Mark Sisson's Blog, page 143

Dear Mark: Coffee Questions

For today’s edition of Dear Mark, I’m answering questions from last week’s post on coffee and fasting. First, is cortisol a bad guy all the time? Next, what about non-dairy powdered creamers? Good, bad, breaking the fast? How does thyroid hormone replacement therapy affect the fast? Is a “tiny amount” of protein disastrous to a fast? Can you take BCAAs during a fast and maintain the benefits? Can I still drink Frappucinos? And what do I think of Dr. Panda’s take on coffee triggering the digestive system and thus negating the effects of a fast?

Let’s go:

So coffee increases cortisol. Is increasing cortisol a beneficial or detrimental thing to do during a fast? I speculate that it would add to stresses in the body but I suppose it matters how well a person manages cortisol.

Cortisol relays messages about the outside world to the cells, tissues, and organs inside you. If cortisol is high, your body receives an “alert” message. Things are happening. It’s dangerous out there. It’s dire. You need to move. You need to act. You need to be alert. You need all systems trained on getting you safely through the storm. Cortisol helps with that.

When cortisol spikes, you actually release more fat from body fat stores and, in concert with adrenaline, burn it. This is helpful during exercise or any other situation that demands extra fuel.

These effects are flipped in the presence of chronic levels of cortisol activation. Chronic cortisol leads to fat gain (especially belly fat), lower energy levels, depressed cognitive function. You can’t run at top speed forever. The wheels fall off.

It’s the classic acute vs chronic dichotomy we see in everything. 

Laid atop an established pattern of chronic stress and cortisol activation, coffee during a fast could makes things worse. But if you’re chronically stressed, you probably should take care of that before you get deep into intermittent fasting.

If you’re fasting on purpose, if you’ve decided to incorporate fasting into your healthy lifestyle and you’re sleeping well, you’re eating well (when you’re not fasting), you’re training regularly, the effects change. A little cortisol isn’t anything to worry about.

Can someone explain how non-dairy powdered creamers play into this?

I assume because it’s processed it must be bad, but what impact does it have in our diets and especially with fasting?

Many non-dairy powdered creamers are awful, made from hydrogenated vegetable oil. Avoid those.

I’m a big fan of powdered MCT oil. You can whisk that into some milk or directly in your coffee for a great “cream” effect. The brand I use just has some soluble corn fiber, sunflower lecithin (choline source), sodium caseinate, and sodium dioxide to enhance the creaminess.

In case you’re unaware, MCTs are medium chain triglycerides, a class of fatty acids that convert more readily into ketone bodies than other fats. They can really help beginners extend and tolerate the fast.

They do “break” the fast, however.

What about prescription medications and autophagy? I take daily thyroid meds in the morning on an empty stomach. Since I fast til lunch, I can push this forward until 9 or 10 am, keeping it within an overall 10 hour window (eating in just 6 hours). Sometimes I think it would be good to fast 36-72 hours to really amp up autophagy, but is that a waste of time if I still take the meds?

I can’t speak to meds in general, but thyroid hormone is actually a major player in the regulation of autophagy, particularly in the liver, where it upregulates autophagy and preserves mitochondrial function, enhances mitochondrial turnover and protects against carcinogenesis.

Meanwhile, low levels of thyroid hormone increase thyroid stimulating hormone, which leads to depressed autophagy and increased cell death.

This is endogenous thyroid hormone, not prescription. The effects may differ when you’re taking it in a pill, but since those pills are meant to emulate our natural production of thyroid hormone, I don’t think it’ll differ very much.

In the tea post, would you please clarify effects of mixing even tiny amounts of protein with green tea? I read that it reduces the beneficial effects of fat burning.

Adding tiny amounts of protein will likely inhibit autophagy (cellular cleanup and maintenance) but won’t affect fat burning much at all.

Hi Mark, what about taking some BCAA’s during the fast to spare muscles? I’m trying to gain muscle and do my fasted workouts with some BCAA’s in my water bottle. Does this limit the fast? Thanks!

Depends how you’re scheduling your fasts.

If you’re doing a full-on 24 hour+ fast once a week or so, skip the BCAAs. You’re eating plenty of protein the rest of the week and a day without any coming in will be fine. Might even be optimal.

If you’re doing more of a Leangains-style compressed eating window every day, BCAAs aren’t as much of a big deal. They’ll still “break the fast,” but since you’re going to be working out right after and eating shortly, it’s mostly a wash. Martin Berkhan was a big fan of BCAAs before fasted workouts.

Frappuccino? would that break a fast?

Those things have enough sugar and calories to break several fasts.

I’m glad you mentioned Dr. Panda. I was wondering the same thing. From what I understand, anything beyond water triggers the enzymes that would prevent a autophagy. Is that incorrect?

My understanding is that anything beyond water triggers the digestive enzymes and starts the “digestive day.” Digestion, like everything else, has a circadian rhythm. Whenever you eat your first meal of the day, your body gears up for a solid 8-10 hours of eating. By the time you’re breaking your fast, the digestive day is winding down and your body isn’t as efficient at handling food.

I don’t think it has anything to do with autophagy.

If you don’t seem to tolerate food very well after a fast, try skipping the coffee.

That’s it for today, folks. Thanks for reading and be sure to help out down below with any further questions, answers, or clarifications.

Take care!

The post Dear Mark: Coffee Questions appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Weekend Link Love — Edition 501

The fiber content of control diets in mouse studies often throws off the results.

Dark chocolate reduces stress and inflammation, improves mood and cognitive function. In humans.

The probiotic L. rhamnosus GG protects mouse livers against acetaminophen damage.

Baking soda could protect against autoimmune disease.

A novel form of CoQ10 designed to target mitochondria makes blood vessels appear and act younger.

Discoveries on Crete suggest that ancient humans and/or Neanderthals were faring the seas over 130,000 years ago.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 239: Ken Berry, MD: Host Elle Russ chats with the good doctor about ADD, sleep, Parkinson’s, and the carnivore diet.

Each week, select Mark’s Daily Apple blog posts are prepared as Primal Blueprint Podcasts. Need to catch up on reading, but don’t have the time? Prefer to listen to articles while on the go? Check out the new blog post podcasts below, and subscribe to the Primal Blueprint Podcast here so you never miss an episode.

