Mark Sisson's Blog, page 175

5 Non-Dietary Factors That Influence Your Microbiome

The microorganisms that reside in, on, and around our bodies influence almost every facet of our well-being. Part of maintaining microbiome health is maintaining homeostasis. Another is supporting diversity.

Our goal, then, is to improve our microbiological real estate in the many areas of the body that commensal and symbiotic bacterial like to put down roots—the gut, mouth, lungs, skin, reproductive organs, and so on. The average Primal enthusiast is well-versed with the role of food choices and smart supplementation (although research is always uncovering new wrinkles—more on this to come). 

I thought I’d give a little attention to some of the other basic practices that can influence microbial diversity and homeostasis. There are more answers and nuances than I can cover today, but let’s start with some of the fundamentals.

Exercising

Over the past decade, there’s been the odd study examining the link between exercise frequency, duration, and type and the microbial response to such in the body.

Studies in mice have shown considerable responses to exercise in the lab. A 2016 study placed mice on an “obesity-causing” diet and 6 weeks of high-intensity interval training (HIIT). The mice placed on the HIIT program had markedly increased microbial diversity within the distal gut, along with an increased Bacteroidetes/Firmicutes ratio. Perhaps even more importantly, the microbiome of the HIIT mice appeared to resist the typical adverse changes to the gut microbiota that occur with onset of obesity. In short, exercise stopped the poorer diet from degrading their gut microbiome.

An older 2013 paper showed that mice with free access to exercise experienced a significant increase in the number of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium and B. coccoides-E. rectale. Other studies have demonstrated the microbiological effects of exercise on diabetic mice and mice subjected to PCBs. But that’s just in mice.

As far as the human microbiome goes, there’s a lot more research needed regarding exercise. Much of what we have to go on ties back to experiments on the Irish international rugby team, 40 of whom were investigated in the days leading up to the last Rugby World Cup. Somehow, researchers managed to get their hands on 46 other healthy men of similar brutish size, analyzing both groups regarding their dietary and exercise habits.

They found that the rugby players all had significantly more diverse microbiomes than men in the comparison group, with notably higher proportions of Akkermansiaceae—a bacterial family commonly linked to lower rates of obesity and metabolic disorders. Interestingly, despite the rugby players having significantly higher levels of creatine kinase, an enzyme associated with muscle damage, they all had lower levels of inflammatory markers than the control group, along with a much better metabolic profile. Correlation or causation? It’s hard to tell.

The waters are muddied further when we examine the role of diet in hardcore athletes. The Irish rugby team unsurprisingly ate considerably more protein (22% versus 15-16% in the control group) but also ate a lot more fruit and vegetables and had fewer snacks than their non-athletic peers. A follow-up study last year reinforced these findings, but there’s a lot more to be revealed.

Was it the increased exercise (or type of exercise) that brought about the improved microbial diversity, or their improved diet? My thoughts are that it was both, but watch this space for more scientific discussion of the diet-exercise-microbiome paradigm.

Managing Your Stress (or Not) 

Of course you knew that stress would play a part in the health of your microbiome, but it certainly helps to have some research to back up the assumption. Currently, there’s an abundance of animal lab testing and a notable shortage of human studies. (Probably mostly on account of people not being keen to have their feet zapped or injected with carcinogenic compounds.)

An impressive study from January last year, however, took things one step further and examined the stress-induced changes to the microbiome of North American red squirrels in the wild. Using faecal glucocorticoid metabolites, an accurate marker of stress, researchers were able to confirm that increased stress in wild squirrels significantly lowered microbiological diversity.

This negative response, they postulated, was caused by a stress-induced activation of the immune system, increasing cytokine circulation, which in turn has a strong antimicrobial effect. The result, unfortunately, is an increase in host vulnerability to pathogenic invasion. Good one, stress.

Back in the lab, stress-induced microbial alterations continue to be the center of study. A 2011 study exposed mice to a social stressor called social disruption, designed to prime the innate immune system and increase circulating cytokines—much the same as the high-strung wild squirrels. The findings were textbook: “stressor exposure significantly changed the community structure of the microbiota, particularly when the microbiota were assessed immediately after stressor exposure.”

As far as species composition goes, the stressed mice showed a decreased abundance of bacteria in the genus Bacteroides and an increase in Clostridium. In simple terms, commensal-type bacteria were suppressed by stress and pathogenic-type bacteria were promoted.

Another mice vs. stress study elicited much the same results, with restraint stress causing a decline in microbial species richness and an overgrowth of anaerobic bacteria. Researchers then tested whether this decline in microbial diversity had set the stressed mice up for increased risk of pathogen colonization by orally introducing the murine pathogen Citrobacter rodentium. Funnily enough, those mice subjected to stress were far more likely to come down with a bad case of the C. rodentium than their more chilled out peers.

Using Medications

Regardless of their often necessary role in your life, many medications can exert a considerable influence over the health and diversity of your microbiome.

In a 2016 study, the influence of several NSAIDs over the gut microbiome was determined during the course of 30 days in 155 adults. Interestingly, it was the type of medication, rather than the amount of medication, that influenced the gut microbiome the most. Aspirin users have markedly different numbers of Prevotella, Bacteroides, Ruminococcaceae, and Barnesiella species, while both celecoxib and ibuprofen users had larger numbers of Acidaminococcaceae and Enterobacteriaceae. The list goes on. Suffice it to say that the bacterial diversity in the gut microbiome strongly reflected the combinations of medications that people ingested.

A year earlier, researchers were examining the same relationship between proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and the human microbiome. PPIs reduce the production of acid in the stomach in a bid to prevent formation of ulcers, and are among the top 10 most popular drugs in the world. Incidentally, they’ve also been associated with an increased risk of intestinal infection.

Using a cohort of 1815 individuals (211 of which were PPI users), researchers were able to demonstrate a significant decrease in microbial diversity in PPI users, along with changes in 20% of the bacterial taxa. Curiously, there was an increase in bacteria associated with the oral microbiome, and a big step up in potentially problematic bacteria like Enterococcus, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus and E. coli. Based on their findings, the study proponents didn’t have too much trouble explaining why PPI users were more prone to enteric infection.

The implications of these studies, and many more like them, reach far beyond mere infections and bacterial dysbiosis. When we consider that microbiomes like the gut play a critical role in the metabolism of most medications, the very way in which these drugs alter microbial compositions and lower diversity may reduce their efficacy or even render themselves toxic. It’s fair to say that plenty more work is needed on the interactions between medications and the microbiome.

Having Sex

I’ve actually already written about the considerable transfer of germs that takes place in just one bout of kissing, but science has since taken it one step further and suggested that our individual microbiomes may play an important role in that ever-elusive “chemistry” that draws people together.

How’s that? Well in this case, opposites very much attract. Studies show that we’re instinctually attracted to sexual partners whose microbiome is complementary to our own. And knowing what we know about the importance of microbial diversity, complementary means different. Thus, when two people with very different microbiomes engage in intimate relations, they diversify their respective microbiome.

This ties in to the concept that odor (a.k.a. pheromones) plays a role in sexual attraction, as our microbiome very much influences our smell. Neat, huh?

Getting down to business, there’s some serious microbiological changes taking place every time we have sex. A 2015 study published in Research in Microbiology found that there was a significant decrease in the abundance of Lactobacillus crispatus after sex, along with a certain bacterial homogeneity between seminal and vaginal samples.

The microbial picture isn’t just more is better. Another study of 52 women found that those who partook in unprotected sex had a temporary increase in bacterial species associated with bacterial vaginosis. Over time, it appeared that their vaginal microbiome retained a remarkably similar composition, but those temporary post-sex increases in G. vaginalis and L. iners have led some to believe that unprotected sex is “bad” for the health of the vaginal microbiome.

But the issue may be more novelty related. Each new partner means a new microbial influence—for both men and women. That likely involves a period of microbial imbalance. Aside from serious infection (e.g. STDs), adaptations to a partner’s profile over time, one would imagine, would confer the benefits of microbial diversity and allow a shift back toward relative homeostasis in most cases. It’s a complicated but fascinating topic—maybe worthy of its own post sometime.

