THE MEATRIX - DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT IS?

THE PALEO FOOD PYRAMID - FRED HAHN

EATING HIGH CARB WITH THE AMISH

Yesterday, Bill and I went to spend a couple of days in Amish Country in and around Arcola Illinois.  The area has the fourth largest Amish population in North America.  I have always had a particular fascination with the Amish, since childhood, and have really looking forward to spending some time in their midst.  I've read books describing their lifestyle, and every time a new movie comes out with an Amish theme, I'm the first to want to see it!

As it turns out, our time with the Amish was cut short, because we did not know that all the tourist attractions and shops close at 5:00 pm on Saturday, and they are not open at all on Sunday.  Not knowing that, we planned our trip for Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday.  Oh, well!  We headed back home in the late afternoon on Saturday with plans on coming back again some other time when we can spend all day Friday and Saturday.  I'm really looking forward to it!

We weren't entirely disappointed with the brevity of our trip, because we had the opportunity to eat a meal with an Amish family in their home.  Through Rockome Gardens in Arcola, we reserved a spot and paid $20 each to share an authentic Amish lunch with an authentic Amish family nearby.  Three other tourists, a Jewish husband and wife and their daughter, joined us.

We gathered at the home of Ray and Linda Miller, their four daughters and one son.  The table was set for a family style meal in their dining room.  Linda and her daughters cooked, and her daughters served us, but they did not eat with us.  Our first course was a green salad with tomatoes and cucumbers and ranch dressing poured from a pitcher.  After our salads, the youngest Miller daughters cleared and then brought us heaping platters, plates and bowls filled with breaded, boneless chicken thighs, meatballs, as big as your first, in tomato sauce, buttered egg noodles, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn right off the cob (with a little silk included!), and plenty of homemade white bread with butter and homemade jam.  Dessert was black raspberry pie and peanut butter pie, the latter piled high with sweetened whipped cream. 

I came to the Miller home determined to partake of a true Amish diet, no matter how many carbs were involved.  And high carb it was!  It made me wonder about the rate of diabetes and heart disease in the Amish community.  Everything is homemade, but definitely contains large amounts of refined flours and sugar.  The Amish eat the way my Croation grandparents ate, and my grandmother developed Type II Diabetes in her later years, and was 30 or 40 pounds overweight most of her life.

I did a little research on the internet on the incidence of diabetes in the Amish community, and found that the they are no different than the non-Amish (or "English", as they call us) Caucasian population in North America when it comes to obesity:  they are just as overweight and/or obese as the rest of us!  However, their rate of both Type I and Type II Diabetes is only half that of ours.  The different articles I read alluded to the high instance of in-breeding and the likelihood of good genes, plus the fact that the Amish live very active lifestyles, and exercise is thought to lower the incidence of insulin resistance.

Although the Millers did not sit and eat with us, they did sit in chairs near our table and engaged us in conversation on the differences between the Amish and the "English".  I did mention to Mrs. Miller that I normally eat very low carb, but that I was really enjoying the high carb fare, which I was, and she looked at my small frame and then at her own obese frame and remarked, "Maybe I should be eating low carb!"  Hmmm...  I really doubt that she could adapt her cooking to low carb without seriously disrupting the traditions of her faith.  I am equally convinced that the way she feeds her family is not the healthiest, and that a more carb-controlled way of eating would benefit both her and her family!  Yet, I am also sure that body image and looking like a 'stick model' is not high on her list of priorities of what it means to be a good wife, mother and homemaker in the Amish tradition.  According to statistics and my own observations, most Amish women are overweight and/or obese.  I think that it might be an expected part of life for them.

It was very interesting to have three very different groups of people present, discussing dietary practices and traditions.  Not only was there Amish and low carb represented, but the Jewish family we shared lunch with observe the dietary restrictions of the Jewish faith.  In other words, they "keep kosher", eating "meat meals" and "milk meals", each meal being prepared only in its designated pots and pans, eaten only off of its designated plates and eaten only with its designated silverware.  I have never been friends with any Jews, and it was fascinating to listen to our lunch partners describe their religious observances.  I was very impressed with their level of devotion and commitment in this area!

Aside from Michelle (my new Jewish friend) not eating bacon with her breakfast, we found that we had much in common, including the ingesting of vast amounts of vitamins and supplements, our determination to eat only real, fresh, whole foods free of hormones, antibiotics and chemicals, and an interest in the works of Weston A. Price.  Michelle is currently reading Weston A. Price's book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, a book that I have had in mind to read, and now am determined to read!

