Mark Sisson on the Primal lifestyle

Mark Sisson, of MarksDailyApple.com, writes about "tapping into our genetic recipe for health, happiness, and fulfillment" in his book The Primal Connection. Here is a brief section from the Introduction on moving from "the age of distractions" to a "healthy, grounded life."

In the age of distractions, relentless stress, strained relationships, and overemphasized materialism, we often try to rationalize our way toward some precipitous point of balance. We follow regimens. We manage our time and relationships. We pencil in physical activities. We compartmentalize our needs and anxieties. For all the comforts and conveniences, the innovations and the accommodations, something about this whole picture of modern living isn't working for us. For all our knowledge, we impose an increasingly narrow, shallow definition on well being. 

So, what makes for a healthy, grounded life, anyway? What does it genuinely mean to thrive, to feel satisfied and fulfilled? We assume the answers are to be found in further progress: a new medication, a more elaborate gadget, the latest fitness class, or a social trend. The truth is, the answers we seek are often not that complicated. 

What if it isn’t a failure of progress but the frustration of some unmet meed at the cellular level? What if we entertain the notion that we aren’t - all of us as a hominid species - living the lives we were designed to live? Forget the caves and the skins and matted hair for a minute. I’m talking about a life of physical challenge but ample leisure. I’m talking about living by the natural ebb and flow of light and darkness, season to season. I’m talking about living in smaller groups. I’m talking about play and creativity and getting dirt under our fingernails - a life of the raw senses and and overlapping of the self with the natural environment.

Related Post: Book: The Primal Connection

Natural benefits

"Massachusetts General Hospital has just teamed up with the Appalachian Mountain Club in Boston to prescribe nature as a way to improve wellness. And in Washington D.C., the new Park Rx initiative is designed to help people access nature. "National parks have always been loved for their symbolism and scenery, but we want to increase the awareness of their role in preventative medicine and therapy," said National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis."

Learn more:  Nature - Just What the Doctor Ordered

Does chronic stress lead to stroke or heart attack?

New research suggests chronic stress can cause arterial blockage and lead to stroke or heart attack. According to Science:

"Epidemiological studies have shown that people who face many stressors—from those who survive natural disasters to those who work long hours—are more likely to develop atherosclerosis, the accumulation of fatty plaques inside blood vessels. In addition to fats and cholesterols, the plaques contain monocytes and neutrophils, immune cells that cause inflammation in the walls of blood vessels. And when the plaques break loose from the walls where they’re lodged, they can cause more extreme blockages elsewhere—leading to a stroke or heart attack."

"Studying the effect of stressful intensive care unit (ICU) shifts on medical residents, biologist Matthias Nahrendorf of Harvard Medical School in Boston recently found that blood samples taken when the doctors were most stressed out had the highest levels of neutrophils and monocytes. To probe whether these white blood cells, or leukocytes, are the missing link between stress and atherosclerosis, he and his colleagues turned to experiments on mice."

Learn more: How stress can clog your arteries