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Breakfast: it’s perhaps the menu with the most stumbling blocks for those living low-carb. Eggs are great, but—let’s face it—get old without some variety. At times we may find ourselves missing the traditional breakfast classics we might have enjoyed at one point—even when we know they don’t fit our current health goals.

But who said keto was about deprivation? Not us, for sure. With a huge array of keto-friendly classic recipes, we’re hellbent on showing the world just how great keto eating can be—with real food, full flavor and no compromises. So, back to breakfast now…. We dare you to bring this savory keto waffle breakfast sandwich to work—and see just how many people you convert.

Enjoy—and be sure to check out this week’s giveaway with our friends at Birch Benders (below)!

Servings: 2 sandwiches

Time In the Kitchen: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup Birch Benders Keto Pancake and Waffle Mix
• 1/2 water
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 eggs
• 3 slices bacon
• 2 sandwich slices of cheddar (or cheese of choice)

Instructions:

Mix Birch Benders Keto Pancake and Waffle Mix with water and coconut oil according to package instructions.

Grease mini waffle iron with Primal Kitchen® Avocado Spray Oil. Pour batter into waffle iron and cook according to iron instructions.

While mini waffles are cooking (or before), scramble 2 eggs in small skillet.

Cook 3 strips of bacon (in oven at 400 ºF/205 ºC).

When mini waffles are done, let cool slightly on plate or cooling rack.

When cooled, top two of the waffles with cheese slices, 1 1/2 bacon strips each, and divided scrambled egg. Top with the remaining two mini waffles to make 2 sandwiches.

For a little extra spice, add Primal Kitchen Chipotle Lime Mayo. Now dig in….

Now For the Giveaway…

Have we won you over yet to Birch Benders easy and incredible mixes? (They have a paleo version, too, btw.)

Just follow @marksdailyapple and @birchbenders on Instagram and comment on today’s MDA Instagram giveaway photo with your favorite keto recipe.

One lucky (random) winner will score a Primal Kitchen package worth $100: Vanilla Collagen Fuel, Classic Mayo, Chipotle Lime Mayo, Ranch Dressing, Green Goddess Dressing, and Caesar Dressing.

Good luck—and bon appetit!

Nutritional Information (per sandwich):

• Calories: 415
• Net Carbs: 6.6 grams
• Fat: 32.6 grams
• Protein: 22 grams

The post Keto Waffle Breakfast Sandwich (+ a Giveaway!) appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

http://www.thealternativedaily.com/

Ghee is also known as clarified butter which is made by heating butter until the curds sink to the bottom and brown.  The foam is skimmed off, and the pure butterfat is also poured off which leaves milk solids behind. As it cools and solidifies, the pure fat left behind is ghee. Revered as a […]

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Research of the Week

Neolithic Brits hosted massive feasts that drew people and pigs from all over the island.

Researchers say they’ve found a cholesterol-lowering drug without the muscle-damaging side effects of statins.

Among people with kidney disease, higher oxalate excretion in the urine predicts kidney disease progression.

“Our estimates imply that prescription opioids can account for 44 percent of the realized national decrease in men’s labor force participation between 2001 and 2015.”

High intensity interval training slows colon cancer cell growth.

After age 70, your fitness is the best predictor of lifespan.

Maternal infection during pregnancy increases the risk of neuropsychiatric disorders in the kids.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 319: Gretchen Rubin: Host Elle Russ chats with bestselling author, happiness expert, and good habit purveyor Gretchen Rubin.

Episode 320: Keto: Tippy Wyatt, Author of Asian Keto and Low Carb Cookbook: Host Brad Kearns chats with Tippy Wyatt in a wide ranging conversation about health, success, family, and balance.

Health Coach Radio Episode 3: Ali Watts: Hosts Erin Power and Laura Rupsis chat with Ali Watts about the differences between being a health coach and running a business.

Each week, select Mark’s Daily Apple blog posts are prepared as Primal Blueprint Podcasts. Need to catch up on reading, but don’t have the time? Prefer to listen to articles while on the go? Check out the new blog post podcasts below, and subscribe to the Primal Blueprint Podcast here so you never miss an episode.

Media, Schmedia

Parents blame a nearby cell tower for an increase in cancer diagnoses at their elementary school.

“Trip of Passion,” a new film exploring the use of MDMA therapy for PTSD.

Interesting Blog Posts

Why the strange collection of sounds called music is a uniquely human obsession.

How the miniaturization of tools might have made us human.

Social Notes

My pantry staples.

Everything Else

Doctor delivers the bad news to his dying patient via robot.

Medieval diseases returning to Southern California.

Chickens gang up to kill intruding fox.

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

Film project you should back: Defying All Odds, the story of Dr. Terry Wahls astonishing lifestyle-based recovery from multiple sclerosis. This is an important story that people should know about.

Article I found fascinating: How the Inuit Teach Their Kids to Control Their Anger

I hope they look further into this: Inactive ingredients aren’t so inactive.

I’m not there yet: At what age do you feel 65?

Question I’m Asking

With “keto bloat,” the media seems primed to launch another barrage of “terrible keto side effect” coverage. Do you think this is legit concern or malicious fear mongering?

Recipe Corner

• Nothing like a bunch of pork on a big sheet pan.
• Dairy-free roasted garlic dip. Great with dairy, too.

Time Capsule

One year ago (Mar 10 – Mar 16)

• 5 Easy Lunches From Primal Leftovers – Easy can be delicious.
• Is the Autoimmune Protocol Right For You?– How to do it, and know if you need it.

Comment of the Week

“For sure, ground sloth is slow food.”

– Excellent, Walter.

The post Weekly Link Love—Edition 20 appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

Originally posted at: http://www.nerdfitness.com/

Seriously, what’s the deal with fruit?

It’s gotta be healthy.

It’s natural, came out of the ground, off a vine, or fell out of a tree…

“Eating your fruits and veggies” is common guidance given by mothers, doctors, and governments agencies.

Doesn’t this have to be sound advice?

Well, fruit is also often loaded with sugar. And sugar is bad news bears.