Does Coffee Break an Intermittent Fast?
The Roots of Depression: How Much Does Modern Culture Have to Do With It?

Interesting Blog Posts

Urban wildlife are evolving faster than other wildlife.

Why you should say “no” to the news.

Media, Schmedia

Sometimes (most times), letting nature do its thing really works well.

Nutritional heretic Gary Taubes recounts his embattled journey to vindication.

Everything Else

To deal with pain and inflammation, athletes are swapping ibuprofen for CBD.

The Penn State “Outing Club” is no longer allowed to go outside. Too unsafe.

Bad gut health is bad for your knees.

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

How could this be?: When top cardiologists are out of town at conferences, fewer heart attack patients at their hospitals die.

Research finding I enjoyed: Children are about as fit as elite endurance athletes.

Concept I’m pondering: Stress is contagious.

Announcement I’m pleased to, well, announce: Time Traveler wins last week’s contest. Congrats!

Old study worth considering: Exposure to vapors from stir-fried seed oils increases lung cancer risk.

Recipe Corner

Lemon poppyseed fruit salad is good. Just be careful with the drug tests after.
A nice story about and a great recipe for kibbeh sinayee.

Time Capsule

One year ago (Apr 22– Apr 28)

5 Unconventional Ways to Extend Your Life – Live longer, live better.
10 Tips, Suggestions, and Projects for Improving Your Mastery Over Nature  – Assume your birthright as a human.

Comment of the Week

“I consumed a bunch of nutmeg a couple times in an attempt to get high back when I was 16 or so. The first time a friend and I choked back a bunch of powder with Coke over our high school lunch, which didn’t seem to do anything. Although I like nutmeg its taste can be very overpowering in large amounts and for a long time after that I could “taste” it every time I drank Coke, which at least made me stop drinking Coke for a while.

The second time was with the same friend and we boiled whole nuts with some crude grade dark chocolate and leaves from at least one type of wild plant that we thought might be hemp or a relative because it looks fairly similar. We were like why not, let’s just throw in anything that we think could make it more of a mind altering potion. It basically turned into a gross tasting muddy brew. Although I didn’t really feel “high” I was kind of out of it, even somewhat through the next day (which was kind of interesting because it was my first tackle football game (a scrimmage before the actual season games started, but same thing – I did alright at least)). At one point my mom called home and asked me to take a Delissio/whatever pizza out of the freezer and then cook it so dinner would be ready when my parents got home. I remember going to the freezer and taking out the pizza, but then when my mom got home she wondered why I had just left it on the floor outside the freezer, which I did not remember doing. That’s basically my experience with nutmeg, so in both cases it was pretty much pointless.”

– Vintage Animanarchy.

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Collagen Peptides Pan Sauce

A buttery, meaty sauce flavored by the crispy bits of meat left in the pan is one of life’s great pleasures. Pan sauce elevates a steak or pork chop from good to amazing and turns a simple homemade meal into a restaurant worthy dinner.

Contrary to what some recipes say, you don’t need a bottle of red wine and a simmering stockpot of bone broth to make killer pan sauce. Instead, there’s a quick and easy short cut that makes delicious pan sauce possible at a moment’s notice. This shortcut has been mentioned before, but it’s worth mentioning again because it reveals how easy it is to make really good pan sauce.

Here’s what you do: Sear a steak (or pork chop, or piece of chicken) in a skillet. Remove the meat, leaving behind the crispy little bits that are stuck to the skillet. Add butter and shallot. Add broth – store bought is just fine. Then whisk in 2 scoops of Primal Kitchen® Collagen Peptides. The collagen peptides add the rich collagen that store bought broth is missing. Simmer the sauce for just a few minutes, add another pat of butter if you like, and voila, delicious, collagen-rich pan sauce.

Servings: 2

Time in the Kitchen: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 13-ounce to 16-ounce strip steak (or other cut of steak), 1 to 1 ½ inches thick (370 g to 455 g)
2 teaspoons Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil, divided (10 ml)
1 to 2 tablespoon unsalted butter (15 m to 30 ml)
1 small shallot, finely chopped
¾ cup beef or chicken broth (180 ml)
2 scoops Primal Kitchen Collagen Peptides
Salt and pepper

Instructions

Rub the steak all over with 1 teaspoon avocado oil. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Let the steak stand at room temperature while you chop the shallot and prepare other ingredients (ideally, set the steak out 30 minutes before cooking).

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the steak; depending on the thickness, cook about 4 to 6 minutes a side for medium-rare. Transfer steak to a cutting board.

Turn the heat down to medium. Add 1 tablespoon butter and the remaining teaspoon avocado oil to the skillet. Add shallot. Sauté 3 to 5 minutes, until soft and lightly browned.

Add broth, and bring to a boil. Whisk in 2 scoops Primal Kitchen Collagen Peptides. Simmer 3 to 5 minutes to reduce and thicken the sauce.

Slice the steak and pour the sauce on top.

The post Collagen Peptides Pan Sauce appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

I Married My Two Passions—Baking and Fitness—To Change My Life

It’s Friday, everyone! And that means another Primal Blueprint Real Life Story from a Mark’s Daily Apple reader. If you have your own success story and would like to share it with me and the Mark’s Daily Apple community please contact me here. I’ll continue to publish these each Friday as long as they keep coming in. Thank you for reading!

 After a “chubby childhood,” an eating-disorder ravaged adolescence, and then an up-and-down, yo-yo dieting young adulthood, I dedicated myself to finding a way to live healthfully and — most importantly—HAPPILY with who I am and to realize my inherent potential: physically and emotionally.

I have spent the last seventeen years working toward a state of health that is not only optimal but sustainable. I graduated with a degree in psychology, hoping to someday use it as a foundation to help other people who had struggled as I had.

Through it all, I have still battled the ups and downs of pounds lost and gained, the frustrations of injuries confining me to the couch, and the struggle to really “figure ‘it’ out”—what formula was I missing?  What pieces of the puzzle were eluding me, to finding that perfect balance of fitness and health and ultimate life satisfaction?

