I write here on The Paleo Garden primarily because I want to make a contribution in getting the good word out about the transformation I went through to some people that may connect with some of my perspective and/or writings of our other contributers here.

Over the last 10 years or so, my world view of life takes into account an Austrian economics perspective.  In the same way that I’m fallible in a lot of things in life, I’m not necessarily able to wed all of my actions with this line of thought, in the same way, that I fall short of being “paleo” 24/7.   I try to live my life the best way I can, make no enemies, and promote freedom.

I’ve come to the understanding that many people who grok Austrian economics (classical libertarian/liberal thinking) have the same core set of beliefs of the primal/paleo/evolutionary community, they just may not eat that way.

And vice versa.   Many people who grok like grok have the same core set of beliefs of classical-liberal/libertarian/Austrian-economic/independent thinkers, they just may not talk that way.

I enter into the evidence Exhibit 1, Karen De Coster’s recent piece “On Mark Sisson’s Book and Vegans.”  Great article, recommend you read it, but to keep this particular post short, I’ll just include my comments here:

“Keep uniting the clans, Karen.  The paleo diet adherents (and all of its adherents of various persuasions) over time whether they realize it or not come to way of thinking that in order for this lifestyle and diet to be truly possible there has to be freedom, and that freedom is threatened by ag subsidies that cause us to overgrow cheap carbs, overpopulate, over pollute, overeat, over medicate….   Cheap credit and then the crash.  Cheap carbs and then the sugar crash.  Cheap subsidized carbs are akin to fiat money because it is fiat money that have made them possible.

I’ve said this before on your blog, and please allow me to say it again…   it’s one thing to be libertarian and decry that fat taxes or soda taxes threaten our freedoms, it’s quite another thing to claim to be libertarian and not recognize that the obesity/metabolic syndrome epidemic ISN’T the price we pay by allowing the government NOT to raise taxes on unhealthy foods that are cheap to begin with because of government interference/subsidies.

When I see an Austrian/libertarian author blab on about the evils of the Philadelphia city council considering a soda tax but NOT mention why and how that very same soda is killing people with HFCS made possible because of government subsidies… excuse me, they may know more about the business cycle than I, but they’re ill informed and actually PROMOTING the damn consumption of soda and all the other shit.

Again, Karen, awesome article on LRC today, unite these clans, sister, because they have more in common than either side truly understands.”

Of course, I should point out in case it wasn’t clear, I wouldn’t support the subsidy or the fat tax… both have to be bookends to any analysis of the issue, the issue of freedom.

It truly is a surge day for Mark Sisson.    His book will undoubtedly be pushed up to #1 today on Amazon in the Health and Fitness section, and I hope this will cause a spike in awareness of evolutionary living, e.g., eating, laughing, sleeping, living how are bodies are designed to.

Here’s my thoughts on Mark’s success:

“Mark,
I may have been one of the first people to buy your book when it first hit the street (I remember hitting the purchase button pretty darn quick after it became available at any rate). My signed edition of PB is on my bookshelf. I have used it successfully on more than several occasions as a presentation aid to explain to my friends and family just what the heck I’m doing living this healthy way. I plan on hitting Amazon to buy a few early birthday gifts for people I know that would benefit from your PB construct. Truly am glad that you’re “doing well by doing well”, this community needs a successful entrepreneur such as yourself to educate and inform, I wish you continued success doing so.
Best Regards,
Zach”

So here’s to a greater understanding of what we truly have in common amongst us.  Peace and Freedom.  

In the left hand column of the The Paleo Garden you will find The Paleo Post, the latest snapshot of pretty cool stuff to read.  In the mix, as usual, there’s some older posts thrown in, as well.

Other stuff to check out, too.  Jimmy did a landmark interview with Lierre Keith, author of The Vegetarian Myth.

And in honor of Stephan’s fantastic write up of how corn oil literally is bonecrushingly healthy, I aim to ruin the song Killing Me Softly.  Please DO NOT read below if you value this song, because after you read the revised lyrics, it will never be the same for you.

