Nutrition

and 8 Tips to Minimize Your Exposure to these Harmful Chemicals

by Mike Geary

You may have started hearing in the news about some of the hidden chemicals that might be lurking in your canned foods and bottled water and other drinks.  Some of them are known as xenoestrogens, which have the potential to cause serious health problems over time, as well as increase abdominal fat from the estrogenic effect.

Today, I want to share with you some important details about one of the MOST problematic chemicals that you’re being exposed to specifically from canned foods and bottled drinks, etc…

It’s called Bisphenol A (BPA).

BPA can be found as a component of some types of plastic bottles, and also in the lining inside of canned foods.

Since BPA is a known “xenoestrogen”, it’s been linked in animal studies (at surprisingly small doses) to all sorts of various health issues such as cancer, metabolic disorders, heart disease, diabetes, and fertility problems and birth defects or miscarriages… and of course, any xenoestrogens in large enough amounts can trigger your body to hold onto abdominal fat (aka – stubborn belly fat).

The major offenders to look for are polycarbonate bottles (some plastics with the #7 symbol on the bottom are polycarbonate, but not all) and also canned foods, since the lining of most canned foods contains BPA, which can leach into food.  The longer that a can of food sits on a shelf and the higher the temperature, the more BPA can leach into your food. The same can be said for polycarbonate bottles that contain food or drinks.

According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), BPA was detected in the bodies of 95% of Americans in one CDC study (this is a worldwide issue though, not just limited to the US).  This is nothing to shrug off either… look at this scary finding…

The Environmental Working Group reports, “analysis of our tests reveals that for one of every five cans tested, and for one-third of all vegetables and pastas (ravioli and noodles with tomato sauce), a single serving would expose a pregnant woman to BPA at levels that fall within a factor of 5 of doses linked to birth defects — permanent damage of developing male reproductive organs“.

If that didn’t get your attention, how about this…

The EWG also reports evidence of… “An investigation demonstrating that low doses of BPA spur both the formation and growth of fat cells, the two factors that drive obesity in humans (Masumo et al. 2002).”

This is not surprising, since as I mentioned at the beginning of this article, BPA is a known xenoestrogen, and any xenoestrogens can contribute to what’s been referred to as “stubborn abdominal fat” as well as cancer and other health problems.

It’s also important to note that any canned tomato products (canned ravioli, pastas, canned tomato pastes, tomato sauces, etc) are some of the biggest offenders with the highest BPA concentrations due to the acidic nature of tomatoes, which leaches more of the BPA.

So what steps can you take to minimize your exposure to BPA and it’s negative effects on bodyfat and other health risks?

1. Try to always avoid canned foods as much as possible and choose frozen or fresh foods instead.  Buy the ingredients yourself and prepare the meal the old fashioned way instead of resorting to canned foods.  Also, a better alternative to canned foods is products in glass containers.

2. If you do resort to using canned foods instead of fresh foods, try to find labels that say that the cans are free of BPA.

3. If you need tomato products, always avoid canned varieties and search for tomato sauces, pastes, etc in glass bottles instead (unless the can specifically states that it is BPA-free).  Or just make your own tomato dishes from scratch with fresh tomatoes.

4. If you use plastic wrap, plastic ziplock bags, plastic containers for food storage, etc, try to investigate on the label if the product is BPA-free or not.  Some brands packaging will label if their products are BPA-free.

5. If you for some reason choose to use a microwave with your food (which by the way, microwaved food is thought to have negative health effects), then by all means, do not microwave the food in plastic containers as it can increase the leaching of chemicals including BPA.

6. If you drink bottled water, or water from reusable plastic bottles, make sure that it is not a polycarbonate bottle, or make sure that the label says BPA-free. Plastic that shows #7 on the bottom will sometimes contain BPA, but not always.  If a bottle shows “PC” on the bottom, it is made from polycarbonate, so it will contain BPA.  In addition, sometimes aluminum bottles will contain a lining that has BPA, so avoid these.

7. Avoid soda cans, as the EWG states analysis showed that 42% of soda cans contained BPA.  Of course, if you care about your health and your body, I’m sure you never drink soda anyway — it’s pure evil for your body… and yes, that includes unhealthy diet soda too, with it’s dangerous artificial sweeteners.

8. Never use plastic cups for hot liquids such as hot tea or coffee, as this can accelerate leaching of BPA and other chemicals, depending on the type of plastic.

If you stick to most of these guidelines, you can help to protect yourself and your family from the health dangers of bisphenol-A (BPA).  And you can also help protect yourself against the issue of “stubborn abdominal fat” that can be caused by the xenoestrogen effect of BPA exposure too… which I’m sure you’d rather avoid!

by Mike Geary,

Some people may call these “healthy snacks”, but I prefer to consider them meals because they should be similar in size to your breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, if you want to spread your calorie intake out over the full day to “graze” so to speak.

After all, I’m sure it’s no secret by now that eating 5-6 small meals per day is a much better strategy for getting lean compared to the traditional “3 squares” a day (which for most people, turns into only 2 big meals/day as many skip breakfast).

The problem that I see most people having is being prepared enough to bring healthy mid-meals with them to work for the day. If you don’t plan ahead,  and bring something healthy and balanced with you when you’re out and about for the day, or at work, you’re going to end up choosing the junk food at the vending machine or corner store.

