Look: I’m a man. I’ve lived a different experience than the average woman, with totally different equipment and different concentrations of hormones coursing through my body. But I have a daughter and a wife and a good head on my shoulders that’s spent the last 30 years thinking about health, nutrition, and fitness for humans, so I have a few things to offer.

So let’s get right down to today’s post. What follows are 12 tips for Primal women. Or any woman, really.

Were Grok and his kin really rock-throwing brutes, or would they likely show up us “moderns” in their adherence to relative order and harmony? In other words, how much is civility really dependent upon civilization?

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

How do we treat burnout once we find ourselves in this modern scourge? What can we do to recover both our emotional and physical vitality? And, even better, how can we avoid burnout altogether? The strategies, I’d argue, are largely the same if we can summon the motivation to follow through before we find ourselves hitting that bottom. Some attempt to address the physical manifestations of burnout, while others confront the core lifestyle issues that ignite and perpetuate it.

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

Seasonal allergies occur when your innate immune system perceives airborne pollen as a threat and overreacts to its presence in your body with a flood of histamine, producing runny nose, itchy eyes, nasal congestion, sneezing, headaches, and other symptoms. This type of response makes sense with foreign substances that are intrinsically dangerous, like pathogenic microbes, poisons, and toxins, but there’s nothing inherently dangerous about pollen. What gives?

Host Brad Kearns joins firefighter and PrimalCon legend, Chris Adams, to talk about the stresses of shift work and sleep disruption, as well as how he helped Arizona firefighter academy students dramatically improve their performance by emphasizing aerobic exercise instead of stressful, higher intensity cardio training.

Chris and his partner Tina Leaman (Primal Blueprint audio engineer, who produces all podcasts and audiobooks) have the distinction of attending all nine PrimalCon events around the world from 2010-2014. They served as group and staff leaders to ensure guests had a fabulous time.

Working in high stress environments that involve sleep disruptions can be a real health challenge, and also interfere with fitness progress. Chris, a devoted CrossFit athlete with superhuman strength and athleticism, learned the hard way about burnout when he combined a heavy CrossFit schedule with his night shift firefighting work and guaranteed sleep interruptions. Chris talks about expertly managing the Adrenalin rush that comes when the bell rings for emergencies, how to manage the common "compassion fatigue" that afflicts public servants, and how to respect the big picture instead of "compartmentalize stress," i.e., making workout decisions based on workout schedule, but not respecting the influence of your work schedule.

Enjoy this informative conversation, especially if you deal with sleep disruption or are trying to balance enthusiastic workout goals with a challenging career. Learn how Chris helped fire academy students slow down and then deliver major peak performance breakthroughs on testing day.

Where’s the line between normal indulgence and chronic “abuse” of food? And what do we do when we find ourselves sliding into risky territory?

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

Whether because of old/current injuries, the general state of the body, or simple personal preference, a significant portion of the population isn’t going to be running sprints on a track. Maybe you hate it. Maybe it hurts too much, or you’re worried about throwing something out. Whatever the reason for your sprint abstinence, there are worthy alternatives to traditional sprinting.

Today’s article is a guest post by Dr. Mark Burhenne, the #1 bestselling author of The 8-Hour Sleep Paradox. As an authority on dental health, he is also on a mission to help shift the conversation about sleep from quantity to quality as the foundation for primal living. As a member of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, Dr. Burhenne blogs about the mouth-body connection on his website, AsktheDentist.com. Today, he addresses some of the most pressings topics surrounding oral health from an ancestral health perspective, which , if you think about it, can be summed up with the following question: If Grok didn’t floss his teeth, why should I, especially when I’m living a primal lifestyle?

Hosts Elle Russ and Brad Kearns tackle an assortment of topics influenced by podcast listener and MarksDailyApple.com reader comments, including low testosterone (problematic for both males and females) and natural ways to optimize hormones. They discuss concerns about HbA1c, a test that reveals long term blood glucose levels and has the potential to bring up concerns about metabolic damage caused by decades of SAD eating, and how it might delay results when going Primal. Discussion continues about the reframing of alcohol in The Primal Blueprint in the “Avoid Poisonous Things” category, given how it can compromise gut health and fat reduction goals, and contribute to other health concerns and conditions. At the end of the show, Elle discusses the journey of writing her book The Paleo Thyroid Solution, and dispenses some interesting advice to those aspiring to write.

