AHS16 - Ancestral Health Symposium 2016: Full Schedule

Adrenal fatigue has become a popular diagnosis amongst both patients and practitioners within the functional/integrative medicine community. It is used to describe a wide variety of symptoms, ranging from fatigue, insomnia and brain fog, to joint pain, allergies, and weight gain. Proponents of the adrenal fatigue concept suggest that it affects millions of people around the world, and may be at the root of most modern disease. But does adrenal fatigue really exist? Is it an accurate representation of stress-related pathology? Is it in alignment with current scientific evidence? In this presentation I will critically evaluate the adrenal fatigue hypothesis, discuss the role of the HPA axis in health and disease from an ancestral perspective, and suggest a new, evidence-based paradigm for understanding the adrenal fatigue syndrome.

Upon completion of the session participants will:
1. Gain an evolutionary perspective on the impact of stress on human physiology.
2. Understand why the “adrenal fatigue” model is not supported by the scientific evidence.
3. Learn a new, evidence-based paradigm of understanding stress-related pathology.

Presenters

Chris Kresser

MS, LAc

Chris Kresser M.S., L.Ac is a practitioner of functional medicine, the creator of ChrisKresser.com, the founder of the Kresser Institute, and the New York Times best selling author of The Paleo Cure. Chris was recently named one of the 100 most influential people in health and fitness... Read More →

Thursday August 11, 2016 9:50am - 10:30am MDT
East

Talk (East)

9:50am MDT

Calorie Intake: A Cornerstone of Ancestral Health

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Traditional cultures generally have a low burden of obesity, metabolic, and cardiovascular diseases. In contrast, affluent cultures have a high burden of obesity, metabolic, and cardiovascular diseases. Why? Traditional cultures eat widely varying diets, yet they all have one thing in common: they don’t eat as many calories as we do, relative to their calorie needs. We’ve always known that calorie intake impacts health, but emerging evidence is suggesting that it may be even more important than we realized. In fact, it may be the single most important determinant of chronic disease risk in affluent cultures today.

Presenters

Stephan Guyenet

PhD

Stephan Guyenet is an obesity researcher and neurobiologist who places cutting-edge biomedical research into an ancestral health framework. His research spans neurodegenerative disease, aging, nutrition, and obesity, but in recent years has been focused primarily on the neurobiology... Read More →

Thursday August 11, 2016 9:50am - 10:30am MDT
West

Talk (West)

10:30am MDT

break: 10 minutes

Thursday August 11, 2016 10:30am - 10:40am MDT
Break

Break

10:40am MDT

Obesogens and Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals: Obesity is About More than Diet Exercise

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Why are lab animals whose diet and exercise levels are precisely controlled getting fatter along with the rest of the modern world? In the Ancestral health movement we've become very aware of the harmful effects of mismatches in diet, exercise, sleep, stress and social connections, but is there more to obesity and disease than just those factors? Growing evidence points to the role endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), and specifically a class of them known as obesogens, are playing in the obesity and diabetes epidemics. This talk will explore EDCs and obesogens – what they are, and how they work - as well as talk about what ancestrally-minded individuals can do to protect themselves and their loved ones.

Presenters

Tim Gerstmar

Dr. Tim Gerstmar practices Naturopathic Medicine at his Redmond, WA office, Aspire Natural Health (aspirenaturalhealth.com). He specializes in working with people with digestive and autoimmune problems, and has worked with many of the most difficult to treat situations using a blend... Read More →

Thursday August 11, 2016 10:40am - 11:20am MDT
East

Talk (East)

10:40am MDT

Diet and cognition: Data, theory, and some solutions from the playbook of psychology

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In addition to its effects on physical wellbeing, diet also plays a major role in mood, cognition, and psychological wellbeing. I first summarize my recent empirical work on the detrimental effects of a refined, low-fat diet on cognition in the rat. In addition to its obesogenic properties, this diet causes deficits in motivation, attention, and impulse control. Next I will place this research in the greater context of psychological theory and phenomena. Key concepts from psychology offer many insights into the modern diet-related health problems. I will touch on concepts such as Super-Normal stimuli, Pavlovian conditioning, delay discounting, learned helplessness, overshadowing and blocking, the addictive-like nature of junk foods, habit learning, and endocrine dysregulation by chronic stress. But all hope is not lost. I conclude with some solutions psychology can offer to rescue us from diet-induced problems.

Presenters

Aaron Blaisdell

Faculty, UCLA

Dr. Blaisdell is a UCLA Professor of Psychology, and members of the UCLA Brain Research Institute, Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, and the Evolutionary Medicine Interdisciplinary Center. He runs the comparative cognition lab (http://pigeonrat.psych.ucla.edu). He is Editor-in-Chief... Read More →

Thursday August 11, 2016 10:40am - 11:20am MDT
West

Talk (West)

11:20am MDT

break: 10 minutes

Thursday August 11, 2016 11:20am - 11:30am MDT
Break

Break

11:30am MDT

Fat-Soluble Vitamins and Testosterone

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Testosterone is essential in both males and females and makes important contributions to many aspects of health including fertility and athletic performance. Ancestral diets were rich in fat-soluble vitamins, and fat-soluble vitamins play an important role in regulating testosterone. Among several important mechanisms is the regulation of undercarboxylated osteocalcin which is released from bone into serum during bone resorption and acts as a hormone that controls insulin and testosterone signaling. Adequate fat-soluble vitamins are necessary to support the to support this mechanism, but high doses of a variety of nutritional supplements have the potential to compromise testosterone production through inhibiting bone resorption. This presentation will cover data from my laboratory showing that vitamin D can raise undercarboxylated osteocalcin levels within a broader framework that synthesizes the results of many studies and concludes with recommendations for dosing and balancing fat-soluble vitamins.

Presenters

Chris Masterjohn

PhD

Chris Masterjohn earned his PhD in Nutritional Sciences in 2012 from the University of Connecticut at Storrs, served as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 2012 to 2014, and served as Assistant Professor of Health and Nutrition... Read More →

Thursday August 11, 2016 11:30am - 12:10pm MDT
East

Talk (East)

11:30am MDT

Is There One Truly Optimal, Universally Foundational Human Diet: Bio-individuality as a Secondary and not a Primary Issue

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The many varied dietary approaches of our Paleolithic ancestors throughout the eons of our evolutionary history have superficially suggested that an optimal human diet can be highly varied and is largely subject to "bio-individual differences". But is this truly the case? The work of certain nutritional pioneers reveals that this may not in fact be the case, and that the details of any given dietary approach—though not entirely irrelevant--are less important than certain fundamental foundations we all share. This presentation will explore the many ways in which our seemingly diverse human population is far more alike than unalike, and where we need to prioritize foundational needs versus bio-individual needs and polymorphisms.

Presenters

Nora Gedgaudas

CNS, NTP, BCHN, Northwest Neurofeedback Inc

Nora Gedgaudas, CNS, NTP, BCHN, is the author of the international best-selling book, Primal Body, Primal Mind. She is also the author of the top-selling ebook: Rethinking Fatigue: What Your Adrenals Are Really Telling You and What You Can Do About It. Nora is an experienced nutritional... Read More →

Thursday August 11, 2016 11:30am - 12:10pm MDT
West

Talk (West)

12:10pm MDT

Physicians for Ancestral Health informational get together

Feedback Survey

Meeting in UMC West, followed by informal lunch.

Thursday August 11, 2016 12:10pm - 12:40pm MDT
West

12:10pm MDT

(12:10-12:40) Primal Play Method

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Get fitter, stronger and healthier using the power of Primal Play. Regardless of your relationship with activity; whether you have a love affair with fitness and relish a new challenge or hate exercise but want to get passionate about movement again – you will gain practical movement skills that will assist you in performing everyday, recreational and extraordinary physical tasks more effectively. You will also have a lot of fun doing it!

Presenters

Darryl Edwards

Darryl Edwards, MSc. owner of Fitness Explorer Training, is an international speaker, certified personal trainer, nutritional therapist, and award-winning author of Paleo Fitness and Paleo from A to Z. His work has been published in magazines including Men’s Fitness, Women’s Health... Read More →

Thursday August 11, 2016 12:10pm - 12:40pm MDT
Outside (meet on UMC patio)

Movement Session

12:10pm MDT

(12:10-1:40) Lunch: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Thursday August 11, 2016 12:10pm - 1:40pm MDT
Break

Lunch

1:40pm MDT

Dietary Management of the Apo E 4 Genotype, the True Ancestral Gene

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Much controversy continues over what constitutes the ancestral diet, yet little if any attention is given to a diet that is compatible/complimentary to the true Ancestral Genome. Approximately 30% of humans carry one or both copies of the Apolipoprotein E 4 genotype (Apo E 4). The Apo E 4 genotype is common to the great apes, but only humans can and do carry Apo E 2,3, and 4 alleles. The presence of the Apo E 4 gene has been associated with increased susceptibility to accelerated atherosclerosis, decreased longevity, susceptibility to infectious diseases, and Alzheimer’s disease, by changing the way lipoproteins interact with cell surface receptors and in regulating Amyloid Beta peptides in the brain. Because of this, we have focused our attention upon keeping the small dense oxidizable particles of LDL as low as possible via a low animal fat, high soluble fiber and resistant starch diet. We have found that limiting Triglyceride production by lessening sugars, fruits, and seeded vegetables also lowers small LDL production. We further minimize the oxidization of small LDL particles using generous amounts of polyphenol rich Olive Oil as well as the polyphenols in Resveratrol, Grape Seed Extract, Turmeric, and Pomegranate Seed Oil and Extracts. Shellfish are emphasized as the animal protein of choice if desired. Unfortunately, the Paleo Diet, with its high animal fat and protein components, produces the exact opposite effect to what needs to happen in these patients. Using this protocol, we have successfully minimized the deleterious effects of this “Ancestral Gene” in thousands of patients followed for up to 15 years, many now successfully aging into their mid to late 80’s without consequence.

