Mark expands the Primal Blueprint Podcast by recording select Mark's Daily Apple posts for your listening pleasure!

I’ve known a lot of people who have been truly solid individuals – amazing men and women, fantastic parents and partners, confident professionals, genuine friends – who confess that certain things about their physique bother them. They don’t obsess over them, but the feelings exist as background static they notice on occasion. Yes, you could say they have it “all,” but there’s still that nagging source of vulnerability. What can be done to overcome those deep seeded insecurities?

(These Mark's Daily Apple articles were written by Mark Sisson, and are narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Mark expands the Primal Blueprint Podcast by recording select Mark's Daily Apple posts for your listening pleasure!

Modern elite athletes have different goals than our hunter-gatherer ancestors. Their training loads are higher and their physical activity is contrived and somewhat artificial. But for the most part, elite athletes are working with the same metabolic and neuromuscular machinery as Grok. The activities and movement patterns that benefited and shaped the evolution and performance of our hunter-gatherer ancestors should thus prove useful for contemporary humans seeking optimal physical performance.

(These Mark's Daily Apple articles were written by Mark Sisson, and are narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Mark expands the Primal Blueprint Podcast by recording select Mark's Daily Apple posts for your listening pleasure!

There’s a huge body of research examining the potentially negative effects of video games. There’s also a huge body of research examining the potentially positive cognitive effects of video games. I’ll examine the former, followed by the latter. Then I’ll give my take on everything.

(These Mark's Daily Apple articles were written by Mark Sisson, and are narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Mark expands the Primal Blueprint Podcast by recording select Mark's Daily Apple posts for your listening pleasure!

As you know, I’ve always been a friend to many fats. But the fact remains, ladies and gentlemen, that not all fats are created equal.A few fats, including but not limited to trans fats, deserve every bit of disparagement they get and then some. However, we feel for those other little guys in the group. Many of them are, assuredly, a good lot, and we’d like to put in a good word for them.

(These Mark's Daily Apple articles were written by Mark Sisson, and are narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Mark expands the Primal Blueprint Podcast by recording select Mark's Daily Apple posts for your listening pleasure!

When was the last time you spent a period of time next to (or in) water? Maybe it was a week, or maybe it was ten minutes. Chances are, no matter how little time it was, it changed you somehow. It shifted your mood. It relaxed your thoughts. It softened the edges of your day, and you left at least somewhat revived.

(These Mark's Daily Apple articles were written by Mark Sisson, and are narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Dr. Cate Shanahan hits the Q&A hard, offering interesting commentary on a variety of topics, especially those relating to hormones and longevity markers. Cate explains how one's level of elastin is a major predictor of lifespan. Elastin is typically considered an important component of healthy skin. Losing elastin and collagen (a form of elastin that is also a major element of healthy skin) cause wrinkles, an obvious sign of aging. Elastin, however, is present in other cells such as those in joints and arteries. Losing elastin accelerates aging (arteries become stiffer and less resilient; joints become creakier and less fluid) and hastens demise. Across species, the typical half-life of elastin is a lifespan predictor. For example, the half-life of elastin in a dog is 10 years whereas it’s 75 years in humans. One develops a lifetime supply of elastin by age 20, which makes childhood and teen years critical for obtaining the optimal nutrition to fully realize elastin production potential. Pro-inflammatory lifestyle habits have a destructive effect upon elastin. On the other hand, consuming glycosaminoglycans, as found in bone broth and meat on the bone, can have a positive effect on elastin by helping maintain its structure (glucosamine supplements have been reported to serve this purpose too, but they are not as potent or comprehensive as the elastin supporting compounds found in whole food sources).A question comes in about hormone replacement therapy to combat aging and Cate comments about the proven effect of exogenous hormones to preserve elastin, which has distinct anti-aging effects. She also comments on its potential drawbacks, such as an elevation in triglycerides and blood pressure, as well as hot flashes from increased sensitivity to cortisol. Cate speculates that cheating nature will always have some repercussions to consider. While hormone manipulation could elevate peak performance potential, it could come with a consequent negative effect on longevity.

Mark expands the Primal Blueprint Podcast by recording select Mark's Daily Apple posts for your listening pleasure!Many of the most accomplished and creative people throughout history have also found walking to be an integral part of their daily routines and key to their success as artists, creators, writers, musicians, thinkers, and human beings.(These Mark's Daily Apple articles were written by Mark Sisson, and are narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Mark expands the Primal Blueprint Podcast by recording select Mark's Daily Apple posts for your listening pleasure!

Increasing your heart rate variability can improve your fitness, cardiovascular health, and ability to handle stress. Here's how to do it.

(These Mark's Daily Apple articles were written by Mark Sisson, and are narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Welcome to Mark's Daily Apple Best of 2014, Vol. 6: Gluten:Does Gluten Have Any Effect on Non-Celiacs?The “Dangers” of Going Gluten-Free(These Mark's Daily Apple articles were written by Mark Sisson, and are narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Mark expands the Primal Blueprint Podcast by recording select Mark's Daily Apple posts for your listening pleasure!

Grains. Every day we’re bombarded with them and their myriad of associations in American (and much of Western) culture: Wilford Brimley, Uncle Ben, the Sunbeam girl, the latest Wheaties athlete, a pastrami on rye, spaghetti dinners, buns for barbeque, corn on the cob, donuts, birthday cake, apple pie, amber waves of grain…. Gee, am I missing anything? Of course. So much, in fact, that it could – and usually does – take up the majority of supermarket square footage. (Not to mention those government farm subsidies, but that’s another post.) Yes, grains are solidly etched into our modern Western psyche – just not so much into our physiology.(These Mark's Daily Apple articles were written by Mark Sisson, and are narrated by Brock Armstrong)