My wife and I always take our kids with us when we go grocery shopping. It gives us the opportunity to teach them how to recognize sneaky labeling and deceptive brand names, and how to pick the best foods for a healthy meal.

We show them how to read labels so they don’t get ensnared in grocery store fat traps. We teach them to look for things like high fructose corn syrup, MSG, dextrose, and sucrose. And we explain how to avoid the hormone smashers that evaporate muscles. These include many sports drinks, juices, and flavored teas with words related to “health” or “nutrition” in their names.

Then we help them select a healthy balance of the right foods. We let our kids pick out their own veggies, which gets them excited about eating them. We also let them help prepare their meals – and that gets them even more excited about healthy eating.

Including your kids in your weekly shopping trip will help them realize how important healthy natural foods are to their bodies. In my family, health is wealth. And in this, we are abundant!

[Ed. Note: Shane Ellison's entire career has been dedicated to the study of molecules - how they give life and how they take from it. He was a two-time recipient of the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Grant for his research in biochemistry and physiology. He is a bestselling author, holds a master's degree in organic chemistry, and has first-hand experience in drug design. Take advantage of his knowledge and insights to look and feel your best in 90 days.]

My wife recently competed in the Arnold Amateur Figure Competition – the largest competition of its kind in the world. This is like a beauty contest in a bikini. Women are judged on their muscular physique and posing.

A 30-year-old mom of two, she swept the competition! (And the women she was competing against were 21- to 25-year-old non-moms.) What is her secret to staying lean and muscular? For one thing, she sticks to five essential foods:

1. Organic eggs
2. All-natural grass-fed beef
3. Wild salmon
4. Avocados
5. Whey isolate

These five fat-burners are staples in her diet. Why are they so critical to keeping the fat off? You see, unlike men, women are very sensitive to the fat-storing hormone insulin. (It’s because they have lower testosterone levels.) These five foods help keep insulin – and blood sugar - low, therefore helping to keep fat off.

These foods are also rich in healthy fats, which help us stay fuller longer, thereby warding off binge eating and snacks.

[Ed. Note: Shane Ellison's entire career has been dedicated to the study of molecules - how they give life and how they take from it. He was a two-time recipient of the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Grant for his research in biochemistry and physiology. He is a bestselling author, holds a master's degree in organic chemistry, and has first-hand experience in drug design. Take advantage of his knowledge and insights to look and feel your best in 90 days.]

I’m pretty selective about what I eat. Nothing is more important to maintain good health and a slim physique than proper diet. Most of us agree on that. The argument usually arises when we attempt to define “proper diet.” Some insist on a vegetarian diet, while others proclaim meat to be a necessary staple. Which is it? And how can we know?

I question everything (even my wife’s cooking after seven years of perfect cuisine). And instead of accepting anyone’s opinion about matters related to my health – no matter how famous they are or how many books they’ve sold – I look to biochemistry for my answers.

One of the main factors to consider with your diet is the relative amount of glycation that occurs when you eat various foods. Glycation – a biochemical change that’s associated with aging – is a result of excess glucose (sugar) in the blood. Aside from causing unsightly wrinkles and age spots, it can destroy muscles, joints, and the cardiovascular system. A simple blood test is used to measure it.

In a paper titled “Would carnosine or a carnivorous diet help suppress aging and associated pathologies?”- published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences – scientists found that vegetarians have more glycation than meat eaters. The reason? Vegetarian diets lack some important anti-glycation compounds. These include carnosine, a full spectrum of B vitamins, and acetyl-L-carnitine.

Vegetables, of course, provide tons of other nutritive compounds, notably those with anti-cancer properties. Therefore, I recommend eating both veggies (organic) and meat (grass-fed), locally produced whenever possible. Maintaining a good balance of vegetables and meat will help you slow the aging process… and stay lean.

[Ed. Note: Shane Ellison's entire career has been dedicated to the study of molecules - how they give life and how they take from it. He was a two-time recipient of the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Grant for his research in biochemistry and physiology. He is a bestselling author, holds a master's degree in organic chemistry, and has first-hand experience in drug design. Take advantage of his knowledge and insights to look and feel your best in 90 days.]

It’s finally here – the wonder cure that Americans have been waiting for. It’s called acai. Whether you are a member of The Fat Cow Hall of Fame, being ravaged by high blood sugar, or being overcome with cancer, you’re being told that acai is your key to optimal health and longevity. If you believe this, the Oprah and Dr. Oz marketing noose is already around your neck.

Acai berries are great. But acai drinks and other acai products are loaded with sugar – natural and otherwise. Remember your mom telling you to avoid sugar?

Most people don’t do it. The average American chokes down a whopping 160 pounds per year. A healthy human body can’t take more than 10 or 15 pounds annually.

Acai products are marketed as super-antioxidants.Cinnamon is light years ahead when it comes to antioxidant content, but you can get that for pennies on the acai dollar at your local grocery store – which is why marketers aren’t telling you about it.

Acai products do contain a negligible amount of anthocyanidins, natural substances that can be a huge asset to your cardiovascular system. But you can obtain quadruple the amount – for pennies on the acai dollar – from a big organic salad or bilberry (an over-the-counter nutritional supplement).

Still, neither cinnamon nor bilberry is a wonder cure. Nothing can overcome America’s addiction to bad habits, especially wanton sugar consumption. Want a real wonder cure? Remove the marketing noose and abandon sugar.

[Ed. Note: Shane Ellison's entire career has been dedicated to the study of molecules - how they give life and how they take from it. He was a two-time recipient of the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Grant for his research in biochemistry and physiology. He is a bestselling author, holds a master's degree in organic chemistry, and has first-hand experience in drug design.Take advantage of his knowledge and insights to look and feel your best in 90 days.]

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