New and Noteworthy: What I Read This Week—Edition 198

Research of the Week

A personalized strength training program using genetic data is very effective.

Compared to real meat, fake meat doesn’t trigger the same rise in essential amino acids when eaten.

Belly fat and death in Europe.

Low light during the day and bright light at night increases the risk of psychiatric disorders.

Exercise remains the best remedy for Alzheimer’s.

New Primal Kitchen Podcasts

Primal Kitchen Podcast: The Link Between Dairy Intolerance and Dairy Genes with Alexandre Family Farm Founders Blake and Stephanie

Primal Health Coach Radio: Where Are the Wellness Jobs? With Carolyn Williams

Media, Schmedia

Zac Efron spells out the dangers of excessive training and leanness.

Where are the dead bugs on windshields?

Interesting Blog Posts

Did heather domesticate humans?

“Why I’m not a big fan of anti-depressants.”

Social Notes

The Space Race plotted against Seattle trying to build a bike lane.

AI writes viral thread on productivity hacks.

Everything Else

“The corporate capture of the nutrition profession in the US…”

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

No free lunch: Genes that helped people survive the Black Death now increase the risk of autoimmune disease.

Not surprised: Neanderthals may have been carnivores.

Fascinating: The lost forest gardens of Europe.

Interesting: “Today’s older adults are cognitively fitter than older adults from the past.”

More Neanderthal research: Was there really a need for carbohydrates in Neanderthal diets?

Question I’m Asking

What do you do for Halloween?

Recipe Corner

• Pumpkin bars, because sometimes you want a treat.
• Ragu Napoletano.

Time Capsule

One year ago (Oct 22 – Oct 28)

• 7 Foods You Don’t Need to Buy Organic—Guide to safe foods.
• Do Nuts Have Too Much Omega-6?—Well, do they?

Comment of the Week

“13 years later, “Escape from Vegan Island” is still one of the best things you’ve ever written. Thank-you for being a passionate, clear-headed beacon of hope and sanity.”

-Thanks, Kirk. That’s what I try for.

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Mark’s Daily Apple Sweet 16 Sweepstakes Official Rules

Mark’s Daily Apple Sweet 16 Sweepstakes

Official Rules

 

NO PURCHASE TO ENTER TO WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

MARK’S DAILY APPLE SWEET 16 SWEEPSTAKES (the “Promotion”) starts on October 28^th, 2022 at 10am Pacific Time (“PT”) and ends on November 8^th, 2022 at 11:59pm PT (“Promotion Period”).

ELIGIBILITY: Promotion is open to residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia, who are at least 18 years of age.  Employees of Primal Kitchen (“Sponsor”), and their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, promotion and advertising agencies and members of their immediate family (spouse, parent, sibling or child and their respective spouses, regardless of where they reside) and persons living in the same household of such employees, whether or not related, are not eligible to enter or win. Void where prohibited by law.  Promotion is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws.

HOW TO ENTER:   To enter this sweepstakes during the Promotion Period, complete the entry form, including completing your name, email address, and opt-in, on the dedicated Sweepstakes Landing Page, here: www.marksdailyapple.com/cold-plunge-sweepstakes/ Limit one (1) entry per person/email/household.

All entries must be received between October 28^th, 2022 and November 8^th, 2022 by 11:59pm PT to be eligible.  Use of any robotic, automatic, programmed or similar entry method or more than the stated number of entries will void your entry/entries and result in disqualification.

RANDOM DRAWING:  One (1) winner will be selected in a random drawing on or about November 9, 2022 from among all eligible entries received. Drawing will be administered by Arrowhead. Odds of winning will depend upon the number of eligible entries received.

WINNER NOTIFICATION: Administrator’s decisions are final and binding on all matters relating to this Promotion.  The potential winner will receive an email from Arrowhead Promotion and Fulfillment Co., Inc., (“Administrator”), to confirm their acceptance of the prize. Potential winner must respond to notification within three (3) calendar days. If the potential winner confirms, he/she will be asked to submit their full name, date of birth, complete mailing address and confirm email address within a time period specified by Sponsor or prize will be forfeited and Sponsor will have no further obligation to such winner.  Potential winners may be required to execute and return an affidavit of eligibility, a liability release and, where lawful, a publicity release, within seven days of date of issuance. If such documents are not returned and signed within the specified time period or if Sponsor is unable to contact a potential winner within such time period, prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, or a potential winner is not in compliance with these Official Rules, prize will be forfeited and, at Sponsor’s discretion an alternate may be randomly selected.  If any potential winner is an eligible minor in his/her jurisdiction of residence, prize may be awarded in the name of his/her parent or legal guardian, and such parent or legal guardian will be required to fulfill all requirements imposed on winners set forth herein.