Michelle is also a member of the Weston A. Price Foundation, a nonprofit, tax-exempt charity founded in 1999 to disseminate the research of nutrition pioneer Dr. Weston Price, whose studies of isolated nonindustrialized peoples established the parameters of human health and determined the optimum characteristics of human diets. Dr. Price's research demonstrated that humans achieve perfect physical form and perfect health generation after generation only when they consume nutrient-dense whole foods and the vital fat-soluble activators found exclusively in animal fats.  The Foundation is dedicated to restoring nutrient-dense foods to the human diet through education, research and activism. It supports a number of movements that contribute to this objective including accurate nutrition instruction, organic and biodynamic farming, pasture-feeding of livestock, community-supported farms, honest and informative labeling, prepared parenting and nurturing therapies. Specific goals include establishment of universal access to clean, certified raw milk and a ban on the use of soy formula for infants.

So I got two benefits from my lunch with the Amish - not only learning more about the Amish way of life and how they eat, but the chance to meet Michelle, a person who is like-minded in areas of health and nutrition.  Near the beginning of our time together, we ate butter, and said, almost in one voice, "Saturated fat is healthy!"  I think she was even more excited to meet a person like me as I was to meet a person like her, if such a thing were possible!

All in all, it was a good and enlightening time, even though it will probably take me a week to get back into fat burning mode after all those carbs!

If you are ever in the area, you can eat with the Millers, too!  You can visit the website for the Illinois Amish Interpretive Center, or phone 1-888-45AMISH.

JACKIE EBERSTEIN DEBUNKS THE CURRENT CROP OF ATKINS MYTHS

This from Jimmy Moore and The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show:

The Atkins diet enjoys a rather odd position in the world of health and nutrition–you either love it or you hate it! There are very few people who kinda like it or kinda dislike it. And I suppose this has a lot to do with the misconceptions and myths that pervade about it in our culture. But the fact is most of these perceptions about the Atkins low-carb lifestyle are easily combatted with the facts that have been borne out by the experience of real life low-carbers and the science that backs them up. Today’s podcast interview guest is arguably the most knowledgeable expert on the Atkins diet today after working directly with the late, great Dr. Robert C. Atkins for nearly three decades.

 In Episode 389 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we welcome back to the show registered nurse Jackie Eberstein from Controlled Carbohydrate Nutrition and co-author (with Dr. Mary C. Vernon) of Atkins’ Diabetes Revolution. It’s been a couple of years since we’ve had Jackie with us on the podcast (listen to my June 2008 interview with her–listen to Part 1 and Part 2) and she’s been a regular keynote speaker on The Annual Low-Carb Cruise the past few years. But I wanted to bring her back on the podcast to address many of the lingering myths about the Atkins low-carb diet that still pervade in our culture. Listen to Jackie share what she thinks Dr. Atkins would say about The New Atkins For A New You, her attempts to correct the ongoing Atkins myths over the years, her typical low-carb menus, why she has to personally stay very low-carb, why reactive hypoglycemia is not caused by low-carb eating, the impact of sweeteners on hypoglycemia, whether you should count calories on the Atkins diet, why “calories in, calories out” is totally bogus, why Atkins won’t raise your lipids to unhealthy levels, why high triglycerides are not caused by fat but by insulin (stoked by carbohydrate consumption), which is more important–LDL particle number or particle size, why red meat is not the great harm it is purported to be in studies, why pigs are better animal studies than rats and worms, why there are no kidney damage concerns for people eating the Atkins diet (because it’s NOT a high-protein diet, it’s a moderate protein diet), why getting adequate protein is so vital to your health, her reaction to what the 2010 Dietary Guidelines will include and whether low-carb will even be considered, whether the Paleolithic diet jives with the Atkins diet, why free-range, organic meats are best, her response to the “one golden shot” theory that you can only lose weight on Atkins low-carb once, why there is a lot we don’t understand fully about fat cells, why cutting fat while consuming a low-carb diet is not wise, why the scale is not an accurate measuring stick for your weight loss progress, why regular exercise is an important companion tool with low-carb living, why some people are continually tired on the Atkins diet and what they can do to overcome it, the research links she provides on her web site, why Atkins does not lead to osteoporosis, why low-carb is not lacking in nutrition because you need to take supplements while on it, how consuming carbohydrates actually depletes nutrition from your body, and what she wishes more people would understand about the Atkins diet. For anyone who thinks low-carb is harmful to some aspect of their health, then this interview with Jackie Eberstein is one you don’t want to miss!

