the truth about grill meat,

Most people aren't aware that when you cook meat (whether it's grilled, broiled, or seared) there are carcinogenic compounds that can form called HCA's (heterocyclic amines).  Now don't panic...you ingest various carcinogens all the time, even with some vegetables. You can always protect yourself with more antioxidants.

Please Note:  When you cook meat in a water base as opposed to grilling, broiling, or searing, you eliminate the HCAs. So for example, meats cooked in a soup, or meats cooked in a crock pot will not have the problem of the carcinogenic HCAs and is a healthier way to cook meat.

But let's face it... grilled meat tastes awesome and there's no way I'm giving up my grass-fed steak from the grill, or my grass-fed burgers!

That's why it's important to know that there's a way you can use spices to both counteract, and also drastically reduce the carcinogens formed when you grill meat...

If you're going to grill meats, marinating meats for hours beforehand in liquid mixtures that contain rosemary and other herbs/spices can dramatically help to reduce HCA's (heterocyclic amines), which are carcinogenic compounds that can form when meats are grilled.  So using rosemary, thyme, garlic, oregano and other spices in a meat marinade before grilling meats can drastically reduce any carcinogens that normally would form on grilled meat. 

The antioxidants in rosemary and thyme from a marinade were specifically cited in studies at being powerful inhibitors of HCA formation when grilling meats.  But it was also noted that other spices such as garlic, oregano, and others can help to prevent HCA formation as well, so I suggest using a variety, which tastes great anyway!

One more important point about grilling meat:

Remember that the more well-done a meat is cooked, the higher concentration of carcinogenic HCA's can form, so rare, medium-rare, or medium are healthier choices than well-done.  I've never understood why anybody would want to ruin a good steak by burning it to oblivion anyway.  But hey, if you're one of those folks that likes your steaks well-done, just remember that you're eating a lot more carcinogens than a steak that's cooked less, so make sure to load up on your antioxidants (spices, teas, berries, etc) to help combat those extra carcinogens.  

Washing down your barbequed meal with a glass of unsweetened iced tea (rich in antioxidants) and also a good salad with lots of raw veggies can provide the antioxidants needed to counteract the effect of HCAs in your body from grilled meat. 

By the way, even charring vegetables on the grill creates different carcinogens such as acrylamides, so don't think that the negative effect of charring only applies to meats.

Hey, we all love a great barbeque, so no need to give that up just because of HCAs or acrylamides, but at least now you know how to counteract the effects of these in your body to protect yourself, and also how to use spices to drastically reduce the formation of HCAs on grilled meat!

Lastly, did you know that the TYPE of meat you may be grilling on a regular basis can be destroying your metabolism and health?

It’s true!

The truth is that grilling a grass-fed steak, burger, organic chicken breast or thigh, and many other types of meat can not only be on of the healthiest meals to prepare, but also BURN belly fat because of the high protein content, healthy CLA fats, as well as full amino-acid profile, and many other fat-fighting and metabolism boosting qualities of high quality meat…

However, you really need to pay attention to the type of meat you’re purchasing.  While many health and medical experts caution the consumption of meats claiming they can “cause heart problems,” and many other scare tactics, there are no scientific studies showing this when you're talking about high quality, organic and pasture-raised meats.  Most of the negative studies on meat refer to processed meats laden with chemicals, such as hot dogs or lunch meats, but not a good grass-fed steak.

Animals that are raised in high-population commercial farms are fed mostly corn, corn by-products, and other grains, that completely change the chemistry of the meat you’re preparing.

They turn an otherwise healthy & fat-fighting meal into a health-destroying, inflammtory, fat-GAINING meal.

So the next time you’re at your local butcher or grocery store, make sure to seek out the highest quality pasture-raised meats, loaded with more vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats.

Not only will they taste better, but they’ll also be much better for your waistline and health.

protein and muscle

Whether you’re following a plant-based diet or are just trying to figure out how to properly track your daily macronutrient intake, the question of complete vs. incomplete protein is one that springs up quite often.

Should you count incomplete proteins as part of your daily protein totals, and do they contribute positively to muscle growth?

Let’s go over it…

Do Incomplete Proteins Count?

complete vs incomplete proteins

The simple answer here is that yes, they certainly do.

Whether it’s 30 grams from a chicken breast or 1 gram from a banana, every gram of protein that you eat throughout the day does count toward your protein total and does assist your muscle building and fat burning efforts.

