I'm Madder Than Hell About Soybeans!

Not because I hate soy but because I hate the way the Soy industry has lied to us and poisoned us for profit. You must read Kaayla T. Daniels’s book The Whole Soy Story to truly understand the history and damaging effects of soy. The book contains many compelling testimonials, about the dangers of soy, from real people. The serious health problems caused by heavy soy consumption are unbelievable. Soybeans are a cheap, crappy, hard to digest, food source with many harmful side effects. Once again you have been lied to and I will not tone down the truth so corporations can market waste products as health food. I know what you’re thinking. If soy is so bad then how come most people think it is good? This is why:

First of all, the origins of soybean use, 3000 years ago, in ancient China, Japan and Indonesia came out of poverty and famine. The soybean did not serve as a food until the discovery of fermentation techniques.1 Soybeans were used for crop rotation to add nitrogen to the soil. They were not eaten.

These ancient peoples would have rather eaten fish and meat they just did not have enough. Soy Protein or Tofu evolved as a poor man’s meat substitute. It was discovered that fermenting the soybeans gave them a better flavor, made them more edible and medicines could be created from the soybeans-like Nattokinase. It is the fermenting of soy that makes it healthy in small quantities. This fermentation of foods has been used since ancient times to preserve food and create medicines from food, and is known as “Alchemy”.2

The Chinese did not eat unfermented soybeans because of the large quantities of natural toxins or “antinutrients” that can cause serious gastric distress, reduced protein digestion and conditions of the pancreas including cancer.1 Unfermented soy is not healthy at all and large quantities, such as the levels currently consumed in America, is very detrimental to our health. It has been linked to hypothyroidism, early puberty in children, loss of testosterone, and many other hormone related health problems.2 The American soy industry took the unfermented soybean, genetically modified it and bastardized it into an unhealthy food that nature never intended. What is further compounding the problem is the relentless multi-billion dollar marketing campaign to convince us that soy is health food and we should eat it in quantity.

“Marketing costs money, especially when it needs to be bolstered with “research”, but there are plenty of funds available. Soybean producers pay $80 million annually to support United Soybean’s program to “strengthen the position of soybeans in the marketplace and maintain and expand domestic and foreign markets for uses for soybeans and soybean products.” Private companies like Archer Daniels Midland also contribute their share. ADM spent $9 million for advertising during the course of a year.”1 ADM is, of course, the corporation that brought us Hydrogenated Soybean Oil or “Trans Fats”. The marketing is working. “Sales from soy milk alone have risen from $2 million in 1980 to over $300 million in the US last year.”1The best marketing strategy for a product that is inherently unhealthy is, of course, a health claim. 1

Claims that eating soy can “lower cholesterol levels” and “reduce cancer” have been approved by the FDA after heavy lobbying and “alleged research” from the soy industry supposedly proving a health benefit. The opposite is actually true. Soy contains “antinutrients” that are toxic and carcinogenic to the human body.2

Soy protein (Tofu) is the spoogy waste leftover from making soybean oil. This sludgy byproduct from the soy oil industry was considered a waste product and animal feed until recently. By the way, animals do not like soybeans either and will only eat them when they are starving to death.

When I first started weight training I picked up a tub of vanilla flavored soy protein powder and started chugging down some chalky, ill tasting shakes with glee. I thought I was doing myself a big favor but little did I know I was actually reversing any chance of muscular gains. Scanning through a recent “Muscle Magazine” I saw an article supposedly reviewing the different protein powder supplements available on the market today. The article pictured animated protein tubs with friendly faces on them and the names “Soy”, “Whey”, “Casein” and “Egg”. Whey and Soy were portrayed as the best choice for health, low cost and nutritional value. Now listen carefully to what I am going to tell you next. THEY ARE LYING TO YOU! Whey and Soy protein are waste products from the food industry, cleverly disguised as “health food” and heavily marketed to the American consumer.

Soy Protein Isolate is a heavily processed product. A slurry of soybeans is acid washed and then mixed with an alkaline solution. Acid washing in aluminum tanks leaches high levels of aluminum into the final product. The curd is then dried at high temperatures completely denaturing the final product and making the protein ineffective and drastically altered from what nature intended. Animals on soy feed have to actually be given lysine supplements for normal growth.2

Don’t trust Men’s Fitness magazine either. “Open a copy and you will find pages and pages of full color ads for soy based candy bars and instant beverages promoted as a way to create the macho man with perfect abs. Sadly-ironically-most issues contain the requisite article advising these super-built Lotharios how to have great sex. Were Men’s Fitness to warn it’s readers about the fact that soy lowers testosterone levels in men, advertising revenues would dry up and the magazine would fold.”2 (Kaayla T. Daniel)

Tear up your Fitness and Muscle Magazines that are filled with lies and eat a delicious steak or fish dinner.

