Imagine yourself lean and ft. Imagine yourself feeling reborn. Perhaps you believe that’s too hard with your busy live. You might even think it is not worth it healthwise. Well, let me take you on a knowledge journey and convince you otherwise.

Get ready to explore the secrets of getting lean and healthy with as little efort and time as possible.

But hey, there is no magic pill. Whatever some websites promise... you really cannot lose 15 kg in 9 weeks in a healthy way, Instead, it is all about staying lean, ft and healthy for the rest of your life. Actually, you body is amazing at restoring balance. You don’t need much time to make a big diference. From my own experience and backed by studies, it really only takes one hour of working out in total per week, provided that you do the right exercises, and make some changes to your organisation, mentality, and eating habits. You certainly don't need to compromise on family, work, travelling or hobbies.

Here’s my story.. nearing forty and looking forward to the birth of my daughter I saw my full refection in the mirror of our new ftted closet. It was a bit of a shock. The seat-bound lifestyle really got to me. As an extra wakeup call, I noticed that a lot of people my age already had serious health problems and I sufered from regular back pain, insomnia and feeling anxious. Getting healthy felt like the responsible thing to do for my daughter, so I started analysing lots of studies and experimented to see what practically works in my daily life. It paid of and I went from being weak, always tired and skinny fat -where you have very little muscle mass yet

a belly- to being in pretty good shape. People noticed and were really surprised when hearing about my super short workouts and nutrition. Most thought they lacked time to get ft and that I must have been doing sports constantly. Some were even exercising long hours without reaping good results and wanted to know what I did diferent. So, as I felt a single source of info about this was missing, I wrote this no-nonsense book to help people.

I believe everybody can get and stay ft with minimal time and efort if you follow the right path.

Take back your vitality. Each step you get closer to being ft will improve your quality of life, wellbeing and perhaps even your longevity !

In the frst picture on the previous page I was 38, skinny fat, eating a standard western/american diet, always tired, anxious and sedentary except for the occassional running session. In the second picture I was 42, ft, doing my short workouts and eating according to my book which made me feel fantastic and full of energy.

TOCIT PAYS OFF TO BE LEAN AND FIT...............................................................................................5BODY COMPOSITION.......................................................................................................................7MEASURE IT....................................................................................................................................10THE BIG PICTURE...........................................................................................................................12SMALL FAST RESULTS TRIGGER LIFESTYLE CHANGES......................................................17EATING HEALTHY..........................................................................................................................19

Carbs: aka sugars, starch and fiber................................................................................................19The fats..........................................................................................................................................21The vitamins, antioxidants, enzymes and phytonutrients..............................................................23Antioxidants: the ORAC list..........................................................................................................25The minerals..................................................................................................................................26The protein.....................................................................................................................................27Water, the source of life.................................................................................................................32Limit pesticides..............................................................................................................................33Limit contamination.......................................................................................................................34Limit high temperature cooking and minimize AGEs...................................................................34Avoid low quality vegetable oils....................................................................................................35Limit processed food.....................................................................................................................36Limit caffeine and alcohol.............................................................................................................36Limit eating out..............................................................................................................................37Limit and counter antinutrients......................................................................................................37Detox..............................................................................................................................................38Optimizing testosterone and growth hormone through food.........................................................39Other beneficial foods to eat regularly..........................................................................................41Nutrients RDA...............................................................................................................................43Fasting............................................................................................................................................46

HOW TO LOSE BODY FAT AND STAY LEAN ?...........................................................................47Cyclic alternating calorie counting................................................................................................49When losing fat, you will look fatter first......................................................................................50Low calorie foods to make you feel satiated.................................................................................50

THE WORKOUTS TODO EVERY WEEK......................................................................................52Single workout structure................................................................................................................52You first workouts..........................................................................................................................54Workout remarks............................................................................................................................54How to calculate your one rep max...............................................................................................55Workout exercises..........................................................................................................................56You don’t need that many sets to improve.....................................................................................58Arthritis..........................................................................................................................................58

GETTING STARTED AND ORGANISED.......................................................................................59To buy right now............................................................................................................................59Your home gym..............................................................................................................................59Your cooking gear..........................................................................................................................60Your food stock..............................................................................................................................61What you should buy every week..................................................................................................63

SKIN HEALTH..................................................................................................................................64

IT PAYS OFF TO BE LEAN AND FIT

A healthy man has many wishes, but an ill man

usually only one.

A person is usually declared healthy when there is no apparent illness and metabolic factors

such as blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels are in check. Of course, this is

essential, but being truly healthy means you must be ft as well. When you have good lean

muscle mass you just feel more vibrant and energized. Do you remember your vitality as a

young adult? Well, as you get ftter this sensation will return. Your body becomes agile and

supple and your mind sharp. You will realize that being unft is not unlike being used to

feeling a little bit ill the whole time. This isn’t just some observation. Numerous studies

confrm the importance of your body composition. And as an extra, your partner might

appreciate your revived lust for life as well.

It is even a little addictive ... but in a good way ... the right workouts actually become fun after

a while. The release of endorphins, like serotonin – which are feel good brain chemicals -

gets you hooked. The relaxing feeling afterwards is just awesome. So, instead of an efort,

you experience it as a new way to enjoy your body and feel alive. Seeing your body transform

is also a huge motivator. Even eating healthy becomes second nature over time, because your

taste preference will change based on what you eat! I regularly crave fresh vegetables and

fruit now, and usually dislike too sugary, overly fat or salty foods. Although I still enjoy the

occasional pizza, ice cream, cake, crisps, fries, fast food... most of the time I prefer eating

pretty clean. In general, respect for your own body and nature will grow, and you will start to

treat your body like

a precious car and

only put in 'good oil

and fuels'. Actually,

most people take

great care to look

good, by buying nice

clothes, getting a

proper hairstyle and

using skin products. But body care works best from the inside out through good nutrition and

exercise, and your improved body composition and health will actually have the biggest efect

on your looks. So why not spend some efort there ?

BODY COMPOSITION

Don’t change your weight, change your body composition..

Studies show that excess body fat substantially increases the risk of all kinds of diseases. This ranges from cancer, heart disease, atherosclerosis, insulin resistance, diabetes, strokes to

arthritis. Scientists used to be puzzeled by this, but now they understand that fat cells can generate infammation. This is useful as it allows us to heal infections and protect our bodies from further damage. But having too much fat causes our bodies to release infammatory proteins all the time. Excess fat tissue even spurts chronic infammation which accelerates aging and runs your immune system in overdrive like when you are ill. Even more

worrying is that obesity, which is having a fat percentage greater than 25 in men and greater than 32 in women, has been linked to brain shrinkage. These days people have a skewed perception of what being overweight looks like as almost 7 in 10 people have an unhealthy weight or body composition. Would you guess the man in the image is near obese? The image shows what a fat percentage of 25 looks like. When you are overweight, you also put extra stress on all your joints, organs and heart, which might afect your longevity. For every fve unit increase in excess BMI, (weight in kilograms divide by the square of height in meters) researchers observed a 31 percent increase in risk of death. They also determined that obesity now causes as much as 47 percent more life-years lost than tobacco.

> NIH: Health Risks of Being Overweight. > Obesity might shrink the brain.

> NIH: Overweight and obesity associated with increased risk of death. > Fat but ft is probabily a myth.

> ScienceDaily: Obesity makes fat cells act like they're infected. > Obesity worse than smoking and

top of prevenable life years lost.> Visceral fat is associated with lower brain volume Ann. Neurol.

But it is not all about fat of course. Being ft also implies you have good muscle mass and strength because it will help you live longer, with improved metabolism and hormone balance. For me it was quite a shock when I found out that being skinny fat - where you have little muscle mass but still a pot belly and maybe the start of a double chin – might be more unhealthy then being obese.

> More dangerous to be skinny fat than obese.> Muscle Mass Index As a Predictor of Longevity in Older Adults

I always assumed I was healthy because according to my BMI, I was not overweight. Now I understand why I used to feel so tired the whole time. Over all those TV watching years I lost a lot of muscle mass and became nearly metabolically obese. Now being ft and more knowledgeable, I am dazzled how some people, start giving advice to skinny fat people that they are 'too skinny' because they have very small arms and hence should eat more, yet no word is spoken about their protruding pot bellies. Although well intentioned, this is really bad advice, even if it comes from close family or friend. Instead eating healthy and exercise, especially strength and resistance training, should be used to change body composition. So, be critical about advice from people who are overweight, or skinny fat themselves. or from bodybuilders on drugs such as steriods.

From the above you see that weighing yourself is totally insufcient to estimate ftness, you should instead assess your body composition. For the same volume, muscle is also a bit heavier than fat. For instance, the image shows a transformation in body composition as an evolution from 66, to 55, to 63 kilograms.

If you don’t use it you lose it… Starting from the age of 27, we lose unused muscle – the medical term is ‘sarcopenia’ - which will lower our metabolism, but we tend to keep eating the same as usual, and hence put on fat. One kg of muscle at rest only burns about 12 kilo calories per day. This does not look like much, but if you lose a few kilograms of muscle and eat the same you could gain 10 kg of fat over 10 years. So, the best way to prevent becoming weak, overweight or skinny fat is proactively taking action to stay ft and strong. These days most people, after leaving their student years, become unft due to desk-bound jobs and wrong eating habits. I used to be one of them and eat food which was convenient and 'normal', and when exercising only did low intensity exercises like jogging.

> Impact of Advancing Age on Human Skeletal Muscle Size and Strength.ui

Being ft is even important for mental health as it makes you happy and even smarter. A study revealed that health is a far more powerful determinant of happiness than income. And through my own experience I totally concur. Now that I am ft, I feel happier, enjoy life more and live much more in the moment.

> Increasing muscle strength can improve brain function.

> Scientists Discover Why Exercise Makes You Smarter.

> Economic Determinants of Happiness.

So, from the above you can see that it is really advisable to stay ft healthwise. But there is certainly no need to be like an athlete or have visible abs to be healthy. The good news is that you can improve faster than you realize, and it is never too late to start. Losing 2 kg of fat in 1 month or 20 kg of fat in one year and gaining 3 kg of lean muscle in one year are

realistic targets. Of course it might go faster or slower depending on your age, genetics and dedication, but rest assured, in 1 year you can make a radical diference to your health, your sense of wellbeing and appearance.

For instance, my current body composition, at 42, is easy to achieve and maintain with only one hour of working out in total per week. Although I am not very muscular, it is a huge change from when I started out and I probably lost around 14 kg of fat and gained 7 kg of lean muscle. If I can do this, anybody can.

MEASURE IT

If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it

– Lord Kelvin

Getting healthy starts by frst realizing it's time to take action. It's in our human nature to have

some self deception, but try to be honest with yourself and assess how far you are removed

from being ft. Just keep the results for yourself. You really need to learn how to measure this

yourself so you can track your progress.

A ft body composition is when you are at no more than 17% body fat as a man or at no more

than 24% body fat as a woman (*), you have good muscle mass and are within your BMI. You

don’t need to be like athletes (13 percent body fat or lower), bodybuilders or extreme ftness

enthusiasts. Instead this goal can be achieved by people who prioritize social, family life or

hobbies which is what this book is focussing on. (*) Depending on your age, this changes, eg. when 55 years

old, up to <=21 for men, and <=26 for women.

You can calculate your approximate body fat percentage by tape measuring (or use a rope) your waist circumference in centimeters at the belly button. I found this method easier, much more stable and trustworthy than my fat measuring weight scale, so I got rid of it. Now, don't pull in you stomach and relax. Also, get your weight in kilograms. Then you use the YMCA formula to calculate the percentage, which is

around 3 % accurate for most people.

Calculate as follows (or just use our online calculator http://www.ftinonehour.com)

• For men (-98.42 + 4.15 x (waist / 2.54) - 0.082 x weight x 2.22 ) / (weight x 2.22)

• Open a calculator for an example with waist 81 and weight 71.3

• For women (-76.76 + 4.15 x (waist / 2.54) - 0.082 x weight x 2.22) / (weight x 2.22)

Now, tape measure your hip circumference as well. Calculate your waist to hip ratio as

• Waist size / hip size

When ft, this ratio should be smaller than 0.9 for men and 0.8 for women.

Also, calculate your BMI using your weight in kilograms and height in centimeters as

• 10000 x weight / (height x height)

This BMI should be smaller than 26, if not you are considered overweight. When ft it should

be much lower, except if you are exceptionally muscular.

Of course, body composition is but one aspect of ftness, your heart and artery health, in

other words your cardiovascular ftness, is very important as well and cannot be directly

inspected from body composition. But if you have good endurance, don't smoke, and can

comfortably run 5 kilometers while talking, you probably are doing ok. While running you

should never go over your max heart rate (220 - age), and try to stay with 50-85% of your max

heart rate.

As for strength, depending on your age, as a male/female you should be able to do at least

5/2 consecutive pull-ups and 30/10 consecutive push-ups. If you have no bar to do pull-ups,

you can do table pull-up instead. Get under a table and pull yourself up 10/4 times by holding

on to the table surface while resting your feet on the ground and keeping your body locked in

a plank. If you can't do a single push-up, see how many knee push-ups you can do instead.