Weight loss and the resulting health enhancements can top offthe natural contentment and confidence some people for the mostpart already have. Alternatively, it becomes a catalyst forpsychological work that matches the same vigor as their physicaltransformation.

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

Walking on flat, linear, manmade surfaces is certainly fine, especially if I’ve got my wife or dog or a friend—or I’m exploring a new city—but naturally deposited ground full of dips and peaks and studded with random deformations is ideal.

And there’s growing evidence that it’s better for you, too.

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

Today I’m talking limits—and how knowing where to draw the line is essential to living an awesome life.

Should you foam roll everything? Is it worth getting into those ridiculously contrived positions in order to hit some small ribbon of fascia hidden between limbs? Should you foam roll your face?

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

Chris and Jared are the only instructors in the U.S of  "The Wim Hof Method" certified by Wim aka the "Iceman" himself. Wim Hof teaches that through a proper breathing and training, you can train to hold your breath longer, making conscious contact with your heart, autonomic nervous system, and immune system. It also has a positive influence on your blood circulation.

Learn why people like Laird Hamilton, Orlando Bloom, Joe Rogan, Tim Ferris, and Oprah Winfrey, practice the Wim Hof Method and feel the amazing benefits of this powerful and healing breathing method supported by science!

Show Notes:

• What is the Wim Hof method? [00:01:05]
• How does the breathing technique set up the hormonal response? [00:07:17]
• What are the benefits of this ice bath? [00:08:49]
• Who is a good candidate for this breathing method? [00:11:25]
• Is the purpose of the Wim Hof method to increase the stress hormone response? [00:14:18]
• What are some of the success stories you have experienced? [00:15:41]
• How many people are trained to do these workshops? [00:23:16]
• What is the background of Jared? [00:27:15]
• How did Chris get into this area? [00:32:16]
• Look on Facebook for "Wim Hof method workshop"[00:37:19]

Beyond these suggestions from health-related research, there are experts who likewise push for a hobby comeback. One career coach shares that hobbies have helped her clients reduce stress, manage anger, and enhance work performance because of their potential to “improve…decision-making, creativity and confidence.”

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

First-press avocado oil retains most of the fat-soluble nutrients, antioxidants, carotenoids, and chlorophylls found in the fruit, just like extra virgin olive oil retains olive nutrients, first-press avocado oil provides the power of the avocado in a compact, reliable, convenient, pourable package.

And it lets you do lots of cool things...

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

Host Brad Kearns welcomes Matt Whitmore and Keris Marsden in a joint podcast with Fitter Food radio channel in London! Their second book, Fitter Food, Second Helping is coming out soon. Their first book was a big seller in Europe under the title, Fitter Food, and in the U.S. under the title Paleo Primer. They have their own training/fitness facility in London where they work with individuals helping them learn all about the paleo/primal lifestyle.

Keris and Matt discuss how a proper nutrition regimen for athletes has evolved over the years. They look at how much carbohydrate is needed for fueling exercise, as well as how much training is helpful or damaging. They explore how much ketosis is needed for high endurance performance and if are there negative side effects to long-term ketosis.

This entertaining podcast will inspire listeners to question what you thought you knew about training and carbo-loading.

Today, I’m going to discuss many of the reasons you shouldn’t trust the latest nutritional study without looking past the headlines.

How can our pre-industrial brains stay organized and focus on the things that matter? Here are a few tips to help.

Adversity varies and challenges us in different ways. But our ability to endure and bounce back from stress, struggle, and loss is what emotional resilience is all about. What can our ancestors’ examples teach us about psychological hardiness and mental fortitude?

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

Let’s take a look at five genetic mutations and how the Primal way of eating, living, and moving can help mitigate their downsides.

Elle Russ is in the studio today with fitness and personal development guru, Craig Ballantyne. Craig is the author of The Perfect Day Formula and has a set a goal to help 10 million people transform their lives, physically mentally, emotionally and financially by the year 2020.

Learn all about the “Five Pillars of Success” and how to become your best, and stay your best, in this eye opening episode.

Many people today lead lives of flatness or even despair in which they take paths dictated by cultural or familial expectation—or by the pursuit of money over passion. They go whole decades of life never asking what they’d rather be doing, and those frustrated inclinations end up coming out sideways in a midlife crisis or just a subtle resentment that smolders each day.

What if you didn’t eat the potatoes after a hard workout? What if you abstained from carbs entirely after a glycogen-depleting workout? What if you just went to bed without any (carbs in your) supper? What if you were an elite athlete and skipped the carbs?

