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Optimal Eating
Articles by Vince Gironda
People are often sceptible of my statement that bodybuilding is 85 percent nutrition. The average bodybuilder vastly underestimates the value of diet and overestimates how good his own eating program is.
Protein - Why & How
(IronMan Magazine March 1976 Vol. 35 No. 3)
Never use a blender to mix protein. Blenders emulsify the fat in milk to a suspension too small for digestion. (Homogenized Milk.) Never use milk for a protein mix. Milk has too much carbohydrate. Protein and carbohydrate digest in different mediums. Protein (acid medium), Carbohydrates (alkaline medium). You may mix powdered protein and eggs in heavy whipping cream. Whipping cream is zero carbohydrate. Mix with a spoon to a consistency of pudding and eat with a spoon. Cow's milk or cream has five times the lysine found in human milk. Calves double body weight every 30 days. Human babies double bodyweight every six months. Before bodybuilders discovered supplements, milk was the principal growth food. Cow's milk, or cream, also contain the anterior pituitary hormone which is secreted by the cow when lactating to accelerate growth of the calf. Bodybuilders consuming cow's milk (or cream) can also benefit from this growth hormone. This food mixture should be eaten with two or three H.C.L. (hydrochloric acid) tablets for metabolic, digestive support. All units of protein are measured with eggs as No. 1 protein, milk is 2nd, and meat is 3rd. Enough for the No. 1 growth protein mix.
The next protein to discuss is: Steak and Eggs - the strong man's favorite meal. The amount of meat and the number of eggs used are a matter of body weight, height and severity of training. This meal is the favorite of bodybuilders interested in keeping up their size and burning all possible fat from their bodies. Both of these meals are excellent blood sugar elevators and both sustain blood sugar levels for a 6-hour period. Training on steak and eggs, you will find, does not require more than two meals a day (morning and night). I am not listing grams of protein in these meals because I do not think it is necessary. Force feeding of excessive amounts of protein can and will put you in Negative Nitrogen Balance - and can cause uric acid retention and kidney, bladder and liver problems. If you are not working out hard enough you will find you lose your taste for protein and you will naturally and normally cut back on quantity. When this happens a protein rest should be taken by eating steamed vegetables, raw vegetables and salads for 3-5 days, until you regain your taste for protein foods. You must remember that your individual needs are different from the next man's, so listen to your body rhythms and do not force food into a body that does not require it. Forget man's so-called logic and find your own metabolic needs.
A word to those who do not understand cholesterol: Exercise is the very best fat emulsifier known, because man still reacts to stress (which is the primary cause of cholesterol overproduction) as he did when in a primitive state. Cholesterol calls for action (Fight or Flight). Cholesterol prepares you in case of injury (stops bleeding if you are cut, or protects a rupture of veins). Also, a little known fact is that the body manufactures more cholesterol that you can possibly eat. The body reduces cholesterol output - or produces more - depending on how much of it you ingest. Fats and oils are fat emulsifiers themselves (lepotropics). So, who started the misconception that fats and oils cause unnatural cholesterol levels? As a matter of fact, if you study this problem you will find it is a substance known as tri-glyceride that is the culprit. Remember, nature is balance. Read Steffanson's book, "Not By Bread Alone." He lived with the Eskimos for 18 years on meat and fat only!
BODY BUILDING NUTRITION
(IronMan Magazine Nov 1973 Vol. 33 No. 1)
1. Proteins: Meats, eggs, milk, fish, cheese, protein powders, fowl, Amino acids.
2. Minerals: Mineral tablets, kelp.
3. Vitamins: A, B, C, E, F.
4. Digestive Supports: H.C.L. Enzyme tablets, fats and oils.
5. Metabolic Stimulators: Kelp, fats and oils, minerals.
Mother's Milk
(IronMan Magazine Nov 1973 Vol. 33 No. 1)
Mother's milk has the highest biological value of all the proteins (95 per cent). Next comes eggs at 94 per cent; cows milk follows with 90 per cent. milk and egg protein will build muscle faster than any other known food.
No such thing as a balanced diet
(IronMan Magazine Nov 1973 Vol. 33 No. 1)
According to Vilhjalmur Stefansson (who wrote "Not By Bread Alone" 25 years ago), after spending 18 years living with the Eskimos on a diet of meat and fat, claims there is no such thing as a balanced diet such as the 'basic 7 foods' which government charts attest to. Here is a book that should be read by everyone who eats meat - and everyone who does not eat meat. The evidence as incontrovertible.
Organic Foods
(IronMan Magazine Nov 1973 Vol. 33 No. 1)
Organic foods can give a person new insights into the order of the universe, according to the Wall Street Journal (January 21, 1971).
Weight Gaining Hints From Vince
( IronMan Magazine Nov 1973 Vol. 33 No. 1)
The great majority of people who come to be our students are those who have need for greater body weight. Our improved system of body culture has allowed us to increase body weights of solid flesh on individuals who have such needs. Every case can gain. Some do take longer, but in the final analysis, results are assured. I repeat: Everyone can gain!
Several hints, as follows, may be a good aid in helping to gain weight. Of course, the program of exercise that is offered is of greatest importance.
1. During your exercise period drink. Between each exercise you may drink, (one pint after each muscle worked). Do not drink out of the drinking fountain because you swallow air.
2. Eating three good generous meals a day is a necessity. Even more beneficial, if time permits, would be six small meals per day. Include a great deal of good broiled meats, baked potatoes, stewed fruits, eggs, brown rice, thick soups, stews, nuts and the natural grains. Be sure to include vegetables of the green and yellow variety.
3. You may at 10, 2, 4, and bedtime, drink certified raw milk each day in addition to your regular meals.
4. One thing to remember is to allow your meals to digest thoroughly by lying or sitting with your feet propped up on a high footstool after each meal.
