The power of food
By Oluwatoyin Oluwastoyin
Friday October 12, 2007

• •Pix: Sun News Publishing

Appetit Index

Of the power foods in David Zinczenko and Ted Spiker latest book titled The Abs Diet Ultimate Nutrition Handbook: Your Reference Guide To Thousands Of Foods, And How Each One Shapes Your Body, five (almonds and other nuts; beans and other legumes; spinach and other green vegetables; olive oil and whole wheat bread and grains) that have tremendous nutritional benefits for men were written on last edition.

This week, attention is going to be directed towards diary products, instant oatmeal; eggs; turkey and other lean meats; and peanut butter.

According to David Zinczenko, editor in chief of Men’s Health and Ted Spiker, the more of these foods men eat, the better their bodies would be able to increase lean muscle mass and avoid storing fat.
These foods have been proven to do one or more of the following:
Build muscle
Help promote weight loss
Strengthen bone
Lower blood pressure
Fight cancer
Improve immune function
Fight heart disease
They advise that one does not have to base entire meals and snacks around these foods to reap their numerous health benefits. However, if one decides to do so, it is okay. Whichever choice is made, one needs to follow the following guidelines:
• Incorporate two or three of these foods into each of your three major meals and at least one of them into each of your three snacks.
• Diversify your food at every meal to get a combination of protein, carbohydrates, and fat.
• Make sure you sneak a little bit of protein into each snack.

1) Dairy products
Fat-free or low-fat milk, yogurt, cheese(wara), cottage cheese.
Superpowers: Building strong bones, firing up weight loss
Secret weapons: Calcium, vitamins A and B12, riboflavin, phosphorus, potassium
Fight against: Osteoporosis, obesity, high blood pressure, cancer
Sidekicks: None

Impostors(Negative Handling): Whole milk, frozen yogurt
Just take a look at the mounting evidence that calcium is a prime belly-buster. A University of Tennessee study found that dieters who consumed between 1,200 and 1,300 milligrams of calcium a day lost nearly twice as much weight as those taking in less calcium.
Researchers think the mineral probably prevents weight gain by increasing the breakdown of body fat and hampering its formation. Low-fat yogurt, cheeses, and other dairy products can play a key role in your diet.

But I recommend milk as your major source of calcium.
Liquids take up lots of room in your stomach, so your brain gets the signal that you are full.

2) Instant Oatmeal
Unsweetened, unflavoured.
Superpowers: Boosting energy and sex drive, reducing cholesterol, maintaining blood-sugar levels
Secret weapons: Complex carbohydrates and fibre
Fights against: Heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, obesity
Sidekicks: High-fibre cereals like All-Bran
Impostors: Sugary cereals
You can eat it at breakfast to propel you through sluggish mornings, a couple of hours before a workout to feel fully energized by the time you hit the weights, or at night to avoid a late-night binge. I recommend instant oatmeal for its convenience. But I want you to buy the unsweetened, unflavoured variety and use other power foods such as milk and berries to enhance the taste. Preflavoured oatmeal often comes loaded with sugar calories.

Oatmeal contains soluble fibre, meaning that it attracts fluid and stays in your stomach longer than insoluble fibre (like vegetables). Soluble fibre is thought to reduce blood cholesterol by binding with digestive acids made from cholesterol and sending them out of your body. When this happens, your liver has to pull cholesterol from your blood to make more digestive acids, and your bad cholesterol levels drop.

Trust me: You need more fibre, both soluble and insoluble. Doctors recommend we get between 25 and 35 grams of fibre per day, but most of us get half that.
Fibre is like a bouncer for your body, kicking out troublemakers and showing them the door. It protects you from heart disease. It protects you from colon cancer by sweeping carcinogens out of the intestines quickly.
A Penn State study also showed that oatmeal sustains your blood sugar levels longer than many other foods, which keeps your insulin levels stable and ensures you would not be ravenous for the few hours that follow.

That is good, because spikes in the production of insulin slow your metabolism and send a signal to the body that it is time to start storing fat. Since oatmeal breaks down slowly in the stomach, it causes less of a spike in insulin levels than foods like bagels. Include it in your breakfast. (A U.S. Navy study showed that simply eating breakfast raised metabolism by 10 per cent.)
Another cool fact about oatmeal: Preliminary studies indicate that oatmeal raises the levels of free testosterone in your body, enhancing your body’s ability to build muscle and burn fat and boosting your sex drive.

