Mark Sisson's Blog, page 67

Refreshing Summer Mocktail Recipes Using Alcohol Alternatives

There’s something about a cocktail that can turn any mundane activity into a celebration. The colorful garnish, the refreshing fizz, the pretty glass… it’s the whole package.

For various reasons you just might not want alcohol. That doesn’t mean you have to skip out on the cocktail experience. These mocktails feature Ritual alcohol alternatives, which add the same bite and flavor enhancement that a shot of tequila or gin adds to a cocktail, without the boozy effects.

Here are three refreshing summer mocktails using Ritual’s keto-friendly alcohol alternatives.

We’ve partnered with Ritual Zero Proof to give 5 lucky winners one of each of their keto-friendly alcohol alternatives: a gin alternative, tequila alternative, and a whiskey alternative, and we’ll throw in $100 in Primal Kitchen keto friendly products too. Head on over to the Mark’s Daily Apple Instagram page for details on how to enter. Closes 7/29/2020, so enter ASAP!

Refreshing Summer Mocktail Recipes Using Alcohol Alternatives

Tip: For a calorie-free and sugar-free option, we use liquid monk fruit sweetener in place of simple syrups that are typically used in cocktails. Some may prefer no sweetener while others will prefer a few drops, so add sweetener to taste.

Dragonfruit Margarita

Serves: 1

Time in the kitchen: 2 minutes

Ingredients

1 oz. Ritual Tequila Alternative
2 scoops Primal Kitchen Dragonfruit Collagen
1/2-1 oz. lime juice
1 oz. water
6 oz. club soda or seltzer
1-2 drops liquid monkfruit sweetener
Slices of lime
Ice

Directions

Pour some salt onto a small plate. Press a slice of lime around the rim of a glass and then press the rim of the glass into the salt to make the salt rim. Combine the Primal Kitchen Dragonfruit Collagen, tequila and water in a shaker or blender and mix until well combined. Pour over ice. Stir in the lime juice and pour in the club soda. Add liquid monkfruit sweetener to taste and garnish with slices of lime.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 70

Fat: 0g

Total Carbohydrates: 5g

Net Carbohydrates: 4g

Protein: 10g

Blackberry Gin Fizz

Serves: 1

Time in the kitchen: 2 minutes

Ingredients

1.5 oz. Ritual Gin Alternative
10 blackberries
4-6 oz. cucumber melon seltzer
1-2 drops liquid monkfruit sweetener
1 oz. lime juice
Sliced cucumber
Ice
Optional: mint or basil leaves

Directions

Add the gin and half of the blackberries to a glass (you can add basil or mint at this time too). Muddle the gin and blackberries together.

Add ice, lime juice, seltzer and cucumber slices and stir.

Add in additional cucumber slices and the remaining blackberries as garnish.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 38

Fat: 0g

Total Carbohydrates: 11g

Net Carbohydrates: 6g

Protein: 1g

Bubbly Whiskey Cherry Lemonade

Serves: 1

Time in the kitchen: 2 minutes

Ingredients

1.5 oz. Ritual Whiskey Alternative
6 pitted cherries
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Optional: juice from ½ orange
6 oz. sparkling lemon seltzer
Liquid monkfruit sweetener to taste
Slices of lemon and cherries to garnish
Ice

Directions

Muddle the cherries and whiskey together. Add the lemon juice and orange juice if you are using it.

Stir in the seltzer and liquid monkfruit sweetener to taste. Add ice and garnish with lemon slices and cherries.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 40

Fat: 0g

Total Carbohydrates: 9g

Net Carbohydrates: 8g

Protein: 0g

The post Refreshing Summer Mocktail Recipes Using Alcohol Alternatives appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Weekly Link Love — Edition 91

Research of the Week

Humans were breeding sled dogs at least as far back as 9500 years ago.

High-carb meals depress postprandial energy expenditure.

Antidepressant effects of ayahuasca may be linked to its anti-inflammatory effects.

Among senior men, low protein intake is deadly.

Taking glucosamine linked to lower mortality.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 435: Jennifer Fulwiler: Host Elle Russ chats with Jennifer Fulwiler, a best-selling author and standup comic.

Primal Health Coach Radio, Episode 70: Laura and Erin chat with JR Burgess, who shares an incredible number of health coaching insights, techniques, and innovations.

Media, Schmedia

How minor are the “minor side effects” of proposed COVID-19 vaccines?

Humans have been in the Americas for far longer than previously suspected, according to new evidence.

Interesting Blog Posts

Why Athenian apartments have stood the test of time.

Where are all the preemies?

Social Notes

Salt.

Everything Else

New Canadian mask deactivates 99% of coronavirus.

Gut bugs convert type A blood to universal donor blood.

Are kids actually getting more nature these days?

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

Interesting results: How has the Paleo community changed over the years?

I hope this ends up working: New blood test promises to show cancer 4 years before symptoms appear.

Cool map: Accelerating use of iron across the world.

Interesting line of research: What slows you down when training—pain or effort?

Good news: Exercise fights the coronavirus blues.

Question I’m Asking

What do you think of this video? Should we change our relationship with nature?

Recipe Corner

Looking for something to do with all that canned tuna you bought during the pandemic? Make spicy tuna cakes.
The meatball knows no national or ethnic boundary.

Time Capsule

One year ago (Jul 18 – Jul 24)

27 Primal Lunchbox Ideas  – How to pack one.
What is Mediterranean Keto? – Well, what is it?

Comment of the Week

“It is indeed warm in Hawaii, but most people here like to avoid the heat as much as those in any other warm region (such as Florida), so it’s not clear that Hawaii’s lower infection rate is largely due to the weather.

While isolation from other states and quarantine rules surely do play a role (though many break quarantine as it’s largely unenforceable), a likely bigger factor is that the vast majority of people in Hawaii consistently wear a face covering and provide distance when around others.

This may be due in part to Hawaii’s culture, where the concept of “family” (?ohana) extends to the entire community and caring about elders and others is fundamental, but I am glad for it nonetheless.”

–Mark’s comment illustrates the near-limitless range of potential confounding variables.

The post Weekly Link Love — Edition 91 appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

The Definitive Guide to Breaking Bad Habits

Over the past few months, you’ve probably picked up a few habits you might not be thrilled with right now. Maybe your new normal has you staring mindlessly at the fridge looking for something snacky (and packing on a few extra pounds). Putting your workouts off ‘til the gym reopens. Or managing your stress with another drink, another bag of chips, or another hour of scrolling through your social media feed.

A lot of my clients have noticed that the bad habits they used to have are resurfacing too. Which is totally normal given the circumstances.

So, what gives?

Stay on track no matter where you are! Instantly download your Primal and Keto Guide to Eating Out.

How Bad Habits Start

There are two factors typically associated with starting a bad habit. Stress and boredom. If you’ve been self-isolating for the past four months, I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this.

