Myths & Truths About Nutrition

Myth: Heart disease in is caused by consumption of cholesterol and saturated fat from animal products.

Truth: During the period of rapid increase in heart disease (1920-1960), Consumption of animal fats declined but consumption of hydrogenated and industrially processed vegetable fats increased dramatically.

Myth: Saturated fat clogs arteries.

Truth: The fatty acids found in artery clogs are mostly unsaturated (74%) of which 41% are polyunsaturated. 

Myth: Vegetarianism is healthy.

Truth: The annual all-cause death rate of vegetarian men is slightly more than that of non-vegetarian men (.93% vs .89%); the annual death rate of vegetarian women is significantly more than that of non-vegetarian women (.86% vs .54%) 

Myth: Vitamin B₁₂ can be obtained from certain plant sources such as blue-green algae and soy products.

Truth: Vitamin B₁₂ is not absorbed from plant sources. Modern soy products increase the body's need for B₁₂. 

Myth: For good health, serum cholesterol should be less than 180 mg/dl.

Truth: The all-cause death rate is higher in individuals with cholesterol levels lower than 180 mg/dl. 

Myth: Animal fats cause cancer and heart disease.

Truth: Animal fats contain many nutrients that protect against cancer and heart disease; elevated rates of cancer and heart disease are associated with consumption of large amounts of vegetable oils. 

Myth: Children benefit from a low-fat diet.

Truth: Children on low-fat diets suffer from growth problems, failure to thrive & learning disabilities. 

Myth: A low-fat diet will make you "feel better . . . and increase your joy of living."

Truth: Low-fat diets are associated with increased rates of depression, psychological problems, fatigue, violence and suicide. 

Myth: To avoid heart disease, we should use margarine instead of butter.

Truth: Margarine eaters have twice the rate of heart disease as butter eaters. 

Myth: We do not consume enough essential fatty acids.

Truth: We consume far too much of one kind of EFA (omega-6 EFAs found in most polyunsaturated vegetable oils) but not enough of another kind of EFA (omega-3 EFAs found in fish, fish oils, eggs from properly fed chickens, dark green vegetables and herbs, and oils from certain seeds such as flax and chia, nuts such as walnuts and in small amounts in all whole grains.) 

Myth: A vegetarian diet will protect you against atherosclerosis.

Truth: The International Atherosclerosis Project found that vegetarians had just as much atherosclerosis as meat eaters. 

Myth: Low-fat diets prevent breast cancer.

Truth: A recent study found that women on very low-fat diets (less than 20%) had the same rate of breast cancer as women who consumed large amounts of fat. 

Myth: The "cave man diet" was low in fat.

Truth: Throughout the world, primitive peoples sought out and consumed fat from fish and shellfish, water fowl, sea mammals, land birds, insects, reptiles, rodents, bears, dogs, pigs, cattle, sheep, goats, game, eggs, nuts and milk products. (Abrams, Food & Evolution 1987)

Myth: Coconut oil causes heart disease.

Truth: When coconut oil was fed as 7% of energy to patients recovering from heart attacks, the patients had greater improvement compared to untreated controls, and no difference compared to patents treated with corn or safflower oils. Populations that consume coconut oil have low rates of heart disease. Coconut oil may also be one of the most useful oils to prevent heart disease because of its antiviral and antimicrobial characteristics. 

Myth: Saturated fats inhibit production of anti-inflammatory prostaglandins.

Truth: Saturated fats actually improve the production of all prostaglandins by facilitating the conversion of essential fatty acids. 

Myth: Arachidonic acid in foods like liver, butter and egg yolks causes production of "bad" inflammatory prostaglandins.

Truth: Series 2 prostaglandins that the body makes from arachidonic acid both encourage and inhibit inflammation under appropriate circumstances. Arachidonic acid is vital for the function of the brain and nervous system. 

Myth: Beef causes colon cancer

Truth: Argentina, with higher beef consumption, has lower rates of colon cancer than the US. Mormons have lower rates of colon cancer than vegetarian Seventh Day Adventists 

 Live online course with Pete

NEXT 8-WEEK LIVE ONLINE WITH PETE BEGINS SEPTEMBER 09!

Now it’s possible to go one step further and for you to be coached in person, by me, over the internet in real time!

