Healthy Loss Diet - Friendly Sites

• Food Jobs. All Food Job Database - Find Food Jobs fast and easy with our Food Job database and apply directly online. One Search, All Food jobs.
• Linkalizer. LinkAlizer makes it easy and fast for you to to find link exchange partners and increase traffic.
• SWEET N CHEEKY Sexy Linqerie ,Sexy Underwear,Hustler Linqerie,Dreamgirl Linqerie,Elegant Moments,Underwear,Club Wear,Jewellery - Sweet N Cheeky Sexy Linqerie Sexy Underwear by Hustler Linqerie,Dreamgirl Linqerie,Allure Club Wear,Eligant Moments Linqrrie,Sensual Mystique Linqerie,Tilton Panties,Hosiery,Sexy Jewellery,Bras,Knickers,Playwear,Bondage

Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5

Good Trans Fats vs. Bad Trans Fats

Good Trans Fats vs. Bad Trans Fats
by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

I'm going to talk about something today that most of you have probably never heard... that there is a distinction between good trans fats and bad trans fats. There is some evidence that the good trans fats can help you with fat loss, muscle building, and even cancer prevention, while the bad trans fats have been shown to cause heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and the general "blubbering" of your body.

Artificial trans fats are one of the most prevalent poisons in our food supply; but most don't know that healthy natural trans fats DO exist.

I'm sure most of you have heard all of the ruckus in the news over the last few years about just how bad man-made trans fats are for your health. If you've been a reader of my newsletter and my Truth about Six Pack Abs e-book program, then you definitely know my opinion that these substances are some of the most evil food additives of all and are found in the vast majority of all processed foods and fast foods on the market today.

In my opinion, man-made trans fats are right up there with smoking in terms of their degree of danger to your health. After all, they are one of THE MAIN factors for the explosion of heart disease since approximately the 1950's.

With all of the talk about trans fats in the news these days, I wanted to clarify some things, particularly regarding bad trans fats vs. good trans fats. If you've never heard of good trans fats before, let me explain in a bit.

The Bad Trans Fats
First, the bad trans fats I'm referring to are the man-made kind. These are represented by any artificially hydrogenated oils. The main culprits are margarine, shortening, and partially hydrogenated oils that are in most processed foods, junk foods, and deep fried foods.

These hydrogenated oils are highly processed using harsh chemical solvents like hexane (a component of gasoline), high heat, pressure, have a metal catalyst added, and are then deodorized and bleached. A small % of the solvent is allowed to remain in the finished oil. This has now become more of an industrial oil rather than a food oil, but somehow the FDA still allows the food manufacturers to put this crap in our food at huge quantities, even with the well documented health dangers.

These hydrogenated oils cause inflammation inside of your body, which signals the deposition of cholesterol as a healing agent on artery walls. Hence, hydrogenated oil = inflammation = clogged arteries. You can see why heart disease has exploded since this crap has been loaded into our food supply over the last 5 to 6 decades.

As time goes on, and science continues to unveil how deadly these oils really are, I feel that eventually they will be illegal and banned from use. The labeling laws were just the first step. In fact, certain countries around the world have already banned the use of hydrogenated oils in food manufacturing or at least set dates to phase them out for good.

However, keep in mind that as companies are starting to phase out the use of hydrogenated oils in processed foods, they are replacing them, in most instances, with highly refined polyunsaturated oils such as soybean oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, etc, etc. These are still heavily processed oils using high heat, solvents, deodorizers, and bleaching agents. Even refined oils are known to produce inflammation in your body...a far cry from natural sources of healthy fats.

Don't be fooled by the new onslaught of foods claiming "trans fat free"... if they use heavily refined oils (even if they're non-hydrogenated), it's still pure evil for your body!

The Good Trans Fats
Ok, after having trash talked the man-made trans fats, let me clearly state that there is such a thing as healthy natural trans fats. Natural trans fats are created in the stomachs of ruminant animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, etc. and make their way into the fat stores of the animals.
Therefore, the milk fat and the fat within the meat of these animals can provide natural healthy trans fats (best in grass-fed organic versions only).

Natural trans fats in your diet have been thought to have some potential benefit to aid in both muscle building and fat loss efforts. However, keep in mind that the quantity of healthy trans fats in the meat and dairy of ruminant animals is greatly reduced by mass-production methods of farming and their grain and soy heavy diets. Meat and dairy from grass-fed, free-range animals always have much higher quantities of these beneficial fats.

One such natural trans fat that you may have heard of is called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and has been marketed by many weight loss companies. Keep in mind that these man-made CLA pills you see in the stores may not be the best way to get CLA in your diet. They are artificially made from plant oils, instead of the natural process that happens in ruminant animals. Once again, man-made just doesn't compare to the benefits of natural sources.

Now that all of your labels should be listing grams of trans fat, keep in mind that if a quantity of trans fat is listed on a meat or dairy product, it is most likely the natural good trans fats that we've discussed here.

Otherwise, if the quantity of trans fat is listed on any processed foods, it is most likely the dangerous unhealthy crap from artificially hydrogenated oils, so stay away!

One more important note about food labels and trans fat listings... keep in mind that food manufacturers are allowed to label a food "trans fat free" if 1 serving size contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fat. So you may see some products with hydrogenated oils as one of their main ingredients, but if they make the serving size small enough so that it contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving, they can label it as trans fat free... now that's BS! just another example of our broken system!

Glycemic Index Myths

Potatoes, Glycemic Index, and "White Foods" - Friend or Foe for a Lean-Body?

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer and founder of the Get Rid of Belly Fat without Abdominal Exercises (Truth about ABS) Homepage

I'd like to start a little discussion today about carbohydrates... and in particular, "white foods" as well as potatoes. One reason I wanted to mention this is because so many health and fitness professionals trash talk potatoes about being a bad carbohydrate choice because of the high glycemic index. Some even say such ridiculous things as "avoid any and all white carbohydrates".

Ok, now while I certainly agree that white bread and refined white sugar are two of the worst things we can be feeding our bodies, I definately don't agree with avoiding any and all "white carbohydrates". Now I know all of the buzz lately has been about colorful foods and the protective antioxidants that they contain. They tell you to focus on colors and stay away from white.

It's true that colorful foods are great, but it is a big mistake to specifically avoid white foods! There are plenty of white foods that have specific nutrients that are hard to find elsewhere. Let's look at a few examples...

Onions & Garlic

What about onions and garlic? They are both white and they are chock full of protective phytonutrients, vitamins, and trace minerals that aren't easy to find elsewhere in a normal diet... such nutrients as allicin, quercetin (an important flavonoid), chromium, and other unique anti-inflammatory nutrients.

Cauliflower

Another example of something white that is great for you is cauliflower. Cauliflower is loaded with vitamin C, fiber, minerals, and special compounds such as glucosinolates and thiocyanates, which are specifically abundant in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. And a little-known fact is that some of the compounds in cruciferous vegetables help to combat other estrogenic compounds in our food supply and environment and can help prevent excess belly fat. So eat up on that cauliflower!

Mushrooms

Not many people realize this, but surprisingly, even white mushrooms have high levels of unique nutrients and antioxidants. White mushrooms are high in a couple types of antioxidants called polyphenols and ergothioneine.

Potatoes

Now that also leads us to another example - white potatoes (which by the way, can also be found in red, yellow, purple varieties, etc). Many health professionals claim that potatoes are a bad carbohydrate because they are thought to have a high glycemic index. First of all, if you've read my Truth about Six Pack Abs book, then you understand that glycemic index is not necessarily the most important factor in choosing your carbohydrates.

While a generalization can be made that most low glycemic index carbohydrate choices will help you lose body fat easier than high glycemic index choices, it is not all that it's cracked up to be. There are many other factors that determine how your body will react-to and process the carbohydrates you ingest, such as glycemic load and also how you combine the high GI food with other foods.

For example, using glycemic load as an example... it is known that watermelon has a high glycemic index. However, the glycemic load of a normal serving of watermelon is just way too low for your body to start packing on body fat just because you ate a high glycemic index fruit. You would have to eat such an enormous quantity of watermelon just to get enough grams of carbohydrates to have any negative glycemic effect, that it is just non-sensical.

Not to mention that watermelon is also a great source of vitamins, minerals, and lycopene. There's just no reason to avoid it simply because it has a high GI. My point is... candy bars, cupcakes, and donuts make you fat... NOT watermelons, carrots or potatoes.

