http://chriskresser.com/

I’ve often said that health is not just an individual endeavor—a multitude of other factors contribute to it, including our food system. In this episode of Revolution Health Radio, I talk with Dr. Mark Hyman about his upcoming book Food Fix, which delves deeply into the problems in our food system and discusses how they can worsen global crises like the chronic disease epidemic, climate change, poverty, and more.

The post RHR: Fixing Our Broken Food System, with Dr. Mark Hyman appeared first on Chris Kresser.

https://www.girlsgonestrong.com/

Does this situation sound familiar?

A client comes to you, pumped up and excited about getting back into a training program. You develop a fantastic program to help her get the exact results she’s looking for. She loves it and starts out enthusiastically. And then…

… her motivation fizzles.

She starts coming in late or canceling altogether.

She isn’t following through on the recommendations you’re giving her.

Maybe she even starts expressing doubts, like…

• “Maybe this is just too much for me right now…”
• “I think this might not be the right time…”
• “I don’t know if I can keep this up…”
• “Sure, I guess I could probably do that… but…”

You’ve done everything you can to help your client… why can’t she stick with it?

If this scenario is hitting home (maybe you’re even thinking of a client or two in particular), I get it. It can be puzzling and flat-out frustrating when this happens! And maybe that little voice inside your head is thinking, “Is it my fault?”

But here’s the thing: your client’s “excuses” are likely legitimate roadblocks to her adherence.

What do I mean by that?

I mean that lack of consistency (or feeling stuck, or losing motivation…) is often more than what it seems. There are a lot of deeper, surprising, invisible reasons why she’s not doing what you’re asking her to.

In this article, I’m going to talk about five of the biggest, most important barriers that might be holding your client back:

1. Identity conflict
2. Lack of confidence
3. Lack of belonging
4. Judgements and expectations
5. Emotional labor

… and what YOU can do to help her overcome them.

You might be surprised at how familiar these sound (especially if you’re a woman), or even realize that these same roadblocks may be hindering you in some aspect of your life.

Notice anything in common about these five roadblocks? (And here’s where they get a bit tricky…)

At first glance, they’re all invisible.

These barriers are often internal, and in some cases, they’ve become part of our client’s identity.

Clearing these roadblocks will help your client make more consistent progress.

That means you have the opportunity to make a tremendous difference in your client’s life.

For each one of the roadblocks I’m talking about, you’ll learn:

• What the roadblock is.
• What it looks like in action.
• Exactly what YOU can do to help empower your client to bust through these obstacles.

You can also use these tools to influence positive change in your training environment as well as the industry as a whole.

Let’s go!

Challenge #1: Your Client Is Experiencing Identity Conflict

As strange as it may sound to a fitness professional, a client’s perception of herself can be a roadblock. For example, if a client begins seeing her main identity as “mom,” it can be challenging to remain consistent with something that sits outside of that identity box.

If being active and fit is a stark contrast to how she identifies herself, getting into the groove of exercise may be difficult.

You might hear her say things like:

• “I’m just a mom, my life revolves around my kids.”
• “I don’t belong in the gym with all these fit people.”
• “I have a really busy job, so I don’t really have time to do anything else.”
• “I’m a couch potato.”

These are signs of an identity roadblock.

Luckily, you can help your clients break out of this.

Coaching Solution

Help your client identify the beliefs she holds about herself. When she starts to recognize how they influence her actions, she can take steps to move past them — and toward her goals.

Recognize and acknowledge that she is stepping out of her comfort zone, and that it’s a great thing!

You could even say something like:

“I totally understand, this is so new and different from what you’ve done before. I can see why it would feel strange! I just want you to know that you’re doing something great, and the fact that you’re stepping into this new adventure speaks volumes about who you are as a person. Kudos to you for being here!”

Here are four coaching strategies you can use:

Get Curious

Ask questions about what her internal dialogue is telling her concerning who she is and how she should act. Pay close attention to how she responds.

Focus on New Habits

Work with your client to establish new, healthy habits and goals. Start small, and pick a habit that she feels confident she can put into place. If she is able to shift her focus to these new habits and markers of success, she can start moving away from old beliefs that may be holding her training back.

Here’s an example from Stephanie Doyle, a personal trainer and GGS-1 grad, of how she’s put this tip into action:

“I have a client who’s considered herself ‘fat’ since high school. She’s always either been trying to lose weight or thinking about the next diet. She has never been happy with her weight, not even when she reached her target. She isn’t overweight.

When we started working together, she was very self-conscious and had a lot of negative feelings about her looks and self-worth. I encouraged her to choose goals for working together that weren’t appearance-based or weight loss-based. Within a few weeks, she noticed she had more energy and better sleep and mood. She was eating better, too. She realized that because of how awesome she feels now, her weight doesn’t matter anymore.”

By asking questions about non-weight-related improvements and setting up different types of goals, Stephanie helped her client break free from a self-limiting belief.

Ask Questions

Check in about how your client is feeling and make sure that the program is working for her. The question, “How’s that working for you?” when asked sincerely can be a powerful coaching tool to help your client explore what she’s done so far.