Here’s the original (youtube video below):

Killing me softly with your corn, The Paleo remix

Harvesting my pain with its kernels
Singing my life with its carbs
killing me softy with your corn

telling my whole life
with food pyramids

I heard corn gave a good diet
I heard corn had a style
and so i came to see
and eat corn a while

and there corn on my child’s plate
a stranger to my eyes
Harvesting my pain with its kernels
Singing my life with its carbs
killing me softy with your corn

telling my whole life
with food pyramids

I felt all inflamed with fever
Embarrassed by the crowd
I felt corn raised my blood sugar
and its fructose syrup blared out loud
I prayed that corn would finish
but corn just kept right on
Harvesting my pain with its kernels
Singing my life with its carbs
killing me softy with your corn

telling my whole life
with food pyramids

corn syrup as if it owned me
In all my darkness fair
and then corn syrup was in all my food
and added visceral fat everywhere
and he kept on singing
singing clear and strong
Harvesting my pain with its kernels
Singing my life with its carbs
killing me softy with your corn

telling my whole life
with food pyramids

ohhhhhhhhhhh oohhhhhhh…lalalal..ohhhh lalaaaaaaa

Harvesting my pain with its kernels
Singing my life with its carbs
killing me softy with your corn

telling my whole life
with food pyramids
killing me (softly)

Harvesting my pain with its kernels
Singing my life with its carbs
killing me softy with your corn

telling my whole life
with food pyramids

killing me softly with your corn  

John Belushi: Little Chocolate Donuts

Food of Olympic Champions: FAIL

So funny, so sad.   

The Paleo Post may be found in the left column of the main page of The Paleo Garden.  In our latest snapshot we include the beauty that is Lorette’s latest bio piece on the great Edith Piaf.  I remember the first time I heard her voice, the beautiful sadness of her melody stuck with me for days as if I had bruised my heart muscle.  If you’ve never heard her voice before, listen here (youtube video below):

Ok, on to lighter topics…  Thanks Mr. Moore for the shout out for The Paleo Garden on your great blog Livin’ La Vida Low Carb.  Karen, thank you very much for mentioning The Paleo Garden regarding your Primal Life’s Journey.

I recommend reading an interesting study published on Nutrition and Metabolism Society regarding African American children and the role of high carbohydrate on their health.  If you guessed that the highcarb/lowfat nonhuman diet isn’t good for these (and ALL!) children, you’d be right!  OK… Michelle Obama, here’s your chance to cite a great study now that you’ve started your campaign to address obesity run amok amongst America’s children.  Read Fred’s plea while you’re at, you will benefit from it.  The paleo diet indeed should really make a deep cultural/spiritual impression in the African American community, after all, it’s really an African diet to some degree that we’re following.

By the way, the natural smell of a woman beats perfume, check that out (read it on the Paleo Post, and/or yeah really check it out!).  Happy Valentine’s Day.  Until next time.  

It always makes me have renewed hope for humanity when a person has the opportunity (an opportunity that that person helped create with hard work!) to spread a good message that truly is meant for the betterment of all of us.  Enter into the picture Jimmy Moore.  A great interviewer, a great story of someone getting healthy, a great resource for those of you needing easy to understand perspectives regarding health and your birthright diet.

I’m glad that a person out there like Jimmy is being heard.  I still listen to his podcasts when I get the chance.  I remember when I first found his site and listened to 2 a day for weeks when I first went paleo back in September 2008.  My hat’s off to all of the primal/paleo/Crossfittin’ trainers & beasts and to all of the geeky scientists & doctors, I’ve learned a lot from you all!

But Jimmy’s the guy that will tell you about how to get your health back via good nutrition and fitness.  Jimmy’s the guy that can talk to all of those trainers & beasts & scientists & doctors so via his interviews you’re exposed to this information in a “neutral” way.  What do I mean by that?  I mean, a lot of this is overwhelming.  Jimmy allows you to explore what a low carbohydrate ketogenic diet (LCKD) is and the implications for your mind, body and health that doesn’t make you feel like the nerdy kid in gym class, or the stupid kid in science class.  Jimmy’s the person that just may get through to your middle-aged dad, or your grandma, or your sister, or maybe even you!

It was a good week for Jimmy, go to his site to find out more.  Indeed, I like it when good things happen for good people trying to do good things.  

In the left hand column of the home page of The Paleo Garden you will find the latest issue of The Paleo Post.

“I will reach back and draw them into me, and they must come, for at this moment, I am the whole reason they existed at all.”

–Cinque calling on his ancestors from “Amistad.”

This is our latest snapshot of what’s going on in this evolutionary life for those of us on the frontlines of our ancestry living healthy by taking advantage of the lessons of the past, and doing it in such a way that is the healthiest for the earth right now and for our future generations.  And surprise, surprise, that certainly doesn’t mean eating soy and avoiding meat.  In this week’s episode look into a world when Chicago gangsters don’t run booze but are trading bullets for the right to sling butter.   You gotta fight, for your right, to live primal!

