Editors Note: This post is written by contributor Gina Ryan. Gina is a licensed nutritionist and Wellness coach from Hawaii. Read her Bio on the About page or visit her blog Lunch without Ed.

What should I eat?

As a nutritionist this has to be the most common question I encounter and on the other hand the answer I am about to share with you is commonly the most ignored. Why? Because it is so easy and people believe healthy changes have to be difficult.

Let me begin by putting you the eater in the seat of authority. You are your own best expert and I trust you will not only hear what the answer to “what should I eat?” but will run it through your own filter of being. Only when you use your own mind-body as a filter do you ultimately make healthy decisions for your own body.

Step up the quality of your food

Yes that’s it in a nutshell. I use the term step up because it is not usually possible to make all the changes you may desire all at once. In stepping up the quality you will lose the need to make a perfect change and thus eliminate falling into good/bad or black/white thinking. Perfectionism will undermine even your best efforts because there is no perfect and you will never reach the goal of being perfect so just let go of perfect right now and enjoy stepping up.

Some step up quality clues

• in its natural state
• fresh
• naturally flavorful
• organic
• gourmet
• homemade
• local
• made with love (just think about it)
• grown with integrity for workers and or animals (free range,wild)
• vibrant
• add your own qualities that speak to food produced/grown with care and consciousness

It has been shown over and over that when people eat lower quality foods they will eat larger quantities of them. Now we can begin to understand what is really going on when the cultures who traditionally ate higher quality foods had lower rates of disease than those eating the lower quality processed food diets. This goes way beyond how much fat or carbohydrate is in a particular food, the quality of the fat or carbohydrate must be taken into consideration rather than totally eliminated.

If there ever were a magic bullet for the world of nutrition it might just be ‘quality’

Quality foods will naturally be more nutrient dense and contain much less of the xenotoxins from man made substances which act as anti-nutrients and have had the least negative impact on the planet. Another bonus of eating high quality foods is you avoid the food additives that not only cause allergic reactions but cause you to actually crave the same product hence eating more and more.

The choice now becomes easy, no need to eliminate any one food or group simply pick the highest quality one and by all means enjoy it.

Examples of higher quality choices

• sugars- try using maple syrup, brown rice syrup, raw honey, barley malt, agave, sucanat
• fats- try the best quality olive oil you can afford, ghee, coconut oil, flax seed or hemp seed oils, and always use real organic butter over any man tampered with oil made to look or act like butter
• dairy- make it real cheese, yogurt, milk, cream etc. organic and raw
• meat- wild, fresh, unprocessed, organic, hormone free
• grains- organic, unprocessed, whole

These ideas are just a start be on the lookout at your market and again remember not to think in a black or white manner, life really is lived in the grey places. We really can make relevant changes over time by choosing to simply step up the quality of our foods.

Lastly let me state that quality foods add to your metabolic power. Food is energy and information, so by choosing quality you add to the metabolic process rather than bogging it down. What can you do in your diet today to step it up?

You can read Gina’s full bio on the About page or visit her blog http://www.lunchwithouted.wordpress.com

Editors Note: This post is written by contributor Gina Ryan. Gina is a licensed nutritionist and Wellness coach from Hawaii. Read her full Bio on the About page or visit her blog Lunch Without Ed.

Water is the source of healing on the most basic level in our bodies. We tend to look at our water intake as something to do to keep from getting dehydrated and ill for over heating or even to avoid the discomfort of thirst. Somehow we have been trained to know we need so much protein, fat and carbohydrates a day yet tend to leave water to the thirst to detect. This is a grave mistake.

If you’re thirsty its too late!

We usually feel the sensation of thirst when we are already in early stages of dehydration as adults due to our thirst mechanism being inefficient. This can have us re-hydrating behind the ball all day if we are not cognizant of the need to be fueled with water just as diligently as we fuel with macronutients through out the day. Waiting for a thirst cue is much less reliable than the bodies hunger cues as the water storage is more easily depleted than the fat stores the body can pull from for caloric needs.

Why is water important?

Another critical concern is that every function of the body is dependent on the flow of water. Hormones, regulating chemical messengers and nutrients are all water transported elements. With the body being made up of about 75% water and 25% solid matter we can see the need to keep the body hydrated to be in top form. Brain tissue is considered to be about 85% water, and the water transport system will deliver to vital organs first leaving us open to many areas of water deficient disease just waiting to happen with out proper daily hydration.

