Why Buy Food Locally?

Recently, a fish farm that supply national supermarkets was fined and fish recalled when it was discovered that the fish were being fed recalled dog food. So what is not good enough for your dog to eat ends up becoming the building blocks that create you?! Terrific.

90% of the products in supermarkets come in some kind of container and in order to preserve the way they look for longer and so that you will buy them, they are loaded with preservatives (chemicals that kill bacteria). The other 10% of edible foods, fish, meat and dairy can also be put through some very unnatural steps to keep them looking fresh! For example Tesco gets to choose the colour of their ‘fresh’ salmon fillets before they are dyed!!

Imported foods have to be transported and in the process of getting them from field, farm, or some far and distant ocean to your plate, your food is exposed to a chemical mix that includes fertilizers, pesticides, and insecticides (to kill the bugs that might compete for the food), hormones (to fatten animals faster or make them produce more milk), and antibiotics (to prevent animals with weak immune systems from getting infected). It goes through invisible processes like radiation (X-raying to eliminate bacteria, which also kills nutrients), pasteurization (extreme heat to kill pathogens—along with helpful enzymes), hydrogenation (altering fats and oils to make them shelf stable, a condition that harms your own cells when you eat them), and even cosmetic procedures like waxing (to make the fruits look nicer in the supermarket).

As a test that I do at home, buy two chickens, one free range and one of those cheap ready done ones from the supermarket. Now when you take the meat from them look at how easily the bones break on the ready cooked one. This is because they very rarely get to stand up, never mind walk, run or fly and so their bone density is very low. Also look at how weak the tendons are on them, the meat falls off the bone whereas with free range birds it os difficult to get the meat from the bones.

Cheat Meals and Soy?

This is not my favourite topic to be honest as I don’t really like telling players to eat bad food at all! But, quite a few players have asked me if you were to have a cheat meal then what would be the ideal meal or fast food outlet to enter. Well I decided I couldn’t name any fast food outlets so I have listed some golden rules when selecting cheat meals and then you can decide for yourselves with the relevant knowledge.

·      Eat your protein first. Interestingly, in Greek, protein means of first importance.

·       Must be at a table (at home or a restaurant), not in front of the TV. Decide with what you will cheat before hand and set it on the table in preparation. You will eat more in front of the TV

·       Once you leave the chair then no more cheating! This stops you cheating all day long.

·       As you get lower bodyfat levels/scores, the more carbohydrates you can eat. When you get to a low body fat( less than 9%),>

·       Try to move away from fast food chains being your cheats and make you choices a little more nutritious.

Nutrition before Early Morning Cardio

People often ask me what they should eat before cardio in early morning at say, 8a.m and the answer is simple really. The food you eat will not be fuelling your exercise during that session (unless you get up at 5-6a.m to eat it). The meal is just to make you feel comfortable whilst training as training whilst hungry is horrendous. However it’s important to know that when training that early your glycogen (energy) stores are extremely low due to you fasting all night and so you will be running on muscle protein stores or fats. After the session you will need to refuel even more so than normal to replace your losses from night-time and also the session you just completed. It is thus important that if your a professional athlete you don't move onto the next session without refueling.

This is very important otherwise you will find that you are weak in the gym afterwards and also you will, over time lose muscle bulk and potentially weaken your immune system. For me the best thing before the session is a protein shake with plenty of BCAA’s and also a small bowl of porridge to stop that feeling hungry.

Why Soy is not good for you

Many people think that soy milk and beans are great for you but in actual fact this is a myth according to the vast amount of research.  Dr Kaayla Daniel’s book, “The Whole Soy Story” explains this in more detail but here is a quick list of the reasons:

·       Toxicity – Soy is one of the most sprayed crops and so increases your toxic load when eaten.

·       Blocks Mineral Absorption – Soy contains high levels of phytates which inhibit the absorbtion of macro nutrients (calcium etc) and trace minerals (e.g: zinc). The good news is that meat is known to block phytates.