Presenters

Steven Gundry

MD, International Heart & Lung Institute

Steven R. Gundry, M.D., is the Medical Director of the International Heart and Lung Institute and Founder of The Centers for Restorative Medicine, Palm Springs and Santa Barbara, California and former Professor and Chairman of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Loma Linda University Medical... Read More →

ANCESTRAL HEALTH 2016 #2 pptx

Thursday August 11, 2016 1:40pm - 2:20pm MDT
East

Talk (East)

1:40pm MDT

The Global Sustainability-Nutrition Disconnect

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Many countries try to tackle the issue of environmental sustainability while designing their dietary guidelines. Working off assumptions and poor research, dietary recommendations vary greatly when viewed with an ancestral lens. For example, some countries advise the public to increase intake of highly processed soy-based proteins, while others recognize the detrimental effects soy can have on the environment. Cattle are largely vilified as both environmentally toxic and as dangerous as cigarettes to human health, however milk takes a front seat at America's "My Plate". Meanwhile, worldwide nutrition deficiencies, food insecurity and obesity issues are not going to be solved with more whole grains. This talk will review dietary policies of countries that are trying to include "sustainability" into their national dietary guidelines, and will illustrate the conflicts in their advice.

Presenters

Diana Rodgers

Registered Dietitian, Producer, Sustainable Dish

Diana Rodgers, RD, LDN, NTP is a “real food” Licensed Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, and Nutritional Therapy Practitioner living on a working organic farm west of Boston. Diana has an active nutrition practice where she helps people get on track with diet and lifestyle... Read More →

Thursday August 11, 2016 1:40pm - 2:20pm MDT
West

Talk (West)

2:20pm MDT

break: 10 minutes

Thursday August 11, 2016 2:20pm - 2:30pm MDT
Break

Break

2:30pm MDT

ApoE4 Mechanistics and a Protocol for the Reversal of Cognitive Decline

Feedback Survey

The apolipoprotein E4 allele (ApoE4) plays a pivotal role in processes as disparate as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), cardiovascular disease, Lewy body dementia, longevity, recovery from traumatic brain injury and stroke, hominid evolution, and inflammation. The mechanism(s) by which such disparate effects are achieved has been unexplained, since the function of ApoE has been limited to its role as a lipid-carrying protein. However, we have recently discovered that ApoE also functions as a transcription factor, binding with high affinity to double-stranded DNA, including the promoter regions of 1700 different genes (Theendakara et al., J Neurosci 2016). These results have important implications for the evolving comprehensive therapeutic program we developed to reverse cognitive decline in SCI (subjective cognitive impairment), MCI (mild cognitive impairment), and early AD (Bredesen, Aging 2014), as well as for the ancestral-modern lifestyle mismatch.

Thursday August 11, 2016 2:30pm - 3:10pm MDT
East

Talk (East)

2:30pm MDT

DOHaD: The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease

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We are developing an increasing understanding of the physiological and pathophysiological basis for how our environment influences early human development, especially with regard to risk of later non-communicable disease. Disruptive processes, especially those which are evolutionarily novel, can lead to disease in later life. If the processes producing a propensity to the likes of obesity and insulin resistance are established in early life, then interventions in adults may come too late to be effective, especially at a population health level. This talk offers an introduction to the DOHaD concept and outlines the implications in holds, not only for health professionals, but among policymakers, opinion leaders, and the general public.

Presenters

Jamie Scott

PGDipSportExMed, PGDipNutMed, Ancestral Health Society of New Zealand

Vice-President, The Ancestral Health Society of New Zealand. Jamie Scott holds postgraduate qualifications in Sport and Exercise Medicine, and in Nutrition Medicine, as well as undergraduate degrees in Human Nutrition, and in Exercise Science. He is the co-founder of the AHSNZ... Read More →

Thursday August 11, 2016 2:30pm - 3:10pm MDT
West

Talk (West)

3:10pm MDT

break: 10 minutes

Thursday August 11, 2016 3:10pm - 3:20pm MDT
Break

Break

3:20pm MDT

Alzheimer’s Disease: Pathophysiology and Nutritional Implications

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Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a form of dementia and a degenerative disease of the cerebral cortex. Genetic and environmental risk factors to AD have been identified. The molecular characteristics of AD entail the formation of β-amyloid plaque and tangles of tau. Evidence suggests that deregulated brain metabolism and nutrient availability play a role in the pathogenesis of this Illness. In fact, type 3 diabetes mellitus has been proposed as an alternate name for AD. With emphasis on glucose, lipids, and ketone bodies, we will address the mechanisms that control nutrient transport and bioavailability in healthy and diseased brains, and how these may contribute to AD pathogenesis. Finally, we will examine the evidence suggesting a beneficial effect of nutritional ketosis in the prevention and management of AD, in addition to the influence of other dietary factors.

Presenters

Rand T. Akasheh

MS, PhD, University of Illinois at Chicago

Rand T. Akasheh obtained her Ph.D. degree in Kinesiology, Nutrition, and Rehabilitation from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), with a concentration in Integrative Pathophysiology and Nutrition in 2017. Rand has worked as a co-instructor of the course “Genetic, Molecular... Read More →

Thursday August 11, 2016 3:20pm - 4:00pm MDT
East

Talk (East)

3:20pm MDT

Paleolithic diets and kidney diseases

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Kidney function generally decreases as people age, and independent of age, diet can contribute to common kidney diseases in many ways. Typical American diets can promote obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney stones. All of these factors promote additional damage to the kidney and further decline in renal function. Paleo-type diets, as compared to Mediterranean or DASH-like diets , improve blood sugar and lipid control, and lower diet acid intake and urine calcium excretion. In our presentation, we will review evidence available from clinical trials comparing dietary treatments for prevention and/or treatment of kidney stones and chronic kidney disease.

Presenters

Lynda Frassetto

MD, UCSF

Lynda Frassetto, MD, is Professor Emeritus of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology at the University of California, San Francisco (USCF). She grew up in the greater New York metropolitan area and attended college and medical school in Connecticut. She trained as a nephrologist... Read More →

Thursday August 11, 2016 3:20pm - 4:00pm MDT
West

Talk (West)

4:00pm MDT

break: 10 minutes

Thursday August 11, 2016 4:00pm - 4:10pm MDT
Break

Break

4:10pm MDT

Do sexually transmitted pathogens manipulate human sexual behavior?

Feedback Survey

Many parasites promote their replication by manipulating their hosts’ physiology and behavior, e.g. increasing host aggressiveness (to spread through bites), disrupting anti-predator defenses (to spread through ingestion), or inducing 'parasitic castration' (to spread through sustained mating effort). We’ll argue that some common STIs may manipulate human sexual behavior in their own interests, e.g. by promoting sociosexuality, bisexuality, or homosexuality, broadening mate choice criteria, increasing courtship skills, disrupting long-term relationships, or inducing female sterility. Herpes viruses and neurosyphilis seem especially well-positioned to influence neural functioning. Neurosyphilis often promotes increased sexual desire, sexual and verbal disinhibition, and an increased creative spark reminiscent of Parkinson’s L-DOPA therapy. More attention to possible STI manipulation could lead to better diagnostic criteria for STIs, interventions for reducing transmission, new explanations for non-heritable individual differences in sexual strategies, a better understanding of sexual disgust, and new insights into the evolution of human sexuality.

Presenters

Geoffrey Miller

Associate Professor of Psychology, University of New Mexico

Geoffrey Miller is an evolutionary psychology professor at University of New Mexico; he also worked at MPI, UCL, LSE, and UCLA, with a B.A. from Columbia and a Ph.D. from Stanford. He’s best known for his books The Mating Mind, Mating Intelligence, Spent, and Mate. He has over 100... Read More →

Thursday August 11, 2016 4:10pm - 4:50pm MDT
East

Talk (East)

4:10pm MDT

Fatty Acids in Obesity and Disease: The Case Against Being a Fat Burner

Feedback Survey

Popular in paleo and low-carb communities is the goal of becoming a "fat burner," or having access to adipocyte-stored fat released as free fatty acids for energy. This has been shown anecdotally and clinically to be an effective weight loss strategy, but there are disease implications concerning this metabolic state and it's use for weight loss. I will present my research and that of others showing PUFA and other fatty acids relation to obesity, type II diabetes and overall metabolism. Research challenging sugars as a cause of obesity will also be presented. The state of lipolysis and free fatty acid use, and the physiological changes that go along with it, will be compared to disease states. PUFA specifically, and other fatty acids generally, contribute to degenerative disease at several levels, and I will make the case that being a fat-burner in the low carb sense is necessarily accompanied by physiological changes both that mimic and cause disease at the cellular and organismal levels.

Thursday August 11, 2016 4:10pm - 4:50pm MDT
West

Talk (West)

5:00pm MDT

(5-5:30) The Art of Barefoot Running and Walking

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James Joyce once said : “A man’s errors are his portals of discovery”. I have made all the running errors in my life. Medical training is void of evaluating, preventing, and rehabilitating running injuries. The little we did learn was always based on treating a symptom and not the cause. We call this model “palliative” medicine. Learning the names of the bones and muscles and tendons of the foot give us little insight into how this remarkable biological machine actually works. Indeed, the foot—the least understood of all moving body parts—is the orchestrator and foundation of all motion. The foot is perfectly designed for its most important functions: absorbing shock, sending signals to maintain stability, and forward propulsion. Together we will learn how to retrain your foot and movement pattern and become reborn to run and walk as you once did as a child without shoes. Most important you will rediscover the joy of getting in touch with the ground.

