Real Food, Part 1 – Priority Protein

Priority Proteins

Whether you’re leaning out or trying to improve athletic performance, protein is a nutrient you simply cannot do without. It plays a tremendous role in general tissue repair, maintenance of bone mass, facilitation of muscle contractions, and support of the immune system. 

There are a total of 20 amino acids that are ‘building blocks’ for all protein. The human body is capable of creating eleven of these, classified as non-essential amino acids. The other nine must come from the diet and are considered essential amino acids. Proteins lacking in one or more essential amino acids are considered incomplete and are not well absorbed by the body. 

If you are working out regularly or engaging in strenuous exercise, your cellular turnover is higher than that of a sedentary individual. This increases the body’s protein requirements. (1)

It is recommended that athletes and those who take part in physically demanding exercise consume a daily intake of 1.4 to 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight each day. For example, at a fairly average body weight of 80 kilos (that’s 176lbs for the Americans) one would try and achieve a daily protein intake of 112g – 160g. Typically, the more demanding the work performed, the more protein that is required. 

In Real Food Terms

Get your proteins from things that once walked, swam, flew, crawled, or burrowed (if you’re into bugs and nematodes). These are complete proteins that are the most bio available.  Good quality proteins contain essential amino acid ratios that are readily digested and absorbed by the body. Not all proteins are the same – some contain more/less of certain amino acids than others, so it is a matter of narrowing down which foods give you the most bang for your caloric buck. Pulses, nuts and grains do contain some essential amino acids… If balanced properly over time it is possible to obtain a decent amount of dietary protein from them, but this process is largely inefficient. When you factor in the ratio of glucose/fiber/lipids to protein content with these items, it ends up being extremely difficult to hit protein requirements without going overboard on other nutrients. There are many other reasons to avoid using pulses, nuts, and grains for protein and nutrition in general. They will be discussed in the coming article – Clean Carbohydrates. 

Bio-availability  of Common Protein Sources

Protein Source	Bio-Availability Index
Whey Protein Isolate Blends	100-159
Whey Concentrate	104
Whole Egg	100
Cow’s Milk	91
Egg White	88
Fish	83
Beef	80
Chicken	79
Casein	77
Rice	74
Soy	59
Wheat	54
Beans	49
Peanuts	43

*Bio-availability is based on the % of essential amino acids present/g of protein.

Other Benefits of High Protein Diets

Higher protein diets not only contribute to more positive body composition, but also result in improved lipid profiles and fasting blood glucose control. (2, 3) Protein is also very satiating – part of dietary success is the ability to be consistent for long periods of time. The satiating effect of higher protein meals help with cravings, unnecessary snacking, and ensures better food choices when it comes time to eat.

But too much protein is bad for my kidneys!

This is the common response to the recommendation of a higher protein intake. For one with healthy, functioning kidneys, a protein recommendation such as the one given above should cause no harmful effects. Such negative effects on renal function are only seen in patients with varying forms of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). CKD can be defined as either immediate kidney damage or a decline in renal function lasting three or more months. Of course those with CKD or any contributing risk factors (diabetes, hypertension, excessive inflammation etc.) should be cautious and consult with a specialist before embarking on any dramatic change in lifestyle.  But for the normal, healthy individuals at whom this article is aimed – the argument against protein is completely unsupported. (4) 

Conclusion

Locking down protein intake is step one of a successful dietary approach. Approach meals using a complete protein as a base or main dish, and build from there based on energy needs. Always look for fresh, humanely raised or wild caught animal sources. Wild caught fish, pastured ruminants and fresh eggs are ideal, whereas quality dairy and protein supplements may take roles in filling in the gaps. Adequate dietary protein is important for good body composition, blood sugar control, blood lipid levels, and healthy immune function… Prioritize it!

Note: This article is aimed at a healthy, athletic, omnivorous population. Sedentary/elderly populations and moral vegetarians will be addressed in future posts.

1. Campbell B, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: protein and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2007 Sep 26;4:8.
2. Layman D, et al. A Reduced Ratio of Deitary Carbohydrate to Protein Improves Body Composition and Blood Lipid Profiles during Weight Loss in Adult Women. J. Nutr. 113:411-417, February 2003
3. Layman D, et al. Increased Dietary Protein Modifies Glucose and Insulin Homeostasis in Adult Women During Weight Loss. J. Nutr. 133:405-410, February 2003
4. William M, Armstrong L, Nancy R Rodrigues, et al. Dietary Protein Intake and Renal Function J .Nutr Metab (Lond) September 2005

The State of Affairs

The Diet Problem

If you live in the 21st century, you've undoubtedly heard about this diet or that diet. You've got Vegetarian, Low Carb, Vegan, Low Fat, Atkins, Ornish, South Beach, Macrobiotic, Mediterranean, Paleo, Alkaline, Fruitarian, and so on. Subscribing to a branded set of rules like those mentioned above rarely results in long term improved health or satisfaction with the food you are eating. Various cultures across the globe have enjoyed wonderful health and quality of life without having to subscribe to an ‘optimal diet’ set by self-proclaimed nutrition authorities.   