Fitness measurements

Waist size at belly button cm

Hip size cm

Weight kg

Fat % (YMCA) %

Waist to hip ratio

Height cm

BMI

How far can you run comfortably while speaking

km

Consecutive pull-ups times

Consecutive table pull-ups times

Consecutive push-ups times

Consecutive knee push-ups times

THE BIG PICTURE

Becoming lean and ft is easier than you imagine and even fun. The foundation is basically an

organisational long term planning puzzle. So, sound planning is key. On top of that, you

have to give up some self deception, ... like ‘my bmi is fne’ while ignoring your waist size, or

‘I don ’t eat too much fat’ without analysing what you actually eat. You will also have to search

for the right incentives, take on a ‘can do’ mindset and learn to say no sometimes.

But, it‘s actually not so much about will power. If you truly focus on the right things stated

later on, after awhile, doing the right exercises and eating healthy becomes automatic. Yes,

just like brushing your teeth. The 'It pays of to be ft and lean' chapter, defnes the two

drivers that make this possible, (a) your taste will be reprogammed and (b) lifting heavy things

releases endorfnes, nature’s drugs, so you ’ll keep coming back for more !

Now, what are the essentials to focus on? Well, based on the importance of

bodycomposition chapter, your main goals are (a) no excess body fat, (b) having good

muscle mass, (c) taking as little time and efort possible to do so, and fnally (d) be as safe

as possible. Through planning you can achieve these goals by

1. Not eating excess calories and getting lots of nutrients by eating healthy. The

food you eat is used by the body for energy, but excess can be stored as fat, especially

if you eat a lot of fat. Rather than having to 'burn of' fat by doing lots of cardio like

running or cycling, it is much easier and efcient to not eat more than you need in the

frst place. You probabily know that the energy your food contains is measured in kilo

calories. But, that ‘s not enough, you actually have to learn – through the following

chapters - about nutrition, basic cooking, eating healthy and techniques to manage

your caloric intake while getting plenty of nutrients. The real longterm goal, however,

is to change your taste, so you prefer the healthy stuf. Did you know that healthy

food can actually be cheaper than a standard western or american diet. Per person,

you could save the price of a small car over ten years (up to 1500 euro – 1700 dollar

per year).

2. Doing every week, 3 heavy weight lifting or body weight resistance (aka

calisthenics) workouts at your home of 20 minutes. Amazingly, this improves

muscle mass, strength, tendons, ligaments, bones, arthritis and even cardiovascular

health all in one. Only 1 hour of exercise per week in total works, but you should give it

a 100% and it should be heavy and vigorous exercise to release endorfnes. Leave at

least 36 hours between workouts for your body to recuperate. Apart from that you can

do them whenever it suits your schedule. But, these strength workouts are mandatory

and an hour cycling, zumba, pilates, HITT or running for instance, does not count as

replacement. Of course, crossft, climbing or other activities involving heavy body

weight or weight lifting excercises count. But then again, these activities are usually

more time consuming and less safe for injuries, which goes against our goals.

3. Getting 7 to 8 hours of quality sleep. Here, your body does most repair and muscle

growth. It is also very important for spine health, as the shock absorbers between your

disks are restored. You are actually a bit longer when waking up ! There is even

extensive evidence that sleeping fve hours or less, consistently, increases your risk

greatly for adverse health consequences, including buildup of plaque and early

mortality. Get blue light fltering glasses, keep your sleeping room pitch black at night

and put your computer monitor less bright.

4. Assessing your body composition every week, and other ftness measures every few

months.

Things you should not focus on are

1. You do NOT have to do cardio (aerobic) workouts which take a lot of time. So,

'dedicated' jogging, swimming or cycling workouts are not needed. Your mandatory

workouts will already improve your cardiovascular health. Of course, if you enjoy

cardio go ahead but it does not count as a replacement. Instead, just do fun activities

with family and friends or daily tasks where you do a lot of walking. For example, go

shopping for 5 hours (burns 400 kcal), go visit the zoo, clean the house, tend the

garden, do fun hikes, take your bike to do groceries, take the stairs at work or go play

with the kids in the swimming pool. Maybe take up a new fun sport like padel or try

snowboarding. Be creative, the possibilities are endless.

2. Don't blame your genetics and body type. Whether you are more like an ectomorph,

endomorph or mesomorph or you are 'big boned' or have a 'slow metabolism' is not

important, nor an excuse. Anybody can become ft, it might just take a little bit more

time and efort. Did you know your genetics are not the major factor for disease

prevention as well. Only 5 to 10% of all cancer cases can be attributed to genetic

defects, whereas the remaining 90 to 95% have their roots in the environment and

lifestyle.

3. You don't have to follow diets which eliminate whole food groups, but you do have

to limit certain foods. For instance, a vegan or vegetarian diet can be very healthy but it

can be just a well unhealthy if you don’t get enough of certain nutrients or even eat

excess bad fat like the common ‘cheese and dairy’ vegetarian diet.

4. You don't have to buy lots of expensive superfoods, but a few well chosen onces can

help. First focus on getting your staple foods right.

5. You don't have to run a half (or complete) marathon or do other extreme

endurance workouts such as spin classes. Extreme cardio workouts can even burn

your muscle and make you skinny fat or cause repetitive strain injury, like knee or back

problems. They can also cause you to release a lot of stress hormones, as well as make

you very hungry so you overeat. Marathons could even permanently scar your heart

and damage your kidneys.

6. Studies show that what you eat is much more important than when you eat in a

day. You won't drop dead from skipping breakfast nor will you get fat from eating late.

You could eat fve little meals or even just one big meal a day. Take advantage of this

and eat whenever it works out for you and focus frst on the food you eat in a day.

However, having a fast absorbing protein shake which has digestive enzymes right

after a workout improves recovery. Suppose, you are going to a wedding with lots of

food, you could then just skip breakfast or have something with little calories. Skipping

breakfast (a form of fasting) can raise growth hormone (HGH) and testosterone (T-

levels), as well as, help control caloric intake and burn more fat. If your fast is longer

then 12 hours, it can even increase autophagy which is a form of cell repair and

cleanup. Also, having dinner at least 2 hours before going to bed might prevent some

cancers.

7. The bulking and cutting technique from bodybuilding is not for you. It is for people

who are already very muscular and very lean. Most people can build muscle and lose

fat at the same time and do not have to alternate between these 2 phases. Large

overeating in an attempt to gain muscle will probably just make you fat. You do need

enough protein to build muscle (medically called a positive nitrogen balance).

8. As a woman your fear to become heavily muscled from these workouts is

ungrounded, that could only happen if you workout much much more or take drugs

such as steroids. Instead you will get a lean toned model look and the push exercises

will frm and uplift your bosom.

9. No matter what marketing wants you to believe, you just cannot target belly fat by

doing situps. You have no control where the body burns bodyfat from when in a calorie

defcit. Targetting a spot for fat loss is a myth.

10. Don’t waist time on hyped fad diets. You probabily heard of the very low carb high fat

diets’ or ‘caveman diets’ very high in animal food. Or some detox diet where you only

drink juices which basically gives you a high carb low protein diet. It is now even trendy

to eat gluten free even when you are not really intolerant, this only distracts.

SMALL FAST RESULTS TRIGGER LIFESTYLE

CHANGES

Does the name Pavlov ring a bell ...

Ultimately, we are creatures of habit, and once good habits are formed, they become easy to

execute. But changing too much at once is hard, so you need an incremental system where

you can focus on improvement at a time and turn that improvement into a habit. Before you

know it, you are unconsciously making lots of healthy choices and will beneft from lasting

lifestyle changes for the rest of your life.

I recommend starting with the workouts frst and focus on getting stronger. Once you are wel

into the routine of working out it is time for a next step.

Suppose you need to lose body fat. Seeing the weight scale drop 0.5 kg every week is a strong

motivator, but if in contrast, you only lose 0.5 kg per month, it is not really encouraging. So,

the eforts you make should give fast results. You need this fast reward to become even

more motivated.

Therefore, for weight loss, you should not leave things to ‘chance’ or ‘will power’ by just eating

more healthy or hoping you are eating less. If so, you will likely not lose 0.5kg per week and

just give up after awhile. You might even end up believing you are somehow not able to lose

weight. Instead you should alternate between calorie intake controlled periods using strict

calorie counting, where you drop weight fast, and periods of just healthy eating and listening

to your body where you at least maintain your new weight. This will be explained later on in

detail in another chapter.

As for strength, the frst months of resistance training you gain a lot of strength fast. So simply keeping track of your lifts will give you fast confrmation that you are indeed getting stronger. By the time the strength gains become slower, your workout is already a routine that you start to miss.

It is normal to experience initially some resistance and even ridicule from your partner,

friends, family and colleagues when making some lifestyle changes. Just, keep cool and say

you are working on your health to feel better and have more energy. But, I did noticed that

bringing fruit and veggies to work, instead of the usual candy and cake, might actually inspire

colleagues to eat more healthy.

For me, it was my loving wife, which got worried about my health frst. She set me up for a

surprise running session with a personal trainer and my poor performance got me thinking.

But now, after only 2 years of talking back my health through good nutrition and mostly just

doing short 20 minute workouts 3 times per week, I am ft and feel so much better than I used

to. I am very happy with my progress and the return of investment.

However, have realistic expectations !

Eugen Sandow was a German strongman from a time when there where no drugs such as steriods yet. So, he is the perfect example of the amount of muscle a genetically gifted person can build after a lifetime of lifting heavy weights. He is considered the father of bodybuilding but his physique at around 83-88kg is a stark diference from the current bodybuilder look.

“Nothing, in my opinion, is better than the use of the dumbbell, for

developing the whole system, particularly if it is used intelligently, and with a knowledge of

the location and functions of the muscles.” – Eugen Sandow

EATING HEALTHY

You’re composed of 37.2 trillion cells. Each one of these needs building blocks to maintain and

repair itself and signal to others, as well as fuel to function. Everyday you also create new cells

and each type of cell even has a diferent lifespan. As a matter of fact, white blood cells live on

average more than a year, while brain cells typically last an entire lifetime. But, some cells

have a really fast turnover, like skin cells which only live about 3 weeks. In a way, you are

constantly rebuilding yourself. And little goes to waste. There is even a recycling process

running called autophagy – literally “self-eating” - and it’s the body's system of cleaning house.

Your cells create membranes that hunt out scraps of dead, diseased, or worn-out cells; and

use the resulting molecules for energy or to make new cell parts. This autophagy is inhibited

by insulin but certain foods, excercise and fasting will promote it. From all this, it’s clear that

the food you eat is extremely important for your wellbeing, and you become what you eat.

Carbs: aka sugars, starch and fber

In terms of carbs - short for carbohydrates - , the most important guideline is that you should

eat at least 5 pieces of colorful and varied vegetable and fruit every day which comes to 400

grams, but try to aim for 10, so 800 grams. Still, there are some ways to score the 'healthiness'

of carbs, that is foods high in carbohydrates. As such, a very healthy food should have a low

glycemic index (a GI <= 50) which simply means that the carbohydrates -the sugars broken

down to glucose- in it are absorbed slowly by the body. In contrast, fast simple refned sugar,

found in candy and soda, causes a big steep insulin spike, which will promote fat storage and

makes you tired and feel hungry again after a short while. So, even be frugal with hidden

'healthy sugars' such as honey. Of course, how you prepare the food will also have a big

efect, in general this GI will increase from raw, to steamed, to boiled, to baked to mashed.

Healthy food should also be fber rich (at least 25 to 30 grams a day recommended), as this

will lower the GI, promote colon health, and protect against constipation. A good food should

leave you satiated as well. As such, fber will add bulk and makes you feel more full. So,

replace fruit juices (no fber - high GI) by smoothies and drink them slowly through a straw.

Always put some veggies in your smoothie! Eating slowly by itself will also fatten out the

insulin spike. Adding some fat -such as almonds or a little olive oil- to a meal or salad can be

advantageous because it slows down digestion speed, hence lowering the GI and aids in the

vitamin absorption from vegetables. A healthy food should also be modest in fructose. Try to

avoid high fructose corn syrup in foods such as such as soda, packaged food and candy. High

fructose diets can be cancer promoting and can cause fatty liver because fructose -just like

alcohol- is processed by the liver. So, skip the soda, and don't overeat on healthy high fructose

foods such as honey or fruits like apples, pears, mangoes and cherries. Break the bad habit of

adding table sugar or syrup (table sugar is 50% fructose and 50% glucose) to your cofee,

strawberries or pancakes. Instead, cinnamon Ceylon (make sure it states the type of

cinnamon when you buy it) is your friend, because it lowers blood sugar levels and increases

insulin sensitivity, so it is perfect for on desserts, fruit and smoothies. For sweetening, you

could also use a little stevia, ideally fresh leaves from your own plant.

It is an interesting fact that 200000 years ago modern humans seem to have evolved a taste

for starch by eating roots, tubers and later on grains. Compared to chimpanzees, humans

boast many more copies of the gene that makes salivary amylase, the enzyme that breaks

down starch into digestible sugars. Now, studies also show that tubers, such as (sweet)

potatoes, are one of the most satiating foods. As a starch source, nutritionally sweet potatoes

are excellent, so prefer them once over regular potatoes or be creative and mix them in. Cut

them into 1/2-inch slices and steam for just 7 minutes, this is fast, brings out their superb

favor, and keeps their nutritional value. As a side note, the original very high life expectancy

Okinawan diet used them as a staple food (69% of their calories) instead of rice and other

grains, and the Hadza hunter-gatherers from Tanzania eat a lot of legume tubers as well.

