The real health question you should be asking!

I get questions like where do you get your protein?

How do you get enough calcium on a plant based diet?

What do you eat? Can you even eat anything?

All those questions are good and all ( and frankly quite old and boring ) but there is a more important question that matters more than protein. And that’s FIBER.

Without enough fiber in out diets we are missing out on some  essential benefits that are key to a healthy living.  Here are some facts for you.

• Brain. Adding 7g daily can cut stroke by 7%
• Heart. Heart disease risk drops by 9%  for each 7g consumed daily, thanks to fiber’s cholesterol-lowering powers.
• Waistline. People who simply increased their daily fiber intake to 30g or more lost nearly as much weight as those on a more complicated diet plan that included restricting calories. *Restricting calories has always been a no-no for me.
• Kidneys. Getting more than 21g of fiber daily stands to lower risk of kidney stones by 22%
• Lungs. Dietary fiber soothes systemic inflammation and may slash risk of inflammatory diseases like COPD (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the name for a collection of lung diseases including chronic bronchitis, emphysema and chronic obstructive airways disease. People with COPD have difficulties breathing, primarily due to the narrowing of their airways, this is called airflow obstruction.)
• Gut. Eating more fiber can balance levels of healthy bacteria, helping aid digestion.
• Blood sugar.  Fiber slows the body’s absorption of glucose, controlling blood sugar spikes and decreasing diabetes risk.

SO all of this good information but what now?!
What foods are high in fiber? Tell me now….

Well for starters the  majority of whole foods are fiber rich and oh so good for you.

Fruits such as dates, raisins, apples, oranges and figs are among the highest fruits in fiber. Then you have vegetables such artichokes, green peas, broccoli, sweet potato, regular potato and carrots.

Then you have legumes, nuts and seeds such as spilt peans, black beans, lima beans, almonds and pecans as great fiber rich foods.

Then you have grains such as brown rice/pasta, barley, oatmeal, whole grain organic cereals etc.

Basically any whole food you eat will have a great amount of fiber, I just wanted to point out a few examples to get you started on a fibrous adventures. As I’m typing this I’m sipping on an avocado, blueberry, cacao smoothie. Fiber in a bottle.

Where do you get your fiber?

Proteinoholic

So this post isn’t very original. I copied it. But

But I think its educational, important and a must read.

Here’s a conversation happening between a doctor ( Dr. Garth Davis ) and a patient.

Can you believe people actually avoid fruit in an attempt to lose weight? There has never been a single credible study showing that fruit consumption leads to weight gain, and yet this concept is as prevalent as any nutrition dogma. I have treated people for obesity for years and I can tell you, nobody is coming to see me because they ate too many apples or grapes. Why do people think fruit leads to weight gain? The quick answer from my patients is because of the carbs.

When I ask my patients what their downfall is, when it comes to weight loss, they unanimously blame carbs. Their diet log will read: eggs-and-bacon breakfast sandwich, Subway sandwich and chips for lunch, and a pork roast with potatoes for dinner. When asked the part of that menu that is causing them to gain weight, they blame the bread from the sandwiches, the chips, and the potatoes. It is always the bun, never the hamburger. Now don’t get me wrong; there is nothing healthy about chips, loaded with fat. The sandwich bread is likely bleached flour with little, to no, nutrient value.

However, the vast majority of the calories are coming from fat and protein. Pizza and donuts are considered carbs despite the fact that they contain as many (or more) calories from fat as carbs.

Here are two examples. The first is for a Pizza Hut six-inch Personal Pan Meat Lover’s Pizza (admittedly one of their more calorically dense and fat-heavy options). Of the 850 total calories, 430 come from fat. That’s 51 percent. Another hundred calories come from protein, leaving 320 calories from carbs.

Second, a Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Donut. According to the company’s website (updated September 2014), a single donut delivers 190 calories, 100 of them from fat. That’s 53 percent. Carbs account for 84 calories (44%), while protein comprises another 6 calories (3%).

Widespread Misconceptions About Protein, Carbs, and Fat
Here’s a recent conversation with a patient, a woman from Ghana, that really highlights the misconceptions about diet and weight loss. She has lived in the United States for many years, and during much of that time, struggled mightily with obesity. She has seen endocrinologists, dietitians, and trainers. She has done the Atkins diet several times and most recently went to a doctor who prescribed Belviq (the newest prescription medication targeting obesity). She sees a registered dietitian and a trainer regularly. Despite the meds, the medical oversight, and her sincere and steadfast efforts, she still has a body mass index (BMI) of 40, which classifies her as morbidly obese.

