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Hey folks, we’re back for another round of Ask a Health Coach. This week, Erin is shedding light on the health benefits of dairy, when too much fiber is to blame, and why we should all stop labeling foods as good and bad. Keep your questions coming down in the comments or over in our Mark’s Daily Apple Facebook group.

Jen asked:
“Kind of an odd question, but is there any science indicating whether goat’s milk is a better alternative for human consumption than cow’s milk? After a decade of primal eating, I’ve easily given up everything else (grains, sugar, etc.) but the one thing I still struggle with is milk, and I don’t have any sensitivities to it, but I wonder if there’s a better alternative.”

First of all, I definitely don’t consider this an odd question; dairy is one of the things my clients ask about most often.

Dairy soft of fits into a primal gray area. While there are tons of studies of the negative metabolic impact of sugar, industrialized seed oils, and processed foods, dairy is in a slightly different camp.¹ I can see the confusion though. Many folks who follow a paleo diet eliminate it completely. And while a primal diet follows a lot of the same tenets, it’s far less restrictive – even Mark agrees that full-fat and raw cow’s milk can be a great addition to your primal eating plan.

But to answer your question about if goat’s milk is a “better” alternative to cow’s milk, the answer is…it depends on what you mean by better.

Goat’s Milk vs Cow’s Milk

Obviously, there are subtle differences between brands and whether or not there’s added oils or sugars, but in general here’s how one cup of goat’s milk stacks up against one cup of cow’s milk:

• Goat’s milk: 9 grams of protein; cow’s milk: 8 grams
• Goat’s milk: 10 grams of fat; cow’s milk: 9 grams
• Goat’s milk: 11 grams of sugars; cow’s milk: 11 grams

Calories, if you’re into that kind of thing, are roughly the same too. So, nutritionally speaking, one isn’t much better for you than the other. The bigger question I think you should be asking yourself is: how do you feel when you consume them? You mentioned you don’t have any sensitivities to cow’s milk, but honestly, some people aren’t aware of the signals their body is giving them.

I can’t tell you how many clients I’ve worked with who tell me they feel bloated after eating cheese or that their nose runs after drinking a coffee with regular milk. Those symptoms might not align with the ones they’ve heard from their lactose-intolerant friends. You know, the sharp stabbing pains, the running to the bathroom, the other fun side effects of eating a food you don’t have the enzymes to break down.

Are These Symptoms Normal?

In my opinion, this a great opportunity to make a personal assessment of dairy’s effect on your body. If you’ve been consuming cow’s milk dairy your entire life, you might not have a clue how you feel without it. Maybe you have subtle aches and pains that you assumed were from getting older. Or five extra pounds you can’t seem to lose (this is what happens for me). Or sleepless nights you attributed to stress.

If dairy has been a regular staple, I’d encourage you to try to fully drop it for at least a month to get an accurate take on its effects on you. I definitely think it’s worth a try. Before you went primal, you probably felt fairly okay eating grains and processed foods daily too, right? You might be surprised to find out that dairy plays a similar role for you. Or… maybe it doesn’t.

I’m not here to get you to cut all food groups from your diet. I’m also not here to rob you of the joy of eating foods you love. All I’m saying is that if you’re curious if one is better than the other, only you know the answer to that. And it starts with taking cow’s milk out for a chunk of time, noticing if you feel any different, then adding it back in and noticing if anything has changed. If you end up feeling bloated and foggy, go for the milk-alternative. Energized or have no symptoms at all? You can keep drinking milk till the cows come home.

Denise asked:
“Sorry, probably TMI, but have you ever heard of anyone suffering constipation from cassava tortillas? I can’t tell if my IBS is back, or I’ve pinpointed it to the cassava. Thanks!”

(Again, no need to apologize. Bathroom questions are so common in my client practice, I don’t bat an eyelash when they come in.)

For some, swapping grain-based staples for ones made with paleo-friendly ingredients works. And because cassava flour is made from tubers, it officially qualifies as both paleo and primal. If you’re eating this way to manage your blood sugar and hunger levels, you should know that although cassava has roughly double the carbs of a sweet potato, it’s been proven to help lower the glycemic response when added to other foods.² And, to tee up the answer to your question, cassava flour also has four to five grams of fiber per cup.

Is Too Much Fiber to Blame?

Under normal conditions, fiber is a good thing — actually believed to “keep things moving down there, and preventing constipation. Too much fiber though, can cause bloating, gas, and yes, constipation. It’s not uncommon for folks following a whole food diet to consume upwards of 70 grams a day in the form of veggies, fruits, and tubers — which can be especially problematic if you went from consuming next to no fiber to having it at every meal.³

The easiest way to tell if your constipation is due to cassava or your struggles with IBS is to notice what happens when you change one of the variables. As a health coach, I always start with the lowest hanging fruit. When my clients tell me they have a new symptom, the first thing I ask is: what are you doing that’s new? Aside from completing a food panel test, which can be wildly inaccurate, the best system for figuring out the culprit is to be your own detective.

• What happens when you drink more water? Do your symptoms get better or worse?
• What happens when you stop eating cassava-based products for a few weeks?
• What else are you doing that’s new? More stress? Less sleep? Less exercise?

After a few days of checking in with yourself, I think you’ll have your answer.

Jessica asked:
“I thought we were supposed to lose the beans and peanut butter in the primal eating plan? I’m new and trying to get started. Being the mother of two and in charge of feeding my extremely picky daughter and husband I need help! Can you please set me straight?”

Food rules have really done something to us haven’t they? Labeling the things we consume as good, bad, or my favorite, guilt-free. I’m so over all the ways we make our relationship with food fussier than it needs to be.

The Problem with Labeling Foods

Our beliefs, background, moral compass, and any random influencers we may or may not follow on social media play a huge role in what we perceive to be right or wrong. But foods aren’t good or bad. Sure, there are consequences to eating certain foods. For instance, if you indulge in a whipped-cream-laden pumpkin spice latte and giant muffin for your first meal of the day every day, the consequence will be something to the tune of feeling foggy, hungry, and noticing that your pants are starting to get tighter. In contrast, starting your day with a plate of scrambled eggs and veggies cooked in butter will likely result in lasting energy, a clear mind and, over time, looser clothes.

A bigger issue with food rules is that it’s not just about labeling a food as good or bad. Diet culture tells us that we should perceive ourselves as good or bad when we eat them. How many times have you said, “I feel so guilty about eating that dessert.” Or “I’m going to be good today.” Not only are those statements unproductive, they’re unhealthy. And I’m totally okay labeling it as such.

How Bad are Legumes, Really?

I can think of far worse foods for you to put on your plate than beans and peanut butter. Especially if you’ve got picky eaters in your house. If you’ve transitioned your family away from standard American diet (SAD) foods and are filling your cabinets with real whole food, I call that a win. And if you’re very worried about the lectins and phytic acid Mark talks about with legumes, take a breath. While some studies show that lectins can damage the intestinal lining of your gut, cooking deactivates the majority of them.⁴ This study showed that navy and kidney beans had as little as 0.1% residual lectins after being cooked. And a combo of soaking and cooking can completely eliminate them.

I’m not suggesting you spend all your free time soaking beans or making your own sprouted peanut butter, which you totally can if that’s your thing. I’m just trying to get you to zoom out a little and see how inconsequential small amounts of these foods really are to optimal health.

A tip of the hat to you for making your whole family’s health a priority. You’re doing a great job. Remember to not let perfection be the enemy of good.

Got other questions for me? Ask ‘em in the comments below.

The post Ask a Health Coach: Is This Good for Me or Not? appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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What’s a person to do when they’ve eliminated all the big allergens—gluten, dairy, eggs, nuts—and they’re still having mysterious symptoms that seem to be aggravated by their diet? Maybe you’re that person. You’ve tried Primal, AIP, and low-FODMAP diets, but you still have recurring issues with your gut, skin, or energy levels. Or, you frequently experience nausea or GI distress after meals even after eliminating the most obvious potential triggers.

When it’s not one of the big players giving you grief, think smaller. Sometimes those items farther down the ingredient list are the real culprits. I’m talking about the things that food manufacturers add to their products to improve texture, appearance, and shelf stability. They’re considered safe for consumption (in the U.S., though not necessarily in other countries, as you’ll see), but these sneaky little buggers might be making you unwell nonetheless.

Here are some things to look out for if you’re having persistent health issues that you suspect are tied to something you’re eating.