To listen to the interview, right click here.

11-YEAR OLD BIRKE BAEHR SPEAKS ON REAL FOOD

i just found this youtube clip on Jimmy Moore's blog. This young kid sure has his head on straight when it comes the to food he puts in his body!

LIBERATION DIET - YOUTUBE PRESENTATIONS

How about eating REAL FOOD?

GRILLED STUFFED PORK CHOPS - UNDERGROUND WELLNESS

2 – 8 oz. butterfly pork chops
Garlic and chives goat cheese
3-4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Garlic powder and pepper, to taste

Preheat grill to medium. For two 8 oz. chops: Cut pockets in each pork chop where they are butterflied; for four 4 oz. chops: cut each pork chop in half and then cut a pocket in each. Stuff each pocket with bacon and cheese. Secure with toothpicks, if needed. Sprinkle with garlic powder and pepper. Grill for about 20 minutes on the top rack, turning once.

( Right click here to see a video demonstration of this recipe.  Right click here to visit U.S. Wellness Meats.)

10 TIPS TO TAKE TO THE FARMERS' MARKET - CAROLYN COPE

Anyone can bring home a bunch of beets from their local farmers' market—and there, as elsewhere, showing up is half the battle. But a farmers' market is an embarrassment of riches in terms of fresh foods, artisanal expertise, and the opportunity to make a meaningful connection with the source of our sustenance. Make the most of your experience with these 10 simple tips, and share your own advice in the comments.

1. Don't be shy

It's no secret that we're huge fans of farmers. Spend a few minutes chatting it up at your local farmers' market, and you will be, too. It takes tremendous dedication to both science and art to turn out beautiful produce on a small farm, and the time you spend inquiring about the results of that dedication can yield both useful information and infectious enthusiasm.

A huge benefit of farmers' markets is your ability to look the farmer in the eye and ask anything you want about how the food was grown. That's a rare opportunity in our supermarket culture. Go for it. Ask about a food you don't recognize, how to cook it, and whether it's coming in or heading out of season. Find out what the farmer expects to bring to market next week so you can start to plan ahead. Learn all you can about the farmer's growing practices, and make sure you know who you're buying from. Some markets require that farmers themselves sell their wares, but not all do.

 2. Find out why it's not certified organic

The fact that produce is not labeled organic doesn't necessarily mean it's swimming in pesticides or is a qualified member of the Dirty Dozen. Sometimes it's quite the opposite. Some of the best farms, where a single farmer can lovingly attend to every seedling, are hardly bigger than a postage stamp. A farm that size can't afford a refrigerated truck, never mind a costly (and questionably bullet-proof) certification by the USDA. Many farms use organic practices, often much more stringent than those required by the government, but simply don't get certified. If a farm doesn't label their produce organic, it pays to ask why. You may discover a hidden source of organically farmed food, and if not, you'll be showing farmers that you care about how your food is grown. Even though farmers' markets have that off-the-grid caché, Econ 101 still applies. Over time, demand will create supply.

3. Bring your own bag, and maybe a cooler

Sure, that reusable canvas tote is good for the earth and unerringly latter-day hippie-chic, and you should bring it along for those reasons. As a bonus, you're also being kind to the farmers by not cutting into their already slim profit margins. You're also being kind to yourself, because those el cheapo plastic bags are no way to carry a baby watermelon and a dozen ears of corn in one hand. But I have to admit that my primary reason for bringing my own bags is that I truly believe it's a key to getting better treatment without saying a word. It's a visible gesture of goodwill toward the farmers, and it's valuable social capital.

If your market sells eggs, cheese, milk, meat, or fish, bring a cooler. The only thing worse than passing up a dozen beautiful, cheap-ass oysters because you're not prepared to bring them home is bringing them home anyway.

4. Beware the 'health halo'

Have you read about how people are more likely to order unhealthy foods from a menu that also features healthy foods? The mere possibility of choosing salad seems to let our guards down and open our French-fry-guzzling hatches. Given that shopping at a farmers' market is essentially jumping into a giant salad bowl, the health halo (which also goes by "health aura" and falls under the highly scientific-sounding excuse "vicarious goal fulfillment") can really play hardball in that context. Vegan donuts are still donuts. I'm not saying don't go for it once in a while. I'm just saying don't count it toward your Nine a Day.

