What can compare to the sweet, buttery mac nut’s tender embrace? As far as nuts, seeds, and pseudo-nuts go, its fatty acid profile is unparalleled. Throw a handful into a bowl of Greek yogurt, along with blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries (or any berry, really), and you’ve got yourself a rich, masterful dessert with minimal linoleic acid. And it’s got good amounts of magnesium, manganese, thiamine, copper, and iron. Pack a baggy full and you’ve got yourself the perfect trail food for day long hikes. Suffice it to say, they’re my go-to snack when I’m feeling a bit peckish throughout the day.
But that’s not why I’m here today – to extoll the virtues of the macadamia nut.

I tend to get a little carried away when it comes to those little mouth bombs of satiety, so I apologize. Today’s post concerns the mac nut’s lifeblood: macadamia oil. I know what I’ve said about […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

Before I begin, I want to make something clear: this is not your standard definitive guide to whatever. I’d like to be able to issue a proclamation regarding diet soda that stands the test of time immemorial, but I cannot. Research is still in its infancy, and exactly what diet soda does to those who drink it – if anything – is incredibly confusing. The one thing I can say with any certainty is that, while it’s unfair to say it will kill you or give your unborn child prenatal tumors or make you impossibly obese, you’re probably better off without diet soda. It tastes weird, the list of unpronounceable ingredients is too long for my comfort level, and I’ve seen one too many unsuccessful dieters that seem to live on the stuff.
There are two things to consider when making any conclusions about diet soda’s place in a healthy diet. […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

<p>The basis of Tabata Training is 4 minutes of intense interval training/circuit training. What you are doing is taking an exercise we'll use sprints as an example here.</p>
<p>Sprint as hard as you can for <strong>20 seconds</strong></p>
<p>Walk for <strong>10 seconds</strong></p>
<p>Repeat 7 more times for a total of <strong>8 sets</strong>.</p>
<p>So what you have is a total of <strong>4 minutes of workout time</strong>.</p>
<p>Tabata Training can be done with a number of different exercises the idea is to use an exercise that gets the whole body involved or at least the major muscle groups.Tabata Training can be done with Barbells, Dumbells, Kettlebells or just Bodyweight exercises. I'll give you some other exercises and routines to try in a minute but first let me give you some background and how Tabatas work.</p>
<p>Tabata Training was developed by Izumi Tabata (imagine that) at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan. They did a study […]

Original post by WP-AutoBlog Import

On the docket today: a meaty, slippery, jam-packed can of worms. Makes you just lick your lips in anticipation, doesn’t it? Last week’s direct to consumer health testing post got this one going. I mentioned this do-it-yourself health trend comes with both the good and the bad – as yet unproven and unsound alternative therapies like homeopathy being such a potential snare. From that point, a healthy and robust debate ensued in the comment board. Yes, that’s exactly the way it should be. I always appreciate and, indeed, relish the active discourse of our comment board. Folks offer up their experiences, questions, and perspectives in ways that thoughtfully challenge and extend the discussion of the post itself. It’s the beauty of a blog – and the “Internets” as a whole, wouldn’t you say? At times, I find these conversations stand by themselves. Other times, I’ll pick up on a certain […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

<p>The basis of Tabata Training is 4 minutes of intense interval training/circuit training. What you are doing is taking an exercise we'll use sprints as an example here.</p>
<p>Sprint as hard as you can for <strong>20 seconds</strong></p>
<p>Walk for <strong>10 seconds</strong></p>
<p>Repeat 7 more times for a total of <strong>8 sets</strong>.</p>
<p>So what you have is a total of <strong>4 minutes of workout time</strong>.</p>
<p>Tabata Training can be done with a number of different exercises the idea is to use an exercise that gets the whole body involved or at least the major muscle groups.Tabata Training can be done with Barbells, Dumbells, Kettlebells or just Bodyweight exercises. I'll give you some other exercises and routines to try in a minute but first let me give you some background and how Tabatas work.</p>
<p>Tabata Training was developed by Izumi Tabata (imagine that) at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan. They did a study […]