Maybe you have heard of Edamame, the new “healthy” baby green soybean pods. While eating at a local Sushi restaurant recently I noticed tables of customers around me happily munching on Steamed Edamame appetizers. Surely this must be good, right? Wrong! Edamame is crap too! The good news is these baby soybeans still in the pod are tender and more palatable. They also contain less of the harmful plant estrogens that diminish testosterone. So I would compare them to light cigarettes. They are much less harmful than regular soybeans that are loaded with anti-testosterone hormones!

Supporters of Soy debunk milk and supporters of milk (from pastured animals) debunk soy. They are both right and they are both wrong. Small amounts of milk from pure pastured animals would be nice and ideal but not necessary. Small amounts of fermented soy products like Nattokinase and Miso prepared the ancient way are OK and considered medicine in the East.

If you are not eating organic, you should know that 99% of the non-organic soy we eat is genetically modified and has one of the highest percentages of contamination by pesticides of any of our foods.1 This processed, genetically modified “American Soy” that we know, is poisoning us and causing illness and disease.

Soy Protein excellent for lowering Testosterone

Eating Soy protein causes lowered Testosterone levels. This is especially troubling to men and bodybuilders. To a bodybuilder, soy protein is like Kryptonite! The plant estrogens will rob you of your manhood, shrink your muscles and lower your sex drive. Ancient monks used to eat extra tofu to help them to easily maintain their vows of celibacy.2

Vegetarians who consume tofu and bean curd as a substitute for meat risk severe mineral deficiencies. The results of calcium, magnesium and iron deficiency are well known; those of zinc are less so.1 I met someone recently who was vegetarian and ate lots of tofu because she “loves animals”. For gods sake don’t eat a waste product from a crappy bean because you love animals! Love animals and eat raw nuts, “quality” beans and maybe some eggs. I love and respect animals as well and I am often astounded by the awesome beauty of nature’s wild creatures. Humans, however, did not rise to the top of the food chain just to step aside and eat tofu because we love animals. I love them, respect them and eat some of them too!

Dump your milk down the sink! Spit your Tofu out the window! Throw your milk and soy products in the dumpster today and be healthier tomorrow!

By Ian Kelley -Chef/Bodybuilder/Health Advocate
http://www.organicbodybuilding.com/

Sources:

1: Fallon, Sally & Enig, Mary G., Newest Research On Why You Should Avoid Soy

http://www.mercola.com/article/soy/avoid_soy.htm

2: Daniel, Kaayla T., The Whole Soy Story, New Trends Publishing, 2005

http://www.coconutoil.com/
http://www.mercola.com/
http://www.wholesoystory.com/
http://www.westonaprice.org/

Milk: The Big, White Lie!

By: Ian Kelley
Chef/Bodybuilder/Health Advocate
http://www.organicbodybuilding.com/

Please know that I am just like you and I am not trying to speak down from a hilltop or condescend. I would do that if I thought it would work but humor is usually more effective. I too once believed that milk was healthy, good and should be guzzled down like beer through a funnel.

Milk is touted by the “experts” as the “Perfect Health Food” and best choice for dieting and weight loss. The opposite is actually true. The growth hormones, chemicals and bacteria in milk will make you gain weight, retain body fat and make you sick. Try this experiment. Cut out all dairy products for one whole month (cheese, ice cream, everything). Resume eating dairy products again. I did this and now I become very ill when I drink milk or eat cheese and ice cream in any quantity. I used to drink 2 gallons of milk a week! Lactose intolerance is another way of saying that milk makes people sick. 95% of African Americans are lactose intolerant, 20-40% of Caucasians are lactose intolerant, and 50-70% of Asians are lactose intolerant. I do not know of any other “Perfect Health Foods” that make so many people sick.

MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of dollars have been spent to put milk mustaches on celebrities, athletes and models. Millions and millions of dollars are spent on marketing dairy products to the American public and reassuring us that dairy is healthy and safe. “Got Milk” “Milk does a body good” and lets not forget the great calcium hoax. Where will we get our calcium if we do not drink milk? Well, cows get it from grass but the best human source is green leafy vegetables. More than 75% of the earth’s populations do not consume regular dairy products. They are not dropping dead from calcium deficiency. Most people resist strongly when I suggest that dairy products are unhealthy because of the massive amount of media and government brainwashing (marketing) that takes place in this country. The consumption of cow’s milk and dairy products has been linked to many diseases and ailments like: Breast cancer, other cancers, Heart Disease, Stroke, MS, Diabetes, Obesity, Acne, Varicose Veins, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Allergic Reactions, Bloating, Gas, Cramps, and many more. You must check out Robert Cohen’s website http://www.notmilk.com/ to get the truth about milk. Read “The Famous Milk Letter” or click on the link below to view the 1999 video report and prepare to be shocked:

http://www.notmilk.com/notmilk.wmv

After the age of 4 or 5 our bodies lose the ability to effectively digest milk. It is the same for other animals; they are weaned and taught to eat regular food. Humans are the only species that continues to drink milk in adulthood. What makes it even worse is that it is the body fluid from another animal, which was intended for calves. The human body has an amazing tolerance level for toxins and for most people if they never stop drinking copious amounts of milk their bodies just take it and slowly build up mucus and disease over time.

