Read 3rd part here:MUSCLE BUILDING:STRATEGIC NUTRITION
6. In the third part of this comprehensive article on the appropriate nutrition for muscle building we recited very succintly and explicitly the big nutrition no-nos.
It’s much easier to fight an enemy if you can see him!
But what happens if the enemy is lurking in the durk seeking to devour on first chance your precious muscle earnings?
And-much worse-if he is disguised as a caring friend?
This is our subject for today!
Unhealthy foods disguised as healthy
6.1. Tuna fish:
I quote its name and my heart pains because tuna is -or better was-one of my most favourite dishes.Cheap,convenient,available everywhere and highly nutritional.
The big concern with tuna is its relatively high content in toxic mercury. Recent research both in Europe and in the USA have found mercury levels in tuna fish to be alarmingly high.
I suggest that you should do your own research because mercury levels differ from sea to sea and from kind to kind.Depending on your weight, check your safe consumption rate.
I have switched to sardines. Luckily in Greece they are abundant,cheap and of excellent quality.
Sardines practically contain zero mercury because of their small size and their short life. They are a gift from the sea for us.Humble but of inestimable value!
6.2. Protein bars or energy bars
While you can find few products with a decent quality and nutritional value ,most of them are mere rubbish.
They are full with table sugar,artificial sweeteners,high fructose corn syrup,highly processed soya protein isolate,hydrogenated oils(trans-fats) and the like!
Search very carefully in order to find bars of acceptable quality. Double check the labels!
Most producers market energy/protein bars as nutritionally sound alternatives of meals with real food.
Alas,this is far from the truth!
Unprocessed,unrefined,natural food is what our bodies really need and deserve!Our human engines need the right kind of quality fuel in order to function well and to their maximum potential.
Why eat a bar with added protein and fiber of questionable quality when we can have the real thing naturally packed with excellent quality protein while accompanied by tenths of indispensable micronutrients?
Keep protein or energy bars only for emergency situations and plan ahead so as these emergency situations should be kept to a minimum.Don’t use them to justify your lousy eating habits!! End of 4th part
Chris Strogilis