Mark Sisson's Blog, page 150

Primal Starter: Fielding Others’ Opinions

It’s a role that’s probably more often thrust upon us—that of Primal advocate. There we are minding our own healthy business, and somebody’s question or comment fixes the spotlight on us. Why do we eat “so much” fat? What could possibly be wrong with bread? Why do we wear the shoes we do or race down the street like we stole something?

Sometimes it’s the people in our inner circle who are the inquiring minds. Other times it’s co-workers or even random strangers. Perhaps it’s even our doctors. Whatever the case, what might begin as a simple question can often devolve into a full-blown harangue about how we’re putting our health in grave peril. On the flip side, it may be we who descend into an extended diatribe on all things Primal as the other person tries to slink away, having just been intrigued by our lettuce wrapped “un-wich.” How do we respond in these conversations without losing all patience or perspective?

Not all of us are out to become Primal advocates of course. But you don’t need to be sporting a Grok “Live Long, Drop Dead” t-shirt to garner attention. The fact is, our choices can make us stick out. Just by eating what we eat (or avoiding what we don’t) or otherwise going about our Primal routines, we become accidental examples for a lifestyle conventional wisdom finds unusual or even dangerous.

A lot of people these days have heard enough about paleo/Primal (usually misunderstanding it) to have an opinion, but they may not know other flesh-and-blood adherents. Suddenly you’ve become the spokesperson, poster child, resident expert and/or prime target in their midst. This can be a good thing—or not—depending on their agenda.

Many of us by now have witnessed the positive angle of this. Someone you know (or don’t) asks a question out of genuine curiosity, and you end up having a great discussion. By the end, they’re determined to learn more or even give it a whirl. You walk away having felt like you enjoyed a fulfilling conversation and did an act of public service.

On the other hand, we’ve likely been put in the hot seat, too. Maybe we simply take a pass on dessert or appear to be an expert at menu substitutions, but our nonconformity ruffles some feathers. Two minutes into dinner we find ourselves the center of everyone’s conversation and worry about what we’re doing to our bodies.

I’ve certainly offered my share of tongue-in-cheek suggestions for meeting Primal critiques, but there’s still the practical question of how to respond. At base, all we really own is our own experience. How does living Primally make you feel? What’s it done for you lately? People can wrangle with you about statistics this, statistics that—likely erroneous numbers or skewed understanding of research anyway. It’s much harder to argue against a person’s individual experience. In fact, it’s near impossible.

If you’ve lost fifty pounds, come off of your blood pressure meds or are otherwise living with enhanced health and energy, then your story is the perfect answer to their criticism, however constructive. Some will continue at the same line of reasoning, attempting to deny the extent of your success. All you have to say in this instance is, “I’m happy with my results. That’s all I need to know.”

Unfortunately, however, some people feel that because you say you’ve reclaimed your health and vitality with the Primal Blueprint that you’re dictating to them they have to do the same. Sure, it would behoove them (twenty-five cent word of the day) to try it out, too. But I’ve never advocated dragging or nagging anyone to the Primal Blueprint. The other person will either be willing to acknowledge it or not, but their inability to do so (when that’s the case) will have nothing to do with you.

It’s not only okay but often stunningly effective to flat out tell someone they’re free to choose their own path. In fact, tell them you’re not arguing they should do what you did. Maybe it’s not a good fit for them. But even still they can always stop by the site or Facebook group if they ever change their minds about wanting to know more.

At some point we have to see that health transformation is for people who want it, not for people who need it. As the old saying goes, “You can only lead a horse to water. You can’t make him drink.” Self-advocacy has to be a part of the picture. Spare yourself unnecessary frustration by accepting you’ll never make a difference in peoples’ lives who aren’t open to change and who don’t make themselves available for help and education.

Advocating for a lifestyle model you believe in is a noble pursuit. All of us who have improved our lives through the Primal Blueprint (myself included) want to make the same knowledge and support available to others. Rest assured, the proof is always in the pudding no matter what else gets said. Live well, and let the results be your best promotional strategy as well as your personal reward.

Further Reading: 

How To Handle Constructive Criticism As a Primal Advocate

How To Overcome the Naysayers In Your Life

The post Primal Starter: Fielding Others’ Opinions appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

5 Ways a Primal Health Coach Can Help You Overcome Sugar Addiction

This is a guest post by Dr. Dana Leigh Lyons, certified Primal Health Coach and author Sugar Addiction: 5 Healing Steps . 

Why, despite knowing the consequences, do we keep reaching for that extra piece (or two or three) of chocolate?

Well, let’s face it. For many of us, sugar addiction began when we were kids. Breaking a sugar habit is so hard! But it’s totally possible.

Sure, you could do it on your own…but as a Chinese Medicine doctor and health coach, I’ve found that personalized support and accountability are what make the most difference for most people.

That’s where a Primal Health Coach comes in! They can help you overcome sugar addiction and get you where you want to be with eating and health. Here’s how.

1. Help you check in, take stock, and come up with a plan

These days, there is so much information out there! Even if you want to cut sugar, eat healthy and feel better, knowing where to start can be overwhelming. Often, this sort of overwhelm stands in the way of even getting started.

This is where a trained health coach offers tremendous support. They help you see, with as much clarity and compassion as possible, where you are now and where you want to be. Then, they map out a doable plan and next steps toward your desired destination.

Your plan will be unique to you, not a (paleo:) cookie-cutter approach. It may include an eating assessment, meal planning, keeping a food log, and weekly “homework” assignments to keep you on track.

When I work with clients, I make sure to give them steps that are doable…and as uncomplicated as possible. As a client, you get to rest into your coach—letting them guide you, step-by-step, toward where you want be.

2. Help you discover what you’re really craving

Oftentimes, sugar cravings are rooted in something different. Our bodies are desperate for something…but are confused about what we’re actually needing.

On a physical level, this could be a particular nutrient…or sufficient protein or fat. On a mental-emotional one, it could be connection, companionship or feeling taken care of. It could also be a sense of purpose, passion or belonging. With my clients, I find it’s often linked to deep core beliefs—ones like, “I’m not enough.”

Untangling all this on your own isn’t easy—particularly when we’re surrounded by messages that equate sweets with love, self-care and fun! Your coach can help you determine whether your diet is lacking in nutrients…and can also help you look at what else may be missing.