Convincing Americans that milk is not healthy is a tremendous challenge. Let me apologize in advance to all the dairy farmers, lacto-ovo vegetarians and milk chugging enthusiasts who might be offended by my opinions. I have discovered that some people really cherish their dairy products and become quite upset at any suggestion that dairy products are anything less than a healthy, wholesome food that will nurture them for a lifetime. I suppose if you got your own cow, milked it yourself, and consumed small quantities of pure, fresh, raw milk and dairy products like our ancestors did than you might be OK. This is, of course, if you’re mostly Northern European ancestors drank milk and you tolerate it to begin with. This would be the only way to be sure you are not being poisoned.

When I brought this article to my writer’s group-a small clan of literary giants I now highly respect- the response I got was “Wow, this guy really hates milk.” Actually, I hate the people and organizations behind the milk deception. I like milk. It’s rich and delicious; it’s just not a health food. Don’t be fooled by the dairy industry marketing. If you like milk then please swill down a tall glass right away and have a nice life. Just know that it is not good for you and think of it as you would a dessert or a cigarette.

The milk industry grew out of need to feed a hungry, growing nation. In many cases we have taken the gifts of nature and altered and perverted them. Domestication of animals, and advances in science and chemistry allowed for the “great” modern achievements of food processing, canning, Pasteurization, Homogenization, preservatives, food chemicals, hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup. All these things have made food unhealthy, easy and very, very cheap and profitable. There was a time when most food was fresh, healthy and chemical free. There was a time when milk was pure in this country, when cows roamed free and ate grass free from antibiotics and pollutants. Maybe 50 or 100 years ago it was good and safe to drink small amounts of milk from a cow before it became the milk of today. I do not fault corporations for wanting to be profitable, or governments for obscuring the truth. It is our own responsibility to discover the truth and change our lives.

“Most people prefer a simple lie over a complicated truth!”

The milk industry and government know that MANY, MANY more people might realize that milk does not agree with them if they stopped drinking it for a little while. This is why it is so heavily marketed and subsidized by the government. Please understand, I am not a fanatic .I will still have a little milk froth on top of my double macchiato, or a small amount of cheese here and there. I think of dairy the same way that most people view processed sugar. Sugar and dairy are so pervasive in our food supply and such a big part of our American culture it is almost impossible to avoid them entirely but they certainly should not be considered healthy or made a staple of your diet or added as a healthy component to a suggested eating guide or pyramid. Today’s milk is a processed food and processed foods and chemicals are harmful, toxic or at least unnatural to the human body.

So what about organic milk? Organic milk is great but it is still homogenized, pasteurized and meant for calves. Americans everywhere are feeling happy and safe by switching to organic milk. How wonderful it is that we now can enjoy milk from happy, grass fed cows that have been massaged and groomed everyday and not fed any antibiotics, growth hormone or chemicals, right? Sorry folks, organic milk is just like light cigarettes, it is healthier but will still kill you! Homogenization turns dairy products into a deadly artery scarring poison. Homogenized dairy products are one of the real reasons behind our epidemic of heart disease.

Milk is mostly casein, which is a mucus-producing glue that accumulates in the human body causing long-term health problems and disease. Milk from cows was intended for calves, even cows do not continue drinking their own milk in adulthood they get their calcium and sustenance from grass.

Guess What. Yogurt is crap too! Two different friends recently were asking me about yogurt. “Yogurt is still healthy, right?” No. Yogurt does contain healthy bacteria, which aids in digestion but it also contains milk and often is loaded with sugar, artificial sweeteners and other chemicals. A better strategy, if you are looking to improve your digestion, would be to take digestive enzymes, probiotics or Acidophilus pills which are available at health food stores everywhere and are much more effective.

If you want to lose body fat, feel healthy and avoid chronic disease than cut out or reduce all dairy products from your diet. I achieved an incredible new level of health and leanness after I banished dairy products from my life. Don’t take my word for it, do the research for yourself and you will find out what the dairy industry has been hiding. Run quickly to your refrigerator and dump your milk down the sink today. I know you will enjoy better health tomorrow and hereafter.

Sources:

• http://www.atlaschiro.com/milkbad.htm
• http://www.mercola.com/article/milk/no_milk.htm
• http://www.notmilk.com/
• Oski, Frank A. Don’t Drink your milk! Teach Services, Inc., 1996.
• Cohen, Robert. Milk-The Deadly Poison. Argus Publishing. 1997.

