It’s almost a new year, the time when tons of people get really gung-ho about losing weight, joining a gym, running in the park and hiring a personal trainer. Most people, even savvy New Yorkers, need to know the specifics of hiring a personal trainer as the fitness industry has changed radically in the past few years.

Hiring the right personal trainer, not just any trainer, can be a decision that will either enhance the rest of your life or quickly end in frustration and wasted time and money.

How do you know what to look for when hiring a personal trainer?

Unlike any other city in the world, New York City is unique.  It’s and fast, furious and fabulous. We are discerning, demanding and expect the best.

However, New Yorkers can also be like the rest of the country in that they still believe in exercise methods and diet concepts that are outdated, ineffective and downright unhealthy.

Many New Yorkers are overwhelmed, overworked, underslept, underfed, chronically dehydrated, exhausted and addicted to caffeine.

We might not have a lot of obese adults in Manhattan, but love handles, manboobs, pooch belly, spare tires, flabby arms and struggling to get going in the morning are all very common, unhealthy and signs of an imbalanced lifestyle.

For people that live in the ‘city that never sleeps,’ it is wise to find a professional who understands our unique lifestyle and can adapt a fitness or wellness program to help us get the best results and not simply beat us up in the gym. Exercise does not always have to be hard to be effective.

This is a new era of fitness and wellness coaching and the old days of dieting and ‘no pain, no gain’ although still popular, are not healthy.

Here are a few tips that will help you find the best personal trainer who can help you get the best results if you live in New York City.

First, the best way to find a trainer is to get a referral from a friend who is satisfied with their experience and who has results to show that their personal trainer is expert.

But if you don’t have a friend who is working with a personal trainer, follow my top 11 tips for what to look for when hiring a personal trainer in the ‘city that never sleeps.’

1. Website – it is now 2009 and even teenagers are internet experts with their own websites. A professional trainer should have a website or at least a webpage with some information about his education, experience and their specialty. Go online to find a trainer in your area. Look for testimonials and see if the trainer has worked with people like you and knows how to get results.

2. Consultation – You should meet with and discuss your goals, needs and ultimately see if there is synergy. If the prospective trainer is not listening at least 80% of the time during the consultation – find a better personal trainer.

3. Audit – you should be able to see what the trainer does and how they work with their clients. It is a good idea to arrange this before hand so you can see your potential trainer work with someone. This way you get an accurate idea of what you will be doing together.

4. Specialized – does this personal trainer specialize in your particular needs or do they specialize in 12 different areas (not a good sign)? There are many areas of specialization, from sport specific, corporate wellness, gender, pregnancy, age, lifestyle, holistic health, mind body fitness all the way to injury type or certain health challenges.  It is critical for you to get the best trainer who specializes in your specific issues so you get the best results.

5. Customized - An expert personal trainer should design a program based on an individualized assessment. If the trainer does not perform some sort of structured assessment of your current stress levels and physical readiness, find a better trainer.

6. Education – there are over 200 fitness certifications today and most of them are meaningless. Everyone you ask will give you a different opinion. Certifications don’t guarantee anything.

I know trainers who are great people, and well educated, but have poor communication skills and don’t know how to get results. I know real experts who have no formal education at all, are brilliant and get amazing results. The most respected organizations, in my opinion, are CHEK, GIFT, PICP, FMS, NASM, NSCA, IYCA, MAT, ART and Dax Moy (in the UK) to name a few good ones. A college degree in exercise, sports science or kinesiology may also have some relevance, but again, you have to look at the whole picture, not just their degrees or certifications.

7. Experience – more important than their education, is how much and what type of experience does this personal trainer have? Just because someone is employed at New York City’s ‘best’ health club and looks good in a polo shirt means nothing. Find someone with experience working with people who have a similar health status and goals as you.

8. Personality – look for someone who you will enjoy working with and is professional, intelligent, with excellent communicator skills. Find someone who is compassionate, but not a push over. You want someone confident, not cocky. You want to enjoy your session and leave feeling better than when you came in, but don’t let it turn into a ‘hang out’ session.

9. Support & Accountability – find someone who will keep you accountable and knows how to keep you on track without making you feel guilty.  Find out what type of support does they offer? Do they have a blog where you can share your experiences with other clients? Do they offer workshops, materials, a manual, email or phone support?

10. Price - In this department, I often say ‘you get what you pay for.’ These days, there are ‘celebrity’ trainers who are clueless at fitness & nutrition, they just happen to be liked by a celebrity who (also knows nothing about health & fitness) endorses them. Most often but not always, you get what you pay for. Find out what value they bring to their clients? What services do they offer and what kind of support? Don’t ask how much your trainer costs. Ask how much it will cost if you don’t hire a coach. Ask yourself, what are your health, vitality, well-being, appearance and longevity worth to you?

11. Results – Finally, you want to find someone who knows how to get results. This is the bottom line. This should be evident on their website and when speaking to their clients. Regardless of their website or credentials or marketing slogans, how good are they really? Talk to their clients and meet people who can verify the quality of work and the results they provide.

Take these rules into consideration when looking for a personal trainer in New York City, this will help you find the right match and develop a successful long term relationship that pays off big time.

Antonio Valladares is a New York City based Certified Personal Trainer, Corrective Exercise Kinesiologist, Licensed Massage Therapist, Nutritionist. He has specialized in a holistic or whole person, approach to women’s fitness and fat loss since 1994. Check out Antonio’s women’s fitness & fat loss website: www.burnsports.com

Check out a video of Antonio’s personal training clients CLICK HERE

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I love food. I eat a lot and shop often at farmers markets, health food stores, Whole Foods (Trader Joes, Jimbos) and occasionally at larger, old school grocery stores (Dag, Publix, etc). I also order foods & groceries online.

When I shop for groceries, I get the FRESHEST, most NUTRIENT-DENSE foods possible. I shop about 3-4 days a week. Real food is one of my highest priorities and whatever is high on your priorities, you’ll always find a way to get it done.

I’ve streamlined and mastered the art of shopping for healthy food at farmers markets across the country. This post will show you how to do the same.

Union Square Farmers Market

The best place to get the highest quality foods that enhance all aspects of physical & mental health health, burn fat and protect our environment is at your local farmers markets. You may have to do some detective work to find them, but they are everywhere these days. Here are 11 tips and questions you need to know to when shopping at farmers markets.  

I go to the Union Square Farmers Market (Greenmarket). There are plenty of farmers markets in NYC, but the biggest and best is Union Square Greenmarket, downtown New York City. You can get all sorts of good stuff, from organic produce, grass fed beef, bacon, eggs, flowers, honey and maple syrup. Yes, you can get other stuff there too, like candles, jams, baked goods and christmas trees.

MAKE A LIST.

How much food do you need? How often can you go? What foods do you need to be healthy, lean, energetic, mentally sharp and well balanced? Answer these questions and you can craft a list of what you need to get. This will streamline your trip.

CASH MONEY.

Bring cash to make your shopping smooth. Very few vendors are set up with credit card machines.

GO EARLY.

If you get there early, you can find crops that were harvested within 24 hours of delivery to the market. You get the best selection and there is less people. You can meet the farmers and see if there’s any new foods or deals, discover how small sustainable farms operate and develop a new friendship with nice people who understand nature. Developing friendships with local farmers also expands your personal network and strengthens your community. I go early, socialize for a NY minute and get home in time to cook brunch.

LOOKIN’ FOR A DEAL?

Go late. As the market is getting ready to close, some vendors are happy to get rid of some stuff at a discount instead of packing it up and heading back to the farm.