So is fruit good for me? Bad for me? Somewhere in between? And is juice good? Because I like juice!

Welp, the answer is…it depends.

Today we’re going to dig into the question “is fruit healthy?” and give you the Nerd Fitness take. Plus, a video of a cat getting his head stuck in a box.

You’re welcome.

If you’re curious about where fruit and other foods such as potatoes fall on the healthy spectrum, you should check out the Nerd Fitness Diet guide and cheat sheet. It’s a level up system designed for you to adopt new healthy habits, that will stick, by slowly progressing you from a newbie to an expert.

You can check it out for free when you join the Rebellion!

Is Fruit Healthy?

We’re fans of “real food” around here at Nerd Fitness.

Don’t give me that look, you know what I mean: things that grew in the ground, on a tree, came out of the sea, ran on the land, or flew through the air. Meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, and nuts are all great examples of REAL food.

So fruit would absolutely qualify, as they are naturally existing plant-based foods that are packed full of key vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and more.

However, to properly address the question “CAN I HAZ FRUIT?” we need to talk about sugar.

So let’s go over a quick rundown and then we’ll get to the answer.

Depending on the fruit, it contains a certain combination of each of the following types of sugar:

• Fructose
• Glucose
• Sucrose (a combination of Fructose and Glucose)

Why do we bring this up? Because of the evidence showing added sugars can cause metabolic disorders like diabetes.^[1] If you want a deep dive into the subject, you can click check out this article.

However, notice how I used the word “added.” The important point on fruit, is the sugar found within it is naturally occurring. Which changes things.

The sugar in fruit is accompanied by fiber, which helps our bodies slow the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream. As opposed to a Twinkie, which is not very fibrous (i.e. no fiber).

So while many fruits do contain quite a bit of sugar, they’re also generally low in calories (we’ll touch on this shortly), and satiating because of all that fiber.

Plus, the sugar can actually be a good thing, providing a quick source of energy.

I eat fruit for a delicious and healthy snack (apples and almond butter for the win!), or to give me some energy before a workout.

Long story short: we like fruit, and think that it can be part of your healthy meals each day.

But there is a COUPLE of caveats…

Calories still matter and I’ve seen people eat too much fruit.

When somebody is transitioning from a very unhealthy diet full of lots of calories and sugar to a primarily protein and plant based diet, it’s very easy to go overboard when sugar is no longer a primary food group. And hey, we’d rather you eat lots of fruit than lots of candy and soda. No question about it.

But since our bodies can get addicted to sugar so easily, we want to be careful. Where does one look when they want sugar but can’t eat candy? Fruit! Lots of it. It can still hit that pleasure center in our brain that says, “YAY SUGAR.”

We have talked with quite a few members of the NF Rebellion who have been frustrated with their lack of weight loss, only to discover that they were eating 1,000 + calories each day of fruit!

As we point out in our article “Why Can’t I Lose Weight” – burning more calories than you consume each day is the most important part of weight loss (calculate your calorie requirements right here). 

It’s thermodynamics.

Unless your Donkey Kong, the health benefits of fruit isn’t an excuse to eat 30 bananas a day.

However, it should be noted that fruit is actually relatively filling, because of all the fiber.^[2] Plus, it’s still generally low in calories, especially compared to more processed food.

Let’s get you some wiseGEEK photos for comparison.

Here’s 200 calories of apples:

Here’s 200 calories of pasta.

Yeah…

However, for apples to be this filling, the fiber and water content needs to be intact. Which brings us to our next section. 

What about Dried Fruit and fruit juice?

“Fruit is healthy. I like juice. Therefore fruit juice must be healthy!…right?”

Unfortunately, most fruit juice (apple juice, orange juice, cranberry juice, grape juice, etc.) might as well be labeled “sugar water.” When the fruit is squeezed to make juice, you get all of the sugar from MANY fruits and none of the fiber.  Suck!

Throw in some preservatives, extra sugar for flavor, and a few other ingredients and you have yourself a “healthy juice drink made with real fruit!”

Here is a typical amount of sugar for four popular fruit juices, all in the name of “healthy”! I’m sure they’re labeled as such too (and this is assuming you’re only drinking 12 oz):

• Orange juice – 21g of sugar
• Apple juice – 28g of sugar
• Cranberry juice – 37g of sugar
• Grape juice – 38g of sugar

For reference, a 12 oz can of Coke has 40g of sugar. So, if you’re trying to be healthy, fruit juice is a no-no. If you want to squeeze your own OJ occasionally, go for it…just keep it in moderation. Fruit squeezed without the fiber is just sugar water…

Next, avoid “real fruit smoothies” from places like Smoothie King. Those things can have 500+ calories and over 100 grams of sugar. That’s not healthy – it’s a few frozen berries and a boatload of sugar and juice.

Lastly, let’s talk about dried fruit.

“Take fruit, dry it. Boom dried fruit! What could possibly be unhealthy about that?”

The issue with dried fruit is that it’s quite easy to eat a crazy amount of it (as it’s dehydrated and takes up way less space in your belly than normal fruit), which can lead to overconsumption of sugar and calories quickly.

For example, a small quarter cup (aka a tiny handful) of raisins has 130 calories, and 30 grams of sugar.

So, although dried fruit contains the healthy vitamins and minerals of fresh fruit and is easy to throw in a bag when traveling, it’s calorically dense and very easy to scarf down by the handful (without putting much of a dent in your appetite). So, if you snack on them, be aware of your consumption!

To recap:

• Avoid fruit juice unless you squeeze it yourself.
• Don’t even think about “real fruit smoothies” from the smoothie store.
• Consume dried fruit in limited quantities.

Just tell me what to do!!!

Like anything else, Nerd Fitness recommends fresh fruit in moderation.

Except awesomeness.

You can have as much of that as you want.

Back to fruit! We recommend eating a healthy combination of vegetables, protein, and healthy fats. We think fruit should be a part of that equation too.

Although it’s nearly impossible to overeat celery, lettuce, broccoli, and asparagus…but it is possible to overeat fruit. So eat fruit! But eat it in moderation – it should not occupy the biggest portion of your plate at every meal (that should be veggies, even if you don’t like them).