(Workshop followed by an optional barefoot run.)

Presenters

Mark Cucuzzella

Dr. Mark Cucuzzella is a Professor at West Virginia University School of Medicine. He is also a LtCol in the US Air Force designing programs to promote health and better fitness in the military with the USAF Efficient Running Project. In his community and medical school he has been... Read More →

Thursday August 11, 2016 5:00pm - 5:30pm MDT
Outside (meet on UMC patio)

Movement Session

5:00pm MDT

(5-6) Self-Care and Integrated Movement for The Modern World

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Our modern society has placed the human body into an assortment of comprising positions and it is crucially important we are well equipped to reorganize our physical structure on a daily basis. How do we maintain optimal tissue health for youthful elastic skin? How do we make every moment an opportunity to move better in our body and mind? How do we find alignment in our whole system in order to produce the most power in every movement? What are some of the main culprits in our modern culture for degenerating our body and how to reverse this starting today? All of these questions and more will be answered in this interactive and dynamic discussion with movement expert Aaron Alexander.

Presenters

Aaron Alexander

PT, LMT, Align Therapy™

Aaron Alexander is an accomplished manual therapist and movement coach with over a decade of experience. He is the founder of Align Therapy™, an integrated approach to functional movement and self-care that has helped thousands including Olympic and professional level athletes... Read More →

Thursday August 11, 2016 5:00pm - 6:00pm MDT
Outside (meet on UMC patio)

Movement Session

7:45am MDT

As Essential as Brushing Your Teeth: The Deep Squat

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The squat was a way of life before it became a form of exercise or competition. There is controversy around who is a candidate for deep squatting. This movement session is a blend of education, mobility and free form movement that seeks to lift up the deep squat beyond the confines of the gym, and rather as a fundamental pattern for longevity, joint hygiene and quality of life for all people. By the end of the session, you will leave with a heightened awareness of your personal movement patterns and be able to diversify your workout routines.

Presenters

Georges Dagher

BAH, CSCS, DC

Georges Dagher (CSCS, BAH, DC) is a strength coach, researcher and movement enthusiast, invested in facilitating elite performance and curing chronic pain. His passion for learning manifests itself in a diverse array of certifications, continuing education completed at Harvard, and... Read More →

Friday August 12, 2016 7:45am - 8:30am MDT
Outside (meet on UMC patio)

Movement Session

9:00am MDT

Increase Your Healthspan By Mimicking Hunter Gathers' Meal Frequency

Feedback Survey

Studies of hunter gathers showed diseases of aging was rare among the elderly. Most attribute their health to a Paleolithic diet. Recent research indicates that their meal frequency may be just as important to their health. It is my contention, during long the periods without food, the body initiates eight repair processes that make the hunter stronger, faster, and sharper. Repair processes that evolution created to insure the survival of the human species. Research in the last 20 years, especially in Japan, document the science behind these eight fasting repair processes. I will present this science and my prolonged fasting experiences to show how it can be used to increase your healthspan.

Presenters

Jake Jacobson

BBA, Certified Primal Expert

Jake Jacobson has a BBA degree and was the founder and CEO of Help/Systems Inc, a software company. He was the one of the founding Board Members of Ancestral Health Society and is a current member of the Board. He is a certified Primal Expert.

Friday August 12, 2016 9:00am - 9:40am MDT
East

Talk (East)

9:00am MDT

Optimal Weaning from an Evolutionary Perspective

Feedback Survey

Infancy is a crucial time for brain growth, and this species-critical, rapid brain growth continues well past weaning. Therefore, the diet onto which evolving humans weaned their infants must have been highly selected to favour brain growth. Reviewing evidence from anthropology, reproductive biology, and infant physiology, we find a high-fat animal-based diet to be the most plausible weaning diet of our ancestors. Recent evidence from randomised controlled trials confirms that weaning onto animal foods best supports the intense brain growth of human infants even today.

Presenters

L. Amber O'Hearn

L. Amber O'Hearn, MSc, is a nutrition writer and blogger. She researches the effects of dietary modifications on health biomarkers, with a special interest in diets that resemble those of our evolutionary past.

Friday August 12, 2016 9:00am - 9:40am MDT
West

Talk (West)

9:40am MDT

break: 10 minutes

Friday August 12, 2016 9:40am - 9:50am MDT
Break

Break

9:50am MDT

No Play, No Gain

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Despite appearing frivolous, play is essential for healthy human development. Not just for kids, but for adults too. I will review the justifications for play in the context of our ancestry and discuss the importance of incorporating a play regimen to support optimal health, movement and life.

Presenters

Darryl Edwards

Friday August 12, 2016 9:50am - 10:30am MDT
East

Talk (East)

9:50am MDT

The Human Milk-Oriented Microbiota: babies and beyond

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A feature of the evolution of lactation is the explicit development of a symbiotic relationship between microbes and the mammalian host. This relationship is emerging as a key process of proper development. Human milk feeds and guides the colonization of the infant gut microbiota and nourishes the phenotypic state and metabolic processes of bacteria evolved to this unusual ecological niche. A milk-oriented microbiota (MOM) sets the infant up for a lifetime of health. The crosstalk between maternal milk and the infant gut has been the focus of research of an interdisciplinary and highly integrated team, the Milk Group, at UC Davis, for the past decade. We have used the insights gained from basic science research to steer the development of clinical solutions. Interestingly, one of the most abundant components of human milk, oligosaccharides, provides no direct nutritional support to the infant. Instead, we have shown that these complex sugars actually selectively promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut while excluding potential pathogens. The specificity of this interaction is a key principle to understanding how the microbial ecology of the intestine goes wrong promoting conditions like irritable bowel syndrome in adults and necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants. We have utilized this paradigm in recent clinical trials with success. We have also begun using this paradigm to examine the gut microbiota-brain axis in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism.

Presenters

Megan Sanctuary

MS, PhD cand., University of California, Davis

Megan Sanctuary, MS, PhD candidate, is a student at the University of California, Davis. She is a member of the Milk Group that has been decoding mother’s milk for clues to lasting health for the past decade. She is currently using this basic science information to develop effective... Read More →

Friday August 12, 2016 9:50am - 10:30am MDT
West

Talk (West)

10:30am MDT

break: 10 minutes

Friday August 12, 2016 10:30am - 10:40am MDT
Break

Break

10:40am MDT

Living High and Healthy: Why Coloradans and Others Who Live at High Altitude Live Longer, and What Flatlanders Can Learn From Them

Feedback Survey

Why is it that Boulder, Colorado is the city with the lowest obesity rate in the United States --12.4%, compared with the national average of 35.7%. Boulder also has very low rates of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other metabolic disorders. Is it because residents eat a good diet and get lots of exercise? Or is it something else? While health is multi-factorial, an examination of alpine populations around the world reveals the surprising fact that lower levels of atmospheric oxygen contribute to lower rates of obesity and diabetes. Studies show that moderate hypoxia activates several hormetic processes that produce strong health benefits. The good news is that we don’t all need to move to the mountains to harness the power of hormesis. Before the modern era, our ancestors followed some hormetic dietary and lifestyle practices which we can employ in daily life to improve health and live longer.

Presenters

Todd Becker

MS, MS, Getting Stronger blog

Todd Becker is the author of Getting Stronger, a popular blog that addresses a wide range of health topics through the lens of hormesis, the beneficial application of low dose stress. Todd spoke at AHS in 2013 on the downside of nutritional supplements, and in 2014 on natural myopia... Read More →

Friday August 12, 2016 10:40am - 11:20am MDT
East

Talk (East)

Company Poster
Audience Saturday Poster Session

10:40am MDT

Proprioception and Play: Were our Ancestors Better Behaved?

Feedback Survey

Play is an essential component of cognitive, physical, psychological, and social/emotional development. The healthy physical nature of play, and more specifically the proprioceptive aspects of play, are also contributing factors to independent self-regulation and the emergence of efficient adaptive skills. Evidence suggests that children of our distant ancestors engaged in significantly more ‘physical’ play than current generations. As such, the recent evolution of play skills demonstrates an alarming decrease in healthy physical play opportunities and therefore proprioceptive influences on self-regulation. Today's children often have difficulty developing coping skills and adaptive behaviors. As a result, academic performance, social skills, and self-regulation are affected. Proprioceptive input as an aspect of healthy play has declined significantly since our ancestors raised their young. The importance of proprioceptive play and strategies for naturally and organically increasing those opportunities for children will be discussed.

Presenters

Allyson Chrystal

MS, OTD, MOTR/L

Allyson Chrystal, OTD, OTR/L, is an occupational therapist and clinical instructor specializing in pediatrics. In her clinical work and research, Allyson has focused on sensory integration and self-regulation in children with behavioral and developmental disorders. More recently... Read More →

Friday August 12, 2016 10:40am - 11:20am MDT
West

Talk (West)

11:20am MDT

break: 10 minutes

Friday August 12, 2016 11:20am - 11:30am MDT
Break

Break

11:30am MDT

Biohacking vs. Natural Living

Feedback Survey

Where do we draw the line between popular biohacking trends and natural, healthy living? When is biohacking too much? How can we merge an ancestral lifestyle with technology, supplements, consumer electronics and a modern world? Ben Greenfield will explore all these concepts and more as he helps you navigate through the ideal combination of being a high-tech hunter-gatherer.

