SUNDAY PALEO / December 25, 2011

Happy Holidays! Thank you for visiting this past year.
We wish you a Healthy and Happy New Year!

FITNESS

Barefoot running: bad or beneficial?
"I'm constantly scanning the terrain, dodging rougher areas and taking a much more meandering line, which works different sets of muscles. It's almost like dancing. But the moment I put shoes on, most of that sensitivity is gone." - MSNBC

2012 Summer 5 Day Workshops!
“We are happy to announce our 2012 Summer 5 Day workshop schedule.  These workshops give participants the unique opportunity to reconnect with their true nature in the beautiful woods of WV.  Participants will enjoy camping, learn lots of new movement techniques, become a part of the MovNat "tribe", and most of all have fun.” - MovNat

ENERGY

The 5 States With the Most Installed Wind and Solar Power Saw the Least Increase in Electricity Prices from 2005-2010
“The findings presented here show quite clearly that states with high volumes of wind and solar PV have seen well below average cost increases. When this fact is considered in conjunction with the various health, environmental, energy security, and job creation benefits of renewable forms of generation, it helps to form a compelling argument in their favor.” - Think Progress

Facebook & Greenpeace Join to Ramp Up Renewable Energy
"‘Facebook looks forward to a day when our primary energy sources are renewable, and we are working with Greenpeace and others to help bring that day closer,’ says Marcy Scott Lynn of Facebook's sustainability program. "As an important step, our data center siting policy now states a preference for access to renewable energy.” - Sustainable Business

LIVING

This amazing off-grid hobbit house cost less than $5,000 to build - Grist

MODERN DISEASES

The Truth About Gluten
"‘We're cleaner than we used to be,’ Fasano said, and our general cleanliness may lead to overactive immune systems and a less stable environment for healthy gut bacteria. Additionally, celiac disease may be on the rise because we eat more wheat products now than our ancestors did, and that wheat contains more gluten.” - MyHealthNewsDaily

The Paleo Diet And Gout
“Part of the treatment for gout, which is a form of arthritis, is avoiding of high-purine as well as high-fructose foods. The Paleo diet, which is based on foods your hunter-gatherer ancestors ate thousands of years ago, may be beneficial for gout.” - Livestrong

NUTRITION

Cereal? Cookies? Oh, What’s the Diff?
“So for more than half a century well-intentioned parents have been torn between their desperation to get their kids to eat something, anything, and the knowledge that most packaged breakfast cereals are little better than cookies. … It turns out that from at least the perspective of sugar content, many are worse...” - The New York Times

RECIPES

Standing Rib Roast 
This holiday season we enjoyed a standing rib roast, also known as prime rib. This amazing cut of meat is sure to dazzle any dinner guests you have during the holidays. - Primal Palate

Tender Prime Rib Roast with Mushroom and Bacon Sauté
“Prime rib is a cut of meat that’s perfect for special occasion feasts in more ways than one. Served in supple, thick slices that are marbled with fat, it’s a decadent and impressive main course.” - Mark's Daily Apple

Grain-free Christmas Cookie Roundup 
To give you something festive to munch on for the next few days, we thought we'd put up a collection of holiday-appropriate cookies for you to make and share with your families! - Primal Palate

SUCCESS STORIES

How the Bears Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Primal Lifestyle 
There are two thoughts I clearly remember having in my lifetime: I am overweight, but I no longer care about how I look and I am fine with being this way for the rest of my life. My husband is likely to die of a heart attack sometime soon and there is nothing I can do about it." - Mark's Daily Apple

TERRA

The Greater Gila: America's First Wilderness
“The Gila has been referred to as the Yellowstone of the Southwest for its size, wildness, and nearly complete suite of natural processes and wildlife populations. Extensive roadless areas, wilderness and old growth forests, unparalleled wildlife—including Mexican spotted owl, Mexican gray wolves, jaguars, and endemic trout and other native fish - make the Gila Bioregion very special with the potential to be the crown jewel of a wild southwest.” - Wild Earth Guardians

SUNDAY PALEO / December 4, 2011

Pulling the mooring line. Puerto Natales, Chile.ANTHROPOLOGY

Archaeologists land world's oldest fish hook: First deep-sea fish supper dated to 42,000 years ago.
“The team also found more than 38,000 fish bones at the site, dating the oldest back to 42,000 years ago. Some were from inshore species, but almost half were from 'pelagic species' — fish that dwell in the open ocean, providing the oldest known evidence of humans fishing far from shore.” - Nature

