Primal Blueprint Podcast

Today’s show features a lively (and mouthwatering) talk between host Elle Russ and paleo cook Cindy Barbieri. In the last few years, there’s been a huge movement within the primal/paleo community to find more nutritionally friendly ways to recreate traditional recipes we all love. Of the many cuisines that present unique challenges to paleo adaptations, Italian food is probably one of the hardest that comes to mind. With gluten or grains as a staple to what many consider timeless recipes (whether we’re talking about pizza or pasta), one would think that making Italian food paleo is a pretty foolhardy pursuit. But on today’s show Cindy shares how she’s been able to crack the code!Cindy and Elle discuss how Cindy got into cooking as a pastime, why going paleo was the right switch for her and her husband, and how’s she’s been able to adapt a whole slew of her favorite, non-paleo dishes into nutritionally sound versions of their former selves.Do you miss Italian food like a long lost friend? Then you won’t want t

This time of year it’s fun to remember the Christmases when my kids were young, and I’d venture many of us can recall similar experiences—whatever holiday they were part of. The night before, each of them would be practically leaping out of their own skin in excitement. Falling asleep was a near impossibility as they laid in their beds anticipating the next morning—finding the cookies they’d left for the man in red (with carrots for the reindeer) half-eaten, seeing the colorful wrapped gifts under the tree, wondering what new and fun thing they’d be creating fantastical scenarios with. It was their giddy, animated exhilaration that was so fun to observe—their imaginative suspense about how it would all reveal itself. When was the last time you felt anything close to that in your life? When was the last time you really looked forward to something—felt the thrill of anticipation?(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

The popular story of how low-carb diets work goes something like this:Reducing your carbohydrate intake lowers your insulin levels. Since insulin keeps fat locked into adipose tissue, lowering insulin can increase the amount of fat released to be burned for energy.For the portion of the overweight/obese population with insulin resistance and chronically-elevated insulin levels, this is a fairly accurate description of why low-carb diets work so well. When you’re an insulin-resistant hyper responder in whom even a baked potato can cause elevated, protracted spikes in insulin that hamper fat-burning for long periods of time, or a person living under the backdrop of perpetually-elevated insulin, dropping the most insulinogenic foods can be your way out of obesity.(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

On today’s show, Brad sits down with world renowned biomechanist, author, and blogger Katy Bowman. Katy, a previous guest on the show, has started an entire movement (pardon the pun) around getting people to rethink exercise in the context of their everyday lives. The world of exercise is usually divided up into two camps: those who don’t exercise at all and those who overdo it. But Katy makes the case for how introducing fluid, varied movement in our everyday experiences can pay dividends for health in the long run. She takes the concept of the golden mean and applies it to the kinds of activity our bodies have evolved to require for optimal health. Brad and Katy cover topics from Active Coach Potato Syndrome, fluid mechanics as nourishment, reevaluating the definition of exercise, the compromise between physical activity and productivity, the evolutionary roots of why we need to move, and the practical application of exercising holistically. So if you have a body, you won’t want to miss today’s episode! Tod

From the intricacy of Japanese tea ceremonies to the ornateness of holiday dinners, food related customs hold big sway in every culture. They all reflect in some way an element of that culture’s values and common story—whether long inherited or deliberately chosen. While some of our rituals can be traced to particular religious traditions, others are more secularly instituted, family oriented or even individually constructed. Those grander social customs might evoke more conscious nostalgia, but science suggests even the small practices we enact around our eating can have surprising results. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

In a world of cold empiricism, with doctors and pills and psychiatrists and online resources storing every bit of knowledge and wisdom available, does a legitimate role for psychedelics remain?(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

A recent review suggested “that in humans the changes in gut microbiota are an association with rather than the cause of obesity.” Rather than take their word for it, Let’s examine whether anything mediated by gut bacteria also changes body weight. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

Hydration. It seems like it should be so easy: drink some water, go about your day, the end. If only it was that simple. In fact, there are many (often contradictory) opinions out there about what we should be drinking, and how much, and when, especially for the athletes among us. I have written about hydration before, and kept up to date with breaking research in recent years. Now, as I am working on the completely revised, updated, and expanded edition of The Primal Blueprint (slated for release in December 2016), I’d like to share a more sophisticated and nuanced opinion on the subject. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

On today’s special show, Mark Sisson himself takes some time to interview Stacy Toth in the Malibu studios. Stacy blogs about a family-friendly approach to an ancestral lifestyle at the popular website, PaleoParents.com. A full-time working professional, Stacy incorporates her paleo beliefs in everything that she does. By utilizing a walking desk in a corporate setting, sharing paleo creations at work events, and mastering the art of eating paleo on the go, Stacy has successfully maintained a 100+ pound weight-loss for more than five years now.  Motivated by her passion for teaching others about healthy living, Stacy has been a speaker at national conferences focusing on health and wellness, appeared on television shows to share her story, been interviewed by leading national publications (such as Woman's World Magazine) and has appeared on international radio shows and podcasts. Stacy has authored multiple bestselling paleo cookbooks, such as Eat Like a Dinosaur, Beyond Bacon, and Real Life Paleo, as well as

After last week’s look at what winter does in terms of physical symptoms, I’d be lax to not address the obvious elephant in the living room: mental health in the colder, darker season. I’ll admit I don’t know too many people who look forward to this time of year past the holidays. The adventure of winter sports aside (for those who love them) and the chance for a little social hibernation (for those who prefer that), winter can take an exponential toll on people past the New Year. That said, just how much is relative inconvenience versus clinical reality? (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

A couple weeks ago, I linked to an article discussing the “obesity paradox”—the idea that across many different studies and populations, people with slightly overweight and even obese BMIs often have the lowest mortality risk. The author is Harriet Brown, a supporter of the “Health At Every Size” movement, comes down hard on the side of overweight/obesity as safe and even beneficial. At first glance, she makes a strong case. She appears to cite compelling research. She talks to obesity researchers who’ve found protective links between higher BMIs and better health and been lambasted by their colleagues. And if the general consensus is right, and carrying extra weight is so unhealthy, why are obesity and overweight consistently associated with a lower risk of death? (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

Join us on today’s show with Andrew Magness, a renaissance man who is a father, husband, trained physicist, former high school teacher, race director, climber, surfer, writer, endurance junkie, conservationist, philosopher, critical thinker, apocophiliac, and an avid neologist, to name a few. He learned the art of suffering from a decade long love affair with climbing and mountaineering that started during his university years. It was a spectacular but at times abusive relationship, resulting in three of his four broken bones (the other was rollerblading!), but left him with a healthy and perhaps rare sense of what his mental and physical limits actually were. This knowledge has served him well over the more recent decade when he's turned his affections towards the slightly more forgiving mistress of endurance racing. During that time, he's participated in a range of events from marathon swims to ultra-distance winter bike rides to 10-day adventure races. His book, UltraMental, explores the mental components

Humans evolved within a seasonal context—without any of the modern accommodations that would buffer climate or weather influences. Why would our bodies not have adapted with responsive wiring? (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

Winter is nearly here, and it’s getting cold out there. We’re staying inside, cloistered together, sharing bodily fluids, and trading germs. The sun is weak, if it’s out at all, our vitamin D levels are shot, and our immune system is suffering. Many of us are traveling in planes, trains, and automobiles tightly packed with other people in the same immune predicament. It’s the perfect breeding ground for the dozens of viruses responsible for upper respiratory tract infections like the common cold and flu. What can we do? (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

Today’s episode, hosted by Elle Russ, is chock full of reflections, history, and tips based on host Brad Kearn’s earlier career as an endurance athlete gone primal. The perils of chronic cardio are now a well-known fact within most primal circles these days, but there was a time when pretty much every top performing athlete was on the chronic cardio bandwagon. And it wasn’t until some of its biggest adherents (people like Mark Sisson and Brad Kearns) started scratching their heads after getting burned out by the process that a newer, healthier approach to endurance training has started to take form. But that took a lot of reevaluation of the fundamental concepts, motivations, and assumptions of endurance training as a practice. So tune into today’s show as Brad discusses the ins and outs of the endurance community, performing as a triathlete, meeting Mark Sisson for the first time, the health risks of running your body ragged through endurance training, and the new ways endurance sports can be done in a way t

Will antibiotic-resistant superbacteria take over the world? Will bacterial biofilms blanket the globe, supplant nations, and battle each other for global supremacy? Will the few human survivors be forced into personal bubbles, impermeable to any and all microbes, gathering resources until the chosen one (who looks a lot like Keanu Reeves) emerges to lead a Purel-soaked rebellion against the microbial overlords? Don’t despair. All is not lost. We don’t have to wait for Keanu to save us. There is hope. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)  

I thought I’d offer some of my favorite responses (some serious, some not) to the common questions we field at the holiday dinner table. To all of our MDA community, I’m grateful for your valued following and your incredible contributions over the years. I hope you’ll add your own favorite personal retorts, strategic redirects and discussion starters for the dinner table today! (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)    

A couple nights back, I found myself hovering over a pair of lamb shoulder chops sizzling on a charcoal grill, watching the marrow render before my eyes, anticipating the blackened lamb fat and caramelized marinated meat. Could it really be so bad? Should I have dropped these chops into a pot of boiling water instead? As it turns out, I may have overstated the danger of the carcinogenic compounds found in charred meat. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

I’m getting a head start on my holiday shopping, and that includes gifts for my readers. So, I’ve got three “stocking stuffers” to help you get prepped and pumped for the holiday season. I’m including my latest eBook 6 Foods You Should Be Eating for a Healthy Gut, a free jar of healthy and delicious Primal Kitchen™ Mayo, and a heavily discounted digital copy of Paleo Primer, complete with over 100 must-eat paleo recipes. There are also over a dozen additional popular paleo books on sale today, and some really exciting news from Primal Kitchen. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

Today’s show features a variety of killer recipes, and a list of superfood ingredients, from our dynamic duo, Elle Russ and Eli Rohde. They share some of their favorite easy-to-make Primal/Paleo-friendly creations--all creative, all delicious, and certainly all good for your body. They start with one of the sometimes under-utilized grain substitutes, cauliflower, by offering up a recipe for cauliflower puree muffins and cauliflower pizza crust. How’s that for a gluten-free alternative? The two then discuss the newest additions to their kitchens, ranging from collagen-rich coffee, Primal coladas, protein-rich green smoothies, and more. If you’re looking for a list of classic or cutting edge recipes to revamp your meals, then you won’t want to miss this episode!