pimg class=”alignright” title=”Winter Solstice” src=”http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg158/MDA2008/MDA2010/winter.jpg” alt=”winter” width=”320″ height=”212″ /As we round the solstice today, I’m mulling the idea of receiving. Sure, it’s not the first thing that comes to mind when you think about health or the holiday season, but bear with me here. First off, I’m not talking about the massive, gimme-gimme materialistic free for all that too often edges out any genuine meaning to the holidays. Honestly, that’s one of the reasons I tend to gravitate toward observing solstice. You don’t get 483 emails the week before reminding you that stores are now open 24 hours a day until the longest night of the year. (Most people couldn’t care less, in fact.) There’s something kind of appropriate to it really: the original mid-winter holiday remains the sparest and most unadulterated of the December celebrations. I’m talking about the nudge toward contemplativeness and a spirit of hospitality that […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

pimg class=”alignright” title=”Cholesterol Figure” src=”http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg158/MDA2008/MDA2010/cholesterol.jpg” alt=”cholesterol” width=”319″ height=”205″ /Before we get into the big job of interpreting cholesterol numbers, let#8217;s review what cholesterol actually is./p
pCholesterol is cholesterol: a waxy steroid of fat that serves as an essential structural component of cellular membranes and in the production of a title=”A Primal Primer: Testosterone” href=”http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-to-increase-testosterone-naturally/amp;sa=Uamp;ei=cgPyTqKhGqrliALRmqW5Dgamp;ved=0CAQQFjAAamp;client=internal-uds-cseamp;usg=AFQjCNERB5JuXB9kJM4sjkIgwRCWWqCcvg”steroid hormones/a, a title=”Deconstructing Vitamin D” href=”http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.marksdailyapple.com/deconstructing-vitamin-d/amp;sa=Uamp;ei=UgPyTqW5EcKqiQKG0M2yDgamp;ved=0CAYQFjABamp;client=internal-uds-cseamp;usg=AFQjCNGF8ymhf6FCqkeoaQIVdDBklKnXag”vitamin D/a, and bile acids. Contrary to what the terminology indicates, there#8217;s actually only one #8220;type#8221; of cholesterol in the human body, and it#8217;s called, quite simply, cholesterol. What we think of when we use the word #8220;cholesterol#8221; is actually a a title=”Wikipedia: Lipoprotein” href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipoprotein” target=”_blank”lipoprotein/a #8211; a fatty conglomerate of protein and lipids that delivers cholesterol and a title=”Dear Mark: Saturated Fat” href=”http://www.marksdailyapple.com/saturated-fat/#axzz1hBis6Heg”fat/a and fat-soluble nutrients to different parts of the body. It#8217;s not just free cholesterol floating around in your blood; it#8217;s cholesterol bound up by lipoproteins./p
pspan id=”more-25407″/span/p
pSo LDL, HDL, […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

My perfect day involves an 85-90 degree day at a beach (preferably with waves), my girlfriend, other friends, a lounge chair, a cooler full of sandwiches and beer. Honestly…I could repeat that day 10,000 times on various beaches of the world an never get bored. The thing is, I'm a fair skinned German-Irish-Scandinavian mixed breed. I've always felt a bit of guilt for going out in the sun, because we've been trained that it is like playing Russian Roulette with skin cancer. Fair skinned people like me are especially warned to avoid sun exposure. Is that sound advice?

[Why am I writing about sun tanning in December? Well…this blog has a large readership from Australia and New Zealand. I figured I would do a summer post that would match their seasons for once.]
Read more on Avoiding the Sun to Avoid Skin Cancer? Recent Studies Challenge That Advice….

Original post by admin

pimg class=”alignright” title=”Chicken Feet” src=”http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg158/MDA2008/MDA2010/chickenfeet-1.jpg” alt=”chickenfeet 1″ width=”320″ height=”242″ /Put down your a title=”How to Cook the Perfect Steak” href=”http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-to-cook-the-perfect-steak/”rib-eyes/a, don’t thaw those chicken legs just yet, and step away from the a title=”Comfort Food Three Ways: How to Turn One Roast into Several Amazing Meals ” href=”http://www.marksdailyapple.com/comfort-food-three-ways-how-to-turn-one-roast-into-several-amazing-meals/”pot roast/a. Don’t get me wrong #8211; those are fine examples of animal muscle meat. Delicious, even. But they’re not all that we should be eating. Not by a long shot. Allow me to explain./p
pThe other day, I received an enthusiastic email from a reader who’d just returned home from the grocery store with a sack of smoked turkey tails. Thanks to a little holiday called a title=”Make it a Primal Thanksgiving!” href=”http://www.marksdailyapple.com/low-carb-thanksgiving-recipes/”Thanksgiving/a, meat counters across the country are inundated with turkey parts: gizzards, a title=”Pork, Beef and Liver Terrine” href=”http://www.marksdailyapple.com/pork-beef-and-liver-terrine/”livers/a, hearts, necks, backs, and tails. Most consumers rarely think of using […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

