- The Authors
Jeff Thiboutot
Matt Schoeneberger
HCG Challenge – Show us the quality evidence!
This is where the discussion on the validity and usefulness of the hormone HCG for weight loss will take place (the YouTube post area limitations make it very hard to make clear and thorough points). Our position is there is no quality evidence that the use of HCG increases fat loss, or helps maintain muscle tissue, or has any other physical or psychological benefits besides a placebo affect. This position is based on the number of studies that have been done on HCG. Although a number of studies may not be perfect, the weight of the evidence that is currently available supports our position on HCG. Therefore, we do not feel it is a useful tool for weight loss. A more complete discussion is in our HCG Report.
Our challenge, to anyone, is the following: “Show us the quality evidence that HCG works and how it works and we will change our position on the use of HCG for weight loss” For any practitioner that recommends this hormone, you should have this type of information at the tip of your fingers.
Fast Food Restaurants: Unjustly singled out as the primary cause of the weight crisis in the U.S.
It is a common belief that the increase in the availability and frequency of eating at fast food restaurants is a major cause of the current bodyweight and health crisis that is occurring in the U.S. For instance, Schlosser states “…it seems that wherever America’s fast food chains go, waistlines start expanding” (p.242) and a recent article by Craig Morgan in a local paper, which spurred me to write this article, stated “Fast foods’ [from fast food restaurants] ill effects on kids are well documented and real” (p.30). I will concede that fast food restaurants do have a number of items that can have a negative affect on health if eaten often. But, they do have a number of items that can fit into a fairly healthy diet and can actually be included in a weight loss diet. For a good rebuttal to Morgan Sperlock’s Super Size Me you should watch the documentary Fat Head by Tom Naughton. There is much more that could be said on these topics but that is outside the premise of this article. The premise of this article is that Fast Food Restaurants, such as McDonalds, Taco Bell, and others should not be singled out as the major players in the weight and health crises.
It is really the whole processed food industry that needs to be discussed if any “blame” is to be given out. You can get plenty of high sugar, processed “crap” in the grocery store, convenience store, movie theaters, and most any place that food is sold! Not to mention that it is likely that a person will eat MORE food when eating at family type restaurants than at a fast food restaurant. (Brownell, p.37) Even then there is still the case to be made for personal responsibility. Nobody is making you drink a 32 oz soda (has about 100 grams of sugar) or eat 4 donuts with a coffee that is loaded with sugar and so on. When it comes to kids, parents have a lot of control of what the kids will eat. The problem is that many parents eat poorly; therefore, they are setting a poor example and passing on these habits to their kids. How does a 5 year old purchase a sugar filled soda, or a tub of ice cream, or a jumbo bag of chips or a super size fry? There is no doubt that a lot of marketing and advertising practices are specifically aimed at modify eating behavior. It is clear that a majority of these ads are for products that are not very good for us, particularly in volume. Anyway, there are many reasons, (biological, psychological and social aspects as well as conflicting recommendations from experts and so forth), why people eat what they do and why they eat the amount they do.
Back to the discussion of whether Fast Food restaurants, specifically, are causing the weight problems. The evidence for this view is rather weak. Dr. Glassner, in The Gospel of Food, does a good job of discussing the validity of this issue as well as other hot topics related to food and health (Glassner, 2007). With respect to bodyweight, he states “only a small number of studies have attempted to test the fast-food hypothesis directly, and they have come up with mixed results” (Glassner, p.183). He discusses the details of a number of these papers. I too read these papers and found that the view that eating at fast food restaurants causes weight problems in a lot of people is not very convincing. For example, a 2001 paper in the International Journal of Obesity stated “Overweight status was not significantly associated with FFFRU [frequency of fast food restaurant use] among males and female. Interestingly, BMI was significantly lower among males who reported using fast food restaurants three or more times per week, compared to those reporting less frequent fast food restaurant use” (French et al, p.1828). Another paper on the subject states “…cross-sectional studies did not find any association between fast food restaurant use and bodyweight or body mass (BMI, in kg/m2) in children” (St-Onge et al, p.1069). This final quote, from the St.Onge et al paper, should be considered when trying to pin the blame on fast food restaurants:
Although longitudinal data are not available concerning increased fast food consumption and body weight changes, one can propose that increases in body weight and increases in fast food and snack consumption are concurrent events that potentially are causally related. However, any reference to causal relations should be made with extreme caution, given that no data are currently available to show such a relation (St-Onge et al, p.1069, emphasis added).