PRIZES: One (1) prize winner will receive the following prize package:

–       One (1) Standard Cold Plunge Tub from Plunge (ARV: $4,990)

–      One (1) PrimalKitchen.com gift card to be used for online purchases (ARV: $100)

–       One (1) The Keto Reset Diet Book (ARV: $27.99)

–      One (1) The Keto Reset Diet Cookbook (ARV: $27.99)

–      One (1) Two Meals A Day Book (ARV: $28.00)

–      One (1) Two Meals A Day Cookbook (ARV: $30.00)

Total prize value of all prizes awarded: $5,203.98. All prize details are at the sole discretion of the Sponsor.  All prizes are awarded “as is” with no warranty or guarantee, either express or implied. No substitution, transfer, or cash equivalent of prize is permitted, except by Sponsor, which reserves the right to substitute a prize (or portion thereof) with one of comparable or greater value, at its sole discretion.  Any and all federal, state and local taxes on the prizes, and any other costs, fees, and expenses not explicitly stated herein as being awarded, are the sole responsibility of the winners. Gift Card terms and conditions apply.

GENERAL CONDITIONS:  By participating, each entrant (and, if an eligible minor, his/her parent or legal guardian) agrees: (a) to abide by these Official Rules and decisions of Judges; (b) to release, discharge and hold harmless Sponsor, and their respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, and advertising and promotion agencies, and the respective officers, directors, shareholders, employees, agents and representatives of the forgoing (collectively, “Released Parties”) from any and all injuries, liability, losses and damages of any kind to persons, including death, or property resulting, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from entrant’s participation in the Promotion or the acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any awarded prize; and (c) to the use of his/her name, voice, performance, photograph/video, image and/or likeness for programming, advertising, publicity and promotional purposes in any and all media, now or hereafter known, worldwide and on the Internet, and in perpetuity by Sponsor and its designees, without compensation (unless prohibited by law) or additional consents from entrant or any third party and without prior notice, approval or inspection, and to execute specific consent to such use if asked to do so.

Released Parties not responsible for any technical problems, malfunctions of any telephone lines, computer systems, servers, providers, hardware/software, lost or unavailable network connections or failed, incomplete, garbled or delayed computer transmission or any combination thereof. Released Parties are not responsible for late, lost, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, undeliverable, destroyed, garbled or stolen entries; or for lost, interrupted or unavailable network, server, Internet Service Provider, website, or other connections, availability or accessibility or miscommunications or failed computer, satellite, telephone or cable transmissions, lines, or technical failure or jumbled, scrambled, delayed, or misdirected transmissions or computer hardware or software malfunctions, failures or difficulties, or other errors or difficulties of any kind whether typographical, human mechanical, electronic, computer, network, printing or otherwise relating to or in connection with the Promotion, including, without limitation, errors or difficulties which may occur in connection with the administration of the Promotion, the posting of questions, the processing of entries, the announcement of the prize or in any Promotion-related materials. Released Parties are also not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by site users, tampering, hacking, or by any equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Promotion.  Released Parties are not responsible for injury or damage to participants’ or to any other person’s computer related to or resulting from participating in this Promotion or downloading materials from or use of the website. Sponsor may disqualify anyone from participating in the Promotion or winning a prize (and void all associated entries) if, in its sole discretion, it determines that such person is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Promotion by cheating, deception or other unfair playing practices.  Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to cancel or suspend any portion of the Promotion for any reason, including should any cause corrupt the administration, security or proper play of the Promotion and, in the event of termination, to determine the winner from among all eligible entries received up to such time.

ENTRANT’S PERSONAL INFORMATION:  Any personally identifiable information collected during Entrant’s participation in this Sweepstakes will be collected by Sponsor and used by it and its agents for purpose of the proper administration and fulfillment of the Sweepstakes as described in these Official Rules, for any additional opt-in information Entrant agreed to upon participation, and in accordance with Sponsor’s Privacy Policies, posted, respectively at https://www.primalkitchen.com/pages/privacy-policy as allowed by law.

REQUEST FOR WINNERS’ NAMES: For of the name of the winner available after November 30, 2022 send a self-addressed, stamped, envelope to Primal Kitchen (Mark’s Daily Apple Sweet 16 Sweepstakes), 1101 Maulhardt Avenue, Oxnard, CA 93030.

SPONSOR: Primal Kitchen, Oxnard, CA

ADMINISTRATOR:  Arrowhead Promotion and Fulfillment Co., Inc., 1105 SE 8^th Street, Grand Rapids, MN 55744.

© Copyright 2022 (Primal Kitchen).  All Rights Reserved.  Primal Kitchen is the trademarks of their respective companies and their use in this promotion is not an endorsement or sponsorship of this promotion. Used with permission.

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The Past, Present, and Future of the Primal Mission

Mark’s Daily Apple turns 16 today. I guess we could say it’s officially “come of age.” It was the platform that launched the primal mission, and I couldn’t have spread the word without it — and without you, my dedicated readers, of course. So let’s get a little reminiscent, shall we? After all, that’s what birthdays are for. 