Always prefer the whole grain versions of rice (it should take 30 min to cook, if not, it has been

tampered which increases the GI), wheat, bread and pasta otherwise you miss all nutrients

and try to eat some oats or rye bread instead of regular bread. Ask explicitly for whole wheat

bread, some brown bread is actually white bread with coloring. Be wary of cleverly marketed

'healthy' breakfast cereals, so avoid sweet granola or sweet breakfast cereals, even if honey or

guava syrup is used as sweetener. Eat muesli or oats - which are also very satiating - with

fresh fruit in it instead. Any granola (or muesli) over 380 kcal / 100 gram is probabily too

sugery. A good muesli is usually around 350 kcal.

One gram of carbs gives 4 kilo calories (kcal) of energy. Dietary carbs are frst transformed by

the body to glycogen. The body will frst store excess glycogen in the muscles stores (up to

500 kcal) and liver stores (up to 1500 kcal) with 95% efciency. This is called 'carb-loading'

when done on purpose by athletes. If those stores are full the excess will be stored as fat in

fat cells – as triglycerides which are 3 fatty acids and 1 glycogen as glycerol - with 80%

efciency. This is called ‘de novo lipogenesis’ if you want to look for studies.

Note that in case of a low carb diet, the liver can synthesize glucose from protein and the

glycerol part of the triglycerides released by fat cells, via gluconeogenesis. Personally I would

not recommend low carb diets as glucose is the preferred fuel for cells. Your brain also runs

on glucose. They can burn it both using oxygen (called aerobically, slower but efcient) and

without oxygen (called anaerobically, faster but a bit less efcient).

If you do want to indulge on insulin spiking fast carbs, best do so shortly after a

strength/resistance workout, as it will stimulate muscle growth and repair.

> Cinnamon Increases Insulin Sensitivity and Glucose Transport.

> High fructose diets and fatty liver.

> Brain on high fructose diets.

> Early Hominids Dug Food from the Ground.

> Green and colorful vegetables, berries and nuts protect against memory problems.

The fats

Healthy food should be low in saturated fat (abundant in animal fat, palm kernel and coconut

oil, it is solid at room temperature, have no more than 30 grams daily) and low in cholesterol

(one egg yolk or small steak has 180 mg, have no more than 300 mg daily) because those

raise the bad (LDL) cholesterol in your blood. Although dietary cholestorol has less efect on

blood cholesterol as scientist used to think - as the liver will lower its own production - it is still

best to follow the recommendation. Healthy food can have more monounsaturated fat (olive

and canola oil, nuts, avocado) and should provide enough essential fats. These essential fats

are omega 3 and omega 6 which are polyunsaturated, and they are best consumed in the

right ratio. This ratio is one omega 3 unit, to one up to four omega 6 units. It is believed early

hunter gatherers used to eat a 1 to 1 ratio. Today, however, most food contains more omega

6 than omega 3 and a lot of people are eating up to 20 times more omega 6 from the

abundance of palm oil in packaged products. As such, avoid packaged food, eat free range

meat, eggs and wild fsh which will have more omega 3 (in DHA and EPA form) and less fat in

total than their cultivated counterparts. Lack of omega 3 fat is dietary problem that can cause

over-activation of the infammatory system. The reason is simple: many key anti-infammatory

messaging molecules are made from omega 3 fats. A good non animal source of omega 3 (in

ALA form) are walnuts and they have only 4 times more omega 6 than omega 3. Flax seeds

even have 4 times more omega 3 (ALA) than omega 6. But, this non animal omega 3 (ALA) is

less efective, because it needs to be converted by the liver to DHA and EPA frst and this is

not always very efcient. This conversion depends on your genetics and is inhibited by excess

omega 6 intake. Therefore, it is safe to assume only a 10 percent convertion. Now, to improve

the omega 6 to omega 3 ratio, it is not needed to avoid healthy foods high in omega 6, it is ok

to just eat more foods high in animal omega 3. As such, 3 servings of wild fatty fsh per week,

such as sardines (1.2g EPA and DHA per 100g, for reference, tuna has 0.3g per 100g, salmon

has 1.2g per 100g, mackerel has 1g per 100g) or salmon, should provide you with enough

omega 3 (0.25g of EPA and DHA is needed per day). So, there is no real need for fsh oil

supplements which could even be linked to adverse efects from going rancid. Overall a

healthy meal should not contain too much fat (eat no more than 30% calories from fat, and

eat no more than 10% calories from saturated fat) in total as well (nor too little, but this is

usually not the case in western diets). So, prefer lean meats, such as skinless chicken breast.

Are you aware for instance, that you should limit cheese as it is a very fatty food, with more

than 70 percent of its calories coming from fat, and most of it is saturated fat, so don't make it

a staple of your diet. Other very fat foods are cake, cookies, fries, chips and ice cream. Baking

and cooking is best done with a small amount of cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, because it

is more than 50% monounsaturated fat and rich in antioxidants and resveratrol. However, be

careful not to use too much, as olive oil is extremely calorie rich (one small spoon is 40 kcal).

Also, try to leave the habit of soaking bread in olive oil or pouring it richly on pizza, it will most

likely not make your food more healthy. Check the nutrition label for artifcial trans fats found

in doughnuts, candy bars, crackers, spreads, and other packaged foods because artifcial trans

fats should be completely avoided.

One gram of fat gives 9 kilo calories of energy. The body stores excess fat almost as is (as

triglycerides) in fat cells with 96% efciency because it has no bufering stores as with

glycogen. When using fat as fuel, cells burn it always using oxygen (aerobically) which is

slower but gives more energy than using glycogen (sugar) as fuel. This is why muscle cells

switch to burning fat after awhile when doing steady state exercise such as jogging or walking.

Eating plenty of fber can move fat through your digestive system at a faster rate so that less

of it can be absorbed.

> Saturated fat change gut bacteria.

> Saturated and trans fat are associated with cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer.

> Ratio of omega 3 and omega 6 important.

> Omega3 associated with lower total mortality.

> Eating too much fat, not sugar, makes you fat.

The vitamins, antioxidants, enzymes and phytonutrients

A healthy food should be nutrient dense, meaning that it is not overly calorie rich for its

nutrient profle. It should be rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other nutrients.

Therefor healthy food should be as fresh as possible and not be over its due date, so its

nutrients are fully present and no harmful bacteria are present. Most fruit and veggies lose a

lot of vitamins fast, so prefer produce in season. Leafy greens lose their vitamins in a week

because of their large surface. The green parts on old potatoes (sprouts and patches contain

solanine) are even poisonous.

Vitamin C is water-soluble meaning that the body does not store it well and we need to get a

daily intake. Dried fruit has no more vitamin C, but it still has other vitamins, antioxidants and

minerals, as well as fber. A citrus fruit preserves vitamin C for a long time because of its thick

peel. Two oranges (2x 50mg) is enough vitamin C (min 85 mg recommended, 2000mg max) for

a dag. Also, try eating some of your vegetables raw, this is very important because new

benefcial compounds -phytonutrients- in plants are still be ing discovered and cooking

will probably destroy most of those as well as some vitamins. Also, raw veggies will help

change your taste! As such, vitamin C is easily destroyed by cooking. Also, the body will

absorb less sugar (calories) from raw vegetables. Prefer light steaming over boiling and

baking. Of all cooking methods, avoid microwaving because it probably destroys the most

nutrients which is why breast milk should not be heated by it, also, never use plastic

containers which can leak toxins. Some nutrients are still better absorbed when cooked, like

lycopene from tomatoes, so don't start eating all your veggies raw but have at least some

tomato soup as well. Legumes and rice can even be toxic when insufciently cooked. Some

foods like garlic are best crushed 10 minutes before cooking to activate their benefcial

properties.

Vitamin A (retinol) is fat soluble and only occurs in animal food and supplements.

Supplements usually contain around 800 micrograms per serving which is around the daily

recommended intake. It should not be taken more than 3300 micrograms daily, so don't

overeat on liver and organ meat. However, the body can create it safely from eating plant

food. It takes normally 12 micrograms of carotenoids (most common beta-carotene) to

produce a microgram of vitamin A but this really depends on your genetics. You can probably

get enough per day by eating some leafy greens, like lettuce, together with three carrots or

one medium cantaloupe or one medium sweet potato. But when you never or seldom eat

animal food, it would be smart to eat more or supplement. Eating vegetables with some fat

has been shown to increase absorption and the amount synthesized into vitamin A.

The B vitamins (8 types) are water-soluble meaning that the body does not store them so you

need a daily supply. They are B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B4 (choline), B5

(pantothenic acid), B6(pyridoxine), B9 (folate) are naturally found in both plant and animal

products, so defciencies are rare. However, you do need to eat green veggies and legumes to

get your B9 and B12 is not present in plant foods and adults older than 50 years or

vegetarians (or vegans) are recommended to supplement. Note that the B12 in algea like

spirullina is not bioactive. Extra vitamin B6 is needed if you take protein shakes. You can fnd

this in bananas which have 0.4mg per 100g of B6. Prunes at 0.7mg, beans, pistachios and

apricots at 0.5mg are also high in B6 as well as (sweet)potatoes at 0.2-0.3mg.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble and is naturally present in very few foods. The body creates it from

sun exposure. The fesh of fatty fsh (such as salmon, tuna, sardines and mackerel) and fsh

liver oils are among the best sources. Small amounts of vitamin D are found in beef liver,

cheese, and egg yolks. D3 is better than D2 as nutrient. During winter times you should

supplement if you don’t get outdoors much.

Vitamin E (RDA is 15mg) is fat-soluble and good sources are wheat germ, almonds, hazelnuts

and sunfower and olive oil. Vitamin E supplementation has not been shown to have

signifcant beneft and appears to be harmful.

Vitamin K is found in green leafy and cruciferous vegetables. A 1-cup serving of cooked kale

or spinach provides well over 100 percent of the RDA. Vitamin K is fat-soluble and needs

dietary fat to be absorbed.

> Efects of microwave radiation on anti-infective factors in human milk.

> As little as one minute of microwaving or 45 minutes of oven roasting can completely block garlic's ability.

Antioxidants: the ORAC list

Free radicals are natural byproducts of chemical processes and can causes damage to

cells and DNA by stealing electrons, as such, they are associated with human disease

and believed to be one of the causes of aging. Antioxidants can neutralize these and

their power is measured in ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity). Well-known

antioxidants include beta-carotene and other carotenoids, lutein, resveratrol, vitamin

C, vitamin E, lycopene and other phytonutrients. You should try to get at least 11000

unit per day, ideally from a large variety of foods. Herbs can bring a lot of antioxidants

to your diet for very little calories. As little as 1 gram (half a teaspoon) of cloves will

contribute almost the same amount of antioxidants than half a cup of blueberries or

cranberries. And half a teaspoon dried oregano contains the antioxidant of half a cup

of sweet potatoes. The list below shows the Antioxidant power per 100g, top 100:

1 Cloves, ground 314,446 2 Sumac bran 312,400 3 Cinnamon, ground 267,536 4 Sorghum, bran, raw 240,000 5 Oregano, dried 200,129 6 Turmeric, ground 159,277 7 Acai berry, freeze-dried 102,700 8 Sorghum, bran, black 100,800 9 Sumac, grain, raw 86,800 10 Cocoa powder, unsweetened 80,933 11 Cumin seed 76,800 12 Maqui berry, powder 75,000 13 Parsley, dried 74,349 14 Sorghum, bran, red 71,000 15 Basil, dried 67,553 16 Baking chocolate, unsweetened 49,926 17 Curry powder 48,504 18 Sorghum, grain, hi-tannin 45,400 19 Chocolate, dutched powder 40,200 20 Maqui berry, juice 40,000 21 Sage 32,004 22 Mustard seed, yellow 29,257 23 Ginger, ground 28,811 24 Pepper, black 27,618 25 Thyme, fresh 27,426 26 Marjoram, fresh 27,297 27 Goji berries 25,300 28 Rice bran, crude 24,287 29 Chili powder 23,636 30 Sorghum, grain, black 21,900 31 Chocolate, dark 20,823 32 Flax hull lignans 19,600 33 Chocolate, semisweet 18,053 34 Pecans 17,940 35 Paprika 17,919 36 Chokeberry, raw 16,062 37 Tarragon, fresh 15,542 38 Ginger root, raw 14,840 39 Elderberries, raw 14,697 40 Sorghum, grain, red 14,000 41 Peppermint, fresh 13,978 42 Oregano, fresh 13,978 43 Walnuts 13,541 44 Hazelnuts 9,645 45 Cranberries, raw 9,584 46 Pears, dried 9,496 47 Savory, fresh 9,465 48 Artichokes 9,416 49 Kidney beans, red 8,459 50 Pink beans 8,320 51 Black beans 8,040 52 Pistachio nuts 7,983 53 Currants 7,960 54 Pinto beans 7,779 55 Plums 7,581 56 Chocolate, milk chocolate 7,528 57 Lentils 7,282 58 Agave, dried 7,274 59 Apples, dried 6,681 60 Garlic powder 6,665 61 Blueberries 6,552 62 Prunes 6,552 63 Sorghum, bran, white 6,400 64 Lemon balm, leaves 5,997 65 Soybeans 5,764 66 Onion powder 5,735 67 Blackberries 5,347 68 Garlic, raw 5,346 69 Cilantro leaves 5,141 70 Wine, Cabernet Sauvignon 5,034 71 Raspberries 4,882 72 Basil, fresh 4,805 73 Almonds 4,454 74 Dill weed 4,392 75 Cowpeas 4,343 76 Apples, red delicious 4,275 77 Peaches, dried 4,222 78 Raisins, white 4,188 79 Apples, granny smith 3,898 80 Dates 3,895 81 Wine, red 3,873 82 Strawberries 3,577 83 Peanut butter, smooth 3,432 84 Currants, red 3,387 85 Figs 3,383 86 Cherries 3,365 87 Gooseberries 3,277 88 Apricots, dried 3,234 89 Peanuts, all types 3,166 90 Cabbage, red 3,145 91 Broccoli 3,083 92 Apples 3,082 93 Raisins 3,037 94 Pears 2,941 95 Agave 2,938 96 Blueberry juice 2,906 97 Cardamom 2,764 98 Guava 2,550 99 Lettuce, red leaf 2,380 100 Concord grape juice 2,377

The minerals

A healthy food should not contain a lot of salt, and ideally no added salt. Even Celtic and

Himalayan salts are destructive to your body and health. In addition to sodium chloride, they

contain numerous toxic elements. High sodium foods are everywhere, such as cheese, most

bread, crisps, packaged food, canned food, biscuits, fast food. salted nuts, pickled food and so

on. Even meats such as bacon or chicken might be injected with a sodium solution! Check the

nutrients label to see if your chicken breasts contain more than 0.075 grams of sodium per

100 grams. If so, it has been injected.

