Today’s question comes from Ola and regards CLA, or conjugated linoleic acid. What is CLA? CLA is the “good” trans-fat that occurs naturally in meat and dairy, especially from grass-fed animals. In the stomach of ruminants like cows, sheep, or goats, millions upon millions of bacteria help the animal digest its food. They also help convert dietary linoleic fatty acids into saturated fatty acids. Well, that conversion takes several steps, and one of the steps is the creation of CLA, some of which never gets fully saturated and instead shows up in the animal’s body and milk fat. 28 different CLA isomers, or structural arrangements of the molecules, appear in CLA-rich animal fat. It’s very complex and quite different from trans-fat created by partially hydrogenating vegetable oils. Those lab-created trans-fats have definite negative metabolic and health effects, while the panoply of various CLA isomers from grass-fed dairy and meat seem […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

Complete 5 cycles:
7 Single-Leg Crossbody Deadlifts (each leg)
20 Meter Single-Leg Hops (each leg)
50 Meter Single-Shoulder Weighted Carry (switch shoulders halfway through)
30-second Single-Arm/Leg Plank (each side)

How-to:
Warmup: 30 second Grok Squat, ten air squats, and lateral, forward, and backward leg swings (10 each leg).
Life is not a well-stocked weight room. It doesn’t hew to your specifications. It catches you off guard, and it rarely allows you enough advance warning to set up in the perfect position and take your sweet time. As such, it’s helpful to train for asymmetrical situations – when we can’t quite grasp the barbell with both hands, or perhaps when there’s no barbell at all.
Today, you’ll need some equipment, but not much: two reasonably heavy objects. One must be graspable with one hand and light enough to be single-leg deadlifted, while the other should be heavy enough so that, when it’s placed on one shoulder, you have to […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

We love the tangy and fresh flavor of kefir, a fermented beverage often described as drinkable yogurt. However, those of you who aren’t as fond of kefir might say that describing it as “tangy” is a little too kind.  What, you wonder, is there possibly to like about what is essentially a glass of thick, sour milk?
Loads of healthy gut flora, for one. Probiotics have numerous health benefits and eating fermented foods like kefir is a great way to make sure you’re getting enough. But we’re not here to tell you that you should plug your nose and chug kefir just because it’s good for you. We’re here to tell you that after you try homemade coconut milk kefir, you’re going to chug it because it tastes really good. Unlike kefir made from cows’ milk, coconut milk kefir doesn’t have a strong fermented, sour flavor. It is pleasantly tangy, but […]

Original post by Worker Bee

It’s Friday, everyone! And that means another dose of Primal Blueprint inspiration. Today, Michelle Ford, a PrimalCon 2011 attendee, shares a story that many of you can probably relate to – one of sugar dependence and Chronic Cardio. Ultimately, Michelle was able to break out of this vicious cycle. Learn from her real life story, and share your words of encouragement and gratitude in the comment board. Grok on!

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 you send them in. Thanks for reading!

–
Dear Mark and Carrie,
First of all, I want to thank you both for an amazing weekend at PrimalCon. You both are amazing in your attitude towards life, and I really admire you. You both have […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

So as if Kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and Matt Costa’s Psychoca-err…Boot Camp weren’t enough options for fitness on the Outer Banks, we’re now offering another way to keep you motivated to stay in shape. Devin Saylor is starting the first Outer Banks Paddle Board School’s classes next week!
Paddle Boarding = Fun
Devin has been offering individual instructional classes for a while, but now he’ll be offering a full beginner’s level course. It’s a great way to learn to paddle board without having to pay an instructor an arm and a leg for private lessons. Everyone who’s gone has loved it, and it is a fun way to get in shape. There will be two camps: one in the AM and one in the PM.