Presenters

Ben Greenfield

Author, Speaker, Human Performance Consultant, GreenfieldFitnessSystems.com

Ben Greenfield is an ex-bodybuilder, Ironman triathlete, Spartan racer, coach, speaker and author of the New York Times Bestseller “Beyond Training: Mastering Endurance, Health and Life” (http://www.BeyondTrainingBook.com). In 2008, Ben was voted as NSCA’s Personal Trainer of... Read More →

Friday August 12, 2016 11:30am - 12:10pm MDT
East

Talk (East)

11:30am MDT

Childhood Food Allergies: an Evolutionary Mismatch Hypothesis

Feedback Survey

Through placental transfer, breastfeeding, and the introduction of first solid foods, children are exposed to a wide range of food antigens. During the Plio-Pleistocene those early exposures would have matched the food antigen exposures expected over the remaining lifespan. With the advent of farming, long-distance trade, and the steady march of advancing technology, the potential for mismatch between early and late food antigen exposure has been increasing--slowly at first, and exponentially in the past few decades in countries where cuisine has rapidly become less and less insular. In turn, since the induction of immune system tolerance must be accomplished early in the lifespan, and since selection has accordingly honed the process to work best in the very young, each increase in the mismatch identified above is expected to produce a corresponding increase in childhood food allergies. Supporting evidence is presented.

Presenters

Paul Turke

MD, PhD, Turke & Thomashow Pediatrics

As an anthropologist (Ph.D., Northwestern University, 1985) I helped to found the field of cooperative breeding in humans. I was a Fellow with the University of Michigan's Evolution and Human Behavior Program from 1986-1990, where I participated as one of the original four members... Read More →

Friday August 12, 2016 11:30am - 12:10pm MDT
West

Talk (West)

12:10pm MDT

Primal Play Method (12:10-12:40)

Feedback Survey

Presenters

Darryl Edwards

Friday August 12, 2016 12:10pm - 12:40pm MDT
Outside (meet on UMC patio)

Movement Session

12:10pm MDT

Lunch: 1 hour and 40 minutes

Friday August 12, 2016 12:10pm - 1:50pm MDT
Break

Lunch

1:10pm MDT

As Essential as Brushing Your Teeth: The Deep Squat (1:10-1:30)

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The squat was a way of life before it became a form of exercise or competition. There is controversy around who is a candidate for deep squatting. This presentation seeks to lift up the deep squat beyond the confines of the gym, and rather as a fundamental pattern for longevity, joint hygiene and quality of life for all people. We will discuss the squat as movement for medicine, and as a powerful outcome measure of health for clinicians and laypeople alike.

Presenters

Georges Dagher

BAH, CSCS, DC

Friday August 12, 2016 1:10pm - 1:30pm MDT
Outside (meet on UMC patio)

Movement Session

1:50pm MDT

Food Choice & Vision Loss: Is Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Preventable?

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Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in developed nations, affecting one of eleven people over the age of 50 and nearly one in three over the age of 75 in the United States, Australia, and Europe. Thus, AMD may affect as many as 22 million people in the U.S. and nearly 196 million people worldwide, with more than 2 million people already meeting the definition of legal blindness in both eyes from this dreaded condition. Since 1874, orthodox ophthalmology asserts that the etiology of AMD is unknown, but that it is strongly associated with aging and genetics. For the first time in history – a hypothesis for a nutritional etiology for AMD will be proffered – and connections drawn to certain characteristics of a Westernized diet.

Presenters

Chris Knobbe, MD

MD, Cure AMD LLC

Chris A. Knobbe, M.D. has held the position of Associate Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, in Dallas, Texas, since 2001. Certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology since 1997, Dr. Knobbe is a highly experienced eye surgeon... Read More →

Friday August 12, 2016 1:50pm - 2:30pm MDT
East

Talk (East)

1:50pm MDT

Pre-and Post-natal Retrognathia in Homo sapiens: An Evolutionary Perspective on a Modern, and Serious, Pediatric Health Problem

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From an optimal evolutionary fitness perspective, the healthiest phenotype for the anatomically modern human (AMH) facial profile is prognathic for both the mandible and maxilla (i.e., maxilla and mandible both forward of the anterior cranial base). According to archived crania and mandibular specimens from museums worldwide, maxillo-mandibular prognathism (M-MP) had indeed been ubiquitous over the 200,000+ years of AMH's evolutionary history until around the time of the Industrial Revolution in the early 19th-Century when retro-gnathic profiles first became evident in the UK, western and northern Europe and North America . There are a few reasonable hypotheses for explaining this relatively sudden departure from AMH's healthy M-MP profile phenotype that are mostly predicated upon feeding strategy changes normally normally associated with transitioning of cultures from traditional Hunter-Gatherers to other forms of sustenance known to be associated with increased intensification of food processing (e.g., agrarian and/or industrialization). These hypotheses, with emphasis placed upon early infancy and childhood nursing and weaning patterns, will be developed in this discussion based largely upon evidence gathered from the Morton Crania Collection at the University of Pennsylvania's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology where the author is a Visiting Scholar; and implications for how these data support speculation that current orthodontic diagnosis, treatment and success criteria standards, are in need of revision will also be discussed.

Presenters

Kevin Boyd

DDS, Dentistry for Children

Kevin Boyd is a Chicago Pediatric Dentist. He teaches in the residency program in Pediatric Dentistry at Lurie Children’s Hospital; he also serves as dental consultant to Lurie’s Sleep Medicine service. He is currently a Visiting Scholar at U. Pennsylvania doing research in the... Read More →

Friday August 12, 2016 1:50pm - 2:30pm MDT
West

Talk (West)

2:30pm MDT

break: 10 minutes

Friday August 12, 2016 2:30pm - 2:40pm MDT
Break

Break

2:40pm MDT

Book Signing

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(Ben Greenfield will do his book signing right after his talk in the East room.)

Steven Gundry - Dr Gundry's Diet Evolution $20
Diana Rodgers - Homegrown Paleo Cookbook $40
Sarah Ballantyne - The 8-Hour Sleep Paradox $10
Lynn Gillespie - The Healing Kitchen, The Paleo Approach, The Paleo Approach Cookbook $40

Presenters

Sarah Ballantyne

PhD, ThePaleoMom.com

Sarah Ballantyne, PhD is the creator of the award-winning online resource www.ThePaleoMom.com and New York Times bestselling author of The Paleo Approach, The Paleo Approach Cookbook, and The Healing Kitchen.

Lynn Gillespie

Organic Farmer and Educator 29 years

Lynn Gillespie is an organic farmer and educator at The Living Farm for the past 29 years. The educational programs specialize in teaching High Performance Garden systems. She is the author of the High Performance Garden eBook and the creator of multiple online gardening courses... Read More →

Steven Gundry

MD, International Heart & Lung Institute

Diana Rodgers

Registered Dietitian, Producer, Sustainable Dish

Friday August 12, 2016 2:40pm - 4:10pm MDT
Central

Book Signing

2:40pm MDT

Poster: Ancestral Birth

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If we look back to anthropological accounts of birth in pre-civilized human groups, or attend to the myth and lore surrounding birth in indigenous communities, we discover that the birthing process was not always laden with the dread it elicits in the modern world. Unfortunately, in recent times nutrient deficits, morphological distortions arising from sedentism, the impacts of trauma, and other factors have rendered birth more challenging. In the medicalization of birth rampant in the Western world, a cascade of interventions is often employed that disempower birthing women, create deleterious health consequences for mother and baby, and interrupt the bonding process now known to be crucial for the psychological development of the young (the rate for caesarean birth in the United States is now 33%). We will discuss why this is so, as well as how we can assist and empower birthing women in the prenatal, birthing, and postpartum phases.

Presenters

Lina Sylvae

Lina Sylvae is a Certified Clinical Herbalist and doula (birth attendant). She has engaged in over a decade of dedicated inquiry into human health and healing, researching plant medicine, nutrition, movement, and strategies for the support of birthing people. She offers birth support... Read More →

Friday August 12, 2016 2:40pm - 4:10pm MDT
Central

Poster, Friday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: APOA2 Gene Polymorphisms and Saturated Fat

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It is widely understood in the ancestral health community that an individual's genes may determine their response to varying foods. An estimated 1 in 6 people carry the homozygous minor alleles in the gene responsible for coding the APO A2 protein, resulting in a deviant response to foods containing saturated fat with regards to BMI, satiety, and CVD risk. The variations in the APO A2 gene has become one of the most researched gene-diet interactions to date. A review of the current body of literature, including a critical examination of methods used in various experiments, may serve attendees in learning how to determine whether they or their clients may carry the homozygous CC polymorphism, and what practical modifications to diet may be necessary to facilitate desirable satiety, body composition, and chronic disease risk.

Presenters

David Palmer

BS. Applied Nutrition

David Palmer has been engaged with the ancestral health movement since first reading Loren Cordain's "The Paleo Diet for Athletes" in 2007. Since graduating from Penn State University with a degree in Nutrition, he has been working at The Food Trust, one of the top-ranked "high impact... Read More →

Friday August 12, 2016 2:40pm - 4:10pm MDT
Central

Poster, Friday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: Botanical Medicine—The Evolutionary Relationship between Humans and Medicinal Plants

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For generations humans have used plant materials as medicine, we rely on historical data and tradition to guide their use. This presentation explores the use of botanicals for their oncolytic, antibacterial, and antiviral properties. Our studies, have been able to identify and validate botanical extractions with medicinal properties by using evolutionary data, traditional knowledge and laboratory proof of their efficacy. Additionally, we will explore possible mechanisms of action and synergism within botanical extractions. Finally, this presentation provides with guidelines to assure the safe implementation of botanicals in our evidence based world and precautions for their proper applications.

