Eating Healthy

NEVER Grill Meat, Unless You Do This…

May 4, 2012 by Phil

NEVER Grill Meat, Unless You Do This
by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of Best Seller: The Truth About Six Pack Abs

Most people aren’t aware that when you cook meat (whether it’s grilled, broiled, or seared) there are carcinogenic compounds that can form called HCA’s (heterocyclic amines). Now don’t panic…you ingest various carcinogens all the time, even with some vegetables. You can always protect yourself with more antioxidants.

Please Note: When you cook meat in a water base as opposed to grilling, broiling, or searing, you eliminate the harmful HCAs. So for example, meats cooked in a soup, or meats cooked in a crock pot will not have the problem of the carcinogenic HCAs and is a healthier way to cook meat.

But let’s face it… grilled meat tastes awesome and there’s no way I’m giving up my grass-fed steak from the grill, or my grass-fed burgers!

That’s why it’s important to know that there’s a way you can use spices to both counteract, and also drastically reduce the carcinogens formed when you grill meat…

Here’s the trick:

If you’re going to grill meats, marinating meats for at least several hours beforehand in liquid mixtures that contain rosemary and other herbs/spices can dramatically help to reduce HCA’s (heterocyclic amines), which are those carcinogenic compounds that can form when meats are grilled. It appears that the highly potent antioxidants in these herbs prevent HCA formation. So using rosemary, thyme, garlic, oregano and other spices in a meat marinade before grilling meats can drastically reduce any carcinogens that normally would form on grilled meat and give you a healthier meal, that’s also very tasty!

The antioxidants in rosemary and thyme from a marinade were specifically cited in studies at being powerful inhibitors of HCA formation when grilling meats. But it was also noted that other spices such as garlic, oregano, and others can help to prevent HCA formation as well, so I suggest using a variety, which tastes great anyway!

One more important point about grilling meat:

Remember that the more well-done a meat is cooked, the higher concentration of carcinogenic HCA’s can form, so rare, medium-rare, or medium are healthier choices than well-done. I’ve never understood why anybody would want to ruin a good steak by burning it to oblivion anyway. But hey, if you’re one of those folks that likes your steaks well-done, just remember that you’re eating a lot more carcinogens than a steak that’s cooked less, so make sure to load up on your antioxidants (spices, teas, berries, etc) to help combat those extra carcinogens.

Washing down your barbequed meal with a glass of unsweetened iced tea (rich in antioxidants) and also a good salad with lots of raw veggies can provide the antioxidants needed to counteract the effect of HCAs in your body from grilled meat.

By the way, even charring vegetables on the grill creates different carcinogens such as acrylamides, so don’t think that the negative effect of charring only applies to meats.

Hey, we all love a great barbeque, so no need to give that up just because of HCAs or acrylamides, but at least now you know how to counteract the effects of these in your body to protect yourself, and also how to use spices to drastically reduce the formation of HCAs on grilled meat!

Enjoy that next barbeque in a healthier way!
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If you liked Mike’s article, he has more for you here:

7 odd foods that flatten your stomach

Food additive makes you 3x more likely to be overweight

March 15, 2012 by Phil

What is this food additive that makes you 3x more likely to be overweight?

There are many chemicals and flavor enhancers in processed foods and those so-called “diet” foods that packaged as “diet” dinners, desserts, snacks, etc., and many of those are addictive. MSG is one good example. People who eat monosodium glutamate, or MSG, as a flavor enhancer in their food are more likely than others to be overweight or obese even though with the same amount of physical activity and caloric intake, according to a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health.

Researchers at UNC and in China studied more than 750 Chinese men and women, aged between 40 and 59, in three rural villages in north and south China. The majority of study participants prepared their meals at home without commercially processed foods. About 82 percent of the participants used MSG in their food. Those users were divided into three groups, based on the amount of MSG they used. The third group who used the most MSG was nearly three times more likely to be overweight than non-users.

Because MSG is used as a flavor enhancer in many processed foods, studying its potential effect on humans has been difficult. Study participants were chosen from rural Chinese villages because they used very little commercially processed food, but many regularly used MSG in food preparation.

The bottom line is that you should avoid MSG as much as possible since it can stimulate cravings and lead to weight gain, among other problems. The best way to avoid MSG is simply to avoid all processed foods. For some people, that may sound difficult, but it really becomes simple if the only foods that you buy at the grocery store are 1-ingredient foods – that means fresh whole unprocessed foods that are only 1-ingredient instead of processed into dozens of ingredients.

Among the most common processed ingredients are refined/enriched flour, colors, preservatives (which go by hundreds of different names), and chemical flavorings –which may legally be called “natural flavors” even if they include MSG. (As a side note: most varieties of processed or “textured” soy protein (TSP or TVP) use MSG for flavor and call it “natural flavors.”)

Many nutrition experts believe that the more refined a food is, the less satisfying it is to the body. Because the body is unable to extract what it needs from denatured, highly processed junk foods, it craves more nourishment. Cravings are usually a signal your body is not getting the nutrients it needs, however, sugars and starches stimulate appetite and increase cravings for sugar — as do most artificial sweeteners.

