SUNDAY PALEO / October 2, 2011

Grand Teton National Park. Image: CyberMed, LLC

ENVIRONMENT

There Will Be Oil

"The date of the predicted peak has moved over the years. It was once supposed to arrive by Thanksgiving 2005. Then the "unbridgeable supply demand gap" was expected "after 2007." Then it was to arrive in 2011. Now "there is a significant risk of a peak before 2020." - Wall Street Journal

Wall Street Journal embraces peak oil denialism

"The thing is, Yergin has been demonstrably getting it wrong about oil for years. There are countless examples, well chronicled here, but he is so wrong, so often, that it only takes about 5 minutes with Google to find an egregious example." - Grist

FITNESS

Strong Support for the Brain Benefits of Aerobic Activity

"We concluded that you can make a very compelling argument for [aerobic] exercise as a disease-modifying strategy to prevent dementia and mild cognitive impairment, and for favorably modifying these processes once they have developed." - Medscape Neurology 

Interval Training for Fat Loss

"Are you looking to kick things up a notch this summer? Are your abs almost visible? Interval training can help you lose fat and improve your fitness. What’s not to like? Here are 4 reasons to incorporate interval training workouts." - Defined Wellness 

NUTRITION

Junk Food Looks More Tempting When Blood Sugar Drops

"The researchers scanned the brains of 14 people (five obese and nine nonobese) while they looked at images of high-calorie foods (such as ice cream and hamburgers), low-calorie foods (salads and fruit) and nonfoods (a chair or a lamp). Participants were hooked up to an IV and their blood sugar (glucose) levels were manipulated." - MyHealthNewsDaily 

Feeding the flame: Some foods worsen inflammation – but the right diet can soothe body

"The physical symptoms of chronic inflammation are wide, ranging from joint pain, gastrointestinal problems like bloating and diarrhea, skin problems and lack of energy. Experts warn that over time, low-grade, chronic inflammation can lead to more serious problems, such as Alzheimer’s, fibromyalgia, colon cancer and heart disease." - The Daily

PALEO LIFESTYLE

Ken Korg Finally Gets It

"The pantry has finally been purged. It was a big job, one Ken began immediately after that first chat with Valentina but only just finished because he had run out of garbage bags for all the old food (their pantry is a walk-in and just massive)." - Mark's Daily Apple

RECIPES

Mint Lamburgers - Make it Paleo Recipe

"These juicy burgers are just packed with flavor, and sit atop a crisp Greek salad. We think so highly of this recipe that we shared it with Liz (who writes Cave Girl Eats) and her "Cave Husband" when they spent a day with us at the beach this past summer." - The Food Lovers Primal Palate

FROM THE ARCHIVE

Becoming Paleo, Part 1: The Yale Food Addiction Scale

The Yale Food Addiction Scale is a survey designed to detect and measure the severity of food addiction. While food addiction’s not fully recognized by the medical establishment as a disorder, several studies have been conducted to explore the possibility of its existence. 

SUNDAY PALEO / September 18, 2011

Where on Earth? Send your answer to paleoterran@me.com

ECONOMY

Where the Jobs Are: the Clean Energy Sector Continues to Grow and Employ Americans

"This sector grew nearly twice as fast as the overall economy between 2003 and 2010. In fact, more than 2.7 million people are working in the clean economy right now. That’s more than the entire fossil fuel industry employs, a new report by the Brookings Institution found." - Switchboard

Vegetable Gardens Are Booming in a Fallow Economy

"Vegetable gardening has been on the rise across the country, ....driven by rising food prices and a growing contingent of health-conscious consumers. Garden-store retailers have reported increased sales over the past two years, he said, and many community gardens have waiting lists." - The New York Times

Will Aquaponics and Other Urban Farms Yield a Green Job Harvest?

"The coalition is promoting sustainable, closed-loop farms that grow local, fresh food and, it says, create green jobs using clean, recycled water in place of soil. The farms can produce plants, fish, or a combination of both -- a method called aquaponics." - GreenBiz.com

ENVIRONMENT

Internet Giants Ignoring Energy Consumption, Carbon Management at Their Risk

"Due to their rapid growth and global prominence, internet and social networking firms such as Facebook and Google will be confronted by a barrage of energy and carbon emissions challenges," - SustainableBusiness.com

HEALTH

Why Laughter May Be the Best Pain Medicine

"In addition to giving us a "buzz," these endorphins raise our ability to ignore pain. So the researchers used the endorphins' pain relief to determine if laughter causes an endorphin release." - Scientific American

A Brisk Walk a Day Keeps Common Cold at Bay

"The cure for the common cold has been discovered: exercise. OK, that's an overstatement. However new research findings published in the online British Journal of Sports Medicine do show that active, fit people do suffer fewer colds, and they tend to be less severe." - Daily News Central

