Imagine going from being a tae kwon do champion to having stage two multiple sclerosis and being confined to a wheel chair.

Now add in chemotherapy and extensive drug treatments only to keep getting worse…

What if you could fix yourself and reverse your disease with… food?

That is exactly what Dr. Terry Wahls did.

This video is definitely a must-see if you want to take care of your health, your energy, and your vitality.

Please check it out:

I watched it twice, the second time to take some notes for you:

2000 diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis

Took the latest drugs.

By 2003 it had progressed to stage 2. She took the chemotherapy and got a motorized wheelchair.

Tried more drugs, became more diasbled.

Afraid of becoming disabled.

Found out that brains with MS shrank.

Started finding more research about shrinking brains, found that the mitochondria don’t work well, which leads to shrinking brains.

Found studies that showed mouse brains and mitochondria had been protected by using fish oil, creatine, and co-enzyme Q 10.

Slowed her decline by translating the mouse-sized doses into human sized ones.

Was happy, but was still declining.

There are a billion cells in our brains, with trillions of connections. All of those connections must be insulated by myelin.

In order to make myelin, your body needs B vitamins, especially B1, B9, and B12. It also needs omega 3 fatty acids and iodine.

For your body to make neurotransmitters, it needs vitamin B6 and sulfur.

The energy for each cell in your body comes from mitochondria. Without the energy from your mitochondria, you would be no larger than bacteria.

In medical school, Dr. Wahls learned all about mitochondria, but she wasn’t taught what her body could make compared to what she needed to consume to make those mitochondrial systems run properly.

She found that out mitochondria need lots of B vitamins, sulfur, and antioxidants in order to thrive.

First, she added in the nutrients with supplements, then came to the realization that getting her nutrients from foods would provide her with hundreds, maybe thousands of trace compounds also needed for health.

Medical and nutrition textbooks didn’t tell her food sources, but internet research led her to design an eating plan that would support her brain and mitochondria.

She then quizzes the audience on how many fruits and vegetables they ate.

Then she shows how Americans are eating too few nutrients and too many starches.

“We are all starving ourselves. We are alive because of complicated chemical reactions. If you’re not providing the building blocks – that is the vitamins, minerals, essential fats – those reactions cannot happen properly. Leading to the wrong stuctures being made… or structures simply not being made at all, which sets the stage for chronic disease.”

Due to lack of nutrients children are born with smaller brains and smaller jaws that lead to crooked teeth.

This is why blood vessels become stiff as you age.

This is why children will become obese or diabetic as children or young adults.

This is why the number of children with learning problems and behavior problems are becoming more common each year.

For 2.5 million years humans ate what they could hunt and gather – leaves, berries, meat, and fish.

Hunter-gatherer foods were locally obtained, fresh, in season, and of course, organic.

People in the arctic ate differently than people on the savannah, but both groups exceeded the RDA of nutrients by 2 to 10 fold.

“These ancient peoples know more about eating for optimal health and vitality than we physicians and we scientists.”

The hunter-gather diet has more nutrition than any modern health diet.

Dr. Wahls started on a paleo diet, but she structured it to make sure she was supporting her mitochondria and brain health.

Here is her diet: 3 cups of green leaves, 3 cups of sulfur rich vegetables, 3 cups of bright color, grass-fed meat, organ meat, and seaweed.

3 cups is a dinner plate piled high.

Greens are high in vitamins B, A, C, K, and minerals. Kale has the most nutrition per calorie of any plant.

Plus, a plate full of greens will dramatically lower your risk of cataracts and macular degeneration.

3 cups (plateful) of sulfur-rich vegetables every day to support your brain, mitochondria, and to remove toxins.

The cabbage family is rich in sulfur – cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussells sprouts, turnips, rutabegas, radishes, and collards.

Onions, garlic, leeks, mushrooms, asparagus, and chives are also all rich in sulfur.

3 cups (plateful) of colors, preferably different colors.

Colors are flavonoids and polyphenols. These support your eyes, mitochondria, brain cells, and toxin removal.

Get colors from vegetables like beets, carrots, peppers, and red cabbage.

Or get your colors from berries and brightly colored fruits.

Eat high quality protein that is rich in omega 3 fatty acids. This will help build the myelin to insulate your nervous system and is essential for proper jaw formation (straight teeth).

Good sources are wild fish – salmon and herring in particular – and grass fed meat.

