Mark Sisson's Blog, page 74

Weekly Link Love – Edition 80

Research of the Week

We forage for information in our minds the way we foraged for food as hunter-gatherers.

Full lockdowns don’t seem to have had much effect in Western Europe.

Deep genetic history of the Andes.

Factors most associated with death from COVID-19 in the UK: maleness, old age, uncontrolled diabetes.

More fitness, less dying.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 421: Mark Sisson: Host Elle Russ chats with Mark Sisson, Miami mayo merchant.

Episode 422: Ben Greenfield: Host Brad Kearns chats with Ben Greenfield, biohacker and author of Boundless.

Primal Health Coach Radio, Episode 59: Laura and Erin talk about the advantages of small, simple coaching businesses with Karin Rozell.

Media, Schmedia

Another reason to be suspicious of Beyond Meat and other alternative “meats.”

Interesting Blog Posts

How a thru-hike changes your mind, body, and mitochondria.

How to slow down livestock growth in the event of meat packing plant closures.

Social Notes

Frozen dinners are coming.

Do stuff like this.

Everything Else

One doctor’s thoughts on flattening the curve.

This is true.

Why methane is different from other greenhouse gases.

During heart failure, the heart reduces glucose utilization. Restoring that glucose utilization prolongs and worsens the damage. Too bad there’s nothing else hearts can use for fuel…

Turns out car commuters who now work from home don’t miss the commute at all. Bike commuters stuck at home, however, do.

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

Podcasts I loved doing: The one with Brad Kearns over on his Get Over Yourself podcast and the one with Elle Russ on The Primal Blueprint Podcast.

Been wondering the same thing: Why are meat-packing plants coronavirus hotspots?

Study question I found interesting: Were World War 1 helmets better at blast wave protection than modern helmets?

Blog post I found to be important and relevant: Metabolic health in the time of COVID-19.

Podcast I enjoyed: The BBC one where someone actually reveals that livestock are probably carbon neutral.

Question I’m Asking

Are things opening back up where you are?

Recipe Corner

There’s something nice and tidy about cooking things in parchment.
A legit Mediterranean dip, including cauliflower hummus.

Time Capsule

One year ago (May 3 – May 9)

CBD For Performance: What We Know So Far– Does it help?
Is Keto Cheating Unhealthy?– Well, is it?

Comment of the Week

“I’m part of the Berkey cult. Before I bought mine about 5 years ago, I searched YouTube, and there were a whole mess of videos available, many by survivalist/prepper types. Some of them did send water samples to labs, which verified all the info on the Berkey website. I figured if the Berkey filter was good enough for crazy survivalists, it was good enough for me.”

– You make a strong point, Naomi.

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Why Am I Getting Low Ketone Readings on a Ketogenic Diet?

Even after publishing several books and hundreds of  articles that draw upon the science of ketosis and low-carb living, I keep researching, thinking, revisiting, and discussing the underpinnings of ketosis. My writing partner, Brad Kearns, and I maintain a running dialogue on all things keto. The latest conversation revolved around two very common questions or “problems” that keep coming up in the ketogenic community: why am I getting low ketone readings?

It’s a fair question. Why do some people on a keto diet register high ketones while others eating the same way register low numbers?

I won’t offer definitive answers fit to etch into stone. I will offer my exploration of the research, some educated speculation, and actionable advice you can ruminate on. And by all means get back to me with your take on the questions and my explorations, please. Dialogue is essential to understanding.

What Level of Ketones Indicates Ketosis?

The generally accepted range that indicates ketosis is 0.5-3 mmol/L. I hesitate to define a prescriptive range, though, because so many factors affect readings – what you ate for your most recent meal, how long ago you exercised, and even the instrument you used to test can affect readings.

Why do some people on ketogenic diets produce low ketone readings when they test?

There are several potential explanations for low ketone readings. Some are hypotheses, some are based on your individual biology. A few possible explanations for low ketone readings include:

You have developed fat-burning efficiency
Keto-adapted people may be able to burn free fatty acids
Genetic predisposition to low ketones
Recent exercise
Total caloric intake
Use of exogenous ketones

Let’s dig deeper.

You have developed fat-burning efficiency

One theory is that some keto-adapted people are so efficient at producing and burning ketones that they don’t leave any extra to spill into the urine and breath. They make only as many as they can use and their cells gobble up almost every ketone they produce. Under this argument, low ketone numbers on a ketogenic diet are a reliable sign of full ketone adaptation.

This sounds plausible, but I haven’t seen any empirical evidence that it’s the case.

Keto-adapted People May Be Able to Burn Free Fatty Acids in the Bloodstream

Another theory is that the keto-adapted have built so much fat-burning metabolic machinery in their muscles that they can burn free fatty acids directly and don’t require much additional fuel from ketones. They make enough ketones to fuel the brain, since our brain can’t run on fatty acids directly, but your muscles no longer require as many. Many people who have been in long term ketosis can get by quite nicely on 20-30 net grams of carbs a day and might only show .4 or .7 millimolar ketones on a blood test, but they have plenty of energy from burning free fatty acids and maintain muscle mass on relatively fewer calories than when they were dependent on carbs.

The evidence is inconclusive, but a few indications point to increased ability to extract energy directly from fat as a possibility.

Keto pioneers Stephen Phinney and Jeff Volek found that keto dieters blew higher readings early on in the diet when they were still burning ketones in the muscle. As they grew adapted to free fatty acids as a source of fuel and produced ketones primarily for the brain, ketone levels dropped. It was totally normal. If anything, they were more fat- and keto-adapted at lower ketone readings.

Consider the energy requirements of the brain. Whether it’s running on glucose (most of the population) or mostly on ketones, the brain is a steady state organ that never spikes energy demand. It’s a slow-burn 24/7 at nearly the same output whether you are sleeping, exercising hard, or concentrating hard. While the brain has a substantial caloric requirement (at roughly 2% of our body weight, it uses 20% of our resting metabolic rate), you don’t need a ton of glucose or ketones at any one time to power your brain gracefully all day long. That’s why people can “get away” with lower ketone production and still reap the benefits we expect from eating this way.

Genetic Predisposition to Low Ketones

There’s almost certainly a genetic component to ketone production, too. Take the Inuit, who were rarely in ketosis despite traditionally eating a very low-carb diet.1 It takes several days of deep fasting for them to produce measurable ketones. Yet, they are adept at burning free fatty acids, almost as if they “skip” keto-adaptation and proceed directly to burning fat. Other variants that affect ketone production have yet to be discovered, but they’re out there.

