As promised in an earlier article, we’ve taken a few of your Real Food questions, done some further reading, and tried to provide you with some interesting answers. Some of the questions are combined from multiple questions we’ve received. Read on!
1. Is corn really bad for us to eat? I like corn chips — what’s the problem?
Ramona asked this question here, and it’s a good one. Corn is actually a great, nutritious food. One of the most striking parts of the Omnivore’s Dilemma is that Michael Pollan talks — at length — about corn, and how it’s a near-miraculous food in many ways.
So no — when you’re eating corn on the cob or other foods made from actual corn, there’s no need to worry about getting ‘too much corn’. If you are eating simple, low-ingredient, corn chips (that are not made from processed additives and designed to taste like corn, which many are), then it’s not the end of the world.
The excessive corn products that we’re talking about are everything else that is made from corn, and the fact that a common chicken mcnugget, if you break down all its ingredients, has something like 46% corn product in it (this number jumps around). When you combine that with the amount of corn that the chickens eat as feed, and all the other ways that a diet heavy in processed food contains corn (and soy), it becomes a really imbalanced amount for one food.
This isn’t just “I eat a lot of corn because it’s delicious.” This is finding one particular food in practically everything we consume — corn syrup, MSG, guar gum, xantham gum —the products that can be made with corn (practically any complicated ingredient you can find) are endless.
And one of the most startling facts is that of all the corn that gets sent to be refined and processed into all the different additives, binders, preservatives, and compounds — pretty much none of it is edible. This isn’t peaches & cream corn on the cob you can do up on the BBQ and enjoy with some salt and butter. This is special-variety corn, genetically designed to be processed into just about everything under the sun, and we’re eating huge amounts of it, re-worked and decontexualized beyond all recognition.
2. Do frozen, steamed, boiled, or baked vegetables contain different amounts of nutrients?
Tabby and several other people asked variations on this question. According to most accounts online, yes. Certain nutrients come out when you boil a vegetable, and as such, steaming a vegetable is often considered a better option, as you’re not leaving much in the water.
However, if you take a look at any standard cookbook, there are plenty of recipes in which boiling, baking, or even microwaving vegetables is necessary, and in the end, just the fact that you’re eating vegetables on a regular basis is much better than not eating them at all, just because a steamer isn’t available.
As for frozen vegetables, again, most studies that show any difference in nutrients is so negligible as to be hardly worthwhile. There are plenty of people, online and off, who will tell you differently (and fresh vegetables, in season, grown well, do very, very often taste better), and most frozen vegetables in packages are industrially grown, so if you’re looking to buy well-grown, local produce, frozen is not going to be the first place to look. But nutritionally, the differences in fresh/frozen are negligible when placed next to how fundamentally important it is to just eat these foods in the first place.
If your choice comes down to some frozen asparagus, microwaved, and drizzled with a bit of salt, lemon, and olive oil (something pretty easy to prepare in pretty much any lunch room), vs. a pre-fab meal full of sodium, preservatives, and unnecessary ingredients — by all means, stick with the frozen vegetables.
3. Is organic better than non-organic?
Tabby also asked this one, and we’ve seen it often. This is a very tough question, and one that Michael Pollan even struggles to answer. In the end, his solution seems to be a compromise — organic is often better for us, but not always by virtue of the fact that it adheres to organic guidelines, especially in the USA, where you can buy an organic TV dinner with organic high-fructose corn syrup. Just because something is labelled ‘organic’ doesn’t necessarily make it ‘real food’, and most of the big organic industries are just part of the large, industrialized food system anyway.
Take a look at this great Time magazine article that talks a bit about ‘beyond organic’ — in general, the widespread use of the organic name and the huge-scale implementation of organic farming on an industrial level has shifted the terms of the debate away from this question, which doesn’t really have a yes/no answer.
Many of the real food thinkers suggest that reducing meat consumption, planting a garden, and cooking for yourself, using real ingredients, as much as humanly possible, are things you should be prioritizing above the organic label these days.
More to Come!
You’ve given us more questions than we can answer, but we’ve also seen a great amount of information being exchanged in the comments. We want to encourage this — we’re not food experts either, but we are putting a lot of work into our own diets and healthy lifestyles, and sharing all these developments with you is what we love doing the most, and when others come online and share their expertise with us, we’re thrilled.
oops sorry, was trying to post a comment on another page, but when I submitted it, it came here. Got my answer tho, thanks.