Here’s the lowdown:

If you are healthy, happy, and feel confident in your skin, and you eat fruit….keep doing what you’re doing. It’s working! Victory!

If you are struggling to lose weight and fruit makes up a big part of your diet, consider scaling it back and eating more fat/protein/vegetables instead.

If your goal is weight loss: Eat dried fruit rarely, canned fruit even less often, and fruit juice less than that.  Eat real fruit in moderation.

Be smart, enjoy your fruit, and stay mindful as you eat.

Let’s hear your fruit stories! Do you have a favorite fruit snack (Gushers don’t count), or is fruit something you’re now realizing you eat WAYY too much of?

-Steve

PS: I included three cats in this article, and to my knowledge, cats don’t even eat fruit. That’s how we roll here at Nerd Fitness. 

###

All photo sources are right here.^[3]

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For this week’s edition of Dear Mark, I’m answering three questions from readers. First, is the reduced protein efficiency in older adults due to inactivity, or is it something inherent to the aging process, or both? Second, how does a person know if they’ve actually “earned” any carbs? Does everyone on a keto diet earn carbs by virtue of exercising, or is there more to it? And finally, how can a hardgainer with a packed schedule all week long and limited gym time maintain what little muscle mass he’s managed to gain?

Let’s find out:

Interesting observation on protein needs and training in Sunday with Sisson – general consensus is that older folks need more protein as they age but maybe that’s because they are less active and not simply a result of aging.

That’s probably part of it, but it’s not all of it.

In studies where they compare resistance training seniors who eat extra protein with resistance training seniors who don’t, only the seniors eating extra protein gain muscle mass.

Now, it may be that a lifetime of inactivity degrades your ability to utilize protein, and if these older adults had always lifted weights they would have retained their protein efficiency. But maybe not. As it stands, all else being equal, an older adult needs more protein to get the same effect, even if he or she is lifting weights.

Enjoyable read. As someone who lives a ketogenic lifestyle, and who is athletically active, I am not sure exactly how to go about consuming the carbs I’ve “earned.” I rarely run into problems with athletic energy, at least not below anaerobic threshold. Not sure that eating more carbs will improve my performance. And, if they would improve my performance, how does one go about calculating earned carb replacement without losing the fat burning benefits of ketosis?

It sounds like you’re in a good place.

When I say “eat the carbs you earn,” I’m talking to the people who do run into problems with athletic energy, poor performance, insomnia, and other symptoms of exercise-induced stress. Typically, the people who “earn their carbs” are doing stuff like CrossFit, high volume moderate-to-high intensity endurance work, martial arts training, and team sports.

I doubt extra carbs will improve your performance if most of your training takes place in the aerobic zone. But if you wanted to experiment, you could try a small sweet potato immediately after a workout where you passed the anaerobic threshold.

That’s the best way to determine if you’ve earned carbs. Eat 20-30 grams after a workout and see if you enjoy performance gains without gaining body fat. There’s no consumer-friendly way to directly calculate carb debt; self-experimentation is it.

I recently took a job that has me out of bed at 4am and not home until 6pm Monday Through Friday. Is there an efficient way I can maintain muscle mass only lifting weights Saturday and Sunday? I’m a hardgainer at 5’10” and only 140lbs. I’m afraid giving up my 5 day split will ruin what muscle I’ve been able to gain.

Any hardgainer has to eat, and eat, and eat. Increase your food intake. Just eat. Stick to healthy Primal fare, but pack in the food. Meat, milk, veggies, potatoes, rice, eggs, avocados, fruit. Throw some liver in, too (old bodybuilder staple). It doesn’t sound like fat gain is an issue for you, so I’d take advantage of that and just consume calories.

As for training, get some exercise snacks in during the week.

As soon as you wake up, do a quick superset of pushups. Do as many pushups as you can. Wait 30 seconds. Do as many pushups as you can. Wait 30 seconds. Do as many pushups as you can. There you go. That shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes in the morning. Can you squeeze that in?

Repeat this every morning with a different exercise. Pullups, bodyweight rows, kettlebell swings, handstand pushups, dips, bodyweight squats, goblet squats, reverse lunges, reverse weighted lunges. Just choose one thing to do every morning, cram as many reps as you can using the same format (max reps, 30 s rest, max reps, 30 s rest, max reps). Buy any equipment you can if you choose to use weights.

When you get home at night, do the same thing with a different exercise. Morning pushups, evening KB swings, etc. That way, you get about 10 minutes per weekday of intense strength training without impacting your sleep or schedule in any real meaningful way.

Make sure your sleep hygiene is rock solid. Dim those lights at night, turn on f.lux or night mode, wear the blue blocking goggles, get to bed (ideally) by 8:30, 9 to give you 7 to 7.5 hours of sleep. Sleep is essential for gaining lean mass (and staying healthy in general).

On the weekend, hit the weights hard on both days, hitting the entire body. Go high volume/reps. If size is your goal, dropping the weight a bit and focusing on range of motion and a high rep count (10-15 per set) is very effective.

Food, sleep, reps. Good luck!

Thanks for stopping in today, everybody. Additional thoughts for these folks—or questions of your own? Share them below.

References:

Tieland M, Dirks ML, Van der zwaluw N, et al. Protein supplementation increases muscle mass gain during prolonged resistance-type exercise training in frail elderly people: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2012;13(8):713-9.

The post Dear Mark: Protein Efficiency in Seniors, Earned Carbs, Hardgainer with Limited Time appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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Although we have a lot to learn about food intolerances, ever-growing research proves that they aren’t psychological or make-believe. Read on to learn the differences between a true food allergy and a food intolerance, some examples of common food intolerances, and how healing your gut can, in some cases, alleviate the problem.

