Who’s up for a challenge? I hope all of you are ready to get Primal because it’s that time of year again. Next Monday, September 12, marks the first the day of this year’s annual Primal Blueprint 30-Day Challenge!

If you are a longtime reader you know what to expect: 30 days of contests, prizes, reader-created content, feature articles and motivation to help you get and stay Primal for life. The format may change a little this year, but the results won’t. So start gearing up for the festivities. It’s going to be a fun ride.
Hey, did I mention there will be Primal prizes? Thousands of dollars of Primal food, fitness gear and gadgets will be given away to MDA readers. And since I hate to make you wait, see below for today’s pre-challenge contest courtesy of U.S. Wellness.
But first, some details: You don’t have to sign-up to take part […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

Today’s edition of “Dear Mark” covers a variety of topics. We’ve got calcium supplementation – does it make sense and is it safe? Then, I briefly discuss cruciferous vegetables, which are said to have negative effects on thyroid health. Some studies support this, but are they an issue for healthy people? I also look at seed oils high in monounsaturated fats (yes, they exist) and low in the much-maligned polyunsaturated fats, and I discuss their suitability in a Primal eating plan. And finally, a reader asks if jogging is ever okay and, if so, how to do it the right way.
With that out of the way, let’s get to the questions.

Hi Mark,
What do you think about calcium supplements for woman?
Sincerely,
Susan

Not a whole lot. I covered this a couple years ago, but I’ll expand today.
Most of the literature has found isolated calcium supplementation to be ineffective at its purported job (strengthening bones […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

Kimchi announces itself first by a piquant, funky aroma and then by an unforgettable flavor, one that can take some getting use to if you weren’t raised on Korean cuisine. Cool, crunchy cabbage leaves provide a little bit of relief from the otherwise spicy, sour, garlicky and pungent flavors that wallop your taste buds with each mouth-tingling bite. Kimchi can set your mouth on fire, but like other types of spicy food also has a cooling and invigorating affect on the body. Think of kamchi as a way to wake up your palate and kick-start your appetite. It’s also a way to introduce helpful probiotics to your gut, which means improved digestion and better absorption of nutrients.

Making kimchi is an art that Koreans have been practicing for centuries, so we’re not going to pretend that our version improves on the recipe. It does, however, simplify the process and make it […]

Original post by Worker Bee

It’s Friday, everyone! And that means another Primal Blueprint Real Life Story from a Mark’s Daily Apple reader. If you have your own success story and would like to share it with me and the Mark’s Daily Apple community please contact me here. I’ll continue to publish these each Friday as long as they keep coming in. Thank you for reading!

Mark,
I would like to give you another success story to add to your expanding collection.
6 months ago I was 270 lbs, hypertensive, pre-diabetic, metabolic syndrome, etc. I had been aware of your site for a year or so because a political blog I frequent (lewrockwell.com) occasionally links to yours. I was intrigued by some of the articles but was skeptical and didn’t take it too seriously. I knew I was too large, uncomfortably so, and my cholesterol levels were out of whack, but I walked and […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

As you all know, I have a number of vegetarians in my life, and there are many present and active in our MDA community. I empathize with the thinking that goes into their commitment, but I choose to eat meat and obviously encourage others to do the same for the sake of optimum health. I get a fair amount of emails from vegetarian readers who want to reintroduce meat into their diets. Although they see the health benefits of reclaiming omnivorism, they’re hesitant about the transition itself. Have they been herbivores too long? Will they really be able to follow through? The Primal mind is willing, but the flesh remains unsure. I’ve found their concerns generally fall into four areas that I’ll label taste, digestion, morality, and psychology. For all the vegetarians out there interested in rejoining the omnivorous side, let me take up your concerns and offer some Primal-minded […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

In today’s post I’d like to explore whether fighting is something missing from our lives. Before you protest, understand what I mean by “fighting.” I won’t be directly commenting on the war and violence we see on the evening news. Genocide, conquest, theft, rape, and murder? These are acts of coercive violence, wherein either an institution, an individual, or a group of individuals perpetrate violence (or coerce others to do the perpetrating for them) against people who have not consented. No, I’m talking about something decidedly different. Boxing, MMA, martial arts, wrestling, and just roughhousing with some buddies are all examples of two people consensually engaging in interpersonal violence. Going up against another person in single, consensual combat where personal enmity is not the motivating factor? I can’t imagine a greater test of one’s strength, speed, skill, and smarts. Let’s dig in.

Last time, I mentioned that violence was ubiquitous among early humans. […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

For a guy that people don’t usually reference when talking about the ancestral health community, Tucker Max gave a fantastic talk on the importance of violence a couple weeks ago at the symposium. It was on the importance of violence in human evolution, and it centered on what he’d learned about himself since joining a mixed martial arts (MMA) gym several years back. His slides are now available, so I’d recommend taking a quick glance at them. The real meat was in the talk itself, though. Check out the video (and stick around for Seth’s talk, too). Hat tip to Tucker for stoking my thoughts on this topic.

We have a weird relationship with violence, especially in the 21st century. For the most part, we live in a time of unprecedented peace. Although with civilization and government come new challenges to personal freedom, most of us aren’t in immediate danger of […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

Just a quick update to give you one of the biggest benefits of Eat Stop Eat – Control.
Knowing you have Control really is a stress buster.
Control is knowing that when you add weight, you can take it off… It’ll take a bit longer then it did to add it, but at least you know it’s completley possible to fix any mistakes.
Yep, Eat Stop Eat is like Body Fat white-out…or delete button for those of you born after 1992
I like to keep my weight at 175, plus or minus 5 pounds. I don’t mind going down to 17o for a photo shoot, and I don’t mind creeping up to 179 if it was due to calories well spent (Vegas weekend with friends)..and by staying within my ‘plus or minus five’ I know that I am always in control.
Here’s an update from my impulse eating post, where I showed you […]

Original post by Brad Pilon