Is Whole Foods Market backing away from health?
I was recently made aware of Whole Foods’ latest strategy to promote a low fat, vegetarian diet as optimal by Jimmy Moore (Livin la vida Low 
Carb). There is some detail on the low carb community’s reaction to this move on this blog post.
This is a somewhat surprising move by Whole Foods to me. I realize that many of their customers are vegetarians and vegans, but Whole Foods over the years has been my source of some of the best tasting and healthiest meat I can find anywhere, as well as some of the hard to find items like buckwheat honey, extra virgin coconut oil, and quality fish oil capsules.
When it comes to beef, the healthiest (and tastiest!) beef they sell is typically the New Zealand beef, which is not the lowest in fat. This meat is grass fed, and contains the highest amount of omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential to our diet, than any other meat.
The deli meat is also high quality. I love turkey sandwiches and eat several per week! Their sliced turkey is without preservatives and tastes great compared with the nitrate & phosphate-laden deli meats you find in most grocery stores.
And, despite the fact that people will criticize Whole Foods because it is a big corporation, with high prices (I’ve heard “Whole Paycheck” before), from my experience, they are typically one of the less expensive health food stores around. This is especially true when compared with the smaller mom & pop local stores, which often have outrageous prices!
What Whole Foods is doing by recommending a low fat diet is a disservice to their customers. They are making a recommendation without taking all the facts into consideration. Hearing the low fat mantra coming out of the government and from highly-degreed nutritionists and dietitians is one thing, but for a private company like Whole Foods, I would expect a little more due diligence.
CEO John Mackey seems like a reasonable guy, as far as his most recent appearance on the John Stossel show. He is going against the proverbial grain when it comes to the health care debate. Now, is it possible that he can going against the literal grain- and change his tune on what he sees as a healthy (high carb) diet?
I suggest those of us armed with the facts that do shop at Whole Foods give Mackey & Co. some friendly suggestions! You can email the company on their website, or send a tweet to @wholefoods.
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21 – Calorie counting and nutrition label bunk
(duration 21:53)
Most people have a hard time challenging conventional (and their own) wisdom about health and nutrition
Calorie counting and trying to burn those calories basically put you on the wrong track
9 Food Label Lies by Dan Shapley - http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/reading-food-labels-470201-synd
Eating grains isn’t even necessary, so it’s not just refined flours that you need to eat less of
It’s best to go for whole foods, such as fruit rather than fruit juices
Be careful how many servings there are in that single container! Make sure to multiply the carbs per serving by total servings per container
The CSPI and the FDA are not up to speed with the facts and the truth
Study Fails to Link Saturated Fat, Heart Disease (Reuters) – http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,584922,00.html
Vegetables have plenty of the daily fiber you need
One Bowl = 2 Servings. F.D.A. May Fix That. by William Neuman – http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/06/business/06portion.html?pagewanted=all
Labeling is disabling; self-responsibility is vital in your process of achieving optimal levels of health and fitness
Calorie Counters – http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/opinion/03wed4.html
We welcome your comments on our blog too! http://healthymindfitbody.com/category/blog/
http://healthymindfitbody.com/2010/02/09/telling-the-truth-about-nutrition-in-mixed-company/
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Telling the truth about nutrition in mixed company
I was at a gathering last Friday night at a local wine bar with a few people, sipping some vino and chatting about whatever. As the subject turned to calories, I had to jump in.
“Calories don’t matter,” I said, somewhat trying to put the person concerned at ease, and someone trying to drop a shock bomb, “when it comes to weight loss.”
Well the bomb was definitely dropped and reactions were stronger and more hostile than I had anticipated.
“No that’s impossible!” claimed one long distance runner sitting next to me.
“No way. That’s entirely wrong.” said the triathlete sitting across from me.
Nobody at the table had a weight problem by any degree, but at the table were some highly educated individuals, one with a PhD, another going for her PhD. I stated my case, simply and clearly: “The caloric theory of weight loss, calories consumed-calories burned is dead. It’s not the quantity of calories that one eats that are important, it’s the quality. Insulin is the main culprit in gaining weight. Cutting down on carbohydrates….” before I could finish my sentence I saw two people shaking their heads and getting visibly upset!
