If you missed part 1, please click here.

Natural sweeteners have been used for thousands of years – dating back from the Aztec Indians of Mexico to the ancient Egyptians.  These natural compounds are used for a variety of purposes and not just for adding sweetness to foods.  Their applications range from providing moisture to baked items, slowing food spoilage and providing nutritional benefits as well.  The three natural sweeteners we will explore are honey, maple syrup and agave nectar.  In this second report, I will discuss the nutritional benefits associated with these sweeteners and how they can help you add value to your diet.

Raw Honey – (50 calories per tablespoon)

This sweet substance has been used in a wide variety of applications for thousands of years back to 2,100 B.C. where it was praised for its anti-viral, anti-microbial properties. 
Honey has been found to raise levels of antioxidant compounds in the human body.  At the University of California, Davis, 25 study participants were fed four tablespoons of honey for 29 consecutive days in addition to their regular diets.  Blood samples were drawn during given intervals after eating the honey – the result: a direct link between the consumption of honey and an increase in the test subjects antioxidant levels. 

Fit Chef Tip:  Try adding a tablespoon of honey to your Greek yogurt and toss in a handful of blueberries.  This food combination provides excellent protein sources, naturally increasing your energy levels and strengthens your body’s defenses against free radicals.  An all around guilt free mini meal! 

Maple Syrup – (52 calories per tablespoon)

This sweetener is not only great on protein pancakes, but also packs a powerful nutritional punch.  Maple syrup contains both manganese and zinc, two compounds that boost your body’s health. 
Manganese is a trace mineral essential for converting food to useable energy and for increasing natural antioxidant defenses.  This means that in addition to providing a great sweet taste, maple syrup can help your body repair free radical damage, which has been shown to naturally slow the aging process. 
Maple syrup also contains zinc, a compound that not only acts as an antioxidant but helps keep inflammation in check by supporting the body’s natural healing properties.  This sweet substance also acts as nutritional insurance for your immune system, working together with manganese to help keep you healthy. 

Fit Chef Tip: Mix 1 Tbs. of maple syrup into your oatmeal together with 1 ounce of walnuts.  The combination of complex carbohydrates and heart healthy fats is just what you need to start to the day.  Adding a quick shot of maple syrup into the gives you a bowl full of goodness that will help your body function at its best.  

Agave nectar - (60 calories per tablespoon)

Agave nectar, the product of the Blue agave cactus plant, which thrives in the volcanic soil of southern Mexico, has been used for thousands of years as a sweetener dating as far back as the Aztec culture.  Agave nectar is made by extracting the sap, filtering the impurities then heating it at a low temperature.  This process breaks the carbohydrates down into sugars.  The taste is comparable to honey, and in fact, this sweetener is beginning to gain popularity for its clean taste and variety of uses. 
This compound boasts a host of nutritional benefits as well, from having a low Glycemic Index load, making it a great natural sweetener for diabetics to providing anti-microbial protection against harmful bacteria.  The low GI level means that there is a much lower insulin spike after consuming Agave nectar as opposed to raw sugar or honey.  For those who are sensitive to the “sugar rush” or dreaded “sugar crash”, agave nectar looks to be a great choice for getting your sweet fix without the side effects.

Fit Chef Tip:  Try this quick, high protein smoothie!  Combine 1 cup skim milk, 1 Tbs. Agave nectar, 1 scoop vanilla ProV60 protein powder and a handful of frozen strawberries.  Blend for 1 minute or until smooth and enjoy!

While natural sweeteners do provide health benefits, they still contain calories.  Please keep this in mind and be sure to make adjustments in your diet should you choose to include these sweeteners on a daily basis.

Artificial sweeteners have been quite the subject of debate within the last couple of years.  With the obesity epidemic in the United States reaching all time highs - these food compounds, which at one point were praised as newfound “diet saviors”, have now found themselves in the hot seat.  This article will provide you with information on three of the most commonly used artificial sweeteners namely sucralose, aspartame and saccharine.  (more…)

Question: What Exercise Burns More Body Fat: Bodybuilding Training with Weights or Cardio?

Is cardiovascular exercise really the best exercise to burn fat? Lately I have been hearing that is not the case. If so, what is the best exercise for fat burning?

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Eating lean while going about your regular daily routine is easy to do with adequate preparation.  You can prepare your meals in advance, set aside your snacks and measure out any supplements taken a day or two ahead of time.  What happens when you travel away from home?  It could be for a vacation, a business trip or to visit family across the country.  Regardless of the reason, a big concern for many fitness enthusiasts is maintaining their hard earned physique progress as much as possible.  Since this topic poses its own challenges, I have outlined a few travel-friendly eating tips to help keep you on track. (more…)

If you’re like most people, when you set out on a diet and workout program, you’re looking for quick weight loss. Most of us don’t want to waste time spending weeks if not months getting down to our goal weight.

No, we want to lose weight fast and effectively so we can reach our ideal weight and start living the life we desire.

But, before you jump on the latest quick weight loss quick-fix, it is important that you take some time to understand a few things about quick weight loss strategies.  While there definitely are ways that you can see quick weight loss that stays off for good, more often than not, this isn’t quite how it plays out.

Let’s take a quick look at the main factors to consider. (more…)

For most bodybuilders the cheat meal is something of a sacred ritual, a practice that is looked forward to after a week of disciplined eating. Cheat meals provide a break from, generally speaking, the normal everyday round of chicken breast/brown rice/mixed vegetable meals that serve as perfect bodybuilding foods but offer little in regards to variety. (more…)

I hope everyone enjoyed the 4^th of July as much as I did.  This year my brother in law hosted a fantastic BBQ - (what better occasion to try out his awesome new grill!) complete with plenty of good eats.  To say that traditional BBQ food was available is an understatement - it was around in abundance.  Cheese platters, serving dishes full of crackers and bowls full of chips, dips and other munchies were present in full force.  I thought about giving in but will power prevailed as thoughts of my next physique goal helped keep my nutrition plan in check.  My cheat meal was scheduled for the next day, so this helped me curb my momentary lapse in judgment.

My wife and I prepared a delicious black bean relish to accompany the juicy chipotle marinated grilled chicken breast that you see pictured below.  As with each year, the “usual suspects” made their appearance (ribs, sausage, guilty potato salads and so on).  These foods, while delicious and completely worthy of a cheat meal, caused me to ask myself this question: “What are the nutritional differences between these two meals?”  I did some research and here are my findings - (more…)

Let’s look at the facts. You DO have to eat extra calories and protein to pack on quality muscle.   But, bloating yourself up with a lot of extra pounds of fat and fluid doesn’t just look bad,  it hurts your health, not to mention not doing a thing for gaining muscle mass. My philosophy is that you can get just as BIG as the guys that are porking out,  without overeating.  That means you can stay leaner and healthier, not to mention looking better, year-round. (more…)

As you probably already know, losing body fat has to be one of the most challenging , if not most misunderstood, endeavors that any bodybuilding aficionado can undertake. Losing body fat is not rocket science, although in our society you’d think it was, with the legion of rip-off infomercial shape-up gizmos, the monthly “diet of the month” book releases, and the abundance of weight loss pills being pushed by pharmaceutical companies.

Losing body fat is easy once you know the simple rules, (more…)

How much protein?
The rule of thumb is at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. For example, a 100 pound person would take at least 100 grams of protein. This is a unisex rule. It doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman. It is still 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. You are going to use your current weight, not your goal weight! It’s that simple. Don’t worry. I will give you an easy way to measure your protein out in a minute.  If you are an avid reader of this blog you already know this but I think this will still help simplify it for you. (more…)