5. Shop early for selection, shop late (or in bad weather) for deals

The season's first strawberries and finest morels will disappear within the first hour that the market is open, so if you've got your heart set on something in particular, it pays to wake up early. This is especially true if your market caters to restaurants as well as civilians, since chefs will be there first thing and won't always leave a lot for the rest of us.

If you're a late riser looking for an excuse, or if you'd rather get a great deal at the possible expense of selection, do your shopping in the last hour of the market. Farmers without other distribution channels will often offer steep discounts at the end of the day to avoid driving back to the farm with a hard-earned truckload of compost. And if you can motivate on especially cold or rainy days, you'll get good prices while helping to keep your market thriving.

6. Bring small bills

Most farmers' markets are cash-only operations, and most farmers do all their daily dealings from a little cash box. It helps a lot and improves your karma if you pay in the smallest bills you've got.

7. Buy the uggos

The ugly duckling makes a great confit and can often be bought for a song. Lots of shoppers, used to waxed, painted supermarket fruits bred for their uniform looks, will head straight for the most attractive produce at the farmers' market. But the oddest-looking varieties can be the best-tasting, and they'll often cost less, too.

8. Buy in quantity

You'll also get a great deal if you buy in bulk. Even if you're not the canning type, why not buy a whole box of plum tomatoes instead of just a pint? Toss in five pounds of onions and a couple of bunches of basil and make a big batch of sauce to freeze. It hardly takes any longer than making a dinner's-worth, and you'll thank yourself many a late-working evening.

9. Shop around

If several farmers are selling the same fruits and vegetables, don't hesitate to compare price and quality. Sometimes larger farms will get prime market real-estate (closest to parking or highly visible) and will charge a little more. Think of them as the Us Weekly and Rolos at the supermarket checkout counter. Sure, you love them, but maybe they're catering to your impulsive side just a tad. Take a look around before you plunk down that thick wad of George Washingtons.

10. Try something new each week

A benefit of farmers' markets as compared to CSAs is the increased ability to stay within your comfort zone if you so choose. But if you're lucky enough to visit a farmers' market with a selection of unusual produce, why not try one new food each time you visit? At best, maybe you'll discover a new love. At worst, you'll be making a contribution to (or in the spirit of) the Ark of Taste.

And when you get home with your haul, don't forget to make use of these tasty 10 tips for making the most of your seasonal abundance.

(Right click here to read the full article and comments from readers.)

BEWARE LOW CARB PROPOGANDA - DR. BRIFFA

UK doctor John Briffa has some nice things to say about Atkins:

There was a nice piece in The Times here in the UK on Saturday about my latest book Waist Disposal (see here). This piece, and a small piece that ran in another publication did seem to have some impact: Waist Disposal ended up rocketing up the amazon.co.uk ranking and spent a couple of days in the number 4 slot. It’s com down a bit today, but nevertheless there’s positive signs that some have an appetite for low-carb eating and are keen to dispense with their excess fat in a healthy and sustainable way. A big and genuine thanks to all of you reading this who have invested in a copy of the book!

Any time low-carb eating gets some positive press, doubts about its safety resurface. So let’s get something clear, compared with standard diets and in particular low-fat diets low-carb ones generally outperform in terms of weight loss as well as improvements in markers for chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.

But, we are reminded that the safety of these diets in the long term is not assured. The main issue? – the saturated fat in the all the steak and butter some imagine a low-carb diet to be full of. Well, first of all low-carb diets are not necessarily high in saturated fat. And secondly, there is no evidence that saturated fat has the heart-stopping properties many say it has. See here for more about this.

Moreover, there is some recent evidence that replacing saturated fat with supposedly ‘healthy’ carbohydrate is more likely to do more harm than good where our heart health is concerned.

And then we hear that all that protein is not good for our kidneys or our bones. For those with normal kidney function, high protein diets do not appear to pose any risk whatsoever. Plus, the balance of evidence suggests that protein-rich diets are generally good for bone health. See here for more on this.

Some also suggest that by eschewing grains we are somehow missing out on something vital in the diet. This is nonsense. There is nothing ‘vital’ found in grains that can’t be obtained more healthily elsewhere in the diet. Don’t forget that grains are a very recent addition to the human diet – for most of the 2.5-odd million years we’ve been evolving for we just didn’t eat them. And don’t forget too that the absolute requirement for carbohydrate in the diet is none at all (we can make it from other dietary elements).

