An Open Letter to Kids and Teens (and Infant Prodigies)
Dear youngsters,
You’re going through some difficult times, no doubt. I’ve been in your shoes before. I’ve been a kid dealing with basically all the same stuff you have to contend with. I’ve been there.
Your hormones are probably (depending on age, gender, and exposure to attractive members of opposite/same sex) either raging, simmering, fomenting, budding, and/or swelling.
Your legs and arms may be growing at disproportionate rates, leaving you feeling like a stranger in your own body.
That cute new guy whom you planned on eventually marrying has a funny last name, which just won’t work with the names of the kids you’ve chosen.
You just discovered the Beatles, and you totally want to tell everyone about it, but they’re all into top 40 stuff. You just can’t relate.
Your opinions on everything, who your best friends are, your relationship with your parents, and your post-high school plans change rapidly from day to day to day. And not superficial changes, but real, soul-rending ones.
Everything’s in flux, but (or ergo?) everything’s exciting. Everything’s the end of the world, or the start of something new and magnificent. In short, you’re young, the world is big, and you want to make the most of it all.
But I have a suggestion for you. It’s a suggestion that I wish I would have read on a computer somewhere when I was a kid (of course, that would have required me waiting an hour for Al Gore to patch me through on the ARPANET on a computer the size of a room):
Consider going Primal. Don’t wait until you’re old, hurting, and full of regrets to seize control of your health. Take it from someone who did wait until he was old(er) and hurting to conquer his health issues. You don’t want to wait. If you do, you’ll still likely make it, but you’ll miss out on valuable time.
I’m not even going to say you have to go 100% hardcore Primal - although it certainly wouldn’t hurt. I’m just saying it would be a fantastic idea for you to become aware of this stuff while you’re still young and on the cusp of the prime of your life.
The way I see it, if you don’t, you’re squandering a golden opportunity to extend the prime of your life through, well, the rest of it. Right now, I feel like I’m at my best. I honestly do. Mentally, emotionally, physically, professionally, I’m at a place where I wouldn’t trade places with myself 20 years ago. I was fit, doing triathlons, coming off of a strong career as a marathoner, but I was missing true health. Thanks to going Primal, I’m better than ever.
Now, think of what I just said. I’m 58. I’m probably older than your dad. I’ve lived over half a century, and yet I can:
Keep up with guys younger than half my age in high intensity Ultimate Frisbee.
Hike for twelve hours on an empty stomach.
Produce pretty decent content for a popular blog on a daily basis.
Write books and develop supplement lines that people actually buy and seem to really like.
Pass incredible quality time with my beautiful wife whenever I want.
Take a day off just to relax with the family if I so desire.
Spend half the day stand up paddle boarding.
Take my shirt off without feeling self conscious about my sagging gut and man-boobs.
Bound up flights of stairs because it’s easier and less time consuming than walking up them and scoff at escalators.
Feel mentally “there” and “on” at all times (okay, maybe the morning coffee helps in this regard, sometimes).
The thing is, these aren’t magical or fantastical accomplishments. I think these are extremely basic things any human should be able to expect out of themselves, albeit with minor variations. Not everyone is going to blog or play Ultimate, but everyone should be able to find creative satisfaction and engage in physical activity whenever they want without worrying out getting injured, something hurting, or fatiguing too quickly.
And I’m just some old dude who made a ton of mistakes early on and paid dearly for them… and I’m still doing pretty darn good. I’m not the only one, either. Many, if not most, of our success stories on this blog come from people who came back – better than ever – from poor health caused by making the wrong choices based on the wrong information in their younger years. Learn from their and from my mistakes so you don’t have to make them yourself.
Just imagine where you’ll be at 58 if you stay abreast of this health and fitness and nutrition and stress stuff starting from an early age. Just imagine how ahead of the game you’ll be, and stay for as long as you want.
Honestly, though? There’s a little selfishness going on here, too. I’m convinced that the earlier you commit to a Primal lifestyle, the greater the rewards later on in life, and I really want to see it happen. I know we’re never going to get anything close to a big study on the Primal lifestyle funded to test this idea out, but if we can convince a host of youngsters to start young – and stick with it – I think we’d see some remarkable things happen.