Connect

Help your client consider how becoming a healthier version of herself can help serve the purpose of who she is. For example, will the “dedicated mom” be a happier, more energetic, and involved mom?

Challenge #2: Your Client Lacks Confidence

Do any of these sound familiar?

• “This isn’t going to work.”
• “It’s going to take so long to get into shape, it’s not even worth it.”
• “I can never stick with things like this.”

If so, your client may be lacking confidence. It might be a lack of confidence in:

• Her current abilities
• The efficacy of the program
• Your coaching abilities

… or even her own potential for success.

You might notice your client using a lot of negative self-talk, or she may directly challenge the program or your coaching abilities (e.g., “This program doesn’t include enough cardio, so it’s not going to work.”). In some cases, your client’s “inner voice” might be on an endless loop, repeating all the things that could go wrong.

This one’s a biggie.

Self-doubt and a lack of confidence can prevent the workouts and lifestyle changes from ever happening.

Luckily, you’re in a unique position to help her gain confidence and move toward success.

Coaching Solution

Start by acknowledging that she’s feeling this way. Try a statement like:

“The concerns you’re feeling are totally normal. I want you to know that you’re far from alone — actually, I think it’s safe to say that in the beginning, we all experience very similar thoughts. I’m here to help, and we’ll see this through together.”

Next, ask her to pinpoint what the voice inside her head is saying. For example, maybe she has the looming feeling that this process is:

• Too big
• Too long
• Too hard
• Too much work
• Too expensive
• Too intangible

… or something else along those lines. Success may simply feel too far away.

Once you figure out exactly what is overwhelming or where the self-doubt is brewing, target those concerns.

Here are three easy coaching strategies you can try:

Compromise

If she’s concerned about the programming (e.g., she feels the current program lacks cardio, doesn’t have a strict enough diet, or doesn’t have long enough training sessions), it’s a good time to try seeking a compromise. This way, you can give her some of what she wants with some of what she needs. Even a little shift can increase your client’s confidence in her training.

Shrink the Change

If she’s worried the program isn’t going to work or the results are too far away (whether due to her own self-doubt or her doubt in the programming itself), now’s the time to shrink the change. Shift her focus to smaller, more immediate and attainable goals. Baby steps, in other words. Small successes built upon each other are still wins — and they lead to even bigger ones!

Lyndsay Conrad, a 39-year-old personal trainer and GGS-1 grad, says:

“Breaking down goals into bite-sized pieces has made a difference for a lot of clients. Knowing that they don’t have to tackle everything at once gives them the courage and belief that they can make changes, one small step at a time.”

Focus on Building Trust

If you have a solid client-coach relationship, and she’s still expressing feelings of self-doubt (i.e., “I really don’t think I can do this”), then it might be time to have a talk about trust. See if you can shift her focus away from her perceived flaws and toward the possibilities of the programming or toward faith in your advice. For example, ask her to trust the process for four weeks. Then, schedule a time to come back together and re-evaluate so you can adapt as needed.

Here’s how Danielle Repetti Gentner, a 33-year-old personal trainer, strength coach, and GGS-1 grad, builds trust — and shrinks the change — by helping her clients focus on the positive. She says:

“To help clients who feel overwhelmed, frustrated, or otherwise ‘stuck’, I’ve implemented a weekly check-in where clients answer questions that help them refocus on the positives from the week. It helps them think about what went well in training, their nutrition, and their lives.”

Challenge #3: Your Client Feels Like She Doesn’t Belong

While everyone feels like they don’t belong at some point or another, feeling out of place can be a huge roadblock when starting something new. And for many women, the gym can feel intimidating, or even downright unsafe. Depending on her size, weight, ability, age, ethnicity, or experience, she may feel more uneasy than others.

Has she mentioned that she doesn’t feel comfortable going into the weights section of the gym because the men make comments? Or behave in a way that makes her nervous? Or in other words, make her feel like she’s in the wrong place?

Or maybe it translated into something like:

• “They don’t have gender-neutral bathrooms/changing rooms here; I’m nervous.”
• “These people are fancy and rich; I’m not.”
• “No other POC are present; I stand out.”
• “Who can I turn to for help if I feel vulnerable?”

… or another comment of the sort.

Being able to walk into a new place and not have to question whether you fit in is a privilege not afforded to many clients.

In many cases, your client might never voice her anxiety, feelings of exclusion, and concerns about safety.

Feelings like this are pervasive, and they can be really hard to overcome. While you won’t necessarily be able to help her forget these concerns entirely, you can take steps to improve your direct environment. Helping your client feel safer and more comfortable can make a big difference.

Coaching Solution

If your coaching relationship is new, your client may not tell you about her concerns. Make sure you check in with her to see if there is anything you can do to make her more comfortable.

You could try opening up the conversation with something like:

“Many people naturally have some concerns when they are new to a gym or training program. Is there anything I can do to help you feel more comfortable and welcome? And please tell me if I’m overlooking any important details, I’m eager to make this a smooth and positive experience for you.”

From there, follow through with her requests!