In a study from the University of Buffalo, researchers looked at the coping strategies of children ages 8-12 when placed under stress. Each participant was asked to complete a speech stressor on one day and read magazines the next. After each of the activities, they were given a free-choice period with access to food, screen time, or play time. Researchers found that the kids were more apt to choose an unhealthy behavior like snacking or watching TV than they were to go outside and play.1

Other research highlights the detrimental effects of boredom on bad habits, including one study where participants were asked to complete a high-boredom task and a low-boredom task. Results showed that the higher-boredom task increased their desire for less healthy foods as a way to distance themselves from the experience of boredom itself.2

Of course, sometimes there are deeper issues at work. It could be a fear or limiting belief that’s causing you to create and hold onto a habit that’s not in your best interest.

Why Habits are Hard to Break

If it feels like your bad habits are nearly impossible to break, you’re not alone. And there are three important reasons for this.

They’re wired in your brain. When you repeat a behavior enough times, it actually changes your neural pathways.3 And those pathways get stronger each time you repeat that behaviour. Basically, your habits rewire your brain.
They provide a benefit. On the surface, it might be hard to see what benefit snacking mindlessly or laying on the couch has. But upon deeper examination, those habits prevent you from feeling something you don’t want to feel (stress, panic, boredom, etc.).
They’re part of a pattern. Are you triggered to eat when you walk into the kitchen? Or pour a drink once you’ve shut your laptop for the day? Often times, your habits are part of a bigger pattern that may be associated with emotional or environmental factors.

Break Your Bad Habits for Good

It’s helpful to understand how bad habits get started and why they’re so hard to break. But it’s not enough. You’ve also got to know and put into practice the strategies that allow you to finally stop the habits that continuously interfere with your goals.

Strategy 1: Acknowledge it.

It’s hard to change something if you don’t realize what that somethingis. Be aware of the times you spend procrastinating, grabbing a “healthy” protein bar instead of making lunch, pressing the snooze button, or any negative behaviour you want to change.

ACTION STEP: Write down when and where your habit typically takes place, and what triggers it to start.

STRATEGY 2: Make it more difficult.

I once had a client who couldn’t stop binging on nuts. The simple answer to that is to stop buying them! According to James Clear, one of the leading authorities on habit building (and habit breaking), you’re less likely to complete a bad habit if it’s more challenging to do. So, if you always sleep in, put your alarm in the other room. If the TV takes up too much of your time, hide the remote. If you can’t stop eating nuts, get them out of the house.

ACTION STEP: Brainstorm 1-2 ways you can make your current bad habit harder to do.

STRATEGY 3: Reframe your situation.

Reframing is a strategy I use all the time with my health coaching clients. Say you want to exercise more and getting up early is the only way to squeeze it in. Changing your mindset from I have to wake up early to work out to I get to wake up early can be a total game changer when it comes to breaking bad habits. Same goes for ditching your quick toast-for-breakfast routine for a more leisurely meal of eggs and bacon. Try saying, I get to enjoy an epic protein forward breakfast instead.

ACTION STEP: Jot down a habit you want to break, using the I get to strategy to reframe it.

STRATEGY 4: Hold yourself accountable (or work with an accountability partner).

There’s a big difference between people who say they want to change their bad habits and those who actually do. When you hold yourself accountable for your actions, you’re telling yourself that you’re worth it — that this change is important enough for you to make it a priority. I’ve been working with an accountability partner to help me break my habit of mashing the snooze button. Because my partner and I have the same goal, we help each other stay accountable.

ACTION STEP: Get clear on what habit you want to break, the reasons you want to break it, and how you’ll hold yourself accountable.

STRATEGY 5: Replace it with a good habit.

Knowing that stress and boredom are the two biggest elements for starting (and continuing) a bad habit, it’s crucial to have a good habit in place for when those two feelings come on. Say, for example, you’ve got the habit of dealing with work stress by mindlessly scrolling through Facebook. What if you went for a quick walk around the block or did a short breathing exercise? By replacing the habit you want to break with one that gives you the same, or similar benefit, you’re more likely to stick with it.

ACTION STEP: Notice the emotion that triggers your bad habit. Then, think of a positive behaviour to do instead to alleviate that feeling.

How to break bad habits (recap)

Acknowledge it
Make it more difficult
Reframe your situation
Hold yourself accountable
Replace it with a good habit

What bad habits are you trying to break? What strategies have you used that worked — or didn’t work? Tell me about your experience in the comments below.

References https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22634198/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4381486/https://healthtransformer.co/the-neuroscience-of-behavior-change-bcb567fa83c1

The post The Definitive Guide to Breaking Bad Habits appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Coronavirus Update: New Developments on COVID-19

It’s been a couple months since I did a post explicitly about COVID-19, or SARS-COV2, or coronavirus, and since the pandemic is still happening and is on everyone’s mind, I’m going to do another one today. This time, I’m going to do a big picture look at where we stand on transmission risks, reinfections, immunity, and what I think we need to keep in mind as we go forward.

Where do we stand with coronavirus?

How is it transmitted—and how can we avoid it?

What’s the deal with herd immunity?

What are my thoughts on the biggest challenges yet to come?

What’s the riskiest place to be?

Indoor areas with low air circulation. Things seem to be spiking in hot areas where everyone stays indoors blasting the air conditioning and breathing in recycled air because it’s so damn hot outside. In regions where people get out into hot weather, like Hawaii, the virus is virtually non-existent. There are certainly other factors at play—Hawaii is an island protected by thousands of miles of water, for one, and they have a strict quarantine protocol for visitors—but many transmissions have been linked to indoor areas with AC.

Furthermore, all indications are that it’s harder to get infected from a “glancing blow.” Viral load—the number of viral particles you actually take in — is a big factor. If the initial load is small enough, your immune system has a better chance of fighting it off. If the load is too big, your immune system can get overwhelmed. What’s “too big” a load is different for everyone, but all else being equal, a larger viral load is worse. That’s why health care workers who spend a lot of time around infected patients are at a greater risk. But if you’re passing someone on the street? It’s going to be a much lower risk.

Is coronavirus easy to transmit outdoors?

I asked about this on Twitter the other day, wondering if anyone had good evidence of outdoor transmission. There were many responses. Some of the more notable ones.

A 4th of July beach party in Michigan. Hundreds of people standing close together in knee high water, lots of house boats, “several” cases of coronavirus. There was also a house party a couple hundred miles away the same weekend that produced 40 cases. The indoor house party was much more virulent than the outdoor beach party.
A Memorial Day party at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. Very crowded, looked iffy. One attendee ended up with coronavirus, but officials haven’t identified any other positive cases linked to the party. I wasn’t able to find any recent updates to the contrary. The outdoor lake party didn’t seem very dangerous in this instance.
No cases detected after the July 4th speech at Mount Rushmore. They could still pop up, given the potential lag time between exposure and symptoms, but it looks good so far.
There were also transmission cases after an outdoor graduation event and indoor prom on the same weekend. 19 students tested positive. All students attended both events, so it’s hard to determine if the cases occurred at the graduation event (which probably had indoor parties afterward) or at the prom (or both).

An earlier Chinese study found that out of 7,300 instances of person-to-person transmission, only one occurred outdoors.4 It happened during an extended conversation.