Original post by WP-AutoBlog Import

Complete 10 cycles of:
50 Meter Walking Lunge with Spear Thrust
25 Meter Sprint

How-to:
Warmup: Walk to the battlefield. Carry your equipment if you’re using any.
We can probably thank the ancient Hellenistic hoplite armies for coming up with the phalanx (although there’s evidence similar formations were used in Egypt and Sumeria), and Alexander the Great for perfecting its usage on the battlefield, but I think reader Jenn deserves credit for making it relevant again. She recently wrote in with a conceptual WOW drawing on the movement and function of the phalanx – so, thanks Jenn!
The phalanx presented a single, unified front to its opponents, a rectangle of interlocking (almost seamless) shields studded with spears. It moved deliberately and, until the last few paces, slowly in order to maintain the formation’s integrity and cohesion. The phalanx would speed things up at the end to hit the enemy with immense force, hopefully to throw the […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

Managing body fat is like managing debt and finances.
Excellent Financial Advice:
Live Below Your Means.
Excellent Health Advice:
Eat Below Your Means.
Excellent Financial Advice:
Avoid the “Buy now, Pay Later” spiral, it only leads to debt.
Excellent Health Advice:
Avoid the “Eat now, burn it off later” spiral, it only leads to body fat.

Bottom line:
If you treat your body like you treat your finances amazing things can happen (assuming you know the basics of personal finance..see above). And just like finances, remember that it’s OK to spend on the things you truly love.
If you are going to splurge every once in a while, make sure you do it on foods you love, not crap you don’t need and won’t actually enjoy. But remember, when it comes to spurging, it’s better to save up then splurge then to do into debt splurging.  The same goes with eating, it’s better to get lean so you have some […]

Original post by Brad Pilon

<p>The basis of Tabata Training is 4 minutes of intense interval training/circuit training. What you are doing is taking an exercise we'll use sprints as an example here.</p>
<p>Sprint as hard as you can for <strong>20 seconds</strong></p>
<p>Walk for <strong>10 seconds</strong></p>
<p>Repeat 7 more times for a total of <strong>8 sets</strong>.</p>
<p>So what you have is a total of <strong>4 minutes of workout time</strong>.</p>
<p>Tabata Training can be done with a number of different exercises the idea is to use an exercise that gets the whole body involved or at least the major muscle groups.Tabata Training can be done with Barbells, Dumbells, Kettlebells or just Bodyweight exercises. I'll give you some other exercises and routines to try in a minute but first let me give you some background and how Tabatas work.</p>
<p>Tabata Training was developed by Izumi Tabata (imagine that) at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan. They did a study […]

Original post by WP-AutoBlog Import

Tart, sour, acidic, harsh: four words that don’t exactly make our mouth water. Unfortunately, they’re often words that come to mind when tasting moderately-priced red wine vinegar that we’ve bought at the store. Even more disappointing is that immoderately-priced bottles aren’t often much better. This isn’t the case with balsamic vinegar – we’re willing to splurge now and then on a bottle of good balsamic imported from Italy because we know we can’t replicate the smooth, syrupy results at home. But red wine vinegar is a different story. By taking matters into your own hands, you can make red wine vinegar that is often much better than what you can buy. Better yet, the whole process is much easier than you might think.
It does, however, require patience. About two months from start to finish. In fact, we’re currently waiting for a batch to reach maturity and find ourselves eagerly ticking […]

Original post by Worker Bee

Many of you may relate to the story of Derek and his wife. It’s not a tale of dramatic weight loss, but a story of discovering an ideal body hiding within the body you’ve grown accustomed to.
If you have your own Primal Blueprint success story and you’d like to share it with me and the community please contact me here. Have a wonderful Friday, everyone, and thanks for reading!
—
Hi Mark,
Love your website and all the success stories. Our story is a little less profound than some in regards to total weight lost, but eating Primal has significantly improved both my life and that of my wife’s.

I’m 38 years old and my wife is 36 years old. I’ve been athletic my entire life, nordic ski racing, bike racing, climbing, backcountry skiing, endurance running, etc, etc. My wife, since she has been married to me (10+ years), has been very active as […]

Original post by Mark Sisson