Mark Sisson's Blog, page 261

15 Alternatives to Burpees for When You’re Tired of Doing Burpees

Whenever I’m strapped for time and equipment and still need a solid workout, I turn to the burpee. Burpees are bodyweight exercises, and thus require no equipment or weights. They are full body movements that employ every muscle group, require only as much space as you need to do a pushup, can be done anywhere, can be done slowly and methodically or quick for a sprint-like workout. If you’re ever outdoors and need to warm up fast, a set of 15-20 burpees performed as quickly as possible will get your body temperature up faster than anything. The pros go on and on.

Now, I don’t typically bake burpees into my week to week workouts. Instead, I resort to a burpee workout when I’m crunched for time, don’t have access to a gym or nice outdoor experience, or am feeling too lazy to do a “proper” gym workout but still want to train. And the way I usually do them is to go all out for the first 20. Catch my breath (maybe 10-20 second break). Go all out for another 10. Catch my breath. And repeat in sets of 10 reps, until I reach 100 or 150 or 200, whatever I’m feeling. So for me, burpee workouts are very intuitive. Rather than go for predetermined reps or rest periods, I let my body determine that stuff in real time. Give it a try. You’ll like it, or hate it, or both.

While burpees are great for all the reasons I listed above, there are some reasons you might want an alternative:

Burpees are demanding and relatively complex. Many people start making technique mistakes toward the end of a burpee workout because they’re so fatigued and that can lead to injuries. A crisp, clean burpee is beautiful and safe and effective, but if your knees start caving in on the landing or your lower back starts dipping toward the ground and your elbows start flaring out on the pushups, you’re not just selling your own training short — you’re putting yourself at risk.

Burpees involve three movements people might simply not be able to do. Squats, even bodyweight ones, take a reasonable amount of mobility, flexibility, and coordination. Pushups can be a surprisingly demanding strength exercise when performed with correct form, and many people haven’t jumped in years. Stringing them all together for reps as a conditioning workout is asking a lot.

Burpees get old. Sometimes the last thing you want to do is another regular-old burpee, but you still like the training effect they offer.

So, here are 15 alternative movements (with links to videos when available) that have similar qualities and produce similar results as the burpee. How many have you tried?

1. Squat Thrusts

Burpees without the pushup and the jump, squat thrusts actually birthed the modern burpee. They involve squatting down to place hands on floor, shooting the legs back to assume the plank position, shooting them forward, then squatting back up. They’re really, really simple and for the first ten or so you’re thinking “These are too easy.” Keep doing them, though, and suddenly you’ll realize you’re getting a great workout.

2. Murpees

The murpee, or modified burpee, comes courtesy of Angelo dela Cruz of VitaMoves. Instead of shooting your legs back, dropping into an explosive pushup, leaping to your feet and springing upward, and repeating it as quickly as possible, slow everything down and rely on strength and balance instead of sheer momentum.

Slowly lower yourself into a squat until you can place your hands flat on the floor in front of you.
Slowly step back one leg at a time to assume the pushup position.
Do a pushup (some people omit this step).
Slowly, deliberately bring one leg forward, touching knee to elbow and holding it there for a moment. Draw the other leg forward. Place your feet flat on the floor until you’re in the bottom squat position. Each rep, alternate which leg you bring forward first.
Either stand up or jump up. The advantage of doing everything slowly means you can muster more force for the jump and land safely.
Repeat.
Everything is slow and controlled and deliberate.

3. 180 Degree Burpees

Do a regular burpee with a jump, only instead of jumping in place, turn 180 degrees. Alternate which direction you turn and don’t get sloppy with the landing; the rotational momentum exerts novel forces on your body and requires greater trunk (and really full-body) stability. Beyond that, do these offer a unique training effect over regular burpees? Who knows. These sure are fun, though.

4. Broad Jump Burpees

Again, it’s a regular burpee with a jump, only instead of jumping in place, you’re broad jumping as far forward as you can. Be sure to do these on a comfortable surface with decent traction. Grass? Good. Wet muddy grass? Probably not. And do fewer of these than you would regular burpees. The maximal effort broad jump really takes a lot out of you and increases the degree of risk.

Here’s a video.

5. Jumping jacks

You haven’t done these in years, right? Jumping jacks probably remind you of gym class, back when you’d do them half-seriously. Today, try doing them for real. Actually jump. Get your hands up there like you mean it.

Video.

6. Russian Lunges

Bodyweight lunges: easy, right? Too easy to approach the conditioning potential of the burpee. But what about jumping lunges? That’s exactly what a Russian lunge is. You lunge with one leg, then spring up and land in a lunge with the other leg forward. Keep doing it, alternating each time. You can even do this while holding a weight plate; just keep it lighter than you’d think would be necessary.

Video here.

7. Get Up, Stand Ups

I’m not sure if this is the right name, but it sounds good. I got these from Darryl Edwards, longtime PrimalCon presenter and play expert. You start sitting down on the ground, legs straight, knees together, back tall, hands flat on the ground at your sides. Pop up by pushing off the ground with your hands and bringing your feet underneath you to stand up (throw in a vertical jump here to spice things up). Quickly return to the starting sitting position — without using your hands, if possible — and do it all over again.

8. Kettlebell Swings

If you’re looking for a self-contained comprehensive workout that will get you stronger, more explosive, and better conditioned without being a burpee, look no further than the kettlebell swing. Sure, you need a piece of equipment — the kettlebell — but I’d argue that the swing is probably safer to do repeatedly for high reps than the burpee. For every one burpee you’d normally do, do three swings.

Here’s a (long and extensive) video.

9. Sandbag Shouldering

This is another option that requires a single piece of equipment, but it’s one you can make yourself by spending a few bucks at the surplus store and stuffing it with contractor bags filled with sand. Sandbag shouldering is exactly what it sounds like: pick the sandbag up and hoist it up to your shoulder, lower it back to the ground, repeat with the opposite shoulder. Throughout the entire movement, maintain as neutral a spine as possible. It’s essentially a deadlift (picking it up) and power clean (hoisting it up) hybrid exercise that hits almost every muscle in the body. And if you want to throw in some pushing work, you can overhead press the thing once it’s on your shoulder.

Watch this video for a good demo.

10. Jump Rope

For pure conditioning’s sake, few activities beat the jump rope. It’s a mainstay in boxing, MMA, kickboxing, wrestling, and even swimming and endurance running training programs for the simple reason that it just works. Of course, jumping rope is a miserable way to improve one’s conditioning, but that’s a common problem with methods that actually work. Another advantage is that jumping rope is self-limiting. It’s really hard to jump rope with poor technique or hurt yourself doing it because you’ll just catch the rope with your foot or slam it into your shins. If you do it wrong, wrong enough to get into trouble, you won’t be able to actually jump rope.

Good video here.

11. Tabata Squats

Think air squats are pointless and way too easy? Okay, guy. Try this out: just squat down and back up as many times as you can in 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, and repeat the sequence 7 more times.

12. Sled Pushes

Push (or drag) a sled loaded with weights. Try to find your happy balance between weight and speed. Too heavy a sled means you’ll go too slow. It’s still a great workout, but it’s more of a strength workout. Load the sled with enough weight to make you work but not so much that you fail to pick up speed. The Prowler is a great sled. Cars work, too, but require someone steering (and keep the engine off).

Video here.

13. Mountain Climbers

Sort of like running in place from the pushup position, mountain climbers can destroy you if you’re not careful. Your abs will be sore, your chest will pound, your stamina will increase. If mountain climbers on the ground are too tough, try them on an incline; place your hands on the couch, a coffee table, a bench, or a sturdy chair.

Watch a video.

14. Shoulder Tap Planks

Assume the plank position: arms straight, hands flat, body forming a single unbroken line. Then, ever so slowly, tap your left shoulder with your right hand. Slowly place your right hand back on the ground. Now, tap your right shoulder with your left hand. Return it to rest on the ground. Keep alternating shoulder taps. Go slow and feel the tension in your trunk muscles. Tougher than you thought, eh?