So here are some of my favorite natural foods based mid-meals that I’ve used for years with great success and that lots of my clients love too. I want to keep things simple here, so I’m just gonna give a couple of my easiest, quickest, and healthiest…

Quick, healthy mid-meal ideas to keep you lean:

• Apple or other fruit with almond butter
• Hummus with carrot sticks or sliced red/yellow/orange peppers
• Guacamole with carrot sticks or sliced red/yellow/orange peppers
• Ricotta cheese (grass-fed if possible) mixed with cocoa powder, stevia, and vanilla extract (delicious high protein, low carb snack!)
• Cottage cheese mixed with yogurt, berries, and walnuts or pecans
  
• A couple hard boiled eggs with carrot and celery sticks and hummus (roasted red pepper hummus is my favorite)
  
• Celery sticks with organic peanut butter or almond butter (a classic quick snack)
• My famous healthy chocolate FUDGE recipe

• Avocado slices wrapped in deli turkey breast (one of my favorite quick snacks)
  
• A piece of sprouted grain toast (sprouted grain preferred nutritionally over “whole grain”) with nut butter and berries
  
• Fresh sliced pineapple with a handful of macadamia nuts
  
• a bowl of blueberries mixed with raw almonds
• my quick and healthy fat-burning chocolate pudding recipe
  
• Cottage cheese with cinnamon, apple slices, and walnuts (mmm, mmm good)

That should give you some ideas to start working with.  Now you have ZERO EXCUSES for resorting to junk food snacks on the road or at the office, when you have all of the delicious and healthy fat-burning snack ideas right here!

by Joel Marion

Last night I enjoyed a fine, healthy meal at P.F. Chang’s China Bistro.

Now, you’re probably reacting to my above statement in either one of two ways:

1) You’re a bit naive and believe that veggies + protein + rice automatically = healthy.

2) You know that most entrees at P.F. Chang’s are loaded with hidden fat and carbs and are wondering just how I managed to grab a “healthy” meal there.

Well, I ordered Mongolia Beef, which normally would bring in just over 1,000 calories along with 45 grams of fat and 90 grams of carbs.  Not exactly the “healthiest” nutrition profile…

Little side note: Let’s say, for example, I ordered a regular 3 course meal, consisting of a steamed dumpling appetizer, Mongolian beef entree, and then I went ahead and treated myself to dessert.

Calorie total:  2,472

And that meal isn’t even that BIG.  But it sure does pack in well over a day’s worth of calories for most people.  Just an example of how a reasonable meal at most restaurants is six-pack suicide.

I digress.

So, I managed to bring the fat and carb content of my beef entree down by about 70% and dropped the total calories by 50% all while eating the exact same amount of food, just with a couple swaps.

First, I made the obvious decision and opted for brown rice over white, which truthfully didn’t do a whole lot to save calories, but it did up the meal’s fiber and overall nutritional content.

Second, and here’s where I saved practically ALL the calories, I requested that my entree be prepared with chicken broth, as opposed to the corn starch and canola oil “sauce” that it’s normally mixed with.  In the end, I wound up eating the SAME exact amount of food, but less than HALF the calories.

Which brings me to the crux of this blog post – The #1 thing to avoid at restaurants – the SAUCES.

A huge portion of the sugars and crappy fats are found in the sauces served at restaurants.

• The dressings on the salads…
• The sugar/butter mixture drenching the vegetables you special ordered to be “healthy”…
• The cream sauces on the pasta…
• The starchy/fat-laden sauces used in stir fries…
• The cream/butter/sugar-laden sauces served a-top otherwise lean cuts of fish, chicken, and beef…

Do yourself a HUGE favor – next time you’re dining out, be mindful to avoid the sauces.  You’ll save yourself a tremendous amount of calories without sacrificing volume whatsoever.

• For salad dressing, go with oil/vinegar.
• For pasta sauce, ask your server if they have a low-fat tomato sauce (most do).
• For stir fries, request that they prepare your meal with chicken broth (and grab that asian flavor from low-calorie soy sauce instead).
• For your veggies, ask for a bit of butter on the side so that you’re in control of applying it.
• For protein sources, skip the sauces for seasonings

Simple tip, but one that will probably save you 10-20 lbs worth of calories over the next few months.

by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist

A unique way that a few specific vegetables can actually stimulate the burning of abdominal fat…

I bet you didn’t know that there is a specific class of vegetables that contain very specific phytonutrients that actually help to fight against stubborn belly fat.

Let me explain what these unique vegetables are and why they help to burn stomach fat…

Chemicals that force your body to hold onto belly fat

Something you may have never heard about is that certain chemicals in our food supply and our environment, such as pesticides, herbicides, and certain petrochemicals from air and water pollution, household cleaners, cosmetics, etc can react with your body and make your body store excess abdominal fat.

These chemicals are known as xenoestrogens.

Xenoestrogens are chemicals that you are exposed to (and are hard to avoid in the modern world) that have an estrogenic effect in your body.  Excess exposure to these can cause hormone balance disruptions for both men and women. So these can wreak havoc in the body for both guys and gals.

These estrogenic chemicals that we are exposed to on a daily basis can stimulate your body to store belly fat, along with many other problems (including cancer risks in the long term).

So here’s where this specific class of vegetables comes in handy…

One of those cool tricks that I teach my clients that hire me for nutritional counseling is the use of cruciferous vegetables to help fight against stomach fat.

Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage, etc. contain very specific and unique phytonutrients such as indole-3-carbinol (I3C) that help to fight against these estrogenic compounds…(this is FOR MEN, some women have a reverse effect with cruciferous vegetables…the verdict is still out)

And by fighting against these belly fat stimulating estrogenic chemicals, this is just 1 more step in helping you to win the battle against abdominal fat!

So there you go… just another excuse to do what mom always told you and eat more broccoli!

I’ve really learned to like brussells sprouts in the last year too… Melt a little grass-fed cheese on them and some garlic and they’re great!