Red Dye and Other Artificial Food Coloring

Granted, Primal eaters probably aren’t consuming large quantities of foods loaded with artificial coloring agents. Still, they are pervasive in the American food supply. You’ll also find them in medications and supplements, sometimes at alarmingly high levels.¹ Even at high-end grocers and health food stores, they’re hard to avoid.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) currently allows Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Red 3, Red 40, Citrus Red 2, and Orange B in foods at approved levels. However, scientists and public health officials have known for decades that each of these carries potential health risks, especially the red and yellow dyes.² The FDA banned Red 3 (aka erythrosine or E127) in cosmetics and other topical applications in 1990 based on studies showing increased thyroid cancer risk, but it is still approved as a food colorant. Yellow 6 (aka tartrazine or E110) and Red 40 (aka Allura Red AC or E129) require warning labels or are banned altogether in several countries due to concerns about their possible carcinogenic effects and their effects on children. They also happen to be the most prevalent artificial food colorings in the U.S.

The first time I heard about food dyes affecting kids was years ago when a friend told me she couldn’t give her daughter any food or juice that had red dye in it. As she described it, just a few pieces of candy or a piece of sheet cake with brightly colored frosting at a birthday party, and her normally sweet kid would be bouncing off the walls. It turns out that’s not so uncommon. Multiple studies have concluded that food dyes may contribute to hyperactivity and other behavioral problems, especially in kids with preexisting ADHD symptoms. The FDA reviewed the clinical evidence ten years ago and decided it wasn’t conclusive enough to act on.³ A 2018 review published in Pediatrics, the official publication of the American Academy of Pediatrics, renewed the call for more research and for the FDA to reconsider its safety standards regarding artificial food dyes.⁴ Nothing has changed since then.

In addition to these concerns, some individuals are sensitive or allergic to food dyes.⁵ Symptoms include breathing issues, headaches, or, in extreme cases, anaphylaxis.

All this is to say, artificial food dyes are highly suspect. The frustrating thing is, we have natural alternatives, but most food manufacturers don’t use them unless they are forced to.

Carrageenan

Carrageenan is a food thickener and stabilizer derived from red algae. You’ll commonly find it in dairy products, soups, sauces, and non-dairy milk substitutes like almond milk and coconut milk. As with all the additives discussed today, it’s FDA approved. However, carrageenan has seen its fair share of controversy.

In 2016, the National Organic Standards Board voted to remove carrageenan from its list of approved ingredients, citing questionable production practices. That would have meant that products containing carrageenan could no longer be designated as organic in the U.S.—except the USDA, which ultimately governs organic certification, failed to adopt their recommendation.

Food safety advocates also raise concerns about carrageenan’s pro-inflammatory properties. A related product called degraded carrageenan, or poligeenan, is a well-known inflammatory agent and possible carcinogen. In fact, it’s used in pharmaceutical studies specifically to induce inflammation. There is plenty of evidence that degraded carrageenan causes all sorts of problems in animal studies. That isn’t alarming in and of itself since degraded carrageenan is chemically distinct from the carrageenan in your food. However, some safety advocates argue that food-grade carrageenan can become degraded by stomach acid.

It’s not clear how much that actually happens. Morever, no human studies directly test carrageenan’s safety, and animal studies have yielded inconsistent findings. That leaves us with mostly anecdotal evidence to go on. Anecdotally, some people with digestive issues like bloating or gas experience relief when they eliminate carrageenan. This tracks with animal studies showing the main adverse effect of carrageenan is diarrhea.

Individuals with alpha-gal syndrome, a rare allergy to foods from mammals, may also react strongly to carrageenan since it contains alpha-gal epitopes. For some, carrageenan is a bigger trigger than meat or dairy products.

Soy Lecithin

I know some Primal folks will see the word soy and automatically reject soy lecithin, but hold up. Yes, soy lecithin is derived from soybeans, but it’s quite different from typical soy-based foods.

Soy lecithin is the end product of soybean oil production. The refining process itself includes some troubling steps, including the use of hexane to extract the soybean oil. However, there’s no real evidence that dangerous levels of any hazardous byproducts remain in food-grade soy lecithin. It also lacks the soy proteins that trigger soy allergies, so most people have no problems with lecithin even if they need to avoid other soy products.⁶

Chris Kresser has done a pretty thorough write-up of soy lecithin’s pros and cons. Overall, I’m fairly convinced that soy lecithin is benign for most people in small amounts. Possibly, though, my love of dark chocolate is swaying my verdict. It’s pretty hard to find dark chocolate without soy lecithin on the ingredient list. (Hu and Alter Eco are two brands worth trying.)

I’m keeping soy lecithin on the list because anecdotally, some people still seem to react to it poorly. Folks with serious soy allergies should avoid it until they check with their doctors.

Guar Gum and Xanthan Gum

I’m lumping these two together because they are functionally similar. Both are used as food thickening agents. In fact, I previously recommended them as worthy low-carb options for thickening sauces, stews, and soups.

Guar gum is derived from the guar bean, while xanthan gum is created through bacterial fermentation. Both contain high levels of soluble fiber. Research suggests that they may confer some of the same health benefits associated with fiber generally, such as acting as a prebiotic, lowering LDL, improving glycemic control, and treating constipation. As we know, though, more fiber isn’t always better. For folks with IBD, for example, fiber can actually be counterproductive, exacerbating GI issues.

It’s no surprise, then, that both guar gum and xanthan gum can have unwanted laxative effects. Although human research is lacking, some people experience gas, cramping, and diarrhea when they eat foods with these gums. I’d be mindful of this possibility if I was battling Crohn’s, colitis, IBD, or the like.

Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)

I’m not sure how many of you are old enough to remember, but there was a time thirty years ago or so where MSG was the ingredient everyone loved to hate. The popular media blamed MSG for various health problems. Chinese food restaurants rushed to distance themselves from MSG. As usually happens, the fervor subsided, although you might still have a nagging sense that you should avoid MSG.

In the meantime, studies failed to substantiate that MSG is correlated with any major health problems when consumed in small quantities.⁷ However, some percentage of the population is apparently sensitive to MSG. These people report symptoms such as nausea, flushing, rapid heartbeat, diarrhea, and headaches when they eat foods made with MSG.

A component in MSG called free glutamate is probably responsible for these reactions. This is important because free glutamate is also found in foods that don’t contain MSG. Carrageenan is a potential source of free glutamate, as is soy sauce. Another that Primal eaters might be eating is nutritional yeast, the cheese substitute that adds an appealing umami flavor to vegan sauces and vegetable dishes.

I don’t go out of my way to avoid MSG or free glutamate, but I also don’t eat a lot of restaurant foods possibly containing MSG. However, I would be taking a closer look at ingredient labels if I was experiencing any of the aforementioned symptoms.

Should Everyone Be Avoiding These Ingredients as a Matter of Course?

It’s a valid question, but I think the answer is no, except for the food dyes. The safety data for artificial food dyes are troubling enough that I recommend avoiding them as much as possible. As for the rest, if you’re eating a Primal diet, your exposure to these ingredients is probably pretty minimal to begin with. If you’re not having any obvious issues with them, I see no compelling reason to avoid them entirely. On the other hand, they don’t add anything to your diet, nutritionally speaking. If you choose to avoid them on principle, you’re certainly not missing out.

This post isn’t meant to be a diatribe about the dangers of processed foods. Realistically, most people eat some prepared, pre-packaged foods for reasons of convenience, cost, or simply to treat themselves. If you want to occasionally nosh some candy at the movies, or you pick up snacks at the gas station on a road trip, you won’t find me chastising you. Heck, I’m the guy who came up with the 80/20 rule in the first place.

While it’s great to “clean up” your diet and environment, remember that the quest for optimal health should not be causing you stress and anxiety. It should feel liberating, not oppressive. In the hierarchy of things to worry about, these additives are low on the list unless you’re having undesirable symptoms that are interfering with your quality of life. If that’s the case, then it’s absolutely worth taking a closer look at ingredient labels.

As for the rest of us? Keep focusing on eating mostly Primal foods, and you’ll be fine.

Plus, as more and more food manufacturers cater to choosy consumers who want fewer additives in their foods, it will become easier to find great-tasting options in your local supermarket. Primal Kitchen already bans these ingredients in all our products. I expect more companies to follow suit as consumer demand increases, so keep up the pressure!

Tell me: Have you had any success eliminating pesky symptoms by cutting out one of these supposedly harmless ingredients?

The post 6 Food Additives That Might Be Giving You Trouble appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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Chicken nuggets aren’t just kid food. With a Primal spin, they’re great for game day, after school, or a midweek lunch!

