Montreal, Snow Storms and the role of carbs in weight loss

It's been a crazy week for me. I was in Montreal for the weekend, checking out the local cuisine. I had some very tasty duck, and some amazing raw fish at Buona Notte (I highly recommend this restaurant!) Unfortunately, on Sunday I was caught in that huge snow storm that pummeled southern Ontario. Needless to say, what should have been a 6 hour drive home ended up taking almost 11 hours!

By the time I finally got home I was so behind on work that I had to spend the last couple days trying to get caught up on emails. One of the emails I received had a really great question asking whether it's carbs or calories that causes weight gain. I've copied the question and my answer below...

Hi Brad,

I've read your book Eat Stop Eat and I'm wondering whether you would have written it differently now that you've read "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes. I mean, in your book you still write as if the amount of calories matter and as if you shouldn't differentiate between them. What Taubes has found is that the only thing you really can say is that too many Carbs are unhealthy.

George

And here is my answer:

Hi George,

Thanks for the email and for the excellent question.

I have read "Good Calories, Bad Calories" and was very impressed with its content. I believe that Taubes has accurately pointed out the health issues surrounding a high sugar intake. However, I do not believe that he accurately analyzed the data regarding the correlation between total calories and obesity.

Taubes examined studies containing diet record data and concluded from this research that the obese do not eat any more calories than non-obese people. Unfortunately, we have learned from the work of Brian Wansink that obese people tend to under report their caloric intake by as much as 30% when using diet records. This phenomena has been noticed by other researchers, and has been written up as an extremely important confounder in weight loss research. (For a great write up on this point you can see a Trial by Steven W. Lightman et al. published in the New England Journal of Medicine, volume 327 (37), 1992.)

For this reason I would not have changed any of my recommendations in Eat Stop Eat if I had read "Good Calories, Bad Calories" before I began writing.

I think that the points that Taubes makes about sugar are accurate, and I do believe that one or two 24 hour periods of complety no sugar (like during the Eat Stop Eat method of fasting) is beneficial to human health, yet I also believe that the only way to reduce body weight is through a negative caloric balance, and the best way to ensure that the majority of that weight loss is fat is by using the combination of caloric restriction and resistance exercise (the two keys to Eat Stop Eat's success).

I hope this answer helps,

Brad

To learn more about the benefits of short periods of flexible fasting for weight loss, visit http://www.eatstopeat.com

Linza's First Day on Eat Stop Eat

If you are interested in reading about some one's experiences with her very first day on Eat Stop Eat, then check out Linza's blog at http://willworkforabs.com/2007/12/17/my-first-eat-stop-eat-day/ !

A great post and a really good account of what your first day on Eat Stop Eat might feel like.

BP


Learn more about using flexible fasting for weight loss

Fasting Benefits Your Heart

My mom sent me a text yesterday about a study out of the University of Utah. Apparently, according to this study, people who fast one day a month are 40 percent less likely to be diagnosed with clogged arteries than those who did not regularly fast.

Sounds like great news, especially if you are like me and fast 6 to 8 times per month.
Unfortunately, after looking over the study, I did a google search to see what the newswires were reporting and found some very disheartening news bytes.

According to an article I found on Yahoo News, when asked to comment on the study Dr. Raymond Gibbons of the MayoClinic (who was not involved in the study), stated "Fasting resets the metabolic rate".

Now I'm not sure what Dr. Gibbons meant by "resets", and he was probably speaking about long term chronic fasting,but the author of the article on Yahoo News added these words after Dr. Gibbons quote "slowing it down to adjust to less food and forcing the body to store calories as soon as people resume eating".

These words cannot be Dr. Gibbons. They just can't be. There is no way I can accept that a former heart association president would make such an incorrect statement, especially since it was in reference to a 24 hour fast.

This begs the question, why is the mainstream media so afraid to tell people to eat less? Why is it that when research on the benefit of brief periods of fasting comes out, people have to comment on the dangers of long term chronic fasting.

Instead of just explaining that as little as one 24 hour fast per month can reduce your chances of being diagnosed with clogged arteries, they have to start digging to find something,(completely unrelated to the study), so they can throw some negative comments into the fray.

