Filed under: General Health, Nutrition
Today I am going to continue my post on Supplements from last week. If you haven’t caught up, please do so!
Protein Powder
Protein powder is a simple and convenient way to get more high-quality protein into your diet. Ensuring adequate protein intake can make a big difference in helping you reach your performance, health and body composition goals. I do prefer people get the majority of their protein intake from whole-food sources, 1-2 scoops of protein powder per day is acceptable (this includes protein bars).
In addition protein powder, specifically whey, has many health benefits beyond just its protein content. I have expounded on this in the past, and I wrote an entire article on t-nation on the health benefits of whey, so I won’t dive in here. However, this is why quality of the product matters, as lower quality proteins can be poorly produced and decrease their health benefits.
For protein powders I recommend:
About Time Whey Protein. It is from mostly grass-fed cows (depending on availability), free of artificial sweeteners (uses stevia), is low-temperature processed (protecting those healthful biological fractions), reasonably priced and tastes great! There are other excellent products out there, but I feel this product provides the best combination of all of those elements.
Filed under: General Health, Nutrition, Training
The past two days I have spent up at school just swamped with work. Between the time working on my thesis data collection (which I am doing right now as I write this, my samples are incubating), creating and presenting a 40 minute presentation (which I gave today, on the awesomeness of full-fat dairy), taking a test and a quiz, and 3.5 hours of commuting each day, there has been little time to wrap up the supplement blog I wrote on Tuesday.
However I will wrap that up tomorrow, I promise.
In the meantime, here is some great content from some of my colleagues that I believe you guys should check out. It’s like a CP reunion. Enjoy!
Workout Routines: Exercising on Vacation – Part 2 – by Eric Cressey. I really liked EC’s discussion of being active on vacation, even if you don’t engage in formal exercise. He also provides some fantastic TRX exercises and workout ideas for those of you who do exercise on vacation (or at home). The article is worth the read for those ideas alone in my opinion.
Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: 4/11/2011 – by Tony Gentilcore. I always love Tony’s Miscellaneous Monday blog posts, and this is one of my favorites. He talks about Tim Collins, his new training program written by Bret Contreras, as well as potentially coming out with a product of his own (we have actually discussed the idea of doing one together, but certainly nothing definitive). Plus Tony just cracks me up.
8 Reasons Carbs Help You Lose Weight, or Something Like That – by ME! I really enjoyed writing this blog post, and I think it is one of my best of 2011. The love affair with grains and carbohydrates in general from the media and public health authorities is ridiculous, so I try to enter a little sanity into the equation.
Filed under: General Health, Nutrition
Well my wife and I are now officially moved, and I officially hate moving even more. Our new place is a freakin disaster of boxes and stuff that we have to organize and/or just throw away. I haven’t decided yet.
With that in mind and my massive amount of school work, please bear with me as this week might be a little light on the blogging front, though I will do my best to still be awesome.
Recently Tony Gentilcore wrote a nice little blog series on supplements in general, and the supplements he takes on a daily basis. I thought it was quite good, and it inspired me to write a similar piece of my own for today.
Just like Tony noted, supplements are just that, supplements! They are there to add to an already stellar nutritional intake. If your nutrition sucks, your fancy supplements probably are not doing a whole lot.
With that said, I am going to assume that since you read this blog, your nutrition is pretty stellar (that might be one what one calls a leap of faith), and since your nutrition is so stellar I will outline what I think are quality supplements that are worth your while, as well the products I specifically take myself on a daily basis.
Filed under: Nutrition, Recipes
When you think of chicken what do you think of? If you are like most health-conscious people you probably think of chicken breasts. Boneless, skinless and lean these are an excellent source of protein. However, no one is claiming that chicken breasts are the tastiest protein sources on earth, so I recommend that a little variety is in order – boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
Chicken thighs are made up of darker meat than chicken breasts, have a slightly higher fat content and taste so much better than chicken breasts it is not even a comparison. The real kicker is that chicken thighs are generally significantly cheaper than their breast counterparts, which is always a nice bonus.
In celebration of the wonder of chicken thighs I have a simple and delicious sandwich recipe for you guys today.
Country Dijon Chicken Sandwich
Ingredients
- 4-8oz (raw weight) of boneless, skinless chicken thighs cooked as desired
- 1 Ezekiel english muffin
- ~1 tbsp expeller pressed canola oil mayonnaise
- ~1-2 tsp country dijon mustard
- 1 small handful of baby spinach
- 10 baby carrots
- 2 tbsp hummus
Directions
Cook the chicken thighs as desired (serving size as you desire). I simply cooked a bunch on a George Foreman grill. Toast the Ezekiel english muffin. Spread mayonnaise on both sides of the english muffin once it is done. Place spinach on both sides of the english muffin, on top of the mayonnaise. Place chicken on top of spinach. Spread mustard onto chicken. Enjoy!