Food intolerances are very real—and can have serious consequences if they’re ignored. Check out this article to find out the difference between a food allergy and a food intolerance. #wellness #chriskresser

Food Allergy vs. Food Intolerance—They’re Not the Same

Food allergies are on the rise, especially in children:

• Between 1997 and 2011 food allergies increased by 50 percent in American children (1)
• Today, around 1 in 13 children and 1 in 25 adults in the United States suffer from a life-threatening food allergy (2)

In a true food allergy, a person’s immune system produces immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies in response to her consumption of a particular food. These IgE antibodies initiate a cascade of events that can affect the skin (hives), the respiratory tract (wheezing), and/or the GI tract (vomiting).

Even more common than food allergies, food intolerances are estimated to affect up to 20 percent of the population in industrialized countries. (3, 4, 5) Food intolerances are not IgE mediated and are thought to be caused by specific enzyme deficiencies, impaired food absorption, and other GI issues. (6) In many cases, other immunoglobulin antibody responses may also be involved (IgA and IgG)—but more on that later.

If unmanaged, food intolerances can have serious health consequences too. If you don’t know you have a food intolerance and keep eating the offending food(s), you increase your risk of developing an autoimmune disease, neurological disorders, and more. (7, 8, 9, 10)

Five Common Food Intolerances

Let’s explore some common food intolerances that affect millions of people.

1. Celiac Disease

Often confused with a wheat allergy, celiac disease (CD) is not an allergy but rather an autoimmune disease, characterized by an inflammatory immune response to wheat gluten, rye, barley, and related proteins. Affecting 1 to 5 percent of Americans, CD usually manifests as GI disturbances like abdominal pain and diarrhea, but many patients with CD have no GI symptoms and may not even know they have it. (11, 12)

These atypical, or “silent,” forms of CD are far from harmless. Silent CD is associated with higher rates of iron deficiency, anemia, osteoporosis, neurological symptoms, and a nearly fourfold increase in the risk of death. (13, 14)

2. Non-Celiac Gluten Intolerance

CD screening only tests for antibodies to a few components found in gluten, but people can react to many other components of wheat and gluten in a condition called non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS). (15, 16, 17, 18, 19) No robust diagnosis yet exists for NCGS. The best clinical description is: “a reaction to gluten that resolves when gluten is removed from the diet, and CD and allergy have been ruled out.” (20)

Despite its inexact diagnosis, NCGS is real—and studies are proving it. Double-blind, placebo-controlled trials indicate that a subset of people who do not have CD or a wheat allergy can and do indeed react horribly to gluten when they don’t know whether they are being given gluten or not. (21, 22, 23)

Up to one in 20 Americans may have NCGS, which can affect the brain, skin, endocrine system, stomach, liver, blood vessels, and more. NCGS can produce a wide range of symptoms: (24, 25, 26)

• Bloating
• Abdominal pain
• Gas and related pain
• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Tiredness
• Headache
• Anxiety
• Foggy mind
• Eczema
• Chronic fatigue
• Joint and muscle pain
• Asthma
• Depression

Unfortunately, many health professionals still don’t take NCGS seriously, which does a huge disservice to those suffering. In fact, NCGS, especially if undiagnosed, can be even more serious than CD. Epithelial damage to the gut, systemic immune activation, and systemic inflammation are all linked to NCGS. (27) By continuing to eat gluten, patients with NCGS are at higher risk of developing arthritis, thyroiditis, multiple sclerosis, ataxia, diabetes, and even amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease). (28, 29, 30, 31)

3. FODMAP Intolerance

Sometimes, people who think they are sensitive to gluten may actually be intolerant to FODMAPs, or fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols. FODMAPs, a type of carbohydrate, are found in many common foods besides wheat, including:

• High-fructose fruits
• Asparagus
• Brussels sprouts
• Garlic
• Onions

In the case of FODMAP intolerance, the GI tract isn’t fully digesting and absorbing these short-chain carbs, which are then fermented by gut bacteria, creating gas and increasing fluid movement into the large bowel. (32)

FODMAP intolerance is common in people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). By adhering to a low-FODMAP diet, up to 75 percent of people have relief from functional gut disorder symptoms, especially IBS. (33, 34, 35, 36, 37). However, a low-FODMAP diet is not advisable long term because it can decrease microbial diversity and density of beneficial bacterial species. (38, 39)

4. Lactose Intolerance

Up to 65 percent of the world’s population—literally billions of people—may be lactose intolerant. (40) Lactase, the enzyme that digests the milk sugar lactose, is present in infants and young children, presumably to digest breast milk, but many people don’t maintain full lactase function beyond childhood. (41, 42)

Why Eat Dairy, Anyway?

Most iterations of the Paleo diet don’t include dairy. But, if well tolerated, dairy can be a nutritious and beneficial part of a Paleo template. If you’re not eating fish heads, bones, and skin, getting adequate calcium without dairy isn’t easy. Pastured dairy is a great source of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and K2 and is a primary source of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a beneficial, naturally occurring trans fat thought to have anti-cancer properties. (43)

5. IgG- and IgA-Mediated Food Intolerances

Many prominent immunologists argue that some (maybe even most) food intolerances do activate the immune system, but rather than being IgE mediated like a food allergy, they are mediated by IgG and IgA antibodies. IgG- and IgA-mediated food intolerances are thought to be related to increased gut permeability and are often implicated in Crohn’s disease and other GI conditions. (44, 45) If the gut is permeable, food molecules can escape and be detected by the immune system.

Symptoms of these intolerances range from allergy-like reactions such as rashes and asthma to GI symptoms like cramps, constipation, and diarrhea and neurological symptoms such as migraines. (46) Unlike IgE-mediated responses, IgA- and IgG-mediated responses can take days or even months to occur, which makes identifying the culprit(s) more difficult. (47)

How to Overcome a Food Intolerance

People with food allergies generally have them for life, although children sometimes can “outgrow” allergies to milk, egg, wheat, or soy. But you might be able to do something about a food intolerance by healing your gut.

Here are some ways to fix your gut:

• Increase stomach acid using supplementation and herbs. Stomach acid is needed for digestion. Although many people think they have too much stomach acid, they may in fact have too little.
• Get tested and treated for SIBO or intestinal pathogens to reestablish a healthy gut flora.
• Eat sauerkraut and other fermented foods and consider taking a probiotic supplement.
• Eat fermentable fiber, as prebiotics can be even more effective than probiotics at improving the microbiota profile.
• Drink bone broth. The gelatin, glycine, and glutamine in bone broth all have beneficial effects for the gut.

