The Primal Kitchen Podcast

Elle joins host Brad Kearns to discuss her journey from chronic cardio sugar addict to primal success story, her completion of the Primal Blueprint Expert Certification as a critical beta tester, and her personal coaching services. Elle was one of the first five graduates of the Primal Blueprint Expert Certification program and made a tremendous contribution to the beta-testing program by scrutinizing and challenging assorted elements of the text and examinations. This helped clarify the official Primal Blueprint position and ensured that the examinations were a fair and relevant test of knowledge for students. In particular, Elle consulted with Mark Sisson and the primal team regarding the effects of alcohol. Besides its obvious pitfalls—those relating to its well-known toxic effect on the liver and its frequent abuse in modern culture—science is confirming that it directly compromises fat reduction efforts by acting as a “first to burn” calorie source, which contributes to lipogenesis. This information, along with Mark Sisson’s recent experiment with alcohol abstention, has helped us modify the Primal Blueprint position on alcoholic beverages. Red wine, for example, has been downgraded from a primal-approved sensible indulgence to yet another example of a substance that can, in some cases, be the aggravator of some people’s diet and health woes—even when consumed in moderation.  Elle also discusses her background as a chronic cardio queen and how she exercised herself into hormonal imbalances that caused serious issues with her thyroid and adrenal functions. Her aggressively paced cardio workouts, daily hot yoga routines, and Standard American Diet adherence resulted in a complete addiction to carbohydrates and round-the-clock obsession with food. But by embracing the Primal Blueprint principles through her association with Mark and his company, Elle was able to reclaim her own health and pursue what became her dream career as a primal/paleo personal health coach. Elle is a dynamic and enthusiastic promoter of the Primal Blueprint lifestyle and a poster girl for the tremendous benefits of taking the Primal Blueprint Expert Certification. You can find details about Elle’s coaching services at paleoprimalcoach.com.

Mark expands the Primal Blueprint Podcast by recording select Mark's Daily Apple posts for your listening pleasure!In today's post, Mark reviews the Japanese tradition of Rajio Taiso and how light morning workouts can improve your day. (These Mark's Daily Apple articles were written by Mark Sisson, and are narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Welcome to Mark’s Daily Apple's Best of 2014, Volume 1: Food and Nutrition, featuring: Do You Really Need to Eat Vegetables to Be Healthy?Is Gently Cooked Food Better for You?Why the Omega-3/Omega-6 Ratio May Not Matter After AllIs Processed Meat Actually Bad for You?(These Mark's Daily Apple articles were written by Mark Sisson, and are narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Dr. Cate talks about her experiences with Primal Advantage clients after the launch of the program in July. In particular, she discusses how traditional medical care is not structured to allow for the discussion of how diet and lifestyle elements affect disease patterns. Most family practice physicians are obliged to spend only 10 minutes with patients. This usually constrains doctors to only enough time to treat symptoms (rather than the cause of those symptoms) with prescription drugs that generate adverse side effects. Regarding blood tests, Cate mentions the recent disturbing headline about the UCLA meta-analysis that 75% of heart attack victims have LDL cholesterol readings in the “safe” or “normal” zone, and furthermore have no symptoms of heart disease until the actual heart attack. She mentions both the fasting blood glucose test and the average blood glucose test (A1C) as simple, inexpensive, but extremely critical markers that suggest a serious problem brewing if they are at objectionable levels. With the Primal Advantage 1:1 metabolic consulting program, Cate’s custom-design blood panel is a critical element, as is the 90-minute consultation. Cate explains that this provides plenty of time for a detailed evaluation of a client’s “metabolic snapshot,” which is an algorithm designed by Cate to reveal a score in one of six different categories: energy production, hormone receptivity, immune function, cardiovascular and circulatory health, brain and nervous system health, and connective tissue health. By reviewing the blood tests, the extensive client questionnaire, and client food diaries, Primal Advantage clients will get a detailed plan of action enabling them to enjoy more energy, improve performance and recovery, and decrease their true risk factors for heart disease, cancer and metabolic problems. As a dietary consultant for the Los Angeles Lakers and several individual NBA players, Cate also commented on the recent news that NBA greats LeBron James and Dwayne Wade have adopted a paleo-style diet. Cate has agreed to appear as a recurring guest on the Primal Blueprint Podcast, and encourages listeners to submit questions via email (advantage@primalblueprint.com) or via the Speakpipe application on the blog.primalblueprint.com web site (notice the “submit a podcast question” blue tab at the right edge of the page.) At future podcasts, Cate can address listener questions as well as highlight some of the common trends seen among clients and the general population at her practice.