3. Help you turn resolutions into new habits

Even when we “know” what to do to eat healthy, follow-through can be so tough! This is especially true at the beginning, when we have big plans and solid resolutions…but are still caught in old patterns.

Sugar is extra tricky in this regard because each time we give into sugar cravings, we’re feeding two different but interconnected cycles. The first is physiological. This is related to our hormonal system, our digestive system and our central nervous system.

The second is mental-behavioral. This relates to our patterning around food generally and sweet stuff specifically. It includes what “we’re used to” and “comfortable with.” It’s what we expect—and choose—without really thinking about it.

In truth, these “two” cycles are part of a single, larger whole. Our physiological response reinforces our sense that sugar “feels good,” brings comfort, and is worth pursuing…and so reinforces our mental-behavioral patterns…which then strengthen physical pathways and processes—hardwiring us to want more…and more!!!

A health coach can help you see these cycles and step out of them, addressing the physical piece as well as the mental-behavioral one. When it comes to turning resolutions into healthy habits, this is huge. It goes way beyond “white-knuckling” it or relying on willpower (which is limited and, ultimately, exhausting).

4.  Help you navigate social situations, restaurant menus and other tricky spots

Ahh—those office donuts and birthday cakes. And that irresistible cheesecake at your favorite steakhouse. Or, forget the cheesecake—how much sugar’s in the salad dressing?!

These days, sugar is everywhere and goes by many, many names. Your coach will help you get clear on where, exactly, sugar is lurking (the condiment aisle, for instance). They will also offer strategies for navigating social situations where saying No might be hard—whether because of your sugar fixation or peer pressure. And they’ll help you map out a plan for special occasions, such as going on vacation or eating out.

Part of this involves weighing tradeoffs and understanding best-to-worst options. There’s no one “right” answer, but your coach will help you figure out what answer is best for you, right now, in this moment.

5. Offer compassionate accountability

This is where we, as coaches, hold you to your resolutions and plans—but in a way that is full of compassion and free of judgement.

With any real change effort, ebbs and flows are part of the process. Your coach will offer what you need at each place along the way, whether that means cheering you on, celebrating your successes, or doling out a little tough love:). Above all, your coach is an advocate for you and helps protect you from the million things (internal and external) that can sabotage follow-through.

As a recovered sugar addict myself, I know firsthand that overcoming sugar addiction can be really hard. But having a guide and source of caring, skilled support can make all the difference.

Plus, by giving up your sugar habit, think of what you’ll gain. Freedom from sugar and carb cravings for one! Not to mention reduced risk of weight gain, obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, acne, achy joints, inflammation, brain fog, cognitive decline, premature aging, heart disease, cancer…

Primal Health Coaches offer tremendous support when it comes to making lasting changes, getting where you want to be with eating and health, and even making it fun! That’s what we’re here for.

Find a coach in the Primal Health Coach Directory here. And if you’d like to be a coach yourself, check out the Primal Health Coach Certification Program, right this way.

Dr. Dana Leigh Lyons helps people eat healthier in a way that’s uncomplicated. Her work combines eating, medicine and minimalism. Find her website here and check out her ebook, Sugar Addiction: 5 Healing Steps.

Want to make fat loss easier?

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

The post 5 Ways a Primal Health Coach Can Help You Overcome Sugar Addiction appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Alternative Therapies For ADHD: Part 2

With 6.1 million children in this country bearing a past or present ADHD diagnosis, it’s little wonder folks had a lot to say in the initial post I did on the subject a few months back.  For the most part, people were pumped to discover new potential therapies for themselves or loved ones, or at the very least to find validation in their own hunt for side effect free ADHD treatment. Others questioned the validity of certain alternative approaches, and still more posed questions about other treatments they’d heard about or were interested in.

Is there any substance to the other alternative therapies I added in passing within that previous post? What else shows promise? Let’s dig in….

Neurofeedback Strategies

Many of those seeking other answers to the ADHD question have probably heard mention of neurofeedback, which continues as a debated prospect. As far back as the 1930s, the EEG was being used to condition certain parts of the brain and teach “voluntary control” over a person’s alpha blocking response. In essence, this neurofeedback therapy is intended to enable a person with ADHD to regulate their brain activity, thereby enhancing concentration and moderating behavioral difficulties.

For the most part, controversy surrounding neurofeedback strategies for ADHD has stemmed from a high degree of heterogeneity amongst study approaches, with a definite lack of standardized protocols. Despite this, however, there has been an overwhelmingly positive flood of results from neurofeedback studies through the years, with a 2009 meta-analysis showing substantial impact for inattention and impulsivity, and lesser but still substantive effects for hyperactivity.

A more recent literature review suggests that while certain previous studies may have had overinflated results, trials that followed standardized protocols have reported statistically significant and reliable results in treatment of ADHD. Thus, while neurofeedback therapies aren’t universally successful, they’re definitely worth looking into.

Acupuncture

Skim the literature for recent research on acupuncture therapies for ADHD, and you’ll find that most applicable studies have used acupuncture in conjunction with common pharma treatments. This in itself doesn’t reduce the value of the studies, as complementary therapies are often far more effective than standalone ones; however, it does muddy the waters a little in terms of standardizing results.

A Chinese study published in 2015 divided 120 participants into two groups: one receiving acupuncture and psychological therapy, and another receiving methylphenidate. After 12 weeks of therapy, the acupuncture group had significantly better hyperactivity scores than the drug group. In the same year, an Iranian team of researchers showed that just 12 acupuncture sessions in a small group of children already on methylphenidate could improve ADHD symptoms by 23-72%. Because of the small cohort, however, and the lack of control, the results should obviously be taken with a grain of salt.

Finally, a 2015 meta-analysis covering 13 trials and 1304 subjects concluded that acupuncture was either just as effective or superior to other treatments (pharmacotherapy or behavioral therapy) in addressing symptoms of ADHD, with the added benefit of fewer side effects.

Personally, I wouldn’t put all my eggs in the acupuncture basket, but as a complementary therapy it shows promise.