Should You Get Tested for a Food Intolerance?

If your suspected food intolerances seem linked to severe reactions or conditions like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), IBS, or ulcerative colitis, the Paleo autoimmune protocol (AIP) diet, which goes a step beyond Paleo by also initially removing eggs, nightshades, coffee, nuts, and seeds, might be prudent. In a study published in 2017, 11 of the 15 IBD patients who adopted an AIP diet achieved clinical remission in just six weeks! (48) This further supports the idea that the gut and food intolerances are intricately linked.

But because reactions don’t always appear right away, these rudimentary dietary experiments can be incomplete. The next option would be IgA- and IgG-based blood tests.

A lot of controversy surrounds blood tests that screen for food intolerances based on IgA and IgG levels. Some scientists and immunologists claim that levels of IgG and/or IgA antibodies in the blood merely reveal that a patient has been exposed to certain foods, not that they are necessarily intolerant to these foods. (49, 50, 51) I interviewed Dr. Aristo Vojdani, a respected immunologist with many peer-reviewed papers, on this very subject. We explored some of the reasons why not all food intolerance tests are created equal, such as how testing cooked versus raw foods can yield different outcomes, but not all tests measure both. (52)

It’s clear we need more research surrounding reliable, reproducible, and scientifically founded food intolerance testing. However, food exclusion diets based on IgG and/or IgA antibody testing have provided relief for symptoms of:

• Ulcerative colitis (53)
• IBD (54)
• Migraines (55)
• Skin disorders (56)

At my clinic, we use the IgG/IgA tests offered by Cyrex Labs. (Your healthcare provider will have to order this for you as this is not a direct-to-consumer lab.) Array 3X identifies gluten and gluten-related protein intolerances. If a patient has celiac disease or NCGS, they are very likely to have other food sensitivities, and I might follow up with Array 4 or Array 10. (57)

Now I’d like to hear from you. Did you know the details of a food allergy vs. food intolerance? Have you ever been dismissed or mocked for claiming to have a food intolerance? Let me know in the comments!

The post Food Allergy vs. Food Intolerance: Why the Difference Matters appeared first on Chris Kresser.

https://www.girlsgonestrong.com/

Pull-ups are an incredibly badass bodyweight exercise, and the possibilities for creativity and play are endless. This is one of many reasons why the pull-up is possibly my favorite exercise in the world.

Contrary to what some people might suggest, the pull-up is not just an upper body movement.

It is an extremely technically demanding full-body exercise. Therefore, there are many different elements of the pull-up you can train for. Also, no matter where you are in your current pull-up journey, there is an abundance of exercise variations from the different pull-up pre-requisite categories that will meet your current fitness level and ability. So training for pull-ups is something most people can do.

Are you still struggling to excel at pull-ups? Check out this article where I discuss some extremely common mistakes in great detail.

Let’s suppose you’ve honed your craft and have mastered all of the pull-up pre-requisites, and are now able to bang out multiple reps of pull-ups. Does this mean your journey is over? Absolutely not! Now it is time for you to have some fun.

In this article, I am going to share 10 of my favorite advanced pull-up variations. You might not even have seen or tried some of them before!

Before you sink your teeth into any of these advanced variations, I highly recommend that you are able to perform at least 8–10 perfectly executed strict pull-ups. While this is not a black and white recommendation, you don’t want to perform these advanced variations before you are ready. Also, if any of these advanced variations give you even the smallest amount of discomfort, avoid doing them.

1. Mixed-Grip 180-Degree Pull-Ups

In this badass pull-up variation, you adopt a mixed grip, which means that one palm is facing you (supinated grip), and the other is facing away from you (pronated grip). Place your hands so they are slightly closer together than they would be for regular pull-ups.

As with all pull-ups, initiate the movement by drawing each shoulder blade in towards your spine and down towards your opposite hip, not by pulling with your arms. After you have initiated the scapular movement and as your body is traveling towards the bar, perform a 180-degree turn with your body, and in the direction of the palm that is facing you.

During the lowering portion of the movement, reverse the movement. As with all pull-ups, do not keep your shoulder blades pinned — they are meant to move! During the eccentric component of the pull-up (i.e., on the way down), your shoulder blades should be doing the opposite movement as they did during the concentric component (on the way up).

With this advanced variation, you likely want to keep the number of reps you perform on the lower side. Avoid performing this movement if it bothers your elbows or shoulders.

2. Two-Finger Pull-Ups

In this advanced pull-up variation, you perform the movement with just two fingers per hand on the bar. While this variation might seem flashy, it absolutely serves a purpose.

If you are performing pull-ups correctly, the muscles in your mid and upper back — not your arms — should be doing the majority of the work. The shoulder blades — again, not the arms — should be initiating the movement.

This exercise forces you to stop relying on your arms, and is fun to do! If using two fingers per hand is too challenging, start out by using three fingers per hand.

3. Pull-Ups With Lateral Glides

This might be my favorite advanced pull-up variation as it adds an element of play. Make no mistake: while this exercise is fun, it is exceptionally challenging.

Do a pull-up. Once your chest reaches the bar, perform lateral gliding movements with your upper body, while keeping your chest at bar height — this part of the exercise absolutely torches the lats!

Once you’ve completed about 2–5 lateral glides per side, lower your body down to the starting position, by reversing the movements you did on the way up.

4. Band-Resisted Pull-Ups

I bet you’ve heard of band-assisted pull-ups, but have you heard of band-resisted pull-ups?

In this advanced pull-up variation, rather than using a band for assistance, you are using one to make the exercise more challenging. Set up a band so it is across the base of a squat rack, and so it is resting on your forefeet. Ideally, there should be tension in the band for 100 percent of the movement.

As the band is resting on your feet, this essentially forces you to dorsiflex your feet, fully extend your knees, and engage the muscles in your quads. This is how I coach people to perform pull-ups.