Since I did not intend to spend my Friday night in a debate in which we would never agree anyway, I stopped there, and just added that I’m basing what I say on scientifically proven evidence, particularly what Gary Taubes has come out with in the last few years, and that I understand that it is certainly possible to lose weight by working out.
Once again, I have proven that the topic of nutrition is just as inflammatory in mixed company as religion or politics. Most people think they know what is what when it comes to healthy food and staying thin, especially when they are top notch competitive athletes who spend a lot of time training their bodies. And since most of us learned what we “know” about this topic in some sort of government-sponsored school, what we got was mostly propaganda, based on the highly flawed and bought-and-paid-for USRDA food pyramid.
To steal a phrase from the ex-U.S. president George W Bush, when it comes to the truth about nutrition, you’ve got to continue to “catapult the propaganda.”
Only in this case, the propaganda is coming from the government/media establishment, and it is up to us as individuals to do the catapulting!
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The Four Hour Work Week & Your Perfect Body
The other day I received my copy of Tim Ferriss’ latest expanded version of his NY Times bestseller The Four Hour Workweek, and began to read it. Some of it for 
me is review, since I read the first version cover to cover.
One of the first sections in the book is about breaking through fears. He gives an exercise of writing down the worst case scenario, if you were to say, quit your job and go for what you want. Perfect timing as I’ve been giving a lot of thought to what I want in my life recently, and what fears I need to overcome to get it!
Anyway, the exercise involves writing out the worst case scenario as you see it happening. Would you end up broke? Lose friends? Have to work a menial job to get by? Move to a smaller place? Often, the worst case scenarios that many of us dread are not really that bad at all. Yes, making changes and going for what you want will definitely involve stretching yourself a bit and pushing through your comfort zone. But usually, these drummed up negative scenarios in our heads do not involve death or physical pain!
How does this relate to fitness, health, and weight loss?
Well, the worst case scenario exercise can apply to any major change you are trying to implement in your life. Believe it or not, positive changes we are trying to make are often met with lots of resistance in our minds! This resistance is simply fear, and irrationally-based fear at that. Achieving your best possible body will change your life! It’s not surprising that it is a difficult psychological adjustment. What will friends think? What will family think? Will I still be accepted in my peer groups? Will I have to give up every food I love?
The bottom line is, those who would not accept you for making positive changes in your life are not worth keeping around anyway! The idea of sacrificing things that you love is nullified as you change your eating lifestyle, rather than “go on a diet”.
So what catastrophes are you creating in your mind that are preventing you from getting everything you want in life?
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20 – Interview with Low Carb Lindsey
(duration 28:59)
Lindsey joined us from http://www.lowcarblindsey.com
FB – http://www.facebook.com/lowcarblindsey
twitter – http://www.twitter.com/lowcarblindsey
Instead of getting discouraged and continuing the cycle of yo-yo dieting, stay determined and focus on your long-term health goals
Sometimes, you’ll have to tweak your eating regimen in order to maintain your weight loss process; plateaus happen
You’re always just one meal away from getting back in the weight loss zone!
The “fat fast diet” consists of a thousand calories per day, with 90 percent fat and 10 percent protein; it burns fat off the quickest, but it’s certainly not something to do for very long, as it will lead to malnutrition.
The induction phase of the Atkins diet (usually lasting a couple weeks) consists of less than 20 grams of carbohydrates per day
There are vast differences between benign dietary ketosis and ketoacidosis, only the latter of which is harmful
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketoacidosis
It’s important to not let negative thoughts define you…
http://www.lowcarblindsey.com/_blog/blog/post/Words_are_Powerful!/
Focus on the things that you feel are positive about yourself and use them to strengthen your self-concept
Look to support groups on the Internet to learn new things, overcome difficulties, and help motivate you
Practicing self-acceptance helps you come to terms with your feelings about your self-image; own your feelings about how you look, in order to recognize your true beauty
The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem (the standing in front of the mirror exercise is on page 95)
http://www.nathanielbranden.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_23&products_id=35
It’s best to shop in the perimeter of the grocery store, because the inside isles contain lots of unhealthy carb foods
Famous article by Gary Taubes, explaining where so much went so wrong: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/07/magazine/what-if-it-s-all-been-a-big-fat-lie.html
Fuddruckers Time (http://www.youtube.com/user/LowCarbLindsey)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QljKSDyxpuk
Even fast food can be modified to be a lot healthier (just cut back on the extra carbs, for one)
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