15. Sledgehammer Swings

Okay, this exercise requires two pieces of equipment — the hammer and an old tire — but neither are particularly expensive or hard to find. Just head down to the local hardware store, spend $20-30 on a sledgehammer, and swing by the tire shop on your way home and ask for an old tire or two. Your hammer should be lighter than you think you need, as you’ll want to maintain speed and intensity even as fatigue sets in. There are two primary ways to swing:

1. The diagonal swing — Staggered stance, one or two feet away from the tire. Swing across your body. Be sure to alternate sides; don’t neglect your non-dominant arm.

2. The vertical swing — Stand shoulder width in front of the tire, hold the hammer directly overhead, and swing down. Alternate hand positions.

Video here.

Whether you’re looking to improve mobility, strength, conditioning, or overall fitness, the burpee is a fine choice. But it’s not the only one, or even the best one. If you’re getting tired of burpees, or just want to try something new for a change, give the exercises from today’s post a trial run. I think you’ll like them. Or maybe you’ll hate them, which means they’re probably working.

Let’s hear from you down below. Have you done any of these exercises? How do they compare to burpees? Got any other suggestions for people sick of the burpee?

Thanks for reading, everyone. Take care.

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Dear Mark: Sugar for Stress Relief, and Weight Loss Releasing Toxins

For today’s edition of Dear Mark, I’m answering two questions. First, a new study out is one of the first (and maybe only) to show that acute sugar consumption can reduce the normal cortisol increase we experience in times of stress. Interesting stuff, eh? Find out whether I think this is a good thing, a potentially useful “hack”, or, given our collective tendency to overthink things and embroil ourselves in stress stews, a recipe for disaster. Next, we’ve all heard that weight loss releases stored toxins and environmental pollutants into our bodies, but is there any science that actually shows this is happening in people losing weight? And if we are releasing toxins by losing body fat, does that mean keeping the weight on is actually healthier? Find out down below.

Let’s go:

Hi Mark,

I’ve just seen this –

This Is Why Sugar Is So Damn Addictive

– and wondered what your opinion on it is. As someone who struggles with stress (though don’t we all?) and still sometimes craves sugar after 20 months of Primal living, I’m wondering if there’s a connection there!

Thanks for all you do,

Cate

Yeah, absolutely there’s a connection. Sugar cravings are among the most commonly reported symptoms of high stress, and the study discussed in the article suggests a mechanism. For everyone else, the Vice article discusses a study showing that sugar consumption acutely reduces the cortisol response to a stress test in women. The control arm used aspartame-sweetened beverages, which did not lower cortisol.

This may surprise you all, but it’s conceivable that using sugar intelligently as a stop gap solution can help in certain situations. Say your wife’s in labor. It’s been a long night that’s slowly turning into a long morning. You haven’t slept. You haven’t eaten. There’s a chance she might go into surgery. Any semblance of a birth plan has been scattered to the wind. Your mind, body, and entire being are beset by stressors on all sides, and the resultant stress is building. Is it possible that a Haagen Dazs ice cream bar from the vending machine down the hall could help balance your endocrine system long enough for you to make it through your wife’s ordeal without a mental breakdown and hopefully welcome your child into the world with tears of joy, not frustration? I think so, yes.

The problem is that we don’t just use sugar to counteract the acute stress we occasionally encounter. We also tend to use it for chronic stress. The truly serious stressors — the deaths in the family, the breakups, the lay offs, the all nighters — are few and far between. Using something sweet to help us through those situations isn’t a big deal, like taking prescribed opioids to manage post-surgical pain. It may even be advised. It’s the chronic stress we encounter every day — the traffic, the annoying boss, the minor sleep deprivation from staying up late to watch TV or surf the web every night — that opens us up to excessive sugar abuse because, well, we’re almost always stressed about something. And if our response to stress is to make it worse by stressing out over it even more, that’s another layer of sugar cravings we’ve got to overcome (or submit to).

The real trick isn’t eating gummi bears or drinking Mexican coke when stress hits, even though that might work in the short term. The key is to target the stress that’s compelling us to eat the sugar. Embrace the acute stressors (because those are usually unavoidable and unpredictable — the injuries, the family tragedies, the spilt coconut milk — and what else can you do but deal with them?) and figure out how to rethink, reframe, avoid, or overcome the chronic stressors.

Of course, there’s something about the paper that limits its scope: the study only looked at sugar versus non-caloric sweeteners. What if you tested the cortisol-reducing effect of a slice of cheesecake, which provides a big dose of both fat and sugar, against that of soda, which provides only sugar? Other studies indicate that people eat more processed junk food (which is high in both fat and sugar) when under stress, so it may be that more palatable foods, whether it’s soda or cake, can reduce cortisol in the short term. Or what if it’s an energy thing; would pure glucose work by providing calories?

We need more research, but clearly there’s something about comfort foods that we’re drawn to. It’s right there in the name, after all. We need comforting, from time to time, and that’s totally normal. Life isn’t a picnic. But if we figure out how to eliminate or at least really limit the stress we create out of nothing, we can probably indulge our stress-induced cravings when real stressors emerge without things getting out of hand, eating so much sugar so often that we develop fatty liver and metabolic dysfunction, or developing a full blown sugar habit.

So if those sugar cravings truly are a “sometimes” kinda thing, try indulging them next time you stress out. Keep things as healthy as possible. Fruit instead of candy. Honey and yogurt instead of ice cream. That sort of thing. You might find this nips the stress in the bud, and it will definitely keep you from stressing about the sugar cravings you’re experiencing and the guilt you might feel. Ah, humans and our big brains with the unique capacity for thinking about thinking about thinking: we really get ourselves into trouble, don’t we?

Hi Mark,

I’m 48 and I’ve been living primal for a few months now. I still have quite a bit of weight to lose but I am feeling better and better every week and the really cool part is that my family can see the difference and are starting to jump on board with me.

I’ve been very active my whole life and fairly lean for the first part of it but after I got out of the Army at age 31 I kept getting heavier and heavier no matter what I did or how hard I worked out. I could have been the the SAD poster child with all the garbage I ate in the name of good health.

Now that I’m eating and living primal, losing weight and burning all that stored fat I’m wondering how much of the bad stuff got stored with that fat. Do we have to burn through “bad” stored fat to get down to the lean groksters we were meant to be, and will there be times when we may feel the effects of the old diet as we burn through stored fat?

Thanks,

Mike

There’s something to that. Several lines of evidence indicate that people undergoing active weight loss may be releasing stored environmental pollutants into their blood:

Organic pollutants readily accumulate in the adipose tissue of the obese — those with the most adipose tissue from which to draw samples. So if nothing else, we know that we’re storing these environmental toxins in our body fat. They’re there.

In one study, subjects 40 years or older were separated into five weight categories: stable weight, moderate increase, moderate decrease, large increase, or large decrease. Researchers took blood samples and measured organic pollutant levels, finding correlations between weight loss and elevated levels of five of six studied pollutants. Among those reporting significant weight loss in the past 10 years, the blood levels were highest. Those who’d gained significant weight in the same time frame had the lowest pollutant levels. This isn’t proof that the weight loss is causing the greater serum pollutants, but it’s suggestive.

Another study found that weight loss increased serum levels of five common pollutants in obese subjects. Some of the pollutants were reabsorbed into the remaining subcutaneous body fat. After an 18-week diet and exercise followup period, the levels were still elevated, suggesting that continual weight loss steadily leaks stored pollutants. Pollutant levels increase whether weight loss occurs via low calorie dieting or through bariatric surgery.

Assuming weight loss does release stored toxins into the blood (and it probably does), is weight loss unhealthy? No. In study after study, weight loss leads to improved quality of life, health outcomes, and resolution of metabolic disease states. The burden of obesity cannot be overstated. Furthermore, accumulation of pollutants in adipose tissue is usually linked to adverse metabolic conditions. In the study of obese Portuguese patients, those with the greatest levels of pollutant accumulation were most likely to have hypertension, glucose intolerance, and other components of the metabolic syndrome. Other research confirms the connection between organic pollutants and metabolic dysfunction, so this stuff isn’t benign. It’s not “locked away” in the body fat, rendered inert through safe storage.