Living with Animals

Moving on to lighter matters, there’s plenty of research that points towards pets as a positive influence on our microbiome…particularly the furry kinds. A study published late last year investigated the effects of early-life exposure to household pets on 746 infants from 2009 to 2012. Along with participating mothers being asked to fill out questionnaires regarding their pet situation during and after pregnancy, infant gut microbiota was sampled at around 3 months of age.

Those infants that had been exposed to at least one furry pet (more than half the group) were found to be more than twice as likely to have a high abundance of Oscillospira and/or Ruminococcus bacterial species—regardless of whether they had received prenatal or postnatal exposure to fur-bearing pets. These species, incidentally, have been associated with a lower risk of childhood atopy and obesity. What’s more, pet-exposed vaginally-birthed infants with maternal intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis exposure (say that ten times) had considerably lower abundances of Streptococcaceae than infants who hadn’t been exposed to furry pets.

These findings, and plenty more besides, tie in nicely with what we know about Strachan’s hygiene hypothesis, which implies that children growing up in overly hygienic environments are more likely to develop allergic disease. Interestingly, there appears to be a curious tendency for older siblings to dampen that microbial abundance effect. Equally of note, breastfeeding may work synergistically with that positive pet-effect.

For those of us not exposed to pets during our developmental years, I strongly suspect that there’s still hope for your microbiome. Exposing ourselves on a daily basis to potential sources of microorganisms, furry pets included, should help to encourage microbial diversity and help your body stay truly Primal.

That’s it for me, folks. The research keeps coming, so look for more on this topic soon. In the meantime, share your questions and thoughts on the topic below. Thanks for stopping by.

Want to make fat loss easier?

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

The post 5 Non-Dietary Factors That Influence Your Microbiome appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Dear Mark: When Nature is Stressful and How to Use Fish Sauce

For today’s edition of Dear Mark, I’m answering a couple questions from readers. First, is nature always relaxing and blissful? Or are there instances where being in nature is far more stressful than being indoors? Why, and what should we do about it? Second, how do I use fish sauce, and how would a parent use fish sauce to get picky kids to try (and like) new foods?

Let’s go:

Kathy makes an important point:

Don’t get me wrong, I love nature. But a walk in the New England woods at this time of the year is downright stressful. Between the tics, gnats, mosquitos, deer flys, and unrelenting humidity, I am content to be in my comfy, air conditioned, bugless home. Think I’ll just work on my strength exercises inside today.

I grew up in New England, so I know exactly what you’re talking about. Nature is beautiful and terrible.

Where I live now, it’s beautiful. California nature is rather pleasant. It’s rarely hot or cold enough to threaten your life or even make you very uncomfortable. You can hike year round. Humidity is low; it’s more of a dry heat. The bugs are there, but they’re not intrusive and oppressive. Lyme disease rates among CA ticks are way lower than New England ticks.

Modern technology is really quite amazing. It can be a crutch, but it can also be a relief from unrelenting misery. Kathy realizes this. We’d be stupid to give that up.

People living 20,000 years ago didn’t have the option to avoid the unpleasantness of nature. It was an unavoidable aspect of everyday life. It was all they knew. It was bearable because it had to be. There wasn’t anything else.

People with smartphones and desk jobs have options. Venturing into nature is a choice, and when they’re out there in the thick of it getting bit by mosquitos and scratched by thorns and beset by heat, it’s harder because they know what they’re missing. They can compare it to the creature comforts of modern living. There’s always an out—cutting the hike short and getting back in the car.

This also means that personal preferences and capacities can determine whether something qualifies as a stressor. If you can’t swim, a “nice relaxing dip in the Pacific Ocean” becomes a life or death struggle for survival. You won’t be chilled out and blissful, GABA flowing through your synapses. You’ll have adrenaline coursing through your veins, your nervous system on red alert.

No one wants to drown, but are we missing something by using modern comforts to avoid the misery of a muggy Massachusetts forest? That kind of “manageable misery,” where it’s not killing us, just making us struggle a bit?

Maybe. What do you guys think?

I think it’s all true. Completely avoiding the dirty, unpleasant side of nature is bad, but so too is staying inside where it’s safe and clean and predictable. You need both. You need to strike a balance between chaos and order. And it’s not only a struggle between being indoors and outdoors. I remember walking through Muir Woods. It’s gorgeous, but it’s all so carefully curated—the paths, the wood walkways, the barriers. It feels like a museum exhibit. Not real.

Chaos—enough to keep things interesting and new and stimulating and novel. Order—enough that you can manage the chaos without it growing dull.

That’s the trick, and it applies to everything.

Angelica W. asked:

How are you using the fish sauce to introduce new foods? Can you give an example? I love fish sauce and am curious how it’s used outside of asian recipes and especially how to use it to entice kids to new tastes?

Here’s a perfect example from a study in 2008. Researchers gave half the subjects soup flavored with MSG (monosodium glutamate, an umami-booster similar to fish sauce) and half soup without MSG. Those who got soup with MSG found it more savory and pleasant than those who got it without MSG. After, both groups then ate soup without MSG. The group that had originally received MSG soup found the MSG-less soup more pleasant than the group who hadn’t had any MSG. Thanks to the glutamate, they’d learned to like the flavors of the soup on their own merits.

You don’t have to conduct a trial with controls and placebos. Just add a few dashes of fish sauce to the next savory meal and continue doing so. Try it on a food that your child hasn’t cared for in the past to see if that changes. As for dosage, less is more. Get it to where you enjoy the flavor. That’s probably the place your kid wants it, too.

Fish sauce isn’t just for Asian food. Oh, no. You’d be surprised.

The ancient Romans made their own fish sauce, called garum, in much the same manner as the Thais and Vietnamese—by fermenting small, salted fish for months. These days, fish sauce is most popular in Southeast Asian cuisines, but it’s spreading to other corners of the culinary world. Modern Italian cuisine frequently employs anchovy paste in non-seafood dishes, which also packs an umami punch without coming off as overly fishy.

I use fish sauce in almost everything savory. Bone broth? A tablespoon for every 4 quarts or so kicks up the umami without tasting fishy. Spaghetti sauce? A few dashes toward the end. I’m rarely let down by the results.

You’ll find that most people whose only experience with fish sauce is “that smelly stuff in bottles at the Vietnamese noodle place” won’t be able to tell that you’ve added any. They’ll just really, really like your food.

That’s it for today, folks. Thanks for reading and be sure to chime in with any comments, questions, or suggestions down below!

The post Dear Mark: When Nature is Stressful and How to Use Fish Sauce appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Weekend Link Love – Edition 461

RESEARCH OF THE WEEK

A father’s absence triggers cellular stress in children.

Big new trans-ethnic Alzheimer’s study finds several new genetic variants associated with the disease.

Ketamine saves suicidal teens.

Lung cancer patients undergoing successful treatment experience spontaneous re-pigmentation of gray hair.

Dogs split from a now-extinct group of wolves about 40,000 years ago.

A black tea polyphenol (called mitochondria activation factor) enhances hypertrophy in rodents.

NEW PRIMAL BLUEPRINT PODCASTS

Episode 78: Aarn Farmer: Aarn Farmer used to weigh over 400 pounds with full-blown metabolic syndrome. Two years of low-carbing followed by a ketogenic diet helped him drop 175 pounds and eliminate his metabolic syndrome. This is his story.

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.

The Definitive Guide to Children’s Nutrition
8 Primal Grilling Tips and Techniques

INTERESTING BLOG POSTS

Rock climbing therapy for brain injuries—a fast track toward Zen-like brain states.

If you want to be part of a carnivore study, sign up here.

MEDIA, SCHMEDIA

Soylent: Coming to 7-11. Good thing they have bathrooms.

Nutritional heretic Gary Taubes explains why carboholism makes cutting carbs so difficult for so many.

Obesity experts question statin claims (again).

