Book Review: A Bold Return to Giving a Damn

“There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.”

— Niccolo Machiavelli, political theorist

In 2020 the pandemic revealed cracks in our food system and I became interested in learning more about it. In 2021 I leaned in a little more and worked part-time on a farm near Los Angeles. Through my reading and experience I became a believer that fixing the food system was a path to fixing most (if not all) the ailments we face as a nation. November 2022 I listened to Will Harris on the Joe Rogan Experience and the episode provided even more fuel and I started manifesting a trip to visit his farm, White Oak Pastures, to learn more.

In February 2023, Jen and I found ourselves within a 6 hour drive of Bluffton, Georgia where White Oak Pastures is located. By good fortune they were having a Valentines Day dinner at their farm-to-table restaurant connected to their general store. So we made reservations, booked accommodations, and made the 6 hour drive.

Walking into the general store, originally built in the mid-1800s and recently restored, was like going back in time. The whole ambience of being in Bluffton, which resides within one of the poorest counties in the country, just 3 hours south of Atlanta, was a surreal experience. It gave me a glimpse into what rural communities must’ve looked like when local farms and the infrastructure they built could sustain the towns and counties around them.

The food, prepared out of a trailer converted into a kitchen, was beyond expectations. All of the meat and produce served was harvested directly from their organic regenerative farm. There was a stark contrast between their food, and the food we’ve become used to that is grown by industrial methods and fills grocery stores.

But the highlight of the evening was meeting Will Harris. Not only because my girlfriend, who herself is an experienced farmer, and myself view people like Will Harris who are fighting to change the food system as rock stars, but because he was as friendly and down to earth as one could hope for when meeting their heroes. He spent 30 - 40 minutes chatting it up with us around the fire surrounded by his family and friends.

Reading A Bold Return to Giving a Damn on the heels of reading Wendell Berry’s The Unsettling of America provided even more insight into the struggles farmers face who are trying to break away from the “conventional” way of farming, i.e. using tons (literally) of pesticides, herbicides and all kinds of “cides” to kill unwanted life off their farms. Wendell Berry published his book in 1977 when Will Harris was just coming of age as a farmer (he graduated from the University of Georgia in 1976).

For farmers the 1970’s were marked by the mantra “Get Big or Get Out,” a phrase coined by President Nixon’s Secretary of Agriculture, Earl Butz. It was part of the administration’s campaign to grow agribusiness and commodity foods. Nearly 50 years later Get Big or Get Out has triumphed at the expense of small family farms and their communities. White Oak Pastures and Bluffton, Georgia were among the casualties. But in the last 25 years, Will Harris has turned that all around.

To give you a little background on what agribusiness and industrial food is, consider the following.

In the industrial food model cattle are separated from their mothers and their milk at 6 month old, and forced into tightly packed feedlots where they’re unable to move or walk. They’re fed commodity grains and corn, crops grown using herbicides, pesticides and other toxic chemicals, which is nothing like the grass these ruminants are used to eating out in the pastures.

The carbohydrate rich food packs weight on quick, and by the time they are ready for slaughter, around 30 - 40 months old, they’re akin to “a twenty year old human weighing four hundred pounds… likely dying of the diseases of obesity and sedentary lifestyle that kill countless humans today.” But their misery doesn’t end there.

A 30 hour ride to the slaughterhouse in a double-decker tractor trailer without food, water, or rest awaits them. Eventually these cattle make their way into your McDonalds hamburger, or grocery store steak.

Would you want to eat a sick animal suffering from many of the diseases that plague humans? Is it a coincidence that humans suffer from the same diseases that the animals we eat face?

The land and climate has also not been spared. It’s estimated that the applications of chemicals and extraction of resources has eroded our soil so drastically that we only have sixty harvests left. As Will Harris puts it, “What I was doing and what my daddy had been doing before me was kind of a one way street: take, take, take from nature, without giving much back.” A trend that hasn’t slowed for the majority of conventional farmers.

Meanwhile large corporations have continued to grow and profit off of this inhumane system. Big Food, the likes of Tyson, Cargill and others, now control over 90 percent of the food we eat. Industrial feedlots supply 97 percent of beef consumed in America (just four corporations control 88 percent of beef processing), and industrial chicken houses supply 99 percent of the eggs and chicken we buy.

And while they’ve been getting rich, rural farmers have been disappearing and getting squeezed for profits. Farmers today make up only 1 percent of the American workforce compared to 41 percent a century ago. And farmers keep only 15 cents on ever dollar of food produced, the remaining 85 cents goes to Big Food and Big Ag.

Before the food system became centralized rural communities enjoyed meaningful livelihoods from raising food and being part of getting food to market. But that small town infrastructure has mostly eroded. All of this degradation and inhumanity is what prompted Will Harris to make a change.

He had been farming according to all of the conventional methods mentioned above. Spraying his land with toxic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. Feeding his cattle grains, and giving them antibiotics when the grains inevitably made them sick. And shipping them out to slaughterhouses far away for processing. The farm that was in his family for over a century and the town around him was suffering, and he knew there had to a better way. Twenty five years later and White Oak Pastures is the antithesis of industrial agriculture.

Today White Oak Pastures is a leader in the regenerative agriculture movement, although Will Harris likes to refer to it as “resilient” agriculture. His farm, which raises cattle, chickens, turkeys, hogs, goats, sheep, duck, and guinea hens, as well as organic produce, operates as a “closed loop” ecosystem. The animals are free to roam, graze, root, and most importantly express their instinctive behaviors.

By re-engineering his farm White Oak Pastures runs at almost zero waste. Anything that can be turned into compost and used to support future life is put back into the earth. They’ve also been able to achieve what almost no other farm has, they’re carbon negative. For every pound of beef produced they sequester 3.5 pounds of carbon (compare that to Impossible Burger’s “plant based meat” which emits 3.5 pounds of carbon for every pound produced).