Host Brad Kearns talks with Mike DiLandro of New Jersey, a Primal Blueprint success story and presenter of the Primal Transformation Seminar and at PrimalCon. Mike was also the very first graduate of the Primal Blueprint Expert Certification program. Mike discusses how he came to try out the Primal Blueprint after becoming frustrated that his chronic cardio approach (10 gym workouts each week!) didn't improve his body composition. After switching to a primal eating pattern and backing off the chronic cardio in favor of more intense workouts and more rest and recovery between intense workouts, Mike lost 25 pounds of excess body fat, ditched his statin medication and resolved his ongoing knee pain.Mike's enthusiasm inspired him to get his parents into primal living, off of their statin meds, and with a combined weight loss of 80 pounds. He also took his enthusiasm to his workplace, where he has inspired numerous co-workers to pursue Primal eating and writes a outstanding monthly newsletter to inform and inspire his following. Mike discusses how he built his knowledge base and confidence to eventually present the Primal Transformation Seminar at locations all over the east coast, and also conduct popular presentations at PrimalCon. Mike is a true evangelist and consensus builder for Primal living and has had an amazing impact on his friends, family and co-workers. This lively conversation will get you focused and inspired to spread the word like Mike!

Mark tackles a few challenging questions and gets deep into some of the main elements of primal living. First, he talks about how the conventional wisdom view of blood markers like LDL does not accurately reveal the true heart disease risk factors, and how it’s important to look at a bigger picture involving more relevant trackers like triglycerides-to-HDL ratio. He also discusses some drawbacks and side effects of statin use, particularly the depletion of CoQ10 and potentially compromised performance of cellular mitochondria accordingly. Next, Mark tackles the question of the contrasting influence of primal eating versus high carbohydrate eating on one’s appetite and hunger levels. A diet promoting carbohydrate dependency will throw appetite out of whack and generate more hunger than an eating pattern that promotes fat and keto-adaptation – an enhanced ability to generate energy internally and be less reliant on external sources of energy. Carbohydrate dependency and a distorted appetite can also easily occur in a chronic exercise pattern, where the brain responds to the too-frequent depletion of energy and physical exhaustion by overeating.Mark emphasizes one of his favorite tenets: That there is simply no getting around the reality that weight management is best accomplished naturally, where appetite is regulated by a low insulin producing eating pattern that allows you to become more calorically efficient; and how becoming calorically efficient translates into improved longevity.

Mark turns the tables on Jimmy Moore (host of the popular Livin' La Vida Low Carb podcast, where he has interviewed nearly 1,000 guests!) as Jimmy discusses his new book, Keto Clarity. Jimmy reveals how eating to promote a state of nutritional ketosis can have therapeutic effects on mood, energy levels, and brain function, as well as powerful fat reduction benefits. This is particularly true for people who have been eating primal/Paleo/low-carb and become stalled out on their progress. Jimmy himself lost some 180 pounds through low carb eating, then started to explore the world of nutritional ketosis to make further progress and experience incidental benefits with great success.Keto Clarity, which Jimmy wrote along with Dr. Eric Westman, details Jimmy's intensive self-experimentation, including blood testing several times per day for a year, to identify the dietary patterns that allow him to remain in a prolonged ketone-burning and fat-burning state. In the discussion, Jimmy mentions the confusion around "low carb" diets, which can often take the shape of a high protein diet.When people who engage in carbohydrate restriction go overboard on protein, that excess protein beyond metabolic requirements is commonly converted into glucose through the process known as gluconeogenesis. This results in a blood sugar and insulin spike, quickly kicks you out of ketosis, and inhibits the reduction of excess body fat and all the health benefits that come with being a fat-burning machine. Essentially, you are back into a high carb eating pattern even with dietary intake of carbs is moderated. In reality, the optimal ketogenic diet would be characterized as very low carb, moderate protein (.7-1g/lb of lean mass), and high in healthy saturated and monounsaturated fats primarily. As Jimmy says, "Eating fat stokes the burning of stored body fat".Jimmy also clarified some confusion about people measuring ketone levels. First, blood is the most accurate measurement, since the more common (and less expensive) Ketostix urine ketone testing sticks may reveal low readings not because someone is not making ketones, but because that person has become fully keto-adapted...hence they are not accumulating in the bloodstream. The book provides more details on self-experimentation and the benefits you can enjoy from being in a state of nutritional ketosis.

