It’s not every day that I play Dr. Frankenstein, poking around human dissections with latex-gloved fingers.

But today I was a participant in a cadaver lab. A good friend who was studying healthcare had invited me. As part of her studies, she had no option. I did, but given a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see dead people I didn’t already know, I took it.

I confess that if I’d understood ahead of time that we’d be peeling back layers of skin and muscle from corpses, I likely would have declined. Somehow I thought it would be more of a morgue situation, and because I frequently write about death, I wanted to push my comfort limits, to get acquainted with the inevitable. I pictured bodies trussed up for casket display, or maybe fresh in from a hospital death, still on a gurney but certainly not opened or dismembered.

As the students and guests were given gloves and splotchy lab coats (ewwwww is right), we filed into the basement. My stomach lurched in terrible anticipation. The room did indeed have an unforgettable stench, but it wasn’t nearly as vile as I’d expected. I’m not recommending it or anything- just saying it was less awful than I’d thought it would be.

About twelve people were laid out, bagged in plastic and covered with white sheets, all on individual examining tables with bright lights overhead. The scene of shrouds in stark medical light was like something from a movie. My heart was beating wildly as I pondered whether I should turn back now, or stay.

I stayed.

Within moments, a serene calm came over me. The calm dissolved briefly when the plastic bag was peeled off of Exhibit Number One, and I gasped to see not just a naked corpse, but a corpse cut open completely so that med students could look inside of her.

The doctor who was teaching very casually pulled off a layer of fat and started pointing at connective muscle tissues and so on. The sight was far less traumatizing than I’d expected, and I felt strangely grateful that this generous woman had given herself to science. Cutting her open was not undignified in any way. It was terribly, terribly beautiful.

We are amazing. What is the spirit or consciousness that  makes our beautiful, ugly bodies alive? We barely understand how our bodies work, but after meeting with several cadavers, I had a terrific sense of how I am put together. It is incredible.

I turned my attention away to another table, where a doctor was removing the white sheet. Something plopped out onto the floor. Yes, a piece of this human being spilled out and landed on the tiled floor. The doctor nonchalantly reached down and picked it up, as if it were just a pen or something. This poor chap was in a state of disarray, to say the least. As I approached, the calm inside turned to nausea very quickly as I saw a peculiar bowl-like bone, and realized that the dude’s skullcap had been sawed off. But I took a slow breath of formaldehyde-laced oxygen, and moved in for a closer look. The doctor was holding up a piece of skin that was still attached to the head of this poor chap.

It was part of  his face.

At one station, there was a man whose leg bones were connected with a metal instrument. I realized that he had an artificial knee. At another station, one student was holding up a grey mass that looked like some kind of sea coral. “Intestines,” he explained. There were also the bones of a pelvis, and we discussed whether or not it had belonged to a man or woman. Then, there were some plastic bins. Someone opened one, and I looked inside to see a human brain.

None of the anatomy drawings or all of my years of studying psychology and reading up on how my medications affect my nervous system could prepare me for that second. It was one of the most stunning moments of my life. I took a human brain into my hands and held it. It was a grayish, dense mass like plasticine. Within this small organ in my hands was the most miraculous computer in the whole wide world. In this grey bundle in my hands, was the whole of a human life.

Underneath the ick factor and the deep emotional impact death has on the living, anytime, anywhere, I was deeply moved. I felt a well of tears inside, for our beauty and our hideousness. We are meat and bones. And we are something that makes that flesh come alive, something no one has ever yet been able to describe or know, though we have always tried.

I haven’t felt God for a long, long time. But here, the mystery was so big, so vast, so ineffable, that I found myself praying and giving thanks. I felt the dawn of history, when we traveled in small groups crossing the savannahs, hunting. I felt the electrifying miracle of technology, the bounty of today’s cutting edge. I felt a connection to everyone and everything in this moment.

Holding the human brain was one of the most profound things that have ever happened to me. I was feeling so peaceful- there’s nothing to be scared of in the physicality and the decay of death. The spirit or spark departs. The meat rots. Ashes to ashes.

The stench has lingered on me for the rest of the day, and a small wave of nausea rose up every time I remembered the peculiar stink. But part of me felt connected to life in ways I have never been before.

