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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5 Tips to Eat Healthier, Exercise Smarter, and Get in the Best Shape of Your Life

by M. Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
1.  Consider eliminating grain-based foods from your diet, and focus more on fruits and vegetables for your carbohydrate sources.  Despite the fact that most so-called "health professionals" tell you to eat 6-9 servings of "whole grains" daily, they may be inadvertently leading you down the wrong path, and causing digestion problems, reduced energy, and even weight gain.
The truth is that the human digestive system has developed over almost 100,000 years to process a "hunter gatherer" type of diet most efficiently -- this means fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, eggs, and meat (from healthy animals, a far cry from today's factory farmed animals).
Grains, on the other hand, were not introduced to the human diet until more recent times with the invention of agriculture (only a couple thousand years ago), and therefore, our digestive systems are still not designed optimally for grain foods.  It's no surprise that it's estimated that the majority of the world's population has at least some degree of problem digesting gluten, a protein which is common to most grains (wheat being the biggest problem for most people).
My advice -- test out giving up grain foods for 1-2 weeks and see if you have more energy, feel better overall, and start losing weight.  I have another article here that talks about 2 foods worth doing a test for eliminating from your diet, and see if you notice improvements in energy and health.

2.  When it comes to eating meat, you MUST choose organic and grass-fed (or free range). Grass-fed meats (such as grass fed bison or beef) have as much as 2-5 times more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) than do conventional grain-fed meats.  CLA is a natural healthy fat that can help to reduce cancer risks as well as help to burn off body fat and build muscle (according to some studies).
Also, grass-fed meats contain a healthier, more balanced profile of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids, which helps to reduce inflammation in your body.  On the other hand, typical commerical grain-fed meats contain fat profiles that are far out of whack and way too high on the omega-6 fatty acids, and too low on the healthy omega-3's.
My advice -- forget about conventional meats and stick to only grass-fed or free range on the labels.  It may cost slightly more, but isn't your body and health worth it?  The same goes for wild fish vs farmed fish... Farmed fish are never fed a healthy diet, and are instead fattened up with grain-based meal pellets, which are not the natural diet of fish.  Wild fish that ate their natural diet will have much healthier ratios of omega-6 fats to omega-3s.  Also beware of this issue with toxic fish that you can get at grocery stores.
3.  For exercise, most people think that cardio exercise is the best way to lose fat.  What most people don't realize is that high intensity weight training (when done in a specific fashion) increases your metabolic rate to a higher degree than typical "same-pace" cardio exercise routines.  Not only that, but weight training done at high intensity has also been shown to have powerful effects on your body with reducing blood pressure and increasing your body's efficiency at processing blood sugar.
If you're not already making high intensity resistance training (weight training) the foundation of your exercise routines, start putting more focus on this, and less focus on the boring cardio exercise routines.
4.  You MUST ENJOY your workouts if you are ever going to be consistent with them for long term results.  Although sports are great (and the type of exercise that most people consider fun), and I highly recommend getting involved in sports to keep yourself in great shape, you also still need to incorporate weight training (or some form of resistance training) into your regular routines for many reasons.
The bottom line is... you need resistance training to keep maximum bone density as well as to keep your metabolism as high as possible.  Most sports typically won't give you the same benefit as the best basic full body weight training exercises.  If you want a lean strong body for life, resistance training on a regular basis is a must!
5.  Diet Pills are a TOTAL WASTE of your money!
Although you may have been duped in the past with flashy ads showing fitness models with perfect bodies, I guarantee you that they did NOT get their perfect bodies from taking any ridiculous diet pills (or so-called fat-burner pills)... they achieved their high levels of fitness and sexy lean bodies through dedicated exercise routines and smart healthy nutrition... after all, their career revolves around eating extremely healthy and working out hard on a regular basis!

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