For today’s edition of Dear Mark, we’ve got a quick two-parter. First, I discuss the pros and cons of ocular sunlight exposure in children (and adults). Should kids leave the house with a pair of wraparound goggles every single time, or are their prepubescent eyes safe without them? If too much sun exposure is bad, is none the best? Then, we cover the pros and cons of getting a vasectomy. Are there real health risks, like increased chances of cancer and/or heart disease? Will you lose functionality down there and experience a drop in testosterone?
Let’s go:
Read MoreThis is a guest post from Michelle Fitzpatrick of Happy Paleo Kids. Michelle has worked with special needs children and their families for over 13 years to promote development and mental health. She adopted a “Paleo Diet” to lose weight after baby number 3, and quickly saw that the benefits of eating nutrient-rich, plant-and-animal-based foods would benefit her entire family. After applying the Paleo Philosophy to her family, she felt compelled to find a way to bring the science behind how food impacts child development to the masses. Follow her blog or keep up to date on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Yes! It’s summer! School is out, the sun is shining, and the kids are… glued to the iPad? I hope not. Summer is time for busy kids to catch up on things they don’t have time for during the school year (like play). Most importantly, it is a time when days are long and the sun shines bright.
Read MoreFor today’s Dear Mark, we’ve got a three-parter. First up, I discuss the latest study claiming that red meat will kill us all. Or maybe it’ll be killing roughly half of us all, seeing as how this paper concerns red meat and women’s breast cancer risk. Next, I give my position on the “net carbs” issue. Do we subtract fiber, leave it as is, or do something else entirely? And finally, I talk a lot about the importance of getting enough sunlight. But what happens when getting enough sun isn’t the problem? What can an outdoor worker do about too much sun?
Let’s go:
Read MoreWe don’t take credit for everything, of course, but the fact remains that the Primal/ancestral health community has been championing principles that directly oppose the conventional wisdom for nearly a decade. And while serious researchers have been paying attention to and studying these issues individually for years, no one had really synthesized them under the evolutionary umbrella. Now that our movement is becoming more popular and the scientific case for its principles more solid than ever, denying that a bit of sun might be good for you or that sitting is killing you slowly or that eggs aren’t deadly after all is no longer tenable.
Yes, Primal health principles and positions are getting mainstream recognition. Let’s take a look at some of the major ones.
Read MoreHow does sun exposure relate to skin cancer risk?
The simplistic, popular story is that sunlight exposure has a linear relationship with cancer, similar to how we view smoking. None is safest and each additional minute in the sun will increase our chance of getting cancer. Many people (maybe most) therefore live in a world with danger lurking beyond every shadow, umbrella, overhang, and roof. You let your kid go outside without a layer of sunblock so thick he looks like he’s been smashed in the face with a whip cream pie, and you’re a terrible mother. And don’t even think about the beach unless you’re wearing a burqa. It’s even got a scary name: ultraviolet radiation. Radiation! Isn’t that the stuff inside nucular bombs?
Read MoreLast week, I walked you through the typical day of someone pulling out all the stops in the pursuit of a perfect night’s sleep. Today, I’m going to show you how to optimize the pursuit of another vital factor in our health: sun exposure. Unlike sleep, too much sunlight can hurt you if given enough time and the improper context. As much as we like to chuckle at the people scurrying for the shadows at the first hint of UV, and those that slather on 100 SPF sunblock at 5 PM, taking certain precautions and getting correct dosage is crucial. This is something I have to be particularly mindful of here in sunny southern California.
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