They’ve also been leading the charge by developing internship programs that allow young farmers to come stay on the farm and learn their processes. They’re an open book. In 2021 they launched The Center for Agricultural Resilience with the goal “to educate thought leaders on the environmental, economic and social benefits of building resilient animal, plant and human ecosystems that can nourish our communities.”

But the most amazing part of might just be the impact it has had on the local economy and spirit of Bluffton.

As someone who’s been there, I can tell you that outside of the White Oak Pastures’ general store, there ain’t much else. There’s one “grocery store” although neither you nor I would ever choose to shop there. The closest gas station is 10 miles away. But in returning his farm to the natural ways of growing and producing food, and turning his back on industrial farming, Will Harris and team have been able to revitalize a whole town.

White Oak Pastures now employs close to 200 people, attracting people from all over the country and all backgrounds. Their employees make twice the average pay for the county, and receive benefits such as health insurance.

Local business creates local jobs, which stirs local economy and breaths life into dying towns and cities that were once thriving. Health can never be fully defined, because it encompasses so much. Food, happiness, fulfillment are all ways we try to achieve it. But I’ve recently been learning that none of that matters unless you have community. Community to lean on and support each other is the foundation of a healthy population. It’s whats distinguishes most blue zones from the rest of the world, and it’s what has distinguished White Oak Pastures’ success from so many others.

I loved this book. It’s a story that everyone should know in detail because it tells more than just Will Harris’ story, it tells the story of why our country finds ourselves in the state of decline that we do.

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The podcast episode is a great alternative to the book, as they touch on many of the same topics, just in a lot less detail.

A quick tip from Will Harris about getting to know your food

Ask yourself these three questions about the animals you’re eating:

• Are the animals free to express instinctive behaviors?

• Do they live in their natural habitat?

• How and where do the animals die?

Meals & Recipes: Homemade Chicken Pate Parte!

Homemade chicken pate, roasted baby carrots, boiled broccoli. Fig balsamic drizzle. 

Homemade Chicken Pate (makes 1 serving). Chop up 1/2 a large chicken breast and one slice of red onion and place them together into a food processor (I have a mini Ninja which works great). Pulse it a few times until mixed. Add 1/2 chopped apple, and pulse until mixed. Add a few almonds and walnuts. Pulse until mixed. Add 1 tbsp of honey dijon mustard, stone & ground mustard, Buffalo Primal Sauce, and Sweet Baby Rays hot sauce. Pulse until mixed. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil and a few pinches of salt and pepper. Pulse until desire consistency is reached.

Roasted Carrots. Buy a bag of organic baby carrots, to a bunch of regular sized carrots. Preheat the oven to 425. Chop them on a slant into 1 inch pieces (bite size). Toss in a bowl with 2 tbsp olive oil, 4 pinches of salt, 1 - 2 tsp of red pepper flakes, 2 tbsp of honey. Cook for 20 - 25 minutes.

Boiled Broccoli. Chop two broccoli crowns into bite size pieces. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add broccoli and let cook for 3 - 5 minutes. Once strained, add the broccoli back to the pot, add 2 pinches of salt and a tbsp of ghee and mix.

Assemble. Add the chicken pate to the bowl. Add a handful of broccoli. Add a handful of roasted carrots. Drizzle with fig balsamic vinegar. Add two - three pinches of sea salt.

Buon Appetito!

3 Easy Ways I Improved My Nutrition

I always thought I had a good handle on nutrition. But these three things proved me wrong, and changed my understanding of nutrition and my approach to diet.

1. Logging my food

I’ve been an athlete all of my life and I’ve always manipulated my diet in pursuit of my physical goals. But a few years ago when I stopped racing in triathlons I found that my diet was out of whack and I couldn’t get it straight.

Three years of endurance training had changed my relationship with food. I had become overly conscious of every single thing I was putting into my body. I wanted to optimize what I was eating so I could optimize my training. And I thought I was, but physically I just didn’t feel great.

I had been dealing with a lot of injuries and my body wasn’t responding well to training. I felt like I was never recovering. I decided I needed to look past the food and at the actual macros going into my body. So I started tracking my meals with Avatar Nutrition. (My Fitness Pal offers a free meal tracker but with less amenities than Avatar).

I tracked every meal, snack and drink for 4 months.

I learned two important things:

• I was not consuming nearly as much protein as I thought I was. Actually about 50% of what I thought. My goal was 160 grams of protein per day (1 gram per pound of bodyweight), I was consuming about 75 grams.

• I was over-consuming fats. I regularly found myself 20 - 30 percent above my target.

I was surprised, but it made sense based on what I was experiencing physically. My body wasn’t recovering, due to a lack of protein, and I couldn’t lose the last bits of fat hanging around those tough spots.

This was my first insight into the changes I needed to make. I bought a better protein, whey instead of pea, animal protein is more bioavailable than plant, and I upped my meat and fish intake. Aiming for three 30 - 40 gram servings per day (1 per meal).

I also limited my fat intake. The fat I was eating was all “healthy fat” (i.e. walnuts, almonds, olive oil, avocado) but by labeling it “good for me,” I had gave myself permission to overindulge. But fat is fat. And when over consumed, fat will find a place to store itself.

Logging my food made me realize that even though I was eating the right foods, I was eating them in the wrong proportions to achieve my goals.

2. #800 Gram Challenge

I was eating healthy and I made adjustments to my protein and fat intake, but I still wasn’t getting it right. I felt better but not as good as I thought I should feel. My diet was clean, devoid of anything processed, and 9.5/10 meals were cooked at home. So I was kind of stumped as to why I still felt like I was falling short.

I read Built to Move (a great book) and learned about the #800gramchallenge. And at that point it clicked for me. I had heard so much advice before about portion sizes, how many servings of fruits and vegetables to eat. But this approach was simple and practical.

I learned, amongst other things, that, similar to my overconsumption of “healthy fats,” I was also over consuming vegetables and fruits, sometimes causing gastric distress and bloating. Too much of a good thing is a bad thing.

My #800gramchallenge takeaway:

• Eat 6 handfuls of fruits and vegetables a day. Do that in addition to eating .7 - 1 gram of protein per bodyweight and you’ll be well on your way to achieving your goals.