Ancient societies all valued organ meats. Organ meats are good sources of vitamins, minerals, and coenzyme Q.

Organ meets are very potent for supporting your mitochondria.

Seaweed is a valuable source of iodine and selenium.

Your brain needs iodine to make myelin.

Iodine also removes toxins – particularly mercury, lead, and heavy metals.

Plus, iodine lowers risk of breast cancer and prostate cancer.

80% of Americans have low iodine, so eat seaweed at least once a week.

Eat the fruits and veggies BEFORE you eat any grains or starches.

Eating fruits and veggies will dramatically lower your risk of food allergies.

Grain and dairy allergies are associated with a wide variety of health problems including excema, asthma, allergies, infertility, irritable bowl, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, arthritis, chronic headache, neurological problems, and behavior problems.

It will cost more to eat veggies and berries. But you’re going to pay the price either way. Wither you’ll pay the price now for food that restores your health and vitality or you will pay the price for doctor visits, prescription drugs, surgeries, time off work, early retirement, and nursing home care. The choice is yours.

With 3 months on the hunter-gatherer diet Dr. Wahls could walk with only one cane.

A month after that, she could walk without a cane.

After 5 months on the paleo diet, she got on a bike for the first time in a decade and rode around the block.

Nine months into paleo and she rode her bike 18 miles.

I always joke that I listen to music during workouts not to get pumped up, but to block out the crunching in my knees

“Crunchy knees” is the popping and crackling sound from inside the knee joint.  If you want to get a little more technical, you can call it crepitus.

Knee crepitus is a noise or vibration during knee movement.

You can get crepitus from a cartilage tear, arthritis, joint degeneration, scarred bursa, or adhered joint capsule.

Now, pain inside your knee joint is a bad thing, but if you have crunchy knees and no pain, crepitus isn’t that big of a deal.

Still, there a few things you can do to get rid of some of that crunching.

(Note: If you DO have pain inside your knee, see an orthopod or chiropractor before starting an exercise program)

A lot of times, loosening up your calves will help.  You’ll want to use a mix of stretching and foam rolling.  Here are a few things to do:

Straight Leg Calf Stretch (gastrocnemius):

Bent Leg Calf Stretch (soleus):

Wall Ankle Mobility:

Calf Foam Rolling:

Plantar Fascia Release:

You also need to loosen up the outside of your legs (lateral side) to keep your IT band and vastus lateralis from pulling your kneecap out of alignment.

Again, stretching and foam rolling are what you should be doing.

Illiotibial Band Stretch:

TFL Stretch:

Vastus Lateralis Stretch:

Foam Rolling:

Now the biggie: Strengthening your hips.

Whenever there is a problem in one of your joints, you need to look at the joint above and below it for issues.

If your hips are weak, they will not be able to keep your femur in alignment, which will result in knee issues.

Things like fire hydrants, hip circles, lateral band walks, etc. are great for strengthening your hips, but once you have that taken care of, you need to develop coordinated strength through your whole leg.  The way to do this is through exercises like lunges, split squats, pistol squats, and 1-leg deadlifts.

The Take Home Message is: You need to fix your whole leg to fix your knees.  Most of the above can be done at home and don’t require anything more than a tennis ball or foam roller.

This post is for those of you out there who have heard about the paleo diet and want to give it a shot.

It can seem like a huge huge HUGE deal to switch over to paleolithic foods from a modern diet, but I’m willing to bet you’ve already eaten paleo and just didn’t realize it.

Ever have a veggie stuffed omelet for breakfast?

Ever had a salad with sliced chicken and nuts for lunch?

Ever had steak and a salad for dinner?

Yeah?

Now just do all three of those on the same day and you’re eating paleo.

Coooool

And here are 5 little tips to help you make the transition even easier:

1) Remember why you’re doing it.

Switching to paleo will eliminate most modern health problems (diabetes, obesity, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, etc) and make losing weight a snap.

Reminding yourself of the terrific improvements you’re going to make in your health and well-being will make switching to the paleo diet… exciting!

Whenever you need a reminder, look at all the success stories posted on Mark Sisson’s website (author of the Primal Blueprint): Paleo Success Stories

2) Don’t worry about getting your carbs.

With years and years of a high-carb diet being pounded into our brains, beginning paleo eaters freak out about not having enough carbs to fuel their bodies.  Don’t worry – we actually aren’t designed to eat grains or legumes, and they’re making us sick.