Here are three possible scenarios, and what you can do about each:

Your Client Uses Specific Pronouns

Your client may use pronouns that aren’t necessarily what others would assume — which reinforces the idea that you should not be making assumptions about your client (we’ll delve deeper into this in a bit).

Take the time to introduce your client to staff and inform them what your client’s pronouns are, i.e., she/her, they/them, or whatever your client’s preference is!

Your Client Has an Invisible Disability

Your client could have a hearing impairment (or another disability that may not be visible), and want others to be aware of it because it is something she struggled with at her last gym.

Let the other trainers know that your client has a hearing impairment to avoid confusion or possible misunderstandings.

Your Client Prefers to Work Out When Other Women Are Around

Your client may feel uncomfortable being in a male-dominated environment, and prefer working out alongside other women.

Ask the gym manager if there are times of day when more women are working out, and provide your client with information about classes and training groups specifically for women (or if there isn’t an option like this, think about creating one!).

Remember, it’s up to you to support and accommodate all your clients! Making sure they feel safe and welcome can go a long way in helping them stay motivated.

Challenge #4: Your Client Is Struggling With the Judgements and Expectations Placed on Women

Unfortunately, women are getting used to having their bodies judged, criticized, and evaluated by others. The fact that many experience it on a daily basis doesn’t make it normal; it means that women commonly feel unsafe, especially in male-dominated spaces — for good reason.

Four common beliefs that affect women’s body image and may become roadblocks to success include:

Women Must Look a Certain Way to Be “Worthy”

Women must be feminine, but not slutty. Lean, but not too lean. Curvy, but not fat. Basically, women have pretty impossible standards to meet.

Women’s Bodies Are for the Pleasure and Service of Others

Often, women’s self-care is framed as acceptable only because it allows them to then take care of others — instead of taking care of themselves because they’re worthy of care, plainly and simply. (And that’s not even talking about how women are often represented in the media in images that make them appear sexually available in a very subservient way…)

Women’s Bodies Are Up for Scrutiny and Debate

Ever heard comments like, “She’s too skinny” or “She’s too fat to put a photo of herself in a swimsuit online”? Women’s bodies form the basis of far too many (critical, and even cruel) discussions.

Women Don’t Belong or Deserve to “Take Up Too Much Space”

If you’ve ever heard, “Be more ladylike!” or have been run into on a sidewalk when failing to move out of a man’s way, then you know what I mean. Women also are expected to systematically apologize for any inconvenience — no matter the scenario.

For many women, the gym doesn’t feel like a safe space because they are used to being judged and even inappropriately touched. This can lead directly to some of the roadblocks I mentioned earlier, like lack of belonging.

But these concerns also exist outside the gym and affect women’s health and well-being. In some cases, the very language we use to talk about ourselves (“I hate my body / arms / legs / cellulite”) or other women reflects these myths — and it can lead to (or reinforce) feelings of inadequacy or body shame that stop our clients from adopting healthier behaviors. (More on this in a moment.)

Being able to recognize these beliefs, see where they come from, and see how they affect your clients put you in a much better position to coach them successfully.

You have the power to create an environment that is safe and welcoming. And you can help your clients move through these roadblocks.

Coaching Solution

Your client may know that she’s uncomfortable working out in the gym because she feels like she’s being watched and judged (by men or women). Or she might feel ashamed, uncomfortable, afraid, doubtful, unwanted, too fat, too thin, too sexualized…

However, she might not realize that beliefs like these are what’s standing in her way. And even if she does recognize these feelings and their effect, she may not know where they came from. Maybe she believes these feelings are inevitable (or her fault) because she’s internalized the four myths.

The first thing you can provide for your client is education. If you hear your client making a comment like…

• “How do I get a butt like Kim Karashian and legs like Carrie Underwood?”
• “I can’t start dating until I lose this weight; no one will want me unless I can get rid of this jiggle.”
• “God, no, I would never wear a swimsuit with this body.”
• “Oh, it’s OK, you can have the bench. I’ll go do something else.”

… then it’s a good time to talk about the four myths and how they might be affecting her body image and training. If she can break free of them, she’ll probably find her training far more enjoyable and fulfilling!

You have the opportunity to help women all around you find a safer, more accepting environment.

Try enforcing these four strategies in your coaching environment:

Implement a Zero-Tolerance Policy for Body Shaming

You can even make a poster that highlights the guidelines for using the space — this means not shaming others, and not shaming themselves either. You could also invite clients to come to talk to you privately if they’re experiencing body image struggles.

Avoid Shame-Based Cues

Don’t use comments like, “Run faster! Don’t you want to get rid of your mummy tummy?” or “Is that really all you’ve got?” Just don’t.

Provide Compliments That Are Not Focused on Your Client’s Body or Appearance

Instead of going for “Wow, you’ve lost so much weight! You look so good!” try something like “I really admire your drive and dedication!”

Don’t base a woman’s worth on her weight, height, hair color, body, or another aspect of her appearance — she is so much more than that.

