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Ancestral Health Radio

Align your genetic make up for peak health, fitness, and longevity with actionable how-to advice from today's leaders in nutrition, movement, and lifestyle. Learn to bridge the divide between modern technology and your inherent ancestral wisdom.
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Now displaying: February, 2017
Feb 28, 2017
Plant domestication, most scientists think, made its debut some 10,000 years ago, with grain storage cropping up about 11,000 years ago. An ancient site in Israel yielded a hearty collection of grains, which were dated to about 23,000 years ago, according to a 2004 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences paper. But such an early appearance of wild cereals in the human diet—as this new paper proposes—would push the assumed date of substantial grass-seed eating back more than 70,000 years. 

This first bit is taken from an article published on December 17th, 2009 by author Katherine Harmon for Scientific American, and can also be found on yesterday's (2/27/2017) post on the official Ancestral Health Radio Facebook page.

So...

If our hunter-gatherer kin were eating cereal grains, why are modern diet fads telling us to avoid them? That's what today's guest, Dr. John Douillard, breaks down and explains on this episode of Ancestral Health Radio. John argues that it's not the grains, it's your porous digestive tract. And that It's not the dairy, it's your clogged lymphatic system. 

So what're we to do?

Dr. John Douillard explains how we can heal our gut, drain our lymph, and stoke our lost metabolic fire. All with common fruits, vegetables, and spices.

On top of that, in today's episode, you'll learn...

  • Why our ability to detox is directly linked to our overall health,
  • The deer study and why your dietary needs change with the seasons,
  • How to make your own "prebiotic slime", and...
  • Much, much more.

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 iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | SoundCloud

Episode Breakdown

  • John explains what happens when you take ancient health practices (that have been time-tested for thousands of years) and back them up with modern science
  • Why Dr. Douillard's intended three-month stay in India turned into an immersive year and a half study of traditional Ayurvedic medicine
  • Dr. Douillard breaks down the meaning of the word "Ayurveda" and why that's important
  • What is circadian medicine?
  • John tells us why we may have prematurely convicted wheat
  • Dr. Douillard talks about how we as a species have been gathering grains longer than we've technically been hunting wild game
  • The underlying key to optimal health
  • John says our ability to digest well is directly linked to our ability to detoxify well
  • Do anti-nutrients act as intestinal immune stimulators?
  • Why John says we need a strong digestive system
  • John gives suggestions on how and where to improve your diet
  • The problem with vegetable oils
  • The types of bread Dr. Douillard suggests we buy
  • Dr. John Douillard versus Dr. David Perlmutter (author of Grain Brain)
  • James discusses what he calls "metabolic flexibility"
  • Why eating with the seasons impacts your gut microbiome
  • The deer study
  • John's 3-season diet challenge
  • The brain-drain effect and the lymphatic system's role within our body
  • The three main causes of aging, according to Dr. Douillard
  • What happens when you alkalize your blood
  • What are static electricity clinics and why would you want to alkalize your blood?
  • What happens when you predigest coconut oil?
  • Why certain farmers have a hard time breaking down wheat and dairy due to a lack of microbial diversity from pesticide dust
  • What is baker's asthma and why does it matter?
  • Why John says you don't need to ferment your foods in the summertime
  • The huge difference between nostril and mouth breathing
  • Why your dietary needs change with the seasons
  • What does lipophilic mean and why is it important when gaining weight?
  • Whole wheat versus processed wheat
  • What happens when tribal hunters don't bring home the "bacon"
  • Why Amish children have the lowest cases of asthma on the planet
  • Why gallbladder surgery is the #3 surgery in America
  • The purpose of the gallbladder and its role in the body
  • The one major cause of gallbladder disease
  • How to reboot bile flow with a simple 3-ingredient juice blend
  • Dr. Douillard says type-2 diabetes is not a pancreatic condition (it's this, instead)
  • Why there are more fatty liver disease cases than ever before
  • How to naturally stoke your digestive fire through pancreatic enzymes and bile flow
  • What five spices (when consumed together) help you produce more of your own digestive juices? 
  • Hunter-gatherer fiber intake versus the SAD (standard American diet) model
  • How to make your own "prebiotic slime"
  • How to clean and move your lymph with natural, antioxidant-rich foods
  • The do's and don'ts of today's podcast
Feb 21, 2017

Did you know... Some of the oldest living mushroom colonies are fairy rings growing around the famous Stonehenge ruins in England? 

