Mark’s Daily Apple

Top 10 Top 10 Lists of All Time21

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With over 80 Top 10 lists under my belt I feel like a Top 10 list pro at this point. I keep doing them because they are a great way to condense a lot of information down to the essentials. And because readers seem to look forward to them.

Putting this list together was tough because there are different ways to measure the popularity of a single blog post. Is it the number of comments on the post? The number of people who have seen the post? Or maybe it’s the buzz the post has created around the net? Needless to say it wasn’t easy and I was sad to see some (in my opinion) great lists not make the top 10.

Hopefully this list will uncover some oldies but goodies that you haven’t seen before.

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What would you like to see future “Top 10″ lists cover?

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And now to the Top 10 Top 10 Lists of All Time (in no particular order):

10 Rules of Aging Well

Flame Thrower: Top 10 Natural Ways to Reduce Inflammation

10 Ways to “Get Primal”

Best Brain Foods

Top 10 Ingredients that Will Make Your Meals Pop

10 Quick Tips to Boost Your Serotonin

10 Ways to Cut Calories

10 Ways to De-Stress

Top 10 Junk Foods in Disguise

Top 10 Dumbest Drugs Ever Invented

Further Reading:

All 80+ Tuesday 10 Posts

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Posted: Health, Most Popular Posts, The Tuesday 10

Definitive Guide: The Primal Blueprint45

Build the Healthiest Possible Body with the Primal Blueprint

I get emails every day from people who are changing their lives for the better by following the guidelines I outline on this site. But many are looking for more of what the Primal Blueprint has to offer. That is to say, they want a comprehensive break down of the elements that make up the Blueprint; a Primal primer if you will. In coming weeks I will be going into detail – anthropological evidence, modern research, etc. - regarding this health philosophy, but I first want to offer up this summary of the Blueprint. I think it is a good starting point for what is to come.

In this extended article you will find the basic building blocks needed to discover the Primal side of your life. What does this mean? It means learning and understanding what it means to be human. It means using this knowledge to help you make important lifestyle choices. It means modeling your life after your ancestors in order to promote optimal health and wellness. And, most importantly, it means taking control of your body and mind.

As some of you may know I have a Primal Blueprint book in the works. If this article intrigues you be on the look out for a much more thorough explanation of how we can learn from our past to shape and mold our future.

Note: This is lengthy article so settle in and enjoy the ride or come back periodically to pick your way through it.

My basic premise is this: The Primal Blueprint is a set of simple instructions (the blueprint) that allows you to control how your genes express themselves in order to build the strongest, leanest, healthiest body possible, taking clues from evolutionary biology (that’s the primal part).

Sometimes we get so lost in the science of human biology we just can’t see the forest for the trees. We overlook the simplicity and ease with which we could all be achieving exceptional health and fitness.

Living in modern society is extremely complex. With daily mind-boggling achievements made in science, technology and medicine, and with an ever-expanding knowledge base that increasingly grows more esoteric and niche, it is no wonder that we often look for complicated scientific solutions to problems that really only require simple answers. One of the best examples is the huge - and expensive - race to identify all the new possible genetic variances (or SNPs) within the human genome that might predispose some of us to certain health conditions. Hardly a week goes by without a new announcement of the discovery of a so-called “defective� gene that increases someone or some group’s risk of being obese, of getting cancer, of developing type 2 diabetes or arthritis. The net effect of all these announcements and the sensationalized news headlines is that many of us have become accustomed to blaming our health conditions on our unlucky inheritance of these “defective� genes. As if it weren’t enough to abdicate responsibility here, we then cross our fingers and close our eyes and hope that the scientists can create pharmaceutical “answers� to our particular condition before it’s too late. In most cases a few lifestyle adjustments are all that are needed to address all but the most serious of these genetic variations. Yes, I agree that some serious genetic diseases exist which are best treated with modern, truly life-saving drugs, but for the vast majority of the minor genetic variations that exist throughout the human genome, the real deciding factor as to whether or not a particular gene will be expressed in a particular manner, if at all, comes down to what you eat, how you move, what kind of air you breathe, what you think – in other words your environment. Big Pharma (CW) doesn’t want us to believe that most of our ills can be so easily solved, and so billions of dollars are being spent to unlock the so-called secrets of the genome. Meanwhile, the real secrets – and solutions - are contained within the DNA of every single one of our cells.