Many of you are familiar with my personal journey. A career as an endurance athlete left me sick and injured, making me acutely aware that the standard health and nutrition advice I’d been following was misguided at best and destructive at worst. I’ve always loved challenging my brain as much as I do my body, so I dug into all the science available and began experimenting with a more evolutionary approach to food and fitness. I noticed the benefits right away and wanted to document my journey and help other people reclaim their health as well. I started Mark’s Daily Apple for that very reason, with a measurable goal in mind — to change the lives of 10 million people.

I soon discovered just how many people out there are sick of being failed by mainstream dietary and fitness advice. Visits to Mark’s Daily Apple skyrocketed as more people found their way to the blog, many of whom encouraged me to consolidate my research and way of life — which I call the primal lifestyle — in a book. And so I did.

The Primal Blueprint became an unlikely bestseller, and I followed that up with many other books, including my most recent, The Keto Reset Diet and Two Meals a Day, all while blogging on Mark’s Daily Apple. 

Time passed, and I continued researching and investigating what it means to live primally, sharing my findings with you here. I also hosted in-person retreats and seminars and developed specialized online courses like the 21-Day Primal Reset Course. But I wanted to do more. I wanted to develop a program for those that desired to go beyond the blog and books and take an even deeper dive into the primal lifestyle. 

So the primal mission took another leap and I created the Primal Blueprint Expert Certification program in 2014. It was an incredibly comprehensive exploration of ancestral health — on par with a college-level science course. It was for the primal enthusiast who wanted to become an expert for their own edification, but we soon discovered that the majority of people enrolling in the course had professional aspirations. They were either already a health or fitness professional or wanted to become one. With this discovery, I knew there was an opportunity to take the primal mission even further. 

So I founded Primal Health Coach Institute to train other people in primal health and, with their help, change the lives of 100 million people around the world. 

Primal Health Coach Institute is, in a sense, the culmination of my collective efforts to share the primal message and help people reclaim their health and wellness. I’ve gone from writing about ancestral health through daily articles on this blog to training people to become health and fitness coaches so they can go out and spread the word. And the compounding network effect has been powerful. 

In addition to the Primal Health Coach Certification program, we’ve developed the Primal Fitness Coach Certification, coaching and business development courses, and continuing education programs, including strength training for women and health coaching in medical practices. 

I’m very proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish with Primal Health Coach Institute. It’s not just an online platform that lets you take your pick of coaching courses. We’ve nurtured a tight community of coaches around the world. And we make sure they have the resources they need to launch and run a successful practice, so we can keep changing lives, one person and one coach at a time. 

We’ve also spun off other endeavors, like myPrimalCoach, which matches users with their very own health coach through a convenient app. You’d better believe once we reach 100 million people, we’re going even bigger. And I know we can do it with everything Primal Health Coach Institute has in the works.

So happy birthday to the blog that started it all and continues to have a massive impact on the world. It’s certainly had a huge impact on mine.

 

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Reflecting on 16 Years of Mark’s Daily Apple

17 years ago, my friend and mentor Art Devany asked me to write a couple fitness articles for his website. I did. “Escape from Vegan Island” and “The Case Against Cardio” got such huge responses from his readers that I decided to start my own blog.

16 years later, I’m still going strong. I’m not really a sentimental guy, but I’m feeling very emotional right now. This blog was a personal revelation for me.

I’d spent my entire life as an entrepreneur of many coats: mowing lawns, painting houses, grilling chuck steaks out of my dorm room, opening frozen yogurt shops in Palo Alto, training triathletes and marathoners and wealthy socialites in LA, selling supplements on TV and later the Internet. I was always pretty successful, but eventually I knew I’d have to move on to something else. I had to keep moving at all times. Always on the prowl. And I was always selling.

Mark’s Daily Apple made me realize I could start from a different place: talking about all the things I found interesting and useful about human health, fitness, evolution, and biology. These were discussions I was having with friends already, ideas I was exploring on my own. I honestly started the blog because I realized that other people were also interested in this angle, and it seemed like a fun idea that could turn into something big later on.

When the readership kept coming back and growing year over year, I knew I was onto something. After a year, we had 1,000 regular readers. By two years, we had 2,000. And then it just exploded.

I’d originally planned to write an article a day for a year (or two) and figured that would have exhausted my realm of expertise. There’d be nothing more to say. But the thing about blogs, especially back then, was the real magic happened in the comments and emails you’d get after posting an article. The articles take on a life of their own. A random comment from some guy who was reading the post at 2 AM sends you on another tangential exploration of a different angle of nutritional science. You read one study and see a link to another related one, and go on down the rabbit hole. The mystery unfolds before you.

That was the coolest part: we were uncovering a mystery.

There was a real sense of exploration back then. The entire concept of ancestral health was very underground and limited to Loren Cordain’s work on diet and ancient anthropology, plus a few other people like the Weston Price Foundation. For the most part though, almost no one was talking about it. Certainly no one in the general population was aware of it. We were uncovering new (old) wisdom, seemingly every week. We were figuring out all the interactions between environment and health and all the mismatches between the expectations of our ancient genes and the conditions of the modern world. It was impossible not to find something new to write about.

