Nuts Will Not Make You Gain Weight 

You can’t have your cake and eat it as the expression goes, but you can have nuts and not worry too much about weight gain even thought they are high in calories and fats! One of the most interesting observations that I have made over the years is that people are able to eat peanuts and tree nuts in significant quantities and still lose weight in spite of the significant amount of calories that come with every handful. Nuts of all kind (what we categorize as nuts are not actually nuts at all- almonds, walnuts and pecans are technically fruits, cashews are seeds as are candlenuts, pistachios and pine nuts, macadamias are kernels and peanuts are actually legumes) are high in many valuable nutrients and have tremendous health benefits. Many nuts are rich sources of vitamins E and vitamin B2, and are rich in high in protein, making them quite popular among those who choose to avoid or limit their meat intake. Nuts are also high in folate, fiber, and vital minerals such as magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, and selenium. Nuts are also very high in fats namely essential fatty acids linoleic and linolenic and most of the fats found in nuts are unsaturated and include monounsaturated fats which are extremely beneficial. Studies have found that people who consume nuts on a regular basis are less likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease¹ and that certain nuts such as almonds and walnuts can lower LDL cholesterol levels (the bad cholesterol)^2,3. In addition to their heart friendly benefits, nuts are also recommended foods for individuals with Type 2 diabetes thanks to their very low glycemic index. The problem is that because of their high caloric nature, many are afraid to add them to their diet for fear of gaining weight. Interestingly enough there are several studies that have validated what I have seen for several years now, namely that you can ingest a significant number of calories from nuts and not gain weight.

Studies On Nuts And Weight Gain

During a thirty week study of fifteen healthy normal weight adults at Perdue University participants added approximately 2000 kJ worth of peanuts to their regular diet for eight weeks and then for the next eight weeks peanuts replaced an equal amount of other fats in their diet. Researchers found that the subjects compensated for 66% of the energy provided by the nuts and body weight gain was far lower than expected with an average gain of only 3.6 kg. However when customary dietary fats were replaced with calories from peanuts body weight was maintained perfectly. Resting energy expenditure was increased by 11% after regular peanut consumption for 19 weeks and more importantly the high consumption of peanuts did not turn them off to its taste or lead them to consume other snack foods during the study. The study concluded that despite being high in calories, peanuts have a high satiety value and chronic ingestion evokes strong dietary compensation and little change in energy balance.⁴ Another study found similar findings with almonds. This study’s aim was to determine if adding 1440kJ (about 343 calories) of almonds in a daily diet would elicit positive energy balance and body composition change. For the duration of the 23 week study with twenty women there were no changes in bodyweight from daily almond consumption, but an inefficiency in absorption of energy from almonds was noted. The study concluded that a daily 340 calorie serving of almonds enough to brig about positive cardiovascular effects could be added to the diet with a limited risk of weight gain.⁵

Why Nuts Don’t Make Us Gain Weight

Why is it that nuts seem to defy the laws of thermodynamics that do not apply to other foods? We don’t exactly know why you can ingest more calories than the body needs to maintain an energy balance from nuts and still not gain weight but some data points to the fact that eating nuts increases the amount of energy our body expends and there seems to be evidence that our bodies do not absorb calories from nuts very efficiently. In either case these mechanisms seem to offset most of the calories ingested or the weight loss studies conducted all found that dietary compliance was improved when nuts were permitted. I personally include in all weight loss dietary recommendations for my clients for the health benefits and the fact that it does provide a welcome guilt free treat that actually helps you stay on your diet as well. Just be sure to get the unsalted variety!

Kevin Richardson is the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training 10 Minute Workouts™ and one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City. Get a copy of his free weight loss ebook here.

Is Agave Really Better Than Sugar?