Coaching

Following my first post, someone pointed out that I’d skipped over a very valuable ADHD therapy: coaching. Everyone is different when it comes to ADHD, and what works for one invariably doesn’t work for another. Most conventional treatments, and even some of the more alternative ones, either don’t or aren’t able to account for this individuality, making the success rate very hit-and-miss. The beauty of coaching is that it’s individually tailored to suit each person’s needs, and I like that there’s an element of accountability combined with a sociable face-to-face aspect that you simply don’t get with a lot of other treatments.

And when we look beyond the subjective, coaching really does work. A 2009 study of 45 adults with ADHD found that coaching had a “positive impact on the lives of people with ADHD,” while a slew of studies on ADHD college students showed that coaching helped to improve grades, boost learning, elevate self-esteem and make academic goals more attainable.

GABA

Research shows that ADHD is often associated with a deficit in Gamma-aminobutyric acid, more conveniently known as GABA. A small 2012 study used MRI to determine that children with ADHD had reduced GABA concentrations when compared to control subjects, a finding that’s mirrored in animal studies and has more recently been linked to GABAergic inhibitory neurons.

It stands to reason, then, that supplementing with GABA could improve symptoms of ADHD. Unfortunately, GABA supplementation for the treatment of ADHD isn’t well studied, and certain specialists maintain that supplemental GABA isn’t able to penetrate the blood-brain barrier. Then there’s the whole correlation vs. causation argument, but we won’t go into that.

In fact, I couldn’t track down a single study supporting the use of GABA for treatment of ADHD. An extensive search yielded repeated mention of a standalone study, in which a Japanese medical faculty research team used a natural form of GABA to elicit higher test success rates in students; however, the study itself remains elusive.

While anecdotal evidence suggests it might help with ADHD, I’d be inclined to wait this one out until we know more.

L-Carnitine

After the previous post, someone commented on the potential benefits of L-carnitine for ADHD. I got to digging, and while I didn’t come up with a lot, I did find preliminary research in the past two decades that shows a possible positive effect from L-carnitine or acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) supplementation for symptoms of ADHD.

In an earlier Dutch study, 13 out of 24 boys with ADHD who received L-carnitine showed improved behavior both at home and in school. In a 2007 study, 112 ADHD children between the ages of 5 and 12 received weight-based doses of 500-1500 mg ALC twice a day for 16 weeks. While teachers didn’t notice a significant difference in inattention overall, when divided into ADHD subtype there were marked differences: ALC produced superior results in inattentive type children, while it had the opposite effect in combined type children. Clearly, ALC may work for some, but it may make the situation worse for others.

Caffeine

Following the previous post, several people noting that caffeine was actually a pretty useful tool when it comes to ADHD. One person commented that, while caffeine disrupted her sleep, it also helped to improve her focus. Another said much the same thing, pointing out that caffeine can act as a stopgap for that dopamine dis-regulation that’s so part and parcel with ADHD. And, of course, most standard medication therapies for ADHD are stimulants. 

That being said, caffeine is surely a double-edged sword. On the therapeutic side of the story, several animal studies have been published examining the role of caffeine as a less side effect-laden stimulant drug in the treatment of ADHD symptoms. A 2011 study found that 14 days of caffeine treatment in rats with induced ADHD brought on a significant improvement in attention deficit symptoms. An earlier study showed that pre-test administration of 1-10 mg/kg caffeine in spontaneously hypertensive rats (considered the genetic equivalent of ADHD humans) significantly improved spatial learning deficits.

At the other end of the spectrum, there’s a lot we still don’t know about the diverse effects caffeine exerts on the human brain, particularly in the case of children. While most research suggests that caffeine is generally well tolerated in “normal” concentrations, children are increasingly being exposed to caffeine above and beyond what might be considered normal. And while a child (or even an adult, for that matter) without cognitive issues might not display any adverse side effects to caffeine, all studies agree that caffeine response is very individual-specific. In higher amounts, caffeine is infamously associated with impaired sleep—a known catalyst for worsening ADHD symptoms—and in anxious people it can dramatically increase levels of anxiety. For some, it might be worth discussing with your physician, particularly if you’re not taking other stimulant drugs or looking for a combination of strategies to get off of a stimulant prescription.

B Vitamins

One of our commenters mentioned that she recommends water soluble b-vitamin complexes as part of a healthy regime for keeping ADHD symptoms at a low level. And I’m inclined to agree that this is a good approach, knowing that many people are typically deficient in many of the b vitamins and considering the important role they play in brain development and cognitive health.

While studies that specifically address possible links between b-vitamin deficiencies and risk/severity of ADHD are thin on the ground, this 2010 paper piqued my interest. It examined the role that b vitamins play in the central nervous system, pointing out that b vitamins elicit a similar dopaminergic effect to agonists like methylphenidate. It stands to reason, then, that upping b vitamin intake (primarily through food but secondarily through a good B complex) might serve as a viable alternative (or at least complementary therapy) to side effect laden dopamine agonist drugs.

Add to the fact that supplementing with folate, B12 and B6 has been shown to limit brain atrophy and cognitive impairment, and there’s very little reason why anyone wouldn’t prioritize this group of vitamins. As always, consult the doctor first though.

Keto Diet

Someone last time noted how surprised they were that I hadn’t covered the potential benefits of ketogenic-style diets for ADHD treatment. My main reason for this was a lack of studies examining the keto-ADHD link, but it’s a worthwhile discussion.

The only study I’m aware of directly applying keto to ADHD is one on dogs, strangely enough. Published in 2016, researchers found that placing dogs diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy on a keto-style diet for 3 months helped to significantly reduce ADHD-related behaviors. Back in the human arena, there’s of course a trove of research demonstrating the impressive results ketogenic diets can have on conditions like bipolar mood disorders, Parkinson’s disease, MS, traumatic brain injury, and others.

It doesn’t take much of a leap to establish a possible positive connection between going occasionally keto and improving certain ADHD symptoms, especially those associated with focus and concentration. Once again, this will be an individual process, and not everyone will respond favorably to a ketogenic diet. With kids, in particular, consult your doctor, but for adults and older teens give it a go and see how your body responds.

Finally, I’ll add that there are plenty more suggested strategies and therapies I haven’t yet touched upon, and research continues to highlight new prospects.

In the meantime, it’s all about safe experimentation. No one practitioner or coach is ever going to have all the answers, so it’s up to each of us to do the research, think critically, and assemble what works for us or our loved ones.