The rings are so large that they can best be seen from airplanes.

Crazy, right?

Well, be prepared to dive headfirst into mycology 101 with Tero Isokauppila, founder of the popular 'shroom company... FourSigmatic.com

Four Sigmatic is a superfood company founded by Tero and his group of Finnish friends. It's based on their belief that health can be vastly improved through simple dietary tweaks, and the easiest way to do this? Mushrooms, the most scientifically studied and proven superfood. Four Sigmatic wants to popularize medicinal mushrooms by incorporating them in popular products like coffee and hot cocoa.

In today's episode, you'll learn...

  • Why most medicinal mushroom products in North America technically don't contain mushrooms,
  • Why people on ketogenic diets shouldn't fear polysaccharides (i.e. complex sugars),
  • The three tiers of mushroom identification and foraging Tero suggests we begin with, and...
  • Much, much more.

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Episode Breakdown

  • Tero shares the cliff notes version of his family history and how studying mushrooms led to his current passion with his company Four Sigmatic
  • Why Tero says drinking mushrooms catches people off guard
  • Why most medicinal mushroom products in North America technically don't contain mushrooms
  • What Tero says is the most important part of consuming medicinal mushrooms
  • How and why upgrading an existing ritual is easier than creating a new one
  • How to "fat-hack" the bitterness from coffee
  • How heat and fat can unlock the medicinal power of an unextracted mushroom
  • What happens when you combine rosehips with mushrooms
  • The difference between the fruiting body and mycelium of fungi
  • Why people on ketogenic diets shouldn't fear polysaccharides (i.e. complex sugars)
  • Tero explains the fungi circle of life
  • The differences between foraging laws in the US versus Finland
  • The cutthroat business of commercial mushroom foragers
  • Everyman's Right in Finland
  • Why Finnish people run off to rural cottages for weeks to even months at a time
  • The importance of celestial events in Finnish culture and the origins of Santa Claus
  • Why Finland and surrounding countries are some of the least religious countries in the world
  • The difference between edible mushrooms and medicinal mushrooms
  • The accident that led to Tero discovering a rare Japanese mushroom in Finland
  • Where Four Sigmatic sources their "superfoods"
  • Tero explains—with a clever anecdote—how adaptogenic herbs can modulate both mood and energy
  • Why you should be relaxed, focused, and calm in the mornings
  • The mindset that Tero sees that causes many people to panic and stop taking action
  • Tero's three levels of mushroom foraging
  • Special discount code for 10% off your next Four Sigmatic purchase
Feb 14, 2017

Is the world your dojo?

It most certainly is for today's guest — contextual movement coach — Stefano Tripney.

If the two words contextual movement throw you a bit off, no worries. Stefano explains exactly what that is and how it can apply to you and your day-to-day. 

He also shares his early experiences with coaching and a bit of the history that led him to where he is today.

Stefano blends both the disciplines and philosophies of Martial Arts and the natural movement skills of MovNat.

I've taken an excerpt directly from the MovNat website, which reads: 

MovNat is a school school of physical competence for the real-world. Our goal is to equip people with the movement skills, physiological preparedness (strength & conditioning), and mindset necessary for practical, adaptable performance – both fundamental and high level. 

So in today's episode, expect to learn:

  • The proper progression dojos Stefano recommends to help avoid injury from exercise after years of sedentism, 
  • Why Stefano recommends we live furniture-free lifestyles,
  • And why we need to keep our mindsets "in beta",
  • And much, much more... 