All Natural Bodybuilding

Why CBS Hates Herbal Supplements

By Ian Kelley
OrganicBodybuilding.com

Rarely do I ever see prime time news but it happened to be on when I was in the room the other night at the gym. I saw a CBS news report that got my attention and people have been talking about. CBS reported that herbal supplements like St. John’s Wort are dangerous and potentially harmful because The FDA does not regulate or test the many supplements available today. Now I do not even know much or care about St. John’s Wort but I feel strongly about this subject and decided to take time out from writing my book to write this article. I hope you find it informative.

First of all the FDA approves pharmaceutical drugs based on biased research from the same companies developing the drugs. They are an ineffective agency that really does not regulate anything. In the news report by CBS they did a really good job of grouping all supplements together and portraying them as unhealthy, dangerous and ineffective, while portraying doctor prescribed drugs as safe, effective and really your only choice if you want to be safe. Nothing could be further from the TRUTH! The TRUTH is that pharmaceutical drugs, chemical supplements and cheap synthetic vitamins are unhealthy, dangerous and ineffective! These misleading fear tactics work really well at getting people to not explore alternative health options that might save their lives or spare them horrible side effects from doctor prescribed drugs and OTC medications. Randall Fitzgerald summarizes the truth well in his recent blockbuster book “The Hundred-Year Lie” which you must read to truly understand how “food and medicine are destroying your health.” From his book:

Not all synthetics, at least as far as we know, are toxic to us.
Not all naturally occurring substances from nature are benign.

“However broadly speaking, the evidence indicates that most naturally occurring foods and medicines are healthy for us, as they have been for our species for thousand of years, while many if not most synthetic chemicals in foods and medicines pose some health risk.”

One of the REAL problems with the natural supplement industry not being regulated is that the same vitamin companies that produce cheap, ineffective synthetic vitamins are producing cheap ineffective versions of herbal supplements. Many natural, herbal and whole-food supplements are safe and have tremendous health benefits and could seriously improve or even save someone’s life. The effectiveness of natural supplements, however, varies greatly by the brand and manufacturer and in general you should avoid anything made by a large publicly traded company. What happens is someone walks into a store and buys the cheapest bottle of ‘St. John’s Wort” or some other herbal supplement. They take it for their malady and after a period of time say “This stuff does not work; I think I will go see my doctor.” This product was probably made by a company that cares little about the quality or freshness or else it would cost more. They may have gotten the herb from a questionable source that was cheaper or figured out they could make more money by using an ineffective part of the plant like the stem. There is a huge difference in effectiveness based on freshness, quality, and the method prepared. A freshly squeezed shot of wheat grass for example would be much better than wheatgrass powder or pills.

The problem is natural remedies and whole-food and herbal supplements compete directly with the pharmaceutical industry, which I am guessing is CBS’s biggest advertiser. In the CBS news report there was an alleged number of deaths from adverse effects of natural or herbal supplements. The number was made to look really large and bad by making it over a large span of time. I do not remember the exact numbers used in the report but I do know that MANY, MANY more people have died from adverse effects and reactions from doctor prescribed drugs! Look it up for yourself but I will let you know ahead of time you will find very little negative information about legal, patented prescribed drugs that the pharmaceutical companies make millions on. The “War on Drugs” in this country is a war against naturally occurring drugs that Big Pharma can not patent and profit from! I am seeing in the drug rehab where I work a dramatic rise in people addicted to these doctor prescribed drugs because people are being reassured that they are safe and good by doctors and the media. This news story is incredibly well orchestrated propaganda; do not believe what you hear on the news. Some people may remember recently the interview between celebrity Tom Cruise and reporter Matt Lauer. There has been a huge media effort to discredit Tom Cruise and make him look like a whacko or weirdo because he has been outspoken about prescription drug use and the pharmaceutical industry. There were also attempts to discredit other alternative health advocates like Kevin Trudeau of www.naturalcures.com . I will be writing another article in the near future about BusinessWeek’s story called “The Organic Myth” that will blow you away! Don’t believe the media! Their news stories are mostly just advertising in disguise or Big Business Propaganda. I do not fault them for this it is just the American Way in the “Land of Opportunity”. I love America, capitalism, free enterprise, The Constitution, The Bill of Rights, and Liberty and Justice for all. We can not blame governments, corporations and political leaders for lying to us. We can only blame ourselves for being blind to the truth.

Protein Supplements Vs. Protein Foods?