In the continuing quest for a guilt-free sweetener agave has taken center stage in most so called organic foods as an all natural alternative to sugar. Agave nectar is significantly sweeter than sugar and a naturally occurring substance as opposed to chemically created artificial sweeteners like sucralose and aspartame. It’s ‘natural’ origins make it immensely popular with the ‘health-food’ industry and is aggressively marketed to the health conscious as a healthy alternative to sugar and high fructose corn syrup. The reality is that not only is agave nectar in the form we find in health food stores unnatural, but also just as bad for your health as corn syrup and regular sugar if not worse.

Agave Isn’t Natural- It’s A Highly Processed Product

The first and most important issue to address is the idea that high concentrations of agave nectar are natural and it isn’t. Nectar is not found in high concentrations and the form of agave found in the health food stores is not the same as what you would find in nature. Naturally occurring agave nectar contains inulin, a fiber like ingredient that does have some health benefits, however during the manufacturing process, enzymes are added to the inulin to break it down into a more digestible form of sugar- fructose, which creates a high fructose syrup. (More on the dangers of fructose later on in the article)

Agave Has A History Of Causing Health Problems

The argument that agave nectar was used by the Native Indians of the Southwest American continent is also a bit misleading as it omits the fact that Spanish settlers reported that all of the tribes that used agave had a tendency towards extreme tooth decay. The Indians chewed the sweet heart of the plan but not without negative consequences. Before we dismiss cavities and tooth decay as inevitable, as many here in the West tend to assume, we should look to the examples of tribes where no such sweeteners were used- agave or honey. Dr. Weston Price, a dentist and one of the first Europeans to make the connection between bad health and Western dietary practices made detailed studies of several African tribes including the Masai of Tankanika, the Chewya of Kenya, the Muhima of Uganda, the Watusi of Rwanda and the Neurs tribes in Sudan and cavities were almost non-existent- less than 0.5%. Cavities come from what we eat-regardless of dental hygiene as many native people studied by Dr. Price never brushed or cared for their teeth the way we do today and yet remained free of cavities.

Agave Has More Fructose Than High Fructose Corn Syrup

 
Far more important is the chemical composition of agave nectar. While touted as a low glycemic substance that could be great for diabetics as a sugar alternative, agave nectar is composed of mostly fructose. Fructose, as found naturally in fruit with the presence of fiber, vitamins and minerals  has been consumed by humans for millions of years- however in isolation studies have shown that it can actually increase insulin resistance, raise triglycerides (a risk factor for cardiovascular disease) and increase visceral abdominal fat which also in turn puts you at a greater risk for developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and metabolic syndrome. Studies have continually found that fructose in isolation is a major problem and agave nectar is almost 90% fructose! That’s far more than table sugar and several times more than the levels found in high fructose corn syrup! 

Agave Poses A Health Threat Since It Is Marketed As Being Healthy

In the end agave nectar poses a considerable health threat as while most people are aware of the dangers of high fructose corn syrup, and the consumption of sugary food products and do their best to eliminate them or cut down their consumption, thanks to brilliant marketing on the part of the ‘health food industry’ few are aware that products such as agave are bad for their health and thus are more apt to use it freely as they believe it to have positive qualities. It is a unfortunate but common occurrence in today’s world where more so called health foods are sold more than any other time in our history and yet rates of obesity and diet related disease continues to climb. Agave isn’t the only offender but it is one that you should avoid if you are seeking optimum health and proper weight management.

Kevin Richardson is the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training 10 Minute Workouts™ and one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City. Get a copy of his free weight loss ebook here.

There Is Nothing Wrong With Red Meat

Contrary to what many experts would have you believe there is nothing wrong with eating red meat. Official health recommendations called for Americans to cut back on their red meat consumption several years ago and ever since red meat has been regarded by most as potentially hazardous to your health. The irony is that the ‘science’ used to come to these conclusions was not at all a matter of science, but conjecture. Back in the 1970′s when the relationship between cholesterol and heart disease was established, saturated fats became the enemy. So much so that many prominent official health  organizations recommended switching from traditional foods high in saturated fat to ones containing partially hydrogenated oils, or trans fats. Margarine was preferred over butter and red meat- a high source of saturated fats was put into the verboten category, cited as increasing risks of heart disease, colon cancer and type two diabetes. We know today that these recomendations were completely flawed- as trans fats have been identified as a strong causative factor in the very ailments they were supposed to prevent. We also know that the whole cholesterol causes heart attacks theory is flawed. Researchers today observe that half the people who get heart attacks don’t have high cholesterol levels and half the people with high cholesterol levels don’t get heart attacks. Yet still there is a herd type mentality that takes the flawed sciences of the nutritional authorities as gospel truth.