So now, I grab two handfuls of cooked vegetables from the refrigerator, and/or a thumb sizer serving of fat to add to every meal, and snack on berries or an apple..

It’s been such a simple change that’s been a life saver. I don’t get the gastric distress and bloating I had been experiencing, and my bowel movements are better than they’ve ever been.

3. Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM)

A CGM is a wearable medical device that measures glucose levels in your body every 5 minutes. Unless you have been diagnosed with diabetes, you’ll likely need to agree to be part of a clinical trial by working with a company like Levels Health, the company I used.

The device connects via Bluetooth to the Levels app on your phone where you can monitor your glucose activity. The Levels app will also show you your Stability Score, which increases with stable blood sugar, Average Glucose for the day, and Spike Duration, how long your glucose stays elevated past the set threshold. The app also includes a host of advice, articles and recipes to help you maintain a stable glucose score.

Erratic glucose levels can lead to poor metabolic health, which can lead to a host of chronic diseases such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes and more. So knowing what impacts your glucose score and how to improve it is valuable.

I wore my CGM for 23 days. It was supposed to go for 30 but I had a couple of technical difficulties applying two of the sensors. Note: Do not apply it into a muscle. Get the needle to pierce between muscle, preferably between the shoulder and tricep, more towards the front of the arm, not the back.

After 23 days I learned a few important things.

• Getting consistent quality sleep is the most important thing I could do to control my glucose. On days where I slept like shit, even a handful of blueberries was enough to spike my glucose and trigger an event on the app. Even worse to note, poor sleep causes sugar cravings. A bad cycle. Sleep is priority numero uno.

• Carbohydrates are ok when balanced with the right types and amounts of fiber, protein and fat. Whether that’s a balance plate, or a balanced food like lentils. Consuming the right balance of macros, and in the right order, carbohydrates last, was important to not spike glucose.

• Potatoes, sweet, russet, red, it didn’t matter what kind, spiked my glucose on average 15 - 20 points more than rice or pasta. I’ve never enjoyed eating potatoes and perhaps this is why. Now I know I don’t have to eat them.

In Summary

In order of work, time, and effort, logging my food was by far the worst. It takes a lot of work because to do it right you really have to log every single thing that goes onto your plate and into your mouth. That includes the olive oil you use to cook and finish your dish with, and the 4 - 5 almonds you grabbed when you ran out the door. All of these things up and need to be accounted for.

But logging my food was also the most valuable. I really thought I understand from simply reading labels the amount of macros I was eating, and I was so wrong. It’s so easy to lose track of what you’ve consumed throughout the day. But when it’s right in front of you, it sinks in. It’s probably no coincidence that the most work got the most reward.

Second is the continuous glucose monitor. Mostly because I had two bad experiences applying sensors. But the other three went on smooth and I forgot I was even wearing them. To get the most out of the experience though you really should log your meals. If not all of them, at least when you notice a spike or a crash. When log your food Levels gives you feedback and advice on how to make glucose stable changes to your food.

The real amazing thing is to eat mashed potatoes and then watch your glucose take off in real time. It’s wild when you realize what’s going on behind the scenes.

And the easiest has been complying with the #800gramchallenge. Yes it requires meal prep (check out this whole page of meal ideas) to stay consistent, but once you establish a cooking routine, you’ll be excited to load two handfuls of veggies onto every plate.

These three things completely changed my understanding of nutrition and how my body and mind have been able to perform as a result. They are all easily accessible and I think offer a good return on investment. Pick one to start. And go from there. I logged my food in 2020 - 2021. Adopted the #800gramchallenge in mid 2023. And wore the CGM from 2023 - 2024. That’s all to say, take your time. Nothing happens overnight.

Let me know which ones you’ve tried or which ones you’re thinking about getting into, and if you have any questions. Enjoy.

Fiber and Omega Rich Bowl!

Wild sockeye salmon, lentils, beets, avocado and red onion delight.

Wild Sockeye Salmon. Start with wild salmon. I’ve been enjoying frozen wild sockeye salmon from Whole Foods or Sprouts (grocers closest to me), or fresh wild Sockeye from Trader Joes. Preheat the oven to 425. Lightly coat both sides of the salmon filet (or filets if cooking multiple) with olive oil. Place the filet skin up on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Add a pinch of salt (or two) to each filet and black pepper. Cook for 8 - 10 minutes (depending on thickness of the fish). 

Lentils. Add 3 cups of water or vegetable brother to a pot. Add 1 cup of green lentils. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for 45 minutes, covered. Taste for tenderness before removing from heat. Strain the lentils and return them to the pot.

Boiled Beets. Buy 3-4 loose organic beets. Remove the skin. Cut them into quarters (1/8s if they’re large). Place in a pot, add water so covered by 1-2 inches of water. Add two pinches of salt. 1 tbsp of red wine vinegar. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 60 minutes. Make sure you can easily pierce them with a fork before removing from water.

Assemble. Add enough lentils to cover the bottom of the bowl. Add 3 quarter pieces of beets chopped into bite size pieces. Add 1/4 slice avocado and one slice chopped red onion. Add 1 salmon filet (4- 6 oz). Drizzle with red wine vinegar and 3 pinches of sea salt.

Buon Appetito!!

Try This Move: Thread the Needle

Elbow Plank Thread The Needle

• Get into a side plank on your elbow. Feet stacked or staggered.

• Tuck your tail bone, squeeze your glutes and engage your core, paying particular attention to lock in the chain from your obliques, down the outside of your leg.

• Shoot your opposite hand straight up perpendicular to your body. Slowly start to lower your arm, keeping your hand close to your body, palm facing in towards you.

• When your hand is at your chest, begin rotating by moving your hips down towards the ground.

• Then let your your core, chest, back, and then arm, hand and head turn. Take a peak over your opposite shoulder.

• Then rotate your hips away from the ground in the opposite direction, repeating the steps above to bring your hand back up.