Presenters

Guillermo Ruiz

ND candidate

Guillermo Ruiz is a third year naturopathic medical student at Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine. He aims to use his research to advance evidence-based medicine, and focuses on finding evolutionary connections between our modern and traditional health care systems. Guillermo... Read More →

Friday August 12, 2016 2:40pm - 4:10pm MDT
Central

Poster, Friday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: Challenging Traditional Cardiovascular Risk Assessment

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When it comes to cardiovascular disease we are trained as physicians to focus on traditional Framingham risk factors with the goal to lower cholesterol. Statistically noisy, including the updated 2013 guidelines, these methods do a poor job of predicting risk. We need better tools. Disorders of Insulin metabolism including hyperinsulinemia and Insulin resistance are mostly underdiagnosed conditions and yet provide clarity as to the root cause of cardiovascular disease. Dr. Joseph Kraft, the father of the insulin assay, in his career noted that almost 75% of his study population had disorders of insulin metabolism and yet were missed via standard testing. He calls this “diabetes in-situ” and through his work as a pathologist concluded that the damage of diabetes is vascular. “Those with cardiovascular disease not identified with diabetes… are simply undiagnosed” in the words of Dr. Kraft. We will look at traditional cardiovascular risk assessment and compare it to more modern methods, including the insulin assay and advanced CV imaging.

Presenters

MD

Friday August 12, 2016 2:40pm - 4:10pm MDT
Central

Poster, Friday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: Culling Our Sacred Cows—Examining Some of Our 'New Conventional Wisdom'

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The topic of diet, health and human nutrition has been profoundly influenced by those who believe that eating animal products causes various chronic diseases. The realms of environmentalism and “sustainability” have been influenced by similar mindsets, resulting in the belief that animal agriculture harms the environment. Researchers and others holding these world views have formed incorrect conclusions from the associations perceived in dubious observational studies. This contamination of the “conventional wisdom” has also influenced the “new conventional wisdom” held within the Ancestral Health community. Justus von Liebig’s “Law of the Minimum” from plant nutrition can be applied to human health and nutrition to evaluate claims regarding the nutritional content, food safety, and environmental impact of food produced by varying methods.

Presenters

Peter Ballerstedt

PhD

Peter received his Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky in 1986, specializing in forage management and utilization, minoring in ruminant nutrition. He was the forage extension specialist at Oregon State University from 1986 until 1992 and is currently the Forage Product Manager at... Read More →

Friday August 12, 2016 2:40pm - 4:10pm MDT
Central

Poster, Friday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: Evolution's Place in Nutrition and Dietetics

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Evolutionary medicine is defined as applying modern evolutionary theory to understand health and disease. This emerging field has only begun to be sprinkled into the medical establishment, and more recently, medical school’s curriculum. It has yet to be determined if the field of nutrition & dietetics appreciates this interdisciplinary approach. To resolve this, a survey of Registered Dietitians (RDs) was conducted to determine (A) if RDs understand the theory of evolution, (B) if RDs believe that an understanding of evolution is useful in defining optimal health and (C) if RDs think that an evolutionary perspective should be included in dietetic education. This survey was conducted in hopes to address that gap in evolutionary knowledge within the field of nutrition and dietetics.

Presenters

Anthony Basile

Anthony J. Basile earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Dietetics Foods, & Nutrition from CUNY Lehman College in 2014 and his Master of Science degree in Human Nutrition from Columbia University Medical Center in 2015. His interests are energy balance and metabolism, and evolutionary... Read More →

Friday August 12, 2016 2:40pm - 4:10pm MDT
Central

Poster, Friday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), a State of the Science

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For good or ill, we humans have been tinkering with our environment since the dawn of our species. First fire and tools, and then with the advent of agriculture, we began breeding desirable traits into our food crops and livestock. Until the last few decades, selective cultivation provided the only means for the purposeful modification of living organisms. Now, our understanding of the chemistry and biology of DNA allows us to directly alter the genetics of just about any creature. “GMOs” have been stirring up a lot of controversy over concerns about their safety. In this talk, I cover how we engineer DNA and address the pros and cons of genetically engineered organisms as assessed through a comprehensive review of literature and the opinions of experts on both sides. I also explore how genetic engineering is rapidly expanding beyond agriculture and the implications for the future of health and technology.

Presenters

Leandra Brettner

PhD cand.

Leandra Brettner is a bioengineering graduate student at the University of Washington in Seattle where she is studying synthetic biology. Her research focuses on using genetic engineering techniques to study and utilize differentiation in multi-cellular microbial communities. Leandra... Read More →

Friday August 12, 2016 2:40pm - 4:10pm MDT
Central

Poster, Friday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: Going Local—Repackaging Ancestral Ideas for Soccer Moms and Their Communities

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Soccer moms put dinner on the table night after night. And, in most cases, moms decide what goes into that grocery cart. There is a lot of power there. So the question becomes: ‘How can the AHS community better reach them?’ How can we help everyday parents choose more whole, real food -- to get the more out of both their efforts in the kitchen and their grocery dollar? And who can help us spread the word? Often, it’s cities (not nations) that nurture innovation and solve problems. Might our local communities, with the help of their foundations, provide a path around the nutrition policy gridlock in Washington DC? Might localized ‘experiments’ with real-food-more-fat eating be possible? How might we get some traction (and FUNDING) for ideas about healthy, ancestral eating in some of our cities? I’ll talk about what I’ve learned trying to figure this out in Pittsburgh.

Presenters

Jennifer Calihan

Founder, Eat the Butter

Jenni Calihan created the non-profit, Eat the Butter, to start a mother-to-mother conversation about diet and health. She advocates for real-food-more-fat eating, and has been feeding her family (four kids) for twenty years. Jenni is a former consultant; she holds a Human Biology... Read More →

Friday August 12, 2016 2:40pm - 4:10pm MDT
Central

Poster, Friday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: Immune Signaling Model of Autoimmune Endocrine Disease

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The immune endocrine axis plays an important role in shaping the systemic immune response to injury, trauma and infection. Under homeostatic conditions the endocrine system is regulated by a network of feedback loops. However, following infection or injury, these homeostatic controls may not produce the ideal conditions for a proper response to the challenge. The need to regulate the endocrine system to adapt to trauma is mediated by the immune system through the immune endocrine axis which includes autoreactive B and T cells. These autoreactive immune cells have the ability to stimulate and suppress hormone production both through direct action as well as through changes in receptor expression. Prolonged or inappropriate activation of these pathways due, most likely, to altered microbiome can lead to chronic activation or suppression of related hormone production. This change in activation would then lead to increased or decreased volume or the corresponding gland dependent on activation state where overproduction leads to increased volume and suppression would lead to atrophy. This alteration in activation of the immune endocrine axis is both necessary and sufficient to explain the pathology of AED.

Presenters

Matthew Wilmoth

Matt has spent the last decade trying to understand the mechanisms of chronic disease and health from a molecular standpoiint. After a an attempt to connect current mechanisms of disease to nutrition and lifestyle factors it became clear that our current disease models did not fit... Read More →

Friday August 12, 2016 2:40pm - 4:10pm MDT
Central

Poster, Friday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: The Vitality Mindset and the Human Operating System: How an Evolutionary Understanding of Signalling, Stress and Key Needs can Create a New Model for Health

Feedback Survey

While there is a plethora of discussion about diet and exercise in the Ancestral Health community there are less obvious but equally important inputs that have huge implications on our health. At the same time the reality of overwhelming mismatch in our current environments calls for a more complete understanding of who we are. What is needed is a more holistic model to address these problems. By more accurately describing our intrinsic mammalian and human design through signalling, stress and our key needs we can begin to understand ourselves in ways that create massive opportunities for both healing and optimization. From biometrics to device and environment design this has wide ranging implications for both individuals and society to optimize health.

Presenters

Jonah Larkin

MS, LAc

Jonah Larkin M.S. L.Ac. is an Sports Medicine Acupuncturist and Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner in San Francisco, CA. His work with thousands of patients lead him to create a health model combining modern clinical tools with an ancestral understanding of health. He is co-founder... Read More →

Friday August 12, 2016 2:40pm - 4:10pm MDT
Central

Poster, Friday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

4:10pm MDT

Ancestral Sleep in the Modern Age

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Contemporary sleep patterns and priorities in industrialized nations exhibit a high level of discord from those of hunter-gatherer populations. Inadequate sleep increases risks of cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease, diabetes and obesity, with one recent study demonstrating that a single night of lost sleep is more metabolically damaging than six month of a high-fat Western diet. Approximately two thirds of Americans consistently sleep less than the gold standard 8 hours per night, sleep being increasingly deemed lower priority than productivity as evidenced by common idioms such as “I’ll sleep when I’m dead”. With the stark decline in average sleep duration over the last 50 years, two questions arise: What are the long-term public health implications of our modern disdain for sleep? How can hunter-gatherer sleep patterns in addition to physiologic insight inform sleep goals and guidelines? Key aspects of ancestral sleep will be discussed, including: duration, quality, consistency, seasonal variation, circadian synchronicity, and sleep hygiene.

Presenters

Sarah Ballantyne

PhD, ThePaleoMom.com

Friday August 12, 2016 4:10pm - 4:50pm MDT
East

Talk (East)

4:10pm MDT

2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans: Irrelevant or Alarming--or Both?

