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Ok, here are the last three core principles of the Primal Blueprint, a lifestyle system that I highly recommend to patients to help reduce pain, increase lean body (muscle) mass, prevent injuries, and even reverse chronic conditions like arthritis, diabetes, and back pain.  The last couple of posts covers this topic, so if you missed out, go back and check them out.  The consequences can literally be life-changing.

In a nutshell, our genetic profile is hard-coded to respond to environmental stimuli based on the conditions that existed millions of years before modern man.  Early man walked long distances at a brisk pace (hunting, foraging, looking for shelter) with occasional short bursts of all-out exertion (to run down prey and escape from predators); got plenty of rest, played, got lots of sunshine, and ate primarily animals and plants in their whole, unadulterated form (including the fat, cartilage and bones).  Man did not learn about agriculture until about 10,000 years ago (a fraction of the human species geological timeline).   There was no harvesting of wheat, stone grinding it and making bread and pasta; there was no harvesting of rice, oats, etc.  Therefore, our genetic make up is designed to metabolize fat and protein, primarily; and get extra vitamins and minerals from plant foods.

So, the Primal Blueprint basically discourages the conventional wisdom of long and grueling cardiovascular exercise (distance running) and consuming more than 150 grams of carbohydrates per day.  This includes excessive juice, sugary drinks, grain products, and even added fiber.

Today, the last three topics will be addressed:  Prescription drugs, footwear, and fitness goals.

Drugs.  Most people take prescription drugs to relieve pain, speed healing, and to prevent/cure disease.  They believe some drugs will enhance the quality of life, like Viagra.

The PB stance is that drugs mask the underlying causes of pain and disease; compromise homeostasis, and produce disastrous side effects.  Simple lifestyle changes can replace the vast majority of pills.  Drugs are good in cases of emergencies only.

Footwear.  Most people believe that sturdy, cushioned shoes minimize injury and improve comfort.

PB says to go barefoot as often as you can.  Perpetual use of shoes weaken feet, increase injury risk and increase pain throughout the lower extremities.  Shoes have the effect of blocking normal foot joint and muscle biomechanics during walking due to their constrictive nature.  When you walk barefoot over irregular surfaces, as primitive man did, it actually exercises the foot bones and makes the feet stronger and more responsive to varying loads; thus providing more support to the body and reducing the chance on knee, ankle, hip and lower back injury and pain.

Exercise Goals. Conventional wisdom says goals need to be specific and measurable.  It helps you stay motivated and focused.  “Consistency is key– missed workouts = guilt, weight gain, and lost fitness.”

PB de-emphasizes specific, results-oriented goals.  Stay motivated by focusing on fun and release attachment to outcome.  Consistency = overstress.  Vary exercise routine to minimize stress and improve your genes’ adaptive response.  “Missed” workouts actually drive recovery, improvement and freshness.

So that concludes the major pillar’s of the Primal Blueprint system for long term health and fitness.  Some of them may be hard to swallow due to longstanding beliefs perpetuated in the media and by most “health and fitness experts” including primary care physicians.  But if you are a person who feels that his/her health is not what is should be, and everything else you’ve tried has not failed, give the PB a try.  The results are felt almost immediately.

Dr. Perez

(415) 627-9077

Ok, here are the next three pillars of the Primal Blueprint, a diet/exercise/lifestyle “blueprint” designed to naturally drop excess pounds, increase health, strength, and endurance.  I’m writing about this system because I believe it can help a lot of people overcome chronic health problems, including difficulty losing weight.

Regarding weight loss, conventional wisdom (the media, most fitness magazines, most primary care physicians) will encourage a high complex-carbohydrate diet, regimented meals with portion controls, and frequent (chronic) cardio exercises.  They will say “it’s all about calories and genetic disposition.”

Primal Blueprint encourages high fat/moderate protein/low carb diet incorporating generous amounts of greens.  Intuitive, sporadic meals (not necessarily eating the same time of the day every day) are encouraged.  Engage in primal exercise methods (slow, sustained strength movements with intermittent bursts of maximum exertion, no more than 30-45 minutes in duration).  PB says it’s all about keeping blood insulin levels under control– low and definitely no spikes throughout the day.