Technological advancements now make this possible and anyone with a broadband Internet connection and a browser can log onto the Internet and take part in my LIVE eight week weight loss coaching programme.

Next year these courses will cost £250. But for only £100, you can join me on the first of these courses, starting on:

Tuesday 29th September at 8.pm

In terms of getting set up, all you’ll need is a Web Cam so that you can be part of the experience. If you haven’t got one, you’ll need to get one. They are easy to find and you can pick one up fairly cheaply. The software we will be using will allow you to ask questions in real time and will let me respond to these during the session.

As many of you know, I have run weight loss groups for years and helped many people get slimmer, fitter and healthier.

I loved doing these but they were always limited to people who lived near venues and were inaccessible to people from different parts of the country and world.

This is why I developed petecohen.tv – as it was the next best thing. It continues to be such a joy for me to be a part of people’s continued success. If you haven’t seen out latest before-and-after videos then click herehttp://www.weightlossguru.com/index.cfm/2009/7/1/Petecohentv-Before-and-Afters/

 Click here to sign up

Our new service

In January we will be launching a new PCTV programme where we will be running eight-week courses on-line for a select number of people. These courses will run in real time and will deliver a personal touch by offering group coaching. 
  
These courses will cost £250. We do, however, have a one time only exclusive offer for you. For just £100, you can join me on the first of these courses, starting on Tuesday 29th September at 8.pm. This offer is only available until the end of August, so sign up soon. This will be a larger group and will run for one hour each week for eight weeks. It will start the week after the Exceptional Weight Loss Athlete Challenge finishes.

What will you get out of this?

It’s a great opportunity to be coached by me in person and for you to receive a real personal touch. It’s a great chance for your specific needs to be addressed and resolved over the 8 weeks. There will be a focus on breaking the habits that have held you back and helping you create ones that not only help you lose weight but, more importantly, keep it off.
 
There will also be new tools and techniques for you to use as well as opportunities for you to get to know others and develop a stronger supportive network.

What do I need?

Hardware (audio)

If you don't have an inbuilt microphone on your computer then you might want to consider getting a headset to ensure a better quality experience.  USB sets provide the best audio quality (especially Plantronics and Logitech). We recommend USB headsets rather than analogue as they can interfere with sound cards but also have 2 jacks which can cause confusion for end users. Whilst a good quality headset is recommended there are other things that can be adjusted to ensure their full performance. You can pick any of these up fairly cheaply. 
 

Hardware (Video)

If you don't have an inbuilt camera on your computer then we suggest a web camera.
 
Recommended:
Web Cameras
1) Logitech Quick Cam Deluxe for Notebooks 
2) Logitech Quick Cam Pro 9000 for Notebooks 
3) Microsoft LiveCam NX-3000 
4) Philips SPC625 NC 
5) Advent 1.3MP Webcam 
6) Creative Live Cam Video IM 
7) Creative Live Cam Optia Pro, with headset 
 
Headsets
1) Logitech Premium Notebook Headset or any Plantronics model.
2) Advent PC Headset

 Click here to sign up

Photo by Mimar Sinan | Flickr

Hi everyone,

I have another great pod-cast for you to listen to... with Health and Fitness Professional, Lincoln Bryden.

Here we discuss the best type of fitness and exercise classes for weight loss.

Please let us know what you think.

Take care,
Pete

If you pick up a magazine or newspaper; there's always a new idea on how to be healthy, a fad diet or celebrity endorsed fitness regime that claims to make you healthy and improve your life.

But the real truth is, experts consistently agree, that one of the simplest ways to maintain your health and improve the quality of your life is to eat a healthy balanced diet and have an active healthy lifestyle. We've been told this all our lives, from our parents, to medical science - as the old saying goes "an apple a day keeps the doctor at bay".

We've all heard countless times that were meant to have 5 portions of fruits or vegetables a day - at least (doctors are now saying we actually need more like 7 portions). It's not just a 'nice thing to do' - it's actually essential for maintaining a healthy body and mind.

If you're not having enough fruit and vegetables in your diet, you can feel tired, have difficulty concentrating, find it difficult to fight off coughs and cold and it can even make it harder to lose weight. And fruit and vegetables are even essential to your daily beauty regime - making your skin, hair and nails look good from the inside out.

