www.MichaelReid.ca

If it's in your House ...

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Quick nutrition tip.

If an undesirable food is in your home, then you or someone you love will end up eating it.

Cleaning out your kitchen of crap food is a very important step to eating healthier. 

When you are at home and you need to snack if there are cookies and chips there, you will eat them. 

Don't give yourself the choice, just eliminate them from your home.

I am a perfect example of this.  In my home, I do not have any of that stuff and therefore do not eat it but this past summer I was back in Canada for a visit and it was abundant in the homes I was staying at.

Guess what?  I ate a lot of potato chips.

Now that I am back in Europe, I haven't had any and it will probably stay that way for the rest of the year or till the next time I am back in Canada.

To recap: If an undesirable food is in your home, then you or someone you love will end up eating it.

Be Well,

Michael Reid
www.michaelreid.ca
www.waterpolotraining.net

Venezuela Bans Coke

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This is a very interesting story which I found out about from www.mercola.com. 

Although I applaud the Venezuela government for the ban, it appears the ban has a very strong political agenda and they are simply doing anything it can to attack foreign companies. 

This is unfortunate because although I strongly believe soft drinks simply destroy your health, any government in the Western world will have serious doubts about following the lead of a "dictator".

Be Well,
Michael Reid
www.michaelreid.ca
www.waterpolotraining.net 


References:

Venezuela bans Coke Zero, cites "danger to health"

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10 Jun 2009 23:49:38 GMT, Source: Reuters

* Minister orders Coke Zero withdrawn from market
* Socialist government increasing scrutiny of business

CARACAS, June 10 (Reuters) - The Venezuelan government of U.S.-critic President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday ordered Coca-Cola Co <KO.N> to withdraw its Coke Zero beverage from the South American nation, citing unspecified dangers to health.  READ MORE

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/07/04/Venezuela-Bans-Coke.aspx

Post Work Out Nutrition

Last month I wrote about the Myth of Sports Nutrition. 

To add some fuel to this fire here is Paul Chek talking about what to eat after you train. 

You may be surprised from what he has to stay.

Be Well,
Mike Reid
www.michaelreid.ca
www.waterpolotraining.net

The "Myth" Of Sports Nutrition

I view nutrition the very much the same way I do exercise.  If you don't have the basic, fundamentals mastered then there is really very little point going into more advanced training programs or exercises. 

This is why I think "Sports Nutrition" is a bit of a myth.  Eat clean meats, lots of fruits and vegetables and you will cover the majority of the needs of the athlete, if not all of them.

Also, eat right after training to begin the refueling and recovery process.  This is also the same advice I would use with a "non-athlete" who may be trying to get healthier, stronger or lose weight. 

Focus on the big picture!

 Supplements, sport/recovery drinks, creatine, protein powders have there place but only on top of large doses of wholesome foods.

Dr. Mercola recently wrote an article about the need of real food for athletes.  Below is an excerpt from his article "Advice for Athletes -- Eat Real Food".

"Some nutritionists are arguing that sports drinks and power bars are not the best way to build body strength and agility, instead saying that you should listen to your body and eat real food."

However, there is research that has shown a protein powder drink post-work out increases  your protein synthesis but there is also research that shows chocolate milk is just as good.

A little note on recovery, Dan John, a coach in the USA, has a saying: "recovery doesn't come in a bottle ... it is called sleep"

My recommendation, eat before and after training.

Be Well, 

Mike Reid

ps. For a whole food protein shake you can see a previous post here.

Protein Supplements - are they needed?

I got the below question from a parent.

"Hi Mike,

Do you think a 16 1/2 year old boy should take protein supplements?  

Thank you."

This is an interesting question and is definitely not one that is clearly yes or no.

Before I even get into how much protein we need to consume (because I believe this is what I am being asked) lets first remember that a protein supplement is just protein! 

Well, duh! 

But what I mean is that it's really no different then the protein you get from fish, meat or eggs. 

It does not have any special anabolic properties when compared to other protein sources from whole foods like eggs, chicken or fish (of course the protein supplement companies will try to convince you otherwise).

How much protein do athletes need?

• Approximately 2g/kg (1g/lb) of body weight should be enough.

• Note that the recommended is 0.8g/kg but this is way to low for athletes.

• The 0.8g/kg is based on sedentary people.

• Do not worry about having to much protein and the health of your kidneys.

          Read this  http://johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/kidney.htm

Is a protein supplement needed?

• If you truly are not getting enough protein from your diet alone then they can be useful.  Probably more of a concern with someone eating more of a vegetarian diet.

• It's all about convenience, so they are useful to use when at school when you are away from home and unable to get some real food in you.  This obviously can be solved by simply planning your meals ahead of time.

If you are going to use a protein supplement.

• First, read the label.  Most protein powders are loaded with crap like artificial flavors, coloring, sweeteners and tons of sugar.  It should just be protein and natural flavor like cocoa powder.  You can also buy just plain protein powder then add your own flavor with fruit.

• Can you digest it or does it give you gas, cramping or diarrhea (which are all signs of digestion issues)?  It is no good for you if you cannot digest it or the people around you!

• Can you tolerate the taste?  Protein supplements are well known for tasting more similar to sewage then actual food.