• 3 sets x 10 reps per side

Celebrating California Sober

December 21, 2023 marked two years of being California sober. It’s not “sober” because in that period I have used “recreational” drugs such as psilocybin and cannabis when needed. But psychedelics like these never impacted me the way alcohol has, and I’ve also never been tempted to over indulge in them. Alcohol and I on the other hand don’t have that track record.

Unlike drinking, smoking a joint, eating an edible, or micro-dosing mushrooms has never been followed by a physical altercation, or a fight with a loved one. They’ve never been the reason I missed a test or bailed on an obligation. On the contrary, they’ve led to deeper discussions, more intimate relationships, and a kinder and gentler me.

There’s also alcohol’s impact on health. As Peter Attia shared recently, there is no safe amount of alcohol consumption that doesn’t increase the risk of disease. The idea that alcohol could be part of a “healthy lifestyle,” came from studying populations of people already living healthy, full and active lives. Their robust lifestyles kept them heathy despite drinking, not because of it.

One of the main health risks, is an increased chance of developing heart disease. Which every single male figure in my bloodline has suffered from. The prevalence of heart disease in my family, is another reason I’ve decided it’s better to avoid it.

Living a full, happy, and healthy life has become my priority, and I’ve found that it’s much faster and easier to achieve that through the subtraction of harmful behaviors, than it is from adding beneficial ones. Whether it’s ultra-processed foods, sugar, relationships, or drugs and alcohol, the elimination of toxins is a guaranteed way to feel better. I’m working smarter, not harder these days.

It’s hard to put into words the difference I feel now compared to two years ago. But I thought this example might help make the abstract more tangible.

Picture a person who has never lifted a weight or exercises before in their life. Now picture that person decides to start exercising daily, and stays consistent with it for 2 years. Now think about what that person would look like and feel like at the end of those 2 years. The difference would be tremendous. They would not just look different, but their mood, confidence and clarity would be improved as well.

That is how I feel. I feel the best I’ve ever felt in my life.

True other factors have helped shape my way over this time. Perhaps none more important than the stable home life my girlfriend, dog and I have built. But I’m not sure it would have been possible if I (we) didn’t stop drinking when I (we) did. 

The biggest benefit that I believe accounts for my improvements in mental clarity and physical strength, has been improved sleep quality and consistency. Alcohol is one of the worst sleep disruptors. Over two years of not drinking, I’ve been able to accumulate a lot of restful nights. Which means consistently waking up ready for the day, ready to be productive. Of not having to put my workouts, diets, relationships, or other goals on hold. It’s felt like two years of progress, which is what actually prompted this post.

When I woke up this New Years, January 1, 2024, I was tired. We stayed up two hours past our bedtime on New Year’s Eve, and it took an extra minute for me to wake up. But I wasn’t groggy. I didn’t need to pull the covers back over my head. I didn’t have a headache, or crave something greasy or sugary and want to curl up on the couch until the feeling passed.

On the contrary, I wanted to read, make coffee, and walk my dog. Same as I do every morning. I wanted to shake off the slight fatigue I felt, and start my day. Each day, for two years, this has been my experience.

If you’re reading this as a lecture, then I apologize. But, if you’re reading this thinking “I want to stop,” “I’ve tried to stop,” and “I’m working on cutting back, but it’s hard,” or “I don’t even know why I drink, I don’t even like it,” then this post is for you. Because over the last two years those have been the most common responses I’ve heard whenever I tell someone I gave up drinking. Whether it’s at a wedding, out to dinner, or skiing with friends, there’s always someone who wants to get on board.

The reason we all drink with the frequency and carelessness in which we do is the same. Alcohol is engrained in our society. There’s happy hour to decompress from work. There’s, “What would you like to drink?” immediately upon sitting down for dinner, and the uncomfortable feeling if you say “I’m okay with water.” There’s the over $500 million spent on marketing each year. And the sponsorships for beer, liquor, and wine at ball games, plays, concerts, and now even the movie theater. The societal pressure to drink, relax, and “be part of society” is enormous and unavoidable. It feels easier to give in than resist and miss out. But I got news for you, you won’t be missing out.

At this point I would be remiss if I didn’t say that the decision to give up drinking was one that my girlfriend and I made a together a couple of months into dating. We both had periods in our life of sobriety prior to dating. Having each other to lean on when we’re out, to talk about it’s impact on our lives with, and not fall prey to the pressure has been immeasurable. It would not be nearly as enjoyable without her.

So this post is for the people who want to stop but feel like in a society that values the drinker, they don’t want to be left out in the cold. This post is to say that it’s entirely possible to stop drinking. That there’s a whole lot of people who’ve made the decision, and a whole lot more who want to put down the drink, if only we could normalize not drinking the way we’ve normalized drinking.

And most importantly, it’s to say that you can do it, and live your best life ever after.

Kidney Bean and Mushroom Soup

A slightly different twist on a soup I’ve come to love. Check out this hearty recipe and keep some soup in your fridge.

Cooking Instructions:

Bring a pot to medium heat. Add 2 tbsp of olive to the pan, and then add 2 chopped carrots, 1/2 chopped celery stalk, 4 cloves of chopped garlic, 2 slices of red onion. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes.

Then add: 2 cups of vegetable broth, 2 cups of water, 4 oz of sliced cremini mushrooms, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp of dry parsley, 2 pinches of sea salt and a few cracks of fresh black pepper. Bring to a boil and then down to a simmer and allow to cook for 20 minutes.

Then add: 1 can of rinsed kidney beans, 1/2 chopped zucchini, 1/2 cup of chopped tomatoes. Allow to cook at a simmer for another 25 minutes.

Remove the bay leaves and enjoy!

Collagen Supplement: Yay or Nay?

Last week my cousin asked me my opinion on collagen protein. I didn’t have one. I’ve never actually taken it and didn’t know much about it. But I had been meaning to look into, so I took my cousin’s question as a push to finally do some research.

I turned first to my new favorite nutritionist, EC Synkowski. She put out this podcast episode, On Collagen as a Supplement, in June 2021, which packed a lot of good information into a 25 minute episode. And I also found this post from the Cleveland Clinic useful.

