Back in October, my main man and favorite real food chef Lance Roll was my guest on UW Radio. We spoke about all things bone broth — the benefits, the science, and the preparation.
Since that show, Chef Lance has been swamped with emails from listeners asking if he ships his broth to locations outside of San Diego. Unfortunately, due to logistical issues — such as the broth thawing while en route — shipping was not an option at the time.
But I’ve got good news for you. The chef got it all figured out and is now shipping directly to your doorstep!
Last month Lance stopped by my place, where we filmed the video below showing you exactly what to do with your broth when it arrives. He also shows you a few ways to add a little extra flavor and nutrition to what he calls “the magical elixir”.
That’s exactly what went through my head when I heard that Mark Sisson had a new book on the way.
In my opinion, the last thing the world needs right now is yet another Paleo book recommending that we eat real food and remove grains and dairy from our diets.
I think I’ve read that book about 15 times — with 15 different authors and titles — in the past year or so.
Besides, Mark did an outstanding job teaching us what to eat in The Primal Blueprint. What more could he have to offer in his latest opus The Primal Connection?
The answer is quite a bit. In fact, The Primal Connection has little, if anything, to do with diet. It’s about all of that other stuff.
That other stuff has become one of my favorite topics these days. Yes, we know that our dietary choices can have a dramatic impact on gene expression, switching the good (or bad) genes on or off. But it doesn’t end there.
Environmental factors — social interactions, sunlight exposure, our inner dialogue, and even laughter — can have just as profound an effect on our genes as what we stuff into our mouths. I’ll give you a few examples:
Did you know that laughter turns on the genes that fire up your immune system by increasing production of NK (natural killer) cells responsible for defending against cancers, infections, and other bugs?
I remember learning in my CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Coaching course that the average person chuckles just once a day. A chuckle. That’s not even a full-blown laugh!
Did you know that simply being touched can turn on the gene that controls the receptor for the stress hormone cortisol, thus reducing its effects?
These days, being touched brings to mind allegations of sexual harassment more than its potential to mitigate the effects of stress.
Or, did you know that your genes expect you to spend time in nature? The sights, sounds, and smells are all hardwired into your DNA. In fact, the Japanese are finding tremendous hormonal and cellular benefits as a result of what they call “forest therapy”.
When was the last time you got “nature-fied” — a hike, a climb, a dip in the ocean?
These are but a few examples of how your overall health is determined in large part by what you do in between meals and workouts. We are meant to laugh, play, touch, love, socialize, sleep, get dirty, relax, and even get an adrenaline rush here and there.
Your diet may be amazing, but are you feeding your genes everything else they expect?
Are your truly living?
Last night, Mark and I spent an hour chatting about everything non-food related on UW Radio. My favorite part was our discussion of his Ten Habits of Highly Effective Hunter-Gatherers…
#1. Take responsibility
#2. Be selfish
#3. Build a tribe
#4. Be present
#5. Be curious
#6. Trust your gut
#7. Pick your battles
#8. Get over it
#9. Sharpen your spear
#10 Be affluent
Click the video below to listen to a short clip on Taking Responsibility and Being Selfish. Or click the mini-player to listen to the entire episode.
Last night, Functional Diagnostic Nutrition founder, Reed Davis, myself, and about 400 attendees got together for this year’s first FREE webinar. The topic: Functional Fat Loss.
What does Functional Fat Loss mean?
Well, it means that fat loss is not just a matter of diet and exercise. As Reed pointed out early in his presentation, fat accumulation can be a symptom of some underlying — and often unaddressed — dysfunction within the hormonal, digestive, detoxification, and immune systems.
Diet and exercise are just two pieces of a MUCH larger puzzle.
For example, did you know that 60-percent of your thyroid hormone is activated in your liver? This particular hormone holds great influence over your metabolism. So if your liver is clogged up — due to toxins from food, personal care and cleaning products, as well as the general environment — this can put the brakes on your fat loss goals!