If you feel weak or light-headed and worry your brain isn’t getting enough fuel though, you’re probably right.  Most people drastically under-eat when they go paleo.  Just think, if you’re used to getting 100 grams of carbs from grains at each meal and then just drop the grains, you’re going to come in 1200 Calories low at the end of the day.

The trick to avoid light-headedness during the switch is to eat wayyy more protein and fat then you’re used to on a modern diet.  That way you get enough calories from good sources and never get the dreaded “low-carb flu.”

3) Learn how to cook.

I had a 43 year old mother of three join my boot camp a while back.  Here’s the thing… she had never learned to cook!

She raised her kids on microwaved meals and fast food.  Period.

I had to help her find youtube videos of how to scramble eggs, and guided her on cooking chicken.

The more you cook, the better you look.

Cooking is an adventure.  Learning how to prepare delicious paleo meals feels great!

I used to HATE cooking.  I mean, food is just fuel, right?  Who cares as long as it’s edible.

Well, I’m glad to say that since embracing paleo eating I now LOOOOOVE to cook.  It makes you feel awesome when you make a delicious meal from scratch and can say, “wow, that was freakin’ delicious!”

You don’t have to go all Julia Childs, either.  A cast iron skillet is about all the tools you need.  Start small if you’ve never cooked before.  Scramble some eggs.  Barbeque some chicken.  Do more as you grow more confident.

Always remember this rule: The more you cook, the better you look.

4) Clean out your pantry.

If it’s in your house, you’re going to eat it sooner or later.  (Probably sooner)

Get rid of snacks and treats first.  Then do a deeper cleaning and get rid of anything made with grains, sugar, dairy, soy, or legumes (beans).

Give it to your friend’s kid in college, students will eat anything.

And now…

5) Stock up on the good stuff!

Have plenty of choices.  Don’t try going paleo with an empty fridge.

Make it a rule to try one new vegetable a week.  (Smaller markets are great for this)

Try meats you’ve never had, like elk or duck.

Experiment with new (old) fats, like macadamia nut oil, avocado oil, or duck fat.

Get lots of meat and always have some cooked for when you’re hungry, so you’re not tempted to go out and find a bad-for-you snack.  Here’s a list of sample paleo snacks that you can use for ideas: Primal Snacking Rocks

Transitioning to paleolithic eating from modern eating isn’t that hard, all it takes from you is the decision to do it!

Ok, the study I’m going to share with you here is pretty cool…

The researchers fed their subjects a control diet for four weeks and measured body fat mass and metabolism.

Then, they took 6 grams of fat out of the diet and replaced it with 6 grams of fish oil.

So, exactly the same calories, exactly the same fat.  Only change was swapping out other fats for fish oil – and only 6 grams of it at that.

What do you think happened?  Even though metabolism remained unchanged, the subjects LOST FAT!

The control group who kept on the original diet lost 0.7 pounds over the next 3 weeks.

The fish oil group lost 2.2 pounds (over 3x as much) in the same amount of time.

Diet was the same.  Calories were the same.  Exercise was the same.  The only difference was the switching in of fish oil, and they lost 3x as much fat.

What does this mean for you?

Start taking some freaking fish oil!!

I take 12-15 grams a day.  I recommend at least 6 grams a day.  Start with 2 grams, one capsule with breakfast, the other with dinner.  If you stomach still feels ok, add another capsule every few days until you reach six.

SPOILER ALERT:  This next paragraph is gross.

You’ll know when you’ve reached your temporary maximum dosage because your poop will turn grey and runny.  Back down a gram or two if this happens.  As your system adjusts over a few weeks, you can start adding again.

To keep fish burps to a minimum, take your capsules with food, get enteric coated capsules, take lemon-flavored fish oil, or keep your capsules in the fridge (good idea anyway).

If you’re interested in the study, here’s the citation:

Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1997 Aug;21(8):637-43.
Effect of dietary fish oil on body fat mass and basal fat oxidation in healthy adults.
Couet C, Delarue J, Ritz P, Antoine JM, Lamisse F.
Laboratoire de Nutrition et Clinique Médicale A, J.E. 313, Université François Rabelais, 37000 Tours, France.

And here’s a link to the abstract: Fish Oil Is Awesome

Lots of people come in to my Carson City Bootcamp with super-tight hamstrings.

Even if you’re dedicated about stretching at home (you are stretching in your spare time, right?) you might still be bothered by tight hammies.