Overall, the most recent study I could find on the subject came to a similar conclusion.5 Researchers searched through PubMed, media stories, and any other legitimate reports on transmission events and found that the vast majority of transmissions occurred indoors.

This is good news, if it holds. It means people can feel a little safer about going outside, getting sunshine, getting physical activity, and living their lives. Avoid crowds and wear a mask when you’re around people, but I’m cautiously optimistic that being outdoors is the safest place to be.

Does COVID-19 spread through breathing?

This has always been the great fear. Does the virus spread through aerosol from simple breathing, talking, or are sneezes, coughs, and yelling required? Are aerosolized viral particles enough? Or do we need larger droplets?

A new pre-print just came out that has people worried. They took breath samples from symptomatic COVID-19 patients, found live viral particles in the aerosolized droplets, and found they could replicate on isolated human cells.6

However, before you freak out, the story is more complicated than that.

Not all the samples grew; some subjects’ breath samples “didn’t take.” Some samples actually saw their viral particles decline in number. The smallest particles were the most successful at replicating, but the smallest particles also contained the lowest viral load.

The rate of growth was fairly low compared to how actual infections play out. The most successful samples only grew by 400% after six days. And that’s in an isolated human cell. When an entire human gets infected with COVID-19, the virus grows by thousands of percentage points every 8 hours or so.

That said, the virus is aerosolized, some of that aerosol contains replicable viral particles, and if you breathe enough of them in—probably by staying indoors with an infected person or people for an extended period of time — it’s possible to be infected. It’s pretty clear that larger droplets remain the big risk, though.

Can you be reinfected with COVID-19?

A pretty convincing thread of anecdotes out of Iran (one of the earliest and hardest-hit countries) claims that reinfections are occurring. This would suggest that immunity wanes, at least in some people.

Some experts have floated the idea that COVID-19 may be the type of virus that stays with you and cycles through active and dormant periods, like Epstein-Barr or herpes does. It hasn’t been around long enough to know yet whether or not that is the case.

Can we reach herd immunity for coronavirus without a vaccine?

At first, the antibody immunity data wasn’t very encouraging: antibody levels in the population weren’t anything close to crossing the herd immunity threshold, and the antibody response to COVID-19 seemed to diminish and wane after a few months.

But more recently, scientists are finding evidence of robust and widespread T-cell immunity. T-cells from other coronaviruses, like SARS, various animal coronaviruses, and perhaps even the common cold may work on COVID-19. This cross-immunity is long-lasting, too; even though SARS hit 17 years ago, many of the subjects in the study still had T-cell immunity against it.7 In another study, between 20-50% of unexposed people showed t-cell activity against COVID-19.8

From what I’m reading and hearing from experts, this has the potential to be a hugely positive development. My hope is that the huge death numbers are behind us, or at least trending that way. I hope those T-cell cross-immunity numbers persist in subsequent reports. I hope we start looking at T-cell immunity and not just antibody immunity.

Where I Stand

We’ll beat this thing. Of that there’s no doubt. We’ve made it to the other side of epidemics with much more primitive knowledge, tools, and technology. But here’s what I really worry about, other than the deaths, potential long-term health ramifications, and anything “physical.”

I’m seeing a lot of fear. I’m seeing people lose their appreciation for the rest of humanity. I’m seeing people use dehumanizing language to describe people who have different views on the seriousness of the virus. Neighbor doesn’t wear a mask? Don’t assume they’re evil or callous. Neighbor wants people to shelter in place? Don’t assume they’re authoritarians-in-waiting.

I worry about people who are too scared, too paralyzed to do the kinds of activities that are actually quite low-risk and would probably increase health and resistance, like going outside for hikes (even, gasp, with friends and family), getting sun and fresh air and exercise, moving through space and time rather than sitting hunched over your smartphone, scrolling through your echo chamber of choice.

Relax. Stay cautious and vigilant, yes. Stay safe. Don’t put yourself or anyone else at risk. No flippancy. But don’t forget to have fun and loosen up where you can. Low- to no-risk activities are out there. Do those.

If you have kids, they’re stressing out too. Believe me, they’re like sponges. They reflect what you’re giving off. Do it for them, if nothing else.

Lose the vitriol and the fear, more than anything. That stuff doesn’t go away so easily. Those divisions we’re building up between neighbors and family members and citizens may persist long after the pandemic has ended. Don’t let that happen!

We can do this.

Anyway, that’s how I’m viewing this whole coronavirus thing right now. Cautious but optimistic. What about you? How are you handling everything? Where do you see things going in the next few weeks?

References https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22634198/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4381486/https://healthtransformer.co/the-neuroscience-of-behavior-change-bcb567fa83c1https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.04.20053058v1.full.pdfhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7327724/https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.07.13.20041632v2https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2550-zwww.nature.com/articles/s41577-020-0389-z

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Do You Have Tech Neck, or Nerd Neck? How to Fix Forward Head Posture

Nerd neck. Tech neck. Computer neck. Text neck. Forward head posture.

You might not be familiar with these terms, but you almost certainly know what they describe. Picture someone sitting on a bus or park bench looking at their phone. See in your mind’s eye how their head juts forward of their shoulders and droops down? That’s forward head posture.

Before we were all sheltering at home, you couldn’t go out without seeing it everywhere. In coffee shops, restaurants, public transportation, even walking down the street, person after person hunched over their device. That’s not a natural posture for humans, and it’s taking a toll on our collective health.

Nerd neck, tech neck, text neck, and computer neck are interchangeable terms that denote the pain and other symptoms that come from spending too much time in this position. It’s not clear exactly how prevalent it is, but a quick survey of my friends revealed that every single one had experienced neck, shoulder, or back pain that they attributed to spending too much time on their devices. When the Pew Research Center polled American adults last year, 28% said they’re online “almost constantly.” Various surveys estimate the average person spends 3 to 5 hours a day just on their phones. This doesn’t count hours in front of a computer, watching TV, or playing video games. Teens’ and college students’ usage is considerably higher.

All this is to say, tech neck is undoubtedly widespread. I’d bet it’s become even more prevalent in the past few months as people are spending more time at home with their devices.

The good news is that it’s not terribly hard to correct and prevent. A few simple changes, plus easy daily exercises, and you’ll be standing tall once more.

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What Causes Tech Neck?

Many modern activities cause you to pull your head forward and/or look down:

Using cell phones, desktops, laptops, and tablets
Reading
Driving
Cycling
Playing video games

Your head weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 to 12 pounds (4.5 to 5.5 kg). Your spine is designed to hold that weight balanced and centered above your shoulders. As you jut your head forward and down, the load on your cervical spine (the vertebrae in your neck) increases. Every inch of forward head posture places an additional 10 pounds of force on the spine.9 When you look down at a 45-degree angle, your head exerts around 50 pounds of pressure on your cervical spine.

To compensate for the added weight, the muscles in your neck tighten, putting more pressure on the discs between your vertebrae. Eventually, they can bulge or rupture, and then you have much bigger problems.