For me, a huge turning point came in late 2014, when I tried a Whole30 Challenge, completed it, and began a Paleo way of eating. When you hear that body composition is 80% diet, it is no joke (and I have the self-experimentation, documented in my blog, to back up that statement).

Fast forward a couple of years, and I find myself suffering yet ANOTHER running injury, feeling completely pitiful and depressed, when my now-husband hands me an issue of Outside Magazine containing an article about this guy called Mark Sisson. I glanced at it….left it on the counter for a few days….and then threw it into my bag to take to work and read when I had time.

I will admit, I was skeptical. I was a chronic cardio junkie, but what HAD been working really was NOT working for me anymore (and I was eating a whole food diet!). You mean I could train less? I needed to sleep more? More fat? (Aside: now, I knew that fat was not “bad”….but that Standard American Diet had been instilled into me from the youngest age, and while I now ate whole foods and really did eat a healthy diet, I still struggled with the “calories in, calories out” mentality.)

That was in the winter of 2016, and it still took me being laid up with a sprained ankle (ANOTHER running injury?!) to fully dig into The Primal Blueprint, order all of the books, and immerse myself in this incredible multitude of research and information. That was in July, and I became hooked. I was already a NASM-Certified Personal Trainer, and I had visions of getting my Fitness Nutrition Specialization, even though I was currently working a government job and not training any clients.

While I loved my government job—the job itself—the interpersonal dynamic was incredibly toxic (stress?!). In January or 2017, I decided to go for broke: I enrolled in the Primal Health Coaching Program AND my Fitness Nutrition Course and completed both by February. Little by little, I decided I was going to make a change and make this my career.

But bills need to be paid, and my husband and I had a hefty mortgage. So I labored away at my job, spending my down time developing my future business.

I finally launched my LLC in May of 2017, but it still did not really go anywhere. I had transformed my life and way of thinking, adopting the Primal lifestyle to a “T”: honoring sleep, managing stress, moving and exercising sensibly. I had so much knowledge and nowhere to put it!

Finally, on a warm, Sunday afternoon in June, I was destressing by baking a (traditional) graduation cake for a friend; I have always loved to bake, even if I do not eat the traditional fare anymore (a taste of ice cream cake once in a while is about all I can tolerate). My husband turned to me and said, “You are so good at this! You are such a great baker, and you LOVE it! Why don’t you try Paleo or Primal desserts?”

I rolled my eyes and said, “That’s too hard!”

But a seed was planted. I asked myself, “Why am I doing all of these sugar-laden (yet delicious) desserts for the people whom I want to help? I am enabling, not helping them…..and I DO love to bake….and even I don’t eat this stuff….hmmmmm….”??

A few weeks later, my husband deployed for a seven-month stint in Africa, and I decided to take that time to learn how to create Paleo and Primal sweet eats. My goal was to make things that were not merely “less unhealthy,” but were actually nutritious in themselves: provide nutrition in every bite; craft items from the ground up. And you know what? It was fun.

And I WAS good at it. In fact, it was so much fun, and I was SO good at it, that I took a leap of faith and quit my comfy-yet-stressful five-figure government job and launched a dessert line to go alongside my fitness company.

Within three months from picking up my first sack of almond flour, I had a full line of good-for-you goodies, and I was selling them to the hungry hoards in coffee shops around town. I was completing personal orders, and I was loving every minute—my worst day doing this job was not even remotely comparable to the very best day at my old job. I have done tastings and been able to talk to people not just about my desserts and way of eating, but also about my lifestyle, my goal to help those with a sweet tooth have something at hand that was not merely an empty-calorie sugar-bomb. I had a woman stop me while I was dropping off an order at a coffee shop in town and personally thank me for what I do: “You have no idea what this means to me. I have dietary intolerances that lead me to a Paleo lifestyle, but I sometimes miss a good Pumpkin Muffin. Thank you so very much for bringing ‘Paleo’ to us!” I was—AM—truly helping people, and I am also able to provide fitness and nutrition advice AND promote the Primal way of living as a whole.

My baking business is currently bigger than my fitness business, but I have kept both fires burning: I blog as much as possible on my fitness site (also see me on Facebook: BFit BodyFit) and still offer coaching and nutritional planning to anyone who needs it.

My mission has always been to help others. I love food. I love nutrition. I love fitness. But I had clients and friends who were trying to eat and live well—and especially those trying to adhere to a Primal or Paleo way of life—tell me that they struggled with desserts, and that they were “tired of fruit.” I have never wanted to “enable” a person who needs to address a sugar addiction, but I DO want to help those who fight to stay in line with their goals and ensure that EVERYTHING they put into their bodies is truly good for them.

Mark’s Daily Apple—and of course, Mark himself—inspired ME, a Paleo Personal Trainer, to step back, REALLY evaluate my life, and make a change for the better. I started to sleep more; I dialed back the cardio. My job was the most stressful thing in my life, to the point where I was physically ill quite a bit (side note: I have not been ill AT ALL since I quit that job). I took all of the knowledge I had gained from the Primal Blueprint, my other studies, and I married it with my two passions—baking and fitness—to change my life.

I now bring Paleo, Primal, Gluten-Free, and Vegan good-for-you sweet eats to the people of Alexandria, VA (and beyond—I do ship! Check out Brianne’s Blissful Bites on Facebook or email me at bri@briannesblissfulbites.com). I did this because I was inspired by Mark Sisson, who helped me step back and inventory my lifestyle beyond diet and movement.

The post I Married My Two Passions—Baking and Fitness—To Change My Life appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

My 14 Favorite Keto-Friendly Snacks

Keto tends to discourage snacking. Not as in “If you’re keto, you’re not allowed to snack!” More like “If you’re keto, you probably won’t feel the need to snack as much.”

Still, hunger strikes. Situations arise where you need a little something to nourish you in the moment without having to cook a meal. This isn’t a problem. But you do need to be prepared—or else risk derailing your efforts.

A snack must be instantly available or take no more than a minute or two of preparation. A snack shouldn’t be something that makes you groan or use more than one or two bowls or pieces of kitchen equipment to prepare. It should be an afterthought.

What are my favorite keto-friendly snacks? I’ve got 14.