5. If you take your lunch to school or work, the best sandwiches for weight gaining are made of 100 per cent whole wheat, pumpernickel or rye breads, avocado and bacon, peanut butter and bacon or cream cheese.
6. It is my observation that 90 per cent of the people who smoke are unable to gain weight. I feel that I cannot guarantee substantial weight gains to cigarette smokers.
7. Do not miss a workout unless absolutely imperative, as your whole body building program is based on regular habits.
SUGGESTED MENU
Breakfast - two-egg cheese omelet, buttered whole wheat toast, milk. 10 liver tablets, 1 ounce amino acid, wheat germ oil, Sterogyn, Vitamin C.
Lunch - one-half pound hamburger, green salad, protein and milk drink. 10 liver tablets, 1 ounce amino acid, Sterogyn, wheat germ oil, Vitamin A.
Dinner - one-half pound meat of any kind, baked potato, salad, milk. 10 liver tablets, wheat germ oil, Sterogyn, Vitamin B, Iron tablet.
Before retiring and between meals - Protein and milk drink.
Carbohydrates - No Villain
(IronMan Magazine Sept 1978 Vol. 37 No. 6)
Very often "facts" which are true today become fallacies tomorrow. Once an idea is established, people are reluctant to change in spite of concrete evidence to the contrary. Columbus had a bad time convincing his peers that the world wasn't flat. It has been my habit throughout the years to risk contradiction for the sake of the science and art of bodybuilding. This brings me to the point of this article - the age old villain, CARBOHYDRATES.
Of the three food components, carbohydrates have received the most abuse. The two remaining, fats and proteins, have been the panaceas of bodybuilders. Well, I've got news for those of you who think this way. Carbohydrates may very well be the bodybuilder's best friend, and proteins their enemy! Let me explain in detail for you.
It is currently "fashionable" to limit carbohydrates to a minimum and in some cases allow them into the diet just one day a week, while the remainder of the week taking just proteins and some fats. Over long periods of time this can be dangerous, leading to serious side effects as well as decreasing life span. Dr. Ralph A. Nelson, associate professor of nutrition at the Mayo Medical School states: "Animals fed high protein diets have increased activity of enzymes associated with protein and amino acid metabolism and have increased urea production."
"Kidney hypertrophy occurs in animals on long-term protein diets; more strikingly, if one kidney is removed, the degree of hypertrophy of the remaining kidney is directly related to the amount of protein digested. High protein diets increase albumin and casts in animal urine. Rabbits on high protein diets develop nephritis, as do rats if the diet is continued long enough. Trout fed a low protein diet live twice as long as trout given a high protein diet; the microscopic water animal, the ratifer, has a similar inverse relationship of protein to longevity."
The high protein intake increases enzymatic activity, urea and albumin production thereby in effect causing our metabolic engine to "idle" at a faster rate. the majority of bodybuilders I come into contact with seem to feel that if they ingest only proteins they won't put on body fat. This is untrue! When the body receives more protein than is necessary for its normal maintenance, it has no way of excreting it, so it stores it in the body as adipose tissue or in plain language, F-A-T!
I advocate a relatively "low" protein intake, about 45 grams per day. Too much protein creates a negative nitrogen balance which in turn leads to gout, sluggishness, and liver and kidney problems. The body can't digest more than 20 grams per meal, anything beyond that leads to problems. At least one meal per day should be carbohydrates in the form of vegetables or grains, thereby giving the body a protein break.
Furthermore, it has been demonstrated repeatedly that protein combustion is not higher during heavy exercise than under resting conditions, while on the other hand the body uses carbohydrate stores first before it turns to other sources. Even after depleting the carbohydrate deposits, continued exercise does not hike protein needs significantly.
According to my research, athletes performing strenuous endurance tasks such as bodybuilding, and burning up 9,000 calories per day, show no noticeable increase in protein needs.
If this all isn't enough to turn your heads, Dr. Per-Olaf Astrand, a famous exercise physiologist in Sweden, performed a study which concluded that endurance tends to decrease as protein intake is elevated! He discovered that a high protein diet lowered endurance as well as reduced buildups in muscle carbohydrate, more than a high carbohydrate diet.
During my investigation I cam upon a classical experiment by Christensen and Hansen, who observed the participation of fats and carbohydrates in energy metabolism during physical work of different intensities. I won't bore you with cold statistical facts, but in conclusion they found that in heavy work such as powerlifting or bodybuilding the major participant towards endurance was, once again, carbohydrates. Also, the subjects were able to perform three times longer on a carbohydrate diet that a protein or fat diet.
I am strongly convinced that bodybuilders get too little carbohydrate. Recently a team of Russian researchers found that a high carbohydrate diet is superior for athletes in training, while protein should be increased only during periods of inactivity.
I can almost hear some of you shouting disapproval of these ideas. Probably the most asked question now is, "If bodybuilding essentially is the tearing down and building up again of muscle tissue, then isn't increased protein necessary for that process?" The answer is NO! A high protein intake even after a sustained injury, doesn't prevent a transient rise in nitrogen losses.
Dr. Doris Calloway and a team of researchers found that animals fed three times as much protein as normal recovered no better than those on normal amounts of protein.
Power lifters and power event-type athletes are under the delusion that excess protein supplementation will be useful in bulking up. But according to David L. Costill, Ph.D., Director of the Human Performance Laboratory at Ball State University, this is untrue. Essential amino acids that are utilized are provided by the normal diet and any excess converts into, once again, F-A-T!
Now let's get one thing straight before we go any further. There is a quality difference between carbohydrates. Don't go out and load yourself up with candy and that type of "junk" carbohydrates. Carbohydrate loading with sugar is a mistake. Carbohydrates replace glycogen which the body stores and uses for energy. Sugar in any form leaches the stored glycogen from the liver and produces nervousness, irritability, fears, doubts, and various psychic changes in the personality. The major sources of carbohydrates should be from, as I stated earlier, grains and vegetables.