I wondered if my words would ever be worthy enough to outlast my body. And I felt a renewed inspiration to honour my body and take care of it, so that it could create more words. One day, I too, will be laying on a gurney with med students poking at me like I was a carved turkey. Soon, but not too soon- I’ve got so much work to do before the lights go out.

Check out Lorette’s popular series, “A Matter of Life or Myth”, and other articles here in The Paleo Garden.  You can also check out here her Fascinating People, gossip for smart people.

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  

The raging health care debate concerns me because I have seen the rubble of other countries’ health care systems that were created with utter socialism, and saw the underbelly (and saving grace!) of black market medicine.  Government medical care was/is so rationed in these countries, the facilities falling apart, and the prices controlled causing greater scarcity, it literally is a saving grace when the doctors moonlight by coming to your home for a house call.  They can earn an extra buck from their meager government salaries, you get the care you need when you need it.  All very dangerous for both parties involved, in the same way it was dangerous to sell watermelons above the government set price in the Soviet Union.

Life and death medical care paid for underneath the table.  Life sustaining food paid for underneath the table as the shelves in all the stores were bare.  In both cases, it was illegal, in both cases you were an enemy of the State.

I am not a schill for the doctors or the insurance companies nor lacking compassion for the poor amongst us that don’t have access to good medical care, but it concerns me to see such a large sector of the economy, like health care, becoming owned by the government.   I’ve seen this phenomenon in other countries which criminalizes/criminalized private medical care, and that’s why I’m concerned.

Banks and car companies… owned by the government.   More and more Health Care planned, controlled, owned by the government.  We may be on opposite ends of the political spectrum here, to whom it may concern, but we’re on the same side of the barricades when it will come to the rationing of medicine.   Will it come to food, too?

The piece of the pie of the economy that is falling into the hands of the government grows larger, and the remaining pieces under “private sector” control are a result of favors paid to the government by these companies to have tariffs, regulations, and subsidies put in place that benefit these said companies/corporations and squash their competition.  I am not anti-capitalism.  No, far from it.  I’m against corporatism.  I’m against the government giving special uncompetitive measures for certain companies.  There’s a big difference.

So, yes, I’m in the best health of my life.

Though we’re heading toward a collision course of rationed medical care, and drug prices are set to soar despite what may be promised, I’m comforted by the fact that I have my health.  I understand the toast so much more profoundly now, “Here’s to your health.”  Indeed.  I at this point in time don’t require any prescription drugs, and I believe I have reduced the likelihood of the need for prescription drugs in the future.

In addition to eating mostly an evolutionary diet, I provide my children Vitamin D supplementation between 400-1000 IU daily depending on the weather, depending on the level of their snotty noses, depending on whether I remember to and whether it’s in the house.

-With the healthy portions of meat, vegetables and fruit (and dairy products in a few dishes)

-the rare treats

-the near lack of wheat, corn, rice and potatoes

-and total lack of foods with High Fructose Corn Syrup

my kids are some of the strongest and healthiest on the block, and I’m not talking genetics here regarding height, etc.

They hiss and whine and moan, sure, but they’re less of the hissing monkey from Dr. Dan’s post on the lil’ monkey suffering from sugar withdrawals.  They are strong and healthy in the inside.  When I see an obese 6-year-old in the store with her/his mother with a shopping cart full of manufactured foods high in carbohydrates, high in inflammation causing sugar, I understand that both the kid and the mom will likely have a lifetime of prescription drugs to look forward to.

These drugs will be paid for by you and me, the need for these drugs will be caused by the officially approved American diet (with/without junk thrown in to top it off).  The officially approved American diet has seriously been influenced by lobbying from both the ag and drug cartels.  Many of the crops like corn, wheat and sugar (including HFCS) gained their government subsidies thanks to powerful agricultural lobbies.   The subsidies and tariffs that corn, wheat, and sugar enjoy really amount to a tax on non-sugar and non-grain foods, it really should be looked at in that manner.