Forward head posture also pulls your shoulders up and forward, rounding your shoulders and upper back. This leads to upper crossed syndrome, a condition that a doctor or physiotherapist can diagnose. With UCS, you end up with tight pectorals, suboccipitals, upper traps, and levator scapulae; and weak rhomboids, middle/lower traps, and neck flexors.10 In addition to pain, joint dysfunction, and even numbness, the misalignment can also cause your pelvis to tilt, affecting the entire posterior chain. While it all starts with the head and neck, forward head posture leads to all sorts of issues if not addressed.

Symptoms of Tech Neck

Symptoms of tech neck include:

Pain or tightness in the neck, shoulders, upper back, or chest
Weakness in the neck
Restricted movement through the neck or shoulders
Headaches
Jaw pain
Numbness or tingling in the upper arms

Do You Have Tech Neck?

If you have any degree of neck pain, especially if it’s worse after using your computer or phone, you probably have some degree of tech neck. Frankly, I’d venture to guess that almost everyone does nowadays.

Here are two easy tests you can do at home:

1) Have a friend take a picture of you from the side, standing in your normal, comfortable position. Look at where your ear is relative to your shoulder. It should be directly above the middle of your shoulder. For many people, the ear will be slightly—or considerably—in front of that midline. Also ask your friend to photograph you using your phone or computer.

2) Stand with your back to a wall, feet shoulder-width apart. Slightly pinch your shoulder blades together and try to get them to touch the wall without arching your back. Visualize lengthening your neck, reaching the crown of your head toward the ceiling. Then, try to reach the back of your head to the wall. Can it touch? Does it feel at all difficult or unnatural? Some people with severe forward neck posture and UCS won’t be able to bring their heads back at all.

How to Fix Forward Head Posture

To fix forward head posture, you must do two things: correct existing posture issues, and take steps to avoid putting yourself in the same position in the future.

Remedies for Tech Neck

First, the necessary disclaimer: If you’re having pain, the below exercises cause you any pain, or you have other head, neck, or shoulder problems, talk to your doctor or physical therapist before proceeding.

Here are four exercises you can do at home. Even though they seem simple, you may need time to work up to them depending on your current posture. It’s helpful to have someone watch you do these exercises to tell you if you are in the proper position. Have them take pictures so you can see how you look and to track your progress.

1. Chin tucks

Sit or stand straight—no slouching.
Gently tuck your chin so you’re looking straight ahead.
Move your head back without tipping your chin up. Imagine you have a ponytail in the middle-back of your head, and someone pulled it straight back.
Hold this position for 3 to 5 seconds. Repeat up to 10 times. Do 2 to 3 sets.
Variation: Place two fingers on your chin and apply gentle pressure as you pull back your head.

2. Isometric contraction

Once you feel what it’s like to move your head back using the chin tuck exercise, try this one.
Interlace your fingers.
Looking straight ahead, place your hands behind your head with your elbows pointing out to the sides.
Do the same chin tuck as above, then gently press your head back into your hands. Hold your hands steady to provide resistance. Hold this position for 3 to 5 seconds. Do 2 to 3 sets of 5 to 10 repetitions each

3. Wall sits

Stand with your back against a wall. Walk your feet out about 12 inches and slightly bend your knees. Don’t get too low. This isn’t a quad exercise.
Make sure your lower, mid, and upper back are all touching the wall—no arching.
Do the chin tuck exercise and, looking straight ahead, gently pull your head straight back toward the wall. The back of your head should touch, not the crown. If it doesn’t quite touch, hold it at your point of tension.
Hold for 2 to 3 minutes. Repeat a few times per day.
Variation: Do this exercise sitting on the floor with legs extended.

4. Wall angels

Stand with your back against a wall.
Move your head straight back so the middle-back of your head is touching the wall.
Bend your elbows and raise your arms to shoulder height. Place your arms flat against the wall with your thumbs pointed toward your ears. This position is also called “goalpost arms” or “cactus arms.”
Slowly raise and lower your arms like you’re doing jumping jacks, keeping your elbows bent and the back of your hands on the wall.
Do this for 30 seconds or until your arms feel fatigued.

Do these exercises throughout the day. It might take a few weeks or even months to remediate your tech neck. Stick with it. If you don’t see improvement, make an appointment with a chiropractor or physical therapist.

Avoiding Nerd Neck In the Future

The above exercises can help you fix existing misalignment and relieve pain. Just as importantly, you must address the root causes.

First things first, stop looking down to use your devices. That means:

Hold your phone in front of your face rather than in your lap. Yes, you’ll look nerdier doing that, but your neck will thank you.
Elevate your computer monitor so it is at eye level. Laptop users might want to invest in a separate keyboard so they can elevate their laptops and still type comfortably.
Use a desk chair that reclines 25 to 30 degrees and supports the back of your head.
Consider standing desks and ergonomic workstations designed for this issue.

Limit your screen time and take frequent breaks. You should be doing this anyway. Set alarms on your phone or use a Pomodoro app that reminds you to stand up and move at least every 30 minutes. This is the perfect time to do some neck exercises and stretches.

Keep your neck and shoulders mobile using exercises such as:

Yoga poses, like cat-cow, downward dog, and cobra
Shoulder rolls
Turn your head side to side, nod up and down, and do gentle neck circles

Other things that make neck pain worse are carrying heavy backpacks and sleeping on pillows that bend your neck too far.

Primal Movements

You know we’re doing something unnatural with our bodies when tech neck is even a thing. I know our phones and computers aren’t going anywhere, nor would I want them to. (Don’t underestimate the tremendous power of totally unplugging once in a while, though.) Since devices are here to stay, we should all work on finding ways to use them that don’t wreck our bodies.

With that in mind, I’ll end by putting in a plug for Primal movement practices. The Primal Essential Movements—push-ups, pull-ups, squats, and planks—offer full-body movements that promote strength, mobility, and flexibility.

Engaging in low-key aerobic exercises, especially walking, is great for overall health and increasing circulation. Moving through different archetypal rest postures throughout your workday challenges your body and prevents the imbalances and injuries that come from staying in the same position day in and day out. Being sedentary is a killer.

My hypothesis is that if everyone started incorporating these practices into their daily routine, maybe through microworkouts, tech neck would be much less prevalent. We’ve certainly got nothing to lose by trying.

References https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22634198/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4381486/https://healthtransformer.co/the-neuroscience-of-behavior-change-bcb567fa83c1https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.04.20053058v1.full.pdfhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7327724/https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.07.13.20041632v2https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2550-zwww.nature.com/articles/s41577-020-0389-zhttps://www.handspringpublishing.com/...https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc4905927/

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What Do Antioxidants Actually Do?

Antioxidants serve as a powerful first line of defense against damage to your cells from aging, stress, and inflammation. Moreover, antioxidants appear to contain cancer-fighting properties and to support the immune system (among many other benefits).

Many, many foods, especially colorful vegetables, contain a range of valuable antioxidants. We’ve listed a few of the most potent and popular choices for each class of antioxidants. Here, we’ll go through the most important ones.

What Do Antioxidants Do?