Also, the additional resistance the band provides increases the overall demand for upper body strength, shoulder and scapular controlled mobility, lumbopelvic stability, and grip strength.

5. Pull-Ups With Weighted Dowel On Feet

Proper body positioning, as well as generating the requisite levels of tension in the lumbopelvic region and lower body, play a key role when it comes to excelling at pull-ups.

In this advanced variation, rest a weighted dowel on your forefeet, and perform pull-ups. If you do not maintain proper body positioning, engage the muscles in your lower body, and dorsiflex your feet, the dowel will fall.

The weight of the dowel also increases the overall demand for upper body strength, shoulder and scapular controlled mobility, lumbopelvic stability, and grip strength. You may start out using an unweighted dowel, and build from there.

6. Pull-Ups While Balancing a Book On Your Head

Many people struggle to reach their chin or chest to the bar when performing pull-ups, and try to complete the rep by reaching for the bar with their chin — this is not a complete rep!

In all seriousness, your head, torso, and hips should remain in a stacked position for the duration of the movement (think of your body as a canister). Rather than reaching up to the bar with your chin, you want to keep your chin tucked and neck in a neutral position.

In this variation, I’m performing the movement while balancing a book on my head. This helps keep optimal head and neck positioning — if you lose it, the book will fall.

7. Single-Arm-Assisted Pull-Ups

Many people have the goal of being able to do a single-arm pull-up. While this is an extremely lofty goal, this advanced variation is an in-between.

With this type of pull-up, hold onto the bar with one hand, grab onto your opposite forearm with the hand of the non-working arm, and perform pull-ups while using as little assistance from the non-working side as possible.

This exercise demands a lot of shoulder and scapular controlled mobility, grip strength, and lumbopelvic stability, and is extremely anti-rotational in nature. While you may use any grip, I find that adopting a neutral grip works and feels best.

8. Corner Rack Pull-Ups

I got this innovative advanced pull-up variation from my friend Nick Nilsson, who calls these corner rack pull-ups with lateral band tension, and they are awesome!

With this variation, wrap a mini-band around your forearms and grip onto the top cross beams, positioning your palms so they are facing outward. For the duration of the movement, press outward or laterally against the band and into the beams as this increases the amount of work the lats are required to do. Make sure there is tension in the band for 100 percent of the movement.

9. Pull-Ups With Band-Resisted Psoas Marches

This advanced pull-up variation is extremely unique as it combines pull-ups and band-resisted psoas marches. With this movement, you simultaneously pull yourself up to the bar while performing band-resisted psoas marches, using a mini-band wrapped around the front of your feet.

In order to execute both of these movements to perfection, you likely need to perform both movements using a slower speed, which makes the exercise even more challenging. Once you reach the top position, pause for a brief count, and return to the bottom position while reversing the movements you did on the way up.

10. Single-Arm Pull-Ups Using Band Assistance

Here is another single-arm assisted pull-up variation you can try out. In this exercise, fasten a band around the pull-up bar, and grab onto the band with your non-working hand. Perform pull-ups while using as little assistance from the non-working arm and band as possible.

Like the other single-arm assisted variation I shared, this exercise also demands a lot of shoulder and scapular controlled mobility, grip strength, and lumbopelvic stability, and is extremely anti-rotational in nature.

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The post 10 Advanced Pull-Up Variations You Haven’t Tried Before appeared first on Girls Gone Strong.

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Your favorite athlete continuously works on the fundamentals, so why don’t you?

Not to sound like an ass, but what do you think gives you the right to skip building a foundation?

Answer: No one has that right.

The strongest people in the world have built their strength through years of consistently training the foundational exercises and building a base. Without a base, you have nothing to build off of and rather than getting bigger and stronger, you crash and burn.

read more

Originally posted at: http://www.nerdfitness.com/

If your hotel doesn’t have a gym, is your training routine doomed?

Should you just turn on HBO and get back to exercising when you’re home?

Not so fast! If you have 20 minutes, and a cozy hotel room, you can still get a great workout in!

I have a simple routine that I use when I’m stuck in a hotel room, and you can try it too!

Let’s get your heart racing and roaring, and then you can get back to complimentary cable.

Also, if you’re prioritizing working out while traveling because you don’t want to lose momentum on your fitness journey, you’ve come to the right place!

We have tons of resources for you to check out. If your hotel does have a gym, we have a Strength Training 101 guide that will show you exactly how to use it. If your diet suffers when you’re traveling, our healthy eating guide will provide tips on what to keep in your mini-fridge. And if you want more exercises to do from your hotel room, our Beginner Bodyweight Workout will walk you through another full routine you can do from anywhere.

You can grab them, and our other free guides when you join the Rebellion below!

THE HOTEL ROOM WORKOUT

Whenever I create a workout, I always aim for a complete full body routine that will build muscle, burn fat, and also exercise your heart. 

And when I’m pressed for time, I do it in a circuit, so I can jump from one movement to the next.

I hit four types of exercises for my routines:

• Legs – working both the front and back of your legs
• Push – chest, shoulders, triceps
• Pull – back, biceps, forearms
• Core – abs and lower back

That means that you can work out almost every muscle in your body with just four exercises – simplicity for the win!

Always start with a warm-up (to get your core temperature up and muscles loose): 25 jumping jacks, 15 bodyweight squats, 10 push ups, 10 lunges (each leg), 10 hip raises, 25 jumping jacks. Do one exercise right after another – this should take you probably 3-4 minutes.

After that, move into your workout – set your watch/laptop for 15 minutes and then do as many full circuits as possible in that time frame, using PERFECT FORM for each repetition. I’ve split the workout into three levels – beginners should start at level 1 until they feel comfortable enough to advance to levels 2 and 3.

Do each exercise, one after another, without stopping if possible. If you need to stop between exercises or even in the middle of the set, go for it. Just remember you’re trying to complete as many circuits as possible within the 15 minutes without compromising your form. Advance to the more challenging exercises at your own pace, and if some exercises are too difficult or it’s too many reps, adjust them to fit your experience level – just make sure you are getting stronger and challenging yourself with each additional hotel stay. For example, if you can only do 5 incline push-ups…aim for six when doing the workout next time. So, here it is!