So I kept writing, and the readership kept growing, and the ideas we were developing kept spreading among “regular” people. It was a true health renaissance.

But it started from a little momentary diversion. A small seed, germinated and supported. Well, many small seeds—all the other writers and thinkers in this new space. There’s a good lesson there, isn’t there?

• Do something you’re interested in and that a decent number of other people are interested in. (The initial response I got from the articles I wrote for Art proved that these ideas had legs.)
• Do something you know can help people. I could look around and see poor health everywhere. The evolutionary mismatches were impossible to miss. I knew that these ideas could help millions.
• Pursue it diligently. I wrote something every day. I continue to write something almost every day.

Those three things—confirming that whatever you’re pursuing has appeal, confirming that it will objectively help people or fill a need, and then sticking with it—were key for the success of Mark’s Daily Apple. They’re key for any new pursuit.

Of course, the thread running through the rise of Mark’s Daily Apple is you, the readers. The people. I wouldn’t have done this if I wasn’t getting feedback from you. If no one was reading, I wouldn’t have written for long. Writing is for readers. Without readers, it means much less.

It’s popular for writers to say they “write in order to think.” Perhaps that’s true for them, but it’s not for me. I write so that I can change people’s lives. I write so that people can read my writing and come away happier, healthier, and more engaged.

And so, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for coming on this journey with me. Thank you for pushing me to keep digging, keep exploring, keep learning. It’s been sixteen years so far, and I look forward to many, many more.

Take care, everyone.

Hear more from Mark

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Psoriasis: Causes and Treatments

Psoriasis is a skin disorder in which your skin cells reproduce too quickly, leading to scaly skin, rashes, or blisters. With plaque psoriasis (the most common form), red, flaky patches rise on the scalp, face, knees, elbows, lower back—anywhere on the body, really. Other types present differently. Inverse psoriasis, for example, appears as smooth red blotches mostly in skin folds, while the relatively rare erythrodermic psoriasis causes skin peeling on large areas of the body. Psoriasis can also affect fingernails and toenails.

Not only is psoriasis often itchy or painful, it can take a serious emotional toll. Patients report feeling embarrassed or stigmatized because of their skin’s appearance. Although there are a number of pharmaceutical, over-the-counter, and natural treatments available, there is no cure for psoriasis. The goal of treatment is to manage symptoms and put it into remission, but flare-ups can (and for many people do) occur regularly. 

For folks living with psoriasis, it can be hard to find relief. Some aspects of a Primal lifestyle may be able to help. 

What Causes Psoriasis

Scientists believe that psoriasis is caused by a combination of genetic predisposition and environmental triggers. But despite its prevalence—about 3 percent of U.S. adults have psoriasis¹—it’s still somewhat inscrutable. 

Psoriasis is often confused with eczema, even by people making the diagnosis. Your doctor may opt for a skin biopsy to be sure. Both can present as dry, itchy, inflamed skin. And both may be triggered by stress, skin injuries, and cold, dry environments. However, they have different causes (only somewhat understood). With eczema, skin is overly sensitive due to dysregulation in the immune system, but skin cells do not turn over rapidly as with psoriasis. And whereas eczema is more common in kids, psoriasis is more common in adults. 

Most experts agree that psoriasis is an autoimmune disorder. Skin issues are the outward manifestation of the disease, but under the surface lurks chronic, systemic inflammation. People with psoriasis are at greater risk for other chronic health conditions like metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, Crohn’s disease, diabetes, depression, and kidney and liver diseases.^{2 3} Around one in three people with psoriasis also develop a related condition called psoriatic arthritis. The worse your psoriasis, the greater the risk of developing these comorbidities. 

However, experts are unsure whether psoriasis causes inflammation, in turn leading to other problems. Another possibility is that some common factor leads to systemic inflammation which causes both psoriasis and other disorders to develop concurrently. Either way, strategies aimed at mitigating inflammation, like some of the ones I’ll mention today, are a must for psoriasis sufferers. 

How to Treat Psoriasis

There are several pharmaceutical options available. Whether or not you decide to go down that route is a decision you have to make with your doctor. Some of these drugs may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and other serious comorbidities. But like all drugs, they also have side effects. Some common psoriasis medications (acitretin, methotrexate, tazarotene) are not safe during pregnancy. The American Academy of Dermatologists advises people who are planning to become pregnant to avoid these medications (men should also avoid methotrexate when trying to conceive). 

Whatever you decide, I know a lot of my readers will also be interested in exploring nutrition, supplementation, and other behavioral options to augment their treatment. Psoriasis is notoriously stubborn. Even when someone is in remission, stress, illness, injury, certain medications, cold weather, and smoking or drinking alcohol can trigger a flare-up. It’s wise, therefore, to seek a multi-pronged approach aimed at tackling the rashes (outside) and managing inflammation (inside). 