If you've read Eat Stop Eat, you know that metabolism doesnot decrease during brief fasting. In fact, evidence suggests that it may even go UP!

I know it will be an up hill battle, but my goal is to make the use of brief periods of fasting a respected and established method of weight control...because it is easy and because it works.

Are you fasting today?

BP

EAT STOP EAT, its easy, its effective, and new research suggests it's good for your ticker!

Are you fasting today?

You'll never guess what happened to me this week.

I was at a lunch meeting, just finishing my coffee when someone came up to my table to tell me that she had just started Eat Stop Eat.

To be honest, it was a little weird to be approached in public, but it was an awesome feeling to be able to actually see her excitement. And, it was an even better feeling knowing that she was going to see results!

My goal is to make the question "Are you fasting today?" as common as "Did you want to go eat?". If this happens, it means people are finally losing weight without the pain of constantly dieting. Without having to cut carbs for months on end, and without the pain of taking a week off of dieting only to watch the pounds practically jump back onto their bodies.

So with New Year's fast approaching, it's time for you to help spread the word. If you have been practising Eat Stop Eat, and have seen great results, it's time to let your friends in on your little secret (it's the holiday season, so don't be greedy and keep it all to yourself!)

This holiday season you can do your part to stop the needless diet suffering that always happens this time of year.

Eat Stop Eat, help spread the word

BP

PS- Haven't read Eat Stop Eat yet? You can check it out byclicking here ==> www.eatstopeat.com



Fasting for weight loss

Should you be on GH?

I’m willing to admit I abuse GH. In fact not only do I abuse GH, but many top, well-known fitness gurus abuse GH too!

Now I know what you are thinking…Brad couldn’t possibly be talking about growth hormone..the same hormone that Hollywood celeb’s (guys and girls) are rumoured to pay thousands of dollars for in an attempt to lose fat and stay young looking? The same GH that all the home run slugglin’ baseball players are getting caught using?

Yep, it’s that GH!

Now, before you get ready to turn me into the authorities, let me explain…

Anybody who has read Eat Stop Eat knows my opinion on the connection between fasting and growth hormone. And since I follow the Eat Stop Eat lifestyle, my GH levels are normally pretty high.

The interesting thing about GH is that many other fitness pros are abusing GH and they don’t even know it!

There is an important and often underestimated relationship between exercise and GH release. As little as ten minutes of intense exercise can have profound effects on increasing GH levels!

Hmmm, ten minutes of super intense exercise…sound familiar? Anyone who has ever done ten minutes of interval training knows just how intense this can be.

That’s right, turns out intervals and fasting share some similar benefits…they are both great fat loss tools and they both cause rapid increases in GH release.

So, why should you care?

Well, GH is being studied for a lot of cool things, like its ability to increase fat burning, to increase muscle mass and for its ability to make your skin look younger by improving its hydration. While this research is still ongoing, it is starting to show an interesting relationship between GH levels, body composition and aging.

So my advice is simple. Whether you are following the Eat Stop Eat lifestyle or not, try doing ten minutes of intense exercise every single day. I’d suggest getting it done right before your morning shower (It could be a bodyweight circuit of Y-squats, push-ups, lunges, stick-ups). This way, your GH will be elevated at some point during every day of the week.

Every little bit helps,

BP



Fasting and growth hormone

DHA - The secret to Fish Oils

After a nice little break attending conferences in Florida, I'm right back into attending seminars in Canada.

Normally, I probably would have taken a day or two off, but yesterday's seminar was on a topic I've always found somewhat confusing - fish oils.

After sitting through a very entertaining lecture, I can tell you that the most important thing you need to know about fish oils is actually the three letters. D-H-A.

These three letters stand for the omega 3 fatty acid Docosahexanoic Acid, but since that's a bit of a tongue twister, everyone just says "DHA".

For all purposes DHA is the reason omega-3 supplements are so popular right now.

DHA is the component of fish oil that plays an important role in the development of brains and eyes of children, and may play a role our brain development even as adults.

The 'Secret' of fish oil is that the daily intake of DHA in North America is incredibly low. North American women tend to average around 80 mg per day of DHA, while children under the of 3 have a daily intake of less than 20 mg. So even the smallest amount of extra DHA in your diet could double your intake!

