It’s Monday, everyone! And that means another Primal Blueprint Real Life Story from a Mark’s Daily Apple reader. If you have your own success story and would like to share it with me and the Mark’s Daily Apple community please contact me here. I’ll continue to publish these each Monday as long as they keep coming in. Thank you for reading!
Three years go I notice in my yearly blood work that my thyroid levels were rising. I called my doctor and her words to me were: “OOO, you are just subclinical hypothyroidism, we’ll just watch your levels to see where they go next year.” NEXT YEAR, I thought. I’m not waiting a whole year.
My journey began. I could see no fundamental reason why when there were rising levels that we wanted to wait another 365 days to take any action. I took action then. Immediately I dove into the Internet and followed whoever I could, watched every doc series, Ted Talk, online summit and followed those who spoke to do more research. That is where I came across Mark’s Daily Apple and I’ve been a fan ever since.
Read MorePeople don’t talk about oxtail stew these days, but it’s a true Primal-worthy classic. With an arguably richer taste than beef and more succulent feel when cooked for stew or soup, oxtail might just become a new favorite. But the real difference (and reason behind the appealing stewed texture) is the ample connective tissue—an incredible source of collagen for the benefit of skin, hair, joint health, performance and more. (Since we used bone broth here in lieu of water or regular stock, this recipe is one of the best you can make for collagen content.) You’ll enjoy warming up with this gelatinous, flavorful and hearty dish on a late winter night. And you might consider making an extra batch: it tastes even better the next day.
Read MoreResearch of the Week
Poor quality relationships are harder on you than having too few.
Intelligence and rational thinking are not the same thing.
Move over, forest bathing. The hot new thing for Alzheimer’s is gene bathing for your brain.
Temporal comprehension of a story is better when you read a physical book versus using an e-reader.
Researchers discover evidence of an entirely new way of neural communication that can overcome complete gaps between severed brain tissues. They can’t explain it, but they know it’s there.
At least 116 individual genetic variants influence neuroticism.
Vitamin D influences brain scaffolding.
Read MoreJessica Gouthro from Paleohacks is joining us today to offer tips for strengthening glutes and hamstrings without traditional gym equipment. Enjoy, everyone.
Strong glutes and hamstrings are more than just nice-looking legs and a booty.
The glutes and hamstrings are the strongest muscles in our skeletal muscular system. When we strengthen these muscles, we can prevent strain and injury while also enjoying a greater ability to squat deeper, lunge pain-free, push heavy objects, run faster and jump higher.
To best train those glutes and hamstrings, you’ll want to emphasize both leg curling (knee bending) and hip extension (or straightening) actions for balanced training. One of the best exercises that do this is the glute ham raise, or GHR.
Very few exercises can isolate the hamstrings and glutes without top-loading excess weight on the spine or testing your grip strength with a loaded barbell. Although you may think this exercise looks easy in comparison to a Barbell Romanian Deadlift or Hip Thrust, it is just as challenging (if not even more so) when performed correctly.
Read MoreFolks who embark on a ketogenic diet often wonder how their new low-carb way of eating will affect their ability to exercise. Will they be able to maintain their fitness (strength, endurance, speed, performance) without the carbohydrates that previously fueled much of their workout efforts? Is it advisable to try? What if they often want to lose weight—will combining keto with cardio exercise unlock new levels of fat loss, or will it be counterproductive?
The confusion and apprehension are understandable. In most people’s minds, exercise and carbs go hand in hand. Anyone who has played organized sports or trained for any kind of endurance event is surely familiar with the practice of carb loading or “carb-ups”—consuming large quantities of spaghetti, bagels, ice cream, and the like before a big workout or race. Even casual exercisers know they need carbs to get through a cardio session. Right?
Not necessarily. Cells indeed use glucose for energy, and that demand is proportionate to the intensity and duration of a workout. But it’s also true that you can become more efficient at burning fat and ketones during exercise when you commit to a ketogenic diet. Keto and cardio exercise can coexist happily, no extra carbs required… often.
In today’s post, we’re going to talk about what it takes to ensure that your cardio workouts don’t suffer when going keto.
Read MoreFor today’s edition of Dear Mark, I’m answering a couple of questions from the comment sections of the last couple weeks. First, it’s been established that fasting and exercise both raise growth hormone. What about fasted exercise—does that have an even stronger effect? And what about continuing to fast after your fasted workout? Then, I discuss the inevitability (or not) of wear and tear on the arteries from blood flow-induced shear stress. Is shear stress “bad,” or do certain factors make it worse?
Let’s dig in.
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