Are wine, beer, cheese, spinach, tomatoes, peppers, tea and coffee good or bad for you?

Controversy surrounds many of these foods, but what's the truth?  Even the "beloved" spinach, tomatoes, and tea can have some problems, so let's explore...

by Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen & The Top 101 Foods that FIGHT Aging

One thing I’ve come to the conclusion about over my decades of studying nutrition is that even if something is “good for you” still might not mean it’s best to eat a bushel of it every single day.
In today's article, we'll even look at a few "darlings" of the nutrition world such as spinach, tomatoes, and tea, and why too much of these can even be bad in some cases.  And we'll also look at things you're told by the media are "bad for you" such as beer, coffee, cheese and butter, and why these can actually be good in many cases.

Let's start with "toxins"...
It seems that even some substances labeled as “toxins” by scientists can sometimes be good for you in small doses.  Alcohol is one example.  It’s considered a toxin (intoxicated) by any scientist, yet for some reason, study after study shows that light to moderate drinkers live significantly longer than both non-drinkers or heavy drinkers.  It's an interesting fact isn't it... that just small amounts of something considered a "toxin" could help you live longer than if you didn't drink any of it at all, but too much of it will kill you.
There are confounding variables though that are hard to decipher in mixed group research or surveys of people's drinking habits… for one, it's rarely studied as to whether hard liquor drinkers would actually fare as well as somebody that ONLY drank wine or beer, each of which have their own unique antioxidants that are usually missing in hard alcohol.  So is the increase in life span of light to moderate drinkers due to the antioxidants in wine and beer as opposed to the alcohol itself?  Or is it a synergistic effect of both?
One study I read about recently showed that 1-2 glasses of red wine per day significantly increased good bacteria in the gut and decreased bad bacteria (in addition to benefits to blood pressure, triglycerides, LDL, and C-reactive protein), yet for some reason, hard liquor (gin was tested) didn’t have any of the same benefits.  It was concluded that it's most likely the polyphenols and resveratrol in wine that helps the good gut probiotics flourish and possibly also improves the blood chemistry too.  And as you know, good belly bugs have immense benefits to your digestive system and your immune system.
Personally, I’ve grown quite fond recently with having one glass of red wine with dinner about 5-6 nights per week now.  I look forward to that glass of wine each night, sometimes with a good aged cheese out on the deck watching the sunset before dinner.  Occasionally I have 2 glasses if I feel like it.  But I know if I had 7 or 8 glasses, it’s more toxic than beneficial.  We've been able to find some good organic wines at the local wine shop for only about $12 a bottle... not too shabby!
Now in regards to the light or moderate drinkers living longer than non-drinkers or heavy drinkers, I certainly realize this doesn't mean that you HAVE to drink in order to live to 100.  I know, I know... your Great Aunt Helen lived to 102 and never drank a sip of alcohol right?  Well, I'm sure there are also examples of someone you know that smoked their whole life and lived to 100 too.  The point is that these are just general stats on the population as a whole (smokers die younger, light drinkers live longer, etc), and every individual has thousands of different factors (nutritional, lifestyle, social, stress, etc) that combine together to determine how long they'll live.

Beer?
In my 20's and early 30's, my buddies and I used to drink a lot of "light" beers on weekends when we were hanging out together.  Nowadays, I don't drink much beer at all anymore, but when I do choose to enjoy a beer maybe once a week, I always choose a quality dark beer.
A good dark beer is known to have a decent quantity of unique antioxidants and B vitamins that are at much lower quantities in light beer, if they're present at all in some brands.  On the other hand, too much beer contains too much estrogenic compounds from the hops which have their own health consequences if overcomsumed, for both men and women…
Once again, moderation seems to be best.  A couple beers a week probably has benefits, but a six-pack or more a night might put you in an early grave.
What about possible detriments of beer since it was brewed using barley and/or wheat as the base?  After all, most Paleo eating plans try to avoid grains because of some of the problematic components of many grains...
Well, while it's true that I personally try to avoid most grains because of some of the digestive-system harming antinutrients and gluten (which also affects immune system and lots more), this is less of an issue with beer because it's been fermented.  Any time you ferment something, the microbes involved in the fermentation effectively render many of the toxins more neutral and easier to digest.
This is why fermented soy can actually be somewhat healthy, while unfermented soy is terrible for you.  This is also why sourdough bread (since it's been fermented) is less harmful to you than regular whole wheat bread, and the gluten is actually more digestible in fermented sourdough bread (more on that another day).  This is also why fermented dairy such as kefir and yogurt are the most digestible forms of dairy, and much more favorable compared to plain milk.

Cheese?
Speaking of fermented foods and also the confusing topic for most people of dairy, let's talk CHEESE...
Many old-school nutritionists, dieticians, and news reporters that don't understand true nutritional biochemistry always talk about the FAT in cheese.  They say stuff like "cheese is fattening" or "always choose low-fat or fat-free cheese".  If you read my article here, you'll see why the fat in grass-fed cheese can help you to burn fat and even prevent heart disease.  I know that may sound crazy, but you can't ignore the fact that the fat in grass-fed dairy contains powerful nutrients such as vitamin K2, which has been shown to prevent arterial calcification, as well as the healthy fat, CLA, which is shown to help burn fat, build muscle, and fight cancer.
Aside from the fat portion of cheese, which we know may actually be the healthiest part of any grass-fed cheese, what about the digestibility of cheese, and components like the casein?  Well, it's true that certain people may have difficulty digesting the casein (or lactose) in some dairy products.  But keep in mind that fermented dairy products like kefir, yogurt, and aged cheeses are generally the easiest to digest since they've already been "pre-digested" by microbes in the fermentation process.  So the majority of people do not have issues with digesting fermented forms of dairy.  And kefir is 99% lactose-free in most good brands because the microbes consume and digest the lactose in the fermentation process.
When it comes to cheese though, the KEY to digestibility is that it's a good quality AGED cheese... A true aged cheese that's gone through multiple stages of fermentation from various forms of microbes will always be the easiest to digest due to the pre-digestion already performed by many of the microbes, as each stage in the aging process will help break down the dairy components into more digestible forms.  For example, if you like cheddar cheese, one of the best options that's also easy to find at most stores is Kerrygold Irish... each type has been aged for different amounts of time, and all of their cheeses are from grass-fed cows.  I've found several European aged cheeses such as Midnight Moon and Ewephoria (aged goat and sheep cheeses) which I'm in LOVE with!
Whatever you do, steer clear of cheap processed cheeses like American cheese, salty cheese spreads, cheese "loaf", etc as these are generally not healthy.

What could possibly be wrong with Spinach?
Everybody knows that spinach is great for us, right?  After all, spinach is loaded with antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, all of which are wonderful for our bodies.  And of course, Popeye got his muscles from eating spinach :)
However, spinach and other dark leafy greens contain higher amounts of oxalic acid which is known to cause kidney stones or kidney damage if you take in too much for too long.  Most information available says that for most people, you’d have to eat very large amounts of spinach and eat it chronically to actually see negative effects, so this seems to be yet another example of moderation is probably best.
My takeaway... A small mixed greens salad each night with dinner is probably beneficial to our health, but a massive greens salad 2 or 3 times a day, every single day is probably too much and may cause problems with too much oxalic acid.