Now, increasing your intake of omega-3 oils from plants like flax seeds or flax seed oil will do very little to help boost your DHA levels. As it turns out, the best way to increase your DHA levels is by eating DHA. And that means eating more fish, fish oils, or some of the new algae based products that have also appeared on the market.

Now, before you start saying "but Brad, I hate fish and I hate the fish burps I get from fish oil capsules", let me tell you the good news- There are other options.

The next time you go to the grocery store, keep an eye out for foods that now have extra DHA in them. There are eggs and milk that have the added DHA, and of course my favorite, the chocolate milk with DHA. A food that adds as little as 10 mg of DHA to your diet per serving could drastically improve your DHA intake.

Here's my tip for you today - If you don't like fish and don't like taking pills, you can increase your DHA with these new functional foods (and they still taste great). A little extra could go a long way in helping you reach optimal health.

Brad and the team at grrlAthlete.com


PS- If you want to learn more about the health benefits of DHA you can visit the website DHAomega3.org

6 Pack Abs, Made Easy

I just got back from a long weekend of travel. I spent the past 4 days in Florida, talking with a very interesting group of fitness professionals about the benefits of Eat Stop Eat.

I literally spent the entire weekend "talking shop". I never even had the opportunity to step outside into the warm Florida sun, not even for five minutes! And trust me, since I live in Canada, I was really looking forward to the feeling of the warm Florida sun rays beating down on my face!

However, the weekend was amazing (even though I'm completely lacking any form of a tan).

Several times during the conference I was asked, "Brad, I've heard about your book, and I wanted to ask you, in your opinion what is the number one benefit of Eat Stop Eat?"
Depending on who I was talking to (the audience ranged from personal trainers to PhD's) my answer varied from talking about the improvements in insulin sensitivity, to the flexibility of the program and how easy it is to follow.

It wasn't until I was back in my hotel room, getting ready for bed after a long day of lectures and seminars that I realized, for me, the number one benefit of Eat Stop Eat is the way it makes me look.

I know this sounds conceited and maybe even a little vain, but its true. I like my abs.

I have been practicing the Eat Stop Eat method of flexible fasting combined with resistance training for over a year now, and for over a year, I have never been more than 5 pounds off of my goal weight.

There is a certain freedom to knowing that you have found a program that works well, fits easily into your lifestyle and is completely uncomplicated.

And, come to think of it, this is the main reason that I wrote Eat Stop Eat - because I wanted to share this feeling with you.

So, if you haven't had the chance to check out Eat Stop Eat, please take a look at the following website ==> http://www.eatstopeat.com/.

It could very well be the program that you've been looking for.The one that can give you the freedom to feel great about the way you look, without complicating the way you eat.

BP

PS- Just so you know I practice what I preach, I made sure to do a flexibel 24 hour fast on my travel days, so I could avoid the tempting call of my airport Nemesis - The smell of Cinnabon.

Cereal, Kids and Diabetes

I woke up early this morning to find the following email in my in box from the American Diabetes Association.

"The number of children and adolescents with type 2 diabetes is on the rise as more and more kids become obese. The National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention co-sponsored the latest efforts of the National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) to provide parents and teens with the tools necessary to reduce their risks of complications related to type 2 diabetes and manage their disease."

Considering the post I just wrote about snack foods and breakfast cereals, I thought this was very timely.

BP

Snacking, Obesity, and Making Healthy Food Choices

Today I was in a mood for some snacks. So when I finally made it home and saw that my wife had bought my favorite breakfast cereal I knew it just had to be.

After I finished pouring myself a bowl, I noticed that the nutrition information was indicated for one cup of cereal. One Cup? This is what one cup of cereal looks like...

This made me curious, how much cereal do I usually 'free pour' for myself? After measuring my cereal I was shocked to find that I usually pour 3 cups of cereal for myself. Now, my bowl was not overflowing with cereal...In fact I think it looked pretty normal. Here's a picture...

To make sure I was not just being a little over zealous with my pouring, I had my wife pour herself a bowl, with instructions to pour an "average amount". This is what she poured...

She poured a little over two cups of cereal. Since the recommended amount of cereal is one cup, and I poured myself 3 cups, and my wife poured a little over 2 cups, I decided to take the middle ground and look at the nutritional profile for two cups of cereal. It looks like this...