But the reality is on a day-to-day basis; with our busy lives it can be incredibly difficult to achieve this daily requirement. And even if you are stocking up, because of the way we farm and transport our fruit and vegetables you can't always guarantee their quality and the amount of nutrients they contain.

And the irony is that because our lives are so busy, our bodies need an even more nutritionally rich and balanced diet. Some of you may have health kicks and stock up at your supermarket on fruits and veg, only to throw them away the next week when you haven't had time or the energy to eat or prepare them.

With this in mind we've been looking for easy ways to improve your health and get the nutrients you need and I think we've found it... with Juice Plus+®

Juice Plus+® is the next best thing to fruits and vegetables. It's a whole food-based nutritional support made using the highest quality, fruits, vegetables and other naturally sourced ingredients available. The fruits and vegetables are simply chilled, cleaned and washed, then juiced. The chilled juices are dried using specialised drying processes, which preserve phytonutrients and put in easy to take capsules.

Simply, these little capsules give you all the goodness from 7 fruits and 10 vegetables and grains.

Juice Plus+® Fruit Blend contains the essence of seven fruits including Apples, Oranges, Cranberries, Peaches, Pineapples, Papayas, Plums, dates and Juice Plus+® Vegetable Blend contains the essence of ten nutrient-dense vegetables and grains: carrots, parsley, beets, kale, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, tomatoes, and the fibre from rice and oats.

Can you imagine how difficult it would be to eat all of those fruits and vegetables everyday? Juice Plus+® offers you an all round solution, that's simple, effective and easy to take over time. It's even suitable for vegetarians, vegans and children.

To find out more or if you're interested please go to
http://www.juiceplus.co.uk/
and you can order online by clicking on the store

If you're also interested in weight-loss have a look at their product Juice Plus+ Complete® is a fortified protein rich high fibre drink containing 23 vitamins and minerals. Unlike protein based products it's free from artificial sweeteners, colours or flavours, doesn't include preservatives and is suitable for vegans. Mixed with water, juice or any type of milk it makes a healthy 'on the go' breakfast, pre-exercise energy drink and post-workout recovery drink.

Check out http://www.juiceplus.co.uk/ for more information

Enjoy, and stay healthy,
Pete :)

I do come across some strange things in my life - one of them was the other day when I walked past a sandwich shop only to see these packages of food. It kind of takes synthetic, processed foods to another level!

I am sure the real sandwiches in this shop were great but it got me thinking that so many people don’t realise that if they eat lots of packaged and processed foods that they’re probably not getting the necessary nutrients to be healthy.

You may have heard that apparently there are about as many obese people in the world as there are those who are starving. The difference between these groups is that one is overeating and one is under-eating: the similarity is that both are malnourished. Whilst those of us in the developed world have more than enough to eat, the food we’re eating is less nutritious than it used to be. In addition, we lead more stressful lives than we used to and our bodies need vitamins and minerals to help us recover from stress: so we are suffering both from how we live and what we eat, or rather what we don’t eat. Every process that takes place in our body (such as digestion, fat burning, thinking, breathing, walking and talking) requires vitamins and minerals. If we fill up on junk foods, processed foods, sugary foods, deep fried foods and takeaways all we deplete our body’s stores of nutrients. If we don’t replenish our stores, over time, we suffer from poor immunity and, ultimately, ill health; we’ll find it harder to concentrate and process information; we’ll have less energy; and we’ll find it more difficult to metabolise food and burn fat. The good news is that we can reverse this process. When we eat fresh, natural foods, we top up our stock of vitamins and minerals.

Let’s imagine for a minute or two that it’s mid-afternoon and you are hungry. You fancy a snack and you have two choices: an apple and a chocolate bar. What does each option give you? The apple will give you a steady release of energy; vitamin C, which is good for your skin, bones, blood and building immunity; potassium, which helps to regulate your water balance, blood pressure and your heartbeat; and fibre, which keeps your digestive system healthy and helps reduce the risk of colon cancer. The chocolate bar, on the other hand, will give you a sugar hit, which will cause your energy levels to crash; saturated fat, which increases your risk of heart disease – and nothing of any value. When you look at foods like this, don’t you think there’s little competition between them?