Also, as i mentioned, food combinations are important in how your body processes the carbohydrates and the associated blood sugar and insulin response you receive. For example, if you mix a high glycemic index carbohydrate with an extra source of fiber, healthy fats, or even certain proteins, many times the blood sugar and glycemic response will be slowed down considerably by the way you combined the food. Again, I talk in detail about this entire topic in my Truth about Six Pack Abs book

Alright, so back to my point that white potatoes are actually a healthy carbohydrate as long as you eat them in the right form... with the entire skin, and please don't ruin them by deep frying them into french fries either! French fries are one of the most evil things ever invented for your health, but only because we ruin them by soaking them in a scorching bath of trans fats in the deep fryer from the hydrogenated oils that are typically used.

Keep in mind that potatoes contain so many vitamins and minerals that the list is way too long to even try. Also, as long as you eat the skins, you get a decent shot of fiber too.

On the topic of potatoes not being so bad after all, I don't remember where I saw this referenced, but I recently saw a particular study that had participants eat something like 7-9 whole potatoes per day for several weeks.

At the conclusion of the study, the potato eaters had actually consistently lost weight! I'd venture a guess that the reason the people lost weight is that they were probably so full from eating all of those damn potatoes, that they actually consumed less calories than normal! An average sized potato only has about 100-120 calories, and I can surely imagine you'd be full constantly from eating 7-9 potatoes each day.

Now I would never recommend going to those extremes, but my point is that an occasional potato is not going to hurt your efforts to get lean, especially if you combine it with some other fibrous vegetables and maybe a healthy fat and some protein. On that note, I have one of my favorite recipes for you, using potatoes.

Geary's Lean-Body Potato Side Dish

• Desired quantity of baby potatoes (I like to use this mixture I found recently at a health food store... it is a mixture of white, red, yellow, and purple baby potatoes)
• 1 red pepper
• 1 green pepper
• 1 yellow pepper
• 1 or 2 onions
• a couple cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 or 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• a little salt and pepper to taste (I like using a sea salt instead of normal commercial salt)

Cut the baby potatoes into slightly smaller pieces and place in a steamer until soft all the way through. Slice up the peppers and onions into strips and add with the chopped garlic into a pan with the olive oil. Cook the peppers, onions, and garlic until tender, and then add the steamed baby potatoes. Stir it all together and serve.

This is a delicious and healthy side dish that goes great with chicken or red meat.

I hope you've enjoyed this little topic today about potatoes, healthy carbohydrates, glycemic index, and my killer potato recipe idea!

Back to Get Rid of Belly Fat without Abdominal Exercises home page

10 Reasons to Overeat

1. Instant gratification saves time

2. Aren't we supposed to end world hunger?

3. Why cut pork when the government won't?

4. Grow the economy and yourself.

5. The U.S.A. can still be No. 1 in something!

6. Excess is a normal American trait.

7. It is good exercise for your jaw.

8. You won't have to fight temptation.

9. Overeaters get a lot of attention.

10. It sure does taste good.

These hilarious quips come from The Art of Overeating - a hilarious book from psychologist Leslie Landis. The book takes reverse psychology to a new level. Instead of berating us to eat less we get advice like:

Be a good guest and offer to do the dishes. Alone. This way, you can lick each plate clean. If anyone catches you, say you are trying to be eco-conscious and save water.

A good laugh as we enter the season of gluttony...

Available for $9.95 from Amazon.com.

Why have Middle Aged Women Problems to Control their Weight?

by Oswald J. Eppers

Middle-Aged Women and overweight is a common problem in our society. Slower metabolisms and hormonal imbalances are frequently the reason for the difficulties in reducing overweight. The most successful strategy for weight control is a reduction of calorie intake combined with physical activities.

If you are a middle-aged woman between your 40s and 60s, you probably experienced that it’s not easy to keep your weight stable or worse to get rid of some extra pounds. The main reason for this: you don’t have the same metabolism any more you had as a 20 year old girl, when it was easy keeping your ideal weight just by skipping a few meals.


You've probably heard people blame their weigh gain on a slow metabolism and publicity of different diet plans claiming a faster weight loss by accelerating metabolism.

Well, there is no doubt that metabolism is linked to weight, but this relation is not that straightforward you may expect. Metabolism is the process by which your body converts what you eat and drink into energy and weight gain is most commonly the result of eating more calories than you burn. As a consequence, to lose weight you can consume fewer calories in order to create an energy deficit, increase physical activity to burn more calories, or both.

There are several hormonal disorders that can affect your metabolism, for instance as result of an underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) or an exposure to high levels of the hormone cortisol for a long time, resulting in the so-called Cushing's syndrome. The most common cause of Cushing's syndrome, sometimes called hypercortisolism, is the use of oral corticosteroid medication. The condition can also occur when your body makes too much cortisol. In particular when reaching menopausal period, hormonal imbalances are frequently causing overweight in middle-aged women and the mentioned difficulties when trying to lose this overweight again.

If you are experiencing a constant weight gain or also weight loss, it is important to rule out physiological disorders like the mentioned hormonal disorders, consulting your doctor.

Why is metabolism changing in middle-aged women? As you get older and many times already starting at an age of 35 years approximately, the amount of muscle tends to decrease and fat accounts for more of your weight, slowing down calorie burning. The carbohydrate metabolism undergoes changes as well. Thus, one can observe in many cases a decrease of glucose tolerance caused by a slow down of their decomposition.

Now you understand why you really don’t have too much control over the speed of your metabolism. What you do can control is the quantity of calories you consume and burn through your level of physical activity. And there is one additional factor that has been proven in many studies: Men usually have less body fat and more muscle than do women of the same age and weight (thus burning more calories). As a consequence, a middle-aged woman needs to control even more than their even-aged partner from the opposite sex their calorie intake and level of physical activity to burn excess calories. As a rule of thumb: the more active you are, the more calories you burn. In fact, some people who are said to have a fast metabolism are probably just more active — and maybe more indefatigable — than are others.

Visit my blog “Healthy Weight Loss Diet” to discover a foolproof guaranteed way to lose weight naturally and with long lasting effects.

Is Stevia Sweetener Healthier than Aspartame?

By Oswald J. Eppers

The shrub Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni, commonly known as Stevia, was first mentioned by the Spanish physician and botanist Pedro Jaime Esteve (1500-1556) who found it in the north-east of the territory now called Paraguay.

Guarani Indians of this area as in southern Brazil are using "ka'a he'ê" ("sweet leaf"), as it is called in Guaraní, since hundreds of years as a sweetener in yerba mate, and several tribes reported the use of this plant in the control of fertility of women, applying concentrated Stevia infusions for prolonged periods.

It is precisely this contraceptive property that is discussed since the 70s until today in the scientific literature. The reason is simple: Who wants to consume a sweetener that suddenly makes you barren?

Stevia leaf contains a complex mixture of glycosides (compounds where one or more sugar molecules are bound to a non-carbohydrate moiety). These compounds give the leaves an intensely sweet taste, about 30-45 times sweeter than sucrose, the sweet stuff of refined sugar. To date, ten different chemical compounds (chemically, all steviol glycosides) were isolated which are responsible for the sweet taste of the plant: stevioside, rebaudioside A, B, C, D, E and F, dulcoside A, rubusoside and steviolbioside. The highest concentration of the sweetening effect comes from Stevioside and rebaudioside A, responsible for the extract of Stevia being 250-300 times sweeter than sucrose with almost cero calories (about 0.2 calories per gram).

Both sweet steviol glycosides are chemically diterpenic glycosides, substances composed of two molecules of different types of sugar and a molecule called steviol. Steviol serves as "backbone" of the chemical structure and is structurally similar to the plant hormones gibberellin and kaurene. Several studies show that these glycosides are – at least partially - metabolized in the body releasing the sugar molecules and steviol.

Is It Safe to Use Stevia instead of sugar?

It is precisely this compound steviol that for many years called attention to toxicologists. In studies with bacteria and in cell-cultures it was demonstrated that this compound is genotoxic (i.e. is capable of changing the genetic information). However, more recent studies with mice, rats and hamsters, indicated that it requires relatively high concentrations of steviol to cause any considerable damage to the DNA, the molecule of life containing all our genetic information.

Browsing toxicological databases, there are hundreds of publications discussing potential adverse health effects of stevia extract, but the results are not very consistent. In particular, the effects on fertility and the potential carcinogenicity of Steviosides were subject of controversy in the scientific world. It was a study published in 1968 by Professor Joseph Kuc Purdue University in Indiana, USA, which initiated a controversial discussion about stevia and fertility. Prof. Kuc detected a clear contraceptive effect on female rats that were administered high doses of stevia. The fertility rates of the rats dropped by up to 79 percent.