Calories 460

Fat 9 g (saturated 3 g)

Cholesterol 0 mg

Sodium 210 mg

Potassium 820 mg

Carbohydrates 86 g

Fibre 8 g

Sugars 26 g

Protein 10 g

WOW. So what I was about to eat as my "Snack" was going to be almost 1,000 Calories (3 cups of cereal with a cup of skim milk).

But let's stick with the 2 cups of cereal and compare it to my other favorite snack...

The nutrition profile for a Dairy Milk looks like this..

Calories 220
Fat 12 g (saturated 7 g)
Cholesterol 10 mg
Sodium 70 mg
Potassium NA
Carbohydrates 26 g
Fibre 1 g
Sugars 22 g
Protein 4 g

So, the question is, which one is the better snack?

I compared the middle ground of the cereal intake (2 cups) to one bar of Dairy Milk (Even on a really bad day, I couldn't eat two chocolate bars in a row and not feel gross)

The cereal has added vitamins and minerals, has 6 grams more protein, 7 grams more fibre and 4 grams less saturated fat than the chocolate bar.

However, the candy bar has 24o less calories, 60 grams less carbohydrates and 4 grams less sugar than the cereal.

Comparing the ratios of protein to carbs, the cereal has a 1:8.5 ratio of proteins to carbs (I rounded down) while the candy bar has a protein to carbs ratio of 1:6.5.

So the question becomes is 6 grams of protein, 7 grams of fibre and 4 grams less saturated fat more important than the extra 240 calories, 60 grams of carbohydrates and 4 grams of sugar?

To tell you the truth, I'm not sure which is the better snack. I'm leaning towards saying the Diary Milk would be the healthier option, because I have a hard time beleiving the health benefits of an extra 6 grams of protein and 7 grams of fibre are worth the extra 60 grams of carbohydrates, however I know I can eat 3 cups of cereal and feel alright, but if I ate 3 Dairy Milks in a row, I'd be hurting. (which could be viewed as benefit as I simply cannot overeat chocolate to the degree I could with cereals)

My final point is that I think this little experiment illustrates the fact that when we are pointing fingers and proclaiming that certain food groups are causing our obesity crisis and our failing health, we may want to be careful who we are pointing at and why we are pointing at them.

BP

PS- I'd love to hear your opinion...which do you think is the healtheir snack?

PPS- With Thanksgiving fast approaching, and the Winter Holidays after that, maybe it's time you took a look at my weight loss program Eat Stop Eat, and avoid the winter 10.

Food, Not Specific Nutrients, May Be Key to Good Health

Here is a review of a very interesting bit of research that was published in last month's Journal of Nutrition Reviews.

Food, Not Specific Nutrients, May Be Key to Good Health

In a way, this exemplify's both Eat Stop Eat and Nutrition by Addition, as it points to focusing on food, rather than specific nutrients in your approach to overall health.

Happy Reading,

BP

PS - I received an absolutely amazing email from someone who has lost an impressive amount of weight while making some quality changes in his life, including incorporating the Eat Stop Eat of fasting for weight loss. You can read his email as the bottom of this page => HERE

How much protein do you need to build muscle?

The idea that you need massive amounts of protein in your diet in order to build muscle is one that will probably never go away. While I agree that many of us need to eat a little more protein than we typically do, I don't think we need super-mega amounts in order to pack on muscle.

In a really interesting study published back in 1996, 43 men who were experienced weight lifters took part in a study that involved exercise and weekly injections of testosterone enanthate for 10 weeks.

Yep, these boys were on steroids for the benefit of science!

They were divided into 4 groups.

• The first group performed no exercise and didn't get any steroids.
• The second group performed exercise but didn't get steroids,
• The third group didn't exercise but received the weekly injections and
• The fourth group exercised and received the injections.

As you can imagine after 10 weeks of lifting weights 3 times per week, the group that was receiving the steroid injections gained over 13 pounds of muscle.

The group who were just working out didn't do too bad either, packing on almost 4.5 pounds of muscle in only ten weeks.