·       Linked to Attention Deficit Disorder – Soy based infant formulas are linked highly to ADD. They cointain 80 times more manganese than breast milk.

·       Increases in CV Load – Soybeans contain hemaglutinin which is known to make red blood cells aggregate and thus increases your cardiac load.

 “Too many people want to carry the stool when the piano needs moving” 

Fibre and Vegetables

Fibre

Dietary fibre is solely derived from foods of plant origin. There are two types of fibre, soluble, which can dissolve in water and insoluble, which cannot dissolve in water. This is important because insoluble fibre is not digested or absorbed by the body but will help to keep your gastrointestinal tract clean and promotes regular bowel movements. It does this by drawing water into the stools to make them larger but softer to pass.

Soluble fibre slows the breakdown of complex carbohydrates such as starches into simple sugars such as glucose. The benefit of this is that it slows the absorption of sugars and reduces the sugar level in the blood. During digestion soluble fibre forms a gel like mass that binds cholesterol to the stool and so may help lower cholesterol in your blood.

Benefits of Fibre?

Foods high in fibre often take longer to eat and they also increase the feeling of fullness as they slow down the passage of food through the intestine. They slow the release of glucose from food and this improves the blood-sugar response to food giving us steady flows of energy and avoiding energy lulls during the day and especially during training sessions.

Cooking Vegetables

Vegetables are freshest immediately after being picked and so at this point their vitamin density is at its highest. To get the best from vegetables we need to eat them as soon as possible from when they are picked. For this reason frozen vegetables are a good option to use for your evening meal. When you have fresh vegetables always remember to store them in a cool dark place as it is the light and heat that increases degradation. Also boiling vegetables spoils water soluble vitamins such as vitamin C and vitamin B2 so keep this to a minimum or even better steam your vegetables.

Phytonutrients

Sometimes known as Phytochemicals, these are naturally occurring and are found in foods of plant origin. (phyto is derived from the greek word for plant) Recent studies have shown that a portion of vegetables can contain as many as 100 different phytonutrients and that people consuming diets rich in these chemicals have a lower incidence of many disorders such as CV disease and cancer. Phytonutrients also have a high antioxidant effect and this will help to protect the immune system 

How Diet Drinks Make You Fat

Modern day nutrition has become very acidic or acid producing and this is becoming a huge problem in the western world populations. Most animal meats, fizzy beverages, fried and processed foods are acid producing and so eating this causes your body’s blood to become too acidic.  If our blood pH drops below around 7.2 we become very ill and can die so to avoid this when it reaches around 7.3 the body must extract vital minerals from within to neutralise the blood. Those minerals are Iodine, Magnesium, Calcium, Potassium and Sodium and they help bring the pH back to around 7.4.

These days lots of people use acid reflux medication and all this does is counteract acidity in the body.  Many people can avoid this medication simply by addressing the alkaline imbalance in their diet.

Also we consume lots of calcium in milk and other dairy products yet still have high incidence of bone related problems and poor bone health and this is mainly because of acid producing diets we consume force the body to use minerals such as calcium to neutralise the blood’s pH.

Diet drinks contain phosphoric acid, which is right next to battery acid on the pH scale. Would you drink that? Don’t think so…..

Well drinking this acidic drink not only causes leaching of minerals such as calcium, as previously discussed, but also Iodine. Iodine is crucial for a functional thyroid gland and as one of the main functions of your thyroid is to regulate metabolism, suppressing it will cause a slow metabolism and inevitable weight gain. Yes diet drinks make you FAT!!

Diet drinks with zero calories make you fat and also take away any good minerals that you may be eating so why bother?!