Also, check out the economic rap battle between John Maynard Keynes (the Standard American Diet in human form) and Friedrich August von Hayek (the economist on Team Paleo).    The Austrian economic perspective really does help explain how we got to where we are with mass feedlot and subsidized grain production in industrialized societies.  Our piece on Wooden Nickels and Metabolic Syndrome goes into this a bit regarding how unfettered money printing and currency devaluation brought down the Roman Empire… but it was to prop up agricultural subsidies.  In our modern times, if/when prices of grains go up, look for more government intervention in the marketplace regarding subsidies and price controls.  Which will artificially make paleo foods less competitive and more expensive in comparison.  Making people’s health worse as they gorge more and more on propped up grains and HFCS.  Making health care costs for the metabolically deranged skyrocket.  You may not be an Austrian economic adherent, but if you want affordable paleo food you’re more on Team Hayek than Team SAD/Keynes.

As Uncle Lew points out, someone like Keynes, whose most memorable quote is “In the long run we’re all dead”, has no concern for what carnage is left behind by his destructive policies that cause the bubbles that blow up into economic downturns.   I guess that philosophy is OK if you’re dead by the time your actions lead to the inevitable destruction.  Outside of the mass murderers of the last 100 years, the two people that have done the most damage to humanity are probably Keynes and Keys.  Two peas in a pod that should have gone bowling together.

Rounding out this issue of The Paleo Post are ostriches, paleo kosher, SAT FAT redemption, a crazy curmudgeon, and the return of megafaunas to our plates.

I can just see the return of the Fred Flintstone barbecue party and off in the corner the low-fat crowd licking their lips.

“Silly Ancel, mammoth steaks are for the evolutionary living.”  

Go Lou Go!!!

Live Video Stream as referenced on Robb Wolf’s site.  

In the left hand column of the main page here at The Paleo Garden you will find the latest edition of The Paleo Post.

Congrats to Dr. McGuff on his one-year anniversary of publishing Body By Science.  If ever there were a true debate between the establishment’s health recommendations and low-fat diet (provided to you by our friends who run the granary) and our evolutionary birth rite diet and training methods, McGuff’s book along with a handful of others would definitely be entered into the official record.

BBS definition of health: “an appropriate balance between an anabolic and catabolic state”

Go Lou Mars, Go!  Drum, Lou, Drum!  Helping kids, breaking records, and promoting the paleo diet.

We appreciate the readership making the last 30 days our most successful month ever.   

In the left hand column of the home page for The Paleo Garden you will find the latest edition of The Paleo Post.

Along with Keith Norris’ piece on a T-Muscle article, which I thoroughly enjoyed and keep coming back to in my thoughts, I have spent a lot of time thinking about Keith’s other post on Rapid Force Development. Go here, and I strongly recommending perusing all of the links that Keith provides including the videos, and read and reread what he’s trying to say here. Good stuff.

Also, a sea change has occurred in the paleo/primal/evolutionary community.  Robb Wolf is now doing podcasts.  Start from the beginning,  download them on your iPod, listen to them on your daily commute, or stream them when your chopping and making dinner.  If you don’t know who Robb is, get to know him.  He’s a giant in the community, and not as well known IMHO as he should be.  This is going to change really soon and really fast. 2010 is going to be a good year for Robb and his projects.

The Paleo Post is a snapshot that I try to do once every week or so of things going on in and out of the evolutionary living community that I think are of note, in no way is this a complete picture, of course.  If you have any links to suggest, please post them as a comment to The Paleo Post Update posts, or email them to me, and I’ll post them in the next edition.  In place of a blog roll, I wish you Happy New Year, and offer this Top 10 list of sites to recommend to those starting out on their evolutionary kairos moment.

1. Arthur De Vany (The Godfather of the Paleo movement.  Look for “The New Evolution Diet” this year, one of the most anticipated books in our community of all time.  Evolutionary Fitness is a phrase Art coined, and he’s inspired a lot of others to go out and spread that message in their own ways.)

2.  Loren Cordain (Author of The Paleo Diet.  He goes where the science takes him.  His views on sat fat may differ from some others’, but he follows his interpretations of the data, and he’s NEVER afraid to adjust his findings according to what he discovers.  Cordain’s book, research and analysis are keystones.)

3. Dr. McGuff (Author of Body By Science.  This book changed the way we look at everything.  The Big 5 workout and the dose/frequency message is something that I incorporate into my regiment with great success.  I could write for pages on what this book did for me, and how I really had lightbulbs going off when listening to McGuff’s interviews.  Go to Jimmy Moore’s site for what I think is McGuff’s best interview.)

4.  Keith Norris (The brains and brawn behind Theory To Practice.  I think of Keith as the great synthesizer between the body building/power lifters, paleo diet practitioners, athletes, intellectuals, scholars, experts and novices interested in weight loss and/or getting in shape.  Keith is the one who brings all of it together for me.  If I’m having problems in piecing it together, I look at the cave wall Keith is painting on and it all suddenly becomes very clear.  In a given month, I’ll do my once-a-week workouts, though it’s all subject to how I feel and my insane schedule, and I’ll do a De Vany inspired workout, a workout inspired by McGuff, a modified CrossFit WOD, and something out of Keith’s bag.  I have found that this approach is working out really well, and keeping things always interesting.)

