Let me introduce myself. My name is Mark Sisson. I’m 63 years young. I live and work in Malibu, California. In a past life I was a professional marathoner and triathlete. Now my life goal is to help 100 million people get healthy. I started this blog in 2006 to empower people to take full responsibility for their own health and enjoyment of life by investigating, discussing, and critically rethinking everything we’ve assumed to be true about health and wellness...
New evidence suggests that part of what made human beings possible (and helped our ancestors diverge from the chimp line of ancestry) was the evolution of our transcription factor binding sites – the places where genes are turned on and off. In other words, humans are extremely flexible and adaptable because our genes are extremely flexible and adaptable.
Interested in a free poultry purchasing guide, with detailed breakdowns of all the poultry producers and products you’ll find in groceries and markets? Consider supporting the BuyingPoultry.com Kickstarter.
No longer does your baby bok choy have to come dripping and sweating from the steam bath. Now, you can simply grill it.
If you make that bok choy recipe, maybe serve it alongside this ginger chicken with broccoli recipe. It’s like the stuff from PF Chang’s, only without the soybean oil swimming pool.
The only thing I’d add to your ideal bath is to have Paul Togioka’s Hawaiian slack string guitar album “Ki ho’alu Inn” playing in the background. It’s such peaceful, happy music, it always takes me away.
-Indeed, Janice James. How could I have forgotten music?
Yet another good reason to eat chocolate.
Does anyone know of a good natural anti mosquito and even more important anti ticks (live in “lyme land”) food or solution? Maybe chocolate is useful for that too?
Selleck
4 years 1 month ago
Spray vodka infused with essential oils on your skin. Mosquitoes dislike the smell and will die in the alcohol.
Lara
4 years 1 month ago
Thanks, any specific oils?
Selleck
4 years 1 month ago
I believe two good oils are rosemary and catnip.
Selleck
4 years 1 month ago
The spray might also work with ticks but I wouldn’t know considering I haven’t really encountered ticks.
Hilda
4 years 1 month ago
Citronella oil.
Animanarchy
4 years 1 month ago
The onions from Holes.
Or saturate your blood with vodka.
“Smudging” could help. That’s letting smoke flow around you so the smell stays on you.
Killing mosquitos works too. Good stress relief. It’s good hand-eye coordination and speed training, and depending on where they are and how you kill them you can work on flexibility.
Abby
4 years 1 month ago
THE ONIONS FROM HOLES! Those keep away the lizards, not mosquitos. Still, I lost it when I read this.
justine
4 years 1 month ago
Fresh garlic: when you eat it, it seems to be a natural masquito repellent.
If you would still get a mosquito-bite: cut a clove in half and rub it on the itchy spot: smelly but functional 😉
shannon
4 years 1 month ago
Why do “therapists” always assume that the problem is rooted in one’s childhood? Might it not be possible that Simon really IS avoiding Andrea? And just kind of wants a warm body in the bed? And thinks that it’s somewhat beneath him to actually converse with a woman and see her as a person rather than a provider of services? Ah, but if Ms. Therapist considered that possibility, her job would change: she’d have to a be a dismantler of patriarchy, rather than a blamer of women. The article title might be: “Victims of patriarchal, exploitative relationships found to be… Read more »
Jesse
4 years 1 month ago
Yes, it’s quite possible, even likely, that Simon is avoiding Andrea, etc, etc. But that doesn’t mean Andrea’s relationship issues don’t also stem from her childhood as well. I think it’s equally valid to look at the situation from a present reaity point of view, as well as look for historical antecedents. In my opinion, a person’s early childhood experience often predisposes them to pick partners who really actually do mirror believes about self and others formed in the past. Choose a psychological or sociological perspective as you will–both are useful and potentially true.
Amy
4 years 1 month ago
They could stem from childhood. But all that means Andrea needs to do the emotional work to get over it and move on. My mother spent most of her adulthood “depressed” and blaming it on her past. She sits at almost 73 in a nursing home with no connections to family except my sister and I or friends because she could never see past her own emotional needs. If my sister and I hadn’t worked at it, she wouldn’t have a connection to us either. Ultimately, adults have to learn to check some of those emotional support wants and learn… Read more »
Animanarchy
4 years 1 month ago
Or what if… just maybe..
