RECIPE IDEAS:

Breakfast Burrito

Ingredients

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 2  tablespoons chopped green sweet pepper
• 1/8  teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8  teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
• 5 egg whites separated from yolks
• 2  tablespoons chopped tomato
• 3  dashes bottled hot pepper sauce (optional)
• 1  8-inch whole wheat low carb tortilla, warmed*

Directions

Coat a medium nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Heat skillet over medium heat; add sweet pepper, cumin, and, if desired, crushed red pepper. Cook and stir until tender, about 3 minutes. Add egg whites; cook, without stirring, until mixture begins to set on the bottom and around edge. With a spatula or large spoon, lift and fold the partially cooked egg mixture so that the uncooked portion flows underneath. Continue cooking for 2 to 3 minutes or until egg mixture is cooked through but is still glossy and moist.
Stir in tomato, and, if desired, hot pepper sauce. Spoon onto tortilla; roll up.

Pumpkin Protein Cookies

Servings Per Recipe: 14

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 89

• Total Fat: 2.1g
• Cholesterol: 0mg
• Sodium: 280mg
• Total Carbs: 14.2g
•  Dietary Fiber: 2.7g
• Protein: 4.4g

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ABC Protein Bars

INGREDIENTS

10 tbsp. natural peanut butter
5 egg whites
5 scoops whey protein
2 cups oats (OPTIONAL: For flavor, I dry cook these on a frying pan until they are toasted)
1/2 cup soy milk or Goat Milk

DIRECTIONS

Mix the peanut butter and egg whites in a bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, and mix well (so that the mixture appears smooth). Repeat 4-5 times until all traces of egg whites have dissolved into the peanut butter, and your mixture is a smooth consistent one.

Gradually add the protein (one scoop at a time) and stir into the mixture. Next, add the soy milk and follow with the oats. Continue mixing until a thick 'sticky' mixture is present.

Smooth the thick mixture into a 13x9 tray and leave for 20-30 minutes. Cut into 10 equal size bars. Individually wrap each bar (I use aluminum foil) and store in the fridge.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Bar

Calories: 220
Protein: 20.1g
Fat: 10.1g
Carbohydrates: 15.1g

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Chewy Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars

1 cup oat flour
1 ½ cups whey protein powder ( Chocolate )
¼ cup cocoa powder
½ cup nonfat dry milk powder
¼ cup stevia blend
½ teaspoon salt
2 egg whites
½ teaspoon super-strength chocolate flavoring (LorAnn) or www.sweatleaf.com
½ teaspoon super-strength peanut butter flavoring (LorAnn)
¼ cup creamy peanut butter
¼ - 1/3 cup water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9”x9” baking pan with wax paper.

Combine all dry ingredients in blender -- Process on high speed 2 minutes. In a bowl, beat eggs, flavorings, and peanut butter. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture. With an electric mixer, slowly add the water until dough becomes a “gooey play-dough” consistency. Pour batter in lined pan, spreading, or pressing dough to an even thickness.

Bake for about 15 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool slightly. Remove wax paper and allow to cool completely. Cut into 8 bars.