Food manufacturers refine foods to make them last longer and so they’re more profitable; but you deserve better than that. No matter what you might think about your body or how long you’ve been abusing it with poor quality food, your body deserves to have fresh, nutritious, natural food.

Did you know that each one of us is made up of roughly:

63% water
22% protein
13% fat, and
2% minerals and vitamins

And, did you realise that every single molecule in our body comes from the food we eat and the water we drink. So eating the highest quality food in the right quantities helps us achieve our greatest potential for health and vitality.

Yet among the big news stories of the new millennium was this: the number of starving people in the world is now roughly equal to the number of clinically obese people. But the irony is that many people in the developed world are actually eating less than they used to, so what’s going on?

I have seen, over the last twenty years or so, that the quality of food we’re eating has got worse and there is now more focus on highly processed foods. The people I see in my one-to-one clinics and in workshops and seminars seem to be more stressed and very inactive. It appears that we are more obsessed with how we look rather than what we eat.

The sum total of this behavior is that we are gradually eating ourselves to death and, believe it or not, many people who are overweight are actually suffering from the same condition as people who are starving. Yes, MALNUTRITION, The reason being that the processed packaged food is often so heavily refined that it’s lacking in the vitamins and minerals we need for our bodies to work well.

Just as the quality and type of fuel used in your car influences both the performance and longevity of the engine, so the quality and type of food you eat influences the health, performance and longevity of your body.

If your diet contains lots of packaged and processed foods then chances are you are missing out on vital nutrients - so it’s time to cleanse your body. Every  single process that takes place in your body - including digestion, fat burning, thinking, breathing, walking and talking - requires vitamins and minerals.

When you eat fresh, natural foods, your stock of vitamins and minerals gets topped up: quite simply, when you eat well, your body works well.

As we lose touch with real ‘live’ food, it becomes harder to form the association with the vitamins and minerals in food and the realisation that we are alive because of them. Our body requires them to survive, so if we keep eating food that is lacking in them, our body’s stocks of these nutrients become depleted so we will start to malfunction and it will become increasingly harder to concentrate and process information. The  body will have less energy and it will find it more difficult to metabolise food and burn fat. That’s why junk foods are often called ‘anti-nutrients.’ They literally attack your stores of nutrients and damage your health.

So commit to giving your body what it needs, including good food and plenty of activity, and I will help you along the way, giving you encouragement, support and guidance.

Until next time

You are welcome to download my free weight loss hypnotic mp3. This track has helped thousands of people lose weight easily and effectively. 

Here's just a few of their comments:

"I have lost over 24 pounds using this tool"

"The MP3 is great. At the end I feel wonderful"

 "The relaxation MP3 helps me keep my stress levels down and increase my belief in my ability to keep losing weight."

"Pete is right about the MP3 - it does relax me, makes me feel more positive and has helped me lose over 74 pounds."

"I can't believe how much better the relaxation and transformation mp3 makes me feel. I am eaten better and feeling great"

[ Scroll down to listen to the MP3 ]

So how can this Relaxation Track help people lose weight when it seems like a dichotomy; going against everything that people are usually told about losing weight?

Most people associate weight loss with dieting, and dieting with hard work, denial, sweat and sometimes tears. The process of losing weight makes many people tense and anxious as they are so concerned about how much they are eating or whether they have lost enough weight.

It has always been my goal that in helping people to lose weight, I would also teach them to enjoy the process and become more relaxed and calm. 

This is especially important because most people overeat when they are tired, bored, lonely, stressed, anxious or sad, along with many other emotions.  Bad eating habits are not often associated with feeling relaxed, calm and peaceful.

The transformation and relaxation tool relaxes the body and calms the mind. The knock-on effect of this is that people become better at managing their emotions and make better choices, automatically choosing foods which are healthier as well as having an increased desire to exercise and be active.

[ Scroll down to listen to the MP3 ]

 The power of suggestion.

Everyone is open to suggestion and we are more easily influenced that we think.

The power of positive suggestion or, as some people call it, positive affirmation is an essential part of achieving success in many areas of life, whether  that's sport, business or - of course - losing weight and getting fit.

In this tool I take the person, who wants to lose weight, on a guided journey where I make many positive suggestions to them and their ability to break habits and achieve. The result of this is that people start to give themselves more positive reinforcements and feel good about all the changes they are making. 

