In this episode I discuss the health benefits of organ meats like brains, liver, kidney, heart, and similar foods.

Organ meats (from pastured animals- not from conventionally grown animals) are exquisitely nutrient dense- they pack a powerful punch of minerals, fat soluble vitamins, protein, enzymes and fat- all things that are sorely lacking in the typical modern diet. Below, I list different Beef organs one can sample (same goes for pastured pork, game animals and pastured poultry.

Liver- This is the big guns of all of the organ meats as it contains nutrients that are difficult to obtain from other sources. Liver is high in the precursor to vitamin A, retinol ( food sources are safe and superior to synthetic sources of vitamin A), B12, Folate, and choline (good for fat metabolism). Liver is revered by boxers as the ultimate endurance food- perhaps all of the B12 ( up to 17 times as much as ground beef)

Beef liver pate: http://www.almostbananas.net/simple-and-best-liver-pate/

Heart- Has a texture and taste similar to muscle meats like brisket so the “organ meat factor” is purely visual as opposed to liver or brain for example. That said, heart is a good source of iron, zinc, selenium, B vitamins, and CoQ10. CoQ10 is one of the primary factors in mitochondrial energy production and a powerful antioxidant (helps clean up oxidative residue from exercise and metabolic functions). Beef and pork heart have the highest concentration of CoQ10 and contain up to 5 times as much CoQ10 per gram as beef and pork muscle meat.

Beef Heart with Herbed Vinaigrette and Arugula: http://blog.ruhlman.com/2011/08/how-to-cook-beef-heart/

Tongue- one of the best tasting and most tender cuts of meat, tongue is also a good source of zinc, iron, choline, B12 and B vitamins in general as well as trace minerals.  Its also composed of up to 70% fat- making it very juicy and tender.

Beef Tongue Recipe: http://thecuriouscoconut.com/blog/how-to-cook-beef-tongue

Kidney: Is probably the most labor intensive organ to prepare- requiring soaking and trimming but it is also loaded with protein and vitamin B12. Cooked properly, the flavor is mild and the texture soft and chewy like mushroom

Deviled Beef Kidney: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/09/nasty-bits-offal-deviled-kidneys-recipe.html

Brain- Probably the one folks are most squeamish about, brain takes a little prep but can pay off in nutritional value. High in Omega 3 fatty acids and minerals (the very things nerve cells are composed of) brain provides the raw materials for our nervous system to repair itself.

Scrambled Brains:

1 set of brains (beef or pork)

1tbsp organic grass fed butter

4 pastured eggs

2 tbsp chopped parsley

Unrefined mineral salt

2 tbsp organic grass fed milk

Parboil brains gently. Drain. Saute gently in butter until browned. Add eggs to milk and beat, lightly  scramble and garnish with parsley.

Don’t discount the value of a good diet that includes raw animal products like pastured eggs, raw cream, and even raw meat and organ meats (from healthy pastured animals- and prepared properly) to not only nourish and rebuild your body but actually correct what didn’t grow correctly in the first place- more on that in my next podcast.

In this episode of the Structural Performance Podcast, I interview Bob Metzler, Long time Iyengar Yoga teacher, Chinese martial artist, and Certified Foundation Training instructor.

Bob and I discuss the various aspects of both yoga and the internal martial arts and their applications for both athletes as well as regular, health minded folks. Bob helps to uncover the seemingly complicated web of styles, family lineages, fighting styles and martial base building styles like Qi Gong and Nei Gong.

Bob explains the the reasoning behind the methods that he has brought together and “renamed” as Internal Power Training- the most useful parts of internal base training simplified and taught as a single system which he teaches at various levels to people ranging from martial artists to athletes, to retirees.

I have included a link to the pdf of a flyer for an upcoming introductory Internal Power Training workshop HERE. NOTE: this flyer explains much better than I the details of Internal Power Training.

In this episode, I explore a little noticed topic of breathing efficiency and its effect on overall brain function, health, and physical performance.