The takeaway: Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body, comprising 25 - 30 percent of all the body’s proteins, and is most prevalent in connective tissues like cartilage, bones, ligaments and the skin, where it provides structure, support and strength.

As we age our body produces less collagen and existing collagen breaks down. The best way to prevent the breakdown and decreased production of collagen is to avoid excess exposure to the sun, smoking, and a diet that’s high in sugar and refined carbohydrates.

Eating a well balanced diet that’s complete with fruit, nuts, vegetables and moderate amount of meat and fish, akin to the Mediterranean diet, is the best way to promote the production and longevity of collagen in the body.

Evidence to prove the effectiveness of collagen supplementation is inconclusive, but modest improvements in skin health and a reduction in pain from osteoarthritis has been shown.

So, should you take a collagen supplement or not?

While evidence of its benefits are lacking, given the important role that collagen plays in the body, taking 10 - 20 grams of hydrolyzed collagen powder daily also won’t hurt, and doesn’t seem like a bad idea.

This is the amount that EC Synkowksi consumes with her morning coffee. If for no other benefit, she says it’s an easy way to get a jumpstart on her daily protein target of .7 grams per pound of bodyweight.

As for which one to take, this post from Eatingwell.com provides a good breakdown. 

For me? I’ve been trying to limit my dependence on protein supplementation, so I’m still debating what I’ll do. I’ve been limiting myself to one shake a day, 12 ounces of water, 26 grams of unflavored Naked Nutrition Casein protein, and a splash of coffee for flavor.

But I’m curious to know what your perspective is and if you take a collagen supplement or not? Or if you will after reading this. Let me know if the comments below.

Follow Your Intuition to Health

Click here: OneSource Health, January 7, 2024

“Man has no Body distinct from his Soul…” - The Unsettling of America

My view of health is always evolving. And after the last handful of books, articles, podcasts and shows (i.e The Blue Zones on NetFlix) I’ve come across, it’s occurred to me that the key to longevity is really much simpler than we’ve been lead to believe. We (I) spend so much time, energy and money in pursuit of a “healthy” life. But in places around the world where people live the longest and most robust lives, they only worry about one thing. Living.

Being present. Spending time with people they love. Doing the things they like, and taking a break when they’ve had enough. And the pursuit of all those things leads to a life abundant in movement, love, happiness, and a simple and nourishing diet. Not the other way around.

There’s no right supplement, exercise, or diet that makes the difference. The difference is in their ability to follow their intuition, and avoid the pitfalls of modern society.

Click Here to Subscribe

The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture, by Wendell Berry

On a recent podcast Andrew Huberman recommended reading the works of Wendell Berry. I had never heard of him. But I did some research and found this interview, Going Home with Wendell Berry, which prompted me to buy, The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture. Originally published in 1977, it remains today one his most well known and influential pieces of literature. In addition to being an author, Wendell Berry is an environmental activist, and has been a farmer in rural Kentucky since the mid 1960s. These credentials I think give him a unique perspective that’s hard to find.

Read more here…

Collagen Supplement: Yay or Nay?

Last week my cousin asked me my opinion on collagen protein. I didn’t have one. I’ve never actually taken it and didn’t know much about it. But I had been meaning to look into, so I took my cousin’s question as a push to finally do some research.

Read more here…

Colon Cancer On The Rise

This article, Colon Cancer is Rising in Young Americans. It’s not Clear Why, caught my attention because of the last line, “Its not clear why.” This is same line that exists in one form or another in every article written about the declining health of our population and increased prevalence of disease.

Read more here…

Sowing Doubt In Health

This article, Colon Cancer is Rising in Young Americans. It’s not Clear Why, caught my attention because of the last line, “Its not clear why.” This is same line that exists in one form or another in every article written about the declining health of our population and increased prevalence of disease.

There’s this line from a different Washington Post article about the exponential rise of fatty liver disease in children, “Speculation about what was causing the rise and diversity of cases was wide-ranging. Maybe it had something to do with the average ambient room temperature.”

Or this one from an article from the AP News, “Obesity is not a lifestyle problem. It is not a lifestyle disease. It predominately emerges from biological factors.”

Despite all three articles pointing directly to the abundance and accessibility of sugar and ultra-processed foods in our diet, and living a more sedentary life as the cause, with just one line or quote from an “expert,” they all make a point of sowing doubt to that theory. It’s just enough to make us believe that we can’t help ourselves. That we need to turn to the “specialists.” And it keeps us consumers of the drugs and surgeries they’re selling.

I’m halfway through reading Merchants of Doubt. A book dedicated to exposing the very real industry tactic that exists around sowing doubt in society. It’s a technique that was first developed by big tobacco to undermine the very clear link researchers discovered in the 1950s - 1960s between cigarettes and its link to cancer.

Since then it’s a technique that’s been used across many industries. And it’s very evident to me, that it’s been adopted by the healthcare industry in recent times. The money is made on the manufacturing and selling of treatments, and medications, and performing surgeries. It doesn’t benefit the healthcare industry to prevent disease. That’s why the term “sick care” has come to replace healthcare in recent years. The medical industrial complex is doing whatever it can to keep us reliant on their “care.”

A Good Book: The Unsettling of America

On a recent podcast Andrew Huberman recommended reading the works of Wendell Berry. I had never heard of him. But I did some research and found this interview, Going Home with Wendell Berry, which prompted me to buy, The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture. Originally published in 1977, it remains today one his most well known and influential pieces of literature. In addition to being an author, Wendell Berry is an environmental activist, and has been a farmer in rural Kentucky since the mid 1960s. These credentials I think give him a unique perspective that’s hard to find.

In the 46 years since it’s publication, the tragedy of The Unsettling of America, as Wendell Berry puts it, “is that it is true.” The problem, which he masterfully articulates, is that in a world based on capitalism and competition, where exploiters and salesman abound, the promise of future progress and economic growth never actually delivers for the masses.