And as you’ll see, she already knows everything she needs to make smarter decisions. It’s only the proteinaholism that blinds her to the truth:

ME: So what do you typically eat for breakfast?

PATIENT: Usually eggs of some sort and a protein.

ME: What do you mean by “protein”?

PATIENT: Well, it could be chicken or bacon or sausage.

ME: Hmm, those aren’t really protein. I mean, some of those choices have more calories from fat than protein. So really, you could just as well say, “I have eggs and some fat for breakfast.”

PATIENT: (Chuckles) Never thought about it like that.

ME: So what’s for lunch?

PATIENT: Usually salad with a pro-um,

I mean fish or chicken.

ME: OK, do you snack during the day?

PATIENT: No. My issues really are at night, when we eat more carbs from our traditional diet from Ghana. We eat lots of yams and stews. Lots of starches.

ME: Interesting that you view that as your bad meal when to me it’s your best. Have you visited Ghana recently?

PATIENT: Yes. Funny enough, whenever I visit Ghana I lose weight. That is the only place I lose weight.

ME: What do you eat there?

PATIENT: Lots of yams, yam stews, lots of maize (corn), fruit.

ME: Are there lots of obese people in Ghana?

PATIENT: Not at all. In fact, when I am there I am one of the biggest.

ME: So do you see what I’m getting at? In Ghana you eat lots of starches and fruits, and people are thin and you lose weight. But come to America and eat American “health food,” and you gain weight. As I look at your diet history, you have always tried diets that focus on high protein. You told me you try to eat lots of protein and it has never worked long for you. Yet you have completely avoided a diet that you enjoy and have lost weight on.

PATIENT: Well, I thought fruits and starches made you fat, and we need more protein. That is all I hear.

In Ghana, the obesity rate is 5.5 percent, slightly higher for women (7.9%) and slightly lower for men (2.8%), compared to America’s 34.9 percent rate of obesity. Higher rates of obesity were found among those who live in the more Westernized portions of Ghana and eat less fruit. Also, those who had not completed a secondary school education were much less likely to become obese than those who graduated from secondary school, high school, and college. This suggests that with higher earning power came the ability to buy meat and other rich Western fare. The Ghanian traditional diet was the one most closely correlated with normal weight and is high in beans and starches, including maize, yams, fruits, and cassava roots (Biritwum, Gyapong, et al. 2005)[1].

Traditional diets high in fruits, veggies and starches have worked for thousands of years, and continue to keep people slim and healthy. But our obsession with counting fat, carbs, and protein blinds us to this truth.

Are we really spoilt for choice?

“You’re not going to eat that!”  was the last thing I heard from them.

And that was the end of those relationships.

We are open to all kind of things nowadays. But not when it comes to food. When it comes to food we become closed minded, arrogant, ignorant and plain stupid beings.

Of course I’m luckily not any of the above. Anymore. Maybe if I didn’t have those eating habits I would have been the same. I would have been as ignorant and closed minded as our beautiful society.

One thing I’ve come to learn for sure is people who think outside the circle are the most accepting and open minded people. But we/they are often the ones that are pointed the finger at for being closed minded and ignorant because we don’t subscribe to their agenda.

We are open about religion, sexuality ( nowadays) , politics ( mostly) but please God oh God do not talk about food or else you will be eaten alive.

Try going to a family dinner with your own food and see what happens. Yep.

In my case try taking papayas with you to a family Iftar ( Ramadan’s breakfast ) and see how open minded everybody gets.

Everyone gets so concerned once you start eating more fruits and vegetables and less of what they eat. They’re afraid we’re going to miss out on heart disease, diabetes, passing on the torch to the coming generations and of course good ol’ protein.

Last ramadan, I had the honor of eating all of my meals alone and I don’t think that I have ever felt better, leaner and just good overall during Ramadan. I was going through  cartons and cartons of fruits all on my own. Did I miss being judged and called upon during my meals? NO! I was having so much of a blast that I recorded 90% of my meals and posted them on Youtube.

After that I had people actually call me and tell me how they wish they could do that but they you couldn’t because they’d be invited over to family and friends and they wouldn’t let them. Let me tell you that one of the people who contacted me was a mother of 3.