Recent Exercise or Otherwise Increased Energy Demand

If you test your ketones before and after you exercise, you may be surprised to find that your numbers are quite different after you’ve worked out. Remember, ketones are an energy source, not a stamp of accomplishment. Ketones are consumed when there is an energy demand in your body. It doesn’t mean you messed up your diet. Quite the opposite  – it simply means your body used the energy source available at the time. Once ketone bodies are in low supply, your body will burn fat to make more, and that’s a win.

Why do Some People on Long-term Keto Diets Still Get High Ketone Readings?

A few of the previous theories assume that you develop an increased ability to burn fat after you have been in ketosis for a while. But there are people who, after being in ketosis for a long period of time, still get high ketone readings when they test. What gives?

Total caloric intake is a factor in ketone levels

A major factor not often mentioned in whether someone on a keto diet registers high or low ketones is overall calorie intake. How much food are you eating?

Ketones are generated when the amount of dietary fat available to be burned exceeds the supply of oxaloacetate (provided by protein or carbohydrates). It’s not that the body thinks, “This woman needs some ketones, stat.” It’s more like, “I’ve got too much acetyl-COA from all this fat, and I can’t find any oxaloacetate. Time to ask for ketones!”  If you’re the type to use keto to justify chugging olive oil, you’ll generate lots of ketones simply because your fat intake is outpacing the supply of oxaloacetate. Keto athletes eating tons of calories will probably produce more ketones simply because they’re eating so much fat.

If you’ve attained “caloric efficiency” and are eating fewer calories overall, you’ll generate fewer ketones but still experience all of the benefits of being in ketosis.

Use of exogenous ketones result in high ketone readings

Another factor is the use of exogenous ketones. Realistically, you could take your ketone readings, then take keto salts or keto esters, then take your readings again and see a bump. That is what they’re for.

Don’t Get Caught Up in the Numbers

Above all else, focus on how you feel.

Can you go without a meal and maintain steady, even energy and concentration?
Are you losing body fat, or are you happy with your body composition?
Are you thinking more clearly?
Has the keto flu come and gone?
Are aerobic activities easier than ever?

If you’re experiencing the benefits of ketosis, there’s no need to fret over some numbers on a device. The numbers can’t negate your real world experience.

References http://www.cell.com/ajhg/abstract/S00...

The post Why Am I Getting Low Ketone Readings on a Ketogenic Diet? appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

How to Get a Picky Eater to Try New Foods

At my house, dinner often looks like grass-fed rib eye, grilled to medium rare with salt and pepper, and broccoli roasted with avocado oil and cooked ‘til crispy. It’s satisfying, satiating, and metabolically in line with the way I like to eat.

Dinner probably looks fairly similar at your place too. Only while grilling up your perfect cut of steak, you might also be firing up a big pot of mac ‘n cheese or popping some dino nuggets and waffle fries into the oven for the picky eaters in your household. Especially if your kids are used to conventional, Standard American Diet type fare.

Instantly download your free Guide to Eating Out

Aren’t Kids Supposed to Eat Kid Food?

This is a question I get a lot from my health coaching clients. And my answer typically sounds something like, “only if you want them to become part of the growing epidemic of folks struggling with obesity and type 2 diabetes2 before they even move out of the house.” I realize that sounds harsh, but honestly, you know all the fake ingredients, sugar, and additives that manufacturers put into overly processed packaged foods. You won’t eat it, so why the heck would you feed it to your kids? Okay, rant over.

Anatomically speaking, we all have the same taste buds. Unfortunately, if your kiddos have spent most of their days being spoon fed something that comes out of a brightly colored box, how easy is it going to be for them to choose different foods? Not very. It’s kind of like when you first started eating Primally. The cravings. The longing for your old friend, fast food. The preference for salty, sugary, and crunchy snacks. Then, little by little, you started to notice that when you ate better, you felt better. Same goes for your kids.

Can You Change a Picky Eater’s Preferences?

There have been a ton of studies on this topic, and you’ll be happy to know that the answer is a definitive YES— you can change a picky eater’s preferences.Research done by Yen Li Chuand Paul Veueglers from the University of Alberta3 showed that children who were involved with food prep were more likely to make healthy choices at mealtime.

In the study, one-third of the kids surveyed said they helped their mom and dad up to 3 times per week, while one-quarter of them helped about once a month, and 12.4% didn’t help at all.

While the frequency of involvement differed (3 times per week vs once a month), the result was the same. Kids who helped their parents in the kitchen were more interested in eating healthy foods like vegetables than their non-helping peers.The data also showed that kids who participated in meal prep were more confident about the importance of making healthier food choices for themselves.

Does that mean that once you start cooking together they’re going to be begging for an extra serving of kale salad before bed? No. But they might start asking for full fat yogurt instead of ice cream. Or enjoying roasted chicken instead of the processed nugget variety.

My How-to Guide for Getting Picky Eaters to Eat

So, how do you do it? Check out these 9 strategies for turning a picky eater’s habits around. These are the same tips I use with my health coaching clients to make mealtime less stressful. Give them a try — I’m confident they’ll work for you too.

1. Don’t force it

No one likes to be pressured into trying new things, especially if they’re someone who already has a preconceived aversion to it. It might be tempting to force-feed your family, after all you are the parent, but there’s a good chance it will backfire. Studies show that kids who have a history of being pressured to eat continued to dislike those foods long into adulthood.4 Just some food for thought…

2. Time it right

You obviously don’t want to feed your kids when they’re not hungry, but waiting ‘til they’re starving, grumpy, and feeling the effects of a drastic blood sugar dip will make them less receptive to eating what’s on their plate. Time it right and you’ll be more apt to get picky eaters onboard with healthier choices.

3. Be understanding

While we all have the same taste buds, some people do have a heightened sensitivity to bitter and sour foods. This could be genetically based or due to years of eating a highly processed diet. Regardless, it’s important to understand that your kids might not jump at the chance to scarf down a plate of wild caught salmon and asparagus. At least not right away.

4. Pair new foods with familiar flavors

Studies show that you can trick pickier palates by pairing flavors they prefer with new ones. In one experiment, researchers gave kids sweetened vegetables a number of times. When asked to taste and rate veggies in their natural state afterward, they reported liking the unsweetened versions more than they did originally.5 Dips and sauces are a great way to combine an unfamiliar food with something kids know and love.

5. Walk the talk

I’m assuming that you’re well-versed in the benefits of the Primal lifestyle, but if you’re doing more talking than walking, your kids could be getting mixed messages. Notice the foods you keep in the house and what your meals look like. Be a positive role model whenever and wherever you can.

6. Avoid being too strict

It’s easy to go overboard in the all-non-Primal-foods-are-evil department, so you’ve decided every processed food is off-limits, you might want to back off a little. Make simple swaps like fresh fruit instead of juice or an occasional treat made with better-for-you ingredients.

