall, this may be considered “moderately active” in one of those dietary software programs. That’s where I fall as a bodybuilding college professor.

The Supplement Edge

If you’re afraid that your BMR is slowing, consider supplements. Caffeine will boost it by about 10%, and so will Spike® Energy Drink or Hot-Rox® Extreme. Plus, good ol’ water helps with thermogeniesis. (Boschmann, M., et al. 2003) So you may want to swig down your supplements with plentiful, cold H20.

So What Have We Learned?

Exercise results in a small magnitude of body weight change, but it’s long in duration (lasting). In other words, for those who start to exercise but don’t touch their diets, they’ll have modest results, but those results will last forever if they keep exercising.

Diet is the opposite. Dietary changes tend to be dramatic. You can lose 10, 20, 30 pounds, but it’s not long term, especially if it’s not accompanied by training. The long term success rate of restrictive stand-alone diets is dismal (perhaps about 5%) over eight years.

This illustrates why it’s important to do both: exercise and eat right. You can take small steps and increase one but not the other, or you can do both at the same time, intelligently, for faster results.

How much exercise is too much? If you experience lack of motivation and are getting sick or injured, you’ve already gone too far. As a best guess for most people, two hours a day is the top-end. That could be an hour in the morning and an hour at night.

Ectomorphic people, who tend to be thinner and more angular, may only be able to get away with 90 to 120 minutes per day.

Very robust endomorphs or mesomorphs, those who genetically carry more fat and muscle, may be able to get away with 2.5 hours of exercise per day.

For calorie restriction, 1600 calories is rock-bottom for the average T NATION reader. My advice is to take your time getting to that level, then have a targeted end date. I like 20-week diets.

Remember, you can’t keep cranking the diet knob and lowering calories forever. Instead, switch gears: do extra sets, add cardio, or add supplements.

References and Further Reading

1. Borel M., et al. Am J Clin Nutr 1984 Dec;40(6):1264-72.
2. Boschmann, M., et al. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2003 Dec;88(12):6015-9.
3. Bray, G. Lancet 1969; 2:397.
4. Carrithers, J., et al Aviat Space Environ Med. 2007 May;78(5):457-62.
5. Docherty, D. and Sporer, B. Sports Med. 2000 Dec;30(6):385-94.
6. Dolezal, B. and Potteiger, J. J Appl Physiol. 1998 Aug;85(2):695-700
7. Dudley, G. and Djamil, R. J Appl Physiol. 1985 Nov;59(5):1446-51.
8. Ormsbee, M., et al. J Appl Physiol. 2009 May;106(5):1529-37.
9. Santtila, M., et al. J Strength Cond Res. 2009 Jul;23(4):1300-8.

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>15 Fired-Up Foods that Burn Away Pounds

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By: Brian Good
The shortcut to losing weight? Fast food. Not the kind the clown and the King try to shove down our throats, but rather, edible amphetamines-foods that act like speed for the fat-melting motor known as our metabolism. Eat these foods and you’re guaranteed to burn more calories…just by sitting there and listening to yourself digest.

Only one catch: Like any good buzz, this boost is temporary. “The only way to alter your resting metabolism permanently is to gain or lose weight, or to build extra muscle,” says Janet Walberg-Rankin, Ph.D., a professor of exercise physiology at Virginia Tech. But look at it this way: If you have a few of these supercharged snacks and drinks throughout the day, for enough days, you will lose weight.

And that’s if you’re doing nothing. Imagine if you were to stop listening to your stomach serenading you and actually begin exercising, too? The blubber-busting possibilities are endless. So grab a fork; it’s time to add fuel to the fire.

And for more great ways to and lose weight and stay slim for good, pick up a copy of The Men’s Health Diet today! It combines the latest findings in exercise and nutrition with practical how-to-advice that will transform your body into a fat-burning machine.
Milk, Whole Grain Cereal, Oats
Secret Ingredients: Calcium, complex carbohydrates, and fiber

How they work: Complex carbohydrates and fiber pump up metabolism by keeping insulin levels low after you eat. That’s good, because spikes in the production of insulin send a signal to the body that it’s time to start storing fat. And in order to stockpile fat, your body has to slow down your metabolism, causing you to burn fewer calories, says Margaret McNurlan, Ph.D., a professor of nutrition and medicine at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Since oatmeal breaks down slowly in the stomach, it causes less of a spike in insulin levels than foods like bagels, she says.

Besides helping to keep insulin production down, eating breakfast can also help stoke your daily calorie burn. When the U.S. Navy studied the metabolisms and eating habits of a group of its personnel, it found that eating breakfast helped raise the men’s metabolisms by as much as 10 percent. “By skipping meals, you slow down your metabolism and prime your body to store fat,” says McNurlan.

The calcium in milk is a metabolic trigger as well. A University of Tennessee study found that dieters who consumed between 1,200 and 1,300 milligrams (mg) of calcium a day lost nearly twice as much weight as dieters getting less calcium.

Jalapenos, Habaneros, Cayennes
Secret Ingredient: Capsaicin—the chemical in peppers that gives them their bite

How it works: By speeding up your heart rate.