Subscribe on

 iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | SoundCloud

Episode Breakdown

  • Stefano shares his early beginnings in movement springing from his passion for watching kung-fu movies 
  • Where Stefano likes to spend his alone time
  • Stefano's kickstart into martial arts
  • Stefano's early experiences coaching martial arts
  • Why after 10 years of martial arts Stefano gave it all up to move to Italy
  • What Stefano says he trains for
  • The movement methodology that forever changed Stefano's coaching trajectory
  • Stefano breaks down MovNat
  • How Stefano addresses the many needs of his clients
  • A few questions Stefano likes to ask any new client
  • How becoming a "seminar junkie" affected Stefano's coaching
  • How Kelly Worden connected Stefano's training philosophies 
  • Why your intent with the environment that you're in can make all the difference in your movement practice
  • Why discipline and immersion is so important to dropping your ego
  • The broad spectrum of people that come to Stefano for training
  • How a 52-year-old was a more competent mover than 20-year-olds
  • How Stefano significantly motivated an autistic man's desire to move 
  • James's personal experience with movement coaching
  • How James injured his back at a movement workshop (2016) in San Francisco 
  • Stefano's three big movement dojos
  • Stefano defines what he calls Obstacle Optics
  • "Movement Martial Arts"
  • The critical piece or cornerstone to Stefano's training
  • Going furniture-free
  • The Princess Bride, iocane powder, and hormesis
  • What James wants to focus his efforts on in 2017
  • Why we should keep a mindset of "beta"
  • Stefano's experiences of moving from a small town to the big city and then... to Europe
  • Stefano's first bow-drill
  • Changing "elevation for vegetation"
  • Why Stefano likes being the new kid on the block
  • Skinny dipping in the Pacific Ocean
Feb 7, 2017

How long do we, as a species, have left on this planet?

It may be a lot less time than you may had previously thought, according to today's guest.

Guy McPherson, the leading authority on abrupt climate change and near-term human extinction, predicts that we, collectively, have reached the tipping point that has lead the human population careening towards the sixth great extinction of our planet.

So what're we to do?

Guy's answers range from mailing your local congressmen... to dynamiting cell phone towers—all in the name of dismantling industrial civilization, which Guy believes, is the root cause of many of our modern ills—including, but no limited to—abrupt climate change.

Love it or hate it...

In today’s episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why we should take action but be unattached to the outcome,
  • Why we as a species are driving ourselves towards a sixth mass extinction,
  • The solutions we can take on a local level to extend our time here on Earth,
  • And much, much more... 

Subscribe on

 iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | SoundCloud

Episode Breakdown

  • Guy gives a statement to President Trump about climate change
  • Why Guy believes being unattached to an outcome is not only important but necessary
  • Guy gives solid examples of self-reenforcing feedback loops
  • Guy shares his perspective on why he doesn't like to attach himself to outcomes
  • Why Guy believes civilization has become an omnicidal heat-engine
  • Guy defines anarchy and anarchism as described by Edward Abbey
  • Guy describes how conservation biologists like himself are the ones who pushed the efforts of rewilding into mainstream media
  • Guy argues that the trigger for humans and civilization came when people began to "lock up the food"
  • What's the difference between the leavers versus the takers?
  • Guy shares his experience with living in a transition town in the wilds of New Mexico
  • Guy tells us what steps we might need to take in order to live more harmoniously with the humans and nonhumans of this earth
  • Why we need to escape cityscapes
  • Why Guy says there are no parties that are free from environmental damage
  • Why we focus on making money instead of building skills
  • Guy describes what a holistic human-being is and how we've been distracted 
  • Guy shares his biggest challenges when making his own transition in New Mexico
  • Why modern culture can drive us away from interpersonal intimacy
  • Why Guys says we're "all about the money"
  • Guy observes how profoundly driven humans are for material possessions
  • The sixth mass extinction
  • Guy briefly explains the Great Dying
  • Why Guy believes we shouldn't blame or shame anyone into taking action
  • Why Guy says the sixth mass extinction is directly rooted in industrial civilization
  • Why The Jason Group believes that the Earth will be a lifeless planet in the not-so-distant future
  • Guy gives two examples of taking direct action against industrial civilization 
  • Deep Green Resistance and Idle No More
  • The best excuse in the world not to take action
  • Why Guy believes there should be no "should"
  • The Seventh Generation Principle
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