Mark Sisson is back this week with host Brad Kearns to bring you yet another essay style podcast. This time Mark will be reading you a special excerpt of The Primal Connection. This follow-up to The Primal Blueprint goes far beyond diet and exercise; delving into lifestyle factors like sleep, sun, and play and their contribution to optimal gene expression. Since it’s publication, The Primal Connection has won numerous awards, including the bronze medal in the Health category from Foreword Magazine’s IndieFab Awards, two silver medals (Health and Body, Mind, & Spirit) from the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards, and lastly, The Eric Hoffer award for best self-published book from The Eric Hoffer Project. The Primal Connection has also experienced a resurgence during a promo earlier this month, skyrocketing it to #4 on Kindle and subsequently landing it on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list.Today’s excerpt is titled “Primal Thrills,” and dives into the importance of getting more excitement out of life. How could life for a hunter-gatherer be anything but an adventure? Just as our ancestors ventured to the edge once in a while, our genes expect the same from us. When you honor these impulses, you return to ordinary life refreshed and deeply appreciative of your secure surroundings, a warm shower, a nourishing meal, a group of friends to regale with your tales of adventure. We are indeed a species that thrives in dichotomy. This excerpt will guide you on how to incorporate Primal Thrills into your life with some modern day suggestions. Mark recommends a variety of different activities to try out as a source of Primal Thrills—anything and everything from slack lining to night hiking to scavenger hunts, and even amusement parks! After the excerpt, Mark even admits that it's been a while since he followed his own advice, and he and Brad discuss the importance of “avoiding stupid mistakes" when seeking out Primal Thrills.

Mark Sisson follows up his essay reading last week with an engaging discussion with host Brad Kearns about the dangers of chronic cardio, and some tips to help avoid the drawbacks of chronic exercise patterns. Brad and Mark discuss numerous real-life case studies of elite athletes in endurance sports such as ironman triathlon and long distance running, who have suffered serious heart problems. Mark and Brad mention the tragic deaths of multi-sport athlete Steve Larsen at age 39 (heart attack while running), and Ryan Shay (heart attack while racing the US Olympic trials marathon), along with an assortment of other high profile athletes and their ordeals. Mark presents a compelling solution in essay form, pulling highlights from some popular follow-up blog posts on the subject. Mark mentions eating Primally, downscaling the "filler" workouts that happen between challenging "breakthrough" sessions, and realizing that interval and sprint workouts can deliver a training effect superior to long-duration workouts, while also alleviating the risks of drifting into a chronic pattern. For a good takeaway sound bite, Mark reiterates a message from a popular post about burning a total of only around 4,000 calories per week during structured exercise sessions. This is a general rule of thumb that correlates with an impressive assortment of different types of workouts that develop broad-based functional fitness, and helps protect against the excesses of chronic exercise.

Mark Sisson tries something new with this podcast episode, as he reads an essay based on one of his most popular posts ever on MarksDailyApple.com: “A Case Against Cardio.” The original post, published in June 2007, helped shed light on the concept that extreme endurance training can actually compromise health and increase disease risk. Mark published several follow up posts over the years on the topic of chronic exercise and the ways to avoid the stress and damage caused when exercise patterns drift away from optimal stress/rest balance and into the extreme category. Mark’s essay covers the original landmark post, along with assorted commentary from follow up posts. For devoted fitness enthusiasts with passions for Crossfit, marathons, triathlons, heavy gym class participation, or even high-energy weekend warriors who are balancing exercise goals with hectic daily life, this is a very important podcast to absorb and ponder carefully how your own exercise and stress management patterns are looking these days.Next week, Mark will continue the theme with a Chronic Cardio Part 2 podcast where he and host Brad Kearns talk about some of the real-life cases of elite athletes being stricken with serious heart problems, some of the science behind what happens to the body when it’s pushed too hard with insufficient rest, and how you can avoid these negative consequences.