Why is it that any time you hear the words “calorie counting” or “food journaling”, people start running for the hills? If creating menus, counting calories and keeping a food journal are research-proven, effective tools for nutrition awareness, education, motivation and accountability (they are), then why is there so much resistance to it?

For years, concerned consumers and watchdog organizations have been screaming that the U.S. labeling laws are full of loopholes and in need of serious revision. After years of talk, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says they’re planning to so something about it. But will it be enough?

In part two of my interview with Leigh Peele, you’ll hear some surprising answers to important questions about what you eat, such as: Is there a conspiracy by the government and food companies to keep us sick and fat?, Are there any legitimate and serious concerns about chemicals or toxins in our food or are people just being paranoid?, How do we embrace food when most people have become so obsessive and fearful about what they eat?, Is it really possible to make healthy low calorie food taste delicious?, What should you do if you don’t know how to cook healthy delicious food? Plus a lot more….

The theory of food addiction is getting tons of press lately. I think it’s partly because of popular new books like David Kessler’s The End of Overeating, on top of a whole slew of earlier books about sugar addiction. There has also been a lot of hyped-up media reporting on the latest research, with headlines suggesting that “Junk food is as addictive as heroin” or “Hormones turn hungry people into junkies.” I don’t believe that food is addictive in the same way that drugs are addictive, but there are definitely some parallels. Drug addiction and food intake involve some of the same neural systems in the brain, so lessons could be learned about certain types of obesity by studying drug addiction research.

In part one, I described the growing obsession many people have with eating only the purest, healthiest foods, aka “clean eating.” You’d think that nothing but good would come from that, but some experts today dislike the concept of clean foods because it implies a dichotomy where other foods, by default, are “dirty” or forbidden – as in, you can never, ever eat them again (imagine life without chocolate, or pizza… or beer! you guys). Some physicians and psychologists even believe that if taken to an extreme, a fixation on healthy food qualifies as a new eating disorder called orthorexia.

Clean eating has no official definition, but it’s usually described as avoiding processed foods, chemicals, preservatives and artificial ingredients. Instead, clean eaters choose natural foods, the way they came out of the ground or as close to their natural form as possible. Vegetables, fruits, legumes, 100% whole grains, egg whites, fish, and chicken breast are clean eating staples. Clean eating appears to be a desirable, sensible, even noble goal. Eating clean is what we should all strive to do to achieve optimum health and body composition isn’t it? Arguably the answer is mostly yes, but more and more people today are asking, “is it possible to take clean eating too far?”

Although the swine flu hysteria has settled down a bit, it’s still making headlines, as it was front page news here in the New York City area today. The amount of panic over this public health concern is surprising when you consider how most people continue to do things to themselves every day that are far more likely to be deadly. For example, most people are still eating one specific type of food that has been deemed totally unfit for human consumption. Now THAT’s scary.

QUESTION: Hi Tom. I just saw recently on Oprah, there was a 51 year old man with the heart of a 20 year old. He’s been following a “calorie restriction” plan. They claim that he may become one of the first people to reach 120 years old by following this plan. How is this food plan different from (or the same as) your Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle (BFFM) program? My thoughts are that your BFFM has more protein, we eat more often, we are building muscle, not allowing it to burn away and the amount of calories is not always low, it depends on what our present goals are; losing, gaining or maintaining. What are your thoughts on this calorie restriction idea? Couldn’t your BFFM food plan be also thought as a longevity lifestyle, but with more muscle mass?

In part two of my exclusive interview with bodybuilding and supplement expert Will Brink you’ll learn the latest recommendations for post-workout nutrition, protein secrets including the latest on whey protein and protein denaturation, waxy maize: is it the bomb for carbing up or just another overrated fad?, cardio for the bodybuilder vs the average Joe, and much more

Recent nutrition and supplement research has revealed countless discoveries that could dramatically improve your muscle-building results. Science has also uncovered new information disproving things that were once held as gospel in the bodybuilding world. In this exclusive interview, you will learn the latest news on fish oil versus flax oil for essential fats, what the science says about the new creatine formulas, keen insights into supplement research methods, the truth about optimal water intake and fat loss, the dairy product controversy and much more. Apply what you learn in this exclusive interview with Will Brink and I guarantee you will improve your muscle-building results while saving time and money on methods and products that just don’t work. Then, watch for part 2 coming soon!