By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.burnthefat.com

Are protein supplements really better than protein foods? Before attempting to answer this question, I should first preface it by mentioning that I do not sell supplements, nor am I associated with any supplement company, so you’re getting an honest and unbiased opinion. Don't get me wrong; I am not anti-supplement by any means. It would simply be more accurate to say that I am "pro-food." There are a lot of good supplements on the market, and I've used many of them, including a multi vitamin, creatine and essential fatty acid (EFA) supplements such as Flaxseed oil. Protein powders and meal replacements can also be indispensable if you don't have time to eat every three hours. However, protein supplements are not the master key to your success, real food is!

Did you ever notice how articles about protein in certain bodybuilding magazines are seldom objective? Instead, they all seem to be slanted towards hyping some "revolutionary" new product. Did you ever wonder why? In my opinion, most articles on protein supplements are nothing more than thinly disguised advertisements (some very thinly). Sometimes they give you a very persuasive-sounding argument, replete with dozens of references from scientific studies (mostly done on rodents, of course). They even give you an 800 number at the end of the article to order. (How convenient!)

When protein manufacturers throw around fancy words like cross flow microfiltration, oligopeptides, ion-exchange, protein efficiency ratio, biological value, nitrogen retention and glycomacropeptides, it sure sounds convincing, especially when scores of scientific references are cited. But don't forget that the supplement industry is big business and most magazines are the supplement industry. Lyle McDonald, author of "The Ketogenic Diet," hit the nail on the head when he wrote "Unfortunately, the obsession that bodybuilders have with protein has made them susceptible to all kinds of marketing hype. Like most aspects of bodybuilding (and the supplement industry in general), the issue of protein is driven more by marketing hype than physiological reality and marketing types know how to push a bodybuilder’s button when it comes to protein "

Many nutrition "experts" (read: people who sell supplements), state that there are distinct advantages of protein supplements (powders and amino acid tablets) over whole foods. For example, they argue that whey, a by-product of the cheese-making process, is a higher quality protein than most whole food sources. There are many different methods of determining protein quality, including biological value (BV), protein efficiency ratio (PER), Net Protein Utilization (NPU), chemical score, and protein digestibility corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS). If you have ever seen advertisements for protein powders and supplements, you have undoubtedly heard of one or more of these measures of protein quality.

BV is one of the most commonly used and is arguably, the best measure of a protein's quality. BV is based on how much of the protein consumed is actually absorbed and utilized by the body. The higher the amount of protein (nitrogen) that is actually retained, the greater the BV. If a protein has a BV of 100, it means that all of the protein absorbed has been utilized with none lost. Whole eggs score the highest of all foods with a BV of 100, while beans have a BV of only 49.
Protein quality is certainly an important issue, but it is one that has been enormously overstated and even distorted for marketing purposes. Whey protein is truly an excellent protein with a biological value at or near 100. Many advertisements list whey as having a BV between 104 and 157, but if you look in any nutrition textbook it will tell you that it is impossible to have a BV over 100. In "Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism," BV is defined as "a measure of nitrogen retained for growth and/or maintenance that is expressed as a percentage of nitrogen absorbed."

When a protein supplement is listed as having a BV over 100, the company has intentionally manipulated the number for marketing purposes or unintentionally confused BV with another method of rating protein quality. Certain whey proponents claim that whey is "superior to whole egg" so the percentage sign on BV had to be dropped and the scale extended beyond 100. It was noted by bodybuilding writer Jerry Branium in IRONMAN magazine that in a study where the BV of whey was reported to be 157, the author confused BV with chemical score. Chemical score is a comparison of the amino acid pattern in an ideal reference protein to a test protein and therefore the number can exceed 100. 157 was actually the chemical score and not the BV.
Most bodybuilders and strength athletes already consume more than enough protein (an understatement if there ever was one), so the importance of BV to these athletes who are already consuming copious amounts of protein has been overplayed. Even though whey has a higher BV than chicken breast, fish or milk protein, if the total quantity of protein you consume is sufficient, then it is not likely that substituting whey for food proteins will result in any additional muscle growth.

Whether you choose a whole protein food or a protein supplement isn’t as important as some would like you to believe. For the purposes of developing muscle, the only guidelines for protein that you must follow are: (1) consume a source of complete protein with every meal, (2) eat at frequent intervals approximately three hours apart (about six times per day) and (3) consume a minimum of .8 grams to 1 gram per pound of body weight. There are times when it would be beneficial to consume more than one gram per pound of body weight, but that will have to be the subject of another article.

Because whey protein does have a high BV, it probably offers the most benefits when you are dieting on very low calories. When your energy intake and correspondingly, your protein intake, are reduced, whey protein could help you get greater utilzation of the smaller amount of protein that you are taking in. In other words, choosing proteins of the highest quality is more of an issue when you are dieting than when you are focusing on mass gains when total calories and protein are being consumed in abundant amounts. Whey protein also provides a way to get high quality protein without the fat, which is also important when dieting.