Refrain From Making Assumptions About Your Client Based on Her Appearance

Don’t assume a client wants to lose weight if she’s starting a training program. By assuming your client’s goal is weight loss, you’ve probably left her feeling scrutinized, judged, unworthy, and less willing to go ahead with your programming, no matter how great it might be.

I also want to share a great example from one of our GGS-1 grads, personal trainer and group fitness instructor Hilary Milsome. Hilary was able to start recognizing how deeply ingrained these myths are, and she began to shift her own behavior — including her language and how she spoke about herself — accordingly. This, in turn, has helped her clients! She says:

“[I realized] how the language I use when speaking about my own body, and women in general, could actually be influencing how others feel about their own bodies… I feel I am much better able to hear what a client is saying without judgement or even comment. In the past, I think I may have tried to say, ‘No you’re not fat!’ or ‘Don’t be silly.’ Now I am much more likely to say, ‘Tell me why you say that?’ I am also much more likely to say of myself, ‘I love how strong my arms are!’ instead of ‘I hate how wobbly my arms are.’ I feel that this positivity rubs off on clients.”

Changing our own language goes hand-in-hand with avoiding body shaming, shame-based cues, and appearance-focused compliments — and it’s amazing what we can do when we begin to recognize detrimental beliefs and shift our behavior accordingly.

Challenge #5: Your Client Is Dealing With Emotional Labor

Emotional labor is the expectation that a person will regulate their emotions, and sometimes others’ as well as their own, to suit particular scenarios. It’s difficult to pinpoint (and define!) because it is so entrenched in our social constructs that we may not realize it’s happening.

While emotional labor is a form of stress, it’s also a huge roadblock, specifically in how it affects women. It’s deeply woven into our social fabric, and it’s often camouflaged as “duty” and “responsibility,” or even as “just what you do.” This makes it very difficult to identify and articulate.

Here are some examples of situations that demand emotional labor of women:

• In the home: Mom is in charge of mediating between arguing children.
• In the workplace: Women are supposed to be assertive, but not too loud or straightforward (or they might be labeled as “bitchy”).
• In social scenarios: Women have their clothing choices picked apart and labeled (e.g., too frumpy, not appropriate for their body type).
• In public spaces: A woman has to be sure not to show a strong reaction to street harassment, like someone catcalling her. If she gives a positive response, then she’s asking for it. If she gives a negative response, then she’s ungrateful and ugly — both of which may put her at risk of physical threat or assault.

All of it gets draining!

Although the phrase “emotional labor” sounds like it is exclusively related to emotions, it can absolutely be physical.

Symptoms of emotional labor can include:

• Fatigue
• Burnout
• Insomnia
• Apathy
• Difficulty concentrating
• Anxiety
• Forgetfulness
• Pessimism
• Emotional exhaustion
• Diminished sense of personal achievement

You might hear your client saying something like:

• “No matter how hard I try to stay on top of things, I just can’t do it.”
• “I just want to forget about everything.”

Emotional labor is both the exhausting emotion-related work that women do every day and the actual physical tasks they are “responsible” for — which can be draining on a woman’s emotional, mental, and physical capacity. And this can make it near-impossible for her to follow your instructions!

Coaching Solution

It’s important to consider emotional labor in your coaching because it may be taking away from the energy your client has to train, eat well, recover, or take care of herself.

Understanding her experience and supporting her accordingly is all part of being a person-focused coach. Ask your clients to take stock of what they have going on in their lives:

“It sounds like you’re feeling really overwhelmed by everything, and I think that’s totally normal. You have a lot going on. Tell me more about what feels most overwhelming.”

Here are four more ways that you may be able to help:

Watch Out for Benevolent Sexism

Statements like “Women are just better with emotions!” distill the belief that all women fit into a narrow and limited description. It also leads to emotional labor (assuming that women should and will take on certain added roles and responsibilities without their express consent).

Identify Signs of Burnout

Listen for phrases like “It never ends!” or “I can’t catch up!” Active listening and open-ended questions can go a long way in getting a better picture of your client’s experience. Work together to determine actionable strategies that she can use to lessen the load. For example, are there tasks in her life that she can automate or outsource to make room for what’s most important for her, thereby cutting down on her emotional (and physical) labor load?

Introduce Your Client to the Concept of “Emotional Labor”

You may be surprised how many women will nod in agreement, amazed that a term exists to describe their experience. It’s powerful to put into words something that has been so subjective. This alone can help you be supportive to your client.

Introduce Coping Strategies

Encourage your client to continue training and to celebrate all of her accomplishments. Help her focus on self-care through exercise, nutrition, sleep quality, meditation, and celebrating wins.

We also love this advice that personal trainer, nutrition coach, and GGS-1 grad Jennifer Kleist has for her clients:

“Consistency exists on a continuum. As long as you don’t give up, you haven’t failed.”

This is an excellent way to remind your client that even when everything feels overwhelming, every time she makes a choice to focus on self-care, she’s doing something awesome that should be celebrated and that will make a difference in the long term.

Your Coaching Opportunity

As you’ve learned, these five roadblocks can form tremendous obstacles for our female clients — even as they are trying to change their behavior. (And indeed, the same obstacles might impede us as we pursue our own goals.)