BRING YOUR OWN BAG OR BACKPACK.

Whether you want to stroll and take your time browsing the market, or you want to get in and out like a race car, you will need your own bags or a backpack. A backpack is great because it keeps you ‘hands free’ while you shop.

FREE YOUR MIND.

Have you ever tried fermented foods like sauerkraut, Kim Chee or pickled ginger with carrots? If your lucky, you might be able to find broth, wild game, organ meats and bones to make your own stock. Farmers markets often have traditional foods that you may not have been exposed to yet. These foods are ultra healthy, enhance digestion and accelerate fat loss.

Fermented foods from Hawthorne Valley Farm, an organic, grass fed, biodynamic farm

in New York state.

EVIL SUGAR.

I get honey (raw, organic), maple syrup and fruit – those are the only sweets I purchase. Beware, there are plenty of easily accessible sweets waiting to be tasted, including hot apple cider (which I don’t drink because its pasteurized), pure maple candies (delicious, but too much sugar), honeys, jams, fruits and baked goods (apple pies and such). Stay focused and beware the lure of evil sugar!

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE.

Don’t you agree? Don’t keep getting the same two things (i.e. spinach and carrots) when you food shop. Mix it up. Get different color fruits & veggies each time you go.

ASK QUESTIONS.

The best way to know the truth about healthy food is to get to know your local farmer. Introduce yourself and get to know your community. When you get to know the farmers, you can find out which foods were harvested that morning, see if there’s any new foods or deals, discover how small sustainable farms operate and develop a new friendship with nice people who understand nature. Developing friendships with local farmers also expands your personal network and strengthens your community.

ORGANIC & GRASS FED?

Before you trust any labels or stickers, you should get the answer right from the source. ‘Do you sell sustainably raised, organic or grass fed meat, poultry, dairy or eggs?’ If its not certified organic, how is it grown? How much pesticide use is there? How are the animals raised and what are they fed? Just so you know, many of the foods I buy are organic, grass fed, but not certified. Many small farmers don’t want to bother with exorbitant fees or the bureaucratic run around involved in the US government’s organic certification program. I have blogged about the difference between grass fed and grain fed beef HERE.

LOCAL & SEASONAL?

‘What’s local and in season?’ The average produce travels 1500 miles to get to you, so look for local and seasonal foods. These foods will be nutrient dense and have the best flavor.

Those are just a few of the most important tips on how to shop at a farmers market. I have a part 2 coming out on the best quality meats (grass fed vs grain fed). I also have a post on the groceries I bought with photos of several trips to the Union Square farmers market so stay tuned…

If you have any other tips, please post them below!

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I just got back from 2 weeks visiting family & friends in Florida. I’m going to share what I ate and some tips for traveling that’ll keep you eating well & staying lean whether you are visiting family, on vacation or a business trip.

Keep in mind, when your health (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual) is high on your priorities, you can find a way to eat well no matter what the circumstances. If it’s not truly high on your priorities, then you will find all sorts of challenges, distractions and excuses.

#1 Rule of Healthy Travel - Plan Ahead

First thing I do is Google my destination and these key words:

‘health food store’
‘Whole Foods’
‘farmers markets’
‘cafe or coffee shop’ (often times, small local shops have healthy, organic snacks)

For example, ‘Miami Whole Foods’ or ‘Tampa farmer’s market.’

If you like, you can mail order high quality organic & grass fed foods to your destination. You can mail order organic foods & grass fed meats throughout the USA, simply plan ahead and CLICK HERE for mail order.

I also find local ‘real food’ sources with these sites:

http://westonaprice.org/localchapters/index.html
http://www.realmilk.com/where.html
http://www.localharvest.org/
http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/FarmersMarkets
http://www.slowfood.com/

Before I leave town, I know where to find good food in Miami and Tampa. Map Quest it or punch it into your GPS and your good to go.

Does Healthy Eating require more work than Unhealthy Eating?

The truth about the ‘more work’ excuse is you’re already working. There is always work involved.  So what is your work producing? Look in the mirror and answer that question. You may have to learn a few new things, but nothing is ‘more work’ when you understand and appreciate your body.

Those who don’t care about their health now will have to work much harder and pay more money in the long run … and thats because MOST people aren’t thinking long term health & wellness. So, remember this…

Short term gratification costs. Long term vision pays.

I always have a massive breakfast before I travel. This is what I had:

Veggies (squash, peppers, tomato, onion, garlic, carrots, celery, chives,, olive oil, sea salt)

3 eggs – pastured hens, from farmer’s market, fried in butter

Bacon – biodynamic & organic, from the farmers market

Preventing Unecessary Stress
Success when traveling means ‘as efficient and smooth as possible’ – that’s my definition. Keep in mind you will be taking off your shoes + belts for security, so dress appropriately to reduce the inevitable stress in advance.

Meal Timing
I know its a 3 hr flight with at least another hour of security & checking in. It will take another 30+ minutes to get to Whole Foods. So now I’m looking at 5 hours before my next meal? No way.

Smart Snacks
I usually bring Navel oranges, bananas, avocado, nuts, energy bars and for longer flights and bring my own prepared meal in a glass container. You can use plastic if you want, but the food I eat often I only store in glass.

Keep in mind that citrus does not work for everybody.

You can eat a big meal before you leave home and bring a snack for the flight or not (depending on how long the flight). I had a fat + protein based meal that I know will give me good energy until I arrive.

Lara bars are all food. Nothing processed and gluten free.

You can also eat at the airport and get a snack at airport. If the flight is shorter than 3 hrs you may not need a snack. This option is more expensive and less healthy. The Jet Blue terminal actually has some impressive food options and if your caught in a bind, JFK is not so bad. Can’t say the same for most other airports though. But as I always say – ‘don’t get caught in a bind.’  Plan ahead and you’ll win.

H2O
Remember you can bring your own food on the flight, but you can’t bring water. So don’t pack up water and expect to purchase overpriced waters once you get passed security. The best brands I saw at JFK were Fiji, Volvic & Evian. The worst brands available are Dasani and Aquafina. For a 3 hr flight, I’ll usually bring 1.5 liters of water.

As soon as I get my rental car, I crank up some Cuban music and hit the Causeway for Miami Beach! First stop is Whole Foods and stocked up on Organic Food bars, almond butter, fruit and raw food treats, before I do anything else. I also ask the kids working about other cool, organic or natural food spots. Getting to know locals is key, no matter where you go.

Clean Eating & Dining Out
Remember that most people don’t care about food, their health or bodies as much as we do, so you have to take charge, plan ahead and not be afraid to speak your mind – ever. And yes, people will misunderstand you, make fun of you, freak out or even attack you. This is natural, it is supposed to happen. Accept the fact that you will always have BOTH support and challenge in every endeavor and have a plan and you will significantly reduce stress in your trip/life.

I always let people know that I love Mexican & Italian restaurants. I have found two basic types of Italian restaurants: Tacky, fast food types like you find in small towns or tourist spots. The other type is super nice and has a menu loaded with real food, cooked in butter, olive oil and you can easily order clean meat & veggie dishes.

Friday evening after I settled in, I went out to a Mexican restaurant with my sister, her husband, their 2 boys and my other sisters’ 2 daughters.

Behind these cute smiles, mischievous masterminds are at work!

Most international cuisine and high quality American restaurants have clean food. Small, local stores & restaurants have great food as well.

