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...
Health Coach Radio Episode 3: Ali Watts: Hosts Erin Power and Laura Rupsis chat with Ali Watts about the differences between being a health coach and running a business.
Each week, select Mark’s Daily Apple blog posts are prepared as Primal Blueprint Podcasts. Need to catch up on reading, but don’t have the time? Prefer to listen to articles while on the go? Check out the new blog post podcasts below, and subscribe to the Primal Blueprint Podcast here so you never miss an episode.
Media, Schmedia
Parents blame a nearby cell tower for an increase in cancer diagnoses at their elementary school.
Film project you should back: Defying All Odds, the story of Dr. Terry Wahls astonishing lifestyle-based recovery from multiple sclerosis. This is an important story that people should know about.
With “keto bloat,” the media seems primed to launch another barrage of “terrible keto side effect” coverage. Do you think this is legit concern or malicious fear mongering?
At what age did I feel 65? Well, I’m super healthy. I eat “primal lite”. I weight train 2X per week for the past 13 years, HIIT 2X per week for the last 5 1/2 years, and swim 3000 yards EVERYDAY for 2 decades. I had my teleomeres tested at age 64 which showed my biological age was 49. However after I turned 65 I really did notice a difference in my general feeling of youthfulness. However, I’m still out there everyday because I believe that it will all contribute to what I refer to as HEALTHSPAN not LIFESPAN.
And it will! I’m 74 and still going strong. I workout with kettlebells, take my dog on regular trail walks, kayak, garden (that’s Garden with a capital G ’cause my gardens are big between flowers and veggies!) and live a pretty active life. I’m also not retired, still working as a business broker, which gives me flexible hours.
“Our estimates imply that prescription opioids can account for 44 percent of the realized national decrease in men’s labor force participation between 2001 and 2015.”
Whoa, hey. Before you get out the pitchforks…
Here’s their very own disclaimer for that monograph: “Working papers of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland are preliminary materials circulated to
stimulate discussion and critical comment on research in progress. They may not have been subject to the
formal editorial review accorded offi cial [sic] Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland publications. The views stated
herein are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland or
the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.”
Obviously illegal trade in prescription drugs is going to depress the labor force. The UK-China opium wars are a testament to dirty tricks.
Loved the article, too. I’m fairly Inuit up until the point my printer says I can’t print black and white because there’s not enough magenta ink.
I think an unhelpful residue left over from 70’s primal scream/let it out mentality is this idea that screaming is okay because it releases emotions. I really think that’s not the case (and there’s a lot of science to back that up). Getting angry only begets more anger. Which isn’t to say we should bottle up our emotions; only that we should find more productive ways to express ourselves.
I think their methods are helpful, but some of those stories described were quite scary (the Sea Monster) and I can’t help but wonder if they may cause an irrational fear of the ocean.
The cell tower story is interesting. Trying to trace out whether EM radiation is a problem and in what case it’s a problem is a huge brain teaser. Dr. Wahls has written about not using a microwave at home, but every time I try to find scholarship about it, it’s vague and contradictory. I feel like we could look for answers, but we’re just not because ultimately we’re going to use cell phones, so why bother? I don’t agree with that, I just think that’s what happening.
Cholesterol lowering drug without the side effects of statin drugs. I find it hard to take studies seriously when the “doctors” conducting the study are so enmeshed with the company wanting to sell the drug in question, and enmeshed with other drug companies as well. See the study researchers’ disclosure forms https://www.nejm.org/doi/suppl/10.1056/NEJMoa1803917/suppl_file/nejmoa1803917_disclosures.pdf
Also “In the latest study, a total of 2,230 patients with high cholesterol levels (at least 1.8 mmol/L or 70 mg/dl)”. I wonder what were their initial LDL numbers prior to intervention.
Ah to be alive
on a mid-September morn
fording a stream
barefoot, pants rolled up,
holding boots, pack on,
sunshine, ice in the shallows,
northern rockies.
Rustle and shimmer of icy creek waters
stones turn underfoot, small and hard as toes
cold nose dripping
singing inside
creek music, heart music,
smell of sun on gravel.
I pledge allegiance
I pledge allegiance to the soil
of Turtle Island,
and to the beings who thereon dwell
one ecosystem
in diversity
under the sun
With joyful interpenetration for all.
Just read your Sunday edition about poetry. I for one, love the book of Proverbs in the Bible and have built a good habit into my life if reading a chapter per day that lines up with the day of the month, (there are 31 chapters, so that works pretty handily:) Today had a couple of good ones you might like. Proverb 17:22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. Also, Proverbs17:28 Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent. Thanks for your thought provoking articles. Have a good Sundayfks!
I LOVE the book of Proverbs too.
“There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end, leads to death.”