Antioxidants are molecules that capture free radicals, or harmful oxygen atoms, that occur in response to normal body processes and environmental conditions. Even the simple act of digesting your food produces free radicals.

Over time, an overabundance of free radicals can slowly damage healthy cells, and then healthy tissues and eventually organs. You want to minimize the damage as much as possible, and antioxidants can help protect you.

Your body can make some antioxidants, and you get others from food.

Antioxidants can be broken into two general categories: antioxidant enzymes, and antioxidant nutrients, which include vitamins, minerals and the various -noids detailed below.

Antioxidant Vitamins

Antioxidant vitamins can be broken down into flavonoids and carotenoids.

Flavonoids

Flavonoids (also called bioflavonoids) are polyphenol pigment compounds that are present in most flowering plants. They are commonly grouped under anthocyanidins, proanthocyanins, and phenolics. The coolest fact about flavonoid antioxidants: they offer a double-punch because they improve vitamin C’s antioxidant capabilities.

Foods that contain flavonoids include tea, citrus fruit, citrus fruit juices, berries, red wine, apples, and others.1

Carotenoids

Carotenoids are fat-soluble vitamins. (Beta carotene is the most studied, but there are 600+ carotenoids we know about so far. Other popular ones include lutein, zeaxanthin and lycopene.)

A lot of sources will say that one particular carotenoid, beta carotene, is the same thing as vitamin A, which isn’t exactly true. A percentage of beta carotene converts to vitamin A in the body, but not all of it. It’s best to get vitamin A from foods like liver, salmon, and others.

Foods high in carotenoids include apricots, beef liver, beets, broccoli, cantaloupe, carrots, guava, mangoes, salmon, and others. Fruits and vegetables that are orange, red, and yellow tend to be sources of carotenoids2

Antioxidant Enzymes

The antioxidant enzymes are superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx).

SOD: Cruciferous vegetables are a must!

CAT: Get enough iron from beef, mushrooms and sturdy greens to ensure proper catalase production.

GPx: Selenium activates this enzyme, so get plenty of eggs, chicken, and fresh garlic in your diet. If you’d like to supplement glutathione, you can take n-acetylcysteine, or NAC, a building block of glutathione that gives your body what it needs to make more.

Super Food List: The Best Antioxidant Foods by ORAC Value

Foods’ antioxidant quality is measured as an ORAC value, which stands for Oxygen Radical Absobance Capacity. Here is a list of some of the best antioxidant foods with the the highest ORAC values according to the USDA:

Prunes: 5770
Raisins: 2830
Blueberries: 2400
Blackberries: 2036
Kale: 1770
Strawberries: 1540
Spinach: 1260
Raspberries: 1220
Brussels sprouts: 980
Plums: 949
Alfalfa sprouts: 930
Broccoli flowers: 890
Beets: 840
Oranges: 750
Red grapes: 739
Red bell pepper: 710
Cherries: 670
Kiwi fruit: 602
Grapefruit, pink: 483
Onion: 450
Corn: 400*
Eggplant: 390

*Corn is a grain, which may not work for people following a Primal lifestyle.

These lists of antioxidants and antioxidant foods are certainly not comprehensive, as there are thousands of phytonutrients currently being studied and more are discovered every year. Bottom line: the more you get, the better. A combination of prudent supplementation and plentiful, colorful vegetables is your smartest bet.

References https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/dietary-factors/phytochemicals/flavonoidshttps://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/dietary-factors/phytochemicals/carotenoids

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Hawaiian BBQ Chicken “Big Ass Salad” Bowls with Quick Pickles Recipe

All raw. All cooked. A little of both. With meat, or without. Artfully arranged in a pretty plate or thrown together in a to-go container as your run out the door. There are infinite ways to assemble your “Big Ass Salad.”

What’s the best way to make yours?

The best “Big Ass Salad” is the one you’ll make, and the one you’ll enjoy eating.

With flavorful veggies, sweet BBQ chicken, and salty pickles, this version of the BAS keeps your taste buds interested. It’s easy to put together, and you can easily adapt it with the veggies you have on hand.

Here’s how to make it.

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken “Big Ass Salad” Bowls with Quick Pickles Recipe

Serves: 2-3, depending on bowl size

Time in the kitchen: 15 minutes

Ingredients

For the Chicken

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup Primal Kitchen® Hawaiian BBQ Sauce, divided
1 tbsp fresh lime juice

For the Quick Pickles

1 medium cucumber thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves smashed
5-8 peppercorns (optional)
1 tbsp fresh dill
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tsp salt

For the Bowl

1 head romaine lettuce, torn
1 cup cooked riced cauliflower (frozen and rinsed to thaw, for ease!)
1 beefsteak tomato roughly chopped
1/4 red onion diced
1/2 cup cheddar cheese shredded (optional)
1/4 cup Primal Kitchen Cilantro Lime Dressing and Marinade

Directions

For the Chicken

Season chicken with a salt and pepper to taste and marinate in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk 1/2 cup of the BBQ sauce, and lime juice. Pour the sauce over the chicken and marinate for an hour or two.

Sear chicken on medium-high heat until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Once cooled, slice against the grain into strips.

For the Pickles

Fill a jar or large bowl with dill, cucumber, garlic, and peppercorns. Heat the water, vinegar, and salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Once the liquid starts to bubble, remove from heat and pour into the jar with the cucumbers. Allow to cool  then refrigerate.

For the Bowls

Arrange the salad ingredients in each bowl. Layer on the cooled and sliced grilled chicken, then top the bowls with the remaining BBQ sauce.

Garnish with cilantro and pour on a generous amount of Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette. Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of guest contributor Abby Rice, wellness blogger at Everyday From A. Adapted for the Primal lifestyle from the original version, featured here. Many thanks, Abby!

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Weekly Link Love — Edition 90

Research of the Week

Animal protein beats plant protein for seniors who want to retain strength and daily functionality.

Workouts make music sound better.

Mineral water rich in magnesium sulfate can help against constipation.

Kids and teens with depression should definitely be exercising.

Low-dose alcohol is beneficial for mice.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 434: Brett Lloyd: Host Elle Russ chats with Brett Lloyd, a carnivore coach who fixed a ton of health issues by going meat-only.

Primal Health Coach Radio, Episode 69: Laura and Erin chat with Dr. Stephen Cabral about how genes are not your destiny.

Media, Schmedia

This is rather tragic. Are we heading in this direction?

South Africa bans alcohol to reduce alcohol-related hospitalizations and free up space for COVID-19 patients.

Interesting Blog Posts

Smaller farms, more biodiversity.

A Navy SEAL’s take on MovNat.

Social Notes

Friendship.

Everything Else

See? Pork heals.

The changing role of livestock in agriculture.

It’s not just sugar.

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

Phrase I liked: “Feral grapevines.”

Interesting important article: Have we been thinking about pain all wrong?

Sad to see: The rise of “broken heart” syndrome.

A topic that’s endlessly fascinating: What happens right before and after you die?

Scenario I’m imagining: Crafting and relying on bone tools for basic daily life.

