General News
WELLNWESS EEK L Y
Welcome to the first
members WELLNESS WEEKLY newsletter!
Thanks for joining us! We look forward to supporting you in achieving your health and fitness goals. Did you check your results this week? If you haven’t done your measurements, remember this: "If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it!" I hope it was a good week for you. We have a lot to offer in this first edition. First, we consider the question, "Which food is more dangerous to your health: the German pretzel (bread roll/white bread, etc.) or dark chocolate? Train smart, eat well, think For my father-in-law the choice was obvious sadly right, and success will come! I think he is wrong! Find out why in this week's featured article. Next, check out my exercise tip, where I highlight one of the most valuable factors to getting fitter and stronger. I also answer a question about isolated vs. integrated training. I hope you enjoy the first recipe which is a common start to the day for me. And finally, I offer a healthy dose of inspiration to get you started. Your Coach, Craig
IN THIS ISSUE… Welcome! Features: Chocolate or Pretzel? Problems with Grains Ask Craig Exercise Tip Recipe of the Week Inspirational Quotes
Features WHICH IS HEALTHIER
Dark Chocolate or a German Pretzel? How is this for irony? The gluten grain basher, yours truly, married the baker’s daughter. Just this week I had a conversation with my father-in-law regarding the choice of treats I offered to my daughter: either dark chocolate (which fortunately she loves over milk chocolate) or a piece of a pretzel (because she had seen it–an exotic thing in my house). My father-in-law said, "Craig, how can you even compare the two, Bretzels (German name) are not so bad and even have more fiber than an apple." (Actually, pretzels have 2% and an apple has over 10%.) Not only is the pretzel a problem from the grain aspect, which I discuss below, but it also has a high white salt count that makes it even less favorable to one's health.
Are ALL grains bad for your health? According to the Paleo community: YES. Here is what prominent Paleo Mark Sisson says, "Apart from maintaining social conventions in certain situations and obtaining cheap sugar calories, there is absolutely no reason to eat grains."1
In my experience with clients, and in my personal experience, plus the countless hours of research into the role of grains in disease, I would agree with him. We don’t need them and we would generally be a lot healthier without them. But current economic and lifestyle ramifications grains are a cheap, readily available food source, low perishable, generally good tasting, and complement most dishes make them tough to completely exclude. So I am not a strict Paleo (though close). Instead I believe that like most foods, there is a spectrum from most to least potential damage, especially when using techniques to make the food even more digestible. So the bad grains in my opinion are the ones with gluten. Nearly every client to date (if not all) have commented on how after removing gluten from their diet they felt so much better, and when it slips back in they feel it (including the baker’s daughter ).
Features THE
P R O B L E M WITH G R A I N S
The problem with grains comes down to their defense mechanisms. Animals have teeth, sharp spines, and poison to protect themselves, but grains are not easy victims, nor are they simply more subtle. Basically, they have various built-in chemicals and mechanisms that when eaten cause distress to the predator (humans). Their objective is to keep you from eating them and the rest of their family. Grains contain several chemicals, including phytates and oxalates. The two chemicals I will highlight are:
GLUTEN and LECTIN.
This composite protein made up of glutenin and gliadin is found in certain grains, especially wheat, and also rye, spelt, and barley. On average about 1% of the population suffers from celiac disease, but this differs in cultures (e.g., 1 in 67 Finnish schoolchildren and 1 in 105 US adults are celiac). Those with celiac disease have a severe immune response to gluten that can be life-threatening. Researchers are also seeing many problems with a high proportion of non-celiacs.2
GLUTEN
Most of my clients to date have said that life without gluten has made them feel better, and I can confirm this from my own experience as well.
So, how bad can gluten be for non-celiacs? There are several possible symptoms associated with gluten intolerance (see list below). My personal belief is the gluten grains do not offer anything we cannot get from other foods and are so often the disease/discomfort offenders that they should be avoided all together where possible.
Possible symptoms associated with gluten intolerance3: Abdominal Distention Abdominal Pain and Cramping Alternating Bouts of Diarrhea and Constipation Anemia Arthritis Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) Autism Bloating Bone Density Loss Borborygmi (stomach rumbling) Constipation Depression, Anxiety, and Irritability
Diabetes Diarrhea Fatigue Hair Loss (Alopecia) Headaches and Migraines Hypoglycemia Infertility Joint pain Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Lactose intolerance Mouth sores or mouth ulcers Nausea
LECTIN According to Kaayla Daniel, PhD, CCN,4 Lectin shouldn’t be a problem in human nutrition. The enzymes present in fermented foods can take care of most lectins through heat processing and cooking; however, if they are not dealt with beforehand, we can have some problems as lectins are not easily broken down by enzymes in the gut. Lectins that are not broken down can bind to the villi and crypt cells of the small intestine, contributing to cell death, shortened villi, a diminished capacity for digestion and absorption, interference with hormone and growth factor signaling, and unfavorable population shifts among the microbial flora.
That’s bad news!
Numbness/Tingling in hands and feet Osteoporosis Peripheral Neuropathy (including either a tingling or sensation of swelling your toes and fingers) Steatorrhea (high lipids in the stool, which may cause the stool to float) Stunted Growth and Failure to Thrive Teeth and Gum Problems Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies Vomiting Urticaria (Hives)
The most common potentially "toxic" lectin-containing food groups include5: Grains, especially wheat and wheat germ, but also quinoa, rice, corn, oats, rye, buckwheat, barley, and millet. Legumes, all dried beans, including soy and peanuts. Dairy, perhaps more so when cows are feed grains instead of grass, a speculation based on research showing transference of lectins into breast milk and dairy. Nightshade, includes potato, tomato, eggplant, and pepper.