I hope that this discussion has convinced some of you that my point is well taken. So don't be afraid of carbohydrates - they are the bodybuilder's best friend.
Gironda Tells You How - A Muscle Building Diet
(IronMan Magazine Jan 1976 Vol. 35 No. 2)
(EDITOR'S NOTE - The following diet as recommended by Vince Gironda and used on some of his people in his gym, is not to be used as a permanent type diet, but only for a short period of time foe special purposes of stimulating added muscle growth.)
When I am approached in my gym by anyone who asks about gaining weight, I usually ask this question: "Do you want increased bodyweight, or is it size that you are after?" Invariably the answer is "Size"!
So let's not confuse bodyweight with muscle growth. (How much do you think an extra inch on your arm will affect the scale?)
This diet is designed to step up muscle tissue growth - not out on bodyweight. Remember, muscle size is desirable - not bodyweight - which will only smooth out your definition and increase the size of your hips and waist and cause a loss of symmetry.
Breakfast -
12 oz. Half and Half
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon Milk & Egg Protein
1 oz. Amino Acids (mixed in a blender)
Supplements to be used with this drink:
3-4 Hydrochloric Acid tablets
3-4 Enzyme tablets
1 R.N.A. tablet
1 Organic Iron tablet
3 Tri-Germ Oil Capsules
Lunch -
Hamburger patty and Cottage Cheese
Supplements:
Same as Breakfast except for Iron and R.N.A.
3 o'clock snack -
Natural (Not processed cheese)
1 oz. Amino Acids
Dinner -
Steak or Hamburger (up to 1 lb.)
Cottage Cheese
Supplements: Same as other two meals except iron.
Before retiring -
Protein drink
Between Meals -
(Every three hours) 6 Liver Tablets
In Defense of Cholesterol
(IronMan Magazine July 1976 Vol. 35 No. 5)
An excerpt from the March, 1975 Issue of Science Digest
John Yudkin, professor emeritus of nutrition at the University of London and an egg fancier, recently defended cholesterol against the charge that it's the main culprit behind heart disease.
Speaking before the annual conference of the International Egg Commission, Yudkin attacked what we called "the Reader's Digest view" of coronary thrombosis - namely, that eating too much cholesterol, or animal fat, leads to a high concentration of cholesterol in the blood, which in turn leads to deposits in the coronary arteries and ultimately a clot that cuts off the blood supply to the heart. In short, eating such high-cholesterol foods as eggs eventually dumps you on the floor with a heart attack.
"Ridiculously oversimplified," says Yudkin. Recent studies that indicate high blood cholesterol as the most distinctive characteristic of coronary victims, he points out, ignore several of their other salient traits. Looking at countries with a high rate of heart disease, says Yudkin, we do find a tendency to eat fatty foods, but we also find a larger proportion of people with diabetes and with a high blood level of triglyceride, or ordinary neutral fat. Yudkin claims scientists have homed in on cholesterol as the villain partly "because it happens to be easier to measure."
In defense of cholesterol, Yudkin points out that not everyone who eats a diet high in animal fat ends up with a high cholesterol level in his blood, and even those with high cholesterol counts don't always get coronary thrombosis. he cites a study of Eskimos, who eat a lot of fat, that shows they have just as much cholesterol in their blood as Americans, yet suffer far fewer heart attacks.
"So there is a limit," he continues, "to what you can do with epidemiology, and you can show that in general terms there is an association between consumption of fat in a population and a high risk of getting heart attacks. You can do the same with a whole lot of other factors. You can get just as good as or better association with sugar consumption."
Yudkin emphasizes that as yet no sure link has been established between diet and coronary thrombosis, but states that triglyceride level in the blood is a much better indicator of coronary risk than cholesterol. And blood triglyceride, he says, is determined by how much sugar, not how many eggs, you eat.
EGGS, Your Diet, Your Health
(IronMan Magazine July 1976 Vol. 35 No. 5)
Mid-morning fatigue may result from an insufficient breakfast of animal protein. It's desirable that at least one third of the daily protein intake be derived from animal sources such as eggs. Some high quality protein, as from eggs and other animal products, should be included in every diet. The tissues must have all of the essential amino acids for cell synthesis. Eggs provide these!
Raw Food - And Man
(IronMan Magazine May 1974 Vol. 33 No. 4)
Compiled by Stephen A. Downs for Vince Gironda
PART I: Processed Food and Physical Deterioration.
If there is one thing that we could speculate as being highly probable concerning the life style of primitive man, it is that he obtained his food primarily from the vegetable kingdom and ate it raw. Historically it appears that complexities in food preparation and processing have come with the more complex and technical societies. Corresponding to the rise in production and consumption of refined and processed food has been the rise in physical deterioration, and the birth of heretofore unknown degenerative diseases.
In his landmark publication, Nutrition And Physical Degeneration, Dr. Weston A. Price draws a most profound corollary between the consumption of refined and processed foods among primitive peoples of the world, and the corresponding rise in physical deterioration. Dr. Price's investigations took him completely around the world, studying cultures on every major continent. As Dr. Price was a dentist, he took most interest in individual jaw formation, tooth structure, and general oral hygiene. He studied the live subjects that he encountered, and compared them with past generations that he uncovered for study at burial sites. He found that where past generations had subsisted on raw, unprocessed food, the jaw formations were near perfect, dental arches were well formed, tooth structure was a work of art, carries were nonexistent, and all thirty-two teeth were intact. In studying generations following the introduction of refined and processed foods into the dietary, certain degenerative changes in the mouth were noted: 1) jaw formations were malformed, 2) dental arches were misshapen, 3) tooth structure was uneven, faulty, and badly decayed, and 4) many teeth in the mouth were missing. In Africa, Asia, the South Seas, and Australia, the story was the same; with the introduction of refined and processed foods into the dietary of primitive peoples through the influx of so-called civilization came the corresponding rise in degenerative processes. In the final analysis, Price's studies proved conclusively that human physical health and well being is dependent upon a raw, unprocessed dietary; and, that processed food seemed to pave the way for disease and degeneration.