It has been suggested that whey may have other advantages besides high protein quality, although they are frequently overstated. These benefits include enhanced immunity, increased antioxidant activity and quick absorption. Several studies in "Clinical and Investigative Science" by Dr. Gerard Bounous of Montreal have shown that whey protein provides anti carcinogenic properties, protection from infections, and other enhanced immune responses. Whey protein was also been shown to raise levels of Glutathione, an important antioxidant that can offer protection from free radical oxidative damage. While such findings are very promising, all these studies, which are frequently quoted in whey protein advertisements, were performed on mice, so it is unclear how well the results extrapolate to humans.

Another acknowledged benefit of whey protein is its fast absorption rate. Although there isn’t any evidence that protein supplements digest more efficiently than whole foods (as is often claimed), they are definitely digested faster. This is most important after a training session when the rates of protein synthesis and glycogen re-synthesis are increased. This is the reason it is often recommended that a liquid meal containing protein and a high glycemic carbohydrate be consumed immediately post-workout and that whey is the ideal protein for this purpose. Even in considering post-workout nutrition, there is still little proof that a liquid protein-carb complex will actually produce better muscular growth than whole foods, as long as complete whole food protein foods and complex carbohydrates are consumed immediately after the training session and every three waking hours for a period of 24 hours thereafter.

Speaking of protein absorption rates, the discussion of fast acting versus slow acting proteins seems to be the latest hot topic these days in bodybuilding circles. The interest was sparked by studies in 1997 and 1998 that examined the differences between the absorption rates of whey versus casein. The researchers concluded that whey was a fast acting protein and was considered to be more "anabolic" while casein was slower acting and was considered to be more "anti-catabolic. " It was further hypothesized that consuming a combination of these two types of proteins could lead to greater muscle growth. These findings have prompted the supplement companies to market an entirely new category of protein supplements; casein and whey mixes. The problem with drawing such conclusions so quickly is that these studies looked at the speed of whey and casein absorption in subjects who had fasted for 10 hours before being fed the protein. Any suppositions drawn from this information are probably irrelevant if you are eating mixed whole food meals every three hours. Obviously, more research is needed.

This recent fascination with various rates of protein absorption could be compared to the interest in the glycemic index. The glycemic index is a scale that measures the rate at which the body converts various carbohydrate foods into blood glucose. The higher the glycemic index, the faster the food is converted to glucose and the larger the insulin response. Therefore it is said that high glycemic foods should be avoided in favor of low glycemic index foods. The error in relying solely on the glycemic index as your only criteria for choosing carbohydrates is that the index is based on consuming a carbohydrate food by itself in a fasted state.

When carbohydrates are consumed in mixed meals that contain protein and a little fat, the glycemic index loses some of its significance because the protein and fat slow the absorption of the carbohydrate. That’s why the glycemic index is really much ado about nothing and the same could probably be said for the casein and whey argument. It's just the latest in a long string of new angles that supplement companies use to promote their protein: free-form vs peptides, concentrate vs isolate, ion exchange vs microfiltration, soy vs whey, casein and whey mix vs pure whey and so on. Every year, you can count on some new twist on the protein story to appear. Certainly there are going to be advances in nutrition science, but all too often these "new discoveries" amount to nothing more than marketing hype.

What about amino acid pills? Amino acids pills are simply predigested protein. Proponents of amino acid supplementation claim that because the amino's are predigested, the body will absorb them better, leading to greater improvements in strength and muscle mass. It sounds logical, but this is a gross underestimation of the body's capacities and actually the reverse is true: The human digestive system was designed to efficiently process whole foods; it was not designed to digest pills and powders all day long. Amino's are absorbed more rapidly in the intestine when they are in the more complex di and tri-peptide molecules.Your body gets better use of the aminos as protein foods are broken down and the amino's are absorbed at just the right rate for your body's needs. In "Exercise Physiology; Energy Nutrition and Human Performance," authors Katch and McArdle state that "Amino acid supplementation in any form has not been shown by adequate experimental design and methodology to increase muscle mass or significantly improve muscular strength, power, or endurance."

Furthermore, consuming predigested protein when you are seeking fat loss is not necessarily advantageous because it shortchanges you of the thermic effects of real food. Whole foods have a major advantage over protein supplements; they stimulate the metabolism more. This is known as the "thermic effect of food." Protein has the highest thermic effect of any food. Including a whole protein food with every meal can speed up your metabolic rate as much as 30% because of the energy necessary to digest, process, and absorb it. This means that out of 100 calories of a protein food such as chicken breast, the net amount of calories left over after processing it is 70. In this respect, the fact that protein foods digest slower than amino acid tablets is actually an advantage.