While the outcome of this study was not confirmed by other scientific groups, a study published in 1999 by Prof. Melis of the University of São Paulo also reported a reduction of sperm quantity in male rats after applying high doses of Stevia glycosides. Concerns of carcinogenicity or mutagenicity were not confirmed in the vast majority of the toxicological studies.

Although adverse health effects of Stevia never really have been tested in humans directly, the authorities in the United States, Canada and the European Union considered Stevia extracts not to be safe in the application as a tabletop sweetener due to the lack of long-term toxicological studies. In contrast, authorities in other countries like Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and Mexico have a different point of view and accepted the use of extracts of Stevia as a natural sweetener. In several other countries, in particular in Latin American and Asia, Stevia and its extracts are available with and unverified regulatory status. In Japan, Stevia extracts are already commercially available since 1971 as tabletop sweetener and there are no reports about health problems associated with this product.

In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration on (FDA) approved the use of Stevia extracts as "nutritional supplement" but not as tabletop sweetener. Only the glycoside Rebaudioside A in its pure form is considered as "Generally Recognized Safe Substance" (GRAS), since December 2008. In contrast, Stevioside, the other main compound of Stevia extracts, was not recognized as GRAS by the FDA.

Both, in Canada and the European Union (EU), the use of Stevia as a tabletop sweetener was prohibited based on the fact that there was insufficient evidence to prove its safety. But now this situation likely is going to change. In April 2010, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) performed a new evaluation of the available toxicological information. As a result of this review, Stevioside and Stevia extracts in general are now considered safe when used as a tabletop sweetener - at least under certain conditions.

EFSA established an acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 4 mg per kilogram of body weight of steviosides, expressed as Steviol equivalents, the same ADI recommended by the World Health Organization according to a WHO document published in 2008. In common words, an adult weighing 70 kg can consume each day 700 mg of Stevia extract without running any health risk. As Stevia extract is about 250 times sweeter than table sugar, an adult can replace daily 175 grams of refined sugar with Stevia extract. This is equivalent to about 10-13 tablespoons or about 50 teaspoons of sugar. As children have a lower body weight, the dose should be reduced in proportion to their weight.

It is interesting to compare these data with Aspartame, the globally most used synthetic tabletop sweetener. Food safety authorities worldwide have set acceptable daily intake (ADI) values for aspartame at 40 mg/kg of body weight based on a 1980 Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives recommendation (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). This means that – strictly based on toxicological available information – Stevia extract is considered about 4 times more "toxic" than Aspartame.

Even though Stevia sweetener is a product isolated from a plant and not product of a classical chemical process, being critical is never misplaced, because "natural" does not necessarily mean risk free. As a conclusion, Stevia extracts can be considered safe if not consumed in large quantities. The common idea that this "natural" product is safer than other commercially available tabletop sweetener is not supported by the available toxicological information.

Literature:
1. European Food Safety Authority, 2010. Scientific Opinion on the safety of steviol glycosides for the proposed uses as a food additive. EFSA Journal 2010;8(4):1537.

2. JECFA (Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives), 2009. Safety evaluation of certain food additives. Prepared by the 69th meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. WHO Food Additives Series, No. 66, 183-220.

3. Charles River Laboratoires, 2008. Orla (stomach tube) developmental toxicity study of CPO 2196 in rabbits. Study No EHE00002. Charles river Laboratories, Horsham, PA.

4. Curry L, Roberts A and Brown N, 2008. Rebaudioside A: Two-generation reproductive toxicity study in rats. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 46 (7), S21-S30.

5. Barriocanal LA, Palacios M, Benitez G, Benitez S, Jimenez JT, Jimenez N, Rojas V., 2008.

Apparent lack of pharmacological effect of steviol glycosides used as sweeteners in humans. A pilot study of repeated exposures in some normotensive and hypotensive individuals and in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2008 Jun;51(1):37-41. Epub 2008 Mar

6. FDA (Food and Drug Administration), 2008. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN)/Office of Food Additive Safety, December 17, 2008. Agency Response Letter GRAS Notice No. GRN 000253.

7. JECFA (Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives), 2008. Compendium of Food Additive Specifications. Monograph 5. Steviol glycosides. Available online at:

http://www.fao.org/ag/agn/jecfa-additives/details.html?id=898

8. Chan P, Tomlinson B, Chen YJ, Liu JC, Hsieh MH, Cheng JT, 2000. A double-blind placebocontrolled study of the effectiveness and tolerability of oral stevioside in human hypertension. Br. J. Clin Pharmacol. 2000 Sep;50(3):215-20.

9. Evaluation of Certain Food Additives. WHO Food Additives Series 42:119-143, Geneva,1999.

10. Magnuson BA, Burdock GA, Doull J, Kroes RM, Marsh GM, Pariza MW, Spencer PS, Waddell WJ, Walker R, Williams GM, 2007. Aspartame: a safety evaluation based on current use levels, regulations, and toxicological and epidemiological studies. Crit Rev Toxicol. 2007; 37(8):629-727 [Critical reviews in toxicology].

Source of photo and stevioside structure: wikipedia.org

Losing Weight with Self Hypnosis

We are what we think. This is a famous saying. This is the essence behind the concept of weight loss through the software advertised in the website store.unexplainable.net. This website is a repository of different kinds of software that are used to enhance the brain power. Though there are pills for any kind of ailment, they do not provide permanent relief. However this software gives permanent relief from any kind of ailment, at reasonable prices and without any side effects.

We are what we think. This is a famous saying. This is the essence behind the concept of weight loss through the software advertised in the website www.store.unexplainable.net. This website is a repository of different kinds of software that are used to enhance the brain power. Though there are pills for any kind of ailment, they do not provide permanent relief. However this software gives permanent relief from any kind of ailment, at reasonable prices and without any side effects.

Weight loss is the happening word today. Almost everybody thinks that they are overweight and take desperate efforts to slim down. They maintain very strict diet and mostly, they almost eat nothing at all, resulting to under nourishment. Having a healthy body is very important for one’s own confidence levels. Many dieticians and doctors around the world recommend specific foods and recommend tablets to bring about weight loss. The fact is that, these do bring about weight loss without doubt, but they are not long standing. After a few weeks or months, the weight tends to appear on one’s body. This is the biggest disadvantage of all the medicines and the diet programs that are available in the market today.

However the software available in this website is only about positive recordings. It has a lot of positive recordings that emphasize that nobody is overweight. The term weight itself is a negative term. The priority is to have a healthy body. One should stop worrying that he is overweight, or does not have the correct physique for his age. These negative energies aggravate weight gain. No matter how strict the food or diet is, no matter how many tablets one takes, weight loss never happens because of the negative energies in the mind.

The brain is the controller of the human body. When there are so many negative forces in the brain, how can one expect to lose weight? Thoughts are more effective than tablets. Everybody should agree to this. One can download this software at a reasonable price and listen to the positive recordings that clear the myth of weight loss. This gives an insight into what weight means and how one should control it. It may appear pschycological to few people, however the fact is that, after listening to these recordings, one is bound to feel good about his physical appearance. The world always weighs us on our confidence levels.

This program is sure to give enough confidence levels to project a positive picture to the world. It is not the weight, but the attitude that matters. As long as one has a healthy body, one should not bother about his weight. Continuously listening to these recordings sends positive signals to the brain and automatically controls the food that we intake. Weight loss happens naturally without any external medication. This is the best way to lose weight. In addition to that, one begins to feel so good and confident about oneself. This satisfaction is never achieved even at times of strict diet control or weight loss medications.

How to start? We recommend this instantly downloadable MP3 from Self-Hypnosis specialist Richard McKenzie. Give it a try and you will be surprised by the results!

Fat Loss 4 Idiots Reviews

There are many Fat Loss 4 Idiots Reviews around the web. I hope this short article will dispel many of the myths regarding this diet and will give a clear view of what it actually is.

So what is the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet, really?

Fat Loss 4 Idiots (or now in its improved version published as Beyond Calories Diet) is a nutrition based diet which is founded on the calorie shifting weight loss method. What I mean by it being a nutrition based diet is that involves very little exercise and the weight loss is in fact triggered by sound nutrition alone. This has a a good side and a not so good one: the not so good side to this kind of diet is that you don't develop any muscles or stamina, the good side is that it's very easy to do and requires almost no effort on your part. Of course, nothing stops you from exercising while on this diet, it's just not part of the diet itself.