That said, will some people experience transiently negative effects from losing weight mediated by the release of organic pollutants? I’m sure they will, and there are anecdotes aplenty that attest to the phenomenon. There’s another possibility that might explain some of the increased pollutant levels after weight loss: the loss of toxin storage depots means any additional environmental pollutant exposure manifests as increased serum levels. With fewer places to store it, anything coming in sticks around. And since we’re constantly exposed to pollutants in our modern environments, it’s always coming in.

Don’t let the prospect of toxin release prevent you from losing weight. As you say yourself, you feel better than you have in years. That’s no accident. It’s the best way I’m aware of to know that you’re doing something right.

That’s it for this week, folks.

Anyone experience “toxin-related” symptoms during weight loss? It’s my understanding that most people feel great when they lose weight (must be all that animal fat they’re consuming), but I’d be curious to hear from people with different experiences.

Have you ever used sugar to counteract a stressful experience? Were you able to keep it acute and occasional, or did you find yourself lapsing into regular, chronic use?

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Weekend Link Love – Edition 348

If any Primal Blueprint Podcast listeners would be so kind, please fill out this survey when you have a chance. Thanks!

Research of the Week

Converting cropland to pastureland with grazing livestock sequesters carbon at a much higher rate than previously thought, new research has found. It also doesn’t hurt that it produces delicious animals.

New research has discovered a three-way link between childhood antibiotics, changes to the gut bacteria, and diseases later in life.

“Certain physiologies” just lose less weight when restricting the same number of calories as other people.

Same goes for exercise. Some people just respond better to training than others.

A nice breakdown of sex-specific differences in fat and sugar metabolism.

Vitamin D toxicity is extremely rare in people who take vitamin D supplements (PDF).

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 67: Al Danenberg: Host Elle Russ hangs out with Dr. Danenberg, a longtime periodontist and recent Primal Blueprint Expert, to discuss his health journey and how ancestral health informs his practice.

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.

Food Shame: The Morality of Eating
Is All Yogurt Created Equal?
Primal Flora: Your Questions Answered

Interesting Blog Posts

A closer look at the potential mechanisms behind the statin-diabetes connection.

The case for daily naps (old but good).

Artificial light is a drug.

Media, Schmedia

Why trail runners should ditch their coaches and just get dogs.

Consumers prefer vegetarian-fed chickens, even though the birds are natural omnivores who love eating small (and large, if the opportunity presents itself) animals.

Harvard engineering students have made smoking the perfect brisket more science than art.

Everything Else

How (and why you should want) to raise a wild child.

What’s the most important training element, in one doctor’s view? Sleep.

We’re pooping out so much metformin into the water system that male fish are turning female.

McDonald’s is adding kale to the breakfast menu.

Recipe Corner

Classic (paleo) beef stew: sometimes you just need a bowl of meat and potatoes.
The definitive guide to steaming the perfect artichoke.

Time Capsule

One year ago (May 18 – May 24)

The Downside of Routine: When Trying Something New is Exactly What You Need – What to do when you’re in a slump.
Self-Experiment: No Alcohol for 45 Days and Counting –This is what happened when I stopped drinking alcohol.

Comment of the Week

Mark, that’s disgusting. “or a paper towel laid on top of a mesh trainer”

I’ve been made to drink beer out of my trainer, but never yogurt.

Lol 

Homemade Yogurt (plus Turkey Kefta & Grilled Veggies with Savory Yogurt Dressing)

If you’ve only ever eaten store-bought yogurt, then homemade yogurt is a revelation. Obviously, homemade yogurt easily surpasses Yoplait and the like, both in terms of nutrition and flavor. But you might be surprised to find out that your very first homemade batch will taste just as good, if not better, than the most expensive, high quality yogurt on the dairy shelf. And it’s so easy to make!

To make your first batch of homemade yogurt, you’re going to need a little bit of that high quality store-bought yogurt to get started (high quality meaning organic, full-fat, unsweetened, with live active cultures). The live cultures are the really important part, and the main reason that yogurt is a good choice if you eat dairy.

Mix a little of the starter yogurt with gently heated whole milk, let the two mingle for awhile in a warm environment, and viola, your first batch of homemade yogurt is done. You can make the yogurt as thick or as runny, and as mellow or as tart, as you like. Either way, the fresh, creamy flavor is hard to beat.

A handful of berries and macadamia nuts with yogurt is a fine breakfast, but that’s not the only way to enjoy yogurt. In the recipe below, homemade yogurt takes a savory turn when mixed with garlic, shallot, lemon zest and sumac, a tart and tangy bright red spice. The dressing has a bold flavor and really eye-catching color. It’s perfect with grilled veggies and herb-flecked grilled turkey kefta.

Homemade Yogurt

Servings: 1 quart

Time in the Kitchen: 25 minutes of hands-on, plus up to 12 hours to incubate the yogurt

Ingredients:

1 quart whole milk (1 liter)
¼ cup plain, unsweetened whole milk yogurt with live active cultures (can be Greek or regular yogurt) (60 ml)

** Once you make your own yogurt, you can use that as starter yogurt for your next batch. Homemade yogurt only keeps for about a week in the refrigerator, so it’s best to make your next batch within a week. You can also buy dry yogurt starter, but it tends to be less cost effective.

Equipment:

Heavy pot or saucepan with a lid
Optional: 1-quart/1 liter glass jar with a lid
Instant-read thermometer or clip-on candy thermometer

Instructions:

In a heavy pot or saucepan with a lid, heat the milk over medium heat, stirring often. Once the milk reaches 195 ºF/90 ºC, turn off the heat.

Let the milk cool to around 115 ºF/46 ºC. Keep your eye on the thermometer, so the temperature doesn’t drop too far below 115 ºF/46 ºC.

Slowly, stir the yogurt into the milk. When the mixture is smooth, put a lid on the pot and wrap the pot in a thick kitchen towel to insulate it.

Or, alternatively, the yogurt mixture can be poured into a 1-quart/1 liter glass jar with a lid. First, fill the glass jar with boiling water to heat the jar and sterilize it. Let it stand for about 5 minutes, then before adding the yogurt mixture pour the hot water out and dry the jar. Once the yogurt mixture is in the jar, put on the lid and wrap the jar in a thick towel.

Whether in a pot or a glass jar, the yogurt needs somewhere warm to incubate for 4 to 12 hours. An oven that is turned OFF works well, if you leave the oven light on to create a little bit of warmth.

After 4 hours, gently check the thickness of the yogurt by tilting the pot/jar. Carefully dip a clean spoon in to taste it, but don’t stir or whisk the yogurt while it’s incubating. Yogurt typically incubates for anywhere between 4 to 12 hours. The yogurt is done when you like the flavor and it has thickened to at least a loose custard-like texture (it will thicken further when the yogurt is refrigerated after incubating). The longer the yogurt incubates, the tarter the flavor will be.

For the best flavor and texture, chill the homemade yogurt for at least 3 hours before serving.

If the yogurt doesn’t get as thick as you’d like after chilling it, line a strainer with cheesecloth and pour the yogurt into it. Wrap the cheesecloth around the yogurt so it’s in a bundle and tie the top. Let the yogurt drain for a few hours.

Turkey Kefta with Grilled Veggies and Savory Yogurt Dressing

Servings: 4

Time in the Kitchen: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds ground turkey, dark meat only (or ground lamb) (680 g)
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 egg, whisked
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh dill (60 ml)
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped mint , divided (60ml plus 30 ml)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ teaspoon kosher salt (2.5 ml)
¼ teaspoon black pepper (a pinch)
10 small zucchini, sliced 3/4 inch thick, lengthwise
8 small tomatoes, sliced in half
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (60 ml)

Savory Yogurt Dressing Ingredients

2/3 cup plain, unsweetened full-fat yogurt with live cultures (142 g)
Zest from 1 small lemon
1 small garlic clove, finely chopped or pressed
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (15 ml)
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 teaspoon sumac (5 ml)
1/4 teaspoon salt (2.5 ml)

Instructions:

In a large bowl mix together the turkey, green onions, egg, dill, ¼ cup/60 ml mint, and the garlic, kosher salt and black pepper. Chill the mixture for at least 30 minutes – the colder it is, the easier it will be to shape the kefta.