The carrots and hummus are a simple vegetable side I like to have with my sandwiches. It provides a nice crunch and a slightly salty flavor. You could also do other simple things like lightly salted cucumber slices, bell pepper slices and hummus, celery sticks, etc. Th choices are nearly endless.
This is a simple and delicious sandwich that requires minimal prep, provides quality protein, healthy carbs, healthy fats and veggies while also tasting awesome. Eating healthy does not have to be difficult or bland, and for more great recipe ideas like this check out Dave Ruel’s Metablic Cooking cookbook, providing over 250 amazing recipes and on sale through this Friday at midnight for 52% OFF!
Filed under: General Health, Nutrition, Recipes
I hope you all enjoyed that butter article yesterday. It is absolutely delicious, and so wonderful to know that as long as you get it from a quality source (ie – grass-fed) it is actually good for you too!
In continuing with that theme I wanted to let you all know about an amazing new cookbook being released by Dave Ruel. It is called Metabolic Cooking, and it rocks. As you all know I am absolutely all about not only eating well, but actually enjoying what you are eating. To many people believe that eating healthy equates to eating bland, and that could not be further from the truth, and Dave provides over 250 amazing recipes to prove that previous statement dead wrong!
If you like my recipes I post or Gourmet Nutrition style recipes, you are going to absolutely love this! Dave makes tons of tasty meals, including breakfast options, a wide variety of meats (chicken, poultry, fish, seafood, beef, pork, etc), sides and snacks as well as vegetarian options (which is a nice bonus).
In addition he also provides nutrition information for each and every recipe, and similar to Gourmet Nutrition, he tells you if it is protein and fat meal, protein and carb meal or a mixed meal, which just adds a nice touch.
To be perfectly honest I think many of the recipes are too low-fat with too great of an emphasis on egg whites and low-fat versions of foods, but that is easily remedied with whole eggs and full-fat versions! Overall there are just TONS of recipes I am going to put to use, especially a chicken liver recipe I really want to try.
Metabolic Cooking is brand-spanking-new, so it is currently on sale for 52% off the introductory price through midnight this Friday. You can never have too many healthy recipes at your disposal, so do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Metabolic Cooking and get cooking!
There were some unbelievable content put out by some other great writers within the past few days that I thought would be great for you guys to read, so check them out!
18 Minutes to a Leaner (and Healthier) You – Jay Bonn. Jay has struck again, with another gem that I think EVERYONE should read. For people who can never “find the time” or who claim to not have time for food prep, this article is for you. This might be one of my favorite blog posts ever, it is that good, and that important. Read it.
Back from Kansas City: A Tim Collins Update – Eric Cressey. EC and Pete went out to KC to watch Tim pitch on Opening Day, where he did very well. They went out to dinner after the game with Tim and his family and not one person recognized them until they were about to leave. Lo and behold it was Torii Hunter, the 13 year MLB veteran who had hit a 461 foot homer in that game against Kansas City, but whom Tim had struck out. He told Tim he was impressed with his stuff, and wished him the best. Just good stuff all around.
Filed under: Nutrition
If you want to talk about much-maligned foods, butter is right up there at the top of the list. Health authorities have been telling us for years that foods like butter, rich in saturated fat, are clogging our arteries and causing heart disease. So they told us to replace them with trans-fat laden margarine, and how did that turn out? Then came polyunsaturated vegetable oils, and new research is linking these omega-6 rich fats to all sorts of health problems, including potentially increased risk of cancer.
The real question is, was there ever a problem with butter in the first place? The answer just might surprise you.
continue reading…
Filed under: General Health, Nutrition, Training, Weight Loss
I know I have been talking about Tim Collins a lot this week, but it is a truly amazing story. EC and Pete flew out to Kansas City to see him on Opening Day yesterday, and lo and behold Timmy got to pitch the 9th inning. While KC lost 4-2, Timmy threw 19 pitches, 10 for strikes leading to 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 strikeout and 0 runs. Not too shabby for a 21 year old kid huh?
I also hope that those of you not living in the Northeast are loving life right now, as up here in Augusta, Maine we are projected to get 8-14 inches of heavy, wet snow today! Awesome! I love shoveling.
Anyway, onto actual nutrition content.
