Happy Easter- eat the whole egg!!

What better day than Easter Sunday to talk about eggs. Eggs are one of the best bodybuilding foods, full of protein, minerals and vitamins. It has become a custom, however, to consume only the egg whites.  The logic behind it is that all the fat is hidden in the yolk and all the protein in the egg white.

This is simply not a good idea since the majority of vitamins are found in the yolk. Furthermore, half the protein is in the yolk as well thereby consuming only the egg white leaves you with an incomplete protein chain which the body can not really digest.

What about cholesterol? Another old-wives tale: A study done by the University of Connecticut shows that eggs do not raise your cholesterol levels ( unless they are consumed with  butter and bacon!!) if anything they help lowering it by increasing the good (HDL) cholesterol. 

The fat contained in the yolk is needed to build the steroidal (muscle building) hormones such as testosterone, estrogen and progesterone. If that doesn't convince you to consume whole eggs I don't know what will. 

It would be best to try to find Omega 3 eggs to optimize the lipid profile.

Froehliche Ostern

Maik

Grapefruit- the great fruit?

Everybody remembers the Grapefruit Diet, it went something like this: eat only grapefruit and lose 20 lbs in as many days.

Thankfully that diet is gone but the myth of grapefruits as a fat burner is still around.

Is there any truth to it?

While it is not a good idea to rely solely on one food alone, grapefruits certainly have their merits. They contain plenty of Vitamin C, antioxidants and control insulin levels. Studies have shown that they can control the growth of cancer cells ( in vitro), help with DNA repair and fight Hepatitis C.

So that is a very impressive resume but what about my six pack? Patience, young Jedi...

Grapefruits contain naringin, a powerful anti-oxidant, that inhibits the activity of the enzyme CPY34A in the human liver. This enzyme is responsible for metabolizing caffeine, which is one of the most potent fat burners.

By consuming grapefruit, you are essentially expanding the half-life of your fat loss product (since pretty much all of them contain caffeine and/or green tea and your multiplying the effectiveness). Adding 1/2 of a grapefruit to your breakfast (no sugar!!) could really make a difference in your quest for abs.