How to Get PERFECT Digestion (and lose fat faster)

Avoid the foods that HARM your digestive system and discover those that HEAL your digestion problems.

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


The feedback from most of my readers shows that digestion issues are one of the topics that most people want to learn more about.  Apparently, even on the Dr Oz show, any episode about "poop problems" or digestion end up being some of the most popular episodes.

So pay attention to this article if you have any bowel irregularity or digestion issues at all, whether it's constipation, diarrhea, indigestion, bloating, or just irregular bowel movements.

Over the last couple years, I've perfected a daily digestion-healing plan that's worked wonders for me, as well as some of my friends and clients.  Quite literally, I've had some friends that either had chronic "runny stools" or constipation, and this type of plan has totally fixed their issues.
A side effect of the digestion-healing meal plans below is that most people start to lose body fat faster by eating this way too!

Keep in mind that I'm not "prescribing" anything here as I'm not a doctor, and this is solely my observation on what's worked for me and several friends of mine that have tried my plan, which is based on science.

First step in healing digestion issues:

First, you need to identify if you have any food allergies, intolerances, or sensitivities and try to minimize or completely avoid those foods. For many people, wheat, soy, and conventional dairy are 3 issues that come up most frequently.

With that said, keep in mind that certain types of dairy, such as grass-fed Kefir can actually be a very strong healer of digestion issues due to the extremely powerful probiotics in kefir which help to fix harmful bacterial imbalances in your gut.  And kefir is also 99% lactose-free since the friendly bacteria pre-digest almost all of the lactose.  So kefir ends up being one of the most digestible forms of dairy.

Also, keep in mind that it's generally either the lactose in dairy or the proteins in dairy that some people can be sensitive to.  But many people don't realize that they can still reap the health benefits of dairy fat, including the CLA, vitamin K2, and omega-3's of grass-fed butter and cream without anything more than traces of lactose or dairy protein.

If you don't currently know if you have a sensitivity to gluten, one test that you can consider running on yourself is to completely avoid any wheat-based foods (that means no bread, muffins, pasta, cereals, crackers, etc) for 2-3 weeks and see if you notice a considerable improvement in your digestion and your bowel movements.
Many people are quite pleased to find that their digestion problems start to go away within the first 2 weeks of eliminating wheat from their diet, as the constant inflammation that can be caused by gluten (and other antinutrients found in wheat) in the digestive tract subsides once they stop eating so much bread and cereal.

This should be obvious, but to be clear, you also need to avoid junk foods that are loaded with sugar, trans fats, corn syrup, and chemical additives too, as these all can cause digestion problems and other health issues.

Ok, now that you've eliminated foods that might be causing inflammation and other digestion problems, you need to start HEALING your digestive system...

Second step - foods that HEAL the digestive system:

I've been amazed at the power of fermented foods (loaded with probiotics) and how dramatic the improvement to digestion and bowel movements can be, since many digestion and bowel issues are caused by either a harmful bacterial imbalance in the gut and/or too many foods that cause inflammation.

I've had at LEAST 6-8 friends of mine that started trying a similar food plan that I lay out below and their chronic constipation, runny stools, or indigestion completely cleared up within one week of starting this type of plan.

Keep in mind that the VARIETY of probiotic sources is what I consider to be most important, as each type of food or source has different strains of good bacteria that have different health benefits to your digestion or immune system.

Even though I've always eaten healthy at least for the last 15 or so years, I didn't focus more on probiotic intake, except intermittently, until the last year. Over the last 8-12 months, I've focused a LOT more on getting DAILY sources of probiotics instead of just occasional, and the results have been phenomenal to my digestive system!

In previous years, I would only occasionally eat fermented veggies like kimchi or other krauts, and I would occasionally drink kefir a couple times per month.  But that's changed, and my digestive system is LOVING my new plan.

My personal daily plan for PERFECT digestion:

Morning (first thing)

• 1 serving of this superfoods-cocktail mixed with unsweet iced tea (7 Billion probiotics + 76 superfood ingredients all in a delicious drink)
• Organic coffee with grass-fed real cream* (good source of the healthy fat CLA, and vitamin K2 for heart health)

*Organic Valley brand has a great pasture-raised cream that I've found at many grocery stores.