I typically order guacamole, salsa, 1 or 2 vegetable dishes and an entree of grilled (or pulled) chicken, beef or a seafood. I order red meat medium rare. I keep the veggies raw, steamed or sauteed in olive oil, butter or ghee only.

80/20 Rule
Is it organic and grass fed? No. This is my 10%.  I actually follow the 90/10 rule, but many people can do good with 80/20.

If there is salmon on the menu, you can assume its farmed raised and I don’t eat it. Restaurateurs who are smart enough to know, label their fish as ‘wild’ if it is.

Its easy to get fresh fish in Florida.

I’ll eat food when traveling that’s not organic or grass fed, but I wont eat farmed fish.
Just remember my 80/20 Rule and do your best.

Ultimately, you have to come up with your own guidelines for the 80/20 rule.

There are certain things I never do: gluten & dairy (other than butter) is never on my list. Certain things I always do: drink water, carry snacks with me, eat a lot of good food and get sunshine – without spf – everyday and scout out the best food in town, no mater what.

Chips & Salsa Anyone?
Anyone who eats with me knows I devour the guac, but leave a pile of uneaten chips. So yeah, I’ll use the chips to dip in the guac, but since they are GMO, non-organic corn and fried in a crappy man made ‘vegetable’ oil, I don’t eat them.

Margaritas! Ay Ay Ay !!!!!
The trick to drinking alcohol is:
#1, Don’t have it on an empty stomach.
#2) Have it with fat & protein, ceviche, guac, nuts, etc are a perfect pairing to lessen the harmful effects of alcohol
#3) Respect your limits
#4) How much sugar do you want? If you get a margarita, avoid the margarita mix. Ask for fresh squeezed lime juice instead and if they don’t have that, get some regular juice (orange, pineapple) with your tequila.  Same thing for other mixed drinks, choose your poison carefully.

Tequila is gluten free, in case you’re wondering.

There is a lot of false teachings surrounding drinking alcohol. I wrote about hidden ingredients in fine wines HERE.

There are, however, responsible ways to manage your total alcohol intake so as to keep total volume low and reduce the negative effects of it. This is where you apply your 80/20.

Evil Sugar
Keep in mind, regardless of your metabolic type, alcohol is potent sugar and if you don’t plan your meal accordingly, you will end up with more sugar (Carbs) than expected and feel awful.

Clean Eating
There is a lot of confusion about what ‘clean eating’ is. The most important thing to remember when eating clean – is to avoid the poisonous vegetable oils that restaurants use. Also avoid dressings, sauces and anything breaded as they contain allergens, anti-nutrients and damaged oils. No, I don’t eat bread or croutons.

Most places have salads, grilled meat (chicken, beef, fish) and appetizers. Choose your protein first and always ask – make sure your food is not breaded, deep fried or crusted (i.e. almond crusted fish) or sauces. Ask for sauce or salad dressing on the side. For salad dressings, order olive oil & vinegar or lemon. I often order 2 more more vegetable appetizers and skip the salads.

Remember, when eating grass fed meats, you should eat the fat. When eating non organic, conventional meat – don’t eat the fat.

Another great Meal Timing rule is to not eat 1-2 hrs before sleep.

This way you wont go to bed on a full stomach, but you will wake up feeling good and ready to eat breakfast.

Also keep in mind that most people don’t live by the same values, so breakfast may not be a priority if your staying with people or it may not live up to your standards. So planning ahead is key.

Saturday I went with my family to the Indy Car Race Championships. As expected and planned for, there was practically nothing for me to eat there. So I met my family for a massive breakfast and brought snacks with me.

Cuban breakfast in Miami Lakes.
The good looking couple is my Dad and his lovely wife, Tere .

The only water available was my least favorite Dasani and Aquafina. So I drank a few bottles of these glorified toilet waters and noted that that was probably the second time in 2 or 3 years that I had to drink those brands.

After a long weekend in Miami, visiting family and a few nights of dining out, I headed up to Tampa to see my mom…

First stop in Tampa: Whole Foods.

I hit up Whole Foods and stocked up on groceries. This is what I got:

4 lbs Grass fed beef

2 dozen organic eggs

Veggies – broccoli, spinach, kale, onions, garlic, ginger

Bacon – I don’t eat bacon unless I purchase it or know its source

Butter, fruits (apples, bananas, mango) and more energy bars

Everything was organic.

Again, keep in mind that these particular fruits don’t work well for everyone, but tehy work for me, especially when traveling.

Often times in health food stores, you can find locally produced raw food vegan treats. They are delicious, energy dense and HEALTHY. They are usually made with nuts and coconut oil – which I love, so I grab a few of these treats, yes they are expensive but worth it. I would tell you the brand names, but I didn’t save the packaging.

I also found a large styrofoam cooler and filled it with ice. You can get these at liquor stores, gas stations and grocery stores.

All set and ready to go.

I drove out into the wild, undeveloped wilderness of Florida…

I spent the week on a river which is bursting with wildlife including exotic birds, reptiles running all over the place, deer, wild boar, manatees and a massive 10 foot alligator – photos coming soon!!!

My cousins from New Zealand and my 10 yr old nephew Zane visiting as well, so I was super excited! I got quality time with my family and taught my nephew how to handstand and we practiced jiu Jitsu.

I also realized that there is an abundance of gourmet, healthy foods all over NYC. But in Florida, you need to know about Publix. Publix is a regular grocery store. You will notice a lot of people are LARGE and really unhealthy people in this country. it can be sad, disturbing at times, so the take home message from this experience is…

Count Your Blessings.

Publix is everywhere down south and they have an impressive organic foods section.

After two weeks in Florida, I was ready to get home to NYC and watch the Yankees beat the Angels. But i had one more night, cool places to go & friends to meet up with.The Sunday evening, I watched the Buccaneers football game with Becka, a beautiful, healthy, fit mother of 2 who looks like she just stepped off a Kill Bill movie set! No surgery or make up required – she works out and it shows.

FYI – I have a pre/post natal training & nutrition program soon to be released. Please comment below if you would like to see more food & nutrition posts related to this area of women’s health.

I then went out to dinner with my good friend and fellow Nutrition & Lifestyle Coach, Alexandra. Alex looks like she stepped out of The Matrix movie set…Alex, like me, has an edge. She is brilliant and is one of the leading experts in the state of Florida in fitness & nutrition. She scooped me up and we went to a cool little spot called Ceviche.

The place was chill, the music not too loud (unlike many hot spots in NYC), the patrons were cool and the food was slammin’. Tampa and St. Pete are great places to live and visit.

The food was amazing. It was a protein type’s delight!

Before I tell you what we ate, keep in mind that for MOST PEOPLE, the initial reaction when hearing of this dinner can be a tell-tale sign of your metabolic type and your mental conditioning.

Here’s what we ate:

ENSALADA VILAFRANCA
Fresh greens with avocado, hearts of
palm, artichokes, Serrano ham and Manchego
cheese in lemon vinaigrette – Ordered with NO CHEESE

CEVICHE DE ATUN - raw tuna marinated in lemon, lime,
cilantro, jalapeno and sweet onion

ALBONDIGAS - Veal, chorizo and pork meatballs in
a piquant tomato sauce

CARACOLES CON POLLO
Imported escargot wrapped in chicken,
sautéed in a tangy tomato sherry sauce

CODILLO DE CORDERO
Braised lamb shank in Rioja red wine
sauce

CODORNIZ DE GRILLADORE
Marinated and grilled quail served over
sautéed spinach, dressed with honey,
garlic and figs

TRILOGIA DE CHOCOLATES
Trilogy of white, milk and dark
chocolate mousse with white
chocolate rum sauce

My vegetarian friends are freaking out right now. If you are veg, don’t sweat it, there are plenty of good veggie options as well.