While the turkey mixture chills, cook the zucchini and tomato. First, brush the cut side of the tomato slices with the olive oil. Toss the zucchini with the remaining olive oil. Lightly salt the tomatoes and zucchini.

Heat a grill to medium-high heat.

Put the tomatoes cut side down in the grill and cook until lightly charred. Grill the zucchini until soft and lightly charred on each side.

Or, the veggies can be broiled instead on a rimmed baking sheet, about 6 inches below an oven broiler set on high. Keep an eye on the veggies, as they can burn quickly. Turn the zucchini slices once while they cook.

When the tomatoes are cool enough to touch, cut into bite-sized pieces if necessary. In a large bowl or platter, toss the tomatoes with the zucchini and remaining 2 tablespoons/30 ml chopped mint. Set aside.

Divide turkey mixture into 8 portions. Form each portion into the shape of a sausage, 4 to 5 inches/10 cm to 13 cm long. Insert a metal or wood skewer lengthwise through each portion. Drizzle with oil and then grill, turning occasionally, until just cooked through, 8–10 minutes.

Or, the kefta can be cooked in a skillet over medium high heat instead, without skewers.

To make the yogurt dressing, whisk together the yogurt, lemon zest, garlic, olive oil, shallot, sumac and salt.

Serve the kefta over the grilled veggies with the yogurt dressing drizzled on top.

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This Primal Business Gets Better and Better

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!

You want success stories? I’ve got success stories. Okay one to be exact, mine. These success stories are terrific by the way. When the subject comes up with somebody and I tell them about Primal living and MDA, I always tell them that if they do nothing else, at least read the success story every Friday.

I don’t have a significant transformation to share. I guess that’s why I never thought about writing in but I’ll give it a shot. I was logging into our company affiliated, heath provider website one day, when I noticed an offhand box on the right saying something like “Never eat these five foods if you want to lose weight!” For some reason I didn’t ignore it like I typically would. It led to a site featuring Isabel De Los Rios and what she said sounded logical and it began to open my eyes. It got me halfway there. I adopted her suggestions and got more interested in the subject. I began noodling around the internet and quickly found Mark’s Daily Apple.

I can picture myself hunched over my laptop with that “Wow” expression on my face. “Holy grass fed cow, this guy makes a whole lot of sense.” I am an engineer by trade and to have all the supporting data, studies and references were and are critical to me. After all those wasted years of avoiding egg yolks, thinking I was all that because I ate whole wheat (with a pompous attitude to boot), and scolding people about the evil of cholesterol, I had to pause for a moment to consider this big change I was contemplating. I remember thinking that if this guy Mark is just some internet wackjob I’m going to be dead within a year by eating this way. But it felt right and I jumped right into the lifestyle. I didn’t find it difficult at all. It’s so much easier if you believe in something and are excited about it. It was a few years ago but I don’t remember having any of the negative symptoms other people report.

And nothing bad happened. I did notice that my total cholesterol went down right at the beginning. The truth is, I have done a boatload of reading since then (for instance I slogged through Peter Attia’s “The Straight Dope On Cholesterol,” until I finally understood it all) and I don’t know what, if anything, those lipid numbers mean. LDL cholesterol may have a correlation to LDL particle count, but it’s unclear to me. Armed with all my new found knowledge, I marched into my cardiologist’s office to impress him with my fancy learning. He was polite and patient but cared not a lick for anything I had to say. He is conventional to the bone and responded by saying he wanted to start me on a low level dose of statins because my LDL cholesterol was too high. I had done enough reading at that point to know there was no way I would take statins. If anybody is aware of a primal cardiologist in the Connecticut area please let me know.

Let me tell you about the things that did happen. First, of course, was the excess weight. Although I was fairly active, I had been trying to lose 20 lbs for a long time but couldn’t do it. Now they came off easily. (Full disclosure; I have gradually put 10 back on and it’s perplexing. I suspect I am not quite as occasional on the dark chocolate as I should be. And some of it is muscle gain.) The next thing I noticed was that the chronic arthritis in my thumbs went away. And then amazingly, I began to sleep really well. What a joy. After decades of lousy sleep I had given up hope and accepted it as part of getting older. I was now sleeping through the night…every night. It was, and is, fantastic.

Although I don’t limit how much I eat, it’s not heaps because I am rarely ever hungry. According to CW I should be roughly the size of a grizzly bear based upon all the butter, bacon, animal fats and such that I joyously wolf down. (Oh chicken skin, how I missed you.)

This one blew my mind; I no longer have to use suntan lotion. I was known for not going to the beach unless I was camped out under an umbrella and I would still burn if I didn’t lotion up. Now I’ll stay out in direct sun sometimes just to test it, and the worst that happens is I get a slight tinge that doesn’t hurt and doesn’t peel. After that there is no burning whatsoever. The not so great aspect is that I can no longer get a tan on my torso and I have to walk around the beach with a major league farmer’s tan. I used to be able to tan very easily. Here is a picture to prove it. It’s also my “before” picture.

Speaking of lotion and skin, I have always had to lather lotion on my hands all winter or they get incredibly chapped. This winter I noticed that I hardly had to put any on. This Primal business gets better and better. Finally, if I do catch some type of bug or cold, it seems to me that the symptoms are only half as bad as they used to be.

Did I mention the joy of walking away from running most every day? I ran for years and hated and dreaded every step. Thank Mark alrighty, I am free at last. I was also known for napping in my car every day at lunch. Now I walk instead. This, along with exercise first thing in the morning, seems to do the trick. Before work I mix it up with things like sprints, burpees, rope jumping, body weight stuff, etc. We hike, bike and kayak on weekends. My wife Darlene and I also regularly have epic games of badminton. I have gotten an ultimate Frisbee group together one night a week at work and a foursome to play pickle ball once a week with another group. Like the man says, make it fun.

As for food, it’s been not nearly as hard as I thought. I don’t miss pizza or bread and I once thought that would have been impossible. I miss popcorn a tad but even that’s not hard anymore, and I do cheat every now and again. Five Guys French fries are my kryptonite. (Tell me that peanut oil is not all that bad come to think of it and make me a happy man, Mark.) Darlene is partially on board and she prepares terrific Primal dinners. She is not buying into the offal though. We keep chickens now and enjoy them as pets, but we are loving our free range eggs. I got some Exo cricket flour bars and didn’t even hesitate. They were yummy. If there is a world apocalypse one day I won’t even wait until the food runs out, I’m going straight to bugs. (That chicken is not hiding a gut.)

I hunted down a Certified Primal Blueprint Expert here in Connecticut and we are arranging for her to come in and make a presentation for one of our company “Lunch and Learn” sessions. I am really excited about that. I might even bring a batch of my cookies made with macadamia nut flour, yacon syrup and Lily’s chocolate chips. I believe they have to be some of the healthiest cookies in the world. We just tried Primal Kitchen Mayonnaise today and it was as good as I hoped it would be. My lunch most days is real turkey breast in red cabbage leaf with gouda cheese (vitamin K2), and avocado. With the way I eat I get more raised eyebrows than a hippie at a young republicans convention, but it’s okay. My family comes for dinner every week. They are used to eating our Primal meals and are open minded and complimentary.

I am permanently and passionately Primal. I will end with a story to illustrate. About a year ago I was traveling on business. There was very little time between connections and I had to run through the airport like a fool. Well I must have gulped something weird in the terminal air, because when I got on that plane I started a severe coughing jag that I could not control. I was making everybody on the plane uncomfortable. It was bad enough that I was wondering if I should get off for medical attention. In fact, the flight attendants came over and asked if I was having chest pains and were close to booting me off. I wasn’t, but I was a little scared. A nice lady sitting by the window offered me some type of mint candy to help, and even though I wasn’t positive I wasn’t dying, my only thought was “no way am I eating that sugar!”

Thanks so much for what you do Mark!