Treating psoriasis with diet interventions

Eating a diet low in foods that cause inflammation and gut issues should be a top priority for psoriasis patients. First and foremost, I’d strongly suggest that anyone with psoriasis eliminate gluten. Celiac disease is three times more prevalent among psoriasis patients than in the general population.⁴ Mon-celiac gluten sensitivity probably is much more common as well. Of course, I don’t think anyone needs to be eating grains, but avoidance is an especially good idea for folks with autoimmune illness.  

Beyond that, you might consider trying an elimination and reintroduction diet like an autoimmune protocol, or AIP. AIP is no fun, but it might be worth it, especially if your psoriasis is poorly managed currently. Just don’t skip the reintroduction part. The idea isn’t to strictly limit your food choices forever but to identify trigger foods so you have more control over flare-ups.

And seriously moderating or avoiding alcohol is a no-brainer, both because it can intensify symptoms and due to the increased risk of liver disease.⁵ 

Supplements to try

Supplementing with fish oil, selenium, and vitamins D and B12 may help, although some people don’t notice any particular benefit.⁶ (B12 and D, along with vitamin A, might also be useful when applied topically.⁷)

There is also a lot of interest in curcumin, a compound found in turmeric. A number of small 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.⁸

Stress reduction

As I’ve mentioned, stress leads to psoriasis flare-ups.⁹ Therefore, it’s worthwhile to moderate stress however you can manage.

Meditation and guided imagery seem to work.¹⁰ Treat yourself to a relaxing Epsom salt or oatmeal bath, then apply some of the topical treatments below.

Phototherapy

A variety of different phototherapy options are available to treat psoriasis. The best one for you depends on the type of psoriasis you have and how severe it is. Your doctor might opt for narrowband or broadband UVB, UVA, pulsed dye laser, LED, red light therapy, or something else based on your case.¹¹ 

Nature’s original phototherapy—aka sunlight—can also be an effective tool. Some psoriasis meds make you more photosensitive, though, so be aware. 

Topical treatments

Your doctor might recommend creams with salicylic acid, zinc pyrithione, or coal tar. Some folks are wary of the latter due to possible carcinogenic effects. Human studies suggest coal tar is safe when applied topically in creams or shampoos, and the FDA has deemed it so. Go with your comfort level here.

If you’re interested in a more natural route, try aloe vera, apple cider vinegar (diluted 1:1 with water), tea tree oil, or mahonia (Oregon grape) cream.¹²

The Bottom Line

Psoriasis is an autoimmune condition where your skin cells turn over too quickly, causing red, flaky, itchy, painful rashes. You can’t cure it, but you can get symptom relief. I’ve received quite a few Success Stories over the years from readers whose psoriasis went into remission after they started following the Primal Blueprint. I chalk that up primarily to removing pro-inflammatory foods, but sun exposure and stress management surely help too. 

Even with your best efforts, psoriasis flares are likely to come and go throughout your life. The best thing you can do is experiment. Find the combination of treatments that your skin responds to best to so you’re prepared next time. 

References

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8246333/
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5666891/
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5731650/
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5286752
5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22004481/
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4134971/
7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11586013/
8. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30193251/
9. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8513683/
10. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30193251
11. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5756569/
12. https://www.psoriasis.org/treating-psoriasis/complementary-and-alternative/herbal-remedies

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Most Popular MDA Recipes

We’re officially celebrating 16 years here on Mark’s Daily Apple! To kick off a week of celebratory content we’re highlighting some of our most popular recipes here on the blog. From morning coffee to Mark’s Big Ass salad to slow-cooked pork carnitas there’s a recipe for every occasion. If you re-create any of our top recipes be sure to share photos with us on the MDA Instagram!

Primal Egg Coffee

Forget adding butter and coconut oil to your coffee. To truly supercharge your morning brew, add a few pastured egg yolks. This recipe is ideal for anyone who has a busy day ahead of them as egg coffee seems to work well pre-workout, boosting energy, motivation, and providing a nice source of branched-chain amino acids for the training ahead.

Get the Recipe!

Primal N’Oatmeal

On mornings when a bowl of oatmeal is what your body craves, this hearty and comforting Primal breakfast cereal is exactly what you need. Coconut flakes, almonds, pecans, and the milk of your choice are blended into a creamy, oatmeal-like cereal that’s sweetened with a single Medjool date and topped with fresh berries.

Get the Recipe!

Instant Pot “Sous Vide” Egg Bites

Food cooked sous vide is delicious. The temperature is so precisely controlled that there’s virtually no risk of overcooking or undercooking, and for the most part, it’s a hands-off cooking method. Still, it’s cost-prohibitive for a lot of kitchens. The solution? These adorable little egg bites are not actually made in a sous vide, but instead in an Instant Pot. The end result is a light and fluffy egg bite bursting with flavor.

Get the Recipe!