As a matter of fact, another 20-percent of thyroid is activated by the bacteria in your gut. The problem is that most of us have imbalanced gut flora, thus compromised metabolisms.
Click below to WATCH last night’s webinar.
I’ll be honest with you. While we intended this webinar to be for the general population, Reed got a bit carried away and was a bit too technical and jargon-y. That’s my fault for not reviewing the slides beforehand. My bad.
Due to this, Reed and I have decided to record a simplified version of the presentation. I’ll be posting it to this blog as soon as it is done.
So if you’re relatively new to this functional stuff, this may not be the webinar for you. But if you’re a trainer, health practitioner, or a nerd like me, this will be like brain candy for you.
Be sure to stick around to the end, when Reed and I offer you a $300 discount on the Functional Diagnostic Nutrition certification course. Use the coupon code UW300 at www.fdncourse.com.
If you’re interested in finding an FDN practitioner to work with, you may locate one HERE.
And last but not least, I will be hosting a Q&A session with Reed TOMORROW morning at 8am PT/11am ET on the radio show.
The line separating the two can be a fine one and, for most, a blur. In fact, crossing this line is often perceived as admirable, even worthy of envy.
From the outside an ultra-lean, sculptured female physique may be looked upon by her peers as a body to die for. However, from the inside it may be a body she is dying for.
Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an overstatement.
Then again, maybe not.
Working as a personal trainer for eight years and then as a diet and lifestyle coach for three, I learned many lessons. The lesson I will share with you today is this:
Looks can be deceiving.
In every gym exists at least one woman rocking a bra top to show off all eight of her abs. The one who seems to be there no matter what time you go. The one who women gawk at more than the men.
My female training clients would often express envy over this woman, however unbeknownst to the damage taking place beneath the hard-bodied surface.
Looks can kill you.
Oh, there I go again…
Behind closed doors many — but not all — of these women are dealing with significant health challenges. I should know, as I have consulted with dozens of figure competitors and female bodybuilders experiencing various lifestyle-related symptoms including chronic constipation, intermittent diarrhea, poor libido, loss of menstruation, brain fog, depression, and more.
In fact, after reviewing their lab test results with me and actually seeing on paper what their ambitions (or addictions) for the perfect body had done, a handful of my figure model clients retired on the spot. To them, it just wasn’t worth it.
And that brings us today’s video. Dr. Kelly Austin, a naturopathic doctor, stopped by the studio to discuss Female Athlete Triad Syndrome. This triad involves the following three criteria:
Disordered eating. This doesn’t have to be a full-blown eating disorder — although it could. Instead it can be the woman who consumes a 1000-calorie diet but burns 800 calories on the treadmill daily and works out. There simply are not enough calories coming in to support activity. Very common.
Amenorrhea (loss of menstruation). Losing your period is a sure sign that bodyfat percentage has gone too low. A woman needs sufficient fat stores in order to maintain reproductivity. Amenorrhea involves low levels of estrogen, which can be a product of excessive stress on the body, including the stress of over-training.
Bone loss. There typically comes a point when the woman who spends too much time on the treadmill finds herself in a walking boot. This is often do to stress fractures, which may result from a combination of overtraining and the impact of low estrogen levels on bone loss.
I’ve said enough. Now, let’s hear from Dr. Austin.
Check out the video below. You may also listen to our entire radio show HERE.
“I live with cancer. There is nothing I can do about that, other than take care of myself. Some people, they have chemotherapy. I have kale and green juice. And that is all I will ever have.” – Kris Carr
Imagine being diagnosed with cancer.
But this isn’t just any cancer — it’s a rare, slow-moving sarcoma that accounts for only 200 diagnoses in the United States annually. Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE), to be exact.
Not only is EHE rare, but there is no treatment for it. No chemo. No radiation. No remission. No cure.
You just live with it.
Kris Carr lives with EHE. When diagnosed at the age of 31, she was given ten years to live.
Ten years ago.
Did she wallow in self-pity?
Did she put her life on hold to watch the sand run through her ten-year hourglass?