Water Will have a positive affect on;

• stomach pain
• weight imbalances
• allergies
• blood pressure
• cholesterol
• joint pain

In my experience I have seen amazing changes in chronic illnesses with the addition of water and water dense foods along with the decrease of dehydrating foods, drinks and substances. Medications themselves can be the dehydrating substances causing insult to injury to the already existing disease. Consider the last time you or someone you know went to have an illness or condition checked on by a medical professional, did anyone ask you or them how much water was consumed, how heavily they exercised and how much coffee, alcohol or diuretic herbs they were consuming? Most likely not. Why not consider this non toxic, inexpensive, and live giving substance in your own health regimen?

You can take some of the burden off the need for medications either pharmaceutical or herbal by being aware of your more basic water needs and considering the following:

Basic water guidelines

• minimum of eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily or half your weight in pounds equals number of ounces as minimum (30ml for every kilo you weigh)
• alcohol, caffeine, diuretic tea, and sodas do not count as water and actually take water out of the body
• try to stay ahead of thirst
• drink additional water for your lifestyle ex. hot climate, exercising, high stress level
• add more water for any chronic illness slowly as the cells need to learn to absorb at the new rate try ~ 1-2 additional glasses per       day until you adjust
• urine color should be pale yellow, the darker urine is more concentrated and a sign of dehydration
• add raw watery fruits and veggies to diet
• with higher amounts of water some additional salt may be required in the diet
• If your kidneys are compromised be sure to check with your health care practitioner prior at adding water or salt to your diet.

Look into the type of water you use and where it comes from. Many municipal water supplies are great some are not. Bottled and filtered water give us other options to consider.

All in all it is a healthy practice to have gratitude for the water and other life giving resources we have at our disposal. A simple thought of the source the water came from and all it took to arrive in your glass is a beautiful way to slow down and totally enjoy the refreshment and healing potential it has to offer.

Is there a glass of water within your reach right now???

You can read Gina’s full bio on the About page or visit her blog http://www.lunchwithouted.wordpress.com.

Editors Note: This post is written by contributor Vin Miller. Vin is a certified health practitioner who is passionate about helping people get the most out of life. If you’d like to learn more about maximizing your life through health, fitness and perspective, visit his blog at NaturalBias.com

In our fast paced modern world, we are busier and more stressed than ever before. In my last article, I discussed how less obvious sources of stress can accumulate and gradually break down the body. Today, I’ll discuss some practical ways to alleviate stress and prevent it from destroying our health.

As I discussed in the previous article, eliminating unwanted sources of stress is the best solution, but isn’t always possible. The following suggestions will help you alleviate and offset the stress that you can’t avoid.

Reframe Negative Thoughts

We all have a choice in how we perceive and respond to any situation. While you may think your day is ruined because of trivial frustrations that are a common part of every day life, Nick Vujicic views every day as a blessing and an opportunity even though he has no arms or legs. Similarly, Viktor Frankl managed to find meaning and fulfillment from the treacherous conditions he endured in Nazi concentration camps. The point here is not to make you grateful for not having it as bad as these people, but rather to make you realize that there is positivity to be taken from any situation.

A large majority of the stress we experience is a result of our own perception. To take advantage of the choice you have in this matter, pay close attention to your thoughts and pay particular attention to the ones which are negative and bring you down. Think of the worst case scenario that could possibly result from the situation you’re facing and you’ll likely realize that it’s not as bad as you think and isn’t worth the negative emotion that you’re investing in it. Also try to find a positive aspect of the situation that makes the situation worth enduring and gives you reason to be more tolerant of it.

Most of us are frequently exposed to potentially frustrating situations throughout the course of each day. Finding the perspective to prevent them from becoming stressful can add up to a significant amount of physiological burden that is avoided. Not only will this contribute to better health, but it will also give you greater capacity for the demanding activities you may enjoy.

Breathe Deeply

Slow breathing stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system and is a great way to calm yourself down and escape anxiety and frustration. There are many different breathing techniques you can use to accomplish this. I like to keep things simple and use the following approach. Sit or stand with good posture and try to slow your mind down and relax. Inhale deeply through your nose while expanding your diaphragm first and then your chest. Hold the breath in for a few seconds, or as long as you wish, and exhale slowly and gradually through your mouth. Repeat this as long as is necessary to achieve a calm and relaxed state.