All proteins are made up of individual building blocks called amino acids, 9 of which are considered “essential” since your body cannot produce them on its own.

amino acids

Traditionally speaking, “complete proteins” are those that contain a sufficient proportion of all 9 essential amino acids on their own and are generally derived from animal sources such as chicken, beef, eggs, dairy etc.

On the other hand, “incomplete proteins” are those that are particularly low in at least one essential amino acid, which is typically referred to as the “limiting amino acid” in that food. These are generally derived from plant sources such as fruits, vegetables and grains.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that all protein sources are technically “complete” since they still do contain all 20 of the amino acids in some amount.

It’s just that some foods have lower amounts of certain amino acids in comparison to others.

For example, beans are high in the amino acid lysine but are low in methionine, whereas grains are high in methionine but low in lysine.

                  

If for some reason you were only eating a relatively small amount of protein per day from a limited number of sources, this likely would become a legitimate concern since you wouldn’t be receiving a sufficient amount of certain amino acids needed to optimize muscle protein synthesis and overall health.

However, in the context of an overall diet providing enough total daily protein from a variety of sources, the whole notion of “complete vs. incomplete protein” basically becomes a non-issue.

daily protein intake

This is because your body can only build a limited amount of muscle in any given day to begin with, and it only requires a finite amount of each specific amino acid to maximize your growth potential over that specific period.

More protein and more amino acids does not automatically mean more muscle growth, and there are diminishing returns as your total protein intake gets higher and higher until eventually there’s no added benefit at all.

So, instead of thinking in terms of “complete vs. incomplete protein”, it’s far more useful to simply think in terms of total protein intake and total amino acid intake for the entire day as a whole.

As long as you’re getting in somewhere between 0.8-1g of protein per pound of body weight daily and are following a standard “fitness diet” that includes a variety of different protein sources, you’ll automatically be getting enough of each individual amino acid to optimize your results.

For that reason, worrying about the specific amounts of “complete” vs. “incomplete” protein you’re consuming is really just an unnecessary over-complication.

Remember, your body does not view your diet within the context of individual foods, and amino acids are amino acids regardless of which specific source they’re coming from.

On top of this, your body also has a “free amino acid pool” available that it can draw from if certain aminos are missing at a particular time when they’re needed.

So, if a certain meal you eat is low in a particular amino acid, your body can draw from this pool to balance things out.

This is why, contrary to what was traditionally recommended in the past, there’s actually no need for vegans/vegetarians to specifically combine their incomplete protein sources together at each meal to form a complete protein.

The Bottom Line On Complete Vs. Incomplete Protein

incomplete protein bodybuilding

While it’s true that a typical “complete” protein source such as chicken would be superior to an “incomplete” protein source such as rice on a gram for gram basis, it’s really not a practical concern when looked at in the overall picture.

As long as you’re consuming enough total protein for the day as a whole derived from a variety of different sources, all of your individual amino acid needs will be met one way or another.

The issue of complete vs. incomplete protein is more or less an outdated concept at this point, and it’s not something you need to concern yourself with from a muscle building or overall health perspective.

Just focus on total protein content and variety, and you’ll be good to go

abs tips

Balancing your bodybuilding program with your career, friends, family and other hobbies/pursuits is hard work enough... the last thing you need on top of this is to waste valuable energy on redundant, ineffective nutritional techniques that do nothing but make your life more complicated.

Proper bodybuilding nutrition is actually fairly straightforward, and you really don't need to employ anything anything fancy or overly complex in order for your results to be maximized

Ignore the endless "bro science" out there and ignore the so-called "gurus" who offer up their "advanced strategies" with no real scientific backing behind them.

Let's keep things efficient, straight to the point and dispel 6 common nutritional myths that continue to circulate in the bodybuilding community.

Avoiding these 6 myths will make your life a heck of a lot easier, will make your diet far easier to follow, and will still yield the same muscle building and fat burning results that you're after...

Bodybuilding Nutrition Myth #1

You must consume a meal every 2-3 hours throughout the day in order to maximize muscle growth and fat loss.

The idea behind the "eat every 2-3 hours" rule is that these frequent feedings (usually around 6 per day) will keep the body in an anabolic state and keep your fat burning metabolism elevated by keeping you out of "starvation mode".