Another monumental work in this area was done over fifty years ago by Dr. Robert McCarrison. In 1927, Dr. McCarrison was appointed Director of Nutrition Research in India under the Research Fund Association. His travels had taken him through the remote section of the Himalayas where the people of Hunza had lived since the time of Alexander the Great. In his Studies in Deficiency Diseases, McCarrison states concerning the health of the Hunzas:
"During the period of my association with these people, I never saw a case of asthenic dyspepsia, of gastric or duodenal ulcer, or appendicitis, of mucous colitis, or cancer . . . among these people the "abdomen over-sensitive" to nerve impressions, to fatigue, anxiety or cold was unknown. The consciousness of the existence of this part of their anatomy was, as a rule, related solely to the feeling of hunger. Indeed, their buoyant abdominal health has, since my return to the West, provided abdominal contrast with the dyspeptic and colonic lamentation's of our highly civilized communities."
Dr. McCarrison decided to perform some experiments to find if diet had a role to play in the superior health possessed by the Hunzas, and their virtual freedom from the variety of degenerative diseases that plagued Western Civilization. For his work he chose albino rats because of their love for human food, and also because their short life span would enable observation of a complete life history. The first phase of his experiments entailed taking at random healthy rats, and placing them in ideal conditions; fresh air, sunshine, and clean surroundings. Their diet consisted of foods liberally consumed by the Hunzas: whole grains, raw milk and butter, sprouted pulse, and a variety of fresh raw vegetables. On rare occasions he would include a small portion of meat with some bones (the Hunzas were basically vegetarians, eating meat only on festive occasions), and always provided abundant fresh water. After twenty-seven months on the Hunza diet, the nearly 1,200 rats were killed and carefully examined. McCarrison reported:
"During the past two and a quarter years there has been no case of illness in the "universe" of albino rats, no death from natural causes in the adult stock, and, but for a few accidental deaths, no infantile mortality. Both clinically and at postmortem, examination of this stock has been shown to be remarkably free from disease. It may be that some of them have cryptic disease of one kind or another, but if so, I have failed to find either clinical or microscopic evidence of it."
After finding in later experiments that diseased rats were returned to health on the Hunza diet, McCarrison took batches of rats and placed them on a diet typical to that of the people of India; rice, pulses, and vegetables cooked with a variety of condiments. It wasn't long before the over two thousand rats fed the deficient Indian diet developed a variety of disease conditions: heart, kidney and glandular weaknesses, gastrointestinal disorders, ulcers, anemia, crooked spines, bad teeth, eye ailments, various skin disorders, and loss of hair. These results led him to take still another batch of rats and place them on a diet typical to that taken by the poorer classes of England: canned meat. boiled vegetables, white bread, margarine, jarns and jellies, and sweetened tea. Mc-Garrison reported that not only were a variety of disease conditions produced on the faulty diet, but also the rats became hypertensive. They fought among themselves, and by the sixteenth day of the experiment the stronger rats were killing and eating the weaker ones.
The frightening conclusions to be drawn from Dr. McCarrison's research findings are the unfortunate realities of today's world. More than sixty years after one of the most massive experiments ever performed on mankind viz., food technology, refining and processing, the results are most evident. Hospitals are filled with masses of humanity plagued with a variety of disease conditions virtually unknown prior to the turn of the century.
In his "Briefe aus dem Lam-barenespital" (Letters from the Lambarene Hospital) in Africa, 1954, Professor Albert Schweitzer, world renowned doctor to the peoples of Africa, relates findings similar to those of both Price and McCarrison. He states:
"I have to point out a happening in the modern civilization of the Hospital, something which happened this year. We had to perform the first appendicitis operation on a native of this region. How it turned out that this so frequent sickness of white people did not occur in the colored of this country cannot be convincingly explained. Probably its still exceptional occurrence is traceable to a change in the nutrition. Many natives, especially those who are living in larger communities do not now live the same way as formerly - they lived almost exclusively on fruits and vegetables, bananas, cassava, ignam, taro, sweet potatoes and other fruits. They now live on condensed milk, canned butter meat and fish preserves, and bread.
The date of the appearance of cancer, another disease of civilization, cannot be traced in our region with the same certainty as that of appendicitis. We cannot state decisively that formerly there was no cancer at all, because the microscopic examinations of all tested tumors revealing their real nature, has only been in existence here for a few years. Based upon my own experience, going back to 1913, I can say, if cancer occurred at all it was very rare, but that it became more frequent since. However, it is not spread as much as it has among the white race in Europe and America."
Research from every corner of the globe has shown a definite correlation between the consumption of refined and processed food, and the incidence of physical degeneration. If this seems like a strong indictment against the food processing industry, it is meant to be; the evidence against them is just too voluminous and conclusive. Refining and processing foods to preserve their keeping qualities almost completely destroys their life giving potentials. Vitamins and minerals are lost, enzymes are completely destroyed, proteins are coagulated, fats are rendered unutilizable, and the list goes on and on.
In our next instalment we shall investigate one of the refiner's most insidious masterpieces, sugar - the 99.9 per cent pure product.
Eggs & Steroids
(IronMan Magazine May 1977 Vol. 36 No. 4)
Steroids were initially devised to create positive nitrogen balance for burn cases, malnutrition in the aged and prison camp victims. These patients were not kept on these drugs for any length of time because of the side effects. I am sure all bodybuilders are aware of this. They were used only long enough to create new tissue (burns) and put weight back on malnutrition victims (water retention and protoid tissue).
