Paleo Diet News Review: The Primal Blueprint
Mark Sisson is a highly-regarded voice in the paleo/primal movement, and is a veritable walking advert for the benefits of the paleo diet. At 57, he radiates a vim and vigour that would be the envy of many a younger man (or woman). 
His popular blog, Mark’s Daily Apple, served as an introduction to paleo living for many of us, and it continues to inspire and educate on an almost daily basis. Sisson’s approach is commendable in its simplicity – he boils the complexities of diet, exercise, and movement down to a few simple and memorable “laws”, based on those instinctively observed by our distant ancestors:
1. Eat lots of plants and animals
2. Avoid poisonous things
3. Move frequently at a slow pace
4. Lift heavy things
5. Sprint once in a while
6. Get adequate sleep
7. Play
8. Get adequate sunlight
9. Avoid stupid mistakes
10. Use your brain
His book, The Primal Blueprint, goes into the details of these rules in considerable depth, backed up with copious references, and various interesting forays into sidelines that help illuminate the main material (in one sidebar, he discusses why going barefoot during exercise can strengthen feet, improve strength, and reduce injury risk).
Sisson’s style is lively and talkative – he comes across not as a “guru”, but as a friend or a gym buddy who’s excitedly sharing his thoughts and experiences with you, knowing that you may find them of real benefit. One of the features I like best about the book is that each chapter beings with an overview, which primes the reader for what’s about to be covered, and ends with a comprehensive summary, which consolidates the information. So comprehensive and clear are these summaries, that reading them alone is a pretty powerful experience. I highly recommend this book to those new to the paleo diet, and also to seasoned paleo dieters. Even if you think you know it all, you’re almost certain to discover more.
Happily, the generosity of spirit that Sisson’s writing conveys is confirmed by his willingness to share a great deal of information freely. You can download the introduction to The Primal Blueprint by signing up for his free newsletter here, or – if you really want to keep things simple – pick up the main gist of his approach in this great blog post, The Primal Blueprint 101.
Let’s finish by hearing from Mark himself. Here, he shares his technique for throwing together a “primal salad”:
Brian Cormack Carr is a professional life and career coach, writer, and advocate of a real foods diet.
His home on the web is www.cormackcarr.com where you will find more articles, a free newsletter, and information about his online career-creation programme www.vitalvocation.com. You can follow Brian on Twitter: @cormackcarr
