Weight loss is simple.
Most people who have tried Eat Stop Eat can attest to this.
Find an easy and effective way to eat less that fits into your lifestyle, and slowly but surely, you will lose weight.
Nutrition on the other hand..not so simple.
People LOVE to try and “Black and White” nutrition.
Good or Bad, Yes or No.
The truth is, we do most of this prematurely.
Take Trans fats.
Evil. Bad. The Darth Vader of foods.
Yet Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) is a trans fat being studied for its anti-cancer properties.
Actually, to be fair, it is being studied for its POTENTIAL anti-cancer properties.
The point is this – The basics of human physiology…pretty simple (on paper). We know what makes us over-fat, and we know what makes us not over-fat.
But Classifying foods as completely bad or completely good, we need to be careful with.
Obviously, the Trans Fats found in chemical altered saturated-fat substitutes and commercial cooking oils are something we should avoid. But does this make all Trans-fats bad? Probably not.
Reminds of ten years ago when “all Fat” was bad. That kind of classic “painting them all with the same brush” mentality failed us then and it will fail us again.
Bottom line, be weary of blanketing nutrition statements. More often than not, they are simply a way to keep you from changing the channel while watching the 6 o’clock news.
“Coming up next the secret ingredient in your food that is killing you”
You get the drift.
BP
I Think there are more killing ingredients in food then most people wil believe. I do know its sometimes hard to believe that the industrie put us up with all their shit.
Personally, I think people still do have a fear of Fats and often as you said begin “painting them all with the same brush”. This is a shame though because healthy Fats can have such a profoundly positive impact on your Health and Fitness goals!
Brad,
I am never a fan of absolutes, but is it safe to say that processed food is generally “bad”? I am not saying that a bit here and there is going to make anyone keel over, but this seems like a fairly safe “blanket” statement to make.
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Vitamins and minerals supplements, protein powders, green drinks, baby formula are all examples of highly processed foods. Would you blanket all of these as bad?
BP
Agreed.
B
I would not say that all trans-fats are bad, as there are naturally occurring trans fats, but I avoid “hydrogenated vegetable oil” like the plague. Same goes for high fructose corn syrup. I also avoid protein powders and green drinks, not because they “are bad”, but because they TASTE BAD. yuck yuck and triple yuck. And I believe it has been shown that (in most cases) breast milk is better for babies than formula, but baby formula is not “bad” per se. just not “as good” as the natural option.
Brad,
Have you seen this: http://davidspowerworkout.com/blog/i-got-ripped-in-2-weeks-using-free-supplements.php.
Obviously, this the standard supplement story mumbo jumbo, BUT scroll down a bit. In the comments they are using your “faux” before and after as a genuine testimonial.
What a silly place the internet is…
Andre,
Yep I think we are on the same page…Not “bad” per se just not “as good” as some alternatives. Well put.
B
I don’t consider “supplements” to be food………..as such, I rate their merit or lack there of separately. Of course you’ll get the protein powder and fish oil crowd saying that it is merely concentrated food, but it is still a different animal compared to rating something like homemade lentil soup with plenty of veggies versus some canned commercial version whose label reads like a chemistry textbook.
Mentioning “supplements” is often used as a smokescreen when people are trying to defend highly processed crap. Now I know you weren’t using it as such, since you’ve shown many times over that you possess a great deal of nutritional acumen, so I don’t mean that as any sort of veiled jab at you, Mr. Pilon. I just separate supplements from “whole” foods when I am assessing their relative merits and potential drawbacks. As such, there are great supplements and crap supplements, just as there are great food choices and some real crap ones (that should mostly be avoided, but again, I am not saying that if you consume small amountss here and there that you will instantly keel over).
Agreed so like Andre said Not “bad” per se just not “as good” as some alternatives.
Great post Brad – as always putting it in perspective in regards to the evening news!!
Michael
Hi Brad,
I’ve always wanted to ask this. Is it ok to have no calorie medicine (I took 2 200mg Advils last night) while on a fast? I believe the requirement is that it should be 0 calories right?
also, in relation to that, some vegetables such as broccoli are actually negative calorie… does this mean that we can have broccolis? LOL, or since broccoli needs to actually still be digested, it breaks the fast?
I suffered from stomach pain and burning mostly, couldn’t sleep well and just hated those extra pounds I couldn’t get rid of no matter what I did. Now I stumbled upon this system that is easy and it doesn’t require expensive medication or difficult exercises.
I got great results with the Acai Berry Select free program. I recommend it to anyone struggling with weight issues.
Note from Brad: I’m allowing this comment for one reason and one reason only and that’s to show everyone that even after stealing pictures from my blog you have the nerve to then spam comment my blog too.
For Shame Acia berry people, for Shame.
I’m glad to finally find someone who knows what they are talking about. Good, solid, information is hard to find…and very much appreciated.
Hi Brad,
did you ever experiment with CLA yourself? Is there any solid research to it’s fat loss and antioxidant properties?
Yes, when I worked in the industry. High doses didn’t do anything I noticed…but of course that’s purely anecdotal.
B
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