EVERYTHING ELSE

A 101-year old sprinter who just casually broke the 100m world record for her age group gave a post-race interview, which hinted at the reasons for her robust health: naps, “outside all the time,” three generations of offspring, indifference to the outcome.

Your brain is made of memories.

Beautiful fish swimming off the coast of Northern California.

THINGS I’M UP TO AND INTERESTED IN

New book I’m interested in: Crazy-Good Living, from Primal Health Coach and nutritional periodontist Dr. Al Danenberg.

Research I found interesting: Even people with neuroscience backgrounds believe common brain myths.

Older article I’m digging: “WHO Says Meat Causes Cancer?”

I always like to see conventional wisdom refuted: Usain Bolt’s weird stride is what makes him run so fast.

News I did not enjoy: The CDC estimates there are more than 100 million Americans with diabetes or prediabetes.

RECIPE CORNER

Buffalo chicken ranch casserole (dairy-free).
For anyone on a keto diet, these Bombay beef meatballs are invaluable.

TIME CAPSULE

One year ago (Jul 23– Jul 29)

The Definitive Guide to Coffee – Anyone drink this stuff?
How Language Affects Your Fitness and Weight Loss Practice – How to talk yourself into better practices.

COMMENT OF THE WEEK

“PSA: the people-mover at the airport isn’t for standing in place. It’s there to help you walk faster to the gate that’s a mile away, but must be reached in eight minutes. I feel like the Flash power-walking on those things.”

– I do the same thing, HisDudeness.

Want to make fat loss easier?

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

The post Weekend Link Love – Edition 461 appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Salmon with Pistachio Pesto

This dairy-free pesto is heavy on pistachio nuts and light on basil. Spiked with garlic and lemon zest and blended together with olive oil, this is a thick, rich sauce that’s more than a little addictive. It’s tempting to eat this pistachio pesto with a spoon, but it’s even better slathered over fatty, pan-seared salmon.

This recipe couldn’t be easier, and it magically transforms a simple salmon dinner into something extra special. Make this, and you’ll feel like a talented chef instead of a home cook who’s stuck in a rut of salmon dinners that are just ho-hum.

With a few variations, this pistachio pesto can lead you to other amazing meals, too. Add a dash of red pepper flakes, and serve a spicy version of the pesto with roasted pork. Use parsley, instead of basil, for a new flavor. Or, thin the pesto out with full-fat Greek yogurt, and drizzle it over roasted vegetables.

Like any nut, pistachios are best enjoyed with a little self-control. Don’t worry, this pesto is so rich you aren’t likely to overindulge in one sitting. That said, pistachios aren’t really a nut to fret over, unless you have an allergy. They’re pretty low in phytic acid, a potent source of prebiotic fiber, and can reduce the glucose response to carb-rich meals.

Not that this is a carb-rich meal. Quite the opposite, actually. Skin-on salmon + pistachio pesto can be a go-to recipe when you want a high-protein, high-fat meal that’s also high in flavor.

Time in the Kitchen: 20 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 1 ½ pounds skin-on salmon fillet, cut into 4 pieces and seasoned with salt (680 g)
1 tablespoon avocado oil (15 ml)
1 cup raw pistachios (150 g)
1 small garlic clove, pressed
1 teaspoon lemon zest (5 ml)
2 heaping tablespoons finely chopped or thinly sliced basil (30 ml)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (120 ml)

Instructions

Blend the pistachios, garlic and lemon zest in a food processor until very finely ground. With the blade still going, slowly pour the olive oil into the food processor and blend just until combined. Add salt to taste. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350º F/176º C

Heat avocado oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat.

Place the salmon in the hot skillet, skin side down. Once the fillets are in the pan, do not move the salmon. Cook about 5 minutes, pressing down on the salmon once or twice with a spatula to press the skin against the hot pan.

Put the skillet into the oven. Cook 4 to 6 minutes more, depending on the thickness of the fish.

Serve the salmon warm or at room temperature, with pistachio pesto dolloped on top.

The post Salmon with Pistachio Pesto appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

“We Have to Do This!” (Meet Our First Primal Kitchen Restaurant Franchise Owners)

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!

Folks, today is the big day. The first Primal Kitchen Restaurant franchise opened its doors this morning and served up the first Grok-style breakfasts to happy customers. I’m thrilled for Tara and Tom Olson, our South Bend, Indiana, franchise owners and grateful for all their amazing work to get things off the ground. 

Friday is Success Story day, and I couldn’t think of a more perfect story to share than Tara’s. Enjoy, everyone! 

Back in 2008, I started doing CrossFit and based on their philosophy of how one should eat, it lead me to the internet to find all I could on the subject. One of the blogs I came across was Mark’s Daily Apple. I subscribed to it and have been reading it ever since! I purchased The Primal Blueprint when that was released in 2009 and everything just made such perfect sense. It was the first time I had been able to put the pieces together that the foods we eat have a direct impact on our health. And more importantly, the foods that I thought were healthy were far from it.

Before I found the Primal Blueprint my diet consisted of mainly low fat/no fat foods and lots of processed carbohydrates. It was also low in calories and I was always stumped as to why I remained hungry throughout the day and why stubborn weight would not come off. I have always been a fairly athletic person and have always enjoyed working out. Perhaps this is why I had quite the impressive collection of every home workout DVD you could imagine!

At this time in my life we had a young daughter and I wanted our family to be healthy so I filled our fridge with all the “food” items that were marketed as healthful, and I worked out 5 days a week. I cooked at least 4 nights a week at this time but we also ate out 1-2 days per week. There was nothing that resembled a healthy restaurant at this time so we would end up at the standard sit down chain restaurants and eat portions that could have fed a family of 5.

Finding the Primal Blueprint was a turning point in my health because it is based on eating nutrient dense foods and avoiding processed foods. When I made this shift it allowed my body to work properly! My energy throughout the day increased, my skin cleared up, (I seriously cannot remember the last time I had the slightest hint of acne on my face) my sleep improved and to top it off I watched my body composition shift. I now tell people that is a nice side effect of eating real food! It was at this time that I committed to changing not just my eating habits but my husband and daughters as well. That meant cleaning out the pantry and fridge and slowly but surely replacing the bad with the good. It was tough on them and took time but we have been a Paleo/Primal household for the last 8 years and all three of us are far healthier because of it.

Another benefit that came from this is that it forced me to cook all of our meals. We really made an effort to not eat out as we couldn’t control what was going into our meals. Mark Sisson’s Primal Blueprint Cookbook was one of the first cookbooks I owned and I have made the Bacon Broccoli Salad and the Peach Clafouti more times than I can count. I also have the Reader Created Cookbook he offered on the blog a few years back. It is printed out in color and in a 3-ring binder and I have made so many of the dishes from there. His 2nd cookbook Primal Blueprint Quick and Easy Meals is also in my repertoire!

Having these resources for recipes in the beginning of our journey was a game changer. My husband Tom and I often talk about where we might be if we had never made this change. What health problems we might have? What medications would we be on? How would our daughter’s health be? We simply cannot fathom going back to the place we started and are forever thankful we took the leap and trusted the science.

We saw a social media post in July of 2015 regarding the opportunity to own a Primal Kitchen Restaurant Franchise, and immediately we were intrigued. We had already benefitted so much from a Primal lifestyle ourselves and the thought of being able to share that with others through a restaurant led us to investigate further. We were invited to attend one of the Open House events that served to highlight the franchise, and unfortunately I could not go with Tom but when he came home he simply looked at me and said “We have to do this.” So we jumped right in and haven’t looked back.

The most exciting thing to us about this venture is that we get to be a part of this real food movement. Consumers are starting to demand better quality food and I think that is demonstrated by the choices we are seeing in the grocery stores. However, I don’t see that coming through in a lot of the restaurants out there. To be able to offer the “on the go” consumer a full menu of nutrient dense food choices is by far the most important thing to us.

Some of my favorites include the short rib hash, the duck fat biscuit with egg salad, the chicken curry coconut soup, and the bison filet with fig reduction. I have also tasted all three of our dessert items and let me just say you can never go wrong with chocolate cake in a mug!