Nope, she went to Whole Foods.
She traded in fast food for real food, mixed drinks for green drinks, dance clubs for bookstores.
In other words, Kris refused to perceive her diagnosis as a sentence to death but as a motive to live. Her positive attitude and passion for life has been an inspiration for so many — even the cancer-free.
If anyone can make cancer Crazy and Sexy, it’s Kris.
Today I spent part of my day listening to Kris share her story, as part of the opening day keynote at Kevin Gianni’s online Healing World Cancer Summit.
To be honest, I didn’t know much about her before today (although she and I were named Kevin’s bloggers of the year back in 2010) but she definitely has a new fan in me.
During her Cancer Summit presentation, Kris discussed…
How to put together an integrative team of physicians and practitioners — both eastern and western philosophies — and how to navigate their disputes.
* How to deal with the stress of a cancer diagnosis and everything that comes with it.
* What do if you’re on a budget. Like Kris says, “Meditation is free. Mindfulness is free. Yoga is free.” They go a long way, my friends.
Most importantly, Kris demonstrates the kind of attitude it takes to fight, beat, and live with cancer.
Sometimes a smile can be cancer’s most powerful adversary.
And this brings us to the summit’s second presenter, Dr. Nicholas Gonzales.
Dr. Gonzales has an impressive track record of treating cancer patients with a combination of customized nutritional programs, pancreatic enzyme supplements, and detoxification protocols.
In fact, the doctor’s nutritional program is based on the work of William Kelley, a dentist and pioneer of Metabolic Typing. Whereas we often hear that cancer patients should always consume a diet high in plant-based foods, Gonzales’ diet programs range everywhere from raw vegan to Atkins. It depends on the person and the form of cancer being treated.
Using his unique protocols, he has successfully treated the “untreatable”, including the irremediable pancreatic cancer.
This presentation really hit home with me, as pancreatic cancer took both my father and his mother. With this family history, I can’t say that I don’t sometimes wonder what I would do if cancer caught up with me. I just hope that Dr. Gonzales is around if it ever happens. He’d be my go-to guy. His work is truly remarkable and very well-documented.
It works. Not every time, of course. But with cancer, there are no guarantees. Just options. That is, if you know what your options are.
Options are what the Healing World Cancer Summit is all about. As of tonight, there are four days of life-saving information remaining. Head on over RIGHT NOW to soak up as much as you can. Be sure to take notes! You may need them someday — not just for yourself but for the ones you love.
I wish we had these kinds of summits when my Dad was around. Maybe he could have been one of Dr. Gonzales’ success stories.
On this day thirty-five years ago my Mom gave birth to a little nerdy kid who rarely spoke and liked to read a lot.
I still like to read, but these days I can’t seem to stop running my big mouth!
So today we celebrate my 35th birthday with a super awesome (and healthy) chocolate coconut cookie recipe, courtesy of Diane Sanfilippo’s bestselling book Practical Paleo.
Here’s what you need…
* Organic cocoa
* Maple syrup (grade B)
* Coconut flakes
* Vanilla extract
* Butter
* 2 Eggs
* Baking soda
* Baking sheet
* Parchment paper
I’ll be honest, I ate 8 of them yesterday. Whoops! My bad.
Check out the video below and follow along as Allyson the Assistant whips up a batch. Enjoy!!
Did you hit the snooze button repeatedly until you had to get up, or did you jump out of bed eager to attack your day?
Did you turn to artificial energy — caffeine and sugar — to put some pep in your step, or were your batteries completely recharged from a good night’s sleep?
Did you feel like a rock — static and inert — or did you feel like a rock star?
I tell ya, if you’re not feeling like a rock star all day, every day, then you’re probably not living your best life– and that’s no fun.
Maybe you’re getting to bed too late.
Maybe the automatic negative thoughts in your head (ANTs) are wearing you down.
Or maybe you’re just not feeling passionate about your occupation, and dread showing up to work for another eight to nine hours of trading misery for a paycheck.