Yes I checked…everything we ate was gluten free.
Since I cant tolerate dairy, I didn’t touch the desert  – but it did look awesome!

If you responded to that dinner by saying how much you would ‘love’ to eat like this – you are most likely a protein type.
If you thought there was too much meat, then most likely your a carb type.
If you could take it or leave it, or it sounds interesting – your most likely a mixed type.

Now don’t get your philosophies all tied up in a bundle – those are rough ideas about peoples’ responses, but yes, your response to food can give you a good indication what your metabolic type is. We are all unique and have biological requirements for optimal health. We also have unique biochemistries and we all respond differently to food.

Often when I talk about healthy eating when dining out, I get some pre-packged knee-jerk response, like ‘too many calories‘ or ‘I’d be bloated for weeks‘ or the ever so annoying ‘thats not healthy.’ But if your response was ‘oh thats gonna clog your arteries’ or you think I’ll get a heart attack, please post a comment and tell me what you think. I’m happy to clear up common misconceptions about ‘healthy eating.’

On the way back to the airport, I found a gluten free energy bar that I believe I only ate once before. Its awesome that its gluten free, but its far from being one of my favorites. Although there are much better bars on the market than this, I’ll give credit where its due.

Kind Bars, thanks for being gluten free and easily accessible at some random Florida gas station where nothing but Planter’s nuts and Gatorade was available. BTW, Planter’s nuts are crap – don’t eat them.

Conclusion

Florida has some beautiful areas but it does present a little more of a challenge to find real food than here in NYC, but remember WHY you eat good food. When you keep your ‘eye on the why’ you will value it more and find a way to get it done.

Florida’s natural wilderness is beautiful. Many people do appreciate its beauty, but not everyone appreciates our natural, symbiotic relationship with nature. Remember this: The further you get from nature, the worse your health gets.

‘Life in all its fullness is Mother Nature obeyed.’
Weston A Price


I easily stuck to my regular ‘diet’ of clean, organic & grass fed food (for the most part). Some places I stuck to a vegetarian (or semi-vegetarian) foods, depending on the quality of meats. The entire trip I only ate meat, eggs, fruit & veggies, drank nothing but water and did yoga every morning in the sun – I lost 4% body fat.

Note - I saw more obese people in 12 hours of being in Florida than I did in the previous 12 months in NYC.

I planned ahead. I bought local organic & grass fed foods. I ate clean, worked out and got lean. I also took some supplements (whole food based) to reduce the physical stress from traveling.

I think its a good idea to have some kind of real food based anti-oxidant or Vitamin C when dealing with extra stress of traveling.

I also fasted for a half day once I got to my wilderness retreat.

I went out to eat several times over the two weeks and not only had a great time with friends & family, but also supported the local farms, economies and most important – our health.

Even on my travels, I support true healthcare at its most critical level, I live what I teach and show how anyone can do the same. Health & nutrition sits high on my core values list. I value my health, my body & energy so I make the right choices. If you want to look and feel as BEST as you can, reduce & prevent ill health, then remember this:

Living a healthy lifestyle, taking charge of your food, your health and being lean is a CHOICE.  Choose wisely…

Peace. Talk soon
Antonio

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Not a day goes by in New York City where I don’t find my self scratching the top of my head and wondering to myself ‘Did he really just say that?’

More often than not, it’s when someone is talking about supplements. More specifically, it’s when someone is purchasing supplements.

So I am presenting the Top 11 Supplement Mistakes that are guaranteed to make you a sucker, waste your money, ruin your health or at least lead you into a false sense of health security.

I’m also giving you solutions so you know how to avoid this nutritional debacle…

1 – The biggest mistake I think I have ever seen in my life is…

Asking the clerk at your local health food store or GNC what supplements you should be taking for some condition you have. I want to freak the frack out on both parties when I see this and unfortunately I see it almost every single day!

Whether it’s an overweight, tired lookin’ guy at the local upscale health food store…or the overweight, pimply faced, pale and moody vegan girl in the supplement section at an East Village, old school health food store…or the young kids at GNC who are jacked up on stimulants and barely legible when they speak…not because they have a foreign accent, they don’t. It’s because they are mentally burnt out from all the liquid speed & highly processed crappy ‘sports’ supplements in between their slices of pizza and soda they eat every day because that’s all they can afford on that type of salary. Either way, these are not the ‘experts’ you want to be seeking out for nutrition or supplement advice.

I recently walked into a ‘health’ food store that has more junk food than actual food, and overheard a pregnant woman asking the overweight, angry clerk (the owner’s brother) the other day what she should be taking for all these issues she was experiencing and I’m not sure if I dry heaved or actually threw up in my mouth. I didn’t want that to be obvious or someone would have blurted out, in front of everyone, that I change my diet or take a supplement. Not sure which person in this scenario was being more irresponsible, but either way, please don’t make this mistake!

‘Friends don’t let friends take advice from people who have no idea.’  

Solution – read a book or ask an expert, not a store clerk whose education comes from the marketing materials from their biggest suppliers.

2 – ‘This for That’ Mentality. 

This is a popular concept that I see daily.

Take Tums for stomach ache…
Take Pepsid AC or Prilosec for heart burn…
Take Advil for headache..
Take Airborne for Cold
Take Aleve or Tylenol for PMS…
Take Magnesium Citrate or some other god awful laxative for constipation
Take Ambien for poor sleep
Take Lamictil, Paxil, Prozac, etc for depression

This mentality is common and is a massive mistake. Why?

Treating these symptoms with pills and not addressing the cause of them makes your problem grow bigger…and suppressing these symptoms w pills only leads you into the illusion that you are ‘better’ but sooner or later you will have a much bigger problem to deal with.

This mentality is ingrained on our culture and even promoted by mainstream medicine. It does not solve your dilemma….it is not addressing the main issue, in fact, its distracting from the main issue.

If you have headaches, stomach caches, cramps, constipation, interrupted sleep or depression…you have a diet & lifestyle problem!

If you want to get healthy – you must go for the CAUSE of the problem. We live in a world of laws that we can not escape. Cause and effect is one of them. If you experience some discomfort, illness or disease, look for the CASUE of your issue, not a pill or patch.

If you simply take the pills, you will not solve the problem and it will return and you will be consistently sick and might even be on drugs for life, which is not healthy.

And yes, if you have those issues, your diet sucks. If you’re not feeling well, ask yourself why. All those issues can be resolved and you can have freedom.

Solution – take responsibility for your life and get the crap foods, stimulants and alcohol out of your body. Eat real food and if your body is not feeling right, find the problem and its solution. Soon you won’t experience those symptoms. Yes, you can be free.

PMS cramps? Yes, it’s your diet, regardless of what your co workers tell you.

Depression? From my experience, it’s your diet.

If you have not been feeling well and have been diagnosed with depression, I strongly encourage you to read The Mood Cure by Julia Ross and fix the problem. Mood imbalances are chemical issues that are easily correctable through nutritional therapy. There are experts all over the country that do this often and your doctor most likely knows nothing about it (much like gluten & dairy intolerance/allergies). In fact, he/she will most likely laugh it off, tell you that you’re crazy for thinking something like that and then prescribe you a pill.
If you are currently taking meds, please note I did not tell you to get off them. Got it? Good. I will tell you, however, to go eat some grass fed beef, butter or coconut oil, stop eating gluten grains, sugar & soy and you will feel better. Then go get that book, please.