The Calorie Shifting weight loss method is something which the Fat Loss 4 Idiots team invented. No Fat Loss 4 Idiots Reviews can be complete without a little explanation about it. So here goes: Calorie Shifting is a nutritional way to induce a continued high metabolic rate while a person is on a diet. You see, what usually happens when a person goes on a diet is that his/her metabolism gradually slows so that continued weight loss is very hard to accomplish. By shifting your calories, you basically solve this problem, since you can get your metabolism to disregard the fact that you're dieting. This makes it easier to lose weight fast for a long time and also helps to maintain this weight loss after the diet is over.

Not everyone does as well on the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet. Some people lose 6 lbs in the first 10 days, others even make 8 or more. There are also some people who don't succeed with it. I want you to know, though, that for many, the diet has proved successful. I believe that for most people, it's a great way to shed some pounds fast.

Article Source: ezinearticles.com

Do You Have a Healthy Body Fat Percentage?

The level of body fat you have is a better indication of your health (or lack of) as compared to your body weight. Body fat is measured by a standard known as the body mass index or BMI. Calculation of BMI involves two measurements namely your body weight and height and doesn't tell your BFP. It is simply a correlation between your height and weight. If you started a fitness program and burned belly fat yet added muscle to your frame, your BMI could go up but your BFP would go down.

In order to understand what’s really going on with your body, you should use both indices, BMI AND BFP. BFP has become a hot topic in the recent years as a way of determining how lean a person was. I constantly heard that people who were very vascular and muscular had single digit percentages. Of course, I wanted that low percentage as well!

Whereas the calculation of the BMI is rather simple (check for instance the article “How do I know that I am Overweight?”), BFP is not that easy to determine. There are in fact various methods to figure out how to calculate body fat percentage (for instance using a caliper) but it's best to stick with one method if you're trying to get the most consistent numbers.

For a good estimation you can use the Body Fat Calculator published by the US Army Corp. To get your personal BFP just measure your height, neck, hips and waist (just above the navel), introduce the results in the calculator and press "calculate".

What are typical BFP values?

Well, it’s important to understand that women and men's percentages vary in terms of healthy levels.

Here are typical percentages for BFP for women and men (as recommended by the American Council on Exercise):

Description    Women             Men

Athletes           14–20%            6-13%

Fitness             21–24%            14–17%

Average          25–31%             18–25%

Obese             32%+                25%+

Unique Exercise to Flatten your Stomach while Driving

Here's a unique exercise to help flatten your stomach while driving

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

If you're already a reader of my Truth about Six Pack Abs manual, then you may already know this unique trick... it's basically a simple exercise that you can do anytime, anywhere to help get a flat stomach over time.


Now I will say that this exercise does NOT increase fat burning, but it CAN help to flatten your stomach by strengthening your deeper transversus abdominis muscles and hence "pulling in" a lazy stomach (aka beer belly or "pooch belly").

It involves doing an exercise called "ab vacuums".

I find it a good time to get in the habit of doing daily ab vacuums while driving on your daily commute or another time that would get you in the habit of doing them regularly.

(please make sure this doesn't distract you from driving safely... I find that it doesn't distract me at all...it's certainly much safer than driving while on the cell phone!)

Of course, ab vacuums can be done anywhere and don't have to be just for driving, but I've found that it helps me to remember to do them if I do them at a specific time when driving regularly.... this could be while driving home from the gym every time, or perhaps during your daily commute to work.

Ab vacuums are simple:

You can do ab vacuums pretty much anywhere, at any time.

You can do them standing, seated (such as in a car), kneeling in a four-point position, or even lying flat on the floor.

The movement is as simple as pulling your belly button in as far as you can by imagining you're trying to touch your belly button to your spine and holding for 10-20 seconds at a time.

Start by inhaling deeply. Then, as you exhale, start pulling the belly button in towards the spine and hold it there for 10-20 seconds while just taking short breaths. Repeat for several holds.

Get in the habit of doing this at least 4-5 days per week while driving somewhere and you may find that this helps to flatten your stomach more by strengthening the transversus abdominis muscle (the deep abdominal muscles beneath the rectus abdominis) if you previously had a "lazy belly".

Like I said, this exercise doesn't increase fat burning... it only helps to flatten a round stomach that has lazy deep ab muscles.

If you want a true "six pack abs" appearance, you obviously still need to burn off the body fat that covers your abs... and that calls for a fully encompassing workout program (not just ab exercises), a strategic nutrition program, and the right mindset for success.

This idea of "ab vacuums" while driving is just one of the dozens of tips and tricks found inside my Truth about Six Pack Abs manual. If you don't already have a copy, see what other readers are saying about Truth about Abs here

Or if you have questions whether the Truth about Abs program is right for you, go here

If you liked today's idea in this newsletter, feel free to email this link (or post this link to twitter or facebook) to any friends or family that may want to try these "ab vacuums" to get a flatter stomach.

Don't be lazy... be lean.

Mike Geary

Certified Nutrition Specialist,  Certified Personal Trainer, Founder - TruthAboutAbs.com & BusyManFitness.com

42 Nutrition Questions and Answers

In this publication, you'll find answers to 42 questions about nutrition facts. I am going to complement this information frequently considering new scientific findings. Comments and/or recommendations are highly appreciated. 

Table of Contents

The Basics Of Nutrition
What is nutrition?
Good nutrition based on certain foods?
Nutrients and food stuffs
Breaking Years Of Bad Habits
Changing Bad Eating Habits
Overweight families.
Emotions and Lifestyle
 
Diet and Nutrition
So what is a calorie (cal) ?
What is a carbohydrate ?
What are fat and protein ?
Can you eat more and lose weight by combining foods ?
Are there any specific foods that burn fat ?
Should we be counting calories, carbohydrates or fat ?
Is it true that you should only drink red wine ?
What is a well balanced diet and do I get one ?
Why do we crave certain foods ?
Do we become hungry because our stomach’s are empty?
What are functional foods ?
Does functional food convert differently into energy ?
Are certain nutrients good for your health ?
What are basic nutrients ?
What is a non-nutrient ?
 
Digestion
What happens to food after we eat it ?
Do we always absorb all the nutrients that we eat ?
 
Protein
What about red meat is bad for you ?
What are some of the other sources of protein ?
Is a vegan diet healthy ?
 
Carbohydrates
Are there good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates ?

Vitamins and Minerals
Do we need to take a supplement ?
As you age, do you need a vitamin supplement ?
What should we know when purchasing a supplement ?
How much water should we consume ?
Is Our Food Supply Healthy ?
How healthy is our food ?
Does food processing take the nutrients out of the food ?
Does food lose its nutritive value over time ?
How Are Our Food Products Developed ?
The process that new food products go through
Do new food products have to presented to the FDA ?
How long does it take for products to be developed ?
Testing of a new drug or food product.
 
Dieting
Do you think I should use diet pills ?
What are some of the risks involved ?
What should we look for in a weight loss program ?

The Basics Of Nutrition

What is nutrition?
Nutrition starts with eating food and drinking drink. The body then breaks down the food and drink into its respective nutrients. These nutrients then travel around the body to be used wherever necessary. Carbohydrates are converted into glucose or fuel for the body, protein is broken down into amino acids and fats are broken down into fatty acids. For a person to be healthy, a person must eat enough food to get a good supply of all the key nutrients.

There is a set of guidelines that the government publishes for 20 or so different vitamins, minerals and nutrients and those values are based on population studies, where they go out and look at the health of the general population and consider what people consume on a regular basis.

Is good nutrition based on certain food stuffs?
Nutrition is based on getting all the right balance of nutrients necessary for good health. A food stuff is a raw material that can be made into a food. Only eating particular foods or foods stuffs will not help you be healthier.

What is the difference between nutrients and food stuffs?
In the big picture, there is no difference between the two. You can look at anything that provides nutrients to the body like carbohydrates, protein, and fats. Food in general is just a carrier for nutrients. For example, take a loaf of bread – it has starch in it and protein and non-fat dry milk, the non-fat dry milk also contains lactose. It will also contain a high amount of minerals.

The non-fat dry milk will contain casein, which is a non-fat milk protein. When you eat food, you break down the food to get nutrients for the body.

How does one go about breaking years and years of bad eating habits? What is the starting point for someone who wants to start eating healthier?

