Mark Sisson's Blog, page 382

Contest: Share Your Wisdom – Round 2

Last year I held a contest during the annual 30-Day Challenge called “Share Your Wisdom“. In it I asked Mark’s Daily Apple readers (you) for answers to 10 questions that would help newbies kick start their Primal lives. Things like “What do you think is the most important thing one should understand as they attempt to go Primal?”, “What was the biggest hurdle you experienced when going Primal and how did you overcome it?”, and “What do you eat for breakfast?”. I then compiled your answers into an ebook that all MDA newsletter subscribers receive for free called “Primal Living in the Real World”. It’s #5 in the list here.

Since the ebook’s release, I’ve had numerous people email me expressing how much they appreciated the insights from members of the community, and how they have helped them get started. I’d like to do another one of these ebooks – a follow-up (“Primal Living in the Real World: Part 2″) with 10 new questions and answers. And that’s where you and this contest come in. First, the prize…

The Prize:

A $150 gift certificate to Tropical Traditions. You’ll be able to stock up on Organic Virgin Coconut Oil, or some Grass-Fed Lamb, Beef or Bison. Or, if that doesn’t float your boat, you could pick up some massage oils, or something for your dog. The list goes on and on, and you’ll have your pick if you win this contest.

As if that wasn’t enough, the winner will also receive a canister of each flavor (Dark Chocolate and Vanilla Creme) of Primal Fuel.

That’s over $300 worth of Primal goodies, and all you have to do for a chance to win is…

The Contest:

Mark’s Daily Apple would be nothing without the support, the motivation and the encouragement readers like you provide to one another – in the comment boards, in the forum and with your success stories.

Your participation as a member of this community really does change lives.

So today’s contest is all about sharing your wisdom and experiences. All you have to do is email me your answers to any or all of the following questions at any length (a one sentence answer will do, full paragraphs are even better). Share your thoughts about transitioning into and living a Primal life and not only will you be entered to win today’s prize, but you’ll be helping thousands of people take control of their health for good.

Each question answered counts as one entry in today’s contest. Ten questions means ten opportunities to win.

How do you keep costs down eating Primal?
How Primal do your kids eat, and what do you feed them?
How often do you snack, and what do you snack on?
What is the biggest change you’ve seen in your life since going Primal, and how long did it take to notice?
How do you cope with health professionals giving you advice you disagree with?
What do you do for fun/play?
How do you find time to do lots of walking or other low-level exercise, play, relaxation, etc.?
What is the most attractive feature of the Primal Blueprint to you?
What does 80/20 mean to you?
How do you handle a spouse/partner/significant other who refuses to change their own habits, even if they quite clearly are harmful to them?

Use the email subject heading “Primal Advice” when submitting your answers, so I can easily find and organize all submissions.

The Deadline:

May 31, midnight, PDT. Only two days!

Who is Eligible:

Anyone with advice to share with people new to the Primal Blueprint.

How a Winner is Chosen:

A random drawing will be held among all entrants.

Fine Print:

I will be compiling select submissions into a digital book that will be given away to everyone that purchases my new book, The Primal Blueprint 90-Day Journal, during a special offer I am putting together for its release. Stay tuned for more details on the special offer. The book is set to release next month.
By emailing me your advice you are agreeing to let me use it in this digital book.
To ensure anonymity, your name will not be published.

Many thanks to the forum members that replied to my thread offering up their ideas on questions for this contest. And thanks to everyone in advance for participating. Grok on!

Grab The Primal Blueprint Cookbook Today and Receive Free S&H and a Free Primal Blueprint Poster

Dear Mark: I Hate to Exercise

Many of us enjoy exercise, probably more just tolerate it, but have you ever known someone to detest it with every fiber of their being? Today, we have a question from a reader with precisely that issue. She hates exercise, and even feels near to tears when she has to do it. Moreover, she doesn’t get the “high” that many of us – even the ones who would rather be doing something else – enjoy after a workout. Well, she’s not alone. Regular exercise is a major stumbling block for many of us, so let’s take a look at some general strategies those that hate exercise can employ, as well as new ways to think about and approach exercise. I don’t have any end all, be all answers, but I do have some good ideas. First, the question:

I think I saw this concern addressed on your blog, but I am not sure. I hate to exercise. There is something in me that just makes me want to cry when I have to do it. I never feel good after I do it. What is the answer? Desperately wanting to exercise, but just can’t.

Thanks,

Mary

Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. There is no one supplement to take. There’s no one exercise that works for everyone, everywhere, under any circumstance. That you’re “desperately wanting to exercise,” however, is a good start. Here are my suggestions for getting started and making it stick. Oh, and – most importantly – enjoying it!

Get a Workout Partner

More importantly than just finding someone who will workout with you, make a series of pacts with your buddy. First, if one person doesn’t show or backs out, the other person must also back out. Second, pledge to keep training until the other person stops. Research suggests that if someone else’s workout depends on yours, you will be more likely to exercise, so as not to disappoint or let down the other person. Drill sergeants have been doing essentially this for millennia – making the group suffer for the mistake of one in order to compel the one to shape up.

Tinker with Your Neural Reward System

Normally, the release of dopamine makes us feel good about completing a goal. That goal could be finishing a tough work assignment, winning a game of chess, or completing a hard workout. And the dopamine release, if it happens reliably enough, also helps us form (good and bad) habits. Is there something you love and enjoy every time you experience or obtain it? Maybe it’s an episode of your favorite TV show. Maybe it’s a long hot bath. Whatever it is, indulge yourself with a healthy reward every single time you work out. If you’ve ever trained a dog to do anything, this will be familiar. You might even feel a little silly, but don’t. We’re all animals, and we all respond to reward in similar ways. It’s just that some of us have already learned to associate exercise with neural reward. You probably haven’t, so you need to do a bit of formal entrainment. Eventually, you won’t need the reward anymore. Like a good dog no longer needs a treat in order to sit, stay, or come, you’ll come to associate exercise with its own inherent reward – especially after seeing the results.

Make Your Short Workouts Shorter and More Intense

I say this a lot, and for good reason: acute bouts of ultra-intense training is more effective and, unsurprisingly, more neurally rewarding. What does this mean, in real world terms? Increase the intensity and reduce the volume. Lift more weight, not more reps. Run (or bike, or crawl, or swim) as fast as you can for a short period of time, not pretty fast for a long period of time.

Just Move

You say you hate “exercise.” That’s fine; lots of people hate it. But what about movement in general? Is there any physical activity you can bear? Walking? Gardening? Hiking? Rock climbing? Playing catch? Frisbee? I refuse to believe that any and all types of physical undertaking make you miserable. If you can find the will to get up out of bed and walk to the kitchen for breakfast in the morning without crying, you can walk a little farther – say, around the block several times – as well. Don’t worry about calories or reps or weight or the next guy. Just move.

Relearn the Meaning of Exercise

While I’ve always been active, there was a time when I hated – truly hated – what I considered to be the optimal form of exercise. Back when I was an endurance athlete, running marathons and then competing in triathlons, I began to hate my training. I was fit and active and thought I was doing the best thing I could for my body, but I really dreaded working out. Eventually, I realized that not only was my training unpleasant and miserable, it was also extremely unhealthy. That revelation forced me to relearn the meaning of exercise. I had to move, I had to train somehow, but I couldn’t continue on my current trajectory. I had to start all over and accept that maybe, just maybe it would be okay to take it easy and lift some weights, move really fast for short periods of time, and take actual rest days. Once I accepted that exercise didn’t have to miserable to be effective, everything fell into place.