1. Coconut Butter

As I mentioned in last week’s “Day in the Life of Keto” video, my go-to keto-friendly snack is a tablespoonful of Artisana coconut butter. It’s sweet, without having much sugar. It’s creamy, without having any dairy (if you care about that sort of thing). It’s full of fiber, which some people have trouble finding on a keto diet. And it’s right there, waiting, ready without any real preparation.

2. Brad’s “Stu Can’t Stop Chocolate Bark”

Stu is my writing partner—and buddy Brad Kearns’ dog. Stu can’t stop barking once he gets going. “Stu Can’t Stop Bark” is Brad’s edible, polyphenol-rich homage to Stu.

Take a pound of 80%+ chocolate and break it up into pieces. Add half to a double boiler or glass bowl set above a boiling pot.
As chocolate melts, add 3 tablespoons of coconut oil. Stir to combine.
Add two cups of chopped macadamias or other nuts to a large mixing bowl along with the rest of the chocolate.
When chocolate/oil mixture is completely melted, pour it into the mixing bowl. Stir until everything is melted and evenly distributed. Really coat those nuts.
Spread half the mixture evenly into a 15 x 10 inch glass baking pan. Drizzle three tablespoons of almond butter across the top. Optional: sprinkle coconut flakes or coconut butter across the top.
Spread the rest of the mixture across the top. Sprinkle sea salt. Optional: sprinkle coconut flakes or coconut butter across the top.
Refrigerate until solidified. Remove from pan, cut into squares with large chef’s knife. Keep refrigerated or frozen until ready to eat (immediately).

Do not give Stu, or any other dog, Stu Can’t Stop Bark. They can’t process the theobromine in the dark chocolate. To a dog, chocolate bark is way worse than a bite. To a human, it’s pure fuel.

3. Avocado Mashed With Sardine

This one takes a small amount of preparation (about a minute). You could make it ahead of time and leave it in the fridge, but the risk of a browning avocado is too great for me to bear. What’s a minute anyway? We all have plenty of those laying around.

First, grab a can of sardines. Wild Planet in EVOO is my preferred type. Open it up, dump it in a bowl. I don’t always include all the can oil. Sometimes my dog Shanti gets it, sometimes I keep it. There will be plenty of fat either way.

Next, add a diced avocado.

Add a sprinkle of salt.

This is where choice enters. I’ll either squeeze a lemon over the bowl, or add a tablespoon of Primal Kitchen Green Goddess dressing.

Stir to combine.

Double it up and you have yourself a solid meal.

4. Mac Nuts In Greek Yogurt

Either is a great snack by itself. Together, they become more powerful than you can imagine. Mac nuts are inherently sweet, especially once you’ve removed sugar from your diet and increased your appreciation of subtle flavor. Because the yogurt is so thick, the mac nuts are suspended throughout the entirety rather than pool at the bottom as happens with runnier yogurt. Every spoonful nets you yogurt and mac nut.

5. Keto Coconut Cheesecake Bites

Go read the post, make the recipe, and report back. Better than expected, right?

6. Three Raw Egg Yolks

More than a snack, this is a quick cognitive pick-me-up. Egg yolks are loaded with brain-boosting nutrients like choline. Many of the nutrients in the egg yolk are encased in phospholipids, making them highly bioavailable and potent—similar to liposomal supplements. The vitamin D in eggs is “stronger” than the vitamin D in supplements, for example. The omega-3s in pastured or omega-3-enhanced eggs are more potent than those in fish oil.

7. Toasted Coconut Flakes

There are places that sell them unsweetened; these are a good example.

But you can also toast your own quite easily. 325° F oven, baking sheet, single layer, dash of salt, 10-12 minutes or until desired brownness. If you like the results, play around with some additional spices. Turmeric with black pepper. Curry powder. Cayenne. Cumin and garlic powder.

8. Boiled Eggs

For my money, the egg is the perfect keto food. Nice protein—fat ratio, excellent micronutrient profile (especially if you go with pastured eggs). They boil nicely, too.

Hard-boiled eggs store well for days in the fridge. You can chop them up, mix with mayo and mustard, and have delicious egg salad in under a minute. You can eat them straight up with bit of salt and pepper. You can devil them.

Soft-boiled eggs don’t store as well in the fridge, especially if you make the yolks as runny as I like, but they’ll last for at least a few days. And let’s be honest: soft-boiled eggs never last long. They’re too good. My personal favorite way to eat a soft-boiled egg is to toss it in salt, turmeric, and black pepper. Another good way is to make marinated kombu and tamari soft-boiled eggs.

9. Smoked Oysters

Crown Prince smoked oysters are a hidden gem in the grocery aisle. You get a big dose of zinc and iron. All you have to do is pop open the can, grab a fork (these get messy, so don’t use your fingers), and get to snacking.

10. Nori-Wrapped Tuna Salad

First, make tuna salad. I always go basic here. Primal Kitchen Mayo, tuna. I do drain the tuna, either drinking the juice or, again, giving it to Shanti. Leaving the liquid in with the tuna and mayo gives it a wet texture I don’t prefer.

I’ll keep a big container of that made ahead of time. Then I just spoon it into nori, fold together, and cram into mouth.

You get a nice dose of omega-3s, selenium, and protein from the tuna, along with iodine from the seaweed.

11. Cold Leg Of Lamb With Sharp Cheddar

This isn’t a constant presence in my snack arsenal. I don’t always have a cooked leg of lamb sitting in my fridge. But when we do make leg of lamb, I make sure to save at least half of it for leftovers the rest of the week. Cold roast lamb is way better than cold roast beef. The two don’t even compare.

It’s medium rare, always. I eat it with a wedge of sharp cheddar, always.

12. Cold Chicken Leg

My old lunchtime standby when I didn’t have time to throw together a Big Ass Salad, the cold chicken leg is made for quick snacking. It comes with a handle. It has excellent texture—there’s something about the chilled fattiness of the thigh that makes it incredibly tender. I’ll keep a sack of cooked chicken legs (always whole, drumstick and thigh) in the fridge for easy access.

I love fresh roasted chicken, right out of the oven, and my favorite piece to eat is the thigh. But there’s something special about the cold chicken leg. A cold breast I could take or leave.