I’m writing this as a backdrop to an email I received today, and my response to it. First, the email:

Dear Dr Briffa,
Following a recent radio interview I decided to purchase your book Waist Disposal and am delighted to report that after following its recommendations for four weeks I have managed to lose 8lbs and, more importantly, am really enjoying what I have been eating and feeling on top of the world..  As delighted as I am with my results so far I do have friends who are concerned about your weight loss programme and sceptical about its health benefits.They have likened it to the now discredited high protein low carbohydrate Atkins diet and the health problems that it was found to encourage. In what way does your programme differ from the Atkins and can you really have too much protein and too little coarbohydrate?

Yours Sincerely,
XXXXXXXX

And now my response to it:

Hi XXXXXXXXXX
Thanks for your email and I’m delighted that WD is doing the trick for you.
The Atkins diet is only ‘discredited’ in the mind of people who either:
1. are not aware of the science regarding low-carb eating
2. are aware of the science, but studiously choose to ignore it anyway
The unpalatable (for some) truth is that Atkins is/was right.
The book, I think, refers to the relevant science. If your friends have concerns, perhaps they might like to produce the science to support their case? My experience is that people have been scared out of eating a low-carb diet on the basis of nutritional propaganda and folklore (nothing more).
Best wishes
John Briffa

The point I was seeking to make (if it’s not obvious) is that there really isn’t a good case to be made against low-carb, hgher-protein diets. I neglected to point out, however, that there is a compelling case against the high-carb, low-fat diet that has been touted as ‘healthy’ for 30-odd years. If anything, such a diet appears to be fuelling burgeoning rates of obesity and chronic disease including type 2 diabetes.

With a new Atkins book out and Waist Disposal getting some press, I think there’s a good chance we’re going to see some mobilisation of the low-carb naysayers. Should it come, do be on the look out for actual science (not mere assertions, however oft-repeated).

(Right click here to read the full article and more by Dr. John Briffa.)

PRIMAL DIET OUTPERFORMS MEDITERRANEAN DIET - DR. BRIFFA

This from Dr. John Briffa:

The 'primal diet' on which The True You Diet is based tends to get very good results in practice, but has not been subjected to much in the way of formal study. Recently, though, this diet was pitted against a 'Mediterranean' diet-inspired regime. The results of this study are good news for those of us who are choosing to eat more in accordance with our nutritional past... The True You Diet posits that the best diet for us is essentially one based on the foods that we’ve been eating the longest in terms of our evolution – after all, these are the foods we are going to be best adapted to. A ‘primal’ diet is one that is devoid of grain and dairy products, as well as nutritional newcomers such as refined sugar and refined vegetable oils: what’s left is, basically, fruit, vegetables, root vegetables, meat, fish, eggs and nuts.

It is my experience that such a diet tends to work very well for enhancing wellbeing and optimising weight. However, while elements of this diet (e.g. its lower-carbohydrate nature) have been studied, the diet itself has not been subjected to much formal research.

So, I was interested to read this week of a study where the primal diet, also known as the ‘Palaeolithic’ or ‘Old Stone Age’ diet was pitted against a diet which was more ‘Mediterranean’ in nature (this diet included grains, low-fat dairy products and margarine) in a group of individuals suffering from heart disease and either type 2 diabetes or ‘impaired glucose tolerance’ (a precursor of type 2 diabetes). Each diet lasted for 12 weeks.

One of the measurements assessed in this study was blood sugar (glucose) levels. In the group eating the primal diet, glucose levels were found to drop by 26 per cent – a statistically significant result. In contrast, those eating the Mediterranean-inspired diet did not see any significant drop in blood sugar levels. The group eating the primal diet also saw a shrinking in average weight circumference of 5.6 cm, which was significantly greater than the reduction seen in the other group (average reduction 3.3 cm).

Experience and scientific evidence show that for optimal health and wellbeing, a degree of ‘dietary individualisation’ is important: physiological studies show that we have differing abilities to handle foodstuffs such as fat and carbohydrate that dictate our ‘ideal diet’ (this concept is explored in depth in The True You Diet).

What this very recent study very clearly shows is that there can be real health benefits for individuals who adopt a more ‘primal’ way of eating. This study provides some science which supports what I regard as common sense: that the best diet for us is one based on the foods which bee eating the longest and are therefore best adapted to.

References:

Lindeberg S, et al. A Palaeolithic diet improves glucose tolerance more than a Mediterranean-like diet in individuals with ischaemic heart disease. Diabetologia. 2007 Jun 22 [Epub ahead of print]

(Right click here to read the full article and more from Dr. Briffa.)