If your depression is a psychological or perceptual issue and not chemical, I suggest you get the Breakthrough Experience by Dr. John Demartini and learn to balance your perceptions.

3 – Golden Nails  

I heard his from Paul Chek a few years ago. If you use lousy old wood to build a boat but get real nice & shiny nails made of gold…your boat will still sink to the bottom.

Supplements are like golden nails and if your diet is made up of lousy foods like the old wood used to build the boat, you are destined to sink. Supplements and medicines, no matter how expensive or how influential the marketing is, will not save you from a crappy diet.

Solution -  take responsibility for your life and eat fresh, healthy organic food. Get this program if you dont already Healthy Urban Kitchen.

4 – Random Guesswork

Your health, wellness, longevity, energy levels, brain function, ability to reproduce, recovery from training or sports performance are under your control. It should not be ‘Random Guesswork’. I guarantee most kids know more about video games than adults who know what, when and why they put foods or supplements into their bodies.

Solution – find an expert and assess, don’t guess. I give some simple solution in Healthy Urban Kitchen

5 -  Processed Crap Foods Disguised as ‘Health Food’ or ‘Liquid Vitamins’ 

I am not sure if I ever met anyone who drinks Slim Fast, Boost, Ensure or the many other knock offs you find in delis or drug stores.

Do you remember those canned ‘health’ drinks that we used to get from 7-11 when we were in junior high school? People have been led to believe these things are liquid supplements. These are disgusting, non-foods that don’t deserve any more energy than what I have already typed…wait, that’s not fair.

I used to drink Nutrament while walking home from school. These things were like the poor man’s milkshake. Back in the day when ignorance was bliss, Nutrament things tasted unbelievably good…today, I wouldn’t serve it to my worst enemy. Chek this out…

Damn! I used to love this crap!
Ingredients for Vanilla Nutrament
Skim milk, sugar, corn syrup, canola oil, high oleic sunflower oil, calcium caseinate (milk), soy protein isolate, corn oil, sodium caseinate, artificial flavor, magnesium phosphate, magnesium chloride, carrageenan, soy lecithin, sodium ascorbate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, vitamin E acetate, niacinamide, calcium pantothenate, cupric sulfate, manganese sulfate, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin B6 hydrochloride, thiamine hydrochloride, riboflavin, chromium chloride, folic acid, vitamin D3, biotin, sodium molybdate, sodium selenite, vitamin K1, vitamin B12.

If your parents are drinking Ensure, have them thro it out and get them some real food.

Solution – again, eat real food.

6 – ‘Fortified’ or ‘Enriched’ Juices

Ok, let me see. Take real fruit, then squeeze all the fiber out of it, pasteurize it so its nutritionally dead, add some synthetic vitamins to it, ship it across the country so it sits on store shelves for god knows how long and market it as a health food. Umm, no thanks. Juice is sugar water. Fortified juice, is expensive sugar water.

Solution – stick to real food. Got a sweet tooth? I will cover cravings soon. In the meanwhile – eat fruit, improve health & save money.

7 – Over Relying on Supplements to compensate for less than Optimal Diet

Sometimes people do this with good intentions, unlike #8. Understand this – Supplements are called ‘supplements’ because they are meant to complement your diet, not be used to make you feel better because your diet is lacking something.

You often hear this as ‘I take a Multi Vitamin to ‘cover all my bases’ – this is common, right?

If your taking something to ‘cover all your bases’ clearly you feel like one or more of your bases are not being covered from your diet. So again, stop lying to yourself and take responsibility for what your putting in your mouth. If you use your mouth as a garbage can, you will suffer the consequence and supplements will not ‘cover’ any bases at all.

This creates a false sense of security that will backfire on you at some point…next week or next year.

Getting health and losing weight = taking responsibility for your health. I know its not popular, but its true.

Solution – take responsibility and stick to real food, the kind that has all the essential nutrients we need to be health,
strong and vital.

8 – Compensating for Total Irresponsibility

Just so you know, I have friends that do this daily. Now, I love my friends no matter how healthy or unhealthy they are. We are all making choices in life. But each choice has a consequence – good or bad. So choose wisely.
If you don’t want to be healthy, that’s cool, but if you think taking some supplements will give back what your losing from a lousy diet and a lifestyle where you party too much, then you are just lying to yourself.

Solution – get it together before it’s too late. Eat real food, stop partying so much and cool out before you burn out.

9 – Diet Pills

You probably know that Hyrdroxycut was taken off the market a few weeks ago. There is more to this than just the fact that the supplements was ‘dangerous’, if you do the research, it is not nearly as dangerous as the many prescription medications that are needlessly pushed down the throats of children and young women in this country.
So if you have been taking any diet pills, again, it is not addressing the real issue – why are you fat to begin with? Stop doing what made you fat and start doing what makes you lean, health and happy. Problem solved and no need for diet pills which stress your adrenal glands and make you cranky or jittery.

Solution – eat real food and stop doing the things that make you fat.
10 – Vitamin ‘Enriched’ Cereals

Does anybody still eat this crap? You take mass produced

low quality grains, strip them down of all their nutrients, cook them and then re-add synthetic vitamins to that heat (last time I checked, heat destroys micro nutrients)  and add a bunch of crap to it and then you have a ‘Heart Healthy’ or Healthy Start for your Day type of cereal. Great! Now, some cereals may not be enriched, they may be ‘whole wheat’, which if you ever looked around is still garbage.

Smart Start is a perfect example of this hoax. Here is what’s in it:

RICE, WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT, SUGAR, OAT CLUSTERS (SUGAR, TOASTED OATS [ROLLED OATS, SUGAR, CANOLA OIL WITH TBHQ AND CITRIC ACID TO PRESERVE FRESHNESS, MOLASSES, HONEY, BHT FOR FRESHNESS, SOY LECITHIN], WHEAT FLAKES, CRISP RICE [RICE, SUGAR, MALT, SALT], CORN SYRUP, POLYDEXTROSE, HONEY, CINNAMON, BHT [PRESERVATIVE], ARTIFICIAL VANILLA FLAVOR), HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, SALT, HONEY, MALT FLAVORING,
Oh yeah, and a few synthetic vitamins cooked to hell and packaged into a box and shipped across the country to sit on shelves before some poor sucker buys it.

Solution – don’t be fooled by the marketing hype of grain manufacturers – they got lots of money and powerful influence in this country. Humans are designed to eat real food – not boxed cereal. If you really want a cereal, I have a chia seed recipe comin’ up for you. At least, I would suggest a gluten free grain before this crap. If you really want to get healthy, stop eating cardboard tasting, sugar-fied, highly processed grains completely.

There are certified gluten free oatmeal but oats still need to be soaked overnight before eating them.

11 – Crapola Supplements Made for the Masses

Anything sold at Duane Read or Eckard Drugs or Rite Aid or (insert local pharmacy or drug store here) is, for the most part, garbage.

Solution- if your hell bent on taking supplements, at least get organic, whole food based supplements. Some of the supplements I recommended are actually foods, like fish oil or probiotics. So once again, stick to real foods and you will win. Choose crappy supplements or make one of these supplement mistakes and you lose.

Bottom line: stick to real foods. If you want to use supplements, have a purpose and choose high quality food based supplements that work. End of story…

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I know, I know…everyone is freaking out about the swine flu. But there is no need to grab your gas masks & run for underground bunkers just yet…

According to the Center for Disease Control website:

Each flu season is unique, but it is estimated that, on average, approximately 5% to 20% of U.S. residents get the flu, and more than 200,000 persons are hospitalized for flu-related complications each year.