The Diet Industry is worth well over $40 billion per year. It is extremely profitable to tout extraordinary claims by book, video, or 'program' by playing on peoples' insecurities. Whether to blame the entrepreneur or the consumer is up for debate. Although it is possible to sell anything as a diet; eating the majority of meals as reconstituted ingredients out of boxes doesn’t exactly scream common sense, either.

Education

Education on the subject of nutrition is extremely poor in the United States. Most consumers are only familiar with the 1992 USDA Food Pyramid. This an example of an extreme grain bias based on the billions of dollars in farm subsidies that are still in place for the growing of wheat, corn, and soy. The surplus of these products must be packaged, refined, and thrown into just about everything that goes on a supermarket shelf. The end result is that we are told these foods are vital to a ‘healthy diet’ and should make up the bulk of our calories.     

Special interests have a lot invested in various food industries; this influences what research is done and the way it is presented to the public. Therefore it can be extremely difficult to navigate the many personalities and interpretations of the scientific literature.

Nearly all nutrition studies are epidemiological in nature, and this in and of itself is an issue because the data is extremely unreliable. The most popular types of surveys are 24-hour recall, a multi-day food diary, and the food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). (1) (2) Compounded with the fact that people are prone to lie about their food intake and have a poor memory of what was eaten, the lack of a real control with this type of study often results in the fallacy known as cum hoc ergo propter hoc; Latin for "with this, therefore because of this.” This is how most conclusions are made in regards to nutrition data. It is important to remember that in good science, correlation does not equal causation.  

Common Sense

There is however, a healthy population thriving on just about every variant of macronutrient intake, even with large differences in lifestyle patterns and environmental stressors. Whether it be the Kitavans or Japanese (3) and their native high starch diets, Inuit with an entirely meat based diet (4) or the French enjoying saturated fat and alcohol (5)… it is possible to find very healthy populations under all of these circumstances.

To say that any of these populations enjoys their health simply because they eat “this diet” is obviously incorrect. In many cases it would also be in direct opposition with the philosophy of another supposed dietary guideline (e.g., the premise of a low fat diet is that fat is bad for you, therefor it would be impossible for someone on a high fat diet to be healthy). To definitively say that one macronutrient is unhealthy, or to propose that we must eat 50% of our calories from a certain food source, displays a profound lack of understanding. There are countless examples of very healthy people on diets that if compared next to each other, would be as different as black and white.

Trust Real Food

One thing though is very clear in all of this. Populations who eat real foods prepared in traditional ways enjoy much better health and lower rates of disease than those who consume highly processed modern fare (6). Human nutrition has largely been a process of trial and error by our ancestors for the last 150,000 years. The conclusions that ancestral peoples have come to by default should be taken very seriously and used as a starting point for the generation of new hypotheses and research ideas. We should study how traditional foods like pastured meat, eggs, butter, fruit, tubers, wild fish, wild fowl, and fermented meat and vegetables influence our health. To have only named a few – these foods appear in all of the healthiest traditional societies to date.

Don’t fall into the trap of “the latest research” or some quack diet endorsed by an M.D. looking to make a buck. Trust foods that have stood the test of time –  if it can be definitely proven that something is bad for you or does not nourish your body… don’t eat it. The purpose of nutrition is to repair and improve function. If an item does not do this, it is not food.   

Note: The next series of posts will address the specifics of:

·         Traditional food choices and how to apply them.

·         Roles of specific macro nutrients and how they relate to lifestyle.

·         Food politics and education in the US.

References:

1.         1   Willett WC. Nutritional Epidemiology. 2nd Edn. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

 2  Michels KB. A renaissance for measurement error. Int J Epidemiol2001;30:421–22.

 3  Age relations of cardiovascular risk factors in a traditional Melanesian society: the Kitava Study. Lindeberg S, Berntorp E, Nilsson-Ehle P, Terént A, Vessby B. Am J Clin Nutr. 1997 Oct;66(4):845-52.

1.         4   H. H. Draper. The Aboriginal Eskimo Diet in Modern Perspective. American Anthropologist. New Series, Vol. 79, No. 2, Jun., 1977

1.         5   Hamed S, Alshiek J, Aharon A, Brenner B, Roguin A.Red wine consumption improves in vitro migration of endothelial progenitor cells in young, healthy individuals. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Jul;92(1):1-2.

1.         6   Price, WA. Nutrition and Physical Degeneration: Eighth Edition. La Mesa, CA: Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation (2008). All page numbers given in the text refer to this edition.