So, in life, I know there may be some traumatic events, some expensive health care needs, some skinned knees that may require stitching best not done by me, and not cured by extra Vitamin D, but I feel safer as the health care debate rages around me…. until I read that:

MCCAIN WANTS FEDS TO REGULATE VITAMINS, SUPPLEMENTS…

h/t Drudge

In this perverted overly-regulated country, food is now toxic, and drugs and chemicals are safe for ingestion, no matter the harm that results. This inversion should remind us that those who best have the consumers health and safety interests at heart are the consumers themselves. It is big government that has a proven track record of not protecting the public.  And it is big government that is seeking to take away yet another individual freedom, the right to choose one’s own treatment.

What will be regulated next?  Taxed directly and “taxed” by an expensive regulatory process.   The cost of these extra regulations will be borne by the consumer because it will be more expensive for the manufacturers to comply with these regulations.  Will Vitamin D become available only by prescription?

In addition to Vitamin D and fish oil daily, I intermittently take various antioxidants, Branch Chain Amino Acids, and some other stuff.  From great sites out there and mentors like Arthur De Vany, from Peter’s Hyperlipid, to Stephen’s Whole Health Source, from Sisson’s Mark’s Daily Apple to the Eades’ sites and books, I have crafted together a rather good diet, understanding of fat, and a weekly supplement schedule that factors in when I take certain supplements based on my work out schedule, sleep schedule, when I plan to fast (usually just once a week on Friday night, btw), when I plan to break the fast.

I can tell you that my mitochondrial mass is the largest it’s ever been.  How’s that for a pick up line!?  Hey baby, I’ve got big mitochondria, what’s your sign?  See, I’m a believer in the mitochondrial free radical theory of aging, which along with a lot of other issues out there, fuses rather well a lot of studies on aging and what I’ve read from Peter’s Hyperlipid about toxicity and the peroxidation of lipids.  1) paleo/evolutionary diet is enough, 2) paleo/evolutionary diet with workouts better, 3) diet, workouts, and supplements pretty darn good.

However, if you’re eating junk, your workouts won’t be as beneficial, and your supplements won’t be a panacea for all of your resulting metabolic woes.  There is no ultimate panacea other than living your life by the way.

Based on the biochemistry and physiology research of Dr. Feinstein, Dr. Volek, and many others, I get it.  I may not be able to regurgitate it yet as coherently as a 1-st year biology or chemistry major, but I get it.  The paleo diet has worked wonders, the weekly strength workout with a sprint session thrown in once every 2-3 weeks are improving my health daily.  The supplements though, well, that’s been the paleo icing on the cake.

The diet alone I could live with.  I’ve worked out all my life, but I’m working out more smartly, and my goals are for improving my immune system, not for mass for mass’ sake.  I don’t necessarily want to “get big.”  The supplements are just that, supplementing what I’m doing, the time outside in the sunshine and the shade, just living life.  Too much measuring, too much analyzing of all of this can drive you batty.  Again, live and be respectful toward others, even those people who haven’t quite come to terms with Sat Fat.

Except for the egregious SAD propagandists who are wed to their points of view because of their financial stakes, the laymen like you and I, the doctors, researchers, we’ll all likely be more receptive to changing our views with a kind word rather than a shout.  Just about every well known name in this paleo community used to be one of those SAD zombies, and I would assume they were converted by a voice of reason, not by smugness.

So, as I was saying.  I have never been in better health.  I’m thankful that I know better, which resulted in this better health.  I’m thankful I have the means to afford healthy real food, which really is about the same cost as a crappy carb-filled diet, if you know how to shop.  How long that will be the case, I don’t know.  I’m thankful that I’m working out to improve my immune system, not out of pure vanity’s sake.

When I see a person in the gym that’s fat, skinny, weak, or shy, I’m always very thoughtful in welcoming that person into a new world.  A new world of metabolic health with lean muscle mass (h/t De Vany) and not the world that may have mocked them previously.  A bodybuilding Hans and Frans world that probably prevented them from checking out lifting weights because they were embarrassed by their weakness, ignorance or looks.  I’m thankful that in the paleo community there are voices of reason that may teach me new ideas about nutrition and health, and I’m thankful that I’m receptive to these new ideas.