Clear Your Mind

In many cases, we create our own stress by worrying about the future or the past. In fact, many of the things we worry about are often out of our control. A great way to prevent these thoughts from causing excessive stress is to become efficient at clearing your mind and focusing on the present. Regular meditation is probably the best way to develop this ability. However, if you’re not interested in meditation, listening to soothing music or engaging in mild forms of focused exercise such as tai chi or qi gong can work as well. You can even use the deep breathing technique described above.

Laugh

Have you ever noticed that even the most unbearable stress can melt away after hearing a good joke? Laughter provokes the release of endorphins which are potent neurotransmitters that eliminate pain and provide a general sense of well being. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by stress, go out of your way to find something to laugh about and make an effort to surround yourself with positive people who have a good sense of humor. As you develop an appreciation for simple humor and spend more time around people who appreciate it as well, you’ll likely gain more tolerance for stress and find that you’re in a better mood more often.

Take a Break

Sometimes we let stress go too far and get to the point where we’re too exhausted to even try one of the stress relieving methods suggested above. In this case, one of the only remaining things that will help is to take a break and let your body and mind rest. This is a great opportunity to cancel all your obligations for a day or two and do nothing but rest and relax. If you do, you’ll likely feel recharged and ready to get back on track, but keep in mind that if you don’t find a way to alleviate some of the stress that wore you out in the first place, you’ll likely end up in the same situation again.

If you’d like to learn more from Vin about maximizing your life through health, fitness and perspective, visit his blog at NaturalBias.com

Do you ever feel tired, dizzy, have shortness of breath, heart palpations (awareness of your heart beat), headaches, or leg pains? These are all symptoms of Anaemia which is one of the most common ailments affecting humans. It mainly affects women of child bearing age, intense exercisers, teenagers and young children, however all age groups are susceptible. Here are some important tips to ensure you are eating enough iron, and absorbing it properly.

Heme iron is a lot more absorbable than non heme iron:

There are two types of iron. Heme iron is derived from animal sources such as red meat, where as non heme iron comes from plant sources such as chickpeas. Heme iron is more easily absorbed by the human body. You can affect the absorbability of iron by eating it with other vitamins, for example eating foods that contain vitamin C with iron, increases its absorbability. However eating calcium with iron decreases its absorbability.  Having some heme iron with your vegetables will increase the absorption of the non heme iron (For example you will absorb more iron from your spinach if you have some red meat with it).

Iron Absorption Enhancers:

• Meat/fish/poultry
• Fruits: Orange, Orange Juice, cantaloupe, strawberries, grapefruit etc
• Vegetables: Broccoli, brussels sprouts, tomato, tomato juice, potato, green & red peppers
• White wine

Iron Absorption Inhibitors:

• Red Wine, Coffee & Tea
• Vegetables*:Spinach, chard, beet greens, rhubarb and sweet potato
• Whole grains and bran
• Soy products

*Why are the above vegetables (chard, beet greens, rhubarb and sweet potato) iron absorption inhibitors? They contain oxalic acid (sometimes referred as oxalate). Oxalic acid binds with iron, hence inhibiting its absorption. Don’t despair; by combining it with iron absorption enhancers you will improve absorbability.

How much iron do I need?

If you have already been diagnosed with iron deficiency, talk to your doctor or healthcare provider about treatment. For healthy individuals, the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for iron is listed in the following table.

*This value is an Adequate Intake (AI) value.  AI is used when there is not enough information known to set a Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA).

Source: Dietary Reference Intakes, Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board.* (PDF-86k)

What are the best sources of iron?

Now that you know your daily allowance for iron, use the below chart to plan your iron intake for the day. The last column is the amount of iron you actually absorb from the food, so use that for more accuracy. Be aware that these amounts are dependant on the cut, preparation and age of the product. With red meat, generally the deeper red in colour, the more iron. Source:

It’s much harder to get your daily dose than you realize!  No wonder it’s such a prevalent issue. I challenge you to spend seven days consciously eating the right amount of iron, and report back with your energy levels. I bet they have improved. The key is to do that without increasing your total calories per day. I’m having mussels for dinner tonight!

Editors Note: This post is written by contributor Vin Miller. Vin is a certified health practitioner who is passionate about helping people get the most out of life. If you’d like to learn more about maximizing your life through health, fitness and perspective, visit his blog at NaturalBias.com or read about vin on the About Page.

There is much more to stress than the mental frustration that most people associate with it. It’s bad enough that the fast pace of modern life exposes us to significant amounts of anxiety and frustration, but what most people don’t realize is that it doesn’t end there.