About 36,000 Americans die on average per year from the complications of flu.

So take it easy…its not nearly as bad as the media is blowin’ up to be.

If you want to know how to protect yourself from swine flu…check out these 20 tips…

# 1 – First step is to relax, focus on solutions and not get sucked into the media frenzy that’s creating madness. I gotta tell ya, the mainstream American media does a great job at making people crazy.

Whether it’s the avian bird flu, terrorism or the economy, or whatever the evening news shoves into our psyche w that manic panic energy – the most important thing is to chill out and manage your mind.

Respond intelligently to the situation, do not react emotionally to it. And do the same things to avoid getting sick and stay healthy as you should already be doing!

When you are emotional, you cant make wise, focused decisions. When you are emotional, you are not in control of your life, you are controlled by your emotions.

Anger and depression also suppress the immune system (Journal of Behavioral Medicine 2001;24:537-555)

The more fear, stress or volatile your emotions are, the more cortisol your body pumps out. Cortisol, as you should know from reading my blog, is stress hormone and when its being excessively pumped out, as is the case all over the world right now, the immune system gets suppressed and your other healthy hormones are inhibited.

Cortisol weakens the immune system, makes you fat, tired and age prematurely.

In certain scientific circles I run around in, that’s called a Quadruple Whammy.

#2 – Manage your immune system  – Since there is no vaccine for this new flu strain, don’t go running out to your doctor just yet.  The smartest thing you can do right now is manage your mind and your immune system.

We have an immune system that fights pathogens like bacteria and virus, so don’t give it unnecessary work like stay up late, drink coffee, soda, alcohol so that it can do its job…
#3 – Take basic flu precautions and everyday steps to prevent the spread of germs.

Clean your hands often and cover your coughs and sneezes

Stay away from people who are sick or people who are coughing and sneezing

Clean hands often

Keep hands away from face

If your hand is larger than your face, then you might be…oh, never mind.

Cover your coughs and sneezes to protect others – use a tissue and throw it away, but do not throw it at your co worker…the trash can is best. According to the CDC, long distance basket shots are worth 3 points. Shots made while standing by the water cooler are worth only 2.

If someone you know is coughing, immediate turn and run for your life, screaming….no, I’m kidding.

Basic stuff like washing hands and avoidance works best here — careful with public items like door knobs and public phones.

Keep distance from strangers…I know that’s kinda hard on the subway, but you get the point.

Don’t go kissing strangers when riding the 6 train to work. Very important.

# 4 - Masks – its up to you on this one. I think they look cool, actually, the full on military style gas masks look really cool, but that would def scare the bejeesus out of some people!

I’m not gonna walk around NYC with a mask. I tend to think that I will see other people donning these tomorrow though. Maybe if I was in Mexico city I would, but I’m not. Again, its up to you…

# 5 - Garlic - it’s antibacterial, antiviral and anti-fungal – it must be fresh – and crushed soon before you eat or juice it in order to be most effective. Keep it raw.

# 6 – Sugar – tastes good but it suppresses the immune system, its found in almost everything processed, and especially in the foods that are fed to children…its even in ketchup. Keep in mind that all carbs are sugars, so yes, juice is sugar, including your Blueprint juice fast thats sweeping NYC faster than the swine flu.

Yes, your Blueprint sugar-water fast you just paid $75 clams a day for instantly turned you into a sucker and no, it did not improve your health. I will cover this ‘health’ hoax (and some other funnier ones) that have fooled many a New Yorker in a few posts from now….

…and you thought New Yorkers were like gifted or extra saavy?…please.
# 7 – Sleep – get to bed on time and be careful with spending time in front of a tv or computer late at night. Now if you have trouble falling asleep, then there are proactive steps you can take. Your sleep is your battery charger for your immune system and hormonal levels. So, get to bed by 10:30 pm. Wind down and read, journal, practice something relaxing like art work, prayer, music or spend quality time with friends & loved ones. punk rock does not fall into this relaxing category. Neither does CSI.

Early to bed, early rise makes a person healthy, wealthy and wise!

# 8 – Vitamin D – get it from sunlight and traditionally healthy foods like liver and other
organ meats, seafood and the fats from grass-fed animals. Every day, take a break from your work and get outside!!! Unprotected, no spf crap on yor skin, sun exposure is critical for healthy immune function….and a good mood. Just don’t go out and get sunburned on the weekends!

You can also get if from a high quality Cod Liver Oil, I prefer www.drrons.com 

# 9 – Exercise – don’t overdo it as the majority of trainers do with their clients like I have seen every single day for the past 15 years. Remember, the more stressed you are, the softer your exercise needs to be. Don’t exercise for more than an hour at a time, ideally 30 – 45 minutes. You only need 3-5 days week.

Your exercise should energize you, not exhaust you.

# 10 - Food – No, this swine flu is not a Biblical pre-Armageddon warning ’sign’ from a pissed off God…and anyone over reacting like that needs to have a shoe thrown at them…yes you can eat pork, as long as its naturally raised.

# 11 – Dont eat non food - No you should  not eat genetically modified, irradiated and sprayed with neurotoxic & endocrine disrupting pesticide foods that the US government insists is safe. Check out my previous post on organic produce and hte list that tells you which ones are safer to eat by clicking HERE

# 12 – Water – check the recent post on Drugs in Our Drinking Water. Remember, the US government allows tons of chemicals and drugs into our water supplies. So go for clean spring water.

80% of your immune system is in your gut, so yes, your food choices are essential for overall health and preventing swine flu and every disease…not just fat loss.

#13 – Raw milk or raw butter. Go to www.realmilk.com to find recommendations on where you can find this amazing health food in your area. Grass-fed is best.

# 14 - Coconut oil. Every one of you should have this in their home.

# 15 – High-quality extra virgin olive oil. Ideally this should be consumed raw on your salads.

# 16 – Fresh fruits and veggies every day – organic when possible.

Supplements – the reason I don’t talk about supplements often is because most people miss the whole point. Most supplements that you can buy in stores are synthetic crap. And since most people have digestive disorders, any supplement (food based or crap) will get wasted.

The real problem is this: people use supplements to compensate for a lousy diet.  Also, when your sick, its not the supplement your missing, its your diet & lifestyle that made you sick. So they abuse and misuse the little suckers…

So, follow all the guidelines I have posted about Real Food and don’t put your faith in supplements or the US government for that matter, they already screwed us on the ‘food and water’ issue…

Here are some basic supplements that will help support your immune system when your doing the right thing to begin with.

# 17 – Colostrum – I love this stuff! Its like nature’s anabolic steroids! But safe, and healthy. You can get this raw in liquid form in some states including California. If not, you can mail order it.

Funny, you can get guns at Wal Mart; alcohol at the corner deli 24 hrs a day; cigarettes all over the entire planet; all kinds of highly synthetic poisonous crap ‘food’ that triggers all sorts of brain & body dysfunction, depression, digestive problems, obesity; our foods are loaded with proven cancer causing chemicals….and you can get hard core drugs, the most widely abused drugs by today’s youth – pharmaceuticals – quite easily! All this is readily available and even marketed…but its illegal in most states to get raw milk!!! WTF!?!?!

Who the hell is in charge here????

Are the people in charge of this madness drinking tap water, eating commercially raised food and completely out of touch with reality???