Mark’s Big-Ass Keto Salad

Most of our reader’s have heard of Mark’s daily “big-ass salad.” It’s been a lunch of choice for a couple of decades at least. Over the years Mark adapted it to his personal tastes, nutritional experiments, and eventually keto practice. While some minimize vegetable intake when they’re eating keto, Mark has never found that necessary or beneficial. In fact, he highly recommends plenty of above-ground vegetables and even berries for an optimally varied, nutrient-dense keto diet.

Get the Recipe!

Bacon, Egg, Avocado, and Tomato Salad

You’ve probably heard of BLTs and BLTAs, but have you heard of BEATs? We’re talking Bacon, Egg, Avocado, and Tomato salad. It’s a favorite around here for a quick and easy meal that is ready in less than two minutes if you already have hard-boiled eggs in the fridge. The secret ingredient is a squirt of lemon juice, which heightens the flavor and adds brightness to this otherwise simple but very satisfying salad.

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Greek Gyro Salad with Avocado Tzatziki

Inspiration struck after discovering Greek Tacos for the first time. The fresh Mediterranean flavors alongside silky avocado were impossible to ignore. This event let us to create a  deconstructed version, a Greek Gyro Salad Recipe.

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Ginger Turmeric Chicken Soup

This is the ultimate cold weather soup and perfect to keep on rotation all winter long. It’s easy to make, and you’ll usually have most of the ingredients you need on hand – just pick up a couple turmeric roots on your next grocery trip that you can have ready for when the mood strikes.

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Baked Ham:Mustard & Rosemary, or Sweet-spiced Glazed

A succulent ham pairs well with virtually any side, looks impressive in your serving dish, and makes the best leftovers. The best part about a good baked ham recipe is that it’s easy to prepare, and cook time is short compared to other sizable cuts of meat. We offer two baked ham recipes that play off of ham’s smoky, salty qualities: one version with spicy mustard, rosemary, and a touch of honey to round it out, and the other version that uses a sweet-savory-salty-spiced ham glaze in a jar.

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Crispy Pork Carnitas

As if slow-cooked, succulent pork wasn’t tempting enough, carnitas takes it one step further by caramelizing the pork in its own fat until the outside is perfectly browned and crisp. It’s difficult to resist the crispy, tender morsels of pork that come out of the oven. Try not to eat so much meat right out of the pan that you’re full before the carnitas makes it to the tablePlate of shredded pork carnitas, avocado, salsa, cilantro!

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Chocolate Collagen Pudding

Sure, Collagen Fuel (or Primal Fuel) is great in smoothies and shakes, but what about when you’re looking for a lower-carb dessert option that doesn’t blow your macros out of the water? This Chocolate Collagen Pudding does the trick quite nicely. This recipe has all of the flavor and creaminess without the sugar and additives. With two scoops of collagen plus cocoa powder and coconut milk, it satisfies even the most discerning chocolate lover.

Get the Recipe!

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Ask a Health Coach: How Do I Stop Snacking? Do You Believe in Tracking Food?

Hey folks, Board-Certified Health Coach, and Primal Health Coach Institute’s Coaching Director, Erin Power is here to answer your questions about satiating hunger and tracking food. If you’re looking for skillful, caring guidance we’ve got strategies, tips, and support. Have a question you’d like to ask our health coaches? Leave it below in the comments or over in the Mark’s Daily Apple Facebook group.

Satiating hunger

Tamara asked:
“What’s the best way to stop feeling hungry between meals? I depend on snacks to get me through.”

Ah, hunger and snacking. You’re not alone with this question, Tamara. You know, I think one of the reasons we reach for snacks is…because we’re hungry. That may sound funny, but I’m being serious. Sure, many folks snack out of stress, boredom, or emotional eating. But I’ve helped many coaching clients cure that sort of mindless eating simply by helping them go through life more well-fed.

Now, to be clear, there are certain foods and lifestyle factors that mess with our hormonal and other signaling systems. A diet high in processed carbs and sweets tends to interfere with our natural, healthy hunger and satiation signals. It also causes our body to revolt against the constant insulin bath triggered by MORE carbs, MORE sugar, and frequent snacking. Similarly, lack of sleep and chronic stress and anxiety mess with our hormones and can throw hunger signals way out of whack.

But if you’re eating a Primal diet featuring an abundance of real, whole, minimally processed food, including high-quality protein and healthy fats, you’re well on your way to being in touch with true hunger and minimizing the need (or desire) for snacking.

However, if you’re eating Primal most of the time and still feeling hungry throughout the day, I’ve got a fairly dependable solution: more protein.

Here’s the thing: Your hunger comes from your cells, and your cells require nourishment. Specifically, they need:

• Fuel (calories to provide energy for your body and brain)
• Building blocks (amino acids and essential fatty acids that help your body continuously build and repair itself)
• Information (minerals, vitamins, cholesterol, prebiotic fibres, etc.—all of which have incredibly important and nuanced roles in bodily function)

When your cells ask for food (i.e., you feel hungry), it’s to satisfy these needs. If cells aren’t getting these needs met, they are undernourished and cry out for more nourishment.