Red Meat Has Been Consumed Regularly for Thousands Of Years Without Any Problems

To condemn red meat as potentially unhealthy is to ignore the several hundred thousand years of our evolutionary history where red meat was a main source of protein. Metabolic disease was not prevalent at that time, nor were high incidences of colon cancer and obesity. Equally ignored were the eating habits of other cultures where red meat has continued to be a staple for generations. Koreans eat a substantial amount of red meat in their diets, with those that can afford it eating beef several times a week. Pork- another often vilified meat is also a firm part of the Korean diet and yet according to data from the National Cancer Institute, Korean women have one of the lowest cancer rates on the planet.  For Korean males, the cancer rate is slightly higher but still lower than that of the United States, but most importantly rates for colon and rectal cancer for beef-eating Koreans are extremely low- in spite of their high beef consumption. Incidences of cardiovascular disease in Korea is also significantly lower averaging  21 per 100,000, compared to 66.8 per 100,000 here in the U.S.  

Large Scale Review Finds That Processed Meats- Not Red Meat In Its Natural Form Can Increase Risk Of Diet Related Illnesses

Interestingly enough a recent Harvard review of twenty different studies of several thousand people found that there was no correlation between red meat intake and coronary heart disease. The studies did find that processed meat intake was associated with a 42% higher risk of heart disease and a 19% increase in risk of type 2 diabetes. The study concluded that it is the consumption of processed meats, not red meats that is associated with higher incidence of coronary heart disease and diabetes mellitus. Once again the problem lies not with natural foods but their man made food product derivatives. Food products like hot dogs, bacon, cold cuts and deli meats all fall into that category and my recommendation would be to remove them from your diet completely. The way in which beef in particular is raised here in the U.S. still raises some concerns, and so it is always best to pay a few dollars more for beef that isn’t raised using modern intensive farming methods. As ‘science’ is slowly learning, the more processed a food is, the less like it is going to be good for the human body, but the foods that we have been eating for several thousand years are aleays the better choice.

References: 
Red and Processed Meat Consumption and Risk of Incident Coronary Heart Disease, Stroke, and Diabetes Mellitus. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis- Renata Micha RD, PhD*, Sarah K. Wallace BA, and Dariush Mozaffarian MD, DrPH

Kevin Richardson is the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training 10 Minute Workouts™ and one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City. Get a copy of his free weight loss ebook here.

By following some basic food safety rules you can be food- illness free all summer!

Six Tips For Staying Food Illness Free For The Summer!

Diet is an important part of the process for anyone serious about losing weight and getting in shape, however in all the details about what to eat, when to eat and what not to eat, there is often little time given to the element of food safety. As the temperatures go up this summer more and more people will get sick from food poisoning and the bad part is that if you are eating several meals throughout the day, with most of those meals consisting of high protein foods, then you do indeed run a very high risk of getting sick if you are not careful with your food preparation and storage. According to the Center for Disease Control an estimated 76 million cases of food borne disease occur each year in the U.S. with most of them being rather mild cases and cause symptoms that last for a day or two. However many are indeed life threatening and the CDC estimates that there are 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths related to foodborne diseases each year.  

Food safety is a big issue for me, mainly because had a serious run in with food poisoning about 15 years ago and it changed my life forever. It was my first summer here in the U.S. and I left the house earlier than usual for work and thus was unable to cook and take my lunch with me, as I usually do. That day for lunch I had Chinese food for lunch at a nearby take out restaurant - nothing fancy or unhealthy, mind you just some steamed vegetables. Later that afternoon however I got so sick that I woke up the next day in a hospital bed a full 17 lbs lighter than I was the day before! After that ordeal I promised myself that I would learn everything there was about food safety to ensure that this would never happen again- and so far so good- which is quite an accomplishment for someone that eats 6 plus times a day!  