Russ Anderson

Food Shame: The Morality of Eating

Last week in my Paleo f(x) post, I shared that my favorite presentation I did at the event, “Tweaking the Recipe to Create an Awesome Life,” discussed my evolving philosophy on moderation for the sake of the bigger life picture. Mark’s Daily Apple reader His Dudeness commented that it’s becoming more common to conflate morality and food choice. Already being in the mode of the f(x) talk, this topic piqued my interest. Far beyond those quaint (and deluded) labels about fat content, today we see phrases like guilt-free, low carbon, humane, and fair trade. The grocery aisle has become a dizzying ethical landscape.

No matter how well we think we’re doing in terms of responsible eating choices (e.g. grass-fed beef), somebody turns around and brags that they’re eating a pastured heritage beef breed. If we’re of a particularly sensitive or maybe just competitive nature, suddenly we’re sucked into a Portlandia version of social shame and ethical hell. How did we exchange sanity for perfectionism, and how do we find our way back? When it comes to making simple food decisions, where do we draw the line between putting helpful knowledge into practice and putting ourselves through a moral gauntlet?

The fact is, eating isn’t a simple enterprise anymore. As with many things in life these days, we can feel like we know too much. This kind of food destroys the forests. That type of food is harvested by people who live in these unjust conditions. If you buy X product, you’re supporting this destructive agricultural or trade practice. And that doesn’t even touch the less political, more personal shaming inherent in those heinous and blistering assumptions like “Well, if you had any respect for your body you wouldn’t touch that,” or “You really must not care what you look like.” I’d say to avoid hanging out with these people at all costs, but the fact is, our worst critics are often ourselves.

Unfortunately, if you scrutinize long and deep enough, just about any food choice can put you on the shame train. Seriously, at some point, we have to refuse to ride anymore.

These days if you spend too much time reading, researching and listening to hype media, you’ll feel the weight of the world on your shoulders with every bite or drink you take. It’s easy to wish for ignorance some days. If only food – not to mention the whole agribusiness complex – weren’t so complicated. If only a meal could be a freaking meal again…

Grok didn’t have to deal with all this mental and moral flack. Can’t I enjoy a steak without justifying my apparently selfish existence over it? Can I have a salad without feeling guilty over the dead and displaced animals who lost their homes (or lives) because of agricultural expansion? And, damn it all, can I have one cookie without the paleo police, other dietary authority or random pain-in-the-butt stranger adding his/her two cents?

I get that any dietary approach, Primal included, naturally moves us toward favoring some foods over others. We learn what certain foods do to our bodies (good and bad) because of their nutrient content, their processing, their added ingredients, etc. An approach may, as Primal does, note the conditions under which food – whether plant or animal source – is raised and even the impact certain choices have on the larger environment. To me, this is all knowledge, all information we can use the way we wish to make decisions that fit our overall needs and perhaps to shape our personal values.

Values… It can mean a thousand different things to a thousand different people. For some people, they revolve more around political principles. For others, “no/minimal harm” priorities come to mind with animal welfare or environmental concerns taking precedence. Maybe it’s a serious investment in health integrity, an interest in worker rights or even a strict adherence to religious directives.

No matter what the subject, we try to live our lives in alignment with our personal values. They’re priorities, but that’s not the same as dogma. I personally see alignment as gravitation. We naturally gravitate toward those choices that are in alignment with our values because we experience homeostasis when we do. Our lives are generally or increasingly congruent with our priorities, and there’s a certain peace in that.

For example, my values support optimizing health for the greatest number and promoting sustainability whenever reasonable. Since I have the resources to buy all my food from ethically and sustainably raised sources, I do that. I also choose to financially back companies like Thrive Market that seek to make these healthier options available to more people. For me, that’s living (and investing) close to my center as I’ve personally defined it.

Yet, I’m sure countless critics could find a thousand things “wrong” with me as defined by their perception of my food choices – eating certain favorite things that have to be shipped across the country if not the world, eating too much meat, having a dessert at a party two weeks ago, etc.

For the absolutist thinking of some critics (external or internal), progress is the enemy of perfection. Instead of living in gravitation to values, they would impose a guilt-ridden tyranny of shoulds, musts and failings.

We are only as good as the righteousness of our last food choice according to this approach. Our choices become our endorsements, and our identities get wrapped up in those endorsements. The “cleaner” our diet, the cleaner and more godly we are as people.

This is where the wheels come off the bus for me. I’m not joining that guilt trip, thank you very much. And, by the way, am I the only one who finds this path exhausting?

Unfortunately, many people can sometimes reject legitimate issues around food choice as a result of overwrought moralism. Crap food companies even capitalize on the aggressive pushback by promoting hedonistic, devil-may-care attitudes. The whole push and pull becomes it’s own perpetual circus of crazy-making.

We can choose to live in this interminable conflict, or we can choose to live outside of it. Rather than try to compete or race to keep up or disown our desires, we can center ourselves in our values, our needs, our understanding and our circumstances. In the confluence of these, we find our center – the sanest place to live and choose from.

I highly suggest learning about your food – for your own welfare and even that of others. Yet, I also highly suggest leaving any kind of shame, comparison and justification out of the equation. Trust yourself to make decisions based on solid information and not emotional bait. It’s a saner and more sustainable perspective – thoughtfully choosing your food rather than morally identifying yourself with it.

Thanks for reading today, everyone. What are you thoughts on the morality of food as it’s preached today? Share your thoughts in the comment board, and have a good end to the week.

Is All Yogurt Created Equal?

To answer the title, kind of. The same basic principle of yogurt-making applies to all yogurts: the inoculation of milk with specific strains of yogurt bacteria followed by incubation at a temperature warm enough to encourage growth and proliferation. Yogurt is milk transformed into a creamy, tangy, more nutritious product. All yogurt is initially created equal, but after that, all bets are off. For whatever reason, food producers have seen fit to ruin a perfectly good thing with misguided additions and subtractions.

They remove the fat and try to recreate the texture using gums, stabilizers, thickeners, and gelatin.

They load it with sugar and/or high fructose corn syrup, assuming consumers simply can’t handle the tang of real yogurt.

They turn an incredible whole food with thousands of years of tradition into an edible food product that bears little resemblance to its progenitor.

As I see it, there’s yogurt and there’s “yogurt.” Eat the former and avoid the latter.

To get more specific, don’t eat:

Yogurt with added sugar.

Look, I get it: sweet stuff tastes great. But it’s incredible how much sugar disappears into a vat of manufactured yogurt. A tiny little cup of your average sweetened yogurt has 20+ grams of pure unadulterated sucrose, which is far too much (and, like I said, you won’t even taste all of it because it’s been subsumed). If you absolutely must have something sweet with your yogurt, drizzle a little raw honey on the top. Adding honey yourself reduces the amount of sugar grams you need to obtain the desired flavor and ensures direct contact with your tongue. Another, probably better option is to slice up some fruit (blueberries, strawberries, mangos, maybe a banana) and slap it on there.

Yogurt with added thickeners, stabilizers, and emulsifiers.

People love thick yogurt but they’re scared of the fat that creates the texture, so food manufacturers recreate it with additives. Are these additives necessarily dangerous or harmful to health? No, although a recent paper suggests they may increase the risk of obesity by disrupting normal gut bacteria, but why risk it when you can just eat the unaltered whole food? Whenever the jury is out on a particular food, I always play it safe and stick with the “natural” version.

Caveat: I’ve run across a few yogurts and kefirs with added prebiotic fiber (pectin or inulin, usually) and I don’t see much wrong with that. If anything, adding prebiotics to yogurt might actually increase the health effects and support the microbial population. Your mileage may vary.

Yogurt marketed to children.

These are almost always bad news. Just check out the nutritional facts for Chill Out Cherry Gogurt.

After low-fat cultured milk, the ingredients list falls apart. Sugar comes next, followed by modified corn starch, gelatin (nothing wrong with gelatin, but why is it in your kid’s yogurt?), and a real head scratcher — tricalcium phosphate. I understand the need for calcium in children’s diets, but isn’t yogurt supposed to be a fantastic natural source of calcium already? Why add more unless something has been lost in translation from real milk to tube-delivered slurry? The rest of the list is a motley assortment of stabilizers, gums, and synthetic vitamins that would be completely unnecessary if they just left the yogurt as-is. Oh, and there’s not a hint of actual cherry. Just “natural flavors.”