Ahoj Zuzko a Frederick ja sem se chtela zeptat dneska sem si otevrela tvoji stranku a byla sem prekvapena protoze se mi ukazale v nekterych castech ze to je jenom pro cleny jak se muzu stat clenem.
Dekuju
A preju tobe a Frederick stastny novy rok
Hey Zuzana! I finished this workout in something like 20 minutes or so and I was really proud of myself until I realized that I had forgotten to reverse and go back to the beggining, meaning I only did half of what you did. Then again I guess it’s normal considering all I ate during Christmas… Anyways, thanks a lot for all your great workouts!
By the way, how do you become a member?
hi,
i wanted to click through to other parts of the site, but i had to ‘become a member’, however the link to do so seems to be broken?
ps sorry didnt see the post from zuzanna just above mine!
thx :)
ahoj zuzi a Frede
Přeji do NOVÉHO ROKU mnoho zdraví a moc moc dalších obdivovatelu/lek. Stránky jsou lepší a lepší ale já bohužel jsem potvora líná, tak se spíš jen dívám(no už jsem s tebou taky cvičila, ale má v háji nožní klenbu, tak jsem tomu zatím moc nedala)hlavně že se sama sobě mám na co vymluvat. Ale je užasné vidět u tebe tu proměnu . Chválím i nový look u tebe i Freda, velmi povedené.
Jinak mi nějak uniklo co to je to 1 on 1 w…..a jak být člen? nechci aby mi nic uteklo :) bude-li chvilka písni mi
denča k.
Ahoj Denco,
ja jsem na to psani emailu hrozna ja vim, ale uz ti jdu psat :) diky za komentar.
When I heard your accent first time Zuzana I knew you have to be from Slovak or Czech republic! :D Please can you give me some advices for getting in shape? I think you are really good at what you do so I would apreciate it really much!
zapoměla jsem poděkvat, DĚKUJI :)
Ahoj,
sorry, ze Ta este rusim. Chcela som sa dostat na Tvoj posledny vstup a video z 28.12.2009: GO 1 ON WITH a vypisalo mi, ze nie som clenom a nemam pristup k videu. Vies mi poradit?
Diky, Erika
HI Zuzana,
I did you exercises almost every day and now I see you have to be a member. But how can I be a member? There is a button to click on, but it doesn’ t work.
Thanks,
you site is really great!
Aysel.
Hi Zuzana, I have recently become a huge fan of yours and have been doing you workouts..and I went to look for a cardio workout today and found I have to be a member…How do I become a member? I clicked on the link but there isn’t anything there..I love your workouts and want to continue with them…
Tracey
Hey Zuzana & Frederick,
Hope your holiday was an excellent one. I’ve been away all week and came back to find a couple of things on your site. Thanks for returning to your previous way of listing your archives:) It is so much easier. Secondly, WOW! What is this new 1on1 with Z? Went on but couldn’t access it. I am sure in the days to come you will be posting more info. on it. But I was curious and couldn’t wait so I thought I’d ask.
All the best
TANIA
Ahoj, uz som si precitala ze zacinate v januari. Sorry, som netrpezliva a som zvyknuta v ramci prace hned reagovat a komunikovat mailom viackrat denne. Tak uz to pribrzdim.
Uz sa tesim na januar!
Erika
i have subscribed but i cannot get into the 1 on 1 or life? do i need to do something different thx
ok never mind didnt read down far enough sorry to bother you
i wont ask how much….
i am sure it will be the better money invert
N
Hi Zuzana,
I’m wondering how and where I can sign up for the “one on one with Zuzana.” I can’t seem to find a link, or a sign up page for that.
Please advise,
Natalia
I´ don´t understand what happened to the old archives? Workout archives?
Hello Zuzana,
When you first posted the 1on1 video yesterday I was able to view it but now I can’t this morning. How can I become a member?
Audra
How do we join your 1on1? There is a spot that says click here, but it doesn’t work!
i cant seem to get access to the ‘life’ and ‘news’ section, now it’s asking for membership which is fine i love your site but exactly how do we do that…
did I miss how many leg lifts to do??
Is lifting weights a good way to lose some weight?