I also worked for 14 years as the director of the recreation and food programs for both HIV/AIDS and the formerly homeless populations, and since I was responsible for sometimes preparing and handling food, I had to get food handling certification. When working with individuals with compromised immune systems, what might give someone else a bad day can end up costing them their lives!  That being said, I would like to pass on some very important tips for you this summer to make sure that you stay bacteria free this summer and all year round!  

Rule 1: KEEP HOT FOODS HOT AND COLD FOODS COLD!  

If I was asked what is the best overall rule of thumb for food safety, I would have to go with this one. It is so important if you are carrying food with you during the day that you keep it at the appropriate temperature. If you cook something fresh and need to eat it several hours later I would suggest that you invest in a thermos that is big enough for you to fit your food into. You can also use your thermos to keep foods cold that may have been refrigerated- just be sure to wash your thermos by hand after each use and check to see that there are no cracks before you put your food inside. That way you have a safe way of carrying your food around with you during the day!  

Rule 2: Wash your hands before you eat!  

I know I sound like a mother on this one, but I can hardly tell you how much of a difference it makes if you routinely clean your hands before eating or handling your food. A quick trip to any bathroom will show you that most people don’t know how to wash their hands. You have to wash with hot water and soap (any kind will do- it doesn’t have to be antibacterial) for at least 30 seconds to really get the germs off. Most wash for less than 10, which really doesn’t do much. A good guide is to sing the Happy Birthday song twice while washing, that will make sure you spend just enough time to wash your hands properly. If not around a water source, you can use a hand sanitizer or alcohol swabs, just don’t assume that your hands are clean and just eat.  

Rule 3: Get a thermometer for your refrigerator!  

Bacteria exist everywhere and you cannot get away from them. Under certain conditions like when they have moisture, and favorable temperatures, they grow very quickly, increasing in numbers to the point where some types of bacteria can make you sick. Bacteria grow most rapidly in the range of temperatures between 40 and 140 °F, the so called “Danger Zone,” with some forms being able to double in number in as little as 20 minutes.  

To minimize the growth of bacteria in a any unit the temperature must be kept at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or less. Unfortunately, while we humans can do a pretty good job of saying whether something is hot or cold, we cannot tell the difference between 39 degrees or 40 degrees, and that difference could make you very sick or worse. Don’t leave your temperature regulation to simple guesswork, invest in a thermometer for your fridge and you might be surprised that it isn’t always at the best temperature to keep your cold foods cold! By the way any perishable foods kept at temperatures above 40 °F for more than 2 hours should not be consumed.  

 Rule 4: If you eat out check the restaurant’s health inspection record!  

It might sound a bit involved but the beauty of the Internet is that you can access the food saftey inspection records for just about any restaurant  from your local department of health. Do a search for ‘restaurant food saftey inspections’ and you can look up where you are about to eat online. Interestingly enough, the Chinese take out restaurant that put me in the hospital had 48 violation points on their last inspection with everything from inadequate personal hygeine and unsantizited food contact surfaces to the presence of vermin in food areas. Do a quick check of the restaurants in your neighbourhood (if you live in New York you can do a check here) I’m sure that you will be surprised at how many places have sub standard food inspection reports.  

Here in New York starting in July 2010,  the health department will require certain types of food service establishments to prominently post letter grades that correspond to their sanitary inspection scores- which I am certain will go a long way in forcing a lot of food establishments to clean up their act!  

 Rule 5: Use Bleach and water to clean up!  

Whenever you handle meats, you should have a bottle with a bleach solution to disinfect surfaces that come into contact with meats in addition to washing with hot soapy water. You only need 1 tablespoon of bleach per quart of water to make an effective germ killer and it is a cheap and effective means of killing bacteria. More expensive cleaners only make the germs smell nice for a while, but do nothing to kill them, so bleach is the way to go.  