If there were an easy answer to the question we wouldn’t have the problems we have today like obesity. Right now in the US 60% of the population has a weight problem. “Morbidly Obese” is clinically defined as being 100 pounds or more overweight. In our population, the number of people being morbidly obese is
increasing year after year.

Changing a person’s perception of food starts at an early age. You can show a person in black and white what foods are good for them and what isn’t and it pretty much comes down to a conscious decision to consume healthy foods or not.

It certainly helps to have a mentor or life coach or fitness trainer or just a friend where there is some kind of relationship when it comes to dealing with eating healthily. The fact is that you need support and one of the reasons there are so many weight loss programs is that they do something a little different, they have meetings and people get together and support each other.

When you gauge how much weight people lose on weight loss programs like Optifast or Atkins and whether they keep it off, all of those people probably within a 5 year period have gained all that weight back because they have lost their support group.

It speaks volumes to me that if people are going to lose weight and keep it off they need a support group. You should not be on a diet to lose weight, you need to be making a lifestyle change. It means finding new ways of eating and develop new habits even for your everyday activities so that the new way you are eating becomes your new lifestyle.

The Best Way To Change Bad Eating Habits
The best way to change your bad eating habits is to do it very slowly. If you try to change everything all at once, it will seem too hard to maintain. Try changing one thing at a time. For example, perhaps you like a morning cappuccino.

Decide to stop drinking your morning cappuccino and drink bottled water instead. Don’t change anything else about your eating habits until you feel totally comfortable about that dietary change.

Then move on to something else, like healthy snacks. Instead of that chocolate energy bar, pack a piece of fruit and a small tub of yogurt. Essentially fruit is natures snack food, it’s also cheaper. Once you’re comfortable with this change, then move onto something else. You get the picture. When you’ve got your diet sorted out, then you can move on to getting some exercise into your lifestyle.

So it doesn’t have to be an abrupt change you just need to understand more about what you are eating and what the energy value is and the nutrient value of the foods you are consuming, and make slow but sure changes to your lifestyle.

Why do you think overweight children come from families with parents who are also overweight?
In a way it is endorsement to the children that their eating habits and lifestyle habits are acceptable. Just like any of us what better role models than your parents. If they snack and eat unhealthily then the children will as well.

However having said this, there are other considerations to take into account. For example there is some tentative evidence that people who are obese are genetically pre-disposed to it. So if this were the case, these families may have an underlying reason for their weight problems. This does not necessarily mean that there is nothing that they can do to lose weight. Families who may have these genes who eat wisely and exercise will be showing their children how to eat, how much fun it is to exercise, and can maintain normal weights. So while genes don’t excuse bad lifestyle choices, it may be a reason why they are more likely to become overweight.

Are much of our lifestyle habits linked to emotions?
Sure. Emotions and stress - all those things get factored into it. Everybody has times of emotional need.

I know from watching myself. When I get depressed and overworked, I lose sleep because I’m trying to get work done, or something has happened that I feel bad about. When I get into these situations, I definitely end up simply eating more than I would have normally, partly to try and make myself feel better and partly because I’m so tired, that my body is craving more energy (food).

The way to avoid allowing yourself to be controlled by emotional eating is knowing what to eat, how much to eat, what is healthy and maintaining enough down time and sleep. These all factor into just having a healthy lifestyle.

Diet and Nutrition

So what is a calorie (cal)? What is a kilocalorie(Kcal) ?
I will keep it pretty simple. A calorie is the amount of heat that is required to raise one cubic centimeter of water one degree. A kilocalorie is the amount of heat that is required to raise one kilogram of water one degree. A much more detailled explanation can be found at wikipedia.org (keyword: calorie)

How about a carbohydrate, what is a carbohydrate?
Carbohydrates are made up of carbon and water. Atoms of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen form carbohydrate compounds such as sugar and starch. There are five types of carbohydrate sugars, glucose, fructose, sucrose, maltose and lactose.

Carbohydrates are the body’s preferred source of energy and in fact your brain needs a constant supply of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are broken down into glucose by the body and as you may know, is absorbed into the blood stream. It can also be stored in your muscles and liver as glycogen. You need about 40 – 50 per cent of your diet to be made up of carbohydrates for good health.

What are fats and protein?
A fat is a waxy, oily substance and is essential for good health. Fat has double the amount of calories and so poses a problem to individuals who find it difficult to exercise. If you break down a fat you break it down into something called a fatty acid and glycerol. Proteins are made up of chains of amino acids and are necessary for your body to build enzymes, antibodies and haemoglobin.

When you eat protein, your body breaks the protein down into amino acids and then tries to re-assemble them into other configurations to make other needed proteins for use around the body. Carbohydrates, fats and protein can all be broken down into smaller units. Each one of those macronutrients can be sub-divided. In the case of proteins, proteins are made up of amino acids. Not all proteins have the eight essential amino acids that the body needs. If you
are consuming protein and you miss out the essential ones for long periods of time, you are putting yourself at risk of becoming malnourished. In some cultures around the world where food isn’t so plentiful, children can become malnourished and develop diseases such as Kwashiorkor. The children have the distended tummies, however the rest of their bodies are fine, this unfortunately is caused by a protein deficiency.

Scientists can actually measure the quality of nutrients that people are getting. People will volunteer to be involved in a clinical feeding trial and they will hook these people up to all kinds of measuring devices to measure everything from body temperature to how much moisture they exhale. They weigh and eliminate brine in their feces and record everything they can about these patients. They will feed these people a controlled diet – controlling the amount of protein consumed. They can measure how much is excreted, how much weight a person gains and basically they can determine how much of that protein is utilized by the body.

When they do that they can determine the quality of the protein and the amino acids that makes up the protein. They can determine how well the body absorbs protein and assign a number value to the protein as to how well it is absorbed. Some proteins are absorbed extremely well, an example would be egg albumin, which is a protein found in the white of an egg rather than the yolk. The egg white protein has an extremely high biological availability and all of the essential amino acids in the right balance.

Gelatin though has many of the essential amino acids however does not have an amino acid called tryptophan and because it is lacking - it isn’t considered a complete form of protein. If it is combined with other sources of protein it is okay.

The bottom line is if you are looking at carbohydrates, fat or protein, it is important to look at the composition of them. You can read the declarations of the food labels. Often snack foods will contain inefficient protein, or protein that does not contain all the essential amino acids.

It is important to know that all carbohydrates, fat and proteins are made up of these building blocks and it is important to know to have a balance of all of these building blocks for good health.

Is it true that you can eat more and lose weight by combining different foods?
No. People say that there are certain foods that take more calories to burn than they provide or that certain food items are going to cause more calories to be burned. It is a misconception and I can fully understand why people think the way they do.

People don’t want to put the time and the energy or the money into losing weight. It is a lot of work. People want to lose weight and they know that some of the food they eat is unhealthy and they don’t want to put the time and energy into changing things. It takes planning and time. Instead of visiting the fast food restaurant on the corner on the way home you go to the produce aisle in the grocery store. It might take you a little more time and cost you a little more money but it’s worth it.

You know the fast food restaurants super size everything. The artists and executives that design the ads know that our mentality is that the more food we can get for our buck, the better we are going to like it. It wasn’t so long ago that you would go in and order a pop and you would get 8 oz or 12 oz and now it’s not uncommon to get 24 or 36oz because they super size everything.

Tell me are there any specific foods that burn fat?
No. Basically, if you want to burn fat or lose or maintain your weight everything comes down to energy balance. Researchers are constantly looking for foods that could burn fat. Some of them concentrate on milk and dairy products that have been theorized to burn fat through increasing inadequate calcium intake. Some concentrate on finding a specific diet that will burn fat like a high protein diet. While there is evidence for and against – it has never been proven beyond a doubt that there is any one type of food or type of eating that can burn fat.

When it comes down to it, it is a marketing myth that just got so large that everyone started to talk about it, and pretty soon, people started to believe that food could burn fat. In reality food provides energy and nutrients, but cannot burn fat.

Then what should we be counting? Should we be counting calories, carbohydrates or fat?
If you look at carbohydrates and fat, it is the same scenario. Each gram of carbohydrates contains 16 kcal of energy, while fat contains 37 kcal of energy. This is why watching how much fat you’re eating is so important. It is almost twice that of protein and carbohydrates.

Much of the research on low carb diets such as the Atkins diet found that people lost more weight initially and that the diet was more effective than the other diets. Research has also found that people who are on high protein diets also experience higher satiety levels, that is, they are not as hungry. One of the main reasons that low carb diets induce weight loss is because of the simple fact that they are just consuming less calories, but more protein and fat than carbohydrates.