Now, of course, every body is different, and people bring different health conditions, life circumstances, and goals to the table. That said, if we are to generalize, there’s an easy way to give your cells and body more of the calories, building blocks, and information they’re asking for: eat more protein. As one of the most nutrient dense “human foods” on planet earth, it ticks all of the boxes in terms of the nourishment our cells are asking for.

How much more protein? MORE. Rather than get caught up in measuring and micromanaging, keep things simple: just aim for more, and see how it goes.

Time and time again when working with coaching clients, I find that this simple rule of prioritizing protein completely changes the game with hunger, appetite, and cravings.

Why? Well, protein-rich foods are incredibly high in minerals and amino acids, two of the most important factors that your cells are crying out for. If you eat more protein, you will feel less hungry. And I can tell you from experience that walking around feeling less hungry is a miracle cure for mindless snacking. Start there, and see how it goes!

Tracking food

Randi asked:
“Do you believe in tracking food? Do YOU do it?”

When it comes to eating in ways that support and nourish us, there are many helpful strategies out there. For SOME people, tracking their food intake for a while can be helpful (whether they are doing it on their own or working with a coach).

Done in a supportive way, tracking food can help some people develop greater awareness around what they’re actually eating and how that makes them feel. It can also add a layer of accountability. The act of tracking influences our choices and in this way might lead to helpful change.

I say “supportive way,” because there are many ways of tracking food—some more helpful than others. What’s more, the particular method that’s supportive will differ from person to person. To be clear: I am not a fan of simply counting calories. If you’re up on the Primal basics, you know that the number of calories we consume is meaningless with considering food choice and the wider context. This goes for weight-loss goals, health goals, or anything else.

But what about more Primal-focused tracking, such as number of carbs? Or cutting numbers out altogether and simply journaling about food consumed and how it made you feel during and after?

Yes—depending on your goals and your individual tendencies when it comes to changing habits and implementing healthy change, those might be helpful. Only YOU will know this, however, and finding out whether it’s helping will likely take some self-experimentation and trial and error.

However, I do have a pretty big, important caveat. For some people (self included), tracking food is not helpful. In fact, it can reinforce stressful food patterns and even disordered eating. I’ve helped over a thousand clients lose fat, gain energy, and fit back into the pants hanging in the back of the closet—all without tracking, weighing, or counting their food.

Why? Well, for starters, if I told MY clients that they had to track, weigh, and count their food, they would bail.

Many coaches, nutritionists, and dietitians DO have their clients track food intake. Their clients are looking for a methodical, tactical way to keep tabs on their consumption, and they are even excited to count and measure their food. It motivates them, and many of them really like knowing the numbers.

But MY clients? No way in hell. My clients and I have already spent most of our lives worrying about every calorie in and every calorie out, undertaking strict dieting and punishing exercise. We are DONE. It’s not that we don’t want to track, or are too lazy to track, or are too undisciplined to track. It’s that we did that already—for decades. We lost most of our lives to food fixation.

We already know how many calories are in a medium-sized apple and how much protein is in a 4-ounce chicken breast. We won’t ever unlearn these random food factoids because we did them so hard. But that information is not helping and has not ever helped us to have a trusting, respectful relationship with our food and body. We are so exhausted from everything that feels like tracking and dieting that we just can’t bring ourselves to look at food that way again: as numbers.

The good news? Your body doesn’t look at it that way either.

Turns out, prior to the late 1970s and early 1980s, when we first started micromanaging our food in earnest, humans walked around generally lean and healthy without any fussy food fixation. They lived their lives in their body, enjoying food without journaling it. It’s your birthright to not have to track, weigh, or measure your food. It’s your birthright to have an effortless relationship with food and your body.

Getting back to this flexible, free, flow state is a process and is not always easy (to put it mildly!). Know what though? It’s also not as complicated as many people tend to make out. Even “just” prioritizing the 10 Primal Blueprint Rules a bit more of the time will already move you in the right direction.

Those “rules” work because they align with our biology. They work because they hark back to times when tracking food would have been not only unnecessary but ridiculous. Follow them (even just most of the time), and you’re already doing great. No tracking required.

If you’re still struggling or want an extra layer of motivation, inspiration, accountability, and support, that’s where a coach can come in. If so, and if you’re someone who does NOT find tracking helpful, just make sure to find a coach who gets that and can meet you where you are, in ways that best support YOU.

Whether or not you’re “Team Tracking,” working with a coach for even a month or two can help you put solid strategies in place for staying Primal and developing a kinder, more intuitive relationship with food and your body. Visit myprimalcoach.com to learn more and get started!

Do you track your food? Find it helpful, or not so much? Let us know and drop other questions for me in the comments!

The post Ask a Health Coach: How Do I Stop Snacking? Do You Believe in Tracking Food? appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

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Recent Study Concludes Evidence Against Red Meat is Weak

Red meat remains the big villain in nutritional epidemiology. No matter what disease, health condition or cause of death you choose, there are teams of researchers just itching to connect it directly to how much red meat you eat—which is why every few months there seems to be a new study trying to implicate red meat as the primary cause of death, disease, and climate collapse.

