Weekly Link Love—Edition 8

Research of the Week

Preliminary evidence shows that restricting calories prunes weak gut cells, thereby improving overall gut barrier function.

Prediabetes (shockingly common) impairs fertility.

It’s never too late to lift and make gains.

Great apes are great problem solvers.

GMO houseplants remove air-borne toxins.

THC alters the genetic profile of sperm cells.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 300: Melanie Avalon: Host Elle Russ chats with Melanie Avalon, an actress and author of What When Wine: Lose Weight and Feel Great with Paleo-Style Meals and Intermittent Fasting (and some wine).

Each week, select Mark’s Daily Apple blog posts are prepared as Primal Blueprint Podcasts. Need to catch up on reading, but don’t have the time? Prefer to listen to articles while on the go? Check out the new blog post podcasts below, and subscribe to the Primal Blueprint Podcast here so you never miss an episode.

Reader Question

Mark, what’s your take on this study (https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article-abstract/108/6/1264/5239906)? Do whole grains reduce liver fat after all?

This is a sneaky one.

They pitted refined grains against whole grains. Eating 98 grams of refined wheat each day led to a 49% increase in liver fat over 12 weeks, while eating 98 grams of whole wheat “prevented a substantial increase in liver fat.” What’s that saying, exactly? Did the whole grains prevent all increases in liver fat, or just substantial increases?

As it turns out, the whole wheat also increased liver fat, albeit “only” by 11%. That the whole wheat mitigated the catastrophic rise precipitated by the same portion of refined grains is something, I guess. Or you could just not eat any wheat at all.

And 98 grams of anything isn’t much. That’s a couple of slices of bread. Be careful!

Media, Schmedia

I can relate.

I agree with this cancer researcher.

How far will you go, citizen?

Interesting Blog Posts

How customer service reps for DNA analysis companies end up playing therapist to customers shocked by results.

An extremely important post by Dr. Malcolm Kendrick, who was recently removed from Wikipedia for questioning the cholesterol orthodoxy. Is Fathead next?

How the carnivore diet might work.

Social Notes

Enter this contest to win our three new sauces: Steak Sauce, Classic BBQ Sauce, and Golden BBQ Sauce.

Everything Else

Extinct red wolf DNA appears in wild canines living on Texas island.

The kids are all right.

Don’t do it, Harry.

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

Speculation I found interesting: Carnivore Mikhaila Peterson’s cholesterol will rise as she gets healthier.

Article I found interesting: “Iron is the new cholesterol.”

Paper I enjoyed: The mundanity of excellence: an ethnographic report on stratification and Olympic swimmers.

In case anyone has forgotten, here’s a reminder: The case against salt remains weak.

Blog post I’m reading: Can Ketogenic Diets Work for Bodybuilding or Athletics?

Question I’m Asking

I recently read a quote—“It is incorrect to believe that top athletes suffer great sacrifices to achieve their goals. Often, they don’t see what they do as sacrificial at all. They like it.”

Do you agree with this regarding top athletes and top performers in other fields?

Recipe Corner

• Instant pot cowboy chili, perfect thing to make out on the range. Just bring an extra long extension cord.
• Egg and nut-free snickerdoodles (hey, it’s the holidays).

Time Capsule

One year ago (Dec 16 – Dec 22)

• Kitchen Tips for Primal Holiday Entertaining – How to have a good time.
• Grok’s Favorite Things: 14 Gifts for Yourself (or Other Primal Types in Your Life)– A few more ideas for the last minute shopper.

Comment of the Week

“Focusing on neurotransmitters when it comes to happiness is the same trap we’ve been falling in for decades: Treating symptoms instead of the cause.”

– Nice and succinct, Colin.

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