I’m thankful that I have the choice to supplement, to top off my chances in this life for maintained health.  Why?  To live life.

IF health care is controlled, IF supplements are controlled, IF non-sugar, non-grain foods are squeezed out and become more expensive in comparison to subsidized high-carbohydrate monocultural crops of annual grasses, will the things in my life that I’m thankful for be diminished?

I have never been in better health.  

1055?  What the heck?  Why, as we all know, Harald Hardrada and William the Bastard hadn’t even decided to tag team Harald Godwinson at that point!

Where did all these dang Vikings come from?

Now, I’ve always loved history, and as I get older and read more, I’m continually amazed, to my consternation, at the gaping holes in my knowledge.  This is one of those good news/bad news situations, as its always a pleasure to read more history and find out new things.  I think George Santayana said something about ignoring the lessons of history only means you’re going to repeat them.  I think Karl Marx said something about history repeating, first as tragedy and then as farce.  I think William Faulkner said something about the past not only not being over, but not even being the past.  Didn’t they?

History does what again?

Recently, I’ve been reading more history, again.  I read me some historical fiction, I do me some wiki-wanders.  (If you want to think of the internet in a positive way, tell yourself it’s an electronic Library of Alexandria.)  As a Westerner, as a child of the Anglo-Celtic migration, I tend to see history through the lens of my tribe.  Isn’t that natural?  I am a product of my time, yes, and of my place, yes, but I am also heir to the history of my peoples, my clan, my tribe, my line, going back to the beginning.

As a product of where and when and who I am from, I know, of course, about 1066.  1066 was a big year in the story of the British Isles, the year William the Conqueror, well, conquered England, the year of the Norman Invasion.  1066 was a pivot point for England, a paradigm shift, the substitution of a new mythology for the old mythology.  (One, of course, of many such shifts—-history, she is always on the move, even if we don’t notice.)  The Normans sailed over from France and seized England, and things were never the same.  Of course, the Normans weren’t really French, or they were just barely French—they were the sons of Norsemen who had seized the coast of France and settled themselves there.

O Lord, deliver us from the fury of the Northmen!

As big a year as 1066 was, however, it wasn’t the only year in the 11th century that was a pretty big deal.  1055 was another very big year.  You could make a good faith argument that 1055 was as important a year as 1066 was, maybe even bigger.

You see, in 1055 the Seljuk Turks seized the Caliphate of Baghdad.

This was big.  This was important.  This changed everything.  The Seljuk Turks, you see, didn’t come from Turkey.  The Seljuk Turks came out of Central Asia.  Ah!  Central Asia.  The cauldron of nations.  Central Asia, the heartland of the world.  The geographical pivot of history.    The Seljuk Turks, you see, were Tartars.

Or Tatars.  But not ‘taters.

Someone give this man a bow!

The Tartars came out of Central Asia like a whirlwind, like a hurricane, like a storm.  They came out of Central Asia like a thunderbolt.  That’s pretty much what tribes from Central Asia did, for a long, long span of human history.  The job description for a tribe from Central Asia could be summed up as “Go conquer those settled peoples, kill them, and take their stuff.”  This is kind of like the job description for a tribe from Scandinavia, only with more horses and less ships.

The Seljuk Turks weren’t the first tribe to come howling out of the wilderness with fire and sword, we’ve got records of that happening pretty much as far back as we’ve got records.  The Huns, anyone?  The Scythians?   Well, yes, but we’re talking about the Seljuks.  Pushing West from the Oghuz Yabgu state—coincidentally centered around Lake Issyk-Kul —the Seljuk Turks took over Persia, and then captured Baghdad in 1055.  At that time, the population of Baghdad was over one million souls—maybe twice that.  Baghdad was huge, not merely in size, not merely in population, but in importance.  It was the center of the Muslim world.  The Islamic world, up to that point, had been pretty much an Arab affair.

And Toghrul Beg, leader of the Seljuks, grandson of the Seljuk himself, took it.  Oh, he didn’t take it for himself, mind you.  He “restored order and constitutional government” (to coin a phrase) on behalf of the Abbasid caliph.  Then the Abbasid caliphate began to learn one of the old, old lessons about using barbarians to help you fight your enemies.  The Romans, a few centuries earlier,  had learned this lesson as well.  The long and the short of it is this: the Abbasid caliphate became less Abbasid, and more Turkic, at about that time.  Funny how that works.