7. Try new things

There’s a correlation between the number of new foods you feed your family and your picky eater’s willingness to eat them, so keep at it. Repetition and continuing to reintroduce foods (without force or frustration) has been linked to an increased liking of those foods.6

8. Get kids involved

As I mentioned above, kids who help out in the kitchen have a greater interest in eating healthier foods. So, look through recipes together, chop veggies together, and have them set the table. Being a part of the prep process gets kids’ curiosities piqued, which makes them more interested in participating in the end result — eating dinner.

9. Keep it simple

I’m not a fan of fussy meals anyway, so I always recommend keeping things simple regardless of who’s at the table. Remember that sometimes kids aren’t being picky, they just prefer simple and separate foods. Instead of serving up a complex flavor-filled recipe, keep it plain and simply prepared without a lot of sauces or seasonings.

Wondering what to do with your picky eater?

The main idea here is to take the stress out of making healthy food choices for your family. That means stop forcing, worrying, controlling, restricting, or walking on eggshells around your kids. Make it less of a battle and more of a fun, engaging experience. After all, no one chooses to be a picky eater. They’re not trying to make dinnertime a daily struggle. You just have to use the right strategies. Keep in mind that your kids’ eating habits won’t change overnight, but they will change. Just remember these 9 tips:

Don’t force it
Time it right
Be understanding
Pair new foods with familiar flavors
Walk the talk
Avoid being too strict
Try new things
Get kids involved
Keep it simple

References http://www.cell.com/ajhg/abstract/S00...https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/prevent-type-2/type-2-kids.htmlhttps://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/article/involvement-in-home-meal-preparation-is-associated-with-food-preference-and-selfefficacy-among-canadian-children/C4347E7475C945893A82B19E5F93CC90https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195666301904829https://eetonderzoek.nl/wp-content/uploads/publikaties/havermans_en_jansen_appetite2007.pdfhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14702019

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9 Signs You Aren’t Digesting Fats and What To Do About It

If you’re on a high-fat ketogenic diet and running on a fat-based metabolism, you need access to fat. Some of it comes from your own body, but not all. A good portion of your body’s fuel will come from dietary fat, or the fat you eat. Especially if you are eating more fat than you’re accustomed to, you need to be able to absorb and then digest the fat you eat and turn it into useable energy. If  you aren’t digesting fats, you may be in for some discomfort.

What are the signs and symptoms of poor fat digestion?

Signs You Aren’t Digesting Fats: What Does Fat Malabsorption Look Like?

Running a fat-based metabolism just doesn’t work if you can’t digest fats. Here’s what it looks and feels like:

Abdominal Pain and Discomfort After Fat-rich Meals

What happens to fat—or anything, really—that goes down the “wrong pipe”? When you consume fat but aren’t able to effectively digest it, that fat has to go somewhere. That fat goes where it isn’t supposed to be, and sometimes that causes pain and pressure.

Greasy Stool

Some misbegotten fat loss plans involve the active inhibition of fat digestion, either by consuming artificial fat-like substances that feel and taste like fat without providing any calories or taking lipase inhibitors which deactivate the intestinal enzymes that digest and absorb dietary fat. In both cases, the fat or “fat” is excreted when you go to the bathroom. Yeah. That’s not a good look, but it is a sure sign that you aren’t digesting fats.

Instantly access your FREE download: Guide to a Healthy Gut

Floating Stool

Fat is buoyant. If your poop is festooned with the fat you ate but didn’t digest, it will float more readily.

“Leakage”

Passive leakage into your underwear is another common sign you aren’t digesting your fat. One of the most infamous processed “food” disasters was a line of “WOW” branded snacks that contained an indigestible fat substitute, which caused people to leak stool without warning. Same mechanism.

Productive Flatulence

Apologies for the visual, but there’s no easy way to say it. People with poor fat digestion will often produce tangible, lasting results when they fart.

Unexpected Weight Loss

Not absorbing or digesting dietary fat will reduce your calorie absorption, and it may very well cause weight loss. But if you don’t have weight to lose, or if the weight loss comes with unwanted side effects (one study found that Orlistat users indeed lost weight, but they also lost more lean mass), you may want to pay attention.

Low Energy Levels

Trying to run on fat without actually being able to access dietary fat is a miserable exercise in futility. The boundless energy, the steady even keel, the ability to go for hours without eating or crashing—all the promises of fat-adaptation will elude you if you can’t digest the fat you eat.

Oxalate Accumulation

Orlistat users are at an increased risk of oxalate-induced kidney damage.1 Normally, oxalates bind to calcium to form calcium oxalate, which we excrete in the stool. With impaired fat digestion, the undigested fat binds with calcium, leaving oxalate adrift and more readily absorbed and accumulated. Less lipase, less fat digestion, more oxalate accumulation, more kidney danger.

Fat-soluble Vitamin Deficiencies

This isn’t an easy “sign” to watch for. You can’t really “feel” it. But if you were to go to a lab and get tested for vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, and vitamin A, having low levels despite a steady intake could indicate a problem with your fat digestion. Orlistat research confirms this.2

But it’s a real issue. You absorb fat-soluble vitamins alongside the dietary fat you eat. If you’re not absorbing the fat, you’re missing out on the nutrients. All those studies which find that eating fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin E and vitamin K2 alongside dietary fat improves nutrient bioavailability assumes that you’re able to digest the fat. If you can’t digest the fat very well, you’re missing out on the rest of the stuff you eat.

Not all of these are individual markers of poor fat digestion. It’s normal to have some floaty stool now and again. You aren’t always going to digest every bit of fat you consume. Everyone can name a time they felt bloated and had a stomach ache after eating. There are many other reasons why you could be losing weight without trying. But if they are co-incident, you might be dealing with poor fat digestion.

And you should probably do something about it.

How to Improve Your Fat Digestion

Okay, so any, some, or all of those symptoms are signs of poor fat absorption and digestion. It’s always a good idea to rule out larger health problems with your doctor. Until then, what can you do about it?

Chew your Food Thoroughly

Most fat digestion occurs in the GI tract, but it starts in the mouth with something called lingual lipase, the oral form of the major fat-digesting enzyme. To produce lingual lipase, however, you have to chew. The simple presence of fat in the mouth isn’t enough—you have to get those teeth and that tongue going. In one study, eating almonds and coconut triggered the release of lingual lipase, while eating almond butter (the same amount of fat) did not.3 The only difference was chewing. Chew more to give your digestion a head start and improve your fat absorption, even if the food you’re eating doesn’t seem to require chewing. Do your best.

Check Your Gall Bladder

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

If you gall bladder isn’t working properly, you still have bile—as that’s produced in the liver—but it’s not the concentrated stuff that’s really good at breaking up fat. You have “lesser” bile, bile that isn’t as strong or effective. Your dietary fat tolerance will drop unless you fix the gall bladder issue.