Nightshade Vegetables:
This is represented mostly by eggplant, tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers as the most common members of this family.  There are also some wild versions of nightshades that apparently are highly toxic if you ate them in the wild.  Our common agricultural nightshades are much safer, but still contain small levels of certain problematic compounds that have actually been linked to Arthritis and other inappropriate calcification type effects in certain people that are sensitive to them and over long periods of time of consuming them.
Tomotoes and peppers have the powerful antioxidant lycopene.  Eggplant skin has powerful antioxidants being studied in fighting cancer.  Potatoes are loaded with valuable minerals and are fine to eat in moderation (at the right times) for active people that workout a lot to fuel anaerobic high intensity training and muscle glycogen replenishment.  On the other hand, potatoes also contain toxins called glycoalkaloids that are not good for you if consumed too frequently.  So as you can see, although many of these plants have benefits, they can also have small amounts of toxins too that can be problematic if consumed too frequently.
Once again, maybe it’s beneficial to have tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes 2 or 3 times a week for their own unique antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, but perhaps eating them with every single meal has more detriments than benefits.
Probably another perfect example of moderation is best.  Are we seeing a pattern here yet?
Interestingly, I found out through some digging through research that a high intake of vitamin K2 from things like grass-fed butter (and grass-fed cream and cheese), organ meats, and certain fermented veggies (krauts or kimchi) can counteract any calcification effects of the toxins that are in nightshade vegetables.  This is similar to the research I dug up showing that vitamin K2 also helps prevent or reverse calcification in the arteries too!   Hmm, no wonder heart disease increased with the advent of margarine and the decrease in consumption of butter in our society...  Not only were the trans fats in margarine probably responsible for some of the damage, but also the LACK of essential vitamin K2 caused by fooling everyone into removing butter from their diet exacerbated the heart problems!
Leave it to big business and food marketing to screw up what our grandparents were doing right in the past.

Is there anything wrong with healthy Tea?
We all know that various teas including white, green, black, oolong, red, and herbal teas all have powerful and unique antioxidants that protect us from degenerative diseases like cancer and heart disease.  And we also know that some phytochemicals in teas can even cause a very slight increase in fat loss, although I think that effect is fairly small, and still requires the rest of the diet to be on point.
However, I saw a report recently that non-organic tea originating from China was found to have alarmingly high levels of dangerous pesticides in the tea (both black and green), and apparently, a lot of popular brands failed pesticide residue testing.  Cancer is a concern with chronic pesticide ingestion.
My main lesson from reading these reports was that I'm simply going to make a greater effort to always choose organic tea brands from now on, because it would be illegal to be labeled organic and still be teeming with pesticides.  Variety also seems to be key with teas as well to avoid overuse of any one type of tea.  I personally like to make a big batch of iced tea a couple times a week and I usually mix green, oolong, white, rooibos, and herbal tea bags all together into the pot to get a nice blended taste, but also a good blend of antioxidants that are unique to each type of tea.
I also like chamomile and/or mint teas at night to help relax and get more sleepy and hour or two before bedtime.  You can also read my 5 tips for insomnia in this article related to a bedtime ritual that helps you fall asleep easier and sleep more deeply.

Coffee?
For some reason, most people think that their daily cup of coffee is "bad" for them.  But if you avoid the sugar and fake creamers (use REAL cream and stevia instead!), it's actually a fairly healthy drink that's oozing with beneficial antioxidants, phenolic nutrients, chlorogenic acids, and other healthy compounds that far outweigh any small amounts of acrylamides or other negative compounds found in coffee.
Numerous studies over the years have linked coffee consumption to reduced risk of various forms of cancer.  In fact, a 2011 Harvard study showed that men who drink 1-3 cups of coffee daily reduce their risk of prostate cancer by 30%.  Other studies have linked coffee consumption to reduced risk of diabetes.
I personally LOVE having 1 cup of really good coffee per day -- with grass-fed cream of course, for that all-important vitamin K2.  By the way, Organic Valley has a great pasture-raised cream that I've found at many grocery stores.
I look forward my freshly ground (I use a Bullet to grind the beans fresh, since this tastes far superior to pre-ground coffee) organic coffee in the morning with my nut-flour based Paleo homemade blueberry muffin... I'll share my recipe for that in a newsletter soon, but my friend Kelley Herring also has an amazing low-carb Paleo blueberry muffin recipe in her Guilt-Free Desserts manual... And as you probably guessed since you know my style, I also top my Paleo blueberry muffins with some melted Kerrygold grass-fed butter.  Mmm, what a delicious start to any morning!
Once again, staying with the theme of moderation, if you drink too much coffee, you can possibly suffer the detriments of too much caffeine and the possible adrenal fatigue that can be caused by too much caffeine for long periods of time... but small amounts of daily coffee and you reap the benefits of the antioxidants that are unique to the coffee bean.  I’ve been making a big effort to choose organic coffee beans at least 90-95% of the time, since apparently coffee is one of the worst crops in terms of pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides.  And remember that pesticides can have estrogenic effects, but also carcinogenic effects, and that's why we choose organic most of the time.
I also have an article here with 3 tricks to make your coffee super healthy.
With respect to the discussion of eating things in "moderation"... Keep in mind though that I don't agree with people that say "everything in moderation" ... For example, there's ZERO reason to consume trans fats in moderation. They're just too deadly to even consume at all in my opinion, when you can choose natural healthy fats instead.  And why choose to eat high fructose corn syrup in moderation when you can use real sweeteners instead, such as honey, stevia, or maple syrup.  I'm sure you get my point.
To summarize, I think the biggest thing you can take from this article is that many foods and drinks have some negative compounds in them, and some beneficial compounds too.  If you keep good variety in your diet, and don't over-consume any particular type of food or drink, the health benefits can be amazing from many of these delicious foods and drinks.  But even some healthy foods can have their problems if over-consumed.
That's why I enjoy ONE cup of daily coffee, ONE (or occasionally two) cups of daily red wine, one or two cups of a variety of teas daily, ONE serving of a leafy greens salad each day, Nightshade vegetables like tomatoes and peppers a couple times a week, the healthiest types of aged cheeses a few times a week, and even the occasional dark beer... and I know that these are generally doing a body good... PLUS, they're just really enjoyable and a fun part of life!

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3 Counterfeit Foods Marketed as "Healthier" - these are Deceptive