13. Crudités With Dip

Crudités are just sliced or whole raw vegetables served with dip. A traditional crudités platter comes with vinaigrette, and that’s a good option, but you have others.

Yogurt mint dipping sauce, bacon guacamole, guacamole, (my personal favorite) chipotle mayo.

There are millions of combinations. Possible vegetables include broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, asparagus, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber, onions. Almost anything works.

FODMAP-sensitive folks might want to be careful with some of the raw vegetables. Choose wisely. Don’t eat a plate of raw broccoli if cooked broccoli gives you stomach issues.

14. Roasted Veggies

Every once in awhile, I’ll cut up a big mix of veggies (drawing on the list mentioned in the crudités section above), toss them in avocado oil, salt, and pepper, and roast them at 425° until I see what I like. I’m going for char, for browning, for caramelization. Some of them get eaten right away. The rest go into a glass container and into the fridge for snacks.

Eat cold.

Those are my 14 favorite keto-friendly snacks. What are yours?

Thanks for reading, everyone. Take care.

The post My 14 Favorite Keto-Friendly Snacks appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Introducing The Keto Reset Instant Pot® Cookbook—and Free Gifts!

Greetings, have you heard about this newfangled contraption called the Instant Pot®? Just kidding, of course you have (and if you answer no, it’s time to get with the program!). The Instant Pot has become the most sensationally popular kitchen appliance in decades. One report indicated that some ten million Instant Pot units were sold on Amazon.com in the fourth quarter of 2017 alone! Instant Pot is the genericized trademark for what is technically called a multi-use pressure cooker. There are many other brands for these space-age, tabletop units touted as the inclusive replacement to nine common kitchen appliances (including a stovetop pressure cooker, rice cooker, and slow cooker/crock pot) that speed cooking time by a factor of two to six times while using 70 percent less energy than the stove, oven, or other gadgets.

In short, it’s a perfect tool for keto eating. You get all the benefits of a keto diet—with the least amount of time, strain and effort in the kitchen. Today I’ve got 75 low-carb, hassle-free, and delicious recipes to get you started. 

You know I’ve authored numerous cookbooks with my incredible partners, but I confess to not having much interest in spending hours in the kitchen cooking gourmet meals. I feel like the Instant Pot was made for folks like me—folks with a sincere interest in eating healthy, delicious foods, but not always wanting to devote the precious time necessary to prepare an elaborate meal.

Things have been super busy for me in recent months, what with my transcontinental move from Malibu to Miami and lots of business travel stacked on top of that. Consequently, the Instant Pot has risen to a place of central prominence in my kitchen arsenal. By the way, another added benefit of the Instant Pot is that you are not heating up your kitchen for hours just to make a meal. Believe me, I have a deepened appreciation for this at my new residence in South Florida!

It doesn’t get easier or more convenient than tossing an entire pasture-raised chicken into the pot with some onions, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes and having a delicious meal ready in half an hour—without tending to it at all! I also like throwing a half-dozen eggs into the pot for a perfectly hard-boiled result in five minutes of cooking. With my world famous Big-Ass Salad (the old video with six-figure viewers is a decade old, so check out this updated link!), I’m honestly an eyeball gourmet: if I see hard-boiled eggs or ready-made chicken in the fridge I’ll throw them in, but if they’re not there I’m too lazy to make something on the spot. These days, my fridge—and my Big-Ass Salad—is looking much better thanks to the ease of preparation that the Instant Pot provides.

With both keto and the Instant Pot being such red-hot topics right now, this book seemed like a golden opportunity, but honestly my first response to the publishing offer was no—too much going on right now what with the move and the crazy growth of the Primal Kitchen® product line. Then I reflected on the basic concept of combining keto eating with Instant Pot ease.

As I say in the opening comments of The Keto Reset Instant Pot Cookbook, the marriage of the keto strategy with Instant Pot functionality represents the ultimate in efficiency—both cooking efficiency with the Instant Pot machine, and metabolic efficiency with a keto-friendly eating pattern. An “ultimate efficiency” book makes perfect sense right now, in a day and age when it seems our lives keep getting busier, and at the same time it is increasingly obvious that each of us has to take health and wellness into our own hands.

For The Keto Reset Instant Pot Cookbook, I teamed with two amazing co-creators, Primal Blueprint Publishing’s very own Dr. Lindsay Taylor along with Layla McGowan. These ladies live and breathe healthy cooking and also have a tremendous devotion to fitness and healthy living.

Lindsay is the chief moderator of our incredibly engaged and fast-growing Keto Reset Facebook Group. She spearheaded the recipe component of The Keto Reset Diet and is my co-author on the upcoming fall release of The Keto Reset Cookbook. With her keto-enthusiast husband Jake as well as two young children in the house, you are getting authentic recipes that pass the ultimate litmus test of quality—approval from picky pre-teens! Check out Lindsay’s creations on Instagram @theusefuldish.

Layla, based in the unlikely keto hotbed of Alabama, brings a rich multicultural background to her cooking passions, having been raised with both Korean and German cooking traditions. Her creations fuel a fantastic fitness regimen, featuring a graceful blend of yoga and some very serious Olympic lifting. Her fitness and food endeavors are chronicled in her Instagram feed @strong.and.wellfed.

But Wait…There’s More!

In the interest of sharing my enthusiasm for both keto and the Instant Pot with MDA readers, my team and I have prepared some free gifts.

When you pre-order or order your copy of the  The Keto Reset Instant Pot Cookbook, for a limited time we have an awesome kit of all-digital bonus items:

$10 gift certificate at PrimalBlueprint.com
Exclusive video in the kitchen with Dr. Lindsay Taylor, getting you informed and excited about using your Instant Pot
Free copy of The Paleo Cooking Bootcamp , the centerpiece of our comprehensive online multimedia course on intentional cooking
PDF recipe sampler from the book, for easy printing and pasting on the fridge door

Just visit the Keto Reset Instant Pot Cookbook homepage to take advantage of the offer, and learn more about the book as well as our online Keto Reset Mastery Course, one of the most comprehensive educational experiences you can obtain anywhere to learn how to go keto the right way.