Regarding play:  conventional wisdom and most people don’t value “play” as a necessary part of fitness, but PB says that outdoor, active, unstructured fun is an integral component of overall health and balanced lifestyle, and is scientifically proven to increase work activity.

Regarding sunlight exposure:  conventional wisdom says to avoid the sun to prevent skin cancer, and use high SPF sunblock when outdoors.  PB says get adequate sun to avoid skin (and other) cancers.  Vitamin D synthesis promotes healthy cellular function.  Cover up with clothing in strong sunlight and find shade or go inside when sufficient exposure is achieved.

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Whether you’re trying to lose weight, reduce joint pain, increase strength and endurance, or improve your mood and energy levels, I encourage you to investigate the Primal Blueprint method.  The reason why so many people develop chronic health problems is because they are living a lifestyle that is counter to what their genes are coded for.  The system encourages a return  to humans’ primitive dietary habits and physical behavior to foster a stronger and healthier body.

Next time, I’ll discuss the last three pillars of the Primal Blueprint — prescription drugs, footwear, and goal setting health and fitness goals.

Dan Perez DC

Chiropractor San Francisco

415.627.9077

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If you’ve missed the previous posts, I’m writing on the core concepts of the Primal Blueprint, a dietary, exercise and lifestyle plan to help maintain optimum health.  PB was conceived by Mark Sisson, an ex-super triathlete who got burned out by following the traditional dietary and exercise routines most people follow:  intense cardio workouts, carbohydrate-rich diet, “carbo-loading” before a sporting event to boost glucose stores, sugary drinks for hydration, and so forth.  PB dismantles these “pillars of fitness” using scientific logic based on evolutionary biology.  In a nutshell, thousands of generations of human lineage produced the genetic code we all carry today.  And those genetic codes still assume many of the environmental factors that existed during early man’s time:  hunter gatherer diets, foraging, energy preservation, and periods of starvation.  When we do things to our bodies (diet, exercise habits) that are not in line with these genetic codes, it adds stress to our system and eventually, chronic degenerative changes.

It’s common knowledge that, as far as the U.S. goes, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and gastrointestinal disease are still a big problem in the population.  Drugs have not been able to stem the rates of these debilitating diseases.   It begs the question, “what can be the cause of this?”  After all, the U.S. is a wealthy country with excellent medical facilities.  Could human behavior be driving this terrible morbidity rate?  Are people getting the wrong message when it comes to diet and exercise?  I think so.

Let’s talk about cardio workouts.  Conventional Wisdom says you should do a minimum of 30 minutes, three times per week (more is better) of sustained efforts in medium to difficult intensity zones.

The Primal Blueprint says frequent medium to difficult sustained cardio efforts (running, stairmaster, aerobics classes, spinning, etc.) = overstress, fatigue, burnout, injury, accelerated aging, and increased disease risk.  It is ineffective for weight loss, as calories burned through this Chronic Cardio method simply increase appetite, particularly for sugar.  PB says to slow down for better health and peak performance!

Basically, PB advises against those long endurance type cardio exercises, like five and ten mile runs, 60 minute aerobic classes, and similar long, sustained repetitive exertion exercises.  Our genetic code is not designed for this.  You wind up generating a lot of free radicals that overwhelm your body’s anti-oxidant defenses, and break down your body.

Next, I’ll discuss the Primal Blueprint position on weight loss.  Stay tuned.

Dr. Perez

San Francisco Chiropractic

This article on Yahoo News caught my eye today.  Americans are spending $86 billion a year for lower back pain treatment, but research finds little evidence that the population got better as spending soared over the last decade.

There is an attitude that, with all the fancy, high tech gizmos like digital x-rays and robotic assisted surgical machines that something invasive can and must be done to treat lower back pain.  The reality is that time is often the best antidote.   However, this advice does not sit will with most people with back pain.  People are accustomed to seeking out immediate cures to their maladies and have a certain fear if something is not “being done.”

The biggest problem: When it comes to back pain, there’s no one-size-fits-most treatment.  What may work for one case of back pain may make another case worse, depending on the source of the pain.

