Filed under: General Health, Nutrition, Training
Well I am back from sunny Florida, and fortunately it was nearly 7o here in Maine yesterday so that was nice to return to! I mentioned the other day that I was able to get some reading done while on the beach that I had been meaning to get to for a long time. One such book was sent to me by a reader that I have been meaning to read for a while, Biology for Bodybuilders.
In this book Doug Miller, a champion drug-free bodybuilder, shares his nutrition strategies and the science behind them that have helped him be so successful. Overall I think this book is a nice look into the mindset of someone who has achieved such an incredible physique, and while I don’t agree with all of his strategies Doug does a good job of repeatedly mentioning that this is what works for him and what works for you may be different.
One particular piece in the book really struck me, and probably not even something that occurred to him, was when Doug mentioned that he sticks to an eating routine (something I have blogged about before), and he does so not only to keep things simple, but to decrease the stress in his life. He has a stressful job and trains hard, so eating mostly the same things everyday is not only practical from a time management standpoint (something else I have written about, here and here) he also views it as a strategy to decrease stress in his life. This was not an angle I had considered before, but when I read it it just struck me as incredibly true.
When you have a healthy eating routine you don’t have to worry and stress over what you are making, what you need to buy, etc. It just one more way to remove a potentially stressful situation from your life. We make hundreds of decisions every day related to food, so by having a routine you make the majority of these decisions ahead of time. This was one of those aha moments when you are reading a book that you are just amazed at how simple it is, and can’t believe you didn’t think of it yourself. Biology for Bodybuilders is a nice look into Doug’s mindset and definitely worth a read.
Filed under: General Health, Nutrition
I apologize for the lack of posts, but I am currently on vacation in sunny Florida. A reader and former client of mine at CP sent me an article that I think will interest many of you titled Is Diet Soda Addictive?
This vacation has been wonderfully relaxing and I have been able to finish some books that I have been working on for a very long time. I haven’t been able to read so much in years!
I promise some actual content upon my return.
Filed under: General Health, Nutrition
Recently quite a few fitness experts have espoused the benefits of juicing. While I do agree that it can be a good way to increase your produce consumption, if not done correctly it can end up just being an increase in sugar intake with much of the benefits of produce consumption conspicuously absent.
If you are using a juicer that removes the pulp of the fruit or vegetable then you are missing out on the benefits of the entire food – the fiber, some vitamins and minerals and even much of the phytonutrients and antioxidants – while giving you a more concentrated sugar intake. In my opinion that is not a winning combination.
If you are going to juice produce I would recommend using something like a Vitamix or other high-powered blender that will completely liquify the entire produce so you aren’t just getting the juice and sugar. In addition if you are simply blending the entire thing for added produce to your meals then that is totally cool as long as you keep the calorie content in check. If you are doing this as a meal replacement then I would certainly encourage you to add a quality protein and some healthy fats and not do so for more than 1 meal per day, 2 at most on a day where you need something quick.
In the end even if you are blending the entire fruit and/or vegetable, juicing is not the be all end all, it is simply a nice adjunct to a balanced diet based on real, whole, minimally-processed plant and animal foods.
Filed under: General Health, Nutrition
In the past I have written about protein bars that I think are an acceptable part of your dietary intake from time to time. These would include JayBars, YouBars and VPX Zero Impact Bars. Well a client referred me to a new bar on the market that I tested myself and thought was quite good – Quest All-Natural Protein Bars.
They are higher in protein than either the JayBars or Youbars, contain no artificial sweeteners and is made from mostly real foods. Not to mention they taste pretty good to boot!
They are sweetened with stevia, Lo Han Guo and erythritol. Now some of you may have noticed that erythritol is a sugar alcohol, and that makes many people nervous. Fortunately erythritol is different from most sugar alcohols. Rather than the usual 2.4kcal/g of sugar alcohols it only supplies 0.2kcal/g. In addition 90% of it is absorbed by the small intestine and is excreted in the urine and feces, so the majority of it does not pass to the colon and cause GI upset (ie – diarrhea) like most sugar alcohols.
Lo Han Guo is another natural sweetener, actually a fruit from China, and is 300 times sweeter than sugar. Due to its high level of sweetness less is needed so it makes a lower-calorie option. It has been used for approximately 1000 years in China for a multitude of purposes.
In addition the bars contain 17g of fiber, mostly from isomalto-oligosaccharides (IMO), a prebiotic fiber. While those 17g may scare you away and think you will get a ton of gas, or the prebiotic fiber part may cause the same fear (as the prebiotic inulin is certainly known to cause gas in some people), fortunately for you this prebiotic is a different beast than inulin and is known to cause little gas. IMO naturally occurs in honey, miso and soy sauce and it also provides a level of sweetness for the bar as well. It is digestion resistant and passes into the colon where it is fermented by Bifidobacterium (healthy bacteria), producing short-chain fatty acids, decreasing luminal pH, and inhibiting the growth of dangerous bacteria.