Stress is often regarded as a negative state of mind, but that’s not always the case. In fact, we need it to survive, and in some cases, it results from a positive occurrence. It’s when we experience excessive amounts of stress on a regular basis that it becomes a problem.

The Physiology of Stress

Our autonomic nervous system controls many of the functions that keep us alive without us thinking about it. Breathing is one example of such a function that is essential to staying alive but impossible to forget. The autonomic nervous system is split into a parasympathetic branch and a sympathetic branch.

parasympathetic Nervous System: is often described as “rest and digest” because it’s active when we’re relaxed and promotes digestion, immunity and repair. For example salivation is a result of the parasympathetic nervous system.

Sympathetic Nervous System: is described as “fight or flight” because it’s what enables us to deal with stress and flee from danger, but it does so at the cost of breaking down the body. For example the regulation of your heart rate is a result of the sympathetic nervous system.

Only one side of the autonomic nervous system is active at any given time. A very important concept to understand is that any time the sympathetic nervous system is stimulated, it’s a form of stress. As you would guess, any source of fear, anxiety or frustration will stimulate it, but so will any activity that is exciting, physically demanding or mentally challenging. This means that seemingly stress free activities such as playing a sport or solving a puzzle are sources of stress. As such, you’re probably dealing with much more stress than you realized!

Stress is Cumulative

Despite the many ways in which the sympathetic nervous system can be activated, the body responds in the same manner regardless of whether you perceive the stimulus as good or bad. All of the activities that stimulate your sympathetic nervous system accumulate into one single physiological load, and if this load is more than your body can handle, you’re health will be compromised.

Enjoyable Stress

Unless your favorite activities are very relaxed and calm in nature, it’s important to realize that they’re likely a source of stress and that you need to keep them in mind when you evaluate your overall stress load. For example, consider someone who has a frustrating day at work and watches an action movie that evening at home. While they may consider this to be an enjoyable activity that lifts their mood and offsets their stressful day, it’s actually stimulating and adds to the overall physiological burden on their body.

A Dangerous Misconception About Exercise

One of the most common reasons people exercise is to relieve stress. Those who do this on a regular basis often find themselves exhausted because of the tremendous burden that they’re putting on their body. Someone who is busy all day at work, runs a few miles every day, and perhaps doesn’t get quite enough sleep is keeping their body under constant stress and not giving it the rest needed to recover. Instead of relieving their stress, they’re making it worse!

Hidden Stress From Within

A potentially significant source of stress that few people are aware of is within the body. Chronic infections, unhealthy foods and chemical toxins are all things that can cause reactions that stimulate the sympathetic nervous system and put a considerable load on the body. While it’s difficult to assess how much stress may be occurring within your body without the help of lab tests, it should certainly provide motivation to be more careful with your diet and avoid chemical toxins whenever possible.

The Importance of Moderation

Once you realize the full scope of where your stress is coming from, it’s important to assess how well you feel and if you think your level of stress is dragging you down. If it is, then the only answer is to eliminate some of it.

The obvious place to start is to identify sources of negative stress that you can eliminate easily. Unfortunately, many of us will have a considerable amount of stress that we simply can’t avoid, but it certainly doesn’t mean that there’s nothing that can be done about it. By keeping your perspective as positive as possible in regard to such sources of stress, you’ll be able to reduce the effect that they have on you.

Finally, you may have to sacrifice some of the activities you enjoy, especially if they’re very demanding and you engage in them frequently. While this may sound like the last thing you want to do, you’ll likely be rewarded with more energy and better moods. As a result, you’ll get more enjoyment out of your favorite activities even though you may be doing them less often.

What are three unnecessary activities that are adding to your stress levels? How can you eliminate these immediately?

If you’d like to learn more from Vin about maximizing your life through health, fitness and perspective, visit his blog at NaturalBias.com

Editors Note: This post is written by strength and body shape specialist JC. JC is a writer, fitness enthusiast, former athlete, strength training and diet consultant. He has over 10+ years experience in the field of fitness and athletics and he began strength training at the age of 14. You can read his full bio on the About page  or visit his blog www.JCDFitness.com.

Have you experienced a setback or injury that caused your training to take a back seat for a while? Ever had to lay off of pressing or another particular movement and noticed a significant reduction in muscle size? Perhaps you have been training for a while and notice that certain muscle groups have developed or are developing faster than others.

Everyone is different and genetics play a huge role in how we all develop in terms muscle growth. For instance, my quads and glutes will grow if I just dream about squatting, however my shoulders and calves are a different story. I have to give them some extra attention and effort when planning my training to ensure a proper stimulus.

