18 Underrated Blogs You Should Be Reading
Blogging is the lifeblood of the growing Primal/paleo movement, as you know, and new veins, arteries, and capillaries are popping up every day. I’m calling this the underrated blog post, but really, given the steadily increasing span of the community, even the most underrated blogger has a fair amount of readership. In fact, as I review my list of “underrated blogs,” they all get a significant amount of readers and comments. Oh well, they’re still worth listing. I suppose you could say we’re all underrated in the grand scheme of things.
I did a similar thing a year ago, and it’s time to do it again. The blogs I listed in 2010 remain essential, but these all deserve consideration to be included in your blog rotation. They’re not all Primal, or even strictly paleo, and some of them rarely ever mention exercise and nutrition, but they will enrich your lives and broaden your knowledge base.
Ned Kock is a stats guy who examines correlations in health statistics and discusses what conclusions can be drawn from them. He never loses sight of the limitations of numbers even has he acknowledges their power, and Ned runs a real tight ship that doesn’t get nearly enough attention (although that’s changing, hopefully moreso after today). A couple weeks ago, Richard Nikoley tweeted that Ned was the most underrated blogger around, and I think I agree.
Sort of the Jack Handy of paleo blogging (only not as funny), Matt gives short summaries of papers, two or three line posts on his difficulties reaching a full squat and possible solutions, a paragraph or two on running barefoot through his neighborhood and the looks he gets, a short but sweet series on prebiotics, pesticides, or fasted training… it never takes more than a minute to read Matt’s stuff, but I’m always interested to see what he’s got cooking.
Jamie, formerly of “Primal Muse,” is a cycling coach/nutritional consultant (I think) in New Zealand. Besides trading witty tweets with Dr. Emily Deans, he also enjoys posting long (but never long-winded, a rare skill) posts on nutrition, training, and the confluence of the two, especially in regards to cycling. I come from the endurance world, and I appreciate his take on staying paleo in the cyclist’s world of sugar gels, pasta meals, and osteoporosis.
Emily Deans, MD, is a superstar. She graciously wrote a guest post a couple weeks back, as you probably recall, in which I plugged her blog, but I thought it deserved another. Every time I read a blog by Emily (or any of the other MDs on board with this stuff), I get happy because I realize that the tide may be turning after all. What’s cool about her blog is that although she focuses on the essentiality of fixing your food, exercise, stress, and sleep to avoid or mitigate mental illness, she recognizes the place of medication in certain cases. That’s Primal in a nutshell, really: taking advantage of all the unique benefits of both modernity and tradition when they make sense.
Chris Masterjohn may occasionally eat wheat, soak legumes, and question the universality of gluten intolerance, but man is it hard to argue with his dedication to sticking to what the evidence shows. Plus, he loves liver, egg yolk, and dates Melissa McEwen. Read this man.
Speaking of Melissa, she’s also got a good blog. She first appeared (to my knowledge) in that NY Times piece highlighting “cavemen in the city.” Read her, too.
From NY Times to Colbert to a Trappist monastery, John Durant takes paleo to new arenas. He’s working on a book, is big in the NY barefoot running community, and shows intense interest in what zoos feed their animals – a man of many interests.
Dynamic duo Shou-Ching and Paul Jaminet are scientists (he a former astrophysicist, she a molecular biologist) who healed their long-standing medical issues with a low-carb, paleo-esque diet. Their book and blog attempts to fashion a sustainable, healthy, longevity-promoting, science-based way of eating and supplementing. They use a little more rice, a little less protein than I might, but the Perfect Health Diet deserves a VP spot in the Primal/paleo tent.
Seth Roberts is great. He only writes about nutrition every so often, but he’s a great believer in the power of self-experimentation (eating more animal fat improved his sleep and he has the stats to prove it, for example), especially if you figure out how to quantify and record the results. Having had dinner with him, I can say that he’s really engaging in person, too.
Witty, slightly sarcastic Andrew tackles evolutionary psychology more than biology, the latter of which he mostly leaves to others. He’s fond of saying “the rabbit hole goes much deeper than diet and exercise,” and I’d agree with that. Common topics include the intertwining of sexual attraction, relationships, business, and politics with evolution. If you’re fairly comfortable with what you’re putting in your mouth and how you’re stressing your physical capacity, you might find Evolvify’s examination of the other stuff interesting.
Rarely updated, but when it is, it’s always worth reading. Steven Low and Chris Salvato are fitness professionals (either budding or established) with gymnastics and parkour backgrounds who provide excellent training progressions, intuitive ways to determine why your knee or your lower back hurt and what to do about it, and they are extremely thorough. My personal favorites include “Shoes, Sitting, and Lower Body Dysfunctions” and “So, You Hurt Your Lower Back.” That last one helped me figure out (and fix!) a tweaked SI joint once.
Dr. John Briffa is, as the name suggests, an MD. He’s always good for analyzing the latest study your skeptical friends gleefully shove your way.
Todd Hargrove brings a fascinating neuro-centric perspective on movement, pain, and exercise that makes a lot of sense (though perhaps not intuitively, initially). I was particularly fond of this post from a few months ago, in which Todd explains the distinction between the “mind body connection” and “mind over matter,” which are entirely different concepts. Very cool blog.