Late morning

• 3 eggs (over-easy is my favorite, plus slightly healthier than scrambled since scrambling can oxidize some of the cholesterol)
• Chicken, turkey, or bison sausage
• Half an avocado
• Fermented veggies* (a nice pile of them)
• tea (green, white, or oolong) with tiny bit of raw honey
• 1 serving of ProX10 microencapsulated probiotics (protects the probiotics through the stomach to the intestines -- the most powerful probiotic supplement I've found)

*The fermented veggies are also a particularly powerful source of probiotics with different strains from what you get in yogurt or kefir for different health benefits for your digestive system and immune system.  I rotate a different type of fermented veggies each week and have found some really tasty varieties at Whole Foods or at a local health food store... my favorites that I rotate are kimchi (Korean style), fermented carrots (carrot kraut), fermented beets (beet kraut), and one that I found called Jungle kraut, which seems to be purple cabbage, carrots, etc.

I've noticed that some people that don't like the taste of typical fermented cabbage dishes end up really liking the fermented carrots or beets instead.  TMI alert:  Several friends have told me that their years of poop problems completely cleared up after only 1 week or so of including fermented veggies each day with their meals as well as Kefir.

Afternoon snack

• 1 cup plain or greek full-fat Kefir (grass-fed) with added 1 tbsp chia seeds, 1-2 tsp of real maple syrup, and 1/2 tsp of vanilla (if you don't like the tangy taste of plain kefir, try it the way I make it here and I'm pretty sure you'll LOVE it!)

*Kefir is a super-healing food for the digestive system.  Remember that natives of the Caucasus mountains in eastern europe routinely live to over 100 years old and one of their favorite daily drinks is full-fat Kefir!  Kefir has quite a bit more probiotics than yogurt (2x-10x more), plus is generally 10 or more strains of probiotics vs only 3-4 strains in most yogurts.  Most types of kefir have anywhere from 7-50 Billion probiotics per cup depending on brand.
Note that according to their website, Lifeway brand kefir is made from 100% grass-fed dairy in all of their products even though they don't include "grass-fed" or "pasture-raised" on the label.

Dinner

• Some sort of meat - grass-fed steaks, chicken, or wild fish typically
• Some form of steamed veggies or vegetable side dish
• Fresh greens salad with real homemade olive oil dressing

I've found that one of best ways to get and stay very lean is to keep dinner based around a healthy type of meat, cooked veggies side dish, and a raw veggies salad.  It keeps the evening meal relatively low-carb with minimum impacts on insulin, but loaded with nutrition and hormone-balancing healthy fats.  It also keeps the meal gluten-free and fairly easy on the digestive system.

Late night snack

• Handful of nuts (pistachios, almonds, or pecans are my favorite, and loaded with nutrition) and a small square or two of extra dark chocolate
• 1 cup of caffeine-free tea such as chamomile, rooibos, mint, or tulsi tea (each have their own unique antioxidants)
• 2nd daily serving of ProX10 microencapsulated probiotics

Once or twice a week, I'll also grab a Kombucha tea (a fermented probiotic tea) if I'm out and about, which is another good source of probiotics, although not as powerful as the others I listed in the above plan.
There you have it!  Again, this is NOT a prescription for any health condition... this is solely my personal digestion-healing plan that I've used with great success and that many of my friends and clients have used to fully HEAL many of their digestion and bowel problems.
Please share this article with any of your friends and family to help them improve their health:

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Are Whole Eggs or Egg Whites Better for You?

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

Author of best-sellers: The Fat Burning Kitchen & The Top 101 Foods that FIGHT Aging


I was on a weekend trip with some friends recently and one of my friends was cooking breakfast for the whole group. I went over to see what he was cooking and saw he was getting ready to make a big batch of eggs.
Well, to my shock and horror, I noticed that he was cracking the eggs open and screening the egg whites into a bowl and throwing out the egg yolks. I asked him why the heck he was throwing out the egg yolks, and he replied something like this...
"because I thought the egg yolks were terrible for you...that's where all the nasty fat and cholesterol is".
And I replied something along the lines of... "you mean that's where all of the nutrition is!"
This is a perfect example of how confused most people are about nutrition. In a world full of misinformation about nutrition, somehow most people now mistakenly think that the egg yolk is the worst part of the egg, when in fact, the YOLK IS THE HEALTHIEST PART OF THE EGG!  It's a shame at how many restaurants you can walk into these days and see that the "healthy" breakfast menu always has egg white items instead of whole eggs.  Are we really still in the "fat-phobic" 80's? 
By throwing out the yolk and only eating egg whites, you're essentially throwing out the most nutrient dense, antioxidant-rich, vitamin and mineral loaded portion of the egg. The yolks contain so many B-vitamins, trace minerals, vitamin A, folate, choline, lutein, and other powerful nutrients... it's not even worth trying to list them all.

In fact, the egg whites are almost devoid of nutrition compared to the yolks.