That’s exactly what a team of French researchers had a group of highly trained male triathletes do, according to a study released a couple months back.

They were exploring the effects of a “sleep-low” eating regimen on the type of performance indices relevant to endurance athletes.

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

Mark is in the studio this week with Todd White, founder of revolutionary wine production company, Dry Farm Wines. Todd is a writer, speaker and leading authority on healthy, organic natural wines and supporter of micro-dosing alcohol for health, longevity and vitality. As an avid biohacker and health experimenter, Todd is also releasing a ketogenic cookbook called Keto Well that discusses his success in low-carb eating.

Todd is a bit of a Renaissance man, but for the last 15 years he has specialized in the natural health and wine business. He has dedicated his life to educating and helping people make better choices about food, nutrition, and how they think about consuming alcohol.

Today we’re getting a complete education on wine, including an in-depth look at common modern additives and the resulting issues they pose. If you're wondering where alcohol lands in your overall health goals, then this is the episode for you!

Sometimes it’s the people in our inner circle who are the inquiring minds. Other times it’s co-workers or even strangers. It might even be our doctors. Whatever the case, what might begin as a simple question can often devolve into a full-blown harangue about how we’re putting our health in grave peril. On the flip side, it may be we who descend into an extended diatribe on all things Primal as the other person tries to slink away, having just been intrigued by our lettuce wrapped “un-wich.” How do we respond in these conversations without losing all patience or perspective?

Are we shortchanging ourselves by complete elimination of potentially allergenic or sensitizing foods like wheat, peanuts, or dairy? Do we become even more sensitive to “bad” foods by avoiding them entirely? This question stems from two things I recently encountered. The first was a recent rewatcing of The Princess Bride. The second was the recent peanut allergy study.

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

Mark sits down for a lively chat with Melissa Hartwig, Certified Sports Nutritionist, New York Times Best Selling author of It Starts With Food and The Whole30, and co-creator of the wildly popular Whole30 movement. Melissa is no stranger to major media as she's been featured by The Today Show, Dr. Oz, The View, Outside, Shape and Self Magazines, and The Wall Street Journal. Melissa has presented over 150 health and nutrition seminars worldwide, and connects with over 1.5 million people each month through the Whole30 website.

Mark and Melissa run through a number of fascinating topics, including how Melissa developed the Whole30 program, nutrition's role in addiction recovery, whether or not alcohol can have a place in a healthy diet, and why the Whole30 program is meant to be learning tool to get you on the path of having a healthy relationship with food. This is truly an episode you don't want to miss!

Primal people tend to assume they have the B vitamins covered. It’s no wonder: punch a slab of beef chuck steak or a few ounces of liver into the USDA nutrient database and that whole B vitamin section seems to fill up.

Let’s take a look. You may be right. You may be totally fine. But it’s always nice to refresh your focus.

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

Readers of my blog are already familiar with my take on the minimalist, or “barefoot” shoe. Unencumbered by supportive arch inserts, stiff soles, and cramped dimensions, the healthy human foot performs, feels, and functions best in a minimalist shoe. It cuts out the fluff and the artifice, the rent-seeking yet unnecessary modifications and upgrades that characterize the modern shoe industry and distills the essentials of what shoe should do—protect the bottom of the foot without changing the heel height or cutting off incoming sensory data. Even if you don’t currently wear minimalist footwear, you grasp the argument, understand the appeal, and agree that minimalist shoes hew more closely to the ancestral environment in which our feet evolved. They are Primal through and through.

Does the same hold true for the growing minimalist movement? Was Grok a minimalist? Sorta…

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

Can we take what research tells us about the roughly prevalent hunter-gatherer model of leadership and decipher lessons for modern management? I tend to think so.

Here are what I’d consider 7 Primal ways to be a better leader….

Host Elle Russ sits down with Dr. Peter Osborne, the clinical director of Origins Healthcare Center in Sugar Land, TX, and author of No Grain, No Pain. Dr. Osborne is a doctor of chiropractic medicine, a Board Certified Clinical Nutritionist and an expert in orthomolecular and functional medicine. His clinical focus is the holistic natural treatment of chronic degenerative diseases with a primary focus on gluten sensitivity and food allergies. He has helped thousands of patients recover from mysterious medical illnesses.

Get ready folks, because this episode is chock full of fascinating (and digestible) facts on the issues grains cause within the body.