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

author of best-selling program:  The Truth about Six Pack Abs

I was at the grocery store yesterday and had to shake my head at all of the deceptive labels with everything claiming all sorts of things that are supposedly "healthy", but aren't really. 
One of the things that really disturbed me was that I saw several examples of healthy foods in their natural state, but I saw counterfeit versions of these foods claiming that they were healthier than the original...
Yet in reality, all of these "counterfeit" versions were actually MUCH worse for you than the original, and more highly processed... and they still have the balls to claim that their overly processed "junkified" versions are better.
This is food marketing deception at it's worst!
Example #1:  Product claiming "Better than peanut butter" by being a low-fat peanut butter
This product is ridiculous!  I can't believe anyone would ever believe that this junk is better for them than natural peanut butter.
What I'm talking about here are the types of peanut butter that claim to be "lower-fat peanut butter"...  But remember that "low-fat" many times just means more added sugars and carbs to replace the fats they took out.  Not good!
First of all, if you buy a good simple peanut butter (organic is best), it is usually nothing but 2 ingredients... peanuts and salt. And they don't add much salt so it's not high in sodium. 
Note: Remember to always avoid peanut butters that contain harmful hydrogenated oils.  Peanut butter that contains palm oil is a better alternative than added hydrogenated oils... but natural peanut butter with just peanuts and salt is best.
Back to the counterfeit peanut butter... This counterfeit peanut butter which claimed it was "better than peanut butter" (trying to seem healthier than peanut butter based on it's label claims) had a list of junk in it you wouldn't believe. First of all, they strip most of the healthy fats out of the peanuts so that it is a "low fat" product. Ok, now you've just taken away one of the healthiest parts of the product...the appetite satisfying healthy fats that you need to control cravings and manage more stable blood sugar levels.
To make things worse, the healthy fats were replaced with TWO different types of sugary syrups as well as additional dehydrated cane juice (aka SUGAR), in addition to added refined starches.
This product has taken something as simple and natural as peanut butter, and turned it into what should really be called some sort of processed candy. Yet, they claim that it's healthier than peanut butter because it's "lower fat".  And somehow they get away with deceiving people like this. Don't be their fool! 
This overly processed peanut butter may be lower in fat (by removing the healthy fats), but it's also higher in sugar and total carbohydrates, bringing the calorie total pretty close to regular peanut butter.
Example #2: Product claiming to be "better than eggs".
I won't get as detailed on this one because I recently talked about this entire topic in another newsletter.
But basically, this product was just egg whites with a bunch of added chemical colorings, flavorings, and other nonsense, including fake added vitamins.
Again, this product has essentially ruined a good thing by removing the healthiest part... the YOLKS!  And yes, the yolks ARE the healthiest part of the egg. Anybody that tells you different doesn't understand much about REAL nutrition.  The important thing to look for in quality whole eggs are cage-free and organic, and also the diet that the hens ate.  Most commercial egg farms are a disaster for the health of the hens, as they are crowded inside hen houses and never see the light of day, and are fed unhealthy amounts of grains.
Your best bet is to find a local farmer that you know allows the hens daily time outdoors to roam freely on land and eat a variety of greens, bugs, etc.  I understand that not everybody can find a local farmer that does this type of thing... so what you want to look for at the grocery store is organic, free-range eggs, and also brands that claim higher amounts of DHA or omega-3's. 
A slight improvement over standard eggs is if the hens had flax seed or algae feed included in their diet to increase the omega-3 content of the eggs.  These eggs will have a better ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fats.
If you missed my previous article about whole eggs vs egg whites, you can view it here...
Click here, Are Whole Eggs or Egg Whites Healthier?
Example #3:  A product claiming to be "better than butter".
This was essentially crappy margarine loaded with highly processed and deadly trans fats, yet it had the nerve to claim it was "better than butter".
Who are they fooling!
Even low quality butter is healthier than ANY margarine. One problem with butter can be pesticides and hormones from improperly raised cows.
For this reason, you always want to choose organic butter, and if you can find "grass-fed" organic butter, then I would even say it can be healthy for you.  In fact, a little known fact is that adding a little butter to your steamed vegetables helps your body to absorb more of the vitamins and minerals in the veggies.  It's true...having veggies with a fat source aids your assimilation of vitamins and minerals.  If you missed the article the other day about why      Click here:- healthy grass-fed butter can even help fat loss, read that here .
Another factor in favor of butter:
Due to the content of stable saturated fats in butter, this makes butter one of the healthiest oils or fats to cook with. Oils high in polyunsaturated fats are the worst to cook with due to their highly unstable nature, which contributes to excess free radical production.  For more info about this topic, here's an article I did about healthy vs unhealthy cooking oils
What about the saturated fats in butter?
No, the saturated fat in butter is NOT bad for you. If you've been reading my newsletters for some time, you know that we've already beaten that topic to death. If you're new to this newsletter, you can go back to this page to see why saturated fats are a perfectly natural part of the human diet and always have been: Click here:-Evidence that saturated fat is NOT bad for you
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My Top 55 Lean-Body Foods to Build Lean Muscle and Lose Body Fat

by Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer 

Author of best-selling program:  The Truth about Six Pack Abs

In most of my Lean-Body Secrets Newsletters, I like to provide a healthy snack or meal recipe that not only is delicious and healthy, but also helps to get you closer to that hard-body appearance that everyone is looking for, while also more importantly, improving your health for life. In this article, I'd like to give you healthy food ideas in a different way. This time, I figured I'd just give you some ideas of what I stock my fridge and cabinets with.
Remember, if you don't have junk around the house, you're less likely to eat junk!  If all you have is healthy nutritious foods around the house, you're forced to make smart choices. Basically, it all starts with making smart choices and avoiding temptations when you make your grocery store trip. Now these are just some of my personal preferences, but perhaps they will give you some good ideas that you'll enjoy.
Some of these will be obvious healthy choices, such as fruits and veggies... however, others on this page I think will surprise you!
Alright, so let's start with the fridge. Each week, I try to make sure I'm loaded up with lots of varieties of fresh vegetables. During the growing season, I only get local produce, but obviously in winter, I have to resort to the produce at the grocery store. Most of the time, I make sure I have plenty of vegetables like onions, zucchini,  spinach, fresh mushrooms, red peppers, broccoli, etc. to use in my morning eggs.  I also like to chop up some lean chicken or turkey sausage (make sure to look for nitrate & nitrite free) or grass-fed bison sausage into the eggs, along with some swiss, jack, or goat cheeses (preferably raw grass-fed cheeses when I can find them). 
By the way I'm talking about whole eggs, NOT egg whites.  Always remember that the yolk is the most nutritious and nutrient dense part of the egg, so only eating egg whites is like throwing away the best part... and no, it's NOT bad for you because of the cholesterol... whole eggs actually raise your GOOD cholesterol.  Try to get free range organic eggs for the best quality. Here's an entire article I did on the topic of whole eggs vs egg whites.
Coconut milk is another staple in my fridge. I like to use it to mix in with smoothies, oatmeal, or yogurt for a rich, creamy taste. Not only does coconut milk add a rich, creamy taste to lots of dishes, but it's also full of healthy saturated fats. Yes, you heard me right... I said healthy saturated fats!  ...Healthy saturated fats such as medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), specifically an MCT called lauric acid, which is vitally important for your immune system.
If the idea of healthy saturated fats is foreign to you, check out my article about why saturated fat is not as bad as you think.
Back to the fridge, some other staples:

• Walnuts, pecans, almonds - delicious and great sources of healthy fats.  Try to get raw nuts if possible as the roasting process can oxidize some of the polyunsaturated fats in some types of nuts making those damaged fats slightly more inflammatory.  Overall, nuts are still healthy even if they are roasted, but raw nuts are optimal. 
• Cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, and yogurt (grass-fed and organic if possible) - I like to mix cottage or ricotta cheese and yogurt together with chopped nuts and berries for a great mid-morning or mid-afternoon meal.
• Chia seeds and/or hemp seeds - I add these highly nutritious seeds to yogurt, smoothies, or salads for a great nutty taste and loads of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins and minerals. Don't use pre-ground versions of these seeds as the omega-3 polyunsaturated fats are highly unstable and prone to oxidation, creating high levels of free radicals if you use pre-ground seeds.  No grinding is necessary to properly digest these seeds. 
• Whole eggs - one of natures richest sources of nutrients (and remember, they increase your GOOD cholesterol so stop fearing them).
• Salsa - I try to get creative and try some of the exotic varieties of salsas.
• Avocados - love them...plus a great source of healthy fats, fiber, and other nutrients. Try adding them to wraps, salads, or sandwiches.
• Butter - don't believe the naysayers; butter adds great flavor to anything and CAN be part of a healthy diet... just keep the quantity small because it is calorie dense... and NEVER use margarine, unless you want to assure yourself a heart attack.  Most important -- choose organic butter only, since pesticides and other harmful chemicals accumulate in the fat of the milk which is used for butter, so choosing organic helps avoid this problem.  Also, choose grass-fed (pastured) butter if you can find it as it will contain higher levels of healthful omega-3 fats and the fat-burning conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). 
• Nut butters - Plain old peanut butter has gotten a little old for me, so I get creative and mix together almond butter with pecan butter, or even cashew butter with macadamia butter...delicious and unbeatable nutrition!  Using a variety of nut butters gives you a broader range of vitamins and minerals and other micronutrients, and gives you variety instead of boring old peanut butter all the time.
• Leaf lettuce and spinach along with shredded carrots - for salads with dinner.
• Home-made salad dressing - using balsamic vinegar, spices, extra virgin olive oil, and Udo's Choice oil blend. This is much better than store bought salad dressing which mostly use highly refined canola or soybean oil (canola and soybean oil are both very inflammatory in the body).  Here's an article showing why to NEVER use store-bought salad dressings.
• Sprouted grain bread for occasional use -- My personal belief from years of nutrition research is that we're not really meant to consume the massive quantities of grains (not even whole grains) that we do in this day and age... a small amount may be okay, but our digestive systems are still primarily adapted to a hunter/gatherer type of diet with only a very small amount of grains, therefore I try to only have breads and other grain-based foods on cheat days.
• Rice bran - If we're going to have some grain-based food, we might as well have the most nutrient dense part, and rice bran is one of those parts, since it includes the germ of brown rice too. Rice bran is loaded with vitamins and minerals but without the large amount of starch calories that rice has... and it actually adds a nice little nutty, crunchy taste to yogurt or smoothies, or can be added when baking to add nutrients and fiber to the recipe.

Some of the staples in the freezer:

• Frozen berries - during the local growing season, I only get fresh berries, but during the other 10 months of the year, I always keep a supply of frozen blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, cherries, etc. to add to high fiber cereal, oatmeal, cottage cheese, yogurt, or smoothies. I also get frozen goji berries sometimes for a little "exotic" variety. 
• Frozen fish - I like to try a couple different kinds of fish each week. There are so many varieties out there, you never have to get bored. Just make sure to ALWAYS choose wild fish instead of farmed versions, as the omega-3 to omega-6 balance is MUCH healthier in wild fish. 
• Frozen chicken breasts - very convenient for a quick addition to wraps or chicken sandwiches for quick meals.
• Grass-fed steaks, burgers, and ground beef:  Grass-fed meats have been shown to have as high as, or even higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids than salmon (without the mercury).  Also, grass-fed meats have much higher levels of fat-burning and muscle-building conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) compared to typical grain-fed beef that you'll find at your grocery store.  I recently found an excellent on-line store where I buy all of my grass-fed meats now (they even deliver right to your door in a sealed cooler) - www.healthygrassfed.2ya.com
• Frozen buffalo, ostrich, venison, and other "exotic" lean meats - Yeah, I know...I'm weird, but I can tell you that these are some of the healthiest meats around, and if you're serious about a lean healthy body, these types of meats are much better for you than the mass produced, hormone-pumped beef, chicken, and pork that's sold at most grocery stores.
• Frozen veggies - again, when the growing season is over and I can no longer get local fresh produce, frozen veggies are the best option, since they often have higher nutrient contents compared to the fresh produce that has been shipped thousands of miles, sitting around for weeks before making it to your dinner table.

Alright, now the staples in my cabinets:

• Various antioxidant-rich teas - green, oolong, white, rooibos (red tea) are some of the healthiest.  One of my newest favorite teas is yerba mate, which is a south american tea that is loaded with antioxidants and other nutrients. I've found some delicious yerba mate mixes such as chocolate yerba mate, mint mate, raspberry mate, etc.
• Oat bran and steel cut oats - higher fiber than those little packs of instant oats, which are typically loaded with sugar.  If I'm trying to reduce body fat and get extra lean, I make most of my breakfasts based on eggs and veggies and bison sausage, but if I'm on a muscle building phase, I increase carbohydrate intake and use more oat bran and oatmeal.
• The only healthy oils I have in my cabinets are virgin coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil. Macadamia oil may also be a reasonable choice as long as it's not "refined".  But other than that, all "vegetable oils" (which is usually soy and corn oil) are total junk and very inflammatory. Never use soy or corn oils!  Also, always avoid canola oil, as there is nothing healthy about canola oil, despite the deceptive marketing claims by the canola oil industry.
• Cans of coconut milk (loaded with healthy saturated MCT fats) - to be transferred to a container in the fridge after opening.
• Brown rice and other higher fiber rice - NEVER white rice
• Tomato sauces - delicious, and as I'm sure you've heard a million times, they are a great source of lycopene. Just watch out for the brands that are loaded with nasty high fructose corn syrup.  You also want to make sure that the tomato sauce is made with olive oil instead of unhealthy soybean oil or canola oils. Also get tomato sauces in glass jars instead of cans, as canned tomatoes are notoriously high in the dangerous chemical, bisphenol-A (BPA) due to the acidic leaching of BPA from the can lining.
• Stevia - a natural non-caloric sweetener, which is an excellent alternative to the nasty chemical-laden artificial sweeteners like aspartame, saccharine, and sucralose.
• Raw honey - better than processed honey... higher quantities of beneficial nutrients and enzymes. Honey has even been proven in studies to improve glucose metabolism (your efficiency in processing carbohydrates).  I use a small teaspoon every morning in my teas.  Yes, I know that even honey is pure sugar, but at least it has some nutritional benefits... and let's be real, a teaspoon of healthier raw honey is only 5 grams of carbs... certainly nothing to worry about, and a better choice than refined sugar.
• Organic REAL maple syrup - none of that high fructose corn syrup Aunt Jemima crap...only real maple syrup can be considered real food. The only time I really use this (because of the high sugar load) is added to my post-workout smoothies to sweeten things up and also elicit an insulin surge to push nutrients into your muscles to aid muscle recovery.
• Organic unsweetened cocoa powder - I like to mix this into my smoothies for an extra jolt of antioxidants or make my own low-sugar hot cocoa by mixing cocoa powder into hot milk with stevia and a couple melted dark chocolate chunks (delicious!).
• Cans of black or kidney beans - I like to add a couple scoops to my Mexican dishes for the fiber and high nutrition content. Also, beans are surprisingly one of the best sources of youth enhancing antioxidants!  Did you know that black beans and kidney beans have more antioxidants than blueberries...it's true!
• Dark chocolate (as dark as possible - ideally more than 70-75% cocoa content) - This is one of my treats that satisfies my sweet tooth, plus provides loads of antioxidants at the same time. It's still calorie dense, so I keep it to just 1-2 small squares after a meal... but that is enough to do the trick, so I don't feel like I need to go out and get cake and ice cream to satisfy my dessert urges.

