Latest in Paleo 69: Escaping Conventional Wisdom

Quick Description

In this episode, we start off with some comedy from John Pinette, and then we are motivated by some of our healthy elders. First, Fit Old Dudes Rock — complete with life tips from Jack LaLanne. Then, 105-year old Pearl, tells us her secret to longevity. We discuss Consumer Reports recent examination of store-bought turkey. Finally, we explore the idea of conventional wisdom in non-health related areas of our lives. After the Bell, it’s 2013′s TED Prize Winner.

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No More Salt Shakers in Mexican Restaurants

Michael A. Smith of the CriticalMAS blog, shares with us (via the Latest in Paleo Facebook page) the news that Mexico City wants salt shakers removed from restaurant tables (CBS News).

In Mexico, they love their salt.

They put it on everything from their tequila and beer glasses to fruit and even candy. Have you ever tried mango (fresh, dried, or candied) with chili salt? If you have, you may understand why. Salt, of course, enhances the natural flavors of most foods. Read More

Advice from 105-year Old: Eat Bacon

Pearl Cantrell is 105 years old. She was born in 1908, when Theodore Roosevelt was president of the United States.

Back then, the average life expectancy was just 47 years. This was a time when only 14 percent of homes had a bathtub inside and even fewer had telephones. The average worker made only a couple of hundred dollars a year*, but it stretched pretty far since eggs were only 14 cents a dozen and coffee set one back a mere 15 cents a pound.

To what does Pearl credit her longevity? Read More

Why Some People Must Escape

All four of my daughters are smart. The government thinks at least one them is gifted.

They’re not training her to be a spy or anything — it just means her intelligence tests are consistently in the top 3%, nationally.

Once a week she leaves her Montessori classroom and buses to a different school campus with other gifted children. There, they get a chance to work together on projects that require higher-level and faster thinking than normal classroom work. They can move quickly, because that’s what these kids do…they learn fast.

To the left of the gifted classroom, is a room where the autistic children meet. On the right, is the room for children with Down Syndrome. Having a sufficiently high IQ is a special need.  Read More

Fit, Old Dudes Rock & Kickstarting the Virtuous Cycle

Recently, Mike S. posted a story about a 72-year old BMXer on the Latest in Paleo facebook page. I like the comment he left with the link, too:

You’re only as old as your grandchildren feel.

Heck yeah! Is it just me or is there something intensely motivating about human beings who suck the marrow out of life in their golden years? Maybe it’s because I’ll turn 40 later this year — approaching silver perhaps, not golden quite yet.

Our seasoned fellow human beings who take care of themselves provide us all with a positive glimpse of our own potential futures.

In case you didn’t know, that’s Jack LaLalanne in the picture up there. He’s been a huge inspiration to me. I will someday dedicate a proper feature article to him. Until then, check out some of his words:

If man makes it, don’t eat it. Read More

90 Percent Chance of Dung in Your Turkey

Consumer Reports has conducted testing to see if the turkey industry has cleaned up its act. It was fewer than 2 years ago that millions of pounds of turkey had to be recalled, because it was tainted with an antibiotic resistant strain of salmonella. One person died and 136 others became ill.

Cargill took immediate steps to correct the problem and avoid future infestations. Basically, they added several more layers of antibacterial spraying:

Since the recall, Cargill has made several enhancements to its food safety programme. These include two additional antibacterial washes, intensifying an existing antibacterial system, disassembling and steam cleaning equipment before resuming ground turkey production, and requiring suppliers of turkey meat to add a new antibacterial wash.

Just one month after reopening the facility in question and with the new procedures in place, another 100,000 pounds of turkey had to be recalled.

Sure, that’s enough to open wounds in consumer confidence, but are you ready for the salt rub down? Consumer Reports says: Read More

Debunking Paleo Video

Recently, I published Debunking a Paleo Strawman in response to Christina Warinner’s TEDx Talk, Debunking the Paleo Diet. Since originally publishing the article, I’ve included an audio version of it in the podcast Latest in Paleo (Episode 68: Debunking Paleo).

To make that audio even easier to share, I’ve placed that segment onto YouTube. There are some extra slides placed in the video that really make the meat shredding dentition easier to follow.

Here’s the video. Links to share this article or the video on YouTube follow: Read More

Latest in Paleo 68: Debunking Paleo

Quick Description

In this week’s show: we welcome Primal Pacs as a new sponsor, enjoy the comedy of John Pinette, debunk the Paleo debunking, dissect the latest meat scare, talk a bit about Paleo on The Dr. Oz Show, meet a girl who eats nothing but ramen noodles, and we consider the idea that diets are not lifestyles. After the Bell, we hear a mainstream view of gluten, followed by a far-from-mainstream look at money as expained by Alan Watts.

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Play Like Children (Used to do)

Check out the the photo of this billboard that Waleed S. snapped over at Washington Dulles International Airport. It states:

Once, kids played like their lives depended on it. If only kids still did.

I’m sure you noticed the overweight kid on the left side, who is apparently choosing potato chips over playing. But you know what? It’s not just the bag of chips that’s the problem here. Sure the junk food industry creates addictive, cheap foods…

The Entertainment Industry

Look at the right side of that see-saw. The ball that kid’s holding used to represent one of the primary vehicles for play that children could access.

But these days physical play is being replaced by techno-entertainment.

TV on demand. Video games. Netflix. Hulu. iTunes. Facebook. Twitter. Porn. And everything else on the Interwebz. The entertainment industry is huge, and they are pumping out products that are just as addictive as junk food, with much of it aimed squarely at children. Read More

Man Cannot Live on Ramen Alone…but One Girl Can

Remember the 17-year old girl who ate nothing but Chicken McNuggets (podcast • story)? She made it into the news after she collapsed and was rushed to the hospital, where she was found to be anemic, had inflamed veins in her tongue, and she had to be injected with vitamins. She claimed to have never even tried a fruit or a vegetable.

So perhaps it shouldn’t be too surprising that in a world with 7 billion of us hairless apes running (sitting?) around, there’s also an 18-year old out there who lives exclusively on Ramen. Read More