Examine Your Past

Your disdain for exercise may be long-held and deep-seated. Perhaps your gym classes as a kid were particularly brutal and unforgiving, and you just learned to associate exercise with misery. I felt that way, early on in my school career. But amidst all the wedgies and purple nurples and teasing, I learned to love exercise by finding something I loved to do (and something I was already doing on my own as a kid): running. Ironically, I hate running distance nowadays, but my love for movement in general has never waned. Look back to and face down a precipitating event – if one indeed exists. Identifying it may be enough to start the road to recovery.

Try Different Modalities

Some need more regimentation, direction, and structure to their exercise. Some need more freedom, randomization, and boundlessness. Many people do better at the gym and laze around at home; others never quite get over their self-consciousness and instead prefer working out solitarily, whether that’s in the garage or at a secluded spot in the park. I’m a big fan of both slow-moving high intensity training, a la Body By Science, as well as something as seemingly intuitive but sneakily periodized and systematic as MovNat. If you dislike training and want it to be over with as quickly as possible while remaining effective, try Body by Science, explained here in a guest post by Dr. Doug McGuff (its creator). If you hate training but want to love it, try a MovNat 1-day class (described here by a Worker Bee who attended one). I challenge you to try MovNat and not want to move often and move well.

This will sound cliche, but you need to broaden your horizons. You may end up hating each and every one of the workout modalities you try, but you cannot know that until you actually try one. Good luck! And remember, you just have to move!

Feel free, folks, to chime in with whatever worked for you. Specific movements, training regimens, strategies, different ways to think about exercise, that sort of thing. Oftentimes the best stuff comes up in the comment section, and I hope this time is no different!

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Weekend Link Love

“What people confuse is that ‘carnivore’ really means animal eater, not muscle-meat eater.” The NY Times did a nice, fairly balanced writeup on raw food for pets.

Abel James, the Fat Burning Man, is giving away some Paleo goodies for free. Go on and check ‘em out.

Evolutionary changes in organisms – caused in part by environment – can trigger evolutionary changes in the environments themselves. Isn’t this stuff fascinating?

Dang, guess I’ll have to return all my skinny jeans and find something else to spice up my wardrobe, as they’ve been implicated in various health issues.

Primal Blueprint Law #9: Avoid Stupid Mistakes.

How one Canadian aboriginal man returned to his dietary roots. Oh, and he may have lost some weight in the process.

A recent report out of Britain finds that grass-fed beef is good for the environment (PDF).

Do you have your pair of bread gloves yet?

Recipe Corner

From the Half-Indian Cook comes crispy coconut kale.
I’ve always thought Julia Child woulda fit right in at MDA. Here’s her Coq au Vin recipe, slightly altered by The Endless Meal.

Time Capsule

One year ago (May 27 – June 2)

How to Take Care of Your Teeth (Hint: There’s More To It Than Brushing) – Are the horror stories about meat glue true?
The Blame Game – It’s not that fun. Don’t play it.

Comment of the Week

I also ate a couple snails and ants. The snails were sort of bland but the ants were like candy. All you have to do is lie down in the grass and food will crawl on you! P.S. if you liked Gushers before you made the switch to Primal, I suggest you try ants.

- I always love me some Animanarchy comments.

Grab a Copy of  The Primal Blueprint 21-Day Total Body Transformation  and Start Getting Primal Today!

How to Grill a Whole Fish

Although fish markets are mostly filled with boneless, skinless fillets, there are many reasons to go home with a whole fish instead. The reaction of dinner guests is one. They’ll “ooh” and “ahh” at the dramatic presentation or shriek at the sight of a fish head with eyes staring back at them. Either way, it makes for a lively meal. The pleasure of cooking a whole animal, rather than an unidentifiable part, is another reason to buy a whole fish. It’s also easier to tell if a whole fish is fresh. Look for shiny scales, clear eyes and bright red gills. The most convincing reason, however, is that whole fish just tastes better.

A whole fish is much harder to overcook than a small fillet; the skin protects the delicate flesh from heat and keeps the moisture in. The bones add a little extra flavor, too. Throwing the fish over direct heat on a grill is a fast and easy cooking method that gives you moist, tender flesh, and crispy, salty skin every time.

The fisherman among us, or those who don’t mind a little extra work, might enjoy cleaning, gutting and scaling the fish themselves. The rest of us can ask to have it done at the fish counter so when we get home, the fish is ready to go. No matter what type of fish you buy, the preparation and grilling method is essentially the same:

1. First, clean your grill really well and thoroughly wipe the grates down with oil to prevent sticking.

2. Cut deep slits spaced 1 to 2 inches apart along each side of the fish, to help the flesh cook evenly.

3. Season the inside cavity. Sprinkle a light coating of salt pepper. There isn’t a whole lot of room to stuff smaller fish, but at the very least you can add few slices of lemon and sprigs of your favorite herb. Other seasoning combinations to try:

Minced garlic with rosemary
Orange slices and paprika
Lime slices and cumin
Sliced green onion and tamari
Sliced red onion and basil
Minced garlic mashed with butter

4. Coat the outside of the fish liberally with olive or coconut oil, to help prevent sticking to the grill. Lightly salt for flavor.

5. Heat the grill to medium-high heat. Wait until the grates are nice and hot before setting the fish down. Steady, medium heat is best, otherwise the skin will burn before the fish is done. If possible, set the tail farthest away from the flames, as the skinnier, tail-end of the fish cooks faster than the rest.

Generally, a fish that weighs 1/2 to 1 pound will take about 5 to 7 minutes per side. Larger fish, 1 1/2 to 2 pounds, can take around twice that amount of time. Another general guideline is 10 minutes of cooking per side, per inch of thickness.

6. Don’t move the fish too soon. If the skin is really sticking, it’s not ready to be flipped. When you think it’s ready, slide a long, wide spatula that’s been rubbed down in oil under the fish and flip the fish over.

7. If the skin does stick to the grill, which is hard to avoid entirely, don’t sweat it. The presentation might not be quite as pretty, but the fish will still taste just as good.

8. To test for doneness, insert a thin skewer or toothpick into the thickest part of the fish. It should slide all the way in easily. When fish is cooked the meat will flake easily with a fork and will appear opaque all the way through. The flesh should also pull easily away from the bones.

That’s it – slide the fish onto a platter, garnish with extra lemon or lime slices and have at it. The last, best reason for cooking a whole fish is that little meat is wasted. Suck the meat from the bones, eat the tender, juicy cheeks under each eye, and snack on the crispy skin. It’s all good.

Grab a copy of Primal Blueprint Quick & Easy Meals for over 100 Primal Recipes You Can Prepare in 30 Minutes or Less

I Feel Healthy, Vital and Energetic Once Again

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!

Dear Mark,

Until November of 2008 I had always been very fit and in shape. At the time I was 43 and kept my 5′ 8″ body at 160 lbs give or take a few pounds. I played competitive (amateur) tennis so I played 4 times a week (3 hours each day) plus some weekdays physical training early in the morning.

I never really “dieted”. My wife is Italian born and naturally very thin also. We’ve always had a very Mediterranean diet. We’d eat pasta the way Italians do. That is, using it as a small warm appetizer and not a bathtub size dish so typical in the US way of “eating”, followed by plenty of fish, meats and lots a vegetables and fruit. Our 3 children have always been the school “weirdos” that would pull broccoli or spinach out of their lunch boxes instead of Twinkies or other similar crap. We’ve been blessed that none of us have ever had real cravings for sweets.

On November 29th 2008 (Thanksgiving Friday) my beloved wife Ana woke up feeling horrible. Vomiting, headaches, etc… She went through 3 pregnancies like clockwork, not even morning sickness.

Completely out of the blue we discovered that Ana had cancer all over her body. She had a primary tumor in her right breast, 2 ping-pong ball sized brain tumors, cancerous meningitis, cancer in her left lung, left kidney, her liver and the base of her spine. This was without ANY warning. Two days before she was playing tennis with her friends.