“There are a lot of procedures going on for patients in whom we don’t have good evidence that it’s going to help,” said Dr. Richard Deyo of Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, who long has studied how people fare with different options for this tough ailment.

The article goes on to say that exercise rehabilitation, where patients push past the pain, shows encouraging results.  Surgery tends to have a low success rate, because with each successive surgery scar tissue and weakened structures are created potentially resulting in further weakness, loss of stability and mobility, and more pain.

One thing the article failed to mention was chiropractic treatment.  Chiropractic has certain advantages over surgery and pain injections in that it is less invasive and destructive.  When combined with exercise rehabilitation, chiropractic is a very good choice for most cases of lower back pain.  However, it is a procedure and should be recommended only when the condition warrants it.  Cases of severe disc herniation, for example, would not benefit from chiropractic in the acute stage, but may benefit in the post acute stage.

Here is the closing summary of the article:

What’s the best advice? First, some types of back pain are accompanied by red flags that need immediate attention — such as numb or weak legs or urinary problems. But for most people:

_Don’t expect an X-ray, MRI or CT until a month to six weeks has passed, unless the doctor suspects a more serious problem. Following that guideline is becoming a quality-of-care measure in many organizations.

_Get back to normal activity as quickly as possible; the days of prescribed bed rest are over.

_Patients with sciatica, pain radiating down the leg, have the best outcomes from those nerve-easing decompression surgeries, Deyo stressed. California’s Rosen said three criteria determine chances of success: a scan that correlates with the pain site; the patient has some weakness; and specific pain occurs when the doctor raises and straightens the legs.

Herniated disks heal on their own over about two years, but surgery for a faster fix is reasonable in good candidates, he said.

_Fusions are appropriate for far fewer patients, those with fractures, unstable or slipping spines, curvature of the spine and rare other reasons, Rosen said.

_Deyo recently studied surgeries for stenosis, that painful narrowing, and found decompression surgery as effective and less risky than fusions, which are more complicated and costly.

_A formal exercise program is especially effective if coupled with cognitive behavioral therapy that teaches patients to manage and function with pain, Deyo said.

_What if surgery fails? Usually, it was the wrong operation or the wrong candidate, said Rosen, who sees one or two patients a week classified as having “failed back syndrome” because of multiple failed surgeries.

Always get a second opinion. Rosen, who founded the Association for Medical Ethics, also recommends asking about a doctor’s ties to companies that make spine-surgery products. That way you’ll feel assured that a recommendation to cut doesn’t come from a too-cozy relationship.

_Not a good candidate? A primary care physician can be a neutral adviser in helping navigate next steps. Patients with more challenging back problems may fare better at a multidisciplinary spine center with numerous specialists — in rehab and pain management — under one roof.

Dan Perez, DC

(415) 627-9077

Image by Kare_Products via Flickr

I ran across this very informative article today.  Everyone pretty much agrees and understands that prolonged sitting is bad for your back.  I’ve been educating patients about this from day one of my career as a chiropractor.  The body is designed to be upright most of the time, and frequently moving.  Sitting disengages the activity of critical muscles used in posture and can lead to muscle weakness and less support to the spine, leading to degenerative joint disease and chronic back pain.

This article confirms this and goes further to state that prolonged sitting can actually increase your bad cholesterol levels! Here’s what it says:

If you’re standing around and puttering, you recruit specialized muscles designed for postural support that never tire,” (Missouri microbiologist Marc Hamilton) says. “They’re unique in that the nervous system recruits them for low-intensity activity and they’re very rich in enzymes.” One enzyme, lipoprotein lipase, grabs fat and cholesterol from the blood, burning the fat into energy while shifting the cholesterol from LDL (the bad kind) to HDL (the healthy kind). When you sit, the muscles are relaxed, and enzyme activity drops by 90% to 95%, leaving fat to camp out in the bloodstream. Within a couple hours of sitting, healthy cholesterol plummets by 20%.

The data back him up. Older people who move around have half the mortality rate of their peers. Frequent TV and Web surfers (sitters) have higher rates of hypertension, obesity, high blood triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, and high blood sugar, regardless of weight. Lean people, on average, stand for two hours longer than their counterparts.