MODERN DISEASES

Fish in diet may ward off Alzheimer's
“In the study, people who ate baked or broiled fish at least once a week had larger volumes of gray matter in areas of the brain known to be involved in memory and learning. Moreover, people with larger volumes in these areas reduced the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease five-fold over a five year period.” - MyHealthNewsDaily

Apple juice's other health risk: It'll make you fat
"‘If it wasn't healthy in the first place, adding vitamins doesn't make it into a health food,’ and if it causes weight gain, it's not a healthy choice, said Karen Ansel, a registered dietitian in New York and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.” - TODAY HEALTH

That Tasty Taste: The rise of Obesity in America - Why it’s ACTUALLY happening
“While, on the surface, obesity seems to be the result of a potent amalgamation of cultural, personal, and other environmental stressors that dominate the American lifestyle and society, the Obesity Epidemic, at the most fundamental level of human biology and psychology, is caused by food addiction.” - @CTheFlow

NUTRITION

Why Eating Animals Makes Everything Easier  
"Bottom line: if you’re overweight, you’re not utilizing the energy stored on your body. Switching over to the Fat Paradigm and a fat-based diet will unlock that stored body fat and allow you to use what you’ve already got (plus carbohydrates, when and if you eat them). But if you remain entrenched in the Carb Paradigm, your body never gets the message to start accessing body fat for energy." - Mark's Daily Apple

7 easy ways to boost your immune system 
Leave out the beans and soy and you have pretty good Paleo advice. - TODAY HEALTH

The Best Dark Chocolate: Our Taste Test Results 
“Though dark chocolate is officially defined as having at least 35 percent cocoa solids, we tested a range between 50 and 85 percent in our quest for chocolatey perfection. We tested only solid dark chocolate bars -- that means no nuts, no fillings, and no added flavors.” - Kitchen Daily

RECIPES

Holiday Brussels Sprouts and Garlic Roasted Sweet Potatoes
“I have several holiday recipes on the blog that you can find here, here, and here; but what’s wrong with a couple more!” - Everyday Paleo

Slow Cooked Cinnamon Curry Steak
For this recipe we decided to play with some interesting flavors to (hopefully) create a tasty dish. The end result was pretty great. Cinnamon is surprisingly delicious when paired with steak, and the warm sweet flavor goes well with curry. - Primal Palate

URBAN FARMING

Urban farming growing in popularity
“Welcome to the new era of urban farming. Residents within the limits of many U.S. cities are learning that some neighbors want to make more full use of their property. And that has put some pressure on municipalities to revisit local laws that regulate the occupancy and management of animals and crops.” - Main Today Real Estate

Penn State Launches Urban Farming High Tunnel Project with Community Partners in Philadelphia
“‘If the trucks stop bringing food into any major metropolitan area in the United States, for whatever reason, in a short period of time there will not be any food available,’ he said. ‘We want to give people in Philadelphia an appreciation for the value of food, its nutrition and what goes into growing it. They need to realize it doesn’t just grow on the shelves of grocery stores.’” - Seedstock

SLEEP

Dreaming Takes the Sting out of Painful Memories, Research Shows
"The dream stage of sleep, based on its unique neurochemical composition, provides us with a form of overnight therapy, a soothing balm that removes the sharp edges from the prior day's emotional experiences." - ScienceDaily

 FROM THE ARCHIVE

Becoming Paleo, Part 1: The Yale Food Addiction Scale 
"Society’s strong motivation to lose weight combined with the tremendous amount of energy and resources spent on the “obesity epidemic” suggests that the problem of obesity is not driven by a lack of motivation or effort." 

SUNDAY PALEO / October 9, 2011

Food market, Otavalo, Ecuador, South America. Image: John MichaelANTHROPOLOGY

Prehistoric Children Finger-Painted on Cave Walls 
"Researchers have uncovered evidence that children as young as 2 decorated France’s Rouffignac caves with markings known as finger flutings at least 13,000 years ago, drawing not only simple lines but also symbolic shapes." - History.com

ENVIRONMENT

World’s second tallest structure will power 100,000 homes a day with hot air 
"If a clean energy project in the Arizona desert goes forward, the second tallest structure on Earth will be a 2,600-foot solar updraft tower, which could last 80 years and generate 200 MW of electricity each day -- using only hot air." - Grist