We were told she had 40 days to live and no hope. More than 40 months have passed and she is alive and well.

We went through hell and high-water, our children were 3, 7 and 9 when she got sick. She was totally bedridden for 8 months; her bodyweight was down to 75 lbs (she’s 5′ 7″). I didn’t work until August of 2011 (almost 3 years) nursing her back to health.

She has certain problems; she’s blind in her left eye and has difficulties with her fine motor skills. She’s 100% ok mentally. The most important things are that our 3 kids can say “good morning, mommy” and I can say “goodnight, my love” every single day. To be able to hear and pronounce those words is like a daily Christmas gift.

She’s in COMPLETE remission. At Baptist Hospital in Miami they call Ana “Miracle Girl”.

What does all of this have to do with Primal? A lot.

To take care of Ana, I completely gave up sports and since I had to manage everything, I just couldn’t handle the stress and all the healthy eating went down the drain. I ballooned at 206 lbs and my waist measured 47 inches.

I struggled for more than a year finding ways to get back in shape and nothing seemed to work.

Way before ever hearing anything related to “Primal or paleo” I always would argue with vegetarians telling them to knock off the BS because our teeth were set up as omnivores, thus we were designed to eat more than vegetables. However after feeling bad for so long I was about to try the vegetarian route.

In December I discovered The Primal Blueprint, I heard Mark speak on an FM talk show (Peter Schiff show to be exact). What he said made sense to me, so I bought the audiobook. I started researching more and by February I decided to follow the Primal/paleo guidelines. In that research I found other magnificent resources with tons of information and suggestions. Mr. Sisson and a few others have CHANGED my life. You have opened the path for me to get back to “me”. However I will never forget that Mark was the one who initially opened the door.

I’m writing today because this morning I weighed in at 180 lbs, and my waist is down to 39.5. Since mid February I’ve lost 26 lbs, reduced my waist by 7.5 inches and I’m feeling better and better with each day.

I want to be at 170 before I start playing tennis again, since I don’t want to hurt my knees due to excess weight – I should be there by June. I’m thrilled to the verge of tears that I’m so close to getting out on the courts again!!!!!

Primal/paleo has been a true wake up call. Simply by eliminating the grains, legumes, sugars and processed foods the weight has melted away. And my real persona has flourished again!!!!!

I have even recovered my sense of smell. That’s another story, but basically to have that sense I was told I needed mass amounts of steroids. I refused. I said I’d rather be “odor blind” than take all the side effects of steroids. About 10 days after dropping grains, etc… my sense of smell started to comeback. Today I feel like a bloodhound!!!!!

To wrap it up. Ana and the children are thrilled to see me getting healthy again. We all feel better and have discovered a lifestyle, which is not that different from what we used to do, but at the same time it’s made a huge difference. Before changing to Primal I just didn’t feel good and couldn’t muster the energy to start training again.

Now I feel healthy, vital and energetic once again. When I get to 170 I will also start SCUBA diving again (my other passion) and have promised that I will take our two oldest children to learn as soon as school is out (the youngest is only 6 and the minimum age is 10).

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!

Victor Gospodinoff

www.anahope.net

PS.. Ana’s survival is so unique we’ve done many TV interviews etc… If you have time, please check out these two videos:

ACS Summit Florida 2010 (VIDEO)

Ana’s Story (VIDEO)

Grab a Copy of The Primal Blueprint 21-Day Total Body Transformation and Start Getting Primal Today!

What Does It Mean to Have “Balance” in Your Life?

Let me step outside the usual Primal fare today and play with an idea we’re all familiar with on some level. Balance: it’s perhaps the most ubiquitous self-help buzz word, and it seems like the perfect, compliant prescription for a manic paced world. I mean, who can argue with finding more balance in life?

The way it’s usually presented focuses us on organizing, strategizing, and maximizing. These all seem like worthwhile endeavors (and sure, there’s often a lot to be gained from them), but could “balance” as it’s interpreted this way limit our scope of personal vision and possible change? It doesn’t challenge us to ask the kind of weighty questions that shift our lives fundamentally. Think of it this way. We likely don’t resolve on New Year’s Eve to “achieve” more balance in the coming year and then find ourselves weighing a hundred pounds lighter, starting a new career, or taking on a new phase in our lives. If we do, it’s likely because we chucked the resolution for something much more ambitious.

It also doesn’t demand that we ask whether we’ve taken on too much in the first place. Add another responsibility to your already busy schedule, shift some resources here, make a few adjustments there, and voilà, balance! Or do all of your responsibilities (and thus, your entire life) suffer as a result?

My sense is that at its best, “balance” in the conventional sense can give us a short term strategy for managing our lives as they are. At its worst, it can lull us into fully accepting a precipitous cycle of frenetic living – and can keep us from truly thriving. But let’s take a closer look and see what we can uncover.

First, what is usually meant by balance, anyway? Then, should we really be striving for it after all?

When I see the word balance on a yoga/health/fitness/natural-living magazine cover, I always imagine one of those plate spinners – the performers who enthrall crowds by tending to any number of plates they spin on long sticks. The idea of course is to spend just enough time and attention on each plate to keep it moving but not so much to lose track of another and see it shatter on the floor. Meanwhile, the person at the center of this game is darting back and forth with keen, jittery attention. It’s always struck me as a manic and exhausting exercise. While it may be entertaining to watch, is it any way to live?

It seems like many people approach balance this way – as an act, a feat, a trick they cultivate. We’re supposed to take pride in how rapidly and deftly we attend to the given game in front of us – no matter how many plates there are; work, parenting, fitness, marriage, volunteer work, school, hobbies – the list goes on and on. If we just spin them fast enough, we should be able to keep any number of them going.

Balance in this way is about controlling, rationing, and conserving one’s time and attention. As rational as it seems, it also feels a little exacting. The concept – and the plate game – would’ve entirely eluded Grok. I think there’s a fine line between monitoring the relative parity of one’s life and parsing it out. We can miss much of the big picture – and miss or reject real opportunities for healthy change – when we’re frantically moving from one plate to next. Call it balance if you will. I’ll call it a game that can’t reasonably go on forever. The plates, eventually, always come crashing down if you add one plate too many.

Maybe there’s a different take to be found here. Let me modestly suggest this: the equilibrium shouldn’t be in the plates. Forget the plates, in fact. Forget the spinning. Let go of the perpetual vigilance. Loosen your emotional grip. Just observe the whole metaphor – and mindset – shatter on the floor. (Truth be told, there’s something therapeutic about it.) Maybe the crux of genuine equanimity isn’t to be found in maneuvering. Rather, perhaps we should let the parts go and home in on the real center.

First, a caveat… Sure, there are times in life that call for juggling. You have a particularly busy month at work. You’re working around a family member’s illness or absence. You have a baby. I remember life when the kids were both little. Especially right after we had our second and were learning to function with two, we had what we called the “ten minute plan,” in which we set the agenda for what had to be done in the next ten minutes. After that we had absolutely no idea. It was too much to consider. Life was lived according to a succession of ten minute plans. As we got a better handle on things, we didn’t add time to the “plan.” We gradually let go of it. We rescinded enough control that things began happening organically again. Sure, there were times when we had to resurrect the ten-minute model, and we were glad we were schooled in it. It made life easier to be able to efficiently slip into that mode as necessary, but we always looked forward to slipping out of it as soon as possible. In other words, it was a strategy to use but not a way to live.

On the flip side of the coin, if you find yourself continually gravitating toward – longing for a sense of balance, I’d suggest stepping outside of the concept for a while. Put away the calendar. Drop the magazine questionnaires. Go for a long walk. What would it take for *you* to feel balanced? Forget how the responsibilities line up. Just suspend them for a while. (Trust me, they won’t go away.) Imagine feeling a genuine sense of equilibrium in your life. Maybe you’ve found it – made it happen. Maybe you feel it sometimes. Maybe you used to feel it. Maybe it’s never felt in your grasp. Can you put yourself in that place? How has the scenery changed?