Rule 6: Use Your Sense Of Smell!  

Sounds a bit primitive, but it works! I cannot tell you how often I hear people say that the fish they ate didn’t smell too wholesome, but they ate it anyway- that might be a recipe for getting sick as fresh fish does not have any smell whatsoever! For over one hundred thousand years our sense of smell has kept us healthy by telling us when foods were not good to eat but today it is a sense that we almost ignore when it comes to food. That and the fact that most of our meats are wrapped in plastic- which does a first rate job of hiding the fact that the meat may be past its prime. When buying meat, chicken or fish, there should be no smell- none at all. Any odor is a sign of bacteria proliferation and you need to not buy it, not cook it and not eat it! For prepared foods (especially at restaurants) if your protein foods have a strange odor, don’t be afraid to send it back. It is your right as a consumer and don’t take the risk of eating it because the potential downsides really aren’t worth it.  

If the food is supposed to be served hot and is only lukewarm when you get it, or hot on the outside, but only warm on the inside, then send it back as well. It might sound like you are being a pain, but the reality is that you need to look out for your health, and if you are paying for food, it should be food that is safe to eat. Unfortunately foods don’t have to smell badly to make you sick, so it isn’t a be all and end all proposition that because there is no smell that all is well. There are two different types of bacteria: pathogenic bacteria, the kind that cause foodborne illness, and spoilage bacteria, the kind of bacteria that cause foods to deteriorate and develop unpleasant odors, tastes, and textures.  

Pathogenic bacteria can grow rapidly in the “Danger Zone,” the temperature range between 40 and 140 °F, but they do not generally affect the taste, smell, or appearance of a food. In other words, one cannot tell that a pathogen is present.  

On the other hand, spoilage bacteria can grow at low temperatures, such as in the refrigerator. Eventually they cause food to develop off or bad tastes and smells. Most people would not choose to eat spoiled food, but if they did, they probably would not get sick. It comes down to an issue of quality versus safety. I hope these tips help you stay safe and I wish everyone a happy summer! 

Kevin Richardson is the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training 10 Minute Workouts and one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City. Get a copy of his free weight loss ebook here.

Healthy Foods To Avoid To Lose Weight- Part 2 of  2

Check out: Healthy Foods To Avoid Part 1

Are you tired of ‘eating right’ only to find that you are still out of shape and are nowhere near the body of your dreams? You can thank the wonders of modern advertising for most of your woes as the majority of so called healthy foods are in fact junk foods that will so do nothing but adversely affect your health and increase your waistline. In this the second part of my postings on unhealthy health foods we will take a look at the remaining members of the health food list that you need to avoid!

6. Margarine.

Whenever people gather around and cite the news, or media as a source of health information I always bring up margarine. In the 1980’s it was touted as the new health food, and a far superior alternative to butter, as it was low in saturated fats. Just as it is today, no one questioned the veracity of those statements and we seem to have ignored the fact that we know today that margarine contains the worst type of fat possible, trans fatty acids which we know well as hydrogenated oils. These fats are artificially created and the human body simply is not able to function well with this new synthetic fat that man has made to make foods last longer on the shelf and give them a smooth texture and taste. Banned in many parts of the world outright, trans fatty acids lower your good cholesterol, and hike up the bad cholesterol. It also has been linked to an increase in risk of heart disease and diabetes. Interestingly enough, this is a food that most people can remember being endorsed by the nutritional powers that be and should serve as a warning to anyone that loos to the government and expert nutritionists for information on what is healthy. 