Nearly All Deep-Sea Fisheries Are Unsustainable 
"The authors of this Marine Policy paper say that the best policy would be to end economically wasteful deep-sea fisheries, redirect subsidies to help displaced fishermen and rebuild fish populations in productive waters closer to ports and markets, places far more conducive to sustainable fisheries." - Save Our Seas 

The Self-Sufficient Office Building 
“The story is that this building is pushing the boundaries of performance in all categories, not just in one or two,” said Jason McLennan, the chief executive of both the certifying institute and the Cascadia Green Building Council, a chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council that administers the better-known LEED rating system. “For this building type and this scale, it’s the first in the world to go this far.” - The New York Times 

MODERN DISEASES

How Inflammation Affects Your Health 
"Chronic inflammation is another story. It occurs when inflammation persists, and the dilated blood vessels and hyped-up immune system become the body's new norm. However, not only is it not part of the normal healing process, research indicates that it may be at the very core of chronic diseases such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease." - MyHealthNewsDaily 

Low Vitamin B12 Tied to Brain Atrophy, Cognitive Impairment 
"The study found that higher levels of several markers of vitamin B12 deficiency, most notably methylmalonic acid (MMA) and homocysteine, were associated with lower global cognitive function scores and lower total brain volume roughly 5 years later." - Medscape Neurology 

Junk Food Looks More Tempting When Blood Sugar Drops 
"More worryingly, after a mild blood sugar drop, our brains are less able to fight our desire for ice cream and pizza, the researchers said. And the response from the part of the brain responsible for inhibiting such cravings was particularly weak in obese people, the study found." - MyHealthNewsDaily 

Brain scans show obese less able to stop food cravings 
"Brain scans of thin people who looked at pictures of high-calorie foods showed increased activity in a region of the brain used for impulse control, but obese people showed little activity in this region, the researchers found." - MSNBC.com

RECIPES

Dad’s Grilled Lemon Chicken 
"Anyhow, what I’ve learned first hand is that Paleo can be done and it’s not as difficult as many people think.  I knew this going into it because, well my wife runs this very popular blog called Everyday Paleo, which most of us have heard of.  And yes I have cooked many meals in the past, for those who remember Dad’s Pork Chops, yeah that was me." - Everyday Paleo 

Harvest Spiced Drumsticks 
"Fall is here, which means the kids are back in school, cozy sweaters are being worn, pumpkins are ripe for the picking, and warm comfort foods are on our tables. This fall, we have created a tasty chicken recipe that will fill your home with all the wonderful aromas of fall flavors, and is also a perfect 'left-overs' option to send along with your kids to school." - Primal Palate

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

Monthly Finds - May 2011

ENVIRONMENT

• Swap Till You Drop: Smarter Living Rates The Top Online Swap Marketplaces - Natural Resources Defense Council
• What is Upcycling? – Naturally Savvy
•  'Small fry' fish just as vulnerable to population plunges as sharks or tuna, Stanford researchers say - Stanford News

MODERN DISEASES

• Unnoticed celiac disease worth treating: People with antibodies but no symptoms are better off avoiding gluten  - ScienceNews
• Paleolithic diet much better for diabetics than conventional ‘diabetes diet’ -  drBriffa
• Egypt Mummy Pictures: Scans Show Ancient Heart Disease – National Geographic

NUTRITION

• Farmed Seafood: What's Safe and Nutritious – Mark’s Daily Apple 
• Expert panel calls for 'transforming US agriculture': Changes in markets, policies and science needed for more sustainable farming - EurekAlert!
• The Diet That Shook Up Tennis? Starch Madness: Novak Djokovic's Domination of the Sport Has Coincided With His Gluten-Free Turn – Wall Street Journal (via Hunter-Gather.com)
• Something Fishy: Baked, Broiled Fish Cuts Heart Failure Risk - MyHealthNewsDaily
• Strong Sales of Organic Foods Attract Investors – New York Times

Monthly Finds, March 2011

ANTHROPOLOGY

• People Were Chipping Stone Tools in Texas More Than 15,000 Years Ago - Scientific American

ENERGY

• 3-D Lithium-Ion Batteries Are Lighter and Charge in Minutes - ecogeek.org

NUTRITION

• Walnuts Are Top Nut for Heart-Healthy Antioxidants - ScienceDaily

MODERN DISEASES

• Clues to Gluten Sensitivity - Wall Street Journal
• Diseases of Affluence - Maisonneuve Magazine
• Alzheimer's Disease: Studies Suggest That Meat Is Medicine - Primal Wisdom