If your client is struggling to stay consistent, show up for her workouts, or follow your instructions — she might just be dealing with one (or more) of these roadblocks.

And while these topics may be hard to identify and discuss, you can learn how to do so in a way that empowers your clients. Indeed, the coaching solutions you put into action may help break down self-imposed limitations, challenge societal myths, remove negative thought patterns, and improve overall mindset and well-being.

Being able to have open and honest conversations about these personal roadblocks is truly a coaching superpower — and the coaches that put in the deeper work to do it right have a tremendous opportunity to raise the standard of care for women everywhere.

To stand apart in your field and provide your clients with an unmatched experience, you must understand the coaching and psychology elements of successful, rewarding client-coach relationships. Developing these skills takes time and requires practice and ongoing education.

That’s why we created our Girls Gone Strong Level 1 Certification. To teach health and fitness professionals who work with women more than just anatomy, physiology, nutrition, and exercise.

When you commit to your ongoing learning and growth, you’ll develop a reputation as someone who “gets it” — a coach who truly understands how to work with women.

And your clients will thank you.

If you’d like to learn exactly what you need to confidently coach, train, and make a bigger impact in women’s lives, consider enrolling in our GGS Level 1 Certification, which opens for enrollment VERY soon.

Learning how to properly coach women could transform your career — and change the lives of your clients.

And our Girls Gone Strong Level 1 Certification is the most respected coaching certification in the world for working with women.

Most coaches and trainers don’t realize that coaching women is different from coaching men.

The truth is, coaching women requires a different set of skills and knowledge that goes beyond understanding the anatomical differences.

This certification gives health, fitness, and nutrition professionals — and aspiring professionals — the skillset, knowledge, and toolkit they need to successfully and confidently coach women.

Our Coaching and Training Women Academy has certified thousands of professionals in 60+ countries around the world. Their results have been astonishing.

Now, we’re offering all that knowledge and training to you.

Interested? Add your name to our no-obligation pre-sale list. You’ll save up to 33% and secure your spots 24-48 hours before the public.

On April 28th, 2020 we’re opening enrollment to our GGS Level 1 Certification to a limited number of students.

To learn more, check out our pre-sale list which gives you two huge advantages:

• You’ll pay less than everyone else. The students who are most eager to level up their coaching skills are our most successful students, so we like to reward those who join the pre-sale list by offering a discount of up to 33% off the general price.
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Women want to work with coaches who “get it.”

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The post 5 Surprising Reasons Your Female Clients Don’t Do What You Ask Them to Do appeared first on Girls Gone Strong.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/

Folks, I’m excited to bring you this book excerpt from The Carnivore Code. Author Dr. Paul Saladino is one of the best informed thought leaders and advocates of the carnivore diet. Paul uses his experience in functional and traditional medicine to devise a holistic picture of healing. I think you’ll appreciate his detailed, well-researched, and measured approach to presenting and analyzing evidence.

We’ve reviewed study after study that’s correlated red meat consumption with mortality risk, atherosclerosis, heart disease, and more. Paul takes the topic to task in The Carnivore Code, hopefully proving once and for all the true physiological cause of these conditions.

You can purchase a copy of The Carnivore Code here. From February 24, 2020 until February 26, 2020, you can enter for your chance to win a signed copy of The Carnivore Code. Simply follow @marksdailyapple and @carnivoremd on Instagram, tag some friends in the comments of the Instagram giveaway announcement, and you’ll be automatically entered to win a signed copy of the book plus a canister of Primal Kitchen Collagen Peptides. Five winners will be selected and notified via DM; U.S. entrants only. Good luck, and enjoy the excerpt.

Few things conjure more fear in the hearts and minds of the general population than the big, bad cholesterol monster and the associated trepidation that red meat will cause our arteries to become filled with plaque. After all, we’ve been told by cardiac surgeons that when they scoop plaque out of the arteries in our heart or neck, it looks just like animal fat, eggs, or butter.

In this excerpt, we’ll debunk the notion that eating animal meat, fat, or organs is bad for our heart and blood vessels and slay this final beast once and for all. We’ll see that these false notions have been based on more misleading epidemiological literature and how interventional and mechanistic studies tell a very different story. Come, brave adventurers, our destiny of discarding unfounded ideologies and reclaiming the vibrant health of our ancestors awaits!

The Basics of Lipoproteins and Cholesterol

The word “cholesterol” is often used colloquially to refer to all of the lipoproteins in our blood, but technically, cholesterol is a steroid backbone type of molecule that is used to make all sorts of vital compounds in human physiology. Our body makes around 1,200 milligrams of cholesterol every day for many important purposes, including the proper formation of all of our cell membranes.

The fat we eat is absorbed from our intestines and packaged as triglycerides with dietary cholesterol into a type of lipoprotein known as chylomicrons, marked with apolipoprotein B48. These particles circulate in the blood stream, dropping off their contents to cells of the body before becoming chylomicron remnants and being taken up by the liver.