When all is said and done, you’re left with half a gram of fat, 2 measly grams of protein, and a full 12 grams of carbs, 75% of which come from pure sugar. I honestly don’t get it. Well, I get it; it’s a money thing. But parents, don’t fall for this. All the kids I’ve ever known love full-fat dairy. They aren’t sugar-crazed hellions until we shepherd them into that way of life by feeding them garbage like Gogurt.

Also, why “Chill Out Cherry”? Has Yoplait incorporated Afghan poppy extract or something? Maybe some valerian?

Most low-fat yogurts.

In the vast majority of studies that find dairy to be beneficial or associated with health benefits, they use full-fat dairy. And when a study finds that dairy is linked to negative health outcomes, a little digging usually uncovers the fact that the authors used low-fat dairy. I wrote an entire series of posts discussing the positive ramifications of including full-fat dairy in your diet, and I stand by them. Now, it’s possible that the reason why full-fat dairy is so good for us is because of what it is not: a processed, deprived food with added emulsifiers, industrial fibers, and sugar to make up for the missing fat. But I think the fatty acids themselves are highly beneficial, whether it’s the conjugated linoleic acid in organic and pasture-raised dairy that may offer protection against cancer and heart disease, the phytanic acid that improves insulin sensitivity in animal models, or the trans-palmitoleic acid that’s strongly associated with better metabolic health.

In certain situations, like a bodybuilder looking for a very high-protein, low-fat food source to augment post-workout muscle protein synthesis without incurring fat gain, a low-fat yogurt can be very appropriate. But most yogurts that remove the fat make up for it by adding stabilizers, gums, preservatives, and extra sugar, so if you decide to go with a low-fat yogurt, confirm that it contains none of these undesirable ingredients. And be sure to use full-fat yogurt in most other instances, for reasons already listed.

Luckily for you guys, there’s a lot of good yogurt that you should eat. In most decent grocery stores, full-fat yogurt is available. Organic options, all of which tend to avoid incorporating unnecessary ingredients and removing necessary ones, are common and affordable.

You’ve got:

Standard full-fat yogurt.

This is yogurt in its natural state. It’s creamy (provided you haven’t used low-fat or skim milk), it’s tangy, it’s often downright drinkable if you let it sit out for half an hour.

Strained yogurt.

Also known as Greek yogurt (except in Greece, where they just call it “yogurt”), strained yogurt is yogurt with most of the liquid whey removed. This creates an ultra-thick, high-protein, high-fat, creamy yogurt that’s perfect for making tzatziki, the Mediterranean cucumber yogurt dip, Indian curries, and replacing sour cream. It’s also fantastic with berries or drizzled with some raw honey. You can strain regular yogurt with cheesecloth (or a paper towel laid on top of a mesh trainer) to get Greek yogurt.

Greek yogurt may actually be Turkish yogurt. Chobani, one of the leading Greek yogurt brands in the US, was started by a Turk and named after the Turkish word for “shepherd” (traditionally, strained yogurt is made with sheep’s milk). In Turkey, “Greek yogurt” is known as süzme, or strained yogurt. Bitter debates about the provenance of strained yogurt are being waged as you read this. 

Cream top/cream line yogurt.

Most yogurt is homogenized, even if the milk used to make it is not. But sometimes yogurt makers refrain from stirring and a line of cream forms along the top of the yogurt. To me, this is a good thing, and it can foster unity in households divided along desired levels of fat content. One party eats the top half and gets extra fat, the other party eats the lower half and receives lower fat yogurt. Everyone’s happy and buying crappy low-fat yogurt becomes unnecessary.

Skyr.

Skyr is an Icelandic yogurt/cheese hybrid that incorporates both bacterial cultures and animal rennet to produce a thick, high-protein cultured milk product. And yes, skyr is non-fat, but that’s actually the traditional way to make it. Skyr makers would use the leftover milk after making butter.

In the United States, yogurt is something you eat when you don’t have time for breakfast or are “trying to eat healthier.” It either comes in single serving tubs that we eat at our desks or tubes that we squeeze down our throats on the morning commute.

For the rest of the yogurt-eating world, it’s a staple food eaten throughout the day. It’s a common condiment and a delicious dessert. It’s a cooking ingredient. It’s a dip, a sauce, a dressing. It’s even a drink. And yes, it’s also a breakfast food. Simply, yogurt is just kinda always around and available. Among those who eat it, yogurt is integral.

If you know me at all, you know my ears perk up whenever a tradition or practice seems near universal (like saunas, or fermentation, or walking). So many cultures use yogurt on a regular basis throughout the day that I’m thinking there’s something to this.

So, what are some ways we can expand our yogurt palate? I’ve been trying to incorporate a little yogurt into my life as of late, and I found great inspiration from looking to the cuisine of the nation from which we get the word “yogurt”: Turkey.

Yogurtlu Havuc

This is a Turkish carrot yogurt salad commonly served at breakfast. The Turks eat it on bread, but it’s great as a side dish alongside a piece of lamb. It’s simple:

Shred a couple large carrots, then sauté them in olive oil and a little salt over medium heat until soft. Allow the carrots to reach room temperature.

Add finely grated garlic (as much or as little as you prefer) and paprika to strained (Greek) yogurt. Use full-fat, of course. Mix well.

Fold the cooked carrots into the yogurt mixture, and add a little hot chile (fresh or dried). Traditionally, dried isot pepper is used, but cayenne works well if you like a little more heat.

Yogurt Herb Dip

This one’s even simpler. Just get a cup or two of thick yogurt, the fresh herbs of your choice, and a little garlic. Mix it all together and use alongside meats or as the base for salad dressings. I like using mint and dill, but everything works. I sometimes add salt and fresh black pepper.

Sparkling Mineral-Rich Ayran

The Turkish beverage ayran is water mixed with yogurt and salt. It sounds weird, but it’s really quite refreshing. It’s also very easy to make at home and it’s better if you use sparkling mineral water. Just mix four parts regular full-fat yogurt with one part sparkling mineral water (something like Gerolsteiner with a high mineral content is best), add a little salt to taste, and blend or whisk together. It’s also pretty good with some chopped fresh mint.

Another more generic way to eat more yogurt is to use it in place of sour cream, whipping cream, and even mayo. Well, maybe not mayo. I hear there’s a decent one out there on the market.

Check back this Saturday for a savory yogurt recipe you won’t want to miss.

If yogurt doesn’t agree with you but you really want to eat it, don’t give up.

Try different kinds. It’s often the case that different types of yogurt employ different bacterial strain mixes. Indian yogurt, for example, contains the novel Lactobacillus delbrueckii which has immunomodulatory effects.

Try smaller amounts. Start with just a teaspoon at a time, and build up from there. You’re introducing new bacterial migrants to your gut and they need to ease into their new surroundings.

Try a different species. Yogurt fermentation reduces the allergenicity of bovine whey protein and casein protein, but that may not be enough if you’re really intolerant. Try goat or sheep (or find a grass-fed yogurt).

Try sourer yogurts. The sourer the yogurt, the less lactose remains. Lactose is a common gut irritant.

All this said, dairy in general and yogurt in particular aren’t for everyone. So let’s hear from you down below.

Do you eat yogurt? What’s your favorite brand? What’s your favorite type? How do you use it in your meals?

Thanks for reading!

Prefer listening to reading? Get an audio recording of this blog post, and subscribe to the Primal Blueprint Podcast on iTunes for instant access to all past, present and future episodes here.

Primal Flora: Your Questions Answered

A few weeks ago, I unveiled the new and improved Primal Flora. With four new strains reflecting the latest microbiome research, I’m really happy with the results we’ve had so far. But that’s easy for me to say — I’ve been living and breathing this product for the better part of a year, including months of research, consulting with experts, and personal experimentation, so I know Primal Flora. But not everyone does. And in the comment section of that earlier post, and in emails I’ve received from some of you, many questions arose. Today, I’m going to answer as many as I can.

Without further ado:

Great stuff! Thank you. Ordered my monthly supply! When is the best time to take probiotics? With food, without food? A.M., P.M.?

Take probiotics with food or 30 minutes before meals, as they seem to survive the transit through our gut when taken this way (as opposed to after a meal).