P.S. – Just for reading this far on the post, I’ll also add a special offer to take 20% off your enrollment in the Keto Reset Mastery Course. Just enter this code at checkout: MDA20. This course discount offer expires on May 31st, so take the plunge and get educated on keto—and pick up your Keto Reset Instant Pot Cookbook to make it easier than ever to stay aligned with your keto goals!

Thanks, everybody. I’ve had a lot of fun working on this keto cookbook project. I hope you’ll enjoy!

Want to make fat loss easier?

Try the Definitive Guide for Troubleshooting Weight Loss for free here.

The post Introducing The Keto Reset Instant Pot® Cookbook—and Free Gifts! appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Does Coffee Break an Intermittent Fast?

This has got to be one of the most frequent questions I see:

“Does coffee break a fast?”

Let’s answer.

To begin with, I’ll make the case that you shouldn’t worry too much about this stuff. That you’re even willing and able to go without a meal or snack for 12-24 hours places you in rarefied company. That’s 95th percentile stuff. You’re ahead of the game simply by being open to the idea of not eating every hour. Take heart in that. Some coffee with cream midway through doesn’t take away from what you’re accomplishing.

But I know you guys, and I know you love the minutiae. I know it because I love it, too. It’s fun, even if it gets us into trouble sometimes. So let’s dig right in.

First, does black coffee break a fast?

Put another way.. Does coffee interfere with the benefits we’re seeking from a fast? Depends on the benefits you’re seeking (and what you put in the coffee).

Let’s look at some of the most common benefits first and if/how coffee affects them.

Common Benefits of Fasting: Does Coffee Help/Hinder?
Ketosis

Fasting is a quick and easy (or simple) way to get into ketosis. You have little choice in the matter. Since you’re not eating anything, and your body requires energy, you break down body fat for energy. And because you’ve only got fat “coming in,” you’ll quickly start generating ketone bodies. If coffee stops ketosis, it’s probably breaking the fast.

A recent study found that taking caffeine acutely upregulates ketosis in humans.

Fat Burning

Fat-burning is another important aspect of fasting. Since we’ve already shown that coffee increases ketosis, I think it’s pretty obvious that coffee also increases fat mobilization and burning.

Insulin Sensitivity

Over the long term, fasting is an effective way to improve insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance. Most things that make you better at burning fat and expending, rather than storing, energy—like exercise, low-carb diets, weight loss in general—tend to improve insulin sensitivity over time. But the sometimes counterintuitive piece to all this is that in the short term, fasting can reduce insulin sensitivity. This is a physiological measure the body takes to preserve what little glucose remains for the brain. All the other tissues become insulin resistant so that the parts of the brain that can’t run on ketones and require glucose get enough of the latter to function.

Coffee has a similar effect. Acutely, it reduces insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance (so don’t eat pastries with your coffee). Over the long term, it improves insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance; many studies find that the more coffee you drink, the lower your risk of type 2 diabetes.

Autophagy

Cellular cleanup. Pruning. Entropy dictates that all things are constantly speeding toward disorder. Things fall apart, in other words. That applies to our cells and the tissues they comprise, too. But because we are biological beings rather than inert objects, we can respond to and resist the descent into disorder. Autophagy is one of the ways in which we keep our cells healthy and maintained, pruned, and trimmed of damaged bits. Fasting is one of the best ways to induce autophagy. It’s one of fasting’s major selling points. If coffee destroys autophagy, that’d be a big mark against coffee and a sure sign it’s breaking the fast.

Good thing coffee doesn’t appear to hamper autophagy. At least in mice, both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee induce autophagy in the liver, muscle tissue, and heart.

AMPK

Adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, or AMPK, is an enzyme that inhibits fat storage and promotes fat burning. It activates antioxidant networks, triggers autophagy, and promotes mitochondrial biogenesis. A major benefit of fasting is that it causes a big uptick in AMPK activation. Other things do, too, like exercise, basic calorie restriction, and any situation where energy is being deprived or expended, but fasting is one of the more reliable paths.

Luckily, coffee doesn’t seem to inhibit AMPK. Caffeine improves endothelial repair via AMPK. Even chlorogenic acid, another coffee component, triggers AMPK.

Okay, so black coffee doesn’t seem to break the fast in any meaningful sense. What about all the things people like to add to coffee?

Common Additions to Coffee
Coffee With Butter/MCT Oil/Coconut Oil?

Technically, it breaks the fast. You’re ingesting calories (depending on how much fat you add, it could be a significant number of calories), and calories break the fast. But pure fat has little to no effect on insulin, blood glucose, or any of the other measurements that indicate a “broken fast.”

You won’t burn as much body fat. You’ll still burn plenty of body fat.

It will help you fast longer. Adding a little fat to your coffee can make fasting more tolerable. If you can only manage 12 hours on black coffee but a couple teaspoons of coconut oil help you go 24, the coconut oil might be a good addition.

It shouldn’t affect autophagy. Protein ingestion interrupts autophagy. Butter has a tiny amount of protein that shouldn’t interfere.

Coffee With Heavy Cream?

An ounce of cream has almost a gram each of carbohydrate (lactose) and protein. That. Some cream in your coffee won’t affect your fat burning very much, but it probably will inhibit some autophagy.

That said, remember that ketogenic diets increase autophagy too, and those definitely include food. This is all a matter of degree. It’s not a binary on-off switch. Less autophagy isn’t zero autophagy.

Coffee With Almond/Other Nut Milk?

As long as you’re avoiding the sweetened versions, or the ones that come fortified with extra protein, and you’re not adding a half cup at a time, a little nut milk won’t make a big difference. There is very little of anything in most nut milks.

Coffee With Cinnamon/Cocoa/Nutmeg?

Cinnamon is fine. It tends to reduce insulin resistance, especially the kind you get after a bad night’s sleep.

Cocoa powder is okay, but watch the amount. It’s a “whole legume” powder, so it has carbs, protein, and fat. Anything more than a teaspoon will overdo it. If you add cocoa, use defatted cocoa powder. Adding too much of the cocoa powder with fat included will reduce the effects of fasting.

Nutmeg is fine, too. Just avoid psychotropic doses.

Coffee With Stevia?