The Seljuks took Baghdad, and took power, and then they all lived happily ever after.  That’s how fairy tales end, right?  Oh wait, I forgot, this isn’t a fairy tale, this is history.  Because taking Baghdad was just the start.  Once they had Baghdad, they started looking around for other sheep to shear, and they saw Constantinople.  Although the Seljuks never succeeded in sacking Constantinople, they did trim down the edges of the Byzantine Empire pretty good, especially under Alp Arslan at the battle of Manzikert.  And they didn’t live happily ever after, or at least not all of them did.  Because just as the Seljuks had moved West and taken over, other tribes coming out of the cauldron of nations, the womb of nations, Central Asia, began to do the same thing.

You talkin’ to me, Frank?

The stories of those tribes, the Osmanli Turks, Temujin, Tamerlane, like the stories of the tribes before the Seljuks—-your Huns, your Alans, your Scythians—are stories for another time.  But there is a reason these stories fascinate me, and a reason I write about them here at the Paleo Garden.  All of these tribes that came out of Central Asia were pastoral nomads.  Since agriculture includes the domestication and cultivation of animals, we can’t call these tribes truly “paleo,” but there’s now way to deny that they were primal as all get out.  They were free range humans, they were wolves among dogs.  They lived off of animals—-meat, milk, airag.

For a thousand years, the settled peoples of the world had no answer to the riddle posed by these nomads.

Check out Uncle Lew’s other columns in his series Wolves Among Dogs, here in The Paleo Garden.  

John Belushi: Little Chocolate Donuts

Food of Olympic Champions: FAIL

So funny, so sad.   

Thanks to Dan again for his gracious offer to let a couple of contributers here share our paleo success stories at his site.  

When Dan and I struck up a correspondence and he inquired whether I would be interested in sharing my point of view of how I navigated my paleo path, I very much indeed appreciated his consideration.

Here’s Zach’s guest post At Darwin’s Table (Part I).  

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.  

Click here to read Uncle Lew’s guest post At Darwin’s Table.  

In honor of upcoming Valentine’s Day, here’s a good rundown of some great sites anchored by ladies coming from various backgrounds: scientists, health experts, authors, artists, professionals, and culinary geniuses.

There are many female authors and sites anchored by females in this evolutionary living world that I follow. And not to make the same mistake I did in compiling my list from a “male point of view”, though the below sites have great content SOMETIMES more geared toward a female readership, their messages are indeed universal, and I’ve learned quite a bit from them.

This below list I would wholeheartedly recommend to my daughter or son, sister or brother, man or woman. So, here’s my primer list of Evolutionary Living Women.

Cassandra Forsythe of Female Fitness and Nutrition Scientist

In addition to her work with the rockstar Dr. Jeff Volek, Cassandra is a rockstar in her own right with the publication of Perfect Body Diet: The Ultimate Weight Loss and Workout Plan to Drop Stubborn Pounds and Get Fit for Life! and The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess. If my daughters ever get any guff about women not being able to do math, not being able to be an astronaut or not understanding muscle, probably one of the first women that I’ll offer up as a role model to dispel them of such a notion will be Cassandra. Please see this write up of her that we’ve previously done in The Paleo Garden.

Sally Fallon of the Weston A. Price Foundation

Sally is the president of the influential Weston A. Price Foundation, read her bio there.  She’s the  author of such books as Eat Fat, Lose Fat and Nourishing Traditions.  She was paleo before paleo was cool (to paraphrase the Donny and Marie song), and is the keeper of the torch that Dr. Price lit after visiting the hunters and gatherers from whom we learn so much in our evolutionary living community.  To read Sally’s work is a delight, to listen to Sally speak on the subject is an inspiration.