We all have people in our lives who avoid meat and/or animal products in general for multiple reasons—health, ethics, the environment, squeamishness, animal welfare—but we care about them. We also subscribe, with varying degrees of rigidity, to an eating philosophy based on the nutritional importance of animal foods. How do we reconcile these competing loyalties? Should we give up on them? Are they a lost cause? Should we simply wait for them to come limping toward us with sallow skin and low muscle tone? I kid, of course. We should absolutely help where and when we can.

Yet telling them to “just eat meat” doesn’t work. If anything, it’s counterproductive. Instead, we can offer productive, legitimately helpful advice from a Primal perspective.

Host Brad Kearns sits down with Dave Dollé, personal trainer and co-Author of Fruit Belly. Today we’re diving deep into Dave’s background and current career endeavors, including how he manages his two training facilities and keeps his clients motivated.

Not everyone has the luxury of buying and eating solely grass-fed, pasture-raised meat and dairy. Most folks have to choose. They have to pick their battles. Today’s post will help you choose wisely.

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

When we dump the pervading culture’s nonsense of obsessing over comparative perfectionism, we’re free to own our own sense of worth. We’re free to enjoy living in our bodies and reveling in their abilities. We’re free to actualize ourselves physically to our own unique potentials. That sounds to me like a much bolder and worthier project in this lifetime. Let’s look at a few ways to take up this challenge.

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

No, you yourself can’t save the world. You personally won’t make a dent in the climate, or the amount of plastic in the ocean, or the number of cute baby seals that are bludgeoned to death. But collectively, we can. The choices we make, the things we value, the food we eat, the way our food is raised, who we buy our food from, and how we conduct our day-to-day lives in attempted harmony with our Primal natures really does seem to mesh well with the environment. Multiply those small personal choices by millions of readers (and their dollars) and you get real change.

I’m not putting any extra pressure on you. These are things you’re already doing, by and large. These are the ways going Primal can actually help, not harm, the environment.

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

Research indicates that the growing emphasis on academic rigor in grade school is ineffectual at best and counterproductive at worst. Here's what I would do if I were in charge.

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

Abel James is a bestselling author of The Wild Diet, entertainer, and lifestyle entrepreneur. As the #1 rated Health podcast in 8+ countries, Abel's award-winning web series, Fat-Burning Man, has helped millions reclaim their health with cutting-edge science, outdoor workouts, and outrageously good food. When his debut cooking app, Caveman Feast, bested The Food Network and Martha Stewart with more than 1,000 5-star reviews in 48 hours, Abel became the first independent publisher to hold Apple's #1 food app and #1 podcast at the same time.

A leading voice in new media, Abel was named as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Health and Fitness along with Michael Pollan, Dr. Andrew Weil, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Deepak Chopra. Abel starred on ABC and has been featured in People Magazine, Entertainment Tonight, NPR, Forbes, and many more. Also a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, Abel has toured internationally and won several awards for vocal performance.

After completing his B.A. at Dartmouth College a year early, Abel created his own interdisciplinary curriculum to study brain science, music, and technology, graduating as a Senior Fellow with Honors. He later independently published his research in The Musical Brain, which became a #1 Amazon bestseller.

On ABC’s “My Diet Is Better Than Yours” Abel’s contestant, Kurt, lost 87 pounds, 22% body fat, and is off all his prescription medications after 14 weeks on a high-fat, low carb diet. He practiced intermittent fasting (with butter coffee!), drank bone broth daily, and had plenty of organic veggies and pasture-raised meat and eggs, while staying away from processed foods and grains (except for a couple cheats).

The show based its competition on weight loss instead of fat loss. Even though Kurt lost the most total body weight and double the body fat of the other contestants (22%) he lost the competition to Jasmine who lost a higher body weight percentage. Jasmine only lost a total of 13% body fat.

Abel enjoys strong coffee and cheesecake, preferably together.

Today's show is brought to you by Casper. Get $50 toward any mattress purchase by visiting casper.com/primal and using the promo code PRIMAL at checkout.

For years, the bodybuilding, protein-gorging community has maligned collagen for its inessentiality and lack of input into the muscle-protein synthesis process. From their perspective, it sort of makes sense. Why bother with “low quality” protein like gelatin/collagen when you can pound the whey, eat the meat, and focus on other sources of the essential amino acids directly involved in building muscle?