Good news: It’s much harder to catch the coronavirus from inanimate objects than previously thought. And in gyms.

Question I’m Asking

Read that article on Korean loneliness culture. Do you think that’ll be the trend for the rest of the world?

Recipe Corner

Chunky monkey ice cream bon bons.
Mexican style prawns.

Time Capsule

One year ago (Jul 11 – Jul 17)

Collagen vs Whey: Which Protein is Best For Your Needs?  – Which whey should you go?
Tips for Doing Keto Without Dairy – Is such a thing even possible?

Comment of the Week

“The guy I buy my beef from has cattle that live their entire life on his ranch, and eat only grass and hay except for some silage in winter that he also grows organically on his ranch. He plays music for his cattle in the barn, and when he takes them to slaughter takes them two at a time in his trailer, playing the same music as in the barn. When he arrives at the small processor, he drops his cattle himself as he’d never entrust that to anyone else.

I buy a quarter of a cow for about $900, or I think about $8.50 a pound.

Small processors abound and more and more of us are seeking them out.

We grow many of our own vegetables and everything else we buy local whenever possible. I have a masticating juicer and drink intense amounts of greens, of course along with my well-designed supplement regimen.

At age 69 I have been low carb for almost 23 years and keto for almost 3 years. Yesterday morning I did a 41 mile road bike ride in Colorado where I live, fully fasting. I hadn’t eaten for 16 hours at the start of the ride, and averaged 16.5 computer average speed, riding alone in heavy breezes.

I don’t even think about food on rides. Even at 10% bodyfat I have plenty of fat to burn.

Keto rocks.”

– Greg’s doing things right.

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What Is Sarcopenia and How Can You Defeat It?

When most people worry about getting old, they focus on the obvious degenerative diseases like diabetes and cancer and Alzheimer’s or the catastrophic health emergencies that can occur, like strokes or heart attacks. They think about the melange of medicines they might have to take, the panicked rush to the ER in the dead of night, the slow but unmistakable descent into painful oblivion. But one of the deadliest health conditions afflicting older adults is also one of the most silent and unknown: sarcopenia, or the degeneration and loss of muscle mass and strength.

People just don’t think about losing muscle mass and strength as they get older. If they do, they assume it’s just part of the aging process. They figure it’s unavoidable, because, after all, everyone around them just gets weaker and more decrepit as they age. It’s one of those “inevitabilities” that you “just have to accept.”

Screw that.

Muscle loss is not your destiny. You don’t have to sit there and take it. In fact, sitting there and taking it is the single best way to get sarcopenia; standing up and fighting is the single best way to avoid it. Plus, taking the necessary steps to mitigate or even prevent sarcopenia will help prevent all those other age-related maladies I mentioned in the opening paragraph.

Health Problems Related to Muscle Atrophy, or Muscle Loss

Sarcopenia the specific condition is linked to a number of poor health outcomes:1

3.5x higher risk of mortality
3x higher risk of functional decline
Greater risk of falls
Higher chance of hospitalization

Muscle itself is a powerful endocrine organ, emitting hormonal messages that regulate metabolism, inflammation, and overall function.

Muscle also provides a metabolic reservoir for support and recovery from physical trauma—injuries, wounds, damage to our tissues. When muscle mass drops to extremely low levels, it means you’re not only more likely to be hospitalized, you’re more likely to never make it out of that hospital bed.

Worse still, sarcopenia isn’t just loss of muscle2:

It’s degradation of the muscle tissue.
It’s conversion from fast-twitch Type 2 muscle fibers that can handle heavy loads and high intensity to slow-twitch Type 1 muscle fibers that can only handle lighter loads and lower intensities.
It’s the loss of motor units at the muscle itself, forcing the few remaining motor units to pick up the slack and extending recovery times.
It’s the loss of cardiac strength, which impairs cardiovascular function and lowers VO2max.
It’s the impairment of tendon function, reducing strength and mobility and increasing the risk of injury.

Sarcopenia Definition

The European Working Group diagnoses sarcopenia if you have two of three conditions:3

Low muscle mass
Low muscle strength
Poor physical performance (walking speed, for example)

Even if you don’t have full-blown sarcopenia, you may have “pre-sarcopenia.” Millions of people are walking around (or, rather, shuffling around) with lower-than-ideal muscle mass and strength. Today’s post applies to them, too.

So whether you’re looking at the clinical condition or simply the reduction in muscle mass and strength, you must stave off sarcopenia if you hope to live a healthy, happy, productive life.

Sarcopenia Treatments You Can Do At Home

Let’s be clear about something. Sarcopenia is usually “age-related,” but it doesn’t have to be. Sarcopenia is any muscle loss or degeneration resulting from disuse. Immobility—wearing a cast, being on bed rest, leading a totally sedentary life—can trigger sarcopenia too. “Age-related” sarcopenia also ultimately comes down to disuse; the age thing makes the effect stronger.

This is good news. If immobility causes sarcopenia, mobility should help prevent it. If disuse of the muscles causes muscle wasting, use of them will prevent it. These are all within your grasp.

Okay, so how do you fight it?

Lift Heavy Things

Strength training has to come first because it’s the direct refutation of sarcopenia’s pull. When you contradict gravity, your muscles do work and sarcopenia loses. When you acquiesce to gravity, your muscles do nothing and sarcopenia wins.

Many studies show that seniors can actually gain and not just maintain lean mass through resistance training:

Even immediately after hip surgery, the elderly can utilize resistance training to put on lean mass.4
In elderly women, resistance training induces hypertrophy and lowers inflammation.5
Stroke survivors (aged 50-76) were able to enjoy significant hypertrophy with strength training.6
Even in subjects older than 80, strength training seems to counter the effects of sarcopenia.7

If senior citizens can build muscle by lifting heavy things, sarcopenia doesn’t stand a chance.

Eat More Protein

Seniors have poorer “protein efficiency” than the general population. To get the same amount of muscle protein synthesis, they need to eat a lot more protein than younger people. Recent studies indicate that a protein intake of at least 1.0-1.3 g protein/kg bodyweight or 0.5-0.6 g protein/lb bodyweight is more suitable for the healthy and frail elderly to ensure nitrogen balance.8 Even more may be needed, since attaining nitrogen balance isn’t necessarily optimal. In studies where they compare resistance training seniors who eat extra protein with resistance training seniors who don’t, only the seniors eating extra protein gain muscle mass.9

Make sure the protein you eat is primarily animal-based. Foods like meat, whey protein, eggs, and dairy are all far more effective at promoting muscle protein synthesis then plant-based sources of protein.

Get sunlight and take vitamin D

Vitamin D is vital for fighting sarcopenia. Assuming you’re deficient in it, and many older people are, taking it boosts testosterone production and improves sarcopenia outcomes—particularly in women.1011

Sunlight is also vital for the increased nitric oxide production, which tends to plummet in and contribute to sarcopenia by impairing muscle protein synthesis.12

Normally I’d favor just sunlight, but the potential for impaired vitamin D production in older adults makes supplementation plus sun a wise choice.