Thanks for reading everyone. Be sure to post your thoughts, suggestions and questions in the comments below.

The post Alternative Therapies For ADHD: Part 2 appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Primal Starter: Living Purposefully

Living life on your own terms isn’t just a quaint turn of phrase. It has huge effects on your health. A large body of research shows that the less control you think you have over your life, the higher your mortality risk. That persists even when you control for other health variables and biomarkers. It’s even true for animals. Self-agency—or even the illusion of it—appears to be a requirement for healthy, happy aging.

And unlike some of the characteristics shared by centenarians, like good genes, control is malleable. You can’t change the structure of your DNA. You can, however, wrest control over your own life. Despite whatever challenges present themselves, you get to decide what purpose you contribute to each day.

How?

Pay attention to that voice inside urging you onward. If something speaks to your soul, answer the call. Check it out. See where it leads. It’s usually guiding you to a good place, a place of clear and enriching purpose.

This is the crux of Stoic philosophy—living life on purpose. If we don’t know at the core what we want to cultivate in our lives, one thousand other agendas will freely rush in and take over the entire event. At the end of life we’ll see that we lived other people’s interests and demands instead of ours. It’s an own your days or your days will own you kind of thing….

The simple truth is where we invest our time is where we invest our lives. How much are you aligning yourself with your purpose each day—or are you putting that off while you continually “take care” of other pressing concerns? Without care, those pressing concerns become our lives, and we’ve abandoned our visions, not to mention our self-care.

What do you want your life to be about? Being a compassionate, present parent or caretaker? Being a devoted partner? Being a committed activist or artist or entrepreneur? Being an example of inner and outer health? Being a spiritual seeker? A socially conscious presence on the planet?

Maybe a better way to phrase it is this: what do you want your legacy to be? Legacy is the outcome of the purpose we embody throughout our lives. A pile of money is a collection rather than a creation. Raising a child who is healthy and well-adjusted is a creation. Applying your gifts to a company that serves a legitimate need in the world or championing a cause that enriches a community is a contribution if not a creation. Some people are happy with what they have, while other people are happy with who they are. The Stoics asked us to appreciate the difference.

Purpose, like health, can and should be the centerpiece of each day. Integrity of purpose begins today. Like health integrity, it obliges us to get real about our choices and whether or not they’re in alignment with that purpose. Each day the better guidance isn’t asking ourselves what we want but what kind of people we want to be.

Perhaps more than at any other time in human history we have the opportunity, the privilege really, of discerning our overarching pursuit – our main objective in life. What is it that we really want more than anything else? What would bring us the most peace, the deepest gratification, the most genuine fulfillment?

Knowing we had dedicated our lives to a central interest could offer us the most satisfaction and peace at the end of our days. That is our purpose—the interest and organizing principle we must live out and guard as we go through this life, which after all is only the succession of our daily choices. Choose purposefully today.

For More on Life Purpose:

7 Ways To Use Stoic Philosophy To Improve Your Health and Happiness

Does Life Purpose Enhance Longevity?

How To Move Through Life With an Edge

The post Primal Starter: Living Purposefully appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

How Bad Are Peanuts, Really?

For years, the ancestral health community has shunned the humble peanut. I did so myself in fact. “Why can’t I have peanuts?”a person would ask. “Because they’re legumes,” would be the standard answer. And that was that. The status of legumes was sacrosanct in paleo world. Case closed. In recent years, however, our stance on legumes has softened.

The lectins and phytic acid we worry about, it turns out, are mostly deactivated by heat and proper preparation. A bit of phytic acid can even be a good thing, provided you have the gut bacteria necessary to convert it into beneficial micronutrients. All in all, legumes turn out to be a relatively nutrient-dense source of resistant starch and other prebiotic fibers. If you can swing the carbs and you feel fine eating them, legumes are on the table.

Peanuts are the most popular legume. It’s not quite a staple source of calories in most people’s diets—many populations eat quite a few beans and lentils of various sorts—but nothing seems to capture hearts and minds like a large dollop of peanut butter. At least in this country, peanut butter has a cultural status that touches off nostalgia. And let’s be honest, too, peanuts and peanut butter also has a budgetary draw for many people. It’s generally cheaper than other nuts.

I thought I’d revisit the idea of peanut consumption in the context of a Primal way of eating. Does it fit? Does it hurt? What are we to make of the peanut?

If you’re still hesitant about the “legume thing,” go back and revisit the legume post I wrote a couple years ago. You should come away with a greater respect for the legume, and maybe more consideration for its inclusion in your diet.

As for the peanut, it’s a good source of micronutrients like niacin, folate, thiamin, magnesium, and manganese. It contains complete protein replete with all the essential amino acids, although I wouldn’t recommend that you rely on peanuts for your protein (it’s just a nice bonus). The predominant fatty acid is monounsaturated, though there is a fair bit of polyunsaturated fat as well. All in all, the peanut is a standard example of a whole food. Not incredibly nutrient-dense, not nutrient-poor.

Peanuts do seem to have a curious (and beneficial) relationship with gut bacteria and gut health in general.

Spiking peanut butter with probiotics helps those probiotics survive passage through the gut. A case for adding peanut butter to your kefir smoothie?

Peanut kernel flour (the part of the peanut that you eat) promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria, inhibits the growth of pathogenic bacteria, and reduces the ability of pathogens to invade host cells.

Peanut skins contain polyphenols which are not absorbed but interact with the gut to improve elevated blood lipids.

What about aflatoxins?

As a groundnut—a “nut” that grows in the ground, rather than on trees—peanuts are exposed to a lot more soil-based fungus than many other foods which typically only see it during storage. One of the fungi they encounter produces a mycotoxin called aflatoxin. During storage, which tend to be in the warmer, more humid climates amenable to peanut production, aflatoxin levels rise even further.

Aflatoxin is metabolized by the liver. Large enough doses of aflatoxin are a liver carcinogen in high doses (it’s actually what T. Colin Campbell used to induce liver cancer in mice during his China Study crusade to indict animal protein). In China, a study of people from different villages in a region known for liver cancer found positive correlations between theamount of aflatoxin ingested and liver cancer mortality rates. Those villagers who ingested less aflatoxin from peanuts, peanut oil, and corn were less likely to develop liver cancer; those who ingested more were more likely. However, hepatitis B rates were also elevated in this population, and hepatitis B and aflatoxin synergistically increase the risk of liver cancer. If you don’t have hep B and don’t eat peanuts as a staple source of calories, the risk of aflatoxin drops.