Lastly, another thing that's hard to go wrong with is a good variety of fresh fruits and berries. The staples such as bananas, apples, oranges, pears, peaches are good, but I like to also be a little more adventurous and include things like yellow (aka - mexican or champagne) mangoes, pomegranates, kumquats, papaya, star fruit, pineapples, and others. Also, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, black raspberries (the highest fiber berry) and cherries are some of the most nutrient and antioxidant-dense fruits you can eat.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this special look into my favorite lean body meals and how I stock my cabinets and fridge. Your tastes are probably quite different than mine, but hopefully this gave you some good ideas you can use next time you're at the grocery store looking to stock up a healthy and delicious pile of groceries.
If you liked this article feel free to share with your friends and family.

   5 Foods that FIGHT Abdominal Fat

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Which of these cooking oils are destroying your health? (the truth may surprise you!)

Some of these oils are healthy and some are VERY unhealthy -- soybean oil, olive oil, coconut oil, corn oil, etc... Let's take a closer look.

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Author of best-sellers: The Truth About 6-Pack Abs  & The Top 101 Foods that FIGHT Aging

Today, I wanted to give you my take on a confusing subject to most people:

...why some oils and fats you may use in cooking, baking, or other food use are actually harmful to your body, and why some are healthful.
Here's the deal...
A lot of people seem to think that anything labeled as "vegetable oil" is good for you. NOT A SHOT!
Most of what is labeled as "vegetable oil" is simply heavily refined soybean oil (processed under high heat, pressure, and industrial solvents, such as hexane)... sometimes perhaps it may also be heavily refined cottonseed, safflower, corn, grapeseed, or other oils too.
In most instances, almost all of these processed oils are NOT HEALTHY for you.  I'll explain why below...
If you buy processed food or deep fried food, you can usually be certain that these unhealthy oils are used to prepare your foods (or worse, it may use hydrogenated versions of these oils... aka - trans fats).
You may have even bought some of these oils for your own cooking or baking at home.
The problem with soybean oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, safflower oil, and other similar "vegetable oils" is that they are mostly composed of polyunsaturated fats (the most highly reactive type of fat) which leaves them prone to oxidation and free radical production when exposed to heat and light.
Processed polyunsaturated oils are the most inflammatory inside our bodies because of their high reactivity to heat and light. This inflammation is what causes many of our internal problems to develop such as heart disease, cancer, and other degenerative diseases.
Note: It's ok if a polyunsaturated fat source isn't processed such as in whole foods like various nuts and seeds... In that case it's usually not inflammatory (as long as it's not been exposed to high heat), and nuts are usually a great source of healthy polyunsaturated fats. By the way, omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids are both polyunsaturates, and a healthy balance of approx 1:1 to 3:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 is considered healthiest.
Your best bet is to choose raw nuts and seeds whenever possible to avoid the oxidation of polyunsaturated fats that can occur during roasting of nuts and seeds.  Keep in mind though that some nuts are mostly monounsaturated, (for example, macadamias), so the issue of roasted vs raw nuts is less of an issue for highly monounsaturated nuts.
However, all of the vegetable oils listed above are generally heavily refined during processing, so that makes them already inflammatory before you even cook with them (which does even more damage).
Here's the actual order of stability of a type of fat under heat and light (from least stable to most stable):
1. polyunsaturated
2. monounsaturated
3. saturated
Here's something that mainstream health professionals will never tell you...
Saturated fats are actually the healthiest oils to cook with!

Why?  Because they are much more stable in cooking conditions and less inflammatory than polyunsaturated oils with cooking.

This is why tropical oils such as palm and coconut oils (and even animal fats such as lard and butter) are best for cooking... they have very little polyunsaturates and are mostly composed of natural saturated fats which are the least reactive to heat/light and therefore the least inflammatory in your body from cooking use.
That's also why natural butter (NOT margarine) is one of the best fats for cooking. This all goes directly against what you hear in mainstream health talk... because most health professionals don't truly understand the biochemistry of fats, and falsely believe that saturated fats are bad for you... when in fact, they are actually neutral in most instances... and saturated fats from tropical oils are actually good for you as they contain mostly medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) which are lacking in most people's diets.
In fact, lauric acid is one of the abundant MCTs in tropical oils and is known to strengthen the immune system.  Lauric acid is even being studied currently in medical studies for controlling contagious diseases.
To summarize... your best cooking or baking fats are generally butter or tropical oils such as palm or coconut oil.  Olive oil (extra virgin preferably) is okay for lower cooking temps as it's mostly monounsaturated, so moderately stable.  I also like avocado oil and macadamia nut oil for baking as they are mostly monounsaturated and relatively stable for baking, plus add great flavor! 
The mostly polyunsaturated oils such as soybean, corn, grapeseed, cottonseed, safflower, etc, are the least healthy for cooking or baking.
My choices for top healthy cooking oils that I use:

• Virgin Coconut Oil (very stable at med-high temps and healthy fats)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (only for low temp cooking)
• Real Butter (grass fed butter is actually healthy and contains important nutrients like vitamin K2, omega-3's, and CLA.  Kerrygold is a popular brand of Irish butter that's grass-fed and readily available in most grocery stores)

Of course, with all of that said... we should keep in mind that trying minimize our cooking with oils can help to reduce overall calories. Cooking with oils in moderation is okay and can actually help satisfy your appetite more, but be careful not to overdo it as the calories can add up fast.
Also, please don't be fooled by deceptive marketing claiming that canola oil is healthy for you -- it's NOT! 
So enjoy your coconut oil, grass-fed butter, and delicious extra-virgin olive oils knowing that you're doing your body GOOD!  But just make sure to stay FAR AWAY from dangerous inflammatory vegetable oils like soybean oil, corn oil, and cottonseed oils which are used in so many processed foods these days.
Also remember that most salad dressings you find at the store are loaded with unhealthy soybean or canola oils usually, so make your own with healthy olive oil instead (I have a great healthy salad dressing recipe here)

To your health,

Mike Geary

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The Top 20 Food Rules You NEED to Know to be Truly Lean & Healthy