In todays article I will cover body part specialization and how you can use it to your advantage when building a well rounded physique. I have been a student of Lyle McDonald’s work for about 2 years now and what I am presenting today is an assemblage of information I have gathered from his forums about training and in this case, specifically for hypertrophy.

Who Should Do A Specialization Routine?

Intermediates and advanced level trainees. This method is not suitable or even necessary for the beginner. Newbies should be doing a simple, full body strength training program to build a solid foundation first. Once they get stronger and have the fundamentals in place, then they can up the volume and switch to an upper/lower split more so focused on hypertrophy. Once they have progressed even further, they can opt to do a specialization cycle when necessary.

How To Set Up A Specialization Routine

Pick two body parts only: When setting up this type of programming you should only pick two body parts to specialize at any given time, no more. Your focus, intensity and volume must go towards the areas you want to improve. All you have to do for the rest of your body is low volume maintenance work. Each cycle will last about 6 weeks in length, then it’s time to back off the volume and work on bringing up another set of muscle groups.

Work the lagging body part first: and your goal is to provide the best growth stimulus possible for the following 6 weeks. You do this by aiming to add more weight to the bar each workout. The goal is to progress as much as humanly possible during this time frame (whilst maintaining great form of course).

Your first movement will be a heavy compound: Use either 5×5 or 4×6-8 with controlled reps. Rest about 3-5 minutes in between sets, then follow up with an isolation type movement for 3×8-12 with 60-90 seconds rest in between sets. By doing it like this you accomplish 2 goals: heavy tension stimulus + fatigue stimulus.

When doing your maintenance work, stick with 2-3 sets x 6-8 reps: This is enough volume to maintain what you have previously built without overtaxing your body. Remember, you want the excess nutrients consumed to go toward building the muscle groups in which you are aiming to improve.

Let’s say you wanted to bring up your chest and hamstrings for the first specialization cycle. I would set up your training using an upper/lower split.

Chest and Hamstrings Emphasis

Your training schedule would look like this.*

Monday - Upper

Tuesday - Lower

Wednesday - Rest

Thursday - Upper

Friday - Lower

Saturday - Rest

Sunday - Rest

*If you are pressed for time, you could of course make this an every other day routine split up over two weeks:

Week 1 - Upper/Lower/Upper

Week 2 - Lower/Upper/Lower

Repeat

Here is what your workouts would look like.

Monday/Thursday - Chest Emphasis

Bench 5×5*

Dumbbell Flyes 3×8

Row 3×6-8

Lateral raises 2×8-12

Bi/Tri 2×8-12

*Repeat on the following upper day or swap out with another movement such as incline presses or weighted dips. Movements shouldn’t vary much as you will need to track progress.

Tuesday/Friday - Hamstring Emphasis

RDL 5×5 - These will make your glutes grow too.

Leg Curl 3×8

Leg Extension 3×8-12

Calves 3×8

Trunk 2-3×10 of whatever abdominal movement.

Remember, this should be done for no more than 6 weeks. Your first few workouts should be slightly submaximal to ensure you continually ramp up the weight over the specialization cycle. Once the cycle is over you would pick another 2 body parts you want to bring up. So on the next cycle you might focus on lats and quads and drop the previous specialization movements to maintenance work as per the workout example.

After you get a few specialization cycles under your belt, rinse and repeat or if you are satisfied with the results, you can always move to a regular hypertrophy training split such as DC Training or Lyle’s Bulking Routine etc.

Nutritional Requirements During A Specialization Cycle

This part of the equation is just as important, if not more important than the training portion.

We can go about this two different ways: Carb/calorie cycling ala structured overfeeding or the traditional dietary approach.

Structured Overfeeding*

On your training days you will be in a caloric surplus, while on your off days you will simply eat at maintenance. Training days will be higher carb and rest days will be moderate carb/fat. This method seems to be the most popular with the guys I work with due to their fear of gaining any amount of fat. I must say that this method may not yield the maximum rate of muscle gain due to limiting calories on rest days but you cannot have your cake and eat it too (you can with the traditional method).

Here is a sample of what a typical training and rest day would look like for a 180lb(81kg) male with a maintenance intake of 3000 kcal.

Training Days 3600 kcals(+20% maintenance)

240g protein(3g x kg bodyweight)

480g carbs

80g fat(20% kcals)

Rest Days 3000(maintenance)

240g protein

240g carbs

120g fat

Rest days are set to zone proportions for ease of calculation. I am not too concerned with the macro nutrient ratio you opt for on rest days as long as your protein intake remains static.