Apples, Pears Linked to Reduced Stroke Risk

"The color of the primary edible portion of fruits and vegetables reflects the presence or absence of particular pigmented bioactive compounds, such as carotenoids, anthocyanidins, and flavonoids, the authors write. Which fruits and vegetables in particular contribute most the reduction in stroke risk from overall high consumption is not known, and that was the primary aim of this study." - Medscape

Omega-3s Reduce Stroke Severity, Study Suggests

"The consumption of omega-3s creates an anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective environment in the brain that mitigates damage following a stroke," summarized Jasna Kriz, of Université Laval's Faculty of Medicine. "It prevents an acute inflammatory response that, if not controlled, is harmful to brain tissue." - ScienceDaily

Intriguing Links Between Depression and Cholesterol

"So the truth of the matter is that people suffering from depression have lower overall cholesterol than average. I know, crazy, right?  Here's where I really blow your mind - people with major depressive disorder, despite the lower cholesterol, have higher rates of death from heart disease, whether or not you had heart disease before or after the diagnosis of depression." - Evolutionary Psychiatry

RECIPES

Simple salad: Apple, blackberries, walnuts and mixed field lettuce. 

Aromatic Beef Heart Skewers

"Our mission of random animal parts is far from over, but for today, we are sharing our recipe for beef heart. Bill and I really don't squirm at the idea of eating any certain part of an animal anymore, however, this recipe in particular was slightly difficult for us." - Primal Palate

SUNDAY PALEO / September 4, 2011

Bear Creek Basin, Telluride, Colorado

Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.

John Muir

ENVIRONMENT

Big Island of Hawaii Gets 20% of Its Electricity from Geothermal Plant

"The Puna Geothermal Venture is run by Ormat Technologies and is located in the Mt. Kilauea East Rift zone.  The plant has five wells that bring up 650-degree geothermal fluids to the surface where the steam is separated out and used to drive generators." - EcoGeek

Paper Use Declines as Media Tablets Boom

"By 2015, paper used for publishing in North America - such as magazine, newspaper and book publishing - will be down 12%-21% compared to their 2010 levels. This is on top of the massive collapse that occurred during the recent recession." - Sustainable Business.com

First-Ever LEED Platinum Student Housing at USC

“There are some luxury items that may at face value seem incompatible with sustainable development, but what we’ve found is that austerity does not necessarily represent ecofriendly construction,” says David Hilliard, president of Symphony Development, the developer of West 27th Place. - Sustainable Business.com

FITNESS

Guest Post by Tate Zandstra: MovNat training in Thailand

“When you are a kid, you’re always told, ‘don’t yell, don’t move’…whenever we have this primal exuberance, this expression of this energy that we have in ourselves, it’s repressed to the point that it’s suppressed, like you have to stand right, be polite, be silent, then you’re a good kid.”  - MovNat

The Complete Guide to Interval Training [Infographic] - Greatist

NUTRITION

Paleo is reaching its Tipping Point

"The movement started to gain momentum last year when I realized that a few of my co-workers were in a transformational program addressing workouts and nutrition - and guess what their nutrition plan was...yup basically Paleo." - Against the Grain

How to Eat Meat: Transitioning Away from Vegetarianism

"I get a fair amount of emails from vegetarian readers who want to reintroduce meat into their diets. Although they see the health benefits of reclaiming omnivorism, they’re hesitant about the transition itself." - Mark’s Daily Apple

RECIPES

Lamb Arm Chops with Porcini Mushrooms and Rosemary

"At first bite, we knew we had to recreate this dish. We had two lamb arm chops from US Wellness Meats awaiting our arrival back home, and we finally had the perfect recipe inspiration for these delicious looking chops." - The Food Lovers Primal Palate

Curry Sirloin Tips

"I wasn't so sure this one was going to turn out very well, but boy was I wrong! Warm, spicy, rich, smoky flavors just fill your mouth and make this steak sing." - The Food Lovers Primal Palate

SUCCESS STORIES

Hypertension, Prediabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and 75 Pounds, All Gone in 6 Months

"6 months ago I was 270 lbs, hypertensive, pre-diabetic, metabolic syndrome, etc. I had been aware of your site for a year or so because a political blog I frequent (lewrockwell.com) occasionally links to yours. I was intrigued by some of the articles but was skeptical and didn’t take it too seriously." - Mark's Daily Apple 

FROM THE ARCHIVE

The Idea of an Ecovillage

I’ve heard a lot about sustainability, and I know that it’s a good thing, but I’ve rarely seen it in practice, and never to the extent that it’s practiced here, at Comuna de Rhiannon, a farming commune located within the Andes Mountains, and about an hour to the north of the Ecuadorian capital of Quito. Sustainability is the operating idea at Comuna de Rhiannon, and it governs the fate of everything that lives within the commune’s boundaries, from the hogs that are used to till Rhiannon’s soil, which is rich in volcanic ash, as the farm is surrounded by several volcanoes, to the food that is leftover from meals, which is either used as animal feed or as compost, depending upon what it is. - PaleoTerran