It might even seem like flexibility is something some people have, and other people don’t – especially if you’re one of the inflexible ones.

What’s up with that?  Is it true that some people are just born more flexible?  Well, yeah :p

But you can get a LOT more flexible if you really do want to…

A couple of things might be making your hamstrings tight:

- Injuries

- Lack of hip mobility

- Overtraining

- Poor training

- Tight hamstrings!

Now, some strategies that I use in my bootcamp to loosen up those hamstrings.

The first thing you need to look at is if your hamstrings are really the problem.  If you have to sit a lot during the day (in a desk or car).  Your calves cross your knee like your hamstrings and so tight calves can make it hard to keep your knees straight when you stretch.  And sitting a lot can affect your pelvic tilt which affects how you bend when you stretch.

Or you might have scar tissue on your fascia (the “skin” of your muscles) that is pulling tight.

Or maybe you have problems with your lower back.  When this is the case you might notice that stretching exercises really hit your back and hips, but don’t seem to touch your legs at all.

So tight hamstrings may just be the symptom of some other problem, far beyond just a lack of flexibility.

Since so much can be going on, today’s post will be a few tips to get you started in the right direction (If you want a more in-depth assessment, my friend Dr. Brian Russell is phenomenal at treating any joint or muscle problem you might have.  Here’s his website: Carson City Chiropractor)

Hamstring Tip #1: No Forcing

Stretching too forcefully can invoke your muscles’ “stretch reflex”, where the muscle actually tightens during a stretch.  This is a protective mechanism to prevent injury.

Another problem with forcing a stretch is that you may not be aligned correctly due to injuries, poor posture, or improper training.  Forcing a stretch from a bad position is a recipe for making things worse.

Stretch slowly and focus on deep even breathing.  After about 30 seconds, you should feel yourself relax into the stretch – this is where flexibility will improve.

Hamstring Tip #2: Stretch Hamstrings Last

As I mentioned above, other muscles may be holding your hamstrings back.

Stretch your hips, calves, shins, and quads.  Then GENTLY stretch your back.  After this, go on to stretch your hamstrings.

You will be surprised at how much more flexible your hamstrings become with this method!

Hamstring Tip #3: Self Massage

Self massage is a way of breaking down the scar tissue in your fascia.  When this scar tissue is relaxed, your muscles will be able to move much more smoothly.

Your hamstrings are part of what we movement therapists call the Posterior Chain.  Here’s a pic:

Massaging any of the areas in this posterior chain should help relax your hamstrings and improve flexibility.  Perhaps the most important area to massage for hamstring flexibility is…. your feet!

Seriously, I’ve seen range of motion in the hamstring stretch DOUBLE from two minutes of tennis ball rolling on the bottom of your feet.  Here’s how:

And here’s vids of basic self massage for other areas that may be holding your hamstrings back:

Don’t forget to massage your hamstrings too!  Turn your feet inside and out to hit the whole muscle group:

Hamstring Tip #4: Knee Bend

Some knee bend is actually ok if you’re trying to stretch your hamstrings.

The reason for this is that a bit of flexion will take most of the calf out of the hamstring stretch, allowing you to hit the hammies better.

Use the knee bend tip if you feel hamstring stretches in the backs of your knees instead of the backs of your thighs.

Hamstring Tip #5: Use A Full Range Of Motion

After all this stretching and foam rolling, you want to make sure you keep whatever new flexibility and mobility you build.

The secret to this is to use full range of motion exercises in your workouts.  Short range of motion activities like cycling or running will keep your hamstring shortening back up, since they don’t require a full range of motion.

Basically, you need to teach your body to incorporate this new flexibility into how it moves.  This is the key to maintaining your flexibility progress.

Now, if you have tight hamstrings, these five tips will definitely start you off on the path to flexibility!

DEPRESSION IS NOT A PROZAC DEFICIENCY!!

Mental illness has become an extremely profitable business in the United States.  Annual sales of anti-depressants keeps growing and growing.

In fact, major depression is expected to become the secondmost cause of disability worldwide by 2020.

Anxiety, panic, and depression steal from the experience of life and cast a dark cloud over everything.

Eating clean and exercising definitely help to fight both depression and anxiety, but sometimes you need a little bit extra to balance things out.