Everything you wanted to know about protein, carbs, calories, probiotics, vitamin D, cooking oils, foods that burn fat, foods that make you fat, foods that can kill you slowly, and much more.
by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of best-sellers: The Truth About Six Pack Abs & The Top 101 Foods that FIGHT Aging
This article is one that you're going to want to bookmark to come back and reference at any time.  And you'll also want to share this page with all your friends and family to help spread what true healthy nutrition is all about.  Seriously, there's more great information about nutrition on this page than a lot of entire books.
I'm going to rattle off a bunch of random important facts (in no particular order) about food and eating healthy that you need to know.  I'll also refer to any of my previously published articles where appropriate, and where a more full explanation might be needed if you want more details on that topic.  All references to other articles will open in a new window so that you can stay on this page when you're done any of the other reference articles.
Before we start this list, let's establish a big picture view first, before we dive into various smaller topics like specific foods...
The Big Picture View (most people have never thought of food in this way)
Let me give you something to think about, and this is VERY big picture and VERY important... if we took away modern society and plopped you on a deserted island, what is the #1 most important thing in your life at that point?   That's right... FOOD!  What will I eat to survive and thrive.  At that point, you can forget about careers, technology, video games, television, nightlife, cell phones, and just about every other aspect of modern life... the single most important thing you need to focus on at that point is what to eat.
However, in our modern day, most of us don't have to think about what to eat at all, and in fact, most people NEVER think about what they put in their mouths... they just eat whatever they see in front of them that they know tastes good, without any thought about whether it's an appropriate food for humans to eat.
You can call that the "See-Food Diet"... you "see" the food and you eat it.
Isn't that a major disconnect?  Food is quite literally one of the most important things in our daily lives, yet barely anybody thinks about the ramifications of what they eat and how it will affect their health and the quality of their life (until, of course, they lose their health).
Since food is one of the most important things in our lives for our quality of life, don't you think that it should be a priority as one of the fundamental topics that children learn about throughout school?  It should be a priority, but it isn't.  Kids get a thorough education on topics such as Math, History, Science, Languages, etc, but never get more than a couple hours in their entire 12 years in school about the most important thing in our lives...what to eat.
If you think about it, that's absolutely insane...  One of THE single most important aspects of our lives is never really taught to children in school.  And parents don't generally pick up the slack and teach kids nutrition because they were never taught about it either.  This is a modern day phenomenon because the abundance of food all around us in modern day life means that we don't have to think about what's appropriate to eat.
If you want to be lean and truly healthy, obviously you NEED to think differently than the average person who eats the "SEE-food diet" where they eat without thinking.
There needs to be some simple rules to follow if you want to successfully navigate the current food landscape out there where so many foods are making you fat and sick.
And THAT's why I wrote this page for you... to simplify and give you some simple food rules to be lean and healthy, yet still ENJOY food.
Food Rules Simplified
Okay, so let's simplify nutrition a bit here... everyone out there seems confused about what is the best "diet" to be on.  People seem to love to always jump from fad diet to fad diet such as low-fat diets, atkins diets, south beach diets, grapefruit diets, detox diets, vegetarian diets, and other sometimes ridiculous diets that most times are based on one person's opinion or marketing scheme (or personal agenda) rather than based on actual science.
The only "diet" that's actually based on real science is the study of paleolithic nutrition (aka - paleo diet).  But I hate to call it "paleo diet", because it's not like any other fad diet, since it's based on real archaeological nutritional science about what our ancestors ate before the agricultural revolution came around.  The idea is simply that for the first 99.5% of our existence (ancestors back as far as 1.9 Million years ago, homo erectus), we only ate wild plants and animals, while for the last 0.5% of our existence (since the agricultural revolution in the last 5,000-10,000 years), humans now almost entirely eat farmed plants and animals.  The biggest change this represents is the massive inclusion of grains in our current diet (and what our animals are fed) now compared to our Paleolithic ancestors.
There are lots of other changes this represents too, such as the presence of chemicals in our food supply (pesticides, herbicides, xenoestrogens, etc) that didn't exist in the ancient diet, as well as the dramatic changes caused by hybridization of many of our foods, which creates versions of fruits and vegetables bred more for size, sweetness, and appearance as opposed to natural nutrition... this aspect has decreased micronutrient content in the modern day food supply (just look at wild blueberries vs cultivated blueberries as an example of that with wild berries coming in at more than DOUBLE the antioxidants from ORAC testing).
Many people think that we don't know what ancient humans ate... but this is false. 
Nutritional archaeologists know pretty convincingly what ancient humans ate as they study a lot of evidence such as ancient fossilized feces remains as well as studying isotope ratios in ancient human bone samples from all over the world through every time period in history to determine ratios of animals vs plants that ancient humans ate -- which by the way, was always an omnivorous mixture of plants and animals, and a fairly high protein intake...there was no such thing as ancient paleolithic vegans...any Nutritional Archaelogist can confirm that ancient vegans simply didn't exist.  We were all omnivores that ate different ratios of plants and animals based on what part of the world, what latitude we lived, and the time of the year.
So what exactly did our Paleolithic ancestors eat for the first 99.5% of our existence, representing what we are still programmed to eat?  Simple:

• Wild meat, fish, and seafood  (animals that ate the right foods, unlike most of our current factory-farmed meats and farmed fish)
• fruits
• veggies
• eggs (various types)
• nuts
• roots (sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, etc)
• seeds

Grains were only a very TINY fraction of the ancient Paleolithic diet (and only in certain parts of the world) as there was no way to process large amounts of grain back in that day into flour, so amounts of wild grain would have been small such as a handful or two of gathered grains added to a meal of meat and veggies.  As you can see, this is vastly different from the modern human diet that includes grain at almost every meal and in very large quantities in cereals, breads, pasta, muffins, bagels, etc.
One other note... I mention "wild meats" above, and for most people, that's not realistic since you might not hunt. However, as you'll see below in my 20 rules, grass-fed free-range meats can have the same health benefits as wild meats, while avoiding the harmful nutritional components that come with factory-farmed grain-fed meats.

So with that big picture explained...let's get into the details of my top 20 food rules:

Food Rule #1.  Not all carbs are bad, but...
Carbohydrates don't need to be eliminated... they are not inherently "bad" in reasonable quantities.  But grains and processed sugars in particular should be minimized.  So to make things simple, you will be leaner and healthier if you get most of your carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables instead of grains and processed sugar.
The biggest problem with grains (breads, cereals, pasta, bagels, etc), aside from the abuse to your blood sugar regulation system (pancreas and insulin sensitivity), is that grains typically contain a lot of anti-nutrients which prevent your body from absorbing some minerals, as well as gluten and other substances that cause chronic gut inflammation and even possibly digestive system damage in some cases of severe gluten intolerance.
Please note that potatoes, sweet potatoes, and other tubers have less problems in terms of digestive system inflammation than grains do. Tubers were a more common part of the ancient human diet as a source of carbohydrates than grains ever were.  Potatoes and sweet potatoes can be much better tolerated by very active people that have no problem burning off the extra carbohydrates.
What do I personally do?  Well, I avoid grains as much as possible, except on 1 cheat day per week.  That will always be a meal dining out, so that we're never tempted with breads and cereals in our house.  I eat whole fruits (never juice) and veggies daily, and might have an occasional potato or sweet potato once or twice a week.
Food Rule #2.  Healthy vs deadly protein sources
Focus on quality protein sources such as wild game, wish fish and seafood, grass-fed meats, and free-roaming organically fed eggs, while trying to avoid most farmed meats and farmed fish that were fed mostly grains and kept in unhealthy "factory farm" environments. 
Food Rule #3.  Your "Omegas" are out of whack
Most people need to be more aware of the omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio of the food they eat.
The ancestral human diet of the Paleolithic era appears that it had a ratio of approximately 1:1 to 2:1 omega-6 fats to omega-3 fats.  The current average western diet contains anywhere from 20:1 to 30:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats due to the high consumption of grain and soy-based foods and derivatives like soybean oil and corn oil that is pervasive in the food supply (and don't forget the corn and soy that's used as the main animal feed component instead of natural forage).  This is a major problem causing massive inflammation in most people, and one of the causes of many degenerative diseases.
In order to balance this out better, you need to AVOID corn oils, soybean oils, cottonseed oils (or anything cooked in these oils), and minimize grain-fed meats and farmed fish that were fed grains.  Instead, focus on wild fish, grass-fed meats, grass-fed dairy, free-range eggs, as well as other foods that can help you get more omega-3's like chia seeds, walnuts, hemp seeds, and fish oil and/or krill oil, which are vitally important sources of DHA and EPA.  I personally take both fish oil and krill oil, as the fish oil has a larger quantity of DHA and EPA (and more omega-3 volume overall), while the krill oil has more antioxidant benefits from the astaxanthin and a higher absorption rate than the fish oil.
Take note that animal sources of omega-3 fats are MUCH more powerful to your health than plant sources of omega-3's like walnuts, chia, and flax.  This is because animal sources of omega-3's already contain DHA and EPA already converted whereas plant sources don't, and your body is very ineffecient at converting plant sources of omega-3 fats to DHA and EPA.