Address Your Gut Health

The gut is linked to just about everything in the body, and fat digestion is no exception. If you have an excessive amount of bacteria in your small intestine (remember, the bulk of your bacteria should reside in the colon), bile doesn’t work right. The bacteria start breaking it down, which inhibits the bile’s ability to break down the fats into the micelles that your lipase can digest.

I recently wrote a guide to fixing your gut health. Read that and employ some or all of the recommendations if they apply.

Take Extra Fat-soluble Vitamins

In studies where subjects have trouble digesting fats, they have to take extra fat-soluble vitamins, including vitamin E, vitamin A, and vitamin D, to avoid deficiency. This is a safe bet for the duration of your problem. I’d even throw in some vitamin K2 just to be safe—it’s really important but doesn’t get enough attention in typical studies.

Try Exogenous Digestive Enzymes and Bile Supplements

You can actually take exogenous lipase and bile supplements (like ox bile or bile salts). These aren’t as effective as the real thing (producing your own in-house), but they can give you a little help in that area.

If you have had your gall bladder removed, supplementing may be crucial to digesting fats. Run it by your doctor to see what he or she thinks.

Have Something Bitter After a Meal

Bitter flavors after a fat-rich meal enhance bile production.4 It doesn’t have to be some arcane bitter herb mix; even an espresso after a meal—that classic Italian custom—can improve fat digestion by increasing gastric acid production.5

Focus on Shorter Chained Fatty Acids

Shorter chained fatty acids like MCT oil and coconut oil are literally shorter and easier to disentangle for digestion. They don’t require as much bile to break apart as longer chained fatty acids. They are easily digested, head straight to the liver for oxidation or ketone generation without dealing with the lymphatic system, and can be utilized by cells for energy without the enzymatic processes needed to utilize longer chain fats.

Hydrate

I’m usually a proponent of listening to your body to tell you when you’re thirsty. “Drink when thirst ensures” works pretty well. But, since about 97% of bile is pure, unadulterated water, and one “silent” cause of fat malabsorption and trouble digesting fats is poor hydration status, this is something to consider. If you don’t have enough water, your bile production, texture, and function will suffer. It’ll be thick and sludgy, no good at all.

Drinking some water (perhaps with electrolytes) is an easy thing to try and it might actually be a missing piece.

Try Taurine

Taurine is a conditionally-essential amino acid. We make it, just not enough. One of the essential roles it plays is as substrate for bile production. Without adequate taurine levels, bile production—and, thus, fat digestion—suffers.6 Luckily, it’s an easy fix. Take a taurine supplement or eat more meat, especially hearts. Chicken, beef, lamb, turkey hearts are all great sources of taurine.

There you have it, folks. 9 signs and symptoms of poor fat digestion and 9 potential solutions to address the issue.

Do you have any problems digesting fat? Have you tried any of these recommendations? Do you have any recommendations of your own that weren’t listed here?

References https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272638606015137https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10757623https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4159735/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4446506/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5544304/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31468384

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Floor Sitting: Do You Spend Enough Time on the Ground?

A while back, I developed an interest in the “archetypal postures” of ground-based sitting, squatting, and kneeling. My interest persisted, and I thought a full-on post about the potential benefits and logistics of floor sitting would be fun and helpful.

I’ve found that there aren’t very many studies examining the effects of floor sitting, kneeling, and squatting on health, posture, or pain. You’ve got the “stability ball literature” (long story short: sitting on a stability ball tends to “increase the level of discomfort”), 7but sitting on an inflated unstable sphere is more physiologically novel than a regular chair. I’m not sure there’s much benefit and it looks pretty silly. There’s also a brief study8 that showed sitting in a backless chair improved levels of consciousness in patients with prolonged consciousness disturbance. For the most part, though, it’s a pretty barren landscape of research.

I think that’s okay. I’m not entirely convinced we always need research to confirm what we already (should) implicitly know.

As Babies, We Start on the Floor

Sometimes hard data isn’t really needed, especially when you consider two unassailable facts about our relationship with the floor. First, individually, we all start out on the floor. As babies, we lie there, essentially kicking things off as eating, pooping sacks of wiggling, basically immobile flesh. Then, we graduate to flipping over onto our stomachs, lolling our heads around (once we develop sufficient neck strength), crawling toward vacant electrical sockets, hesitantly standing, and finally walking. It’s on the floor that we learn to move. We may not be doing terribly complex or impressive stuff down there, but that first year or two is incredibly formative for the rest of our movement lives. We’re building a foundation made primarily of contralateral crawling and “tummy time.” Graduating beyond the floor to full on bipedalism doesn’t mean we should totally ignore where we came from.

Chairs are a Recent Invention

Second, chairs only recently became part of our lives. Folks as early as the ancient Egyptians had them, but they were a luxury item reserved for the upper classes. Your average Neolithic human sat on chests or benches until chairs became a mass-produced staple that everyone could afford. Earlier than that, for most of human history, formal-sitting furniture simply didn’t exist. Paleolithic posteriors surely rested upon rocks and logs and stumps when the opportunity arose, but those aren’t the same as having permanent fixtures that allow you to take a load off whenever you want. Human bodies were not designed with chairs in mind. We did do a lot of lounging around – I’m not arguing we never stopped moving or anything – but we did so on the ground, rather than on a bunch of folding chairs.

Sitting down in a chair does funny things to our bodies. It stretches out our glutes, making them inactive, loose, and weak. People by and large no longer know how to activate their butt muscles due to excessive amounts of chair sitting. Sitting in a chair also keeps the hip flexors in a short, tight, contracted position for extended amounts of time, which can inhibit full hip extension and lead to that hunched over position you often see older folks shuffling around with. And that’s not even mentioning the extensive (and growing) literature showing how sitting for too long increases mortality and degenerative disease, which I’ve covered in plenty of posts and Weekend Link Loves. This post isn’t really about that, anyway.

What might be most important, though, is what sitting in a chair doesn’t do. It doesn’t allow us to rest in the full squat position, an ability we’re born with but quickly forget how to do. It doesn’t let us do much of anything. Sitting becomes a totally passive act, where we’re slumped over, shoulders rounded, feet twisted up and resting on the chair legs, totally dependent on the structure of the chair to support our weight – rather than using our musculature and arranging our skeletal system in such a way that we support ourselves. Doesn’t it seem inconceivable that an animal – any animal – would evolve to require furniture in order to rest comfortably without incurring a disability?

That’s partly why it makes some sense to hang out on the floor more.