If you’re worried about aflatoxins:

Get Valencia peanuts. Valencia peanuts are grown in drier climates that are naturally resistant to the fungus that produces aflatoxin.
Eat green stuff. Eating plant foods with chlorophyll (pretty much any green vegetable) protects against aflatoxin.
Don’t eat low protein. Protein protects against aflatoxin-induced cancer initiation, at least in animals.
Eat roasted peanuts. The roasting process alone destroys about half of the aflatoxin.
Eat peanut butter. After roasting, blanching and grinding the peanuts further reduce the aflatoxin content by 27% and 11%, respectively.

What about peanut agglutinin, that plucky lectin? It’s resistant to heat, unlike most lectins. It survives digestion and ends up passing through into your bloodstream. And this has been tested in live humans, not just animals or isolated cells.

In isolated colon cancer lines, peanut agglutinin stimulates the growth of tumors. Peanut agglutinin also mimics the action of a known promoter of cancer metastasis (spreading to other tissues). Metastasis is what kills most cancer patients.

In both cases, peanut agglutinin looks problematic in the context of existing cancer. It does not appear to promote the development of cancer.

Peanut agglutinin (via peanut oil) also promotes atherosclerosis in animal models.

Looking at the broader picture, peanut consumption correlates with good health. The people who eat the most peanuts have a lower risk of various cancers, including colorectal cancer, esophageal cancer (in a high-risk area of China, no less), and pancreatic cancer in men, as well as all-cause mortality and mortality from heart disease. This isn’t proof that they’re good for us, of course, or “anti-cancer,” but it is a strike against the idea that peanut agglutinin is a wholly toxic cancer-and-heart-disease promoter. If the effect was that powerful, it would probably show up in population studies.

It’s fun to get in the weeds on these topics. Just beware of basing your opinions or diets on the effect of food components in isolated cancer cells under specific contexts. Read, don’t commit. Integrate with broader population studies to get a better picture of what’s going on.

The totality of evidence suggests that peanuts are fine for most people to consume in moderation.

Salty peanut butter smeared over a banana? A fantastic post-drinking snack for replenishing lost sodium and potassium. Keep it keto by using a green banana.

Spoonful of peanut butter right out of the jar? Just don’t let it turn into five spoonfuls.

But the absolute best way I’ve found to consume peanuts is to blend them with tigernut flour, sea salt, and a touch of honey using a food processor, roll the mixture into balls, and pop them in the freezer.

A few brands I’ve enjoyed: Santa Cruz Organic Dark Roasted Creamy Peanut Butter and Thrive Market brand Organic Creamy Peanut Butter. For anyone who’s looking for the peanut taste but would prefer a nut butter that’s a blend rather than solely peanut-based, check out Nuttzo Organic Crunchy Peanut Pro.

Oh, and when going for actual peanuts, get dry roasted peanuts. Whenever you see a nut that’s been “roasted” in oil, that’s basically a deep-fried nut. Couple that with the fact that most roasting oils are fragile seed oils high in omega-6 and you’ve got an unhealthy snack on your hands. Dry roasting solves this. The texture of a dry-roasted peanut is even better. I don’t want that crispy glazed exterior of a fried nut. I want my nuts toasty.

That’s it for today, folks. One of the worker bees has a peanut recipe coming your way on Saturday, but in the meantime, check out today’s PB&J Smoothie from the Primal Kitchen® blog if you’ve already got a craving. Finally, be sure to share your comments, questions, and concerns about peanut consumption down below. Thanks for reading!

Want to make fat loss easier?

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

The post How Bad Are Peanuts, Really? appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Midweek Quick Cooking: PB&J Smoothie (and a Contest)

Peanut butter and jelly: it’s doesn’t get much more quintessential kid-friendly than that. Most of us didn’t exactly grow up Primal, and while these days we make better choices for our health, there’s something about the tastes of our childhood memories that will always appeal. So, what if you could have those memories and eat them too—sans guilt? Our Primal Kitchen® team whipped up this healthy, low-carb smoothie inspired by bestselling author and celebrity health coach, Kelly LeVeque, and it’s been a hit here (and at home with the kids). Let us know what you think.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp organic, no sugar added, peanut butter
Chocolate Coconut Collagen Fuel Packet
Once Upon a Farm Sun-Shiny Strawberry Patch
2 tbsp chia seeds
2 cups almond milk
1 handful of organic spinach

Instructions

Add all the ingredients into the blender.
Mix until smooth.
Enjoy!

And be sure to check out the Fab4Smoothie Giveaway to win everything you need to make your own favorite Fab4Smoothie, including Primal Kitchen Collagen products, Mamma Chia chia seeds, Once Upon a Farm organic baby food packets, a signed copy of Kelly LeVeque’s bestselling book Body Love, and more!

Want more Primal recipes?

Try the Primal Blueprint Slow Cooker Cookbook for free here.

The post Midweek Quick Cooking: PB&J Smoothie (and a Contest) appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Slow Moving Training: Yoga

I like intensity when I train. Lifting heavy, running sprints, playing Ultimate Frisbee. I keep it brief, and the foundation is always a lot of slow movement throughout the day—easy runs, long walks or hikes, rarely sitting—but I go hard when I “work out.”

What if you were to go slow, on purpose?

Entire schools of physical culture are founded upon slow, deliberate movements. They squash momentum and lambast rapidity. They’re difficult in a different way. They require patience and fortitude.

Take yoga.

Yoga is a loaded word. It’s at once religious practice, spiritual tradition, a way of honing mind, body, and spirit. It’s diet, medicine, meditation. The history of yoga is hard to parse; different sources give different historical timelines. What’s obvious is that there’s no “one yoga.” So, what I’ll talk about is how most of us reading typically conceive of it: Stretching with a spiritual veneer.