A study from the late ’80s found that eating a single spicy meal can boost your metabolism by up to 25 percent, with the spike in calorie burning lasting for up to 3 hours after you finish eating. More recently, a study from Laval University in Quebec found that men who consumed coffee plus red pepper-packed snacks and meals were able to burn nearly 1,000 more calories a day than a control group.

Small snacks can also help keep your body from running out of fuel-preventing those 3 p.m. office blahs. “When you restrict the number of calories your body has for fuel, your metabolic rate can drop temporarily,” says Susan Roberts, Ph.D., chief of the energy-metabolism laboratory at Tufts University in Boston. That makes it easier to pack on the pounds and harder to burn them off again.

Green Tea, Coffee
Secret Ingredients: Caffeine and a chemical in the tea called EGCG

How they work: Caffeine helps speed up your heart rate. The faster your heart beats, the more calories you burn. EGCG works in a similar way, but instead of revving up your heart, it causes your brain and nervous system to run more quickly-again helping you burn more calories.

In studies, researchers found that a combination of caffeine and a 90-mg dose of EGCG taken three times a day can help you burn an extra 80 calories a day. And that’s just when your body’s at rest. A study conducted by the Canadian government found that soldiers who consumed caffeine in the 12 hours prior to a physical-fitness test not only were able to work out longer before becoming exhausted, but also consumed more oxygen while working out. The body’s oxygen requirements are directly related to the speed of-guess what-your metabolism, so the more oxygen you use, the more calories you burn during your workout.

Lean Beef, Pork, Chicken, Turkey
Secret Ingredient: Protein

How it works: It takes more energy for your body to digest the protein in meat than it does for it to digest carbohydrates or fat, according to Doug Kalman, R.D., director of nutrition at Miami Research Associates, a nationally recognized pharmaceutical-research facility. “That means that the more protein you eat, the harder your body has to work to digest it, and the more calories you’ll burn in the process,” he says.

When researchers at Arizona State University compared the benefits of a high-protein diet with those of a high-carbohydrate diet, they found that people who ate a high-protein diet burned more than twice as many calories in the hours following their meal as those eating carbs. Even better, researchers in Denmark found that men who substituted protein for 20 percent of the carbs in their diets were able to boost their metabolisms, increasing the number of calories they burned each day by up to 5 percent.

Salmon, Tuna, Sardines
Secret Ingredient: Omega-3 fatty acids

How they work: By altering levels of a hormone called leptin in your body. Several recent studies suggest that leptin directly influences your metabolism, determining whether you burn calories or store them as fat.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin found that mice with low leptin levels have faster metabolisms and are able to burn fat more quickly than animals with higher leptin levels. The best way to lower your leptin? Eat fish.

Mayo Clinic researchers studying the diets of two African tribes-one of which frequently ate fish and one of which didn’t-found that fish eaters had leptin levels nearly five times lower than the levels found in tribes that primarily ate vegetables.

The good news, if you don’t like fish: Fish-oil supplements may work just as well as the stuff with scales. French researchers found that men who replaced 6 grams of fat in their diets with 6 grams of fish oil were able to boost their metabolisms and lose an average of 2 pounds in just 12 weeks.

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6 Power Foods You Should Be Eating

By: Carolyn Kylstra
Some foods just aren’t taken seriously.

Consider celery, for example—forever the garnish, never the main meal. You might even downgrade it to bar fare, since the only stalks most guys eat are served alongside hot wings or immersed in Bloody Marys.

All of which is a shame, really. Besides being a perfect vehicle for peanut butter, this vegetable contains bone-beneficial silicon and cancer-fighting phenolic acids. And those aren’t even what makes celery so good for you.

You see, celery is just one of six underappreciated and undereaten foods that can instantly improve your diet. Make a place for them on your plate, and you’ll gain a new respect for the health benefits they bestow—from lowering blood pressure to fighting belly fat. And the best part? You’ll discover just how delicious health food can be.

Celery
This water-loaded vegetable has a rep for being all crunch and no nutrition. But ditch that mindset: Celery contains stealth nutrients that heal.

Why it’s healthy: “My patients who eat four sticks of celery a day have seen modest reductions in their blood pressure—about 6 points systolic and 3 points diastolic,” says Mark Houston, M. D., director of the Hypertension Institute at St. Thomas Hospital, in Nashville. It’s possible that phytochemicals in celery, called phthalides, are responsible for this health boon. These compounds relax muscle tissue in artery walls and increase bloodflow, according to nutritionist Jonny Bowden, Ph. D., author of The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth. And beyond the benefits to your BP, celery also fills you up—with hardly any calories.

How to eat it: Try this low-carbohydrate, protein-packed recipe for a perfect snack any time of day.

In a bowl, mix a 4.5-ounce can of low-sodium tuna (rinsed and drained), 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup of finely chopped onion, 1/4 cup of finely chopped apple, 2 tablespoons of fat-free mayonnaise, and some fresh ground pepper. Then spoon the mixture into celery stalks. (Think tuna salad on a log.) Makes 2 servings

Per serving: 114 calories, 15 grams protein, 12 grams carbohydrates (3 grams fiber), 1 gram fat

Seaweed
While this algae is a popular health food in Japan, it rarely makes it into U. S. homes.

