PJ's Fitness Blog
A blog about a fitter you. Come find out what is on the cutting edge of fitness science and be a part of the ongoing conversation.
When it comes to “matters” of the brain, exercise is downright vital! 
People know about my low-carb lifestyle and they occasionally try to explain to me that the human body needs carbohydrates for energy.
Or that the brain has to have carbs in order to run properly.
Or that carbs are somehow necessary for optimal health.
And I have yet to hear this “advice” coming from someone who is healthier than me.
Things that make you go, “hmmmm…”
I realize their “advice” is also the current mainstream message, but if you do your own research and find out the facts for yourself, you will discover that the mainstream is wrong.
The mainstream happens to be wrong on lots of other stuff too. You should look into that. I have, and I don’t believe anyone anymore without researching it for myself, especially on the important stuff, like things that have to do with health.
Blindly following what the mainstream or even the “experts” tell you (including me), no matter how “qualified” or “credentialed” you think they are, without doing your own research, can get you in trouble (or sick, fat and even dead).
Here is an undisputed fact: Dietary carbohydrates are not necessary building blocks for any molecules or cells in the human body. This means carbohydrate is not an essential nutrient for humans.
Dietary carbohydrates aren’t necessary for human energy needs either (also contrary to what you might have heard). The body can obtain all the energy it needs from protein and fat, even in the case of long distance athletes!
Even if your body did need the type of fuel carbohydrates provide, the best sources are the slowly absorbed, complex forms found in green vegetables, which also happen to be the most nutrient-rich sources of food. They are also among the lowest net carb foods (among the foods that have carbs) because of their high fiber content. Is nature trying to tell us something? I think so.
I also get people telling me that the brain needs glucose (a type of sugar) for fuel. It is true that a small number of brain cells do prefer to run on glucose, but most of the brain’s preferred energy source is actually ketones, which can only be produced from fat metabolism. (more…)
Are you confused with all the misinformation out there? Are you tired of hearing all the conflicting opinions out there on health and fitness? It’s not your imagination. Even the “experts” rarely agree, but here is a 4 step process to get to the truth.
1.) Believe no one (including me).
2.) Question everything you hear.
3.) Doubt everything you think you know.
4.) Research topics of interest for yourself.
People come to me all the time, confused about conflicting health and fitness information they have heard, like:
Or people tell me that they feel misled, or even deceived by outdated or wrong information like: (more…)
You may have heard about the report issued on 10/26/2015 by the World Health Organization (WHO), which found that the consumption of processed meats causes cancer.
Based on a review of studies they picked from around the world, the health organization’s Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) claimed that processed meats, such as hot dogs, sausages and bacon can cause bowel cancer and red meat is likely to cause the disease as well.
You might be surprised to hear from me that I agree with their conclusion. They are absolutely right about PROCESSED meats. Red meat from a conventional farm isn’t much better either (if at all). Those meats are toxic and cancer is just the beginning of the health problems you can acquire from eating that garbage.
Organic meat from wild, grassfed animals is a totally different story though. That stuff is REALLY good for you. Just ask the Eskimos (from 100 years ago – before their diet became “Westernized”), or any other hunter-gatherer society for that matter. Cancer and other diseases for that matter are virtually non existent in those societies, despite the fact that 90% or more of the calories in their diet come from wild animal products. They are the healthiest humans in human history. And that is a fact. Research it for yourself.
Organic meat that is not grassfed is certainly better than conventional farms. In fact, it’s about 10 times better, but “organic” usually means those farms still feed their animals grains and other stuff they have no business eating. For this reason, grassfed is about 10 times better than standard organic, which makes it about a bazillion times better than conventional.
Hopefully, the word will get out about processed meat and conventional farms so we can stop eating it and feeding it to our children!
I was recently talking to my hilarious nephew Ryan about how modern dietitians think they are giving good advice by telling people to eat “healthy” whole grains. They are obviously just repeating the misinformation they have been taught in school and certainly haven’t done any independent research on their own, because if they had, they would know know that whole grains are all extremely fattening, no matter how “healthy” they might be labeled.
In fact, the “science” that “indicated” that “healthy” whole grains assisted with weight loss, was in fact, only one study that showed “healthy” whole grain breads were merely “less fattening” than breads made from the more refined white flour. This study showed that subjects gained 9 pounds from eating bread made from white flour, while subjects who ate “healthy” whole grains, gained only 8 pounds.
Wow. Really?
Yep, this is the study that started the whole “healthy” grain myth.
And your local media is still perpetuating it.
And your local brain-washed dietician is probably perpetuating it too.
My nephew Ryan doesn’t eat grains, because he knows better. If he did them though – and knew this information – and was making a choice between eating “healthy” whole grain bread and bread made from white flour, the choice really boils down to (as he put it), “Well, do I want “B” cup man-boobs or “C” cup man-boobs?”
I laughed so hard, I got an ab cramp.
So what’s the truth? What’s the best advice? Here is is. There’s only one choice: Cut out all grains. Period. There is no such thing as a “healthy” grain, whole or not.
Humans have NO BUSINESS eating ANY modern grains. Modern grains simply aren’t fit for human consumption – especially wheat. Modern grains have been bred and altered over the last 70 years (and especially in the last 20 years) to be sweeter and to have the highest possible effect on the opiate centers in the brain. This maximizes their addictive nature, so the manufacturers end up selling more product and gaining more repeat customers (just like drug dealers). It also renders these grains mostly indigestible and extremely fattening. In fact, our modern bread – “healthy” or not – is even more fattening than straight sugar!
What about European bread or bread from other countries? Nope. That’s bad too. Some rare forms aren’t as bad as the bread we make here in America, but even the “best” breads will still give you “A” cup man-boobs at best.
What about ancient wheat from 2000 years ago? Well, that was probably OK, actually. The problem is that we have bred that wheat completely out of existence. That wheat is now extinct on our planet. It doesn’t exist anywhere anymore. It’s gone and it’s never coming back. And the rest of the grains have followed suit, thanks to our insatiable craving for foods that alter our brain chemistry (the biggest business growth sector in the food industry over the last 50 years), changing the state we are in (temporarily), just like drugs such as cocaine.
Yep, we are drug addicts, hooked on modern grains because of their enhanced effect on the the opiate receptors in our brains.
And the grain manufacturers know it. And they are laughing all the way to the bank.
If you are a grain lover but don’t believe this, try going cold turkey off grains. 93% of the people who try, can’t even make it 3 weeks.
That’s a worse success rate than people who go cold turkey off cocaine.