“If competition is the correct relation of creatures to one another and to the earth, then we must ask why exploitation is not more succesful than it is. Why, having lived so long at the expenses of other creatures and the earth, are we not healthier and happier than we are? Why does modern society exist under constant threat of the same suffering, deprivation, spite, contempt, and obliteration that it has imposed on other people and other creatures? Why do the health of the body and the health of the earth decline together? And why, in consideration of this decline of our worldly flesh and household, our “sinful earth,” are we not healthier in spirit?”

He later goes on to say:

“It is not necessary to have recourse to statistics to see that the human estate is declining with the estate of nature, and that the corruption of the body is the corruption of the soul. I know that the country is full of “leaders” and experts of various sorts who are using statistics to prove the opposite: that we have more cars, more super-highways, more TV sets, motorboats, prepared foods etc., than any people ever had before - and are therefore better off than any people ever before. I can see the burgeoning of this “consumer economy” and can appreciate some of its attractions and comforts. But that economy has an inside and an outside; from the outside there are other things to be seen.”

The growing disconnect between humans and their intuition that he describes throughout the book continues to deepen by every relevant metric to this day. The gap in income inequality. The degradation of our land. Life expectancy. Drug use, overdoses and loneliness. And an overall sense of increasing unrest have all moved in the wrong direction. In the four plus decades since its publication, Wendell Berry’s thesis remains as true now as ever before. 

If you don’t have the time or desire to read this book then I implore you to at least read the interview mentioned above, Going Home with Wendell Berry.

This podcast episode with regenerative farmer Will Harris, who speaks with the same ferocity as Wendell Berry does, also pairs well with the book or the interview. (Fun fact: Jen and I met Will Harris on his farm in Blufton, Georgia last valentine’s day).

Chicken Salad Surprise!

Lentils. Chicken Salad. Brussels. 

Chicken Salad (makes 1 serving). Chop up 1/2 a large chicken breast and one slice of red onion and place them together into a food processor (I have a mini Ninja which works great). Pulse it a few times until mixed. Add 1/2 chopped apple, and pulse until mixed. Add a few almonds and walnuts. Pulse until mixed. Add 1 tbsp of honey dijon mustard, stone & ground mustard, Buffalo Primal Sauce, and Sweet Baby Rays hot sauce. Pulse until mixed. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil and a few pinches of salt and pepper. Pulse until desire consistency is reached.

Lentils. Add 3 cups of water or vegetable brother to a pot. Add 1 cup of green lentils. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for 45 minutes, covered. Taste for tenderness before removing from heat. Strain the lentils and return them to the pot.

Brussels. Set a pan to medium-high heat. Cut the stems off and quarter or halve them (if bigger). Toss in a bowl with 1 tbsp of olive oil and two pinches of salt. Add brussels to the pan. Add a splash of water to the pan and cover. Let cook undisturbed for 5 minutes. Toss and cover for another 5.

Assemble. Add enough lentils to cover the bottoms of the bowl. Add a handful of brussel sprouts. Drizzle with 1 tbsp of olive oil and 2 pinches of salt. Add the chicken salad and drizzle with fig balsamic vinegar.

Buon Appetito!!

Baked Spicy Mustard Wild Salmon

When I find something I like in the kitchen I tend to try it on every dish I can. Here I’m using this delicious fermented chile paste to spice up my baked salmon!

• Preheat the oven to 425.

• In a small bowl mix:

  • 1 tbsp of stone ground mustard

  • 1 tbsp of Dijon mustard,

  • 1 tbsp of fermented chile paste

  • 1 tbsp of soy sauce.

I’m using frozen wild salmon I bought at Whole Foods and defrosted in the refrigerator overnight.

Take 2 filets from the packaging and pat them as dry as possible. They’ll be a lot of water since they were frozen.

Place aluminum foil on a baking sheet, add 1 tbsp of olive oil and 2 pinches of sea salt.

Place the 2 filets on the baking sheet, skin side down, and then evenly coat them with your mustard and chile mixture. Place in the oven and cook for 7 minutes.

Spicy Roasted Brussels

A different take on brussels to add some spice to your life!

• Preheat the oven to 425.

• Cut the stems off the brussels and then quarter them.

• Toss them the brussels in a bowl with:

  • 2 tbsp of olive oil

  • 1 tbsp of Primal Buffalo Sauce

  • 1 tbsp of Fermented Chile paste

  • 1/2 tbsp of sweet baby rays hot sauce (any hot sauce will do)

  • And 2 pinches: salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and a few dashes of chili powder.

• Mix with your hands to evenly coat the brussels.

• Add 1 handful of chopped walnuts, and 1 handful of raisins.

Spread out on a baking sheet and let cook for 15 minutes. I did 20 and they came out really crispy, aka burnt, see below, but I like them that way so 🤷‍♂️.

Venison Meatloaf

Check out this delicious venison meatloaf recipe. Venison is a leaner choice than beef, while still providing a very similar nutrient profile. This is an easy one to make and keep in the fridge for a protein packed option.

• Preheat the oven to 350

• Mix in a bowl:

  • 1 beaten egg

  • 1/2 cup of bread crumbs

  • 1 tbsp of brown sugar

  • 1/2 tsp of stone ground mustard

  • 1/2 tsp fermented chile paste

  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder

  • 1/2 tsp onion powder

  • 1/4 tsp thyme

  • 1 tsp of chicken renderings from whole Chicken Crock Pot

  • Dash of pumpkin spice

  • Dash of cayenne pepper

• Add 1 lb of First Light Farms Venison and mix fully with your hands

• Spread the contents of the bowl evenly into a 9 x 9 Pyrex dish

• Cook at 350 for 40 minutes

• In a small bowl mix the sauce to go on top of the meatloaf

  • 1 tbsp of fermented chile paste

  • 1 tbsp of primal buffalo sauce

  • 1/2 tbsp of stone ground mustard

  • 1/2 tbsp of Dijon mustard

  • 2 pinches of sea salt

After 40 minutes remove the meatloaf from the oven, and turn on the broiler. Spread the sauce as evenly as possible across the top and place back under the broiler for 60 - 90 seconds.