In medicine, the term “total cholesterol” refers to the sum of all the cholesterol molecules in the blood and is usually measured directly in laboratory tests. In order to know how much of this cholesterol resides in the different lipoproteins, these must be measured individually. Most current lipid testing measures HDL, LDL, VLDL, and triglycerides directly, but older assays measure only some of these and must calculate LDL, which you may see written as LDL-C. For this reason, many previous research studies have looked at total cholesterol levels rather than LDL. Historically, elevated levels of total cholesterol have been assumed to correlate with elevated levels of LDL, and unless triglycerides are extremely elevated, this is generally a reasonable assumption.

The Vital Role of LDL in Our Body

Most of the cells of our body can make a bit of cholesterol from scratch, but they also rely heavily on the delivered supply of this molecule to build membranes and hormones. In addition to its vital role transporting building blocks and nutrients, LDL also serves important roles within the immune system. Yes, you read that correctly, LDL plays a valuable part in our response to assault by infectious invaders, as do many of the lipoproteins, including HDL. When gram-negative bacteria seek to invade our body, they release a cell wall component known as endotoxin, which is quite inflammatory and can strongly trigger the immune system. But don’t worry, friendly neighborhood LDL is around to bind-up this toxin and prevent things from getting out of hand.

Is there evidence that higher levels of LDL could be protective against infection in us? You bet there is! There are many studies that show elevated levels of LDL are not a risk factor for increased all-cause mortality or cardiovascular mortality in the elderly.9 Furthermore, there are many studies suggesting that higher levels of LDL are protective as we age, which is most likely connected with its role in immune function.1,2,3-11

In a sample of 347 individuals over the age of sixty-five, those with low total cholesterol had a significantly higher risk of dying by non-vascular causes, while those with elevated total cholesterol had half the risk of the reference population.1 Another study of 105 individuals over the age of eighty living in Iceland found that those with the highest total cholesterol level had less than half the all-cause mortality of those with lower levels.12 An even larger investigation called the Leiden 85-plus study had even more striking results. This study included 724 elderly individuals living in the Netherlands in whom the correlation between total cholesterol and all-cause mortality was measured for ten years. The authors found that for every 38 milligrams per deciliter increase in the total cholesterol, there was a corresponding 15 percent decrease in the risk of dying over this time period.

Clearly, LDL is a valuable particle in our blood and serves many indispensable roles. How can LDL be both protective and harmful? This doesn’t seem to make any sense! The answer is that LDL itself is not harmful, but in certain situations, it can be involved in the process of responding to injury and inflammation—making it look like it’s a bad actor when it’s merely present at the scene of the crime.

So… What Causes Atherosclerosis?

There are more than a quintillion particles of LDL floating around in our bloodstream. If every LDL particle that entered the subendothelial space in our arteries led to the formation of a plaque, we’d be deader than a doornail long before our first birthday. Every second of every day, lipoproteins like LDL are moving in and out of the walls of both veins and arteries, delivering nutrients to the cells there for energy and the construction of membranes. Clearly, there must be another part of this equation that leads to retention of some of these LDL particles within the arterial wall.

Interestingly, HDL particles are smaller and ten times more numerous than LDL. They carry more cholesterol in our blood stream, but these particles do not participate in the formation of atherosclerotic lesions. Why not? Because they do not get stuck in the subendothelial space.

Within the arterial wall, it appears that only particles containing the APOB molecule are able to bind to the proteoglycans within the intima and be retained.13 It’s not the size of the particle, or the number of particles moving into the vessel wall that’s important, it’s how likely a lipoprotein is to be retained that determines whether or not it contributes to the process of plaque formation.

What determines how sticky the LDL particle and the intimal space are? Ah, my friends, this is truly the million-dollar question! There’s very good evidence that during the states of insulin resistance and inflammation, both the LDL particle and the intimal space get coated in “molecular velcro” and become more sticky.14,15,16-18

Specifically, studies looking at the arteries of diabetics and arterial wall injury have shown changes in the proteoglycan matrix that increase its affinity for LDL.19 Additional research reveals that the LDL particle becomes more likely to be bound to proteoglycans in the intimal space when it is enriched with apolipoprotein ApoC III—a process that occurs during states of insulin resistance—making for a dangerous combination that strongly predisposes to plaque formation. The risk of atherosclerosis is so high in diabetics that rates of heart attack are elevated in this population even with low levels of LDL.20

At this point, you may be saying, “Sure, I believe you on this, but doesn’t atherosclerosis occur in people without diabetes or pre-diabetes? How common is this scenario of insulin resistance?” Though diabetes and pre-diabetes are diagnosed in 35 percent of the American population, there’s strong evidence that insulin resistance is much more common than this! There is evidence that a whopping 88 percent of the American population has some degree of metabolic dysfunction.21 If the vast majority of people around us have insulin resistance, is it any wonder that some studies have shown a correlation between LDL levels and cardiovascular disease? Almost the entire population of the U.S. has velcro on their lipoproteins and within their arteries, and the tennis balls are getting stuck to the wall!

