A few years ago, I wrote a long post listing cosmetics, soaps, and other personal products made with healthy, non-toxic ingredients. It's a sad thing when you basically have to assume the worst about the average product designed to be slathered all over the largest organ of your body—your skin. But that's the situation in which we find ourselves now.

Today's post is an update of sorts. What products am I using? Which ones have I used? And are there any others that I can safely recommend? It won't be as comprehensive as the last one. It will be more personal.

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

Elle Russ chats with Helen Marshall who faced a long list of debilitating digestive and mental health issues until she turned to a Primal diet in a desperate attempt to reset her health.  Initially, the prospect of food elimination sounded insane to her but Helen has never looked back since.  Amazed with how her health transformed solely by changing the foods she ate, Helen felt called upon to help other women realize that their health problems were not their fault and that they were not alone.

Helen started a blog to share recipes and soon realized that many people felt "time-poor" and often complained of "falling off the wagon."  Helen created a food range of Primal Alternatives to the foods we love and started to produce from home and sell at her local farmers’ markets, cool cafes, gourmet pizza shops and health shops.  The feedback Helen got was that her Primal Alternative range was life-changing for people.  Helen ultimately became a  Primal Health Coach and now runs a thriving and successful global health coaching business. Helen is inspired to bring Primal Alternative to the whole of Australia and she has franchised her successful business model to empower creative Moms like her with a passion for Primal, to run a successful business from home. She has called this the Primalista Licence, and Helen is always looking to recruit new Primalista's to her supportive community!  Helen lives on 100 acres alongside a multitude of kangaroos in the Australian bush.

Back in 2008, I provided a brief look into deconstructing egg carton labelling. That simple guide to egg purchasing has gotten a fair amount of attention and shares over the years, so I’m revisiting the subject to update and elaborate where it makes sense. I don’t see eggs ever losing their place in paleo/Primal eating, and I know others share my enthusiasm.

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

In 2002, Gary Taubes penned a New York Times piece that questioned the legitimacy of the presiding low-fat dogma. His article made a persuasive case for the safety—and metabolic urgency—of eating more animal fat and fewer carbs. It shifted the national conversation on healthy eating and paved the way for the rise of the ancestral health community. If the experts were that wrong about a healthy diet, what else were they getting wrong?

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

Elle Russ chats with Robb Wolf about the surprising truth is that we are genetically wired to eat more and move less, the exact opposite of the advice we are often given.  Now there is a more customized weight loss solution that works with your body, a solution based not on arbitrary restriction of foods but on what works for YOU. Developed by former research biochemist, health expert, and bestselling author Robb Wolf, Wired to Eat offers an eating program, based on groundbreaking research, that will rewire your appetite for weight loss and help you finally determine the optimal foods for your diet and metabolism.

With his bestselling book, The Paleo Solution, Robb Wolf helped hundreds of thousands of people lose weight by eating a low-carb Paleo diet, but Paleo is only a starting point, not a destination.  Now, he'll share a more customized way of eating that may be the key to permanent weight loss and better health. You'll start with Wolf’s 30-Day Reset to help you restore your body's blood sugar levels, repair your appetite, and reverse insulin resistance. There are more than 70 delicious recipes, detailed meal plans, and shopping lists to aid you on your journey. Wolf also includes meal plans for people who suffer with autoimmune diseases, as well as advice on eating a ketogenic diet. Once you've completed this phase of the plan, the unique 7-Day Carb Test will help you determine what amounts and types of carbs you can tolerate.  No more guessing. Now you can find out for yourself which foods you can and cannot eat, instead of relying on a one-size-fits all diet. Transform your diet by discovering your personalized weight loss blueprint with Wired to Eat.

Last month, I installed an infrared sauna in my house. A company offered it to me to try out, and I was willing to give it a go, knowing a little about them already. It also inspired me to dig into the research—to test it personally but also to see what studies had demonstrated in terms of benefits. I'll say I've been pleased with what I've found from both angles.

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

By next year, Americans are expected to spend nearly 11 billion dollars on skin care annually. By some estimates anyway, the biggest share of this market goes to “anti-aging” products. Anti-aging… As I noted in an offhand way a few years back, there's a certain enjoyment in looking good naked (or just looking good), and there’s nothing wrong with that. Looking “good” is largely a reflection of optimum inner health—nothing un-Primal about that. Great health is what we’re all here for. The “extra” rewards that come with it aren’t anything to shake a stick at—or to be sheepish about.

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

The older you get, the more important strength, agility, power, and lean mass become. This isn't how most people approach old age. They expect strength and all the other trappings of physical capacity to degenerate, and so they do. It's what happens all around us, every day. Seniors are feeble, right?

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

Mark Sisson chats with Christine Hassler, best-selling author of three books, most recently Expectation Hangover: Free Yourself From Your Past, Change your Present and Get What you Really Want. She left her successful job as a Hollywood agent to pursue a life she could be passionate about. For over a decade, as a keynote speaker, retreat facilitator, spiritual psychologist and life coach, and host of the top-rated podcast “Over it and On With It”, she has been teaching and inspiring people around the world. Christine believes once we get out of our own way, we can show up to make the meaningful impact we are here to make. Christine is also on the advisory board for our Primal Health Coach Program.

There’s a saying that people who snore always fall asleep first. My days of overnight sports chaperoning and group camping trips have frequently confirmed that notion. Most people would say that snoring is less a problem for the snorer than anyone lying awake in the vicinity, and on those specific nights in memory I probably thought as much. But the health researcher in me knows there’s more to the story.

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