Having said all of these wonderful things about these bars, and I didn’t even mention the benefits of its whey protein, I would not recommend consuming this bar or any other on a daily basis. In my mind protein bars should be used only when needed, not as an intentional part of your daily intake, as you are always better off with a completely real food meal. However they work great when you are caught in a pinch or have to eat on the road. They travel well, provide quality protein, healthy fats and are made from quality ingredients. Have a bar with a piece of fruit and some nuts and you have a very tasty and high-quality snack.
Filed under: General Health, Nutrition
I recently did an interview with Danny McLarty which covers a lot of topics that I get questions on everyday, so be sure to check it out!
Interview with Brian St. Pierre
In addition a former client of mine sent me a link to this video of the Today Show, where they had tested a bunch of home water filtration systems to see which ones were the most effective. Definitely interesting stuff and further proof that it is in your best interests to filter your drinking water, whether public or private.
Filed under: General Health, Nutrition, Recipes
Kefir seems to be the popular new kid on the block in the nutrition world. I have received several emails from readers asking my thoughts on it, and several big-name types in the fitness industry have featured it lately. For those who are unaware kefir is a fermented milk product made with a kefir grains. Think of it essentially as an effervescent liquid yogurt. Just like yogurt it is loaded with beneficial probiotics, bacteria that line your digestive tract (mainly your colon) and confer a plethora of health benefits to you.
Just like plain yogurt plain kefir is a little sour, however that can be easily remedied with a little protein powder and fruit in a deliciously healthy smoothie. In fact I think this is one of the best ways to consume kefir if you choose to do so. I generally don’t recommend sweetened versions as their sugar content is too high. I prefer to add flavor myself.
A big brand-name brand that also gets excellent scores (4 out of 5) from the Cornucopia Institute is Lifeway. They produce an organic whole milk kefir that I think is absolutely top-notch. The nutrition facts are more or less equivalent to regular whole milk though the protein is a teeny bit higher because of the addition of some non-fat milk in the second fermention process.
You can replace the unsweetened vanilla almond milk in any of my smoothie recipes with 1 cup of this kefir if you so desire, though do be aware it will increase the calorie content. In fact I think this recipe works the best:
- 8oz organic while milk plain kefir
- 1 scoop Jay Robb vanilla protein (though strawberry or tropical dreamsicle also work)
- 1/2 cup wild frozen or fresh blueberries
- 1/2 cup frozen or fresh organic raspberries or strawberries
- 1 tbsp milled flax seed
- 2 tbsp chopped walnuts
- ice cubes if using fresh fruit
This will provide 39g of protein, 33g of carbs, 10g of fiber, 20g of fat and 468kcal.
While there are a lot of claims about kefir and its abilities to improve heath, don’t be sold on it being a miracle food. It is simply another healthy addition to your intake and your digestive tract will thank you for its consumption due to its abundance of probiotic bacteria, many of which are different than those in yogurt, which could provide a nice complement to your yogurt consumption.
Filed under: General Health, Nutrition
For years now I have recommended Carlson’s The Very Finest Fish Oil as my fish oil supplement of choice. It is a product that has passed a plethora of third party testing for purity and potency, tastes good and is a reasonable price. Many times on this very website I have sung it’s praises, however a new product has arrived that has displaced Carlson’s as my top fish oil recommendation, but we will get to that in a second.
There is another fish oil product that I have never mentioned on this site that is spectacular, but you certainly pay the price for it. Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega is the market leader when it comes to fish oil, however it costs $20/month compared to Carlson’s $10. In terms of absolute quality this product has stood head and shoulders above the rest.
That has all changed.
Athletic Greens has recently launched their own fish oil, Athletic Greens Omega 3, where their sole aim was to match or exceed Nordic Naturals in all categories, and yet be affordable for the average consumer, and they did so with flying colors!
While much has been made of their Athletic Greens multivitamin/mineral/greens supplement, and I do think it is a good product, I personally still prefer Innate Response One Daily (Men’s and Women’s) due to its vitamin and mineral content actually being derived from food, no synthetics whatsoever. However, this fish oil product is absolutely fantastic and it just blew me away.
It is made from small, wild, sustainably-caught fish, is third-party tested for contaminants, is ultra-concentrated (you only need 2 capsules), has no fishy after-taste and it too will only cost you $10/month!
As a matter of fact I was surprised to see that Carlson’s does not source from wild, sustainably-caught fish. I guess I had just always assumed this was the case. From now on my default fish oil recommendation is going to be Athletic Greens Omega 3. Check it out for yourself and let me know what you think.
Filed under: General Health, Nutrition
The other day during a phone consult with an online client it was mentioned to me that the previous nutritionist this client had worked with (a “diabetes specialist” as this client is pre-diabetic) had recommended the strict avoidance of all orange produce. Yes you read that right, orange produce.
Seriously.
Orange produce – carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, oranges, etc – were all on the Not To Be Eaten list. The rationale was that they are digested too quickly and therefore will exacerbate the pre-diabetes issue. This is such a misunderstanding of the science it is utterly scary.