I tend to think so…

# 18 – Probiotcs – These are the friendly bacteria that normally live in your gut have a number of very important functions, including:

Providing vital support to your immune system. Bacteria play a crucial role in the development and operation of your mucosal immune system in your digestive tract. They are also involved in the production of antibodies to pathogens.

Probiotics convert certain carbs into energy and nutrients.

They produce vitamins, absorb minerals and eliminate toxins. Probiotics help in the production of both vitamin K and B vitamins, and promote mineral absorption. They also aid in metabolism and the breakdown of toxins.

They keep bad bacteria in check. Your intestinal lining is about the size of a tennis court, or the basketball courts on Venice beach. Friendly bacteria compete with the bad guys for turf, and since beneficial bacteria are ‘locals’, they win most of the battles for nutrition and attachment sites within your colon.

The good bacteria are highly intelligent & tell your body how much nutrition is necessary – so that any excess bad bacteria are starved out. The helpful bacteria also help kill harmful microbes.

Probiotics prevent allergies. Friendly bacteria train your immune system to distinguish between pathogens and non-harmful antigens, and to respond appropriately.

Probiotics perform a wide variety of functions, including the prevention or control of:

Food & skin allergies in children

Chronic diarrhea

Vaginal yeast infections & inflammation

Premature labor in pregnant women

Inflammatory bowel disease

Bladder & infections
# 19 - Fermented Foods - Historically, people used cultured or fermented foods to support their overall health, way before probiotics…

Cultured foods like yogurt, (not Danon crap that’s being advertised on TV), sauerkraut & kim chi are good sources of natural, healthy bacteria  if you get real stuff from the farmers market or health food store.I get mine from Hawthorne Valley Farms in Union Square farmers market.

Fermented food such as natto or kefir can give your body the similar benefits of consuming a whole bottle of good bacteria, at a fraction of the cost.

One of the best and least expensive ways to get healthy bacteria through your diet is from raw milk and convert it to kefir, which is really easy to make at home.

# 20 - Resources

Here is a site that sells great products, including kefir starter kits and other goodies, check out www.mercola.com

I also suggest you get his natural health newsletter.

If you want to see my favorite nutritional companies of all time, check out www.gardenoflifeusa.com

If you want more info on fermented foods and kefir, check out www.bodyecologydiet.com

If you want more info on how to prevent the flu and see one of the best books on the topic, check out http://drjewilliams.com/

Ok, so do the right thing and dont panic.

This will blow over soon enough. Do everything you should already be doing to stay healthy.

Antonio

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There are some really cool workshops coming to New york City if any of you are interested.They will both be all over the country but it would be cool to see some of you there!

First is the Nutrition Program from the Chek Institute that I attended. I highly recommend it to anyone – regardless of what you do for a living.

The second is a talk by Nina Planck – author of one of my all time favorite books ‘Real Food’. Nina just released ‘Real Food for Mother and Baby’ and you will be getting a review of it next week. If any of you want to know anything about food – get her books!

CHEK Institute Holistic Nutrition & Lifestyle Coach 

This is the first of a three-level Nutrition & Lifestyle educational program that is based upon the techniques that have helped thousands of people increase vitality, decrease stress and sculpt the body of their dreams. Each level looks in increasing detail at the underlying causes of disease and stress, considering the body as a “system of systems.” Using a coaching model, you will learn how disease and stress are preventable through healthy eating habits, lifestyle management and appropriate types of exercise.

You will understand why every meal, every bout of exercise and every late night has a hormonal consequence. You will be given tools, such as in-depth questionnaires, to assess your clients or yourselves and allow you to determine their or your readiness for change.

No matter what your profession, you’ll likely agree that just because someone is not sick, does not mean he is well! Most chronic diseases take years to develop, but a healthy lifestyle can go a long way toward prevention. The information presented in the CHEK Optimal Health and Fitness through Practical Nutrition & Holistic Lifestyle Coach Program (CHEK HLC) does not include “quick fixes”- which never work long term-but instead uses proven principles which build a strong foundation of health.

Fitness Professionals

can provide their clients with the missing link to achieve the body they want and to improve their vitality and energy levels.

Chiropractors, Physical Therapists and Rehabilitation Specialists

can use the special assessments and principles taught in this series of courses to help them achieve lasting results and improve the structural integrity of their patients!

Alternative Health care Providers and Massage Therapists

can quickly increase their value by offering their clients practical ways to live a lifestyle more in tune with the therapy they are providing.

Even those that are not fitness professionals
will enjoy this course! CHEK HLC 1 is designed for the layperson and professional alike, teaching the foundational principles of the CHEK approach to health and wellness. You can easily apply these techniques and methods to yourself and your family.

CHEK HLC 1Course >>> Click Here

This is the foundation of the CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Coach program and can be implemented by anyone. Laypersons and health and fitness professionals have thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from this course. While using yourself as a case history you will learn:

* How to identify problem issues and roadblocks to success and the order in which they need to be addressed.

* Understanding how sleep, stress, nutrition, digestion and exercise are correlated.

* Gain insight to health cycles such as physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects plus much, much more!

I copied this description from the Chek Institute’s webbsite. To learn more, get over there now!

It’s an incredible resource!!! >>> http://www.chekinstitute.com/Page/HLC

NINA PLANCK – Real Food for Mother and Baby

Following the success of Real Food, Nina Planck’s Real Food for Mother and Baby explains why real food is better for woman and child.

Nina Planck, one of the great food activists, changed the way we view old-fashioned foods like butter with her groundbreaking Real Food. T hen she got pregnant. Never one to accept conventional wisdom blindly, Nina found the usual advice about pregnancy and baby food riddled with myths and misunderstandings. In Real Food for Mother and Baby, Nina explains why many modern ideas about pregnancy and infant nutrition are wrongheaded and why traditional foods are best. While Nina can be controversial—her op-ed in the New York Times on vegan diets for infants was one of the paper’s most e-mailed articles— she’s no contrarian. Readers applaud her candor; they also trust her research and welcome her advice.

Nina’s basic premise hasn’t changed—whole foods are best—but some of the details are surprising. Pregnant women need meat and salt, not iron supplements. Nursing will be easier if you act like the mammal you are. Delaying the introduction of certain solid foods doesn’t prevent allergies. Cereals are not the best foods for tiny eaters; meat and egg yolks are better. From conception to two years, the body’s overwhelming needs are for quality fat and protein, not for carrots and low-fat dairy. Even as she casts a skeptical eye on the conventional wisdom, Nina is reassuring. She shows you how to keep your baby healthy on good, simple food. Real Food for Mother and Baby will be the new classic on eating for two.

About the Author
Nina Planck, author of Real Food: What to Eat and Why and The Farmer’s Market Cookbook, is an expert on local and traditional food. I n London, England, she created the first farmers’ market, and in New York City she ran the legendary Greenmarkets. She lives in New York City with Rob Kaufelt and their son, Julian. They all eat real food.

…copied from Amazon description…

Nina is in California this week and CT after her NY appearances.

For more info or to read her articles, go to    www.ninaplanck.com

Saturday, May 2, 2009
Whole Foods Market
New York, NY
Lecture on optimum nourishment from fertility to the toddler years with book signing to follow, at the 95 E. Houston Street location. $10/person donations will benefit the New Space for Women’s Health. Register online.
2:00PM – 3:30PM

Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Weston A. Price Foundation Workshop
New York, NY

A talk and book signing at the Community Church of New York

40 East 35th Street (between Park and Madison). Seating is limited.
6:30PM – 8:30PM

Register online by going here >>> http://www.ninaplanck.com/index.php?page=speaking

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Ok this is a good one…Here is some shocking news reported from the Associated Press as well as some cool tips on how to get healthy with water.