Lierre Keith, author of The Vegetarian Myth

Lierre burst out on the paleo scene in 2009 with the release of her book The Vegetarian Myth. There are points in this book that are made in which scales will fall from your eyes whether you’re reading this as a paleo adherent or simply as a concerned citizen about the environment. Her book was noticed by Eades, Mark Sisson and Richard at Free the Animal. Lorette Luzajic, who has a lot in common with Lierre, also read the book and loved it. I wouldn’t be surprised if you hear more about Lierre’s work from Lorette.  Lierre’s respect and compassion for the intentions of vegetarianism makes her points that much more poignant, and I hope her message more capable of being received (or at least contemplated) by vegetarians and evolutionary living adherents alike.

Lorette C. Luzajic, author, writer and artist and awesome contributor to The Paleo Garden

Good segue from Lierre to Lorette. We’re really lucky to have had Lorette’s presence here in the garden. She has numerous accomplishments in literature, art, biography, gourmet and commentary under her belt, and a number of current projects going on to suit her various interests. One of her landmark pieces in the paleo world is I’m A Natural Born Killer written for Gremolata. For a great interview of Lorette, check out Fitness Spotlight, part I and part II. Lorette is one to watch, she’s ascending, and it’s been great here in the garden to watch her fly. Check out her work in The Paleo Garden, and if you’re interested in what’s she’s capable of professionally go here.

Girl Gone Primal

Girl Gone Primal is amazing. I think it’s the premiere website in the primal world to see what’s cooking. Recipes are explained with expert detail, yet simply in an unintimidating way. She’s the paleo Julia Childs in the sense that you really feel like YOU CAN cook all of the amazing dishes that are so beautifully described and photographed on this site. In addition, there’s very good perspective on Intermittent Fasting and other tools in the paleo toolbox. Girl Gone Primal should be one of your RSS feeds, PERIOD.

Primal Mama

The header for this site says it all “You can’t have primal kids, if you’re not a primal mama.” If you want more information on how to be primal in a world of nonstop commuting and HFCS-laden juice boxes, Primal Mama is the site to check out. What’s encouraging here is that there’s no bravado about the information. If this hardworking lady may do it, it’s inspiring indeed that you are capable, too. And in the end, she shows you that it’s easier than you think!

Yummy Gatherer

YG is a great resource for the woman (and man!) on the go. YG keeps it fun, keeps it real, keeps it going. If you’re a busy professional interested in maintaining a balance between a paleo lifestyle and yet still living life without the restrictiveness that sometimes unfortunately is felt when looking at this lifestyle with the wrong perspective, YG offers great tips to keep it real. Great recipes for a person on the go, or for entertaining a party are featured here.

This Primal Life

This Primal Life rounds out some of the premiere sites out there to help you navigate your way in the kitchen and in the supermarket to indeed lead a primal life. Before you go to the grocery store, check out the archives here, and pick something to try.

Melissa Urban, Crossfit trainer

Melissa is a Crossfit rockstar. This is her new site, but check out these videos for a confirmation that she’ll smoke 95% of you. The Whole 9 Life blog is one of the best ones out there that combine good Crossfit info with a paleo perspective for the paleo adherent or the hardcore Crossfit enthusiast (or the occasional CF dabbler like me). This site is done rather nicely, the services very well explained. We wish continued success to this fitness entrepreneur, her business colleagues and her clients.

Katie Goes Primal

Katie Goes Primal has just recently gone primal. From what I could gather from her writings she’s been on a primal journey for a few months now and doing CrossFit for about a year. Already, it seems, she’s learned quite a bit judging by her writings, in good physical and mental health, and is out there inspiring other women and men to go primal by sharing her experiences. I would recommend this site to someone just beginning to contemplate changing their direction from the horrid standard American diet and chronic debilitating cardio to a paleo diet and high intensity exercise. Plus, a tip of the hat to her and her crew for reading The Paleo Garden! Thank you, and good luck.

One more, props to Melissa who’s been living evolutionarily for awhile but just rolling out Hunter Gather Love, and it’s quite the debut.

And another.  Karen De Coster is a voluntaryist, individualist, and libertarian vigilante.  I’ve been reading her work much for many years more than my time since “going paleo.”  Here’s a great post summing up her Primal Life.

This is just a sampling of the growing paleo remnant out there. If you have any others please do share them in the comments.