But what about eggs? Hospital tests show that high egg
diets produce remarkable healing results in severe burn
cases. Patients suffering burns from 30-60 per cent of their
bodies show remarkable results when fed a high egg diet.
Also, skin graft acceptance with little infection has been
reported by Modern Medicine Magazine from results obtained
in an Israeli Hospital. The patients tested were served
up to 35 eggs per day cooked and raw. And the huge quantity
of eggs used caused no rise in serum cholesterol levels.
The point I am trying to make here is that positive Nitrogen
balance may be
achieved with No Dangerous Side Effects by using natural
methods. They could have used steroids in these tests!
Why didn't they? Eggs are your number one quallty protein and the cheapest protein available! Milk is second, but high in carbohydrate and fattening - and meat is third. I, personally, have trained very hard using eggs, butter and beef and achieved the best results of my life. My feeling is that steroids are a "copout" for not knowing how to train, and I also feel that since the advent of synthetic hormones all exercise experimentation and research along this line has come to a standstill except for Art Jones and Dennis DuBreull experiments. Aside from liver, kidney and prostate damage which are a few of the side effects of synthetic hormones, another one which I do not wish to suffer from is loss of hair on the head No, thanks!
Positive Nitrogen Balance
(Musclemag Magazine March 1979 Vol. 4 Issue 1)
Eggs (raw) blended in lite cream beaten with a fork not a mechanical blender will give you an anabolic effect and will put you in positive nitrogen balance. But please be aware of the fact that abdominal work must be held down to a minimum as it produces a type of central nervous system shock and negates tissue growth. Do not work your abdominals more than two times per week. You can get good abs in 6 weeks if you work them right! I did.
Producing Male Hormones
(Musclemag Magazine March 1979 Vol. 4 Issue 1)
I am 15 years old and I have been bodybuilding for about 1 1/2 years. I weigh 175. You should receive my order for your arm course very soon in the future. I have a question. I hope you will please answer. I saw an ad about Formulas B3 and B7. It said in one of the testimonials that it is a substitute for anabolic steroids but it is natural. Do you know if this stuff works? Does it hurt your body in any way? I don't ever want to use anything that would harm my body in any way. Enclosed is a stamp. Thank you very much for your time and trouble.
Single vitamins (Mono Substances) cannot work, they need catalysts to be utilized. If you're interested in producing male hormones in your body, do as the fellows in my gym are doing. 1 - 3 dozen raw fertile eggs mixed in 1/2 & l/2 cream and milk beaten, and taken every 3 hours will produce an anabolic effect by putting you in positive nitrogen balance. It's as easy as that. The effect is really miraculous.
Bone Structure
(Musclemag Magazine March 1979 Vol. 4 Issue 1)
It has been found that a person's bone structure continues to grow until the age of around twenty-five. Is there anyway a person twenty-two years of age can aid natural growth to obtain a slightly larger wrist bone size? Are there any supplements, such as bone meal, raw milk, etc., that might help one achieve this goal? If so, please detail a plan that can be tried. Thank you.
Exercise stimulates bone growth (so do forearm wrist curls, Zottman curls, reverse curls and thumb up dumbbell curls). Your diet is fine. Now it is up to you to see yourself the way you wish to be. (It works).
10,000 Calories?
(Musclemag Magazine February 1987)
My coach says to gain mass I should eat 8,000 to 10,000 calories a day (mostly milk) and train using only the bench press, squat and barbell rows. I read what you say in MuscleMag International every month, but I have never seen you recommend this kind of training. Please reply.
Your coach is right! Train and eat as he recommends and you'll gain mass ... a mass of crap! Jeez! Where do they dig up these coaches!??
Need My Booze!
(Musclemag Magazine February 1987)
Vince, when you were training for competition and you consciously set yourself short-term goals to achieve. Today from what read one must keep using the mind to motivate and carry through to success. I have bought courses, books, and tapes on motivation and goal setting but I still keep missing workouts and partying. From Friday til Tuesday I just like to drink. But I always regret it when I've had a hangover the next day. Please help me because deep down I do want to be a bodybuilding success.
You may want it but you don't need it! You have to be driven
uncontrollably. When I was training for
competition I was inspired from within. My biggest problem
was the hold back my tremendous drive. I would have willingly
trained for ten hours at a time. I did not need to set goals.
They were dancing in front of my every waking hour... I
was hot for success. I need it! Only a handful of men in
my day trained like I did and when it came to dieting, I
was king of the mountain. I had an iron will. No wonder
I was the most ripped bodybuilder in the world for over
a decade! You are not driven.
You have to send away for mail order inspiration. I feel sorry for you because the merry lunacy of having to train like a madman has its special rewards. You feel like you are different to the rest. You have an all-encompassing purpose to life. A pursuit for greatness! Let's hope your party habits are only temporary. I myself, took a few flashes of time to drown my sorrows in alcohol, and probably most men go through a similar phase. But keep it short, other wise you could become a bum!
Incidentally, the weekend is Friday night until Sunday night. How come you're still partying on Tuesday? You only have a two-day work week or what?
Weight Gaining
"Weight-gainers can keep that 28-inch waist and still
gain up to 60-pounds by eating small quantities of food
five to six times daily, rather than stuffing themselves
at one sitting."
? Vince Gironda, Blueprint for the Bodybuilder
NEW DISCOVERIES WITH DESICCATED LIVER
(Musclemag Vol2 issue 1)
Only within the last few years have the important values
of desiccated liver been proven and new light shed on this
outstanding food.