Why it’s healthy: There are four classes of seaweeds—green, brown, red, and blue-green—and they’re all packed with healthful nutrients. “Seaweeds are a great plant source of calcium,” says nutritionist Alan Aragon, M.S. They’re also loaded with potassium, which is essential for maintaining healthy blood-pressure levels. “Low potassium and high sodium intake can cause high blood pressure,” Bowden says. “Most people know to limit sodium, but another way to combat the problem is to take in more potassium.”

How to eat it: In sushi, of course. You can also buy sheets of dried seaweed at Asian groceries, specialty health stores, or online at edenfoods.com. Use a coffee grinder to grind the sheets into a powder. Then use the powder as a healthy salt substitute that’s great for seasoning salads and soups.

Hemp Seeds
Despite the Cannabis classification, these seeds aren’t for smoking. But they may provide medicinal benefits.

Why they’re healthy: “Hemp seeds are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke,” says Cassandra Forsythe, Ph. D., a nutrition researcher at the University of Connecticut. What’s more, a 1-ounce serving of the seeds provides 11 grams of protein—but not the kind of incomplete protein found in most plant sources. Hemp seeds provide all the essential amino acids, meaning the protein they contain is comparable to that found in meat, eggs, and dairy.

How to eat them: Toss 2 tablespoons of the seeds into your oatmeal or stir-fry. Or add them to your postworkout shake for an extra dose of muscle-building protein.

Scallops
Perhaps these mollusks are considered guilty by association, since they often appear in decadent restaurant meals that are overloaded with calories. (But then again, so does asparagus.)

Why they’re healthy: Scallops are more than 80 percent protein. “One 3-ounce serving provides 20 grams of protein and just 95 calories,” says Bowden. They’re also a good source of both magnesium and potassium. (Clams and oysters provide similar benefits.)

How to eat them: Sear the scallops: It’s a fast and easy way to prepare this seafood.

Purchase fresh, dry-packed scallops (not the “wet-packed” kind) and place them on a large plate or cookie sheet. While you preheat a skillet on medium high, pat the scallops dry with a paper towel and season the exposed sides with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. When the skillet is hot, add a tablespoon of olive oil to it. Being careful not to overcrowd, lay the scallops in the skillet, seasoned-side down, and then season the top sides.

Sear the scallops until the bottoms are caramelized (about 2 minutes), and then flip them to sear for another 1 to 2 minutes, depending on size and thickness. Now they’re ready to eat. Pair the scallops with sauteed vegetables, or place them on a bed of brown rice.

Dark Meat
Sure, dark meat has more fat than white meat does, but have you ever considered what the actual difference is? Once you do, Thanksgiving won’t be the only time you “call the drumstick.”

Why it’s healthy: “The extra fat in dark turkey or chicken meat raises your levels of cholecystokinin (CCK), a hormone that makes you feel fuller, longer,” says Aragon. The benefit: You’ll be less likely to overeat in the hours that follow your meal. What about your cholesterol? Only a third of the fat in a turkey drumstick is the saturated kind, according to the USDA food database. (The other two-thirds are heart-healthy unsaturated fats.) What’s more, 86 percent of that saturated fat either has no impact on cholesterol, or raises HDL (good) cholesterol more than LDL (bad) cholesterol—a result that actually lowers your heart-disease risk.

As for calories, an ounce of dark turkey meat contains just 8 more calories than an ounce of white meat.

How to eat it: Just enjoy, but be conscious of your total portion sizes. A good rule of thumb: Limit yourself to 8 ounces or less at any one sitting, which provides up to 423 calories. Eat that with a big serving of vegetables, and you’ll have a flavorful fat-loss meal.

Lentils
It’s no surprise that these hearty legumes are good for you. But when was the last time you ate any?

Why they’re healthy: Boiled lentils have about 16 grams of belly-filling fiber in every cup. Cooked lentils also contain 27 percent more folate per cup than cooked spinach does. And if you eat colored lentils—black, orange, red—there are compounds in the seed hulls that contain disease-fighting antioxidants, says Raymond Glahn, Ph. D., a research physiologist with Cornell University.

How to eat them: Use lentils as a bed for chicken, fish, or beef—they make a great substitute for rice or pasta.

Pour 4 cups of chicken stock into a large pot. Add 1 cup of red or brown lentils and a half cup each of onion and carrot chunks, along with 3 teaspoons of minced garlic. Bring everything to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook the lentils until they’re tender, about 20 minutes. Remove the lentils from the heat, add a splash of red-wine vinegar, and serve.

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15 New Superfoods

By: Stephen Perrine with Heather Hurlock

Your ultimate weight-loss tool doesn’t require assembly like some Ab-O-Matic, it doesn’t cost an entire paycheck, and it doesn’t even require you to break a sweat. It’s in your refrigerator, and it’s called food. The problem is that our “old American diet” has too many calories and not enough real food. So the answer isn’t eating less food—it’s eating more of the right foods. There are 15 of them in particular, and they couldn’t be easier to remember because the first letter of each food spells out NEW AMERICAN DIET.