That’s where natural supplements come in.  Below is a list of nutrients that will help you take control:

1.  A low carbohydrate diet, with no grains or sugars.  (For more info on sugar check out these blog posts: Sugar Cravings Taking Over Your Brain and 99 Ways Sugar Is Poisoning You)

2.  Plenty of water.  A dehydrated brain doesn’t work right.

3.  B-complex supplementation.  The B vitamins all work together, if you’re missing just one, none of them work.

4.  Full-spectrum Sea Salts.  Sea salts are full of the trace minerals you need to keep yourself in balance.  I personally like to get a salt from a different area every time I need some more.  This week it might be Celtic salts, next week Himalayan salts.  Doing this helps me be sure that I’m getting a wide variety of trace minerals.

5.  Magnesium.  Try to get 600-800mg a day.  Magnesium glycinate is very easily absorbed by your body.  Since magnesium can be taken in through your skin, Epsom salt (magnesium sulphate) baths or magnesium oils can be a good magnesium boost when you’re feeling down or overworked.

6.  Zinc.  Zinc can be rough on an empty stomach, so I take my zinc and magnesium right after breakfast.  If I’m feeling beat down from tough workouts or super-stressed, I take a second dose after dinner.

7.  L-tryptophan.  This amino acid is what people talk about in turkey dinners – it doesn’t make  you sleepy, don’t worry .  Typtophan is useful for fighting off both depression and anxiety and is a direct precursor to serotonin.

A good way to take tryptophan is 500mg on an empty stomach and note how you are feeling.  If you don’t improve your sense of general well-being within a half hour, take 500mg more, and continue.  When you start feeling better, that is your dose.  (Note: Do NOT take is you are also taking anti-depressants.  Talk to your doctor first)

8.  Theanine.  This amino acid is useful for combating anxiety paired with mind racing and physical tension.  Begin with a low amount on an empty stomach and find your personal prescription the same way you did with L-typtophan in #7.

Theanine can be found in black and green tea and is the precursor to the calming neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid.

Theanine shows positive effects on both serotoning and dopamine.  Small doses can raise your energy, while larger amounts are very relaxing.

More benefits include lowering high blood pressure (maybe through the calming effect) as well as being neuroprotective against alzheimer’s and dementia.

9.  Gamma-aminobutyric acid.  This is the neurotransmitter supported with theanine.  It can also be taken as a supplement itself.  It is used by naturopaths for issues with anxiety, physical tension, and racing thoughts.

10.  L-tyrosine.  This amino acid becomes norepinephrine and dopamine – both neurotransmitters linked to depression.

Figure out the dose the way you would with theanine or tryptophan.

Tyrosine is stimulating and so you shouldn’t take it if you have a problem responding to stress, it might set you off.  Also, since tyrosine is a precursor to melanin (skin pigment), so you shouldn’t take it if you have melanoma.

Don’t use tyrosine if anxiety is your problem, only for depression.

11.  Taurine.  Famous for being an ingredient in the energy drink Red Bull, tyrosine is good for fighting anxiety related problems.  It helps take care of nervousness without being sedating.

Taurine is an antioxidant, helps support bile functions, and helps take care of the electrical system in your brain and heart.

Work out your dosage the way you would with other amino acids (small amounts on an empty stomach).  Very high doses might have a diuretic effect (you’ll pee more), but aren’t toxic.

12.  DL-phenylalanine.  Another amino acid precursor to tyrosine, norepinephrine, dopamine, and endorphins.  Read about tyrosine above, DL-phenylalanine has the same warnings.

DL-phenylalanine is very helpful people with strong addictions towards pleasure seeking.  (Ever seek pleasure or comfort from foods?  Check out these posts: End Emotional Eating and Do You Use Food As A Reward?)

13.  Sunshine or Light Boxes.  I prefer sunshine

Using a light box for 15-30 minutes in the morning can shut down melatoning production during the day, which lessens fatigue and depression as well as raising serotonin levels.

Spend as much time outdoors as you can without burning to get the most you can out of “light nutrients.”

Oh, and don’t wear sunglasses when you walk on your lunch break.

14.  Vitamin D.  Vitamin D is another supplement I take daily.  Deficiencies in vitamin D can lead to not only depression and anxiety, but a whole host of other health problems.  (A lack of vitamin D has been shown to be a big cancer risk)

15.  Fish Oil/Omega 3s.  Fish oil helps you with EVERYTHING.  Depression, anxiety, weight loss, you name it, fish oil can help.

