If the restaurant owner/manager is doing their job correctly, the menu will be the heart of the business. Although many restaurant owners don’t pay much attention to their menus, menu engineering can yield greater profits.

“It embodies the restaurant’s demographics, concept, physical factors and personality. It’s a sales vehicle, and many restaurants, smart ones, use it to get you to eat right. And we’re not talking about your health, but about their profits.”

Being a business owner and proponent of free markets, I don’t feel there is anything wrong with business making a buck. However, consumers need to be aware that health is not a concern when selling items on a menu.

Marlys Harris reports for Yahoo Finance that menu dishes are normally divided up into 4 dishes, and clever menu engineering steers you to the most profitable items coupled with enjoying the meal. This makes sense considering business thrives on repeat business and referrals.

The following are seven ploys used in restaurant menus.

The first in show: Testing has shown that if you decide on a dish like chicken, you are most likely to choose the first item under the chicken heading. If a menu is engineered correctly, the most profitable items always appear first.

Menu Siberia: Dishes that require expensive ingredients and are labor intensive, which makes them less profitable, are usually placed in harder to find places.

Visual aids: People tend to order dishes that have boxes around them or pictures of the dish. So, If restaurants want to promote profitable dishes like chicken wings, photos definitely help.

Package deals: You walk into an establishment with the intention of getting a cheese burger and a medium drink, but leave paying a few bucks extra for the package deal that includes fries and a large drink. Getting a large percentage of customers to pay to shell out a few extra bucks for package deals translates to bigger profits.

Dollar-sign avoidance: Getting rid of dollar signs and decimals makes spending less threatening.

Small plate-large plate conundrum: A restaurant may offer two sizes of the same dish, but the price difference is almost pure profit.

Ingredient embroidery: The more special each ingredient sounds the better it sells. Just because it’s labeled “Grandma’s Three Cheese Mac and Cheese” will sell better than just plain mac and cheese.

You don’t need milk, but you do need calcium and vitamin D. In many areas across the U.S., such as urban food deserts and rural areas, milk may be one of the only calcium-rich foods available. So unfortunately, people living in these areas might not have a choice. In other areas where a wide variety of foods is the norm, you could easily consume enough calcium without including milk in your diet.

According to the Office of Dietary Supplements of the National Institutes of Health (NIH):

Calcium is required for vascular contraction and vasodilation, muscle function, nerve transmission, intracellular signaling and hormonal secretion, though less than 1% of total body calcium is needed to support these critical metabolic functions. Serum calcium is very tightly regulated and does not fluctuate with changes in dietary intakes; the body uses bone tissue as a reservoir for, and source of calcium, to maintain constant concentrations of calcium in blood, muscle, and intercellular fluids. The remaining 99% of the body’s calcium supply is stored in the bones and teeth where it supports their structure and function.

The recommended daily intakes (RDI) are 1,300 mg for teens 14 to 18 years of age and 1,000 mg for adults ages 19 to 50 (males up to age 70). Females age 51 to 70 need 1,200 mg and all adults over 71 need 1,200 mg. Infants need the least amount of calcium, so the risk of inadequate intake is miniscule. Babies from 0 to 6 months need 200 mg and ages 7 to 12 months need 260 mg. Toddlers ages 1 to 3 need 700 mg, children ages 4 to 8 need 1,000 mg, and kids and tweens ages 9 to 13 should consume 1,300 mg.

Although milk has been heavily marketed as the best way to get the calcium you need for strong bones, there are many other foods that contain more or just as much calcium per serving as milk. Eight ounces of milk contains anywhere from 285 to 302 mg per serving, depending on whether it’s nonfat, reduced fat, lactose-reduced or whole. Foods that contain around the same or more calcium than milk include:

-Sardines (324 mg per serving)
-Cheddar cheese (306 mg)
-Calcium-fortified cereal (100-1,000 mg per serving)
-Soy milk (80-500 mg per serving)
-Yogurt (415 mg plain, 245-384 mg fruit)
-Calcium fortified orange juice (200-260 mg)
-Mozzarella (275 mg)

If you’re allergic to dairy products, you can still get enough calcium by eating sardines, salmon (181 mg per serving), spinach (120 mg), tofu (138 mg), turnip greens (99 mg), kale (90 mg), Chinese cabbage (74 mg), and instant breakfast drinks (105-250 mg). Bread, broccoli, sour cream, tortillas, frozen yogurt, cottage cheese, pudding and cream cheese also contain calcium.

Doctors agree that obtaining calcium mainly from food sources is best, but supplements can fill the gaps when needed. The two main forms of calcium in supplements are carbonate and citrate. Calcium carbonate is the most popular of the two, it’s widely available, and it’s inexpensive. Both forms of calcium are well absorbed, but calcium citrate is better tolerated and absorbed by individuals with reduced levels of stomach acid. The body can absorb calcium citrate effectively when taken with or without food. Calcium carbonate is absorbed more efficiently when consumed with food.