Even the protein in egg whites isn't as powerful without the yolks to balance out the amino acid profile and make the protein more bio-available. Not to even mention that the egg yolks from free range chickens are loaded with healthy omega-3 fatty acids.
Yolks contain more than 90% of the calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, and B12, and panthothenic acid of the egg. In addition, the yolks contain ALL of the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K in the egg, as well as ALL of the essential fatty acids (EFAs).
And now the common objection I get all the time when I say that the yolks are the most nutritious part of the egg...
"But I heard that whole eggs will skyrocket my cholesterol through the roof"
No, this is FALSE!
First of all, when you eat a food that contains a high amount of dietary cholesterol such as eggs, your body down-regulates it's internal production of cholesterol to balance things out.
On the other hand, if you don't eat enough cholesterol, your body simply produces more since cholesterol has dozens of important vital functions in the body.
And here's where it gets even more interesting...
There have been plenty of studies lately that indicate that eating whole eggs actually raises your good HDL cholesterol to a higher degree than LDL cholesterol, thereby improving your overall cholesterol ratio and blood chemistry.
And 3rd... high cholesterol is NOT a disease!  Heart disease is a disease...but high cholesterol is NOT.  Cholesterol is actually a VERY important substance in your body and has vitally important functions... it is DEAD WRONG to try to "lower your cholesterol" just because of pharmaceutical companies propaganda that everyone on the planet should be on statin drugs.
If you're interested in this topic of cholesterol specifically, I have another article listed at the bottom of this page about why trying to attack cholesterol is a mistake, and what the REAL deadly risk factors actually are.
In addition, the yolks contain the antioxidant lutein as well as other antioxidants which can help protect you from inflammation within your body (the REAL culprit in heart disease, not dietary cholesterol!), giving yet another reason why the yolks are actually GOOD for you, and not detrimental.
To help bring even more proof that whole eggs are better for you than egg whites, I recently read a University of Connecticut study that showed that a group of men in the study that ate 3 eggs per day for 12 weeks while on a reduced carb, higher fat diet increased their HDL good cholesterol by 20%, while their LDL bad cholesterol stayed the same during the study.  However, the group that ate egg substitutes (egg whites) saw no change in either and did not see the improvement in good cholesterol (remember that higher HDL levels are associated with lower risk of heart disease) that the whole egg eaters did.
So I hope we've established that whole eggs are not some evil food that will wreck your body... instead whole eggs are FAR superior to egg whites.
But what about the extra calories in the yolks?
This is actually a non-issue and here's why... even though egg yolks contain more calories than just eating the egg whites, the yolks have such a high micro-nutrient density in those calories, that it increases your overall nutrient density per calorie you consume.  Essentially, what this does is help to regulate your appetite for the remainder of the day, so you end up eating less calories overall.  In addition, the healthy fats in the egg yolks help to maintain a good level of fat-burning hormones in your body.
Overall, this means that the extra fats (healthy fats) and calories from the yolk are so nutrient-dense that they actually HELP you to burn off body fat!
Also, your normal supermarket eggs coming from mass factory farming just don't compare nutritionally with organic free range eggs from healthy chickens that are allowed to roam freely and eat a more natural diet.  Your typical cheap grocery store eggs will have lower nutrient levels and a higher omega-6 level and lower omega-3 level.  On the other hand, the cage-free organic eggs from healthier chickens allowed to eat more natural feed and roam freely will have much higher vitamin and mineral levels and a more balanced healthier omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acid ratio.
I recently compared eggs I bought at the grocery store with a batch of eggs I got at a farm stand where the chickens were free roaming and healthy.
Most people don't realize that there's a major difference because they've never bought real eggs from healthy chickens... The eggs from the grocery store had pale yellow yolks and thin weak shells. On the other hand, the healthier free range eggs from the local farm had strong thick shells and deep orange colored yolks indicating much higher nutrition levels and carotenoids... and just a healthier egg in general.
This is due to the fact that a free-roaming hen allowed to roam on plenty of land will eat a variety of greens, insects, worms, etc transferring MUCH higher levels of nutrients to the eggs compared to an unhealthy hen that is trapped inside a dark factory farm hen house in horrible conditions and fed nothing but piles of corn and soy.  It's a DRASTIC difference in the nutrition that you get from the egg.
So next time a health or fitness professional tells you that egg whites are superior (because of their "fat-phobic" mentality towards dietary fats), you can quietly ignore their advice knowing that you now understand the REAL deal about egg yolks.
And can we all please STOP with this sillyness about eating an omelete with 4-5 egg whites and only 1 egg yolk... If you want real taste and real health benefits, we'd all be better off eating ALL of our eggs with the delicious nutrient-dense yolks.
After all, do you REALLY think that our ancestors thousands of years ago threw out the yolks and only ate the egg whites?  NOT A CHANCE!  They intuitively knew that all of the nutrition was found in the yolks.  But our modern society has been brainwashed with misinformation about fats and cholesterol.
Another interesting study about eggs...
I read a study recently that compared groups of people that ate egg breakfasts vs groups of people that ate cereal or bagel-based breakfasts.  The results of the study showed that the egg eaters lost or maintained a healthier bodyweight, while the cereal/bagel eaters gained weight. 
It was hypothesized that the egg eaters actually ate less calories during the remainder of the day because their appetite was more satisfied compared to the cereal/bagel eaters who would have been more prone to wild blood sugar swings and food cravings.
Oh, one last thing I almost forgot... I personally eat 4 whole eggs almost every day with breakfast, and I maintain single-digit bodyfat most of the year. 
Enjoy your eggs and get a leaner body!