The chair you’re sitting in now is likely contributing to the problem. “Short of sitting on a spike, you can’t do much worse than a standard office chair,” says Galen Cranz, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley. She explains that the spine wasn’t meant to stay for long periods in a seated position. Generally speaking, the slight S-shape of the spine serves us well. “If you think about a heavy weight on a C or S, which is going to collapse more easily? The C,” she says. But when you sit, the lower lumbar curve collapses, turning the spine’s natural S-shape into a C, hampering the abdominal and back musculature that support the body. The body is left to slouch, and the lateral and oblique muscles grow weak and unable to support it.

So there you have it.  If you have a job that involves sitting for more than 20 minutes straight (very common in the Financial District of San Francisco), you’ve got to take action and break the cycle– stand up and stretch every 20 minutes; try using one of those “knee chairs” that distributes some of your weight to your knees and legs and preserves the S-curve of the spine; or even consider asking your boss if you can ditch the chair and have a standing work station.  Bottom line– prolonged sitting is bad for your back, and bad for your health!

If you haven’t been in awhile to get your spine adjusted, now’s a good time.  Adjustments help your vertebrae move better, which is critical for those who sit for long periods.

Dan Perez, DC

San Francisco Chiropractors

I’m writing a series of posts on The Primal Blueprint , a book written by Mark Sisson a fitness expert and health researcher.  Sisson believes that there are a set of behavioral patterns, reinforced through millions of years of evolution that will tend to favor optimal gene expression.  In other words, our genes are hard-coded for survival, and will do everything to ensure survival (even for those who carry gene markers for disease) unless the individual engages in behavior that is profoundly different from these behavioral patterns (dietary, physical and other lifestyle behaviors).

And judging from the name of his book, you can probably guess that these “behavioral patterns” are those which were established through thousands of generations of modern man’s primitive ancestors.  So the premise is that we should adapt the basic fundamentals of behavior of early man since these behaviors shaped modern man’s genetic code.

Today, we’ll compare conventional wisdom (CW) vs. Primal Blueprint on popular dietary topics.

Cholesterol: 
CW says to strictly limit intake.  Elevated cholesterol levels cause heart disease.  Take statin drugs (Lipitor, etc.) and eliminate animal foods (especially eggs) if your total cholesterol is over 200.  Consider taking statin drugs pre-emptively if you have a family history of high cholesterol

Primal Blueprint – Cholesterol is an essential metabolic nutrient that has little to no relevance to heart disease.  It’s only dangerous when oxidation and inflammation occur from poor diet and exercise habits.  Statins can have disastrous side effects and minimal if any direct benefit.

Eggs:
CW – Minimize egg consumption due to high cholesterol; choose just egg whites as a high protein alternative.
PB – Zero correlation with heart disease or cholesterol levels.  Egg yolk extremely nutritious, whites minimally so.  Enjoy in abundance.

Fiber:
CW – Important dietary goal, derive mostly from grains.  Improves gastrointestinal function, lowers cholesterol, speeds elimination, helps control weight by minimizing caloric intake.
PB – Incidental fiber from vegetables and fruit is optimum.  Excess fiber from a grain based diet contributes to nutrient deficiency by interfering with nutrient absorption.

Meal Habits:
CW – Three squares or six small meals daily.  Skipped meals cause slowed metabolism, lower energy levels, sugar cravings and future binging risk.
PB – Eating frequency is a personal preference, but it’s all about insulin.  Control insulin production/levels and even sporadic eating habits will sustain energy without regular meals.  Fasting is a great catalyst for weight loss.

So there you have it.  Living “primal” requires us to abandon strongly held beliefs reinforced by the pillars of health “wisdom” — drug companies, agribusiness, AMA, FDA, and Madison Avenue marketing.

So check out The Primal Blueprint for an eye-opening challenge to the status quo on health.

Next, we’ll discuss the remaining behavioral patterns that have a strong impact on health:  Exercise and weight loss practices.

Dan Perez, DC
(415) 627-9077

Today, we’ll talk about one of the oldest concerns regarding diet:  is animal fat really as bad as the media and medical establishment makes it out to be?  How many times in your life have you heard “avoid red meat?”