There are several other types of calcium that can be found in supplements and fortified foods. They are:

-Gluconate
-Lactate
-Phosphate

Several different forms of calcium can be found in calcium-fortified juices, but a popular type is calcium citrate malate. This form of calcium is well absorbed by the body and it’s also inexpensive.

For more information about calcium and to print a food chart that lists calcium rich foods along with daily values, visit the Office of Dietary Supplements of the National Institutes of Health at http://ods.od.nih.gov/.

The reason why you get addicted to any food, but particularly sugar, is because your brain has opioid receptors (heroin is an opioid). Interestingly, sugar binds to the same addictive receptors as cocaine and other addictive drugs. These opioid receptors are part of a primitive reward system that helps you detect, select and enjoy eating fresh foods over rancid ones.

Today, however, we live in a world where we are surrounded, not only by food in general, but by processed foods that are typically loaded with sugar. Unfortunately, this has led to a saturation of our opioid receptors, and we’ve become addicted to foods that are extremely harmful.

Now, there are compounds called opioid receptor antagonists. That means once they occupy the receptors, they prohibit you from being addicted to something else. And coffee is an opioid receptor antagonist. Caffeine can bind to your opioid receptors and may diminish the addictive impact of another substance like sugar.

“If you are addicted to sugar, for instance, and you really want to train your body gradually get rid of this addiction, using coffee would be a viable way to help yourself achieve this. Train yourself to drink black coffee. Drink it sugarless on an empty stomach and you will see how, gradually, the cravings will dissipate…”
Ori Hofmekler

So, all in all, it appears coffee may have some valuable redeeming benefits, particularly to boost the benefits of your morning workout, as long as you get high quality organic coffee, ground your own beans to make sure it’s fresh, and avoid adding sugar.

Ori Hofmekler, author of The Warrior Diet, The Anti-Estrogenic Diet, Maximum Muscle Minimum Fat, and the upcoming book Unlocking the Muscle Gene is an expert on how to improve your health with foods.
Mercola.com video transcript

Vegans Sergine and Joel Le Moaligou fed their 11-month-old daughter Louise only mother’s milk, and she died suffering from a vitamin deficiency. The two are currently on trial in northern France, charged with neglect.

The pair called the emergency services in March 2008 after becoming worried about their baby’s listlessness. When the ambulance arrived, the baby was already dead.

According to Yahoo Health:

“An autopsy showed that Louise was suffering from a vitamin A and B12 deficiency which experts say increases a child’s sensitivity to infection and can be due to an unbalanced diet … The couple did not follow the doctor’s advice to hospitalize the baby who was suffering from bronchitis and was losing weight when they went for the nine-month check-up.”

Breast milk is the best food hands-down you can give to your baby. But, it does have one downfall: its nutritional value is influenced by the mother’s diet. If the mother is consuming a diet that tends to be deficient in nutrients, such as a vegan diet, nutrients will be missing in her breast milk.

In the tragic case reported above, it appears 11-month-old Louise lost her life because her mom’s vegan diet created vitamin deficiencies in the breast milk she was exclusively fed on. Sadly, there were warning signs that the milk was not providing proper nutrition months before her death, as the baby was sickly and losing weight, but they were ignored.

People following a strict vegan diet are often convinced that it is the healthiest way of eating possible, which was most likely the case with Louise’s parents. But this tragedy can serve as a powerful warning for those who choose to avoid all animal foods.

Mercola.com
Yahoo Health

Many people when shopping for a convenient ready to eat meat at the grocery store would choose rotisserie chicken over hot dogs or pepperoni, but as it turns out in a new study, they’d be wrong. Surprisingly, according to a new study, hot dogs and similar meats like pepperoni and deli meats are relatively free from carcinogenic compounds, and rotisserie chicken would be the riskier option.

The carcinogens in question are heterocyclic amines (HCAs), which are compounds found in meat that has been fried, grilled or cooked at high temperatures. Diets high in HCAs from meat increase people’s risk of stomach, breast and colon cancers, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Researchers from Kansas State University tested the HCA levels of eight popular ready-to-eat meat products: beef hot dogs, beef-pork-turkey hot dogs, deli roast beef, deli ham, deli turkey, fully cooked bacon, pepperoni and rotisserie chicken.

Pepperoni had the lowest levels of HCAs; hot dogs and deli meat came in second. Overall, these products were low in HCAs, researchers said, while cooked bacon and rotisserie chicken meat had the highest levels. However, rotisserie chicken skin had the highest levels of HCAs overall.

But, before you go purchase pepperoni, consider that its low HCA levels may have to do with processing, which is in itself a health hazard. According to a KSU statement.

Remember, You cannot judge the danger of a food by its HCA content alone, which is based on the manner in which its been cooked. You also have to evaluate all those added ingredients, such as preservatives, flavoring, and food colors. Hot dogs, deli meats and bacon are notorious for their nitrite content, so even though they might be low in HCA’s, they are far from healthful.

With all the information available it’s tantamount to negligence to eat fast food.

