The Primal Kitchen Podcast

Elle Russ chats with Courtney Contos, a chef, wellness expert, Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach, and speaker. Courtney was raised and mentored in downtown Chicago under the expertise of her acclaimed restauranteur father, Bill Contos. He was the owner of Chez Paul - an ultra-elegant French restaurant and known in popular culture as the fancy restaurant from the iconic classic films Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and The Blue Brothers. Chez Paul is where her love of food and appreciation for quality was born. Courtney carried on her father’s vision by working in restaurants and cooking schools until ultimately attaining my  degree in culinary arts from Kendall Culinary School in Chicago. I opened Chef Contos Kitchen & Store in Vermont, which was featured by Food & Wine Magazine as one of the best cooking schools in the world - focused on culinary education and chef-curated retail. Amidst her successes, she struggled and suffered for 12 years with chronic pain due to a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. Her rheumatologist declared on numerous occasions that her condition would never change and that she would be wheelchair-bound for the rest of her life. Unwilling to accept this fate, she persevered to find a solution, and in 2018 - along with her Functional Medicine doctor, she set out to overcome her autoimmune disease. After decades of systemic inflammation, multiple health issues, surgeries, and over six years of severe foot pain, she now takes pain-free steps with immense gratitude for having zero RA markers. Boom!  Now Courtney supports others on through their life transformations in her virtual health consulting business. Having been so positively impacted by her healing journey - she merged her rich experience as a culinary leader and educator with overcoming autoimmune disease by becoming a certified Functional Medicine Wellness Coach. her mission is to help others transform their health by guiding people in the right direction when they find themselves stuck without wellness support. www.ccontos.com 

Elle Russ chats with Keith and Michelle Norris - co-founders of Paleo f(x)™ the largest Paleo platform and event in the world which has been featured in the New York Times, The Huffington Post, The Telegraph, and Men’s Health.  Michelle is the CEO of Paleo f(x)™ and has been a speaker at SXSW Health Expo, Ancestral Health Symposium, Conscious Media Festival, Society of Women Entrepreneurs and the Academy of Regenerative Practices Conference. Keith Norris is a former standout athlete and military veteran.  He is an elite strength and conditioning specialist and habit change expert with over 40 years of in-the-trenches experience.  As a serial entrepreneur in the health and wellness space, he is a co-founder and Chief Development Officer of the largest Paleo platform in the world, Paleo f(x).  As well, Keith is the CEO of Phoenix Equipment Group, LLC, and a founding member of ID Life, a company whose mission is health and lifestyle optimization. In his spare time, he authors one of the top fitness and personal development blogs in the health and wellness sphere, Theory To Practice, and is the author of The Five T’s, the art of goal setting and continual improvement.   SELECTED LINKS: www.paleofx.com

Elle Russ chats with Dr. Corey Riser - a Chiropractic Physician and a practicing Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner with over 300 hours of post-doctoral Functional Endocrinology and Clinical Nutrition education.  Originally from Zanesville, Ohio, Dr. Riser began his work in alternative medicine through his award-winning Undergraduate Thesis study on Bacteriophage Therapy of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) as a preferred treatment method over traditional antibiotics. While attending graduate school, Dr. Riser’s passion for alternative medicine developed after the passing of his grandmother, mother, and father in a two-year span.  He watched as conventional medicine treatment with drug therapy and a lack of nutritional guidance continued time and time again to fail his family members and ultimately led to untimely deaths.  It was at this time that he redirected his efforts toward Functional Medicine education. In 2017, Dr. Riser founded Functional Health Center of the Carolinas, a highly regarded Functional Medicine clinic in Charlotte, North Carolina. It has quickly become one of the most sought after “Chronic Disease Reversal” clinics in the region. As the Clinic Director, the focus of Dr. Riser’s practice is primarily Functional Medicine treatment of Type II Diabetes, Thyroid Disorders, Cognitive Decline, and Autoimmune disease. Dr. Riser has made it a priority to help the Carolina region combat a devastatingly high incidence of chronic disease and obesity through Functional Medicine, Paleo, and nutraceutical interventions. SELECTED LINKS: www.fhccarolinas.com instagram.com/fhccarolinas facebook.com/fhccarolinas