Check Your Hormone Levels

For older men, low testosterone is a huge risk factor for sarcopenia. Inadequate testosterone makes building and retaining lean muscle mass harder than it should be, so even if you strength train and eat extra protein to fight sarcopenia, you get subpar results. Optimize your T levels, whether through natural means or, if required, supplemental.13

Women need testosterone too, in lower amounts, so it’s a good idea to check levels. In older women, using hormone replacement therapy is also linked to a lower risk of sarcopenia.14

Get a Handle on Inflammation

Patients with sarcopenia tend to have higher baseline levels of inflammation.15 In older women, for example, higher levels of the inflammatory cytokine IL-6, was linked to reduced strength and walking speed.16

Eat plenty of seafood and fish oil while avoiding seed oils to balance out your inflammatory precursors.

Recover from your workouts with adequate protein and calories and fat.

Don’t overeat too much. Not only is overeating on a regular basis inflammatory, it can increase intramuscular levels of fat in the muscles which degrade their function and exacerbate the sarcopenia.

Lose Body Fat

For years, researchers assumed the causality went sarcopenia—->obesity. Makes sense on some level. The weaker and more frail you are, the less you’re able to get enough physical activity to stay fit and trim. But the latest research suggests the causality runs the other way: excess adipose tissue secretes inflammatory adipokines which impair muscle function and structure.17 Obesity causing sarcopenia is looking a lot more likely.

Start Today

The biggest drops typically start after age 50, with strength and muscle mass declining by 1-2% annually thereafter. What you don’t want to do is wait until you’re 50 years old to start trying to counteract the sarcopenia. You want to go into middle age with as much muscle as you can build so that you’re starting your “decline” (if it even happens) from a higher baseline.

Do everything I suggest before it becomes a problem.

That’s about it for today, folks. Follow these recommendations and you should reduce your chance of developing sarcopenia. And if you already have it, following them becomes even more crucial—as long as you check things over with your doctor first, of course.

Take care, everyone. Let me know down below if you have any experience dealing with sarcopenia. If so, what worked? What didn’t?

Have a great week.

References https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28095426/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3060646/http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20487503http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15571536http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21253481http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21164115http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20487503https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16886097https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22770932https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27717662/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24140234/https://academic.oup.com/biomedgerontology/article/58/10/M911/534906https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25898953/https://journals.lww.com/menopausejournal/Fulltext/2020/05000/The_association_between_hormone_therapy_and.4.aspxhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25898953/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12473005/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27702700/

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3 Common Skin Conditions and What to Do about Them

“Love the skin you’re in,” so the saying goes. Sometimes that’s easier said than done. Skin conditions, ranging from mildly irritating to painfully debilitating, are ubiquitous nowadays. Even mild-to-moderate symptoms can take a serious physical and emotional toll.

I started thinking about skin the other day after a bout of nostalgia had me revisiting old reader success stories. Going through the archives, I was reminded how many readers reported that their acne, psoriasis, eczema, and other skin conditions were “miraculously” resolved after going Primal.

I’m not surprised. I’ve always believed that there is a deep connection between skin health, gut health, and inflammation. The Primal Blueprint is designed to support a diverse, well-balanced microbiome, reduce chronic inflammation, and provide epigenetic signals that optimize health. It makes sense that clearer skin would be one of the benefits.

As I perused the success stories, it occurred to me that it’s been a while since we talked about skin issues here. Today I’m going to cover three of the most common, along with some alternative (non-pharmaceutical) approaches to addressing them. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not judging anyone for opting for pharmaceutical options. However, many conventional treatments—antibiotics, oral steroids, hormonal birth control pills, and isotretinoin (sold with brand name Accutane)—have serious, sometimes downright scary, side effects.

Given that, I know many of my readers are interested in diet and lifestyle interventions that might help. They won’t fix all your skin issues, but they’re bound to improve some aspects of your life, even if your skin doesn’t clear up completely.

Acne

Acne is widespread among adolescents and adults. The most common form of acne is acne vulgaris. You’re undoubtedly familiar with the characteristic whiteheads and blackheads usually found on the face, chest, back, and shoulders. Cystic and nodular acne are severe types of acne vulgaris involve large, deep, painful blemishes that take longer to heal.

Acne doesn’t have a single root cause. Sebum (oil) production, pore blockage, bacteria (Propionibacterium acnes), and inflammation each contribute. Androgens increase sebum production, and hormonal changes due to puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, PCOS, or menopause often lead to outbreaks.

As common as these skin issues are today, they are not an inevitable part of the human condition. Grandfather of the ancestral health movement Loren Cordain asserts that acne is basically unheard of in traditional-living societies.1 This strongly suggests that modern lifestyle factors that affect epigenetics, inflammation, and hormones, underlie much of what we see today.

What to Do About Your Acne

Because acne is multifactorial, there is no single magic pill for acne. Sufferers may try a variety of topical, pharmaceutical, and lifestyle interventions before (hopefully) finding the key that works for them. It can take trial and error, luck, and time. There are also a lot of old wives’ tales that send people down all sorts of rabbit holes looking for answers. Many fall into the category of “can’t hurt, might help.” A few are actually backed by science:

Diet

Many supposed dietary causes of acne aren’t substantiated by research. (Chocolate doesn’t seem to cause acne, thankfully.) However, the American Academy of Dermotology (AAD) agrees that two factors matter:2

Glycemic load

Both observational and experimental studies link greater intake of high-glycemic carbohydrates to more frequent and more severe acne symptoms. For some people, acne is significantly improved simply by lowering the glycemic load of their diet.

High-glycemic load diets probably promote acne through several metabolic pathways, including by stimulating insulinlike growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and androgen.3 4 Acne sufferers would do well to moderate their carb intake, especially high-glycemic carbs. The good news is that if you’re already eating a Primal-aligned diet, you’ve probably greatly cut down your glycemic load by removing grains and added sugars, as well as legumes. Fruit can also carry a heft wallop.

Dairy

The AAD recommends that acne sufferers limit dairy intake.5 The available data is observational, so take it for what it’s worth. Still, a recent meta-analysis found that folks who drink more milk are more prone to acne. There was no significant relationship for cheese or yogurt consumption.6 This jibes with tons of anecdotal evidence from people who report significant relief from acne symptoms when they cut out dairy.

What about other food sensitivities?

I can’t tell you how many readers have confided they struggled for years, even decades, with acne before switching to a Primal diet and finally getting relief. Many of them have traced their problem back to gluten. Some are particularly affected by dairy, others by soy. Occasionally, random food sensitivities are the issue.

Despite the preponderance of anecdotal evidence, there is a glaring lack of scientific studies on food sensitivities and acne, so the link remains somewhat controversial. No matter. This is one of those cases where proof is in the pudding as far as I’m concerned.

If you are suffering from stubborn acne, consider what foods may be triggering for you. Start with the usual suspects. Track your symptoms and see if you can spot any patterns. When you identify likely culprits, try eliminating them for a few weeks and see what happens with your skin.

What If Dietary Changes Alone Don’t Solve My Acne?