This is probably the most common form of slow physical training practiced worldwide. My wife’s done it for decades, and I’ve joined in on more than a few classes with her. It’s not my favorite thing—I don’t seek it out on a regular basis—but it is a great workout, and I always come away in a different headspace than when I started. The benefits of yoga are pretty well-established:

Yoga and Flexibility

As a series of poses and stretches that test and extend your joints’ range of motions, yoga should improve flexibility. That’s one of its express purposes. Sure enough, in almost every population, it seems to work.

It improves the flexibility and balance of college athletes and elderly adults. In older women and injured industrial workers, it improves hamstring flexibility and spinal mobility.

Yoga for Older Adults

Being slow-paced, deliberate, and controlled makes yoga very effective for older adults (or beginners to physical training) who are unsure of their abilities and want to improve their physical (and mental) faculties.

A 12-week Thai yoga program helped older adults improve their ability across a range of basic physical functions, including back scratching, standing up from chairs, sit and stretch, and the 8 foot up and go test.

An 8-week Hatha yoga program helped older adults improve single leg balance, chair standing, back scratching, flexibility, and 8 foot up and go just as well as an 8-week strength and stretching program using machines. A later study found that the same yoga program improved executive function, including working memory and mental flexibility, in the same group of adults. A third study found that the yoga program improved cognitive function by reducing stress levels. Boy, that’s a lucky group of seniors.

Yoga and the Brain

Like most every other physical training methodology ever studied, yoga improves cognitive function. We see this across a range of populations, but especially in older folks at the greatest risk of cognitive dysfunction.

Compared to walking, yoga decreases anxiety, increases well-being, and boosts GABA concentrations in the hypothalamus. This is incredibly cool. Everyone knows that exercise is often the ideal antidote to anxiety and depression. It works, its side effects are beneficial, and it requires no prescription. But this was one of the first studies to show a correlation between increased GABA from physical activity and reduced anxiety levels.

Yoga and Stress

Any type of exercise will reduce stress, as long as you avoid overtraining. Yoga is no different and seems to have particularly potent effects.

Pregnant women who followed a yoga program saw reduced perceived stress and improved heart rate variability (an objective indication of increased resilience to stress).

After doing a yoga-based guided relaxation, people with baseline elevations in sympathetic nervous system activity—who were already stressed out—saw those level off. Those who weren’t stressed didn’t. This is important because it shows yoga is more of an adaptogen, helping you normalize stress levels only if they need normalizing.

In a group of people awaiting organ transplantations (which has got to be a trying experience), doing laughter yoga (laughter+stretching) improved heart rate variability and mood in both the short and long-term.

Yoga and Strength

Believe it or not, yoga can increase strength. Part of strength, after all, is the ability to get into full range of motion. If you’re strong only through a small range of motion, is that really strength?

Yoga also increases muscular endurance. Again, this isn’t absolute strength, but it’s a component of muscular capacity that enables the expression of strength.

I wouldn’t rely on yoga for your strength. Instead, treat it as a complement to your strength training.

On that topic, Brad Kearns is working on one of our next Primal Publishing online courses, Yoga For Athletes. I’ll have more on that course in the coming months.

Yoga and Various Diseases

Given yoga’s reputation as a “healing art,” many studies have looked into yoga for the treatment of various diseases. Unfortunately, most of the studies have been inconclusive or come up with negative results (doesn’t work, doesn’t hurt), like with schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis, asthma. At the least, it probably won’t hurt, but you shouldn’t rely on it in lieu of real treatment.

It looks promising for a few, though: depression (as an adjunct), breast cancer (not as a cure, but for anxiety, quality of life, and certain symptoms), type 2 diabetes (by improving metabolic health), Parkinson’s (pilot study showing improvements in strength and function)

That said, studies don’t indicate that yoga offers anything above and beyond other types of training for these diseases. Still, there might be more to this picture—at least from an anecdotal perspective.

Is Yoga Safe?

It goes without saying that anything worth anything carries a bit of risk. Driving to work (or the gym) risks a car accident. Falling in love risks heartbreak. Going into business for yourself risks failure. And training risks injuries.

Yoga is no different. Things happen. You go too far past your joint’s capacity, and pull something, end up sore for weeks. You lose too much water and electrolytes during the hot yoga session, and feel lightheaded on the drive home. You’re swept away by a charismatic yogi, wind up a member of his harem wearing black and white Nikes. We’ve all been there.

Luckily, studies show that yoga is as safe as “usual care” and other types of exercise. There’s quibbling there, to be sure. Yoga is probably safer than free climbing and boxing.

Still, I’d question becoming a “yoga person,” though. I know I probably have several dozen reading right now, and I love you. But don’t assume yoga covers all your physical bases. I’m not fully convinced that yoga is enough for total fitness and optimum strength. A day or two a week on top of some lifting, sprinting? Great. I bet most strength athletes could use a little yoga, even, if they aren’t doing mobility training already.

Yoga has a lot of intangible benefits, too, effects that studies don’t really capture very well.

It forces flow. This is one of the great features of exercise, one that goes unreported and ignored. The physical effects training has on your body composition, your muscles, your cardiovascular system, your capacity to interact with the world with force and skill are all extremely important. But when you’re fully engaged in a physical activity, when data is flowing through your neuromuscular pathways, when you can do nothing but immerse your entire being in the movement, you reside in the flow state. No brain hacks, gadgets, or supplements required. And although I’m not that experienced with yoga, whenever I’ve done it I’ve noticed myself slipping into that state without even trying. Actually, I notice it after the class, because during the class you’re fully engaged and not thinking about thinking.
It trains grit. Most studies show that you can’t teach grit—or stick-to-it-iveness—and that it’s mostly hereditary. I buy that, but I think yoga is different. Yoga is very uncomfortable, and you must hold the holds for sometimes minutes at a time. That requires tolerance of discomfort. Some of it is that yoga selects for individuals who can tolerate extreme discomfort. Even if that’s the case, yoga will certainly hone your existing grit.
It’s more than stretching. A typical yoga class will incorporate not just the physical act of contorting your body, holding poses. It also emphasizes the importance of breath, and of integrating your breath with your movement. This focus on breath turns the session into a de-facto meditation. Many classes even end with a full-on guided meditation. Yoga is a nice package deal for people who otherwise wouldn’t incorporate these things into their lives.

Join a class.