Typically, chicken nuggets are breaded, and if you’re leaning more toward a Primal, paleo, or keto way of eating, that doesn’t jibe with your program. Still, nuggets are the ultimate comfort food, and there’s no reason you can’t have them. With a simple ingredient swap, you’ll have crunchy grain-free chicken nuggets that the whole family can’t get enough of.

Here’s how to make them.

Keto, Primal, and Paleo Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets Recipe

Ingredients

For the chicken nuggets

1 lb. ground chicken (we used ground chicken breast)
1 tbsp. avocado oil
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup ground pork rinds
2 tbsp. coconut flour

For the fries

1 head cauliflower or 2-3 Japanese sweet potatoes
2 tbsp. Primal Kitchen Olive or Avocado Oil
1 tsp. smoked paprika
½ tsp. onion powder
½ tsp. garlic powder
Salt and pepper

Sauce ideas

Buffalo Sauce
Mayo
Ranch
Ketchup or Spicy Ketchup
Dijon Mustard

Directions

In a bowl, combine the ground chicken, oil, paprika, garlic, onion, pepper, and salt.

Blend the pork rinds in a blender and measure out ¼ cup of ground pork rinds. In a small bowl, combine the ground pork rinds, almond flour and coconut flour.

Form the ground chicken into small balls and into an egg/nugget shape. Coat the chicken in the almond flour mixture and place the nugget in the air fryer basket. Repeat with the remaining chicken until you have 14-16 nuggets. If the chicken begins to stick to your fingers as you’re forming them into nuggets, you can rub a little oil on your hands and then form the nuggets.

Place the basket into the air fryer and set it to air fryer to 375 for 12 minutes.

Watch the nuggets periodically starting at 8 or 9 minutes to make sure the outsides do not burn. Once the time is up, use a meat thermometer to ensure the internal temperature is at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cut your cauliflower into small florets or peel and slice your sweet potatoes into fries.

Combine the oil, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl. Toss the veggies in the mixture until they’re well coated. Place them in your air fryer basket and cook the fries at 375 for 7-10 minutes, and the cauliflower florets at 375 for around 12 minutes, depending on how big you’ve cut the florets or fries.

Place a serving of your fries or cauliflower and 4-5 nuggets in a bowl or container with a lid. Top with your favorite condiments, dressings or sauces and then toss or shake the container to combine. We like a combo of Ranch and Buffalo Sauce, and Mayo and Spicy Ketchup, Sriracha, or hot sauce.

Tips

• Serve these nuggets with your favorite side. Fries and nuggets pair so well together. We use japanese sweet potatoes but you can use orange sweet potatoes or regular potatoes. If you want to keep the recipe lower in carbs, use cauliflower florets instead of fries.
• Different air fryers can retain heat and cook differently than others and also have different capacities. We used an air fryer that has a steel basket that’s fairly large. Depending on how hot your air fryer gets and its size, you may need to adjust cooking time slightly and/or cook in batches.
• The Primal Kitchen dressings and condiments are great on their own, and we also provide some additional flavor pairings at the end of the recipe for even more combinations.

Some Additional Options for Condiments

• Honey Mustard: 2 parts Dijon Mustard to 1 part honey
• Spicy Mayo: 4 parts Mayo to 1 part Sriracha or hot sauce
• French dressing: 2 parts Mayo to 1 part Ketchup or Spicy Ketchup

Print

Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets Recipe

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  Author: Mark’s Daily Apple

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Description

Primal, paleo, and keto air fryer chicken nuggets recipe served with sweet potato fries or roasted cauliflower.

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Ingredients

For the chicken nuggets

1 lb. ground chicken (we used ground chicken breast)
1 tbsp. avocado oil
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup ground pork rinds
2 tbsp. coconut flour

For the fries

1 head cauliflower or 2–3 Japanese sweet potatoes
2 tbsp. Primal Kitchen Olive or Avocado Oil
1 tsp. smoked paprika
½ tsp. onion powder
½ tsp. garlic powder
Salt and pepper

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Instructions

In a bowl, combine the ground chicken, oil, paprika, garlic, onion, pepper, and salt.

Blend the pork rinds in a blender and measure out 1/4 cup of ground pork rinds. In a small bowl, combine the ground pork rinds, almond flour and coconut flour.

Form the ground chicken into small balls and into an egg or nugget shape. Coat the chicken in the almond flour mixture and place the nugget in the air fryer basket. Repeat with the remaining chicken until you have 14-16 nuggets. If the chicken begins to stick to your fingers as you’re forming them into nuggets, you can rub a little oil on your hands and then form the nuggets.

Place the basket into the air fryer and set it to air fryer to 375 for 12 minutes.

Watch the nuggets periodically starting at 8 or 9 minutes to make sure the outsides do not burn. Once the time is up, use a meat thermometer to ensure the internal temperature is at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cut your cauliflower into small florets or peel and slice your sweet potatoes into fries.

Combine the oil, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl. Toss the veggies in the mixture until they’re well coated. Place them in your air fryer basket and cook the fries at 375 for 7-10 minutes, and the cauliflower florets at 375 for around 12 minutes, depending on how big you’ve cut the florets or fries.

Place a serving of your fries or cauliflower and 4-5 nuggets in a bowl or container with a lid. Top with your favorite condiments, dressings or sauces and then toss or shake the container to combine. We like a combo of Ranch and Buffalo Sauce, and Mayo and Spicy Ketchup, Sriracha, or hot sauce.

Notes

Serve these nuggets with your favorite side. Fries and nuggets pair so well together. We use japanese sweet potatoes but you can use orange sweet potatoes or regular potatoes. If you want to keep the recipe lower in carbs, use cauliflower florets instead of fries.

Different air fryers can retain heat and cook differently than others and also have different capacities. We used an air fryer that has a steel basket that’s fairly large. Depending on how hot your air fryer gets and its size, you may need to adjust cooking time slightly and/or cook in batches.

The Primal Kitchen dressings and condiments are great on their own, and we also provide some additional flavor pairings at the end of the recipe for even more combinations.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/4 of nuggets recipe
• Calories: 284.2
• Sugar: .6 g
• Sodium: 344.9 g
• Fat: 10.3 g
• Saturated Fat: 2.1 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 8.2
• Trans Fat: 0 g
• Carbohydrates: 4.1 g
• Fiber: 2.2 g
• Protein: 31.2 g
• Cholesterol: 87.5 mg
• Net Carbs: 1.9 g

The post Primal, Keto, Grain-free and Paleo Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets Recipe appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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Research of the Week

Swearing makes you stronger.

The aging (and young, for that matter) brain needs social interactions.

Full-fat dairy wins again.

There is very little evidence in favor of “as low as possible” salt intakes, and yet that’s what most health authorities recommend.

Too many omega-6 fats, increased risk of peripheral nerve pain.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 521: Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers: Host Elle Russ Dr. Rodgers back to the podcast.

Episode 522: April King: Host Elle Russ chats with April King, founder of Better Than Provisions, a food company providing high quality food that’s also convenient.

Health Coach Radio: Allison Tenney wants you to bet on yourself. I do too.

Media, Schmedia

Good.

Lab grown meat is anything but inevitable.

Interesting Blog Posts

Are eggs good or bad for metabolic health?

With antibiotics, less is more.

Social Notes

A rare encounter.

Let your freak flag fly.

Everything Else

The answer is “no.”

Let’s hope this works.

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

Things get older and older: Evidence of humans in North America 21000 years ago.

This is how you use technology to enhance the ecosystem: 3D printing fake coral for real coral to live on and grow.

Many examples abound: Fit but unhealthy.

Expect more of this: Extreme disruption.

Expect more of this, too: Rising meat prices.

Question I’m Asking

When are the “experts” going to stop talking about the “dairy paradox?” When will they accept that full-fat dairy is simply the healthiest type?

Recipe Corner

• Italian meat balls without the bread crumbs.
• Now this is a salad I can get behind.

Time Capsule

One year ago (Sep 18 – Sep 24)

• Parental Burnout: What to Do if You Feel Overwhelmed as a Parent — Happens to the best of us.
• Beyond Pumpkin Spice: The Benefits of Cinnamon for Blood Sugar, Infections, and More— Respect the spice.

Comment of the Week

“While I love the idea of bringing back the mammoth (and eating a mammoth steak), I must side against it.