First things first, look at your gut health. There is a strong gut-skin connection.7 Addressing underlying gut health issues, as well as supplementing with probiotics (Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria), can reduce acne.8 You have nothing to lose by adding sauerkraut or kimchi to your meals. If you’re not sensitive to dairy, try kefir, one of my favorite sources of probiotics. You can even try doing a yogurt mask since topical probiotic treatments could be beneficial.

Supplementing with certain nutrients might help, too. There is limited evidence in support of

zinc,9 vitamin B3,10 and fish oil supplements.11

Finally, work on your skin’s surface. Some people swear by using coconut oil on their face, but it can be aggravating for others. Try topical applications of manuka honey, tea tree oil (diluted), witch hazel, green tea extract, or apple cider vinegar. None of these is likely to be a slam dunk on its own, but use them alongside dietary changes and wise supplementation, and you might just arrive at a winning combo.

Eczema

As with acne, there are several forms of eczema. The most common is atopic dermatitis. Eczema is characterized by dry, itchy, swollen rashes that appear most often on the face, neck, elbows, and knees. People of any age can develop eczema, but it’s more common in babies and children. Up to 20 percent of children and 5 percent of adults are afflicted.12 Doctors aren’t sure what causes it. Rashes seem to be triggered by an immune system reaction, but it’s not clear why. Specific triggers differ from person to person.

Because the root causes are unknown, finding relief can also be difficult and frustrating. Patients are advised to keep affected areas moisturized, avoid detergents and soaps that might irritate the skin, opt for cotton clothing, and take baths with oatmeal or vinegar. Doctors may prescribe topical steroids or other creams or, in extreme cases, immunosuppressing drugs.

Other Ways to Address Eczema
Probiotics?

Studies of infants and young children have found that eczema sufferers have, on average, less microbial diversity in their guts.13 14 Probiotic supplementation, especially with strains of Lactobacillus, may reduce the risk of developing eczema15 and relieve eczema symptoms.16 A 2012 meta-analysis also concluded that when pregnant women supplement with probiotics, their babies have a significantly reduced risk of developing eczema.17

However, a recent Cochrane review concluded that there is insufficient evidence to recommend probiotics as an effective eczema treatment.18 There are so many other benefits of supporting a healthy microbiome that it doesn’t hurt to try probiotics, though.

Coconut oil

Thanks to its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, coconut oil applied topically to eczema rashes may provide some relief.19 If nothing else, it will moisturize dry skin and smell great.

Acupressure, acupuncture, and massage

A few small studies have found that acupressure 20, acupuncture 21, and massage[/ref]https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9796594/[/ref] may provide some relief. In addition to physiologic benefits, these treatments may reduce stress, which is known to trigger flare-ups.

Get outside

Your doctor may use phototherapy treatments, but you can also reap the benefits of ultraviolet light simply by getting out in the sun.22

Ultraviolet radiation triggers the release of nitric oxide, which in turn activates T cells that modulate the overactive immune response.23

Dermatologists caution that sun exposure is not recommended for severe cases, and it exacerbates symptoms for some people. Be careful not to overdo it. Besides the risk of burning, getting too hot and sweaty leads to itching and discomfort.

Psoriasis

With plaque psoriasis—the most common form—red, scaly, often itchy or painful patches rise on the scalp, knees, elbows, lower back, or really anywhere on the body. Other types of psoriasis cause red lesions in folds such as the armpit, small dots, or blisters. Psoriasis can also affect the fingernails and toenails.

Psoriasis shares a lot in common with eczema. Doctors don’t know exactly what causes it, but it has a genetic component and is classified as an autoimmune disease. Symptoms come and go, and different people may have different triggers. Doctors usually treat psoriasis with topical creams, but they may also prescribe oral medications to try to get at it systemically.

Unlike eczema, though, psoriasis is more common in adults than children. Up to 30 percent of people with psoriasis develop a related condition called psoriatic arthritis. Because it is associated with systemic inflammation, psoriasis puts you at greater risk for other chronic health conditions such as metabolic syndrome and 24 cardiovascular disease.25

Treating Psoriasis with Diet

Gluten sensitivity is probably more common among psoriasis sufferers than in the general population. I think gluten sensitivity is more common than is generally recognized, but that aside, I’d strongly suggest that anyone with psoriasis try eliminating gluten completely for a period of time.

Calorie-restricted diets also yield significant improvements in symptom severity for obese individuals, but it’s not clear whether that is due to the calorie restriction per se, weight loss, or something else.26 27

If you have psoriasis, you should also limit your alcohol intake. A growing body of evidence suggests that alcohol can worsen symptoms. Psoriasis also comes with a higher risk of liver disease, making excess alcohol consumption potentially more dangerous.28

Supplements

Many psoriasis patients try supplementing with fish oil, selenium, and vitamins D and B12, but there is only mixed evidence that they are actually effective.29 (Vitamin D is commonly applied in topical creams.) They may be helpful for some people, though.

There is also a lot of interest in curcumin, a compound found in turmeric. A number of small clinical trials have yielded some success, but it’s still early. A recent meta-analysis concluded that the available data do not support using curcumin topically, but taking it as an oral supplement shows promise.30

Stress reduction

Stress leads to psoriasis flare-ups.31 Therefore, anything you do to moderate stress may help prevent or manage symptoms. Meditation and guided imagery seem to work.32 Or, treat yourself to an at-home spa day. Start with an Epsom salt or oatmeal bath, then apply some topical treatments using stuff you already have in the house. The National Psoriasis Association recommends using aloe vera, apple cider vinegar, and tea tree oil topically, as well as mahonia (Oregon grape) cream (which you probably don’t have lying around).33

Sunlight

Ultraviolet light, especially UVB, can help with psoriasis symptoms. Certain topical treatments make you more susceptible to sunburn, so check out any medications you’re using.

Acupuncture

A 2017 review of studies involving more than 1,000 participants concluded that acupuncture and acupressure can help with psoriasis.34

General takeaways

Skin disorders are complex. The remedies I mentioned here are not the only ones you might try. Severe or prolonged cases may respond best to a combination of treatments, including medications.

No matter what your specific challenge, the following are always good practice:

Support a healthy gut microbiome through the usual means.

Eat a nutrient-rich diet. Most vitamins and minerals directly and indirectly affect skin health. Vitamins A, D, and E probably get the most attention, but they are all important.

Avoid harsh cleansers and products that might irritate your skin. I have a few posts about Primal skincare, but the most Primal skincare “product” is just plain (clean, filtered) water.

Avoid foods that promote inflammation. If you suspect that food sensitivities make your skin problems worse, simple elimination experiments can provide answers. For skin issues, it’s not generally necessary to undertake a complete elimination diet along the lines of the autoimmune protocol (AIP) or low-FODMAP. However, if you have other symptoms that suggest serious gut health impairment, your practitioner may recommend that you do eliminate a wider swath of foods for a while.

Finally, avoid touching your face as much as possible. That’s just a good idea anyway.

I know I just scratched the tip of the iceberg here. Tell me about your personal successes and challenges. What’s your secret for healthy skin? Maybe your advice can help someone else.

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