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

Hang around on nootropic forums where fans and users congregate and you’ll come away with the notion that you’re missing out on a leg up if you’re not taking the latest and greatest nootropic supplement. Nootropics promise vague benefits to “cognition” and “performance,” but what’s really happening? Do nootropics actually work as advertised? Some of them do, absolutely. But others, maybe not so much. 

Time and money—the sources of endless hand-wringing in modern society. No one ever seems to have enough, including the people we think probably do. Instead of struggling with primeval conditions of scarcity, many of us are encumbered with the so-called “first-world problems” of modern day. For most of us, there’s a whole range of choices and flexibility that Grok never had. That said, when we bring a Primal perspective to the fore, just what is a healthy and productive relationship to time and money? And how much of each do we need to be happy?

When we sit or stand all day long in the same position, our body is learning to be immobile. Children can’t sit still because they haven’t had the natural human need to move beaten out of them yet. Adults never feel like moving because we’ve grown accustomed to never doing it. Since we spend at least a third of our lives at work, our workstation must enable and even encourage movement.

How do we do it? What do we need?

On today’s special show, hosts Brad Kearns and Andrew MacNaughton connect with retired triathlon legend Simon Whitfield from Victoria, B.C., Canada. Simon details his remarkable victory in the inaugural Olympic triathlon in Sydney, Australia in 2000, along with other memories and perspectives gained from his lengthy career at the top of the sport. Simon is an extremely thoughtful, introspective athlete whose insights can provide great value to whatever peak performance or life goals you pursue. “If you love your pursuits, you’ll find a way to success. If you succumb to your fears and insecurities, your results will suffer accordingly,” says Simon. With refreshing candor, Simon mentions the dangers of drifting into a prima donna perspective and how to recalibrate to focus on the journey; especially having a strong and authentic support team. “Hard truths come with sharp edges, but they are the source of the greatest learning,” Simon offers. Simon updates us about his recent doings, including epic standup paddling adventures in Victoria. Enjoy this deeply revealing and impactful discussion with triathlon’s most thoughtful coach, Andrew MacNaughton, and most thoughtful elite athlete, Simon Whitfield.

While today we consider compassion one of the most esteemed human traits, what were its origins? Is this really a product of evolutionary forces rather than cultural response? How could it have grown out of the rough and tough, survival-of-the-fittest world of Grok’s day?

How can different populations tailor PBF to their needs, goals, and capacities? How does the retiree do PBF? The former CrossFitter? The recovering triathlete? The harried parent of twins? Let’s go through some basic archetypes and my recommendations for each.

This microscopic landscape is worth talking about again—specifically because it influences your brain (that grand master of all organs) and how well you’re likely to stick to all those newly adopted changes in the future.

If you don’t approach cooking 3+ meals a day with a strategy, you’ll start feeling like you’ll never get out of the kitchen, which isn’t such a good thing.

A collection of Primal recipes right at your fingertips definitely helps. But if you really want Primal cooking to be easy, convenient, and manageable in the long haul, then what you need most are some kitchen hacks that every Primal cook should know.

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

It seems like a universal dictum. When you start to make positive change, you’re going to get pushback. It’s not a magical force thing. The fact is, you’re rocking the boat. Your attempt to change, no matter how small, is throwing off the dysfunctional equilibrium you’ve been living with. Somewhere along the line you got used to how you live and how you feel. Inertia is as much a psychological as a physical phenomenon.

Tune into this special preview of Mark Sisson’s newest book, Primal Endurance. Show host and co-author, Brad Kearns, details 115 things you’ll need to know as a Primal Endurance Athlete, including: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Primal Endurance Athletes, what your training schedule should look like per season, over the course over the entire year, and the importance of strict rest and recovery periods.

Get better, faster, and stronger than ever before with the help of this groundbreaking release!

Real change is simple, but it’s not easy. It takes planning. It means facing fears and overcoming stress. To really succeed, you have to know what you’re changing and have the willpower to see it through.

Here are five tips for ensuring your success—in anything—this year.

You can still glean useful info and make realistic inferences from genetic research by examining the regional and ethnic distribution of various alleles (i.e. gene variations) and matching them against your own ancestry. Let’s take a look at some of the alleles for which we have the most data.

With a new year comes new goals, which is why our team is ready to announce our favorite, much anticipated goal achieving event of the season: The Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge! This year’s challenge will run from Jan 11th-31st, and we have quite the lineup of contests, prizes, and all around fun activities planned for everyone who wants to participate.

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