Even after the malleable stage of childhood all experience counts towards mood and thinking?
I think a lot of people go to mental health workers just to vent and never end up rectifying whatever hidden factors irk them. I’d never pay someone just to vent. I can do that on the internet.
shannon
4 years 1 month ago
“But a still-small group of clinical researchers, including Johnson, are beginning to suspect the opposite — that her depression is the result of the chronically poor state of her attachments, beginning in childhood.” This is actually a pretty old and traditional therapeutic view, going back hundreds of years. Check the wikipedia entry on “attachment theory.”
What’s missing from attachment theory is the idea that most families are pathological because the patriarchal family just doesn’t work. It doesn’t provide mothers with the support they need to attach to their infants in a healthy way.
William of OC
4 years 1 month ago
Nonsense.
The Patriarchical model DOES work, as thousands of years of our history demonstrate.
The feminist, matriarchical model–which we have been pursuing for the last 60 years or so–is a big reason we’re in the poor state we’re in today.
Part of living the Primal lifestyle is rejecting the lies we’ve been told since we were born regarding food, health, economics, history, politics, race, and–yes–the relationships between the sexes.
Amy
4 years 1 month ago
I didn’t have the perfect childhood. My mother was an emotional mess.
My husband grew up in a neglectful, borderline abusive household.
And yet we grew up to not only survive, but thrive.
I’m pretty sure my husband and I are not perfect parents. (Depending on the moment you catch us, the kids might well tell you we’re ogres. 🙂 )
Humans are inherently resilient. That doesn’t mean neglect/abuse doesn’t profoundly affect people or that there aren’t worse or better ways to raise children.
But within limits we all can turn out okay, even if the infants don’t “attach” properly. 😉
Animanarchy
4 years 1 month ago
The matriarchal model worked pretty well in Crete. They had toilets before electricity.
Junk food curing obesity? Aside from the typical taking statements out of context the author fails to acknowledge that processed food (turning to technology) is not really trying to solve nutrition, hunger or health problems. They are only trying to solve the financial problem of lining their pockets beyond all reason at our expense. So far duping the public has been more profitable than educating and properly feeding the public. It’s much harder to make killing off of a fair business model.
Graham
4 years 1 month ago
The processed food article is amusing. When people make the argument that its too expensive to eat real food (which it isn’t), I still can’t get over the fact that they are willing to take better care of their cars, tvs, wardrobes, etc than themselves. Also amusing how passionately commenters try to change their minds…I say let people eat what they want; I’ll be the one able to defend myself when the Chitauri attack through the wormhole…
The medical costs aside, it definitely is a lot more expensive at the register but Americans have the wrong priorities. As you said, they may have a BMW in the garage of the palace but grass-fed beef is out of the question.
It makes me so angry when people insist on perpetuating the myth that fat is bad. I shouldn’t care what others eat, I guess, but I do…
Jeremy Creed
4 years 1 month ago
Junk food curing obesity is actually a good article if your not reading to get offended. I constantly walk through whole food laughing that 95% of the stuff there is junk, and expensive junk. I love watching these health conscious people push their cart around with this crap in there high end athletic clothes that accentuate their disgusting fat rolls. This article does have some misinformed info, don’t get me wrong but he does have a good point.
That really is a good point. It’s disturbing how much of the food in Whole Foods is anything but whole. Hype is everywhere… along with over-processing & over-pricing.
Still, the author misses the point that ACTUAL whole food is the answer, not tweaked junk.
Graham
4 years 1 month ago
I don’t think anyone is saying that because it comes from Whole Foods it is automatically a whole food—-I do love that all of the vegan meals are from boxes. Again, when the s**t hits the fan, I’m glad it’ll be them getting eaten and not me.
Sadly I think a lot of people DO assume ( or at least choose to believe) that Whole Foods foods are whole!