This isn’t like repopulating Yellowstone with timber wolves. Mammoths have been gone for 4,000 years (and closer to 10,000 on the mainland). Their native habitats have changed considerably in that time, and adapted to new regional homeostases. Bringing back the mammoth would not be repopulation, it would be the introduction of an invasive species. It’s more analogous to horses returning to American grazing lands.

Yes, the agendas behind such an initiative are largely noble – whether it is to redirect climate change or simply to advance our understanding of genetics -but there are far too many known and unknown variables. We know that invasive species can quickly upset the delicate balance of an ecosystem, and we don’t know what will happen when we take an already-intelligent and dangerous animal and make it bigger… then hope it will simply act as we want it to.”

-Good point, hate_me.

The post New and Noteworthy: What I Read This Week—Edition 147 appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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The past 19+ months have provided us with more than a few challenges, but they’ve also allowed us to reflect on what’s working in our lives and what could use a major overhaul.

An unexpected benefit of all the cancelled happy hours, closed gyms, and remote offices is that it automatically created boundaries for our personal and professional lives. Too exhausted to go out on Friday night? No problem, the bar isn’t open. Don’t feel like going to spin class? Yoga at home sounds better anyway. Have trouble telling co-workers “No” in person? Being off site makes it easier to say you “Have a conflict.”

Do You Need Better Boundaries?

As you venture back into the (partially) reopened world, you might notice that your exhaustion levels and people-pleasing behaviours have resurfaced. Maybe you’re feeling more drained and less psyched about social obligations. Or you’re experiencing more guilt, regret, and resentment.

Sure, there are a lot of reasons you might be feeling more tanked than usual. But in my decade of experience as a health coach, I’ve seen firsthand what can happen when folks don’t stand up for what they need, when they need it. Research professor and author, Dr. Brené Brown agrees, saying, “Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves, even when we risk disappointing others.”

In short, boundaries are the limits you decide work for you.

When you say “Yes” to others, you’re often saying “No” to your own needs. You’re telling yourself that pleasing others — or avoiding the fear of rejection, disappointment, criticism, or feeling temporarily uncomfortable — is more important than respecting yourself. Healthy boundaries are a crucial component of self-care. And deciding that you deserve to put limits on your energy and time, especially toward things that don’t serve you, can be a total game-changer.

Benefits of having healthy boundaries:

• Conserved emotional energy
• More confidence
• A better sense of self
• Lower rate of burnout
• More autonomy
• Less stress
• Increased fulfillment

What Does a Healthy Boundary Look Like?

Boundaries can be physical, emotional, spiritual, work-related, or friend-and-family-related. For example, in my health coach-client relationships, I could set the boundary to keep my own health struggles separate and not share too much about my personal life. Or I could decide that I won’t hold myself responsible for my clients’ slip-ups, or compromise my schedule just to fit someone in last minute.

Healthy boundaries can be set for personal relationships as well. Got a friend who stops by unannounced, with boatloads of comforting junk food, to worry about their never-ending quest to lose weight? Or a sibling who borrows your things without asking? A healthy boundary would require you to speak up about what you need from that relationship — whether it’s letting that friend know they need to give you a head’s up before popping over, or telling your sibling they need to ask first. Or just straight up saying “no.”

And just so you know, not creating boundaries can lead to these same issues appearing over and over again in all of your relationships.

Believe That You’re Worth Creating Boundaries

All of this boundary stuff has been well documented too, from research around work-life balance to the expectations of new moms.¹ One study, in particular, evaluated 31 participants who’d given birth in the previous year, addressing three things: perceptions regarding the role of maternal self-care, specific applications of self-care in new motherhood (like exercising, seeing friends, allowing dad to jump in to help), and barriers to acting on those applications.² Researchers found that two ideologies came to the forefront. One, the new moms believed that self-care was important during this time. And two, they associated an extreme form of self-sacrifice was required of them.

In other words, they knew what they needed to do, yet because they believed they had to sacrifice their own needs for those of their baby, they didn’t follow through with any of kind of self-care.

In a nutshell, if a situation you’re repeatedly in makes you feel drained, stressed, overcommitted, overly taxed, or resentful, it’s time to create some boundaries.

Still not sure if you need to create better boundaries? Ask yourself:

• Do I have a hard time saying no to people?
• Do I usually say yes to things I secretly don’t want to do?
• Do I worry about what others think?
• Do I believe I need to earn people’s respect by being overly nice?
• Do I often feel taken advantage of?
• Do I feel irritated or defeated more often than I don’t?

Become a Boundary-Setting Pro

Setting boundaries is a life skill, it’s not something you’re inherently born with. It’s also not something you do once and never give another thought to. Your needs, your environment, and the people you interact with are constantly changing, so you’ll need to update and manage your boundaries as those variables change. When you decide to make yourself a priority (yes, that’s what boundaries do), you’ll notice how quickly you feel more empowered and less exhausted. Here are five tips for creating good boundaries in your world:

1. Reflect on What Depletes You
   A lot of times, things happen to people that make them feel uncomfortable, but they don’t know why. Take time to be a detective of your own well-being and really start to notice the difference between feeling tired from overdoing it at the gym and feeling depleted because you neglected to put any boundaries up with your friends and family.
2. Give Yourself Permission to Set Limits
   Love, acceptance, and approval are often tied to pleasing other people, especially if you have these tendencies. Even though it may feel like you’re risking rejection when you put a limit on your time or energy, you’re declaring the fact that you respect yourself enough to do so. It’s also important to note that setting limits isn’t selfish. It actually makes you more productive and enjoyable to be around.
3. Speak Up About Your Needs
   We don’t live in a world of mind-readers, which means you’re going to have to communicate your needs if you want them met. You can’t hold people to the unrealistic expectations that they inherently know you don’t want to work ‘til midnight or eat the homemade cupcakes they brought over. Get clear about your boundaries and then voice them where appropriate.
4. Address Any Feelings That Come Up
   If you’re not used to creating boundaries, you’ll probably feel a bit of guilt, selfishness, or embarrassment at first. After all, who are YOU to say you won’t do these things others are asking of you? This is where self-respect comes in. Remind yourself that you have a right to tell someone no without feeling bad about it. You also have a right to put your own needs first.
5. Decide You’re Worth It
   When you don’t set good boundaries, or set them but don’t follow through, you’re reinforcing your personal talk track that says that someone else’s needs are more important than yours. On the flip side, when you establish good boundaries and maintain your commitment to them, it can lead to you feeling proud, respected, and in control. It’s up to you, but I’d argue that the latter is a much better way to go through life.

My 5-Step Plan for Good Boundaries

Healthy boundaries are a critical component of self-care. As you start to realize what limits you need to set for your time and energy (and why that’s important to your overall wellbeing), you’ll quickly see that you don’t need to expend so much energy giving more of yourself than you want. You’ll also see that the fear of rejection, disappointment, and criticism decreases the more you practice these five steps:

1. Reflect on What Depletes You
2. Give Yourself Permission to Set Limits
3. Speak Up About Your Needs
4. Address Any Feelings That Come Up
5. Decide You’re Worth It

What about you? Do you have good boundaries?

The post 5 Tips for Setting Better Boundaries (and Why You Want to) appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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Seems like every international traveler who normally follows a Primal way of eating has had the experience of splurging on pasta in Italy or baguettes in France or pita in Greece without any of the negative effects they normally experience back home. There are even people with confirmed gluten sensitivities who can get away with eating wheat overseas. Whenever I’m in Europe, I enjoy the local cuisine without worrying too much, even though I definitely get a reaction back in the US. I may not be eating entire baguettes or plates of pasta, but I don’t shy away from smearing raw brie over crusty bread—and yet back home, I avoid wheat as a general rule.

What’s going on here? Why do some people get gluten reactions from American wheat but not European wheat?

There are a lot of different possibilities. It’s not just one factor. It is many.

American wheat is higher in gluten.

Point blank: this might be the major issue. The majority of American wheat grown is hard red wheat, which is high in protein and thus gluten.

In Europe, the majority of wheat grown in Europe is soft wheat, which is lower in gluten.

Julia Child famously lamented trying to make French-style bread with American flour. She couldn’t do it because the gluten content was too high in the American stuff.

American wheat is covered in glyphosate.

Glyphosate is perhaps the most common herbicide used worldwide. But it has another interesting use case: desiccation. If an American farmer wants to prepare his wheat for harvest, he will often spray it with glyphosate in order to “dry it out.” Desiccated wheat stores and travels better than fresh wheat. It’s much quicker—and more profitable—to just douse the field in glyphosate than it is to let it dry naturally. Meanwhile, this practice isn’t as widespread in Europe, where some countries have banned or heavily restricted the use of glyphosate. Your average American wheat product is more likely to have glyphosate residues than your average European wheat product.