A person needs only 500 mg of sodium per day. Our body can handle up to 1500 - 2300 mg

each day, but it is estimated that the average person consumes more than 3000 mg each day

which causes an elevated blood pressure. One teaspoon of salt contains about 2300 mg.

Anyone with a history of heart disease, high blood pressure, or diabetes should stay below

1500 mg.

Whole plant foods, such as leafy greens, unsalted nuts, fruit. seeds, legumes, whole grains

and vegetables are much better and safer sources for your much needed minerals, and

enough for your sodium supply. Instead of using salt to favor food, we can learn from the

mediterranean kitchen and use fresh herbs or learn from the asian kitchen and use spices

such as curry, which has the amazing turmeric in it. Try to buy curry powder and other

products with less or without salt and employ natural favor enhancers like lemon and lime

juice.

Zinc however is harder to get from plant foods, as the phytic acid causes only 50% of the zinc

to be absorbed, so carefully select your food to get enough, or take a supplement, or eat

some seafood or meat once and awhile. Lamb, beef, oysters and ostrich are high in zinc, all

above 4 mg per 100 grams. Lentils and legumes are high as well but assume only half is

absorbed and some 20% is lost from boiling. Pumpkin seeds are another great source.

Dairy is not needed for calcium and might even cause weak bones. A good substitute is

unsweetened almond milk. You need 700 to 1200 mg of calcium daily, but no more than 2500

mg. Good sources for calcium are sardines, beans, kale, broccoli, shrimp, salmon, oranges,

tangerines and kiwi. Calcium is also very important in fat metabolization. Calcium,

phosphorus and magnesium should ideally be taken in a 2-2-1 relation to each other. Try to

take iron and zinc at a time when there is little or no calcium in the stomach. Vitamin D is

needed for calcium and osteoporosis is more common in countries with less sunshine.

> Milk intake and risk of mortality and fractures in women and men.

Getting too much iron and copper – especially heme iron from meat which the body cannot

dispose of - creates excess free radicals in your body which can lead to diseases such as

Alzheimer’s. So, swap out your cast-iron pans for stainless steel and avoid copper water tubes.

> Excess heme iron (from meat) and copper and Alzheimer's.

Foods rich in chromium, specifcally brewer's yeast, have been used to help balance blood

sugar since the time of the Civil War. Among the foods where the chromium content is noted,

we have broccoli listed as an excellent source. We also list six foods as good sources. These

foods are barley, oats, green beans, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, and black pepper.

The protein

Men and women need to eat daily about 50 to 60 grams of complete protein as the body has

no special stores as it does for fat and carbs, although the liver can store some essential

amino acids. When you are doing strength training or other intense exercises which break

down muscles you might need 1.5 times your body weight in kilograms. Bodybuilders even

use 1 gram per pound of body weight to maximize muscle growth. Suppose you weigh 70kg,

than that would be 100 grams and bodybuilders would eat 150 gram. Eating more is probabily

hard on your kidneys. If you gained some fat over the years take your younger leaner weight

for the calculation.

Your stomach and small intestine break down protein into amino acids. The small intestine

then absorbs the amino acids and they are mainly used for creating and repairing cells,

growth and enzyme production. You don't really need to limit the amount of protein per meal.

Your body is smart and regulates the speed at which it moves protein through the small

intestine in order to absorb all available amino acids. This makes sense. In our early hunter

gatherer days we had to be able to survive from one large meal after a kill. However, as

explained later on, for liquid food, such as protein shakes, this is not the case. Note that

pinneapple can help with breaking down the protein in food as it contains the digestive

enzyme bromelain.

> Protein feeding pattern does not afect protein retention.

Eating enough protein will make you feel full and help maintain and create muscle mass.

Studies show fat and fast sugars make people eat more, but protein causes one to feel

satiated. This is important to keep you from overeating.

All animal foods are very good sources of protein, as well as other important other nutrients

but there is a catch. Animal foods will also cause some infammation through endotoxins from

dead bacteria and saturated fat. For sure, avoid heavy processed meats such as bacon, ham,

fast food burgers, sausages, salami and hot dogs which are classifed as group 1 carcinogens.

Animal foods also contain carnitine and are high in choline. These compounds, as well as

lecithin, can be converted by gut microbes into TMA and further converted by enzymes into

harmful TMAO. However, choline is a nutrient needed by the body. Researchers found that

the Mediterranean diet and fber helps. Grape seed oil, pistachios, red wine, cold-pressed

extra virgin olive oils, and balsamic vinegar can prevent gut microbes from turning foods into

these harmful by-products.

Eat red meat, such as pork, beef, and all meat from mammals, and organ meat in moderation

and ideally no more than once per two week. When you do, use rosemary (or other strong

anti infammatory herbs such as cloves, ginger and turmeric) which can lessen the resulting

Neu5Gc sugar infammation which is believed to cause cancer. About 2.2 million years ago,

the human ancestors lost the ability to metabolize this Neu5Gc. Neu5Gc now causes

infammation in humans, and we are the only species of primate that does not produce it

from within. Neu5Gc is mainly found in foods of mammalian origin, organ meat and dairy.

Instead, prefer free range chicken, turkey, ostrich -which tastes somewhat like steak-, and wild

caught small fsh and seafood instead.

The above shows that you should not overeat on animal foods. Instead, try to get a

substantial amount of protein from plant food as people usually already eat too much meat

and you don't even need animal food to get your protein. In fact, it are plants which can

create the essential amino acids and animals (and humans) mostly recycle those into proteins.

However, the human body needs these amino acids in specifc ratios. Broccoli, for instance,

has about the same amount of protein per calorie than beef but it will be low in certain amino

acids. In fact, you can nearly get all your daily amino acids from one serving of steak, but you

would need to eat 18 cups of broccoli – doubling the amount of calories – to get all of them.

So, if you want to limit your animal food intake, you will have to eat a variety of plant foods

and ensure some of those are high in protein, as well as, complementary, to get ‘complete’

protein.

The term ‘complete’ protein is a bit confusing though because each plant food already

contains all essential amino acids by itself. The thing is just that they can be low in certain

types, so you would have to eat a lot of it to get enough of certain amino acids. This would

mean a lot of calories, as such, you should instead combine plant foods during the course of a

day.

> Higher intake of vegetables, fruits, fsh, legumes, and whole grains associated with lower all-cause mortality after

prostate cancer diagnosis.

A good source is combining legumes such as beans, peas, peanuts (peanuts are a legume) or

lentils, with grains. This combination, when done in a ratio of 1 part legume to 3.5 parts of

grains, will give you a better 'complete' amino acids profle per calorie. This combined ratio of

amino acids will be closer to animal protein. You see, grains are low in the amino acids lysine

and high methionine. but legumes are high in lysine and low in methionine. That is why for

instance, gallo pinto from Nicaragua and Costa Rica based on brown rice and beans makes

such a good dish. Peanut butter sandwiches are a tasty combination as well but maybe a bit

calorie rich as a staple. But the foods do not need to be eaten together. You could have brown

rice and beans separately during the course of a day. Maybe start the day with some Irish

oatmeal and have lentils at dinner. By the way, lentils are now one of my favorite foods. I

recommend trying to make indian Dal or moroccan lentil soup once using lots of spices.

Leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables are high in phenylalinine but low in methionine. They

have twice as much phenylalinine than methionine. Nuts are low in lysine and methionine and

high in phenylalinine. They have 5 times as much phenylalinine than lysine, and 5 times as

much phenylalinine than methionine. Grains are low in lysine and high in methionine. They

have 1.8 times as much methionine than lysine. Legumes are high in lysine and low in

methionine. They have twice as much lysine than methionine. By itself legumes give 70%

complete protein.

Quinoa, once revered by the Aztecs from the Andes, is exceptional as it already has a very

complete protein profle by itself and is also a good source for BCAA’s (like beans) which can

help your workout and improve protein synthesis afterwards. Quinoa are actually seeds and

very rich in antioxidants (2/3 of the amount in berries) and reduce infammation.

Peanuts and nuts are extremely healthy in moderation, but they should not be your staple

goto protein source as they are little calorie bombs. They do provide healthy fats and

antioxidants but fat should not account for more than 30 percent of your daily calories.

Be careful when selecting your animal protein sources so they are not contaminated with

heavy metals and plastic particles. Therefore, prefer small fsh, they are less likely to contain

concentrated amounts of contaminants such as mercury and PCBs, because eating animals

lower on the food chain, normally means less concentrated contaminants.

My personal favorite is sardines (or sometimes small mackerel or unsalted anchovies) which

are safer to eat every day. They come with 25g of protein per 100 g, ample omega 3 (1.2g per

100g, where 0.25g EPA and DHA is needed per day, for reference, tuna has 0.3g per 100g), and

sardines also have a lot of creatine (0.6g per 100g , for reference tuna and beef have 0.4-0.5

per 100g). Creatine improves energy levels for doing strength workouts and helps with

recuperation. However, cooking can destroy up to 90 percent of creatine. Steamed salmon is

also one of my regular foods. I also love kidney beans in spicy tomato sauce, lentils and

quinoa buddha bowls and I usually don't eat more than 250 kilo calories from animal foods

per day. It is interesting to note that chimpanzees eat around 6 percent of their calories from

animal foods, such as, termites, wasps and small animals.

Food also should not contain traces of antibiotics and hormones fed to animals (or natural

hormones like estrogen in dairy), such as with non-organic meat, eggs or dairy. When you eat

it, prefer free range, grass fed and wild animals, over cultivated. Note that, horse and ostrich

meat are usually free range and low in fat, but many people have moral objections against

eating horse meat and it is red meat.

Especially limit fatty dairy such as milk, cheese and butter as it concentrates more hormones

because those are stored in the fat. Avoid dairy (except whey isolate) as a staple protein

source because it contains casein which might cause infammation and increase your bad

cholesterol (LDL). Dairy might also cause osteoporosis and is slightly addictive as it contains

morphine like substances to help nurse calves. As a substitute for the umami taste you could

use nutritional yeast as a healthier alternative to cheese once and awhile. It tastes a bit like

Parmesan, is high in protein and low in fat and salt, however always check the label for added

salt. If you do eat cheese, prefer Pecorino Romana from Sardinia which is high in omega3 and

conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and low in lactose and comes from free range sheep. A daily

ration of this cheese was given to the Roman legionaries to give back their strength and

vigour.

> Hormones in Dairy Foods and Their Impact on Public Health.

> Higher intake of dairy foods after prostate cancer diagnosis may be associated with increased prostate cancer-

specifc and all-cause mortality.

> Whey proteins for cancer prevention.

Eating or drinking 20 grams of fast absorbing protein within an hour after an intense workout

stimulates maximum muscle growth and accelerates recuperation. This is where a whey

protein shake comes in very handy. Whey isolate is more purifed than concentrate but also a

bit more expensive. Whey also has health benefts and this is actually the same whey that is

added to formula for babies. However, It takes only 1.5 hours for liquids to pass through the

small intestine where aborption of amino acids happens. But, the small intestine can only

breakdown and absorp 10 grams per hour by itself. This shows that you should use high

quality protein powder with digestive enzymes for maximum absorption. In contrast, a slowly

absorbed plant protein concentrate based on pies and rice could help you get enough protein

when limiting calories during the day. Slow absorbing protein concentrate is best added to

some solid food like muesli so it takes 6 hours to pass through the small intestine. Solid food

stays about 2 hours in your stomach but liquids only 10 minutes even when food is present.

Solid food then stays in the small intestine for 6 hours where most nutrient absorption

happens. It then moves on to the large intestine where it stays for 16 hours or more, mostly

to ferment fber into fatty acids and remove water.

Excess protein will also be used as energy by the body. The liver can break the amino acids

down to glucose (sugar) and one gram of protein has 4 kilocalories of energy. However,

protein takes the most energy to digest (20-30% of total calories in protein eaten go to

digesting it). Next is carbohydrates (5-10%) and then fats (0-3%). This is called the thermic

efect of food.

Water, the source of lifeLifting and moving all those water bottles to your home sure is a good workout :-) But, is it worth it? Well, maybe! First of, fruit and veg are actually better sources of water! If you hit your daily 800 grams you’re already getting in a decent amount of clean nutritious water.