• You get what you pay for, if you are going to invest in supplements then you cannot worry about the cost.

What do I recommend?

• There are not many of these products I recommend but two that I have used and comply with my nutritional values are:

http://sequelnaturals.com - this is a meal replacement shake, all vegan, so if dairy is an issue this may be good for you.  The chocolate is good, I have not tried the other flavours.  26g of protein and 15g of fiber per serving!  The fiber is like almost half of your daily requirement.

http://www.naturalfactors.com - just whey protein with flavour.  Double Chocolate is really good.  Note that whey is from milk protein.

Added bonus, both of the above companies are also Canadian!

Sorry for my European friends, I do not think you can get either of these overseas.

Be Well,
Mike Reid

Potato Chips are not good ...

This huge, the latest nutritional research says to avoid potato chips and eat more fruits and vegetables!

I thought potato chips was a "super food" to be consumed every day with a coke.

Imagine an alien or another life form from some other galaxy was observer us eat and live.  They would come to the same conclusion and if they had us in captivity, they would probably feed us a diet of coke and chips.

After all that must be our "natural diet".  

Be Well,
Mike Reid

Naruszewicz et al. Chronic intake of potato chips in humans increases the production of reactive oxygen radicals by leukocytes and increases plasma C-reactive protein: a pilot study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2009; DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.2008.26647

ABSTRACT

Background: Relatively high concentrations of acrylamide in commonly ingested food products, such as French fries, potato chips, or cereals, may constitute a potential risk to human health.

Objective: The objective of this pilot study was to investigate the possible connection between chronic ingestion of acrylamide-containing potato chips and oxidative stress or inflammation.

Design: Fourteen healthy volunteers (mean age: 35 y; 8 women and 6 smokers of >20 cigarettes/d) were given 160 g of potato chips containing 157 mg of acrylamide daily for 4 wk.

Results: An increase in acrylamide-hemoglobin adducts in blood was found in all the study subjects, with a mean of 43.1 pmol/L/g hemoglobin (range: 27–76; P < 0.01) in nonsmokers and 59.0 pmol · L^–1 · g^–1 hemoglobin (range: 43–132; P < 0.05) in smokers. Concurrently, a significant increase (P < 0.01) in the oxidized LDL, high-sensitivity interleukin-6, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and -glutamyltransferase concentrations was observed in both smokers and nonsmokers. A significant increase in reactive oxygen radical production by monocytes, lymphocytes, and granulocytes and an increase in CD14 expression in macrophages (P < 0.001) were found after intake of potato chips. Twenty-eight days from the discontinuation of the experiment, the variables under study decreased to some extent. It has been shown also that acrylamide increases the production of reactive oxygen species in isolated human monocyte-macrophages in vitro and decreases the cellular glutathione concentration.

Conclusion: These novel findings seem to indicate that chronic ingestion of acrylamide-containing products induces a proinflammatory state, a risk factor for progression of atherosclerosis.

Received for publication July 4, 2008. Accepted for publication December 2, 2008.

Hydrogenated Oils . . . no laughing matter

How to Get Fat NOW!

One of my key points in a nutrition plan is to eat whole foods and limit processed foods to a minimum.

Processed foods = get fat now!

9 million children are obese in the USA.

The video below is a good example why the USA health system is so F**ked up!

The unfortunate thing is that with our great global economy and ease of movement we all can live a life like those 9 million children are with out even stepping foot in the USA.

Be Well,
Mike Reid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtLFeH0W1x4

My Current Favorite Salad

I love this salad.

It is so easy to make, loaded with nutrition and tastes great.

Ingredients:
Avocado
Tomato
Ground Meat (chicken, beef, lamb, pork or what ever you like)
Spices for meat (I usually use some kind of taco mix)
Garlic
Olive Oil
Salt

You can whip this meal up real fast too, under 15 minutes.

 Steps:

1. Mix the spices into the ground meat and place the meat into a covered frying pan on medium-high heat.
2. While the meat is cooking prepare all the vegetables.
3. Gently mix all the prepped vegetables into a serving bowl.
4. After meat is cook (10-15 minutes), place on top of the salad and drizzle with Olive Oil.
5. Eat and enjoy.

Be Well,
Mike Reid 

Raw Egg Shakes

Talking about raw eggs from my previous post has made me hungry for 2 of my favorite recipes. 

Both are so simple to make and can be used as a great snack or even a meal at home. 

Remember what I have recommended regarding raw eggs, one of them being to eat them immediately. 

So this is not really something I would bring to the gym or to school and have sit in my locker all day before eating it.

I usually will have it as a breakfast, especially when I am short on time.

Here are my favorite 2 recipes:

Strawberry Shake

• frozen strawberries
• raw eggs (I usually use 4 med-large eggs)
• water

Banana Chocolate

• 1-2 Bananas (I prefer to use really ripe ones)
• Cocoa Powder (1-3 tbsp)
• raw eggs (I usually use 4 med-large eggs)
• water

For both of these recipes, put all the ingredients in a blender and mix.  How much of each ingredient is up to you, so for example if you like it thicker then use less water or add ice.

Be Well,
Mike Reid