The essence of the Primal Blueprint is this: Most of life is really much simpler than modern medicine and science would like to have you believe. You can have a tremendous impact on how your genes express themselves, simply by providing your cells the right environments. All you need is a basic understanding of how your body works and a simple philosophical roadmap you can use to find answers to just about any questions of health and fitness – whether it involves personal choices or lifestyle adjustments or whether medical intervention might be appropriate. With this simple strategy, you will forever be able to examine or evaluate any food choice, any form of exercise or any other behavior in the context of how it impacts your genes! Even if you decide to opt for a “bad choice�, at least you’ll know why it’s bad…

You may already have a pretty fair understanding of how the human genome evolved to exactly where it is today (or 10,000 years ago, to be more precise) based on the environmental and behavioral factors under which our ancestors lived through natural selection. Tens of thousands of anthropologists, evolutionary biologists, paleontologists, geneticists and others have worked for over 100 years to piece together a fairly detailed picture of all the elements that helped influence our development as a species. Ironically though, when we examine all of the many environmental influences and behaviors that shaped our genome, we arrive at a very simple list of general things our early ancestors did to become what and who they were and which allowed them to pass 99.9% of those genes down to us. In essence, this list is the original “Primal Blueprint� since it provided the only set of behaviors they knew – the exact behaviors that enabled then to shape their bodies into healthy, robust, happy beings.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted: Aging, Big Pharma, Definitive Guides, Diet, Fitness, Health, How To, Men's Health, Most Popular Posts, Nutrition, Personal Improvement, Pictures, Primal Health, Raise Healthy Seedlings, Sisson Said What?, Women's Health

Dear Mark: Beans/Legumes33

Magical Fruit

Dear Mark,

I’m a former vegetarian who still enjoys cooking with all kinds of beans. I don’t see them in any of the MDA recipes. What’s your take on them?

Legumes (beans, lentils, chickpeas, split peas, etc.) aren’t, by any means, the worst thing you can eat, but they don’t make the ideal meal either. In my estimation, legumes fall into the “O.K.� category with wine, chocolate, cheese and other dairy, etc.

On the upside, legumes offer protein, and they tend to be good sources of several minerals like potassium and magnesium. On the downside, they offer only a moderate at best amount of protein (generally 4-9 grams per ½ cup serving). As the How to Eat Enough Protein post showed, legumes’ protein content is dwarfed by the 28 grams you’d get from a cup of cottage cheese or the 50+ grams you’d get from six ounces of several meats. And this relatively small amount of protein comes with a hefty carb content: as high as 28 grams for that same ½ cup serving!

Because legumes generally contain so much soluble fiber, they won’t result in sudden blood sugar spikes. However, as I said a while back in the whole grain post, at the end of the day carbs are carbs.

Yet, the Primal Blueprint philosophy allows for some carbohydrate content. I’ve suggested in the past 150 grams as a daily ceiling. There’s certainly reason to shoot for less (100 is even better), but 150 grams can be a reasonable goal for many of us. The key is to make as much of that carb “allowance� vegetable-based as possible. Legumes offer nutritional benefits, but what they offer can be found in equal to greater amounts within other foods that have lower carb content.

All this said, not all legumes are created equal. Some, like lentils, have higher protein content. Others, like peas, have lower carb content. Both glycemic index and glycemic load vary among legumes. Check out this “International Table� for more info on legumes and hundreds of other foods.

The ultimate point on “O.K.� foods is this: if you can make the majority of your diet “best source� foods (meat for protein, vegetables for carbs, etc.), you’ll meet your daily nutrient goals and have room to include a few “lesser benefit but high enjoyment� foods such as dairy and legumes. (That is, if you consider beans exciting. Cheese I can understand, but give me a a big salad over a bowl of kidney beans any day.)

An additional note: the bioavailability of minerals in legumes is compromised by the body’s difficulty in digesting them (hence the flatulence jokes). If you’re going to include legumes in your diet, preparation is everything. Diligent and tailored soaking processes are necessary for the proper digestion and nutrient absorption of legumes.

Check back in the near future as I’ll be posting exactly what I eat in a typical day and how it breaks down in calories from protein, fat and carbs.  Thanks for your questions and comments, everyone. As always, if you have a suggestion for “Dear Mark,â€� shoot me a line.