PERSONAL TRAINER KEVIN BROWN OFFERS LOW-CARB ‘LIBERATION DIET"

I just listened to a great Jimmy Moore interview with Kevin Brown.  Jimmy shares his conversation with personal trainer and Liberation Diet author Kevin Brown. Listen in as Kevin describes the speedy success he’s had with his clients ever since he decided to do the “opposite of what all the nutrition experts say.” Today’s conversation ranges from the influence of the great Dr. Weston A. Price to the roots of the American Heart Association (and its founder’s opposition to the cholesterol theory of heart disease) and the three foods Abraham served to God when he came to dinner (hint: there was no Pepsi, margarine or Tofurkey at that momentous meal)!

In Episode 369 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we are pleased to welcome personal trainer and low-carb nutritional health expert Kevin Brown, author of The Liberation Diet: Setting America Free from the Bondage of Health Misinformation! He is providing quality health information to both his readers at LiberationWellness.com as well as the listeners at his own podcast show called “Liberation Wellness Hour Radio Show.” Listen to Kevin talk about his years of frustration trying to help his fitness clients lose weight, why he started doing the exact opposite of everything he was told was healthy and saw incredible improvements in his clients, why low-carb diets have been singled out as being bad for you, what he thinks the breaking point will be about the truth regarding nutrition, the misinformation that is out there about diet and health, why high saturated fat intake is healthy for you, why real food has become so demonized, what would happen if everyone suddenly started eating real food, the importance of taking certainly vitamins regularly and the influence of the work of Weston A. Price, the answer to childhood obesity (which isn’t necessarily what First Lady Michelle Obama is promoting), why food and drug companies are ruining the health of Americans through their heavy financial influence, the influence of his faith in God on the work he is doing promoting health, and the story of Genesis 18 as evidence why we should be eating more saturated fat.

Right click here to listen to the interview.

ROBB WOLF BRINGS PALEO DIETS INTO THE 21ST CENTURY

I just listened to the most recent interview on The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show.  Excellent guest, who I have to admit I was previously unfamiliar with.  Some of the topics covered were saturated fats and dairy and the place of those in the Paleolithic Diet.  Also discussed was the concept of IF (Intermittent Fasting), which I have a particular interest in.  For the past few weeks, I have been eating only breakfast and dinner with 1 ounce of nuts around lunch time.  And I have been losing weight again.  

Jimmy Moore speaks with Robb Wolf, Paleo diet expert and host of the new and highly-popular Paleolithic Solution podcast! Listen in for a scientific approach to Paleo nutrition and physical conditioning. 


Right click here to listen to the interview.

THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF TURMERIC

Mark's Daily apple has a great article on turmeric today:

It may not share cinnamon’s universal applicability to consumables, but turmeric is another spice with some powerful culinary and medicinal qualities that deserves our attention. Turmeric, known officially as Curcuma longa and historically as Indian saffron, is a rhizome of the ginger family. Its horizontal root system is dug up, baked, and ground into a fine orange powder, which then goes into any number of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Southeast Asian dishes. Pretty much every curry you come across anywhere, for example, includes a generous portion of turmeric. Common yellow mustard also includes turmeric, mostly as a food colorant.


Turmeric imparts a unique flavor: slightly bitter and a bit spicy, with a mustard-like scent. Upon tasting a dab of turmeric powder by itself for the first time, one is reminded of curries and other Asian stews. It’s a bit of an “Aha!” moment, in fact; you’re finally direct witness to the identity of that secretive flavor lurking within the explosiveness of the common Asian curry after all those years of take out and home cooking with anonymous curry powder mixes. Turmeric itself is actually fairly mild and unassuming, so using it as a solitary spice won’t turn every dish into a curry bonanza – in case you were worried.

If you want to learn more about this wonderful spice and how to use it in your cooking, right click here.

SLIPPED AND ATE OFF PLAN? DON'T PANIC! WORDS OF WISDOM FROM MARK SISSON

Look, I make no bones about the fact that the Primal Blueprint plan is technically a restrictive one. Since we're restricting only harmful or unnecessary foods and exercises, though, I'm also not apologizing for it. And since you've obviously gone out of your way to receive this PB Insider, you're at least interested in what these restrictions can mean for your life and health.