Healthy Alkaline Foods - Eat lots of them! Vegetables Alfalfa Grass +29.3 Asparagus +1.3 Barley Grass +28.1 Brussels Sprouts +0.5 Cabbage Lettuce, Fresh +14.1 Cauliflower +3.1 Cayenne Pepper +18.8 Celery +13.3 Chives +8.3 Comfrey +1.5 Cucumber, Fresh +31.5 Dandelion +22.7 Dog Grass +22.6 Endive, Fresh +14.5 French Cut Green Beans +11.2 Garlic +13.2 Green Cabbage December Harvest +4.0 Green Cabbage, March Harvest +2.0 Kamut Grass +27.6 Lamb's Lettuce +4.8 Leeks (Bulbs) +7.2 Lettuce +2.2 Onion +3.0 Peas, Fresh +5.1 Peas, Ripe +0.5 Red Cabbage +6.3 Rhubarb Stalks +6.3 Savoy Cabbage +4.5 Shave Grass +21.7 Sorrel +11.5 Soy Sprouts +29.5 Spinach (Other Than March) +13.1 Spinach, March Harvest +8.0 Sprouted Chia Seeds +28.5 Sprouted Radish Seeds +28.4 Straw Grass +21.4 Watercress +7.7 Wheat Grass +33.8 White Cabbage +3.3 Zucchini +5.7 Root Vegetables Beet +11.3 Carrot +9.5 Horseradish +6.8 Kohlrabi +5.1 Potatoes +2.0 Red Radish +16.7 Rutabaga +3.1 Summer Black Radish +39.4 Turnip +8.0 White Radish (Spring) +3.1 Fruits Avocado (Protein) +15.6 Fresh Lemon +9.9 Limes +8.2 Tomato +13.6 Non-Stored Organic Grains And Legumes Buckwheat Groats +0.5  Granulated Soy (Cooked Ground Soy Beans) +12.8 Lentils +0.6 Lima Beans +12.0 Soy Flour +2.5 Soy Lecithin (Pure) +38.0 Soy Nuts (soaked Soy Beans, Then Air Dried) +26.5 Soybeans, Fresh +12.0 Spelt +0.5 Tofu +3.2 White Beans (Navy Beans) +12.1 Nuts Almonds +3.6 Brazil Nuts +0.5 Seeds Caraway Seeds +2.3 Cumin Seeds +1.1 Fennel Seeds +1.3 Flax Seeds +1.3 Pumpkin Seeds +5.6 Sesame Seeds +0.5 Sunflower Seeds +5.4 Wheat Kernel +11.4 Fats (Fresh, Cold-Pressed Oils) Borage Oil +3.2 Evening Primrose Oil +4.1 Flax Seed Oil +3.5 Marine Lipids +4.7 Olive Oil +1.0

Foods you should only consume moderately Fruits (In Season, For Cleansing Only Or With Moderation) Apricot -9.5 Bananna, Ripe -10.1 Bananna, Unripe +4.8 Black Currant -6.1 Blueberry -5.3 Cantaloupe -2.5 Cherry, Sour +3.5 Cherry, Sweet -3.6 Coconut, Fresh +0.5 Cranberry -7.0 Currant -8.2 Date -4.7 Fig Juice Powder -2.4 Gooseberry, Ripe -7.7 Grape, Ripe -7.6 Grapefruit -1.7 Italian Plum -4.9 Mandarin Orange -11.5 Mango -8.7 Orange -9.2 Papaya -9.4 Peach -9.7 Pear -9.9 Pineapple -12.6 Rasberry -5.1 Red Currant -2.4 Rose Hips -15.5 Strawberry -5.4 Tangerine -8.5 Watermelon -1.0 Yellow Plum -4.9 Non-Stored Grains Brown Rice -12.5 Wheat -10.1 Nuts Hazelnuts -2.0 Macadamia Nuts -3.2 Walnuts -8.0 Fish Fresh Water Fish -11.8 Fats Coconut Milk -1.5 Sunflower Oil -6.7