However, the situation is certainly not a bed of roses. For instance, one of the papers previously mentioned stated “fast food restaurant use was associated with greater intakes of soft drinks and lower intakes of fruit, vegetables, grains, and milk” (St-Onge et al, p.1069). Another paper had a similar conclusion “FFFRU is of concern because of its association with lower calcium intake and higher soft drink [non-diet] consumption” (French et al, p.1831). It is more likely that the increase in soft drink consumption, which is available everywhere, is playing a more significant role in the weight and health problems than does the eating at fast food restaurants (St-Onge et al; Bray et al; DiMeglio et al). So it is clear that eating at these types of establishments can negatively affect the quality of the diet. This would certainly not be beneficial for overall well-being. Again, poor eating habits occurs everywhere and poor quality foods, such as soda and deep-fried anything, are available everywhere.
It does seem clear that singling out fast food restaurants as a major cause of our current weight and health problems is not well supported and is a very big oversimplification of the problem. There are some good and bad aspects to this particular vehicle of food delivery. There are ways to dine at these facilities so that is fairly healthy. In fact, as Tom Naugton displayed in his documentary, you can actually lose weight while eating at these types of establishments daily. I will end with a fitting quote from Dr. Glassner “I come neither to praise fast food nor to bury it, only to question its easy portrayal as the root of all evil” (p.146). To make a truly educated decision, I would encourage everyone to start out by reading The Gospel of Food, Fast Food Nation, The Omnivores Dilemma, and watch Tom Naugton’s funny and informative documentary Fat Head.
References:
Bray, G. et al (2004). Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in beverages may play a role in the epidemic of obesity. Am J Clin Nutr, 79: 537-543.
Brownell, K. & Horgen, KB. (2004). Food Fight: The inside story of the food industry, America’s obesity crisis, and what we can do about it. Chicago. Contemporary Books.
DiMeglio, DP. et al (2000). Liquid versus solid carbohydrates: effect on food intake and bodyweight. Inter J Obesity, 24: 794-800
French, SA. et al (2001). Fast food restaurant use among adolescents: associations with nutrient intake, food choices and behavioral and psychosocial variables. Inter J Obesity, 25: 1823-1833.
Glassner, B. (2007). The gospel of food. New York. Harper Collins.
Morgan, C. (2009, Dec, 2). Unhealthful fast food won’t be an option for my kids. Gilbert News.
Naughton, T. (2009) Fat Head. Morningstar Entertainiment.
Schlosser, E. (2002). Fast food nation: The dark side of the All-American meal. New York. Perennial.
St-Onge, MP. et al. (2003). Changes in childhood food consumption patterns: a cause for concern in light of increasing body weights. Am J Clin Nutr; 78: 1068-1073.
Filed under: diet, fat loss — Tags: diet, weight loss — Jeff Thiboutot M.S. @ 11:39 am
What’s the deal with hot dogs?
When eating a low-carb diet it is useful to find quality protein sources that are quick and convenient, not to mention good for you. Surprisingly, there are certain types of hot dogs that qualify. You must be thinking “You must be kidding, hot dogs!?” Please read-on.
There is no doubt that the hot dogs are a ubiquitous food in the U.S. and so is the thought that eating hot dogs is unhealthy. However, it is not that simple and there are a number of misconceptions about hot dogs. Just in case you are wondering, we are not being paid by the national Hot Dog and Sausage Council (yes this is a real organization, see http://www.hot-dog.org/) to write this. There are typically three arguments used to support the idea that hot dogs are disgusting and unhealthy. These three arguments relates to; the quality of the meats used to make them, the amount of fat in them, and the preservatives, sodium nitrites or sodium nitrates, used in them.
Let’s first look at what hot dogs are made of. The following is a good overview of what hot dogs are made of, which is from http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/06/10/11/what-is-really-in-a-hot-dog-and-how-unhealthy-are-they.htm
On to the million-dollar question: what are hot dogs made of? According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council:
“All hot dogs are cured and cooked sausages that consist of mainly pork, beef, chicken and turkey or a combination of meat and poultry. Meats used in hot dogs come from the muscle of the animal and looks much like what you buy in the grocer’s case. Other ingredients include water, curing agents and spices, such as garlic, salt, sugar, ground mustard, nutmeg, coriander and white pepper.”
However, there are a couple of caveats. “Variety meats,” which include things like liver, kidneys and hearts, may be used in processed meats like hot dogs, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires that they be disclosed on the ingredient label as “with variety meats” or “with meat by-products.”