For all the choice we have in the modern age, we deal with some pretty hefty challenges. We navigate circumstances and weigh options that never figured in during our ancestors’ day. We wrestle with the co-existing freedom and responsibility of forging our own paths toward how we envision thriving. The answers might not always be clear. What do we want out of life? Can we find these by adding plates and “balancing” our daily agendas? Or, alternatively, do we need to shift the center altogether?

Thanks for reading my musings on this much bandied about word and concept, everybody. You tell me: What does balance mean for you in your wellness endeavors? Have you been able to achieve your goals by balancing your life, or have you felt called to make more seismic shifts?

Grab The Primal Blueprint Cookbook Today and Receive Free S&H and a Free Primal Blueprint Poster

Is It Primal? – Sprouts, Agave Nectar, Tapioca and Other Foods Scrutinized

Since it seems to be popular with this crowd, and we’re never running out of questionable foods, I figured I’d take the time to put together another round of “Is It Primal?” I got most of these choices from the comment sections of previous posts, along with follow-up emails. As always, feel free to fill in the blanks after the post. I have a strong feeling this will become a recurring series of posts, and I’m going to need plenty of material. Today, we’re talking about seven foods: sprouts of all kinds and origins; agave nectar, nectar of the metabolic syndrome gods; soy lecithin; coconut aminos, what hipsters have moved onto from tamari; tapioca, gummy starch; animal skin, food of the gods; and Quorn, “food.”

Let’s go:

Sprouts

Sprouts are a bit like sprites, in that they’re all over the place, agile, and difficult to get a bead on. Whether it’s pro-sprout or anti-sprout, solid data is tough to pin down. For one, “sprouts” is an incredibly non-specific term. Sprouts can come from legumes, grains, vegetables, and nuts. In other words, if it’s got a seed, you can get a sprout from it. And so you can’t look up the nutritional data for “sprouts,” because that would be like looking up the nutritional data for “meat.” It could be almost anything.

What we need to analyze, then, is the sprouting process. Does it do anything bad? Good? Is it neutral?

Sprouting tends to convert some of a seed’s sugar into vitamin C (to act as an antioxidant for the plant). That’s good. We no longer make vitamin C ourselves, so we need an exogenous source. Not a lot, but some.

Sprouting tends to reduce phytic acid (but not saponin content).

What about specific sprouts? I dug up a few citations:

Sunflower sprouts have anti-glycative and antioxidant effects, due to their elevated cynarin content.

Broccoli sprouts sound great, particularly for type 2 diabetics. In a double-blind placebo-controlled trial, they reduced oxidized LDL (and improved the oxLDL/LDL level) and decreased triglycerides in diabetic patients. They also reduced insulin resistance in type 2 diabetics. And finally, they reduced oxidative stress in type 2 diabetics.

If you’re making your own, note that antioxidant levels wax and wane throughout the sprouting process, at least in broccoli sprouts. Sulforaphane, the potent antioxidant responsible for many of broccoli’s benefits, declines upon germination, then increases slowly until hitting its high point at 48 hours post-germination, after which it declines. But don’t worry; glucoraphanin, which converts into sulforaphane, increases during the first 12 hours, sharply drops, then rises again, reaching the highest levels at 72 hours post-germination. Of course, glucoraphanin requires the enzyme myrosinase for conversion, but broccoli sprouts are particularly high in myrosinase, so you’re ending up with plenty of sulforaphane either way.

I see no reason why sprouted celery seeds, broccoli seeds, radish seeds, or lettuce seeds wouldn’t be perfectly Primal. Lentil, oat, or bean sprouts? Probably not technically, although even those would be far less problematic (bean sprouts go great with spicy Thai food on a hot day). Just be aware that they have been linked to international E. coli and salmonella outbreaks, probably due to the warm, moist growing conditions required for sprouts.

Verdict: Primal, depending on the starter seed.

Agave Nectar

Agave nectar is a favorite whipping child of the Primal set, but we should substantiate our claims, don’t you think? We need to justify those welts, especially since a few of you guys were wondering (hoping?) about its place in the Primal Blueprint.

Agave nectar is insanely high in fructose. Of the sugar present, up to 92% of it is pure, unadulterated fructose. That’s considerably more than table sugar, most honey, and even high-fructose corn syrup. If we want to avoid fructose, agave nectar must also be avoided.

However, the recent honey post shows that not all sugar behaves the same. Honey – a “natural product” – contains a wide range of bee-based phenolic compounds that appear to render its sugar content less harmful than, say, a dose of HFCS with the same amount of fructose. Since agave nectar is also “natural” (it’s gotta be, with “nectar” and an exotic word like “agave” in the name), could it too be different than other sugars. No. A recent study found that while stuff like honey, molasses, and maple syrup all contain significant amounts of antioxidants that potentially mitigate the metabolic damage wrought by the sugar therein, agave nectar – along with refined sugar and corn syrup – has almost none. Even raw cane sugar beat agave nectar out in the antioxidant category.

Verdict: Not Primal.

Soy Lecithin

Many of your favorite darkest chocolates contain soy lecithin as an emulsifier, promoting smoothness and a luscious mouthfeel (whatever that means). Dark chocolate? Great. Anything with “soy” in it? Bad, or so we have been conditioned to react. But is it?

In a previous Dear Mark, I made the case that a little soy lecithin in your chocolate is nothing to worry about, even going so far as to mention the choline content as a benefit. Since the influx of questions on soy lecithin, however, I’ve revisited my stance and found some new evidence. It seems that across a whole host of soy products, soy lecithin was the most estrogenic (though estrogenic activity was found in almost all foods tested, even non-soy ones). And in “frozen rat spermatozoa,” soy lecithin – but not egg yolk (another source of choline) – interfered with mitochondrial function. Contrary to my previous assertion that soy lecithin cannot trigger soy allergy in allergic people, another study found that soy lecithin could contain “hidden soy allergens.”

I would caution any soy-sensitive individuals to stay away from soy lecithin, just to be safe. If you’re worried about missing out on a great dark chocolate, plenty of legit brands contain no soy whatsoever. Just check your labels. I would also suggest that any chocolate eaters with unexplained unpleasant symptoms make sure the chocolate they favor contains no soy lecithin, and try switching to a soy-free brand for a month. If you feel better, you might implement soy lecithin avoidance as a general rule.

Everyone else, don’t shy away from good dark chocolate. Just don’t eat it too often, supplement with soy lecithin, nor feed your baby dark chocolate.

Verdict: Not Primal, but small amounts in occasional chocolate shouldn’t be too bad for most people.

Coconut Aminos

Coconut aminos are the soy sauce replacement du jour, a gluten-free, soy-free combination of aged coconut sap and sea salt that tastes somewhat like soy sauce. It’s not an exact match, but it’s not really trying to be an exact match. Coconut aminos are their own beasts, and these happen to be tasty beasts.

That said, there’s nothing really remarkable or magical about them. Its purveyors like to talk about the presence of 17 amino acids, but so what? Trace amounts of certain amino acids in a sauce that you’ll consume by the tablespoonful probably aren’t going to amount to much of anything. Consume it for the unique taste and the lack of soy and wheat.

Verdict: Primal.

Tapioca

I’ve covered tapioca flour in a previous Dear Mark post, in which I gave it a relatively clean bill of health. Tapioca is simply purified cassava starch, with basically everything else removed. My original pronouncement hasn’t changed much. It’s fine as far as starches go, if you’re active and using the carbs. I would’t go overboard with it, especially if it comes in pudding or boba tea form, but it’s definitely a “safe starch.”