Cut the meatloaf into four even squares and enjoy it with a dish like this. Meatloaf, garlic mashed potatoes (topped with 1 tbsp of ghee and chopped red onion) and boiled broccoli! Enjoy!

How Sleep and Holiday Dinner Affect Glucose

After it felt like I was starting to understand what was impacting my glucose readings, this past week threw me for a loop. After some technical difficulties applying a new continuous glucose monitor (CGM), that cost me a week of data, I finally got a new one on and connected in time for Christmas dinner on Monday December 25th.

Christmas Dinner

Christmas is a big deal for my girlfriend and I. In my life I’ve never had Christmas without family, and my girlfriend only ever had Christmas without her family once. We’re used to big home cooked meals with our parents and siblings. But at the end of October we moved a 3 days drive away to Colorado, and we weren’t returning home for the holidays. So we needed to figure out Christmas dinner on our own. And after an expensive and mediocre experience ordering out for Thanksgiving, we really wanted to make Christmas special.

So we cooked a meal mostly inspired by food my girlfriend is used to, which luckily for me meant she did most of the cooking. A turkey was too much meat for just the two of us, plus we didn’t have the necessary equipment to cook one, so we opted instead to make a whole chicken in the crock pot. My girlfriend also made two of her favorite dishes, pineapple bake (bread, crushed pineapple, butter and cream), a sweet and savory dish akin to a bread pudding, and green bean casserole. Plus garlic mashed potatoes, and roasted carrots, parsnips and cauliflower for balance. And cookies for dessert.

We ate an early dinner at 4 pm.

As discussed in a previous post I made sure that morning to eat a low carb, high protein and fat meal of baked wild salmon, roasted brussels sprouts and sautéed bell peppers, avocado and finished with olive oil, to try and limit the damage. I also followed up Christmas dinner with a salad of tomato, raw red onion, blueberry, avocado, apple and chicken.

I was surprised to see that within 30 minutes of dinner, despite a plate loaded with simple carbohydrates, my glucose only spiked 37 points. And within an hour it had returned to baseline. I was conscious during dinner to consume my chicken, green bean casserole and vegetables (protein, fat and fiber) before the mashed potatoes and pineapple bake, a tactic recommended by Levels that slows the absorption of glucose into your bloodstream, but I was still pleasantly surprised with the result.

But even more surprising were the days to come. And for the wrong reasons.

The remainder of my week remained mostly steady, although on Tuesday following Christmas I did experience two 30+ point spikes. But neither one of these seemed out of line. The first one was caused by two bowls of berries that I ate after a prolonged period that day of not eating. The second was a plate of leftovers. In both cases it also made sense to me because the day before I had gone off my normal eating habits with Christmas dinner, and I assumed by body was working to get back to baseline.

The most surprising of data came the following Sunday, New Years Eve, and continued through Tuesday. For New Years Eve we stayed in and cooked. This time we made venison meatloaf, the same garlic mashed potatoes and boiled broccoli. On the surface it seemed like a balanced meal, and in comparison to Christmas I had about half the amount of carbohydrates on my plate.

But within 45 minutes of eating my glucose spiked 58 points and remained elevated for 2 hours (compared to only 1 hour for all the previous spikes discussed in this post). On Monday I experienced two spikes lasting a total of 4 hours. The first spurred by green lentils, which had never had this affect before, and the second from 2 handfuls (not bowls this time) of blueberries. And on Tuesday lentils again caused a spike, this time 56 points. None of it made sense.

If Christmas dinner, which was certainly richer in carbohydrates, only caused a 37 point spike, then why was this meal and subsequent healthier carb meals causing these swings. I started to wonder what else might be at play, and I started looking into possible causes other than the quality and quantity of carbohydrates.

The first thing that occurred to was that the meatloaf contained added brown sugar and breadcrumbs, plus simple carbohydrates and sugar from the homemade sauce on top. But I only ate 1/4 of the meatloaf, so I doubted that could’ve caused such a surge. The other metric that made me doubt this was the cause was my average glucose was steady at about 10 points higher than normal. Something else was going on.

I was beginning to think it was sleep related. So searched and found this study, the Impact of Insufficient Sleep on Glucose, which was summarized on the Levels Health blog.

In short, sleep efficiency, duration of sleep, and the time you go to bed and wake up each day, all play a role in your glucose levels and in your ability to control glucose the next day. Maintaining an early bedtime, getting uninterrupted sleep and sticking to a regular sleep pattern have all been shown to lower glucose levels and improve glycemic control.

My habits over the prior few days had all been in direct opposition to that advice.

In the nights leading up to these spikes, my sleeping habits had been off. I hadn’t been getting less sleep than usual. About 5 hours per night, down from 6 - 7. I also had been going to bed closer to midnight as opposed to my 10 o’clock routine, and waking up earlier, between 4 - 5 am instead of between 6 - 7 am. My lack of consistency, duration, and sleep quality were now showing up in my elevated and volatile glucose levels.

I wasn’t happy, but I also wasn’t surprised. Sleep has become a key component of longevity and health span for this very reason. It greatly impacts your metabolic health.

Since I had anticipated that lack of sleep might be impacting me, Monday night I went to bed closer to 10 pm, and followed that up again last night. I’ve continued to wake up at 4:30 am, but I’ve felt rested. So far today my glucose has remained steady, but my avg glucose remains elevated around 100 mg/dL. Heeding the advice of the study, I also ate a low carb breakfast of chicken, brussels and peppers, and a couple of handfuls of blueberries for dessert.

But I’m confident sleep and stress are my issue and I’m going to continue to pay attention to both of those over the next week, while also staying away from garlic mashed potatoes and other simple carbs.

Set It and Forget It Crock Pot Chicken

Every now and then I come across something so life changing that I wonder how I never knew about it and I want to share it with everyone I know. Slow cooking a whole chicken in the crock pot is one of those things.

From a cost, effort, and taste perspective, there is no reason not slow cook a chicken with regularity. Have 4 - 5 lbs of high quality protein readily available to add to any dish is just one more reason to follow this recipe. I made my first whole chicken on Christmas, and have made two more since. I’m just loving this.