The circumstances standing between you and rock stardom abound. But with a few tweaks here and there, I can almost guarantee that your energy and vitality can shoot to the top of the charts.
And I’m not talking about any one hit wonders here. No, I’m talking crazy longevity. Think Jay-Z, Ice-T, or LL Cool J — those guys have been rocking it for decades in one form or another.
In about a month or so, I’ll be officially launching my new website, where I’ll be sharing tips on how to live a rock star life by getting your mind right and following your passion.
Stay tuned.
Today, we’ll stick with food. Because when you eat well, you sleep deeper, think clearer, and even have enough energy to get through your workday with enough gas in tank to do what YOU want to do after clocking out.
Last night, my friend Kathy Smart stopped by UW Radio to share a handful of tried-and-true tips for feeling like a rock star. Check these out…
Go Gluten-Free.
Do yourself a favor and remove gluten — a protein found in wheat, barley, oats, rye — from your diet for thirty days. I know, it sounds like a really long time to go without these staples. Just try it.
The first week will be challenging to get through, but I promise that ninety-percent of those who eliminate these foods will feel so amazing that they’ll never want to consume gluten ever again.
Nothing worth doing is ever easy at first. If you’re serious about your impending rock stardom, you’ll give it a shot and stick with it.
Add These Superfoods.
When you get rid of the gluten, you’ll have to replace those foods with some healthy alternatives — and I don’t mean gluten-free goodies like cookies, breads, and muffins. Not even. Those are usually worse than their gluten-containing counterparts.
Whenever I go to the market, every couple of weeks I make it a point to purchase something I’ve never tried before. Who knows, I may have been missing out on something for the past 35 years! I’ve discovered some pretty rad foods like dulse, chia, and asian pears this way.
So next time you’re strolling down the grocery store aisles, pick up one of these foods…
Avocado. Super yummy and contains more potassium than a banana, thus fighting high blood pressure.
Seaweed. Loaded with trace minerals and iodine (for your thyroid, of course). Also high in calcium and iron. If you’re ever at a Japanese restaurant, order the seaweed salad. Totally rocks!
Chia seeds. Sprinkle on a salad, or add to a healthy smoothie. Your digestive system will thank you!
Cruciferous vegetables. These include broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and more. They stimulate the detoxification system, neutralize carcinogenic in your body, and lower circulating estrogen levels. I spent three years testing hormone levels, and found that many of my male clients had sky-high estrogen scores. Guys, eat more broccoli!!! It’ll make a man out of you.
Click HERE to listen to last night’s show in its entirety. Kathy — a chef and bestselling cookbook author — shares her favorite ways to prepare these superfoods.
You can also pick up a FREE copy (PDF format) of her cookbook Live the Smart WayHERE.
Exercise, But Don’t Over-Exercise.
Although it sounds counterintuitive, more exercise is not always better. Too much cardio can actually burn out your adrenal glands and pack more fat on you. Yes, exercise can make you fatter!
Stick with a good 15-20 minutes of interval training, then head over to the weight room (or the park, backyard, beach, or living room) for some weight training — bodyweight movements, squats, lunges, kettlebells, push-ups, pull-ups, etc.
Be Patient
No one ever became a rock star overnight, it takes time. The above recommendations are a great place to start your journey. Once you get a taste of how it feels to absolutely crush your day with energy, passion, and a smile, you will be addicted for life. Why live any other way?
Join Sean and Allyon the Assistant as they share their favorite clips from the upcoming SexyBack Summit.
Hear words of wisdom from Paul Chek, Dr. Sara Gottfried, Elliott Hulse, Alisa Vitti, Chris Kresser and more on topics including maximizing your libido, leveraging the menstrual cycle, and natural birth control alternatives.
Call in to chat with Sean and Allyson by dialing 347-237-5608 during the live broadcast.
Click HERE to save your spot at the summit and receive your FREE SexyBack Sessions video series!
by Sean Croxton
by Sean Croxton
by Sean Croxton