Elle Russ chats with Kate Cretsinger, CNC - a Certified Nutrition Coach. Kate’s path to becoming a Nutrition Coach began during her own struggles of migraines accompanied by bloody noses. Kate suffered 23 years from unexplained rashes, stomach pain as well as many days of not being able to socialize due to severe stomach pain, headaches and joint pain that was located in her arms, hips, legs and feet. Kate became determined to take control of her own health through nutrition. And she did!! In 2004, Kate graduated from University of New England with a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science.  She became certified as a Nutrition Coach by the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.  In addition, Kate has over 15 years of experience in the health & wellness field as a personal trainer, instructor and nutrition coach.    SELECTED LINKS: Website:  www.k84wellness.com Podcast: K8 4 Wellness Podcast Instagram: k8_4_wellness Facebook: K8 4 Wellness

Welcome to the world of the cool dudes! Host Brad Kearns welcomes Brian McAndrew and Will Shewfelt to a fabulous round table discussion focused on the emerging carnivore diet, but covering a bunch of peripheral topics relating to losing excess body fat, performing and recovering from workouts and executing some interesting strategies that will help you break through typical setbacks and frustrations. Regarding exercise, both Brian and Will emphasize the point that chronic patterns will screw up your best efforts to align with a keto or carnivore. Brian says, "Choose an exercise program that's not gonna make you hungry." You'll also learn about the trio's exciting new book, Carnivore Cooking For Cool Dudes, which helps make a carnivore-ish experiment or longer team eating pattern easy, fun, and sustainable.

Elle Russ chats with Darryl Edwards - a movement coach, nutritionist, physical activity researcher and creator of the Primal Play Method™. Darryl developed the Primal Play methodology to inspire others to make activity fun while getting healthier, fitter and stronger in the process. Darryl is the author of several award-winning books including Paleo Fitness and Animal Moves. His work has been published in titles such as Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Elle Magazine, Men’s Fitness and he has featured on the BBC TV documentaries Eat to Live Forever and Doctor In The House.   SELECTED LINKS: Check out Darryl’s TEDx Talk “Why working out isn’t working out” at www.primalplay.com/tedx Find him on Facebook at facebook.com/DarrylFEdwards Twitter @fitnessexplorer and Instagram @fitnessexplorer Click here to download your FREE ebook on The Importance of Play.    

Fasting is generally healthy when done properly. The same goes for exercise and carb restriction. These behaviors help many people; but they can also be unhealthy for certain people or when used too much or in the wrong circumstances. Today I’d like to wade into potentially controversial waters and talk about when fasting potentially crosses the line into disordered eating territory. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

A big problem with New Year’s resolutions is not something intrinsic to the practice of resolving to make positive changes in the coming year—these can be beneficial forces in a person’s life—but with the way we word our resolutions. Word choice determines everything. Words mean things. The words we use determine everything that follows. With just slight modifications to the wording and by being more specific, these resolutions can become more powerful, more effective, and more true to our nature and our actual desires. How would I rewrite eight common New Year’s resolutions? (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

Mark Sisson and Brad Kearns discuss the long-awaited release of their new book, Keto For Life, a comprehensive owner's manual to pursue the ultimate goal of healthspan--living long and living awesome every step of the way. This discussion is also available in video format on YouTube. Enjoy a bit of everything in this free wheeling conversation. Mark reveals that he nearly refused the project since he was not walking his talk in his own life! And how focusing in on the book project helped him recalibrate and hone his most treasured skill of pivoting. Mark makes the assertion that longevity requires more than just dialing in diet, exercise, and sleep. You'll learn that Living Awesome encompasses the Four Pillars of Longevity detailed in the book: Metabolic Flexibility, Movement and Physical Fitness, Mental Flexibility, and Rest & Recovery. Mental Flexibility entails the ability to pivot in the face of life's challenges and changes, avoid the disease state of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), and prioritize meaningful interpersonal connections over hyperconnectivity. Learn why there are literally three relevant ages instead of just your chronological age, and why biological and psychological age are vastly more important than your calendar years. This is a great chance to connect with #listentothesisson as he walks you through his most comprehensive book to date! Visit KetoReset.com for details about the book and an incredible advance purchase bonus offer. 

Elle Russ chats with Dr. Stephen Hussey MS, DC - a Chiropractor and Functional Medicine practitioner. He attained both his Doctorate of Chiropractic and Masters in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine from the University of Western States in Portland, OR.    He is a health coach, speaker, and the author of two books on health; The Health Evolution: Why Understanding Evolution is the Key to Vibrant Health and The Heart: Our Most Medically Misunderstood Organ. Dr. Hussey guides clients from around the world back to health by using ancestral wisdom and the latest research. In his down time he likes to be outdoors, playing sports, reading, writing, and spending time with his wife and their pets   SELECTED LINKS Dr. Stephen Hussey Website