*This dietary approach is more suitable for females due to lower rates of muscle gain, but your total daily calories will differ depending on the individual. To determine your daily caloric allowance click here.

Traditional Dietary Approach

This is easy and does not really need any explanation. You would simply eat 500 kcals over maintenance daily in hopes of gaining about 1lb(~.5kg) per week.

Daily Intake 3500 kcals(+500 over maintenance)

240g protein

455g carbs

80g fat

So there you have it, a detailed approach to body part specialization.  When you begin your first training cycle, make sure to follow the guidelines and allow plenty of time for rest and recuperation; you will definitely need it!

You can read JC’s full bio on the About page  or visit his blog www.JCDFitness.com. 

Eating fish is good for you. But when Jeremy Piven (Ari from Entourage) suddenly left his broadway show due to high mercury levels from fish,  questions have been raised about which fish are best to eat. 

In my recent article on the best meats to eat, white fish came in second on the list, with salmon fairing quite poorly due to its high fat content. Salmon, however contains a lot more essential Omega-3 fatty acids, so how do we choose which fish to feast on?

What are the considerations when choosing a fish to eat?

Mercury levels

The lower the better (see chart below). Mercury occurs naturally in the environment and can also be released into the air through industrial pollution. Mercury falls from the air and can accumulate in streams and oceans and is turned into methylmercury in the water. Fish absorb the methylmercury as they feed in these waters and so it builds up in them. It builds up more in some types of fish and shellfish than others, depending on what the fish eat, which is why the levels vary. Older, larger fish tend to have more mercury in them beacuse they have eaten the smaller fish which also contain mercury.  Swordfish, shark, king mackerel and tilefish seem to be the worst offenders. Salmon, cod, sole, and canned tuna have much better (low) mercury levels. Pregnant or breastfeeding women should be particularly wary of mercury consumption. 

Essential Omega 3 fatty acids

The higher the better (see chart below). These unsaturated fats have been shown to increase the health of the cardiovascular system. They lower LDL (lowsy) cholesterol and increase HDL (healthy) cholesterol levels. They have also been shown to help lower blood pressure, prevent blood clotting, not to mention the many memory boosting benefits (what were they again? I seem to have forgotten!)

This chart compares mercury levels and Omega-3 levels in common fish

* ND – mercury concentration below the Level of Detection (LOD=0.01ppm)

This Chart shows fish containing the highest amount of mercury

*Source: American Heart Association

Environmental impact

Wild caught or farmed? In the quest for sustainability we must really consider the environmental impact of the fish we eat. For example for every kilo (2lbs) of prawns (shrimp) we eat, it is estimated that there are 4-10kg (8-20lbs) of ‘by-catch’, which can include dolphins and turtles. There is also significant damage to the sea floor from net usage. This Chart outlines the eco friendly fish to eat which are caught wild. The jury is out over farmed fish. There are questions about adding chemicals, fish being damaged due to overpopulation, and the pollution to nearby estuaries. It is known that farmed fish to avoid include salmon due to their over population, and chemicals can leak into the ocean as well as damage to local sea life as they are caniverous.

The best eco friendly wild fish to eat are squid, anchovy, albacore tuna, garfish, whiting and herring. The worst; sea perch (orange roughy), ocean perch, Gemfish (hake), flake (school shark), travella, marlin and, bluefin (sashimi) tuna (oh no!!!) . The below chart outlines these. Download a wallet sized chart to take to the fish markets here

*Source Australian Marine Conservation Society

Freshness of restaurant fish

 Choose freshly caught fish or flash frozen for the fattier fish like salmon and chillean sea bass. Lean fish have a lot of water in them and when frozen the water expands, breaking cell walls which causes the fish to turn mushy when defrosted. Fatty fish such as salmon tend to hold their shape very well when frozen. In fact when eating raw fish, such as salmon sushimi parasites will have been killed if it’s been frozen for a minimum of seven days. Cooking, of course kills parasites also.  To find out more read this interesting article on to freeze or not to freeze.

Choosing fish at the fish market

Get up close and examine him. Signs of a fresh fish include; his fins are flapping and his mouth is moving (just kidding!); eyes crystal clear and protruding (not sunken and cloudy), open the gills and make sure they are a vibrant red (not green, brown or grey), scales should be shiney and white (not discoloured or brown), poke the flesh (or ask the fishmonger to), it should be firm, elastic and bounce back. Fattier breeds may leave a small indentation which is fine. Finally the fish should not smell too fishy or like ammonia, if he’s on the nose, move along.