Watermelon, lettuce, cellery, red seeded graphes and strawberries are all very high in water content. You could even think of organic strawberries as water capsules, with strawberry taste :-) Grapes and watermelons are also great energy sources and cleansers, as the body can take immediate advantage of them with little digestion required. Now, a pure cellery smoothie – or juice, for the juicers - counts for only 30 kilo calories per 12 ounce glass, that’s less than half a glass of tomato juice. I guess that’s why cellery makes such a good basis for smoothies. For the culinary inclined ... cellery, together with onions and carrots – ratio 1:2:1 – makes up the French mirepoix or Italian soffritto, which has been used as a base for soup and sauce since medieval times. Maybe - apart from the cellery taste - the supposedly improved husbands libido has something to do with it :-)

Now, fruit and veg is not enough, you still need extra fuid, but, don't drink just water, that’s a missed opportunity. Instead, get in some extra pythonutrients through herbal infusions, cofee, organic decaf, some tea, all without cream and sugar of course. Yip, have yourself a never ending tea party. I recommend you switch between rooibos, honeybush, hibiscus, matcha green tea, pu-erh and rose hip which all have health benefts. Stay away from brands with fllers and artifcal favoring.

Depending on the region, tap water can be of similar quality than bottled or not. It could even come from the same source. Bottled water is of course in comparison very expensive, but normally has less chloride. Instead it might contain some fuoride. Choose brands low in sodium , foride and nitrate, and prefer glass. Unlike some plastic bottles, no harmful chemicals can leach into your water from a glass bottle. Filtering water at home is really tricky because your flter could end up being a breading ground for bacteria. For sure, replace old lead piping in your house. Note that some countries use ozone, chlorinedioxide or chloramines for disinfection, so obviously low calory juicy fruits are better.

Some studies show an increased risk for cancer, allergies and birth defects due to the chlorination. But, I would not obsess too much about this if you’re not pregnant. The potential

health risks of microbial contamination of drinking water greatly exceed the risk. However, you can take the following counter measures. Keeping your tap water frst in a wide-mouth glass jug in the fridge – with some lemon for favor - will make the chlorine evaporate after for 4 days. Don’t forget to clean your jug regularly though. Now, for the impatient: if you let the tea kettle boil for 4 minutes most chlorine will be gone from tap water anyway.

Best practise is to drink something frst thing in the morning in order to keep hydrated.

> Colorectal cancers and chlorinated water.

> Dichlorophenol-containing pesticides and allergies: results from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

> Water disinfection by-products and the risk of specifc birth defects: a population-based cross-sectional study in Taiwan.

Limit pesticides

A healthy food should ideally contain no pesticides, so eat organic when possible and look for the ofcial labels.

However, organic can sometimes be much more expensive or unavailable. If so, wash your

veggies and fruit in salt water to get rid of more pesticides as they are designed to withstand

the rain. The following are quite safe to buy non organic: banana, grapefruit, asparagus,

cabbage, cantaloupe melon, caulifower, kiwi, onion, mango, papaya, pineapple, sweet potato,

carrot (after peeling) and mushrooms. The following are better bought organic: strawberries,

apples, nectarines, peaches, celery, grapes, cherries, spinach, tomatoes, sweet peppers,

cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and chili peppers.

Cook rice in a lot of water and wash the rice before hand because rice contains inorganic

arsenic from pesticides which may be a health hazard when eating rice every day. Soaking the

rice overnight can remove even up to 80 percent of the arsenic.

Milk and milk products sometimes are found contaminated with insecticides from feed and

fodder which remain associated with its fat portion. Therefore, residues may be found in

greater concentration (on a fat basis) in milk products like butter and cheese than milk from

which these were manufactured. Also, in meat, pesticides are mainly concentrated in fat

component.

Limit contamination

Most contaminants accumulate in fat and are more concentrated higher up the food chain

and in animals with a longer lifespan. So, eat low on the food chain and prefer lean meat.

Vegetables contain very little dioxins. Dioxins stay in your body for a long time. PCB levels are

fve to ten times higher in farmed fsh than in wild fsh. This comes from the bioaccumulation

of persistent organic pollutants from the fsh used in salmon feed and pesticides. If you're

concerned about PCBs, don't eat the skin of the salmon or the fat directly underneath it.

That's where the pollutant is most concentrated. You can eat some Chlorella with it to bind to

the heavy metals like mercury, so they are expelled from your body. But, prefer wilde Alaska

salmon, certifed by MSC, ‘the Maine Stewardship Council’ or better sardines (aka pilchards) or

unsalted ansjovis which both eat plankton. Avoid all bigger fsh like tuna. Do not eat shark,

swordfsh or king mackerel because of the high mercury levels.

Be careful when harvesting shellfsh yourself as it can contain dangerous biotoxins, such as

domic acid, from eating certain algae. Commercial harvest is safer as it is regularly tested for

biotoxins. Spirulina and chlorella can also become contaminated by heavy metals and algae

toxins which can cause liver damage. Many reputable spirulina commercial brands display

independent lab certifcation on their labels confrming that their product is free of

contamination.

> http://www.ejnet.org/dioxin/dioxininfood.pdf

> http://www.dioxinfacts.org/potency.html

> Biotoxins in seafood

Limit high temperature cooking and minimize AGEs

A healthy food should not be fried, barbecued, heated at very high temperature or oxidized,

because this creates free radicals. However, about 1-2 teaspoons of turmeric (found in curry)

together with black pepper prevents the formation of HCAs -heterocyclic amines- and other

glycotoxins in grilled meat and decreases cancer risks. Like fats, cholesterol may be damaged

by exposure to heat and oxygen. This damaged or oxidized cholesterol seems to promote

both injury to the arterial cells as well as the buildup of plaque in the arteries. Damaged

cholesterol is found in fried chicken and powdered eggs and in powdered milk (added to

reduced-fat milks to give them body) through spray drying of foods in factories for use in

processed foods, and in meats and fats that have been heated to high temperatures in frying

and other high-temperature processes. Simple cooking, baking or scrambling is more safe.

However, all food does contain some advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs). Creation of

AGEs in the body or ingesting them through food is believed to be one of the causes of aging.

These AGEs are also created when food is heated. Foods high in AGEs are roasted nuts,

butter, baked or grilled meats, refned oils, mayonnaise, cream cheese and margarine. Grilled

or broiled chicken is very high in AGEs and fsh is lower than other animal products. Grilled

vegetables are still quite low in AGEs. Steaming and boiling (or cooking en papillote or using a

moroccan tagine designed to return all condensation to the bottom), where a lot of moisture

is used, generates a lot less AGEs. Marinating meat and fsh in lemon juice or vinegar helps

prevent the formation of AGEs. Smoked fsh, like salmon, is very high in salt and contains a lot

of nitranes and nitrites which can be converted to carcinogens.

Avoid low quality vegetable oils

Prefer cold pressed extra viring oils over cheap oils. During the refning process of cheaper oils, the formation of carcinogens and genotoxic compounds can happen. Deodorization, a process which requires usually high temperatures, results in considerable formation of 3-MCPD esters and Ges (glycidyl fatty acid esters) especially when the temperature reaches up to 230 °C . The highest levels are found in palm oils and palm fats. These cheap oils are found in processed foods such as spreads, pastes, cookies, candy bars and so on.

> K.Hrncirik, G.van Duijn An initial study on the formation of 3-MCPD esters during oil refning

Limit processed food

In general, avoid processed foods and tv dinners like the plague. Be careful, as lot of meats,

such as bacon and ham, are actually heavily processed and processed meat has been linked

to cancer. Processed foods are full of preservatives, the wrong fats, simple sugars and high

fructose syrup, loaded with salt, devoid of nutrients because of very high heating and so on. A

lot of spreads and even some dark chocolate, have soy derived products in them, and soy is

high in anti nutrients. Be careful when buying even things like bread, so read the ingredients

and nutrients label of each product very carefully. Also, these days there is a lot of vegan or

vegetarian junk food on the market, if it says 'healthy' on the package does not mean that it is.

Skip the veggie burgers, which might even contain hexane to extract oil from soybeans. Just

quickly steam your own fresh veggies instead.

Limit cafeine and alcohol

A healthy food should not contain a lot of cafeine as it afects the neurotransmitters in your

brain and disrupts your sleep. Cofee is everywhere and most people are addicted to it. It is

the world’s biggest beverage commodity and the tenth-biggest food and beverage commodity

by trade volume. Your body can tolerate one or two cups of cofee a day, which is about 200

mg of cafeine, but more can wear out your thyroid and adrenal glands, make you nervous

and cause insomnia. Note that tea, chocolate (40mg per 100g) and some sodas also have

some cafeine in it. If you feel always tired too much cafeine could be one of the causes. Have

some tea (white or green) instead of cofee as it has less than half the cafeine (theine is just a

synonym for cafeine) or have a herbal infusion (without the tea plant Camellia sinensis

leaves). Also, the cafeine in tea is spread in the blood during 6 or 8 hours with in a continuous

way. In cofee however, it is spread very quickly producing a peak of intensity which will fall

down within 2 or 3 hours. Cofee and tea contain a lot of bitter tannins which plants make as a

defense, to prevent them from being eaten. These tannins are healthy when not over

concentrated but some people get headaches from too much tannins. Excess cafeine can

also cause abdominal bloating, constipation and gas. However, cofee drinking is associated

with a lower risk of death and can help with suppressing hunger. It contains just like tea, a lot

of protective antioxidants and polyphenols, but you can get these abundantly from fruit and

vegetables as well. Decaf is safe these days but make sure it is arabica as other cultivars may

contain too much fat. With decaf you get mostly only the benefts, even the promotion of

autophagy, which repairs cells. Because cafeine is addictive, you build up a tolerance and

tend to crave more after some time. I recommend once and awhile going without it for a week

or two in order to reset your body. This should be long enough to stop the withdrawal

symptoms. Be prepared to catch up some sleep and expect some headaches because

cafeine narrows the blood vessels that surround your brain, so when they expand again from

the lack of cafeine it causes pain. You better don't combine this with trying to lose fat

because going without cafeine - similar to quitting smoking but a lot less intense - can

increase your hunger for a few days. If you do have cofee, drink it black without sugar, avoid

latte and cappuccino and use it as a strategic tool when in need of a push instead of a making

it a daily habit. An expresso has less cafeine then a regular cofee. Acrylamide is a harmful

chemical formed during the cofee bean roasting process and this is the same chemical that

makes french fries unhealthy.

> Acrylamide in cofee.

The same goes for alcohol. Don't make drinking it a daily habit, but use it for special

occasions, avoid beer and only drink high quality beverages you really enjoy. Prefer organic

red wine with no added sulfte as it has the very beniftial resveratrol.

Limit eating out

When eating out - or having takeaway sandwich - the food is usually calories dense, salty and

overly fat as restaurants want to serve tasty dishes. Nor do you have any idea where the

ingredients come from. Eating out is also very expensive. So, keep it for special occasions with

friends and family.

Limit and counter antinutrients

Some food contains antinutrients which are produced by plants themselves for protection.

Cyanide, for instance, is found in the pits of apples and pears, so don't put those pits in

smoothies. Rhubarb, spinach and beet greens are concentrated sources of oxalic acid which

blocks absorption of calcium and iron, but blanching for a few minutes removes already one

third of the oxalic acid. I do put 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of organic raw spinach in smoothies

because some nutrients, such as glutamine, are better preserved raw. Green tomatoes

contain the toxin tomatine. The sprouts and green parts of potatoes and sweet peppers

contain the poison solanine, remove them carefully. Brazil nuts contains radium, don’t eat

more than 6 a day. Insufciently cooked red kidney beans and legumes contain the toxin

phytohaemagglutinin. Too much nutmeg is toxic, limit it to half a teaspoon. Phytic acid, found

in beans, grains and nuts, can block mineral absorption but this can be counteracted by

vitamin C. I usually have some orange or kiwi while eating my daily portion of nuts. Soaking

overnight in salt water also minimizes the phytic acid. Note that phytic acid also has some

health benefts and that the canned beans are already soaked by the producers.

Limit hormone mimicking foods, such as soy or hop found in beer. These have powerful

estrogen like compounds. Soy, as well as being mostly genetically modifed, is also more

concentrated in antinutrients than other beans and should only be consumed in fermented

form such as tofu. Eating a lot of faxseeds (> 30 grams per day) – which are a concentrated

source of ligans and reduce cancer risk and growth - might also have an efect on estrogen

metabolism. Therefore, I only have 10 grams per day.

Detox

Even if you would eat a perfect diet and live in an environment with little pollution, your body

will still ingest, produce or inhale some harmful stuf. Now, there is a whole scam industry

around this. For instance, there is no evidence that unsafe cofee enemas have any health

benefts and some colon-cleansing tablets even contain a polymerising agent that turns

faeces into something like plastic, so that when a rubbery poo snake slithers into your toilet

you can stare back at it and feel vindicated in your purchase. Luckely, you can help your body

detox for real. Excercising, regular fasting and staying hydrated helps. But you can also eat

onions, garlic, carrots, artichokes, asparagus, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage,

kale, Brussels sprouts, caulifower, or beets, turmeric and oregano which are all high in

sulphur and glutathione. These help your liver turn toxins into substances that can be

eliminated in bile or urine.

Chlorella can also help detox, and can bind to toxins in your food. Eating chlorella with fsh

might cause your body to absorp less heavy metals. Don ‘t overeat on chlorella however,

because it is high in heme iron.

> Rapid and sustainable detoxication of airborne pollutants by broccoli sprout beverage.