The thing about restrictions is that people don't always pay attention to them, even when they know they'd be better off doing so - and especially when the things being restricted are cultural or dietary staples that we encounter on a daily basis. I liken it to a reformed heroin user vacationing in Amsterdam's Red Light District: temptation abounds. Processed "food" is just as prevalent everywhere we go and it's even easier to give in. Your body may reject grains, sugar, and vegetable oils (oftentimes manifested in a physical revulsion), whereas the junkie still physically craves the needle, but social convention and our intense fear of awkward moments between friends or coworkers (or bosses!) can overpower our intellectual and corporeal rejection of such foods. Imagine your temperamental supervisor goes out of the way to buy you an ice cream cake for your birthday... are you really going to turn down a slice?

Restrictive regimens invariably create issues for certain people. Issues like guilt, food obsession, and mania can rear their heads when someone slips up and eats the wrong thing. Even though physical or metabolic health isn't really impacted much from that single, isolated event, a person's psychological health can really suffer.

And yes, even with the PB, people have these issues. I know, because I get emails and I notice this sentiment throughout the forum and on other blogs. You eat a piece of bread at dinner and freak out to the point of being unable to enjoy your grass-fed ribeye. You eat that proffered slice of cake (because, who knows, a promotion might hang in the balance) and feel like you undid weeks of solid Primal eating.

Just realize that the Primal Laws aren't enforced by pain of death or injury. They are guidelines - solid guidelines that you should follow for optimum health - but they aren't uncompromising. You aren't living in the Edenic grasslands of Eastern Africa. It's not a Primal paradise out there. You aren't actually Grok. If you mess up and eat a piece of bread or accidentally run a marathon, it's totally fine and even expected! We all make momentary compromises in life. Hell, part of being human is "messing up" and rolling with the punches. To deny that basic inherency in pursuit of absolute 100% unrealistic perfection can actually be worse than giving in occasionally.

Don't panic! Relax, and remember that an unofficial Primal precept is the 80/20 principle. 100% is great and all, but not everyone can, or even wants to, achieve it. Going 80% of the way is pretty damn good, and anything is better than 100% SAD. You might even say that compromise is part of the Primal Blueprint.

In those pre-dinner times of yeasty, bready weakness, just make sure you maintain a 1:1 bread:butter ratio. And keep them few and far between. But above all, don't panic! We've had people undo decades of metabolically destructive eating and exercising in mere months on the Primal path. There's no way a single meal of restricted foods throws you off. Just stay calm and get back on the horse. This isn't a crash diet designed to "shock" your body. There will be plateaus along with the descents, and for some, results come more slowly or gradually.

But results will come - mark my words - and slipping up once or twice won't really influence when or how they arrive.

Don't panic!

MAY 23 - MARKS'S DAILY APPLE "WEEKEND LINK LOVE"

Lots of good stuff from Mark's Daily Apple: training advice, the “answer to cancer” may lie in eating the right foods, a beginner's guide to barefoot running, recipes and more.

Right click here to visit Mark's Daily Apple.

MAY 16 - ATKINS AND THE PRIMAL BLUEPRINT

I have been reading the website and I just got the book. The Primal Blueprint and Atkins are almost identical. I would say about 90-95%, so there is not much I would change in order to "go Primal".

They both teach high fat, moderate protein and controlled carbs. They both teach against eating processed carbs, like sugar, flour, etc. They both teach to eat in the same calorie range.

You have to look pretty hard to see even minor differences. Here are some minor differences, as I see them:

Atkins starts with around 40-50 total carbs (20 net carbs) per day to get into ketosis. PB starts with 50-100 total carbs per day and is not necessarily ketogenic. But PB does say that you can stay under 50 total carbs per day so that you can enter ketosis for faster weight loss if you choose to. Mark Sisson does not say that ketosis is wrong. He believes that ketosis was the way humans were designed to burn fuel.

Atkins says to eat at least 3 regular meals per day, if not more, and that if you skip meals, you will or may slow down your metabolism. However, the new book does say that some people do better with less than 3 meals a day. PB says to eat when you are hungry, and that might only be twice a day, without risking a metabolic slowdown.

Atkins emphasizes diet and talks less about exercise, although it is encouraged. PB emphasizes diet and exercise equally, and there is a lot of info on doing low level cardio, and stopping the "Chronic Cardio".

Atkins has options for eating some processed foods, although they recommend eating real, whole, fresh food as much as possible. PB has no options for eating processed foods. To do it right, you must eat only real, whole, fresh foods.

Atkins says to eat organic and grass fed, etc., when you can, but you can still do Atkins "right" if you eat non-organic, grain fed, etc., foods. PB says to eat organic and grass fed, etc., and this is necessary to do PB "right".