What a rack.

Must be eaten. 

Keep it simple.

Realistic guidelines for losing body fat while maintaining sanity and a good hormonal profile.

Earn your carbs!

Carbohydrate is not an essential nutrient like fat or protein, and most of us eat far too much of it. The body only has so much storage space for carbohydrate. Once the liver and muscles are full... the excess is very easily converted into body fat. The average American walking around today is consuming way too many carbohydrates for their activity level. Usually by at least 200%.

How much is too much? Think about this... An elite level bodybuilder will consume around 300g of carbohydrate on a training day... and a competitive marathon runner will consume in the ballpark of 400g - 600g (based on 50% caloric intake from carbohydrate).

Are you either of the above? The answer is probably no... therefore your carbohydrate requirements are drastically less than the intakes mentioned... because your anaerobic energy requirements are far lower. After you’ve had a typical American breakfast of cereal, milk, orange juice, and maybe some sugar and milk in your coffee... you’ve already blown over the 100g mark! Which is about what you need over the course of the entire day assuming you are training at a moderate intensity.

Cycle your carbohydrate intake. Simply put, this can be interpreted as to eat higher carbohydrate on workout days and lower on days of rest. A good rule of thumb will be an intake of 100-150g on work days, 20-50g on rest days. 

Just an idea of the carbohydrate value of typical American staples per serving. And let’s be honest... how many times do you actually follow the recommended ½ cup or 8fl oz?

1 cup Frosted Flakes - 36g

1 cup Oatmeal - 54g

8oz Milk - 12g

8 oz Juice - 27g

large apples/oranges - 32g

banana - 30g

So... keep an eye on that carbohydrate count. It is very easy to eat too much when consuming a standard American diet. Your carbohydrate intake should always mirror your activity level.

Manage your insulin

Insulin is responsible for delivering nutrients into muscle and fat cells. When it is elevated, the body is in a process of nutrient storage, and fat burning can be inhibited by over 50%. Obviously this is not what we want when trying to accomplish our goal of body fat reduction since we have too much in storage already, and the goal is to get rid of the excess.

Before going further, realize that insulin is not inherently a bad thing. It is a very important hormone that regulates muscle growth and proper partitioning of nutrients into specific cells. If you are trying to increase performance or build muscle... taking advantage of high insulin levels to jam pack muscles full of carbohydrate and amino acids can be a very good thing... more on that later on.

So how do we manage insulin to meet our goals?

●     Avoid foods that have a large impact on insulin levels (especially pre workout). This includes all sugars, simple carbohydrates, beans, white potatoes, wheat products, dairy, and baked goods. Certain foods spike insulin more effectively than others. Carbohydrate in general is very effective because blood sugar must be stored immediately or it becomes a toxin to your body. Lean proteins and eggs will also stimulate an insulin release... but when consumed by themselves, the rise in blood sugar is minimal and the insulin is being used to store amino acids in the muscles instead of excess sugar into fat cells.

●     Consume the majority of your carbohydrate in the post workout window. In the hours following exercise, nutrients are much more effectively stored in the muscle tissue and far less likely to be stored as fat. Attempt to get at least 75% of your carbohydrate requirements in AFTER exercise. Not before.

●     Eat less frequently. That's right. Stick to two or three meals each day. Take advantage of the time between meals to utilize stored energy and achieve proper blood sugar regulation. It should not be a problem for a metabolically healthy individual to go many hours without eating... and is in fact a more natural rhythm than constantly propping up blood sugars with many small meals.  If this is a problem for you, choose small, low carbohydrate snacks between eating until you can comfortably fast between meals. Eating many small meals per day to ‘stoke the metabolism’ has no scientific basis and is a recipe for disaster. No you will not ‘go into starvation mode’ (1) (2)

●     Take advantage of insulin when you need to. On a workout day - try and keep the fat lower after your activity. When fat is consumed with a meal that causes a large insulin spike (with carbs for instance) it can be stored very easily as body fat. This is not usually a problem on a rest day, because the majority of kcals should be coming from proteins and fats if you are properly cycling carbohydrates as is recommended.

Mind your energy balance

The strategies mentioned here are meant to help optimize results. If you are eating more than you need... you will not lose weight. Period. Calories are still calories... and they DO count. To lose body fat effectively, you must be on a caloric deficit. Track your calories and build an understanding of what macro nutrients different foods contain. When eating on a normal schedule it is much easier to track food intake. It is also more conducive to good food choices. You can eat real meals! Attempting to maintain a neurotic stream of perfectly balanced rabbit snacks is a recipe for failure. We are trying to improve quality of life, not mechanize it into something unrecognizable. Whatever the number of meals you choose to have... make sure that they are in line with the energy recommendations you have set with your trainer or your own calculations.