There you have it, 15 natural supplements to help fight depression and anxiety.

Long term, your best defense against both depression and anxiety are a healthy low-carb diet, exercise, and a strong social support network – your family and friends.

It’s no secret to my friends that THE MIGHTY THOR is my hero

Chris Hemsworth, the actor who played Thor in the recent movie, had to build some serious muscle to fill out his armor:

Now, I don’t normally write about GAINING weight, but I’ve received a few questions from guys who want to put on a little muscle and the Chris Hemsworth nutrition example is a good starting guideline.

Breakfast:

4 eggs
Bowl of porridge
Piece of fruit

Morning Snack:

Handful of nuts and a piece of fruit

Lunch:

2 Chicken Breasts
Big Salad
1 serving of potato or rice

Afternoon Snack:

Handful of nuts, piece of fruit, can of tuna or 6 deli meat slices

Dinner:

Huge serving of steak or fish
Big Salad

Evening Snack:

Protein shake

If you look at the food choices, you can see that Chris ate following a nutrient timing plan: starchy carbs only early in the day.

This diet bulked Chris up so quickly he actually had to try and LOSE some muscle when they started filming because… he was too big for his costume!  Cool!

About the only thing I’d change about this eating plan would be to choose different sources of starchy carbs.

Oats, for instance, have a negative effect on blood sugar, digestion, and nutrient absorption.  Chris could have made an oatmeal replacement out of banana chips (recipe: http://www.paleo-project.com/paleo-recipes/breakfast/paleo-oat-free-oatmeal/), or added some healthy fats and made an “oatmeal” out of nuts, eggs, and almond milk (recipe: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/no-oat-oatmeal-its-no-atmeal/)

And instead of rice or a regular potato, you could switch to sweet potatoes or Okinawan Blue potatoes to increase the nutrients in your food and to put on muscle without putting on fat.

If you want to add some muscle, use Chris’s Thor diet to give you some ideas and then get cooking!

Why would you want to add more lean muscle?  Check out this post on Wold Fitness: Get Some Firmness On Your Frame

One of my favorite paleo/primal eating books is: NeanderThin: Eat Like a Caveman to Achieve a Lean, Strong, Healthy Body by Ray Audette.

In Neanderthin you can find the Ten Commandments of Eating Like A Caveman.  They are…

Thou Shalt Eat:

• Meats and Fish
• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Nuts and Seeds
• Berries

Thou Shalt Not Eat:

• Grains
• Beans
• Potatoes
• Dairy
• Sugar

If you want a few ideas of what to eat and what to avoid, I’m going to list a few options from each of the “commandments.”

Meat and Fish:

Beef, veal, lamb, pork, venison, chicken, turkey, ostrich, duck, pheasant, quail, rabbit, buffalo, moose, elk, seal, bear, squid, octopus, goose, oysters, clams, mussels, lobster, crayfish, hlibut, cod, salmon, eel, trout, bass, carp, sardines, tuna, whitefish, orange roughie, all other wild fish

Fruits:

Apples, cherries, pears, peaches, melons, cucumbers, tomatoes, bananas, avocados, plums, olives, figs, dates, mangoes, kiwi, star fruit, pineapple, plums, pomegranates, passion fruit, peppers, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, oranges, lemons, limes, tangerines, tangelos, citrons, nectarines, papaya.

(Note: If you’re eating paleo-style to lose weight, minimize your fruit intake)

Vegetables:

Lettuce, cabbage, kohlrabi, kale, rhubarb, cauliflower, flowers, broccoli, asparagus, parsley, spinach, celery, carrots, onions, mushrooms, greens, tea leaves, radish, arugula, leek,endive, dandelion, brussels sprouts, artichoke, mint, basil, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme, fennel, onions, garlic, shallots, bay leaves, cloves, saffron, and any other part of a plant that is edible raw.

(Here are some of my favorites: http://woldfitness.com/2011/06/8-salad-boosting-greens/)

Nuts and Seeds:

Almonds, walnuts, pecans, Brazil nuts, acorns, hickory, filberts, macadamia, flax, sesame, poppy, coriander, celery, anise, caraway, chervil, cumin, dill, fennel, mustard, and any others that are edible raw.

(Note: Peanuts and cashews aren’t on the list!)

Berries:

Grapes, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, acai, boysenberries, strawberries, currants, and any others that are edible raw.

And now the FORBIDDEN FOODS, bwahahahaha!