Even the best food companies, whose apparent goal is to promote health and wellness, are still in business to make a profit. Corporations selling diet foods and low-cal foods are hardly motivated to make a product that really helps people consume less and lose weight. If they did, their captive audience–people who are overweight–would disappear, taking their money with them.

Weight loss products are highly suspect for their harmful and addictive artificial ingredients, and for the elusive promise of “quick, easy” weight loss they promise but almost never fulfill. The only certain way to lose weight permanently is to focus on healthy nutrition such as organic fruits and vegetables, raw nuts and seeds, grass-fed meats, free-range poultry and raw dairy products, an active lifestyle, reducing stress, and creating balance and harmony in our lives.

If you liked today’s topic, this is just a sample of the dozens of nutrition topics that we talk about in our program —

The Fat Burning Kitchen: Your 24-Hour Diet Makeover to Turn Your Body into a Fat-Burning Machine!

Remember that this program also contains a special bonus section — The 23-Day Advanced Fat-Burning Strategies — the exact step by step blueprint of how I went from 10.2% bodyfat to 6.9% bodyfat in 23 days. This section gives you all of the advanced techniques — everything from the exact foods I ate in what combinations and why, as well as the exact spices, teas, herbs, and other natural metabolism boosting nutrients I used, and the exact advanced workout techniques that burn off ab fat faster than usual.

This section is PERFECT for the next time you need to lose body fat fast for a wedding, beach vacation, or other event.

You can read about The 23-Day Advanced Fat-Burning Strategies that comes with The FatBurningKitchen program on this page:

fat burning kitchen <– click to read more

Enjoy!

Article provided by
Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist
& Cat Ebeling, RN, BSN
co-authors: The Fat Burning Kitchen

The “Cost” of Eating Healthy

February 15, 2012February 14, 2012 by Phil

One of the biggest myths out there is the myth that eating healthy costs too much.

Just the opposite… and I’ll prove it to you in three ways.

#1: Cash

Here’s some sample figures courtesy of my friend Scott Tousignant’s fitness blog…

2 medium size sweet potatoes $1 or… small fries from a fast food joint

2 red peppers $1 or… a can of pop

Bowl of oatmeal with fruit & protein powder $2 or… large bag of chips

6 Chicken Breasts $10 or… a sub combo from a fast food joint

18 eggs $3.50 or… a burger from a fast food joint

2 salmon fillets $15 or… large pizza

Loaded chicken salad (homemade) $3 or… bag of cookies

Large bag of oatmeal $3.50 or… 4 chocolate bars

Not much of a comparison, it is?

Yet the foods on the left would feed a family of two or more for 4-7 days… the foods on the right? 2-3 days if you live through it.

Tips to make the most expensive part of eating healthy — the cost of quality meats — go further include…

1. Use tofu fillers in chicken and beef recipes. Even if you hate tofu, you can barely taste the difference when combined properly.

2. Buy your meats in bulk online. You can find less expensive grass-fed beef and naturally-raised chicken and have it delivered to you if you live near a large city. If not, check the local farmers.

3. Eat meat only 3-4 times per week and use black beans with rice or inexpensive tuna for your other days. I eat tuna cooked in a skillet with lots of veggies and some olive oil almost every night and I LOVE the taste!

My book The Every Other Day Diet has over 40 pages of recipes in it to help you eat healthy and cheap… and you can still eat out and consume your favorite foods several times per week.

#2: Your Health

Do we ‘really’ need to talk about buy new (usually larger) clothes every year or two? Or about the health care costs associated with being even 20 pounds over your ideal weight, let alone more? How about the time you miss from work with excessive colds?

Eating healthy and taking care of your body adds years to your life… and for the record, the years eating poorly takes away from your life, on average, costs each American over 80,000 in medical expenses.

Want to add that to your food budget?

#3: The Big Picture

Anyone who has been fit knows the joy it brings… the freedom you feel from wearing whatever you want… the productivity you see from increased energy… the pace at which you move during the day.

Not only are these gifts priceless, but they are also massive cash-savers. Your productivity alone can add thousands to your bottom line each year, well off-setting any costs associated with eating quality food.

The Bottom Line…

Like any good accountant would suggest, you need to look at your ROI (return on investment) if nothing else.

What does investing in a better body, greater health, and vibrant energy do for your life? How can that actually translate into more income AND less expense?

You will be surprised.

Remember:

Don’t Quit. Get Fit!

P.S. If you want some tips on getting started with shedding that excess weight… go here for a short video… and prepare to take some notes! …

it’s freee….

Weight Loss Tips

by Jon Benson

[ I enjoy role models and fitness inspirations like Jon Benson (and many others)… so when Jon this article to me and gave me today to pass it along to you, I jumped on the chance.] [ After this I bet you would love to see more… and you can by the links in this post. Trust me: Jon has some stuff that you don’t want to miss! ]