Unhealthy Acidic Foods - Try to avoid them or counterbalance them! Meat, Poultry, And Fish Beef -34.5 Chicken (to -22) -18.0 Eggs (to -22) Liver -3.0 Ocean Fish -20.0 Organ Meats -3.0 Oysters -5.0 Pork -38.0 Veal -35.0 Milk And Milk Products Buttermilk +1.3 Cream -3.9 Hard Cheese -18.1 Homogenized Milk -1.0 Quark -17.3 Bread, Biscuits (Stored Grains/Risen Dough) Rye Bread -2.5 White Biscuit -6.5 White Bread -10.0 Whole-Grain Bread -4.5 Whole-Meal Bread -6.5 Nuts Cashews -9.3 Peanuts -12.8 Pistachios -16.6 Fats Butter -3.9 Corn Oil -6.5 Margarine -7.5 Sweets Artificial Sweetners -26.5 Barley Malt Syrup -9.3 Beet Sugar -15.1 Brown Rice Syrup -8.7 Chocolate -24.6 Dr. Bronner's Barley Dried Sugar Cane Juice -18.0 Fructose -9.5 Honey -7.6 Malt Sweetner -9.8 Milk Sugar -9.4 Molasses -14.6 Turbinado Sugar -9.5 White Sugar -17.6 Condiments Ketchup -12.4 Mayonaise -12.5 Mustard -19.2 Soy Sauce -36.2 Vinegar -39.4 Beverages Beer -26.8 Coffee -25.1 Fruit Juice Sweetened Fruit Juice, Packaged, Natural -8.7 Liquor -38.7 Tea (Black) -27.1  Wine -16.4 Miscellaneous Canned Foods Microwaved Foods Processed Foods

Table: pH scale of alkaline and acid forming foods
(Source: "Back To The House Of Health" by Shelley Redford Young)

What can I do about it? 

The table above shows examples of foods in each category and their effect on blood pH per ounce.  You should be looking to consume as many of the high alkaline as possible.  Other options for monitoring foods and their effect on your body's pH are litmus strips to measure your saliva or urinary pH levels, which should be between 6.8 and 7.2.

The Worlds Best Oil

Coconut Oil

Composition: Coconut oil consists of more than 90% of saturated fats (Don’t panic! Your opinion may change).

During World War II, coconut oil was essentially cut off from the United States and the United Kingdom. As the war continued, alternative types of cooking oils were developed. By the time the war was over, there was a lot of money at stake — promoting the polyunsaturated vegetable oils.  To top that off, by the end of the 1950's, the public opinion had turned against saturated fats altogether. The majority of the general population believed them to be the culprit behind heart disease and no one wanted to put any money into funding studies to disprove this theory.  Unfortunately, the tropical oil industry (i.e. the Philippines and Indonesia) couldn't afford to combat the negative propaganda spread by the multi-million dollar American conglomerates, so coconut oil was bound to remain unpopular until decades later. 

Contrary to what the mainstream media has taught us, vegetable oils such as soy, safflower, sunflower, and canola are actually the WORST types of fat for cooking. They're highly subject to heat damage due to their bond make up, which basically means that they become TOXIC to the body when heated! Coconut oil doesn't have the same bond make up. It remains stable and is completely non-toxic no matter how hot it gets.

The benefits of coconut oil can be attributed to the presence of lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid.  The human body converts lauric acid into monolaurin, which helps in dealing with viruses and bacteria causing diseases such as herpes, influenza, cytomegalovirus, and even HIV.  It also helps in fighting harmful bacteria such as listeria.

Coconut oil is fantastic for cooking but also for hair conditioner, moisturiser and is beautiful when mixed with warm porridge.

Although 90% saturated fat, many people don’t realise that the saturated fat is a particularly healthy class of fatty acids called medium chain triglycerides (MCT’s). These are what Lauric Acid is in coconut oil.  Coconut oil also has a very strong antioxidant power and populations such as the Polynesian islands, where they consume coconuts as a major part of their diets, are rarely troubled by conditions such as osteoporosis.

Please remember that the saturated fats in McDonalds and KFC are very different to the saturated fats in coconut oils. 

Avoid the first like the plague and eat the second to your heart’s content.