Features RECOMMENDATIONS for lectin-containing foods Choose non-gluten grains like quinoa, amaranth, and millet. Prepare these foods by properly by soaking for at least 8 hours (for quinoa, until you see tiny sprouts) and then cook thoroughly. Soak legumes for at least 1 day, let them sprout another day, and then cook thoroughly. Choose fermented dairy like kefir, natural yogurt, and whey. Cook nightshades.
WHAT ABOUT DARK CHOCOLATE? So which treat did
my daughter choose? Well, she is daddy’s little girl.
Dark chocolate, too, has its problems. It affects insulin levels and is high in calories. My 100 gram block of 70% dark chocolate has 28 g sugar and 41 g fat, so it's not ideal for those wanting to lose body fat. But do you need to eat the whole block? My daughter and I are happy sharing a row which is less than 10 grams. And our active healthy bodies can deal with this snack.
But unlike gluten grains (especially those highly processed, like white flour), dark chocolate has some goodness. “Basic science has demonstrated quite convincingly that dark chocolate particularly, with a cocoa content of at least 70%, reduces oxidative stress and improves vascular and platelet function,” commented Professor of Cardiology Frank Ruschitzka, Director of Heart Failure/Transplantation at the University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland.6
MORE INFORMATION…… If you are interested in reading more about grains, Paleo diets, and how to prepare grains and other foods, here are some resources: Loren Cordain, Ph.D., the world’s leading expert on Paleolithic diets. http://thepaleodiet.com/ Good overview article on the Paleo diet with Dr Loren Cordain. http://www.mercola.com/article/carbohydrates/paleolithic_diet.htm Mark Sisson Paleo expert and great writer on the subject. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/ The Perfect Health Diet. This is a modified Paleo and the one closest to my diet. http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?page_id=8 How to Prepare Grains from the Weston A Price foundation: Be Kind to Your Grains...And Your Grains Will Be Kind To You http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/be-kind-to-your-grains
Ask Craig Craig, Are weight training machines okay to use? John C. Thanks for your question, John. Personally, I am not a fan of training with machines. I avoid them when I go to a gym and stick with my bodyweight and free weight exercises. I think machines are at best unnecessary and at worst potentially dangerous, as they overwork some muscles in relation to others. This imbalance can affect your posture and your ability to perform more integrated whole body movements, as when playing sport. Let me explain: The body only knows movements, not muscles. That means when we move it is not through the action of isolated muscles but the entire body working together to create motion. For example, take the squat one of the kings of exercises. Yes, you may see only the legs moving, but the trunk and upper body must stabilize the load to keep you from falling over or collapsing into a heap. In contrast, the leg extension works the quads, but the rest of the body is fast asleep. In real movement, all action begins in the core or center. But this does not mean you need to do funny tricks in the gym (like standing on a ball), which some people call functional training. Just train the movements pushing, pulling, squatting, bending and lifting, pressing, twisting, lunging and work progressively!
Exercise Tip
GETTING FITTER AND STRONGER
To get more fit and stronger, focus on progressive muscle-building training. This means each session or each week must be more intense than the last. So you should be able to lift a heavier weight more times or have an increase in total volume. Through increasing the intensity each session/week, you challenge the muscles and force them to respond by increasing in size and strength. So work through the programs on the site and please no pink dumbbells and push yourself! (safely). Naturally this means you need to record each workout to see your progress!
Eating Well NUTTY START SMOOTHIE
Ingredients 12 Almonds (soaked in a cup of water overnight) ½ Frozen Banana (store pieces in the freezer) 30 g Protein (I use hemp or brown rice for this recipe) 100 ml water Pinch of natural vanilla bean
Directions 1. Pour 100 ml of water into blender 2. Place almonds without soaked water into blender and blend for 30 seconds 3. Remove skins with a strainer, if necessary, but they provide a good fiber source so I keep them in 4. Add protein, banana, and natural vanilla bean 5. Blend for a further 30 seconds 6. Pour into glass and enjoy!
Notes If you are worried about a snack for later in the day, make a double portion and store in a thermos to take to work or while travelling.
Nutritional Data Calories
Carbs
Fats
Protein
231
19
7
25
%
31%
27%
42%
12 DECEMBER 2011
Inspiration Many of you may be coming here having tried to achieve your goals before and not succeeded. Well done for sticking at it and trying again. Persistence is such an important trait in successful people and I look forward to supporting you toward your goal. Here is a selection of my favorite quotes on persistence.
Never, never, never give up! ~ Winston Churchill Character consists of what you
Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.
do on the third and fourth tries.
~ Dale Carnegie
~ James A. Michener
Never Quit. Don't ever, ever quit.
Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after
Recognize that stopping now, regrouping to try a new approach isn't quitting. If
others have let go.
you quit you'll regret it forever.
~ William Feather
~ Rudy Ruettiger
Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing in the world is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. ~ Calvin Coolidge
References 1 2
3 4 5 6
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-grains-are-unhealthy/ http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/diet-and-fitness/gluten-intolerance-possible-without-coeliac-disease-study-finds20110117-19u5b.html, and http://www.nature.com/ajg/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/ajg2010487a.html http://gluten-intolerance-symptoms.com/ http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/plants-bite-back http://www.krispin.com/lectin.htm http://jonnybowdenblog.com/truth-dark-chocolate/
12 DECEMBER 2011