In addition there are many health benefits from using this tool because when people relax their brains works differently and this creates many positive changes in the body, like decreased blood pressure, heart rate, muscular tension and better digestion. 

[Lifted from Cranky Fitness - originally from Morgan's blog]

This spoof infomercial is tres funny, take a look:

I had a junk email the other day that had the headline: LOSE TEN POUNDS IN A WEEK. If you get one of these, before you rush to pick up the phone, stop and ask yourself, ‘ten pounds of what?’ Because we can tell you that it won’t be fat!

Most people can comfortably lose around two pounds of fat in a week. Do you really want to start shedding muscle, or dehydrating?

Over the last few millennia our amazing bodies have developed an incredible system to keep us alive through periods when food is scarce – the ability to store food in the form of fat for use during the lean times. It’s a wonderful system, but it’s also a major problem for everyone who lives with food mountains rather than famine. Although we've evolved beyond a primitive lifestyle, we still have the survival mechanisms in place, so whenever we seriously restrict our calorie intake our bodies assume there’s a food shortage and hold onto the fat we’ve got stored in case things get worse. But we need to stay alive and start burning lean muscle tissue instead!

Every time you go on a crash diet you are going to lose muscle until your body adjusts itself to getting fewer calories. But the chances are that by the time your body has made this delicate adjustment you’ll have given up on the diet, so when you start eating normally again your body is overwhelmed with the extra food and starts slapping it straight back on as fat. Your metabolism – the rate at which your body burns those calories – can remain lower than usual for weeks after you finish your diet. Your body remembers how much fat you used to have and wants to put it back quickly in case you suddenly start dieting again. Which, of course, many people usually do.

Think of your body as a fireplace; the fire is your metabolism and the logs are the food. If you disappear for the day and leave the fire unattended, the chances are that when you come back to it in the evening it will almost be out. You might stoke it up with logs to get it going again, but the embers won’t be hot enough to get them burning. When you look at the fireplace the next morning, you might find your logs from the night before are still lying there, a little charred, perhaps, but not burnt up. If you have a habit of going for long periods without food, your metabolism will slow right down. Perhaps you’re working hard so you skip lunch, finish work late and stop for pizza on the way home. By that time, of course, you’ll be feeling pretty hungry – but don’t be fooled: Your metabolism will have virtually given up by then. Eating a big meal and going straight to bed means you’ve got less chance of digesting that food quickly and burning it up. It’s much more likely to be turned into fat and stored. If you eat small amounts regularly, you will have a better chance of using it up as you go along.  

Beware the hollow promise!

Hi there everyone,
Did you know that weight training could be as effective as endurance exercises like running, swimming or cycling when it comes to burning fat and warding off diabetes, a study suggests.

Professor Ken Fox, an exercise specialist at the University of Bristol, said that attention was increasingly turning to resistance exercise as a means to improve metabolism and help lose weight. Resistance training has been more often associated with serious athletes and body builders than with slimming, especially by women, but it is a beneficial way of helping your body get rid of those excess pounds.

Many women worry that by using weights they will turn themselves into the Incredible Hulk. But it’s actually quite difficult for anyone to put on significant amounts of muscle, and it is MUCH more difficult for women. The most important factor in muscle gain is the male hormone testosterone, which women have very little of, thankfully! But it’s not only woman that shy away from resistance training but also the older members of society.

Numerous studies confirm that resistance training can preserve and even increase resting metabolism. What that means is that regardless of age and sex - resistance training can help you lose weight. Here are some other very good to reason to take up resistance training:

• You can firm up your entire body and reshape it.
• You can increase your metabolism by at least 15 per cent. So, even when you’re sleeping, you’re burning 15 per cent more fat than you used to.
• Your clothes will fit you much better because as you tone your muscles your body shape will improve.
• You will develop more energy, feel younger and even improve your posture.

If you aren’t familiar with resistance training then I strongly suggest you get some expert advice before you start.  And if you haven’t exercised or a long time, or you have high blood pressure then please consult your doctor before doing any of this type of training.

You might want to consider investing in a personal trainer. Personal training is now much more accessible, it’s possible to get a trainer to teach you about resistance training and design a specific programme for yourself.

Take good care.
Pete.