Additional references:

Bellisle et al. 1997. Meal frequency and energy balance. Br J Nutr Apr;77 Suppl 1:S57-70.

Burke et al. 1996. Muscle glycogen storage after prolonged exercise: effect of the frequency of carbohydrate feedings.Am J Clin Nutr 64(1): 115-119

Broiled salmon with buttered greens

Living in the North West, wild salmon should be staple of any healthy diet. This is one way that I prepare it.

Broiled Salmon:

500g Wild Salmon marinated in EVOO, lemon juice, fresh dill, and dried mustard seeds, black pepper, chile pepper, celery ceed, bay leaves, basil, fennel, oregano and thyme.

Simply preheat oven to a 500 degree broil and throw the fish in about 5" under the heat source for 5-8 minutes. Watch closely!

Buttered greens: 


500g Turnip greens, collards, mustard greens, kale, and spinach.
250g Mushrooms
150g Sweet onion
5-10 cloves of garlic (or less if you're not a big a fan as I am)
50g Pastured Butter

In a large stock pot - saute onions, garlic, and mushrooms with a generous amount of butter. During this process I add black pepper, and a seasoning blend containing sea salt, mustard seeds, coriander, onion, paprika, and chili pepper. The spicing is really up to your own palette - as the onions, garlic, and mushrooms supply quite a lot of flavor. Add in greens and cover. Open the pot and stir occasionally until the mixture as soft or crunchy as you want it.

Serve! If you have additional calorie requirements - serve with a pat of butter or add bacon to the recipe!

Nutrition Facts -

500g Marinated Salmon - 750 kcal
Protein - 100g
Carbohydrate - 0g
Fat - 35g

Greens as prepared above - 627 kcal
Protein - 22g
Carbohydrate - 51g (26g fiber)
Fat - 44g 


Meal Total - 1377 kcal
Protein - 122g
Carbohydrate - 51g (26 fiber)
Fat - 75g

You can divide this up into as many servings as you like! I typically intermittent fast most days out of the week and eat only two large meals. At my intake of 2200kcal on rest days... this be a little more than half of my days energy requirements.

Cheers!

Meal of the week

I was planning on making a split pea soup this evening... but I wasn't able to grab any dried split peas and I was feeling like something a bit more nutritious anyways. 'Had a really great smoked ham hock from the butcher in the fridge waiting to be used up...

Smoked ham hock, onions, garlic, thyme, carrots, broccoli stems, collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, spinach, cloves, and nutmeg. Inside of a roasted acorn squash bowl... wow!

Up and Lifting (First Post)

Who I Am


I am a full time Personal Trainer working out of Seattle, WA. I am passionate about my job - and consider it a stepping stone in my career of helping other human beings overcome the by products of our convenient, modern world. I consider these diseases to be depression, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and hormonal imbalances that in turn lead to depression, diabetes, obesity.... point taken. I am not an academic, scientist, or professional writer... just a young man with appreciation for learning. I am not trying to cure cancer or save the world, nor do I mean to spread misinformation, pseudoscience, or make claims to do anything extraordinary. I am simply someone interested in the truth, and am blessed with the opportunity to share it with others.

I have rural and humble beginnings. I do not come from a wealthy family or an outstanding academic or athletic background. My interest in these things has grown with time and maturity - and owes nothing to outside pressures or financial incentive. I have a Father with epilepsy and a passion for Christianity, a Mother with diabetes and a heart bigger than you can measure, and two younger sisters who are both extremely bright and contribute to my world view often. As far as my social circles go I run in all crowds... preferring the quirky, eccentric, and determined folk that make the human race worth saving.

Why I'm Writing



It's fast approaching a new year and I believe it's time to make some changes. I am creating this blog to keep track of my thought processes that seem relevant enough to record, and to keep myself accountable to the philosophies I try to live by and intentionally or inadvertently spread to others. It will also be very much a training journal. I imagine things will start off rather sloppy and unreadable. I hope that as I continue this practice I will progress so that myself and my readers may have a better understanding of the positions that I take on certain subjects. I suppose the decision to create a blog of my own is influenced by the countless other people who are truly spreading good information and wisdom in a time where you can find a bias to confirm anything you desire. I will keep my reading list updated as best I can.

Comments are encouraged!

Topics that will be addressed


It is silly to set in stone a list of subjects to be covered in an open ended experiment like this... the general topics will be something like:

Evolution - This is the lens I view all live processes through. Do not confuse this with atheism or denial of any divine process.

Nutrition - What makes all life possible. Respect it.

Strength Training - My greatest joy and passion. Possessing the knowledge to become more than you currently are, and the discipline to put in action is a powerful thing.

Psychology - Speculative. Inquiring. Ephemeral - it aids us in coping with our unique role in nature.

Enlightenment - "There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting."