As the calendar draws toward the close of another year, I’m inclined to take stock of where the Primal vision stands. Are people slowly warming to the idea of Primal eating (and living), or are we merely seeing inconsequential, lateral shifts within the same old confines of conventional grain-based, saturated fat-averse, dietary “wisdom”?

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

New Year’s Eve approaches. Parties beckon. Arsenals of alcohol accumulate. Whether you venture out into the wild night or keep it quiet with close friends and loved ones (that’s me), people will probably offer you a glass (or several) of something containing ethanol to mark the occasion. As always, it’s not about a right or wrong choice but about assuming responsibility for your health. I’ve heard a lot of readers over the years say going Primal has made them much more sensitive to the effects of alcohol. If you’ll be partaking, you can gird your system to deal with the incoming toxicity.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

I have been playing with ketones. Over the past couple years, I’ve tried a lot of ketone supplements, from KetoCaNa, Pruvit, Kegenix, to a few others. I’ve even accepted and tried a one-off from a person trying to break into the market who I failed to thoroughly vet; that time, I felt like I might die. No joke.

What have I noticed?

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

It’s one of the unexpected upsides of the Primal Blueprint diet: learning/relearning the nuance of real food flavor. The experience doesn’t just reflect a psychological shift either. Taste acclimatization is a real, measurable thing.

What do we know about the process? Quite a bit actually. Some of it rather surprising….

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

Winter has come. That means different things to people based on their climate, but I’m of the opinion that winter is relative. You’d be right that the “cold” I face isn’t as objectively dangerous or unpleasant as the cold people in New York, Ottawa, Chicago, Warsaw, or Stockholm face. What’s cold to me in Malibu is short-sleeve weather in my native Maine—but it’s still cold to me today! “Feeling cold” is the defining characteristic.

Today, I’m going to tell you why you should appreciate and enjoy the cold season.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

Today, I’m going to talk about the weird plant bits available in ethnic markets—spices, greens, roots, noodles, and fermented things.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

Elle Russ chats with Stuart Tomc, a natural health aficionado and science guru who’s worked at a litany of blockbuster nutrition companies, such as Nordic Naturals, North American Herb & Spice, and currently CVSciences - the makers of PlusCBDoil.com. Stuart explains CBD and talks about the emerging science on CBD (cannabidiol) and fat-burning. Mr. Tomc is a recognized authority on dietary supplements, with twenty years of experience in the nutritional health industry. Formerly the Vice President of North American Herb and Spice, where he served for 10 years, in addition to his service as Global Educator for omega-3 market leader, Nordic Naturals, Mr. Tomc is known for his extensive print interviews and contributions to noted books on integrative medicine, as well as his 4000 radio appearances. A renowned educator, Mr.Tomc recognizes CBD and its multiple mechanisms of action to support human health, and envisions a new category of dietary supplements derived from agricultural hemp.

While I don’t consider Primal living particularly difficult, I think any behavioral shift can be tricky. It’s human nature to stick with what’s known. There’s a certain comfort in routine, however ill-advised our customary patterns are. And, let’s face it, some habits stick more than others. If only we were a more logical species, we might imagine, one able to simply encode the choices we know are good for us… Thankfully, our psychological blueprints are more complex than our gadgets, but that doesn’t mean we can’t optimize our settings and establish some tactical redirects.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

The older you get, the more the world challenges your balance. And when you’re pushing 80+ and a slight miscalculation can shatter your hip, balance is everything. Good balance lowers the incidence of those miscalculations. It’s essential for staying intact into old age.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)