> Protective Efect of Chlorella vulgaris against Lead-InducedOxidative Stress in Rat Brains

Optimizing testosterone and growth hormone through food

Testosterone is produced by the adrenal glands, testes in men and ovaries in women. Human

growth hormone is produced in the pituitary gland in the brain and secreted mostly during

sleep and naps. Having good levels of testosterone (T levels - the average levels for men is 600

nanograms/deciliter and 60 for women) and human growth hormone (HGH) has a huge efect

on your body composition as well as the efectiveness of your workouts. Strength training can

increases T by 40% but you can infuence your levels through food as well. Proper levels are

necessary for a healthy libido and sexual satisfaction for both men and women. Next to food,

enough sleep, not being overstressed and breakfast skipping (to prolong your overnight

fasting period) all can have a positive efect on your T and HGH levels. Excess body fat will

have a negative efect.

Older men should not worry because their T can still be at good levels when healthy. But after

becoming a father, it is normal for T levels to drop a bit for about one year, which is probably

one of the causes why fresh fathers usually gain some fat. Women their T levels go up when

pregnant, as well as, when they are pre and postmenopausal.

> Older age does not cause testosterone levels to decline in healthy men.

> Men's Testosterone Drops Steeply When Baby Arrives.

Magnesium, zinc and vitamin D3 are essential for T, so be sure you get enough from food or

supplements. D3 is produced by your skin, so you might want to get a supplement during

winter times, especially when older. Spinach and other dark leafy greens are good sources of

magnesium for T. Shellfsh is an excellent source of zinc and beef, nuts and seeds are good

sources. Also, eat enough healthy fat, as very low fat diets lower T.

> Aging decreases the capacity of human skin to produce vitamin D3.

The following foods afect your T levels.

Allium plants, such as garlic, onion and chives contains a compound called diallyl-disulfde,

promoting a hormone that triggers T production. Garlic also has anti cancer properties and

promotes fexibility of blood vessels. Make sure to let it rest for 10 minutes after crushing the

cloves and before cooking it. Cayenne pepper and chilli peppers have been shown to increase

T levels. Red Korean Ginseng (often referred as Panax Ginseng) boosts T levels and HGH.

Ginger also raises T levels, is anti infammatory and is nice in a smoothie or tea for extra

favor. The skin of red grapes promotes T, so eat a bunch of red grapes a day to raise T levels

and take in some anti aging resveratrol. Chew the pits well as they are rich in antioxidants.

Cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, caulifower and cabbage yield compounds called

indoles that lower certain estrogens, this in turn can help reduce estrogen its inhibitory efect

on T production. Mushrooms prevent the production of the enzyme aromatase. Aromatase

converts androgen to estrogen —preventing free testosterone from binding to androgen

receptors.

Curry powder contains coriander, cumin, fenugreek and turmeric, with the possibility of many

other ingredients being included. The active component curcumin in turmeric (a member of

the ginger family) has muscle preservation efects and reduces estrogen levels but it is poorly

absorbed without black pepper. So, get (low or no sodium) curry containing black pepper or

add it. Turmeric also decreases cancer risks and adding about 1-2 teaspoons when grilling

meat and fsh prevents the formation of AGE such as HCAs -heterocyclic amines.

L-glutamine is an amino acid that helps with human growth hormone secretion (HGH) which

aids with fat metabolism and new muscle growth. Research has indicated that HGH levels are

up by nearly 400 percent after supplementing with L-glutamine. L-glutamine can be found in

animal proteins such as meats and dairy, along with plant-based protein sources such as

beans, raw spinach, parsley and raw cabbage. But, extra supplementation with glutamine is

not needed when taking whey protein and excess glutamine is even linked to cancer.

Avoid beer (and other products with hops) and soy as they contains estrogenic compounds

which raise estrogen levels, while lowering T. Most research has demonstrated that alcohol

inhibits the secretion of T, so, don't drink it everyday, but keep it for special occasions.

> Strength training increases testosterone production by forty percent.

> Infuence of piperine on curcumin.

> Efects of Panax Ginseng C.A. Meyer saponins on male fertility.

Bromelaine found in fresh pineapple -most concentrated in the stem, but the stem also contains quinine - and bananas helps maintain good T levels after exhausting exercise. As a bonus, it breaks down protein, which helps digestion. This makes pineappple a must in your post workout whey protein smoothie.

Other benefcial foods to eat regularly

Cinnamon Ceylon has anti blood clotting, anti infammatory, anti microbial properties and

improves insulin activity and therefore improves the uptake of glucose. It also has

antioxidants and boosts brain activity.

Rosemary improves memory and lessens the Neu5Gc infammation from eating red meat.

Keeping your own plant is easy.

Peanuts have a lot of coenzyme Q10 which has anti aging properties as it may help protect

mitochondria against damage and increase functional lifespan. They also have lots of

resveratrol. Parsley, herring, avocado, broccoli and sweet potato are also good sources of

coenzyme Q10.

Blueberries contain anti aging compounds similar to resveratrol in red grapes.

Bee pollen is a natural multivitamin. According to researchers at the Institute of Apiculture,

Taranov, Russia is honey bee pollen the richest source of vitamins found in nature in a single

food. One of the most interesting facts about bee pollen is that it cannot be synthesized in a

laboratory. When researchers take away a bee's pollen-flled comb and feed her man-made

pollen, the bee dies even though all the known nutrients are present in the lab-produced

synthesized food. Many thousands of chemical analyses of bee pollen have been made with

the very latest diagnostic equipment, but there are still some elements present in bee pollen

that science cannot identify.

Vinegar can help you lose weight. Red grapes, red wine and red grape juice contain a lot of

ellagic acid which stimulates fat burning and might even slow the growth of fat cells. Other

berries and walnuts contain it in lesser amounts. Pu Erh tea can block fat absorption.

Flaxseed, very high in ligans, might prevent some cancers and could lower the PSA of men

with prostate cancer. But, only moderate amounts of ground faxseeds (>= 30 gram, up to 3

tablespoons) should be eaten, as the ligans can have both anti-estrogenic or estrogenic

efects. Avoid, fax oil or supplements.

> Consumption of faxseed, a rich source of lignans, is associated with reduced breast cancer risk.

> Flaxseed: A Nutritional Smash for Superior Health

Consumption of fsh rich in omega 3, might lead to higer IQ.

> The mediating role of sleep in the fsh consumption – cognitive functioning relationship: a cohort study

Have some foods or a supplement high in astaxanthin, a very powerful antioxidant. The

natural sources of astaxanthin are algae, yeast, salmon, trout, krill, shrimp and crayfsh. Wild

caught salmon is a good source of astaxanthin. In order to get 3.6 mg of astaxanthin one can

eat 165 grams of salmon per day. Astaxanthin is by far the most powerful carotenoid

antioxidant efective at neutralizing singlet oxygen. Astaxanthin, found in the muscles of

salmon and shrimp, crosses the blood-brain barrier and the blood-retinal barrier (beta

carotene and lycopene do not), which brings antioxidant and anti-infammatory protection to

your eyes, brain. It's also a very potent natural anti-infammatory. It can protect against

cataracts and other eye diseases. It can also improve skin complexion and improve elastcity.

> Astaxanthin: Sources, Extraction, Stability, Biological Activities and Its Commercial Applications—A Review

Dark chocolate increase dopaminse levels and opens up blood vessels.

Pineapple has antitumor efects.

> In vivo antitumoral activity of stem pineapple (Ananas comosus) bromelain.

Chinese herbal medicine has know it for thousands of years. The Yun zhi (coriolus versicolor) or ‘turkey tail’ mushroom is special. But research catched up. Studies show that foods high in a special kind of soluble fber, called beta glucan, boost your immune system. This fber is found in certain mushrooms (coriolus versicolor, reishi, shitake, maitake), baker’s yeast, seaweed, algae, barley and oats (2 percent of dry weight), but you can get it easily as a supplement. β-Glucans are potent immunomodulators that have multiple activities such as anti-tumor and anti-infective activities. Mushrooms such as Yun zhi increase the activity of lymphocytes – B-cells which produce antibodies, and T-cells and natural killer cells which destroy virally or bacterially infected cells and cells that have turned cancerous. A study by the Chinese University of Hong Kong found a 9% reduction in 5-year mortality in the group of patients that took Yunzhi together with conventional anti-cancer treatment. As an extra, research also shows that beta glucan signifcantly increases satiety if a minimum of 4 to 6 grams is consumed and it even might decrease glycemic response with 17 percent. Fibers such as psyllium, beta glucans, and pectin may form a gel in the small intestine which delays nutrient absorption therefore reducing the need for insulin. When choosing a mushroom supplement, prefer the biomass form over extracted forms because there is an absence of important immune-enhancing enzyme activity in extracted forms.

> Stimulatory Efect of β-glucans on Immune Cells

> Clinical and Physiological Perspectives of β-Glucans: The Past, Present, and Future

> Immunomodulatory Properties of Coriolus versicolor.

Nutrients RDA

Vitamin

or Mineral

Recommended

Dietary Allowance

(RDA) or Adequate

Intake (AI*) per day

Typically amount

Supplemented in

multivitamins The highest amount you can take without risk

Boron Not determined. 20 mg

Calcium 700 - 1,200 mg 500mg 2000 - 2500 mg/day

Chloride 2,300- 1,800 mg 3,600 mg

Choline (Vitamin B

complex)425 -1,800 mg 3,500 mg

Copper 900 micrograms 550 micrograms 10,000 micrograms

Fluoride 3-4 mg * 10 mg

Folic Acid (Folate) B-9 400 micrograms1,000 micrograms/day, This applies only to synthetic folic

acid in supplements or fortifed foods. There is no upper

limit for folic acid from natural sources.

Iodine 150 micrograms 150 µg 1,100 micrograms

Iron 8-18 mg 14 mg 45 mg

Magnesium 310-420 mg 150 mg

350 mg/day This applies only to magnesium in supplements

or fortifed foods. There is no upper limit for magnesium in

food and water.

Manganese 1.8-2.3 mg * 3.5 mg 11 mg

Molybdenum 45 micrograms 150 µg 2,000 micrograms

Nickel Not determined 1.0 mg

Phosphorus 700 mg 3000- 4,000 mg

Selenium 55 micrograms 70 micrograms 400 micrograms

Sodium 1200-1,500 mg 2,300 mg

Vanadium Not determined 1.8 mg

Vitamin A 2,310-3,000 IU 800 micrograms 10,000 IU

Vitamin B3 (Niacin) 14-16 mg 18 mg

35 mg/day This applies only to niacin in supplements or

fortifed foods. There is no upper limit for niacin in natural

sources.

Vitamin B6 1.3-1.5mg 2 mg 25 mg

Vitamin C 75-90 mg 60 mg 2,000 mg

Vitamin D (Calciferol)15-20 micrograms 5 micrograms

100 micrograms

(4,000 IU)

Vitamin E (alpha-

tocopherol)22.4 IU 10 mg

1,500 IU/day This applies only to vitamin E in supplements

or fortifed foods. There is no upper limit for vitamin E from

natural sources.

Zinc 8-11 mg 15 mg 40 mg

Thiamine / vitamin B1 1,1 mg 1.4 mg

B12 2,8 micrograms 1 micrograms

Biotine B7/ vitamine

H30 micrograms 75 micrograms

Pantotheenzuur B5 5mg 6 mg

Vitamin K 90 – 120

micrograms

Fasting

It might be beneftial to have a daily fast, where you have nothing with calories, of at least 12 hour to upregulate autophagy. Tea or cofee without sugar and without milk is fne. Studies do suggest that fasts between 24–48 hours probably have the strongest efects, but this isn't always doable for many people. Calorie restriction also seems to upregulate it.

> Short-term fasting induces profound neuronal autophagy

> The efect of fasting or calorie restriction on autophagy induction: A review of the literature.

HOW TO LOSE BODY FAT AND STAY LEAN ?

Just move more and eat less right? Well, chances are that

does not work out very well and you end up frustrated

and give up. You need a more solid plan.

Some of the food you eat is used to create and repair cells, but most of it is used as energy to

power your brain, organs, muscle and brown fat for heat production. The physics unit of

energy is Joule, but for food the kilo calorie -which equals 4184 joules- is normally used. Now,

you lose body fat by creating a caloric defcit, which simply means that you use more energy

than you get from your food. This forces the body to access its internal energy stores, such as

glycogen or fat, or even muscle protein for energy. One kilogram of body fat contains around

7000 kilo calories. Your basal metabolic rate defnes how much calories per day you need if

you would have absolutely zero physical energy. You can compute it using the Katch-Mcardle

BMR formula, as

• BMR = 370 + (21.6 x LeanBodyMassInKg), where

• LeanBodyMassInKg = (WeightInKg x (100 – BodyFatPercentage)) / 100

Creating a caloric defcit is best done by lowering your calorie intake. So, not just eating

less, but making sure the total calories in your food are less then what your body will need.

The other option of doing lots of cardio like running or cycling 'to burn the fat of' takes a lot of

time and efort. Although healthy, It is much easier and efcient to simply eat less calories.

And this can be done without thinking about it after a while.

First of, when lowering your calorie intake, it is very important you do resistance and

strength training and eat enough protein. This is really needed to prevent muscle loss and

feel satiated. Building muscle is much harder and slower than losing body fat, so you really

want to minimize muscle loss. As you will be eating less, you will have to eat healthy in order

to ensure getting plenty of nutrients. Taking a quality multivitamin, mineral and protein

powder (per 100 grams, it should have at least 85 grams of protein and no more than 380 kilo

calories) supplement is a good safety net. If you skip the resistance training there is a big

change that you become skinny fat, because you lose your muscle instead of your fat !