Calories: 250 Protein: 24g Carbs: 24 Fats: 7 g

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CAFFEINE

September 26, 2008 — Experts are calling for health warning labels on so-called "energy drinks" that, due to their high caffeine content, may pose a significant consumer health risk, particularly in adolescents and young adults.
In a review paper published online September 20 in Drug and Alcohol Dependence,investigators at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, in Baltimore, point out that a single serving of some of these drinks can contain more than 500 mg of caffeine, an amount equivalent to 14 cans of Coca-Cola.
Despite this, the caffeine content of these products is frequently not indicated, and few brands include warnings about potential health risks, including caffeine intoxication.
"Many products don't label the amount of caffeine they contain, and the amount of caffeine across different brands is quite variable, so you can pick up something called a can of energy drink and it may contain as little as 50 mg of caffeine or it can contain 505 mg of caffeine," lead author Roland Griffiths, PhD, told Medscape Psychiatry.
Vulnerable Population
Furthermore, and even more disturbing, said Dr. Griffiths, is the aggressive marketing of these drinks to young people, who are frequently caffeine naive and therefore more susceptible to the negative physical effects of caffeine.
"A caffeine-naive population is going to be much more sensitive to caffeine, and we really run the risk of caffeine overdose. We don't really know what the prevalence of this is, but we know it occurs and this shouldn't surprise us.
"Caffeine intoxication is a well-recognized psychiatric diagnosis with well-described symptoms, and if you give high doses of caffeine to caffeine-naive people, some of them are going to get into trouble," said Dr. Griffiths.
He added that reports of caffeine abuse to US poison control centers showed negative reaction to energy drinks.
In a 2007 survey of 496 college students, 51% reported consuming at least 1 energy drink during the past month. Of these energy-drink users, 29% reported "weekly jolt-and-crash" episodes and 19% reported heart palpitations from consuming these beverages.
Gateway to Drug Abuse?
The same survey revealed that 27% of the survey respondents reported mixing energy drinks and alcohol at least once in the past month. "When you combine caffeine and alcohol, people are less likely to perceive the extent to which they are intoxicated and are at greater risk of alcohol-related injury," said Dr. Griffiths.
Further, there is a concern that the strong stimulant effect of energy drinks may increase the risk of nonmedical use of prescription stimulants such as amphetamines and methylphenidate. A 2008 study of 1253 college s tudents showed energy-drink consumption significantly predicted subsequent nonmedical prescription stimulant use.
Potentially fueling this "transition" market, there are other energy drinks, such as the powdered energy drink Blow, which is sold in vials, and the energy drink Cocaine, that use language on their products suggesting illicit drugs.
Energy drinks first came on the market in 1987 with the launching of Red Bull in Australia. Since then, the industry has grown exponentially worldwide and stands at an estimated $5.4 billion in the United States and is expanding at a rate of 55% annually.
Given all these factors, Dr. Griffiths believes the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should move to require warning labels on these drinks. However, it does not appear likely this will occur in the foreseeable future.
FDA Responds
Medscape Psychiatry contacted the FDA for comment and was told in an e-mail communication that many so-called "energy drinks" are marketed as dietary supplements and therefore are not legally required to seek premarket approval.
For both dietary supplements and food products, the producer bears the onus of ensuring that it is bringing a safe product to market, the FDA writes. "In order to require a warning label, FDA must establish that the lack of such a warning creates a risk to consumers and that the warning label would effectively remediate that risk. At this time, FDA has not determined that thes e products are unsafe because they contain caffeine or that there is a consumer risk that would effectively be remediated by a warning label statement," the FDA writes.

Why Glutamine?

Glutamine is an amino acid. Some amino acids are rather simple in their purpose, but not glutamine. In addition to comprising 3-4 percent of the amino acids found in common proteins, it also is independently functional in protein synthesis (anabolism) as well as preventing protein breakdown (catabolism).


Let's review the basics of glutamine and its multifunctional physiology. Muscle tissue serves as a reservoir for the majority of the body's free amino acid pool. In fact, 80 percent of the body's free amino acid pool is located in muscle cells. Of that 80 percent, 60 percent is composed of glutamine.


Glutamine can be synthesized in the body, not only by skeletal muscle, but also by the lungs, liver and the brain. Because glutamine can be synthesized by the body, it was referred to as an "essential" amino acid, meaning that consumption of glutamine in the diet was not necessary to maintain optimal levels. Unfortunately, the body's need for glutamine can far exceed the body's production.


Glutamine is not only the most abundant amino acid in muscle tissue, but it is also the first to be compromised. Several stressors can deplete the reservoir of glutamine. These include, but are not limited to burns, fasting, malnutrition, poorly controlled diabetes, illness, trauma, surgery, and intense exercise.


The concept of glutamine supplementation in person's who exercise originates from the idea that exercise itself is a stressor. Not only has weight training been shown to deplete glutamine levels, but, so to, has isometric and aerobic physical activities. Several studies have been conducted that have shown that extended periods of physical activities can suppress the immune system.

This may be due to the depletion of glutamine. Also, high levels of cortisol that is common after an intense workout has been shown to cause an increase in glutamine consumption. For these reasons, it is a no-brainer to supplement with glutamine.


One warning, however, you cannot simply lay around and expect to benefit from glutamine supplementation. Just because glutamine has been shown to be anabolic, as well as anticatabolic, it appears from research, that glutamine supplementation is most beneficial when the body is under some degree of physical stress. The scenario is true for the role of glutamine in the immune system. In other words, glutamine supplementation bolsters the immune system best when there is an overwhelming degree of stress that would change the body's ability to produce enough glutamine.


Glutamine is found in high calorie foods such as almonds, soybeans, and peanuts. You can also purchase glutamine in its free form (L-glutamine). It is best in its powder form when taken on an empty stomach three times a day--preferably after your workout, midday, and before bed.


So why is glutamine so important? Is it not obvious? Since glutamine has the potential to maintain an anabolic state by increasing protein synthesis, and since it has also been shown to be anti-catabolic during times of intense physical activity, glutamine should be added to every athlete's supplement arsenal.

Until next time, keep training hard and smart!!

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• High Fat Diet
• A Low Carbohydrare Diet for the Bodybuilder

 

With so many diets out there, you must be asking yourself what is the right one for you. I have been asked on a number of occasions by patients, friends, and clients alike, about the safety of high protein diets.

Let’s first review the basics about protein. Protein is the first of the major nutrients—carbohydrates and fats being the other two. Anyone engaged in intense physical activity needs protein for growth and repair. Protein is made up of the building blocks called amino acids. There are 22 amino acids in all--13 can be manufactured by the body and are called “non-essential.” The other nine are “essential” amino acids because they cannot be manufactured by the body and must be consumed in the diet.
           