Grains:

Corn, wheat, barley, rye, rice, oats, millet, and all products made from them.

(For more about the problems with wheat, check out:

Grains SUCK!

How To Make Paper Mache In Your Gut)

Beans:

All varieties of hard beans, lima beans, green beans, wax beans, peas, peanuts, chocolate, soy, fava beans, and all products made from them.

(More on soy: Soy, My Nipples, And Your Health)

Potatoes:

All varieties of potatoes and yams, beets, taro, cassava (tapioca), turnips, and all products made from them.

Dairy:

Milk, cheese, yogurt, whey, butter, and all products made from them.

Sugar:

Fructose, sucrose, maltose, dextrose, lactose, corn syrup, molasses, and all products made from them.

(For further reading: 99 Ways Sugar Is Poisoning You)

I hope these lists get you started thinking in some new directions next time you hit the grocery store or farmer’s market!

Neanderthin is out of print, but you might be able to find a copy on Amazon:

I hope you’re having a great holiday weekend!

The 4th of July is a time to celebrate this GREAT Country we live in with your family and friends.

Most everyone will be celebrating at picnics and parties where you’ll be surrounded by high fat foods, sugary drinks, and killer desserts.

Essentially… Foods laced in a ton of FAT and SUGAR! Not the best environment for losing weight and sticking to a healthy eating plan.

Here are a few eating tips that will help you cut down on junk, yet give you the satisfaction of not totally depriving yourself:

1. Skip the hot dog and have a grass-fed hamburger instead.

2. Grill a chicken breast with a NEW seasoning or marinade.

3. Skip the bread with your burger.

4. Skip potato chips and choose veggies with a guacamole dip.

5. Skip high sugar desserts and make a dish of Greek yogurt with fresh strawberries and blueberries, it will have a red, white, and blue theme!

6. Skip the deep-fried fries or mashed potatoes and make a blue Okinawan sweet potato dish.

7. Make your potato salad with mustard instead of mayo.

8. Make a fresh salad with a ton of veggies and put the dressing in there lightly – oil and vinegar or balsamic vinaigrette. NO cream dressings.

11. Use smaller plates! Have big portions of healthy items and smaller of not-so-healthy.

12. Don’t hang out near the food table!  Play with the kids instead :p

13. Drink light beer, red wine, and skip anything with soda! Make a pact with yourself to have a glass of water in between each drink.  (For holiday drinking tips, check out this post: Ways To Beat A Hangover)

14. Bring a healthy dish YOU like and don’t go hungry.

15. Eat some healthy snacks before the party so you don’t go crazy once everything is out.

16. Send leftovers home with everyone else!

Use these tips to help you stay on the weight loss track

I wish you and your family a Happy & Safe 4th of July!

Even very lean women can have a little “pooch” on their lower bellies.

Check out these bikini models that have what my daughter calls a “pooch”:

These models are lean, heck – you can see their ribs!

So what causes that little bulge in the lower belly?

Is it something they ate hanging around in their digestive system?  Maybe.  Grains, even whole grains, can bind up in your intestines and cause bloating.  (More on that here:  Beat The Belly Bulge)

But if your diet is on point, you’re lean, you’re working hard… What can cause the pooch?

Simple: tight hip flexors.

The muscles that cross the front of your hips can get really tight and pull you into what we exercise science types call an “anterior pelvic tilt.”

This forward tilt pulls your low back out of alignment.  Look at the diagram below on the left, it shows what happens when your low back is pulled forward:

Whoa!  In the lordosis (“swayback”) picture the lower belly is pooched out!

Even on someone very lean having a swayback can give you a lower belly pooch.  Here is a skinny kid that manages to look like he has a belly:

In the title of this blog post I promised one exercise that would end lower belly pooch.  And here it is: The humble hip flexor stretch

This stretch will bring your hips back to where they should be, ease forward pressure on your lower back, and dial back the lower belly bulge.

Here is an example of someone with forward tilted hips (from tight hip flexors).  Notice the slight bulge:

And here is the same girl without the forward hip lean.  Notice that she isn’t sucking in her stomach or flexing her abs, just fixing her hips and low back:

Pretty cool, huh!

So if your diet is straight-on and you’re looking for that last little edge on getting rid of lower belly bulge, try the 3 way hip flexor stretch twice a day, for 30 seconds in each position.

And say bye-bye to the lower belly bulge!