Metabolic flexibility is the capacity to match fuel oxidation to fuel availability—or switch between burning carbs and burning fat. Someone with great metabolic flexibility can burn carbs when they eat them. They can burn fat when they eat it (or when they don’t eat at all). They can switch between carbohydrate metabolism and fat metabolism with relative ease. All those people who can “eat whatever they want” most likely have excellent metabolic flexibility. So, why does it really matter, and how does it happen? Let’s get into the weeds today.

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

Most longtime readers of this blog could probably rattle off a dozen daily habits based on the inviolable Primal Laws. That’s not exciting, though.

Let’s consider the basics just that: basics you should already have a handle on. These are practices that you’ve already integrated—eat whole foods, avoid unnecessary carbs, stop fearing fat and animal protein, lift heavy things, and such—and don’t require any more cajoling or prodding. It’s more helpful to develop some daily habits that you probably hadn’t considered.

What are some daily habits for better Primal health?

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

Elle Russ chats with Sean Wittenberg - the Cofounder and President of Safe Catch based in Sausalito, CA.  With a deeply held belief that the health of our environment, our food and our society are all profoundly connected, Sean has spent the past 15 years focused on developing technologies and products that help people live healthier, happier lives while improving the wellbeing of our planet.  In this episode, Sean educates the audience on the safety and environmental concerns surrounding fishing and consuming fish.

SELECTED LINKS:

Safe Catch

A Primal woman’s first reaction to the prospect of taking synthetic hormone replacements for menopause? Probably a healthy dose of skepticism. We in the ancestral health community, after all, tend to view pharmaceuticals as a last resort—interventions that are overprescribed by vested interests, create their own set of side effects, and may even do more harm than good. To suggest that we “need” this or that prescription raises our hackles.

Besides, it’s not like menopause is a product of modernity or an aberration our ancestors never experienced; it’s a physiological stage that evolution has protected and selected in humans. It’s perfectly natural. Rather than the debilitating, miserable experience many women report having, menopause should be easier. Graceful, even. But it often isn’t.

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

Elle Russ chats with Ken Berry MD about the epidemic of Diabetes and how a patient can navigate test results, treatment, prevention, and reversing the disease. Dr. Berry is also the author Lies My Doctor Told Me which reveals the truth behind the lies told by well-meaning doctors. Whether it’s recommending a low-fat diet, or warning you to avoid the sun, these medical lies can cause really harm to your health. This book will help you sort through the medical myths and the outright lies, and begin to develop a health partnership with your doctor.

Dr. Berry has been practicing Family Medicine in rural Tennessee for over a decade.  He is board certified in Family Medicine, and was recently awarded the degree of Fellow by the American Academy of Family Physicians. Having seen over 20,000 patients of all ages over his career, he is uniquely qualified to advise on both acute and chronic diseases. Dr. Berry has focused of chronic disease caused by the Standard American Diet and Lifestyle, and has made it his mission to turn the tide on the epidemic of Type 2 Diabetes, chronic inflammation and dementia.

Selected Links: 

Lies My Doctor Told Me

Dr. Ken Berry – Facebook

Dr. Ken Berry – Twitter
Dr. Ken Berry – Instagram
Dr. Ken Berry – YouTube

Video Podcast: 

https://youtu.be/szu-LvA5kZQ

A few months ago, I explored the benefits and applications of cold therapy. Today, I’m going to talk about the benefits and applications of heat therapy—one of the most ubiquitous and ancestral therapies in the history of humankind. You name a culture and—as long as they didn’t live in perpetual tropical heat—they probably had some form of heat therapy. Native Americans had the sweat lodge, those of Central America the temazcal. The Romans had the thermae, which they picked up and refined from the Greeks. Other famous traditions include Finnish saunas, Russian banyas, Turkish hammams, Japanese sentó (or the natural spring-fed onsen), and the Korean jjimjilbang. People really like the heat.

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

It’s about that time: the start of the school year. Bleary-eyed kids everywhere are dragged from bed, thrown into clothing, handed an energy bar and glass of juice, and shuttled off to spend hours sitting at a desk. They come home, do hours of homework, squeeze in some screen time, squeeze some vaguely edible goo into their mouths, update their Facebook status, post a few Instagram pics, and climb into bed by 10 PM sharp, Snapchatting their way to the land of Nod. Then it starts all over again.
I’m exaggerating, a bit. Things aren’t this bad—childhood Facebook usage is actually down! But too many children aren’t getting enough sleep.

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

Consistency is key in everything we do.

Training in the gym: The most optimal workout imaginable won’t do a thing if you only get around to it once every two weeks.

Sleep: A solid 8 hours of shut eye every night beats 10 hours one night, 6 the next.

Learning a new skill: Practice for an hour each day and you’ll become a master. Spend twelve hours one time and never again, and you’ll remain a beginner.

The same is true for nutrition. A consistent, reliable way of eating—especially with a diet like keto, where extended consistency actually builds new fat-burning mitochondria and establishes habits—tends to produce the best results.

But what if you wanted to be a little less consistent? What if you wanted to cycle between Primal and keto? Is such a thing even possible?

Yes. Just make sure you do it right—and for the right reasons.

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