So to answer the previous question, there’s good evidence that when atherosclerosis does occur, it is almost always in the setting of insulin resistance and metabolic dysfunction.

One of the biggest mistakes Western medicine makes is to extrapolate these pathologies to the 12 percent of us who are not insulin resistant and not inflamed, warning us that certain cardiovascular disease will swiftly follow with an elevated LDL.

Those of us with good insulin sensitivity are essentially a different breed, and there are many striking stories of plaque regression among insulin-sensitive individuals with “elevated LDL” eating carnivore or ketogenic diets. In the absence of insulin resistance and inflammation, higher levels of LDL are probably protective because of their roles with the immune response. Want to live a long time? Eat in a manner that allows for insulin sensitivity, decreases inflammation, and leads to a robust amount of valuable LDL particles. Carnivore diet, anyone?

Excerpted (in a summarized format) from The Carnivore Code by Paul Saladino, MD. 

References

1. Raiha, I., Marniemi, J., Puukka, P., Toikka, T., Ehnholm, C., & Sourander, L. (1997). Effect of serum lipids, lipoproteins, and apolipoproteins on vascular and nonvascular mortality in the elderly. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 17(7), 1224-1232. doi:10.1161/01.atv.17.7.1224

2. Forette, F., De la Fuente, X., Golmard, J., Henry, J., & Hervy, M. (1982). The prognostic significance of isolated systolic hypertension in the elderly. Results of a ten year longitudinal survey. Clinical and Experimental Hypertension. Part A: Theory and Practice, 4(7), 1177-1191. doi:10.3109/10641968209060782

3. Forette, B., Tortrat, D., & Wolmark, Y. (1989). Cholesterol as risk factor for mortality in elderly women. The Lancet, 333(8643), 868-870. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(89)92865-1

4. Risk of fatal coronary heart disease in familial hypercholesterolaemia. Scientific Steering Committee on behalf of the Simon Broome Register Group. (1991). BMJ, 303(6807), 893-896. doi:10.1136/ bmj.303.6807.893

5. Weijenberg, M. P., Feskens, E. J., & Kromhout, D. (1996). Total and high density lipoprotein cholesterol as risk factors for coronary heart disease in elderly men during 5 years of follow-up: The Zutphen elderly study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 143(2), 151-158. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a008724

6. Weuenberg, M. P., Feskens, E. J., Bowles, C. H., & Kromhout, D. (1994). Serum total cholesterol and systolic blood pressure as risk factors for mortality from ischemic heart disease among elderly men and women. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 47(2), 197-205. doi:10.1016/0895-4356(94)90025-6

7. Zimetbaum, P., Frishman, W. H., Ooi, W. L., Derman, M. P., Aronson, M., Gidez, L. I., & Eder, H. A. (1992). Plasma lipids and lipoproteins and the incidence of cardiovascular disease in the very elderly. The Bronx Aging Study. Arteriosclerosis and Thrombosis: A Journal of Vascular Biology, 12(4), 416-423. doi:10.1161/01.atv.12.4.416

8. Abbott, R. D., Curb, J., Rodriguez, B. L., Masaki, K. H., Yano, K., Schatz, I. J., … Petrovitch, H. (2002). Age-related changes in risk factor effects on the incidence of coronary heart disease. Annals of Epidemiology, 12(3), 173-181. doi:10.1016/s1047-2797(01)00309-x

9. Chyou, P., & Eaker, E. D. (2000). Serum cholesterol concentrations and all-cause mortality in older people. Age and Ageing, 29(1), 69-74. doi:10.1093/ageing/29.1.69

10. Menotti, A., Mulder, I., Nissinen, A., Feskens, E., Giampaoli, S., Tervahauta, M., & Kromhaut, D. (2001). Cardiovascular risk factors and 10-year all-cause mortality in elderly European male populations. The FINE study. European Heart Journal, 22(7), 573-579. doi:10.1053/euhj.2000.2402

11. Krumholz, H. M. (1994). Lack of association between cholesterol and coronary heart disease mortality and morbidity and all-cause mortality in persons older than 70 years. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 272(17), 1335-1340. doi:10.1001/jama.272.17.1335

12. Jónsson, Á., Sigvaldason, H., & Sigfússon, N. (1997). Total cholesterol and mortality after age 80 years. The Lancet, 350(9093), 1778-1779. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(05)63609-4

13. Hurt-Camejo, E., & Camejo, G. (2018). ApoB-100 lipoprotein complex formation with intima proteoglycans as a cause of atherosclerosis and Its possible ex vivo evaluation as a disease biomarker. Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease, 5(3), 36. doi:10.3390/jcdd5030036

14. Hiukka, A., Stahlman, M., Pettersson, C., Levin, M., Adiels, M., Teneberg, S., … Boren, J. (2009). ApoCIII-enriched LDL in type 2 diabetes displays altered lipid composition, increased susceptibility for sphingomyelinase, and increased binding to biglycan. Diabetes, 58(9), 2018-2026. doi:10.2337/db09-0206