pimg class=”alignright” title=”Tanning Bed” src=”http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg158/MDA2008/MDA2010/tanningbed.jpg” alt=”tanningbed” width=”320″ height=”212″ /It#8217;s Monday, which means it#8217;s time for another round of a title=”Dear Mark” href=”http://www.marksdailyapple.com/category/dear-mark/”Dear Mark/a questions and answers. This week I#8217;m answering four reader inquiries. First, I discuss the suitability of tanning beds, and try to give the best answer I can muster given the lack of hard evidence either way. Next, I cover whether or not a guy should definitely eat breakfast. Dr. Jack Kruse#8217;s a title=”My Leptin Prescription” href=”http://jackkruse.com/my-leptin-prescription/” target=”_blank”leptin protocol/a, which prescribes eating a high protein breakfast upon waking, is getting pretty popular and a title=”Leptin Reset Experiment starts today – Jack Kruse style page” href=”http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread32345.html”having some incredible results/a, but is it necessary for everyone? Then I field a question about cooking with essential oils. They may not be the powerful healing agents promised by aromatherapy, but can they replace dry and fresh herbs and spices? Looks like it […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

pimg class=”alignnone alignright” title=”Prime Rib” src=”http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg158/MDA2008/MDA2010/primerib2.jpg” alt=”primerib2″ width=”320″ height=”212″ /Prime rib is a cut of meat that’s perfect for special occasion feasts in more ways than one. Served in supple, thick slices that are marbled with fat, it’s a decadent and impressive main course. Prime rib is also really easy to prepare, which means you can “wow” your guests and still enjoy the party. They don’t need to know you only spent about five minutes prepping the meat before shoving the roast in the oven and letting it do its thing./p
pLetting a standing prime rib roast do its thing means you season it with simple spices and then mostly get out of the way. The fat covering the top of the roast will melt slowly as the meat cooks, keeping it moist and the ripples of fat within will give the meat tons of flavor. Your job is to adjust […]

Original post by Worker Bee

While KnuckleUp might be the best place to train jiu jitsu on the Ouer Banks, it is called Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for a reason. Because it’s Brazilian. So it makes sense that the BEST place to train would be in Brazil. While normally that’s easier said than done for us U.S. citizens, Morrison has found a way to facilitate travel for training, and managed to get any member of the club a discount.
Jiu Jitsu Traveler
Connection Rio is basically a travel agency that caters to the BJJ crowd. They have locations in several different areas, and they’ll schedule your training at whichever academy you want. Or if you’re not sure where to go, they’ll help you with that too. They make going to Brazil as easy as possible.
You’ll have a pretty nice place to stay too. They have three different options sleeping arrangements: dorm style, private rooms, and actual homes throughout the […]

Original post by knuckleup

div class=”breakout”
pIt’s Friday, everyone! And that means another a title=”Success Stories” href=”../../category/success-stories/?submit=view” target=”_self”Primal Blueprint Real Life Story/a from a Mark#8217;s Daily Apple reader. If you have your own success story and would like to share it with me and the Mark’s Daily Apple community please contact me a title=”Contact Me!” href=”http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-book/share-success-story/” target=”_self”here/a. I’ll continue to publish these each Friday as long as they keep coming in. Thank you for reading!/p
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pimg class=”alignright” title=”Primal Blueprint Real Life Story” src=”http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg158/MDA2008/MDA2009/real_life_stories_stories-1-2.jpg” alt=”real life stories stories 1 2″ width=”320″ height=”240″ //p
pI was a typical American kid that enjoyed summers, playing sports, riding bikes, camping and exploring. My inner Grok ran rampant in the beginnings of my life. As I got older, I began to fall into that same trap many Americans fall into (T.V., video games, fast food and overall sedentary life). I expressed my inner Grok less and less, down to not at all. […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

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I’ve always been a voracious reader and even though I get most of my reading fix from scientific journals these days, I try to squeeze in an interesting book whenever I get a chance.br /
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“Interesting” to me usually means whatever topic I find interesting at the moment. And when something piques my interest, I binge read. I’ll plow through scores of books on a topic, and I’ll only slow down when my obsession wanes.br /
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In my youth, I was obsessed with the horror genre, fantasy books, and science fiction. The very first thing I did online back in the mid-90′s was to look up one of those authorative “Top 50″ lists of the best books in a genre and try to read every single one of them. br /
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I took my reading very seriously, and kept a notebook in which I reviewed each one of them […]

Original post by Martin Berkhan