6 Floor Sitting Positions to Better Align Your Body

We need the “stress” of supporting our own body weight and making sure our structures are in alignment. Here are a few positions to try out:

Squat
Seiza
Half kneel
Crossed legs
Crossed legs variation
Make up your own

Resting Squat

Squats are the default resting position of humans. Kids can do this easily, but once they start going to school and sitting in a chair for six hours a day, they lose it. The goal here is to get your heels on the ground. Resting on the balls of your feet is easier, but it’s harder on your knees and thighs. The heels-down squat, which requires more flexibility but distributes the pressure across your hips, is far more sustainable.

 

Seiza

Seiza is the formal way to sit in Japan, resting on the lower legs, butt on heels. Placing a small pillow or rolled up towel under your knees can make the transition easier, especially if you have a bad knee or two.

 

 

Half Kneel

 

Like seiza, except one of your feet is on the ground, heel down, in front of you in a squat position. Like these guys.

 

 

Crossed Legs

For many people, this is the most comfortable, natural way to sit on the floor. You can place your feet flat against each other, cross at the ankles, or place your calves against each other. You can even go full lotus.

 

 

Crossed Leg Variation
 

This is one my favorite ways to sit. From the basic crossed leg position, place one hand flat on the floor and lean on it. Bring the opposite leg up and place the foot flat on the floor. Your opposite leg will be in a squat position. Switch hands and legs if it gets uncomfortable.

 

 

Make Up Your Own

Human limbs are funny, bendy things. We can contort ourselves into lots of positions, and as long as you’re on the floor, supporting your own weight and feel comfortable doing it, it’s difficult to hurt yourself. Our bodies are good at giving feedback before things go really wrong. If your arm starts to go numb or your toes get tingly, switch it up! Try coming up with some of your own variations for sitting on the ground and report back.

Floor Activities for Improved Body Alignment

Crawl. Contralateral crawling is one of the most fundamental ways to move. It’s a strong developer of shoulder and hip mobility and strength, and it’s simply a fun way to see and experience the world.
Watch TV on the floor. There’s nothing inherently wrong with TV. Sure, it can be taken to the extreme and crowd out active living, but it’s arguably a golden age of television as far as quality goes. The couch sitting, though, is what gets you.
Eat dinner on the floor. This isn’t something I created out of thin air; plenty of cultures eat dinner on the ground.
Try different positions. You’ll probably find that floor living is a constantly shifting existence, where instead of remaining in the same position for hours at a time, you’re moving around all the time without even trying. You’re switching from the right arm to the left arm to the right elbow to the full lotus position to the half kneel to the full kneel to the full squat just in the first two hours.
Practice moving between positions. Go from standing to a half kneel to a kneel to a seiza to a kneel to a half kneel to standing.
Practice standing up. We can’t live on the floor all the time. Sometimes, we need to stand up and get on with our lives. A smooth transition between floor living and standing is key to health and mobility. For an example transition, check out one of my buddy Erwan’s (of MovNat) methods.

Spend at least an hour a day sitting on the ground and another fifteen minutes practicing different ways to move between positions and another fifteen practicing how to stand up and sit back down. Shoot for ten minutes of crawling, too. You can do most of these things while doing other things, like watching TV or reading or talking, so it’s not like you’re wasting time. My guess is that you’ll take to this like a fish to water.

Why is this so important?

The way we sit, and where we do it, changes the function of our bodies. It even alters the length of musculature.9 In countries where squatting and other forms of floor living are seamlessly weaved into everyday life, people still retain the mobility to do all that stuff into old age. I’ve got a buddy from Thailand who moved over to Hollywood as a teenager in the late sixties and still retains the ability to sit in a full squat, painlessly and effortlessly. This guy is an avid user of chairs and everything Western. He’s not a gymgoer at all, and he’s never even heard of a foam roller or Mobility WOD, but because he got the right floor living experience during the formative years, he can still squat and move around on the floor. Unfortunately, for many of us in Western countries who stopped floor living right around age four or five, we may never quite get there – but we can certainly do a lot better than we are now.

Now that you have some idea of what to do when you’re on the ground, I’d like you to spend the next week doing as much floor living as possible. I don’t expect you to ditch the office chair and roll around the ground while at work, but I do expect you to get in some quality floor time when you’re at home.

Let’s hear from you guys. How do you handle yourselves on the floor? What’s your favorite go-to position?

References https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272638606015137https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10757623https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4159735/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4446506/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5544304/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31468384http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16...http://www.pnas.org/content/110/4/1237.abstract

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How to Choose the Best Water Filter

Water, water everywhere… and so many ways to mess with it!

You’ve got your bottled water, alkaline water, structured water, deuterium-depleted water. It turns out the water can be pretty darn complicated—and contentious. People have strong opinions about what makes the healthiest, most hydrating water. I’m glad to see folks care so much about what they put in their body, but it can be overwhelming.

Today I’m starting with the basics: filtering your water, why you might want to, and how to choose the best water filter for your household. Let me know in the comments if there are other water-related topics you’d like me to cover in the future.

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Why Should You Filter Your Water?

The most basic reason to get a filter is that you don’t enjoy the taste or odor of your tap water. You don’t have to live with whatever funky water comes out of the tap. An inexpensive filter can completely change how your water tastes and smells.

Second, of course, is if you believe your tap water is contaminated. In the U.S., all municipal water is tested annually. Testing doesn’t necessarily guarantee safe water, though. Municipal testing won’t catch all impurities, nor contamination that occurs within your own home (leaching from lead pipes, for example).

The Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for setting water safety standards. Currently the EPA has legal limits on more than 90 potential water contaminants.1 Some areas of the country log more violations than others. 2 3

In an interview last year, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler bragged that 92 percent of Americans drink have access to drinking water that meets all EPA standards.4 What about those other 8 percent?

Good Enough Isn’t Good Enough

Even if you’re in that lucky 92 percent, a bigger point for some folks—and for many of my readers, I know—is that they aren’t content with “acceptable” levels of certain chemicals in their water.

“Safe” drinking water can still contain compounds that you don’t want to voluntarily put in your body. These include chemical contaminants like lead and arsenic, and microbes that can cause water-borne illness.

Many people are also concerned about the chemicals added to water in the name of public health. Your tap water almost certainly contains chlorine or chloramine—a chlorine-ammonia compound—which is added in order to sanitize drinking water.5 6 Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. Chemical disinfectants are the reason so many of us now enjoy tap water that doesn’t make us acutely ill. I get why you’d want to remove them before drinking, though, especially folks who are sensitive to chlorine.

Another source of contention is the fluoride that some water districts add to drinking water, purportedly to increase dental health. This is a huge hornet nest I’m not going to step in today. Suffice it to say that lots of people don’t want to ingest fluoridated water.