The guys who sat around doing nothing for 10 weeks but received the steroid injections still had an increase in lean mass (almost 6 pounds), while the group who received no steroids and didn't workout did not see any change in their lean mass.

So what does a study on steroids have to do with nutrition? well, all four groups were on the same diet. They were all consuming about 0.7 grams of protein per pound of body weight and about 16 Calories per pound of body weight.

What this shows is that for a group taking steroids while exercising, 120 grams of protein per day was enough to supply the amount of protein needed to allow for a 13.5 pound gain in lean mass!

It was also the same amount of protein the the exercise only group ate to gain 4.5 pounds, and the other groups ate to see their gains, (or lack thereof).

What this shows is that for the groups who saw less gains in lean mass then the steroid group, the amount of protein that they ate was not what determined how much muscle they gained. The workouts and the steroids did that.

In the end, protein is important, but as this study shows, 0.7 grams of protein per pound of body weight is enough daily protein to allow for a 13.5 pound increase in lean mass in 10 weeks. It's also enough to allow for a 4.5 pound increase in people not taking steroids, which is still very impressive muscle growth for a ten week period!

BP

For those of us who are not 'pharmaceutically enhanced' this study helps support the idea that your workout is the most important part of your muscle building journey.

Get a great workout, put in a great effort, see great results, it might just be that simple.

PS - If you are looking for my recommendation on a great quality workout, then Turbulence Training is where it is at. You can check out Craig Ballantyne's Turbulence Training programs by clicking HERE.

(Bhasin S, et al. The New England Journal of Medicine. 335(1), 1-7)

Interested in learning more about fasting for weight loss? Then click HERE

Tom Venuto vs. grrlAthlete and Eat Stop Eat

If you are a regular reader of fitness and nutrition blogs, then there is a great chance that you have heard the name Tom Venuto. Tom is a well respected authority in the online weight loss community.


So why am I blogging about Tom?


Well in one of Tom's recent blog posts the issue of starvation mode was discussed (You can read it HERE). Specifically, Tom discusses an unnamed email that he disagrees with.


While I respect the fact that Tom blanked out the website name, but he didn't need to. The email was from the grrlAthlete newsletter. And since I'm involved in this site I stand behind the newsletter and its contents.


Here is a little background for you, Tom makes a living selling a weight loss program that "is based on keeping you OUT of starvation mode or minimizing its effects", while my program Eat Stop Eat, is based on the idea that when it comes to short periods of fasting combined with weight training, starvation mode does not exist.


pretty confusing. Two guys saying two completely different things about what sounds like the exact same thing. Well let's take a deeper look.


Firstly, the point of the grrlathlete email was that "starvation mode" as defined by most diet people as "a reaction to a caloric decrease that causes your body to slow down its metabolism and actually store more fat WHILE you are dieting", does not exist.


Our argument is based on the fact that your metabolism is largely based on your lean mass. In studies where people are dieting but their lean mass is maintained through resistance training, there is no reduction in metabolic rate.


Secondly, in periods of complete caloric restriction, LPL and HSL activity (the enzymes that regulate the movement of fat in your body) change to encourage the movement of fat out of your fat stores into your blood and to your muscles where they can be burnt for fuel. If you body was actually storing fat, this enzyme activity would need to be reversed, and this just doesn't seem to happen.


So far I think Tom would agree with our points, they definitely make logical sense and are backed by a considerable number of scientific studies.


In fact, I think his post points out one of the major problems that we have with "starvation mode" - that it lacks a solid definition.


For instance, Tom states out that there is a large amount of research that points out that in studies where lean body mass is reduced considerably, not only is metabolic rate lowered, but it is lower than would be expected by the loss in lean body mass alone.


I have no problems with this statement. When someone loses considerable amounts of lean mass there are many metabolic ramifications of this loss, including many hormonal changes. Again, this is a result of the loss of lean mass, and not the caloric restriction per say. So again, his point is the same as our point - caloric restriction doesn't slow down metabolism, but loss in lean body mass does and a loss in lean mass can have a snowball effect on lowering your metabolism.


The most troubling part of Tom's post was the reference to the Minnesota Experiment, a very old study conducted in the 1940's that studied the effect of 6 months of starvation on healthy male subjects. Now there are a lot of issues with this experiment that I'm positive Tom nor any other fitness expert would agree with.