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
My “beacon of inspiration” that it is never too late for adventure” is: “AS THEY WERE PREPARING THE HEMLOCK, SOCRATES WAS LEARNING A NEW TUNE ON HIS FLUTE”. I’m not sure of the attribution. I’m 64 and still hoping to do the TDA – the “Tour d’Afrique” from Cairo to Cape Town by bike. I know…I know… abusive.
Osip Mandelstam. …the Necklace. My husband and I both like poetry, I subscribe to a daily free poem of the day email…rap is a form of spoken word poetry and that’s hugely popular.
Ah, yes….loves me some Blake….thanks for sharing yours. Another fave from him – especially poignant in this age of ever more ripping up of the environment – “A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees”. – William Blake
I have a beef with the media these days. If I read another “Eggs are going to kill you” article, I might go nuts. I do not understand why the media can’t attack some more obvious foods. “Killer Cheetos” sounds like a modified paleo snack food, but I don’t feel we’ve reached a healthy enough baseline to get into an argument about eggs and heart disease. If you’re choosing an egg over a donut, you’re likely okay. Two-year-olds shouldn’t be running around unchecked with bags of chips and orange or multi-colored crackers for snacks (because “It’s the only thing they’ll eat!). Our health problems are starting a little young these days. Step away from those eggs, sir.
Re: “keto bloat;” My vote~malicious fear mongering. I couldn’t access the whole article, but the first paragraph told me what I already knew; the keto diet in this article is being grossly misrepresented and unfairly maligned. Yes, it’s “anti-carb,” but it certainly isn’t anti veg, and anyone with half a brain would understand that if they bothered to do any research. In all my 60+ years of eating, I’m never bloated when I’m eating Primal/keto. But I’m preaching to the choir. I will say though, that it’s a good idea to get your microbiome house in order before trying keto or even carnivore. That could be unpleasant and inconvenient for awhile.
Jen, thanks for your note. Unfortunately, many articles are behind a paywall. Still, if I feel folks here might be interested in reading the summaries, I’ll still note them. Look for more on the “keto bloat” complaint (myth) tomorrow. Best — M
I have several Proverbs that I love. Favorites are 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not on you own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths”.
SUBSCRIBE
At what age did I feel 65? Well, I’m super healthy. I eat “primal lite”. I weight train 2X per week for the past 13 years, HIIT 2X per week for the last 5 1/2 years, and swim 3000 yards EVERYDAY for 2 decades. I had my teleomeres tested at age 64 which showed my biological age was 49. However after I turned 65 I really did notice a difference in my general feeling of youthfulness. However, I’m still out there everyday because I believe that it will all contribute to what I refer to as HEALTHSPAN not LIFESPAN.
And it will! I’m 74 and still going strong. I workout with kettlebells, take my dog on regular trail walks, kayak, garden (that’s Garden with a capital G ’cause my gardens are big between flowers and veggies!) and live a pretty active life. I’m also not retired, still working as a business broker, which gives me flexible hours.
“Our estimates imply that prescription opioids can account for 44 percent of the realized national decrease in men’s labor force participation between 2001 and 2015.”
Whoa, hey. Before you get out the pitchforks…
Here’s their very own disclaimer for that monograph: “Working papers of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland are preliminary materials circulated to
stimulate discussion and critical comment on research in progress. They may not have been subject to the
formal editorial review accorded offi cial [sic] Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland publications. The views stated
herein are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland or
the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.”
Obviously illegal trade in prescription drugs is going to depress the labor force. The UK-China opium wars are a testament to dirty tricks.
Loved the Inuit anger article. With the world the way it is I think we could all benefit from their approach to life ?
Loved the article, too. I’m fairly Inuit up until the point my printer says I can’t print black and white because there’s not enough magenta ink.
I think an unhelpful residue left over from 70’s primal scream/let it out mentality is this idea that screaming is okay because it releases emotions. I really think that’s not the case (and there’s a lot of science to back that up). Getting angry only begets more anger. Which isn’t to say we should bottle up our emotions; only that we should find more productive ways to express ourselves.
I think their methods are helpful, but some of those stories described were quite scary (the Sea Monster) and I can’t help but wonder if they may cause an irrational fear of the ocean.
The cell tower story is interesting. Trying to trace out whether EM radiation is a problem and in what case it’s a problem is a huge brain teaser. Dr. Wahls has written about not using a microwave at home, but every time I try to find scholarship about it, it’s vague and contradictory. I feel like we could look for answers, but we’re just not because ultimately we’re going to use cell phones, so why bother? I don’t agree with that, I just think that’s what happening.
Cholesterol lowering drug without the side effects of statin drugs. I find it hard to take studies seriously when the “doctors” conducting the study are so enmeshed with the company wanting to sell the drug in question, and enmeshed with other drug companies as well. See the study researchers’ disclosure forms https://www.nejm.org/doi/suppl/10.1056/NEJMoa1803917/suppl_file/nejmoa1803917_disclosures.pdf
“My pantry staples.” is just an ad (;
Also “In the latest study, a total of 2,230 patients with high cholesterol levels (at least 1.8 mmol/L or 70 mg/dl)”. I wonder what were their initial LDL numbers prior to intervention.