That’s why I was surprised to read the conclusion from the latest in a long line of red meat studies:¹ The evidence against red meat is actually quite weak and even nonexistent.

What did the study explore when it comes to red meat?

The funniest thing about this latest study is that they had to admit they couldn’t find any strong evidence of a link between unprocessed red meat intake and six health outcomes even though they clearly were hoping to. These are the health outcomes they looked at:

• Colorectal cancer
• Type 2 diabetes
• Ischemic heart disease
• Ischemic stroke
• Hemorrhagic stroke
• Breast cancer

They combined dozens of different cohorts into one massive cohort for each health outcome, drawing on studies from all over the world to extract the data. Other studies have obviously done the same thing, but this one was attempting to do something different: assess the “strength” of the evidence in favor of red meat causing heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and all the other stuff using a new tool called The Burden of Proof. The very first sentence of the abstract establishes that they consider red meat to be a “risk factor.” They’ve already bought into it. Now, they just want to figure out how strong the evidence is.

It turns out that the evidence is very poor. For colorectal cancer, type 2 diabetes, breast cancer, and ischemic heart disease, the evidence of an association with red meat intake is “weak.” For hemorrhagic stroke and ischemic stroke, the evidence is non-existent.

And yet these are the ones everyone always focuses on. Search Pubmed yourself and you’ll see that there are thousands of studies looking for the links between red meat intake and colorectal cancer, diabetes, stroke, breast cancer, and heart disease.

Now, they’re still convinced that red meat is bad. They say that a red meat intake of zero grams per day is probably ideal for health, but there’s not enough evidence to justify actually recommending or prescribing that to people. “We all know” red meat is pretty unhealthy, but we can’t exactly make that an official recommendation… yet. The evidence just isn’t there.

That’s the subtext of the paper.

Lots of pro-meat people were sharing this on social media, very happy that they weren’t able to find any strong evidence against red meat intake. I don’t think it goes far enough. I think it’s still too hard on red meat. “Weak evidence” isn’t accurate. It’s too kind. The evidence is terrible and I suspect, if you considered all the relevant variables, it actually points in the opposite direction: toward benefits.

But you’ll never get that with a typical meta-study.

Drawbacks to meta-studies

You lose granularity when you combine data from hundreds of cohorts from across time and space into one big cohort and try to make connections between red meat intake and various diseases. In nutrition and disease and biology, granularity is everything. The little details matter. It’s not just “red meat intake.” It’s everything else. It’s calcium intake. It’s what kinds of oils are used. It’s carb intake. It’s overall fat intake. It’s bodyweight. It’s whether you’re lifting weights or not. Whether you smoke or drink. It’s ethnicity, culture, and cuisine. It’s the entire food way, not just one single component of a broad diet.

No one in epidemiology is considering all these factors. I don’t quite blame them, as doing so would make an epidemiological paper incredibly unwieldy. Probably wouldn’t work—which is exactly why these papers don’t tell us much at all.

So what’s my issue with this particular paper?

I won’t go through each and every section of the paper. I’ll look at their section on colorectal cancer. The way they characterize it, they “found weak evidence of harmful associations between unprocessed red meat consumption and risk of colorectal cancer” after looking at data from 20 different studies on the subject. Results “varied.” The studies were “inconclusive” and “didn’t agree.” And that’s it?

No, you go deeper. You look at individual studies to understand why they don’t agree.

Why, for instance, did the study they cite in Finnish men find that high intakes of red meat combined with high intakes of dairy are protective against colon cancer?² In other words, the people eating more red meat and dairy in this Finnish male cohort had the lowest rates of colorectal cancer. Isn’t that interesting to the authors of this new meta study? Doesn’t it pique their curiosity about the effect of dairy combined with red meat on colon cancer—at least enough to include dairy as one of the variables they controlled for when considering the broader data?

Of course not. The only additional variables they adjusted for were BMI, energy intake, and fruit and vegetable intake. The Finnish data is simply “more data” to be subsumed into the collective cohort.

You also look at studies they didn’t include, studies they couldn’t include—like randomized controlled trials—because they were outside of the study’s scope. Like this one, that finds when you add extra dairy to the diets of living, breathing humans, their colonic environment becomes less carcinogenic.³ That’s a direct effect. A causal one. And it doesn’t figure into the conclusions of the meta-study at all.

Some might say that’s just one example of something they missed. I say it’s not “just” anything. It’s a huge factor that undermines the and calls the rest of their conclusions into question.

Bottom Line

Ignore these studies. They can be interesting for generating hypotheses, but they don’t provide any answers. It comes down to what it always comes down to: what do you personally get out of eating red meat?

Has eating more red meat improved your health, performance, cognitive function, body composition, culinary pleasure, and overall life satisfaction? Or has it worsened it? What else matters?

Thanks for reading, everyone. Take care.

References

1. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-01968-z
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10530608/
3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9757855/

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