The Final verdict

Depending on your preferences, ie low mercury, low fat, high omega-3s or eco-friendly, you must really study the charts for yourself. However after researching for this article, my choices for seafood will now be;

• Tinned tuna (dolphin friendly) 
• Octopus/calamari/squid
• Wild caught salmon, black back (watch the fat content),
• Flathead
• Catfish 
• Sardines
• herring (watch the fat content)

Do you have any fish preferences that you know are good for you and the environment. I’d love to hear about them. Note that various regions of the world have different names for their fish, so be sure to google your local catches and compare mercury and omega-3s.

When you are rushing through the supermarket trying to decide what meat to cook for dinner, do you really know what you are looking for? I’m sure you know what tastes great, or what you are comfortable cooking, but what about the health benefits? It is possible your habitual choices could be damaging your health and waistline. I have examined our most popular (and some less popular) meats, and you might find the results surprising!

And the winner is…

Kangaroo meat!!!  For the Aussie readers out there, we grew up watching ‘Skippy’, so now it can be hard to come to terms with eating him! Kangaroo meat has less calories and fat per serve than white fish yet as much iron as red meat and almost as much protein. Skippy really packs a punch in the nutrition stakes! Click here for a Bill Granger marinated kangaroo recipe. They say to treat it as you would beef, however I prefer stews, casseroles and marinades to plain steaks.

Second Place:

White fish. Also extremely low in fat and high in protein, white fish will provide you with some iron, minimal cholesterol and lots of healthy omega 3 fatty acids.

Third and fourth place:

Ostrich, closely followed by chicken breast. I’d like you to note on the chart the vast difference in nutritional value of chicken breasts without the skin versus a BBQ chicken. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that just because it’s chicken, that it’s good for you!

The Healthiest Meats (Best to Worst)

How I came up with the winners:

These statistics are collected mostly from the calorie king website, both the US and Australian versions. This has been a reliable source of nutritional information, especially for fat and calories. In collating the results, the best cuts of meat are ones that will be;

•          Low in fat, especially saturated fat
•          Low in calories
•          Low in Cholesterol
•          High in protein
•          High in iron

Interesting findings:

•          Ostrich is the US version of Kangaroo, an excellent meat choice. It’s usually in the frozen section of the supermarket and can be cooked exactly the same as beef. I also prefer this in a stew but I have eaten the steak and it’s especially nice marinated in soy sauce.
•          Most elite sports people requiring endurance eat kangaroo or ostrich due to the high iron and protein component. Body builders especially like this meat because it is so lean yet so high in protein.
•          Chicken breast with no skin contained the highest protein on the list with saturated fat remaining nice and low.
•          Pork tenderloin, chicken breasts and bison are very similar nutrition wise. But be sure to eat the right part of the pig because other parts such as pork belly (many people’s favourite!) and roasted ham are extremely fatty.
•          Notice that beef and lamb fall low on the list. Don’t despair, just eat sparingly. Especially lamb. The main problem with these two red meats is that they are high in fat including saturated fat. On the positive side they are also the richest source of iron (behind Kangaroo).
•          Salmon came in a surprising 12^th. This is mainly due to its high fat content. Interestingly it is quite low in saturated fat, it’s just the unsaturated fat that tips this fish over the edge. On the positive side, salmon contains a lot more essential omega 3 fatty acids compared to other fish. To compare it to other fish as well as mercury levels, click on this chart. Sword fish and shark are a great alternative to salmon, almost as high in omega-3s yet really low in fat.
•          You have been warned about those greasy BBQ chickens! Check out their stats, 300 calories, 14grams of fat.  Steer clear if you value your health!

The best meats for you:

If weight loss is your goal: The first six on the list. Go for kangaroo, white fish, ostrich, chicken breast, pork tenderloin, or bison (in that order).

If increasing muscle size but staying lean is your goal: Chicken breast, ostrich, white fish, pork tenderloin, or beef.

If you have high cholesterol: White fish, ostrich, kangaroo, or ham.

If you need more iron (intense exercisers, mums to be, tired, pale, and elderly): Kangaroo, beef, or lamb. Click here to find out your daily iron intake recommendation as well as other foods rich in iron.