3) Eggs
Superpowers: Building muscle, burning fat Secret weapons: Protein, vitamins A and B12
Fight against: Obesity
Sidekicks: Egg Beaters, which have fewer calories than eggs and no fat, but just as much of the core nutrients

Impostors: None
For a long time, eggs were considered pure evil, and doctors were more likely to recommend tossing eggs at passing cars than throwing them into omelette pans.
That is because just two eggs contain enough cholesterol to put you over your daily recommended value. Though you can cut out some of that by removing part of the yolk and using the white, more and more research shows that eating an egg or two a day will not raise your cholesterol levels.
In fact, we have learned that most blood cholesterol is made by the body from dietary fat, not dietary cholesterol. That is why you should take advantage of eggs and their powerful makeup of protein. The protein found in eggs has the highest "biological value" of protein—a measure of how well it supports your body's protein need—of any food. In other words, the protein in eggs is more effective at building muscle than protein from other sources, even milk and beef. Eggs also contain vitamin B12, which is necessary for fat breakdown.


4) Turkey and other lean meats
lean steak, chicken, fish.
Superpowers: Building muscle, improving the immune system
Secret weapons: Protein, iron, zinc, creatine (beef), omega-3 fatty acids (fish), vitamins B6 (chicken and fish) and B12, phosphorus, potassium
Fight against: Obesity, mood disorders, memory loss, heart disease
Sidekicks: Shellfish, Canadian bacon, omega-3 rich flaxseed
Impostors: Sausage, bacon, cured meats, ham, fatty cuts of steak like T-bone and rib eye.
A classic muscle-building nutrient, protein is the base of any solid diet plan. Turkey breast is one of the leanest meats you'll find, and it packs nearly one-third of your daily requirements of niacin and vitamin B6. Dark meat, if you prefer, has lots of zinc and iron. One caution, though: If you are roasting a whole turkey for a family feast, avoid self-basting birds, which have been injected with fat.

Beef is another classic muscle-building protein. It is the top food source for creatine—the substance your body uses when you lift weights. Beef does have a downside; it contains saturated fats, but some cuts have more than others.

To cut down on saturated fats even more, concentrate on fish like tuna and salmon, because they contain a healthy dose of omega-3 fatty acids as well as protein. Those fatty acids lower levels of a hormone called leptin in your body. Several recent studies suggest that leptin directly influences your metabolism: The higher your leptin levels, the more readily your body stores calories as fat. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin found that mice with low leptin levels have faster metabolisms and are able to burn fat faster than animals with higher leptin levels. Mayo Clinic researchers studying the diets of two African tribes found that the tribe that ate fish frequently had leptin levels nearly five times lower than the tribe that primarily ate vegetables.

A bonus benefit: Researchers in Stockholm found that men who ate no fish had three times the risk of prostate cancer of those who ate it regularly. It is the omega-3s that inhibit prostate-cancer growth.

5) Peanut Butter
All-natural, sugar-free.
Superpowers: Boosting testosterone, building muscle, burning fat
Secret weapons: Protein, monounsaturated fat, vitamin E, niacin, magnesium
Fights against: Obesity, muscle loss, wrinkles, cardiovascular disease
Sidekicks: Cashew and almond butters

Impostors(Negative Handling): Mass-produced sugary and trans fatty peanut butters
Yes, PB has its disadvantages: It is high in calories, and it does not go over well when you order it in four-star restaurants. But it is packed with those heart-healthy monounsaturated fats that can increase your body’s production of testosterone, which can help your muscles grow and your fat melt. In one 18-month experiment, people who integrated peanut butter into their diet maintained weight loss better than those on low-fat plans. A recent study from the University of Illinois showed that diners who had monounsaturated fats before a meal (in this case, it was olive oil) ate 25 per cent fewer calories during that meal than those who did not.

Practically speaking, PB also works because it is a quick and versatile snack and it tastes good. Since a diet that includes an indulgence like peanut butter does not leave you feeling deprived, it is easier to follow and would not make you fall prey to other cravings. Use it on an apple, on the go, or to add flavour.

Two caveats: You cannot gorge on it because of its fat content; limit yourself to about three (3) tablespoons per day. And you should look for all-natural peanut butter, not the mass-produced brands that have added sugar.

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