Hola Zuzana, un saludo desde Zacatecas, México. Me encanta tu web, y hago los ejercicios que nos muestras. tu eres mi motivacion.
Feliz 2010..
Hi Zuzana, Hi just wanna say hi from Zacatecas, Mexico. I love your web, and I´m workingout every day..
Happy 2010…
Veronica Ortiz
(my inglish is bad.. sorry)
My wife and I love to work out together. We have been looking for new workouts and I have stumbled across your site. These look like just the thing we need. Going to try the “Rock your Body” one today. I will let you know how it goes.
i have subscribed to but i cannot get into the 1 on 1…can you help me?
I am also in my mid 50’s but Canadian. I think we were encouraged to be fit. If you try on vintage clothing the women had much smaller waistlines than we do now. When girls went out for a treat in the 50’s and 60’s, they shared a plate of fries between four girls. Today’s food portions are massive compared to those of the 50’s and 60’s. And we didn’t eat hormone laden and GMO foods.
The last two generations are going to suffer because we’ve eliminated a lot of natural physical activity. City kids no longer walk to and from school because we’ve scared everyone into believing a pervert will grab your kid. No one would think of walking to the store and carrying home their groceries or taking a bus and walking a few blocks.
Sadly, I do hear many women, young and middle aged, saying they don’t want to go to a gym because they fear they’ll get too bulky. I don’t think they realize how hard it is to gain bulk if you’re a woman.
I’m so glad to have found Bodyrock.tv. I certainly don’t do the same number of reps Zuzanna but I do challenge myself trying to add more reps each time I do the exercise.
I LOVE the skipping. What an easy challenging cardio with balistic movement. Great for the heart and the bones.
Thanks Zuzanna and Freddie
…surprisingly digestible*…
How can I log in to your page?, I have try to see the rest of your site but nothing, I hope I con log in
HEY ZUZANA, IM TRYING TO LOG ON TO YOUR WORK OUTS AND I HAVE TO BECOME A MEMBER, HOW DO YOU BECOME ONE?
HI Elizabeth,
we are still working on the site and the new premium area.
ahoj zuzko and Frederick ja sem se chtela zeptat kdyz sem otevilrala tvoji stranku s bookmark tak se mi obevilo non-member chci se zeptat jak se stanu member
Prejem Stastny novy rok
I agree with nick! It would be awesome to have a diet plan, or just something to follow till we get the hang of it.
Hi Zuzana..I hope you are having a great Tuesday! I wrote you yesterday telling you how you now are my inspiration…and you are =)! Now, I have a bit of a problem..since I haven’t been excercising for a while, how can I modify the excercices to start up and build some stamina?I believe that I will get really fast to the level to start following your workouts, but in the meantime how can I start, or how can I modify them? Thank you so much for everything that you do!
xoxo,
Carmen
Hi Zuzana,
I found your web site few days ago while searching YouTube for some workout ideas. I workout in the gym with light weights and high reps. I’ve tried some of your workouts instead of regular cardio and it is amazing!! It is really fun and interesting! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.
This workout is a killer. I’ve completed only 3 rounds, and honestly was not satisfied with my results. It showed me that I am not in such a good shape as I thought, ha ha :)
Thanks very much Zuzana and Frederic!
Happy New Year!!!
Ellie from Montreal, Canada
Hi Zuzana..I hope you are having a great Tuesday! I wrote you yesterday telling you how you now are my inspiration…and you are =)! Now, I have a bit of a problem..since I haven’t been excercising for a while, how can I modify the excercices to start up and build some stamina?I believe that I will get really fast to the level to start following your workouts, but in the meantime how can I start, or how can I modify them? Thank you so much for everything that you do!
xoxo,
Carmen
Čav, Zuzana & Frederick!
I wanted to ask: When you doing somekind of exercise where need to squeeze ABS – you just squeeze it or also pull in?
Thanks again for your Supereffective workouts!
Im a member but every time I try to look at the workout archives it says im not a member…where do I sign in at???
How do we become a member to access the “One on One” feature and will there be more information as to what it is exactly? Thanks, Lisa :)
Hi Lisa,
we are still working on it, it’s not available yet. Once it is all set up, we will post more information about the 1 on 1 training.