Not all proteins are alike when it comes to providing amino acids. Complete proteins are those that contain all the essential amino acids in the right proportions.  Examples of complete proteins are milk, eggs, meat, fish, and some vegetable products such as soybeans.
           
Incomplete proteins, on the other hand, are found in grains and vegetables. They are usually low in a particular amino acid, but should not be excluded from the diet. In fact, if you combine two or more sources of incomplete proteins (i.e. cereal with milk) you can obtain a high quality, complete protein.
           
Although it varies, hard training athletes need approximately 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day to sustain muscular growth and repair. For a 200 pound athlete this means eating 200-250 grams of protein per day in divided meals.
By now, you have heard about bodybuilders consuming upwards to 400-500 grams of protein a day, and you are wondering if that article you read saying that20the body can absorb only 25-30 grams of protein every 3 hours is actually on the up and up. And then, you strut into the local GNC to grab a meal replacement shake and the label is packing in 50 grams of protein per serving. What do you do now?

The simple truth is that protein is needed to support muscle growth and recovery. The more protein you eat and the more intense you train, then the bigger and more muscular you will be—assuming this is your goal.
           
Allow me to put it in a different context to help you understand. Lets say we have an intense training bodybuilder seeking to build as much lean mass as possible. He is training hard and smart and consuming 4-5 meals a day consisting of 30 grams of protein. This equals about 120-150 grams of protein a day. Do you actually think this is going to support a 300-pound bodybuilder still looking to put on some more size? Doubtful!
           
Take a look at the prevalence of high protein low carbohydrate diets today. While still controversial in terms of long-term success, in the short-term, people are reducing body fat levels and increasing lean muscle mass. By the way, from a physician’s point of view, there is no conclusive evidence that high protein diets in healthy individuals have any serious negative consequences.
           
What I would like to do next is to explain the difference between protein “need” and the amount you NEED to grow. First, there is something called nitrogen balance. Nitrogen balance is found by measuring the amount of nitrogen ingested from all protein sources followed by measuring the amount of nitrogen excreted in the urine, feces, and sweat. I realize not many of you will be measuring nitrogen balance, but for purposes of this article, let’s assume we could measure nitrogen ingestion and excretion each day. If the amount of nitrogen excreted is greater than the amount of nitrogen ingested, that person is said to be in “negative” nitrogen balance. At this point, it is safe to assume that the athlete will start to lose muscle mass as the body will start to break down muscle to use the amino acids for fuel.
           
If, however, the nitrogen ingested is equal to the nitrogen excreted, that person is said to be in nitrogen balance. This athlete is neither shrinking nor growing and perhaps the best term to describe this athlete is to say they have “plateaued.”
             
Now, if the nitrogen ingested is greater than the amount excreted, the athlete is in a state of “positive” nitrogen balance. Since this athlete is training hardcore, it is assumed that the extra protein in the body will be used by the GROWING muscle tissue!
           
As you read articles or studies on the topic of high protein diets, it is important to recognize that most of these studies are performed on individuals who are sedentary and it has typically been recommended that sedentary individuals consume 0.8 g of protein per Kg of weight. This equals 0.36 g per pound. This amount will meet “need.”
           
Where does this leave the hard training athlete? Shrinking! Seriously, though, this is why more studies are being performed on athletes these days. It is generally believed that in order to maintain positive nitrogen balance, athletes do in fact, need 0.8-1.5 g per POUND of bodyweight per day.
           
To sum it up, the general rule of thumb for hardcore, training athletes (male and female, alike), is consume one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. If after a few weeks, you are not noticing increased muscle size, increased energy, improved recovery, then gradually increase your intake to 1.25 g protein per pound of bodyweight.
Good luck with the diet and let me know how you are doing.

Sample Meal plan:

Meal 1 (after the workout)
4 egg whites/ 1-scoop whey protein
¼ cup oats (dry measure)

Meal 2

4 oz. Protein (chicken or red meat
¼ cup Brown rice (cooked measure)
1 tbsp Olive oil
¾ cup veggies

Meal 3

4 oz protein
¼ cup baked yam
½ cup veggies

Meal 4

4 oz. Protein (red meat or fish
½ cup Veggies or small salad
1 tbsp olive oil

Meal 5 before bed

Meal Replacement
1 tbsp Flax oil or Omega 3-6-9 tabs

Rules to live by:
Eat meals every 2 ½ to 3 hrs. Drink 96 to 128 oz. of water daily.
 
Take these supplements daily as directed in the meal program or as directed on the bottle.
Multi-vitamin
Anti-oxidant
Flax oil
Take one tbsp. of fiber with water before bed.
Glucosamine and Chondroitin

 

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