Although there are various ways to improve cellular energy production and explosive peak energy production, the untapped element in this equation is structural impediments to actually getting air into your lungs.

Any restriction in the tissues is going to 1) limit volume of inhalation and thereby limit the volume of oxygen getting into the body and 2) Necessitate additional energy expenditure to overcome the tissue restriction and/or compensate by increasing breathing frequency (thereby additionally increasing energy expenditure required for breathing and subsequently limiting energy availability to the brain, muscles, etc.)

If you have a tight back, neck, knots, tight quads, glutes, hamstrings, ITB, jaw, etc, you have tissue restrictions in your trunk that are impeding your breathing efficiency and your health, sleep, and physical and mental performance.

Multiply any percentage inefficiency by the 17,280 breaths you take every day and the wasted energy starts to add up!

Take the Breathing Efficiency Assessment HERE: http://therolfworkshop.com/blog/articles/are-breathing-restrictions-affectingyour-brain-performance/

Microlife portable spirometer: http://www.amazon.com/Microlife-PF-100-MeterSpirometry/dp/B000BH8TUA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1419020964&sr=8-4&keywords=spirometer 

Listen to today’s episode to listen to an interview with Corey Beasley, the co-owner of Innovative Results, in which we discuss how focused daily training can positively affect more than just the physical parts of your life.

Control Food Group A) Raw meat, viscera, bones, raw milk, cod liver oil (run of the pen cats)

Experimental Diet Foods) a. Raw Meat b. Cooked Meat c. Raw Milk d. Pasteurized Milk e. Evaporated Milk f. Sweetened Condensed Milk

Once assigned, the animals food group was held constant.

Two Basic studies- One focused on Milk (raw/cooked), the other on Meat (raw/cooked) had almost identical results.

Study #1 ( 1/3 A 2/3 of one of the Experimental Diet foods)

Studies recorded numerous physiological changes in the animals and their offspring

Milk Study:

Raw milk cats- move about the pen with grace and nimbleness- land on their feet when they were thrown a short distance, sexually interested in the opposite sex, they have a sheen on their coat. Dentition was perfect.

Cooked milk cats, are lethargic, develop arthritis, move more tentatively, when thrown a short distance they show slightly impaired sense of coordination (don’t always land on their feet and appear weaker). Dental deterioration was also common (abcesses above the molars, redness of gums, softness of gingiva)

Evaporated Milk cats showed greater deterioration.

Sweetened Condensed Milk animals exhibited nervousness, purple tone to mouth, abcesses, poor dentition.

In a confrontation between raw milk and pasteurized milk females, the raw milk cat gets in 20-30 hits for every one by the cooked milk cat.

All of the above cats started the study in perfect health, and in similar physical condition to one another.

The results in offspring become more pronounced.

Gen 2 cats:

Raw meat cats appeared larger than cooked meat cats (@ 16 weeks raw meat cat @ 2 Kg while the cooked meat cat weighed 1.6kg)

Skeletal analysis revealed more complete development of the skull of:

 raw meat cat: (fully developed zygomatic arch, fully formed sinus, Fully developed orbital arch). Bone structure constant over generations. Calcium content of bone: 12-17%

Cooked meat cat: heads have begun to flatten and head smaller than raw meat cat. Zygomatic arch, sinus and orbital arches are not fully developed. Calcium content of bone has fallen to 10%

Cooked meat animals started to look androgenous.

Gen 3 Cats:

Cooked Meat: Most remarkable development of change. Skull considerably smaller, flat with pointed features. Skull shows poorly developed zygomatic arch. Bones are paper thin and soft like sponge rubber. Sinus shows deviated development. Calcium content of bones has fallen to 3%

Allergies, parasites, and fleas are all present in 3^rd generation cooked meat animals. These are not present in the raw meat animals.

Lethargy and impaired coordination are the norm for 3^rd generation cooked meat animals

Cooked meat cats were unable to successfully reproduce after the 3^rd generation.