I suggest finding some recipes and experimenting with your three healthiest meats until you find a dish that’s easy to prepare and tastes good. Remember a good rule of thumb is to eat  red meat no more than twice per week. UK Newspaper, The Independent has written a really interesting article on red meat and its effects on your health. Hopefully this will open your eyes the next time you reach the meat section of the supermarket!

Got any recipes you love? Maybe you’ve already converted to the healthier meats. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Editors Note: This post is written by weight loss expert (and former couch potato) Meg McFarlane. Meg has experienced the weight loss journey first hand and has chronicled this in her blog, Spud On The Run.  She has a Bachelor of Science from Sydney University is currently working in IT.

You have decided that you need to lose weight, but with the hundreds of diets out there, how do you choose the one that is right for you?

If you are like me than you have probably tried hundreds of “fad diets” which were successful until you started eating normally again and then the kilos piled back on and brought a few of their friends with them.  If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you need to choose a diet that you can stick to long-term.  Think of it more like healthy eating rather than a “diet”.  Therefore, you need to stay away from diets that have you eating only soup or fruit for a period of time and diets that involve meal replacements.  Yes, you will lose weight on these diets but as soon as you go back to eating normally, that weight will return.

Stay away from diets that have you consuming a very low amount of calories:

 Women need at least 1200 calories a day, whilst men need at least 1500 calories a day.  Anything less than this will drive your body into starvation mode which will make it extremely difficult for you to lose weight.  If you are not consuming enough calories then you will not have the energy you need to exercise and to get through your busy day.

Watch out for diets that drastically restrict your intake of carbohydrates or fats:

Diets that are very low in carbohydrates or fats are not ones which will keep your body in optimum health.  Your body needs the right amount of carbohydrates, good fats and protein to keep you healthy and strong.

Pick a diet that allows you to have a cheat meal once and a while:

 The occasional cheat meal is part of a healthy diet and you don’t want to miss out on celebrating special occasions with your family and friends as you lose weight.  Just make sure that these cheat meals don’t happen every day and that you don’t go overboard.  Enjoy your cheat meals, like you do alcohol, in moderation.

Don’t choose a diet just because it worked for a celebrity or a friend:

 Everybody’s bodies are different and can respond to the same foods differently.  Just because a diet worked for someone else, doesn’t necessarily mean that it will work for you.  You may need to play around with your food intake until you hit upon your golden combination.  Don’t be afraid to experiment, the worse that can happen is that you gain a couple of kilos.

Consult a professional:

 If you are totally confused about what you should be eating and in what amounts, then consult a nutritionist.  A couple of sessions with a qualified nutritionist will have you well and truly on the path to healthy eating and weight loss.

If you can’t find any diet out there that suits you, then there is nothing wrong with designing your own.  Just make sure you follow these golden rules.

The golden rules of a diet:

1.  Make sure that the majority of your foods are fresh whole foods like vegetables, meat (if you eat it), some fruit and some dairy.  If it comes in a box or lasts more than week (with the exception of frozen vegetables), then it shouldn’t form a major part of your diet.
2. Reduce the amount of refined carbohydrates you are eating.  Try to remove sugar, white breads, pastas and rice from your diet.  Kick your habit of drinking sugary drinks (including those so-called vitamin waters) or switch to the diet versions if you absolutely must have them.
3. Exercise portion control.  Even if you are eating healthy food, if you are eating too many of them, you will still put on weight.  If you don’t know your portion sizes, then head to ninemsn and view the chart to find out.
4. Remember that you cannot out run the fork.  Diet forms 80% of your weight loss efforts and unfortunately, you can exercise off all the bad foods you consume.  Keep your diet as healthy as possible and with regular exercise you will see results.

With the right diet, regular exercise and determination, you can lose weight and keep it off.  The trick is to find an eating plan that you can stick to for the rest of your life. Don’t be scared to experiment with your diet as you lose weight and increase your physical activity as your food intake requirements will change, so have a play around and see what combination works for you.  Just stick to eating lots of fresh whole foods like vegetables as the basis of your diet and cut down your intake of sugar and other refined carbohydrates and you will see results.

You can read Megs full Bio on the About page or visit her blog  http://spudontherun.wordpress.com

If you have trouble getting to sleep, or need some new meditation material, this video blog gives you some podcast tips! My personal favorites are Meditation Oasis. Go into the Itunes store, click on podcasts and search for Meditation Oasis. It’s narrated by Mary Maddox who has a lovely soft voice. Just be careful you don’t wake up with the ipod cord wrapped around your neck!