* This is part of a year-long series called "52 Weeks to Eating better than Ever". Click on the side bar for more information and to read the previous essays.
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People often ask me if I eat meat.  I do.
 
It's not that I don't see and acknowledge the risks.  Higher meat consumption is generally associated with higher cancer and heart disease.  The risk is there.  
 
The risk is also there playing football, snow skiing, and going out in front of 150 people to speak, but I did and still do those things too, because the rewards outweigh the risks.  Like many things, I try to take a reasonable approach to red meat, which includes mainly beef and pork, and less commonly lamb.  (By the way, based on my research, I'm not convinced that fish, turkey, or chicken are any healthier than grass fed beef.) 
 
I eat red meat, and if you really enjoy it, I encourage you to as well.  Eating is about nourishment and enjoying good company and sometimes you just want a steak or a burger.  
 
My grandpa was a cattle farmer, and growing up we ate the grass-fed beef from his farm quite a bit.  To give you an idea of how much healthier and different true grass-fed beef is from store-bought grain fed beef, they taste nothing alike.  They were so different that we didn't like it much as kids because it was nothing like what our public school served.  It wasn’t a fatty meat like what we got at school, so as kids we complained.  Grass fed beef is extremely lean and low-fat, with good flavor but little grease.  It's not as juicy, because it has much less fat, but it's healthier by a mile.  
 
This is what I do with red meat, and I recommend a similar approach:
 

• Unless you really enjoy it, just remove the risk and choose something else.
• Save beef for once a week, on the weekend as a reward.
• Choose a moderate serving size.  3-6 oz. steaks are enough and you can only digest so much protein at one time anyway. 
• Refrain from charring your meats, and ask for "inside meat" at BBQ places.  This will cut back on "AGEs" - Advanced Glycation End Products which I've written about and are unhealthy.  
• Hamburgers are often tastier and less expensive than steaks.  
• Cook hamburgers in a covered pan on a stove eye on low to medium heat with a small amount of water to steam them, which will cut back on charring and AGE’s.  
• I know burnt meat can taste good, but so can cigarettes, and we all know about smoking.  
• Choose organic, grass fed beef.  
• Each time you eat red meat, or any type of meat, eat plenty of fiber and vegetables to aid in digestion and to act as an antioxidant.  
• A great example of this would be choosing the Cole Slaw at the BBQ restaurant over french fries or chips.  

 
A good burger or steak sometimes, or some BBQ at a tailgate party can be a great thing, really topping off the week. 
 
Add some of these tips to make the reward healthier !
 

* This is part of a year-long series called "52 Weeks to Eating better than Ever". Click on the side bar for more information and to read the previous essays.
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You may have never heard of phytonutrients, but you should know about them.  And once you learn how healthy they are for you, you'll be telling everyone. Plant foods contain many naturally occurring chemicals, and that's what phytonutrients are, natural chemicals which protect plants against threats like bugs, fungus, and other germs.
 
The amazing thing is that even though phytonutrients are there to protect plants, they can also protect you!
 
Vegetables, fruits, and other plant foods like whole grains, beans, tea, and nuts also have phytonutrients.  Unlike vitamins, minerals, and food nourishment sources like protein, fat, and carbohydrates, phytonutrients won't keep you alive, or provide vitamins, energy, or protein, but they do help prevent disease, act as antioxidants, boost immunity, and keep the body running well. 
 
Probably the most famous phytonutrients are carotenoids.  Eat plenty of orange, red, and yellow fruits and vegetables to get plenty of them. Pumpkins and carrots are two great sources. Lycopene is also a well-known carotenoid.  It is found in large quantities in tomatoes and tomato products, watermelons, and pink grapefruit.  If you have a pizza, on a cheat day, always order extra sauce!  
 
Other phytonutrients are ellagic acid, flavonoids, catechins, resveratrol, glucosinates, and phytoestrogens.  
 
Ellagic Acidis found in various berries and is linked to cancer prevention. 
 
Flavonoidsare found in a variety of plant foods, particularly green tea, which contains a flavonoid called catechin, and is a strong anti-carcinogen.  Apples, berries, onions, and kale are good sources of catechins too. 
 
Resveratrol is a phytonutrient found in grapes, grape juice, and red wine and has become quite popular in supplement form, due to it's association with long life. Be easy on the wine though.  
 
Cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, brussel sprouts, kale, and broccoli are all excellent sources of phytonutrients called glucosinolates, giving them a strong odor and flavor.  It is believed that the cooking process of glucosinolates enhances their cancer - fighting ability.  
 
Phytoestrogensfound in soy might also play a role as a cancer prevention, though I would moderate soy intake if your testosterone level is a concern, since phytoestrogens might depress the male sex hormones.  
 
It's so easy to jump on the latest fad, but eating healthy is one of the simplest things you will ever do, once you master a few basic concepts.   
 
Bottom Line:  Eat plant foods to take in phytonutrients, and to live longer and better.  

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* This is part of a year-long series called "52 Weeks to Eating better than Ever". Click on the side bar for more information and to read the previous essays.
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I hesitate to write this, because I don't want to seem like I'm elevating this list of “bad” foods to the level of a moral decision.  Eating may have somewhat of a moral dimension, when it comes to gluttony, or the treatment of animals, but the idea that certain foods are "evil" is ridiculous.  That aside though, it can be of great use to have a list of foods to generally stay away from.
 
Why these foods made the list:

• Common to the American Diet
• Addictive
• Little or No Redeeming Quality
• Cause Health Damage if Eaten in Excess

 
Disclaimer: I enjoy most all foods from time to time, but try to limit them (with varying degrees of success) to rare occasions.  