Yes, they’re an open minded family as long as you eat what their eating.

Try bringing pizza over and see how everyone reacts. Mostly happy. Some will say ” Why, but we have food. Better food at home” and that’s as far as it goes.

BUT

BUT try bringing a box of mangoes, papayas or bananas and watch hell unleash as they try to school you on nutrition. Yes the diabetics, heart diseased, over weight loved ones shall school you on what’s to be eaten. Fruit only comes when you have stuffed your gut with oil and salt. Then comes a slice of apple to make it all go away.

I now find it mind boggling that we get nosy and annoyed on what people eat. Especially when its plant foods.

All these food choices, all the kinds of people we have living on this planet. And food is still enforced upon us. I don’t why it offends people that I’d prefer a banana over their oily foods for breakfast or whether I eat 30-40 bananas day at times. Or when I eat 6 kilos of mangoes in one sitting.

As extreme as all of this sounds. I find eating half a liter of oil extreme. Even if it’s olive oil for God’s sake. I find smoking not only extreme but irresponsible to your health, the health of everybody around you and irresponsible to the little remaining fresh air that we breath. I find it extreme when you start falling asleep after a meal and that your life should be put on hold after every meal. I find it extreme when I can’t look at my private parts when I stand straight.

I especially find it extreme when they have to open up my clogged arteries. More than some would call that extreme, right?

What is Pesceterianism

Pescetaraianism

What is a pescetarianism and who’s a pescetarian?

Pesceterian is a term that is derived from the Italian word meaning fish “pesce” with a blend of English “vegetarian” and thus we have pescetarian.

So a pesceterian is a person who eats fish and/or other seafood but not the flesh of other animals. One of the most commonly cited reasons is that of  , based on findings that red meat is detrimental to health in many cases due to non-lean red meats containing high amounts of saturated fats, choline and carnitine. Eating certain kinds of fish raises HDL levels, and some fish are a convenient source of omega-3 fatty acids, and have numerous health benefits in one food variety. A 1999 meta-analysis of five studies comparing vegetarian and non-vegetarian mortality rates in Western countries found that in comparison with regular meat-eaters, mortality from ischemic heart disease was 34% lower in Pescetarians.

Now this may be a great way for someone to transition into a more plant-based diet. Eliminating read meats and other kinds of meats will really boost someones health and reduce the risk of heart disease and even obesity.

So, I suggest if someone’s is planning on getting healthier than this may be good diet lifestyle to lean into, incorporating more fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and some seafood.

Try it and see the health benefits that you’ll experience.

Let me know what you think.

Sources: Wikipedia

Using diet to be a super athlete

Today I write about a topic that a very important topic to all of us and especially athletes, and my topic is simple but yet vital : Food, which is Fuel!!

Food for me is viewed as fuel and that’s the only way I view it and it has helped me in various ways, especially in sports. My recovery period has rapidly decreased and the longer I’ve been on this life style the faster i’ve been able to recover and to bring this theory to practicality, last month I did a 130k bike ride (  note: the longest I had ridden was 60k and not ever longer than 2 hours) which lasted 5 hours. I was broken to the ground and felt very tired and fatigued, but I woke up ready for a work the next day 🙂 ( How cool is that?!)

Do not underestimate the power of clean eating and sports nutrition which I think that most people do not take  it as serious as they should and think that it’s all about how hard you work out but on the contrary it’s about how smart you train and how well you rest.

Fruit is the best source of fuel for any body and not just athletes, especially sweet sugary fruits that are rich in calories. Your next best option are starches such as: rice,potatoes, quinoa, pasta etc.

Options 1 is fruits

Your second best option and those are starches.

For triathletes/runners : Carbohydrate-rich foods are the best fuel source for the endurance athlete. Maintaining a high carbohydrate diet during training is crucial for storing, preserving and replacing muscle glycogen, the storage form of carbohydrate and the body’s primary energy source during exercise. The body can store approximately 2000 calories in the form of glycogen. If you deplete your stores then be prepared to “hit the wall.” If stores run low (because of failure to eat a high enough carbohydrate diet to replenish stores during heavy weeks of training) the athlete will be unable to perform up to par, failing to attain the peak fitness level required for the athlete’s personal best during competition. This is termed “training muscle glycogen depletion.”