Roger Smith Flickr Photos (CC)

Further Reading:

My Carb Pyramid

Dear Mark: Sugar Cravings

The World’s Favorite Bean

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Posted: Carbs, Dear Mark, Diet, Health, Most Popular Posts

Stirring the Pot: Most Talked About Posts2

If you’re new to Mark’s Daily Apple, be sure to check out some of our most controversial, popular, and hotly-debated posts of the year. It’s a great chance to share your views on some tough topics and get to know other readers, too. From veganism to raw food to Atkins to health care to cardio, the biggest discussions in health are here!

Be sure to bookmark this post for those days when you need a bit of mental sparring!

Into the Fryer We Go

A leading raw food celebrity chef makes an impassioned case for the raw food diet. Don’t miss Mark’s sizzling rebuttal. Where do you stand?

A Case Against Cardio

45 minutes (or more) of daily aerobic activity is not only not the path to health and fitness - it’s in direct opposition to the way the human body evolved. As a former elite competitive triathlete, Mark shares a compelling and controversial perspective. They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions…

Even if the Shoe Fits, Forget It!

Aaron tells you why you might want to toss the shoes when you’re gearing up for your workout. That Fox moves fast - don’t miss this fascinating piece that draws on evolutionary history to explain why you might want to chuck your Chucks.

Confessions of a Former Lipid-Phobe

Editor Sara (a former vegetarian) gets personal and shares her permanent weight loss success story, spilling the details of the decadent diet that made it happen. Bring on the bacon, baby! She horrifies her doctor, but hey…she’s got science on her side.

Why the Atkins Diet Works

Mark tears the current national nutrition recommendations to shreds and explains the reasoning behind a high-fat, high-protein diet. Did you know the human body wasn’t meant to consume grains? Learn even more by checking out the post that went ’round the health blogs: A Definitive Guide to Insulin, Blood Sugar and Type 2 Diabetes.

Misguided Vegans

It just gets more politically incorrect with every click. Read why veganism is both misguided and unhealthy - and then share your views.

44 Finger Lickin’ Good Low Carb Recipes…for Vegans!

Our readers have diverse lifestyles, and this post is a massive round up of some of the most delicious low-carb recipes that work for vegans and carnivores alike. We have different views, but it sure keeps things interesting around here!

Deconstructing Health Care: A Radical Proposal

Mark presents a thorough proposal for overhauling the American health care system and staving off the crisis. Folks from both sides of the political aisle will find plenty to debate here.

Further Reading:

Most Popular Nutrition Posts from Mark’s Daily Apple

Technorati Tags: health, issues, Mark’s Daily Apple, Mark Sisson

Posted: Best of, Health, Health Challenges, Most Popular Posts

Most Popular Posts6

Here are all the 2007 goodies distilled from over 500 posts here at Mark’s Daily Apple. These posts have gotten the most traffic, links, comments and feedback. And they’re our readers’ favorites. Enjoy.

Is There Any Safe Meat?

Are There Any Good Carbs?

Why the Atkins Diet Works

Top 10 Health Scams

The Busy Person’s Guide to Losing Weight

The Secret to Health & Longevity: Are You Following the 10/90 Rule?

10 Quick Tips to Boost Your Serotonin

How to Eat Healthy on a Budget

I Can’t Eat Anything!

Vitamin Eeeek!

Are Men the Weakest Link?

How to Eat More Chocolate and Drink More Wine Every Day

The 7 Habits of Thin (Healthy) People

13 Simple, Timeless Kitchen Hacks (Banish Tears, Cuts, Burns, Smells & Stains!)

How Long Do I Have to Exercise Before I See Changes?

Top 10 Best & Worst Protein Sources (vegetarians take note)

A Case Against Cardio (from a former mileage king)

Why Our Modern Way of Life Does Not Support Human Health

Which Fork Is for the Grubs?

Grubs, Part 2

Stress, Cortisol, and the Adrenals: When ‘Fight or Flight’ Meets the Modern World

What Does 4,000 Calories a Day Look Like?

More Cowbell!

The Definitive Guide to Insulin, Blood Sugar & Type 2 Diabetes (and you’ll understand it)

My Carb Pyramid

Posted: Most Popular Posts