Further, watch out for statements like “made with mechanically separated meats (MSM).” Mechanically separated meat is “a paste-like and batter-like meat product produced by forcing bones, with attached edible meat, under high pressure through a sieve or similar device to separate the bone from the edible meat tissue,” according to the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
Although the FSIS maintains that MSM are safe to eat, mechanically separated beef is no longer allowed in hot dogs or other processed meats (as of 2004) because of fears of mad cow disease. Hot dogs can contain no more than 20 percent mechanically separated pork, and any amount of mechanically separated chicken or turkey.
So if you’re looking for the purest franks, pick those that are labeled “all beef,” “all pork,” or “all chicken, turkey, etc.” Franks labeled in this way must be made with meat from a single species and do not include byproducts (but check the label anyway, just to be sure. Turkey and chicken franks, for instance, can include turkey or chicken meat and turkey or chicken skin and fat in proportion to a turkey or chicken carcass).
As you will see from the few brands highlighted below there is no problem with the quality of meats used. In fact, the organic grass-fed beef hot dogs are a very high quality meat which is better than any “regular” cut of meat you will get in almost any grocery store. Therefore, if you stick to the brands that use “all beef”, or “all chicken”, and particularly the organic or natural meats, there should be no concern with what the hot dogs are made from.
The second issue is the fat content of hot dogs. This really stems from the common, but misplaced fear about fats, particularly animal fats. There are many aspects of this issue but are beyond the scope of this article. For now, realize that a low-carb diet will be a higher fat diet, from both plants (avocados, walnuts, coconuts, etc.) and animals (beef, eggs, salmon, etc). Therefore, eating foods with fat in them is fine. The amount of fat in a particular hot dog will vary so you will need to read the nutrition facts label to know how much is in a specific one and how many you can eat to stay within your goal intake. Additionally, the grass-fed hot dogs will contain a good amount of omega-3 fats and CLA, which both have health and weight loss properties.
The third concern is the preservatives sodium nitrite or nitrates. These can lead to the formation of nitrosamines which are carcinogens (can produce cancer). These have been linked to cancers in the digestive tract. However, recent evidence for this connection has shown that typical intakes of these preservatives are not likely to lead to an increase in cancers (Powlson et al). Additional recent research is finding that food sources of nitrates and nitrites, particularly from vegetables, may be health promoting (Hord et al). There is more about this topic and, in fact, there have been a number of recent papers published on this topic so I will discuss this in greater detail at another time. For now, however, this topic is really not applicable if you eat hot dogs that are not preserved with sodium nitrite/nitrates. All of the following hot dog manufacturers listed below do not use this preservative. Therefore, these hot dogs do not contain nitrites or nitrates and the concern about ingesting cancer causing agents, which is not definitive anyway, is not a valid reason avoid eating this product.
Here are a few examples of healthy hot dogs; hopefully you no longer think that statement is an oxymoron.
Applegate Farms – The great orga
nic uncured hot dog
No nitrates or nitrites.
Made from 100% organic grass-fed and finished beef, these lean hot dogs are bursting with old-fashioned classic hot dog flavor—juicy, flavorful and delicious! These dogs have only 8 grams of fat compared to the average 15 grams in most brands, and because they’re made from grass-fed beef, they’re also high in omega-3 fatty acids (the good fat). Great on the grill or steamed on your stovetop any time you’re craving a taste of summer.
Ingredients:Organic Grass-Fed Beef, Water, Contains Less Than 2% Of The Following: Sea Salt, Organic Spices, Organic Garlic Powder, Organic Paprika, Celery Powder, Organic Onion, Lactic Acid Starter Culture (Not From Milk).
Let’s be Frank – Uncured Beef Frank
No nitrates or nitrites.
Made from 100% Grass-fed Beef
These snappy dogs are loaded with flavor, not junk! Using premium cuts from cattle raised on pasture in California (naturally high in healthy Omega 3 fatty acids!) and organic spices, we’ve crafted a delicious dog that’s lower in fat, calories and sodium than conventional franks. No nitrites, nitrates, hormones, or antibiotics, ever
Ingredients:Grass-fed beef, water, sea salt, organic evaporated cane juice, organic spice, organic garlic powder, natural flavor (celery powder, spice extract, paprika extract), spices, lactic acid starter culture, in a lamb casing.
Trader Joe’s – All Natural Uncured All Beef Hot Dogs
No nitrates or nitrites.
Ingredients: Beef, water, contains less than 2% of the following; allspice, celery juice powder, evaporated cane juice, garlic powder, ginger, honey, lactic acid starter culture, mustard, nutmeg, onion powder, paprika, pepper, sea salt.