Emphasis should be placed on eating a diet high in complex carbs, “good carbs” such as  whole wheat breads and cereals, beans, whole wheat pasta and starchy vegetables such as corn and potatoes. Simple sugars such as in fruits, fruit juices, sugar and honey provide “quick energy” and are perfect for replenishing glycogen stores immediately after exercise. (Sugary drinks such as soda or fruit juice should NOT be consumed during exercise ( or ever) as they are far too concentrated and could result in GI problems. Stick with nature’s food)

Most of my calories come either from fruit ( breakfast, lunch and dinner sometimes ) and starches such as rice and pasta and I don’t train as much as I eat and rest. I’m not the fastest athlete out there but i’m pretty happy with the progress  I have made given the period of time.

Give it a try and let me know how you feel, and remember eat as much as you desire, this is a lifestyle of abundance and not restrictions. These good carbs are life’s fuel and will take you to places you didn’t know could reach. Avoid oils and processed foods as much as you possibly can and always keep it as natural as possible.

Now get those carbs in start living life to the fullest 😉

What is Lethargy, and how to overcome it?

Lethargy is not a word we hear everyday here where I live but I think its time that we start using it since more people are showing symptoms.

So lethargy ( Aka fatigue) is where you are feeling weak, light-headed, constantly tired and weary, familiar? .

Now feeling all this can be fine, but the problem is that more and more people are feeling this way at times where they should be most active, like in the morning at work or while driving etc.

Now did you ever stop and think why am I constantly tired? Have you tried something different? The solution to feeling lethargic could be easily treated or at least reduced drastically but we usually don’t pay attention to it and keep living our lives filled with lethargy and it’s no fun seeing your life pass right before you while you yawn all day.

So let’s take a look at why we could be feeling lethargic, maybe we didn’t sleep well the night before (which has been going on for months/years) or maybe we haven’t been eating right, or maybe even we haven’t made time to get our bodies moving (read my previous post : Just do it! ) and maybe your’e overweight and that’s taking a toll on your body, and even maybe you’re dehydrated and your body is in need of some H20 ( but you reach out for some tea/coffee instead for a quick fix and you end up causing even more damage overall ) and maybe there’s been a weather change and your immune system is just not taking it, and those are the main maybe(s) that I have for you for now.

Now, how can we make ourselves feel better, more energetic, more aware, and more present (especially at work)?. Here are a few tips of mine and I really hope that you try them out because it has worked wonders for me:

1. Drink water people!! Yes, water could be playing a key factor on how you feel everyday and you are simply ignoring that by having caffeine which causes you to dehydrate and leaves you lethargic in the long run. My advice would be ditch the coffee/tea, red bulls and all those other drugs and drink a liter of water upon waking up followed by a green smoothie, a fruit smoothie or even 100% natural pasteurized juice would be a better option than caffeine. Get high on nature’s juices.
2. Move a little people: A little brisk walk could make the world of difference. We are always constantly sitting. At work, at home, in the car and when we finally decide to leave the house we go to a restaurant/coffee shop. That simply cannot be good for our bodies.
3. Check your diet:. Are you eating clean, eating real foods or are you constantly eating out, snaking on biscuits and potato crisps? Switch your diet to a more natural diet and instead of the biscuits aim for dates, fruit juice, raisins, dry fig, nuts, apples and bananas( or any other fruit of that matter ). You will feel better, mentally and physically and you will start to have that raw energy.
4. And last, but definitely not least ,get some sleep: Early nights will really help you feel better. Sleep early, so you have the energy to wake up early and maybe prepare a smoothie for work or even go for a walk. I know in this time and age it’s really difficult for people to do that, but I really suggest you consider it and just get your ego out of the way (which probably tells you to stay up watch some tv , meet friends, you’re not 60 or 6 years old, and maybe go through Instagram/Facebook for the 50th time today). I say shut it down, shut down your phone while you’re at it, tell your friends that you’ll all meet them for early morning for a walk instead 😉 win!

I have written a lot and don’t intend to bore you, my posts are usually short and up to the point but I feel like this was a topic that had to be brought up and all the things mentioned are simply habits that we all have to instill in us for it to be don long-term . So, I propose you challenge yourselves and do like a 30 day clean up which will extremely difficult at first but will be very rewarding and worth it at the end.

Wishing you all clarity, energy, wellness and RAW POWAH!!

Hope this post was helpful, share your thoughts down below.