Void of sexual interest. When able to mate only stillborn litters were produced.

Raw Meat continued to produce healthy offspring generation after generation.

Reversal is possible but it takes 4 generations to fully regain wellbeing.

One cooked meat cat escaped its pen and recovered considerably while living in the wild.

The changes in the cats are comparable to the changes in human beings over since the industrialization of food production (starting roughly 1900. For example, My great grandmother grew up on a farm, and moved to the city when she married. Her daughter was relatively healthy. My mother has scoliosis and osteoporosis. My sister and I have more severe scoliosis- all three of us have cavity prone teeth.

These findings parallel those of Dr. Weston A Price in his study of the health emerging societies and its relation to change in diet from traditional diet to modern processed diet.

Optimal diet for humans is minimum 50% Raw. (fish, meat, eggs, vegetables, etc)

In episode #20, I discuss the possible causes of myopia (nearsightedness) and one method for improvement.

Myopia can be genetic (inherited) but expression is enhanced by epigenetic (environmental and lifestyle) factors. Additionally, Myopia can be non genetic but induced by epigenetic (environmental and lifestyle factors)

Epigenetic factors include close work such as study, poor diet, and lack of outdoor exercise, poor illumination, and poor eye care.

Dietary factors such as that are associated with myopial development and progression are:

Hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistence

Excess intake of carbohydrate and whole grains

Deficiency of fish oil and essential fatty acids

Deficiency in fat soluble vitamins

Mineral deficiency or excess

In a study by Loran Cordain, Children in the the islands of Vanatu have 8 hours a day of compulsory schooling, yet their rate of myopia is only 2% (very low!) Their native diet consists of fish, yam, and coconut (and no grains)

Those with strong myopia >2.0 diopters (>20/150) are genetically predisposed. Mild myopia < 2.0 Diopters (<20/150) are non genetically predisposed (as a rule)

Early myopia results from the spasm of the ciliary muscles of the eye (which shape the lens) causing the focus point to fall in front of the back of the eye in far vision. This is temporary but with repeated close work, spasm becomes continuous.

Putting a minus lens in front of the eye simply makes the eye grow longer over time leading to the same problem- and more stronger lenses to get proper focus- a vicious cycle.

Myopia can be reversed by doing specialized eye exercises (not the Bates Method) daily, and eventually driving the compensation of eye length towards better vision. 20/20 vision is attainable! (see video below for details on how to do this).

Todd Becker, M.S. Website: http://www.gettingstronger.org

Video of Ancestral Health Symposium Lecture on how to cure your myopia: http://gettingstronger.org/2014/08/myopia-a-modern-yet-reversible-disease/

Research Citations: http://gettingstronger.org/2014/08/myopia-a-modern-yet-reversible-disease/  Slides 39-40

It can be hard to stay focused during an endurance workout for various reasons. Google Glass has found a way to help you stay focused and improve your mental and physical performance!

Listen to this week's podcast to hear about how Google Glass can improve your endurance exercises!

In episode #18, I discuss the possibility that the foods you are eating are disrupting your gut biome, thereby driving patterns of insomnia.

Additionally, I explore the how the common use of stimulants and other common foods disrupt the stability of your blood sugar, hormones, and sleep.

Common caffeinated stimulants:

Coffee, tea, chocolate, caffeinated sodas, energy drinks

Common blood sugar disruptors:

Too much carbohydrate at dinner

Insufficient Protein at dinner

Insufficient Fat at dinner

Food sensitivities and allergies

Foods that foster dysbiosis (negatively impacting gut bacteria associated with disease, etc)

High glycemic foods: http://www.texasgrassfedbeef.com/grass-fed-meat-education/food-analysis-gi-gl-fat-ratio-nutrient-load-and-inflammation

Recent study showing shift in gut biome associated with high fat, high sugar diet and circadian rhythm shift: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0097500