In conclusion, the belief that all hot dogs are bad to eat is not supported by the evidence. If you eat a quality hot dog there seems to be no good reason that they cannot be part of a healthy diet, whether high-carb or low-carb. The benefit with a low-carb diet is that you can eat more of them! One way that Matt and I like them is lightly warmed-up with a bit of organic mustard and with a side of baby carrots or a small apple; how easy is that!
References:
Hord, N. et al (2009). Food sources of nitrates and nitrites: the physiological context for potential health benefits. Am J Clin Nutr; 90: 1-10.
Powlson, D. et al (2008). When does nitrate become a risk for humans?J Environ Qual; 37: 291-295.
A 15 minute low-carb meal from Dana Carpender’s low-carb cookbook.
Here is great meal suggestion from Dana Carpenders 15 Minute Low-Carb Recipes book, which I picked-up this weekend. It’s a great resource for tasty and quick low-carb meals.
Apple Sausage Burgers
- ½ medium onion, peeled and cut in a few chunks
- ½ Granny Smith or other crisp, tart apple, cut into a few chunks (no need to peel it)
- 1 ½ pounds of pork or turkey sausage, hot or mild
- t teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Preheat your electric grill (i.e., George Foreman grill) or outdoor grill.
Put the onion and apple in a food processor with the s-blade in place, and pulse until they’re chopped to a medium consistency. Add sausage, thyme, sage, and pepper, and pulse until it’s all well-blended.
Form into 4 burgers, and put them on the grill. Cook for 7 minutes or until the juices run clear,
Yield: 4 servings, each with 7 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 6 grams of usable carbs and 20 grams of protein.
Can or should you eat carrots on a low-carb diet? This will largely depend on how low you are keeping your carbs. If you are keeping them in the 20-30 g/day range (ketosis) then probably not, but if you are keeping them in the 70-80g./day range then it is probably fine to eat some. Here is the breakdown of half a bag of organic baby carrots, which equals 2½ servings:
| Food |
Serving size |
Total Carbs |
Fiber |
Net Carbs |
Protein |
Fat |
| Baby carrots |
½ bag (8 oz) |
20 |
5 |
15 |
2.5 |
0 |
As you can see, a fairly large serving of carrots does not have a high amount of useable carbohydrates. For comparison, a 1 cup (8oz) serving of brown rice would have about 
40 net carbs.
A final thing about carrots is how fast the carbs in them get digested. This is referring to its glycemic index (GI) rating, which for carrots is about 40. 1 This is a low to moderate ranking (rankings run from 20 to 100). It is typically thought that carrots have a high GI, but recent research has over turned this. 1 As we mentioned in S.P.E.E.D., it is good, for weight loss and health, to keep the overall GI of your diet low. So, the conclusion here is that eating some carrots is okay as long you do not go over you specific carb intake goal.
1-Brand-Miller, J. (2008). International tables of glycemic index and glycemic load values: 2008. Diabetes Care; 31(12): 2281-283.
Filed under: diet, fat loss, health, weight loss — Jeff Thiboutot M.S. @ 12:00 pm
Grass-fed animals: Why what animals eat affects your health.
We mention in S.P.E.E.D. that there are weight loss and health benefits from ingesting a certain amount of omega 3 fats. However, we did not mention that grass fed cows can be a good source of omega 3’s. Grass-fed cows and their resulting milk and meat will also have more CLA (more about this nutrient in a latter post), vitamin A & E, and less overall fat per serving (not that we are advocating a low fat diet) than conventional (grain-fed) cows. There are also health benefits for the cows and some environmental benefits as well.
You can get grass-fed beef and dairy at some health food stores. There are also a number of places on the web. One good source that we have used for grass fed meats is U.S. Wellness Meats. A good directory for finding grass-fed animals, as well as the benefits of grass-feeding, is eatwild.com. The one drawback is that this type of meat and milk is more expensive. But, this is one place to spend a little extra if you can because the overall benefits to your health seem worth it. In fact, a recent review of this subject concluded:
“The scientific literature supports the hypothesis that grassfed beef contains higher proportions of healthful lipids [fats] and antioxidants important to human health as compared to conventional [grain-fed] beef.” (Abbott et al)
If you want to learn more about grass-fed animals see the reference paper listed as well as the www.eatwild.com website.