What it seems to boil down to is that some low carb diets restrict your intake to mainly fat and protein, by eliminating carbohydrates from the diet. This has the effect of taking away so many of the food choices that are available, as well as vital nutrients that your body needs.

You know, even lovers of protein and fat, find that the variety and choices are taken away and what you are actually doing is actually limiting your caloric intake. So it works initially and that is one of the reasons why people are so attracted to it.

The fact is however that 95% of diets fail and what it really comes down to is if you want to lose weight, lifestyle change is the only way. A diet is only temporary, you go on it and you lose weight.

But what are you going to do eventually? You are going to go off it.
In my definition, that is not a lifestyle change that is a temporary fix. That is human nature. You go on the diet and eventually you are going to go off it and revert back to your old eating habits and gain the weight back.

It all comes down to understanding a little bit more about the foods that you are eating and a choice to make a lifestyle change. Also almost all of these diet plans introduce a new way of eating, a way that is abnormal to the way that you are used to eating and we are creatures of habit and we like the foods that we are used to.

Because we are creatures of habit we don’t adapt very well to changes like that. We can go on it for a while and because it is so abnormal it just doesn’t fit. It all comes down to the fact that you have to make a decision that you are going to change the way you eat.

One of the things that I have noticed is that if you do something as simple as go out and walk 15 minutes a day, it will be easier for you not to be tempted by unhealthy food. The healthier your lifestyle choices, the easier it will be to stick to your healthy food choices.

It’s almost like the unhealthy choices don’t fit anymore. They are incompatible with the healthy choices. You know, I have quoted that adage that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Well it’s almost the same applied to health and nutrition. As I kick around health and nutrition with people that are into it like I am, I find that if you do exercise and have more muscle mass you burn more calories when you are at rest. Lean muscle mass has a higher metabolic requirement. When you are just sitting around doing nothing and your body has more lean muscle mass you are going to burn more calories than if your body contains fatty tissue. It’s kind of a cruel injustice but the fitter you get even at rest, you are burning more calories.

What about alcohol? First they say that one drink is okay or two drinks are okay and now they say it’s just red wine. Red wine may be preferred because of the antioxidants that you get and the other chemicals that come along with the wine. Obviously there is something in the red wine as opposed to the white that makes it more beneficial.

Alcohol is the second highest source of calories, behind fat. The higher the level of alcohol in the beverage the higher the caloric intake is. One gram of alcohol supplies 29 kcal’s. It isn’t as high as fat but not as low as protein and carbohydrates.

There are other aspects of that to think about, if you are trying to lose weight you need to question whether you need the extra calories. There are many other beverages that would provide many more nutrients. If you are trying to lose weight you need to question whether or not you need those extra calories from something that basically has no nutritional value. I would tend to be more negative about consuming alcohol because, besides the dangers of alcoholism, there is the obvious danger of drinking too much and consuming way too many calories.

So I am not an advocate of drinking alcohol because it has no nutritional value or health value, particularly because any nutritional benefit that you can get from alcohol, can also be found elsewhere in our food.

What is a well balanced diet and How Do I Get One ?
Following the food pyramid is a good place to start and maybe it’s a good place to end for some people. If you take all the food somebody eats at the end of the week and then add them all up and how much variety there was, you will find that there really wasn’t that much variety.

People generally have a dozen foods they like to eat and they will end up eating the same foods day after day for most of their life and that is where you run into problems. You get stuck in a rut and fail to incorporate a vast variety into your diet and fail to get the nutritional balance that you should be getting.

If you know nothing about food but incorporate a lot of variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, cereals, dairy, protein sources, small amount of “good” fats, and legumes and nuts into your diet the chances of your missing out on the right nutrients essential for good health are lowered.


When it comes to fresh fruit and vegetables, some people like to use a diet out there called the Rainbow diet. It’s based on all the different colors of fruits and vegetables. So I will take purple grapes and onions and garlic and sprinkle some lettuce and if we have fresh strawberries I will add those to cantaloupe and really your imagination is your only limitation. Just basically add all your favorite fruits and vegetables and season it to taste. Mix it all up and you have an incorporation of all of that variety. You get all of the vitamins and the nutrients and the minerals that you need in just one meal instead of just ingesting one kind of food.

My point is the more variety you can get in your diet the greater the possibility that if you are lacking in something that you are going to get it. I am an advocate of getting variety in your diet. It all comes down to looking at your budget and having some knowledge of getting what you need and looking at the food labels.

With just a little bit of knowledge of how to read food labels and what you need you can make the right choices with the money that you have to work with.

Even the restaurants and the fast food chains are starting to offer more nutritious choices, likes salads. Subway is one that has really jumped on the bandwagon. You know the one with Jared standing there saying this deep fat fried sandwich contains 45 plus grams of fat and compare it to the subway sandwich.

I saw an interview where they were talking with the producer of Sesame Street and they were talking about the Cookie Monster and how it was presented inadvertently to get kids to eat more junk food and more cookies. Now they have repositioned that whole program to where they are starting to teach kids more about nutrition. I am hoping that one of the things that is happening is that there is increased awareness about nutrition and the obesity epidemic. Some people are just succumbing to obesity and the things that come with it like cancer and heart disease and diabetes. It’s good to see some positive changes taking place.

Why is it that we sometimes crave certain foods? Can it be that your body is sending you a message?
The theory is that people will have a craving for certain things that will provide a nutrient that is lacking. In our culture I don’t think there is a metabolic reason for food cravings. You know if you are used to consuming sugary sweets and that is all you eat, your metabolism adapts and your body guides you to the foods you are used to consuming.

An example of that would be someone who has gone on a vegetarian diet and eliminated meat from their diet temporarily. Then they start to reintroduce meat and their stomach is upset. Their stomach is not used to digesting that kind of food. They have adapted to digesting just non-meat items. There are food digestive adaptations to the kinds of food that you eat. One would have to believe that those are the kinds of foods that you get used to.

Do we become hungry because our stomach is empty or is it because of something else?
That is a tricky question. There are people who have studied this and can boil it right down to all kinds of enzymes and mechanisms that kick into play, stimulating appetite or depressing appetite.

When I go out to exercise and I get back and sit down, I need to replenish my water intake. The next thing that I find is I find a combination of fruits to eat, primarily because they are made up of water, and sugar carbohydrates. But the digestive process is pretty rapid when it comes to breaking down sugars into glucose.

I can consume a lot of fresh fruits and it doesn’t satisfy my hunger. I will still have hunger pains because the digestion is completed so rapidly as opposed to protein, which takes longer. It almost seems like exercise can suppress appetite but I think you have to balance that whole idea with how much exercise you are doing and how many calories your body needs to replace and what kinds of food you are going to consume.

It is complex and is another whole area to think about as to why people are gaining weight, whether it is emotional or whether it is the amount of exercise they have done. Everyone studying this issue, trying to help people lose weight, may have their own theories and their own recommendations.

They all study it in a different way - some try to understand the psychology and some try to understand the nutritional aspects of it. If it were well understood, we probably wouldn’t be having the problems we are having today.

We have discussed foods in general, but what are “functional foods”?
It is a term that gets bantered about by people who are food scientists or food companies that are talking about different kinds of foods. Usually when they are talking about a functional food it is a food analog, which is a food that has been put together by a food manufacturer. It might also be called a nutraceutical.

Functional foods can also be natural foods which have been found to be beneficial for a specific purpose. Some companies manufacture internal tube feeding formulas for hospital use. The composition of the product contains all the nutrition in the right proportions for protein and amino acids plus fat with the right fatty acids and the right vitamins and minerals and you put all that together and it has a particular food functionality.

There are foods that are designed to resolve particular health problems. Let’s take something common like lactose intolerance, people have trouble digesting the lactose because they are missing an enzyme called lactaid. So an example of a functional food would be a food that was put together without any milk protein or lactose sugar. It functions with that person who is lactose intolerant. You can take that example and apply it to anyone else who has special feeding needs.

Does functional food convert differently into energy than normal food?
No, functional food behaves the same way as normal food as far as converting into energy. Functional foods are still broken down into their respective nutrients and provide energy, it’s just that their specific nutrients have been seen to be beneficial in certain areas for certain members of the population.

Nutrients decrease the risk of some diseases, is that correct? In other words you can’t eat a magic vegetable to cure cancer but you can eat certain nutrients that lend themselves to good health, can’t you?
There was one company who developed a “magic pill” that you could take to get all of your nutrients in the proper proportions that you needed for the day. They actually gave it to the astronauts but they had to take six of those a day. Each magic pill was the size of a softball.