The major downside is that it’s just starch. It’s extremely low in anti-nutrients, sure, but it contains almost no nutrients, either. The biggest claims to fame of a cup of the stuff are 2% of the RDI for folate and 2.4 mg of iron. It won’t do you much harm, but it won’t do you much good, unless all you’re after is glucose.

Verdict: Primal.

Animal Skin

I almost didn’t include this one, because I figured it was a no-brainer, but then I figured that if several people are asking about the suitability of animal skin on a Primal eating regimen, it’s likely that a lot of people are avoiding it just to be safe. I think that’s a tragedy, and I aim to rectify and prevent it.

Animal skin is fantastic. In the past, I’ve discussed my love for sockeye salmon skin (bacon) and roasted chicken skin, but not everyone shares my enthusiasm. At restaurants, I often see people delicately remove chicken skin with polite disgust on their faces. At my local seafood market, I’ll often ask the guys behind the counter to save me the Pacific salmon skin that people have removed. I think they’re nuts for doing it, but I’m happy to take advantage of their mistakes.

Although I wouldn’t recommend eating charred, crispy animal skin every day of the week (although braised, gently-cooked animal skin is fine all the time), animal skin in and of itself is highly nutritious. Salmon skin is high in omega-3s. Other animal skin is high in animal fat, plus collagen and gelatin, which are excellent for joints, nails, hair, and skin while providing a nice counterbalance to a regular intake of muscle meat. As long as the animal in question was healthy and fed a good diet, I would never shy away from a serving of animal skin.

Verdict: Highly Primal. If you’re not eating it, send it to me.

Quorn

Until today, I’d always assumed that Quorn was a mock meat derived from corn, a grain. That makes perfect sense, right? I mean, it sounds like “corn.” Now that I realize it’s a mock meat derived from a fungus, I feel betrayed. I suppose I understand the decision – Fusarium venenatum doesn’t really have a ring to it – but it’s not really the origin of the stuff that turns me off (although that doesn’t help). It’s the fact that Quorn (do I have to capitalize that?) is fake meat, and people are presumably eating it despite the presence of actual, real, delicious, nutritious meat.

Vegetarians? Any vegetarian who chooses Quorn as a protein source over pastured eggs is nuts. Oh, and speaking of nuts, I’d eat nuts for protein before Quorn, too. Vegans? Sure, go ahead and eat your quorn for protein. I’m frankly not all that interested.

Before you fill your chest freezer with Quorn Tenders, Quorn Cumberland Sausages, and Quorn Tikka Masala (all real products, by the way), however, read about the allergic reactions people have had to Quorn. Some sources claim 4.5% of people who eat Quorn get sick, while other sources say just 1/140,000 report adverse reactions. I don’t think it’s a huge risk unless you’re sensitive to molds, but it’s something to keep in mind.

Verdict: Not Primal, but not because it comes from a fungus. Just eat some meat, dude.

That’s it for today, folks. I hope I didn’t crush any dreams or ruin any dinner plans (agave nectar marinated Quorn steaks, served with a soy lecithin-emulsification). I just wanted to keep you honest.

Do the same for me and leave a comment. Thanks!

Grab The Primal Blueprint Cookbook Today and Receive Free S&H and a Free Primal Blueprint Poster

Is It Primal? – 7 More Foods Scrutinized

Since it seems to be popular with this crowd, and we’re never running out of questionable foods, I figured I’d take the time to put together another round of “Is It Primal?” I got most of these choices from the comment sections of previous posts, along with follow-up emails. As always, feel free to fill in the blanks after the post. I have a strong feeling this will become a recurring series of posts, and I’m going to need plenty of material. Today, we’re talking about seven foods: sprouts of all kinds and origins; agave nectar, nectar of the metabolic syndrome gods; soy lecithin; coconut aminos, what hipsters have moved onto from tamari; tapioca, gummy starch; animal skin, food of the gods; and Quorn, “food.”

Let’s go:

Sprouts

Sprouts are a bit like sprites, in that they’re all over the place, agile, and difficult to get a bead on. Whether it’s pro-sprout or anti-sprout, solid data is tough to pin down. For one, “sprouts” is an incredibly non-specific term. Sprouts can come from legumes, grains, vegetables, and nuts. In other words, if it’s got a seed, you can get a sprout from it. And so you can’t look up the nutritional data for “sprouts,” because that would be like looking up the nutritional data for “meat.” It could be almost anything.

What we need to analyze, then, is the sprouting process. Does it do anything bad? Good? Is it neutral?

Sprouting tends to convert some of a seed’s sugar into vitamin C (to act as an antioxidant for the plant). That’s good. We no longer make vitamin C ourselves, so we need an exogenous source. Not a lot, but some.

Sprouting tends to reduce phytic acid (but not saponin content).

What about specific sprouts? I dug up a few citations:

Sunflower sprouts have anti-glycative and antioxidant effects, due to their elevated cynarin content.

Broccoli sprouts sound great, particularly for type 2 diabetics. In a double-blind placebo-controlled trial, they reduced oxidized LDL (and improved the oxLDL/LDL level) and decreased triglycerides in diabetic patients. They also reduced insulin resistance in type 2 diabetics. And finally, they reduced oxidative stress in type 2 diabetics.

If you’re making your own, note that antioxidant levels wax and wane throughout the sprouting process, at least in broccoli sprouts. Sulforaphane, the potent antioxidant responsible for many of broccoli’s benefits, declines upon germination, then increases slowly until hitting its high point at 48 hours post-germination, after which it declines. But don’t worry; glucoraphanin, which converts into sulforaphane, increases during the first 12 hours, sharply drops, then rises again, reaching the highest levels at 72 hours post-germination. Of course, glucoraphanin requires the enzyme myrosinase for conversion, but broccoli sprouts are particularly high in myrosinase, so you’re ending up with plenty of sulforaphane either way.

I see no reason why sprouted celery seeds, broccoli seeds, radish seeds, or lettuce seeds wouldn’t be perfectly Primal. Lentil, oat, or bean sprouts? Probably not technically, although even those would be far less problematic (bean sprouts go great with spicy Thai food on a hot day). Just be aware that they have been linked to international E. coli and salmonella outbreaks, probably due to the warm, moist growing conditions required for sprouts.

Verdict: Primal, depending on the starter seed.

Agave Nectar

Agave nectar is a favorite whipping child of the Primal set, but we should substantiate our claims, don’t you think? We need to justify those welts, especially since a few of you guys were wondering (hoping?) about its place in the Primal Blueprint.

Agave nectar is insanely high in fructose. Of the sugar present, up to 92% of it is pure, unadulterated fructose. That’s considerably more than table sugar, most honey, and even high-fructose corn syrup. If we want to avoid fructose, agave nectar must also be avoided.

However, the recent honey post shows that not all sugar behaves the same. Honey – a “natural product” – contains a wide range of bee-based phenolic compounds that appear to render its sugar content less harmful than, say, a dose of HFCS with the same amount of fructose. Since agave nectar is also “natural” (it’s gotta be, with “nectar” and an exotic word like “agave” in the name), could it too be different than other sugars. No. A recent study found that while stuff like honey, molasses, and maple syrup all contain significant amounts of antioxidants that potentially mitigate the metabolic damage wrought by the sugar therein, agave nectar – along with refined sugar and corn syrup – has almost none. Even raw cane sugar beat agave nectar out in the antioxidant category.

Verdict: Not Primal.

Soy Lecithin

Many of your favorite darkest chocolates contain soy lecithin as an emulsifier, promoting smoothness and a luscious mouthfeel (whatever that means). Dark chocolate? Great. Anything with “soy” in it? Bad, or so we have been conditioned to react. But is it?