One of the most important facts about desiccated liver is
its ability to help the body detoxify many chemicals that
are dangerous but extremely hard to escape from. When eating
meat it is almost impossible to escape from the intake of
Desdiethylstilbesterol, a synthetic female hormone in the
meat. Hopefully, this hormone will be taken out of all beef
shortly. With enough regular daily intake of desiccated
liver the body can detoxify DES. It can also detoxify cortisone,
many pharmaceutical drugs, nicotine, alcohol and marijuana.
Only within the last few years has the most important factor
in desiccated liver been uncovered. It took 20 years before
it was discovered. It was made by Dr. Minor J. Coon, Univ.
of Michigan. He succeeded in isolating and testing a red
protein pigment which was given the name of P-450. This
pigment tested and retested in the laboratory proved it
was able to perform all the functions of liver that had
been previously tested on the vitamins but not found attributable
to them.
P-450 is not water soluble, and that the drying process
in concentration of desiccated liver from whole liver does
not remove this newly discovered liver factor, but rather
concentrates it.
P-450 is a catalyst which speeds up oxidation of chemicals
important to human life and detoxifies poisonous substances
that we breathe in and digest in food. Production of energy
is a process of oxidation of glucose within the cell. This
in turn produces fatigue toxins that gradually slow down
energy. P-450 can improve the energy production process
and also improve the ability of the body to detoxify the
fatigue toxins. That is why the rats were able to continue
on for so long.
Later tests on human children were made. The results were
confirmed. The unidentified factor in liver is as important
to human growth and endurance as it is to that of laboratory
animals.
Organic Living
(Musclemag Vol 2 issue 1)
Organic Gardening, (January) points out a startling similarity between feed lot raised cattle and human nutrition. Feed lot cattle are fed hormones, pesticides antibiotics and their food is raised in commercial fertilizers. They are also fed too much protein in order to fatten them.
All these things overload their livers and cause diseases of that organ such as abscesses, watery tissue and excessive fat. These diseased livers are lighter in weight and give off a strange odor. Over 50 per cent of the livers from animals raised in this fashion are unfit for human consumption. Aren't these substances the same as we are getting from supermarket foods and meat which is produced in this manner? And to top it off, the bodybuilder or athlete is also using additional steroids! How can our livers be any different than these animals if we eat their flesh?
WHAT IS DESICCATED LIVER?
(Musclemag Vol 2 issue 1)
Desiccated liver is liver; whole beef liver concentrated by vacuum drying at a low temperature. This concentration preserves all of the nutrients and this makes desiccated liver the equivalent of four times as much as whole liver.
Actually desiccated liver is better than cooked liver, being the equivalent of raw liver.
NUTRITION NOTES
(Musclemag Vol 2 issue 1)
Try increasing your Vitamin C intake to help you release excess fluids. 300-500 mg. of Vitamin C daily are as effective as medicinal diuretics.
BODY-BUILDING NUTRITION
(Musclemag Vol 2 issue 1)
1. Proteins: Meats, Eggs, Milk, Fish, Cheese, Protein Powders,
Fowl, Amino Acids.
2. Minerals: Mineral Tablets, Kelp. 3. Vitamins: A-B-C-E-F.
4. Digestive Supports: H. C. L. Enzyme Tabs., Fats and Oils.
5. Metabolic Stimulators: Kelp, Fats and Oils, Minerals.
CARBOHYDRATE LOADING
(Musclemag Vol 2 issue 1)
I see by Fitness For Living, January-February issue, that
my carbohydrate meal every third day when on a total protein
diet is now being used by athletes to load the liver with
glycogen for maximum performance. Procedure is as follows:
six days prior to competition, the athlete trains very hard
on protein and fat and depletes his reserves of glycogen.
Three days before competition, he adds considerable carbohydrates
to his diet and loads up the glycogen in the liver and by
so
doing, improves his endurance up to 150 per cent. During
mild exercise, muscles get all of their energy from fats.
During strenuous exercise, the muscles must rely increasingly
on carbohydrates in the form of glycogen. Also, numerousstudies
show that muscles do not grow larger or stonger on abnormally
high protein intake.
Cholesterol
(Musclemag Vol 2 issue 1)
This controversial subject has caused great confusion in the mind of the general public. A few of the following facts should help to clear up this high fog index. Cholesterol belongs to the classification of fats known as sterols and is chemically not a fat. But, it is found in all fats and oils. I'd like to point out that the body synthesizes and metabolizes daily a far greater amount than is consumed in the diet.
It has never been established that natural fats raise cholesterol. In fact, certain types of fats cause a drop in cholesterol levels in the blood. The body manufactures 15 grams of cholesterol per day. Thus, the more cholesterol you eat, the less the body normally manufactures. Without cholesterol, the slightest cut would cause you to bleed to deatch so it is important in the proper amounts.
All foods that contain cholesterol also contain lecithin which is a fat emulsifier. The best fat emulsifier known, however, is EXERCISE. I feel that cholesterol is primarily a product of tensions, anxiety and stress. Further, modern man no longer can revert to Fight or Flight in his daily life as did our ancestors. Yet this was the only real way for nature to emulsify cholesterol ... today we must train and exercise!
Atkins Diet
(Musclemag Vol 2 issue 1)
About a year-and-a-half ago I really desired
to slim down considerably for physique contests, so I went
on the Dr. Robert Atkins diet. I used a considerable amount
of supplements daily. The results were excellent. My weight
(which had been around 185 lbs.) dropped to 170 and my definition
made up for any loss in muscular bulk.
I probably should have quit right there, but as I am sure
you know many lifters walk a thin line
between being a dedicated enthusiast and being a fanatic.
I remained on a zero carbohydrate diet for around nine months
and I continued my supplement intake - stronger than ever.
But near mid-summer of 1974 I began to experience adverse
effects from this regimen. I guess that the very first noticeable
sign I had was in an overall body weakness.