No, I’m not talking about forging Olympians or NBA stars or anything like that, necessarily. I’m referring to the promotion of a generation of healthy, happy, robust, fit, attractive, and most importantly of all, self-sufficient people forging their own paths toward health and wellness. I’m imagining a world where doctors flourish as the skilled technicians they are, meeting acute challenges without having to focus so much on the chronic stuff that they’re often unprepared to handle and their patients are unwilling to handle. Where people take responsibility for their own health, and it’s not a struggle or an ordeal, but rather just second nature. Heck, maybe it’ll even be a generation for whom this Primal stuff isn’t so crazy at all.
So, teens, tots, children, whoever (heck, even parents) – give it an honest shot. You don’t have to give up hanging out with friends or even grabbing pizza after a game sometimes. Embrace the 80/20 principle and just learn to make the right choices most of the time and understand that humans don’t come broken out of the box. That even though observing the greater population at large might lead you to the opposite conclusion, people are by and large born primed for excellent health.
Now go. Get healthy while you’re still healthy, while you’re still unbroken. It’s always easier – and more effective – to keep a new knife sharp than to restore a chipped, rusty, neglected old one.
Thanks for reading, everyone, and please share your advice with the younger amongst us in the comment board below.
Grab a Copy of The Primal Blueprint 21-Day Total Body Transformation and Start Getting Primal Today
Posted By: Mark Sisson
Love this post! I’m 19 and have been primal since the beginning of summer 2011. What a blessing your site and books have been to me!! I am keeping up my primal lifestyle as a freshman in college and couldn’t be happier. When I think of what my diet would have been had I not found this blog – loads of pizza, cookies, dairy, etc. – it makes me thankful that I have the resources and knowledge to do something different with my life. I don’t want to live a SAD existence, and I am determined to do whats best for my long-term health. Now I hope to make a positive impact on my family and friends. I can’t wait to live in an apartment next year so I can cook delicious primal food for my roommates and myself! Thanks Mark for all you do…grok on:)
Thats EXACTLY how I feel! I just want to move off campus so I can cook real food! I’ve slowly developed the biggest gripe against campus food. Only one more semester to go…
Agreed! School food is the worst…but I’m coming back from winter break prepared with my grass fed jerky and some paleo brands meals! Lets hope that makes things easier haha
As always, well put, Mark. I sincerely wish I’d come across the primal lifestyle 25 years ago. It likely would have saved me a whole lot of years of pain and agony from Fibromyalgia and arthritis. Both of which, I’m thrilled to say, are well controlled and cause very little to no pain now!
I’m 20 and found the Primal Blueprint about a year and a half ago on Stumbleupon. It changed my life. I’ve since found the energy I need to match the enthusiasm to be a teacher! I stopped worrying about being overweight and focused on getting my head straight. After getting my head straight I soon realized my passions. I feel invigorated reading comments by other young people. It gives me hope. Many times I feel like a primal animal in the dark without a fellow to follow or play with.
The peer pressure and strange looks are definitely a deterrent, but I try my best to stay positive against some of the close-mindedness out there. I’ve become a (self proclaimed) runner on the forefront of primal youth, spreading Mark Sission’s approach to health like the juiciest berries on the forest floor.
This post is what I’ve been trying to explain to my fellow students for the past year.
Much love to Mark and the Primal Community!
Hubby and I pretty much have started over..we have 2 teenagers (18 & 16) and then had a son this past March! The teens just kinda roll thier eyes with the primal lifestyle, which is a shame, but we are raising our infant son primal all the way. When starting him on solids we tried both rice and oats-Which he turned his nose up to, so we decided…why press the issue? And have left the grains in the dust. I make all his foods, no yucky jarred stuff older than him and he is great and his dr is pleased with his progress–she is a DO so she is more open to alt. Child raising anyway, which is great. Thanks again, Mark!