LEVEL 1

• 20 Body Weight Squats (you don’t need a chair like in video, that’s just if you need help)
• 15 Incline Push-Ups (feet on floor, hands on edge of bed or desk)
• 10 One-Arm Luggage Rows (each arm, use your suit case as your weight)
• 10 Reverse Crunches

LEVEL 2

• 25 Overhead Squats
• 20 Push-Ups
• 10 Inverted Rows (using the desk in your hotel room…just don’t break it!)
• 15 Reverse Crunches

LEVEL 3

• 25 Jumping Squats
• 20 Decline Push-Ups (feet up on bed or desk chair)
• 10 Inverted Rows (with feet elevated onto desk chair)
• 15 Reverse Crunches

After your workout (you should be sweating like crazy if you did it right), ALWAYS remember to stretch. 

Here’s a cool down sequence you can try:

MORE WORKOUTS BUILT FOR HOTELS AND TRAVELLING

If you’re a road warrior and find yourself in hotels often, we have many resources here at Nerd Fitness to offer you.

If you enjoyed the Hotel Room Workout Circuit, it and others just like it can be found in our article “15 Free Circuit Training Routines: Build Strength and Stamina.”

If you like working out in unconventional places, like a hotel room, check it out! It’ll cover training in playgrounds, living rooms, or a gym (okay, that last one is 100% conventional).

Plus, there’s a circuit routine inspired by Batman.

You’re welcome.

The next resource I would toss your way is the article “How to Stay in Shape While Travelling.”

I took an epic quest of awesomeness for half a year, and while living out of a backpack, got in some of the best shape of my life. You can read all about it right here.

The last resource I will mention is our uber-popular 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program. Many of our clients travel quite a bit, and having an accountability partner that is available in any part of the world has been a game changer for many Rebels.

Are you trying to learn a new exercise, lose weight, or build muscle, but find doing it on the road a challenge? I’d love for you to click below and find out if we are a good fit for each other:

WHY YOU SHOULD WORK OUT IN YOUR HOTEL ROOM

Even when I’m living out of hotel rooms, I prioritize working out.

I find that on days when I exercise, I eat better. Something activates in my brain when exercising that says “I’m trying to be healthy, so I’m going to eat healthy.” On days when I don’t exercise at all, I tend to say things like “meh, I’ll do it tomorrow” or ‘it’s only one meal” or “it’s only a few beers.”

Not good, because as we continuously remind Rebels, diet is 80-90% of fitness equation.

That’s why a workout, even if it’s for only 20 minutes, can be very critical while traveling. It really does have a way of stopping you from gorging yourself silly on pizza later.

The next time you’re in a hotel room, or any room, try our 20-Minute Hotel Room Workout. If you find even Level 3 too easy, try this one instead. I’ll warn you though, I don’t hold back on this more advanced circuit.

Alright, now I want to hear from you:

Do you spend a lot of time in hotels?

Travel a lot for work?

What are your tips and tricks for staying healthy while living in hotels?

Let us know in the comments!

-Steve

PS: I mentioned above that what you eat will be responsible for 80-90% of your fitness journey. If you have no idea where to even begin on eating healthy, like a lost sheep with no shepherd, I encourage you to check out our 10-Level Nutrition Guide.

It’s designed for beginners, with easy simple progressions, each level getting a bit more challenging and healthier. You also progress at your own speed, to make sure your dietary changes stick!

You can download it for free by signing up to the Rebellion below:

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All photo sources can be found right here.^[1]

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/

Because people don’t have enough diets to choose from already, there’s a new one on the scene: the Pegan diet. Actually it’s not that new—Dr. Mark Hyman started writing about it back in 2014, but it’s gained traction since he published his latest book last year, Food: What the Heck Should I Eat?

According to Hyman, Pegan is a somewhat tongue-in-cheek play on the fact that it’s not quite Paleo and it’s not really vegan, hence Pegan. It claims to combine the best of both diets, namely a focus on eating lots of vegetables, as well as an emphasis on sustainable agriculture and ethical and ecologically sound animal farming.

Setting aside the obvious issue that it’s 100% possible to be a vegan who eats few to no vegetables, or to be a paleo dieter who cares naught about the environment, Pegan is touted as being easier to stick to than either vegan or paleo (presumably because Pegan allows for consumption of foods not allowed on either). Frankly, trying to frame it as a bridge between the two hasn’t proved to be a seamless, happy compromise based on social media conversation, but that’s probably of little surprise to anyone here.

I’ve had some readers ask me about the merits of Pegan and whether it offers any particular advantages over paleo/Primal, and I’m taking up that question today. (Note that I’m only focusing on the Pegan diet proposed by Dr. Hyman, not the “Pegan 365” diet offered by Dr. Oz. The latter isn’t paleo at all, allowing whole grain bread and pasta, corn, tofu, and a weekly “cheat day.” You can imagine my response to this version.)

Defining the Pegan Diet

These are the basic tenets of the Pegan diet in a nutshell:

Focus on sourcing high-quality food – Prioritize organically grown and pesticide-free produce as well as meat, eggs, and fats from pasture-raised and grass-fed animals and finally sustainably harvested seafood. Choose seafood with the lowest possible mercury content. Buy local when you can. Avoid CAFO meats and foods containing chemical additives.

Eliminate processed modern food-like substances and franken-fats – Processed carbohydrates have a high glycemic load and lead to excessive insulin production. Refined vegetable and seed oils such as canola and sunflower are pro-inflammatory. Avoid all such products.

Go gluten-free – Even if you don’t have celiac disease or an obvious gluten sensitivity, modern wheat is still a frankenfood, and gluten can damage the gut. Occasional consumption of heirloom wheat (e.g., einkorn) is ok if you tolerate it.

Go dairy-free – Dairy is problematic for most people and is best avoided. If you do decide to include some dairy, consider choosing goat and sheep milk products instead of cow. Grass-fed butter and ghee are acceptable.