FYI, the Environmental Working Group offers more stringent drinking water standards you can reference if EPA standards are laxer than you’d like.7

How to Choose a Water Filter: Test Before You Invest

Different water filters offer different benefits. Before handing over your money, do a little bit of research into the water coming out of your tap. This will help you decide which filter technology you need.

First, go online and search for “[my water district] water quality report,” or contact your water provider and ask for a copy of recent consumer confidence reports.8 This will tell you what type of disinfectant your water district adds, as well as if they are in violation of any EPA regulations. You might want to email your local water quality division to ask if they rotate disinfectants throughout the year. The CDC also keeps a database of which water systems add fluoride.9

If you have a private well or cistern, you already know (hopefully!) that the onus is on you to have your water tested annually by a state-certified lab. The CDC recommends testing for pH levels, total coliform bacteria, nitrates, total dissolved solids, as well as any known contaminants in your area.10 11 Your local health department can help determine what tests are advisable. If you collect rainwater, check out the CDC’s safety recommendations.12

Whether or not you have a well, it is wise to have your water tested if you are concerned about the pipes in your home, or if the taste or smell of your water noticeably changes. Make sure you use a certified lab.13

Once you have determined what, specifically, you want to remove from your water, you can select the proper filtration system.

The Differences Between Water Filtration Systems

As I said, all water filters are not created equal. Each technology has pros and cons. I’m going to cover the three most common.

Activated Carbon Filters

Activated carbon filters work by attracting and absorbing particles from water. There are two types of activated carbon filters: activated carbon blocks and granular activated carbon (GAC). They have similar pros and cons, but carbon blocks are generally more effective at removing impurities.

The most important thing to know about carbon filters is that they can vary considerably in terms of what they do and do not filter out of your water. When selecting a specific product, you must verify that it removes the specific contaminants you want.

Pros

Good for removing large particles like silt and for improving the taste and odor of water
Probably effective for removing chlorine and lead (check product claims)
Tend to be affordable
Don’t require power or heat
Does not filter out essential minerals

Cons

Does not filter viruses, minerals, or inorganic pollutants like arsenic and fluoride
Filters may need frequent replacing

Reverse Osmosis

Water is forced through a semi-permeable membrane, which traps contaminants. In home reverse osmosis units, water is generally passed through a carbon filter first to remove large particulate that could clog the membrane.

Pros

Generally considered the best all-around system for removing the greatest number/amount of contaminants
Can remove fluoride, arsenic, and other compounds that activated carbon cannot
Effective for certain pathogens14
Membranes do not require frequent replacement

Cons

Cannot remove chlorine, chloramine, or most volatile organic compounds
Removes most minerals from water
Water storage tanks can grow bacteria if not properly maintained
Produces a lot of wastewater
More expensive up front than carbon filtration systems

That looks like a lot of cons, but the superior filtration ability of reverse osmosis systems will outweigh all those cons for many people. Proponents of reverse osmosis will point out that you can collect wastewater, which is sanitary, and feed it into a graywater system or use it to wash your car. Most reverse osmosis systems simply drain it, though.

Distillers

Work by boiling water, then collecting and condensing the steam. When the water vaporizes, impurities are left behind. The condensed water is largely free from contaminants.

Pros

Effective at removing most impurities and killing bacteria and viruses
Does not require replacement filters

Cons

Cannot remove all pesticides or organic compounds
Very slow compared to other systems (One popular model I looked at took 5.5 hours to make 1 gallon of distilled water!)
Requires electricity (usually)
Removes essential minerals
Many people dislike the taste of distilled water

“Add-Ons”

Depending on your needs, you might include additional steps that aren’t filtration per se, but they do purify your water:

Ultraviolet lamps emit UV rays that kill pathogens in the water.
Activated alumina filters can remove lead and arsenic.
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) can neutralize chloramine.15 You can install vitamin C filters for showerheads, and you can also add 1000 mg of vitamin C (as in, the supplements you’d buy at any health food store) to your bath.16

How to Choose a Water Filter for Your Home
Certification

Water filters may be certified by NSF or the Water Quality Association (WQA).

Filters that have the WQA Gold Seal have been tested for quality assurance and to make sure the claims listed on the packaging are accurate.17 NSF has an extremely rigorous testing process that guarantees the ability of a product to remove specific contaminants.18

Before choosing a specific water filter, you can search the NSF website to see what certifications, if any, it has. If you have a specific contaminant concern, refer to the NSF Contaminant Reduction Claims Guide for compliant products.19

You don’t have to buy a certified product, of course, but do your due diligence. Ask the manufacturer for reports that verify the have conducted certified laboratory testing. Consider having your water tested before and after using the filter to verify that it’s working as intended.

Factors to Take Into Consideration

Your purpose: Are you just trying to improve taste and odor, or are you trying to remove specific substances?

Size: How many people are in your household? How much space do you have available in your kitchen?

Budget: How much can you afford to spend up front?

Types of Systems

Water pitchers are convenient. You can store them on the counter or in the fridge and choose the size you need. Pitchers will naturally have limited capacity but are easily refilled. Most pitchers will use some type of carbon filtration. Before purchasing a pitcher, check the product claims to see what it will remove.

Counter filters may have any of type of filtration. They usually take up considerable space, but ones with large tanks might be ideal for big families.

Under-the-sink filters are great because they don’t take up any room in your fridge or on the counter. These units generally have two or more steps in the filtration process. This lets you select a system that includes the combination of technologies you want. They do require installation.

Faucet filters attach directly to your kitchen faucet and filter the water as it flows through.

Whole-house filters are, as you’d expect, the most expensive option. If you have lead pipes or bacteria in your plumbing, your water can become re-contaminated between the filter and your drinking glass. There’s also the concern that by removing the chlorine as the water enters your home, you increase the chance that bacteria will grow in your home’s pipes.

The advantage of a whole-house system is that it also cleans the water you use to wash and bathe. A more cost-effective option is using both a kitchen water filter and a showerhead water filter. This won’t hit every water source in your house, but it will cover your main exposure. There are also filters you can hang from your bathtub water faucet if you are a bubble bath enthusiast.

The Bottom Line

All these systems “work.” Choosing a water filter comes down to what you need it to do.

The best all-around option is a multi-stage filter that includes an activated carbon filter and reverse osmosis. Some units also have one or more of the add-ons I listed above built in.

The major concern with reverse osmosis, as well as distillation, is that it removes desirable calcium, magnesium, and trace minerals from drinking water. For that reason, some people choose to remineralize their water after filtering. (The WHO wants you to, too.20) Some multi-stage filters include this step at the end. You can also run the filtered water through an alkalizing pitcher. This is too many steps for me. I’d rather just add a few drops of a trace mineral solution to my water.

Whatever system you choose, you must maintain it according to the manufacturer’s specifications. That means changing filters on schedule and disinfecting the system as indicated. Dirty filters and water tanks aren’t effective and can even be a source of contamination. Take care of it.