In the beginning, strict calorie counting is essential because you have to reset your body

its hunger feeling threshold. The body is build for survival and does not like to lose weight. It

will make you eat in order to maintain its current weight and compensate for any 'fat-burning

cardio' you do. Also, you might have a bit of a sugar and fat addiction. I used to be addicted to

soda, so I know that feeling. That is why you cannot trust your hunger signals at all in the

beginning, nor have 'cheat days'. The good news is that it is only tough in the beginning, after

a while your body will reset to this new calorie intake level. Stick with it and the results will be

rewarding!

But now you are thinking... I don't want to do calorie counting. I've read this story of a person

who lost 10kg, just by eating healthy and running a few times per week. Well, chances are this

is someone who was already ft before and knows very well how the read her body and then

just went back to an already familiar healthy lifestyle with a very good notion about what

portion sizes to eat. Of course this is possible, but why would you gamble ? You will constantly

be in doubt about whether you should still eat something or not. Did you eat too little, or is it

just a craving? Also, be critical, did that person losing weight eventually became ft, or did they

she went from 90 kg to 80 kg or became skinny fat ? And what is more practical, just taking 15

minutes in total of your time per day to count calories by weighing food and reading nutrition

labels or instead go running for hours and hours ?

Using cardio to lose bodyfat is not very efcient. In this study overweight subjects were assigned to three groups:

diet-only, diet plus aerobics, diet plus aerobics plus weights. The diet group lost 14.6 pounds of fat in 12 weeks. The

aerobic group lost only one more pound (15.6 pounds) than the diet group (training was three times a week

starting at 30 minutes and progressing to 50 minutes over the 12 weeks). The weight training group lost 21.1

pounds of fat (44% and 35% more than diet and aerobic only groups respectively). Basically, the addition of aerobic

training didn’t result in any real world signifcant fat loss over dieting alone. Thirty-six sessions of up to 50 minutes

is a lot of work for one additional pound of fat loss. However, the addition of resistance training greatly accelerated

fat loss results.

Cyclic alternating calorie counting.

You start with a calorie tracking phase. As an average man/women, start at around 1700/1350

kilocalories (20 percent defcit) per day to lose weight fast. If you are too hungry or feel too

weak, add 100 kilocalories. If you are not losing half a kilogram per week, lower it by 100 or 50

kilocalories but don't go too low as that is really unhealthy and can make you lose muscle.

Every week, monitor your progress and adjust your intake. When you made some progress,

such as you lost 2 kg in a month, you can go into a maintenance phase, where you try to

maintain your body fat percentage for 2 weeks without calorie counting but just by healthy

eating. After this, you go back into a calorie tracking phase to drop your body fat percentage

further. Thereafter you again remain in a maintenance phase for awhile. This cycle goes on

until you eventually reach your target body fat percentage. When you notice your body fat

percentage increasing again, you just do a quick calorie tracking phase to adjust.

When calorie counting you could theoretically eat anything to lose weight, this is proven by

studies, but if you don't follow the guidelines of healthing eating, you will lack certain

nutrients and will need very strong discipline to not to give in and eat more calories, nor do

you learn to pick the right foods by habit. You can still have a piece of chocolate or something

else you like as long as you account for the calories. Drinking empty calories however, such as

sodas and alcohol, is sabotaging yourself. Eating out when calorie counting and not knowing

the calories and protein should be avoided. But once a week you probably really have no

other option due to social obligations. In that case, just enjoy the food and time out and try to

'guess' the calories (and err on the too much side) but don't go for extra servings.

But that means you will have to cook for yourself as your partner most likely does not do

calorie counting when he or she does the cooking. Indeed, you will most likely have to cook

for yourself, but steaming veggies, cooking rice or potatoes, and baking some chicken breast

or sardines is easy and doesn't take long.

When losing fat, you will look fatter first

You lose fat when your body is in a caloric defcit for a while. But before the body start

burning a lot of fat, it will use up the stored glycogen in your muscles. This glycogen binds to

water, so your muscles lose a lot of volume when losing this water. The efect is that your

muscles look fat and it appears as if you got fatter. Yet, you quickly lost a kilogram of weight.

Don't worry about this, you will gain back muscle volume once you are in caloric maintenance

mode. Your face might also look a little more wrinkled in the beginning, but the skin will

tighten again.

Low calorie foods to make you feel satiated

With these foods you get a lot of volume for little calories: watercress, celery, radish, zucchini

(aka courgette), cucumber, grapefruit, strawberries, honeydew melon, rice cakes (but be

careful to buy a low salt brand) and lentils. You can also make your own popcorn without oil

or butter. Fresh raw jeruzalem artichoke its calories – which are a sugar called inulin – cannot

be digested by the body. Shirataki udon noodles, made from the root of the konjac plant, are

extremly low in calories, about 6 kcal per 100 gram, which is less than cucumber. You can also

fnd them in the form of spaghetti.

The College of Chemical Sciences in Colombo, Sri Lanka found that cooking rice and then letting it sit in the fridge for 12 hours increased its resistant starch which lowered its absorbed calorie count by as much as 60 percent. This indigestible starch, formed during the cooling process, prevents some of the rice from being metabolized into glucose during digestion. The cool thing is that reheating won’t increase the calories again, so after letting the rice cool overnight you can season it and reheat as desired. The same magic works for potatoes and pasta as well!

THE WORKOUTS TODO EVERY WEEK

You will have to make time for 3 workouts of 20 minute in your home gym. You could do this

before you get to work and take a shower or after you arrive from work. Personally I don't like

to workout right after having dinner, nor just before going to bed. But basically, when you

schedule your workouts is not important, except that at least 36 hours (prefer 48 hours)

should be in between workouts to let your body recuperate. So, we are talking about only 1

hour of exercise in total per week. That's all.

You don't need to go running or cycling or swimming, or do other sports. Of course you can,

and as you get ft, you will likely feel like trying out new sports or picking up sports you

enjoyed before. I myself picked up snowboarding again and started doing indoor climbing. I

am also learning how to kitesurf. And once and awhile I go for a jog if I feel like it. But I still

make sure to do the 3 workouts, as the sports are no real substitute for them. That is because

proper weightlifting with dumbbells or bodyweight exercises guarantees a safe efcient full

body workout where all muscles and joints are stimulated. Also, to get ft initially I just did the

workouts, and only after getting ft, I felt like picking up all these fun sports again.

So, it really only takes 1 hour of total exercise per week to get ft. This is because the workout

you do is high intensity weight lifting (or bodyweight exercises) and you have everything at

home, so you don't lose time. You will get a lean toned look, however, if you goal is to look

more like a bodybuilder you will need to put in more hours per week or even take unhealthy

drugs such as steriods.

Single workout structure

In order to ft your workout in 20 minutes it needs the following structure:

I. Start of with one minute of very fast rope skipping or doing jumping jacks or walking

up the stairs. This gets your blood fowing as a warmup. Alternatively I sometimes do 2

times 10 pushups as a warmup. So, what you do as warmup really depends on your

current ftness level and the main point is that you don’t loose too much strength from

warming up therefore this exercise should be easy for you.

II. After your warmup you wait for 1 minute and then you are ready for 6 to 7 sets of

weightlifting or bodyweight excersises

• Each set you will try to lift weights for 12 times. Doing your chosen exercise just

once is called one repetition or ‘rep’ for short. So, you will do 12 reps. One

complete rep should take about 4 seconds where you spend 1 second to lift the

weight up (the concentric part) and 3 seconds to lower it (the eccentric part). If

you do bodyweight exercise you can do more reps.

• After each set you get around 30 to 90 seconds to rest and prepare your

dumbbells or barbell for the next set. So, this comes to about 100 to 140

seconds of per set, and the total time is about 14 minutes for 6 sets if you take

long breaks of 90 seconds. I usually set the timer on my smartphone to 60

seconds after each set.

• The specifc exercise you do per set will vary, but pick your exercises from only 2

muscles groups out of the 3 muscle groups 'push', 'pull' or 'legs'.

• One of the muscle groups out of your 2 chosen ones will be your primary

muscle group to train. The other will be your secondary muscle group to train.

• Now, 4 sets of the 6 sets in your workout will be for the primary muscle

group. These sets should be taken to failure, which means that you do

reps until you can absolutely do no more. Ideally your weight was chosen

such that the 12th rep is the absolute last rep you could do. However, it

is vital to keep going if you can still do more after the 12th rep. For

bodyweight excersis you just keep doing reps until you can no more.

• After these 4 sets, you still have to do 2 sets and these will be for the

secondary muscle group. You can or can not take them to failure

depending on how you feel.

• If after those 6 sets you still have energy and time left, go for more set.

III. It is good to write down the exercise name, number of reps and weight you did on a

notepad or keep a log on your smartphone, so the next time you known what weight

to choose in order to improve and put failure on the 13th set.

• Let's say you could only do 7 reps for a certain weight, then next time you

should use a slightly lighter weight.

• Or you had to do 17 reps before you hit failure, then next time chose a heavier

weight.

• If you get more experienced with the exercises you can try to put failure on the

11th rep as it makes your workout time a bit shorter.

IV. Finish by doing 3 minutes of slower rope skipping or jumping jacks. This cooldown is

best done to prevent your arteries from getting stif from the weightlifting.

V. In the beginning your workouts will probabily take at least 30 minutes, but as you get

the hang of it you will be able to ft them in 20.

You frst workouts

If you start working out, it might be a good idea to do only do bodyweight exercises and isometrics to build up an inital strength level. You don’t have to take your exercises to failure yet for your frst workouts so your body has some extra time to adapt. Build it up slowly and after a few workouts you can start to hit your body harder by going to failure. Depending on your level good starting exercises are the table pull-up and table push-up, the squat maybe by holding on to a doorframe if need be, lunges, the plank, wall sit, arm circles and isometric wall push.

Workout remarks

Your body needs at least 36 to 48 hours per muscle group for proper recuperation and

growth. So, it is best to wait 48 hours before you train the same muscle group again.

Stretching cold muscle can lead to injury, instead stretch after doing some exercise. Do not

stretch before strength excersises because it will take away your power. Cardio is done best

after strength training as cardio inhibits the mTOR metabolic pathway which signals muscle

growth (hypertrophy). So, if you plan on going cycling or running for an hour, best do your

strength workout frst. Any rep range less than 40 repetitions will stimulate muscle growth as

long as you hit failure. To put it an other way, reaching failure is the most important trigger for

muscle growth, not the actual weight used. Lower rep ranges however do increase your

strength more, so, they are in a way more efcient but they are also much more dangerous

for injuries and more taxing for the nervous system. You see, increases in strength come from

neurological adaptations as well. Therefore, it is recommended staying between 5 to 15 reps

to reach failure, with 8 to 12 being the most common, although it is good to mix up rep ranges

once and awhile. For instance, if you have some injury but still want to work out you could

train in high rep ranges. Usually 2 days after your workout you might experience DOMS,

which stands for delayed onset muscle soreness, aka muscle fever. This is normal and nothing

to worry about. As your muscles adapt to exercise this might become less frequent. This

DOMS seems to come from muscle damage when overloading muscle in the eccentric portion

– where the muscle becomes longer – of an exercise. This eccentric part of an exercise is

important for strength and growth, so do not drop your weight but lower it slowly during 3

seconds.

High-intensity resistance training with moderate volume (6-9 sets per muscle group) has only

been shown to reduce glycogen stores by 36-39%, so, you don’t have to ‘carb load’ like long

distance runners do before your strength workout.

Allways do the exercises with good form and immediately stop if you feel any bad pain, from

joints or tendons. Let you body heal frst before doing any more heavy excersises. Your

muscles will strengthen faster than your tendons, so be carefull about this and increase the

weight or reps you use slowly to prevent injury.

Resistance training will stimulate your fast twitch (type II) muscle fbers. Everyday walking,

moving or jogging however uses more of your slow twitch (type I) muscle fbers.

> Resistance exercise load does not determine training-mediated hypertrophic gains.

For drug free maximum muscle growth you are better of increasing your training frequentie versus increasing your training volume. You see, studies show that for maximum stimulation you have to hit a muscle group at least 2 times per week , with at least 36 hours between sessions. Of course you'll then run an increased risk of overtraining, so per session, it's recommended to keep the volume for that muscle group moderate or low. I usually train each muscle group only twice per week to prevent overtraining, but sometimes I'll go for 3 times to break through plateaus.

> Efects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-

Analysis.

For stretching you only need to hold a position for 30 seconds to get the maximum beneft in

fexibility improvement. If you count to 60 it will take at least 30 seconds.

As an alternative program, you could even have 6, 10 minutes workouts, as long as you

workout for at least a total of one hour.

How to calculate your one rep max

For your upper body, fnd the heaviest weight you can lift 4-6 times and plug it into this equation: (4.6RM X 1.1307) + 0.6998.So if you can do 5 reps of 60kg, then according to the formula – (60 x 1.1307) + 0.6998 – your 1RM will be 68.5kg.For lower body use this formula: (4-6RM x 1.09703) + 14.2546

Workout exercisesTrying a wide scala of exercises keeps you from getting bored. Master bodyweight exercises

to complement exercises with dumbbells or barbells. This ensures you can even do your

workout in a hotel room without the need for equipement.

Muscle group Dumbells or barbell Bodyweight Isometric

PushFlat dumbbell bench press,

(never do a barbell press

without a spotter)

Dumbbell foor press

Pushup,

Table pushup,

Hindu pushup,

Diamond pushup,

One arm pushup,

Weighted pushup,

Dips

Plank,

Isometric wall push

Incline dumbbell or barbell

press on a bench

Pike pushup

Dumbbell chest fies (done

on the foor for safety)

Dumbbell or barbell

overhead press, standing

or sitting,

Dumbbell Cuban press

(use light weight, use for

warm up)

Remark: Don’t do behind

the neck presses.

