Sisson Said What?

 

Grain Pain

Oh, Lordy.
I’ve been grain-free for nearly three years now. Oh, every once in a while, I’ll have a bite or two of bread at a restaurant (it had better be really good bread though and even then I’ll still douse it with olive oil or real butter) or a couple of chips with guacamole - [...]

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Dear Mark: Post-Workout Fasting

A Scrumptious PWO Meal
Before I jump into this week’s Dear Mark post I wanted to direct everyone’s attention to Andrew Rubalcava’s site, Go Healthy Go Fit. Andrew just published an interview with me. Here are just a few of the questions I answered:
Who have been your top 3 favorite bloggers over the years?
How did you [...]

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Statin Insanity

Enough is enough!
Don’t know whether to laugh or cry (I have already screamed), but the headline in today’s LA Times and in many major papers across the country seemed like a paid advertisement for Big Pharma.
“A New Front on Heart Disease: Stain drugs can cut cardiac and stroke risks in people with normal cholesterol levels, [...]

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Dear Mark: Muscle Building and Carbs

Me Want More Carbs.
Dear Mark,
I am a loyal Daily Apple reader who’s just begun a full-scale primal + IF + HIIT lifestyle. My only worry is that of muscle loss or impeded muscle growth. As a friend of multiple muscle builders, I’ve been told that carbohydrates are necessary for that muscle growth. While I’m [...]

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Dear Mark: Running Across the U.S.

Dear Mark,
My name is Katie, and I’m planning on running across the U.S. from Boston to San Diego starting this March! I’m 23 and have been an avid runner since high school. I train on my own now and am deciding whether to run 9-12 miles a day or kick it up to an [...]

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The High-Tech, High-Risk State of Maternity Care

Caution: Evidence-Based Maternity Care Ahead
I’ve been known to critique various elements of the medical establishment now and then, it’s true. (Anyone for a good Big Pharma rout?) But I’ll admit I’m venturing into new and weighty territory today. (My Y chromosome and I will tread lightly and respectfully, I promise.) It’s been a while since [...]

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Dear Mark: Metabolic Typing

Dear Mark,
I’d love to see your take on the validity of the metabolic type diet. I have found that a primal-style eating plan similar to yours works wonders for me, but I have seen some people comment that they maintain lean bodies with a very different approach than you. One commenter even stated that [...]

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Dear Mark: To Tea or Not to Tea?

Dear Mark,
Do the benefits of tea outweigh its negatives (caffeine, teeth staining, etc.)? Is tea a worthy substitute to a glass of water? If so, how many times a week should one drink tea?
Given our big fall theme the last week or so, I thought this was an especially timely question. [...]

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Reader Response: Better Fish Choices

On the Rocks
Thanks so much to everyone for their comments and emails on last week’s “Farmed versus Wild Salmon” post. The response, both posted and personal, was amazing. It’s what I love about doing the blog - getting you, our MDA readers, the information you want and the resources you can use. Keep those comments [...]

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Salmon: Factory Farm vs. Wild

Here Fishy, Fishy, Fishy, Fishy…
Last week I noted in my podcast with Jimmy Moore how expensive genuine wild salmon can cost. Since then, I’ve received a healthy number of emails asking for more info, tips, and the real benefits behind buying “wild.”
What exactly are salmon “farms”? How does the farm setting change the nutritional content [...]

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New Study: Exercise is Good and Lowers Obesity

Tell us Something We Don’t Know
In a new study out of the Archives of Internal Medicine investigators discovered that even people with extra copies of the “fat mass and obesity” genes called FTO did NOT get fatter if they were active throughout the day. In other words, a so-called genetic predisposition to obesity was effectively [...]

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Fox News: Best Way to Lose Weight?

FYI - I was on Fox News Los Angeles again this morning. This time I answered the question, “Is Exercise the Best Way to Lose Weight?” Check out the video and then hit me up with a comment to let me know what you think. Thanks everyone!
A couple side notes:
1. I am aware of the [...]

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Dear Mark: Is Flax Bad?