I couldn’t see how many leg lifts to do, so I decided 10 was a good number. I also didn’t read it carefully enough and did double too many jumping jacks every time. I did 18:02. This one seemed easier than most, but perhaps I am just getting in shape, heh! Thank you and Happy New Year!! Good to have you back again. I hope you had a great Christmas there!
This article is great- it’s about me!
I have few pounds to loose, so I decided to go for a gym- I love exercise like “body pump”. When my mom heard about it she started laughing and asked me ironic do I want to look like a bodybuilder? I know that I shouldn’t think about it, but to be honest I stopped attending gym.
I felt great after exercises but something made me to quit it. Maybe I’m mentally weak- what an influence have our parents on us?
hi zuzana,
how much its gonna cost to become a member for “1 on 1 with z” ???
Hi FlowerPower,
we are still setting this up.
hi my name is tara i am 20 years old and am trying to lose weight i have been trying to lose weight for years but i find it hard a couple days i found ur site and love ur excersise i am going to try them out but need some advice i weigh 138pds and want to get down to 120 and i want to be toned how often should i work out and for how long do u have any nutrition advice too i live at home with my mom so i cant by my own groceries and it makes it hard please email me or right back Roxy_goodgirl_07@hotmail.com ~tara
Hey Zuzana, i completed this workout in 9:17, i progressing very well, and im competing with myself to beat my times, you are rubbing off on me keep it up.
Thanks. x
hey! I found this workout easy but it was a good one for today. I completed it in 18 min dont know how many sec. I like the one thing right after the other it flowed nicely Thankyou for your time and amazing workouts!!!
I did only two rounds :( And I did it in 19 minutes :( The Triceps Leg Lifts killed me. I’m so weak, especially my arms, and I can’t understand why since I’ve been doing weight training for about 8 months ;(
Hi Marta,
it depends on how did you train before. If you are not used to these type of exercises, then it will take time to get better at them. The biggest disadvantage is to use machines for weight training, because that won’t give you the functional strength that you need in real life.
Ahoj Zuzko,
thanks for your website and always new videos with nice scenery. Im from Prague and you inspired me as others to start reguraly excercise at home. I did triathlon but full time job can sometimes ruin your fitness regime. Im happy you are the main impuls that is brining me to my old happy routine of sport and discipline. Because Zuzko, through your videos and your nice looking you can push people forward.
Few ideas from me:
1. Please, keep updating these website as you do. The more you do the more we will follow you.
2. I like when you are personal and you say something from your life, such as the weird guy walking pass:).
3. I would like to see here more stuff about the food.
What to eat morning, lunch, dinner and snacks. I remember from triathlon books and your website golden rule of 5-6 meal a day. The hardest part would be I guess to eat at least 15minutes and not 5 as I do:)))
Yes, people suggest eat tuna and fresh sea food. Here in Czech republic the frozen is bleee and fresh super expensive.
4. Think to add here some file for tracking and organizing our excercises with you, which we can download as well. Of course I can do it and will. But you might save some time to others.
5. Think to come and run workshop for your fans in Prague and other Eu cities, where we could excercise with you.
Thanks again and keep going girl because you rock.
Maj sa
Roman
Zuzana,
I’m embarassed to say that it took me 27:20 to complete this. You always say form is important so I concentrated very hard on that. It should be easy to beat this next time since I now got the hang of the workout. The scenery is beautiful! I’m in Chicago so I had a very white Christmas here. Thanks again for the workout!
Sylvee
I’m not sure if I’m blind but how many leg lifts are we suppose to do? Thanks!
Ahojky Zuzko, prosím o doporučení švihadla, děkuji za tip, J.S.
Ahoj Jitko,
nejlepsi svihadlo ktere jsem zatim zkusila je speed rope od Nike. To je me nove svihadlo co jsem si pred nedavnem poridila a jsem s nim moc spokojena.
Hi have you ever read the book “The Abs Diet” and if you have what do you think about it because iv just ordered it. Thanks Hun
Steve x
ok so i have been doing your workouts for a while.. im going to buy just organic stuff and lots of fruit and today i will measure myself
and every week i will do this and see the differences and let you know :) i only have about 2 inches to lose and i have gone from doing 3-5 pushups to like 20 :) im not the fittest but i feel alot better :) i was just slim with no muscles but now im alot stronger and i thank you so much for this :) you guys are life-savers