A final argument against amino acid supplements is the cost. Amino's are simply not cost effective. If you don’t believe it, pick up a bottle and do the math yourself. One popular brand of "free form and peptide bonded amino acids" contains 150 1000mg. tablets per bottle and costs $19.95. 1000 mg. of amino acids equals 1 gram of protein, so the entire bottle contains 150 grams of protein. $19.95 divided by 150 grams is 13.3 cents per gram. Let's compare that to chicken breast. I can buy chicken breast from my local supermarket for $2.99 a pound.

According to Corinne Netzer’s "Complete Book of Food Counts," there are 8.8 grams of protein in each ounce of chicken, so one pound of chicken (16 oz) has about 140 grams of protein. $2.99 divided by 140 grams equals 2.1 cents per gram. The amino acids cost more than six times what the chicken breast does! I don’t know about you, but I’ll stick with the chicken breast.
The biggest advantage of protein supplements is not that they can build more muscle than chicken or egg whites or any other whole food protein, the biggest advantage is convenience. It is easier to drink a protein shake than it is to buy, prepare, cook and eat poultry, fish or egg whites. Consuming small, frequent meals is the optimal way to eat, regardless of whether your goal is fat loss or muscle gain. To keep your body constantly in positive nitrogen balance, you must consume a complete protein every three hours. For many people, eating this often is nearly impossible. That's when a high quality protein supplement is the most helpful.

Aside from convenience, the truth about protein supplements is that they offer few advantages over protein foods. There is no scientific evidence that you can't meet all of your protein needs for muscle growth through food. As long as you eat every three hours and you eat a complete protein such as eggs, lean meat or lowfat dairy products with every meal, it is not necessary to consume any protein supplements to get outstanding results. Whey protein does have some interesting and useful properties and supplementing with a couple scoops each day is not a bad idea, especially if you are on a low calorie diet for fat loss or when you're using a post workout shake instead of a meal. Aside from that, focus on real food and don’t believe the hype.References

1) Groff, James, et al, Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism, West Publishing company, 1995.
2) Fruhbeck, Gema. Slow and fast dietary proteins. Nature, 391: 843-844
3) Boirie, Y. et al. Slow and fast dietary proteins differently modulate postprandial protein accretion. Proc National Acad Sci, 94: 14930-14935, 1997
4) Lemon, Peter, Protein and Exercise: update, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Vol 19, No. 5, S179 - S190, 1987
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What A "Muscle Head" Says About Organic Food

By Tom Venuto, Natural Bodybuilder
www.burnthefat.com

Last week I was talking about nutrition with one of my workout buddies and when I mentioned grass fed beef and "organic food” he asked, "Do you mean like what you get at Whole Foods Market?"

I said, "Yes, exactly... that's a natural food and organic supermarket." He said, "Yeah well, that place costs so much, I call it

Whole Paycheck!"

I was rolling on the floor laughing, but the truth is, organic food really is expensive and so is grass fed beef and free range chicken, so it's a valid question to ask, “Is it worth it?”
After researching the subject and doing some personal experiments with my own diet, let me offer you my take on it from a bodybuilder’s viewpoint. This is a perspective on organics you may not have heard before.

First, look at it this way - if you put the cheapest fuel in your luxury car, how well is it going to run and how many miles are you going to get out of it?

While I'm on car analogies, health and fitness author and educator Paul Chek once wrote about how ridiculous it is to watch how many $75,000 + cars pull up to the Mcdonald's or Burger King drive through window to buy $1.99 hamburgers.

I would say that's a serious case of screwed up priorities, wouldn't you? The driver has no problem shelling out the $1,100 monthly car payment, but it's too much to ask him to put premium fuel into his own "bodily vehicle."

How can you put ANY price tag on your body and your health? You can buy another car, but you've only got one body. Now, as for the grass fed beef and organic foods question….
For best results in body composition improvement, which I define as burning fat and or building muscle, (and I'll even go as far as to say for optimal health as well), I am a believer in including animal proteins, including lean meats.

I have no wish to take up the vegetarian debate in this article. I respect vegetarians and acknowledge that a healthy and lean body can be developed with a vegetarian diet if it is done properly, although it may be more challenging for strict vegans to gain muscle for various reasons.

However, in recommending animal protein as part of a healthy fat loss and muscle building nutrition program, I do agree that we all need to give some serious thought to what is in our meat (and in the rest of our food).

Some people say that meat is part of our “evolutionary” diet and it’s the way we were intended to eat and I wouldn’t argue with that. But is the meat we’re eating in today’s modern society the same as what was hunted and eaten many thousands of years ago by our cave-man ancestors, or has some “toxic stuff” found its way into our beef, poultry and fish that wasn’t there before?
I also think we should consider what is *missing* from our commercially grown food, that is supposed to be in there, that probably used to be there in the past, but may not be today.
A lot of people are not paying any attention to this... even people who should know better. I admit it - I was oblivious to this for a long time myself. Here’s why:

I am not your typical "health and wellness" or "weight loss" expert. I am also competitive bodybuilder. We bodybuilders are well known for eating very clean diets with lots of lean protein and natural carbs, as well as for looking like "the picture of health" with our ripped abs and impressive muscularity.