Written by Gary Snyder
For All
Ah to be alive
on a mid-September morn
fording a stream
barefoot, pants rolled up,
holding boots, pack on,
sunshine, ice in the shallows,
northern rockies.
Rustle and shimmer of icy creek waters
stones turn underfoot, small and hard as toes
cold nose dripping
singing inside
creek music, heart music,
smell of sun on gravel.
I pledge allegiance
I pledge allegiance to the soil
of Turtle Island,
and to the beings who thereon dwell
one ecosystem
in diversity
under the sun
With joyful interpenetration for all.
Not proverbs or a poet, but the wisdom of Eleanor Roosevelt has inspired me and helped me through some challenging times. Just a few examples:
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Women are like teabags. You dont know how strong they are until you put them in hot water.
You must do the things you think you cannot do.
With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.
Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway. You’ll be damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.
Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.
The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.
The Silence, by Wendell Berry
Just read your Sunday edition about poetry. I for one, love the book of Proverbs in the Bible and have built a good habit into my life if reading a chapter per day that lines up with the day of the month, (there are 31 chapters, so that works pretty handily:) Today had a couple of good ones you might like. Proverb 17:22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. Also, Proverbs17:28 Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent. Thanks for your thought provoking articles. Have a good Sundayfks!
I LOVE the book of Proverbs too.
“There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end, leads to death.”
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
My “beacon of inspiration” that it is never too late for adventure” is: “AS THEY WERE PREPARING THE HEMLOCK, SOCRATES WAS LEARNING A NEW TUNE ON HIS FLUTE”. I’m not sure of the attribution. I’m 64 and still hoping to do the TDA – the “Tour d’Afrique” from Cairo to Cape Town by bike. I know…I know… abusive.
https://www-theatlantic-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/308903/?amp_js_v=a2&_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQCCAE%3D#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&_tf=From%20%251%24s&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theatlantic.com%2Fmagazine%2Farchive%2F2012%2F04%2Fthe-necklace%2F308903%2F
Osip Mandelstam. …the Necklace. My husband and I both like poetry, I subscribe to a daily free poem of the day email…rap is a form of spoken word poetry and that’s hugely popular.
Mimic
Nature mimics man,
Like certain trees
Which come spring
Hold on to dead leaves.
– J. Clark
“Your body should be your servant; don’t allow yourself to become its slave.”
Paramahansa Yogananda
Re Blake proverbs: Thank goodness that not everything imagined has been proved!
My favorite William Blake…
He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy
He who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity’s sunrise
Ah, yes….loves me some Blake….thanks for sharing yours. Another fave from him – especially poignant in this age of ever more ripping up of the environment – “A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees”. – William Blake
I have a beef with the media these days. If I read another “Eggs are going to kill you” article, I might go nuts. I do not understand why the media can’t attack some more obvious foods. “Killer Cheetos” sounds like a modified paleo snack food, but I don’t feel we’ve reached a healthy enough baseline to get into an argument about eggs and heart disease. If you’re choosing an egg over a donut, you’re likely okay. Two-year-olds shouldn’t be running around unchecked with bags of chips and orange or multi-colored crackers for snacks (because “It’s the only thing they’ll eat!). Our health problems are starting a little young these days. Step away from those eggs, sir.
yeesssss, oh gosh I hear you!
Just what I needed to hear this Sunday….thank you, Mark
Re: “keto bloat;” My vote~malicious fear mongering. I couldn’t access the whole article, but the first paragraph told me what I already knew; the keto diet in this article is being grossly misrepresented and unfairly maligned. Yes, it’s “anti-carb,” but it certainly isn’t anti veg, and anyone with half a brain would understand that if they bothered to do any research. In all my 60+ years of eating, I’m never bloated when I’m eating Primal/keto. But I’m preaching to the choir. I will say though, that it’s a good idea to get your microbiome house in order before trying keto or even carnivore. That could be unpleasant and inconvenient for awhile.
Jen, thanks for your note. Unfortunately, many articles are behind a paywall. Still, if I feel folks here might be interested in reading the summaries, I’ll still note them. Look for more on the “keto bloat” complaint (myth) tomorrow. Best — M
One of my poetry favourites;
” The roar of JOY
That set the worlds in motion,
Is reverberating in your body
and the space between all bodies beloved,
Listen.”
The Radiance Sutras by Lorin Roche, PHD
One of my current favorite proverbs is, “Knowledge is not wisdom until it changes you.” – Steven Eberlein
oooh yes I like that too!
Sharing a powerful poem:
Upon the plains of hesitation
Bleach the bones of countless millions
Who at the dawn of victory sat down to rest
And resting, died
who is the author, please? Wonderful.
I have several Proverbs that I love. Favorites are 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not on you own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths”.
The truth never suffers from closer scrutiny
Kittredge ’75