Make vegetables the centerpiece of your diet – Vegetables (mostly non-starchy) should comprise 75% of your diet.

Enjoy healthy fats – Focus on omega-3s, as from small, oily fish. Eat plenty of healthy fats from grass-fed and pastured meats and whole eggs, nuts and seeds, avocados, and coconut products. Use olive oil, avocado oil, and coconut oil for cooking.

Eat meat sparingly – Dr. Hyman uses the term “condi-meat” to emphasize that meat should be a side dish, not the focus of the meal. He recommends no more than 4 – 6 ounces of meat per meal.

Include gluten-free grains and legumes in small quantities – You may eat ½ cup of gluten-free grains like amaranth or quinoa, plus ½ – 1 cup of legumes (preferably lentils) per day. If you are insulin resistant, you should limit these or refrain altogether.

Limit sugar – Avoid refined sugar and conventional “treats.” The bulk of your vegetable intake should be from non-starchy varieties, and opt for low-glycemic fruit. Natural sweeteners like honey should be used only sparingly for the occasional treat.

How Does Pegan Compare to Primal?

If you’re reading this and thinking, “Gee, Mark, this sounds an awful lot like the Primal diet,” I agree. While there are some differences between Pegan and Primal, they aren’t particularly dramatic:

Primal allows full-fat dairy consumption. Pegan discourages but doesn’t outright ban dairy.

I don’t actively encourage people to consume gluten-free grains and legumes, but I’m not as strongly opposed to them as others are in the ancestral community. I’ve said before that I consider quinoa, amaranth, wild rice, and legumes to be moderation foods (when well-tolerated, which is more an individual thing). They deliver pretty substantial carb hits relative to their nutritional value, but they certainly aren’t the worst options out there. I don’t think they should be dietary staples by any stretch—and daily consumption is too much in my opinion—but if Primal folks want to eat them occasionally, I’ve seen it work for people.

The biggest difference is in regard to protein. The Pegan diet explicitly limits protein consumption, while the Primal Blueprint recommends moderate protein consumption tailored to your activity levels, goals, age, and medical needs. On the surface, this might seem like a substantial difference, it’s probably not very disparate in practice. If a Pegan eats 3 eggs for breakfast, a large salad with 4 ounces of sardines at lunch, and 4 ounces of skin-on chicken thigh at dinner, that gets him or her to about 70 grams of protein, not counting the (admittedly incomplete) plant protein from the salad and any additional veggies included with breakfast and dinner, plus nuts and seeds. That’s within the realm of Primal guidelines, albeit less than I’d recommend for some populations.

That said, if Pegans are taking the whole “treat meat as a condiment” mantra to heart, they are probably at greater risk of underconsuming protein compared to the average Primal eater. This could present a problem for athletes and older folks looking to preserve lean mass. Likewise it is surely harder to get enough protein while also practicing time-restricted eating—and perhaps only eat one or two meals per day—and trying to follow Pegan guidelines. That isn’t a knock against Pegan per se, just a cautionary note.

Finally, while we’re on the subject of protein, I must object to Dr. Hyman’s appeal to environmentalism as a reason to limit meat consumption. I’m not at all convinced that raising livestock taxes the environment more than monocropping acres and acres of corn and soybeans.

In my opinion, Pegan could simply be called “vegetable-centric Paleo with permission to eat small amounts of quinoa and lentils if it suits you.” That isn’t catchy, though, so Pegan it is.

That said, I appreciate how Dr. Hyman for his version of the Pegan Diet emphasizes that there is no single diet that is exactly right for each individual and, like me, he advocates for self-experimentation. Dr. Hyman also speaks out against diet dogmatism and encourages his followers to focus on big-picture health. These are obviously messages I can get behind.

The Bottom Line

I’m a fan of anything that gets people thinking about food quality instead of just robotically tracking macronutrient intake and/or plugging calories into a magic weight-loss formula. Supporting sustainable agricultural practices, eating locally and seasonally, and avoiding environmental pollutants have always been part of the Primal Blueprint recommendations. In short, there is a lot I like about the Pegan diet.

However, I don’t agree that the Pegan diet is necessarily easier to implement than vegan or Paleo, which is supposed to be one of its big draws. If you’re a vegan who gets by on bagels, pasta, and Oreos, or a Paleo person who dutifully eschew grains but relies on the myriad processed, packaged Paleo food options, Pegan is not going to be easier. Changing your diet to focus on carefully sourced “real food” is still going to be a massive shift. It’s going to be much more expensive and time consuming to prepare your meals, and it will probably be incredibly burdensome at the beginning.

Sure, being able to include a small serving of gluten-free grains and legumes might make life a little easier for Paleo folks… but how much really? (For this reason I’d be skeptical if you’re considering using the Pegan diet to lose weight.) Are a lot of Paleo folks really falling off the wagon because they are feeling deprived of ½ cup of lentils? Dr. Hyman has said that his issue with Paleo is “some use the paleo philosophy as an excuse to eat too much meat and too few plant-based foods.” I’m not really seeing this pervasively in the Paleo/ancestral community, to be honest (intentional carnivore dieters notwithstanding). This strikes me as an attempt to solve a problem that didn’t need solving.

Truthfully, the things I like about Pegan are all the ways in which it is similar to Primal, which are many. Both Primal and Pegan have vegetables as the base of their food pyramids. They similarly emphasize the importance of choosing healthy fats and oils, avoiding grains and processed modern junk foods, and moderating carbohydrate intake (which Dr. Hyman frames as maintaining low glycemic load, but the effect is the same). Still, for many people the tighter Primal guidelines around carbs are probably better suited for weight loss and even weight maintenance.

Most days, if you were a fly on the wall in my kitchen, you’d see me eat a big-ass salad for lunch and a piece of meat with several types of vegetables on the side for dinner, and you wouldn’t be able to discern if I was Primal or Pegan. Then again, those nights when I tear into a giant steak would you most certainly be able to tell… and, trust me, I’m not giving those up any time soon.

The post What’s the Pegan Diet? (And How Does It Compare To Primal?) appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.