15. Olsson, U., Egnell, A., Lee, M. R., Lunden, G. O., Lorentzon, M., Salmivirta, M., … Camejo, G. (2001). Changes in matrix proteoglycans induced by insulin and fatty acids in hepatic cells may contribute to dyslipidemia of insulin resistance. Diabetes, 50(9), 2126-2132. doi:10.2337/diabetes.50.9.2126

16. Hulthe, J., Bokemark, L., Wikstrand, J., & Fagerberg, B. (2000). The metabolic syndrome, LDL particle size, and atherosclerosis. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 20(9), 2140-2147. doi:10.1161/01. atv.20.9.2140

17. Wasty, F., Alavi, M. Z., & Moore, S. (1993). Distribution of glycosaminoglycans in the intima of human aortas: Changes in atherosclerosis and diabetes mellitus. Diabetologia, 36(4), 316-322. doi:10.1007/ bf00400234

18. Rodriguéz-Lee, M., Bondjers, G., & Camejo, G. (2007). Fatty acid-induced atherogenic changes in extracellular matrix proteoglycans. Current Opinion in Lipidology, 18(5), 546-553. doi:10.1097/ mol.0b013e3282ef534f

19. Srinivasan, S. R., Xu, J., Vijayagopal, P., Radhakrishnamurthy, B., & Berenson, G. S. (1993). Injury to the arterial wall of rabbits produces proteoglycan variants with enhanced low-density lipoprotein-binding property. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) – Lipids and Lipid Metabolism, 1168(2), 158-166. doi:10.1016/0005-2760(93)90120-x

20. Howard, B. V., Robbins, D. C., Sievers, M. L., Lee, E. T., Rhoades, D., Devereux, R. B., … Howard, W. J. (2000). LDL cholesterol as a strong predictor of coronary heart disease in diabetic individuals with insulin resistance and low LDL. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 20(3), 830-835. doi:10.1161/01. atv.20.3.830

21. Araújo, J., Cai, J., & Stevens, J. (2019). Prevalence of optimal metabolic health in american adults: National health and nutrition examination survey 2009–2016. Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders, 17(1), 46-52. doi:10.1089/met.2018.0105

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Somebody is peculiar who takes on a dangerous trail or scales up the highest peak, without the support of a team and the encouragement of a partner making the trek with them. If some person does hike up some monstrous mountain alone, they probably have done it many times before with others. They first relied on the help of a guide and the aid of a band of people taking on the task with them before they could do it by themselves.

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It’s a question we might ask (or be asked) every day: What’s for dinner? To keep it simple, Primal, and Primal-keto, that answer can easily be meat and vegetables every night. Day after day. There’s nothing wrong with that, folks. It gets the job done well, and the formula can be easily changed to accommodate preferences and banish boredom. Roast chicken instead of searing steak; broil salmon instead of baking pork chops; steam broccoli instead of boiling asparagus; stir-fry mixed veggies instead of serving a raw salad. You get the idea.

Roasting vegetables is an indispensable cooking technique and meal prep time-saver. Roasting veggies adds caramelized flavor that will make it a pleasure to eat any oven-kissed leftover vegetables again the next day. Make sure to pair vegetables with similar cook times together and cut the pieces in as uniform pieces as you can to ensure even cooking.

Experiment with your favorite vegetables. We like a mix of starchy and cruciferous vegetables which make a hearty side dish. Serve with your favorite type of meat, or add leftovers to your morning eggs, or Big-ass Salad for lunch.

Easy Roasted Winter Vegetables

Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb. Brussels sprouts, halved
• 3 parsnips (about 1 ½ cups chopped)
• 3 medium carrots (about 1 cup chopped)
• ½ red cabbage (about 2 cups chopped)
• 2 leeks, cut into coins
• 2 small heads of bok choy, sliced in half or quartered
• 4 cloves garlic, grated
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tbsp. Avocado Oil
• ¼ cup Primal Kitchen Oil and Vinegar Vinaigrette & Marinade

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375ºF. Cut all of the vegetables. Leeks tend to be very dirty—wash and drain the leek slices well after cutting them.

Toss all of the vegetables except the bok choy with the grated garlic, avocado oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Lay the vegetables on a parchment-covered sheet pan in a single layer. Place the sheet pan in the oven for 15–20 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven. Add the sliced bok choy to the pan and pour on the Primal Kitchen dressing. Toss all of the vegetables in the dressing and lay the vegetables in a single layer again.

Continue roasting for another 15–20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and golden. Season with salt and pepper to taste and top with any fresh herbs you’d like.

Nutrition Information (¼ of vegetable tray):

Calories: 258
Total Carbs: 27 grams
Net Carbs: 18 grams
Fat: 15 grams
Protein: 7 grams

For more roasted vegetable recipes and more, check these out:

• Primal & Keto Cooking Made Easy: Lemony Asparagus
• Primal & Keto Cooking Made Easy: Sesame Ginger Broccoli
• Primal & Keto Cooking Made Easy: Tex-Mex Fajita Veggies
• Top 10 Vegetables for Winter
• Top 10 Summer Vegetables
• Top 10 Spring Vegetables
• Top 10 Fall Vegetables

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