5. Jimmy Moore (Jimmy is a low carb junky, an inspiration that you should pass on to any loved one struggling with a weight issue.  Jimmy’s podcast show never fails to impress and amaze.  Jimmy’s got an Atkin’s take on things, but is open to all knowledge, and interviews the most interesting scientists, researchers, health experts and doctors from whom evolutionary living enthusiasts should add information to their evolving knowledge bases.)

6. Robb Wolf (A giant in the world of CrossFit.  He’s recently left that organization, I’ll not comment on that, as I don’t have a dog in the issue, but his accomplishments in the CrossFit community should always be remembered.  Robb’s a protege of Dr. Loren Cordain.  Robb speaks the most intelligently and understandably on nutrition and fitness than anyone in the paleo community.  I’m looking forward to seeing where Robb goes from here.)

7. Mark Sisson (A week is not complete without catching up with what’s going on at Mark’s Daily Apple.  Mark probably more than anyone in our community is responsible for getting the paleo message out to the broadest audience possible in a way that appeals to all segments, whether a housewife, a gym rat, extreme sports enthusiast, a student or a doctor, Mark has a way of speaking to you.  His site might as well be renamed Paleo Wikipedia, his prolific work serves as a resource for any novice or long time follower of evolutionary living.)

8. Dr. Michael Eades (Dr. Eades, along with his wife, quite simply is an institution.  His writing is witty, intelligent, eclectic, opinionated, and sometimes jaw dropping when he comes full circle in making a connection that you never saw coming.)

9. Dr. William Davis (Taking the paleo message to heart is cardiologist, Dr. Davis.  His insight to a healthy heart via a paleo diet should be a resource to any of you or any of your loved ones following the misguided advice of eating lowfat and taking statins.)

10. Richard Nikoley (”One of us.”  Richard is a paleo renaissance man.  Along with being a great amalgamator and connector of really big ideas, his insight into how to best tear down the veil of the lowfat/whole-grains dogma is helpful to many trying to muddle their way through all of the big pharma/big ag propaganda to reach the goal of returning to their birth rite diet and lifeway.  Richard, one of us, wearing a hardhat and making a difference.)

Hey, where are you, Son of Grok!?  You’re always high on my list, Erick, thanks for your inspiration.  Simply put, without Son of Grok, there wouldn’t have been the nudge to have created The Paleo Garden.  See you in 2010.

One to watch in 2010, healthcare epistemocrat. You’re going to see this site quite a bit in The Paleo Post in months to come.  Watch out for this guy, he’s wicked dangerous.

There are so many others out there, and they routinely can be found here at The Paleo Garden on The Paleo Post.  I’ll post another Top 10 list 6 months from now, because really after the first 3 in the above Top 10 list there are about 30 other sites out there that are top notch.

Again, Happy New Year.  The Paleo Garden has been around now for 6 months, and after a busy December, we just now are only really getting started.  Just wait… we’re looking forward to hunting and gathering knowledge with you, and hanging around the campfire to figure out just what we’ve brought back to camp.  We’re going hunting for mastodons this year, we’ll need your help.  

In the left column of the main page of The Paleo Garden is the latest update of The Paleo Post, a current snapshot of what people are reading about in the evolutionary living community (primal, paleo, EF, CrossFit, etc.) along with some interesting updates in the field of evolutionary psychology, evolutionary biology and archeology…

There’s a good piece on autophagy.  This is a subject not mentioned by name in a recent Paleo Garden post regarding the catabolic state.  If you want to know more about this, I recommend reading up on autophagy from Condition Research’s link, and come back to our piece on the catabolic state which was an attempt to put the benefits of intermittent fasting on a NORMAL CARB diet using examples that help explain why always trying to be anabolic is quite dangerous and can lead to rapid aging and the metabolic syndrome.

There’s an interesting piece written by Catherine Salmon on eating disorders.  Dr. Salmon was interviewed by The Paleo Garden on our hibernating podcast show.  Listen here to learn more about her research.   There’s a lot going on right now in the various projects of contributors to The Paleo Garden, and after the new year (probably in the Spring), we hope to get the podcast on its feet again.

Until then, we hope that this site has been a good resource for you to start and continue your journey.  Thanks to those of you that sent me links for The Paleo Post, if you have any for the next edition please don’t hesitate to email them to thepaleogarden@gmail.com.  Kairos is hard to find, sometimes it finds you, enjoy it when it does, and enjoy the spaces in between.