The Break Down:

It’s a six day beginner’s course.
May 11 & 12, 17 & 18 and 23 & 24
Classes are about 90 minutes
AM camp is at 8:30, PM camp […]

Original post by knuckleup

Blogging is the lifeblood of the growing Primal/paleo movement, as you know, and new veins, arteries, and capillaries are popping up every day. I’m calling this the underrated blog post, but really, given the steadily increasing span of the community, even the most underrated blogger has a fair amount of readership. In fact, as I review my list of “underrated blogs,” they all get a significant amount of readers and comments. Oh well, they’re still worth listing. I suppose you could say we’re all underrated in the grand scheme of things.
I did a similar thing a year ago, and it’s time to do it again. The blogs I listed in 2010 remain essential, but these all deserve consideration to be included in your blog rotation. They’re not all Primal, or even strictly paleo, and some of them rarely ever mention exercise and nutrition, but they will enrich your lives and […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

Coca Cola Nutrition Facts

Many people are looking for information on the nutrition facts for coca cola. But here’s the thing:
Coca cola has no nutrients. Depending on where you’re from, the average 12 ounce cola has around 40 grams of sugar. There is basically nothing else. There is water, and there is sugar. In fact, I’m going to teach you the secret recipe for cola:
Ingredient 1: Tons of Sugar
Ingredient 2: Dilute Sugar With Some Water
Obviously I’m joking, but it’s almost not an exaggeration. In fact, some experts say the leading cause of obesity is soda. Cut out the soda – and you can cut out a ton of fat.

Above is a video by Jack Lalanne from decades ago about sugar. He was ahead of his time and a true pioneer of fitness. Seriously, cutting out soda is a HUGE step in getting an amazing body and feeling great. It’s hard the […]

Original post by rafael@thefitnessadviser.com (Rafi Bar-Lev)

Mango Nutrition Facts.

All right guys, I’m going to be taking a short break from my usual posts to do a series of posts on nutritional information on popular foods. Today I’m going to do mango nutrition facts.
Here they are, as according to the USDA Nutrient Database, supported by U.S. taxpayer money:

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)

Energy
272 kJ (65 kcal)

Carbohydrates
17.00 g

– Sugars
14.8 g

– Dietary fiber
1.8 g

Fat
0.27 g

Protein
0.51 g

Vitamin A equiv.
38 ?g (4%)

– beta-carotene
445 ?g (4%)

Thiamine (Vit. B1)
0.058 mg (4%)

Riboflavin (Vit. B2)
0.057 mg (4%)

Niacin (Vit. B3)
0.584 mg (4%)

Pantothenic acid (B5)
0.160 mg (3%)

Vitamin B6
0.134 mg (10%)

Folate (Vit. B9)
14 ?g (4%)

Vitamin C
27.7 mg (46%)

Calcium
10 mg (1%)

Iron
0.13 mg (1%)

Magnesium
9 mg (2%)

Phosphorus
11 mg (2%)

Potassium
156 mg (3%)

Zinc
0.04 mg (0%)

In general, I’d say that the average mango has a little over 100 calories. It’s got a lot of nutrients though, and isn’t a bad snack unless you’re literally a week before beach-time and are trying to get your body fat percentage down a few […]

Original post by rafael@thefitnessadviser.com (Rafi Bar-Lev)

Is there a sight more idyllic, peaceful, and touching than that of a fish farmer tending to his flock? In case you aren’t aware of how fish farming works, here’s a sample day in the life of a fish farmer:
Just before dawn each day, he rises from his water bed, dons his denim board shorts, enjoys a mugful of the fermented fish liver brew he keeps stewing in a bucket beside the front door, leaves his rickety old farmhouse boat, and sets out for a day’s labor. Wherever his paddleboat passes, carp, salmon, tilapia, phytoplankton, algae, and shrimp cease predating each other and crest to greet him. The fish farmer knows each by name and has a wink, chin scratch, and fish flake for every little shy fry cowering behind its mother. At slaughtering time, the old farmer sheds a single, solitary tear – every single time, whether it’s the […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

Scenario time. You’re in the grocery store picking up the last couple of things for dinner. Pushing your cart through the small throng who also stopped on their way home from work, you weave your way through with the obligatory, alternating “excuse me” and “pardon me.” You fumble through your pocket for the list you’d scribbled last minute on a post-it. Hmmm… good sale on chicken thighs. The familiar ding of a text notification goes off with your partner’s reminder of one more thing needed from the store – spinach. You reach over and grab the onion you were looking for and go in search of the garlic. Annoying music over the speakers. Better check work email one more time. “Ooops. Sorry about that,” you remark after bumping someone’s cart. The person grimaces at you with a passive aggressive nod. Thanks. There’s the email response you were waiting for. Great, […]

Original post by Mark Sisson