The bottom line is there is no magic pill. It wasn’t until the 1940’s that we as a country started to put together nutritional requirements in relation to disease and when we started to establish the different recommendations.

Something that has always intrigued me is that if you do take that historical perspective and go back you find that in the early years there were just a few nutrients for which the recommended daily allowances were established and through the years, through the studies and the whole process of understanding we have continued to add to the list of things that are required. It hasn’t been until quite recently that we have learned about trace nutrients like selenium and things like that, that have recently been added to the list. Those levels continue to change as we learn more. One of the things that interest me is the addition to the list; it is almost a never-ending process. I always come back to the concept of nutrition and variety and not getting locked into a few fixed food items.

Just to clarify, in the most basic form what are the basic nutrients?
There are seven nutrients that your body just can’t live without. These are carbohydrates, fiber, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals and water.

So then what is a non-nutrient?
Basically it is a naturally occurring component of food that doesn’t contain any calories, protein, carbohydrates or vitamins and minerals. Phytochemicals (food chemicals having antioxidant effects) may be an example of a non-nutrient.

Digestion

Can you explain what happens to food after we eat it?
I would just look at it very simply. When you eat food, the process of digestion breaks food down into it’s respective nutrients as we discussed before.

Carbohydrates into monosaccharides (single units of sugars), protein into amino acids and fats into fatty acids. This process starts when you actually chew the food, the food then travels down into the stomach through the esophagus where it is liquified. When it reaches your small intestines, this is where the fun begins. Most of the digestion and absorption of the food occurs here in your small intestine. Digestive enzymes called lipase, amylase and protease act on fats, carbohydrates and protein to break them down into their nutrients for absorption.

Once the food has been broken down into their simple units, they are then absorbed into the blood stream for further chemical changes to make other compounds that the body needs, or for use around the body. Water and small lipids (fats) cross the intestinal wall easily. Some nutrients such as water and fat soluble vitamins need a carrier to take them across the wall.
Other nutrients such as proteins and glucose move across the wall and into the blood stream by themselves but use energy to do so.

Once we’ve eaten the right types of food, does that mean that we always absorb it’s nutrients?
Once the processes I’ve just talked about have been completed, your body has digested and absorbed the food. However, before the nutrients have actually entered the blood stream, the nutrients are not actually considered to have entered your body.

So you can actually eat a whole lot of good food without absorbing it’s nutrients.
You can ensure that you absorb the maximum amount of nutrients through a number of ways, but the major concerns would be to limit caffeine and alcohol intake, as alcohol can reduce the secretion of digestive enzymes that help to break down food and caffeine can reduce your body’s absorption of iron. Stress can also play a role in not allowing your body to absorb all the nutrients available to it. So if you want your body to absorb the maximum amount of nutrients, keep caffeine and alcohol intake to moderate levels. You can probably still have your morning coffee, but make sure that it is spaced at least an hour away from breakfast.

Protein

Going back to protein, what is it about red meat that doctors say is bad for you?
Fatty meats or red meats are typically higher in fat and the fat is generally a higher saturated fat than say, poultry. It would be the saturated fat in the meat that doctors are advising against.
To make a blanket statement that red meat is bad for you would be overkill. Even though they may contain higher levels of saturated fat, red meat still has high levels of the essential amino acids, that your body needs to survive.

That means that the protein in the meat provides all eight essential amino acids while the protein in wheat flour or cake flour may only provide one or two amino acids. It comes down to an understanding of not throwing out the baby with the bath water, if you eat beef, just make sure that you cut all the fat off it – or purchase lean cuts of meat.

What are some of the other sources of protein?
Eggs are a tremendous source of protein. The egg white has an abundance of all the right amino acids and is easily digested and absorbed into the body.

How about an all vegan diet, is it healthy?
Actually it is. There was a pretty significant study done that was widely published. Researchers from the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center looked at data from 10,104 adults who were eating different kinds of diets including vegetarian diets, low carbohydrate diets and high carbohydrate diets and their effects on BMI, energy intake and diet quality. The study concluded that those who were eating a vegetarian diet had low BMI’s and ended up eating less energy. (Kennedy et. al, Popular Diets: Correlation to Health, Nutrition and Obesity. J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 2001 Apr. 101(4) 411-20). There is something to be said for it but it comes down to knowledge and balancing. You have to be cautious when starting a vegetarian diet and you need to make sure you are knowledgeable about it.

It’s harder to get the adequate amount of B vitamins on a vegetarian diet and you have to know which foods to eat to get the right amount of vitamins and minerals. So you know which vegetables to eat and how much to eat in order to get the amount of protein that you need.

Carbohydrates

Is it true that there are good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates?
In a word, yes. There is a such a thing as good carbohydrates and bad. In the past they used to call bad carbohydrates simple sugars and good carbohydrates complex sugars.

Today they have changed this to referring to good carbohydrates as those which release glucose slowly into the blood stream. They call these low glycemic carbohydrates. High glycemic carbohydrates cause blood glucose levels to spike almost immediately after you’ve consumed them. A high glycemic carbohydrate may be white bread or a sugary breakfast cereal.

Having said this, though, just because a carbohydrate has a high glycemic value does not mean it is bad. Some varieties of carrot can have a high glycemic value, but for it to provide a great burst of glucose into your blood stream, you’d need to eat an awful lot of carrots. High glycemic carbohydrates can also become useful when you want a sudden burst of energy. I was actually just reading that consuming high glycemic food in the three hour period after training can acilitate muscle building.

Low glycemic carbohydrates become useful when you want sustained energy throughout the day. The rate at which glucose is released into your blood stream can also be slowed if you combine a low glycemic carb with a high glycemic carb. Alternatively, if you combine a source of protein with a high glycemic carb, this can also slow the absorption of glucose into the blood stream.

As a general rule, a bad carbohydrate would be a heavily processed carbohydrate such as a frosted donut mentioned earlier. A good carbohydrate would be an apple or a slice of Wholemeal or wholegrain bread.

Vitamins and Minerals

What about vitamin and minerals. Do we get enough from our food or do we actually need to supplement?
It depends on where you are coming from and what culture. Again if you get variety in your diet there is probably no need for vitamin and mineral supplements. There is a section of the community that don’t really get enough variety in their diet, and really just stick to certain foods, so they do need a supplement. However health conscious people who eat a variety of food probably don’t need a supplement. If you are pregnant or lactating or if there is some other need for vitamins and minerals then it is probably a good idea.

Vitamins and minerals really only work if you’re not getting them in your diet. Some chronic dieters who diet consistently won’t be getting enough vitamins and minerals, so sometimes it is a good idea for them to take a supplement.

As you age, does that mean you need a vitamin supplement?
Yes, there are quite a few areas where you may need a supplement. Your absorption of nutrients declines in your later years and your body’s need for B6, B12, calcium and vitamin D
increase.

What should we know when purchasing a vitamin and mineral supplement ?
You know supplements can be expensive. It depends on the kind of vitamins and minerals you are talking about. Vitamins break down into water soluble and fat-soluble. Typically there is more concern with the fat soluble vitamins (A,D, E & K) because they are not excreted from your body, unlike the water soluble vitamins like B and C, the excess will get flushed but with the fat soluble vitamins the excess is retained in your body.

That can get to be a problem if you are for some strange reason taking excessive amounts of let’s say vitamin D for example.

There is no official figure for how much vitamin D you need, but it should be somewhere in the vicinity of 5 mcg – 10 mcg at the most. For those who don’t get exposure to sunlight, you can get vitamin D in cod-liver oil but be careful not to consume more than 20mcg’s.

Vitamin D is toxic at very low levels, so having too much in your system can be dangerous. It comes down to someone not having information to fall back on and they just do it because they are naïve. It may start out as a doubling of the recommended daily allowance and they think, “well I’m not seeing any results, so I will triple it.” Some of the vitamin companies that manufacture these are no help because they will introduce products into the marketplace with one capsule delivering a mega dose.

It just gets to be like a power struggle even with the manufacturers of those products. People will think that if a little bit in a tablet is good then more will be better. People often think in dollar terms, how much can we get for this amount, if I can get more vitamin for the same or similar amount of money, then that’s better – right. Unfortunately nothing could be further from the truth.