Karen,
Do you have any online places you like for advice for raising infants primally? My grandson is 9mo, and his mom & dad are trying to keep him primal, but they both have to fight the pressure of doctors, babysitters, well meaning (other) grandparents. I know my daughter would like to have more ideas of feeding a just-teething youngster primally, plus just the support of knowing she isn’t alone in wanting to raise her son this way.
And thanks Mark for yet another excellent post. It amazes me that you can keep the quality as high as you do day after day.
Feed them what you eat – period. We have an 11 yr old and she’s been 80/20 her whole life (started her with sweet potatoes instead of oats.) Although she may have an “off” day at a party, now that she goes alone, she doesn’t miss a beat coming home. Now that my husband has been truly primal for well over a year, which I thought he would never give up cookies, she just follows our “lifestyle.” It’s easier when their younger, we shop and cook for them – now she’s used to yams vs white potatoes, and salmon vs chicken nuggets. BTW, she has never eaten at a fast food – because we don’t
We now joke about it with her – maybe she can go to mcDonald’s before she leaves for college 
Erin,
That’s easy at 11, not so easy at 9 months. Teeth are just starting to come in so many primal foods are too difficult to eat, as well as choking hazards.
My daughter is raising her boy primally (starting with breastfeeding), but is just looking for other peoples ideas on how to approach it.
Look up baby led solids. I have late teethers. Both kids have always just eaten what we eat. We start solids at 6 months and they don’t start getting teeth till 9 months. If you just have to go the baby foods route then try avocado, boiled or scrambled eggs, baked winter squash, overly steamed broccoli, mashed cauliflower, meat that’s been simmered till it’s super soft, or soft poached fish etc. Like I said though, we don’t bother too much with specially cooking foods. She can eat chicken off the bone no problem. It’s messy, but she loves it.
Hi John!
I am following the feeding schedule from wholesomebabyfoods.com, but minus the grains. Little Man gets whole fat yogurt and cottage cheese, as well as avocado, roasted butternut squash, roasted sweet potatoes, cranberries, apples, pears, zucchini–we had a love affair with that! He has also had peas, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower, as well as chicken, turkey and pork and broth made from chicken and turkey bones.
I am pretty much feeding him what we eat, and following the recommendations of wholesomebabyfood, like I said, with when to start certain foods, and I make his food. I have a baby bullet and I love how well it works. If your daughter would like a fellow mom to chat with, she can contact me at kbspinner at gmail dot com. Would love to chat with her!
Karen
I have an 11 mo. old. Shes been primal from the get go. Around 8 months, I started her on meat…salmon, beef, chicken…I just chew it for her and then give it to her. Sounds gross, I
know, but she loves it. Other foods I give are yams/sweet potatoes, acorn & butternut squash, steamed spinach, broccoli, carrots, peas, green beans, avocado, banana, mango, strawberries, blueberries, pears and eggs. We use jarred food occasionally when the situation warrants. And, of course, breast feeding. Right now shes drinking approximately 32 oz a day, give or take. Very soon she’ll be chewing up her own food. Can’t wait!
Hey! I’ve done the chewed meat thing for Little Man too!! I am pretty sure it is primal- I am sure Little Grok’s mom didn’t run down to the market for jarred meats! Did you try her on cranberries? Our guy loved them, cooked down with apples and pears. Blueberries are coming up soon!
I’m 19 and have been Primal for…5 days now!
I discovered this site maybe two months back after being linked here by…I forget. Maybe Tim Ferriss. Or Ev Bogue. It was definitely a blogger. Anyways, it took a while before it really sunk in for me. I’ve been voraciously reading not just this site but a whole spectrum of others. I spent some time introducing my girlfriend (whom I live with) to the concept and subtly dropping hints here and there. We previously ate almost 100% of our meals out, and while we generally stuck to the Asian fare so readily available in our area (not nearly as bad as eating at a typical American restaurant), it wasn’t optimal. Rice and noodles are freaking ubiquitous in Asian food. A lot of Asian people will literally call you crazy if you suggest you don’t eat rice or noodles.