The support we have received from Primal Kitchen Restaurants and the franchise company have been wonderful. Neither Tom nor I have backgrounds in the restaurant industry so it was imperative to us that we have a good team there that could walk us through all of the challenges we knew we would face. They have done a phenomenal job. The support that we have received from not only our friends and family but the community as a whole has been amazing. We have received incredibly positive feedback from so many people about this concept coming to our area.

We hope to have folks from all over come visit us. Since we will be the first location open in the country we anticipate people coming from near and far to check us out. (Spread the word to your friends and family. Maybe they are traveling through our area and need a great place to eat!) It is our goal to create a healthy culture and community within the restaurant. From our employees to our patrons we want everyone to benefit from eating whole, nutrient dense foods.

Thanks to Tara Olson for sharing her and her family’s Primal journey today. Want to support Tara and Tom? You can follow the South Bend restaurant on Facebook and Instagram for all the latest. 

Also, be sure to check out the Primal Kitchen Restaurants website as well as follow the PKR Facebook page and Instagram for updates on ALL 7 of our upcoming franchise openings. Have a great weekend, everyone!

 

Want to make fat loss easier?

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

The post “We Have to Do This!” (Meet Our First Primal Kitchen Restaurant Franchise Owners) appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

CrossFit’s Criticisms: How Do I Keep Energy Levels High on Primal?

Over the past two posts in this series, I’ve explained how a Primal way of eating can not only support a heavy CrossFit schedule, but elevate it. Today, I’m going to explain how going Primal can help fix a common complaint among CrossFitters: fatigue. No energy. No pep. A distinct lack of physical and psychological motivation to train, let alone hit PRs. This doesn’t just make it hard to finish workouts and make gains. It bleeds into the rest of your life and makes that worse, too.

Here’s a typical query from a committed CrossFitter suffering from low energy.

I feel like I have been doing everything right lately. Eating clean, working out everyday. But recently WODs that would typically do pretty well at have been killing me. To the point I am the last finished in every class. This came out of nowhere. What could it be? Anyone else experience anything like this?

“Eating clean”: Eating too few calories and/or carbohydrates. We already know what’s wrong with that.

“Working out everyday”: This isn’t just hard on the body, it’s downright counterproductive. Daily workouts will shatter most people, particularly on the level of CrossFit WODs, and have them out the other end in worse shape than before. I’ll be doing a post on CrossFit and recovery soon, but it’s worth noting for today that CrossFit recommends three days on and one day off. That plan may or may not work for an individual based on any number of factors (more to come there…).

Or this one, from the CF forum:

I have gone off my usual oats that i used to have for breakfast. i have reduced my fruit to 1.5 servings a day, nor am i currently consuming anything starchy, like, beans or sweet potatoes (my fave), i eliminated these and all dairy just to see what happens. Now my body is reacting with sluggishness and fat cravings (sunflower seeds, anyone?) Despite that I still go train hard and sweaty but I noticed it’s taking me forever to recover. My leafy salads and eggs and chicken breasts (all i eat basically) are just not cutting it. how do i get over it? please help! grains are disgusting, they bloat me. dairy causes breakouts. no going back. thanks for advice…

The reasons for this person’s lack of energy is even more glaring. “Nothing starchy,” no longer eating “my fave” sweet potatoes, leafy salads and chicken breasts. She’s barely eating!

I’ve said my piece on macronutrient interventions. Since a major reason for fatigue is inadequate food and macronutrient intake, increasing carb intake and eating more calories overall from whole-food Primal sources will give you more caloric and nutrient density.

I’m not here to suggest you modify the workouts. They are what they are. This isn’t about changing CrossFit. This is about working with it. That’s the beauty of this Primal stuff—it applies to everything because it’s all-encompassing, because it’s about making you the best, healthiest, most productive human you can be. And humans do all sorts of different things. Like CrossFit.

So, what does Primal have to offer a CrossFitter who wants more energy for training sessions and normal waking (yawning) life?

Honor Your Circadian Rhythm

Most people think of the circadian rhythm in terms of sleep and sleep alone. Sleep is a big part of the circadian picture, but it’s not everything. Every single cell in your body follows a circadian rhythm. Circadian clocks are attached to every piece of peripheral tissue, embedded in every organ, enmeshed in every physiological system. Even your skin’s resistance to UV damage follows a circadian schedule.

What does this mean? If your circadian rhythm is off-kilter, every cell and physiological process in your body functions differently. Problems arise. Energy production slows. Every standard physiological process runs a little funny. When your circadian rhythm is off, you’re off. Nothing works quite right. You’re not yourself.

Expose yourself to natural light during the morning and daytime. This helps set your circadian rhythm and gets you in tune with the sun’s rise and fall. It also energizes, and that’s great. Vitamin D is one of the most important vitamin-like substances around. But sunlight is also a great source of blue light that keeps us awake at night and alert and energized during the day. It has to be real, natural light. For all our access to artificial lighting indoors, our daytime light exposure is downright pathetic.

Limit artificial light at night. Blue light (from screens, smartphones) tricks your circadian rhythm into thinking it’s daytime all over again. UVEX safety goggles block blue light, are completely affordable.

Get to sleep at a reasonable hour. Miss sleep, miss reps. Lose sleep, lose your footing during the jerk. Sleep is when we recover from past bodily insults, like doing Fran or high rep zercher squats. It’s when we consolidate memories. It’s when we burn fat and release growth hormone. It’s even when we release a large amount of ATPe, a surge of the body’s energy currency. Miss your sleep, miss that surge.

Balance the Intensity of CrossFit with the Tranquility of Nature

CrossFit is stressful. It’s acute stressor after acute stressor, which is a double-edged blade. This is why it works so well but also why some people can burn themselves out. A person simply can’t go hard without resting. There are limits.

Get out into nature every day if you can but at least once a week, preferably twice. Nature is a hard reset for your monkey mind. It’s returning home to the source. Extensive research shows that this kind of excursion can reduce stress, the same stress that’s pushing you over the edge and destroying your will to live. Spending time in nature is an easy fix (if it works, and it often does), providing a quick but effective stanch against the stress.

Nature doesn’t have to be the forest. It can be desert, beach, lake, marsh, swamp, meadow, prairie, bog, jungle. Even a city park can work. Use what you have.

Focus on Micronutrients

The Primal eating plan has always identified and promoted the consumption of otherwise obscure micronutrients, many of which play major roles in energy production.

Iodine: The raw building block for thyroid hormone, which drives metabolic rate. Low intakes can cause hypothyroid, and then you’re lagging. Best sources include seaweed (especially kelp/kombu), dairy, and eggs.
Selenium: We need selenium to convert inactive thyroid hormone into active thyroid hormone, the stuff that actually has an effect on our energy levels. Brazil nuts (just one or two will provide the RDA) and wild salmon are the best sources.
Magnesium: Magnesium is a cofactor in over 300 physiological systems and enzymatic reactions making it a crucial…. blah blah blah. You’ve heard the spiel before. Magnesium is important. For energy levels, it’s almost everything. Without adequate magnesium, we produce very little ATP, the body’s energy currency.
Glycine: Taken an hour before bed, glycine—the primary amino acid in gelatin/collagen—promotes more restful sleep and promotes wakefulness and better performance the next day, even if you force sleep restriction.

If you’re doing CrossFit without paying attention to your intake of iodine, selenium, magnesium, and glycine/collagen, you risk losing energy levels.

Get Fat-Adapted

Though I’ve focused primarily on non-dietary factors today, I’ll close with perhaps the most momentous modification you can make to support your daily energy levels: getting fat-adapted.

Fat-adaptation allows you to easily tap into your own body fat stores in between meals, providing a steady source of clean-burning energy. Fat-adaptation tends to normalize blood glucose readings, so you’re no longer chasing the sugar dragon up into hyperglycemia and down into hypoglycemia.

Fat-adaptation doesn’t imply exclusive low carb eating for life. CrossFit and other intense training regimens give the fat-adapted a lot of leeway with their carb intake. As Peter Attia explains, you can still carb up before and after your training sessions without compromising your ability to tap into body fat for energy as long as you create a glycogen debt that must be refilled and your carbs don’t exceed the debt. CrossFit, with its full-body, high-intensity, moderate-to-high-volume training, just might be the most reliable way to create an economy-rending amount of glycogen debt.

(Note: For those who aren’t fat-adapted yet, understand that it’s a process and will take a few weeks. It will likely require a temporary change to your training schedule to accommodate the metabolic shifts taking place. Let adaptation trump performance for a short time. Results aren’t instantaneous, but they’re worth the short-term adjustment.)

In the end, having adequate energy boils down to support.

Eating enough calories and carbs and protein and fat to support your training.
Supporting your biologically-appropriate circadian rhythm by getting bright light during the day, dim light at night, and having a reasonable bedtime.
Eating adequate amounts of the basic micronutrients that support energy production.
Spending time in nature to support your body’s need for rest, relaxation, and green spaces.

Thanks for reading today, everyone. Have thoughts or questions on energy and high intensity exercise? Share them below.

The post CrossFit’s Criticisms: How Do I Keep Energy Levels High on Primal? appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

The Definitive Guide to Children’s Nutrition

Feeding infants is quite simple. There’s a ton riding on you getting it right, of course—a developing immune system, the fact that the kid’s growing an inch a week, a permeable blood-brain barrier, synaptic pruning—but the answer is usually always “feed them more breastmilk.” Even if you can’t nurse, you’ve got formula, which, for all its limitations, is a decent proxy for breastmilk and getting better all the time. Feeding children, however, is a different ballgame altogether.

I’ve gotten a lot of requests for a post about children’s nutrition, so it’s long overdue. When it comes down to brass tacks, kids really are just small people. They aren’t a different species. They use the same nutrients their parents do. They need protein, fat, and glucose just like us. So in that sense, feeding kids is simple: Give them all the nutritious foods you already eat and know to be healthy.

But it’s not easy.

Adults have been around the block. We’ve already spent several decades eating, so what we do today won’t have as big an impact. Kids are starting from square one. They can get away with a lot in the sense that they have fast metabolisms, they heal quickly, and they carry less physiological baggage. That makes them appear impervious to damage. A Snickers bar may very well send a diabetic’s blood sugar to the stratosphere or trigger weight gain in a middle-aged man, while the average toddler will channel that candy bar into pure ATP and use it to scale bookshelves, leap from sofas, and sing the feature song from the latest Disney flick twenty times in a row.

But from another perspective, a child’s nutrition is way more crucial and precarious. You have an untouched, uncorrupted member of the most complex, creative, intelligent, courageous mammalian species in the known universe. A being of pure potential. You have the opportunity to realize that potential by nourishing it with the best food—or you can tarnish it.

A prudent position is the middle one: Feed healthy foods, but don’t flip out because they ate Baskin Robbins ice cream cake at their friend’s 5th birthday party. After all, look at your own history. Many of you spent decades eating the standard American/Westernized diet. You ended up fat and unhealthy. And you and thousands more turned it all around just by going Primal.

It’s also the position that promotes sanity in a world full of industrialized food. Candy’s going to slip through the cracks. They’re going to be at a friend’s house and have boxed mac and cheese for dinner. Full-on food intolerances or allergies aside, be a little flexible. Your lives will be less stressful, believe me, and you’ll all be a bit saner.

With this in mind…

What are some nutrients to watch out for?
Calcium

Growing children are constantly laying down new bone. They need calcium (and collagen, but we’ll get to that later) to do it.

RDA: 1000 mg/day (4-8 years), 1300 mg/day (9-13 years)

Bone-in sardines, hard cheeses, raw milk, full-fat yogurt/kefir, and leafy greens are the best sources of calcium.

Suggested recipe: A hunk of Emmental cheese.

Iodine

It’s the most common cause of preventable cognitive disability; nearly a third of 6-12 year olds worldwide eat inadequate amounts of iodine.

Growing children need iodine to produce thyroid hormone, an important regulator of the growth factors that determine mental and physical development. Kids with iodine deficiency are less likely to reach their maximum height, and studies show that iodine deficiency can lower IQ scores by up to 12.5 points.

RDA: 90 ug/day (4-8 years), 120 ug/day (9-13 years)

Seaweed, with kombu/kelp being highest and nori being lower but still higher than other foods. Milk (storage vats are disinfected with iodine).

Suggested recipe: Toasted nori snacks. Kelp granules sprinkled on everything.

Iron

Iron is another important mineral in children’s nutrition, providing support for growth, neurological development, and blood cell formation. Keep in mind, however, that kids between the ages of 4 and 8 actually need less iron than babies, toddlers, and teens because they grow more slowly.

RDA: 10 mg (4-8 years), 8 mg (9-13 years, prior to menstruation for girls)

Red meat, especially organ meats (including chicken liver), is very high in iron. The heme iron found in animal products is also far more bioavailable than non-heme (plant) iron. If you’re going to eat and attempt to absorb non-heme iron, pair it with a source of vitamin C.

Suggested recipe: Chicken liver paté.

Zinc

Zinc is really important for children’s physical growth and immune development. In one study, modest zinc supplementation to the tune of 5.7 mg/day helped growth-delayed kids hit their growth targets compared to placebo. Other research has found that correcting zinc deficiencies reduces diarrheal infections and pneumonia in kids under 5.

RDA: 5 mg/day (4-8 years), 8 mg/day (9-13 years)

Red meat (especially lamb), oysters, crab, and lobster are the best sources of zinc.

Suggested recipe: Place a can of smoked oysters (drained), 8 olives (I like Kalamata), and a tablespoon of avocado oil in food processor or mortar and pestle. Turn into paste. Eat with a spoon or spread on crackers. You can also add lemon juice and pecorino romano cheese for some extra calcium.

Vitamin A

Full-blown vitamin A deficiency can cause night blindness and permanent blindness. Mild deficiency increases the risk of catching an upper respiratory tract infection.

RDA: 400 ug/day (4-8 years), 600 ug/day (9-12 years)

Pre-formed (more bioavailable) retinol: liver, cod liver oil, eggs, full-fat dairy.

Plant vitamin A: Sweet potato, kale, spinach, carrots.

Suggested recipe: Liver pate.

Vitamin B12

Myelin is the protective sheathing around nerve fibers. It insulates the nerves and increases the efficiency of impulse transmission. Vitamin B12 is a vital co-factor in myelination—the laying down of the sheathing—which takes place in infancy and on through early childhood. Without adequate dietary vitamin B12, the myelin will be weak and ineffective.

RDA: 1.2 ug/day (4-8 years), 1.8 ug/day (9-13 years)

Animal products are the best and only sources of vitamin B12.

Suggested recipe: Meat, poultry, fish, or shellfish cooked any way.

Vitamin C

We can’t make vitamin C like most other mammals, so we have to eat it if we want its benefits, which include collagen formation and deposition, tissue healing, and immune response.

RDA: 25 mg/day (4-8 years), 45 mgday (9-13 years)

Vitamin C is present in most fruits and vegetables. If your kid eats plenty of those (what kid doesn’t like fruit?), he or she will be fine.

Suggested recipe: Tall glass of Florida orange juice! Kidding. Some oranges will do.

Vitamin D

If your child is getting unfiltered sunlight on a regular basis, vitamin D probably isn’t a concern. But sometimes the sun’s not out (for months). Sometimes your kid needs to eat some vitamin D.

RDA: 15 ug/day for everyone

Great sources include meat, fish, eggs, and cod liver oil. New research has shown that animal-sourced vitamin D is about 5 times as potent as the vitamin D3 found in supplements (which isn’t too shabby in the first place).

Suggested recipe: Cod liver oil capsules, swallowed whole or pierced and the contents squeezed into smoothies.

Vitamin K2

One way to think of vitamin K2 is that it tells calcium where to go. Low vitamin K2 could mean your calcium ends up in your arteries. High vitamin K2, and it’ll end up in your teeth and your bones. I know where I’d rather have it, especially if I’m an 8-year-old human laying new bone daily.

RDA: Unknown. But it’s quite safe.

Natto is the best source. “Best” as in densest, not “best” as in “tastes great.” The flavor takes some getting used to, but once you do… Other options include goose liver, gouda cheese, and more speculatively, some fermented foods like kefir and sauerkraut. Chris Masterjohn did a whole series on vitamin K2 that contains some food sources.

Suggested recipe: Aged gouda (at least 2 years) on rice crackers or eaten Costanza-style.

Choline

Choline helps the liver process fat and clear toxins, and it’s a precursor to acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter that plays a major role in forming memories and learning new skills.

RDA: 250 mg/day (4-8 years), 375 mg/day (9-13 years)

Egg yolks are pound for pound the best source. Livers of all kinds are runners-up.

Suggested recipe: Scrambled eggs with an extra yolk (creamier).

EPA and DHA

Preformed long chain omega-3s are very important for brain development. That’s been the case in humans for a very long time.

Suggested recipe: Ikura, or salmon roe. Sockeye salmon with crispy skin (fish bacon always lures them in).

Saturated Fat

A curious thing occurs when a child turns 2, according to the powers-that-be. Saturated fat goes from being an essential, dominant, and healthful component of the breastmilk upon which they rely for sustenance to being a lethal toxin. Parents are urged by many health professionals and public service messages to switch to low-fat dairy at this time, and “When should my toddler switch to skim milk?” is now a common query on children’s health websites.

It’s horrifying.

Our cell membranes are about half saturated fat, which is more stable and less vulnerable to peroxidation. This stability makes our cell membranes more resistant to oxidative stress. Kids certainly need cell membranes.

Our bodies use saturated fats to shuttle proteins between cells, release neurotransmitters, and form memories. Kids certainly need to send proteins around the body, release neurotransmitters, and remember stuff.

Saturated fats often come attached to other nutrients kids inarguably require. The more parents restrict saturated fat in their kids’ diets, for example, the less calcium, vitamin E, and zinc they get. It’s hard to “reduce saturated fat” without also reducing lots of other good foods.

Cholesterol

Cholesterol is another one of those weird nutrients that becomes toxic once you stop getting it from breastmilk. I didn’t buy it with saturated fat, and I’m not buying it with cholesterol.

Parents who follow the official advice and “limit cholesterol” deprive their kids of a vital nutrient responsible for production of steroid hormones and vitamin D. Sure, while a kid’s liver will make plenty of cholesterol on its own, limiting cholesterol means limiting some of the most nutrient-dense foods, like egg yolks and shrimp.

Probiotics and Prebiotics

Ideally, children will get access to plenty of microbes by interacting with the natural world around them. But food-based probiotics are good, too. They provide unique nutrients, as the fermentation process often creates new forms of the nutrients or makes existing ones more bioavailable, and they offer novel flavors that promote a more sophisticated palate. A kid who learns to love kimchi will probably try anything.

Prebiotics are arguably as important as probiotics. Both work in concert to modulate the immune response and set children up for a healthy immune system. Remember that infectious diseases used to kill a ton of kids. Even though we can usually take care of acute infections with modern medicine, it’s nice to be able to count on your immune system, too.

I suggest everyone punch their children’s meals into a food tracker for a week or so to get an idea of their nutrient intakes. Cronometer and MyFitnessPal are good.

Should You Manage Your Kid’s Macros?

Make sure they’re getting enough protein/fat/carbs?

Not really. I’m a fan of the “unfeeding” approach. Like the unschooler allows the child to make decisions about his education, providing only resources and guidance when requested, the unfeeder provides a meal with all three macronutrients represented and lets the child decide what and how much to eat.

If it’s obvious, and your kid’s eating sweet potato after sweet potato and totally ignoring the beef and broccoli on the plate, make some rules. But for the most part, kids eat as much as they need. This laissez faire approach to feeding kids, however, only seems to cause problems when they have unfettered or regular access to industrial foods and beverages like French fries, pizza, crispy snacks, soda, candy, and other food products designed to trigger the reward system and override natural satiety signaling. It tends to work well when you offer things like this:

Eggs (especially the yolks)
Bone marrow
Bone broth
Gelatinous meats (oxtail, cheek, shank, etc)
Organ meats
Fish eggs (ikura, or salted salmon roe, is a great option at sushi places or Japanese markets)
Fish (fresh, canned, bone-in)
Cheese
Yogurt/kefir
Raw milk
Berries
Starchy tubers
Colorful fruits and veggies
Beets
Seaweed
Coconut milk/butter
Legumes, properly prepared and tolerated
Bananas, slightly green for moderate resistant starch content

As a longtime parent, I’ve learned a few things. I’ve developed a few tricks. I’ve made some observations you may find illuminating. What follows are the tips, tricks, and rules I’ve found very useful in feeding kids well.

Don’t assume your kid is intolerant of everything.

Don’t ignore obvious intolerances or allergies. Just don’t seek them out when they don’t actually exist. Chances are, your kid can enjoy and benefit from full-fat dairy, white potatoes, nightshades, eggs, and even the occasional legume.

“Seven bites.”

7’s a good number, but it could be anything. Make a household rule that you have to take at least 7 bites before deeming a food “yucky.”

Calories count.

But not like you’re thinking. Overall calorie intake is very important for growing children. They’re like CrossFitting endurance athletes training for an MMA fight—they need to eat. Big things are happening constantly in their bodies, and they need plenty of food to support the changes. Don’t consciously limit (or let your kid limit) your kid’s calorie intake unless you have a valid medical reason.

Egg yolks disappear into everything.

Spaghetti sauce? Add a few egg yolks after you’ve turned off the heat.

Mac and cheese? A few egg yolks enrich it without changing the flavor.

Scrambled eggs? Add an extra egg yolk.

There’s nothing wrong with a smoothie.

There’s a lot right. A well-designed smoothie can provide tons of important nutrients. An example:

Baby kale (vitamin K, phytonutrients, magnesium, calcium, folate, potassium)
Frozen green banana (resistant starch, potassium)
Kefir (probiotics, fat, folate, vitamin k2)
Egg yolk (choline)
Whey protein
Brazil nut (selenium)
Cod liver oil (vitamin A, vitamin D, DHA/EPA)
Frozen mango (vitamin C, vitamin A, folate), coconut water (potassium, magnesium)

Kids will eat anything in popsicle form.

Take the leftovers of the nutrient-dense smoothies you make and freeze them in popsicle molds. There, that’s “dessert.”

Rice is an excellent vehicle for nutrition.

Rice is just empty carbs. Right? Not necessarily. Sub bone broth for water, add a dash of Trace Minerals, throw in a few shakes of kelp granules? Suddenly, your rice is a repository of magnesium, collagen, iodine, and other nutrients they may not be getting elsewhere.

Plus, kids are whirlwinds of energy. If they’re doing childhood right, they’re moving constantly. They can actually use those empty glucose molecules.

Crackers are good vehicles for nutrient-dense dips.

Sure, you don’t want your kid killing a box of rice crackers by themselves. As vehicles for things like tuna salad, liver paté, good cheese, hummus, however, they excel.

Fish sauce as a training tool for picky eaters.

Real fish sauce made from fermented salted fish is a potent source of glutamate, a flavor-enhancing amino acid that can teach picky eaters to like novel foods. It also makes food taste good on a subjective level, so you’ll be hitting them from two angles. 

Frozen fruit is dessert.

If it’s cold and sweet, kids assume it’s a popsicle. Mangos, strawberries, blackberries, cherries. Forget ice cream for dessert. Serve up a big cup of frozen blueberries, perhaps with some real whipped cream. (This may work on adults, too)

Toothpicks make everything delicious.

If your ungrateful kid won’t eat your seared scallops, or your perfectly medium rare lamb chops, stick some toothpicks in. For whatever reason, kids just can’t resist toothpicked food.

Bribing works…in the short-term.

On a population level, at least. School children offered small prizes in the lunch line if they chose the “healthier” option were more likely to choose it. Be wary of relying on this. Negotiating with terrorists may work in individual instances, but it sets a bad precedent for future incidents.

Well, that’s it for today, folks. I hope you come away with a better grasp of children’s nutrition needs. Let me know how any of those strategies and rules work for you and your family. And please chime in down below with your own tips for feeding kids right. I know we’ve got a ton of parents out there.

Thanks for reading.

The post The Definitive Guide to Children’s Nutrition appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

8 Primal Grilling Tips and Techniques

First off, let’s settle one thing right away. Grilling is not the same as barbecuing. Barbecue means big cuts of meat cooked low and slow. Depending on the animal, it can be an all-day affair with hours of preparation and plenty of leisure. In other words, it’s an actual event. With the time and labor intensity, barbecuing (as Michael Pollan put it so well recently) is the stuff of primal ritual, the site of social cohesion in our evolutionary story. Grilling, on the other hand, offers the smoke and fire experience without the bigger doings. While not as idyllic a prospect, it’s convenient. It means throwing a steak on the grill after work and eating it 20 minutes later. That’s the beauty of grilling. It’s relatively quick, requires very little clean up, and let’s you kick back outdoors while cooking dinner.

In order to relax, however, it’s good to be confident that dinner won’t go up in flames. Luckily, what separates someone who burns dinner from a real grill master is simply practice, plus a few tips and techniques.

Most of the smaller cuts of meat at the meat counter cook well on a grill, like steaks, short ribs, pork and lamb chops, and chicken pieces. A good butcher can guide you to the best cuts for grilling in your price range. Then, of course, there’s seafood, burgers of all types, sausage and veggies. You can throw almost anything on a grill—even fruit.

No matter what you’re grilling, these tips and techniques apply:

Preheat, Clean, and Oil the Grill

Just like pre-heating an oven before cooking, a grill (both gas and charcoal) should be good and hot before the grilling begins. If the grill isn’t hot enough at the start, your food won’t cook properly.

A clean, well-oiled grill also reduces the chances of sticking (especially for fish). To clean and oil the grill, brush the grates with a steel grill brush, then wipe with a damp cloth or paper towel. Finish by rubbing a dry, lightly oiled paper towel over the grates.

Fat is Flavor

When grilling beef, lamb and pork, buy cuts with lots of marbling, which is the white fat throughout the meat, not just on the edges. More marbling indicates more flavor and it means the meat is less likely to dry out on the grill.

For chicken and fish, skin provides a fatty barrier between the heat and the meat. Even veggies need fat, so coat them liberally in heat-stable oil before grilling, then drizzle a little more oil on the vegetables when they’re done.

Don’t Forget the Salt

Marinades and rubs are great (more on this below), but the most important seasoning for anything you grill is salt. In the absence of a marinade or rub, sprinkle enough salt on all sides of the meat, chicken or fish so that the salt is easy to see, like a light snowfall. Salt adds flavor, helps meat retain moisture, and breaks down muscle tissue to tenderize the meat.

The best time to season with salt is a subject of intense debate among chefs and hard-core grilling aficionados. Some swear by salting days or hours ahead of grilling; other swear by salting at the last minute. In the end, it’s a matter of personal preference.

As a general rule, you can’t go wrong seasoning meat, chicken and fish thirty-five minutes ahead of time. This gives the salt a decent amount of time to penetrate the outside of the protein and work its way towards the middle, boosting flavor all the way through.

A secret weapon: sea salt, sprinkled on after grilling. Sea salt boosts the flavor of anything—meat, seafood, vegetables—that’s been grilled.

Monitor Temperature

There are several ways that paying attention to temperature results in better grilling.

First, let protein sit out on the counter 35 minutes or more and come toward room temperature before grilling. This promotes even cooking and makes it more likely that the middle and outside of your steak will reach perfection at the same time.

Second, whether using a gas or charcoal grill, create hot and warm zones, so you can move meat from high heat to lower heat as needed.

Finally, don’t guess when meat is done. Use a digital thermometer to gauge.

Let Meat Rest

Always let meat and chicken rest 10 minutes or more before slicing to retain juiciness and flavor.

Try New Marinades and Rubs

When you’re in the mood for a certain type of flavor, say, Korean short ribs or Cajun chicken, marinades and rubs are the way to go. More to the point of health, marinades and rubs can also mitigate the effects of carcinogenic compounds associated with high-heat grilling by reducing the formation of toxic compounds like HCA and AGE.

The key ingredient is antioxidant-rich herbs and spices. The more herbs and spices, the more protective (and better-tasting) your marinade and rub. What also helps is quality, antioxidant rich fat, like avocado oil. In a marinade, a splash of acidic vinegar or citrus juice will also add protection against toxins, boost flavor, and tenderize.

Tips for Fish

Grilling fish is intimidating, only because it’s all too easy to lose half your meal when it falls through or sticks to the grates.

The most important thing you can do to prevent fish from sticking is to put the fish down on hot, clean and well-oiled grill grates. Use a wide, long metal spatula to flip the fish. If the fish is still sticking to a clean, well-oiled, hot grill then it might not be ready to flip yet. Let it cook for another few minutes and try again.

Thicker fillets or steaks (salmon, halibut and tuna) are easiest to grill. Also, oily, skin-on fish tend to stick less because of the high-oil content. Try grilling sardines, mackerel, skin-on salmon or an entire fish.

Finally, Add the Vegetables

Grilled vegetables make a perfect side for grilled protein—not just for flavor but also because any plant food you eat with your meat, especially the colorful ones, will have a favorable impact on the total meal’s lipid oxidation or mutagenicity.

Vegetables need their own section of the grill, or their own bamboo skewer, to cook in their own good time, so don’t crowd veggies with meat or put them on the same skewer with meat.

If the heat is too high, veggies will quickly burn, so keep vegetables over a medium flame. Cut the vegetables into the same size, so they’ll cook uniformly. Harder vegetables (beets, carrots, etc) can be briefly parboiled before grilling. Before grilling, coat vegetables generously with oil or—for more flavor and healthy antioxidants—a vinaigrette (I have a deal going on for Primal dressings and vinaigrettes now), and season with salt. Then plan to add more flavor after grilling, with additional oil, vinaigrette and salt as needed.

How’s everyone’s grilling season this year? New creations you want to share? Tips I missed? Share your thoughts below, and thanks for stopping by today.

The post 8 Primal Grilling Tips and Techniques appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Dear Mark: Low-Fat Beats “High-Fat”; Prunes for Bone Health

For today’s edition of Dear Mark I’m answering a pair of great questions. First, Vaughn asks me about a recent study where ethnic Chinese participants were placed on several different diets, and those on the “low-carb, high-fat” one actually did worse than those on higher carbs and lower fat. Should you give up your low-carb approach? Then, I explore the bone-strengthening effects of prunes and discuss the Simon and Garfunkel diet.

Let’s go:

Hi Mark,

What are your thoughts on this study from China where a low-fat diet beat out a high-fat diet in healhy adults? http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/...

Vaughn

Interesting paper. Thanks for the tip.

It sounds damning.

Chinese adults were split into three groups, each receiving different diets. One group ate high-carb, low-fat. One ate moderate carb, moderate fat. One ate high-fat, low-carb. Protein was the same across all three groups.

After six months on their respective diets, the high-carb group had the best metabolic outcomes. They lost the most weight, the most inches off their waists, and saw the biggest improvements to their blood markers. The next best was the moderate carb/fat diet. The worst was the high-fat/low-carb diet.

Oh man, Sisson. You mean to tell me that the LCHF group subjects were eating more fat and had the worst results. That’s that. I’m out. This is all a sham.

Hold on a minute. Something in the study design caught my eye.

By replacing a proportion of energy derived from carbohydrates (white rice and wheat flour, the most consumed carbohydrate sources in China contributing to 70% and 17% total carbohydrate respectively) with fats (soybean oil, the most consumed edible oil in China rich in unsaturated fatty acids), we achieved the required distribution of fats and carbohydrates in the three diet groups, which represented macronutrient transition in the past 30 years in China.

They replaced carbs with pure soybean oil. That’s how they modified the macros—taking a little flour away and pouring an isocaloric glug of soybean oil all over everything. Anyone else feeling nauseated?

As stated, however, this intervention does reflect the dietary trends in China. It also reflects the trends in the standard American diet. Americans (and everyone else the world over) are eating far more soybean oil than ever before. From 1909 to 1999, American consumption of soybean oil rose more than 1000-fold. Yes: Those are three zeros.

But it’s not relevant to most of my readers.

Something else jumped out at me. High-fat and low-carb were actually higher-fat and lower—carb. That’s an important distinction. Relative to the other diets, folks in the third group were eat fewer carbs and more fat. Relative to the Primal eating plan, they weren’t. At 40% fat, 46% carb, they weren’t low-carb or high-fat in an absolute sense.

Forty-six percent carb isn’t low-carb by any stretch of the imagination. The results from this study probably don’t apply to someone eating 20% carbs.

All that said, I find it plausible that ethnic Chinese would have genetic adaptations to a higher carb diet. They tend to produce high levels of salivary amylase—an oral version of the digestive enzyme responsible for digesting starch—which is an indication of ancestral exposure to starch. People who make more salivary amylase have better metabolic responses to starch intake. In the context of higher-carb diets, they’re also less likely to be obese.

Maybe not, though. A 2015 paper found positive relationships between starchy carb consumption and metabolic syndrome prevalence among Chinese adults. Carbs from other sources—fruits and veggies—had no such relationshp to metabolic syndrome.

Confusing stuff, eh? There’s always some new wrinkle to explore.

JTB asked:

Mark, if you do a follow up piece, consider looking into the studies on dried plums, and perhaps also the study on the “Scarborough Fair” diet, which also showed positive bone-health results for the group using a specific set of herbs, fruits and vegetables.

You’ve got it, JTB. Everyone overlooks prunes, and I’m a big Simon and Garfunkel fan. I accept your proposal.

What’s the deal with prunes? Most people only think of them as tools to fight constipation. And, boy, do they. Prunes work so well that prune juice has become a joke. C’mon, what’s the first thing you thought of after reading the word “prunes”? Exactly.

Prunes are great for the gut, but they don’t just instigate excellent defecation. They actually promote good gut health by increasing the growth of beneficial microbes and inhibiting the growth of pathogenic microbes. They may help prevent colon cancer by acting as a prebiotic.

Animal and cell culture studies do indicate benefits to bone turnover. There are different theories as to why. Prune polyphenols are nice but probably not responsible for the effects on bone health. My guess is it’s the prebiotic effect, given that we know from last week’s post that probiotics can improve bone health.

If these effects hold in humans, and I think they will, prunes are an excellent choice. They don’t even spike blood glucose all that much, despite being dried fruit quite high in carbs. 

Now let’s look at the Scarborough Fair Diet. First, open this in a new tab and turn the volume up.

The Scarborough Fair Diet’s quite interesting. Researchers constructed it from all the fruits, vegetables, and herbs that have been shown in animal studies to improve bone health. Most were extremely high in phytochemicals. This diet was pitted against a diet containing basic fruits, vegetables and herbs. Both diets had the same amount of plant foods.

Where the Scarborough Fair Diet had parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, and garlic, the regular diet had mint, basil, and oregano.

The SFD had prunes and oranges; the regular diet had apples and bananas.

The SFD gave bok choy, rocket, red cabbage, and lettuce; the regular diet gave spinach, silver beet, and white cabbage.

The SFD gave broccoli, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, green beans, cucumbers, and leeks. The regular diet gave carrot, pumpkin, courgette, peas, and cauliflower.

Both contained very nutritious foods. I’m a big fan of most of them. But only the SFD improved bone turnover markers and calcium retention in postmenopausal women. That’s a very cool effect, and it suggests that the various nutrition-based bone health interventions in animal studies likely carry over into humans, too.

That’s it for me, everyone. Thanks for the great questions. Be sure to help out with your input down below or throw a few more questions my way. Always happy to help.

Take care!

Want to make fat loss easier?

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

The post Dear Mark: Low-Fat Beats “High-Fat”; Prunes for Bone Health appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Weekend Link Love – Edition 460

RESEARCH OF THE WEEK

Preformed vitamin D, the kind found in eggs, fish, and meat, is about 5 times as bioactive as vitamin D3. This makes animal foods a rich source of vitamin D and may explain why human skin lightened after the adoption of agriculture—so they could replace the vitamin D they no longer got from hunted meat.

Deficiencies of carnitine (a nutrient found in meat) may explain some autism cases.

Some people may be overdoing vitamin D supplementation.

Given a prompt, airport visitors are more likely to walk than ride the people-mover.

Using alcohol to reduce executive control improves creative problem-solving (but not divergent thinking).

Reducing dietary advanced glycation endproducts has no effect on inflammation or cardiovascular health in overweight/obese adults.

Life purpose increases sleep quality.

NEW PRIMAL BLUEPRINT PODCASTS

Episode 177: Dr. Loretta Breuning: Host Elle Russ chats with Dr. Breuning about her research into the best way to manage these crazy neurochemicals we’ve inherited from our ancestors.

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.

Need to Know Factors for Bone Health

INTERESTING BLOG POSTS

My 10 favorite high-fat Primal keto recipes—a guest post I recently did for Greatist.com.

Fighting yourself to lose weight (or do anything) never works.

MEDIA, SCHMEDIA

How useful are gut biome profiles?

Activity trackers have the potential to provide great data for analyzing population health, but there’s still a long way to go.

EVERYTHING ELSE

Trade routes during the Copper Age spanned long distances.

For all our access to artificial lighting, our daytime light exposure is downright pathetic.

“You make your own barriers.”

The Vatican has outlawed gluten-free bread for Holy Communion.

This past winter, California storms destroyed the only road leading into and out of a small community in Big Sur, forcing residents to hike everywhere. You’ll never guess what happened to their health.

Another reason not to eat boxed mac and cheese.

A religious tradition everyone can get behind.

THINGS I’M UP TO AND INTERESTED IN

Facebook live event I’ll be doing: Hang out with celebrity nutritionist, Primal Kitchen Cookbook contributor, and Body Love author, Kelly LeVeque, as she takes a deep dive into her health and wellness journey with me and Primal Kitchen COO, Morgan Buehler, on July 21 at 11 AM Pacific.

Contest I’m excited about that ends tomorrow at midnight—so hurry: This one. Win a Primal birthday cake kit.

Big announcement I’m excited about: The South Bend, Indiana, Primal Kitchen restaurant is officially opening on July 21! Go give ’em (and your micronutrient profile) some love.

Success story I’m digging: Andrea Boyer took her health on a 180º with Primal principles after being diagnosed as pre-diabetic and with Celiac. Today she’s loving life and coaching others to take back their vitality.

I want some: Avocado pit totems.

Concept I’d never considered: Tennis grunts are strategic.

RECIPE CORNER

I always love NomNomPaleo’s stuff, and paleo pudding parfaits are no exception.
Creamy tarragon chicken salad, a nice protein-and-fat bomb.

TIME CAPSULE

One year ago (Jul 16– Jul 22)

3 Common Types of Headache (and How to Treat Them Naturally) – No one’s head should hurt needlessly.
The Fat-Burning Brain: What Are the Cognitive Effects of Ketosis? – How keto makes your brain work gooder.

COMMENT OF THE WEEK

“Mice eating their bones – that’s self-sufficiency!”

– You reminded me of something, Catherine. The day I turned 18, my parents kicked me out of the house. One of the most important first steps I took on the road to self-sufficiency was to start consuming my own hair and fingernails for extra protein.

Want to make fat loss easier?

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

The post Weekend Link Love – Edition 460 appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.