Sometimes while I was walking during the day my knees would buckle. I started to become very dizzy during the day and would experience a mild high sensation. One day this became so bad I had to leave work. I went to see a doctor, but he was obviously very unknowledgeable on any subject, least wise one of human nutrition.
About this time I read an article in Iron Man in which you talked about protein saturation. So I decided to write you. You answered me very quickly and wisely, told me to discontinue my supplements and high protein intake. But I think I personally waited much too long. I have always had excellent health (I am only 29 years old) but I began to experience what seemed like to me, every symptom known to man.
What I think, personally, is tha this
diet caused me to develop allergies. During the winter I
developed what seemed to me to be the 'flu. Bu no matter
what I did I could not shake it. It moved into my ears and
caused constant dizziness. My throat developed white spots
on my tonsils. I went to different doctors weekly. I must
have gone through ten different types of prescription medicines
to no avail.
Then, in about February of this year I went to see an Eye,
Ear, Nose& Throat Specialist. I must have dropped about
$350.00 there. He kept asking me if I had any allergies,
to which I would reply No! This went on for about six weeks.
Then the thought hit me, could I have developed sensitivity
from too much protein and supplements? By the way, I stopped
taking supplements and had not been on any type of low carbohydrate
diet for about six months. After thinking this allergy idea
over, I decided to drop all meat in any form from my diet.
Well, many of my symptons began to subside somewhat. Nothing
in the way of these symptoms seemed to be quite as intense
anyway.
I remained on a meatless diet for several months following
this, but still I would have symptoms such as dark circles
under my eyes; could not get enough sleep; spots on my tonsils
sinus (which I never have had); pus from my penis; pain
in my neck and lymph glands. One thing one day, other things
the next. I was just having a whole lot of trouble performing
physical tasks! I refrained from seeing an allergist because
it seemed certain things made me sick one day, then the
very next day they didn't. Besides, I have read that your
allergies are constantly changing.
I have lately tried to go on a raw foods diet. It seems
to help somewhat, but I still feel poorly sometime during
the day. I have stayed clear of nuts because I seem to react
to them. Also, vinegar seems to throw my body into a rage.
I picked up Adele Davis' book and read the chapter on allergies.
So, now I have been taking heavy doses of Vitamin C and
Pantothenic Acid. Again, this seems to help somewhat, but
I have retained all symptoms.
Well, that's my story. I really would hate to think I am
destined to have this condition for the rest of my life.
I read one time that it takes six months to get over the
ill effects of Dr. Atkins Diet, but I am going on a year.
The last two days I have drunk nothing but orange juice
and grapefruit juice in the hopes of flushing my system.
But I imagine I will still feel bad in the coming weeks.
I think, too, my physique, is really beginning to suffer.
I have lost size everywhere. I now weigh only 155 lbs.,
I look O.K. and everything, but I just don't have it like
I used to.
Vince, please write and advise.
P.S. Please forward this letter to anyone else you think
might have a I solution. I am taking a multi-vitamin everyday.
Also, other symptoms I have are heavy mucus in my nose and
a slight fever at times.
Allergies are cured with megavitamin doses of Vitamin C
(3,000 mg. per day).
Also, you must not stay on zero protein diets for longer
than 72 hours (or all protein diets).
Raw shredded vegetable and steamed vegetable plates are
an excellent idea (this is advocated by Dr. Henry G. Buler,
M.D. and author of "Food is Your Best Medicine,"
$1.50, paperback - Vintage Books, a Division of Random House,
New York).
Steak and eggs should be included in your diet also, but
not in conjunction with carbohydrates. Also R.N.A. should
be included in your diet.
If symptoms do not go, see a specialist doctor and follow
his treatment.
Steak and Eggs
Vince loved the protein and fat diet - I believe he called it the Maximum Definition Diet. I used Vince's diets when preparing for contests with great success.
Basically I was eating/drinking dozens of eggs a day (anywhere from 1-3dozen depending on what else I ate). Whole eggs are a perfect food (and cheap). I had only 3-4 meals a day, but between meals I would take a handfull of liver tablets. The most important supplements will be the enzymes, liver tabs, and EFA's. These will help with digestion and cravings.
Make sure you take in only fat and protein, as there are carbs hidden throughout the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.). Also try to limit your processed food intake (ie. use butter - not margarine, etc.) And drink plenty of water - hyperhydration. Every 3-4 (sometimes 5) days have ONE carb only meal. Don't make it too big, and don't eat crap...I guarantee you will feel like crap. Hell, I would get bloated after eating a small bowl of rice while dieting.
The longest I used this diet was 12 weeks. But honestly by week 3 or 4 it was no big deal and could have gone on much longer. But Nick would have me vary between the definition, hormone, and mass diets. Despite other's "beliefs", quality research shows no problems using this diet long term (research the Eskimo or Inuit Diet, or read Will Brinks info).
Hopefully I got the major stuff. Vince said that creating a the illusion of a muscular body was 85% nutrition. That means you MUST eat correctly, assuming you are already training correctly.
As Irecall Vince said that raw, fertile eggs stimulated the endocrine system and therefore naturally increased growth related hormones. I would drink the shakes he recommended throughout the day for a couple of months (8wks) and switch to another more moderate diet (ie. mass or maintenance). These shakes consisted of raw eggs (12), cream, sometimes wheat germ, banana, and a milk/egg protein (now I use whey)... among other things.
The results aren't mind blowing, but they are noticable. First, recovery and growth happens more readily after just a week on this diet. Second, little aches and pains (low back, etc.) seem to diminish. And finally, I swear I feel a stronger pump during and after training. My body appears to lose fat and gain muscle, but nothing too dramatic (its not magic). And, barring injury, my weight and/or reps increase steadily.
Eggs
2-3 dozen eggs a day is a lot, especially if your current diet is moderate in protein and fat. Take it easy at first, and remember you will not be taking in any carbohydrates (assuming you are doing the fat loss diet) except once every 3-4 days in the form of a carb only meal.