1. Pizza-  high in calories, carbs, fat, and sodium, with often very few vegetables.  If you are stuck with it, eat plenty of vegetables, or salad, and drink lots of water.  Avoid the processed meats and order extra sauce.
2. Anything with Trans fats- Believe it or not, these things are still out there on the store shelves.  Look at processed foods before you buy them and avoid Trans fats, because they destroy arteries and spike inflammation.
3. French Fries or Tator Tots- If you were going to create the perfectly unhealthy food, this would be it.  High in reused oil fat, high fat overall, high in high-glycemic carbs, and high in sodium.  Avoid at all costs.
4. Chips- The only thing that makes chips better than fries is that they normally don't have quite as many calories, but they are almost equally as bad for you.
5. Soda-  No, I don't believe in a soda tax.  I do believe however, that soda has no redeeming nutritional quality, and even worse it is very addictive.  Choose the diet soda, and better yet, break the addiction by choosing club soda, tea, or coffee.  
6. Mainstream Fast Food- Ok, ok, so I know that this isn't a food.  But I included it just to get you to stay away from it.  So many bad choices, and so few good ones.  
7. Sugary Starbucks - like Coffee Drinks- High in calories, low in nutrients, and high in addictive caffeine, and expensive.  One question- Why?  I know they taste good, but so does ice water with lemon or cucumber or a sparkling club soda, or plain coffee with cocoa.  
8. Sweet cereals-  Too much sugar, too many empty carbs, too many empty calories. 
9. Pastries, cakes, and cookies-See #8 above. 
10. Fried Pastry or Bread- Imagine taking something inherently unhealthy, like white bread or white flour, and frying it to make it even less healthy.  This is what you get with things like beignets, certain pastries, and hushpuppies. 

 
It's not that you can never choose these listed foods, but do so on a rare occasion.  Because they have no redeeming quality, other than the indulgence factor.  
 
And plus, once you start to eat healthy, you will start to crave healthy foods:

• Watermelon will taste better than cookies.  

 

• A lean steak with broccoli will taste better than Burger King, much better.  

 

• Celery with hummus will taste better than chips and dip.  

 

• And a salad with olive oil and sunflower seeds will taste even better than french fries, believe it or not.  

 
That's the bottom line:
 
When you eat, eat to enjoy, be healthy, and then…
enjoy being healthy!

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Read Next: Unless You're an Athlete, Be Careful with Carbs

* This is part of a year-long series called "52 Weeks to Eating better than Ever". Click on the side bar for more information and to read the previous essays.
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Unless you’re an athlete be careful with carbs, because their sweet and salty addictive nature and highly concentrated calories can get you in trouble.  Most people eat too many total carbohydrates, and choose the worst types of carbohydrates, in the form of bread, pastas, rolls, cereals, pastries, sweets, sodas, and other sugary drinks.  Unless you’re an athlete, you don’t need a ton of carbs, mainly because you don’t need a lot of calories!   
 
If you aren’t actively competing in a sport, you don’t need to be eating a large amount of carbohydrates. Excessive carbohydrates are converted into stored glycogen in the liver and muscles, but once this maximum is reached, excess carbohydrates are stored as fat.  Unless you’re training for a sport, you don’t need as many carbs or calories as you think you do.  This is one reason so many people have success on lower carbohydrate diets.  Too many unhealthy carbs could lead to problems with insulin resistance, weight gain, fat storage, fatigue, and possibly even other health problems related to inflammation.  
 
One of my Master’s thesis supervisors was Dr. Dan Benardot, Nutrition advisor for the US Olympic Team. In his excellent book, Nutrition for Serious Athletes, Dr. Bendardot states that the biggest single mistake athletes make is not eating enough.   Not eating enough is a much different problem from what the ordinary person struggles with, which is eating way too much!
 
Carbohydrates are essential for athletes, because for those involved in training for a sport, they serve an important purpose: providing a quick source of energy in the form of muscle and liver glycogen, and sparing muscle protein from being broken down into an energy source.  If you are playing basketball, soccer, or martial arts competitively, or any other sport, you need more energy, and thus you need more carbohydrates and more total calories.  That way you don’t break down your muscle tissue as an energy source of last resort and you can train hard.  This doesn’t mean as an athlete you can eat junk food, it just means that you need to fuel yourself:
 
a) through tough workouts, and…
b) enough to recover from training.  
 
That way as an athlete you don’t break down precious muscle tissue as energy, in a process called catabolism, which could hinder your performance significantly.  
 
If you ARE NOTan athlete:

• Limit your carbohydrate intake, to 30-60% of total calories.
• Eat meals at times with no carbohydrates at all, like a salad and protein with fruit for desert.
• Choose whole grains, fruits, legumes, beans, quinoa, brown rice, and starchy vegetables. 
• Keep your total calories down by keeping your carb intake moderate and really focus on making good choices.

 
If you AREan athlete:

• Eat healthy carbs at every single meal.

• Make the same healthy choices as a low-carb eater (whole grains, fruits, legumes, beans, quinoa, brown rice, and starchy vegetables) BUT eat more carbohydrates.

• Eat a light snack 45 minutes before you train, with some carbohydrates, about 25-35 grams depending on your size and weight.
• Consume some carbohydrates after you train for recovery.
• Consume 50-75%+ of your total calories as carbohydrates.
• Consume more total calories.  
• One day a week, eat whatever you want to.  

 
Carbohydrates are a great fuel source, but plan accordingly for your goals, and eat the right kinds. Little things add up!

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