PBF essential movements with bodyweight not quite enough for you? The local globo gym not supportive of your Vibram-and-grunting habits? Forget all that and make your own workout equipment to supplement your training. DIY Strength Training regularly updates with video tutorials explaining how to make your own strength training gear. Yeah, the resultant equipment isn’t shiny and pretty, and it’s actually quite grimy, but you don’t need all that to get strong.
A young, tenacious dude excited about Primal living who’s really interested in spreading the word and helping others make the leap, too. I dig the guy, especially after meeting him in person at PrimalCon. Plus, he’s always got some deal or another cooking, so be sure to check out his blog and see what’s Toad’s up to.
Chris Kresser is a practitioner out of the Bay Area who also happens to be a fantastic health blogger. Chris’ll usually pick a topic – like, maybe, hypothyroidism or diabesity – and run with a series of posts devoted to that topic. It’s a good way to really flesh out a subject. In particular, I liked his latest series on “9 Steps to Perfect Health.” Again, he’s not exactly underrated, what with his practice and his readers, but here he is all the same.
J. Stanton is a truly underrated paleo blogger, but that seems to be changing. I myself need to catch up on his work. If you do, too, check out the blog.
Diet Doctor (plus the Swedish version)
Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt hails from Sweden, where he’s helped usher in the burgeoning low-carb, high-fat revolution. As the name of his blog implies, he’s a doctor of family medicine who’s seen – firsthand – what decades of low-fat dogma has wrought on the health of Swedes (and everyone else). He gave a great talk at the Ancestral Health Symposium, and he’s got a great blog.
The Internet is a massive place, so I know I’ve missed more than a few. Now it’s on you – what are your favorite blogs? Who have I missed? Who is everyone else missing? It can be a Primal blog, or it can be one having nothing at all to do with nutrition, fitness, or health. I just want to know what you guys are reading. Share your niche, underground and underrated blogs with the world in the comment section.
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Posted By: Mark Sisson
I started the paleo lifestyle in august and I have had amazing results. I started my own blog to chronicle my journey and to give encouragement to others but I am always looking for other paleo blogs to increase my knowledge base. Thanks for the list.
Here are three to add to an excellent list: Kurt Harris, MD at archevore.com provides high integrity, stylish, erudite commentary; William Davis, MD has a tight focus on wheat avoidance at wheatbellyblog.com Excellent stuff. And the Must See is Terry Wahls MD and her 18 min presentation to TED (Google her)Hint: she cured her own MS with Paleo+. Off/chart important.
I have to plug my own blog!
http://www.paleojay.com
I’m a paleo guy, but love fermented dairy, and particularly ground my diet in my own “paleo smoothie”. Made in a Vitamix high- speed blender, this is an ideal way to incorporate a Paleo/Primal diet in a nearly effortless manner.
A new paleo resource that I just started is http://www.primalexperiment.com. Hopefully, 2012 will fill it full of great information and can be on someone’s list next year!
Awesome list! Thanks for putting this together. I’m always on the lookout for Paleo blogs to read, particularly keeping an eye out for differing viewpoints and how the theory of Paleo translates into bloggers’ daily lives. Cheers!
FYI the Primal Wisdom is no longer Primal.
Nice resource!
Ray Audette
Author “NeanderThin”
http://www.youtube.com/user/MrRayAudette
Check out http://www.wildlives.ca – paleo nutritionist in Vancouver, Canada.
I started Paleo a little of 3 weeks ago and have already lost 17lbs. (213 down to 196). I started a Facebook page to record my experience…Feel free to view – http://www.facebook.com/PaleoJourneyDiaryOfMyExperienceEatingThePaleoDiet
Don at Primal Wisdom gave up paleo last year. Interesting…
http://donmatesz.blogspot.com/2011/06/farewell-to-paleo.html
Didn’t read all the comments so apologies for posting re Primal Wisdom.
Just started reading your stuff last week. Wanted to recommend an excellent website written by Peter Attia, MD.
Added the link to my name in error. Here is the URL http://waroninsulin.com/.
Ha, can I be cheeky and drop a link to our new UK focussed Paleo site? A friend and I are blogging on this site with our thoughts on food, health (wife has MS tackled by paleo) and exercise.
We are not going the heavy science route and would more likely refer to this site, Robb Wolf or one of the other top boys and are more a guide to help people adopt the paleo lifestyle and to get the message out in the UK a bit more where we are seemingly a little behind.
Anyhow, swing by, it is far from perfect yet but we would love to get your feedback on our first few posts
http://www.PriMod.co.uk – PriMod meaning PRImal Living in the MODern World.
Thanks all and hope this was not too cheeky!
Marcus
Oy vey—Don from Primal Wisdom has really gone off the deep end. Anyone who equates animal life with human life is not someone I can take seriously.
Paleomom is my favorite, especially for those with kids
I am creating a Facebook network for Primal bloggers! I want to help others find your amazing primal resources so please feel free to join the network Primal/Paleo Bloggers Network on Facebook!
Feel free to stop by and visit @ http://physiquerescue.com. Trying to get all the help we can with spreading the movement!
-Matt
Thanks for a great list of paleo blogs.
We would love you to check out our new paleo focused blog! Themerrymakersisters.blogspot.com.au we are two Aussie sisters spreading the paleo love! E& c
Half of us is female – lol – we do videos of each recipe to try and help show how simple most are to make check it out at http://paleorecipesblog.com/ and let us know what you think!