What about Berkeys?

I know if I don’t mention them, I’ll get a bunch of questions about Berkey water filters. They seem to be the darlings of the ancestral health community. Berkey uses a proprietary filtration system, which makes it hard to compare their systems to other products. They do provide their own laboratory testing results on their website, but they are not NSF certified. This isn’t a dealbreaker; it’s an expensive, arduous process. Still, other companies have opted for it. Furthermore, it’s not hard to find naysayers who raise questions about whether Berkey’s products live up to their claims. I’ll leave it up to you to do your own research here. At this point, I can’t unequivocally recommend them without seeing more data.

What about you? Are you passionate about your water filtration device? Are you perfectly happy to drink water right out of the tap? Let me know.

References https://www.epa.gov/dwreginfo/drinkin...https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/nep.13119https://www.sfwater.org/Modules/ShowD...

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No Equipment At Home Arm Workout (12-minute EMOM With Video)

When you think about upper body workouts, there’s a good chance that heavy dumbbells and cable machines come to mind. Even though it’s not entirely feasible to step into the gym for a while, it’s still realistic to come out on the other side of quarantine with stronger biceps and triceps. In fact, you can get an incredible at-home arm workout without ever picking up a dumbbell or kettlebell.

The best part is, you can do a complete at-home arm workout in just 12 minutes.

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What You Need for an At Home Arm Workout

You can do a complete upper body workout even if you have no exercise gear whatsoever. The only equipment you need is your bodyweight, a sturdy box, small table, or step, and two weighted items you can grip. In this video, Brian used handled milk jugs because he can fill them with water to increase resistance, or pour water out to lighten the load.

At Home Arm EMOM Workout (All Fitness Levels)

Today, we’ll do a quick but challenging cycle of 6 moves, EMOM style, which stands for Every Minute On the Minute. We’ll set a 12-minute timer and move through the exercises at the minute mark. Moves in today’s lineup include:

Handstand push-ups
Tricep dips
Bicep curls
Tricep extensions
Lateral raises
Narrow push-ups

This workout was designed to adapt to your individual fitness level. The video below offers modifications for each move to make the workout easier or more challenging.

Variation: No Equipment Arm Microworkouts

My favorite way to do no-equipment workouts is to split them up as individual microworkouts. If I have a long stretch of desk work ahead of me, I’ll get up every hour or so and rep out a set of a movement, and at the end of the day, my efforts add up to a full upper body routine. Microworkouts are a great way to keep up your fitness no matter what your days have in store. If you’re interested in elevating your heart rate, though, consider doing the full twelve minute workout contiguously.

Clear a small space, press play, and let us know what you think.

The post No Equipment At Home Arm Workout (12-minute EMOM With Video) appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Instant Pot Hawaiian BBQ Pork Recipe

A flavorful, home-cooked meal that takes just a few minutes of prep work? Yes, please! No matter how you serve it – on a salad, alongside your favorite slaw, with plantains, or tucked into grain-free tortillas – Instant Pot Hawaiian BBQ Pork is comfort food perfection.

All you need to do is a quick chop, a quick sear, and your Instant Pot takes care of the rest. As a bonus, you can make more than you need and stash the extras in the fridge or freezer for later.

No Instant Pot? No problem! You can make this dish using your stovetop and oven. Modifications are listed below.

Let’s get started.

For more like this, instantly download the Keto Reset Diet Recipe Sampler

Instant Pot Hawaiian BBQ Pork Recipe

Serves: 4-6

Time in the kitchen: 65 minutes, including 60 minutes hands-off cook time

Ingredients

2.5 lbs pork butt or shoulder, cut into 4-5 chunks
1.5 tbsp. Primal Kitchen® Avocado Oil or Olive Oil
1.5 cups chopped onion
3 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 tbsp. garlic powder
1/2 tbsp. paprika
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup Primal Kitchen Hawaiian BBQ Sauce
1/4 cup coconut aminos
1 tsp. dijon mustard
Toppings (optional): avocado, cheese, chopped tomatoes and onions, or chunks of pineapple.

Directions

Combine the paprika, salt, pepper, ginger, and garlic in a bowl. Toss the pork chunks in the spices until they are covered on all sides.

Add the oil to your Instant Pot insert and press the Sauté function. Once the oil begins to heat, add the chopped onion. Sauté the onion for 2-3 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and stir until it is fragrant. Add the chunks of pork to the pot and brown for 1-2 minutes on both sides.

Whisk the broth, Primal Kitchen Hawaiian BBQ Sauce, coconut aminos and mustard in a bowl and pour the sauce on top of the pork. Hit the Cancel function and then select the Manual Pressure Cook function. Set the timer for 35 minutes on high pressure and secure the valve. Once the timer is up, allow the pressure to manually release for 12 minutes, then flip the vent to quick-release to finish releasing any steam. Remove the lid and use two forks to shred the meat.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Pour the meat and sauce in a large pyrex or sheet pan and bake for about 15 minutes or until it bubbles and the sauce begins to thicken slightly. The more shallow the pan is, the more quickly the pork will crisp up.

Don’t Have an Instant Pot? Simply soften the onions and garlic, sear the pieces of pork, and add the broth and other ingredients to the pot. If needed, add more broth so the broth covers at least the bottom half of the meat. Bring the liquid to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover and place the pot in a 325 degree oven for around 2.5 hours. You may want to check the meat in the pot halfway through to add additional liquid as needed. When the meat is soft, shred it and roast it uncovered in the pot at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes until the pork is golden.

Top the pork with avocado slices and cilantro and serve alongside a cabbage slaw or your favorite side.

Nutrition Information (per 1/6 of recipe)

Calories: 400

Total Carbs: 10 grams

Net Carbs: 9 grams

Fat: 27 grams

Protein: 35 grams

The post Instant Pot Hawaiian BBQ Pork Recipe appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Weekly Link Love – Edition 79

Research of the Week

Latitude (or vitamin D supplementation/intake) predicts coronavirus mortality.

The fats found in old Neolithic pottery shards from Europe.

Of the thousands of CA state prisoners who tested positive for coronavirus, 96% had no symptoms. Among infected Boston homeless, 87.8% had no symptoms.

Low HDL predicts the progression from mild to severe coronavirus infection.

Why we often assume economic interactions are zero-sum.

Ancient Europeans dined on caviar.

Candy goggles.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 420: Lisa Bilyeu: Host Elle Russ chats with Lisa Bilyeu, co-founder of both Impact Theory and Quest Nutrition.

Primal Health Coach Radio, Episode 58: Laura and Erin talk carnivore with Dr. Kevin Stock.

Media, Schmedia

Coronaviruses “reinfections” may just be false positives.