Food Rule #4.  80,000 species of plants, animals, and fungi?
Aside from processed sugar, if I had to pick 3 of the WORST foods in the average western diet that would be most important to start avoiding, it would be corn, soy, and wheat, and their derivatives such as corn syrup, corn oil, soybean oil, soy protein, etc. Do you want to hear an appalling statistic about what the average person eats... Currently, the average adult eating a typical modern western diet in countries such as the US, Canada, Australia, etc consumes approximately 67% of their total caloric intake from only 3 foods -- CORN, SOY, AND WHEAT (and their derivatives).
Keep in mind that ancestral humans have historically eaten over 80,000 species of plants, animals, and fungi throughout human history, yet modern humans are getting 67% of their calories from only 3 foods. That's a problem! 
Food Rule #5.  Beware of hidden sugars
Beware of hidden calories and inflammation-causing ingredients in condiments and dressings.  You can read my article here on my vote for the top 5 picks for healthiest condiments as well as the worst.
Most people don't realize just how many calories and metabolism damaging high fructose corn syrup they are ingesting in things like ketchup, salad dressings, cocktail sauce, marinades, etc.  For example, 1 Tbsp of ketchup has 5 grams of sugar (usually from HFCS), but the average person uses 2-4 Tbsp of ketchup with a typical burger and fries meal.  That's anywhere from 10-20 grams of EXTRA sugar just from the ketchup alone, and not even counting the sweetened drink that most people have with the meal too.
Be a label reader and avoid HFCS!  And despite deceptive advertisements out there from the corn refining industry that claim "HFCS is no worse than sugar and is natural", this is far from the truth as you can read in this article on my blog that shows why HFCS is indeed worse than plain sugar, despite them both being terrible for you.

Food Rule #6.  Sugar is TOXIC in your body
Speaking of sugar, most people don't realize that they are addicted to sugar, and just how bad sugar is for your body internally.  I hear people say things all the time when eating candy or drinking a sweetened drink that "oh, it's just sugar, I can burn it off easy".  Oh, if it were only that simple. 
That's right... not only does sugar make you fat, it's one of the direct causes of diabetes, heart disease, as well as feeding cancer cells.  Avoid sugar as much as possible with the exception of a small amount of natural sugars in a piece of daily fruit.

Food Rule #7.  Do NOT eat these oils or foods with these added

AVOID soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, and other cheap "vegetable oils" as much as possible.  These oils are highly inflammatory in your body, disrupt your omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acid balance in your body, and also are typically made of genetically modified crops, of which the long term health consequences are not yet fully understood by scientists.
I have an article on my blog saying what oils to have and ones to avoid.  You might be surprised to see why fats you falsely thought were unhealthy such as butter, lard, and coconut oil are actually the healthiest fats/oils to cook with.

Food Rule #8.  Canola oil is terrible for you
Avoid canola oil as much as possible... despite the false marketing claims that canola oil is "healthy" and contains lots of monounsaturated fats just like olive oil, canola oil is NOTHING like olive oil from a biochemical standpoint and how it reacts internally in your body. Note that most canola oil is genetically modified too, so yet another reason to avoid it.

Food Rule #9.  Why you should LOVE butter & cream!
Butter vs margarine?  I have no idea why anybody is still debating this... I use grass-fed butter on a daily basis, but I would NEVER even touch margarine... not even the so-called "healthy" margarines, which usually still contain inflammatory soybean or corn oils.  REAL butter is the only answer in this case.
Also, it's not just butter that's good for you... dairy fat in the form of grass-fed cream, aged cheeses, full-fat yogurts and other dairy fat has even been shown in some studies to PROTECT your arteries from clogging!  Don't believe me?  Read this article for the full story:
Food Rule #10.  STOP avoiding egg yolks -- eat whole eggs
Egg whites vs whole eggs?  Once again, I have no idea why anyone is still debating this.  Most of the general population has still not gotten the memo that egg yolks are actually the healthiest part of the egg, with over 90% of the micronutrients and antioxidants, and 100% of the fat soluble vitamins that are so important for our health.  Why anybody would only eat egg whites and avoid yolks is beyond comprehension.  And no, the dietary cholesterol in eggs is not bad for your heart... in fact, it increases your good HDL cholesterol.  I have a full article on my blog why whole eggs are much healthier than egg whites, help increase your fat burning hormones, and why I personally eat 3-4 whole eggs per day and how this helps to stay in single digit body fat range.

Food Rule #11.  Beware of chemicals in your foods
Let's start with this one to avoid:  This additive makes you 3x more likely to be overweight.
Also, beware of the carcinogenic and estrogenic chemical BPA that is commonly found in some canned foods and bottled drinks. BPA has been linked to increased abdominal fat, birth defects, cancer, and more.  Remember that canned tomatoes are one of the worst offenders with highest concentrations of harmful BPA because of the acidic leaching effect of the tomatoes.
Food Rule #12.  Why I haven't used a microwave in 10 years
In my opinion, it's best to AVOID microwaved foods.  Some scientists believe that microwaving food changes the the biochemistry of the food in ways that cause negative effects in the body compared to raw or conventionally cooked food.  Think of this from a logical perspective... the human digestive system evolved over a period of approximately 1.9 million years (our ancesters homo erectus & neanderthal, as well as current homo sapiens) eating a combination of raw and cooked food that was cooked with either fire or hot water, not microwaves.
Microwaves are a new invention which cooks food in an entirely different way than hot water or fire, creating damaged molecules in food that were not found in nature previously, and that our body does not know how to deal with.  Logically, it's easy to understand how this could have health consequences.  Read this article on my blog here for a full description of why I never eat microwaved foods anymore and have not for at least the last 10 years.  We also show you how easy it is to live without a microwave and heat up your foods in healthier ways.

Food Rule #13.  Add herbs and spices to everything (your body will thank you)
One of the healthiest things to include in your daily diet are herbs and spices.  In fact, herbs and spices typically contain LOADS more antioxidants than most fruits and vegetables.  Spices are extremely powerful, and almost medicinal for your body.  Turmeric has been shown to have protective effects against cancer.  Cinnamon has powerful blood sugar controlling effects.  Many spices boost your immune system.  Read this article on my blog to see our top 10 votes for the most powerful spices that boost your metabolism and protect your body from degenerative disease.
Bottom line...spices rule!  Use them generously in all of your cooking for the best health benefits.

Food Rule #14.  Saturated fats have been falsely accused
Remember that despite all of the bad nutrition information you hear from the government and the media, saturated fats have been falsely villified in the past, and are much healthier for you than most people realize.  In fact, in recent years, scientists have become a lot more clear that saturated fats are actually important for health and hormone balance, your cell membranes, and many other vital functions in your body.  You can read my article here on my blog about why saturated fats aren't so bad after all, and can even be healthy sometimes depending on source.
If you're interested in more of the actual science about why saturated fat can be healthy for you, I have an article below written by a PhD in Nutritional Biochemistry called The Truth about Saturated Fat - it's a must read if you want to understand the science about why saturated fats have been falsely villified and how to enjoy these foods that have always been part of the ancestral human diet.