This is the latest in a series about the Primal Blueprint, a book that I encourage my patients to read.  It is written by Mark Sisson, an ex-marathon runner and fitness expert who is the co-developer of the P90X Extreme Home Fitness Workout Program.

The Primal Blueprint premise is that, based on evolutionary biology, the human body is physiologically designed to metabolize animal and plant food sources in their natural state (thus, excluding prepared foods and crop foods; i.e. grains–wheat, rye, oats, etc.); be active in the form of long walks/slower movements with intermittent periods of intense bursts (no long runs or other excessive endurance exercises); and to engage in playful activities (a great excuse to have fun!).

Human physiology has not changed much at all over the last million years; only the food source has.  So any major alteration to the dietary habits that existed thousands of years ago is not going to agree very well with the human body.  This can include overweight/obesity problems, heart disease, high blood pressure, metabolic disease like diabetes, autoimmune diseases like Chron’s, celiac sprue, leaky gut syndrome, arthritis, and of course, cancer.  All these diseases plague society and continue to persist despite the best medicine has to offer, and research shows that many if not all of them are “lifestyle factor” related diseases; i.e. due to the patient’s dietary and other lifestyle choices.

Conventional wisdom says to limit your intake of saturated animal fat because “eating fat makes you fat.”  CW says to replace saturated fats (meat, lard, dairy) with polyunsaturated fats like vegetable oils.

Primal Blueprint says there is little or no association between consuming animal fat and getting heart disease (Framingham and Nurses Health studies).  Animal protein with associated fat should be the major dietary calorie source.  Animal protein/fat drove human evolution/advancement of brain function for two million years.  Promotes efficient fat metabolism, weight control and stable energy levels.  The major risk factors for heart disease are actually Metabolic Syndrome, driven by excess PUFA (polyunsaturated fats) and insufficient Omega-3s, high carbohydrate/excess insulin production, and an overly stressful lifestyle.

If you stop for a moment to think about it, it makes a lot of sense.  Our muscles are made up of protein, and we need protein to maintain muscle tissue.  Our cell membranes are made up of cholesterol, a main constituent of saturated animal fat.  The cell membrane is critical as it determines what can enter and exit the cell, and how well the cell is able to function.  It’s not the saturated animal fat that is the culprit in heart disease; the body definitely needs this food source, and has needed it for the past two million years.

The next post will deal with the controversial topic of cholesterol.  Where do you think cholesterol fits in in the Primal Blueprint?

Dr. Perez

This is the latest in a series on the book the Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson.

As a chiropractor interested in natural health and healing, the book intrigues me, and I want to share it with others as I feel it has some very important, potentially life-changing information contained in it.  Some people will be shocked, and even upset at some of the statements in this book because it attacks popular attitudes and beliefs, but that is always the case whenever the status quo is challenged.  After all, people tend to want to believe that what they believe is right.  But what if your beliefs about diet, exercise, and lifestyle are wrong after all these years?  Something definitely to consider.  With that it mind, here is the first Conventional Wisdom pillar the Primal Blueprint attacks:

CW:  “Grains such as wheat, rice corn, bread, cereal, and pasta are the foundation of a healthy diet.  6-11 daily servings recommended by the FDA and many nutrition experts.  Grains provide the main source of energy for working muscles.  Choose whole grains for more nutritional value, and extra fiber.”

PRIMAL BLUEPRINT:  The worst mistake in the history of the human race (UCLA evolutionary biologist Jared Diamond).  Grains drive excess insulin production, fat storage, and heart disease.  Allergenic, immune-suppressing, nutritional value inferior to plants and animals.  Whole grains possibly worse due to offensive pro-inflammatory, immune and digestive system disturbing agents, especially excessive fiber.

Pretty shocking.  After all, I, like many people, love to eat bread and pasta.  After reading the book and understanding the science and evidence behind it, I have drastically cut down my intake, and eat it only on occasion and even then, in small portions.  I do notice that eating bread tends to create an exaggerated fullness in me, and I feel more sluggish and less energetic (like I want to take a nap).