In a previous Dear Mark, I made the case that a little soy lecithin in your chocolate is nothing to worry about, even going so far as to mention the choline content as a benefit. Since the influx of questions on soy lecithin, however, I’ve revisited my stance and found some new evidence. It seems that across a whole host of soy products, soy lecithin was the most estrogenic (though estrogenic activity was found in almost all foods tested, even non-soy ones). And in “frozen rat spermatozoa,” soy lecithin – but not egg yolk (another source of choline) – interfered with mitochondrial function. Contrary to my previous assertion that soy lecithin cannot trigger soy allergy in allergic people, another study found that soy lecithin could contain “hidden soy allergens.”

I would caution any soy-sensitive individuals to stay away from soy lecithin, just to be safe. If you’re worried about missing out on a great dark chocolate, plenty of legit brands contain no soy whatsoever. Just check your labels. I would also suggest that any chocolate eaters with unexplained unpleasant symptoms make sure the chocolate they favor contains no soy lecithin, and try switching to a soy-free brand for a month. If you feel better, you might implement soy lecithin avoidance as a general rule.

Everyone else, don’t shy away from good dark chocolate. Just don’t eat it too often, supplement with soy lecithin, nor feed your baby dark chocolate.

Verdict: Not Primal, but small amounts in occasional chocolate shouldn’t be too bad for most people.

Coconut Aminos

Coconut aminos are the soy sauce replacement du jour, a gluten-free, soy-free combination of aged coconut sap and sea salt that tastes somewhat like soy sauce. It’s not an exact match, but it’s not really trying to be an exact match. Coconut aminos are their own beasts, and these happen to be tasty beasts.

That said, there’s nothing really remarkable or magical about them. Its purveyors like to talk about the presence of 17 amino acids, but so what? Trace amounts of certain amino acids in a sauce that you’ll consume by the tablespoonful probably aren’t going to amount to much of anything. Consume it for the unique taste and the lack of soy and wheat.

Verdict: Primal.

Tapioca

I’ve covered tapioca flour in a previous Dear Mark post, in which I gave it a relatively clean bill of health. Tapioca is simply purified cassava starch, with basically everything else removed. My original pronouncement hasn’t changed much. It’s fine as far as starches go, if you’re active and using the carbs. I would’t go overboard with it, especially if it comes in pudding or boba tea form, but it’s definitely a “safe starch.”

The major downside is that it’s just starch. It’s extremely low in anti-nutrients, sure, but it contains almost no nutrients, either. The biggest claims to fame of a cup of the stuff are 2% of the RDI for folate and 2.4 mg of iron. It won’t do you much harm, but it won’t do you much good, unless all you’re after is glucose.

Verdict: Primal.

Animal Skin

I almost didn’t include this one, because I figured it was a no-brainer, but then I figured that if several people are asking about the suitability of animal skin on a Primal eating regimen, it’s likely that a lot of people are avoiding it just to be safe. I think that’s a tragedy, and I aim to rectify and prevent it.

Animal skin is fantastic. In the past, I’ve discussed my love for sockeye salmon skin (bacon) and roasted chicken skin, but not everyone shares my enthusiasm. At restaurants, I often see people delicately remove chicken skin with polite disgust on their faces. At my local seafood market, I’ll often ask the guys behind the counter to save me the Pacific salmon skin that people have removed. I think they’re nuts for doing it, but I’m happy to take advantage of their mistakes.

Although I wouldn’t recommend eating charred, crispy animal skin every day of the week (although braised, gently-cooked animal skin is fine all the time), animal skin in and of itself is highly nutritious. Salmon skin is high in omega-3s. Other animal skin is high in animal fat, plus collagen and gelatin, which are excellent for joints, nails, hair, and skin while providing a nice counterbalance to a regular intake of muscle meat. As long as the animal in question was healthy and fed a good diet, I would never shy away from a serving of animal skin.

Verdict: Highly Primal. If you’re not eating it, send it to me.

Quorn

Until today, I’d always assumed that Quorn was a mock meat derived from corn, a grain. That makes perfect sense, right? I mean, it sounds like “corn.” Now that I realize it’s a mock meat derived from a fungus, I feel betrayed. I suppose I understand the decision – Fusarium venenatum doesn’t really have a ring to it – but it’s not really the origin of the stuff that turns me off (although that doesn’t help). It’s the fact that Quorn (do I have to capitalize that?) is fake meat, and people are presumably eating it despite the presence of actual, real, delicious, nutritious meat.

Vegetarians? Any vegetarian who chooses Quorn as a protein source over pastured eggs is nuts. Oh, and speaking of nuts, I’d eat nuts for protein before Quorn, too. Vegans? Sure, go ahead and eat your quorn for protein. I’m frankly not all that interested.

Before you fill your chest freezer with Quorn Tenders, Quorn Cumberland Sausages, and Quorn Tikka Masala (all real products, by the way), however, read about the allergic reactions people have had to Quorn. Some sources claim 4.5% of people who eat Quorn get sick, while other sources say just 1/140,000 report adverse reactions. I don’t think it’s a huge risk unless you’re sensitive to molds, but it’s something to keep in mind.

Verdict: Not Primal, but not because it comes from a fungus. Just eat some meat, dude.

That’s it for today, folks. I hope I didn’t crush any dreams or ruin any dinner plans (agave nectar marinated Quorn steaks, served with a soy lecithin-emulsification). I just wanted to keep you honest.

Do the same for me and leave a comment. Thanks!

Grab The Primal Blueprint Cookbook Today and Receive Free S&H and a Free Primal Blueprint Poster

Top 8 Most Common Reactions to Your Grain-Free Diet (and How to Respond)

As I’m sure you’ve seen, eyes raise and questions arise when you order a burger wrapped in lettuce or discard a “wrap” and eat the contents. And then, when you answer with ”Oh, I don’t eat grains,” minds boggle and mouths gape as they stumble to grasp the notion of someone who doesn’t eat bread or pasta. Eventually, though, they fire off responses, challenges, questions, and proclamations. This isn’t right, this isn’t possible, this doesn’t agree with their idea of how people should eat. It just isn’t normal. You’re not normal, and you should be ashamed of yourself for introducing a new paradigm. But not all are personally offended by your decision. Some are honestly curious and flabbergasted. Some just want to know why someone would give up grains and how they get along without them.

So, what kind of stuff do we hear out there in the wild?

Rather than just linking to yet another MDA post, maybe on why grains are unhealthy or how to give them up, let’s take a look at the eight most popular and prevalent questions and then try to come up with some good responses to them. I’ll give both longer ones and succincter ones (that you can fire off in an elevator).

“Oh, is that a low-carb thing?”

While grains represent an easy, cheap source of carbohydrates (that most sedentary people simply don’t need), they also contain “anti-nutrients,” proteins and lectins and other nutritional factors that impair digestion, perforate the intestinal lining, increase inflammation, and can even exacerbate or (possibly) induce auto-immune diseases. Since the purpose of life is to reproduce and that grain has to make it into the ground to germinate and turn into a plant, grains don’t want to be eaten, and they use the anti-nutrients to dissuade consumption in lieu of the running, climbing, flying, crawling, biting, and stinging that animals use to survive.

Response: “Kinda, but it’s more than that. In order to survive and spread their genes, a grain uses anti-nutrients to dissuade animals from eating them. Some animals have adapted quite well, but humans haven’t, so I choose not to eat them.”

“I could never give up bread. And aren’t grains the staff of life?”