Health Alert:

 These 23 "health foods" CAUSE weight gain
(avoid them!)

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The Top 5 Healthiest Condiments (and the WORST)

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

I'm sure you can think of all sorts of condiments that are obviously
NOT healthy...


What about Mayo?  Sorry...

With processed refined soybean oil as the main ingredient in most
mayos, there's NOTHING healthy about mayonnaise.
It causes internal inflammation and harms your omega-6 to omega-3
balance with excess omega-6 fats.   Tartar sauce has the same issues
as mayo.If you can find a mayo made with 100% olive oil instead of
soybean oil, this would actually be a healthy choice.

Ketchup?  Not quite...

Yes, ketchup is made from tomatoes so it does contain the beneficial
nutrient lycopene.  Unfortunately ketchup has a high % of sugar, and
most brands are made with nasty high fructose corn syrup.  Not good.
Hey, I'm a ketchup lover myself, but I just try to keep the quantity
small to minimize the sugar intake.

Barbeque Sauce?  Nope...

BBQ sauce is actually worse than ketchup because it has higher levels
of sugar or HFCS and lower levels of actual tomato.  Strike 3 with
BBQ sauce.

Salad Dressing?  Not most store brands.

As you know from this salad dressing article of mine, there's not much
healthy about most store bought salad dressings...most contain HFCS
and soybean oil or unhealthy canola oil as the main ingredients.

Most "fat-free" salad dressings are simply loaded with extra sugar.
Plus, remember that you need a good fat source to go with your salad
to help absorb the vitamins and minerals in your veggies, so fat-free
dressing is not a good option.  Even most salad dressing brands that
claim to be "made with olive oil" only have small amounts of actual olive oil,
while unhealthy soybean or canola oils are main oils used.  Instead, follow
my healthy salad dressing recipe if you want a lean healthy body.

So, what are the top 5 healthiest condiments?

Below, I give you my top 5 picks for the healthiest condiments for a
lean healthy body.  Sure, there might be a few others not on this list that
are also healthy, but these are my top 5 picks:

1. Mustard

That's right... mustard is absolutely one of the healthiest condiments!
First, it has no added sugar.  Also, mustard seed itself is a source of
powerful antioxidants.  In addition to the antioxidants in the mustard seed,
most yellow mustards also contain turmeric (one of the healthiest anti-
cancer spices) and paprika, which both contain powerful antioxidants
as well!

2. Guacamole

I know, I know... when do I ever stop talking about avocados and
guacamole. Sorry, it's one of my favorite foods, and I eat avocados
or guac just about every single day.  At this point, I don't think I need to
explain why Gauc is healthy, as I think everybody knows this by now...
but a quick recap: lots of healthy fats (that satisfy your appetite and
regulate hormone balance), lots of fiber, and plenty of vitamins, minerals,
and antioxidants.

And creamy guac just makes anything taste better!  I put it on eggs,
on burgers, on chicken or fish, or just eat it with veggie sticks.
If you buy pre-made guac from the store, just be sure to check the
ingredients and make sure it doesn't have added trans fats or other
artificial ingredients. But it's so simple and fast to make fresh guac,
I don't know why anybody would buy pre-made guac.

3. Salsa

Although ketchup was on the unhealthy list due to the sugar content,
salsa makes the super healthy list as it almost never has added sugars
if you get a good brand.Salsa is mostly just vegetables so it's hard to
go wrong.  I like it on my morning eggs for variety sometimes.
I also like to mix salsa half and half with guac for a delicious party
treat!

And if you're a ketchup lover and want to reduce your sugar intake,
just try salsa instead for a much healthier option.  Trust me... salsa
on a burger is just as delicious as ketchup on a burger.