For instance, The men in the trial started off already very skinny - 5'10" and about 150 pounds was the average. This would correspond to a BMI of under 21. I'm sure if someone with these same measurements came to Tom for advice he would tell them to start weight training and put on some muscle.


But instead of starting a solid weight training program, they reduce their calories down to as low as 1500 Calories for 6 months.

Not only this but they also had to walk 22 miles a week! that's over 3 miles a day of long slow boring cardio...the equivalent of walking on a treadmill for an hour every day...something that goes directly against the muscle preserving advice of Fitness Experts Like Craig Ballantyne, John Barban and Tom Venuto.


Now, getting back to starvation mode. The point of the original email was that caloric restriction does not cause a decrease in metabolic rate, but rather that a loss of muscle mass is what causes metabolic rate to slow down.


So did the people in the Minnesota experiment lose muscle...well, based on these pictures, I'd say yes!



Before and after pics of a subject from the Minnesota Experiment. Two things to notice 1) This subject was VERY skinny to begin with 2) This subject obviously lost muscle mass over the course of the study.




The bottom line is that the Minnesota Experiment did not control for changes in lean mass, nor did many of the other early studies on caloric restriction. This is why many early nutrition studies say that caloric restriction causes a reduction in metabolic rate, and why these studies are confounded.


Lastly, Tom points out that contrary to what was stated in the grrlAthlete email, Starvation mode is actually a scientific term that describes starvation induced increases in "food seeking behavior". Again, you can see the problem with starvation mode and its very vague definition.


If this is the official definition of starvation mode, than it may very well exist in this regard, but this is VERY different from the "starvation mode" as defined in the typical diet literature of "caloric restriction causing a decreased metabolic rate and increased fat storage".

The take home point here is that I stand by the statement that caloric restriction does not cause a decreased metabolic rate and increased fat storage. It is a decrease in lean mass that causes these effects, and this decrease in lean mass can be prevented by a proper weight training program.

Hope this helps,

BP



PS- With regards to the question, "who is right?" I am hoping this post helps clarify that in a way, we are both right, and under that same pretense its important for me to say that I do not believe that my Eat Stop Eat is the only road to weight loss.


I believe that short term periods of fasting for weight loss are an incredibly effective and easy method, but it is by no means the only method. I'm sure that Tom Venuto's program "Burn the fat" and other program like John Berardi's "Precision Nutrition" are also very effective. Different but effective.


At the end of the day the key is finding a program you can stay on long term, because finding the right diet that works for YOU and combining it with a solid resistance training program is the key to succesful, long term weight loss.

How to Burn More Fat

Adam Campbell over at the Men's Health Blog does a great job of explaining why lifting weights is such a vital part of any weight loss routine.

Weight lifting (or any form of resistance training) helps you burn more fat while on a diet then you would with just the diet alone.

You can read Adam's post HERE, and be sure to check out the great graph!

BP

PS- Even my program EAT STOP EAT isn't just about meal timing and short periods of fasting for weight loss - it is the combination of short periods of fasting combined with resistance exercise. I truly believe that this combination is the key to long term weight loss success!

Resveratrol in Peanuts?

Here's a quick nutrition tip for you.

Resveratrol is a interesting chemical found in several plant species that is currently being studied for its possible anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-aging effects.

While Resveratrol is commonly known to be found in red grapes, blueberries, cranberries and red wine, you can also find high sources in peanuts.

An ounce of peanuts can contain as much as 70 micrograms of Resveratrol, about the same amount as in a half ounce of red wine.

Since many people associate the Red colour of red wines and grapes with their Resveratrol content you may be wondering why peanuts aren't red (since they contain so much Resveratrol). It turns out Resveratrol is only red at certain pH's (acidic environments), otherwise it has a neutral color!

BP

Cholesterol, Red Yeast Extract and Health

It was about a month ago that I attended a seminar that was covering the health benefits of red yeast extract. During this seminar I heard some pretty convincing evidence supporting the beneficial effects that supplemental red yeast extract has had on cholesterol levels in various clinical trials.

As a scientist, I tried my best to pick apart the research, however that data was fairly convincing. I left the seminar open to the idea that red yeast extract may hold promise for its beneficial effects of lowering cholesterol.