We eat our oatmeal and egg whites for breakfast, and proudly walk around with our chicken breast, rice and broccoli or our flank steak, yams and asparagus, and boast about how perfect and clean our meals are and how our diets are already “clean” and could not be improved.
But how many bodybuilders or fitness enthusiasts are there - even serious, dedicated and educated ones - who don't give a single thought to the poisonous chemicals that might be lurking in our supposedly "clean" food?

The Food and Drug Administration lists more than 3,000 chemicals that can be added to our food supply. One billion pounds of pesticides and farming chemicals are used on our crops every year.

Depending on what source you quote, the average American consumes as much as 150 pounds of chemicals and food additives per year.

Does ANYBODY out there think that this is good for you?

Didn't think so.

If you had a way to avoid all these chemicals and toxins, would you at least explore it, even if it cost a little more?Although this topic is controversial and hotly debated, organic food is gaining in popularity and seems to fit this bill.

Food grown on certified organic farms does not contain:

Pesticides
Herbicides
Fungicides
Hormones
Antibiotics
Chemical fertilizers

It is also not:

Irradiated
Genetically modified

Beyond the "certified organic" label, grass fed beef and free range chicken (and eggs), have other advantages.Not only can there be tons of antibiotics, hormones, and other chemicals in our meat, but also commercially raised beef is fed grain or corn and yet that is not what the animals were meant to eat.

The result - aside from sick, drugged animals - is a higher overall fat, higher saturated fat and a screwed up ratio of omega three to omega six fats, which is a very big problem today - even when you think you're eating "clean." Most people accept the idea that “you are what you eat,” but they forget that the animals we eat are what they ate!

Last but not least, proponents of organic food suggest that the vitamin, mineral and phytonutrient content of commercially grown foods can be anywhere from a little bit low to virtually absent.

So... if organic and or grass fed beef and free range chicken can help us avoid some of these problems and dangers, then I'm all for it and the extra investment.

I started eating grass fed beef almost exclusively (except for my occasional restaurant steak), quite a few years ago, and I even mentioned it in my book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle.
I can't say I eat entirely organic. I eat a lot of it, but not 100%. If I'm eating an apple or some blueberries, and it doesn't happen to be organic, I don’t freak out over it. When you really study deeply into the subject of food processing, industrial pollution and commercial farming, it can almost scare you half to death, but I don't recommend getting "alarmist" about it.

Sometimes it's the people who live in fear of a disease who are most likely to get it. I for one, am not going to live in a plastic bubble to isolate myself from a “toxic world”… oh, wait... make that a ceramic bubble, plastics are really bad for you.

All joking aside, the fear of toxins can be taken to the point where the fear itself is unhealthy, but the more I study this subject - from a variety of sources and perspectives - the more the organic argument does make sense to me.

I’ve built my career in fitness based on being a natural bodybuilder, which means no steroids or performance enhancing drugs, so why would I expose myself to other chemicals if I can avoid them?

Honestly, I can't say I noticed any dramatic change in my physique or in the way I feel – at least not yet. I have always eaten clean and I was a successful bodybuilder for many years before I started eating more organic food and grass fed beef. However, I feel confident about my decision to spend the extra money on grass fed beef, free range chicken (and eggs), and an increasing amount of organic food, knowing that I am avoiding toxins and getting more of the nutritional value I need to support my training and my health long term.

I'm certain this is the type of nutritional lifestyle change that can accrue benefits over time, even if you don't see an immediate "transformation."

One thing I would suggest before you run out for organic fruits and vegetables or grass fed beef and so on, is to consider what kind of shape your diet and your lifestyle are in right now. If your diet is currently such a total mess that you’re drinking a lot of alcohol, smoking, abusing coffee and stimulants, not even eating ANY fruits and vegetables to begin with... And if your idea of lean protein is the processed lunch meat you get in your foot long sub at the local deli, then I think it might be a little moot to worry about whether your fruits and veggies are 100% certified organic or whether your beef is grass fed. Just start cleaning up your diet and establishing new healthy habits, one step at a time. Focus on nutrition and lifestyle improvement, not perfection.
There are some very strong opinions on this subject. I am aware of that, and I'm not going to stand up on a pulpit and preach either way. What I have done here is simply share what I have found from my own research and what I decided to do in my own personal health and bodybuilding regimen.

My advice to everyone else is to become educated about what is really in your food, including how it is raised or grown, and to continuously seek ways to improve your nutrition above the level it’s at now.

For more information about the "natural bodybuilder's method" for losing fat, building muscle and achieving peak health, visit: www.burnthefat.com