Just remember that the corn chips that people generally cram down
their throats with salsa are NOT even close to healthy.  Corn chips
are almost always fried in a heavily refined omega-6 oil such as corn
or soy oil, and are inflammatory. Plus, most corn used for corn chips
is genetically modified.Organic corn chips are a small step in the right
direction (this ensures it's not GMO corn), but I'd still try to keep the
quantity small if you're going to eat corn chips with salsa.

4. Hummus

Hummus is mostly just chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon, and olive oil,
and is easily one of the healthiest condiments or as a separate snack
by itself.

The main thing to look for when buying a good hummus is to make sure
it's made with olive oil and NOT soybean or canola oil.  Unfortunately
most brands use cheap soy or canola oil, but if you're a label reader, it's
easy to find a brand that uses solely olive oil.

One of my favorite snacks is just veggie sticks with hummus.  However,
hummus is also a delicious condiment to go with sandwiches, on top of
meat dishes, etc.

5. Pesto

Pesto is generally a mashed mix of garlic, pine nuts, basil, olive oil, and
grated cheese.  It's a great source of healthy fats and also powerful
antioxidants, mostly from the garlic and basil, but to some extent from the
pine nuts and olive oil too.

Pesto goes incredibly well with sandwiches, on meat dishes, or
surprisingly, even on eggs. There's one more condiment we didn't cover
yet that you might be wondering about.....What about hot sauce?
Actually, hot sauce is fairly healthy. Most hot sauces don't have added
sugars. And the hot peppers are actually good for you too and could even
cause a slight and temporary metabolism increase.
The only drawback to most hot sauces is a moderately high sodium content.
But unless you go nuts with loads of hot sauce on every meal, the sodium
content in hot sauce will not be an issue.

So now that you know 5 of the healthiest condiments, don't be afraid to
indulge next time you need one of these tasty additions to your meal.

Now for the BAD NEWS...

These 4 foods accelerate AGING in your body (avoid these 
and look 10 years younger!)

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The Very Best 3 Body fat Burning Meals - Surprising Great Finds.

In most of my years like a professional Diet Specialist, I have observed that many people are shocked to listen to a number of my picks for that top body fat burning meals that are perfect for weight reduction and a healthy body.

I will not bore you with all the typical "healthy meals" that you simply learn about all the time for example fruits and vegetables... everyone knows this. Rather, I am going to inform you some shockers that many individuals don't realize are super healthy meals for body weight loss.

1. Egg Yolks - yes, you heard right... full fatty egg yolks wonderful their fat body and cholesterol. Incidentally, you have been mislead concerning the cholesterol in egg yolks -- it really boosts your GOOD cholesterol helping balance proper ratios, so you shouldn't be scared of the body fat and cholesterol during these little diet energy packed gems. And when you select cage-free eggs for free roaming chickens, the omega-3 submissions are greater having a more balanced body weight profile.

Egg yolks will also be probably the most nutrient dense meals in the world when it comes to vitamins, minerals, and trace nutrition. Attempting to list all the vital nutrition in egg yolks would occupy a whole page and so I will not even try that here. Just understand that egg yolks shouldn't be prevented in support of egg-whites. The protein is much more bioavailable whenever you range from the yolks!

So you shouldn't be afraid to consume individual scrumptious and healthy eggs and begin burning body belly faster.

2. Avocados - This is an additional "fatty food" that's also among the best fat burning meals! Not just that, but avocados make nearly everything creamier and much more scrumptious. They're also energy-full of healthy fats, fiber, and anti-oxidants, in addition to minerals and vitamins. The healthy body fat in avocados likewise helps control appetite and body fat burning the body's hormones within your body.

Try adding avocado slices or guacamole to from morning eggs, preparing salads, sandwiches, and hamburgers, and beginning burning fat body faster! I'd certainly consider avocados among the best healthy super meals.

3. Grass-given beef - Some beef in the supermarket is grain given beef from cattle which are ill and it has lower diet values and omega-6 to omega-3 body fat ratios which are wild of whack, there's a much better option... which is Grass-Given Beef!

Grass-given beef may have greater amounts of healthy omega-3 essential fatty acids minimizing omega-6 fats (which many people get an excessive amount of anyway). Grass-given beef also consists of greater amounts of many minerals and vitamins, in addition to that contains high amounts of conjugated linoleic acidity (CLA), the industry healthy body fats that recognized to help muscle mass building and fat burning.

So you shouldn't be afraid to eat more beef, while you choose healthy grass-given beef rather than grain given beef. Enjoy and begin burning more body fat with one of these so known as "fatty" meals!

Enjoy, and have fun with your fitness endeavors!

Author Mike Geary 

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