Jonny Bowden had a recent article called Foods to Fight High Blood Pressure that I thought was excellent overall. However I feel that there were a few important points that were left unsaid that I wanted to touch on and expand on the topic a bit. To truly get the most out of this post, I recommend you read that one first, though I will provide a small recap:
- Approximately 1 in 3 US adults has high blood pressure, and 25% of them don’t even know it
- High blood pressure is directly responsible for over 56,000 US deaths each year
- The research generally shows that excess sodium in our diets contributes to high blood pressure for many
- While cutting back sodium can help, consuming more potassium can be just as effective for managing blood pressure
- In fact increasing potassium intake without decreasing sodium will still improve blood pressure
- Here is the list JB provides on potassium containing foods:
- Swiss Chard – 961 mg per cup
- Bananas – 422 mg in one medium banana
- Spinach – 839 mg per cup
- OJ – 496 mg per cup
- Dried apricots – 550 mg per 1/4th cup (1 serving)
- Sweet potatoes – 542 mg per medium sweet potato
- Avocados – CA variety – 690 mg per, FL variety – 1067 mg per
- Cantaloupe – 368 mg in 1/4 of a medium cantaloupe
- Figs – 381 mg per half cup
- Peaches – 322 mg in one large peach
- Beans – 477-1224 mg per cup
- Kale – 299 mg per cup
- Some other foods lower blood pressure by other mechanisms such as celery, garlic, beet juice, whey protein powder and vitamin D.
Now my two cents.
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Filed under: General Health, Nutrition, Training
While my blog reading has been lagging a little bit lately, I was able to read a few gems recently that I wanted to share with you guys. Check them out!
Success Tips From Cressey Performance – by Jay Bonn. This is an excellent piece by Jay about the how successful people in all walks of life (though in this case CP and Precision Nutrition) tend to do things in similar fashions. He finds the common threads among these successful places, and shows how success really boils down to simple actions. Great stuff.
Oblique Strains in Baseball: 2011 Update – by Eric Cressey. I think this one of Eric’s best posts ever. While that is a bold statement as he has written probably close to 1000 blog posts, I found this to be a quick and easy read with tons of really interesting information. While I worked for him for 3 years and know his core training philosophy like the back of my hand, this was an enlightening refresher that applies even if you are not or do not train baseball players.
3. While not an article, I thought I should note that CP client Tim Collins has officially made the Kansas City Royals major league roster. Tim is a 21 year old reliever who went undrafted out of high school. He walked into CP right when I first started as an intern there. He was 18 years old and all 5’5″ and 135lbs throwing mid-80′s. He now stands 5’7″ and 170lbs, and throws low to mid 90′s.
This is a testament to good training, good nutrition (ahem), and Tim’s tremendous work ethic. He practically lived at CP in the off-season, as he would be there the day after his season ended ready to begin anew. I couldn’t be happier for him and wish him all the best this season.
Filed under: General Health, Nutrition
Aren’t sensationalist titles fun? While yes that might be a bit of a stretch, it really isn’t too far off.
In November of 2010 in the journal Diabetes Care there was a study published that pretty much made such a declaration. In the study, involving over 300,000 people, they found that drinking only one or two sugary drinks per day increased your risk of developing diabetes by 26%!
Surprisingly to some, this risk was apparent regardless of bodyweight. Just because you are thin does not mean you are healthy or not at risk for diseases like diabetes.
This also brings me to another point about all of those Naked and Odwalla “protein shakes” and fruit smoothie concoctions. Would I put them in the same class as soda? No not entirely as they do contain a wee bit of fiber, some vitamins and minerals as well as phytonutrients and antioxidants.
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Filed under: General Health, Nutrition
As promised yesterday, today’s post is going to be an epic one. The You Asked, I Answered posts are some of my favorites, and today is going to be a great one. I have three great questions that I think a lot of people wonder about, and I provide some pretty thorough responses. Enjoy!
Q. Hi Brian-
I have a follow-up question to one of your recent postings (you can use this question on your blog if you want); you mentioned that you have ‘a probiotic’ at breakfast. I know this word, but really don’t understand the term. When I think of probiotic, I think kefir, yogurt, sauerkraut and/or kimchee. I’ve also seen the term ‘prebiotic.’ Can you maybe expound on this topic (or if you have addressed this in a previous posting, maybe you can direct me to it).
As always, HUGE THANKS for your time and thoughts:-)
A. First off, thinking of whole food sources of probiotics is a great thing! Probiotics are simply live bacteria/microorganisms that are thought to beneficial to the organism in which they reside. Probiotic literally means “for life.”
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Posted on April 18th, 2011 by Brian St. Pierre
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