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Though the ancestral health community has typically opted out of following their recommendations, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) continue to expand their scope so that few Americans will be unaffected by them. The creation of the 2015 DGA generated considerable amounts of media attention, public awareness, and legislative activity, with familiar battles over red meat and saturated fat joined by larger concerns related to sustainable diets and scientific rigor. The uproar surrounding the 2015 DGA demonstrates how, paradoxically, they are increasingly irrelevant to many as nutrition guidance, while they continue to extend their reach into the lives of all Americans. This presentation summarizes the recent controversy, outlines how the 2015 policy compares to previous editions, and illustrates how new aspects of the policy demonstrate why the ancestral health community must take an active leadership role in resisting the expansion of DGA-based principles and practices into local workplaces and communities.

Presenters

Adele Hite

PhD candidate, MPH, RD

Adele Hite is a PhD student in communication, rhetoric, and digital media at North Carolina State University, as well as a registered dietitian. She has master’s degrees in English and in nutrition and has pursued graduate studies in nutrition epidemiology. She is policy chair and... Read More →

Friday August 12, 2016 4:10pm - 4:50pm MDT
West

Talk (West)

5:00pm MDT

Parkour

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Presenters

Ryan Ford

Founder, APEX School of Movement, ParkourEDU

I'm a parkour athlete, coach, entrepreneur, and author of Parkour Strength Training. In 2006, I established the first parkour classes in the Western Hemisphere while also becoming one of the original professional parkour athletes in North America. I've performed and coached worldwide... Read More →

Friday August 12, 2016 5:00pm - 6:00pm MDT
Outside (meet on UMC patio)

Movement Session

5:00pm MDT

Self-Care and Integrated Movement for The Modern World

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Presenters

Aaron Alexander

PT, LMT, Align Therapy™

Friday August 12, 2016 5:00pm - 6:00pm MDT
Outside (meet on UMC patio)

Movement Session

8:00am MDT

The Art of Barefoot Running and Walking

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Presenters

Mark Cucuzzella

Saturday August 13, 2016 8:00am - 8:30am MDT
Outside (meet on UMC patio)

Movement Session

9:00am MDT

More Consequences of Evolutionary Mismatch: Implications Far Beyond Diet and Exercise

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The concept of evolutionary mismatch has been much discussed concerning diet and several other aspects of modern lifestyle. However, it applies much more broadly to include unequal distribution of resources, mistreatment of women, difficulty with long term planning (e.g., cigarette smoking, lack of retirement planning, failure to address environmental problems, etc.), sexual dysfunction and addiction, drug abuse, postural abnormalities, and many other challenges faced in the modern world. These mismatches can have a variety of proximal causes including people being faced with supernormal releasers, the modern social context being completely different than that in which we evolved, and the fact that our brain did not evolve to deal with certain situations. With an understanding of the underlying causes, some of these problems can be addressed in an effective way.

Presenters

George Diggs

PhD

George Diggs is an evolutionary biologist and Co-Director of the Public Health Program at Austin College in Sherman, Texas where he has taught for 35 years. His research and teaching interests include evolution as it relates to human health, biogeography, plant defense, and the plants... Read More →

Saturday August 13, 2016 9:00am - 9:40am MDT
East

Talk (East)

9:00am MDT

Ancient Apothecary: Frankincense, Myrrh and other Tools to Mend the Modern Gut Against Opportunistic Phages, Fungi and Other Offenders

Feedback Survey

Some believe that Earth is in its sixth mass extinction event. The loss of diversity observed in the modern human gut may echo similar calamities in rain forests, coral reefs and rivers around the world. As vital portions of an ecosystem go blank or missing, tidal waves of change can occur. Expansion of opportunistic lifeforms into empty niches frequently lead to disease and havoc in frail ecosystems. The hallmark of modern gut health is missing mucosal protectors and overloaded phages, fungi and other opportunists. Since ancient times, plants were the first medicine to cure pain or alleviate digestive woes or skin maladies. Indeed, their properties may be magical for the modern microbiota. Aromatic resins of trees and shrubs such as frankincense and myrrh contain fatty acids and fiber which increase abundance of beneficial gut flora while being toxic to disease-associated polluters. Human clinical trials will be discussed. Employing the ancient apothecary as tools to mend the modern microbiome will be detailed.

Presenters

Grace Liu

PharmD, AFMCP

Dr. Grace Liu, PharmD is a functional medicine practitioner with an international practice specializing in consulting, nutrigenomics, functional laboratory analysis, and personalized programs for executives and athletes. She helps rebuild biomes to restore vitality. In October 2016... Read More →

Saturday August 13, 2016 9:00am - 9:40am MDT
West

Talk (West)

9:40am MDT

break: 10 minutes

Saturday August 13, 2016 9:40am - 9:50am MDT
Break

Break

9:50am MDT

Understanding the Long Body: The Power of Habitat and Tribe in Human Health

Feedback Survey

Our common image of the human body as an isolated entity is fundamentally flawed. Superficial appearance suggests an individual organism, but in fact, our bodies are continuous with and dependent upon habitat and tribe. In this presentation, we’ll explore the native, indigenous concept of “the long body,” especially our deep continuity with nature and community. Sadly, the vast majority of modern health, medical and fitness practices are aimed squarely at the short, isolated body. At best, this creates individual health islands that fail to make a real difference in public health. What we need is a bigger, more expansive vision of who we are. This is “Big Picture Paleo.”

Presenters

Frank Forencich

BA Stanford, Human Biology, Exuberant Animal

Frank Forencich is an internationally-recognized speaker with thirty years teaching experience in health education, martial art and performance training. He is a regular contributor to Paleo Magazine and has traveled to Africa on several occasions to study human origins and the ancestral... Read More →

Saturday August 13, 2016 9:50am - 10:30am MDT
East

Talk (East)

9:50am MDT

Refined Foods and The Gut Microbiota – A Toxic Mix?

Feedback Survey

The benefits of low-carbohydrate diets are finally receiving appropriate attention, however it must be borne in mind that some well-studied pre-industrial populations ate high-carbohydrate ancestral diets, yet still enjoyed exemplary metabolic health. This is a presentation of the hypothesis that altered host-bacterial interactions may be a key step in the initiation of obesity and diabetes, and are brought about by replacing life-derived ancestral foods that retain evolved structural properties with dense, processed alternatives. Such microbial-initiated inflammatory changes to the neuroregulation of appetite and metabolism would be directly analogous to the aberrant host responses that produce periodontitis, and may be triggered by the same foods – flours, grains and refined sugars. Dietary fats may play a role conveying microbial changes to the immune surveillance of the small intestine. The hypothesis would explain both the benefits of diets that displace processed foods and the correlation between oral and systemic health.

Presenters

Ian Spreadbury

PhD

Ian Spreadbury is a Canadian neuroscientist who argues that the effects of flour, sugar and processed foods on host-microbiota interplay may be the primary cause of obesity and many western diseases. After research positions at Bristol, Oxford, Calgary and Queen's, he is currently... Read More →

Saturday August 13, 2016 9:50am - 10:30am MDT
West

Talk (West)

10:30am MDT

break: 10 minutes

Saturday August 13, 2016 10:30am - 10:40am MDT
Break

Break

10:40am MDT

Chemophobia, Appeal to Nature and Paleo Puritanism

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When researchers of the Paleolithic diet first considered modern health-outcomes, they proclaimed strong evidence and unsentimental analysis. This rigour belied distortions based on the researchers' semiotic norms: the suggestions of “lean meat” and plenty of polyunsaturated fats, for example, just “happened” to reflect the 1980s milieux in which these researchers lived. As the diet has popularised, these meme “contaminants” have led to a full-blown fever of the Appeal to Nature fallacy, an inclination towards neo-Puritanism, an adoption of the Noble Savage trope and a co-option of the Prelapsarian yearning that pervades much of western culture. An analysis of some of the contradictions and strains in modern Paleo prescriptions and attitudes will be discussed, concrete examples of where these can cause actual harm will be suggested, and a logic “tool-kit” will be proposed to slice through vague health claims to reveal the truth beyond any beguiling just-so story.

Presenters

Nick Mailer

After obtaining a degree from the University of Leeds in English and Philosophy, Nick co-authored the first book in the UK on the education possibilities of the Internet. He co-founded The Positive Internet Company, UK's premier open-source managed services organisation. He also founded... Read More →

Saturday August 13, 2016 10:40am - 11:20am MDT
East

Talk (East)

10:40am MDT

Do You Really Want A Hunter Gatherer Microbiota? Pearls and Pitfalls for Your Gut Health

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Clinicians have long understood the immense impact the health of your gut has on things like weight, energy, depression, autoimmunity and more. With the recent boom in microbiota research we have learned much more about this connection. Like never before we understand how we can alleviate chronic health conditions and enhance well-being through improving the health of the gut.

However, with this boom has also come over speculation and ill-informed recommendations. This is very important because todays healthcare professional or consumer could unintentionally do harm. For example did you know by replicating the microbiota of African’s we could make a westerner bloated, constipated and overweight?

This presentation will blend academic microbiota research with clinical research on digestive health. This will provide clinically relevant and evolutionarily sound recommendations for achieving optimum well-being via improving the health of your gut.

Presenters

Michael Ruscio

DC, DrRuscio.com

Michael Ruscio is a doctor, clinical researcher, author, and health enthusiast. Dr. Ruscio practices Functional Medicine and is currently performing two clinical trials in the treatment of digestive conditions. He is also writing a book on the microbiota. Dr. Ruscio gives smart, busy... Read More →

Saturday August 13, 2016 10:40am - 11:20am MDT
West

Talk (West)

11:20am MDT

break: 10 minutes

Saturday August 13, 2016 11:20am - 11:30am MDT
Break

Break

11:30am MDT

Histamine Intolerance: Why Freshness Matters

Feedback Survey

Not feeling well on your Paleo, GAPS, or Low-Carb Diet? You may have Histamine Intolerance! Histamine and related “biogenic amines” are found lurking within fermented, aged, cured, cultured, and smoked foods such as sauerkraut, salami, red wine, and ripened cheeses. Histamine is an important culprit in common health concerns, including migraines, allergies, IBS, asthma, insomnia, anxiety, and pre-menstrual problems. Come learn all about histamine and its ghastly brethren—Why do we need these biogenic amines in our bodies? What are they doing in our food? Why are women more likely to have Histamine Intolerance? How can you tell if you have Histamine Intolerance? How much histamine can you handle? You’ll find out everything you need to know to protect your sensitive system from this mischievous molecule.