Anywho, I’ve been working towards a paradigm shift in which we do most of our eating from home, and once I got my girlfriend receptive to the idea, I purchased the 21-Day Total Body Transformation and the Quick & Easy Meals book, did a house purge, went shopping at Costco (not ideal, I know, but its a start!) and 5 days later here we are. There were some minor, Christmas-related slip ups, but other than that I’ve been very strictly Primal. No real change in body composition yet (I don’t really have much weight to lose), but I feel PHENOMENAL. (And the few times during holiday celebrations that I slipped up, I felt like craaaaaap) That alone tells me what I’m doing is right.
I’m not fully Primal with the exercise & lifestyle habits yet, but I definitely have the diet dialed in, and I feel that’s a good enough place to start.
Thanks Mark for a very timely article; I was sitting down making plans for the whole family to eat primal (once all these Christmas chocs are out of the way!). Would love some advice from others who are primal as a family. I have three boys – the eldest is 14, has egg and peanut allergies, doesn’t have an ounce of fat on him so really needs building up, the middle one is 12, probably needs to lose a bit of weight but is also a growing lad, (already size 11.5 feet!), and the youngest is 10, has too much of a sweet tooth and doesn’t like vegetables. Actually, I’m not sure how I will get any of them to eat veg and salad as a major part of their diet. I guess we will move to it gradually, while we reduce the amount of crisps, biscuits, fizzy drinks and pizza coming into the house, but any advice gratefully received! I have the book now so I know that will be helpful and I will show the boys this blog!
Thanks,
Hannah (in the UK)
Good luck on your move to get the family more Primal! I introduced myself to eating more veggies by roasting them. I just toss some vegetables (brussels sprouts, broccoli, carrots, green beans, etc) in a bit of oil and seasonings, then roast in the oven until they’re brown around the edges. I have a life-long hatred of most of those vegetables, when cooked. Now that I roast them, I eat them in a bowl for snack, like I used to eat potato chips!!
Oh, and if you can get bottles/cans of carbonated water where you live, a small bit of fruit juice can transform them into pretty good soda substitutes, until your boys get weaned off of soda completely. That worked well for me.
A website called http://www.health-bent.com has some excellent Primal/Paleo cookie recipes too. I adore their ginger cookie recipe. I know that MDA has cited it for some of their recipes before too.
Thanks AustinGirl, I haven’t tried those sorts of roast veg, was thinking down the lines of roasted sweet potato and red onion, but can try that as well.
I’m going through various recipes to see what we can try in January – some great ones for Chilli, Chicken, celery & stilton stir fry, Moroccan aubergine bake, Croustade of mushrooms (where the base is made using ground almonds). I’m quite looking forward to this! Mark’s message helped me see that I don’t have to switch them all overnight – maybe if I get breakfast and dinner more primal, while I think of what they can take for packed lunch. And of course I will just stop buying the crap (fizz, crisps, biscuits) and spend more on the steak! I’m also really keen to see if this helps my eldest son’s asthma – I’ve heard that just going wheat-free can help, and have seen several people mention how much their asthma has been helped in their success stories. Hopefully we will have a success story to add soon too……
Ditto–Ditto–Ditto!
I am going to get my pets eating Paleo, too! I should have taken the hint many years ago when our Sheltie had pre-cancerous polyps–likely caused by pet food–she was placed on a single source protein and carb diet. (Do you see $$ signs here? Yes, we are long past getting her real food.)
Hi Mark
I’m 16, nearly 17 and an avid follower of your blog. This post came at the right time, just the kick in the butt I need.
I need to lose 10 to 15 pounds and of course its difficult to be primal when you don’t control the grocery shopping or what’s for dinner, especially when you own a breadmaker and are a bread addict.
But I’m sick of feeling crap when I wake up and being ashamed of my body.
Thank you.
Definitely gonna raise my kids primal. Considering that there’s a chance that they might inherit my crappy insulin sensitivity, it would be best for them to just avoid grains, starch, and sugar, altogether, like future mommy’s doing right now. And that it’ll do great things for their bodies, as well.
I don’t think I could sleep at night, knowing that I might be setting my kids up for a life of ill health. 