Even when I was a strict vegetarian, I was always wary of the faked out crap. And I never gave up eggs or butter! But most of my veggie friends ate (& still eat) all sorts of faux food, thinking it’s better for their health. Makes me sad.
BillP
4 years 1 month ago
Whole Foods has always seemed to me to be primarily a boutique shopping environs for upscale 50-something dieting semi-vegetarians. Not paleo or primal in the slightest. Locally, the Whole Foods is in Encinitas, also known for the most yoga studios per population anywhere in the US. Not that there’s anything wrong with yoga… The writer confuses so-called wholesome foods with whole foods, and seems to be constructing a strawman argument; I don’t know how many elites are claiming that whole grain bread or gourmet chocolate won’t pack on the pounds as well as Wonder Bread or Snickers. He does make… Read more »
Amy
4 years 1 month ago
I’ve been in worse health food stores in terms of Primal/Paleo. Our local Whole Paychecks do have an substantial meat section. The takeout section, though, almost totally caters to vegetarians. And the tiny bit of meat we tried was over spiced like it was “faux” meat.
And yeah, it’s totally a boutique shopping experience. We go there because they have the freshest produce locally without going to a farmer’s market. Although we manage to get out for under $30, most shoppers seem to have much bigger bills. 🙂
BillP
4 years 1 month ago
‘Whole Paychecks’.
Good one.
Animanarchy
4 years 1 month ago
All the health food stores I’ve been in massively overcharge. There’s a small fraction of things that are fairly priced or not too expensive, and the rest I think is a rip-off. People spend enough money to feed them for days on a bottle of antioxidants or a specific nutrient when they could save money and get it all, and more and better, in natural form.
Loni
4 years 1 month ago
Love chocolate! I wonder if adding organic unsweetened cocoa powder to my coffee in the morning will do the same trick? hmmm…. Thank your for sharing the link for the 8 Foods We Eat that are banned in other countries. I knew about Numbers 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7. Jeez I’m glad that I’ve kicked this crap! Not to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but I wonder if the FDA and Big Pharm are in cahoots: FDA keeps poisons in our food to make us sick and have to go see the doctor. Then the doctor prescribes “medicines” that… Read more »
Rosemary
4 years 1 month ago
Forget the morning coffee. My favourite is pure cacoa powder, about 1/3rd hot water and 2/3 heated cocunut milk or cream, then mixed with hand blender until a lovely thick froth forms on the top. Morning heaven!
Animanarchy
4 years 1 month ago
Check out the archives of Signs of the Times (sott.net) and you’ll learn all sorts of nasty things about the agencies saying they protect us.
Erin
4 years 1 month ago
Is that David Freedman guy for real?!
Dan
4 years 1 month ago
To be fair, the article didn’t specify whether the car was made of bacon.
Gman
4 years 1 month ago
Do a high % of the followers of the Paleo lifestyle also follow the religion of
Evolution? Just curious…
William of OC
4 years 1 month ago
Some of us are Pagan. 🙂
Anthea
4 years 1 month ago
Actually, I’m Christian and therefore believe in Creation. However, I reckon that whether we evolved, were created or landed in a space ship, we started out living in caves and being hunter-gatherers. Also, I read a lot in the Bible about eating good healthy food and treating our bodies like a Temple (ie. looking after it!). Nowhere in the Bible do I read that God said “Go forth and get fat on processed junk”, so I’m quite happy that Primal living is cool with my faith… and I think would be with pretty much anyone’s faith. Or even their choice… Read more »
Amy
4 years 1 month ago
Being Christian to me, doesn’t have much to do with Evolution vs. Bible based creationism. It’s possible to believe in Evolution *and* that God created the universe. In other words, it’s believing that Genesis holds spiritual truths, as much of the rest of the Bible is treated, rather than the literal truth. There is no real divide between science and Christianity, other than for a few protestant groups. Personally, I dislike the entire subject. Only microevolution is something remotely provable in a scientific sense. Therefore it’s a convenient Argument That Will Never End. It’s an artificial discussion that only serves… Read more »
I don’t like it when people use the word ‘microevolution’ like they know what they’re talking about. When really it shows real, purposeful lack of study on the subject.