SUNDAY PALEO / August 28, 2011

Hurricane Irene spins fury along the East Coast. NASA 8.26.11

ANTHROPOLOGY

Ancient Dog Skull Shows Early Pet Domestication

"In general, dogs likely became domesticated when curious wolves began to hang around Stone Age people ... " - National Geographic Daily News

ENVIRONMENT

Iowa Now Gets 20% of Its Electricity from Wind

"Iowa has hit a pretty big milestone in wind energy generation -- the state now gets 20 percent of its electricity from wind power.  That's the highest percentage for any state in the U.S. and about on par with wind heavy nations like Denmark." - EcoGeek

RECIPES

Grilled Chicken Fajitas

"I love Mexican food, trouble is when you eat Mexican out a lot of times its loaded with corn, beans, rice, and cheese.  You can make delicious Paleo friendly Mexican food as well, and you won't even miss the rice and beans or the cheese and sour cream that would come along with this dish in a traditional Mexican restaurant." - Against the Grain

LIFESTYLE

Unplug Yourself before you Wreck Yourself!!

"Ask yourself this, “Do we really need to know what’s happening in the world everywhere all of the time, and in reality how much of the information that we are being fed even accurate or life sustaining or even important?” - Everyday Paleo 

Couples Share Unhealthy Habits

"The new study suggests the effect of marriage and cohabitation on health isn't always so rosy. The researchers report at least two ways this happens: one partner has bad habits and influences the other, or both may "sync up" their bad habits." - My Health News Daily

MODERN DISEASES

Half of US Will Be Obese by 2030, Study Finds 

"That level of obesity would mean 7.8 million more cases of diabetes, along with 6.8 million cases of coronary heart disease and stroke, and 539,000 more cancer cases than what would be expected if obesity remained at its current level." -  My Health News Daily

NUTRITION

This Is The Healthiest Diet

"The fact is that virtually our entire physiologies operate exquisitely when they are functioning in the native human ecological niche in which they evolved –employing both the diet and exercise level of a hunter-gatherer. By contrasting the diets, lifestyles and health of hunter-gatherers to contemporary, westernized societies, we can gain invaluable insight into complex diet/disease related questions." - The Paleo Diet

SUNDAY PALEO / August 21, 2011

Yellowstone National Park. Image: CyberMed, LLC

The more high-tech we become, the more nature we need.

Richard Louv

FITNESS

Go Climb a Tree, It Seriously Works Your Trunk

Ms. Koening is an urban forester for the Missouri Department of Conservation in Jefferson. She is also a competitive tree climber. She saw her first competition nine years ago while attending the International Society of Arboriculture's annual conference. "I never knew climbing trees required that level of skill," she says. "I immediately wanted to try it." - The New York Times

Guest Post by Lori Crock: Outta Your Comfort Zone? My Experience of MovNat

Last week I went on my own to a week-long outdoor program called MoveNat … moving naturally.   It was an experience I have to tell you about because we all need to get out of our comfort zones once in a while.   It is tricky to explain MovNat because it is much more than what it may seem on the surface. - MovNat

RECIPES

Heirloom Tomato Salad and Steak with Peppercorns and Purple Basil

Is it possible not to be seduced by the gorgeous displays of tomatoes dominating farmers’ markets during the summer? - Mark's Daily Apple

moroccan pork skewers + grilled eggplant and leeks

I found this easy recipe in my favorite little tapas cookbook. I got it years ago on clearance at Marshalls. I was skeptical, but for $2 or whatever, who cares. But it's great! - Modern Paleo

Summer Salad | Paleo Salads

Being that it is summer, I thought I’d share a refreshing summer salad that we enjoy. It has crisp sweet apples (actually, blueberries work nicely here too) and takes no time to make. Hope you enjoy! - PaleoEffect

SUCCESS STORIES

The Unconquerable Dave

DEAR MARK AND ALL THE PRIMAL PEOPLE OUT THERE, I’M NOT GOOD WITH SPEECHES SO I FIGURE IF A PIC IS WORTH A 1000 WORDS. - Mark's Daily Apple

Paleo Stories from the Frontline

I lived with this pain for 10 years.  It wasn’t debilitating and didn’t prevent me from doing anything I wanted to do.  The pain was a pressure sensitivity issue.  If I bumped into something or tried to scratch an itch it would cause a lot of pain.  About a month ago, I realized that I didn’t hurt anymore. - Everyday Paleo

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Mt. Beirstadt trip report

Even before German-American painter Albert Bierstadt visited the mountain now bearing his name in 1863, hikers have trudged through the “dreaded willows” at the start of the hike. This segment is now comfortably passable using the recently constructed wooden footbridges. - PaleoTerran