Weekend Link Love – Edition 274

Weekend Link LoveSubmit a story about how your life would benefit if you won to Tara Grant, (possibly) win five copies of her smash hit The Hidden Plague!

New dates/locations have been added to the Primal Blueprint Transformation Seminar series.

Have you seen the new book? Death by Food Pyramid is now available, and we’ve got a special offer running through Dec. 31.

Only 3 days remain on the Primal Blueprint Box Set limited-time offer. Learn all the details here.

Research of the Week

Paleolithic hunter-gatherers residing near the English Channel area of England and Northern France just so happened to select sites with the greatest availability and density of important macronutrients and micronutrients. This suggests that true Paleolithic diets were replete with desired nutrients; they weren’t scrounging on the outskirts of starvation just to get by.

Exercise is as effective as many leading pharmaceuticals at preventing death, according to a new analysis (the first of its kind to compare drugs to exercise). Seeing as how most typical exercise prescriptions involve chronic cardio and other inefficient methods, I’d wager that exercise has the potential to be even more effective than most medicines.

Well whadya know: hidradenitis supparativa has been linked to metabolic syndrome.

Interesting Blog Posts

How eating tofu – even the fermented kind – made Seth Roberts stupid.

The Diet Doctor explains what’s really going on with butter and heart disease in Sweden.

Creatine: not just for muscles.

Media, Schmedia

Speaking of butter, in the last Dear Mark, I misspoke. It turns out that US butter consumption has reached its highest level in 40 years. I like to think we have something to do with that.

Dr. Cate Shanahan, who is presenting at PrimalCon Vacation Tulum and hard at work preparing for our launch of a unique metabolic consulting program in early 2014, has made national news for her assistance with NBA All-Star Dwight Howard – helping him reduce his sugar consumption – and the Los Angeles Lakers:

  • Nutrition in the NBA; Part I: Lessons learned in L.A. help Howard’s career
  • Nutrition in the NBA; Part II: Paleo diet takes hold for myriad reasons
  • Nutrition in the NBA; Part I: Dwight Howard Q&A
  • The Los Angeles Lakers PRO Nutrition Plan

Wheat avoidance isn’t just about gluten. Wheat germ agglutinin (a lectin) might be an even bigger problem for more people.

A school in Melbourne is now offering a “standing classroom” where students can stand or sit at height-adjustable desks.

Everything Else

What the new cholesterol guidelines should really focus on.

If you’re gonna drink milk, drink organic milk. It has more beneficial fatty acids than conventional milk.

From Melicious comes a great list of Christmas gifts from the kitchen – that you make yourself.

A bison family farm has run into some unforeseeable issues; their well has just died and they need a new one (or expensive repairs) before their herd dies, too. Check out their Indie Gogo campaign to see if you’d like to contribute.

If you’ve got an hour and a half to spare (and even if you don’t, you should make time), check out Vanishing Point, a great documentary about what happens when a group of Inuit reject “gas and sugar” culture in favor of traditional ways.

A cubic foot of space in a Cape Town public park contains 30 different plant species and 70 different insect species. The same space in a Costa Rican strangler fig tree 100 feet off the ground entertains more than 150 different species of plants and animals. How about a cubic foot placed in an Iowa corn field? What did it contain? One mushroom, one tiny ant, a red mite, several grasshoppers, and a ton of corn.

Recipe Corner

  • Every self-respecting Primal eater should know how to produce the perfect soft boiled egg. Here is a method that one person swears by.
  • This paleo Asian chicken and kelp noodle stir-fry from the preppy paleo looks fantastic.

Time Capsule

One year ago (Dec 15 – Dec 21)

  • 15 Primal Ways to Savor the Holiday Season – The holiday season is frequently a manic period of rushing about at breakneck speed, elevated blood pressure readings, and cortisol spikes. Here are fifteen ways to relax and savor what should be a rejuvenating time.
  • Should You Get Your Genome Sequenced? – Does personal genetic sequencing provide actionable, evidence-based data that we can utilize right here, right today?

Comment of the Week

If I took a poo pill it would have to be one made by you Mark :)

– Actually, you’ve just blown the lid off an upcoming Primal Blueprint product: Primal Crapsules. Enteric-coated caps filled with fecal matter from healthy dieters. For a premium, we’ll even be offering restored coprolite samples from various paleolithic sites. Want Neanderthal gut flora? You’ll be able to! 😉

About the Author

Mark Sisson is the founder of Mark’s Daily Apple, godfather to the Primal food and lifestyle movement, and the New York Times bestselling author of The Keto Reset Diet. His latest book is Keto for Life, where he discusses how he combines the keto diet with a Primal lifestyle for optimal health and longevity. Mark is the author of numerous other books as well, including The Primal Blueprint, which was credited with turbocharging the growth of the primal/paleo movement back in 2009. After spending three decades researching and educating folks on why food is the key component to achieving and maintaining optimal wellness, Mark launched Primal Kitchen, a real-food company that creates Primal/paleo, keto, and Whole30-friendly kitchen staples.

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