For the past several thousand years of human history, bread has been a staple food. The ancient Egyptians baked it. The Greeks and Romans made it. You probably grew up with it. It was – and is – cheap and filling. Today, because billions simply need calories from wherever they can get them, grains are the ticket, the “staff of life.” But it’s not like we’ll wither away into nothingness, all because we failed to heed the biological dietary necessity to eat grains ordained by some higher power. Grains aren’t the staff of life in an inherent sense, but rather because they’re cheap, reliable, and easy to work with. They provide calories and a modicum of nutrients to people who absolutely require those calories, regardless of any nutritional downsides. Having joint pain and bloating because you ate some whole wheat, while unpleasant, is better than dying of starvation because you refused it.

Response: “An unfortunately large number of people are forced to subsist on grains as a staple, because they’re cheap and plentiful and calories are scarce, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best way to eat. Grains aren’t necessary if you have access to plenty of fresh animals and plants.”

“Where do you get your fiber?”

As if only cereal grains contain non-starch polysaccharides. As if all the world’s inulin, pectin, chitin, beta-glucans, and oligosaccharides are found solely in wheat, barley, rye, rice, oat, and corn. As if some of the richest sources of soluble fiber – you know, prebiotics, or the kind that our gut bacteria can ferment and convert into metabolically-active short chain fatty acids – aren’t fruits, roots, nuts, and green vegetables. And, as if the richest sources of insoluble fiber – the metabolically-inert stuff that pretty much nothing can digest and which serves only as a bulking agent for improving the robustness of our bowel movements – aren’t whole grains.

Response: “I get my fiber from fruits and vegetables. Best of all, our gut bacteria can actually digest the fiber from fruits and vegetables, thereby producing short chain fatty acids that improve our metabolic health. Grain fiber is just a bulking agent that fills your toilet bowl.”

“What about the USDA food pyramid?”

What about it? Take a look around you. The obesity rate is the highest it’s ever been, and almost everyone who’s not obese is “just” overweight. Diabetes is on the rise. People live out the end of their lives relying on a complicated cocktail of pharmaceuticals and medical apparati just to eke out a few more years. All this, despite the majestic, all-powerful USDA dietary recommendations informing everything we put into our collective mouths. How’s that USDA food pyramid working out for us so far, I’d like to ask. I’m not necessarily assigning a causative role to the pyramid (though it certainly plays a role, in my view) in the obesity epidemic. I’m just saying that it has done absolutely nothing to staunch the rise of diet-related illness. I’m saying it doesn’t have a real impressive track record.

Response: “Since the USDA food pyramid was released in 1992, the obesity rate has increased unabated. What about it?”

“That must be terribly inconvenient. What do you eat for breakfast? What about sandwiches? What about dining out?”

Well, you see, all you gotta do for a bread-free sandwich is spread a little mayo on your right hand, some mustard on the left, and pile on the avocado, the deli slices, and the tomato slices in between. Easy as pie. Seriously, though, I don’t get this question. Have these people never heard of bacon and eggs? Omelets? A steak and salad? Do they think a sandwich is indivisible? That once you place the final slice of bread atop the meat, lettuce, and cheese the sandwich can never be altered, that you physically cannot pry the bread off the innards? Have they ever even witnessed the creation of a sandwich? Are they going to weird fascistic restaurants that force you to consume the bread and pasta? I just don’t get this one. I really don’t.

Response: “Just take off the bread and eat the other stuff. Bam.”

“Everything in moderation, I say. I don’t like to deprive myself of anything.”

Ah, yes, the eminent voice of reason. “Everything in moderation”, they say. Trans-fat? Bring it on, or else it’s deprivation! Margarine? Slather it on my veggies! Must not deprive! Arsenic? Sure, I’ll have a bite! Why not? That said, I’m just not seeing where the deprivation comes in. I fail to see how not eating a food that leads to poor health, digestive upset, and bloating is somehow deprivation. You could say that I’m technically depriving myself of feeling like crap by not eating grains, but that’s a good kind of deprivation. If you want to be quite literal, eating grains deprives you of a full, healthy existence.

Response: “When I eat grains, I feel terrible, bloated, and not like myself. The way I see it, I’d be depriving myself of a full, rich, healthy, happy life if I were to eat grains in moderation. Besides, do a rib-eye, some buttered broccoli, and a glass of red wine sound like deprivation to you?”

“I’ve been eating grains all my life and don’t seem to have a problem.”

You may not have an obvious problem now, but that’s only because you’ve grown accustomed to your body and it to your diet. The signals of discomfort are dulled, and the intensity of the pain has reduced. You’ve gotten used to the stomach upset, the intermittent bouts of diarrhea. You know how all those “things just happen” as you get older, a view that is reinforced when you see the same thing happening to everyone else around you (all of whom also happen to eat grains)? How you start going downhill at 40, it becomes hard to lose weight, all that stuff. Spend some time looking at what everyone is eating – grains, grains, and more grains – and you might notice a connection.

Response: “I felt the same way until I tried ditching them for 30 days. All those little niggling aches and pains and complaints that I figured were just an inevitable aspect of life have disappeared. I feel better than ever.”

“Where do you get your minerals?”

Although whole grains may look nutrient-dense, simply looking at the mineral content of a whole grain on a nutrition website tell you very little about how your body absorbs (or doesn’t absorb) those minerals. Remember those anti-nutritional factors present in most whole grains? Another one is called phytic acid, which binds to minerals in the grain and prevents their absorption in the gut. Calcium, zinc, magnesium, iron, and several others are susceptible to the lure of phytic acid, and research shows that cultures who rely on grains for the bulk of their macronutrients and micronutrients display deficiencies in these and other minerals.

Response: “Since they’re bound up to phytic acid, the minerals in grains aren’t really even all that bioavailable to your body. What you see listed on the nutritional facts isn’t what you’re actually absorbing and assimilating. I get my minerals from plants, fruits, and animals, which our bodies can actually absorb.”

Whenever you deviate from the norm, people are going to ask questions and try to challenge you. That’s fine and totally understandable. Remember – there was a time when all this Primal stuff sounded crazy to you, too. We are different. And people are going to react. They’re going to be defensive, inquisitive, accusatory, or all of the above. Try not to be defensive yourself. Try to maintain composure and think back to when the idea of giving up grains was utter madness, take a nice diaphragmatic breath, and respond. This is a time to educate, and perhaps even inspire. Utilize it.

I know I didn’t cover everything. I must have missed more than a few. So, readers, tell me: what else do people say when you tell them you don’t eat grains, and how do you respond?

Grab a Copy of The Primal Blueprint 21-Day Total Body Transformation and Start Getting Primal Today!

Dear Mark: Leptin Resets, Cold Thermogenesis, and Safe Starches?

Before we get to the topics du jour I’d like to express my appreciation to everyone that participated in last week’s “Dear Readers” comment board. As I said, Mark’s Daily Apple, my books, and what I do is constantly informed by your thoughts and ideas. In other words, I couldn’t do this without you, so thank you for your feedback.

My team and I have compiled all of your ideas and have begun laying out a plan to give you what you want, and to reach the largest number of people possible. We’ll be checking things off the list in coming months, so stay tuned! Now on to today’s article…

From cruise ships to tweets to ice baths to supposedly hacked social media accounts, Dr. Jack Kruse the man is nothing if not controversial. But what about his ideas – do they have any merit? That’s what many of my readers have been wondering, along with how I feel about them. I’ve remained pretty silent on this matter, because Jack was doing his thing and apparently helping a lot of people in the process. I was doing mine and helping people in my own way. And all was well. Now, though, the questions are coming in droves, and I can’t really ignore them any longer.

“Do I have to sit in ice water to stay healthy?”

“Do I really have to eat 50 to 75 grams of protein for breakfast even if I can’t force it down?”

Etc., etc.

I’ve also included a question about safe starches for good measure. Ready? Let’s go:

Mark,

What do you think about Jack Kruse’s Leptin Reset or his Cold Thermogenesis protocol? Any merit to them?