Heart disease is the most common co-morbidity in hospitalized coronavirus patients in Britain (smoking was not a risk factor).

Interesting Blog Posts

Nice guide to coconut products. I second the coconut butter endorsement.

The death of old Europe.

Social Notes

Quick little microworkout.

Go outside.

Everything Else

Why you should forest bathe.

The “miracle” of seed oils.

Are quarantined kids at risk for weight gain? (It certainly won’t help)

Cow poop produces less greenhouse gas then previously reported.

Huh, it’s almost like we can learn from traditional societies.

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

Study I liked: Taking ketones, caffeine, and amino acids before a workout improves performance, whether you’re keto-adapted or keto-naive.

Article I found interesting: “Life Has to Go On.”

Prediction I’m making: Tele-health is here to stay.

Anti-coconut study with a huge glaring caveat: “Some people believe that unrefined coconut oil’s polyphenols improve inflammation and glucose homeostasis. But the researchers weren’t able to assess this because most of the trials didn’t report the type of coconut oil used.”

Wyoming bill I hope becomes law: The one that allows ranchers to sell direct to consumers.

Question I’m Asking

What’s your daily routine?

Recipe Corner

Fennel frond pesto.
Simple Greek-style lamb chops.

Time Capsule

One year ago (Apr 26 – May 2)

Does Red Meat Give You Colon Cancer?– Well, does it?
Dry Fasting: Is It Worth It?– Well, is it?

Comment of the Week

“Sleep hygiene doesn’t necessarily mean sleeping in a cold, pitch-black bedroom. That doesn’t work for everyone. Total darkness makes me feel disoriented, like I’m floating in a vacuum. I’m more comfortable with enough night glow coming into the room to give it a bit of vague definition. I also need it to be warm enough in the room that I don’t require a lot of blankets or quilts. I wear warm slippers in the evening about three-fourths of the year. That’s because I’ll never get to sleep if I go to bed with cold feet. Conversely, I’ve read that you should be almost uncomfortably cool in order to sleep well. Um, no thanks. I need to be warm without being weighted down by a lot of covers.

These are just some of the things that work for me, although they’re contrary to what sleep experts suggest. Since good sleep is crucial, we should all take the time to figure out what works best for each of us instead of just accepting the word of sleep experts as being gospel.”

– Good comment, Skeezix.

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Ask a Health Coach: Dealing with Overwhelm, Naysayers, and Kid-Friendly Fitness

Hi, folks. In this week’s edition of Ask a Health Coach, Erin shares her strategies for staying on track while sheltering in place, navigating toxic relationships online, and how to make fitness fun for the whole family. Remember, you can ask your questions in the MDA Facebook Group or below this post in the comments section.

I’m really struggling here. Between my new routine and trying to eat healthy, it’s just too much. How do I avoid losing all of my progress during the quarantine? -Lizzie

I actually hear this a lot. Not just from my clients who are heeding the stay-at-home orders right now either. Feeling overwhelmed by a change 1 in routine or diet or job is normal. That said, choosing to stay overwhelmed is a choice.

Often, I’ll hear my clients say, “I can’t do this.” Sometimes it’s in the week after enrolling them in my health coaching program. But honestly, a lot of times it’s even sooner — like the moment I’m telling them the good news that they can reach their goals with a few tweaks in their diet. You can feel the panic setting in.

“I can’t” has become such a common phrase in our vocabulary. And it’s complete BS. You absolutely can do it. You may not want to, but you certainly can. No doubt in my mind.

You can do anything you set your mind to, even during the quarantine.

Can you load your plate up with protein and veggies instead of the refined, starchy carbs that make you feel all bloated and sleepy? Yep. Can you commit to starting your day with a nutrient-dense breakfast instead of eating grab-and-go snack foods from the pantry? Sure can. Can you dial down your sugar intake? Go for a stroll around the block? Put on a yoga video? Yes, yes, and yes.

Sure, buying groceries is a little more challenging right now. And exercising when your whole family is around may not be ideal. But using the excuse that a change in routine is keeping you from your health goals is nonsense.

It may be more difficult to make these changes, but I know without question, that you can make them. You can do anything if you decide it’s worth it.

My family and close friends are supportive of my Primal journey, but whenever I post about it on Facebook, I get a lot of negative comments. What am I doing wrong? -Annette

First of all, I love hearing that you have a great support system in your family and close friends. But here’s the deal with “online friends,” everyone’s a critic. It might be jealousy or trying to get your attention, or whatever. But the bottom line is that your journey is your journey — and every moment of it is worth celebrating. Every. Single. Moment.

I’ve learned the hard way that the jerks on social media are just show-offs who want to seem like they know more than you do. They’re always scavenging for the newest data and next-level research, and basically diminishing anything anyone else is doing. They want to appear bigger so that you feel smaller. Am I right? And they typically have nothing constructive to add to the conversation. Just know, when I say typically, I mean never.

What someone else has to say about your Primal journey, whether it’s online or in-person, has nothing to do with you and everything to do with them.2 Their negativity is a direct reflection of their self-esteem (or lack thereof), so, turn the other cheek, turn off your notifications, or better yet, block those naysayers from your posts.

Keep doing what you’re doing and rely on relationships with your family and real friends for those times you need an extra dose of support.

How do I get my kids onboard with exercise. Without regular PE classes, they’ve become quite sedentary. Tips on getting them to exercise more? -James

This is a great question, James. With school closures and the suspension of team sports, a lot of families are struggling to find ways to get their kids moving. According to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition, only one in three kids 3 is physically active every day. What’s worse is that research shows they’re getting up to 8 hours of screen time daily. And I’m sure that number is even higher now.

A recent study 4 found that teens who didn’t get regular exercise were more likely to develop depression too, so, you’re right to be concerned. But my first rule when it comes to kids and exercise is, don’t force it. You want to paint the picture that fitness is fun. And it can be, you just have to get a little creative given our current circumstances.

While playing at a park or running around with friends is out right now, activities like riding bikes, jumping on a trampoline, dancing, and creating American Ninja Warrior style obstacle courses in the backyard are all awesome forms of exercise.

Also, remember that your kids are always watching you. This is your opportunity to be a positive role model. If you’re lounging on the couch with a bag of chips and a can of pop, how likely are they to drink water and fly through obstacles? Not very. Show them that exercise is important to you as a family — that it’s something you do together — and they’ll follow your lead.

References https://www.psycom.net/dealing-with-changehttps://medium.com/the-mission/why-negative-people-are-literally-killing-you-and-how-to-obliterate-pessimism-from-your-life-eb85fadced87https://www.hhs.gov/fitness/resource-center/facts-and-statistics/index.html#footnote-1https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2215036620300341

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