As detailed in the latest Men’s Health’s book, The New American Diet, these foods are the cure for our old American diet. In fact, in an initial test run, those who tried the New American Diet lost an average of 15 pounds in just 6 weeks. The secret? High-nutrition foods that fill your body with quality fuel and protect you from obesity-causing chemicals (called “obesogens”) found in many conventional food products. Discover how easy it is to flatten your belly for good with The New American Diet’s superfoods. Eat up—and slim down!
1. Nuts  Nuts are New American Diet smart bombs. They’re packed with monounsaturated fatty acids, those good-for-you fats that lower your risk of heart disease and diabetes and, according to new research, help you control your appetite.

Researchers from Georgia Southern University found that eating a high-protein, high-fat snack, such as almonds, increases your calorie burn for up to 3 and a half hours. And just one ounce of almonds boosts vitamin-E levels, increasing memory and cognitive performance, according to researchers at New York Presbyterian Hospital. In another study, people who ate pistachios for 3 months lost 10 to 12 pounds on average.

2. Eggs In a new study in the International Journal of Obesity, overweight participants ate a 340-calorie breakfast of either two eggs or a single bagel 5 days a week for 8 weeks. Those who ate eggs (including the yolk, which contains nearly half the protein and all the nutrient choline) reported higher energy levels and lost 65 percent more weight than bagel-eaters—and with no effect on their cholesterol or triglyceride levels!

Plus, a recent review of more than 25 published studies on protein that concluded that egg protein helps boost muscle strength and development more than other proteins do because of its high concentrations of the amino acid leucine. And egg protein is also better at keeping you from getting hungry over a sustained period.

3. Whole Grains  It’s not a magic disappearing act, but it’s close: When Harvard University researchers analyzed the diets of more than 27,000 people over 8 years, they discovered that those ate whole grains daily weighed 2.5 pounds less than those who ate only refined-grain foods.

Another study from Penn State University found that whole-grain eaters lost 2.4 times more belly fat than those who ate refined grains. Whole grains more favorably affect blood-glucose levels, which means they don’t cause wild swings in blood sugar and ratchet up cravings after you eat them. Plus, the antioxidants in whole grains help control inflammation and insulin (a hormone that tells your body to store belly fat).

4. Avocado and Other Healthy Fats Just because a food has plenty of fat and calories in it doesn’t mean it’s “fattening.” See, certain foods cause you to gain weight because they provoke hormonal changes that trigger cravings, or “rebound hunger.” One hunger-control hormone, leptin, becomes blunted by starchy, sweet, fatty, and refined-carbohydrate foods. That’s why a bagel is fattening: It’s a high-caloric load of refined carbohydrates that double-crosses your natural satisfaction response.

Avocados on the other hand aren’t fattening, because they’re loaded with healthy fat and fiber and don’t cause wild swings in insulin levels. So enjoy the fat in avocados, olive oil, and nuts. Research shows that diets containing upward of 50 percent fat are just as effective for weight loss as those that are low in fat.

5. Meat (Pasture-Raised and Free-Range)Grass-fed beef, chicken, and pork is leaner and healthier than conventional livestock—and will help trim away pounds. A 3.5-ounce serving of grass-fed beef has only 2.4 grams of fat, compared with 16.3 grams for conventionally raised beef. In fact, grass-fed beef is so much more nutritious than commodity beef that it’s almost a different food.

Grass-fed beef contains more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which has been shown to reduce abdominal fat while building lean muscle. It also has more omega-3s and less omega-6s than corn-fed beef. It’s the same with chickens. According to a recent study in the journal Poultry Science, free-range chickens have significantly more omega-3s than grain-fed chickens, less harmful fat, and fewer calories than grain-fed varieties. This is important because omega-3s improve your mood, boost your metabolism, sharpen your brain, and help you lose weight.

6. Environmentally Sustainable Fish Choosing seafood these days isn’t easy. Some species (swordfish, farmed salmon) contain obesity-promoting pollutants (dioxins, PCBs). Others are fattened with soy, which lowers their levels of healthy omega-3s. In fact, the American Heart Association recently urged people who are concerned about heart disease to avoid eating tilapia for just that reason. Wow. That goes against conventional wisdom, doesn’t it?

So what kind of fish should you eat, and how can the New American Diet help? Generally, small, oily ocean fish (herring, mackerel, sardines) are low in toxins and score highest in omega-3s. Wild Alaskan salmon, Pacific Halibut, Rainbow Trout, and Yellowfin tuna are generally low in toxins and high in nutrients. And then there are fish that we should avoid at all times: farmed (or “Atlantic”) salmon, farmed tilapia, Atlantic cod, Chilean Sea Bass, and farmed shrimp.

7. Raspberries and Other Berries A recent study by researchers at Yale University School of Medicine discovered that after eating a high-carb, high-sugar meal, free radicals (rogue molecules produced when your body breaks down food) attack the neurons that tell us when we’re full. The result: It’s hard to judge when hunger is satisfied. Escape the cycle of overindulgence by eating foods that are rich in antioxidants. And berries top the charts.

The berries that give you the most antioxidant bang per bite, in order: cranberries, black currents, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, pomegranates.