The reality?

Digestion and absorption is an incredibly gradual process, and most standard sized meals will keep your body in a net anabolic state for around 5-7 hours.

Not only that, but there is quite a bit of research directly examining the effects of meal frequency on basal metabolic rate, with frequent feedings showing no marked improvements. (In fact, some studies actually show less frequent feedings to be superior)

If you want to maximize muscle growth and/or fat loss, just focus on meeting your total protein/carbohydrate/fat requirements over the course of the day as a whole. Lay it out in a way that fits your schedule and that falls best into your natural pattern of hunger.

You'll get the same results, and without the headache that comes with obsessing about getting a meal in every few hours.

Bodybuilding Nutrition Myth #2

You must consume a whey protein shake immediately following your workout to prevent muscle catabolism and kick-start the recovery process.

Once again, digestion/absorption is a very gradual process, and as long as you consumed a meal of some kind within a few hours of beginning your workout, those same nutrients are still being broken down and utilized even after your session is over.

Slamming a protein shake within 36.7 seconds of your last rep certainly isn't going to hurt, but it isn't mandatory either. If you want to wait an hour or two, it's not going to make any noticeable difference to your results.


Bodybuilding Nutrition Myth #3


You must avoid consuming carbohydrates in the evening in order to prevent excess fat storage.

Every day, your body expends a certain number of calories (calories are just a measurement of energy) to fuel natural bodily processes (such as breathing, digestion and circulation) plus all of your additional activities.

In order to lose body fat, you have to create a “calorie deficit” by taking in fewer calories than you burn. This stimulates the body to tap into its excess fat stores to obtain a source of fuel.

As long as that calorie deficit is consistently in place, the specific timing of your carbohydrate consumption will NOT make any difference in the overall picture.

Fat loss and fat gain is not an "on/off" switch. Both processes are happening simultaneously.


Whether you burn more fat earlier in the day and store more later on, or store more fat earlier in the day and burn more later on, the net result is still going to be the same as long as your total calorie intake remains constant.


Bodybuilding Nutrition Myth #4


You must avoid eating before bed in order to prevent excess fat storage.

The basic logic here is the exact same as the previous myth.

Fat loss/fat gain is determined by your overall net energy balance. As long as your total calorie intake remains constant, it makes no difference whether you burn/store more fat earlier in the day or burn/store more fat later in the day. The net result will be the same regardless of nutrient timing. It is a basic matter of energy consumed versus energy burned.


As long as you're tracking your total protein/carb/fat intake accurately each day, you can eat whenever you feel like it without worry.

Bodybuilding Nutrition Myth #5


Stick to slow-absorbing carbohydrates on the low end of the glycemic index.

The glycemic index (GI) is a chart that ranks carbohydrates from 0 to 100 based on how quickly or slowly they raise blood sugar levels in a 2-hour period after they are consumed. The idea is that consuming carbs on the low end of the scale will provide you with a "steady stream" of sugars rather than a quick spike, which prevents excess fat storage.

Here are the two main problems (among many) as it relates to the GI...

* GI rankings are based on the glycemic effects of specific foods that are consumed isolated and in a fasted state. Aside from first thing in the morning, you’ll never be consuming your carbohydrates in a fasted state.

* A typical bodybuilding nutrition plan always combines carbohydrates with fats and proteins. Consume your carbohydrates as part of a complete meal and the glycemic response can be dramatically altered.


As long as the majority of your carbohydrate intake is coming from minimally refined, higher fiber sources, the glycemic index rankings are essentially useless.

Bodybuilding Nutrition Myth #6


You must "eat clean" 24/7 if you really want to get into impressive shape.

Your body cannot recognize individual food items as separate entities. It does not say "that's a chicken breast, that's an apple and that's a cup of rice". It only sees the complete diet as a whole - the total protein, carbs, fats and micronutrients that you consume each day.

As long as the majority (around 80-90%) of your diet is being derived from "clean" food sources (lean/high quality protein, minimally refined/high fiber carbs and healthy fats) and your vitamin/mineral/other micronutrient needs are being met, slipping in some "cheat foods" to fill in the remaining 10-20% is not going to make any difference to your results.


What it WILL do, however, is make your overall life more enjoyable while yielding the same results as the next guy who is eating nothing but chicken, broccoli and brown rice 24 hours a day.