Historically, yoga was a taught discipline. You didn’t grab a wax tablet of poses and slink off to the jungle to learn yoga by yourself. You sought the tutelage of a master. Things are different now. There are effective and helpful videos explaining how to do specific poses and follow routines. These are extremely helpful, but I don’t think they’re a good replacement for a good teacher.

Why?

If you’re dedicated, you can get the same effect watching yoga Youtube videos with your cat, but it’s easy to check out when things get too hard. You might grab your phone to browse Instagram in between poses. You might cut things short because it’s uncomfortable and no one’s counting on you finishing. It’s different than strength training at a home gym because the routines are so uncomfortable and last so long. Mustering the will to do a set of heavy deadlifts is manageable for many. Mustering the will to hold a difficult pose for two minutes is not. A teacher (or class) takes willpower out of the equation. As long you get yourself to class, the rest falls into place. 

After today’s post, I hope you’ll consider trying a yoga class. I know I’ll probably join Carrie more often. The literature is compelling and hard to ignore. But in the end, you just have to see for yourself.

Thanks for reading, everyone. Take care.

I know I have some yoga experts reading this. I know there are many different types of yoga. I’d love to hear from you. What’s your favorite type? Let loose your questions, advice, comments. I’d love to hear your perspective.

The post Slow Moving Training: Yoga appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Primal Starter: How To Eat Well On Less?

I get frequent requests for ideas on working Primal eating priorities into more frugal budgets, and we’ve done a good number of posts on the topic over the years. It’s one of those issues, however, that deserves more attention because it’s really a significant intersection for Primal “theory” and day-to-day practice. In fact, we’ll be putting together a new resource page this year, however, that brings together more on the subject. For today though, let me share some ideas, and I hope you’ll offer your questions and suggestions, too.

Learn to cook thriftier cuts of meat to be just as tender and flavorful as more expensive cuts. (We have an upcoming post on this one.)
Hunt around for sales and stock up whenever something good (organic/grass-fed) reaches a price that works for you. Store in the freezer. Wrap tightly in freezer-safe ziploc bags, making sure to suck out all the air to prevent, or at least limit, freezer burn. Better yet, get a vacuum-sealer.
Keep your eyes out for Australian or New Zealand lamb (the former is usually pastured if not entirely grass-fed and the latter is almost always grass-fed). Uruguyan, New Zealand, and Australian beef are also widely available and usually grass-fed.
If you’ve got any friends or family interested, combine your funds to purchase an entire cow, or half or a quarter of one, from a local farm. This is also called cowpooling, so keep your eyes peeled for that term. You can check EatWild.com for local ranches that offer bulk purchases. I’ve also seen bulk purchasing listed on Craigslist.
Check out farmer’s markets in your area. Even the “non-organic” produce is often organically grown, just without the pricey certification. Don’t be afraid to ask the people manning the stands.
Skip cold cuts, which are expensive when you consider the actual price per pound, and slice your own whole meats for use in salads, wraps, etc.
Frozen produce is an excellent and often affordable way to obtain high-quality (frozen right after picking to limit degradation of nutrients) organic fruits and vegetables.
Join a big box store like Costco, which often has great deals on organics and grass-fed meat.
Quality trumps quantity. Stick to smaller amounts of high-quality meat rather than loading up on cheap, CAFO-raised meat.
Plan ahead. Plan your meals for the week. Plan your shopping trips so you can make an extra stop or two for really good deals. Eliminate the random spontaneous stuff you pick up because you walked into the grocery store without a plan in mind.

For more ideas, check out “99 Ways to Save Money on Food.”

The post Primal Starter: How To Eat Well On Less? appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Dear Mark: Improving Exercise Stress Tolerance, Stress and Athletic Performance, My Stress Practices, Non-Negotiable Stress, and Distractions

For today’s edition of Dear Mark, I’m answering five questions about stress. First, how can someone handle the stress from training five days a week, assuming they don’t want to cut back on gym days? Second, what are the negative effects of chronic stress on athletic performance? Third, what do I do when I’m stressed out and Primal Calm isn’t cutting it? Do I have any practices? And fourth, how can a working mom with three little kids deal with non-negotiable stress? Fifth, can distractions like TV or movies help us deal with stress, or are they just ways to ignore the problem?

Let’s go:

I’d like to know more about how to best combat stress from HIIT other than just don’t work out 5 times a week. Don’t know that I’m willing to sacrifice days at the gym. Thanks!!

My first suggestion—and the best one—is to sacrifice days at the gym. Five days is excessive for most people, and since you’re complaining about too much stress, you appear to be most people. Drop a day or two and you’ll get better results and experience less stress.

My second suggestion is to keep going training five days a week but make your workouts longer and easier and shorter and more intense. If you’re doing 5 days at that moderate-high intensity, moderate-high volume setting so many assume is the path to fitness, you will crash without physiological enhancement. Do 2-3 days of intense strength training—quick, dense, hard workouts using full-body movements—and sprints. Do 1-2 days of really long, really easy aerobic work. That could be a hike, a long bike ride, or even time on the elliptical, exercise bike, or treadmill.

Third, you can start playing around with supplements and foods and practices to speed recovery.

Beets are probably best here. Beet juice has been shown to reduce muscle pain after training, speed up recovery after hard training, and improve muscle phosphocreatine depletion rates during intense efforts.  Beets even reduce sympathetic over-activation of muscles, promoting more resting and relaxing.

Take tart cherry. Tart cherry juice/powder/concentrate can  speed up recovery after intense, prolonged training. Tastes good, too.

Cold water immersion can improve short term muscle recovery, especially in the heat where tissue cooling is a big impediment to getting back at it, but it may hamper hypertrophy and long term strength development.

This is a big topic. I should probably cover it more in depth.

How does chronic stress impact athletic performance?

In many ways.

Chronic stress increases the chance of injury. During intense “life events”—deaths, illnesses, divorces—an athlete’s risk of getting injured goes up. You can’t perform if you’re injured.

Chronic stress increases the risk of burnout. You’re adding stress to stress, and something’s going to give.

Chronic stress decreases performance. Consider how the stress of a game coming down to the wire with everything on the line affects athletes differently. Some rise to the occasion, sink the free throws, make the catch, complete the final push. Others shrink against pressure, miss the free throw, drop the catch, fall back at the end. Those for whom pressure increases performance simply haven’t reached their stress tolerance threshold. Those who buckle have reached it. If an athlete is suffering from chronic stress, they have reached their stress tolerance threshold.