When you eat it with a snack containing 290 calories, stevia lowers glucose and insulin levels. I see no mechanism by which stevia could make the situation worse without a meal.

Coffee With Monkfruit Extract?

Monkfruit extract has an effect similar to stevia. It’s fine.

Coffee With Artificial Sweeteners?

There’s no good evidence they’ll impair the metabolic response to fasting, but there are other unwanted effects you should want to avoid.

Coffee With Collagen?

As much as I love (and sell) collagen, it is pure protein, and protein tends to activate mTOR and inhibit autophagy. This means that collagen in your coffee during a fast is probably fine for fat-burning (and may suppress appetite, helping you fast for longer) but will reduce the benefits of autophagy.

When You’re At a Coffee Shop

Order black coffee: drip, pour-overs, espressos, Americanos. That’s the most surefire way to maintain the fast.

Ask for heavy cream, don’t use the “cream.” The “cream” coffee shops tend to set out for customer use is actually half-and-half: half milk, half cream. That gives it a significant protein and carb load that will inhibit the effects of the fast. Instead, if you absolutely need something to add to your coffee, ask the staff for heavy cream.

Avoid nut milks. Coffee places often use sweetened nut milks, and they use entirely too much of it. An “almond milk latte” will have around 8 ounces of almond milk, far too much for your fast (even if it’s unsweetened).

That’s about it for coffee and fasting. If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to ask down below. I’ll get to as many as I can in a future post.

Thanks for reading, take care, and enjoy your coffee!

The post Does Coffee Break an Intermittent Fast? appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Dear Mark: Phones in Bedrooms, Antidepressants, Pastured Egg Omega-6 Content

For today’s edition of Dear Mark, I’m answering three questions from readers. I’ve come down hard against phones in bedrooms in the past. Is there a “good way” to use your phone in the bedroom? Reader Kathy offered some good reasons for keeping a phone there; what do I think? Next, HealthyHombre laments having to take antidepressants (but he shouldn’t lament). And finally, I cover the differences in omega-6 between pastured eggs and conventional eggs.

Let’s go:

I use my phone in bed in airplane mode to generate a binaural beat and a rainy night white noise. Grok would not do that but Grok would not live near a busy railroad and a neighbor with outdoor chihuahuas. Grok would not crank up an old favorite story on audiobooks when he couldn’t sleep but I do. The phone has a very dim red light at night (Twilight app). Is that really bad or does the no-phone advice refer instead to radiation from operating radios or attending to email, calls, and Facebook pings?

That’s an excellent question.

A ton of evidence indicates that dim light at night is bad, even just a little bit. It disrupts our cellular circadian rhythm (every cell in our body has a circadian component) and metabolism, leading to weight gain. It increases REM sleep and the number of times we wake up during the night. It may even lead to trans-generational depression and neurodegeneration.

Unless the dim light is red or from a fire. If anything, dim red light will help you sleep, not hinder you. A 2012 paper found that female basketball players using nighttime red light therapy improved sleep quality, increased melatonin production, and boosted endurance capacity.

The way you use your phone at night is ideal. It’s a tool to enhance your life, to replace what’s missing and essential and human in the most ancient sense—stories, soothing white noise.  You’ve got it on airplane mode, so you aren’t getting texts and updates and notifications. You aren’t tempted to check email or Facebook.

Keep doing it.

HealthyHombre wrote:

The article about antidepressants is of interest to me as I take 10mg of Lexapro daily to help mitigate severe panic attacks. For some reason it seems to be the only thing that provides consistent help. I’m 65 years old and it is the only pharmaceutical I take. I exercise regularly, diet is super clean, I’ve tried meditation, deep breathing, journaling, various natural supplements, therapy sessions etc. … all positive things but only the med seems to really work for me. Maybe it is the placebo affect, the mind is very powerful and if we believe something strongly enough it can manifest in a biological response. I’ve been told that a small percentage of people have problems utilizing neurotransmitters and the ad helps prevent re-uptake. I’ve spend hundreds of hours reading everything I can on the subject. Hopefully someday there will be some breakthroughs, until then I reluctantly take it daily and try not to beat myself up too much about it. Have a great day everyone!

If they work, they work! Never beat yourself up for doing what works. Just because many take them unnecessarily doesn’t mean you are. Remember, we’re all individuals charing our respective courses through life. Only we can decide which turns to take and tools to use along the way.

We are our own arbiters.

For what it’s worth, many psychiatrists who value the importance of nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle in treating depression also note the efficacy (and sometimes necessity) of antidepressants in certain patients. Dr. Emily Deans is one.

David wondered:

Hey Mark, I note the inclusion of pork and chicken as foods to be aware of as high in omega 6 linoleic acid (from their feed). Does this line of thinking also apply to egg yolks? If so, only for conventional eggs and not for pastured eggs?

Yes. Keep in mind that many pastured hens still receive a standard feed that contains soy and corn, both of which can contribute to omega-6 levels. However, pastured hens tend to have higher levels of omega-3, so the O6:O3 ratio is lower in pastured chicken eggs. Does it matter?

I think so. A study from several years ago compared the in vivo effects of regular eggs vs “special eggs” in humans—what happens in people who eat them? The conventional hens ate typical stuff high in omega-6 fats, like soy, corn (and its oil), sunflower, and safflower; their eggs were high in omega-6. The special hens ate wheat, barley, and sorghum, with an antioxidant blend to replicate the broad spectrum of compounds they’d get foraging in nature. Their eggs were lower in omega-6. Human subjects ate two eggs a day from either regular or special hens for several weeks. By study’s end, people eating the conventional eggs had 40% more oxidized LDL than people eating the eggs low in omega-6. Oxidized serum LDL is strongly associated with atherosclerosis (and it’s probably a causative relationship), so this is a big finding.

Pastured and wild chickens eat wild plants, seeds, bugs, and grain (most of which contain various antioxidant phytochemicals and low levels of omega-6); the experimental hen wasn’t the perfect approximation of this diet, but it was pretty close.

Any egg is better than no egg, though. If all you can eat are standard eggs, they’re still worth having for the choline content alone.

That’s it for today, folks. Thanks for reading. Be sure to leave a comment, ask a question, or answer a question down below.