The official story is that the herbicide glyphosate is inert in humans, totally non-toxic, because it targets a biological pathway important to insects and other pests but that mammals do not possess. This is misleading. The pathway, known as the shikimate pathway, is extremely important in bacteria as well. And while we are not bacteria, we host trillions and billions of bacteria in our guts, where they modulate our immune system, form a barrier against pathogens, manufacture nutrients and neurotransmitters, interface with our brains via the gut brain axis, and digest and nullify problematic food components like gluten.

Glyphosate can disrupt or kill the bacteria in our guts. Some of those bacteria, like members of the bifidobacterium species, have been shown to digest intact gluten proteins.¹

Glyphosate also has the ability to mimic glycine, an amino acid that forms the backbone of many proteins in the body, such as trypsin, a protease (protein-digesting enzyme) that helps us break down gluten. If glyphosate inserts itself into the space normally occupied by glycine, the trypsin doesn’t work as intended and gluten digestion suffers as a consequence.²

These are plausible mechanisms for glyphosate disruption of gluten digestion. They aren’t proven. But it does make you wonder, right?

American wheat is grown in sulfur-deficient soils.

Why does soil sulfur contribute to gluten reactions?

As we know, gliadin is the gluten subfraction responsible for most of the allergenic response to wheat consumption.³ But what we don’t know is that the gliadin concentration in wheat can be modified by the presence of sulfur in the soil. The concentration of sulfur in the soil regulates the amount of allergenic gliadin proteins the wheat produces during its lifecycle.⁴ Less sulfur in the soil, more gliadin in the gluten. More sulfur in the soil, less gliadin in the gluten. The more gliadin in the gluten, the more reactive a person will be to the wheat when they eat it.

The top wheat-producing states in America are Kansas, Washington, and North Dakota. If you look at this map of soil sulfur (lower right map), you’ll see that all three states are either low or deficient in sulfur, which means the wheat they produce is likely to be higher in gliadin than normal.

European wheat tends to be lower in gliadin.

Remember how gliadin is the gluten component that’s most problematic for celiac and gluten sensitive people? It turns out that the types of wheat flour used most frequently in European wheat products are lower in gliadin and higher in glutenin (the other component of gluten that has little to no allergenicity). Both soft wheat flour (used in breads in Europe) and semolina (used in pasta) are lower in gliadin than hard wheat (used in the US).⁵

You’re more likely to eat high-quality stuff on vacation.

When you’re traveling, you’re not eating grocery store mass-produced bread. You’re not buying snack cakes at gas stations. You’re eating at that great pizzeria you saw Anthony Bourdain visit once in an episode of “No Reservations.” You’re grabbing baguettes from the world-famous bakery your globe-trotting friends insisted you visit. And those places, the more traditional places serving wheat products, will be more likely to use higher quality wheat and other ingredients and minimal processing. They’ll be more likely to use natural leavening, which helps break down the gluten.

When you’re at home, you’re not eating out at every night. You’re eating the basic stuff, not the artisanal. Well, maybe not you specifically, but my readers are a special breed. But the average person who complains about gluten sensitivity at home and not abroad likely is eating standard grocery store wheat products at home and being exposed to all the glyphosate and fast rising yeast with low efficacy at breaking down gluten.

If you compare an artisanal loaf of sourdough from the farmer’s market back home, the difference won’t be as stark. But if you’re comparing the French baguette baked by the fifth generation artisan to a loaf of Wonderbread back home, of course you’re going to lose. It’s apples and oranges.

There are plenty of lower quality, mass-produced wheat products available in Europe, but if you’re traveling for pleasure you probably won’t encounter them.

You’re walking more.

An underappreciated factor in a European vacation is all the walking you do. You’re staying in historic cities that were built before the advent of the automobile. They’re built for pedestrians. They’re full of little alleyways and curving streets dotted with interesting shops that invite walks. They’re beautiful to just wander around. When I’m in Europe, I walk 8-10 miles a day on average. The steps just happen.

While that may not directly reduce the allergenicity of wheat, it does affect your ability to handle wheat. Your digestion works better when you’re moving around frequently a slow pace. Your blood glucose control is better when you’re walking consistently, and that can play a role in how wheat—a decidedly high-carb food—interacts with your metabolism. There’s simply a big difference between eating a baguette and sitting on your ass and eating a baguette and walking for five miles looking at the beautiful architecture.

You’re less stressed.

When you’re traveling, you’re not thinking about work. There’s no commute. You don’t have to rush the kids to get ready for school. The bills aren’t an issue. What’s more, you probably took care of all the stuff that had to be taken care of before leaving for the trip—just so you wouldn’t have anything hanging over your head, coloring the experience. Why is this important for gluten tolerance?

One of the best ways to ruin your gut is with stress.

Stress, especially chronic stress, is one of the most under-appreciated and yet potent disrupters of gut health, gut bacteria, and gut permeability. The more stressed you are, the more “leaky” your gut gets. The leakier your gut, the more gluten, and other harmful toxins and food components can be admitted into circulation. Gluten by itself can induce leaky gut; combined with stress, the tight junctions just let it all flow through.

Stress even reduces the number of Lactobacillus species living in your gut, some of whom are responsible for breaking down gluten into manageable, less allergenic fragments.

More stress, worse gut health, worse gluten reaction.

There you have it: my seven hypotheses, none mutually exclusive, all mutually inclusive, for why some people can eat bread and pasta in Europe without incurring a gluten reaction.

What about you? Have you experienced this yourself? What’s your hypothesis?

The post Why Do I Get a Gluten Reaction from American Wheat but not Overseas? appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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“Some days you will feel like the ocean. Some days you will feel like you are drowning in it.”

—Lora Mathis

Ain’t that the truth. Life comes at you fast. You get laid off and don’t have enough money in savings, a family member gets sick, your car gets totaled. All of a sudden, you’re totally underwater.

Often, though, it’s not one catastrophic event that gets you; it’s the sum total of all the small-to-medium-sized stressors in your life. Death by papercuts, if you will. Overwhelm results from having too much or not enough — too much to do, too many responsibilities, not enough money or time.

Overwhelm quickly becomes a vicious cycle, as it requires energy and resources (neither of which you have in abundance) to dig yourself out. A classic sign of overwhelm is feeling like you’ve lost control over your circumstances, like things are happening to you instead of for you or because you chose them.

You can’t govern all the sources of stress in your life, but you may have more control than you realize. At the very least, there are probably ways to manipulate your schedule and environment so your stress triggers aren’t so triggering.

Start by asking yourself, “What would need to change in order for me to feel less overwhelmed?” If just that step feels overwhelming, don’t worry. You’re about to start taking action, and action is empowering.

Coping with Overwhelm

• Signs of overwhelm include:
• Exhaustion
• Irritability
• Hopelessness
• Trouble focusing
• Catastrophic thinking
• Worry, anxiety
• Lack of motivation

When you’re already overwhelmed, taking action can feel impossible. However, even when you can’t fix everything all at once, there are almost always small, manageable steps you can take to get the ball rolling.

Get Organized

Disorganization feels chaotic, and chaos is overwhelming.

• Everyone needs a calendar and a system for organizing to-do lists. Trying to keep everything straight in your head is a recipe for disaster. There are endless options here: Google Calendar, iCal, Evernote, iPhone Memos, Anylist, old-fashioned paper and pencil, bullet journaling, and on and on. The best one is the one that works for you.
• Start your day by making your to-do list, organizing tasks in order of importance and due date. Before mentally checking out for the evening, look ahead to tomorrow’s calendar so you don’t miss early appointments. (Hint: Use habit stacking to make these practices second nature.)
• Create a shared calendar with family members so you can see everyone’s schedule in one place.
• Use your calendar for daily appointments as well as recurring commitments and tasks, including things like paying credit cards and changing the air filter in your house. That way, you never have to remember to do them and stress when you forget.

Cull Your Commitments

For most people I know, being overcommitted and over-busy is their biggest source of overwhelm. Chances are, you say yes to too many things, too.

What can be outsourced? Put off? Canceled altogether?

Delegate and Outsource

Delegating and outsourcing tasks frees up time, mental energy, and other resources so you can concentrate on the things that matter most. Asking for help can feel vulnerable, though. Rather than admit they’re struggling, folks try to power through on their own, all the while digging themselves into a deeper emotional hole.