Dear Mark,
I’ve been researching flax and am ready to pull the plug on my dedicated flaxseed grinder. The kicker was seeing flaxseeds associated with prostate cancer. What’s your take?
Thanks to reader Clare for the thoughtful correspondence on flax. This is exactly why I love doing this blog. Research continues to unfold, and the conversation [...]

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Interview with Jimmy Moore of Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb

I’m sure many of you are familiar with Jimmy Moore. These days you can hardly say low-carb without thinking of him first. That’s because he has a great low-carb success story and has created an amazingly comprehensive one-stop low-carb shop in his blog, podcasts, daily low-carb menus and other resources for all low-carb dieters.

I caught [...]

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Fox News and Low-Carb Diet Talk

I was featured on Fox News 11 Los Angeles this morning as a health expert discussing the benefits of a low carb lifestyle. I’ve gotta say it was pretty fun. Any chance I can get to spread the word about living a healthy life is (almost) always a blast. After the interview I stuck around [...]

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Dear Mark: What’s Wrong with Juicing?

Mark,
In your last “Dear Mark” post you said “…why drink your veggies and fruits in concentrated form when you can eat them? I’d just be careful of overdoing the juices.” What is wrong with juicing? I’ve always thought that making fresh juice is extremely healthy for you. Am I right to think that juicing [...]

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Dear Mark: All Things Sweet (Plus Cheese and Gut Health)

This week instead of focusing on one reader question and giving a lengthy, detailed response I thought I’d change it up a bit by publicly addressing a number of reader questions with quick responses and links to archived posts. Let me know if you like the format. That is, do you prefer an in-depth analysis [...]

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What’s Wrong With The Zone Diet?

Dear Mark,
I just watched your video about the 2 minute salad; simple, fast, and no measuring. I agree with the primal way of eating and I’m torn between the freelance style of PB and structure of The Zone. What is your opinion of The Zone?
First, let me thank Rob for his question. I’ve had [...]

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Should We Allow Drugs in Sports?

Dear Mark,
I know you used to be involved in triathlon sports administration. I see so much written about “banned substances” and “cheating” going on in the world of professional sports these days, especially with the Olympics looming. What do you make of all this?
Ray

Ray, my position hasn’t changed on this issue in a long [...]

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High Fat and Healthy: The Maasai Keep on Walking

These feet were made for walkin’…
Reader Peter emailed this new study today after he saw a discussion in which I was participating on Rusty’s site (fitnessblackbook.com) regarding the Maasai diet. Investigators in this new study suggested that one reason that the Maasai (African nomadic cattle farmers) have lower rates of heart [...]

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Unrestricted Low-Carb Diet Wins Hands Down

Dig In
The New England Journal of Medicine has just come out with perhaps the most definitive comparison of low-fat, Mediterranean and low-carb diets ever, and the findings dovetail very nicely with what we’ve been discussing here recently about the merits of the Primal Blueprint. I think it also addresses some of the concerns shared about [...]

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2 Minute Salad

Most readers here understand the concepts behind the Primal Blueprint, but some seem to be concerned about the amount of time it must take to prepare PB-style meals every day. Nothing could be further from the truth. My 4-egg breakfast or protein shake take but a few minutes. My evening lamb-chop or grass-fed porterhouse with [...]

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Dear Mark: Low Energy on Primal Challenge

Dear Mark,
I’m finding that I have low levels of energy in the evenings only. Could this be because my body is still adapting to primal living and adjusting to less carbohydrate intake? How long does this usually last? I’m also finding that after my sessions of intense Muay Thai training, I don’t have the [...]

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The Context of Calories

200 Calories is 200 Calories. Right?
“What’s that in the road ahead?”
vs.
“What’s that in the road!? A head!?”
Context is important.
Many people think weight loss is simply about cutting calories. But context counts here, too. Calories do have context and that’s what I want to explore today. Is a calorie from fat the same as a calorie [...]

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The Beginning of the End?

Driving my daughter Devyn to the airport yesterday morning at 5:30 (she’s off to a summer-school program in Florence) I was stunned by what I was hearing on my radio. Apparently, the American Academy of Pediatrics is now recommending much more aggressive cholesterol screening for children and urging that kids as young as eight be [...]

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