So all in all, aside from a few minor things, I don't see anything that different in PB. It sounds like Atkins, if you want to take it the extra mile and eat all organic, grass fed, etc. It's the way I have been wanting to do Atkins from the beginning, but could never quite get the gumption to follow through.

Just for the record, I will always recommend that people follow Atkins here on the forum. If I choose to fine tune Atkins a little within recommedations, that is my choice and I would never push that on anyone else.

For me, personally, I feel that Atkins has been what I have needed to overcome my eating problems. I just know that I am ready to take it the the next level of eating organic, etc. I don't see it as stopping Atkins and starting PB, or something else new. The way I see it, this is still Atkins, and I still really believe that Atkins is a great way to go.

TAKING AN ATKINS FORUM BREAK

I haven't been around much lately on the Atkins Forum for a couple of reasons. One is that I remembered that I had a life I had to get back to after surgery, and I am so far behind on all my bookkeeping, etc., and I haven't filed my taxes yet, and that sort of thing. So I've been trying to catch up.

Another reason is that I am becoming aware of so many variables in weight loss, that I feel ill-equipped to give advice right now. I always thought of myself as a "go to" person when it came to numbers and such, but my own experience has been breaking all of my own "rules" and I need to get a few things straight in my head. Therefore, all the research and experimentation.

What drives me is a thirst for knowledge and my own physical state. I really want to be as healthy as I can, and I hope to avoid getting ALS. The more I learn about the toxic consequences of some of the food we eat, and how environmental toxins may be the cause of ALS and other diseases, both neurological and others, the more I want to eat clean.

My next step, which it looks like I am not going to be able to avoid much longer, is eating only grass fed beef and free range chicken and such, and eating all organic. The more I learn about grain fed, high Omega-6s, antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, chemicals, excitotoxins and the like, the more I feel like I am taking unnecessary risks with my health and my life.

It's expensive, though, so I have some tough budgeting choices to make.

MAY 10, 2009 - CAN I AFFORD TO NOT BUY ORGANIC?

This is kind of a tough one for many people, including me! A lot of people don't even realize the difference between organic and non-organic, to begin with. And sometimes things can say organic, and they're not really. So you have to be discerning and ask questions of the seller.

The cost of organic is always higher. I do buy organic when I can, or when it's available, but I do spend more for it. I guess I have to weigh the cost of buying organic against the cost of putting all the chemicals into my body and the cost of the illness that could cause. But, still, it's hard to pay $2 for something, when right next to it is the "same thing" for $1.

Buying organic and grass fed meat and free range chickens and the like is not cheap! Plus, the closest store that has them is a 31 minute drive away, and there are three Jewel stores within 10 minutes of my home.

I suppose if I make these sacrifices now, my body (and my great-great-grandchildren!) will thank me later.

MAY 8, 2009 - GOING THE EXTRA MILE

Below is a list of the things that are becoming more and more important to me. Some of these things I have started doing, some I want to do in the near future, and some I dread having to do at all, even though I think they are important!

1. Low Carb Diet

2. Getting a reverse osmosis water filter for my home

3. Eating only organic protein, produce and grains

4. Getting in shape by building muscle rather than "burning off calories" (in the traditional sense), which includes Pilates, Hatha Yoga, strength training and walking

5. Sleeping 9 to 9.5 hours per night, going to bed at a reasonable time and getting up at dawn, so that my full night's sleep is done in the dark

6. Taking a full range of vitamins and supplements

7. Using only biodegradable household cleaning products

8. Eating only fresh foods, nothing processed. No chemicals, no MSG, no preservatives, etc.

9. Living in a chemical free environment, as much as it is in my power to do so

10. Avoiding second-hand cigarette smoke

11. Using natural, bioidentical hormone replacement to bring all my hormones to optimum levels, to feel better in general, and to avoid disease in particular

12. Avoiding pharmaceutical and over-the-counter drugs unless absolutely necessary

13. Avoiding stress when possible, and practicing stress reduction techniques when stress is unavoidable

14. Detoxing my body, following my doctor's advice about how to do that

15. Creating a healthy GI tract

16. Spending less time watching TV

17. Spending more time outdoors

18. Spending more time reading and doing research on healthy lifestyles

19. Spending quality time with my husband and other family members and friends

20. Spending quality time with God.

Obviously, especially based on the last item, this list is not in order by importance! As time goes on, I will add to my list, or post things here that pertain to my list.