But given a hectic lifestyle and time spent in our cars is almost unavoidable not to hit the “drive thru” from time to time.

In a better world you would have a cache of nutritious snacks for the road; nuts, fruits, water to get you through the day until the next healthy meal.

David Zinczenko, the author of “Eat This, Not That” offers up strategies to help you avoid the junk food jungle!

The evolution of the male’s diet has led us to a small selection of

testosterone approved vegetarian recipes.

We found a list of easy vegetarian food for even the most manly of appetites!

Follow the link for easy healthy recipes.
The Conquistador

4×4 Pizza

Does fat make us Fat?

Everyday in the news is some information about the fat.

We all need it, we all eat it.

What are the facts?

Here’s a simple guide to fats, the good, the bad and the ugly.

First realize that fats are a necessary part of any diet. We need fats to make hormones, build and repair tissues, and for energy. Gram per gram, fat provides about more than twice the energy of carbohydrates (9 calories per gram vs 4 calories per gram for carbs). Fats also help us absorb certain vitamins and satiates our appetite more than carbs or protein.

But there really are good fats and bad fats and the Cliff notes version of this column is this — if a fat is solid or semi-solid at room temperature, you should avoid it.

Most dietary fats fall in to three categories: Saturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, and mono unsaturated fats.

Where does the formula “1 pound equals 3500 calories” come from? Zoe Harcombe checked with all the major British organizations including the British Dietetic Association. The best answer, or worst depending on how one perceives this topic, was, “We don’t know.” Some of the other questions one sees in a list towards the beginning of the book are: Does energy in equal energy out? Does the law of thermodynamics apply to humans? Can you prove saturated fat causes heart disease? How does exercise relate to weight loss or gain?

When dealing with weight loss the public is bombarded by misinformation concerning calories which are a measurement of energy. According to Harcombe when you see the statement, “energy in equals energy out” you are getting a misapplication of the laws of thermodynamics. The first law doesn’t state energy in must equal energy out; it states that energy in a closed system is neither created nor destroyed.

The calorie theory, i.e., counting calories for weight control, was tested in the Minnesota Starvation Experiment. Thirty six healthy men participated in the study, with the goal being to reduce their weight by 25% in 24 weeks. A control period was utilized to figure how many calories were needed to maintain weight at a specific activity level. During the starvation period of the experiment, while trying to maintain the specified activity level, the participant’s diets were cut by 1640 calories. At this point the weight loss didn’t meet the researcher’s goal, so the participant’s calories were cut even further. According to the “Gold Standard Formula” promoted by so many so-called experts, “1 pound equals 3500 calories”, each participant should have lost 78 pounds; by week 20 all reached a plateau, and the average weight lost was 37 pounds.

Once the men were allowed to eat, they couldn’t get enough. Even when they were stuffed, the men still complained of hunger. None of the men had eating disorders prior to the experiment; it was clear according to the Minnesota Starvation Experiment, that no one can tolerate calorie deprivation over an extended period of time.

The people who do research as generalist/specialists in the area of obesity (Barry Groves, Gary Taubes, Sally Fallon Morell are the forerunners) have all come to the same conclusion – we must eat real food and not processed food. Man is the only chronically sick species on the planet and the only one eating his own food. (I would add that we have also given our pets obesity, diabetes and other modern illness, by feeding them our processed junk ). “Eat food as nature intends us to eat it” is surely classic common sense – but government, dietitians and doctors tell us instead to “Base our meals on starchy foods” and they have developed the Eatbadly Plate (I refuse to call it Eatwell), which could not be more different to what we have evolved to eat. (Do take a look at this plate and see for yourself sugar, cornflakes, weetabix, white flour, bagels, white pasta, sugared baked beans, fruit in syrup, Battenberg cake, sweets, coca-cola and so on. No wonder Kellogg’s sponsor the British Dietetic Association obesity conference!)

“The Obesity Epidemic” has a very simple message; everything you think you know about eating right and weight loss, is way off the mark. With a mound of references to support her well stated arguments, Zoe expounds the truth while dissecting the dietary BS promulgated by industry, health agencies, doctors and dieticians. There is no doubt that the world is experiencing an obesity epidemic and it’s a shame that money not evidence based research is guiding our behavior. Anyone interested in the correct natural way to a healthy body, needs to read this book.

I you’re like most people, you think the only thing that matters when losing weight is calories, i.e., calories in versus calories out. The calorie theory, as you will see, is a physiological impossibility.

Calorie is a shortened name for kilocalories, to reflect the simplified math. A kilocalorie contains 1,000 calories, so the Angus Burger with bacon and cheddar is actually 770,000 “calories.” Now don’t get your panties in a bunch! This simplified math also applies to exercise calorie charts. If the cardio machine you’re using says you burned 200 calories, it’s simplified for 200,000 calories. However, don’t rely on exercise equipment charts; they are grossly inaccurate.

To understand why it’s not calories that matter when getting lean, go HERE.