This morning I read in an issue of Nutrition Outlook Magazine that stated that some red yeast extract products have been pulled from the market because they were adulterated with Lovastatin, a cholesterol lowering drug.

Now, this has me wondering, what kind of red yeast extract was used in the scientific trials? Did they also contain Lovastatin, and can that account for the cholesterol lowering effects that were observed?

While most likely we will never know the answers to this question, and I am sure that not all red yeast extract products have been adulterated, this kind of thing does make me even more hesitant about the efficacy (and safety) of herbal supplements.

This is another reason why I like the simplicity of using exercise combined with caloric restriction or short periods of fasting for weight loss purposes- you are getting the health benefits (including improvements in cholesterol profiles) simply by eating less, so you don't have to worry about what might, or might not be, in your functional food.

In this regard, you can think of eating less as "functional NO food".

BP

Eat Stop Eat - 1 Year Anniversary

Just a quick note today to point out that this time last year was the very first time I tried a 24 hour fast.

By now, I had collected over a hundred papers on the topic of short-term fasting, and was starting to put "pen to paper".

I can honestly say, I don't think I'll ever go back.

BP

Fasting and Fat Loss

I spent the morning catching up on some reading today, and came across a very interesting study in Acta Physiologica Scandinavia - The journal of the Scandinavian physiological society. In this study the effects of a 3-day fast on regional lipid and glucose metabolism was examined.


The authors found the typical benefits that are associated with fasting:

• No decrease in Energy Expenditure - metabolic rate DID NOT slow down


• A decrease in RQ - indicating an increase in fat burning


• Increased blood flow - some very impressive numbers, I challenge any "NO" supplement to show this kind of data!!


• Decreased blood insulin levels - Considered to be one of the major health benefits of fasting


• Increased glucagon levels - more reliance on body fat as a fuel source


• Increased Growth Hormone levels - Anybody who has read Eat Stop Eat knows that I think this is one of the major keys behind the benefits of fasting


• Increased noradrenaline - More fat burning hormones


• No increase in cortisol - No reason to think that muscle is being broken down

One of the major things that caught my eye in this paper was the great graph showing the change in fuel sources that were fueling metabolism.

You'll notice that the amount of calories being burned are roughly the same (about 2000 Kcals), however during fasting a lot more of these calories are coming from fat. And, since the subjects were not eating any fat while fasting, this fat must have been body fat.

Another interesting finding was that the majority of this fat was either stomach fat or muscle fat.

While I would not recommend fasting for 3 days straight (I prefer 24 hours), this study does add evidence to the idea that fasting can be an effective method of reducing calorie intake, and does not negatively effect metabolic rate, or muscle mass.

BP

(Gjedsted J, Gormsen LC, Nielsen S, et al. Effects of a 3-day fast on regional lipid and glucose metabolism in human skeletal muscle and adipose tissue. Acta Physiol 2007, 191, 205-216.)

To learn more about fasting for weight loss, you can check out Eat Stop Eat

More "Nutrition by Addition"

Here are a couple great "Nutrition by Addition" ideas:

1. Instead of using lettuce in your sandwich try using Basil or even Mint leaves.

Basil has been studied for its oxidant protective abilities, and for its relatively high Vitamin K content, while extracts from mint are currently being studied for their potential in Cancer Treatment.

2. Add rosemary to any Egg Dish

Rosemary is currently being studied for having anti-inflammatory properties.

3. Add Dried Cranberries to a Spinach Salad.

Cranberries are being studied for their potential in Diabetes treatment. Be careful to avoid certain brands of dried cranberries as they have been soaked in extra sugar.

BP

Is Peanut Butter Safe?

The other day, I was having a conversation with several nutrition graduate students when someone made the comment that peanut butter is a "terrible food".

I've always personally thought that there really is no such thing as a terrible food, or even a bad food for that matter. Tome, it is always a matter of moderation and variety.

The problem with peanut butter is the presence of two certain strains of mold - Aspergillus Flavus and Aspergillus Parasiticus. While we can't see either of these molds with the naked eye, they are almost always present in peanut butter(and many varieties of nuts, corn, grains, spices, soybeans,beer and milk for that matter).