Other than primal calm(used before and love it!) what physical practices do you use to help reduce the affects of stress?

I’ve tried meditation. Doesn’t work for me. Or rather, I don’t work for it. At this point in my life, I’ve pretty much accepted that it’s not going to happen.

Moving meditations work. My absolute favorite is to get out on the open water and go standup paddling. Some of my most awe-inspiring moments have happened on the board, like coming upon a pod of dolphins who proceed to frolic under, around, and with me, or having an up-close experience with a mama gray whale and her two calves.

Good fiction helps. You temporarily inhabit another world, live another narrative. It’s a reset. If I’m feeling overwhelmed, I’ll make a point to carve out an hour or two for time with a good book.

Exercise usually works. It never hurts. Let’s put it this way: I’ve never regretted deciding to hit the gym, run some hill sprints, or go for a hike when I’m feeling the effects of stress coming on.

Going outside wearing as little clothing as you can bear is another. This is the advantage of working from home. I can slip outside in shorts and no shoes, make contact with the earth and sun, and almost immediately feel better. I don’t know if it’s the vitamin D or nitric oxide from the sun, or if “grounding” is doing anything on a physiological level, but it sure does work. Things are a little different now that I’ve moved to Miami, so I’m still figuring all that out.

what can we do with stressors that absolutely cannot be eliminated from our lives while maintaining a high level of energy for our life’s demands?… coming from a mom of 3 under 3, breadwinner, full time working outside the home, special needs parent.

Find the wiggle room. There’s always some lurking around. Go home a little early one day a week. Did your world crumble around you? Did the business fail?  Probably not. What probably happened was people didn’t even notice and got on with their work normally. Try that. See how it goes. See if it affects your status at work or ability to get the job done. I suspect it won’t.

There may be some wiggle room with the kids, too. Three under three with special needs is intense. I won’t discount that. I only ever had two at the most to deal with, so I can imagine. But see what you can do. Set up a cordoned off play-area or playroom that you can dump them in for a few minutes here and there for some alone time. Be willing to let them work things out themselves from time to time instead of immediately rushing in to mediate, as long as the screams aren’t too bloodcurdling. Be tolerant of a bit of discord.

How much do distractions (playing games, watching movies) help against stress? Ignoring issues is not a long-term solution, but do they help in delaying the negative effects of stress?

Great question.

We can do great things with these complex brains, like plan years in advance, make predictions, solve complicated problems. We can also do bad things with them, like ruminate. We can fall into recursive thought loops. Take the uniquely human affliction of stressing about stress, or even worse, stressing about stressing about stress. You won’t ever see a dog doing that.

Sometimes, a distraction is exactly what you need to break out of the cycle, disrupt the thought loops, and cut through the stress.

It’s not ignoring it, actually. It’s dealing with the stressful thought loop the only way you truly can—by arresting its progress.

Now, should you engage in an endless series of distractions to avoid thinking about the bills you should be paying, the life you should be leading, the marriage you should be saving? Definitely not. But certain types of mental stress definitely benefit from the occasional injection of distraction.

That’s it for today, folks. Thanks for reading and thanks for asking such great questions. Take care!

Be sure to chime in down below if you have any comments, questions, or suggestions.

The post Dear Mark: Improving Exercise Stress Tolerance, Stress and Athletic Performance, My Stress Practices, Non-Negotiable Stress, and Distractions appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Primal Starter: Small Wins

They say it’s the little things, and maybe it is. Success isn’t honestly built by daily yearning for a dramatic goal after all. It’s constructed by the small wins we plot along the way. Teresa Amabile, author and Professor at the Harvard Business School, calls this the “progress principle.” Amabile and her associates studied employees’ daily diaries that her team designed. They found the efforts of tracking small achievements each day (as well as reflecting on challenges) enhanced workers’ motivation as well as creativity. The chance to consider and record one’s progress, she explains, helps us appreciate our “small wins” and boosts our sense of competence. We can then “leverage” that confidence (as well as lessons learned from the reflection) toward subsequent, larger successes. Amabile stresses there’s always some progress to recognize in a day, even on the most challenging or discouraging days.

Yet, too often we downplay our progress or even talk ourselves out of it for the sake of guilt, unworthiness, or misguided modesty. Why? We’re taking the wind out of our own sails instead of leveraging, as Amabile suggests, our daily successes toward continuing motivation. Charles Duhigg, author of acclaimed book The Power of Habit explains the durable impact of these small achievements: “A huge body of research has shown that small wins have enormous power, and influence disproportionate to the accomplishments of the victories themselves.” In other words, it makes no difference how minute our day’s achievement is because—when we allow ourselves to recognize the wins and leverage these “tiny advantages,” as Duhigg calls them—the power we absorb from each small win will always be more substantial than the original event. Progress takes on a life of it’s own—like motivation gone viral within our brain.

And luckily, our day’s routine is ripe for subtle but transformative shifts. Duhigg writes about the power of “keystone habits,” those habits that, while seemingly modest and self-contained, have inordinate sway over other choices we make and actions we take throughout the day. Adopting a single new habit, if it’s of a pivotal keystone variety, can enact widespread change in our lifestyle. Among the examples Duhigg highlights is food journaling. In an NIH study of some 1600 obese people, those who were asked to write down a day’s food intake one day a week ended up losing twice the weight as other groups. The request was enough to get many of the participants to extend the habit into other days of the week and, as Duhigg explains, “created a structure that helped other habits to flourish.”

The key here is to discern what habits can become “keystone habits” for your health journey. As the principle suggests, it’s unnecessary to overload yourself with a laundry list of changes to your routine. That’s the principle behind the “keystone” approach: you don’t need to upend your life or turn yourself inside out working toward change. You just need to be strategic about what to shift. Ultimately, it’s about letting these few changes build momentum in your life and then fueling that momentum with the energy of celebrating each small win. It’s the snowball effect at its multidimensional best.  The end result can be achieving that ultimate goal you set as well as successes you may have never envisioned.

For more on small wins, check out “11 Small Wins to Help You Kick-Start Your Primal Life.”

Want to make fat loss easier?

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

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