8. Instant OatsFiber  is the secret to losing weight without hunger. One U.S. Department of Agriculture study found that those who increased their daily fiber intake from 12 grams to 24 absorbed 90 fewer calories per day than those who ate the same amount of food but less fiber. Do nothing to your diet other than add more of the rough stuff, and you will lose nine pounds in a year, effortlessly.

Instant oats are one of the easiest ways to get more real fiber into your diet. Plus, new research indicates that oats can also cut your risk of high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, and even reduce your risk of weight gain. Oats also have 10 grams of protein per 1/2-cup serving, so they deliver steady muscle-building energy. Choose oatmeal that contains whole oats and low sodium, like Uncle Sam Instant Oatmeal, which also has whole-grain wheat flakes and flaxseed.

9. Cruciferous Vegetables and Other Leafy GreensCruciferous vegetables —like broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage, Swiss chard, and bok choy—are all rich in folate, and the more folate you have in your diet, the lower your risk of obesity, heart disease, stroke, cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s, and depression. A recent study in the British Journal of Nutrition found that those with the highest folate levels lose 8.5 times more weight when dieting. Another stunner: New research shows that folate helps protect against damage from estrogenic chemicals like bisphenol-A (BPA), which have been linked to obesity.

These veggies also rich in potassium. Researchers at the Department of Agriculture’s Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, at Tufts University, found that foods rich in potassium help preserve lean muscle mass. Click here to learn more about The New American Diet.


10. Apples and Other Fruit  What makes the apple so potent? In part, it’s because most of us eat the peel: It’s a great way to add more fiber and nutrients into your diet. But there’s a downside: The peel is where fruit tends to absorb and retain most of the pesticides they are exposed to, apples and peaches being the worst offenders. That’s why, for maximum weight-loss potential, we strongly recommend you buy organic versions of apples, pears, peaches, and other eat-the-peel fruits.

You’ll experience a terrific payoff if you do: In a UCLA study, normal-weight people reported eating, on average, two servings of fruit and 12 grams (g) of fiber a day; those who were overweight had just one serving and 9 g. Credit that extra 3 g fiber—the amount in one single apple or orange—as the difference maker.

11. Navy Beans and Other Legumes Study after study reveals that bean eaters live longer and weigh less. One study showed that people who eat 3/4 cup of beans daily weigh 6.6 pounds less than those who don’t eat beans. Another study in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that people who eat one and a half servings of beans a day (3/4 cup) have lower blood pressure and smaller waist sizes than those who skip beans in favor of other proteins. Imagine each bean you eat is a perfect little weight-loss pill. Gobble ‘em up!

12. Dark Chocolate A new study from Denmark found that those who eat dark chocolate consume 15 percent fewer calories at their next meal and are less interested in fatty, salty, and sugary foods. And research shows that dark chocolate can improve heart health, lower blood pressure, reduce LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, decrease the risk of blood clots, and increase blood flow to the brain. Dark chocolate boosts serotonin and endorphin levels, which is associated with improved mood and greater concentration; it’s rich in B vitamins and magnesium, which are noted cognitive boosters; it contains small amounts of caffeine, which helps with short-term concentration; and it contains theobromine, a stimulant that delivers a different kind of buzz, sans the jitters.

13. Ice Cream and Other Healthy DessertsCalcium-rich desserts  like ice cream bind to fatty acids in the digestive tract, blocking their absorption. In one study, participants who ate 1,735 mg of calcium from low-fat dairy products (about as much as in five 8-ounce glasses of milk) blocked the equivalent of 85 calories a day. Plus, half a cup of vanilla ice cream gives you 19 milligrams of choline, which translates to protection from cancer, heart attack, stroke, and dementia. We’re not suggesting you have a bowlful of ice cream every night. But a scoop (the size of a tennis ball) every few days isn’t the diet-saboteur it’s made out to be.

Caveat: Tricked-out designer ice creams are packed with added sugar and preservatives. Pick a single flavor ice cream—vanilla, chocolate, coffee, whatever.

14. Enzymes and Probiotics (Yogurt)Probiotics and enzymes, those friendly bacteria found in yogurt, may be the key to losing those last stubborn inches around your waist. They not only help the digestive system work properly, but also have a profound effect on the metabolism, according to a new study in Molecular Systems Biology. The bacteria Lactobacillus paracasei and Lactobacillus rhamnosus can change how much fat is available for the body to absorb by influencing stomach acids during digestion.

But not all yogurts are probiotic, so make sure the label says “live and active cultures.” Other foods containing probiotics include kefir, acidophilus milk, miso soup, soft cheeses, pickles, and sauerkraut.

15. Tea and Other Healthy Beverages Nearly 25 percent of our calories—about 450 calories a day—come from sodas, sweetened teas, and the like. According to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, if you swap just one of those sodas a day for water or unsweetened tea or coffee, you’ll lose 2.5 pounds each month.

In fact, cutting down on liquid calories has a bigger impact than cutting down on calories from foods, according researchers from Johns Hopkins. Instead of sugary beverages, try green tea, which is high in the plant compound called ECGC, which promotes fat burning. In one study, people who consumed the equivalent of three to five cups a day for 12 weeks decreased their body weight by 4.6 percent.