Delegating also means ceding control over how things get done. You have to get comfortable with letting people do things their way, even if it’s not how you would do it. Your way might indeed be best, but theirs is probably good enough.

As Ann Landers said, “Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it.”

Let kids do more

Parental burnout is a widespread problem, in part because parents today feel (real or imagined) pressure to make their children’s lives as easy as possible. Moms, in particular, often believe we are failing somehow if we aren’t doing the absolute most. Yet, we also understand that doing everything for our kids doesn’t really help any of us in the long run.

While they can’t drive themselves to dance class or deal with the barrage of paperwork that comes home from school, kids can do age-appropriate chores. Pick a couple things you’d like to take off your plate and teach your kids to do them. Let them pick up after themselves, fold their own laundry, or pack their own lunches (with options you provide).

Don’t fall into the trap of, “It’s easier just to do it myself.” That’s only true until they learn how to do things properly and accept their new responsibilities. Don’t let them wear you down with whining and half-hearted efforts. Power through. Short-term pain for long-term gain.

Hire it out

To the degree your financial situation allows, look for ways to buy more freedom in your schedule. There are plenty of people who are happy to take your money in exchange for cleaning your house, doing yard work, or helping your kids with their homework. Virtual assistants can schedule appointments, make travel arrangements, and do other small tasks that build up on your to-do list.

Think of it as contributing to the economy while also reducing your stress, a win-win.

Say No More Often

You know this. I know you know this. So why is it such a struggle? Because saying no means setting a boundary, and most people aren’t comfortable with boundaries. They feel icky until you get used the idea that, when employed correctly, boundaries protect your space, mental health, and even your relationships.

Repeat after me: saying no isn’t mean, rude, or selfish. Saying no to things you aren’t excited about allows you to devote your precious time to people and opportunities that light you up. They benefit from getting a better, less frazzled version of yourself.

The more you say no, the more you realize how many of the things on your calendar and to-do list are optional. The world doesn’t fall apart when you turn down a committee assignment or miss a party, particularly not when you continue to show up as a reliable employee and caring friend in other ways.

Start saying no to things that aren’t a “heck yes!” If necessary, try to extricate yourself from ongoing commitments that are no longer rewarding. Explain that while you’d love to help/participate/organize/donate your time, your situation has changed, and you no longer have the resources. If possible, suggest someone who can take your place.

Put Routines in Place

Routines reduce decision fatigue and inject a comforting sense of familiarity into your day. A good morning routine sets your day off on the right food, while a calm, comforting evening routine puts you in the right headspace for a restorative night’s sleep.

Setting up weekly routines keeps you organized and reduces strife with other members of your household. Chore charts, for example, designate what chores get done each day and by whom. Overflowing laundry hampers are less overwhelming when you know someone will handle them tomorrow.

Variety may be the spice of life, but when you’re feeling overwhelmed, embrace the concept of strategic repetition. Choose three to five favorite breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and workouts, then cycle through them on repeat. Mix in something new when you feel bored or particularly inspired.

Try Block Scheduling

With block scheduling, you divide your weeks into segments designated for specific tasks. Your blocks could include:

• Work
• Chores
• Parenting
• School
• Fun family time
• Fitness
• Personal/spiritual growth
• Hobbies
• Friend time
• Whatever else makes sense for you

Don’t forget to include a block for relaxation and self-care (non-negotiable!) and a “miscellaneous” block where you can stick the random tasks that come up.

Make a weekly template based on how much time you need for each block, customized to your needs. Organize your to-do lists around each block. For example, you might designate an hour on Tuesdays and Fridays for household adulting—paying bills, scheduling repairs, and the like. If something breaks on Monday, and it’s not urgent, put it on the household to-do list and handle it on Tuesday.

Focus on One Thing at a Time

As much as I’d like to be able to multitask effectively, the fact is that it doesn’t work. It may feel like you’re saving time, but you’re less productive overall when you try to divide your focus between multiple tasks. Plus, when you’re already feeling overwhelmed, having your attention pulled in multiple directions at once can make you feel even more frenzied.

When you’re working, place your phone out of reach and put it on airplane mode if you can. Close extraneous tabs. Turn off email notifications and commit to checking your email less often throughout the day—every hour or two instead of every four minutes.

Give yourself 20 or 30 minutes at a time to focus on one thing and one thing only. Longer is great if you get into a flow state, but don’t forget to take work breaks to move your body, too.

Employ Transition Rituals

One of the more difficult parts of working from home, as so many of us have done for the past year and a half, is the lack of separation between work life and home life. We’re always here. Work bleeds into domestic life and vice versa, and it’s hard to create appropriate divisions of time and space.

Transition rituals give your brain and body time to pause, reorient, and re-energize between tasks. They signal that it’s time to change gears, closing one door before opening another. For example, when my kids leave for school in the morning, I put on proper clothes (no working in pajamas), start the essential oil diffuser on my desk, and put on some light music. That tells my brain that it’s time to work. On mornings where I skip those steps, I feel notably less focused. At the end of the workday, I make a point of closing my laptop and pushing in my desk chair.

Other transition rituals could include making a cup of tea before sitting down to study or doing a quick microworkout before meetings.

Automate Where You Can

It takes only a few minutes to set bills to autopay, set up reminders in your calendar for recurring tasks, or turn on email filters that keep your inbox more organized.

Small business owners and self-employed folks can benefit from low-cost services to help automate payroll, invoicing, and other easy but time-sucking tasks.

Lose the Clutter

When you’re already feeling overwhelmed, a crowded, disorganized home environment only contributes to the stress. Look around. Does your home feel soothing, or does it make you feel anxious in its current state?

If the latter, it’s time to clean, organize, and purge. Start small, with one room, even one drawer. Fill one bag with stuff to donate. Keep chipping away. Each little bit of progress should provide some immediate relief. If the problem is big enough and you can afford it, hire a housecleaner or professional organizer to help put things right. Then, do everything you can to keep it that way.

Block, Unfollow, Delete

Sometimes social media provides a welcome escape, but it can also be a breeding ground for social comparison, self-doubt, and FOMO. That’s the last thing you need when you’re already feeling overwhelmed.

Ruthlessly curate your social media and unfollow anyone who makes you feel insecure or unhappy. Hide or block people who drain you emotionally by causing drama on your timeline. Consider deleting apps altogether if you find yourself wasting time you don’t have to spare by scrolling.

Fill Your Bucket

Coping with overwhelm isn’t always about doing less. Sometimes you actually need more—more time with friends, better self-soothing or relaxation practices, more fun. All too often, the things that nurture our souls are the first things we let slide because they feel optional. Preserving your mental wellbeing is not optional. What do you need more of?

What to Do In the Moment When You Feel Overwhelmed

In addition to mitigating sources of stress and anxiety, you should have some tools for self-soothing when that wave of feeling overwhelmed hits. Here are some quick ideas:

Take ten

What’s the first thing you do when one of your electronic devices is on the fritz? You unplug it. Same goes for you. Walk away from the computer, put down your phone, and give yourself permission to turn off for a few minutes. Take a power nap or do one of the things below.

Breathwork exercises

Any kind of slow, controlled breathing will stimulate the vagus nerve and activate the parasympathetic (rest and digest) nervous system. A simple practice is the extended exhale, where you breathe out for twice as long as you breathe in. For example, breathe in for a count of four, pause, then exhale for a count of eight. Repeat five times.

Meditation, prayer, and chanting have the same effect of improving vagal tone.

Journal

Getting things out of your head and onto paper can be a big help. Sit down and do a brain dump. Let the thoughts flow without censoring them.

Taking a minute to write down a few gratitude statements can help, too.

Pop a piece of gum

Chewing gum relieves stress and anxiety!¹

Move your body

It may be cliche, but one of the best things you can do when you start feeling overwhelmed is to get out of your head and back into your body. Take a quick walk or do a microworkout.

Mindset Shifts for Dealing with Overwhelm

Here’s the bottom line:

1. Focus on the things you can control about your situation. Address the major root causes of stress when you can. When you can’t, look for ways to alleviate smaller sources of stress and bring more calm and order into your environment.

2. But don’t try to control everything. Ask for help.

3. Let go of perfectionism. Get comfortable with “good enough.”

4. Practice self-compassion. Everyone gets overwhelmed sometimes. Don’t make it worse by getting down on yourself for how you’re feeling. Focus on what you need to do to feel better.

The post How to Cope with Feeling Overwhelmed appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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Research of the Week

Each additional hour spent outdoors improves circadian health, mood, neuroticism, and almost everything.