Cooking and eating 2-3 dozen cooked eggs a day is difficult,
but I found shakes to be the most convenient way of getting
my fill.
One shake consists of:
Cream (half and half)
12 eggs (raw)
Water and Ice
Pure protein powder (quality whey/or milk and egg) - the
powder is mainly for flavor.
Drink this throughout your morning as breakfast.
Adjust the volume to your preference (ie. taste and consistency).
And adjust the egg content to what you can handle (ex. 6
eggs x 3 x day = 1.5 doz. = half way to 3 doz.)
Repeat at noon and evening. Or make several shakes in the morning and bring them with you to work (so long as you have a fridge for storage).
If you want to eat, eat some eggs or meat. But you'll probably find your appetite calms down, and your cravings will subside.
Nick told me my diet was...
eggs: unlimited
meat: unlimited
..."thats it, any questions?"
remember to take digestive enzymes, an EFA blend, and a
quality multi-vit (good b complex)
Vince liked liver tabs, and glandulars as well.
If you are not trying to lose bodyfat then just keep your carb intake moderate. By moderate I mean have some toast with your eggs, or enjoy a small veggie side dish with your steak. What I don't mean is inhaling worthless cereals, or other processed starchy foods with every meal. The kind of carbs you ingest doesn't matter...it all becomes a form a glucose (sugar) and will cause an insulin response (usually leading to bodyfat deposits). The exception would be fiberous food products, as your body cannot digest them.
Cream for raw egg mix
We just used heavy whipping cream or half and half, thats what Vince told us to use. I've personally purchased both from CostCo, so yours should have it as well.
As far as damaging anything molecular, I just remember one of the guys at Vince's saying that I was supposed to mix my shakes by hand using a fork to "keep the integrity of the eggs" or something like that. Try it for yourself, but it sucked for me - I use the blender.
Determine Carbs
Vince was more concerned about what form weight was gained, as opposed to just gaining weight. So, at least in my case, his suggestions and plans for me included more fats and protein, but less carbs to ensure I gained quality, lean muscle and not fat.
How I determine the amount of carbs I need now is by starting low and gradually increasing. If I should start feeling lethargic, or get bloated I know I'm taking in too much carbs. If you start getting fat... you're taking in too much.
Remember to be patient when trying to gain/lose weight. If you were to gain one pound a week (4 pounds of muscle a month), you would be gaining an average of .14 lbs of unnoticable muscle a day. But over a year (should you stay consistent) that would equal to 52 pounds of very noticable muscle weight gained.
The last 36 - 48 hours before a competition I take in one yam every hour until the evening competition. Yes, on the hour every hour - one yam. My girlfriend or alarm would wake me up throughout the night every hour the night before competition and I would eat. Simple carb loading. Sometimes it worked wonderfully, others poorly - I've never mastered it.
Vince Nutrition
I did not last long on Vince's nutrition program. His son Guy, warned me it would not be fun. He was right. But that's just me.
I'll never forget shaking up heavy cream, raw eggs and a packet of equal (which Vince generously permitted me to add for "flavour") in the tiny motel room down the block from his gym. I suppose the best part was steak but at that time I lacked money for frequent "feedings" of steak.
No food combining. "Sandwiches" consisted of wrapping roast beef around slices of cheese. I settled on eating roast beef with mayo for lunch as my favorite. My friends made fun of me at restaurants as they snatched the traditional bread from me during Italian meals.
I was permitted two carb meals a week in which I could eat as many carbs as I liked. This was not necessary but was done more to balance the psyche and stress of training and eating as he demanded.
In retrospect, I think I may not have eaten enough to replace the carbs that were subtracted. I'll tell you what, though. In two weeks I was as defined as I ever was. But I just could not hack it long term. I got headaches and was walking into walls. I stopped after 3 months and returned to "normal" eating.
Water. Vince had rules about water. You could not have it right before, during, or right after a workout. You did not have it at meals or right after meals. Any other time you were to drink as much (water) as you like.
Finding raw milk in NYC was hard at that time. Or free ranging chickens. Or eggs laid from free ranging chickens.
Then there was the supplements. Raw Glandulars, Liver tabs, Aminos (original pharmaceutical, free form spooned into fluid back then) every three hours. Digestive Enzyme tabs with each meal remember when he gave me my first lot of supplements he said: "Arty, THIS is the REAL food!" I don't know how much they contributed to my physique but I do recall having some technicolor toilet trips!
Vince was funny to eat with. We went out for breakfast once and they gave him a hash brown patty or something like it with his steak and eggs. He held it aloft and said he did not remember ordering this hogwash! I was told he behaved like that *all the time* eating out--always returning the unwanted extra stuff that came with meals?with disdain. Man was he funny!
MAXIMUM DEFINITION DIET
There has always been considerable mystery and misconception concerning a definition diet. Let?s hope this article will help to straighten out a few of these.
To begin with, all carbohydrates must be removed from a
maximum definition diet. This means ? all fruit, all vegetables,
all salad greens and all milk products (cheeses, yogurt,
ice cream, milk and buttermilk). The only milk products
that can be used are butter and cream.
Any kind of meat, fish or fowl and eggs are the only foods
permissible. You must, however, eat some carbohydrate every
four or five days because you will find that you will smooth
out and veins and cuts will disappear. You will find also
that you are not getting the pump you should and your strength
will decrease. This is because a zero carbohydrate diet
drains all the stored glycogen from the liver, and only
carbohydrate will replenish it. But don?t try to eat a small
amount of carbohydrate each day.
You will only find you are smoothing out.
This high protein diet will tend to make you nervous because
of the phosphorus in the meat. That is why I suggest you
keep your calcium (tablets) intake high.
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