 Click here to learn more about The New American Diet.
http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/New_American_Diet_Superfoods/index.php?cm_mmc=ABSNL-_-2010_10_25-_-HTML-_-dek
© 2010 Rodale Inc. | MensHealth.com

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The 12 Best Smoothie Ingredients

You can boost your brain, build muscle, burn fat, and help your heart in less than one minute: Just mix up a smoothie and slurp. It’s that simple—if you include these dozen add-ins that not only pack health benefits, but also make your shake taste even better.

Peanut Butter

Packed with protein, manganese, and niacin, peanuts can help stave offheart disease and, when eaten in moderation, promoteweight loss.

Fat-Free Milk

All the calcium and protein, none of the fat.

Blueberries

The huge amounts of antioxidants, such as anthocyanins, in blueberries have been shown to slow brain decline and reverse memory loss.

Low-Fat Vanilla Yogurt

A cache of calcium and digestion-aiding probiotics in every scoop.

Raspberries

An antioxidant powerhouse bursting with fiber, manganese, and vitamin C, these berries will keep your heart and brain in top shape.

Fat-Free Chocolate Frozen Yogurt

Calcium, phosphorus, and none of the guilt.

Pineapple-Orange Juice

OJ has vitamin C, and pineapples contain bromelain, a cancer-inhibiting, inflammation-reducing enzyme.

Cherries

In addition to their vitamin C and fiber content, cherries have been linked to reducing arthritis pain.

Bananas

Heavy on potassium, fiber, and vitamin B6, bananas do wonders for your heart and provide good carbs to keep you full and energized. 

Whey Protein

Its essential amino acids help pack on the muscle—making whey the best friend of athletes and gym rats.

Frozen Mangoes

To their stock of vitamins A and C, mangoes add a healthy dose of beta-carotene, which helps prevent cancer and promotes healthy skin.

Ice

A little H2O never hurt anyone.

More from MensHealth.com
50+ Delicious Smoothies
Get Our Smoothie Selector iPhone App
Pick the Best Fruit

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10 Forgotten Muscle Building Foods

by Brian St. Pierre
Ahh, the lean bulking diet; say what you want about the merits of trying to add pounds of muscle without adding a single ounce of extra bodyfat, but as a nutritional consultant I can tell you one thing: some of these lean bulking diets are the most meticulous and repetitive things the world has ever seen.
Now, I’m all for having a food preparation routine; it makes things simple and convenient, and it’s much easier to track results and avoid falling off the wagon when you know exactly what you’re eating at every meal.
The problem with this is, guys get stuck in such a routine that they don’t have any variety, and may even be missing out on a lot of nutrients–not to mention calories–that can contribute to their health and growth.
As bodybuilding friendly as it may appear to be, a diet based on egg whites, chicken breasts, brown rice and broccoli does not meet your needs, I can assure you of that. While it may be a “clean” diet, it is most certainly not an optimal one.
Bodybuilders weren’t always this damn boring. There are many foods that old-school lifters used to swear by for gaining mass that their contemporaries seem to have forgotten or cast aside, mainly due to piss-poor nutrition recommendations and a foolish fear of saturated fat.
Today, I’m going to revive some of those foods, with the hope it inspires you to make some changes in your own diet; changes that could result in you adding some mass that may have eluded you on your ultra “clean” diet.

Full Fat Grass-fed Dairy

While I’m definitely not a big fan of conventional dairy due to poor production, poor quality, loss of important fatty acids, and high estrogen content, dairy from pasture-raised grass-fed cows is an entirely different animal.
Since these cows are actually allowed to eat what they were designed to eat, their milk quality is vastly superior — containing more actual nutrition like vitamin A, vitamin K (in the more powerful form of K2), omega-3′s, and CLA. In fact, grass-fed cows have been found to contain up to 500% more CLA than their conventionally fed brethren!
Now you’ll also notice that all of those compounds are either fatty acids or fat-soluble vitamins. That’s right, many of the benefits of dairy come from its fat content, regardless of the fact that it is mainly saturated.
Scoff all you want, but these are incredibly important differences. CLA has been shown to be a powerful ally in the fight against cancer, and has been found to greatly reduce tumor growth in animals, and possibly in humans as well.
In a Finnish study, women who had the highest levels of CLA in their diet had a 60% lower risk of breast cancer than those with the lowest levels. Simply switching from conventionally raised grain-fed meat and dairy to pasture-raised grass-fed versions would have placed all the women in the lowest risk category.
The best part may be vitamin K (in the form of K2-MK4). Several studies have found that a higher vitamin K2 intake is associated with a lower risk of heart attack, ischemic stroke, cancer incidence, cancer mortality and overall mortality. Men with the highest vitamin K2 consumption had a 51% lower risk of heart attack mortality and a 26% lower risk of all-cause mortality compared to men consuming the lowest amount!
One of the ways vitamin K2 improves cardiovascular health is its ability to decrease arterial calcification by 30-40%. And this only speaks to vitamin K2′s effects of cardiovascular health; it’s also crucially important for proper fetal development and bone health, to name a few additional benefits.
One final note that I think will speak to many of you, beyond the health benefits —muscular growth. Researchers compared skim milk to whole milk in the post-training period, to see which would produce greater anabolic effects. They pitted 14oz of skim milk against 8oz of whole milk, to make them calorically equal. Theoretically, the results should be even or in the favor of skim milk, since it had six more grams of protein. The research showed that whole milk was more effective than skim, despite lesser protein content and equal total calories. Another notch in favor of whole-fat over fat-free.
So, for those of you busting your ass to gain some size, why in the world would you choose low-fat or fat-free dairy options? You’re trying to sneak calories into your diet, not out of it! Full-fat versions, especially from grass-fed cows, are vastly superior for health, and for growth.
There are several companies that are available nationwide that provide high quality milk from grass-fed cows, like Organic Valley and Whole Foods 365 brand. To find about a company near you, or to see if your current organic milk stacks up, check out this report from the Cornucopia Institute.
While I’ve gone to great lengths to trumpet the value of full-fat, grass-fed dairy in general, here are some specific food recommendations:

Whole milk

Whole milk used to be a staple of the old-school bodybuilding crowd, and was successfully used by innumerable men in the quest for more mass. It provides a lot of easily consumed calories, a nice blend of whey and casein, as well as a good dose of electrolytes — calcium, potassium, magnesium and some sodium. It also offers a good source of vitamin A, vitamin D, and a few B vitamins to boot.

Full fat cheeses — Cheddar, Cottage, etc.

These are also very high in calories, especially cheddar cheese. Cheddar cheese is one of the best sources of vitamin K2 due to the fermentation process, as well as providing relatively even amounts of protein and fat without any carbs. Cottage cheese is an incredible source of protein, and the full-fat versions are again more calorie dense.

Cream

Cream, especially the heavy whipping kind, is extraordinarily calorie dense. This can be a great addition to smoothies as it improves mouth-feel, flavor, and just provides a ton of calories.

Misunderstood Carbs

There are many fantastic carbohydrate sources out there that seem to have fallen off most bodybuilder’s radars. Two perfect examples are potatoes, replaced by sweet potatoes, and wild rice, replaced by brown.
Now those replacements are fine foods, but are they really any better than the foods they’re substituted for? Not really.

White Potatoes

White potatoes have gotten a bad rap recently, mainly due to their high glycemic index, which is higher than the more celebrated sweet potato. But really, who cares? You aren’t eating a white potato all by its lonesome, so that T-bone and steamed veggies with it, along with the pastured butter inside it, will slow its digestion anyway, making that point rather irrelevant.
All the talk about garbage white potatoes and saintly sweet potatoes has been taken a little far. Sweet potatoes are awesome, but white potatoes have more iron, magnesium and potassium than sweet potatoes, and they’re one of the most satiating foods on the planet.
They pack a lot of calories into a small package, were a staple of the old-school crowd, and have helped thousands of lifters pack on some serious mass. They’re also a good source of 12 vitamins and minerals, and provide 7 g of both fiber and complete protein in each large one.

Wild Rice

Wild rice has become a barely spoken word in bodybuilding and even health-conscious circles these days. Is brown rice actually any better? They’re both good sources of 8 vitamins and minerals; wild has 3 g of fiber and 7 g of protein in 1 cooked cup, while brown has 4 g of fiber and 5 g of protein. Does anybody see a significant difference there? I would say wild is every bit as good, plus offers a nice change to the palate for your much-neglected taste buds. And really, did a little variety ever hurt anyone?

Old School Protein

Be honest, how much do you really enjoy eating boneless, skinless chicken breasts multiple meals per day, every day? While a fine food, there are so many other great protein sources out there that have been largely forgotten with the explosion in consumption of said chicken breasts.
These sources have micronutrients, fatty acids, and more that chicken breasts don’t have, and they just bring some more flavor and variety, as well as calories to help spur growth. You might even enjoy eating meat again.

Whole Chicken

Many old-school bodybuilders used to absolutely crush whole chickens. Whole chickens, whole milk, and potatoes were the name of the game, and they certainly worked. So why do we just eat plain boneless, skinless chicken breasts today?
I’ll grant you that they’re very convenient, easy to prepare, go with just about anything, and can last for several days precooked in the fridge (or up to a week for the more daring). But in terms of price per calorie, whole chickens are crazy cheap, provide more total calories and taste loads better. What’s not to love?

Turkey

Breasts, thighs or the whole damn thing. Turkey is a vastly underappreciated meat that arrives in spades come Thanksgiving, but then goes virtually unnoticed the rest of the year. Turkey is a fantastic protein source, a good source of 11 vitamins and minerals, including being an excellent source of the cancer-fighting selenium. Plus, it’s just a nice change of pace from eating chicken all the damn time.

Tuna

Tuna was once a dietary staple, though it seems to have gone the way of the dodo lately. No one talks about it, and even less seem to eat it. It’s no longer the pretty girl at the dance, having been replaced by the sexier salmon. Though salmon does have more omega-3′s, and that powerful antioxidant astaxanthin, tuna is no slouch.
It’s a better protein source, contains over 1 gram of omega-3′s per can (amount varies by type), and is a good source of 7 vitamins and minerals. It’s also an incredible source of selenium, containing over 3 times the amount in turkey! Finally, it’s one of the absolute cheapest protein sources around, though I would recommend the light variety, due to the marked decrease in its mercury content.

