Mark Sisson's Blog, page 207

Why the Variety of Your Protein Sources Matters

Sometimes the simple story is good enough. I’d venture to say that simple is usually good enough, particularly when it comes to health. A good diet? Eat lots of plants and animals, don’t eat so many carbs, and stop being scared of natural fat. Training? Lift heavy things, move around a lot at a slow pace (constantly, if you can swing it), go really fast once in awhile, and enjoy what you do. Lifestyle in general? Get some sun, be with your tribe, get into nature as often as possible, inject meaning, laugh, love, and live. There—that gets you most of the way. Simple, right?

Another common piece of advice is “eat protein.” And yeah, that’s true. We need protein to survive. It’s probably the most essential nutrient in existence because we can’t make it ourselves. But sometimes digging a little deeper pays off.

Not all protein is created equally. Protein is composed of up to 20 different amino acids. Every protein source contains some or all of those amino acids in different proportions, so each source of protein really is different. When we digest protein, what our body actually absorbs and utilizes are those amino acids. Each one plays a different role in the body, from building and repairing various tissues, performing vital metabolic processes, acting as progenitor for essential compounds, and even regulating gene expression. We need amino acids to live.

We need some amino acids more than others. We can synthesize or convert some of the amino acids we need, but there are 9 amino acids that we cannot make or convert. These are the essential amino acids, and we must consume foods that contain them.

Another category is the conditionally essential amino acids. These are the amino acids that we can synthesize or convert, but certain conditions and contexts increase our requirement for them. In many cases, people don’t eat enough of these conditionally essential AAs. They are therefore essential for most people. 

For the most part, animal-based protein contains adequate concentrations of all the essential amino acids. Furthermore, animal muscle meat is roughly identical in amino acid composition. Whether you eat chicken thighs, lamb chops, pork loin, salmon filets, or ribeye, you’ll be getting the same basic pattern of amino acids in your diet—including all the essentials. The same thing goes for almost all animal-derived foods, like eggs and dairy. They’re all complete proteins—they provide the essential amino acids.

Plant proteins are incomplete–they’re usually missing one or more of the essential amino acids. That’s why cultures that rely heavily on plant protein end up with staple food combos carefully curated to provide all the essential amino acids, like beans with rice or beans with corn.

Eating a variety of protein sources ensures you’re getting all the amino acids you need to perform basic physiological processes. So here are a couple reasons why balancing your protein intake from different sources is important.

Methionine/Glycine

I’ve written about this before. The crux of the matter is this:

Most animal proteins are high in methionine, an amino acid critical for growth and development and overall robustness but also implicated in unchecked growth of cancer cells. The calorie restriction with optimal nutrition (CRON) crowd tends to avoid methionine like the plague, pointing to animal studies in which animals on high-methionine diets die earlier and get more cancer and other degenerative diseases than animals that restrict methionine.

What I and people like Denise Minger have suggested is that glycine—an amino acid found abundantly in connective tissues but not in muscle meat—can counter the anti-longevity effects of methionine. A study (the abstract of which is sadly no longer free to view; wonder why) from 2011 found that giving glycine to rodents on a high-methionine diet extends lifespan and emulates the effect of methionine restriction.

If that’s true in humans, then expanding our protein intake to include both muscle meats (methionine) and connective tissue (glycine) will make us healthier.

And although scientists haven’t looked at the topic very closely yet, we have inklings that glycine is important for humans. In one recent study, the relationship between red meat and diabetes was abolished after controlling for low-glycine status. People with low glycine levels and high meat intakes were more likely to have diabetes; people with higher glycine levels could have higher meat intakes without any issues. In another study, low circulating levels of glycine also predicted diabetes risk. 

We do know that glycine is a conditionally essential amino acid. We can make it from proline, but evidence shows that we can’t make enough to cover all the tasks glycine performs. So if we want to sleep better at night, maintain the structure and integrity of our ligaments, tendons, and cartilage, keep our skin taut and firm, and balance out our methionine intake, we’d better start eating skin, tendon, bone broth, and other gristly bits.

Increasing protein variety to include collagenous materials will balance out our meat intake and make us healthier.

Plant Protein

If we’re gonna have to eat animal protein or assemble complex combinations of plant proteins that provide all the requisite amino acids, why eat plant protein at all? Why not just eat a few ounces of steak instead of the perfect proportion of rice and beans?

Variety can be good for its own sake. Some people get bored eating the same thing every day. Opening up an entirely different genre of protein—plants—will only increase variety.

And as I laid out a couple weeks ago, legumes—the most popular and dense source of plant protein—offer other advantages: prebiotic fiber, minerals like magnesium, copper, and manganese, and vitamins like folate and B1.

Plus, plant protein is usually cheaper than animal protein. Obtaining a portion of your protein from plants offsets the cost and allows you to focus on quality protein from grass-fed and pasture-raised animals. A pound of steak doesn’t offer any distinct advantages over 3/4 pound of steak with a half cup of black beans. If anything, the latter offers a bit more nutrient variety.

Increasing protein variety to include plant sources allows more freedom when planning meals, offers fiber, minerals, and vitamins we can’t easily get from animals, and makes it easier to afford high-quality animal protein.

Nutrient Co-riders

Another reason to vary your protein intake is that different sources of protein are accompanied by different nutrients. A mussel might give you similar amino acids as a chicken thigh, or a cup of yogurt, but the similarities end there. The mussel provides manganese, selenium, a ton of B12, and some folate.  The chicken thigh provides less B12, some niacin, a little more magnesium. The yogurt offers probiotics and calcium. You’re better off eating some of all three rather than an equal amount of one.

Eating a variety of protein sources grants access to different co-riding nutrients.

Like for Like

Some traditional medicine systems have a concept called “like for like.” If you want to improve your masculine vigor, you eat tiger penis. If you want to promote kidney health, you eat stir fried pork kidneys. That sorta thing.

Is there anything to it, or is that superstitious mumbo jumbo?

While I can’t speak to the libidinous merits of consuming tiger penis, I can speak to the benefit of some other examples.

Livers are extremely high in folate and choline, two important nutrients for liver function.

A lamb brain is full of omega-3 fats. A 3 ounce portion of cow’s brain has a full gram of omega-3s. Since we need omega-3s for optimal brain development and function, eating an animal’s brain can help our brains.

Animal skin is made up of collagen, the densest source of glycine. Our bodies use glycine to build and repair collagenous tissues, including skin, cartilage, tendons, and other connective bits. Eating skin can improve the health and appearance of your skin.

A can of bone-in sardines contains easily-digested bone. Compare that to another bone friendly food, dairy. You’re getting all of the bone, not just the calcium. If there are any nutrient co-factors that help bone mineral density, they’re probably contained in the bone itself—the bone that you’re eating. I haven’t found any studies examining the effect of eating bone-in sardines on bone mineral density or osteoporosis, but I bet it helps.

If you’re just eating the same cut of steak every day, you’ll miss out on the “like for like” mechanism.

To sum up, protein variety is important for many reasons:

It helps you obtain all essential and conditionally essential amino acids.

It helps you balance out methionine intake with glycine.

It increases the range of co-riding nutrients you obtain.

It makes it easier to afford higher-quality, pasture-raised, and grass-fed animal products.

It increases food variety and makes your diet more enjoyable and sustainable.

It allows you to follow the “eat like for like” rule when applicable.

What are some other good reasons to vary your protein intake?

Thanks for reading, everyone. Take care!

The post Why the Variety of Your Protein Sources Matters appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Introducing The Paleo Primer: A Second Helping

It’s been busy this year with the release of several new books, but there’s one that’s been under the radar that I think you’ll be especially excited about. Remember in 2013 when I published The Paleo Primer by Keris Marsden and Matt Whitmore? This delightful book introduced us to paleo/primal principles in the wittiest of ways, and then dished out creatively delicious primal recipes. Well with your help it went on to enjoy global success with copies published in the UK (Ebury Publishing) and Germany (Goldmann Verlag), and it’s ranked #1 in many categories on Amazon, including Paleo Diet, Low-Carb Cooking, and Exercise and Fitness. Thankfully, Keris and Matt weren’t done, and they’ve spent the last three years perfecting even more mouthwatering, primal-approved meals. And we’ve packaged them all together in The Paleo Primer: A Second Helping!

Your second helping includes:

Healthy, great-tasting meals you can whip up with minimal ingredients, logistics, or preparation time.
Primal-friendly recipes complete with details about macronutrients, calories, and portion size.
The latest in nutrition science, including hot topics like gut health, the hormonal effects of food and exercise, and the Top 10 nutrition myths.
Further guidance to help personalize meal plans and dial in your goals for fat loss or fitness.Sure, there are a plethora of paleo and primal nutrition guides and cookbooks out there, but you know my style—I’m committed to delivering something different. And what I especially love about Keris and Matt is the relaxed, humorous, and insightful way they share their knowledge and spread the primal love.

I can’t wait for you to try some of these recipes out, so I’m giving you a sneak peek of one of my favorites:

Easy Shrimp Red Thai Curry

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Cooking Time: 15 Minutes

Ingredients

1 heaping tbsp coconut oil
2 1/2-inch chunk of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
6 scallions, chopped
3 tsp paprika
1 tsp hot chili powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 red pepper, chopped
1 red chili, deseeded and finely chopped
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 lemongrass stalks, cut long ways and bashed with a rolling pin
Zest of 1 lime
1 lb (500 g) jumbo shrimp
2 cups (500 ml) coconut cream
1 tbsp fish sauce
Celtic Sea or Himalayan Pink salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 lb (200 g) bean sprouts

Instructions 

1. Heat the coconut oil in a large pan, wok, or a casserole dish, and then add the ginger, garlic, scallions, paprika, chili, and cinnamon before stirring and cooking for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add the pepper, red chili, tomato purée, lemongrass stalks, zest of lime, and shrimp, and stir well, coating the shrimp in the tomato purée and spices. Then cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the coconut cream, fish sauce, and salt and pepper and stir well. Simmer for about 3 minutes before adding the bean sprouts and simmering for another 2 minutes.

4. Serve with some white rice or cauliflower rice or just enjoy on its own as we did. We actually wilted some spinach into this at the end, so feel free to give it a try, too, for some added nutrients!

While you’re cooking, take advantage of the bonus items I’m throwing in for the book launch.

Buy a copy of The Paleo Primer: A Second Helping on Amazon before October 19th, submit your receipt, and you’ll get:

$10 coupon for any product on PrimalBlueprint.com
Digital download of the Primal Kitchen Mayo eCookbook

The Paleo Primer: A Second Helping retails for $11.74 on Amazon, so the $10 gift certificate almost covers the cost. With the $10 off coupon to PrimalBlueprint.com, you can grab some PRIMAL KITCHEN™ Avocado Oil to add some extra superfood flare to the recipes in the book.

If you’re stocked up on avocado oil, then consider buying a jar of PRIMAL KITCHEN™ Mayo as a must-have companion to the Primal Kitchen Mayo eCookbook, which is full of delicious side dishes to complement the main courses in The Paleo Primer: A Second Helping.

Just click here to grab your copy of The Paleo Primer: A Second Helping on Amazon and fill out this form here to get your free bonuses.

Hope you enjoy. And let me know what you think!

The post Introducing The Paleo Primer: A Second Helping appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Dear Mark: High-Fat Diet, Gall Stones, and NAFLD

For today’s edition of Dear Mark, I’m answering two questions. Both concern the gallbladder. First, how does a high-fat ketogenic diet relate to the presence of gall stones? Can the former cause the latter? Or is the story a bit more complicated than that? Then, I discuss which fats are most amenable to the gall bladder-less. Also, where does non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD, come in?

Let’s go:

So I’m currently in school for diagnostic medical sonography, and interestingly enough, while learning to scan gall bladders I found that I have a stone! It’s mobile, but currently looks like it is too big to migrate into the cystic duct (whew). I have been doing a ketogenic diet for a few years, and am curious if you have any knowledge of data on people on the diet and gallbladder pathologies?

Also I have a report do in a month or so, and am choosing to focus on the ‘leaky gut syndrome’ that I’ve heard you speak of, and was wondering if you have access to any data about that?

Ok, well thanks for everything man! love your work!

-Ben Yarbrough

Gallstones are a tricky one. We all know that gall stones and gall bladders have something to do with how much fat we eat.

Here’s how I currently understand diet’s relation to gall stones:

The primary role of the gall bladder is to collect bile from the liver, concentrate it into potent super-bile (my term), and release the concentrated bile to break up incoming dietary fat into smaller molecules that lipase can attack and digest. Dietary fat is the biggest driver of gallbladder emptying.

If the gall bladder isn’t regularly emptied, gall stones can form. Usually made of hardened cholesterol, gall stones are quite common and often produce no symptoms. Problems arise when normal gall bladder emptying flushes out a stone small enough to make it into but too large to pass through the bile duct and a blockage occurs. Gall stones can also directly damage the walls of the gall bladder, leading to cholecystis, or gallbladder inflammation.

A high-fat diet can exacerbate or even uncover gall stone issues by increasing gall bladder emptying. Remember: the more fat you eat, the more often you empty your gall bladder—and everything in it.

But the original cause of the gall stones isn’t the high-fat diet.

It’s not eating enough fat, believe it or not. That’s right: assuming there aren’t any gall stones present, eating more fat will keep your gall bladder clear of stones.

Risk factors for gallstone formation are as follows:

A high intake of high-glycemic carbohydrates.
High estrogen levels, which concentrate cholesterol deposition in the gall bladder. This is why women, especially pregnant women and/or those taking hormonal birth control, are more likely to have gall stones.
Obesity, which also increases cholesterol levels in the gall bladder.

One of the bigger risk factors for gallstone formation is weight loss, with a caveat: high-fat diets reduce and even prevent gallstone formation. In fact, when you compare people who lose weight on a low-fat diet to those who lose it on a high-fat diet, research shows that 45% of the low-fatters develop gallstones while none of the high-fatters develop them.

That’s right. Zero.

When you don’t eat enough fat, and the gall bladder isn’t emptied regularly, the bile gets more concentrated. Anything that’s in the bile, like cholesterol, also becomes more concentrated. If it hardens, you’ve got yourself a stone.

Although the common treatment for gall stones is to just remove the bladder, there are other ways that don’t involve removing an organ. You can use ultrasound to break the stones up into tiny, easy-to-pass pieces. That same study found that a drug called ursodeoxycholic acid, or UDCA, can dissolve gallstones already present in the gall bladder.

What I think is happening in your case? I’m not a doctor, but I’d say your ketogenic diet hasn’t caused the gallstones, but the increased fat intake may flush them out. Ask your doctor about UDCA. Once you’ve got the gallstones cleared out or dissolved, sticking with a high-fat intake should decrease your risk of developing any more.

As for leaky gut, I wrote a decent post that contains many references on leaky gut. You should find it a good place to start.

Where do coconut and mct oil fall in this category? Especially for someone without a gallbladder and NAFLD? Thanks!

For folks without gall bladders, coconut and MCT oil are probably better options than longer-chain fats. The shorter-chain fatty acids found in coconut oil and MCT oil don’t require as much bile to break apart, so the concentrated bile produced by the gall bladder isn’t necessary.

Remember, your liver still makes bile without a gall bladder. It’s just not the super-concentrated potent stuff a gall bladder spews out.

Honestly, it’s unclear how having a non-alcoholic fatty liver changes things. There’s some evidence that missing your gall bladder increases the risk of fatty liver, but that’s neither here nor there. You’ve already got NAFLD. What to do?

Well, short chain fats seem to be better for fatty liver than others. One study compared soybean oil (high PUFA omega-6) to coconut oil in rodents, finding that coconut oil was better for fatty liver than soybean oil. That’s good news.

You can also take some extra steps to improve liver health and bile activity.

Support your liver with choline from liver and egg yolks. Higher fat intakes require greater amounts of choline to allow the liver to process the fat.

Support glutathione production and recycling with whey isolate, NAC, fibrous green veggies, alpha lipoic acid, raw dairy, and any polyphenol-rich foods you can imagine (turmeric, chocolate, blueberries, etc).

Consider some taurine (or beef heart), which increases bile production.

Consider some ox bile products, which may replace some of the effects the gall bladder typically provides.

Consider bitters (or foods with bitter flavors), which have been used for centuries to improve digestion.

You may have to moderate your fat intake until you get everything sorted out. Use your symptoms as a guideline: if you feel nauseated, get loose stools, and have stomach issues after eating a high-fat meal, dial it back.

That’s it for today, everyone. Thanks for reading!

I’d love to hear about your experiences with gall stones or without a gall bladder. Extra points if you’ve dealt with NAFLD, too.

The post Dear Mark: High-Fat Diet, Gall Stones, and NAFLD appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Weekend Link Love – Edition 420

Research of the Week

On the causality—or lack thereof—of the gut biome’s association with obesity.

Going barefoot in the classroom makes kids more enthusiastic about school.

Where you carry your fat affects your risk of heart disease.

The role of mitochondrial hormesis in exercise training.

Strong kids become healthy adults.

Structured exercise reduces disability burden in older people, partially by helping them bounce back from periods of immobility.

Intervals may be more efficient than steady-state cardio, but not if you hate running them.

Scientists may have created a universal flu vaccine.

Morning sickness predicts a reduced risk of miscarriage.

Trampoline training is fun and effective.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 136: Beverly Meyer — Beverly Meyer is an expert on Vitamin K2 with 30 years of experience as a naturopathic practitioner. To learn more than you thought possible about this vital, largely unknown nutrient, listen to Elle and Beverly’s conversation. 

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.

Why You Should Reconsider the “Workout” Mentality
How Quickly Can You Lose Weight?
Zen and the Art of Calisthenics
Finish Line: The 2015 Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge

Interesting Blog Posts

One wonders how many of these catastrophic “one line” code errors we’re missing.

Do bugs ever feel sad?

Primal Kitchen makes a pledge to support non-GMO month.

Media, Schmedia

Lessons from an unexpected stroke at 26.

A school is replacing detention with meditation.

Ethnic Chinese may have lived (and died) in Roman London.

Everything Else

In light of growing evidence that it doesn’t actually exist, the original “power pose” promoter, researcher, and TED-talker has completely turned on her creation.

Is awe always awesome?

Crows are such jerks. I can’t help but love them.

Sleep deprivation really messes you up.

I hope whoever becomes president bans these scourges, these threats to public safety.

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

Business: My line of PRIMAL KITCHEN™ avocado dressings was a finalist in New Hope Network’s 2016 NEXTY Awards. Pretty excited about it.

Podcast: I enjoyed Eileen Laird’s chat with Elle Russ on the Phoenix Helix podcast. Worth a listen.

Event: I gave a speech on Primal Endurance principles at the Bulletproof Conference last weekend in Pasadena, CA. Great people. Great fun.

Article: “I Used to Be a Human Being”—Andrew Sullivan, on the toll hyperconnectivity takes.

Fun fact: Roller coasters may help you pass a kidney stone.

Recipe Corner

Between the bacon, the turmeric, the bone broth, and the low-carbedness, this slow cooker loaded mashed cauliflower hits almost every demographic in the ancestral health world.
Cold brew coffee-marinated steak skewers, plus some other stuff that’s probably pretty good too.

Time Capsule

One year ago (Oct 2 – Oct 8)

The A-to-Z Guide to Leading a Primal Lifestyle – Print this one out.
The Primal Blueprint Definitive Guide to Troubleshooting Weight Loss –The title says it all. A concise eBook for anyone facing a weight loss stall, totally free.

Comment of the Week

“Well, now you’ve done it. I have to go find something heavy and heave it into the air, then throw my head back and roar. My neighbors already think I’m weird.”

– But we don’t, His Dudeness.

The post Weekend Link Love – Edition 420 appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Chicken Liver Stir-Fry

Chicken liver cooks quickly, making liver an ideal, if rarely used, protein for stir-fries. In this stir-fry recipe, chicken liver is a main ingredient. The meaty flavor gives an otherwise light dish some heft, and adds a lot of vitamin A, plus copper, folate and zinc. Sauteed with ginger, garlic and green onions, with a splash of coconut aminos, liver is a tasty addition to any stir-fry.

If you’re not completely in love with liver, but want more of this important supplemental food in your diet, then add a smaller amount to your next stir-fry. A quarter pound or so can be cut into small pieces and thrown in the wok with sliced chicken or beef as the main protein.

Servings: 4

Time in the Kitchen: 25 minutes

Ingredients

1 pound chicken livers, cut into 1-inch pieces (450 g)
1 to 2 tablespoons PRIMAL KITCHEN™ Avocado Oil (15 ml to 30 ml)
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced into rounds or strips
1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger (10 ml)
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 green onions, chopped, plus more to garnish
¼ cup coconut aminos (60 ml)
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (a pinch)

Instructions

Heat avocado oil in a wok or cast iron skillet over high heat, until the oil is very hot. Add the chicken livers. Cook just until the livers are firming up on the outside and the color turns from dark red to brown, about 1 minute. Season the livers lightly with salt as they cook.

Take the livers out of the wok—use a slotted spoon so the oil and liver juices remain in the pan. Place the livers on a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.

Let the wok heat up again. If needed, add a little more oil to the pan. Add the onion and bell pepper. Season lightly with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies soften slightly and are lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the wok and set aside.

Add the ginger, garlic and green onions to the wok. Cook 30 seconds then add the chicken livers. Cook 1 minute, then add coconut aminos and red pepper flakes. Cook 1 to 2 minutes more, then toss the onion and bell pepper back in to briefly reheat. Garnish with more chopped green onions before serving.

The post Chicken Liver Stir-Fry appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Seven Years Primal: Healthier, Stronger, and Wiser Than Ever

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. In fact, I have a contest going right now. So if you have a story to share, no matter how big or how small,  you’ll be in the running to win a big prize. Read more here.

Today’s story is an update (and compilation of lessons learned) from long time Primal veteran, Timothy. As you may know from past “Where Are They Now?” articles, I like to periodically check in with friends that have shared their success stories on Mark’s Daily Apple to see how they’re doing. Timothy’s transformation is an awesome one, and he’s maintained his improvements for years. So his words of wisdom come with a lot of clout.

Enjoy!

“If youth but knew; if age but could.” – Henri Estienne

We don’t know what we don’t know. At 20 years old, I decided to live like a 100-year-old man given a second chance at youth. It changed nothing, of course, because we can’t simply decide to possess a lifetime of experience. I was at the mercy of Estienne’s paradox. But there is a way out.

Wisdom may be inaccessible to youth, but vitality is not inaccessible to age. That is the priceless gift of our primal lifestyle: the option both to retain our youthful capacities and to multiply them by the insight of our years; to live long in the true sense.

Now I am 40, and perhaps these comments addressed to my 33-year-old self might help you, too.

You’re not fat, you’re malnourished.

Well, yes, you could stand to lose a few pounds of fat, although much of what you think of as “fat” is actually chronic inflammation. But you could also stand to gain quite a few pounds of muscle, bone density, and organ tissue. The problem is that you’ve lived most of your life on a diet of empty calories and toxins and little else. You’re deficient in a staggering variety of vitamins, minerals, symbiotic bacteria and other growth factors. That’s why you’re still hungry even when your belly is about to burst. That’s why your moods turn black. That’s why you pack on more pounds every year even as you slowly starve to death. You won’t know satiety, health, or happiness until you repair your nutrient deficiencies, and that is going to take a long time and a lot of real human food. But it will take far less time to heal yourself than it took to drift into your present condition.

You think you enjoy fake foods, but this is nothing compared to real food.

Life without bread and sugar seems like a depressing, monochromatic wasteland of endless misery and want. You grant that these cravings may end, and that seems even worse: a door closed forever on the pleasures of the table. Your witty colleague says “I could never go on a diet—I love food too much!” You envy his gormless hedonism, but he has it exactly backwards. There will come a time when you will drink a raw liver shake with sour milk and shiver with pleasure. You will devour bone broth soup with beef heart from a giant cake mixing bowl and drink it to the last oleaginous drop. You will eat two pounds of bison with raw onion and garlic until your mouth burns and your body pours sweat and you will keep on going because it’s delicious and it makes you happier than all the fried ice creams you ever ate put together. The human palate working as designed is more amazing than you can currently imagine.

Two simple exercises will grant you Herculean strength: the squat and the deadlift.

You’ve messed around on the gym machines: the lat pulldown; the leg curl; the good-girl-bad-girl knee-separation apparatus. But these are instruments of profit, not health, and bear as much relationship to fitness as statins do to CoQ10-mediated mitochondrial metabolism (okay, maybe you’re not ready for that yet). Strength-building exercises are ancient and uncomplicated: heavy weight controlled by your entire body through space. Learn the barbell back squat and turn the tables on overpowering force. Learn the barbell deadlift and triumph from a position of strength. When you reliably dominate a certain weight, and no sooner, then you may add a few more pounds. There are a couple other lifts worth your time and I’m sure you’ll figure them out, but you will always come back to these basics, for which even a whole lifetime is insufficient to master.

Your ancestors carried stuff back and forth, and so should you.

Everyone around you is running on treadmills, running down streets, hither and thither, panting and flailing—if it worked we’d be a society of supermen. Slow down and pick something up. Carry water without spilling. Carry a heavy bag of stuff on your shoulders and learn to shift it so that as one set of muscles fatigue, another set takes over. Always keep your eyes up, your breath through your nose, and a quiet expression on your face. Discover the true meaning of posture and cadence the same way your ancestors did. Now you’re feeling the real endorphin response. This is what your body was made for: useful excursions provisioning the tribe, not running from fears real and imagined.

Your ancestors worked with tools, and so should you.

Now you are going to discover this by accident on the Internet in just a few days, and it seems a shame to spoil that for you, but I guess that’s what I’m here for. Your ancestors spent countless hours digging, chopping, paddling, hammering, club fighting, sword fighting, throwing spears—and you can simulate all that and much more with a simple sledgehammer! Start heavy, perhaps 12 pounds, because such ungainly weight will teach you principles of leverage, angular and linear momentum. You will learn to work efficiently, as your ancestors learned by necessity. Soon enough you’ll drill the gross motions into muscle memory, and then you can move to lighter weights and discover amazing finesse and precision. Eventually you’ll pick up a broadsword, just like your more recent ancestors, and you’ll learn the real meaning of finesse—but not yet, grasshopper. You haven’t earned it. Talk to me in seven years!

Testosterone is a hell of a drug.

You’ve been deficient in it your entire life. Your inability to grow a beard is not genetic. I’m sorry to say your serum levels are within the upper limit of normalcy for women. Your crippling social anxiety is not because you are a nerd per se, but because you lack the necessary hormones for confident social behavior. Now, you are going to have to be very careful with this. As with any hormone, prolonged deficiency leads to increased sensitivity. When you start eating like an alpha hunter, and training like an alpha hunter, the androgens will blow you away. Painting your face with your own blood during a deadlift workout may seem like a great idea, and it is pretty inspired, but perhaps not advisable in the company gym. Recognize your hormones and don’t let them master you. Indeed, by controlling your hormones, you control your reaction to events, which is as good as controlling reality itself, and true sorcery.

Your carriage will not turn into a pumpkin.

This will all happen so quickly that it will seem like a dream or a fantasy. And perhaps that is all life is anyway. But despite your nightmares to the contrary, you won’t wake up one day fat and sick and weak again. There is no going back. You have taken up the legacy of your ancestors, and forces far greater than yourself now carry you and your descendants into the future. You are a vessel in a mighty current. Just try it: make yourself fat again. Then lean again. Then fat again, then lean again. How many times have we done that now? A half dozen? Each time you only end up stronger, healthier and wiser. You can’t break yourself, you can only adapt and overcome. Now you are a human being.

Timothy

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7 Ways to Deal with Food Anxiety

People frequently wax sentimental for what they call “simpler” days—presumably times when the rules were fewer and clearer, when choices weren’t so overwhelming, when demands were less and common sense was more prevalent. Eating, of course, is no exception to this. If you listen to the dominant voices in the social-media-marketing-medical culture, it’s enough to ruin your dinner and make you feel guilty for skipping breakfast (Don’t buy the guilt trip). We’re fed contradictory studies, warned of the latest threats lurking in our food supply, told every bite squashes the life out of another ecosystem, and led through fluorescent-lit warehouses filled with more food options and label claims than one person should ever be reasonably expected to handle. It’s exhausting, frustrating and on certain days defeating. So what’s a reasonable approach in an age when anxiety too often overtakes enjoyment of eating?

Of course, the problem here isn’t the intention for healthy eating itself. In our primal ancestors’ time, healthy eating was a thoroughly mindless endeavor. No one knew anything about nutritional science in the Paleolithic Era, but it didn’t matter. Their consideration never wandered past the straightforward (albeit dramatic) question, “Is it poisonous?” Beyond that single inquiry (which usually offered quick feedback), bad choices didn’t exist.

Unfortunately for us modern folks, we don’t have the luxury of tapping into the food of our immediate environs without at least some degree of reflection.

We have the burden of choice and the burden of (often conflicting) information. From here, reflection can turn to chronic, tiring, or even oppressive deliberation—hence, the anxiety, the excessive worry or unease about the outcome or impact of what should just be a simple food choice.

Is it any wonder we may feel so much apprehension with the call to make every choice smart, informed (and then re-informed), socially-conscious, environmentally conscious, fair trade provided, humanely sourced, forward-thinking, allergy-friendly, coupon savvy, good fat proportioned, antioxidant rich, and lean tissue supporting, pesticide-, hormone-, and additive-free, etc.? Unless we’re farming, raising and foraging our own with Grok standards in mind, we’re bound to screw it up on at least a few levels.

So, what then would sanity look like in this scenario? How do we recover enough mental space to feel some degree of ease, not to mention pleasure in eating again? Try on a few of these modest proposals.

1. Reclaim eating for sustenance

It’s common to talk about “eating to lose weight,” “eating to fight illness,” “eating to gain muscle,” “eating to prevent aging.” Let’s put the truth back in that, shall we?

You’re eating to live—to survive, to allow your body enough nutrient and energy input to keep you alive and functioning. Each day, that is your main goal. Very simple in fact. That said, you can eat toward nourishing ongoing physical vitality as your primary goal. You can eat with a nutritional emphasis on building muscle mass. You can eat in such a way that prioritizes optimum metabolic functioning and fat burning.

And, no, it’s not just semantics. It’s mindset, which makes all the difference when you’re talking about emotional perception.

If you’ve been feeling wrapped around the goal of eating “for” anything but living, take a step back and reframe the picture. Each morning, each meal, make a point of telling yourself you’re eating to live, to enjoy time on this earth. The rest is Primal gravy.

2. Don’t politicize every choice you make

The morality of eating these days can careen a decently sensitive and conscientious person off a cliff. How many labels and certifications does it take to satisfy a Portlandia standard? From what I can tell, the number keeps growing.

Do I understand the usefulness of these standards? You bet. Organic and pastured offer in most cases substantive health benefit. Heritage breeds of produce and livestock may be more nutrient-rich. And I believe, as I’ve said before, prioritizing environmentally sustainable, humane farming practices wherever it’s practical. I make personal and business choices in keeping with that principle whenever I reasonably can.

But I don’t get wrapped up in questions of morality every time I put a bite of food in my mouth. I don’t deal in guilt or play a game of self-reproach. I view social, environmental and humane choices around food as interests and not inviolable prerequisites.

3. Dump the idea of perfection

I came up with the 80/20 rule long ago because I didn’t want the Primal Blueprint to ever be seen as a pursuit of perfectionism. Food is important. Good food choices can help you claim good health and lifelong vitality, but parsing out those exact choices, structuring intakes with precision, giving yourself no room for choice in the moment, adhering to the principles with exactitude sounds like a miserable way to live.

A short-term bout of Primal rigor can gain you momentum in your fat loss or energy reclamation, but there’s no need to equate Primal eating with meticulousness. I consider it one of the best attributes of the PB that it’s a simple, adaptable blueprint that offers plenty of space for everyday living and regular imperfection.

4. Don’t dramatize your missteps

In truth, some days people leave the “20” of the 80/20 principle in the dust. Maybe it started out as a well-intentioned gesture toward moderation. Or maybe it was always going to be a dive off the deep end. Whatever led to the “misstep,” there’s no reason to dramatize it. It happened. Don’t give more energy to it by moaning in regret or bewailing the slip.

Cheats (if we’re going to call them that) aren’t catastrophic. Long-term, repetitive behaviors are.

5. Scrutinize your motives

I’ve seen plenty of people over the years lose themselves in anxiety over their eating because they put their identities in their choices. Maybe they feel invested in a self-righteousness or perfectionistic compulsion that goes back psychic decades. Or maybe they’re distracting themselves from other behaviors or unhappiness they don’t want to own. They impose excessive control and experience emotional anxiety with food while some other part of life feels wholly overwhelming. It’s a coping mechanism, a grounding means to feel security or authority in their lives.

This is no way to live. Clean eating is a great action step, and real vitality feels great. That said, health isn’t a panacea, and it won’t ever cover for a life that doesn’t serve you.

6. Get back to the actual experience

Stop telling a story about what you’re eating and start feeling yourself eating it. It sounds so obvious, and yet this obsessive story-telling, script running, relentless monologuing is exactly what we do.

Forget the health story of what’s in front of you. Forget its sourcing. Forget how somebody on Food Network would judge it. Forget what your coworkers or mother-in-law would say about it. Cut off all language, and just be with your food the way a young child is.

Exchange words for sensation. Forgo judgment for mindfulness. Give yourself over to the sensory experience of what you are putting in your body. Smell it. Feel the texture. Take it in visually. Get in your own body’s responses to it.

7. Be grateful for every bite you take

It’s not a huge step from mindfully experiencing your food to being grateful for it in the moment. When we drop the story about something, we can finally be present with it. There’s a lightness to the moment. We’re open to enjoyment of it. How could we not be grateful for the chance to nourish our bodies?

If anxiety is fear of outcomes or impact, it has us in the future. If it’s unease about where something comes from, it has us in the past. Gratitude flows most strongly from the present. When we’re here in the now, when our minds are in the same time as the meal in front of us, we can at last enjoy that meal in peace.

Thanks for reading, everybody. Has this kind of anxiety ever been part of your story? What changes helped you? I’d love to hear your comments and additions here. Have a great end to the week.

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How Should You Balance Your Fat Intake?

We’ve put to bed the misguided notion that saturated fat is out to kill you, clog your arteries, make you fat, and disfigure your unborn children. We’ve scrutinized the widely-held assumption that processed seed oils rich in omega-6 linoleic acid are the healthiest fats available, made a strong case for a fat-based metabolism, and sung the praises of monounsaturated fat. Fat is back. Fat’s been back for a long time now. But is that all there is to it? Should we eat all the saturated fat we can get? Should we avoid linoleic acid at all costs? Where does MUFA come in? Fish oil?

How much of each type of fat should we be eating?

How should we balance our fat intake between the various types?

What’s the optimal dietary fatty acid ratio, Sisson? Include decimals if you can.

There’s no single right answer. It—sorry, folks—depends on a lot of factors.

It depends on your goals, your activity levels, the rest of your diet, your genetics. Almost everything, to be honest.

But there’s one universal factor determining an optimal fat balance that everyone needs to get right: their mitochondria.

That’s what we’ll be discussing today.

Mitochondria are the power plants of our cells, converting incoming fuel into ATP—the universal energy currency used throughout the body. Without ATP, we can’t walk, run, think, climb, speak, or perform any of the tens of thousands of physiological processes required to maintain life as we know it. Mitochondrial dysfunction is implicated in almost every malady we know of and wish to avoid. I like to think of a cell’s mitochondrion as an R2 unit, keeping the X-Wing running smoothly as Luke approaches the Death Star for the final trench run. If our mitochondria don’t work, bad things happen.

As it turns out, mitochondria are surrounded by two fatty membranes whose degree of saturation regulates how well our mitochondria work. The more unsaturated the membrane fatty acids, the unhealthier the mitochondria, the less energy they produce, the more susceptible they are to oxidative damage, and the more reactive oxygen species they create. If your mitochondria are too unsaturated, the Empire wins.

Don’t believe me?

Here are some big reasons to keep your mitochondria saturated:

Long-lived animal species tend to have fewer unsaturated fatty acids in their mitochondrial membranes. The lower the degree of unsaturation (or higher the degree of saturation), the less oxidative stress their mitochondria generate.
Increasing the degree of unsaturation of mitochondrial membranes increases oxidative damage to lipid, protein, and DNA.
“Inhibition of fatty acid desaturation” in the mitochondrial membrane —or preventing saturated and monounsaturated fats from being converted into polyunsaturated fats—helps kill cancer cells.
“Aging mitochondria” have increased membrane unsaturation.

Okay, that makes sense. Unsaturated fats do tend to be less stable. But where does diet come in?

Do the fats we eat determine the composition and unsaturation of the membranes surrounding our mitochondria?

Yes.

Perhaps the most important fatty section of the mitochondrial membrane is cardiolipin. It’s the “heart of mitochondrial metabolism,” providing stability to the enzymes involved in ATP generation. Mitochondria with unstable cardiolipins produce less ATP and generate more reactive oxygen species. As animals age, cardiolipin grows more unstable and even begins to disappear altogether.

In most modern people and lab animals, cardiolipin contains mostly linoleic acid. The majority of studies accept this as normal and even ideal. But that’s probably due to their (and our) overwhelmingly linoleic acid-rich diets. If the “normal” diet contains a ton of vegetable oils, having lots of vegetable oil in your mitochondrial membranes is going to be “normal” too. Doesn’t mean it’s optimal.

An older rat study (PDF) found that feeding rats a diet “deficient” in linoleic acid and high in oleic acid (the MUFA found in olive oil) shifts their cardiolipin fat from 58% linoleic acid to 70% oleic acid. That’s a huge jump. What happened to these “deficient” rats?

Nothing. They were clinically normal.

Later, a study using mouse embryonic mitochondria found that replacing the cardiolipin linoleic acid with oleic acid protected the mitochondria from cell death when exposed to a toxin. In addition to resisting cell death, the LA-deficient mitochondria were also clinically normal, able to perform all the expected functions of embryonic mitochondria. Furthermore, when they introduced a substance that blocked oleic acid from entering the membrane, the mitochondria lost its resistance to the toxin.

A rat study from 2003 placed the animals on one of two diets—an extra virgin olive oil diet or a sunflower oil diet—and tracked changes to their liver, heart, and skeletal muscle mitochondria. The EVOO diet resulted in less unsaturation of mitochondrial membranes, reduced oxidative stress, and less aging than the high PUFA diet.

A recent study examined the effects of different fatty acids on mitochondrial structure and function in calorie-restricted mice. One group was placed on a non-restricted control diet. The rest were given either fish oil (high omega-3), soybean oil (high omega-6), or lard-based (high in MUFA and SFA) diets. The clear winner was the lard diet, which reduced reactive oxygen species and “maximize[d] the effects” of calorie restriction.

Does that mean we should avoid all PUFAs for the sake of our mitochondria?

No. Other studies have found that feeding DHA, a long-chain omega-3, can restore the age-related decline in omega-3:omega-6 membrane ratio and mitochondrial energy production, protect against cell death, and even produce more cardiolipin. It has these beneficial effects despite being a highly unsaturated fat—more unsaturated than even linoleic acid. And it doesn’t take much to get the benefits of dietary DHA incorporation into mitochondrial membranes, just around 2% of calories in one animal study.

And we shouldn’t avoid omega-6s altogether. Many healthy, nutrient-dense foods contain omega-6 fatty acids. I’m thinking of nuts, seeds, eggs, avocados, olives. 

You might have noticed that the majority of the studies discussed today used animals, often rodents. This is a necessary thing. Humans don’t really like being sacrificed or even having their internal organs plumbed for biopsy fodder. Still, take everything with a grain of salt.

Fat balance for mitochondrial health?

Since we don’t eat fats but foods, I’ll dispense with any pretense of knowing the “optimal” numbers and talk in terms of the latter:

Eat more avocados, avocado oil, olives, and olive oil, some seafood, some bacon and eggs, and don’t go wild with the nuts and seeds. Always eat fresh, unprocessed, ideally virgin fats that haven’t been damaged by heat, time, or light. Saturated fat is neutral, a staple component of mitochondrial membranes. If you don’t eat enough, your body will just make more.

This isn’t the final word on fat balance. It’s an important starting point. Everything flows from the mitochondria. You get those right and life gets a whole lot easier.

Thanks for reading, all. I’m curious to hear how your fat intakes measure up.

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10 Ways to Optimize Your Meat Consumption

In many ways, the Primal Blueprint developed and grew as a response to the ridiculous overreach of conventional wisdom. I only started looking for new ways to eat and train after doing everything “right” ruined me. All that nonsense about saturated fat and cholesterol clogging your arteries, carbohydrates being required for “energy,” healthywholegrains offering nutrients you couldn’t get anywhere else and lifelong protection from disease was so odious and obviously incorrect that it drove tens of thousands of people into the waiting maw of MDA. Perhaps the biggest piece of faulty conventional wisdom is the supposed lethal danger of meat. When you feel great eating meat every day, when a rare steak seems to improve your performance in the gym, when you tried going vegetarian for that hot vegan girl one time and ended up gaining ten pounds of belly fat, it’s hard to believe the experts.

And so you go the other direction. You eat as much meat as you can physically stomach. You eat bacon every morning, burgers every afternoon, and steak every night. If some is good, and the claims of meat’s lethality are erroneous, surely most is best. It’s an understandable backlash.

But it’s probably not the best way forward.

Just because conventional wisdom got animal flesh wrong doesn’t mean there aren’t better and worse ways to eat it.

Just as I’d say with any otherwise healthy food—cheese, almonds, broccoli, spinach, eggs, sweet potatoes—there are limits to healthy consumption. You shouldn’t eat unlimited amounts of anything. There are always downsides.

1. Eat lots of animals, not lots of one animal

Every other year or so there’s a study showing that [enter meat of choice] contains a harmful compound that’s almost certainly killing you. It’s red meat and Neu5GC causing inflammatory diseases like cancer and Hashimoto’s. Or it’s red meat causing increased TMAO production, spurring heart disease. Or wait, it’s fish causing even greater levels of TMAO production. And watch out for chicken; it’s full of omega-6 PUFAs.

I’m not even saying that research should be ignored. It may very well be telling part of the story. Paul Jaminet’s coverage of the Neu5GC issue in particular is somewhat compelling and makes me think twice about eating red meat every single day. Just don’t let it paralyze you. If you ask the “experts,” there’s something “wrong” with almost every meat out there. So spread the “damage” by eating a variety of animals.

Eat ruminants (beef, bison, lamb, pork).

Eat birds (turkey, chicken, duck).

Eat fin fish (salmon, cod, halibut, sardines).

Eat shellfish (oysters, clams, mussels).

Eat cephalopods (squid, cuttlefish, octopus).

Eat insects.

2. Take steps to mitigate excess iron intake

If you eat a lot of red meat, be aware of your iron status and make adjustments if necessary.

Eat calcium-rich foods with your meat. This reduces iron absorption and, in animal studies, reduces the carcinogenicity of dietary heme. In fact, animal studies that show links between red meat/heme intake and colorectal cancer use low-calcium diets. The cancer won’t “take” on high-calcium diets.

Favor SFA over PUFA. PUFAs seem to make heme iron more carcinogenic than SFAs, which are protective. A recent paper suggests that PUFAs make heme more carcinogenic than SFAs. Mice were split into three groups. One group got heme iron plus omega-6 PUFA (from safflower oil). One group got heme iron plus omega-3 PUFA (from fish oil). The third group got heme iron plus saturated fat (from fully hydrogenated coconut oil, which contains zero PUFA). The fecal water of both PUFA groups was full of carcinogenic indicators and lipid oxidation byproducts, and exposing colonic epithelial cells to fecal water from PUFA-fed mice was toxic. The coconut oil-derived fecal water had no markers of toxicity or lipid oxidation.

Give blood if you have iron overload (and maybe even if you don’t). Blood donation is a fast, easy way to reduce iron levels in your blood.

3. Don’t grill, sear, and char every piece of meat you eat

Healthy people can easily handle a seared piece of meat or crispy roasted chicken. A lovely seared steak, rare on the inside, is perfection. That’s no mistake; that’s our biology responding to a bolus of important nutrients. There’s even a good chance that the occasional intake of high-heat carcinogens provokes a beneficial hormetic response.

Don’t stress out over this—despite their love of grilled red meat, Argentines have some of the lowest rates of colon cancer in the world—but don’t ignore it, either.

4. If you’ve got type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance issues, limit high-heat cooked meat

I know I know. That crispy chicken skin is the best part of a roasted bird. But the evidence is pretty clear that for folks with type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, and other hallmarks of the metabolic syndrome, reducing intake of dietary AGEs (advanced glycation endproducts, formed during high-heat dry cooking) can improve outcomes.

Keep eating the meat—a higher-fat, higher-protein, lower-carb Primal way of eating that includes animal products can really help type 2 diabetics—but focus on gentler cooking methods:

Use liquid—moist cooking.
Use lower heats.
Use shorter cooking times (learn to love rare steak).
Use marinades, especially acidic ones (lemon juice, lime juice, vinegar).
Cook with spices and herbs, many of which inhibit AGE formation.

Notice I didn’t say “boil your meat.” That’s extreme. You’ll still have tons of flavor with gentle cooking—think braises, stews, soups, broths, and other similarly delicious ways to eat—while limiting the Maillard reaction.

5. Eat the whole animal—or a facsimile of it

I don’t mean you have to haul an entire steer into your kitchen. But do try to recreate the effect of eating the entire animal, which is how humans consumed “meat” for hundreds of thousands of years. Get the bones, scrape the marrow, and make broth. Eat the offal, especially the liver and heart. Don’t toss the skin (and consider asking your butcher for extra swathes of it!).

6. Eat plenty of plants

A couple years ago, I made the case that vegetables, herbs, and other edible plants are especially important for meat eaters. I stand by that.

Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli counteract the formation of potentially harmful meaty compounds in the gut. Coffee, tea, and red wine also have similar effects (although we don’t often think of them as plants, these drinks are made from plants).

When used in marinades, plants like ginger and garlic can prevent the formation of carcinogens in meat exposed to high-heat cooking techniques.

7. Eat plenty of prebiotic fiber

A few years ago, a study came out seeming to show that a high-meat diet leads to unhealthy gut biome, whereas a low-meat diet has the opposite effect. Except that the high-meat diet was more of an all-meat diet consisting entirely of cold cuts, cheese, bacon, and BBQ. It was entirely bereft of prebiotic fiber, or vegetation in general.

The low-meat diet, meanwhile, featured lentils, squash, tomatoes, rice, garlic, onions, granola, mangoes, and bananas—except for maybe tomatoes and rice, all dense sources of prebiotic fiber. What’s stopping someone who eats a decent amount of meat, cheese, bacon, and BBQ from also eating fiber-rich foods?

Nothing.

There’s even a ton of research showing that resistant starch consumption makes red meat less carcinogenic. Maybe a couple spoons of raw potato starch or a serving of resistant starch potato salad are good side dishes next time you have a steak.

8. Eat plenty of collagen

Meat is one of the richest sources of methionine, an essential amino acid. But there’s some evidence, albeit mostly in animals, that excessive methionine can depress lifespan and that putting rats on a low-methionine diet extends their life. Where does collagen come in?

Collagen is the single best source of glycine, an amino acid that “balances” methionine. In those same rats, adding glycine to a methionine-rich diet restores longevity. 

You can do this by eating collagenous cuts, like ears, feet, skin, tails, and shanks. You can do this by using supplementary collagen (or eating foods that contain it). You can make healthy gelatin snacks with powdered gelatin (I like using green tea as the base).

9. Eat grass-fed and/or pasture-raised

Grass-fed and pasture-raised meat is better for you (more nutrients, better fatty acid profile, more healthy trans-fats), better for the environment, and better for the animal (a grass-fed cow has a happy life and one really bad day). If you intend on making meat a significant part of your diet, you should emphasize its quality.

Another little-known benefit of grass-fed meat? Pastured animals allowed to eat fresh grass, wild forage and herbs will effectively produce antioxidant-infused meat with greater oxidative stability than animals raised on concentrated feed.

10. Make sure you’re eating the right amount of protein

Sometimes we eat too little protein. Sometimes we eat too much. Review those two posts plus this one and confirm that you’re eating the right amount of protein for your age, activity level, and health status.

That’s it, folks: 10 ways to make your meat-eating healthier and more effective.

What did I miss? How do you optimize your meat intake?

Thanks for reading.

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Dear Mark: IGF-1 and Fasting, Ex-CrossFitter Fitness Maintenance, and Barre Training

For today’s edition of Dear Mark, I’m answering three questions from readers. First, what’s the deal with IGF-1, growth hormone, and intermittent fasting? Some people say fasting increases growth hormones, while others say it decreases them. Who’s right? And what’s it all mean for our health? Next, how can a former CrossFitter ensure she’s maintaining her former fitness levels? And finally, what’s my take on Barre training and other “feminine” training schools?

Let’s go:

Dear Sir,

I write in the hope that you or your team can shed light on something that is confusing me and no doubt countless others!

I have read the ‘fast diet’ book and watched the BBC Horizon documentary series where Michael Mosley travels to California to meet Professor Valter Longo – who has been studying effects of caloric restriction or fasting on mice as a way of increasing life span by reducing levels of IGF1 circulating in the blood!

Now I read both here and on other sites that fasting actually increases both growth hormone and IGF1? I am confused! How can this Professor claim fasting/caloric restriction lowers IGF1 when numerous Doctors and a few body builders are using Intermittent Fasting as a way of gaining lean muscle? The information is contradictory and I am searching for truth so as I can pack on muscle while burning visceral fat at the same time!(which an almost primal diet + IF should achieve if done right) ps I’m a 35 year old, 132lb 5′ 10″ male who is physically very strong but skinny with an annoying tiny roll of abdominal fat brought about by a lifetime of consuming too many refined sugars/carbs)

Many thanks for your time, Sure hope you can help!

Best Wishes,

Stephen Peers

You’ve got it slightly wrong. Fasting has been shown to increase human growth hormone (HGH) secretion and decrease IGF-1. The two are different. The liver makes IGF-1 out of HGH, so the two are related but not the same.

As far as your question goes, increasing growth hormone through fasting should only help your quest to lean out. One study in women found that growth hormone enhanced fat loss, while IGF-1 had no effect.

IGF-1 is better for anabolism—building bones, muscle, and other tissues—but bad for autophagy, or cellular cleanup. GH doesn’t have much  direct effect on muscle growth, but it’s great for fat loss and can restore autophagy. It’s not one or the other, mind you. At least, it doesn’t have to be like that. That’s also what makes an intermittent fasting regimen work so well: you can oscillate between periods of anabolism and autophagy. The folks who just go straight ultra low calorie for years on end might extend their life (theoretically), but they usually end up skinny (fat) with poor bone density, little lean mass, and a general lack of vigor. That’s what unendingly low levels of IGF-1 will get you.

I’m not even convinced the relationship between IGF-1 and longevity is as clear as the longevity guys claim. In both human and animal studies, there’s a U-shaped relationship between IGF-1 levels and lifespan. Animal studies show an inverse relationship between IGF-1 and diabetes, heart disease, and heart disease deaths and a positive association between IGF-1 and cancer. A recent review of the animal and human evidence found that while a couple human studies show an inverse relationship between IGF-1 and longevity, several more show a positive relationship—higher IGF-1, longer lifespan—and the majority show no clear relationship at all.

The safest bet is that too little IGF-1 and too much IGF-1 are bad for us.

Here’s what we know. Too little IGF-1 and you end up with brittle bones, low muscle mass, heart disease, and reduced vigor. Too much and you might get cancer. You need a balance. You need periods of high IGF-1 (to build and grow) and periods of low IGF-1 (to repair and prune). Remember, our bodies don’t make these compounds—cholesterol, IGF-1, insulin, etc—to kill us. They serve necessary roles. Maintain skepticism whenever someone vilifies a normal physiological process or substance.

Hey Mark,

Monday’s question and answer is my favorite part of your blog. Thanks for taking the time to think about my questions. Today’s is short and sweet. I am something of a reformed hardcore crossfitter. My goal is to reduce my workload but maintain my fitness. That’s the thing…. how can I tell if I am maintaining my fitness? I have worked so hard and I am really scared of going backward.

Thanks!

Your faithful reader,

Lauren C.

You can definitely do it. In fact, I think you’ll find maintaining your fitness on a reduced workload is easier than you’d have guessed.

That’s basically the story of my life. After I drastically cut my training time, going from running well over a hundred miles each week to almost none, I was nervous. I’d been “fit” for so long that I couldn’t imagine doing less and getting away with it. And while I can’t run under a 2:20 marathon anymore, I’m stronger, healthier, and in less pain than I was 30 years ago in my “prime.”

I had an old girlfriend who hated the gym but loved the results it gave her. To make sure she wasn’t losing anything, she’d go once a month and perform the same workout each time—a resistance training circuit plus some cardio. If she could do it as well as she had the previous month, she was happy. She’d maintained her fitness and that was good enough for her.

Do you have a prototypical workout that defines your vision of fitness? Just do that workout every month and track your performance.

Since you’re a former CrossFitter, maybe you should pick some representative WODs and do them once every month to test your fitness.

I strongly suspect you’ll maintain or even surpass your previous bests.

If body composition is a concern, take a photo every few weeks or see how that article of clothing that’s always been a little too snug feels.

Hi Mark!

I used to run 6-10 mi every day but soon got frustrated by how my body plateaued. My doctor gave me the conventional wisdom of trying some form of light weight work so that I could strengthen and “lengthen” my muscles to bring my fitness/physical appearance to the next level. As we all know…women don’t want to bulk right? That’s when I first discovered barre-all those tiny movements up and down and inch accompanied by an undeniably challenging burning sensation made me feel so confident and strong! I truly believed every word that I was toning, drank the barre koolaid, and even got certified to instruct.

But then I found MDA. I began to lift heavier things, and I started to understand how amazing it feels to be a powerful woman. To not just aspire to be thin in an emaciated/trendy way, but fit for my body. As a barre instructor who loves teaching the method because I do think it makes a lot of women feel really good about themselves, I can struggle because I feel like the method lies to women and is just generally a very inefficient way to pursue fitness. I now love crossfit but can struggle with the old/ingrained messages of how women bulk with weight lifting.

I guess part of me still looks at the more “feminine” forms of exercise like barre or more recently the megaformer/Lagree method with some desire, and even a bit of guilt for teaching barre. What do you think about these methods of exercise? Do you see any value in these wildly popular forms of exercise?

Molly

Barre training appears to employ a lot of isometric contractions.

Yeah, you’re moving, but only ever so slightly. The effect is similar to not moving. Isometrics are great. I wrote a bit about them several weeks ago, showing that they can be effective for building tendon strength and resilience.

Those plié style squats the Barre folks do, with a wide stance, short range of motion, and turned-out toes worry me, especially when performed for high reps. They “hit your butt” really well, but in my experience do weird things to your knees.

The emphasis on “lengthening” muscles and “toning” specific “trouble” spots: these are unscientific concepts. You can’t lengthen a muscle with high-rep, low-weight lifting. Nor do low-rep, heavy-weight programs condemn you to a bodybuilder’s physique. And spot reducing simply does not work.

Lagree fitness looks interesting. Very slow, controlled movements, akin to a higher-intensity pilates. There’s some isolation, some full-body stuff. All in all, I don’t see anything glaringly wrong.

There aren’t any controlled studies on this type of training, so I don’t have any citations or references. But the general rule applies: anything that gets you moving is good. That it all seems quite safe and low-impact is another positive point. Even if it’s not the biggest bang for your workout buck, you probably won’t hurt yourself. If you do some Barre training or Lagree alongside your heavier lifting and CrossFitting, you’ll be in great shape.

Don’t feel guilty, especially if you’re helping others discover the joy of movement.

The post Dear Mark: IGF-1 and Fasting, Ex-CrossFitter Fitness Maintenance, and Barre Training appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.