5. Milk 

Milk is a high sodium, high fat and high sugar food that will bloat your physique and keep you from attaining the look that you are training for. We grew up hearing (thanks to the great sums of money invested by the dairy association lobbyists) that milk was the ‘perfect food’ and that’s true if you are an infant. As we get older however our ability to digest milk declines. This, along with the fact that adult mammals do not drink milk leads me to believe that milk is a food geared towards a particular stage of our development. As an adult, drink it regularly and just watch your toes disappear. If you have to drink it stick to the skim version and not the 1% and 2% variety. (Ladies, don’t worry about calcium and osteoporosis if you decides to skip milk- there are many better alternative and to be honest there are no validated studies to show that calcium loss is prevented by drinking milk or taking supplements. What has been observed is that calcium loss can be prevented by increasing weight bearing exercises and increasing exposure to Vitamin D. It doesn’t sell dairy products, but keep in mind as well that in Europe and the United States, milk is a staple, and yet we have high incidences of bone loss in our population, while many in third world countries where milk is not consumed they have no such occurrences. Sadly, contrary to the ads for milk and calcium supplementation, the studies conclusively show that bone loss has more to do with a high sodium, high caffeine, high phosphorus (from carbonated beverages) and or alcohol intake and lack of exercise and sun exposure than anything else.

4. Soy Milk.

Soy milk is one of the biggest selling soy products, with $300 million in sales in the year 2001, up from a mere $2 million in 1980 due to the advertising of its potential benefits. The irony is that this so called health food that is supposed to be a staple part of the Asian diet is virtually unknown in that part of the world. Vegetarianism itself, has become profitable for companies to promote as a result, and more and more people are trading soy over animal based proteins largely as a result of the overwhelmingly present push towards soy being a superior food source, with soy protein used for a wide variety of vegetarian friendly products. In fact you would be hard pressed to find someone that did not believe that soy was good for the body after such an extensive and pervasive campaign, but no matter how many people call an arm a leg, it remains a leg and processed soy products are not at all good for you! Refined soy products do not provide the full array of essential amino acids required by the human body and the chemical processing required to make it safe for consumption fast and  in large quantities denatures much of its useable amino acids, especially lysine. In fact, soy products are not as natural as one might think, since they are contain inherently harmful toxins such as phytic acid and protease inhibitors and are perhaps the most processed foods being consumed today. In terms of its effect on weight loss- very early on in my career I noticed that soy milk consumption made a huge difference in the amount of weight lost by my clients. My advice is to stay away.

3. Rice Cakes

One of the original diet foods. As odd as it may sound, rice cakes have a higher glycemic index than sugar- so forget about adding it to your diet if you are serious about getting and staying in shape. Again, it sounds like a great idea- as it is after all made from rice- but they are so highly refined that they are devoid of the fiber that makes rice a great food choice. Forget the advertising and avoid it and don’t even consider the chocolate and butter flavored versions.

2. Granola

A personal favorite. I love to hate granola in all of its incarnations. It is marketed in a manner  similar to the aforementioned rice cakes as a ‘health food’ with labels proclaiming that it is ‘all natural’, well, natural does not mean good for you! Granola is nothing but candy with good press. It’s chock full of sugar, fat and calories and last time I looked there is no such thing as a granola tree. Best left on the supermarket shelf.

1. Diet & Protein Shakes

Another one of those suspicious ‘health foods’- one popular brand whose name I will not mention has the ludicrous marketing slogan that life is too short not to slim fast! All of them, protein shakes included promise quick nutrition and weight loss in a gulp or two while the truth is usually far less promising. Firstly, the majority of those so called ‘shakes’ are nothing but glamorized milk shakes. That’s right- milk shakes, filled with sugar and fats, with some vitamins thrown in for good measure- the most hyped up cross filtered whey protein drink is nothing more than a milk byproduct at the end of the day and if you use them regularly you’ll see a nice rounding of your stomach over time. So forget about a quick fix- there are no quick fixes and there is a reason why we have evolved the way we have as a species to ingest solid food sources over liquid ones.

As depressing as the list may seem, there are indeed really good choices out there if you really want to lose weight and stay in shape. By choosing foods in their natural form and eating only foods that your great-great parents would recognize in the way that they ate it is the only tried and true way to help the general population take control of their health and their waistlines. It really is that simple- natural foods don’t need fancy slogans and neither do you.

Kevin Richardson is the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training 10 Minute Workouts and one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City. Get a copy of his free weight loss ebook here.