The next post will address conventional wisdom’s disdain for saturated fat– stay tuned!  In the meantime, if you wish to check out the book, see the link below to Amazon.com.

The Primal Blueprint

Dan Perez DC
San Francisco Chiropractic
(415) 627-9077

I am reading a book called the The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson. Some of you may already know him.  His blog, MarksDailyApple.com has a growing, enthusiastic following, including me.

Mark Sisson is an ex-triathlete and marathon runner; basically an Olympic caliber elite athlete.  But now at age 53 he shuns this type of exercise and has good reason to believe such endurance type exercise is actually bad for your health (more on this later).

Well, I’ve been reading through his blog and the first couple of pages of his book, and I am hooked.  The guy does a great job identifying, challenging, and pointing out the huge shortcomings of the “conventional wisdom” of health.  His blog has incredible testimonials from people who reversed chronic illnesses and pain just by following his “Primal Blueprint” principles.  Yes, I mean people who were able to do away with blood pressure medications, allergy medications, diet pills, and insulin injections.   I even saw a before and after picture of a guy who followed the Primal Blueprint where the transformation was so powerful he looked like a different person!  It’s not that he just dropped a lot of pounds of fat, he looked like an athlete; toned muscles, flat abs, the works.  His posture was much better, his skin tone less pallid, and his expression suggested he was feeling a lot better than he did before he changed his lifestyle.

Basically, the Primal Blueprint, as the name suggests, uses evolutionary biology as its foundation.  In a nutshell, the Primal Blueprint maintains that we should “mimic” the dietary habits and movement patterns of early man (who lived around 10,000 years ago) because our genetic coding for health has not changed much over this time.  In essence, it involves eating food in its natural state (meat, vegetables, fruit); not sticking to any set pattern of meal times; and for exercise, long walks with intense bursts of activity (running away from predators, as early man did on occasion), with unstructured weight lifting that mimics movements of early man (carrying a weight on one’s shoulders and walking a half mile, for instance).

Of course there are finer details.  I will post the core Primal Blueprint positions on popular health topics in the weeks to come.  If you want to check out the book in the meantime, click the Amazon.com link below:

The Primal Blueprint

If losing weight has been on your list of New Years resolutions for as long as you can remember, you can finally cross it off your list next year with the new and exciting products we are now offering at San Francisco Chiropractic.

Carrying extra weight creates havoc to your health in several ways.  It’s been said that five pounds of fat requires an extra mile of blood vessels to supply, increasing blood pressure, placing more stress to your heart and accelerating its wear and tear.  So you can imagine what being 20 pounds overweight can do.

Extra weight can also lead to lower back pain, hip pain, knee pain, and foot pain.  As much as chiropractic can do to help you stay flexible, it cannot fix back and joint pain if the back and joints have to support 20-50 extra pounds every day.  You’ve got to lose the weight if you want the pain and stiffness to go away for good.

One of the reasons people find it difficult to lose weight is toxin build up in the gut and tissues.  Toxins refer to environmental chemicals we absorb over our lifetime, whether through breathing, eating, drinking, and skin contact.  Examples include aerosol sprays, copier toner, carpet fumes, benzene at the gas pump, artificial preservatives and colorings in our food.  Some of these environmental toxins get deposited in our fat cells and interfere with normal fat metabolism.

Nutritional cleansing is a logical step in reversing this life-damaging process.  The program offered at our clinic is the Isagenix 30 Day Cleanse, doctor supervised.  Isagenix is a leading brand in nutritional cleansing, detoxification and weight loss.   The strategy involved a combination of meal replacements; specially formulated whey-based protein shakes, an aloe vera based cleanse solution and natural fat burning accelerator supplements.  The great thing about this program is that it is very regimented (routine is easy to follow), the products themselves taste great, and the effects are noticed as early as 4-5 days after starting to program.

I’m very excited to offer nutritional cleansing at my clinic as it will serve as a wholistic approach to reducing the effects of chronic pain and encouraging healthy living.

If you or someone you know is in need of losing weight, call me at (415) 627-9077 and we can schedule an in-office consultation.

Dan Perez, DC