Food Rule #15.  Artificial sweeteners make you fatter (and damage your gut too?)
Always avoid artificial sweeteners!   Just because they don't contain calories doesn't mean they don't harm your body.  In fact, many studies link artificial sweetener use to weight gain.  New research is also showing that artificial sweeteners can "trick" your body into releasing insulin due to cells in your mouth and stomach that sense the sweetness and are expecting sugar.  Remember that high insulin levels can cause body fat deposition. Also, triggering insulin in this way can cause more cravings for carbohydrates and sugar in the hours after eating or drinking the artificially sweetened product.
You can read my article here on my blog with more details about why artificial sweeteners are terrible for your health, including possible long term health consequences such as cancer.
Also, did you know that Splenda can DAMAGE your gut health.

Food Rule #16.  Vitamin D controls your immune system, hormone balance, and makes you younger
Pay attention to your Vitamin D levels.
Vitamin D is one of the most important substances in your body.  It's one of the single most important things in your body that control your hormones as well as your immune system.  If you get sick often or have hormone imbalances, it's quite likely that the cause is linked to low vitamin D levels.
Unfortunately, it's estimated that almost 90% of Americans are deficient in vitamin D.  Get your blood levels of vitamin D tested.  Your goal should be blood levels between 50-70 ng/ml, where hormonal balance and immune function seems to be maximized.  Sadly, most people typically clock in with levels in the 20's or 30's or lower, and these sub par levels can cause a lot of health problems.
Mid day sunshine is the most important source of vitamin D as your body produces vitamin D from a reaction with oils in your skin and UVB rays from the sun.  Fatty fish, egg yolks, and organ meats are the best sources of dietary vitamin D, but it is hard to get enough vitamin D from diet alone, so small doses of daily mid-day sun is also important for your health (without burning).
For lots more great info on vitamin D, and it's powerful benefits to your body, you can also read a really interesting article here on my blog that shows why vitamin D can even make you the equivalent of 5 years YOUNGER!

Food Rule #17.  Pay attention to your gut flora
Probiotics rock!  And most people have a harmful imbalance between good and bad bacteria in their guts.  This is made worse by things you consume that damange your gut flora such as chlorinated drinking water, artificial sweeteners, pesticides, and the worst of them all -- antibiotics.  One round of antiobiotics can permanently disrupt the balance of your gut flora and leave you susceptible to other infections and diseases.  Antibiotics have their place for life-threatening injuries and medical situations, but are overused in western medicine to the detriment of our health.
Along with vitamin D levels, probiotics are one of the single most important things you can do for your health.  Probiotics are equally important to your immune system as your vitamin D levels.  Probiotics are your first line of defense in keeping pathogens at bay and preventing sickness.  They're extremely important for your digestion too.
Your "microbiome" in your gut is made up of TRILLIONS of microbes in total and hundreds of types of these friendly probiotics.  These serve so many more vitally important functions in your body than most people realize, and imbalance of good to bad bacteria in your gut can cause over 170 diseases and conditions.
Food Rule #18.  Counteract or minimize carcinogens
Beware of carcinogenic acrylamides in browned carb-based foods.  This is yet another reason to minimize grains as much as possible as breads and cereals are some of the worst offenders with acrylamides.
Food Rule #19.  Why I avoid GM foods
Avoid the unknown health consequences of eating genetically modified foods.  Again, going back to the principle that we are most adapted to eating what our ancesters ate for almost 2 million years, that list of foods obviously did NOT include genetically modified foods, since these "frankenfoods" weren't included in the human food supply until the 1990's.
There are still no long term health studies proving that GM foods are safe to eat.
Food Rule #20.  Beware of "healthy whole wheat"
In a groundbreaking new best-selling book called Wheat Belly, Dr William Davis, a well respected cardiologist has intensely researched the effects of wheat-based foods (cereal, breads, pasta, baked goods, etc) and what this so-called "healthy whole wheat" actually does to your body from a biochemical standpoint internally.
His findings are not pleasant... some of the problems that whole wheat or any wheat foods can cause for your health are summarized in this article:
11 Ways that "whole wheat" can HARM your body (including abdominal fat, acne, joint problems and arthritis, IBS and acid reflux, cravings, addictive behaviors, increased overall calorie consumption, diabetes, heart disease, accelerated aging, and autoimmune diseases)

Food Rule #21.  Enjoy your food, eat slowly, savor each bite
Lastly, enjoy your food!  And enjoy good company with food.  Don't just mindlessly eat food in front of the TV.  Studies show that people unknowingly eat more calories and gain more weight when they mindlessly eat in front of the TV.  Instead, focus on your meal instead of a distraction...savor each bite you have.  Pay attention and enjoy the subtle flavors and aroma of each bite.  This makes you enjoy your food more, while eating less calories.
One last thing... Make sure to read this page below if you don't already have my Fat-Burning Kitchen book:
Does your kitchen contain fat-burning foods or 
hidden fat-storing foods?
Please share this "20 food rules" article with all of your friends and family!  They will thank you for helping them to think about food differently now and enjoy better health.

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How REAL butter can make you leaner

If you've read my book or my newsletters for some time, you know I'm a big fan of REAL butter... and NOT margarine.

In fact, I would NEVER, EVER even think about touching margarine with a ten foot pole... and even these new fancy so-called "cholesterol lowering" margarines still contain some trans fats and inflammatory refined oils.  I would NEVER touch those either.

I can't tell you how many times I've been at certain restaurants and been horrified to find that they don't even have real butter.... instead, they have nothing but artery-clogging trans fat laden margarine!  Yuck. No thanks.

I've also been shocked to find that some people (a LOT of people) are still confused about the whole butter and margarine thing.  In case you're still confused, let's clear this up now... the debate has actually been over for YEARS now, and I'll make it real simple:

Butter is healthy (if you choose the right type) ... Margarine is deadly!  Simple as that.

I know that's a bold claim to say that butter is healthy...but it's true, as long as you choose organic grass-fed (pastured) butter, and NOT butter that came from confinement feedlots (CAFOs) from cows fed corn.

In fact, butter is one of the best natural sources of the healthy fat conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) that actually helps you to build muscle and lose fat.  Butter is also a good source of the healthy fats, MCTs, and also omega-3's in grass-fed butter too.

But it doesn't stop there... this article below shows not only how butter can help you get leaner, but is also one of the best sources of a few very unique vitamins that are hard to get elsewhere, can improve your cardiovascular function, and even lower diabetes risk.

Click here....How butter can make you leaner and improve your health

That article is a must read!  It's refreshing to see a health author that actually "gets it" when it comes to this stuff.  I'm sick of reading meal plans from bodybuilders and nutritionists that say to avoid butter and make sure to have plain boring steamed vegetables instead.

No way!  I'll take my grass-fed butter on my vegetables and I'll love it.  And by the way, yes you CAN get single digit bodyfat lean and still use butter on your foods if you want.  I do it every day.

Some people have told me that they have a hard time finding grass-fed butter in their grocery store.  My favorite that I've found is called Kerrygold Irish butter, and although the label doesn't clearly state "grass-fed", this butter is 100% pasture-raised from cows that eat lush green grass in Ireland.  You can tell from the deep color of this butter, that it has higher levels of carotenoids than standard butter.

Please fwd this email on to your friends and family to help them live healthier!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
TruthAboutAbs.com

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