Reference:
Abbott, A. et al (n.d). Enhanced nutrient content of grass fed beef : Justification for health benefit label claim. Retrieved on October 1, 2009 from http://www.csuchico.edu/agr/grsfdbef/pdf/amberabbottgrassfedbeef.pdf
Filed under: diet, fat loss, weight loss — Tags: diet, nutrition, weight loss — Jeff Thiboutot M.S. @ 3:34 pm
Eating is Like Brushing Your Teeth
Another low-carb meal for weight loss: Pass me the organic grass-fed hot dog
Here is a quick and simple low-carb meal. Two organic grass-fed hot dogs (Applegate Farms purchased @ Sprouts) with two sticks of mild cheddar cheese (Trader Joes) with 1 small apple. This took 2 minutes to prepare (heated-up the dogs, opened the cheese and washed the apple). Here is the nutrient breakdown.
| Food |
Protein |
Net Carbs |
Fats |
Calories |
|
2 – Organic grass-fed hot dogs |
14 |
0 |
16 |
220 |
| 2 – cheddar cheese sticks |
10 |
0 |
14 |
160 |
|
1 – small apple |
0 |
17 |
0 |
77 |
|
Meal totals |
24 |
17 |
30 |
457 |
This reminds me of a meal I had this weekend, bratwurst and sauerkraut; another very low-carb meal. Sauerkraut is a great low-carb dish (about 2 grams of net-carbs per cup) and it has some health promoting nutrients.
Filed under: body composition, diet, fat loss, nutrition — Tags: Low-carb, quick meals, weight loss — Jeff Thiboutot M.S. @ 5:31 pm
Boston Market for Weight Loss?
We’re all busy. We plan our food intake as much as possible, but sometimes our schedules get the best of us and we find ourselves in precarious situations. If we know what quick food options are weight loss promoting, these situations should never get the best of us.
Here’s one meal from Boston Market that is great for a weight loss diet. Copied directly from www.bostonmarket.com:
1/4 White Rotisserie Chicken
- 320 calories
- 12 g fat
- 52 g protein
Green Beans
- 90 calories
- 3.5 g fat
- 7 g carbohydrates
- 3 g fiber
- 2 g protein
Creamed Spinach
- 280 calories
- 23 g fat
- 12 g carbohydrates
- 4 g fiber
- 9 g protein
Totals:
- 690 calories
- 38.5 g fat (346.5)
- 19 g carbohydrate (76)
- 12 g fiber
- 7 g net carbs
- 63 g protein (252)
- 51% fat, 12% carbohydrate, 37% protein
Now, I know what you’re thinking.
“690 calories? That’s way too much!”
First, remember that meal frequency is not important, so we recommend eating 2-4 times/day. This meal will keep you full for quite some time, so one other meal should be more than enough to get you through the day. If that meal is around 500 calories, you’re still at 1200 for the day. Most dieters won’t be aiming much lower than that.
Second, this is one combination of the options at Boston Market. Try replacing the creamed spinach with steamed veggies, or grab a double-serving of green beans. You’ll cut out quite a few calories right there.
Remember, being prepared is an integral part of maintaining a successful diet, so knowing you have options like these can make what seems like a bad situation perfectly manageable. Check out www.bostonmarket.com to develop your own weight loss meal. Keep the carbohydrates low, protein moderate, and don’t be afraid of fat.
If you’re not sure how to calculate appropriate levels of calories, protein, carbs, and fats for you, check out the Doing S.P.E.E.D. Chapter of “S.P.E.E.D. – The Only Weight Loss Book Worth Reading!”
-Matt
Filed under: diet — Tags: fast food, weight loss — Matt Schoeneberger M.S. @ 10:35 am
Trader Joe’s organic cottage cheese and a LARA bar: A quick and fairly low carb meal.
We mentioned a similar meal in the book, but because I (jeff) had this for lunch today, I though I would pass it along for a meal idea. You can eat healthy and low-carb with little effort or time. The LARA bars taste very good. My favorite flavors are the apple pie and the cinnamon roll. They are very simple bars; nuts, seeds, a little dried fruit and some spices. You can check them out @ http://www.larabar.com/ or pick some up @ Trader Joes or other health foods stores.
Here is the meal breakdown.
| Food |
Protein(g) |
Net Carbs(g) |
Fats(g) |
Calories |
| 1 LARA bar (apple pie) |
4 |
19 |
10 |
180 |
| 1 cup low fat cottage cheese (Trader Joes organic) |
26 |
8 |
5 |
200 |
| 1 tbs TJ’s Tuscon Italian |
0 |
2 |
3 |
40 |
|
Meal totals |
30 |
29 |
18 |
420 |