If you think about how we’d obtain probiotics before supplements, this makes perfect sense. They’d either be attached to the food in the form of dirt (soil based organisms) or they’d be inherent to the food because of fermentation. Since many of us no longer eat plants we’ve plucked straight from the soil without washing, nor does everyone regularly consume a wide variety of fermented foods, Primal Flora taken with food is a worthy mimetic.

Do you think this product is okay for those avoiding nightshades? Referring to the potato starch ingredient.

Yes. For a couple reasons:

1. Potato starch is just starch. It contains no potato proteins and none of the nightshade alkaloids that sensitive people sometimes must avoid. This is similar to how gluten-free foods can actually contain wheat starch (and in Europe, gluten-free food manufacturers have used wheat starch for years) and still qualify as gluten-free because the residual gluten is so minimal in starch.

2. Even if it did contain nightshade alkaloids, we’re talking about 50 milligrams of potato starch. That’s like 1/16 of a teaspoon. The average blueberry is far more problematic from a nightshade standpoint than a few milligrams of potato starch.

For what it’s worth, I’ve sometimes noticed mild joint pain from excessive potato consumption, but neither large doses of raw potato starch (for the resistant starch content) nor the miniscule doses present in Primal Flora have ever given me issues.

Can the Primal formula go bad because of long overseas shipping? Can the bacteria somehow get activated & infect the body with countless diseases?

1. No. Primal Flora is completely shelf-stable, no refrigeration required. Its strains can withstand some fairly harsh conditions, like an intercontinental flight.

2. The strains in PF were chosen not just for efficacy, but also for safety. Unfortunate adverse reactions occur in some people with any supplement. That’s just the nature of consuming pharmacologically active substances, whether it’s a vitamin, a mineral, a drug, or a viable probiotic strain. And if you have an immune deficiency, certain probiotics may be counterproductive and should be cleared with a doctor. Also, these are intended for oral usage. Don’t go rubbing Primal Flora in your eye or anything. That’s a good way to get endophthalamitis. But “countless diseases”? Not likely.

Started taking them 3 weeks ago so I don’t know if I should see results by now. I chose them because there were no histamine increasing strains and even one histamine lowering strain. I can’t swallow pills that big though. I hope that they reach my gut even if I open them because it’s really pricey 1$ USD per pill.

The strains chosen are all hardy and should resist digestion. The veggie caps are there as an extra barrier just for further protection. I’ll occasionally empty a cap or two into my smoothies and I haven’t noticed any reduction of effect. And for those wondering, the capsule is a normal/average size.

Can someone with a trained eye comment on how this compares to Prescript Assist?

The only real similarity Primal Flora shares with Prescrip Assist, beyond being a soil-based probiotic supplement, is the presence of Bacillus subtilis. Everything else is different. From what I’ve gathered, Prescript Assist is a fine product that should complement Primal Flora quite well.

Does anyone know if these can be used for dogs? Our dog had just had a nail ripped off and had to go on 7 days of antibiotics, which I’m bummed about. Thought something like this could help build her gut bacteria back up.

While this isn’t designed with dogs in mind, it probably couldn’t hurt. Most of the strains used in Primal Flora have either also been used in canine probiotic supplements or appear in normal healthy canine guts. Either way, they’re probably safe and potentially quite effective.

In one study, giving Bacillus subtilis to dogs improved the consistency and quality of their poop. Dogs on the B. subtilis had less protein in their poop, indicating better digestion and assimilation of nutrients. It also improved the odor, which isn’t to say that it will make your dog’s poop smell good.

Another study found that giving a synbiotic containing Bacillus coagulans to Alaskan sled dogs improved butyrate production, reduced diarrhea (after a disease outbreak), and improved the fecal score.

Since dogs have lived with humans for so long, often eating the same food (or leftovers) and living in the same living quarters as us, their ancestral gut biome might be closer to ours than other animals. They carry a lot of Bifidobacterium strains, for example. I’d say give it a shot.

Just wondering if this could be used for kids? I have a 5 year old with recurrent upper respiratory issues, so would be interested in giving it a whirl. Could the capsules be emptied into yoghurt or something to make it easier to give to a child?

This isn’t designed or intended for children, as they’re considered a special class of human with special requirements. I will say this, though:

Kids eat lots of dirt if you let them. It’s kind of what they live to do. Mud pies, dirt clod fights, a stubborn unwillingness to wash their hands before eating — kids intuitively know the importance of dirt ingestion. So while they probably don’t need a supplement if they’re getting plenty of free play out in the dirt, my personal (but not professional) opinion is that it’d probably be okay.

Besides, these aren’t foreign, harmful strains never before encountered or carried by children. In fact:

Bifidobacterium bifidum is a common member of human children’s gut biome as early as the first six months of life.
Bacillus subtilis has been used to reduce the incidence of colds and flus in children.
In kids with allergies, Bacillus clausii had beneficial immunomodulatory effects.
Lactobacillus plantarum has been used in Indonesian school children to improve immune response and (paired with zinc supplementation) zinc status.
A synbiotic containing Bacillus coagulans improved abdominal pain scores in children with functional abdominal pain.
Saccharomyces boulardii is often used in children with acute diarrhea to reduce duration of diarrhea, length of hospital stay, and amount of emergency care required.

I don’t think most kids need a probiotic. But if they do take one, Primal Flora should be pretty safe.

I totally agree with you that we need to work on keeping our gut in check. I take DE (diatomaceous earth) on a daily basis to help eliminate the bad parasites as well as all the other benefits you get from it. Will the Primal flora Supplements work ok in conjunction with DE?

Yes. DE has no effect on the strains found in Primal Flora (or any strains, from what I can tell). Go for it.

That’s it for today, everyone. I hope I answered your questions, and if you’ve got an others, feel free to shoot them off down below. Thanks for reading!

Prefer listening to reading? Get an audio recording of this blog post, and subscribe to the Primal Blueprint Podcast on iTunes for instant access to all past, present and future episodes here.

Dear Mark: High HbA1c with Low Blood Sugar; Muscle Glycogen: Is It Local?; and Ketogenic Mosquito Repellant

For today’s edition of Dear Mark, we’ve got a three-parter. First, what could possibly explain an ardent and otherwise healthy low-carber with stellar postprandial (i.e. after a meal) blood sugar levels showing up with an HbA1c reading indicative of pre-diabetes? Who’s messing up — the test or Nancy herself? Next, that pastured chicken you’re about to eat may very well be local, but what about the glycogen in your quads? Is a muscle’s glycogen usable only by that muscle, or can it be shipped to nearby muscles as well? And finally, a reader reports suddenly becoming unattractive to mosquitoes upon adopting a low-carb diet and bouncing in and out of ketosis. Is he imagining things or is there a potential mechanism at play?

Let’s go:

Hi, Mark,

Thank you for all you do! I have been a loyal follower for many years. After my husband was diagnosed with diabetes, I decided to commit to low carb – both as an example for him, and for my own long-term health.

At a recent physical, my doctor reported that my A1c was 6.0. As such, I have been labeled as “pre-diabetic” (which I am certain will raise my health insurance premiums). However, she also reported my triglycerides at only 48!

I have been taking my blood glucose levels each hour for the past three days and they are (with very few exceptions) below 100. Even the few readings after chocolate are still below 128.

What gives? Can you explain?

I want to tell my doctor that the A1c is wrong, as I am pretty certain that it is! Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Nancy

Actually, your A1C reading is probably correct, but you may not have to worry about anything. The power of the test relies on a major, but common, misconception about human physiology.

HbA1c measures the degree of glycation of your red blood cells’ hemoglobin; this is an indirect measure of how much blood sugar your cells are exposed to over time, since a red blood cell that’s exposed to more sugar in the blood over its life cycle will have more glycation. Thus, A1c seeks to establish the average level of blood sugar circulating through your body over the red blood cell’s life cycle, rather than track blood sugar numbers that rapidly fluctuate through the day, week, and month. It’s a measurement of chronic blood sugar levels, not acute. Sounds like a powerful metric for establishing diabetes risk, right?