Animanarchy
4 years 1 month ago
I read a good novel recently called The Sheep Look Up. There’s a good line in it about insecticides. “And on the eighth day God said, “I changed my mind about insects.”
Kevin Cowart
4 years 1 month ago
Yes.
Egglet
4 years 1 month ago
I, for one, do not consider evolution a religion.
Kevin Cowart
4 years 1 month ago
Obviously, only a person who is ignorant or trolling would say such a thing.
Egglet
4 years 1 month ago
I am neither ignorant nor trolling. A question was asked and I answered honestly and politely. 🙂
Gman
4 years 1 month ago
If it is not scientifically provable…then it is a religion…
Kevin Cowart
4 years 1 month ago
Egglet: I was referring to Gman as the troll, and he just proved my point. Gman, you can’t drive your argument with a semantic error. Nothing is scientifically provable that is the core of all philosophy, science being a branch of philosophy. “The only thing that I know is that I know nothing” ring a bell? A scientific hypothesis, until disproved, is a theory. Like the theory of gravity that keeps you from flying into space. Or the electromagnetic theory that enabled this conversation. But here is a fact: evolution has been rigorously tested for over 150 years and has… Read more »
Lora
4 years 1 month ago
In reading Genesis, when God sent Adam & Eve out of Eden, (where they hunted/gathered) they were cursed to work the land and eat bread: Genesis 3:17 ” “Cursed is the ground because of you; In pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life…and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground…”
I am Christian and this helped me reconcile the whole “Bread in the Bible” argument.
Kevin Cowart
4 years 1 month ago
“Let the women learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.” (I Timothy 2:11-14)
End of argument.
C.Rushing
4 years 1 month ago
‘Religion of Evolution’ had me rolling on the floor. By the way, it wasn’t gravity that brought me to the floor, but Intelligent Falling.
Ben
4 years 1 month ago
The first study doesn’t control for income, it only includes self-reported perceptions of income. Wealthier people are likely to live in areas with more trees, parks, etc. and they’re likely to be healthier and happier. Self-reported perceptions of income and self-reported happiness are correlated, not because of any causality between the two, but because they’re both driven by actual income, which isn’t accounted for.
Ben
4 years 1 month ago
The sample size in the first study is also too small. As a rule of thumb in statistics, you need at least 30, assuming a normal distribution. With less than 30, you really can’t make any inferences.
Kristina
4 years 1 month ago
Is it sad that I’m surprised the spear-thrower wasn’t from here in Florida, land of the Face-Eaters?
I can see the next paleo-debunking media onslaught now: “Man with spear and very caveman-like beard lives in California, nexus of the paleo/primal or “caveman” nutritional movement, proving that cavemen lived short brutish lives BECAUSE of their diet!”
Never mind that you could just as easily correlate his beard or location with his spear-throwing.
So don’t eat meat, fruit, and vegetables. Stick to bread and cereal, kids, and you can avoid the compulsion to hurl primitive hand-crafted weapons into local traffic.
Primal-V
4 years 1 month ago
Oh man, how are we (in the UK) being denied all those wonderful food colourings!
Instead of extra-bright (whole-grain) cereals I’m gonna have to eat haggis for breakfast – mmm… lungs.
Regarding unhappy people do not taste fat. Soooo… I’m guessing you body is hiding the fat content so as not to satisfy the craving, so you’ll eat more. Fat, specifically omega3, saturated, and monosaturated fats have greatly elevated/evened my mood since primal/paleo(1.5y). Memory and mood elevated further since I moving to a higher fat, med protein, low carb diet (70/18/12 %) (6months).
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The only thing I’d add to your ideal bath is to have Paul Togioka’s Hawaiian slack string guitar album “Ki ho’alu Inn” playing in the background. It’s such peaceful, happy music, it always takes me away.
-Indeed, Janice James. How could I have forgotten music?