Whole eggs

Eggs do seem to be making a comeback of late, but I can’t tell you how many guys I know who are trying to gain weight and are still knocking back cartons of egg whites. Two whole eggs with six egg whites don’t even come close to the caloric or nutritional powerhouse of five whole eggs.
Whole eggs contain the brain-boosting and anti-inflammatory choline, lutein and zeaxanthin for eye health, vitamin A, vitamin D, B vitamins, selenium, iodine for proper thyroid function and more. Whole eggs are one of nature’s greatest foods, so why are you only eating the damn whites? If you still think that saturated fat and cholesterol contribute to heart disease — wait, no one still really believes that, do they?
If you can get access to pasture-raised eggs, their nutrient content is vastly superior, with 4-6 times the vitamin D content, 3 times the omega-3 content, and 8 times the beta-carotene content.

Pork Chops

Pork chops were something I remember growing up with, and yet they seem to have largely disappeared from the American Diet, probably due to the late 80′s/early 90′s fear of fat. While pork chops do contain more fat than chicken or turkey, again, who cares? The majority of the fat is in the form of the monounsaturated oleic acid, just like in olive oil, and they’re a good source of 10 vitamins and minerals.
Chops are also an excellent source of several B vitamins, as well as the brain-boosting and anti-inflammatory choline. Plus they’re tasty, which isn’t a crime, no matter what the guys eating six meals a day out of Tupperware might tell you.

Off To The Grocery Store

Consistency is key to any successful bodybuilding plan, but that doesn’t mean you should try to live off of a mere dozen or so “clean” foods. There are plenty of tasty, nutritious foods that can help you pack in some serious calories and nutrients while providing some much-needed variety to your palate.
Chicken breasts, brown rice, broccoli, and egg whites are all fine foods, but they aren’t your only choices — and especially not day in, day out. Give some of these forgotten foods a shot; what have you got to lose?

References:

Leheska JM, Thompson LD, Howe JC, et al.  Effects of conventional and grass-feeding systems on the nutrient composition of beef.  J Anim Sci. 2008 Dec;86(12):3575-85.

Ponnampalam EN, Mann NJ, Sinclair AJ.  Effect of feeding systems on omega-3 fatty acids, conjugated linoleic acid and trans fatty acids in Australian beef cuts: potential impact on human health.  Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2006;15(1):21-9.

Dhiman TR, Anand GR, et al.  Conjugated linoleic acid content of milk from cows fed different diets.  J Dairy Sci.  1999;82(10):2146-56.

Aro A, Mannisto S, Salminen I, et al.  Inverse Association between Dietary and Serum Conjugated Linoleic Acid and Risk of Breast Cancer in Postmenopausal Women.  2000;38(2): 151-157.

Elwood PC, Strain JJ, Robson PJ, et al.  Milk consumption, stroke, and heart attack risk: evidence from the Caerphilly cohort of older men.  J Epidemiol Community Health.  2005;59:502-505

Elwood PC, Pickering JE, Hughes J, Fehily AM, Ness AR.  Milk drinking, ischaemic heart disease and ischaemic stroke II. Evidence from cohort studies.  Eur J Clin Nutr. 2004 May;58(5):718-24.

Geleijnse JM, Vermeer C, Grobbee DE, et al.  Dietary Intake of Menaquinone Is Associated with a Reduced Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: The Rotterdam Study.  J Nutr.  2004 Nov;134:3100-3105.

Gast GC, de Roos NM, Sluijs I, et al.  A high menaquinone intake reduces the incidence of coronary heart disease.  Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis.  2009 Sep;19(7):504-10.

Nimptsch K, Rohrmann S, Kaaks R, Linseisen J.  Dietary vitamin K intake in relation to cancer incidence and mortality: results from the Heidelberg cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Heidelberg).  Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 May;91(5):1348-58.

Spronk HM, Soute BA, Schurgers LJ, et al.  Tissue-specific utilization of menaquinone-4 results in the prevention of arterial calcification in warfarin-treated rats.  J Vasc Res. 2003 Nov-Dec;40(6):531-7.

Elliot TA, Cree MG, Sanford AP, Wolfe RR, Tipton KD.  Milk ingestion stimulates net muscle protein synthesis following resistance exercise.  Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2006 Apr;38(4):667-74.

Pork chops are a tasty alternative to the chicken-fish-beef trifecta.

Commercial dairy may be suspect, but full fat, grass fed dairy should be a bodybuilding staple.

A lean, powerful physique requires a variety of nutrient-dense food.

Full fat (grass fed) milk has more muscle building bang for the buck than fat free versions.

A classic turkey shot!

About the Author

Brian St. Pierre is a Certified Sports Nutritionist (CISSN) and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS). He received his degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition with a focus in Human Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of Maine, and he is currently pursuing his Master’s degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics from the same institution. He was the Nutritionist and a Strength and Conditioning Coach at Cressey Performance in Hudson, MA for 3 years. He is also the author of the Show and Go Nutrition Guide, the accompanying nutrition manual to Eric Cressey’s Show and Go Training System.

With his passion for seeing his clients succeed, Brian is able to use his knowledge, experience, and energy to create highly effective training and nutrition programs for clients of any age and background. For more information you can check out his website.

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