Category: Nutrition (Page 44 of 45)

Can spicy food help you lose weight?

January 17, 2007 / Anthony Stalter

MensHealth.com posted a recent article on the top 15 foods that can help you shred pounds. Some of the usual suspects that you would find on a list like this were chicken, turkey and lean meats. Salmon and tuna also make an appearance, which is expected given how omega-3 fatty acids should be a staple to any diet geared to lose weight.

Interestingly, jalapeno, habanero and cayenne peppers also made the list. Not only were they noted, but ranked second after milk, whole grains and oatmeal. According to the article, a ‘single spicy meal can boost your metabolism by up to 25 percent, with the spike in calorie burning lasting for up to three hours after you finish eating.’ The general idea behind eating spicy food for weight loss is to speed up your heart, which burns calories.

To read the entire MensHealth.com article, click here.

Diets, Foods products, Magazine Hype, Men's Health and Wellness, Nutrition, Uncategorized

Frito-Lay makes a deceptive move in 2006.

January 5, 2007 / Mike Furci

Feeling pressure from consumers and so-called health experts Frito-Lay has been changing the fat it uses to make their products since 1987.? In another attempt to market “healthier” snacks, the best selling snack food manufacturer began substituting sunflower oil for cottonseed oil.? The purpose is to reduce the amount of saturated fat contained in their products.?

According to Rocco Papalia, senior vice president of R&D the switch in oils will result in a 66% reduction in saturated fat in some of their products.? The problem I have with this change is the sunflower oil contains an even higher level of polyunsaturated fat, which is highly unstable.? This switch in oils is actually unhealthier for consumers.

First, sunflower oil contains a high level of omega-6 fatty acids, which in the levels that we Americans consume it in, is detrimental to our health.? We consume way too many Omega-6 fats and almost no Omega-3 fats. The Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio in the American diet is about 10:1 to 20:1.? For most of mans existence, the Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio was 1:1 to 3:1.? Eating too many Omega-6 fatty acids is associated with cardiovascular disease, some cancers, and is pro-inflammatory.

Second, but perhaps more importantly, polyunsaturated fats are highly unstable when exposed to heat or oxygen.? These oils literally become toxins when used in cooking especially frying.? If Frito-Lay were truly interested in making more healthy snacks they would return to using tropical oils in the manufacturing of their products.

Coconut oil is the healthiest oil you can consume.? This tropical oil contains lauric acid which is well known for its antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal effects.? More than two thirds of coconut oil is medium chained fatty acids which are easily absorbed for quick energy and promote fat loss.?

Fortunately oils like coconut oil are starting to become recognized for their health promoting properties.? Maybe someday food giants like Frito-Lay will get their heads out of their asses and start to actually care about the damage they are doing to the people who buy their products.?
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Foods products, Nutrition

Holiday eating doesn’t have to mean a bigger waistline

December 29, 2006 / Anthony Stalter

According to an article posted on Men’s Health.com, an average man can eat more than 120,000 calories between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. That’s an additional 460 to 900 calories a day, which can result in a weight gain of five to even 10 pounds. Yikes. We all want decent gifts this holiday season, but 10 pounds around the midsection isn’t one of them.

That same?Men’s Health article offers great tips on eating around a buffet table (which seems to be a holiday must) as well as advice on appetizers and holiday dinners. It’s a great article for those of us who still want to dive into some of the holiday treats, but don’t want to pay the ultimate price for it. Don’t mistake this as the alternative to working out, however. You still of course have to make your way to the gym this holiday season.

Click here to check out the article.

Diets, Magazine Hype, Men's Health and Wellness, Nutrition

Soy = Toxin

November 1, 2006 / Mike Furci

The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Poisonous Plant Database contains references to scientific literature describing studies of the toxic properties of plants and plant parts.? Under the term soy, 288 records were found.? To put this into perspective:? broccoli had 24 records, green beans had 3, cauliflower had 30, brussel sprouts had 17, and tomatoes had 2.

Just 25g of soy per day, which is not difficult to attain with soy being in everything, has been shown to inhibit proper thyroid function. Hypothyroidism has become an epidemic in this country coinciding with the increase in the use of soy in our food supply.
Q & A 2006

Foods products, Men's Health and Wellness

Poll finds most Americans read food labels.

October 25, 2006 / Mike Furci

With obesity at epidemic rates, type 2 diabetes skyrocketting, and heart disease still the number one killer in the US, one would think Americans could careless about food labels.? However, an AP-Ipsos survey of 1003 adults found that 80% of Americans read food labels.? The problem is, 44% of those still buy the food reguardless of it’s content.? Does this really suprise anybody?? Better yet, does it make any sense?

The poll also found the following:

65% of women check labels?in comparison to?51% of men.

Women?consider nutrition a higher priority than men, 82% – 64%.

Married men check labels more frequently than single men, 76% – 65%.

People between the ages of 18 & 29 are more likely to look at calories of food labels.? 39% said they look at calories first, however 60% percent of them purchase?junk food even after?reading the label.?

Foods products