Arm circles

Handstand

pushups against

the wall

Dumbbell side lateral

raises,

Leaning one arm dumbbell

side lateral raises,

Partial Dumbbell side

lateral raises,

Remark: allways lean 20

degrees forward when

doing side laterals,

Dumbbell around the

world

Body weight side lateral raise

Trying to raise your elbow against the wall

PullOne arm bent over

dumbbell row,

Barbell bent over row

Table pullup,

Weighted table

pullups,

Pullup,

Weighted pullup,

One arm table

pullup,

Muscle ups

Pulling a door frame while pushing back with your legs

Bent over dumbbell

reverse fy,

Barbell face pulls

Dumbell or barbell bicep

curl

LegsSingle leg dumbbell squats

Dumbbell squats

Barbell front squats

Dumbbell or barbell

lunges

Dumbbell calves raise

Remark: avoid leg

Lunges,

Deep squats,

Squat doorframe,

Single leg calf raise,

Single leg wall

squat,

Pistol squats,

Wall sit

Single leg wall sit

extensions and deadlift Hindu squats

You don’t need that many sets to improve.

Some studies (Starkey, Pollock, et. al. 1996) demonstrate one set to failure is usually

as efective as multiple sets to failure, if not just as efective in strength and muscle

growth. Note that the medical term for muscle growth is hypertrophy if you want to

search for studies. After being criticized for using untrained subjects, Hass et. al.

(2000) compared the efects of one set versus three sets in experienced recreational

weightlifters. Interestingly, after 13 weeks no signifcant diferences were found

between groups for muscular strength and body composition. A meta study in 2010,

however, did fnd a diference between one and multiple sets of up to 40% muscle

growth, but no signifcant diferences between 2-3 and 4-6 sets per exercise. In

summary, if all sets are taken to failure, then it looks like one set gives you the

most gains for your efort, two sets gives you nearly maximal growth, and more

sets will only give you marginal extra gains.

> Single vs. multiple sets of resistance exercise for muscle hypertrophy: a meta-analysis.

> Single versus multiple sets in long-termrecreational weightlifters

Arthritis

This might sound counter intuitive but strength and resistance training actually improves

arthritis. It can even crush rheumatoid arthritis pain. Studies show that just a few minutes of

these exercise daily is enough to ease pain. Fast running and high-impact jumping activities

are better avoided.

> Efcacy of resistance exercises in rheumatoid arthritis: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

GETTING STARTED AND ORGANISED

To buy right now

Once you decide to get ft, you need a certain number of things always available. This way

there are no excuses for skipping workouts or eating the wrong food and you do this by

optimizing your food and workout omnisphere.

Your home gym

For practical reasons you will need a basic home gym. This has a number of key advantages

over going to the gym. First, the gym could be closed and you want to be able to work out

whenever you feel like it. Driving to the gym also takes time but you want to keep your total

time to do your workout as short as possible. There is also no risk of starting to chat instead

of working out and the gym can be quite intimidating for beginners, plus you get to play your

favorite workout music aloud. Of course, once you are into the rhythm of working out, you

could start to hit the gym once and awhile to try out new exercises if you fnd the time for it.

A basic home gym is a lifetime investment (< 400 dollar or 300 euro or less secondhand) and

should at least consist of the following essentials.

A skipping rope. Skipping is just cool and even allows you to do pre and post workouts while

watching your favorite show. You can always take it with you.

A pair of running or sport shoes to use inside when skipping rope or doing weight lifting. One

or more rubber yoga mats. Two dumbells sets and two dumbbell bars (get plates for a total of

50kg/20kg per dumbbell for men/women). If the dumbbell sets do not have little plates of

0.5kg, get 2 extra little 0.5kg plates. This is important in order to be able to slowly increase the

weight you lift.

2 x

Why dumbbells? Unlike barbells or machines, dumbbells are truly free weights which do not

cause muscle imbalances as they train the stabilizer muscles of your body as well. They are

also better for the shoulder joints and allow an easier increase of resistance than bodyweight

exercises. Dumbbells are also much safer than barbells for bench presses, since you want to

be able to workout alone without a spotter.

Also, get pushup handles for your bodyweight exercises, this creates less strain on your

wrists.

If you have the space for it, get a very simple foldable workout bench which you can put it in

an incline. Avoid the temptation to buy one of those machines with pulleys and levers and so

on, because those tend to create muscle imbalances, and you want to keep your joints and

body in perfect functional health. If you don't have a bench, you can still dumbbell foor press

on your yoga mat but with a slightly smaller range of motion.

Your cooking gear

Cooking your own food should become easy and swift therefore good tools are key.

You will need a steaming pot to put over a regular pot. So, you can cook rice, whole wheat

pasta or lentils and make steamed veggies in one go. Also, get a few of those cooking timers

which go of very loudly.

Get a powerful smoothie blender machine. Making smoothies is really easy and a great way to

get in a lot of fruit and raw veggies. It is also a fun way to get creative. Note that a good

smoothie should contain both fruit and veg. The point of smoothies is to use the taste

of fruit to hide the taste of veggies. Also, juicing fruit is not allways as healthy as smoothies,

since all the fber is gone the GI goes up. This blender should be able to grind up nuts easily as

well.

A ceramic pan and an oil spray bottle enable you to cook with less oil.

A food weight scale for measuring ingredients is essential. I have an old fashioned mechanical

one, so there is no need for batteries.

These items should all be easy to clean and make it a habit to frst clean them after cooking

before you start eating.

Your food stock

You need to have a basic ready supply of supplements and food, which you can prepare easily

and fast. This way you never have to eat tv dinners, take out or other processed food.

A stock of quality whey protein powder and pea protein powder. Whey is great for after a

workout as it is absorbed fast and spikes your insulin, but pea protein is absorbed slowly, so

ideal for during the day. They both give you a lot of protein for very little calories. So, they also

come in very handy to guaranty you have enough protein when eating calorie restricted. Once

and awhile, switch between both so you don't build up any intolerantes.

A stock of basic multivitamins with minerals. This makes it more likely that you don't miss out

on some nutrient, again especially when you go through a calorie restricted period. Check

with your doctor if you already take some other supplements as getting to much of some

vitamins can be unhealthy.

If you live in an area where there is not much sun, or it is winter time, you should best get

some D3 supplement if not already provided by your multivitamin. If you don't eat fsh

regularly, you better get an omega 3 supplement as well, so keep a stock of fsh/krill oil

capsules for weeks where you had little fsh.

A stock of canned sardines and salmon. Both are a very good source of EPA and DHA (omega-

3). Because sardines are small fsh, they have less contamination than big fsh such as tuna.

As going higher up the food chain the contamination, such as mercury, gets more

concentrated. That is why you can eat sardines every day, but should eat tuna only once a

month.

A stock of frozen vegetables. I like frozen spinach and broccoli cubes as backup. These are

also nice to put in a smoothie. Frozen blueberries and raspberries are great as well.

A stock of unsalted, unsweetened raw nuts and seeds, with at least walnuts, peanuts,

pistachios, faxseeds and almonds. Your peanuts are an exception in that they should be dry

roasted to protect against afatoxins. Nuts are very nutritious perfect snack, but be careful,

they are extremely calorie rich. Walnuts are a good source of ALA (a form of omega-3). Make

sure you have an air tight dark container at a cool place to put them in, as nuts can get rancid.

A stock of lentils, canned beans, whole grain pasta and quinoa. They are a very good sources

of protein, especially useful if you eat little or no animal foods. Quinoa is more expensive

though. A stock of whole grain rice. This is perfect in case you have no fresh (sweet) potatoes.

A stock of frozen free range chicken breast and wild salmon. Chicken is lower in cholesterol

and saturated fat than red meat. Prefer pasture-raised chicken breasts as it is better in omega

3, antioxidant nutrients and has a decrease in risk of oxidative damage to fats in the meat.

A stock of muesli. This mixture with rolled oats and dried fruit, can be more healthy then

bread, and sometimes cheaper. Of course make sure it has no added sugar (or honey or

other sugar in disguise) and no excess salt. A stock of almond milk goes nice with the muesli.

Extra virgin olive oil, mustard, unsalted curry powder, tumeric, black pepper, Cinnamon

Ceylon, rosemary. Studies have shown that rosemary improves memory and reasoning.

Cloves, oregano, thym, basil .. green tea or better get your own tea plant. Oregano, thym,

basil are also easy to grow yourself, even indoors.

What you should buy every week

Once a week, take your time to buy lots of fresh vegetables and fruit. Or maybe you can get a

weekly delivery service with veg and fruit in season.

Get lettuce, parsley, bananas, oranges or mandarins which are easier to take to work, red

graphes, broccoli, spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, red beet, sweet peppers, tomatoes, garlic.

Try to buy organic, but don't worry too much if it is not organic. Washing your fruit and veg

really well with salt water should get rid of a large portion of pesticides.

Treat yourself on something more exotic every week, like mango, a coconut, a pineapple.

SKIN HEALTHYour skin covers 2 square meters. That’s impressive and it even accounts for 20% of your body weight! Let’s go through some powerful tips and mostly natural products to keep it healthy...

Appling sunscreen with an SPF of at least 20 is a must. Sun exposure is the number one reason for aging skin and break down of collagen. Even in winter there can be twice as much UVA than UVB. Sunscreen is safe and does not have to be expensive. I use La Roche-Posay because it is recommended by a lot of dematologists and it has non perfumed dry touch gel-cream. Avoid tanning all together, instead go for a quality fake tanner, but it’s even better to enjoy foods high in carotenoids which will give your whole body a healthy color. A fake tanner with SPF sure looks handy, but it’s not ideal since DHA – which browns your skin – is aggressive and might cancel out the important UVA protection. Instead, play safe and apply a fake tanner with DHA the night before, and then just wash it of the next morning. DHA gives you a nice tan but it also causes your skin to generate 80% more free radicals under UV exposure, so applying a potent sunscreen the next day and staying out of the sun, becomes critical to prevent aging.

> DHA increases free radicals under UV.

It turns out that a bit of hunger is a good thing! Having a daily fast of at least 12 hours to increase autopagy might frm your skin. Note that, cofee, decaf and probably any tea or infusion high in polyphenols also stimulates autopagy.

> Skin and autophagy.

> The anti-aging efect of fasting on skin.

> Autophagy in Human Skin Fibroblasts: Impact of Age

No excuse to be smelly... you can shower multiple times per day but only for a few minutes –ideally 2 minutes- because any longer will afect your natural skin oils, which could even hamper your immune system.

Wash your face every evening and after excersise, to avoid clogged pores. Ideally use lukewarm water without chlorine. Note that it takes 4 days before tap water is free of chlorine – a bigger surface is better - , but boiling 4 minutes can remove most as well. Don’t forget to get your face cleaned professionally a few times per year.

Dry air will dehydrate your skin, a simple radiator humidifer and lots of plants at home can help. It is a good idea to decorate your living room with some beautiful air cleaning plants like Ctenanthe anyway.

Eat lots of fruit and veg, but avoid foods with a high GI which can damage your skin by glycation and infammation. Have some foods with collagen, like the scales of canned sardines or you might prefer a few low sugar gummies with gelatin. Enjoying salmon or shrimp could also help your skin. It turns out that their pink color comes from a powerful antioxidant.

> Astaxanthin,(ASX) more bioactive than β-carotene, for the skin.

Eating healthy is important, however, the epidermis lacks the blood vessels that normally deliver nutrients to cells and instead relies on difusion. That‘s why you help it by excercising to get the blood fowing as well as providing nutrients topically. For instance, every day, you can apply pure organic cold pressed jojoba oil as moisterizer. It will nourish your skin with vitamin E and B and mimic your natural skin oil called sebum. A few times per week, before sleeping, it’s maybe time for pure rosehip oil which is rich in carotenoids. Remarkelaby, the skin can directly convert the carotenoids into vitamin A (retinoids) which stimulates renewal. An alternative is bakuchiol. Note that rosehip oil does not contain the water soluble vitamin C. So, you could sometimes on days you don’t use the roseship oil, apply a vitamin C serum after washing your face to stimulate collagen and elastin. You can easily make this yourself from vitamin C powder but always use distilled water. For instance, use 0.5 gram vitamin C and 10 gram of distilled water and make a new serum each time. Applying a cream with good skin bacteria (eg. Yun) can be benefcial for places with acnea. But avoid products (eg for shaving) with alcohol which dry out your skin. The same goes for drinking alcohol every day.

> The skin can create vitamin A.

> B akuchiol, a retinol alternative.

You probabily heard of aloe vera in skin products. Well, It’ s time to get your own plant and start harvesting. It’s cheap, cool and produces a lot of oxigen. Just cut of a leaf and extract the gel to apply it on your face. Maybe get creative and mix it with glycerin to create your own cream. However, some care is needed to remove the green outer part and latex from the leaf as it is toxic ! Studies shown that you can even ingest 1/4 of a teaspoon of aloe vera gel per dag to repair wrinkles, but using it topically is probabily safer.

> Dietary Aloe Vera Supplementation Improves Facial Wrinkles and Elasticity .

Bacteria and molds love your pillow, sheets and towels. So, you ‘d better wash them very often and replace them every 2 years. It took me a long time but I learned to sleep on my back with a small pillow to counteract the daily desk sitting. It was nice to fnd out that it protects your face as well, because sleeping on your side wrinkles your face. And fnally, don’t compromise you daily 7 or 8 hours beauty sleep.