Presenters

Georgia Ede

Dr. Georgia Ede is a Harvard-trained psychiatrist specializing in college mental health, currently practicing at Smith College. In 2012 she launched DiagnosisDiet.com, a website exploring the scientific connection between food and all aspects of mental and physical health. Her study... Read More →

Saturday August 13, 2016 11:30am - 12:10pm MDT
East

Talk (East)

11:30am MDT

Feeding Your Microbiome for Optimal Health

Feedback Survey

The microbiome is an important contributor to the health and vitality of the individual. This talk will review compare the analyses of the microbiomes and diets of hunter-gatherers, subsistence farmers and urban dwellers. It will then review strategies to increase the diversity of species residing in the gut.

Presenters

Terry Wahls

Terry Wahls, M.D., is a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Iowa and Director of the Therapeutic Lifestyle Clinic at the Iowa City Veteran Affairs Health Care System She also conducts clinical trials that test the efficacy of dietary and lifestyle interventions in... Read More →

Saturday August 13, 2016 11:30am - 12:10pm MDT
West

Talk (West)

12:10pm MDT

Primal Play Method

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Presenters

Darryl Edwards

Saturday August 13, 2016 12:10pm - 12:40pm MDT
Outside (meet on UMC patio)

Movement Session

12:10pm MDT

Lunch: 1 hour and 40 minutes

Saturday August 13, 2016 12:10pm - 1:50pm MDT
Break

Lunch

1:10pm MDT

As Essential as Brushing Your Teeth: The Deep Squat

Feedback Survey

Presenters

Georges Dagher

BAH, CSCS, DC

Saturday August 13, 2016 1:10pm - 1:30pm MDT
Outside (meet on UMC patio)

Movement Session

1:50pm MDT

Age-dependent Patterns of Adaptation to Diet in _Drosophila melanogaster_

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A variety of anthropologists and physicians claim that the health of present-day humans would be enhanced by reversion to “Paleo” diets. Against them, a few assert that long-agricultural populations are well-adapted to agricultural diets, due to the speed with which natural selection can fashion effective adaptations to novel diets. But theoretical analysis based on Hamilton’s forces of natural selection suggests that both might be wrong: populations might adapt to a novel environment quickly at early ages, but only slowly and incompletely at later adult ages. Experimental tests for age-dependent adaptation to a novel diet were performed on populations of _Drosophila melanogaster_. The results support the Hamiltonian hypothesis with populations performing better on their ancestral or long-standing diet, compared to an evolutionarily recent diet, only at later ages. These findings suggest that humans could revert to an ancestral diet at later ages to alleviate age-specific related diseases. However, at early ages, long-agricultural human populations might be best able to achieve reasonable health on an agricultural diet.

Presenters

Grant Rutledge

MS, Ph.D Candidate, University of California, Irvine

Grant A. Rutledge, M.S. is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at University of California, Irvine. Grant's research focus is Evolutionary Biology of diet, aging and mismatch. He manages a team of researchers in the Rose and Mueller Lab at the University... Read More →

Saturday August 13, 2016 1:50pm - 2:30pm MDT
East

Talk (East)

1:50pm MDT

Bad Diet, Bad DNA? Are epigenetic and sequence mutations redefining the human race?

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Recently, statistics reveal a startling trend of increased rates of child brain development disorders diagnosed over the past several decades. The anti-vaccine community has long suggested a link between environment and autism, yet few investigations have been launched into potential dietary factors. What's more, increasing evidence points to epigenetic and genetic changes playing a significant role in autism and other developmental disorders. This begs the question, if several genetically influenced disorders are on the rise, could it be that environmental factors are changing us at a genetic level in ways that impair brain function and, in so doing, redefine the nature of being human? This literature review investigates that question by presenting evidence of a potential link between recent dietary trends that lower nutrient intensity and increase oxidative stress and detrimental gene changes that appear to impact brain development.

Presenters

Cate Shanahan

Trained in biochemistry and genetics at Cornell before entering medical school, Dr Cate recognized pharmaceutical intervention did nothing to heal the underlying metabolic issues her Family Medicine patients in Hawaii were dealing with. Applying her knowledge of biochemistry... Read More →

Saturday August 13, 2016 1:50pm - 2:30pm MDT
West

Talk (West)

2:30pm MDT

break: 10 minutes

Saturday August 13, 2016 2:30pm - 2:40pm MDT
Break

Break

2:34pm MDT

Book Signing

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Darryl Edwards
Tony Federico
Terry Wahls
Michael Eades
Cate Shanahan

Presenters

Darryl Edwards

Tony Federico

BSc

Tony Federico is the VP of Marketing for Natural Force Nutrition Inc. (https://www.naturalforce.com), is an Editor for the Journal of Evolution and Health, a long time contributor to Paleo Magazine, a Paleo f(x) and AHS Alum, a 10 veteran of the fitness industry, and the author “Paleo Grilling: A Modern Caveman’s Guide to Cooking with Fire”. As a young man, he experience... Read More →

Michael Eades, MD

Michael R. Eades, M.D.is the author/co-author of ten books including the NY Times bestselling Protein Power. A long-time advocate of nutritional strategies for the treatment of obesity and other diseases of civilization, Dr. Eades has used the low-carb/ketogenic approach in his practice... Read More →

Cate Shanahan

Terry Wahls

Saturday August 13, 2016 2:34pm - 4:10pm MDT
Central

Book Signing

2:40pm MDT

As Essential as Brushing Your Teeth: The Deep Squat

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Presenters

Georges Dagher

BAH, CSCS, DC

Saturday August 13, 2016 2:40pm - 4:10pm MDT
TBA

Poster, Saturday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: Effects of a paleo diet on physical and psychological symptoms in the normal population. Results from a pilot study

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With this pilot study, we wanted to investigate feasibility of a web-based cross-over diet intervention in the normal population. The effects on physical and psychological symptoms were the secondary outcomes. 36 Participants were recruited to follow both the paleo diet and the Dutch consensus diet during four weeks in randomized order. Participants were representative for the Dutch population, except the higher percentage of females and higher educated participants. 75% Of recruited participants completed the study. Compliance to the diets was reasonable. Results on physical and psychological symptoms suggest that a paleo diet might result in greater reduction in physical symptoms as well as symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress compared to the Dutch consensus diet. Power calculations suggest that study groups of 50-100 are needed to show significant differences. A larger future study should confirm these results and investigate the mechanisms through which a paleo diet might reduce physical and psychological symptoms.

Presenters

Esther Nederhof

Professor, Van Hall Larenstein/ University of Groningen

Dr. Esther Nederhof works as a professor of healthy and sustainable food and Western disease at the University of Applied Science Van Hall Larenstein in Leeuwarden, and as a researcher at the department of psychiatry at the University Medical Center in Groningen, both in The Netherlands... Read More →

Saturday August 13, 2016 2:40pm - 4:10pm MDT
Central

Poster, Saturday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Saturday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: Gene Wars and Social Systems

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In what is likely the most polarized time period in the social, political and economic landscape, this presentation explores the potential ancestral mechanisms that may be at the core of our most pressing issues. Tying together the fields of genetics, evolutionary biology, sociology, neuroscience, and psychology, this discussion uses r/K selection and life history theories as heuristics to inform the first species to be aware of it’s own evolutionary strategies. This research review directed at the layperson but relevant to all will examine the wide-ranging possible implications and unintended consequences of evolutionary mismatches between our centralized institutions and our biological impulses. Inspiration will be drawn throughout the ancestral health sphere from hyperpalatability to healthcare-industrial complexes. Do genetics determine the values of society? Are our controversial public discourses driven by higher intellect or fear-driven survival responses? Do we face the extinction of vital characteristics of our social ecology?

Presenters

Derek Barber

CPT, CES, CA

Derek Barber is a fitness professional, strength and conditioning coach, nutritionist, entrepreneur and advisor/consultant in the health and wellness industry. He founded an interdisciplinary fitness and physiotherapy model where he coaches clients, athletes and patients, is co-creating... Read More →

Saturday August 13, 2016 2:40pm - 4:10pm MDT
Central

Poster, Saturday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Saturday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: How Hormesis Works

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Hormesis – the beneficial response to low-dose stress -- is cited as one reason that Paleo-inspired diets, exercise programs and lifestyles promote robust health. Muscles and bones are strengthened by vigorous activity, and the immune system is trained by exposure to environmental insults. It makes evolutionary sense that biological species adapt to stressful environments by mounting specific adaptations and defenses. But what are the underlying mechanisms of hormesis and how generally do they apply? This talk will discuss the biology of hormesis, and show how it can be applied to improve fitness, reverse obesity, overcome addictions and even improve eyesight.