It was just the two of us for Christmas this year, so a whole Turkey seemed like too much food. We also didn’t have all the necessary equipment to cook a turkey. Plus by the time we committed to cooking, we had run out of time to defrost a turkey (which apparently takes 3 days in the fridge). So we bought a 5 lb chicken instead and cooked it in the crock pot.

The best part? Once the chicken is setup, it’s completely mindless. And clean up is just one tray. The recipe does require a crock pot (which you can buy here for less than $40).

Buy a whole frying chicken. Unwrap it and remove the bag containing the gizzards (if it has one). The first chicken I bought didn’t have one but the second did, and I failed to remove it (yikes!).

In a small bowl mix the following seasonings:

• 1 tsp of salt

• 1 tsp chili powder

• 1 tsp onion powder

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp of herbs de Provence

• 1 tsp cayenne pepper

• 1 tsp thyme

• 1 tsp of cracked black pepper

Cut an onion into quarters and separate the layers and then lay the slices evenly along the bottom of the crock pot. There is no need to add water or anything else to the crock pot.

Mix all the spices and then rub down the chicken. Make sure to get inside the wings, thighs and drumsticks.

Place the chicken in the crock pot. We cooked a 5 lb chicken and set the heat to high and cooked it for 6.5 hours.

Once finished, pull the meat from the bone. The meat should slide off with ease. Throw out the bones and carcass. Add the meat to any dish for a delicious treat of protein!

Try This Move: Wide Grip Push Ups

Wide Grip Push Up

• Start in a plank position. Move your hands two hand widths past your shoulders. Tuck your tail bone, squeeze your glutes. Rotate your elbows slightly back and in.

• Descend to the ground, stopping a fists width off the ground. Keep your tailbone tucked, glutes tight, core engaged as you drive your hands through the floor back to the starting position.

• 3 sets x 10 repetitions

Beef and Broccoli Bowl

Ground beef patty, with brussel sprouts, broccoli and dressing. 

Beef patty. Bring a pan large enough to fit the meat to med-high heat, add a tbsp of olive oil. Use 1 lbs of 100% grass fed and finished or pasture raised ground beef. In a mixing bowl add the ground beef, 6 pinches of salt, 6 pinches of black pepper, 2 tbsp mustard, 2 tbsp Primal Buffalo Sauce, 1 egg (beat it before adding it), and 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs. Mix it all together.  

Make 4 equal size meatballs using your hands. Add each meatball to the pan individually and flatten until each resembles a hamburger. Cook for 4-5 minutes undisturbed and then flip for another 4-5.

Brussel sprouts. Set a pan to medium-high heat. Cut the stems off and quarter or halve them (if bigger). Toss in a bowl with 1 tbsp of olive oil and two pinches of salt. Add brussels to the pan. Add a splash of water to the pan and cover. Let cook undisturbed for 5 minutes. Toss and cover for another 5.

Broccoli. Chop two broccoli crowns into bite size pieces. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add broccoli and let cook for 3 - 5 minutes. Once strained, add the broccoli back to the pan, add 2 pinches of salt and a tbsp of ghee and mix.

Dressing. 1 handful chopped walnuts, 1 slice of chopped onion, 2 tbsp of red wine vinegar, 1/2 tbsp of olive oil and 2 pinches of sea salt.

Assemble. Add 1 patty cut into bite size pieces, 1 handful of broccoli, 1 handful of brussel sprouts and drizzle with homemade dressing.

Buon Appetito!!

New Year, Happy and Healthy You!

Click here: OneSource Health, December 31, 2023

“People who live the longest have two dispositional traits in common: a positive attitude and a high degree of emotional awareness”

Happy New Year! Like you, I have big plans for this coming year. Growing this newsletter and my website continues to excite me. To help me stay focused and motivated I’ve been working on my 2023 Year In Review and 2024 Goals. They’re both simple documents that I created for myself in 2020 when I was looking for reassurance and guidance about my path. It’s a simple way to acknowledge your accomplishments over the previous 12 months, and visualize the next 12. Give it a try.

And if you’re looking for a good book to start the year, check out my Top Ten Favorites from 2023.

Click Here to Subscribe

A Good Book, Podcast and Article

Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life, by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles

I’ve realized recently that health begins with happiness. It doesn’t matter how much you move or how healthy you eat, if you’re unhappy then health will always evade you. This realization made this Ikigai, the perfect book to end the year and rein in the new one. You can find the book here, and read my takeaways here.

The Consistency Project with EC Synkowski: on Sleep Supplements, Separating Hype from Evidence

Last week I shared my takeaways from Tim Ferriss’ conversation with Andrew Huberman, Ph.D. This sleep stack, which I subsequently purchased, was part of those takeaways. This week I found an episode of The Consistency Project on sleep. I listened expecting to hear overlap and confirmation of Huberman’s advice. Boy was I wrong. You can listen here and read my takeaways here.

The Financial Samurai: 10 Helpful Financial Moves To Make Every Year

With the New Year in mind I also took Sam Dogen’s (The Financial Samurai) advice and did an exercise of “10 Helpful Financial Moves to Make Every Year.” You can read the article here and read my takeaways here.

Moves and Workouts to Try

Last Workout in the 4 Part Series

Over the last 3 weeks I’ve shared 3 variations of this full body workout. Each week the exercises have progressed in difficulty. This week, Progression IV, is the most challenging of them all. Give it a try, or work on the first one, two and three before advancing.

More Ways To Challenge Yourself With Push Ups

Having fun with exercise requires knowing all the moves. Check out these 4 push up variations to inject some excitement into your routine.

Modifying Workouts and Exercises

Sometimes our plans get interrupted. Like when the gym closes for Christmas or you run out time before finishing your workout. This week I shared two workouts I modified to complete them at home. Staying consistent is rule numero uno!

Shrimp and Seaweed Handrolls

Check out my one of my favorite meals, and many more by clicking here. Buon Appetito!