Want to make fat loss easier?

Try the Definitive Guide for Troubleshooting Weight Loss for free here.

 

The post Dear Mark: Phones in Bedrooms, Antidepressants, Pastured Egg Omega-6 Content appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Weekend Link Love — Edition 500 (With a Grok Giveaway)

Today marks our 500th Weekend Link Love.

It’s a big day. This is our 500th edition of Weekend Link Love. 500 Sundays. And it’s actually a bit more than that—because before WLL became the official name and slot, we did other links posts. There was “Friday Link Love,” and “5 Links You’ll Love!” (talk about setting the bar a little too low), and “Hit the Links!” My personal favorite was “Los Linky Links.” I still regret not sticking with that one. The alliteration is just killer.

Things have changed so much. Take a look at the very first WLL from all the way back to June 7, 2008. Check out that crisp, clean URL. See how the content has grown, the interest has expanded, and the quality has improved.

Many people write to me saying that WLL is a favorite part of their week, something they look forward to every Sunday. A vocal minority even claim it’s their favorite post on MDA itself, better than the feature articles. I love writing them. I love learning new things, learning that what I thought last week might need rethinking. The world is such an interesting place right now, and the Internet is a powerful tool for exploring it.

Here’s to 500 more…. And thanks for taking the ride with me.

Research of the Week

Muscle mass predicts longevity, explains the entire association between higher BMIs and lower mortality.

Immediaely after watching a PETA documentary, women report eating less meat. Men do not.

Performance hack: get an audience.

After controlling for confounding variables, eating fresh produce like carrots, apples, berries, leafy greens, bananas, cucumbers, and kiwis was associated with less depression and more life satisfaction. Processed produce did not have the same link.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 237: Rob Mack: Host Elle Russ chats with the Ivy-educated, positive pschology-dispensing, executive-coaching Rob Mack about finding happiness from the inside out.

Interesting Blog Posts

NY Times readers share their antidepressant withdrawal stories.

Are the benefits of alcohol due in part to ethanol’s anti-bacterial effects?

Media, Schmedia

The French have banned food manufacturers from calling vegan-friendly fake meat products meat.

Scientists may have just cured beta-thallesemia using gene therapy.

Everything Else

This is a great premise for a kid’s book.

Good news (for now).

Early humans may have been literal brain surgeons.

You just know some Silicon Valley tech billionaire is making Old Fashioneds with superionic ice cubes.

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

Connection I found troubling: Statins and ALS.

Study I found fascinating: In the Bajau of Southeast Asia, “sea nomads” who’ve been breath-holding on deep dives for thousands of years, natural selection has granted them bigger spleens to use as oxygen reservoirs.

I’m not surprised: Wherever ancient humans went, large mammals went extinct.

Recipe Corner

Next time you get sick, make chicken with 40 cloves of garlic.
Saag chicken makes you the opposite of saad.

Time Capsule

One year ago (Apr 15– Apr 21)

Anxiety: Are Nutritional Deficiencies a Common Cause? – Few people consider this.
Solving Your Nature Deficit Disorder in the City: A Tree Grows… Almost Anywhere – Katy Bowman stops by the blog.

Comment of the Week

“Best cure for depression is apples. Daily.”

– I don’t know about “cure,” but those daily apples certainly don’t hurt, Investigator.

Now For the Giveaway…

Tell me your favorite link love story—the article (or quote) that still makes you laugh or the one that changed your mind on a health or cultural issue. Maybe it’s from a long time ago or maybe it’s from this week. I’d just love to hear what you’ve gotten out of WLL over the years, what you’ve enjoyed, and what you’d like to see more of.

I’ll choose one random comment out of today’s bunch to receive a personal “Grok Bundle.” Comment here by midnight (PDT) Monday, 4/23/18, to be eligible.

Primal Kitchen® Gift Kit (Engraved Cutting Board, Chef’s Knife, Primal Kitchen Mayo, Balsamic Dressing & Marinade, Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
“I’m an Offal Chef!” Kitchen Apron
Primal Kitchen Shirt or Hoodie (winner’s choice)
$50 Gift Certificate to PrimalBlueprint.com

Thanks for stopping in today, everybody. Good to have you with us, and enjoy your Sunday.

The post Weekend Link Love — Edition 500 (With a Grok Giveaway) appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Crisp and Fresh Crock Pot Veggies

Cooking large batches of vegetables makes it easier to eat veggies throughout the week. Pre-cooked veggies can be added to salads or served as a side dish, making both lunches and dinners easier to throw together.

Roasting large batches of vegetables on sheet pans is a great way to stock your fridge with ready-to-eat veggies. Another easy strategy is filling up the slow cooker and walking away for a couple hours.

Slow cooked vegetables don’t have to be soft and mushy. In this recipe, bell peppers, summer squash, zucchini and green beans emerge from the slow cooker tender with a little crunch left in them. These veggies are still fresh and brightly colored, and keep well in the fridge for several days.

Time in the Kitchen: 15 minutes, plus 2 hours to cook

Servings: 6 to 8

Ingredients

1 to 2 yellow bell peppers, cut into ½-inch thick strips
1 to 2 orange bell peppers, cut into ½-inch thick strips
2 to 3 small yellow crookneck squash, cut into slices approx. 1-inch wide and 3-inches long
2 to 3 small zucchini, cut into slices approx. 1-inch wide and 3-inches long
8 ounces green beans (226 g)
1 red or yellow onion, peeled, halved and quartered
6 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
½ cup Primal Kitchen® Avocado Oil (120 ml)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (2.5 ml)

Instructions

Recipe Note: The type, and amount, of vegetables used in this recipe can vary. Experiment with different combinations of vegetables that you like. When deciding how many vegetables to use, aim to fill ¾ of the slow cooker. Seasonings such as dried herbs and seasoned salt or pepper can also be used to add extra flavor.

Put all the veggies in the crockpot. Pour the avocado oil on top, and season with salt. Toss the veggies well with your hands to coat evenly in oil. Cook on high for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, taste the vegetables to see if the texture is to your liking. If you prefer softer vegetables, cook the vegetables longer.

The post Crisp and Fresh Crock Pot Veggies appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.