Presenters

Todd Becker

MS, MS, Getting Stronger blog

Saturday August 13, 2016 2:40pm - 4:10pm MDT
Central

Poster, Saturday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Saturday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: Improving the Health of the New Zealand Defence Force—A Whole-food, Lower Carbohydrate Approach

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The aim of the study was to assess the effects of a 12-week trial of a low carbohydrate, high fat (LCHF) diet on metabolic health outcomes of New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel with a BMI> 25 kg.m2. 43 personnel were randomly assigned to either a control (low fat, moderate-high carbohydrate) or an intervention (LCHF) group. Anthropometric, lipid (HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides) and glycaemic measures (serum glucose, serum insulin, HbA1c). were taken at 0,4,8 and 12 weeks. The LCHF group had a significantly greater decrease in weight and increase in HDL-cholesterol, while the triglycerides and TG:HDL ratio, also improved compared to the control group. The LCHF diet was superior for improving metabolic health outcomes when compared to mainstream nutrition recommendations. This dietary approach has been adopted within a health clinic for Unfit for Operational Service personnel on a naval base, with the potential to implement on a wider scale.

Presenters

Mikki Williden

PhD, Registered Nutritionist

Mikki is a registered nutritionist (New Zealand Nutrition Society) and Research Associate at AUT University, Auckland, NZ. She is also a founding member and on the Executive Committee of the Ancestral Health Society of New Zealand. Both her research and her consultancy are centred... Read More →

Saturday August 13, 2016 2:40pm - 4:10pm MDT
Central

Poster, Saturday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Saturday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: Low Carb Kids—A Whole-Food, Weight Loss Feasibility Study

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In a one-arm feasibility trial conducted in New Zealand, 25 overweight children (8-13 years) underwent a 12-week whole-food, low carbohydrate, healthy fat (LCHF) dietary intervention. Key feasibility aspects assessed via focus groups included dietary acceptability, adherence, attrition rate and cost-effectiveness. Ease of recruitment (to inform a proposed RCT on overweight children using LCHF vs “mainstream” weight loss strategies) was also evaluated. Efficacy outcome variables, measured at baseline and at 12 weeks, included anthropometry (weight, height, waist circumference and fat mass), and blood parameters (lipids, glycaemic measures). Overall, attrition rates were high (48%), dietary acceptability was mostly positive, and cost-effectiveness was mixed. On average completing children lost 2.1% body fat (CI: -3.8% to -0.3%); p=0.027. Key blood parameter changes included an overall reduction in triglycerides and an increase in HDL cholesterol. Other feasibility and efficacy aspects will be discussed along with key strategies for our future study.

Presenters

Caryn Zinn PhD

PhD. Dietitian. Senior Lecturer

Caryn Zinn is a Senior Lecturer at AUT’s Human Potential Centre. She is also a NZ Registered Dietitian with a private practice focussing on whole-food, low carb, healthy fat (LCHF) eating for different client groups. She has recently co-published two books called What The Fat? (WTF... Read More →

Saturday August 13, 2016 2:40pm - 4:10pm MDT
Central

Poster, Saturday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Saturday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: Mimicking our Ancestors Nutrient Rich Diet in a High Performance Garden

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The basis for the ancestral health movement is nutrient rich foods. Budgetary restrictions and scarcity of nutrient dense foods can make ancestral diets seem unattainable. The big box stores are not providing us with nutrient dense foods, neither are the organic stores. Our ancestors enjoyed a lifestyle that gave them far more nutrition for each meal than our own industrial food system. Home gardens are the best place for you to control the nutrient density of your produce and cut costs. In our busy lives most feel that they cannot grow their own food. The myth is it gardening is too hard, don't know how or not enough time. This paradigm is about the change. There are now gardening systems that are organic that can grow enough produce for 3 people in 15 minutes a day. In these high performance gardening systems it is totally possible to grow all the produce you need. The key to the highest nutrient dense food is just an education away.

Presenters

Lynn Gillespie

Organic Farmer and Educator 29 years

Saturday August 13, 2016 2:40pm - 4:10pm MDT
Central

Poster, Saturday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Saturday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: Shoes Are Not Paleo

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Once upon a time, without shoes of any kind, humans navigated challenging terrain all the way from Africa to Europe, China, and Australia. Our feet are more capable than most people realize, but fear of the risks and dangers of going barefoot prevents most of us from accessing all their features. Crucially, when humans evolved to be exceptional bipedal endurance runners, the sole’s ability to gauge impact forces was a perfect way to assess how efficiently we were moving. Because impact forces in running result from sudden vertical deceleration and correlate with energy wasted against gravity, sensing these forces became a reliable signal to the body to engage more core muscles (especially the glutes) in order to move more efficiently (forward, instead of up and down). The loss of this sensory input due to modern soled footwear is a major contributor to core weakness and musculoskeletal dysfunction.

Presenters

Stephanie Welch

BA, MA, LMT, Disruptive Anthropology

Stephanie Welch has been an ancestral health advocate since 2010. Her personal mission is to challenge commonly held beliefs and taboos about being a modern human -- the more uncomfortable the better -- in an effort she calls Disruptive Anthropology. In 2010, she defied doctors... Read More →

Saturday August 13, 2016 2:40pm - 4:10pm MDT
Central

Poster, Saturday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Saturday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: The Interaction Between the Gut Microbiome and Mood

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The gut interacts with the central nervous system (CNS) through extrinsic and enteric nerves, cellular messengers, and the microbiome. The gut microbiome is the sum of the bacteria that can be found in the human gut, and these bacteria engage in bidirectional communication with the central nervous system (CNS). The high co-morbidity between functional gut disorders--such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)--and mood disorders suggests a shared cause, and current evidence points toward the microbiome as that cause. This presentation will discuss: how a gut microbiome is established during early-life; how an organism and its microbiome can be altered throughout life via diet, administration of probiotics, and infection by pathogenic bacteria; and the possible mechanisms by which the gut microbiome modifies mood and behavior. Additionally, practical applications of the research and its consequences for everyday life will be discussed.

Presenters

Rachel Suppok

BS in Neuroscience

Rachel Suppok has earned her B.S. in Neuroscience and gained laboratory experience studying inflammation and behavior in mice and rats. She has also suffered from a functional bowel disorder, the effects of an unhealthy gut microbiome, and anxiety--all of which she now hypothesizes... Read More →

Saturday August 13, 2016 2:40pm - 4:10pm MDT
Central

Poster, Saturday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Saturday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: What Wears Out

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Under the best of circumstances, a healthy member of a primitive society might hope to live to the ripe old age of 65-75. Some certainly lived longer, but not as a routine. Such individuals lived the perfect Paleo lifestyle, and they were in excellent health until quite late in life. Modern humans have fallen short in the quality of lifestyle: few of us started the Paleo Diet in the womb. What wears out naturally and what can be done to improve the quality of the latter part of our natural lifespan? While we may have modern medicine to keep us going to 75-80, modern humans are exposed to toxins both different and excessive compared to our ancestors. We triage our way around these toxins in youth, but their cumulative burden surfaces with age. Besides a healthy lifestyle, what can we do to respond effectively to challenges of the modern world ?

Presenters

Deborah Gordan

Deborah Gordon, MD, trained in medicine and Family Practice through the University of California at San Francisco. She lives in Southern Oregon, where she has had an integrative medical practice for the last thirty years. She also rows competitively, directs the Siskiyou Challenge... Read More →

Saturday August 13, 2016 2:40pm - 4:10pm MDT
Central

Poster, Saturday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Saturday Poster Session

4:10pm MDT

Paleopathology and the Origins of the Paleo Diet

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For current human health it is extremely important to know the diet composition of early Homo sapiens and their predecessors, because this would be the diet of a ‘human in the wild’ and the diet that over the millennia shaped our genome. There are a number of ways by which this information can be gleaned from the anthropological and archeological literature. Over time, dietary changes can alter morphology. By correlating modern human morphology with that of human predecessors, we can make assumptions about changes dietary composition. Stable isotope analysis is another highly technical way to determine dietary intake of both modern and ancient humans. Paleopathological evaluation of human remains allows us to document the diseases wrought by changes in diet. The disease processes found in the skeletal remains of hunter gatherers compared to those found in agriculturalists show the devolution of human health accompanying a switch to an agricultural means of subsistence. One large group of agriculturalists, who have been studied extensively – the ancient Egyptians – provides an important data source showing the detrimental effects of a grain-based diet. This database is enormous, because of the ancient Egyptian practice of embalming their dead, which has left us with tens of thousands of soft tissue remains to be studied. These various methods of investigation, taken together, show that although the switch from hunting to farming may have been an advantageous move for humankind, it certainly was not a salubrious move for the individual human.

Presenters

Michael Eades, MD

Saturday August 13, 2016 4:10pm - 4:50pm MDT
East

Talk (East)

4:10pm MDT

Get Up, Stand Up: A Brief History of Sedentarism and Why Movement is Good Medicine

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Chairs first emerged in prehistoric times as a way for high-status individuals to designate their social standing, and their use was almost exclusively the domain of the affluent class until the Industrial Revolution made affordable, mass-produced seating possible. Prior to this point, the vast majority of people sat on improvised objects such as beds, tree stumps, or benches, or simply squatted on their haunches. Social aspirations, continued technological innovations (e.g. the automobile), and a shift towards sedentary work drove the adoption of the chair until its use became ubiquitous at home, at work, at school, and at play (e.g. computer and video games). The average American now spends more than 10 hours a day seated, but excessive sitting is not without consequence. There is a growing body of scientific research that suggests that spending too much time seated is a contributing factor in the development of obesity, cardiovascular disease, orthopedic issues, and even cancer. In other words, chairs, and the sedentary behavior their presence promotes, represents an evolutionary mismatch similar to that of fast food, and in this presentation it will be proposed that exposing the body to a variety of movement patterns throughout the day (i.e. movement breaks) is an effective countermeasure to prolonged sitting and an effective way to reduce the risk of chronic disease.

Presenters