An oregano oil molecule shows promise against COVID.

Hold off on retirement and see your cognitive skills persist.

Kids need trees.

A seed oil-based ketogenic diet is bad for brain volume in young mice.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 519: Barbara Diaz De Leon: Host Elle Russ chats with Barbara Diaz De Leon, a Primal Health Coach who’s passionate about helping women transform their lives as she did hers.

Episode 520: Alicia Luciani: Host Elle Russ chats with Alicia Luciani, a functional health coach who made it back from total and complete burnout and now shows people how to do the same.

Health Coach Radio: Tina McDermott wants you to take control of your life.

Health Coach Radio: Dr. Serena Sterling shows how the body doesn’t lie.

Media, Schmedia

Imagine the marrow.

Interesting Blog Posts

The benefit of uncertainty.

Simplest thing you can do to improve COVID (and all health) outcomes: control blood sugar.

Social Notes

Tucker gets it.

Embrace novelty.

Everything Else

Some ants have jaws infused with zinc and manganese for extra-strong bites.

Stuff just gets older and older.

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

It doesn’t take much: Simply being able to see nature through the window improves health.

I love a comeback: Is the carbohydrate insulin theory of obesity actually dead?

Underrated ape: Gibbons.

Interesting podcast: Peter from Hyperlipid on Peak Human discussing whether doctors are giving the absolute worst advice to their patents.

Interesting video: Does dietary mismatch affect us via sleep?

Question I’m Asking

Do you think we should bring back the mammoth? What other animals would you want to bring back?

Recipe Corner

• Chicken nuggets you don’t have to feel guilty about.
• Sirloin is an underrated cut of meat.

Time Capsule

One year ago (Sep 11 – Sep 17)

• The Pandemic’s Toll on Mental Health and Relationships: What Can We Learn?— Well, what?
• Why We Should All Be Eating Organ Meats— Why we should.

Comment of the Week

“Interesting that researchers were able to find volunteers for the rectal oxygen delivery study. I guess these brave souls were not afraid of being the butt of their family and friends jokes … and embraced the opportunity as a means to an end.

Animal traits or parts … keeping with the fish theme, having gills so that you could breathe underwater for long periods of time might be cool. The animals I admire most are the large cats (cougars, panthers, leopards etc.), so powerful, graceful, nimble and fast.”

-Very progressive of you, PaleoProgressive.

The post New and Noteworthy: What I Read This Week—Edition 146 appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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Hi folks! PHCI Coaching and Curriculum Director, Erin Power is here for another round of Ask a Health Coach. Today, she’ll be answering your questions about managing hunger, conquering cravings, and why you shouldn’t have to force healthy eating habits. We love getting your questions, so keep them coming over in our Mark’s Daily Apple Facebook Group or in the comments below.

Miriam asked:

“Now that I’m back to the gym I’ve upped my calories to 2000, but I’m always hungry. Carbs are 100g. Protein is 150g. Fat is 111g. Am I doing something wrong?”

I have a lot of opinions about calorie counting, macro tracking, and anything that resembles typical, fussy diet culture. I’m not going to lie: it makes my eyes glaze over a bit! It can certainly offer up a realistic snapshot of how your nutrition is/isn’t serving you, but in my practice, I find that it can sometimes do more harm than good. People become so fixated on their calorie intake, their macro split, or the number on the scale, that it robs them of the joy in life, takes up way too much mental energy, and disconnects us from our intuition. Which is too bad, because my guess is you’re doing this to feel better, healthier, and happier.

You might be so consumed with searching for the thing you think you should be doing, that you’ve lost sight of what your body actually needs. And it’s no surprise seeing as everything about our culture teaches us to ignore our body’s signals. Feeling tired? Pour another cup of coffee. Drained emotionally? Push yourself anyway. Always hungry? Rack your brain trying to figure out why.

I can’t help but feel that this is, at best, impolite and, at worst, a quasi-dysfunctional relationship with our amazing bodies, and their elegant signalling systems.

Why Am I Always Hungry?

You can make this as complicated as you want, and you can always take a deeper dive into the subject, but in my experience, constant hunger is typically triggered by one of four things. And with a little trial and error it’s quite easy to figure out. Start by asking yourself:

1. Do I feel hungrier when I eat more carbs?
2. Do I feel less hungry when I eat more protein and fat?
3. How are my stress levels and my sleep?
4. Do I just need to eat more food?

I realized you’ve already increased your calories, but what if you needed to increase them even more? If you’ve been relatively sedentary for the past 18 months and are now back to crushing it at the gym, your metabolic needs have shifted. And there’s no rulebook that says 2000 calories should be your cap.

Also, it’s been proven that certain carbs are responsible for knocking out the neurons responsible for hunger suppression, so that could be a factor — especially if they’re coming in the form of processed health foods.¹ And protein and fat are well documented when it comes to increasing satiety, so keep that in mind when playing around with your macro split if that’s the road you choose to follow.²

What Do Stress and Sleep Have to Do with Hunger?

Two of the biggest, most unsung needle-movers though (on hunger levels and health in general) are stress and sleep. Short-term stress, like a tough gym session or a hard day at work, can decrease your appetite as your adrenal glands pump out epinephrine, briefly putting hunger on hold. When stress becomes chronic, your adrenal glands switch gears and start releasing cortisol (also called the fat storage hormone), which increases appetite and makes you feel hungrier, often for less-than-healthy foods.³ And if you’re not getting a good night’s sleep, you’ll also be triggering more ghrelin and less leptin, two more hormones that can add to your hunger pangs.⁴

It’s all about paying attention to your internal cues, so, take a sec to slow down and reconnect with what your body is trying to tell you. Adjust your macros if that feels right to you; manage your stress and quality of sleep; and respect and trust your body enough to simply eat more food if you feel hungry.

Dan asked:

“It’s my first week of following a primal diet and I already caved and had a gluten-free pizza. What’s the best way to handle cravings?”

When the world is loading up on cheesy, doughy dinners it can be hard to resist. It’s also tough if pizza has been your go-to “joy-bringer” meal for years. Processed convenience foods are woven into nearly every aspect of our culture and deciding that you want to take a different path can have its share of challenges.

I’ve found that cravings are half physiological, and half psychological. Try to connect the dots between what you’re feeling when your cravings come on. Does your willpower start to wane after a stressful day? When you don’t eat enough protein? When you feel anxious or deprived? When you’re dealing with self-doubt?

As a health coach, I’ve helped hundreds of clients conquer their cravings. And you can do it too, on three conditions…

1. You stop being so quick to judge yourself.
   If you’ve never followed a primal diet before, what makes you think you’ll knock it out of the park in the first week? Be open to letting go of any all-or-nothing, perfectionist tendencies (which haven’t worked thus far), and try a little self-compassion on for size. So what if you had pizza? Make sure your next meal is primally-aligned and leave the past in the past.
2. You treat yourself with more kindness.
   Shame and guilt aren’t the best motivators. In my private practice and with my health coaching students and graduates in the Primal Health Coach Institute, I talk a lot about Toward Motivation and Away from Motivation. While the former is designed to spark positive, uplifting feelings that pull you closer to the things you want, the latter tends to be fueled by negative emotions, leaving you stewing over the things you did wrong and wondering why you can’t get it right.
3. You commit to being patient.
   Any kind of habit change takes time, whether it’s flossing your teeth more, scrolling your social media feed less, or grilling a ribeye and veggies instead of ordering takeout the second you feel hungry. You’re in the process of reprogramming your neural pathways, and the more times you repeat a desired action, the more it will become an automatic behaviour.⁵

Anything worth doing, is worth doing well, so ditch the self-judgement, have patience, and commit to treating yourself with more kindness and compassion. You deserve it.

Julie asked:

“My 80/20 plan has become more of a 50/50 plan because I have a lot of stressful stuff going on at work and at home. I’m trying to control my diet, but end up eating out more than I should. Any tips for reeling my eating habits back in?”

Maybe you’ve noticed that the more you try, the harder it feels. The more you force a situation, the more it pushes back. I’m not saying everything should come easy, but there’s something that doesn’t sit right with me about our society’s tendency to micromanage every aspect of life.

Strictly controlling your eating habits seem to backfire for most people more than it “works.” At the very least, it makes you miserable in the process. After all, how much fun is it to go out to eat when you’re criticizing yourself for not cooking at home? My personal goal — and the goal I have for all the folks I work with — is to achieve an effortless relationship with food.

