The Primal Kitchen Podcast

Host Brad Kearns talks about the common mistakes and drawbacks of a shortcut approach to keto. If you are still even a bit carb dependent when attempting keto, what you will get is a flood of stress hormones in response to the sudden deprivation of your primary fuel source glucose. Lacking dietary carbs, you will commence the hallmark fight or flight process of gluconeogenesis to give your body the sugar it needs. You may even feel alert and energetic for a while from the stress hormone buzz, but when the stress response becomes exhausted, you are destined to crash and burn, featuring overeating, extra sleeping, and programmed lazy behavior to recalibrate.  Also in the show, Brad rips on the concept of “cheat days.” If you are allured by the prospect of a cheat day, this suggests your approach is too regimented and unpleasant to sustain. With the Keto Reset approach, you will instead progress gracefully with your metabolic fitness so that you are enjoying nutritious, satisfying meals, getting better and better at burning stored energy so you don’t have to deal with “low carb flu” or afternoon blues, and be patient in unwind the metabolic damage caused by decades of carbohydrate dependency.

Mark Sisson chats with with good friend and fellow New York Times Bestselling author Robb Wolf to answer a few listener questions and to chat about what they have been up to. With his bestselling book, The Paleo Solution, Robb Wolf helped hundreds of thousands of people lose weight by eating a low-carb Paleo diet, but Paleo is only a starting point, not a destination.  In Wired To Eat, he shares a more customized way of eating that may be the key to permanent weight loss and better health. You'll start with Wolf’s 30-Day Reset to help you restore your body's blood sugar levels, repair your appetite, and reverse insulin resistance. Robb recently teamed up with filmmaker CJ Hunt for a new documentary called Dispelling The Lies

A few months back, I put together an article on alternative therapies for depression. Many readers  showed a lot of interest in some of the emerging non-drug treatments in that field, and, more importantly, many began to relay their own stories about how they overcame or successfully managed their depression through various strategies. That’s what I love the most about this community—sharing experience and expertise in the interest of broadening available solutions beyond what conventional thought tells us. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

Host Brad Kearns talks about the contrast between liver function in a carb dependency state (hint: overwhelmed in processing excess glucose into fat and eventually becoming insulin resistant) versus a fat- and keto-adapted liver function (elegant regulation and dispensation of the exact amount of energy you need in your bloodstream any time. Enjoy a great excerpt from the Keto Reset Diet called “Keto vs Carbo…Whoa!” The amazing liver is the control tower for energy processing and distribution throughout your entire body. It’s amazing to reflect on the liver’s exquisite regulation of blood glucose within an incredibly tight range at all times. Our optimal circulating glucose level is only around five grams (a teaspoon) within a total blood volume of around 1.5 gallons (5.5 liters) of blood. In the typical modern human carbohydrate dependency eating pattern, your liver will fight valiantly under adverse circumstances to keep you energy balanced until finally it succumbs to insulin resistance and you end up with type II diabetes. In a fat- and keto-adapted eating pattern, you allow your liver to really shine; energy to brain and body is readily available, and no wasted energy or inflammation from excess caloric intake and hormonal imbalances.

Host Elle Russ chats with hilarious and fun-spirited podcasters Jason Leapai and Jason Sikorski. The Jasons host The Savage Podcast, where they chat with guests about topics ranging from MMA, sex, and even mind control.  Both avid outdoorsmen and lifelong martial artists - both of their lives were transformed for the better after adopting a paleo/primal lifestyle. With an advanced understanding of primal living, they explain and discuss key nuances of living a primal lifestyle.

Each year is fuller than the last. More and more scientific papers are published each year, and that trend is only quickening. The same trend goes for books, products, businesses. Humans are incredible producers. It’s what we do—create and consume. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

Host Brad Kearns talks about one of his recent favorite subjects, exploring the long scientifically validated benefits of fasting. We know that your body works more efficiently and burns fuel more cleanly (less production of free radicals than when you are glucose burner) when in a fasted state, but that long-term extreme calorie restriction is not a viable option in daily life. By eating in a ketogenic pattern, you can enjoy fasting-like benefits while enjoying nutrient-dense, high satiety, high fat meals. You can also improve your metabolic fitness through keto such that you can fast more frequently, for longer periods, while enjoying peak cognitive and physical function and not suffering from hunger. Fasting and ketogenic eating helps upregulate fat metabolism and free you from carbohydrate dependency that is endemic to the modern diet. Fasting also stimulates autophagy, the natural cellular detoxification process that promotes longevity and disease protection, and apoptosis, the programmed death of dysfunctional cells that can nip cancer in the bud before it spreads. Athletes who develop excellent metabolic fitness can combine strenuous workouts to accelerate progress and “violently rewire appetite hormones” away from carb dependency. A great way to get started with fasting is to become fat-adapted through primal/paleo/ancestral style eating, then wait until you experience true sensations of hunger before consuming your first calories in the morning. Brad discusses his 140-day experiment with nutritional ketosis and how he landed on a long-term routine of a morning fast until midday as a foundational lifestyle pattern.

Host Brad Kearns catches up with the legendary Dave Scott, a 6-time Hawaii Ironman world champion and respected coach of both elite professional and amateur multisport enthusiasts. Dave is perhaps more steeped in the science of nutrition and exercise physiology than any other endurance athlete ever, so this show will give you insights on both cutting edge science and also the competitive mindset of a champion athlete. Brad gives you a brief intro in case you’ve never heard of Dave, then they jump right into it. Dave describes his transition from a high carb pioneer back in the 80’s to his current support of primal/paleo/ketogenic eating patterns. He describes the science behind keto, and how it can protect your health and your heart from potential damage caused by strenuous training. On the long-standing topic of “intensity vs. volume” Dave sets people straight by detailing the huge mistake of going “kinda hard” on a regular basis. Not only will your burn out in performance, you are putting your health at serious risk. Instead, Dave details his unique methods of introducing an assortment of distinct interval patterns that help to cleanse the cardiovascular system, protecting it from damage caused by excessive kinda hard endurance workouts. Yes, Dave even advocates strength training year-round for endurance athletes! Dave talks about the problem of excess body fat on hard training endurance athletes and how to right this unfortunate trend. In the age of the internet and social media frenzy, lots of athletes and coaches are full of themselves. Dave is full or experience and wisdom so give this show your undivided attention!

I’ve been spreading the word about the primal lifestyle for over a decade now, and while the information on this blog and in my books has reached millions, I wonder how many of these millions have actually been able to live some version of a primal life consistently and confidently. My guess is, not as many as I’d like. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

No matter what kind of evidence comes out to the contrary, the anti-saturated fat sect won’t relinquish its dogma. Whenever its advance is rebuffed—perhaps by an observational study showing the lack of relations between saturated fat intake and heart disease, or a study showing the beneficial effects of saturated fat on multiple health markers—they regroup and try another route. The latest is a study that several readers sent to me, worried that the attack had finally made it through the defenses. In it, researchers purport to show that saturated fat increases the solidity and rigidity of cellular membranes, reducing membrane fluidity and eventually leading to cell death. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)