So this “expert in diabetes” is telling me that if I am pre-diabetic that eating a serving of baby carrots (which we will say is 10 of them, close enough anyway) is going to harm my pancreas/increase my insulin resistance? Does this make any semblance of sense? Do you see the ridiculous of this assertion? I understand carrots have a relatively high GI for a vegetable, but that test requires 50 grams of digestible carbohydrate. That takes 1.5lbs of carrots! No one eats that in a sitting and it is utterly irrelevant to every day intake.
This type of advice is nutritionism at it’s worst. It’s just like telling someone to not eat eggs because they contain cholesterol. Focusing on one aspect of a food to the exclusion of all others is just asinine, and is missing the forest for the trees. Carrots are a lot more than their GI value, just like eggs are a lot more than their cholesterol content.
Do you judge an engagement ring simply on cut? No! You look at size, color, clarity, price, etc. Odd analogy I know, it just popped into my head and I think it works nicely.
The point is that whether or not you eat carrots or sweet potatoes is not in anyway going to affect your diabetes risk. Losing weight, quitting smoking, exercising more, decreasing stress, getting adequate sleep, and eating a nutrient-rich calorically balanced diet are your best weapons against most diseases, including diabetes. Avoiding orange produce is not.
Filed under: General Health, Nutrition
I recently received this question from a reader and I thought the answer was worth sharing with all of you.
Q. Brian,
I wanted to get your expert take on fish oil vs. krill. Which is better in your opinion? I’ve been on the fish oil bandwagon for years . Which is the better of the 2?
Thanks as always for your blog and the great info. It’s appreciated!
A. I think this is a good question, however I am not sure there is a clear cut answer.
In my opinion both are good, but in comparison to fish oil there isn’t nearly as much data on krill oil. The data that is coming out is quite positive, however much of it has been supported by Neptune Technologies, the company that owns the patent on the process of removing the oil from the krill.
Now that isn’t to say the research is invalid, it simply means I would like to see more independently conducted research before I draw any conclusions. Now having said that, people still want answers, and my answer is this:
For now I still recommend fish oil (I like 1 tsp of Carlson’s The Very Finest Fish Oil for most people). It has mountains of data supporting its efficacy in a plethora of capacities. It is cost-effective. And finally, it has been around long enough to have been found to work in real life, not just the lab.
Krill oil is an incredibly promising supplement that may one day supplant fish oil. With it’s phospholipid form of omega-3′s (rather than fish oil’s triglyceride form), astaxanthin (a powerful antioxidant), phosphatidylcholine (a potent source of choline, which I have written more about here), as well as some fat-soluble vitamins it certainly appears to be a wonderful thing. However, in comparison to fish oil it is not cheap. Yes you can allegedly take less to get the same result, but not enough to make up the cost difference.
For now with fish oil’s far longer track record it is my go source for marine lipids, but I am certainly keeping krill oil on my radar. If you choose to take krill oil that is certainly fine, just be willing to pony up a few (up to 5x more) extra bucks!
Filed under: General Health, Nutrition
A reader recently sent me a question that I thought many people may have, so I decided to provide my answer for everyone to see.
Q. Hi Brian,
I’ve been meaning to shoot you an email to thank you for a while. I purchased your nutrition information from Eric Cressey’s Show and Go product. It’s some of the most well thought out and realistic nutrition information I’ve ever read. I think you have a real knack for simplifying what others can make very complicated but at the same time educating and providing people with important reasons why their nutrition matters so much.
I wanted to ask you was in your guidelines I know you refute the commonly held belief that saturated fat is bad. In your shopping list though is lean meats. Is that just in case the meat is conventional and there are more antibiotics or hormones stored in the fat?
A. First off, thank you for the kind words, much appreciated. I like to think of that as my skill set as well!
The reason for relatively lean meats is because excess fat and calories is still excess fat and calories. While I don’t think saturated fat is the devil, far from it, the goal isn’t to eat as much of it as possible either! Eating lean meats allows you to decide what fat sources you want with that meal. Do you want olive oil, butter, avocado, nuts, or maybe you want fattier meat? In addition it’s not like I am recommending 99% lean ground meat either (which tastes awful), I think 93% is a good compromise. Eating fattier meat will decrease the protein content and make it harder to hit your macronutrient needs within your caloric needs. Granted, if you know how to fit it in then go for it.
For example lets say you want to make a burger – going with say an 85% lean patty makes it more difficult to add other things to it if you like cheese or avocado with your burger, or you wanted to saute up some veggies in olive oil or something like that. Going with 93% allows for more flexibility without sacrificing much in taste.
Again just general recommendations. If you know what you are doing you can easily consume a higher fat steak, just have something like a sweet potato and some steamed veggies with it. With the lower fat options you just more flexibility to add other components and not be jacking up the calories crazy high. Choosing a higher fat cut of meat is not inherently bad, it just tends to limit your side options is all.
Your point at the end about the hormones and antibiotics is a valid question as well, and if you are choosing conventional meat it might be a wiser idea to go with a leaner option.
Make sense?
I would love to hear your thoughts and comments below.
Posted on March 13th, 2012 by Brian St. Pierre
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