There are very well documented cases of vitamin overdoses and the consequences of taking too much of one vitamin or mineral. You just have to be careful. Most supplements if you will look on the labels will tell you how much to take. When you look at the labels, look at what percentage of the RDI (recommended daily intake) of each vitamin or mineral is included in the supplement. If you see 100% beside one of those vitamins or minerals then you know that taking that supplement will provide 100% for that particular vitamin or mineral. If you intend to eat that day as well as take the supplement, you could be over-dosing yourself on that particular vitamin or mineral.

Or, if it says 150% or 500% then it is supplying 5 times more of the nutrient than you really need. And all those levels are based on typical values in our society. On an individual basis there may be a person who needs more than that or someone who might need even less than that. That’s when it becomes difficult to know if you are getting the right amount of nutrients. This is where it comes back to getting variety in your diet and eating according to your lifestyle. People who have an active lifestyle generally eat more than those who don’t, their body is ensuring that it gets enough energy, vitamins and minerals to be able to carry out it’s normal functioning.

What about water, how much water should we consume?
You know that whole question has been kicked around a lot too. The people who were studying that were saying for a long time that we don’t get enough and we need to be consuming more than we do. Then there were some publications that were saying that too much water isn’t good for you either.

I would tend to believe that we don’t get as much water as we need. If you drink too much you are just going to eliminate it, so if you drink a lot of water or whatever then you are probably getting enough. As a general rule of thumb, your body will let you know when it is thirsty. If you ignore the urge to drink then you can get into trouble.

Water level is the maker or breaker of whether or not you are going to have a healthy lifestyle because it is self-regulating, you know if you get thirsty then you drink and if you are not thirsty then you don’t drink. So it is sort of self-regulating. So usually the amount of water you take in is in the acceptable range.

Is Our Food Healthy?
How healthy is our food, the stuff we buy in the grocery stores?
Well, if you make a comparison between food in the USA and other developed countries and food in under-developed countries, it is probably the safest and the most nutritionally satisfying food supply possible.

The standards for food inspections and food quality that goes into the manufacture and safety and the formulation of foods is really pretty extraordinary. Is it perfect? No, you can find problems if you look.

Does food processing really take the nutrients out of the food?
It can if manufacturers let it, but it is a marketing power struggle. Some food processing can actually be healthier for you. For example some breads have added fiber, to make it healthier.
Food preservatives have been included in the manufacturing process as a necessity to make sure that the food is not rotten and moldy by the time the food gets to you. Have you ever cooked bread from scratch – you’ll find that it doesn’t store as long as the commercially made breads.

Not all food processing is bad. Typically when fruit or vegetables are cooked it will lose some of its nutrients, but some manufacturers will actually add these nutrients back into the food to compensate.

Does food lose its nutritive value over time?
They can and can’t. Take a drink product that claims to have Vitamin C in it.
The manufacturer of this drink has to put an average of that vitamin in the product because some of the vitamins will deteriorate over a period of time. Depending on the temperature of the storage of the product, usually the higher the temperature or the longer the storage time, the more of the vitamin will end up deteriorating.

Vitamin C happens to be one of the most sensitive. The government does inspections on these products. They will randomly do surprise visits and routinely visit the food manufacturing companies to take samples for testing. When the product is formulated, the food companies will add an average of vitamins. It protects the product during the shelf life. If they want the product to contain 100% of vitamin C at the end of the shelf life, then they may have to put in 200% to begin with because they know that 2 years later it will have lost half of its value.

Food companies can predict the rate of loss on similar products so that when a nutritional beverage is formulated they can base the level of any particular nutrient against historical values for similar foods.

Food companies use this as the starting point and they will enter the food into something called accelerated storage. That is a higher level of temperature so they can monitor the level of loss.
They call that storage study. Most food companies will do that on their own accord but they do that in case there is ever a government inspection because they want to make sure they are meeting their label claim.

Companies that manufacture vitamins and minerals do the same thing. If it is a dry food like a vitamin tablet the rate of deterioration is usually much slower because it is a dry environment.
Fats can also oxidize. If you have ever had a bag of cake flour on your shelf in your kitchen and two or three years later it is full of weevils and you smell it and it has an awful smell, it is usually because the fat that is present in the flour has oxidized.

How Are Our Food Products Developed What is the process that new food products go through before they end up on the shelves ?

New food products start with a product development food scientist who works closely with the marketing people of the company. The marketing team helps conceive the ideas for food products like analog products, like a cereal or whatever it may happen to be.

It could also be a fabricated product like a take off of a baked item. You come up with the idea working with the marketing people. You would then put together a prototype of the product idea so that the marketing group would have something they could look at and actually sit around the conference table and talk about.

Then the team would decide which of these products you’d like to develop. One of those products would be picked and taken to the next stage and the product development scientist would begin to refine that product. It might be improvement in flavor or taste or texture.

The product would be refined and presented again to the marketing group. There would be another round table discussion about that particular product and the marketing group would point the food scientist in the direction he needs to go.

Once the product is approved by research and marketing then you begin to pull manufacturing into the picture who would also then contribute to the development of the food product.

At what point do new food products have to presented to the FDA?
Generally it is the responsibility of the product development people to be aware of the Food and Drug Administrations requirements. Food scientists should have access to a library of different regulations called the Federal Code of Regulations and be aware of all the guidelines.

If there is an aspect of the food that does not comply with one or more regulations, then it needs to be submitted to the FDA, however, if there is no perceived problem or everything is seen to comply with the Federal Code of Regulations by the food scientist, then the development of the product will proceed without being submitted to the FDA.

How long does it take for products to hit the supermarket shelves?
The development time and the rules and regulations applied to the different kinds of products, whether they are food service items or clinic products all differ. There are varying regulations that govern the formulation of and development of and the marketing of all different products.

For example, Novartis had a line of weight loss products that were very popular. It was the Optifast Line. Within that product line I’m just going to guess there were at least 75 different products. There were different categories of products, liquid, supplements and there would be formulas of products intended to be administered through hospital tube feedings. There were solid foods as opposed to liquid. The products would be tested with years of clinical trials.

Most people have no idea what is entailed in developing a new drug or food product.
Normal consumer groups will make some blanket statement about how the consumer is getting ripped off by the drug companies and the pharmaceutical companies because they are charging 100 times more for their pills than what it costs to manufacture. This is the same even with dietary products.

Pharmaceutical drugs are sold for many times what it costs to manufacture the product in terms of the composition and the packaging and the marketing. You put all that together and that is just a fraction of the cost. However the clinical trials that these products go through can run into millions of dollars especially for the larger pharmaceutical companies.

Now the drug companies make A LOT OF MONEY, but there is another side to the picture and that would be the testing that goes into some of these products.

Diet Plans

Do you think I should use diet pills?
I would avoid them with a passion. “Diet Pills” are really only helpful when used under medical guidance when exercise and diet have proven ineffective. Even then, diet pills don’t teach you how to eat properly and exercise to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

What are some of the risks involved?
Well some of the obvious ones are the “over the counter ones” which were pulled off the market. To me it’s just a band-aid. You aren’t helping yourself, you are just covering it up.

If someone were looking for a particular weight loss plan or group what should they look for?
I would look at a few things in particular and one of the first things would be, does the particular weight loss plan advocate certain foods, in other words Jenny Craig says you have to eat my food and you have to have Jenny Craig drinks and entrees.

Jenny Craig is very profitable. Do you have to make ongoing payments to this weight loss plan to keep losing weight ? If you do, then you have to consider what is more important to them, educating you about your long term health, or making as much money as possible out of you.

One of the things that I would look for, is whether the weight loss program introduces you to eating normal food and does it encourage getting into regular exercise as a lifestyle change rather than a short term exercise kick.

Is the weight loss program focused on your long term health rather than getting your weight down and then offering little help afterwards. I don’t like those weight loss plans that delivers food to your door because it’s like spoon feeding you. After you’ve lost the weight what happens, you either continue to buy their food (which gets expensive) or you go back to the way you ate before and this is where the problems occur.
Diet plans that keep you focused on a certain area or a particular niche that they have tried to carve out in a marketing opportunity, are just treating you like a meal-ticket with no thought to your overall health and fitness. I would avoid those with a passion. I would try and go with the plans that give you a normal way of eating, train you to find out what exercise is best for you and your lifestyle and don’t require ongoing payment to the owner or company running the weight loss program.

Resources:

• Kennedy et. al, Popular Diets: Correlation to Health, Nutrition and Obesity. J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 2001 Apr. 101(4) 411-20.
• The Food Pyramide
• 43 Nurtrition Secrets Revealed (from savvy-fat-burning-food)