Great post. I’m going to send it to my 2 teenagers. I vote this as the understatement of the month:
“Produce pretty decent content for a popular blog on a daily basis.”
Right on Mark. I am trying to drive the Primal way on my kids so they do remember it later on life and maybe not drop it by the way side at all.
I’ve been primal since the last year and I’m lean as I would have never imagined. As a child I was obese so it’s something I’m really proud of. My problem right now, and it’s the only one, is that I don’t know how to make my parents both in their fifties to go primal. My mom, for example, can’t leave the bread and the rice. She does eat fruit and veggies, but she has a dire need to eat those culprits. Please, I don’t know how to gently convice her. Help me, primal friends. I don’t want to see her or my dad sick in a few years. It really hurts.
I am 53 and my husband is 65. We have been eating this way for six months and are showing major improvement. What I would recommend is a start slow approach. I convinced DH to let me try cooking differently ONCE IN A WHILE. It didn’t take long until we left everything (mostly) by the wayside. I never tell him what he can or cannot eat. This is really important.
Perhaps asking gently if she would try without the bread and rice occasionally.
I know that since I left grains behind I can breathe out of both nostrils and I have not been able to do that for years.
Maybe you can get them to try it for a short term, a week for starters?
Honeybuns (I assume that’s not what you cook!),
My wife and are are the same ages, but reversed (I’m 54, she is 65). I’ve been primal for a couple years, but she just doesn’t buy it, despite the improvements she sees in me.
She does eat more primally just because I do a fair amount of the cooking and she always eats what I cook. And she makes some effort in her cooking to moderate the non-primal foods.
But it is a continual struggle to “sway” her without becoming preachy (well, she might claim I’m preachy about Primal anyway, but she is too nice to call me on it).
k, your parents are probably what Nora Gedgaudas (Primal Body-Primal Mind) calls “carnevores”. They are addicted to carbs! I strongly suggest you get her book from the library. It has a great plan, plus explanation of the addiction, to help wean people away from grains. Good luck!
Im 16 and have known about paleo/primal for 2 years now. Eating this way completely cured my severe migraines. I had suffered migraines since i was about 9 and by the time i was 14 i was getting 1 or 2 a week and would be off school for two days each time (for the migraine itself and the head ‘bruising’ the day after). I can’t believe since going primal… they just stopped! It’s a miracle. Blood sugar crashes and needing to eat every two hours have dissappeared too. I feel so free!
I can’t imagine where i would be if i hadn’t discovered marks daily apple. Thanks for everything!
LOVE this!
Mark,
I am a senior in high school and have been Primal for over a year now. I really went Primal for the “look good naked” idea, but overall health works too. Anyways, I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate you for enlightening me as well as countless others including one of my best friends. You’ve inspired me to grok on and I know soon enough I’ll have little groks and grokettes running around. Thanks!!
“Bound up flights of stairs because it’s easier and less time consuming than walking up them.”
I thought this was just me. People look at me like I’m crazy when I run up three flights out stairs while they walk, but I hate trudging up stairs. It’s so much easier to run up so you don’t lose momentum between steps.
I wish I would have known about this diet and lifestyle in high school. If I did, maybe I wouldn’t have passed out from sugar crashes during classes and would have had a better abilty to focus in class and while doing my homework.
Mark … BRILLIANT!!! Wish I had read this when I was at “second adolescence”. Many people come out of a divorce and “get fit” – but it’s really just to be back on the market. How about BE HEALTHY for life! I love it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
well said, Mark. here’s how i see it… people who have made it into their 80′s have a quasi primal life style to thank for that longevity. most foods that they were raised on were not yet bastardized. this gave them a solid foundation for health. today’s main staples are mostly processed to death with few nutrients. sad reports state today’s generation is the first that will not live as long as their parents. it can only be the food; it’s the only thing that has changed, as you say “I’ve been there”, that remains the same.
I turn 20 in literally a week and I think I need to go get the primal blueprint and make it my resolution for the upcoming year to at least give it an honest try.