The trouble with these molds is that they secrete a natural mycotoxin called aflatoxin, a known carcinogen that can cause liver cancer in laboratory animals.

In 1965, the USDA set standards for acceptable levels of aflatoxin in peanuts. Every peanut sheller is required by the USDA to have every lot of peanuts tested by a government-approved lab prior to shipping. Any that are found to be in excess of 20 parts per billion (ppb) are not allowed for sale for human consumption. However, many health professionals feel that this standard may be too high, and should be lowered.

Since it seems inevitable that Peanut butter will contain some amount of aflatoxin, it begs the question why eat it at all?

Well firstly, It's a cheap source of protein, niacin, vitamin B6,and artery-friendly monounsaturated fats. Secondly, it just tastes good, and good tasting food is hard to avoid (mind you, people with peanut allergies are very good at it).

You could just try and 'replace' peanut butter with a substitute, but unfortunately, great tasting peanut butter alternatives like almond butter and my personal favorite cashew butter, also run the risk of containing aflatoxins. And,although a study conducted by the FSA in 2000-2001 suggests that these peanut butter alternatives may have lower contents of aflatoxins, the truth is, they will still contain some aflatoxins.

For the most part, exposure to aflatoxins seems unavoidable with the typical North American diet. Again, increasing the variety of foods you eat seems to be an appropriate course of action when dealing with Aflatoxins, so try other nut butters including Almond, sunflower and cashew.

The best course of action is most likely to try your best to increase the amounts of fruits and vegetables in your diet. After all, if you can't help but eat small amounts of cancer causing agents every day, it makes sense to offset this by eating very large amounts of cancer fighting agents, like the ones found in fruits and vegetables.


BP


PS- Another key to combating the potentially harmful impact of mycotoxins in your diet is to reduce the amount of food you eat. Research conducted on the benefits of caloric restriction and intermittent periods of short term fasting have shown that they can lower the risk of certain types of cancer and suppress tumor growth.

PPS- If you are interested in a diet plan that utilizes a super easy and effective method of using short periods of fasting as a way to reduce calories then check out Eat Stop Eat

Why should I eat more herbs and spices?

You may have noticed that part of my "mantra" for healthy nutrition includes eating lots of nuts, herbs and spices.

There is a very good reason why you should include as much variety of thse foods into your diet as possible...

Back when I worked in the supplement industry I was always amused when ever I looked through the list of potential new ingredients that had strong supporting research behind their effects.

The list typically looked something like this: Green tea extract, cinnamon extract, raspberry extract, pine nut extract, curcumin, cayenne pepper extract, mint, basil, rosemary...

Notice anything about this list?

These are all ingredients that you could be adding to your diet, especially if you are following the principle of nutrition by addition. Many of these ingredients are currently being studied for their potential to have positive effects on some very important markers of health, such as helping to manage healthy insulin levels, cholesterol levels and some of the more complex areas of body weight regulation.

The funny thing is, I often wonder if these ingredients would still be considered potential "functional foods" if we ate them more often. I believe that nuts, herbs and spices are one of the missing links in North American Health. If we ate them more often, then we would be regularly reaping their health benefits, and wouldn't need some fancy label like "functional foods" to describe them!

Take pinolenic acid for example. This compound is currently being studied for its potential beneficial effects on several ofthe 'hunger hormones' that regulate our feelings of hunger.
This ingredient has some big potential and, most likely will be available in a pill sometime in the very near future.

Of course, instead of buying the pill, you could always get it in its natural form by adding a handful of pine nuts to your salad.

A perfect example of Nutrition by Addition and the importance of eating a variety of nuts, herbs and spices.

BP

PS - Here is what Craig Ballantyne had to say after he read Eat Stop Eat:

"This book will question everything you've ever been told about eating for fat loss. Bodybuilder mags have hyped up their eating & created inhuman workout programs for one reason - to sell supplements. That's right. Most nutrition programs are "designed" just to sell you stuff like protein powder and expensive post-workout sugar drinks. Brad's book turns the industry upside down and shows you how to eat normally, while making one slight, easy change that could bethe missing link in your fat loss nutrition program."


You can learn more about fasting for weight loss by going here