Food and Nutrition

Last week we unveiled our latest project, a free e-book detailing my recent experiments with intermittent fasting. The number one thing readers asked for? A a printable version. So we created just that. Click here to download a free PDF version of the book.

If you want to finally gain some size and learn how to add muscle the right way, we suggest you avoid the “deadly six” and heed our advice. Not only have we gone from Scrawny to Brawny ourselves, we’ve coached hundreds of guys through the process. And we know where they all trip up.

Today we’re launching something I’m very excited about and extremely proud of. It’s a new book detailing my recent experiments with something called “intermittent fasting” (IF). The best part? It’s totally free.

In every issue of Spezzatino, the food magazine that supports the Healthy Food Bank, Lab to Lunch examines the latest development in food and nutrition sciences, focusing on the health benefits of our chosen foods. This week: the benefits of Vitamin A.

Spezzatino is a food magazine that supports the Healthy Food Bank charity. In its recent issue, Squash, Spezzatino looks at one of fall’s favourite — and healthiest — foods.

For an upcoming project I was asked to list my 6 favorite recipes from our wildly popular Gourmet Nutrition V2 cookbook. So in today’s post I decide to share these recipes with you. If you haven’t checked out the book yet, please do. I have a hunch it’ll quickly become your favorite cookbook.

What you eat, how you exercise – even how much stress you have in your life – can impact your body’s acid-base status. And this can have a tremendous impact on your body composition, hormones, and health. In today’s video post, Dr Berardi and Dr Alwyn Wong share some practical tips for improving your acid-base balance.

Whey protein digests quickly while casein digests slowly. In this experiment, researchers tried to determine whether fast digestion or slow digestion is better for protein synthesis and muscle building. The conclusion? Fast digestion is best for boosting muscle protein synthesis.

Most personal trainers think that their job is exclusively exercise related. However, clients don’t hire trainers to exercise. They hire them to change the way they look and feel. And personal training is evolving to reflect these client expectations. Click here to learn how to deliver what your clients really want – body transformation.

A few months back, the USDA shook things up in the nutrition world, ditching the iconic – and hotly debated – Food Pyramid in favor of a new design. In this article, we talk about the USDA’s new food recommendations, discuss whether they’re any good, and offer some suggestions and improvements based on our experience in helping folks improve their nutrition.

Want to know JB’s latest thoughts on post-workout nutrition, “Paleo” eating principles, intermittent fasting, and a host of other topics? If so, check out this interview, first published in the CrossFit Journal in 2011.

Thanks to the enteric nervous system, we really do have “gut feelings”. Emotions can feel like hunger… and fat can make us feel better.

Coach Jay is air-dropped by the PN secret ops into a New York City apartment. The mission: Save a Precision Nutrition client from his own cupboards. Coach Jay shows us how to prep 20 lb of meat and a “crap-ton” of vegetables in record time.

Coach Ryan Andrews spent 10 months as a school cafeteria worker. Here are 18 lessons he learned about food choice, food quality, and kids’ food education.

When is a calorie not a calorie? When it’s from whole versus processed food. Digesting foods costs energy. We expend more energy (calories) digesting whole foods than processed foods. Thus, if you want to lose fat, choose whole foods as often as possible.

A growing body of evidence shows that food allergies, or more accurately, food sensitivities, can cause serious harm to a host of different body systems – not to mention a bunch of unpleasant symptoms. And the first, easiest, and most effective place to start treating these symptoms is with a simple elimination diet.

Are your expectations for healthy eating too unrealistic? Are you making it impossible for yourself to succeed? If so, maybe it’s time to test those expectations against reality.

On March 22nd, 2011, I ended one year of dessert-free, sweet-free, and candy-free living. Twelve months. No added sugar of any kind. Am I somehow a better human being? Do I have exceptional self-control? No. I simply wanted to explore what it would be like to live without something that most North Americans take for granted.

What happens when 17 fit people get together? A behind-the-scenes look at what goes on at PN HQ. Hint: It involves steak, salad, and Swiss balls.

Could vegetables have other health benefits that we haven’t yet fully appreciated? Veggies’ nitrate content may be another factor that improves health and athletic performance.

MTV cribs is a popular show that features the homes of iconic athletes, stars, and public figures. In this episode of cribs, PN athlete and 2006 Olympic Gold Medalist Chandra Crawford is featured (along with her crib in Canmore, Alberta). And what’s on her kitchen table? A copy of Gourmet Nutrition V2, of course. Check it out. (GN appears about 40 seconds into the video).

In his recent television appearance, Dr Berardi talks about several hot topics including: the pH balance of the body, joint pain, fibromyalgia, getting quality sleep, and Precision Nutrition’s huge body transformation project. Click here to check it out.

It was once thought that the only connection between ones emotions and food was the tendency of some people to eat when they were depressed or under stress. But, recent research has been painting an altogether different picture. We now have the understanding that the foods we eat can actually cause certain mood states.

In this video, Dr. Nicholas Christakis, a pioneer in the field of health and social networks, talks about the extremely powerful (and virtually hidden) influence that our social network exerts on our actions, attitudes, and – ultimately – who we become.

Some folks argue that labeling over-eating as an addiction removes responsibility and free choice. However, studying food addiction will likely bring us to novel forms of obesity treatment, and help us understand why people over-eat despite all kinds of penalties.

Last week, I brought you some advice from guys enrolled in the Scrawny to Brawny coaching program — advice from skinny guys that can actually help you lose fat. This week, people who are trying to lose fat return the favour.

Sure, there are some physiological differences between “naturally” lean people and “naturally” heavier people. But it’s not all just genetics or metabolism. Naturally leaner people think and act differently too. Believe it or not, former scrawny guys can actually help heavier folks lose fat.

You only eat healthy, organic junk food, right? Good. Me too. But wait a minute. Is this healthy, organic junk food really better for us?

Antioxidants such as vitamin E may protect us from Alzheimer’s by combating free radicals in the body.

In this week’s segment of Ask Dr John, I answer the following question: “Can eating meat increase my risk of cancer and other diseases?”

In this week’s segment of Ask Dr John, I answer the following question: “What’s the best diet for losing fat and gaining muscle?”

In this week’s segment of Ask Dr John, I answer the following question: “When trying to build muscle, I eat a few whole eggs every morning. Is this dangerous or am I ok?”

Since last week’s article about Ryan’s visit to a cattle feedlot was released – we’ve received some passionate feedback. Here’s Ryan’s response.

Plant-based eater, Ryan Andrews, was tired of talking about, reading about, and hearing about feedlots without ever having visited one. So, after being given fairly unprecedented access, he decided to check one out for himself. Here’s what he learned.

In this week’s segment of Ask Dr John, I answer the following question: “What can I do to get the muscle building benefits of a high protein diet without the risk of becoming too acidic?”

Whether you’re eating to maintain or to lose weight, make sure you’re getting the micronutrients you need from whole food.

In this week’s segment of Ask Dr John, I answer the following question: “What are phytochemicals and how can they help with my training?”

Do you have “forbidden foods”? If so, is putting these foods “off limits” helping or hurting you?

Most women worry about getting too many calories or getting too muscular, so they often avoid dairy and/or heavy weight training. But a new study suggests that adding both of these things may actually help them lose fat.

In this week’s segment of Ask Dr John, I answer the following question: “I’ve heard that creatine is a great muscle builder. But isn’t it unhealthy? Like taking steroids?”