S5EP2: Mark Sisson

Mark Sisson is the founder of the popular health blog, Mark’s Daily Apple, godfather to the Primal food and lifestyle movement, and the New York Times Bestselling author of The Keto Reset Diet. Mark is the author of numerous other books as well, including The Primal Blueprint, which was credited with turbocharging the growth of the primal/paleo movement back in 2009. After spending three decades researching and educating folks on why food is the key component to achieving and maintaining optimal wellness, Mark launched Primal Kitchen, a real-food company that creates Primal/paleo, keto, and Whole30-friendly kitchen staples.

For more info on Mark, check out Mark's Daily Apple, his Books, or follow him on Instagram.

***This episode was recorded on a particularly raucous day at San Francisco CrossFit, so please excuse all the weights dropping and exuberant convos happening in the background.***

People, Books, and Devil Oils mentioned in the episode:

03:45 Mark’s background as an elite runner
04:33 Mark was reading about longevity and fitness at an early age, with work by Adelle Davis and Ken Cooper’s book on aerobics
07:25 In Mark’s early running career, conventional wisdom suggested a complex carbohydrate based diet was necessary
08:54 Mark takes a break from school to pursue his running career and qualifies for the 1980 Olympics, the year President Carter decided to boycott
09:24 Mark finishes 5th in the US National Championships in 1980, and 4th at the Ironman in Hawaii
09:39 While Mark was racing well and looked fit from the outside, he was suffering countless injuries and illnesses from overtraining and
11:50 Mark retires 29 years old and dedicates his life to being strong, healthy, and happy with the least amount of pain and suffering
12:12 Mark starts writing: Runner’s World Triathlon Training, 1982;
12:30 Mark interests turn to gene expression
14:54 Mark’s Daily Apple is born
16:04 Kelly discovers Mark’s Daily Apple as a first year physio at the same time he discovered Mark Rippetoe, CrossFit, Dan John
17:32 The Starrett’s give their cat, King Louie, diabetes. By feeding him cat food.
18:28 In the end we are just animals and need to eat real food and avoid man-made frankenfood; Arthur De Vany
19:45 Mark explains metabolic flexibility
25:54 How does one become metabolically flexible?
29:09 PrimalCon
31:56 Hunger, appetite, and cravings
32:10 Mark doesn’t eat a bite of food that doesn’t taste awesome, he’s the Marie Kondo of eating
33:07 Minimum effective dose with respect to eating; Tim Ferriss
35:02 The joy from eating is an important part of your day; Chasing the Cheesecake (Factory) dragon
37:56 Mark, Ron Rosedale, and Joe Mercola all agree that the less sugar you eat, the longer you’ll live.
38:45 When you aren’t eating, that’s when the good stuff happens in your body - repair mechanisms, DNA repair, cellular cleanup
40:07 Fasting once in a while gives your body the opportunity to repair, with no real downside
41:00 Juliet first learns about the dark side of vegetable oils on Mark’s Daily Apple, and furthers her knowledge with Cate Shanahan’s book, Deep Nutrition
41:32 Industrial seed oils (soybean, canola, corn oil) are inflammatory, implicated in cellular damage, and cause premature hardening of arteries, skin (wrinkles)
43:56 Mark started Primal Kitchen largely because of a supermarket incident where he realized that his beloved Newman’s Own Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Vinegar dressing contained soybean, canola, and corn oil, and EVOO was fourth or fifth on the ingredient list.
44:53 Oils exist on a spectrum i.e. Avocado Oil which is considered one of the better oils, then EVOO, all the way down to the nastier industrial seed oils
45:34 Crisco was created to lubricate engine parts until someone had the bright idea to use it in cooking
46:18 Kolache
46:59 At 66, Mark still has a prodigious “play” attitude
47:37 Mark discusses the role of play in his day-to-day life
49:00 Sidebar: Mark used to do 20-mile silent runs with a group of guys in the hills above Santa Monica, wearing just Speedos and running shoes. FYI.
49:37 Mark tries to have fun when moving (rather than managing pain as part of his training)
49:46 Activities of choice are stand up paddling, fat bike, foiling, snowboarding, and ultimate frisbee (that he plays with 20 somethings, some of whom won gold in the last world championships)
51:44 The importance of balance as we age
55:46 To achieve longevity, find some form of resistance exercise, but try to make it fun
57:06 Slack line is great for balance
57:37 Mark has a new book, out in December 2019, Keto for Life, which covers his four pillars of longevity - metabolic flexibility, movement & physical activity, mental flexibility, and rest & recovery - and looks at how we can set ourselves up to live a longer, happier, healthier life with the least amount of pain, suffering, sacrifice and discipline.
59:00 Laird is 10 years older than Kelly, and Mark is 10 years older than Laird, which sets the bar high and gives Kelly a distinct image of what he’s shooting for in the next few decades
60:00 There are basically two things that define quality of life when you get older: memory, actual mobility - both of which are the essential benefits of play
62:00 Mark’s socials