U.S. manufacturers, including major drug makers, have released at least 271 million pounds of pharmaceuticals into waterways – including our drinking water supply.

And not surprising at all – this legal contamination is consistently overlooked by the federal government, according to an investigation by the Associated Press’.

The data doesn’t show precisely how much of this 271 million pounds comes from drug makers vs. other manufacturers (pharmaceuticals are used for things other than drugs). AP considers these figures a ‘massive undercount’ because of the limited federal government tracking.

Some researchers say the lack of required testing amounts to a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy about whether drug makers are contributing to water pollution.

AP found 92% of these dugs are toxic and ubiquitous in the environment.

22 compounds that don’t belong in our water from industrial chemicals and pharmaceuticals, also includes 8 million pounds of skin bleaching cream, 3 million pounds of nicotine compounds (used in quit-smoking patches), 10,000 pounds of the antibiotics, and treatments for head lice and worms.

Most cities and water providers still do not test.

Did you see my previous post on contaminate drinking water in major US cities???

Click to read >>>> Drugs in Your Drinking Water

That report includes some cities that have more than 50 pharmaceuticals in their drinking water!!!

Pharmaceuticals also leach out of the landfills where they are dumped. Pharmaceuticals released onto land include the chemo therapy drugs, epilepsy medicine and sedatives. 572 million pounds of the 22 monitored drugs have been buried in our landfills since 1988.

Several big drug makers were asked this simple question: Have you tested wastewater from your plants to find out whether any active pharmaceuticals are escaping, and if so what have you found?

No drug maker answered directly.

The most predictable part of this report is Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America denying any irresponsibility and assuring us that they comply with all environmental laws.

On a similarly humdrum note, the FDA claims that they are not responsible for what comes out on the waste end of drug factories.

No, of course not. Consumers are to blame for flushing drugs down the toilet.

This is nuts…or is it funny?

It reminds me of the time during the 1970’s that a baby alligator was flushed down the toilet into the sewers of NYC…and you all remember what happened next don’t you?!?!?!? The streets were terrorized by giant….wait a second, that was a fantasy.

At what point do American wake up from the fantasy world that’s being pulled over our eyes, take a stand and say enough is enough???

Is it that particular generation that doesn’t get it?????

Or is it the industries themselves are run by callous old men  that don’t care about our health and the planet?

Is it a political agenda designed to make money at the expense of our health?
Do we have to wait until after another major institution fails us???

Or should we wait until millions of our children start getting sick with diseases that didn’t exist 10 years ago before we take a stand??  Wait, that’s already happening…

Do you have an opinion?????

Mega pharmaceutical and food manufacturers as well as industrialized agriculture are polluting our bodies and our planet faster than the YouTube video about Miss California’s comments on ‘opposite sex marriage’

By the way, the vast majority of drugs are completely unnecessary if you take full responsibility for your health. Yes, that’s true.

Now don’t go off on a tangent and fantasize about what you didn’t hear me say.

I didn’t say drugs are not necessary.

I said, most of them are not necessary when you are healthy. When you are truly healthy…not the pop version of healthy (eating soy milk, rice cakes and doing cardio), but truly healthy and vital…and you avoid the things that cause disease (yes, we know what causes disease) and do the things that create health and vitality (we also know this as well), then guess what you can expect?

It is not the mystery as mainstream media or pharmaceutical industries would have you believe.

Attack of the Killer Plastic Bottles

It has become really trendy in recent years to vilify bottled water as a source of waste, instant gratification that brings environmental destruction, even a symbol of status and vanity that’s forcing poor people to starve, while us rich obnoxious Americans are kicking back enjoying imported waters.

What? I drink bottle water because there is literally tons of garbage, chemicals and drugs in our drinking water!

I drink and encourage bottled water. Expensive European brands at that. (They are generally cleaner and spend less time in bottles.) Not because I am vain, but because I don’t want to be a sick American.  I also encourage water filtration systems and home delivery systems as well, Mountain Valley Spring brand is a great product.

I also encourage responsible management of our natural resources (esp beaches & oceans) and have been cleaning up beaches and recycling since the 80’s. Since the government doesn’t do a good job at it, I have been doing my best.

No, responsible use of natural resources and taking responsibility for our health will not destroy our planet. We are not here to sit in caves and meditate all day and not use any fossil fuels.

Corporate irresponsibility does, however, degrade the quality of our water, soil, food and air. And the US government is supposed to govern that. Great job guys!

We are here to create…to produce whatever it is we decide to…and live our dreams….and if I want to drink clean water form a bottle that’s been imported from Europe so I can do that, guess what? You bet I am, especially if it means I can live my dream, improve my health and teach other people how to improve the quality of their lives and the life of this planet.

Americans Drink More Soda than Water

Oh yeah, Dasani and Aquafina, produced by Coke and Pepsi, are not on my list of bottled waters. In fact, nothing they will ever produce will be on my list and I encourage everyone to eliminate any product from these addictive crap producing corporations as well.

You can get glass bottles of Evian and a few other brands if you look…you can get water filtration systems…you can also get those big water bottles delivered to your home or office…and at the rate that we are going, someone may very soon invent a filtration system that is portable, highly effective and protective against the massive amounts of drugs, chemicals and pollutants the US government and the mega food and pharmaceutical industries are dumping into our water and soil.

Water Tips to Make You Healthy, Unlike Federal Guidelines Designed to Make You Sick

Drink half your body weight in ounces of water per day. For example, if you weight 130 lbs, then you need half of that in ounces: 65 oz per day.

Spread your water intake throughout the day.

Most everyone I have ever worked with is chronically dehydrated.

Room temp water is best.

Drink water immediately upon rising (well, maybe brush your teeth first).

Don’t drink while eating.

Wait at least an hour after eating before you start drinking again.

Finish your required water intake by 6 or 7 pm so you don’t have to go pottie in the middle of the night. Getting up from your deep sleep disturbs your 24 hr recovery/regeneration cycle and triggers a ‘fight or flight’ mode the next day when your in sleep deprivation. That’s a double whammy!

Add a tiny pinch of Celtic Sea Salt to your bottle if your drinking a regular water like Poland Spring…’tiny’ means you shouldn’t taste it.

If you eat water dense fruits like oranges, papaya, etc…you can get by with less that your required amount.

Coffee (caffeine) dehydrates you regardless of what any idiot ‘expert’ has said. Even chocolate will dehydrate you if you eat enough and don’t drink enough water throughout the day.

If you are urinating a lot since you started drinking more water, that means your body is stressed. Its in a ‘fight or flight’ mode. That means you need to get to bed on time, manage your stress better and stop drinking alcohol, caffeine, soda, juice and drink nothing but clean water.

Don’t be a fanatic! If you are at work or traveling and there is only a water fountain, then don’t sweat it. Simply make sure that you are doing everything else in your power to be healthy and take full responsibility of what you can in your life.

And if you think you can trust the US government to tell you how to be healthy or how to prevent disease…then you clearly have been drinking too much tap water for far too long and the drugs are starting to work.

Coming up in my next post….the most absurd ‘fitness & health’ things you can do that are really popular, really unhealthy and instantly turn you into a health & fitness sucker!

Its quite easy to find these things, btw, but if you have a book, TV show, website or otherwise idiotic fitness product you want me to review….please leave your comments below!

Peace and have a great week!

Antonio

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