Sean

Well, let’s look at the Leptin Reset. What does it call for, exactly?

A big protein-rich breakfast, at least 50 grams’ worth, but even up to 75 grams.
Eat low carb Paleo, especially if you’re really overweight, in which case you should eat very low carb. Increase carbs only if weight loss progresses.
Don’t snack, especially late at night. Eat three solid meals.
Reduce or eliminate light exposure after sunset.
Keep workouts to a minimum, and if you do work out, do it after five.
Practice meditation or some other form of mindfulness before bed.

Sound familiar? Other than the emphasis on protein (more later) and the “after five” admonition, I can’t really find too much fault with this approach. It hits all the major points we talk about and have talked about in the past.

That said, my views slightly differ on the importance of protein in the diet. It can be extremely satiating, which is helpful when trying to lose weight and subconsciously curb food intake without obsessing over calories. Anytime you’re trying to stuff yourself with a macronutrient past the point of feeling disgusted with yourself, though, I have a problem. We shouldn’t be doing that. It shouldn’t be necessary. Studies do show that a high-protein breakfast improves weight loss and satiety better than a breakfast of any other macronutrient breakdown, but it should not be continued indefinitely.

I also question whether that amount of protein is really necessary – or even useful – for most people. Thirty grams at a sitting is probably the most your body can deal with. Of course, if you’re legitimately using that protein toward muscle building and repair, have at it. Metabolically healthy, training hard and lifting heavy? Eat to your heart’s content. But if you’re eating protein just to stuff yourself and stay full and satisfy a requirement you feel bound to, you’re going to waste a lot of it. As I’ve said before, I’m trying to minimize my use of glucose, whether exogenous or endogenously produced. If I’m eating so much protein that the excess is being converted to glucose, I’m not really minimizing it, am I?

What about the Cold Thermogenesis stuff?

I like the idea of using cold water as a hormetic stressor, and I even did a post on the benefits of cold water immersion back in 2008. Throughout the year, I take frequent cold plunges myself in my pool, which reaches the mid 50s in winter. I’ve been doing it for years now after a training buddy of mine turned me onto it. I use it for recovery after a training session, and sometimes just to wake up and feel energized in the middle of the day. My sessions typically last about five or ten minutes, but I’ve gone as long as thirty. What do I notice since doing cold plunges?

Enhanced recovery from particularly vigorous training or playing. I’m ready to go the next day, rather than feeling beat-up and worn down.
Reduced DOMS, even after a heavy day.
Less pseudo-arthritic pain in my lower body joints. My arthritis pretty much disappeared since going Primal and giving up endurance athletics, but once in awhile I’d still get a few lingering, worrisome pains. No more.

I’ve never had much fat to lose, so that’s never been a determining factor for me. I do have a concern, though, with the concept of regular prolonged immersions and cold “adaptation” for people trying to lose body fat. One of the epigenetic adaptations to regular long exposures to cold is an increase in subcutaneous fat, as the body attempts to prevent heat loss by building a layer of insulation (fat). This happens often in marathon swimmers who train in cold water. Even non-elite pool swimmers who put in huge yardage tend to have this layer. The other concern is what seems to be an increase in appetite after long exposures to cold (after burning all those calories shivering). That would seem counterproductive – and uncomfortable.

Dr. Kruse is enthusiastic, and, judging from his followers and his monster thread on my forum, many people have found success using his methods. I’ve got nothing against the man. I just want people reading his stuff to be cautious. Take cold plunges, absolutely, but be careful with the two-hour ice water baths. Be wary of some of the more fantastical claims, like improving your lifting numbers by 150 pounds just by sitting in an ice bath, getting “shredded” just from cold water exposure, or falling asleep in a bathtub full of ice for ten hours being safe.

If you’re really interested in cold water therapy, I’d look to Ray Cronise, the NASA scientist who helped Tim Ferriss on the cold water immersion section in the Four Hour Body book. He’s far more measured in his claims and recommendations. According to Cronise, “cool water” is very effective for weight loss, not just freezing cold water, and you don’t have to go numb for days on end to derive benefits from it. Another place to look for inspiration is Richard Nikoley of Free the Animal, who’s been experimenting with cold water exposure for a few years now. Check out Richard’s post from a few weeks’ back where Cronise participates; it’s pretty interesting. If you want to try this out without getting too obsessive or buying any special equipment, you could do the occasional cold shower thing, maybe, but my advice is to just go for a swim in a cool – or even cold – body of water. A pool, a river, a lake, the ocean, whatever. And yes, swim. Don’t sit and stew. Just do some laps, see how many times you can swim underwater from end to end without taking a breath, play Marco Polo, play water polo, get three more people in there for some chicken fights.

Hey Mark,

Safe starches. Are they really safe?

Morgan

There are certainly safer starches. Things like white rice, yams, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and any other starchy root, tuber, or vegetable that are relatively free of food toxins (gluten and related proteins, grain and legume lectins, etc) are far better choices than pasta, bread, muffins, and pizza. But that’s not to say that everyone should be making those choices, day in, day out.

In general, I’m trying to burn as little glucose as possible. That’s not to say I’m always full-blown ketogenic. I tailor my carb intake to my activity level and my natural inclinations and desires. If I’m playing a lot of Ultimate or going through one of my periodical (but rare) two week stretches of heavy lifting and sprinting a ton, I’ll generally eat a few more sweet potatoes than usual and opt for nigiri over straight sashimi at the sushi spot. But that’s not very often. Most of the time, I stay active, but I don’t go nuts. I’m mostly burning fat, walking a lot, staying on my feet, maintaining a constant level of activity, and punctuating my days with brief spurts of intense activity. I’m not intent on increasing my work capacity, my muscle endurance, nor my ability to take a ton of pain and come out on top – even though I do pretty well when I try something (like Ultimate) that calls for that stuff. So I rarely feel the need to “carb-up.”

The common factor among all these scenarios is that I let my needs dictate my consumption. I call carbs “the elective macronutrient.”  If I need the safe starches to perform better at what I want to do, I’ll eat them. If delicious food that happens to be higher in carbs is in season, I’ll eat some. Just last week, I spied a flat of organic Gavota strawberries at peak ripeness on my way to pick up pastured eggs at the farmers’ market and felt like eating a bunch. So I did. I bought that flat and we went through it in a few days. Was it a “lot” of carbs? Sure, but they were delicious, the weather is really warming up, and they were in season. It just felt right. And because my glycogen stores are generally light, I’m sure I simply topped them off and then burned through most of it doing HIIT the next couple of days.

That’s how I think we should approach safe starches. If it feels right, if your body seems to want it, and you’re going to use those carbs, then go for it. If not, don’t. You’ll probably find that 150 grams of carbs gives a surprising amount of leeway. You’re still low-carb and relying on fat for the bulk of your energy needs, but you’re not in full blown ketosis all the time, which can be limiting (but useful as a therapeutic tool). And if it’s not enough, if you insist on hitting the training a little harder (than I’d like) some days, try a cyclic low-carb approach. Eat low-carb on rest days, higher-carb on training days. A “carb refeed” might be warranted in this case, and it would allow you to still be in fat-burning mode most of the time.

But ultimately, I think we should be focusing on becoming fat-burning beasts, running on clean plentiful fuel, enjoying steady even energy, and avoiding a lifetime of sugar-burning. If that means limiting the types of chronic high-intensity, high-volume training that necessitates eating loads of safe starches, so be it. That’s what I’ve chosen to do for the rest of my time here, and it seems to be working pretty well. I’m rarely ketotic, since I like my veggies and berries as much as anyone, but when I do slip into ketosis, it’s not a struggle and there are no side effects. The machinery is already in place and fully operational.

Well, that’s my take on it all. What’s yours?

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