Already started
I’m 15 years old, and I started venturing into Primal eating when I was 14. I’m an athlete- avid soccer player and pre-professional dancer- so how I look and feel is something very important in my life. I struggle, though, so that’s why I’ve been doing loads of research. I’ve tried to Primal life before, back in early summer, but I had no support from my parents so it didn’t go over so well. Now, with my 67 year old dad (you were wrong, he’s older XD)worried about diabetes, I think I finally have his support and together, we both are going to dive into the Primal lifestlye. I’m excited. I know from past attempts just how good it made me feel, and I’m ready to feel that way again. Especially since I’m recovering from a career threatening knee injury, I need a diet and a lifestyle to make the rest of my body healthy so that I can heal XD
Well, the point of all that randomness was to say that hey, I’m totally with you guys
Hey Mark,
I am 19 years old and feel very grateful for learning about a healthy lifestyle early on. Luckily my mum was very health conscious since she was my age, so she made it easier for me to value such a lifestyle – and also to maintain it.
Therefore for me the transition was very easy: I basically told my mum to buy brokkoli instead of noodles, organic ground-beef instead of antibiotic-chicken – transition done.
Thank you also for (and this is even more important) for introducing the term ,,gene-expression”. I was into bodybuilding for some time but I felt like it was very ,,ego-based” and made me self-conscious. Since I started training simply for strenth I feel much better, because I dont pressure myself anymore.
Eating has become a sheer pleasure and it excites me everytime I cook something good. I stay primal nearly 100% – even in school. My prepared food always draws envy from my classmates!
Its feel pretty chill about my future, because I see myself healthy for a long time.
I guess that unfortunately for many people it is VERY hard to transition to a healthy lifestyle since they are so stuck in their habits and many times ,,health” seems to be too complicated.
I honestly think the primal blueprint is a fantastically simple and practical guide to health and I am thankfull for beeing able to own this piece.
If you want to reach young people..this is the way to do it. Simple and Waking.
David
Thank you for this post, Mark. I teach middle school (grades 7&8), so I see up close what the SAD has done to our kids. I try to lead by example (my students are very observant and have commented on how healthy I eat – beets, eggs, yogurt, etc), but often feel like I’m fighting a losing battle. Thanks for the inspiration – I think I’ll be using this post when we move into our informational text/research unit next month!
17 and living primal for more than a year! Thanks for this, Mark. I will make sure my mates read this — maybe it’ll finally make them primal!
We’ve been Primal since May of this year. My eleven year old girl talks about how she no longer has chronic stomach aches and toothaches. She was starting to get a little chubby, and now she’s slender. Her sweet tooth is slowly disappearing. My 14 year old boy said yesterday: oh, I’ve got a stomachache–ate too many carbs today! These are changes that they have experienced themselves that will stay with them all their lives (hopefully). They do come across as a little whacky, like when my daughter announces at dance class that breakfast cereal is really bad for you! Can’t imagine what the other Moms think!
I always wondered what I would have accomplished had I been off gluten and awake during high school.
I enjoyed this column! My 5 y/o does pretty well with primal, probably 80/20 (and the 20 is mostly accounting for time spent at grandma’s) but with the toddler I had let crackers and dry cereal creep back in for the sake of convenience. Since reading more on primal the past few months, we have shifted away from crackers and more to almonds, macadamias, and plantain chips when the toddler needs something crunchy/non-messy to take on the go. He loves his “dames” (macadamias).
For the person wanting ideas on feeding a baby primal – any cooked vegetable diced up, fruit diced up, or tiny cut up pieces of meat would be considered primal. You could puree any of that too if needed, but my babies generally preferred to feed themselves with some help. A softly fried egg cut up was another baby favorite in our house, especially the yolk. And smoothies made with coconut milk, berries and spinach were popular (still are for my kiddos!)
I’m in love with your vision Mark! And chances are you’ll still be alive and well so see that coming!
Thanks for this one Mark,its such a healthy perspective.
I started in my teens, and wrote in depth about the difficulties for teenagers when it comes to being healthy
http://healthfreakrevolution.com/?p=160