Food Rules are Too Fussy

The Primal Blueprint’s 80/20 guidelines work for a lot of people. But for some, the nutrition portion becomes the holy grail of rules that causes more struggle than it’s worth. If being hard on yourself worked, it would have worked by now. If beating yourself up every time you took a spin through the drive through versus firing up the grill was an awesome motivator, we wouldn’t be here right now discussing this.

Instead of forcing the situation, tune into why you want to reel in your diet in the first place. Does following an 80/20 plan make you feel energetic and alive? Or does it provide the external validation that you’re doing something “right?”

How To Find Your Why

I feel like I beat this drum too much sometimes, but tapping into your why (your deep-down reason for wanting something) is going to give you the biggest bang for your buck, metabolically speaking.

This is a tool I use with my health coaching clients to help them get clear on their true motivating factors for change. It’s an exercise called Whyx5 and all you have to do is ask yourself WHY five times. Ask:

1. Why is this important to me?
2. Why does that matter?
3. What is that important?
4. Why would that be great to achieve?
5. And…why?

I say this after 25+ years in the hardcore fitness industry, not to mention 10 years in the military: Control won’t get most of us mere mortals very far, but figuring out the real reason you want to reel back in your diet? That’s where the serious magic happens.

What about you? Got anything to add?

The post Ask a Health Coach: Hunger Cues, Cravings, and Control appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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As Autumn approaches, your thoughts turn to crunchy leaves underfoot, brisk hikes through brilliant red, orange, and yellow forests, kids in costumes, wool sweaters and scarves, Thanksgiving dinners, and soups simmering away on the stove. Oh, and pumpkins. Pumpkin everything. Pumpkin spice lattes. Jack-o-Lanterns. Pumpkin pie. Decorative pumpkins, culinary pumpkins, that Charlie Brown pumpkin movie. And yet pumpkins as a source of nutrition remain a bit of an after thought.

People don’t really think to eat pumpkins unless it’s in pie or spice form. Few are making pumpkin soup, roasting pumpkin seeds, or sautéing pumpkin slices. But recall that pumpkins are an incredibly ancient American food that, as a member of the winter squash family, they formed one of the “Three Sisters” that many Amerindian populations used as staple crops, the other two being beans and corn.

Today, I’m going to explain the health benefits of eating pumpkin and its various products, including the flesh, the seeds, and the oil from its seeds. Yes, yes, pumpkin seeds are seeds, and pumpkin seed oil is a seed oil, which we normally try to avoid, but these are not industrial products. A pumpkin seed is obviously full of oil. You press it and oil comes out. No hexane or other industrial solvents required.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. More to come on that.

What Are the Benefits of Pumpkin?

Pumpkin is far lower in carbs and far higher in nutrients than you think.

A full cup and a half of pumpkin flesh has just 12.8 grams of digestible carbohydrates and under 70 calories, with around 3 grams of prebiotic fiber that can nourish and feed your healthy gut biome. For that small dose of carbs and calories, you also get:

• Over 700 mg of potassium (notoriously hard to get in the modern diet)
• A huge amount of carotenoids
• 21% of your riboflavin requirements—which we need to metabolize nutrients and generate cellular energy
• 35% of your copper requirements
• A nice healthy dose of manganese, vitamin C, vitamin B5, and vitamin E
• Numerous polyphenols, which provide a hormetic stimulus to our antioxidant system

Pumpkin offers a quick and easy way to get loads of nutrients, including ones many low-carb, keto, or otherwise carnivorous eaters have trouble getting, like potassium, manganese, and vitamin C, without incurring a big carb or calorie load.

Other winter squashes are just as good, if not even better.

A cup and a half of cubed butternut squash flesh:

• 123 calories
• 22 grams digestible carbs, 10 grams fiber
• 18% of daily thiamine, 19% of niacin, 22% of B5, 22% of B6, 15% folate, 52% vitamin C
• Tons of carotenoids
• 22% of daily magnesium, 23% of manganese, 22% copper, 19% (873 mg) potassium
• Polyphenols
• Very low in carbs for what you get, right?

A cup and a half of cubed acorn squash:

• 170 calories
• 31 grams of digestible carbs, 13.5 grams of fiber
• 43% of daily thiamine, 17% of niacin, 31% B5, 35% B6, 15% folate
• 29% copper, 31% magnesium, 32% manganese, 29% potassium
• Polyphenols

Somewhat more starchy, but not much. Most diets can handle 30 grams of carbs. And the nutrient density is incredible.

There isn’t much research into pumpkin flesh eaters. But that’s okay, because we can look at the nutritional facts and know including all those micronutrients in our diets will have positive effects.

Most of the research is on pumpkin seeds. What does it say about pumpkin seeds?

Pumpkin seeds are extremely high in magnesium and other minerals.

For just an ounce of pumpkin seeds, you get 155 mg of magnesium (nearly half your daily requirement), 1.3 mg of manganese (over half your requirement), 40% of your copper, and 20% of your zinc. That’s for 5.5 grams of omega-6 fats, 4.5 grams of monounsaturated fat, and 2.4 grams of saturated fat. Omega-6 linoleic acid isn’t nearly as problematic in whole foods as it is in refined, industrial seed oils or fast food fryers—and 5.5 grams isn’t that much.

Pumpkin seeds could lower blood glucose.

The seeds have been shown to reduce postprandial blood glucose when consumed as part of a meal. The same meal using flax instead of pumpkin seeds had no such beneficial effect on blood glucose, despite flax being far higher in fiber (which supposedly improves glucose control).¹ Further analysis has identified several components of pumpkin seeds, including inositol, nicotinic acid, and trigonelline, as responsible for the hypoglycemic effects.²

Pumpkin seeds may help men with benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia is benign in that the enlargement of the prostate gland isn’t cancerous but it’s non-benign in that it can impede the flow of urine. In one placebo-controlled trial, a pumpkin seed extract improved the symptoms of men with benign prostatic hyperplasia. Those who took the extract (but not the placebo) for a year reported better symptoms.³ Another study had similar results using a fat-free pumpkin seed extract, finding that the supplement reduced nighttime urination.⁴

Pumpkin seeds may improve erectile function, if they’re roasted.

Albeit in rats, the consumption of roasted (but not raw) pumpkin seeds improves biomarkers associated with erectile function. PDE-5 levels (the same thing that Cialis and Viagra target) improved, MDA (a marker of lipid oxidation and general inflammation) improved, as did nitric oxide levels. You aren’t rats, and this didn’t actually measure erectile outcomes, but it’s promising.⁵

Pumpkin seeds lower the risk of urinary stones despite containing oxalates.

I’ve seen some people worry about the oxalate content of pumpkin seeds. After all, most seeds contain oxalates—they are a form of “antinutrient” that plant use for their own protection—and pumpkin seeds should be no different. It turns out that eating pumpkin seeds actually lowers the calcium-oxalate crystal occurrence in the urine.⁶

Pumpkin seeds fixed one man’s depression.

I read a single case study on the power of pumpkin seeds found in an old letter to the editor of a medical journal. A patient who’d been maintaining his mental health for years using 1.5 grams of L-tryptophan was suddenly plunged into deep depression when L-tryptophan was pulled from the shelves. After lots of research, his doctor (the author of the letter) realized that 200 grams of pumpkin seeds was the most cost effective source of L-tryptophan. He ate the seeds and the depression lifted.⁷

What about the Phytic Acid?

Now, pumpkin seeds are still seeds. They do contain phytic acid, which can have undesirable effects on calcium and other mineral absorption. But there’s another side to phytic acid—it seems to enhance anti-cancer cell activity.⁸ And if you have the right gut bacteria, you can degrade phytic acid into inositol, a compound with many benefits including blood sugar and mood regulation.

If you want to mitigate or eliminate some of the phytic acid, there are things you can do:

• You can always roast or sprout your pumpkin seeds to degrade some of the phytic acid.
• You can consume vitamin C with your pumpkin seeds to counter some of the effects on mineral absorption.⁹
• You can consume meat alongside the seeds; this improves mineral absorption.

But if you’re interested in boosting your intake of magnesium and manganese and perhaps enjoying some of the other benefits I listed, an ounce of pumpkin seeds is a great option that shouldn’t cause any problems for you.

Pumpkin flesh (and that of other winter squash) is definitely worth incorporating into your diet.

So, I’d love to hear from you. What’s your favorite way to eat pumpkin? Do you roast the seeds? Ever notice any of the benefits listed above?

Take care, everyone.

The post The Benefits of Pumpkin and Pumpkin Seeds appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.