It would be if everyone’s red blood cells had identical life cycles, but they don’t. Even though the A1c assumes that every person’s red blood cells live three months — no less, no more — the life cycle of an actual red blood cell differs between and even within individuals.

Ironically, the RBC life cycle depends on how well you control blood sugar. One study found that folks with normal blood sugar had red blood cells that lived up to 146 days and RBCs in folks with high blood sugar had life cycles as low as 81 days. For every 1% rise in blood sugar, red blood cell lifespan fell by 6.9 days. In those with better blood sugar control, RBCs lived longer and thus had more time to accumulate sugar and give a bad HbA1c reading. In people with poorer blood sugar control, red blood cells live shorter lives and have less time to accumulate sugar, potentially giving them “better” HbA1c numbers.

Furthermore, anemia can falsely increase HbA1c by decreasing the number of red blood cells (which need iron to fuel their production). If you have fewer red blood cells in circulation, the ones you do have accumulate more sugar since there are fewer cells “competing” for it. Anemia is a serious health condition, but it doesn’t mean you have diabetes.

HbA1c presupposes that everyone, everywhere has the same number of red blood cells in circulation living identical life cycles. It’s predictive over populations (and in most of the populace, a high HbA1c is cause for alarm), but in individuals it offers less value.

A better use of HbA1c is to track your personal trends. If HbA1c is going up over time, then you can and should worry. But if you have great blood sugar control (which likely prolongs the life cycle of your RBCs and gives them a better chance to accumulate sugar) and a high-ish HbA1c that remains stable, don’t freak out right away. Also, make sure you’re not anemic. And, of course, discuss all this with your doctor.

Hey Mark,

Long time reader, books and blog. I’ve read your different postings on glycogen usage by organs and you mentioned liver glycogen can be used by any system that needs it while muscle glycogen can only be used by the muscles. My question is, to dig deeper on that, is the glycogen available only to the specific muscle that is storing it, or can it be used by nearby muscle as well? i.e. a long squat workout would deplete only the quad stores and not any other muscle stores, correct?

Thanks!

Ron

Correct. Muscle glycogen is totally local. Quad glycogen can’t be exported out to calf or hamstring muscle. Or the liver, as you note.

That’s why I like full body compound movements so much. The long squat workout you mention would only deplete the muscle groups it utilizes, but the muscle groups it utilizes are vast and encompass far more than just the quads. Yes, the quads but also the hamstrings, glutes, trunk musculature, and even the upper back are all called into action when squatting with a weight on your back.

Many people have noticed that doing the compound movements, especially with heavy weights, really gets the appetite going and improves nutrient partitioning. A common observation is that you can eat and eat on a program like Starting Strength without gaining as much unwanted body fat as you normally would eating that much. A big reason why is that your muscles become bottomless pits demanding endless amounts of glycogen.*

*They don’t actually become bottomless pits, and you can’t really eat endless amounts of food without gaining fat just because you’re on a 5×3 compound lifting program. But it sure does feel like that sometimes, doesn’t it?

I have experienced an epiphany! As a long term Dr. Atkins disciple, I have recently adopted the Primal Blueprint philosophy at the recommendation of my cardiologist. I have read your book, am following a low-carb lifestyle and am offing ketones as I burn fat.

As a dedicated gardener and yardman selfie, I spend a lot of time outdoors, often amongst many mosquitoes here in springtime North Texas. I have discovered in the last 2-4 weeks that the mosquitoes seem to have no interest in sucking my blood. Not one bite this spring, when in years past I have suffered many, in spite of Deet. Not one. I have checked the internet for articles on ketones repelling mosquitoes and there seems to be quite a history of that “miracle”.

I am truly convinced that I am benefiting from that Primal condition. As our primal ancestors daily burned fat & not carbs, they benefited from a natural pest repellant that we today can do as well. Perhaps you should include in your message that reducing carbs eliminates harassment by pesky mosquitoes! Check it out…

Thanks a bunch for what you do…truly makes a difference!

Garth

Interesting. There may be something to it. When you go very low carb or reach ketosis (or even just reduce carbs), your respiratory quotient (RQ) drops. This means you’re exhaling less carbon dioxide for each unit of oxygen consumed, and it’s a strong indicator of fat burning versus sugar burning.

What’s this got to do with mosquito bites?

Mosquitoes are attracted to exhaled carbon dioxide because it means a live mammal (or human) is nearby and available for feeding. Other odors are also indicators of mammals, but they’re not as time sensitive. A mosquito might smell our body odor left on some linen, or smell our excrement, and we could be miles away. But CO2 is only emitted by living, breathing, delicious mammals in the immediate vicinity. Perhaps by residing in ketosis, you’re exhaling less carbon dioxide than the people around you and this shields you from the mosquitoes’ attention.

Other blood sucking parasites, like ticks, are also drawn to CO2. There’s even a machine called the “Tick Rover” that emits carbon dioxide as it drags insecticide-treated fabric around a tick-infested yard. It works really well, netting and killing between 75% and 100% of the ticks in a given area.

It wouldn’t surprise me if your hunch was correct. I doubt there will ever be a study on this, so let’s get anecdotal:

Any readers notice similar changes as Garth? Have you become less attractive to parasites since dropping carbs? Anyone in full-blown ketosis notice anything in that regard?

Thanks for reading, everyone.

Weekend Link Love – Edition 347

The 2015 Primal Life Kit is available right now. It’s 55+ eBooks, 25+ discounts, and more paleo/Primal goodies, including my latest publication, The Primal Blueprint Definitive Guide to Sun Exposure and Vitamin D Health, all valued at more than $1,000 being offered for less than $40 through May 14th. Learn all the details here.

If you’re looking for a job and would rather avoid those awkward “donuts in the break room, jar of coconut oil on your desk” moments from the last one, Paleo f(x) is hiring.

Research of the Week

Indulging your creativity can fight stress (and help you get more work done).

According to a recent meta-analysis of controlled trials, exercise is really effective against depression.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 66: Annie Botticelli: Annie is a paleo life coach with a unique vision of the universe that informs her practice. Host Elle Russ sits down with her for a chat about guilt, meat eating morality, spirituality, and Primal nutrition. If the incorporation of holistic spirituality with health and wellness interests you, tune in to the episode.

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 Primal Community Is More Diverse Than You Might Think
How We’re Setting Our Kids Up to Be Fat, Sick, and Unhappy
A Primal Weekend to Remember: Paleo f(x) 2015

Interesting Blog Posts

Let’s stop this in North Carolina before it spreads.

Is it really necessary to stop eating meat to optimize methylation, or is it a bit more complicated than that?

Media, Schmedia

Wired’s guide to buying drought-friendly California produce.

An alarming number of patients receive completely unnecessary and potentially harmful medical procedures, writes Atul Gawande in The New Yorker.

Everything Else

How to become gluten-intolerant.

Urban gardening (in traffic medians and other unused public spaces) is now legal in Los Angeles.

The story of Tibetan (yak) butter tea.

The best way to cook a frozen steak (without thawing it first).

Kid’s got good form.

Panera Bread (and a ton of other companies) plan to banish a long list of artificial sweeteners, preservatives, flavorings, and colors from their products by 2016. Guess companies are listening, eh?

I’m not so quick to throw “natural” under the bus, but what do you all think about this article?

Recipe Corner

You don’t often see lavender used as a culinary spice, but give it a go and try lavender lamb loin chops with grilled blood oranges.
Make this fabulous frittata and have breakfast for a week.

Time Capsule

One year ago (May 11 – May 17)

How to Get High on Life: 10 Natural Ways to Feel on Top of the World – Tweak your neurotransmitters to produce legitimately altered states of consciousness.
Does Skinny Equal Healthy? –Leaner is better than fatter, but skinny isn’t always healthy.

Comment of the Week

I’m still shocked that I was raised on margarine and tv dinners and bread and pasta and vegetable oils, but I’m now healthier, faster and stronger in my late 50’s thanks to Primal. 5 years and counting. I’m figuring every cell in the body is different after 7 years, so in 2 years I’ll be 100% certified caveman.

– I’m always amazed at how it’s never too late for anyone to improve their life, no matter the circumstances. That’s probably why I keep doing this every day.