AHS16 - Ancestral Health Symposium 2016

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

2:40pm MDT

Poster: Ancestral Birth

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

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: APOA2 Gene Polymorphisms and Saturated Fat

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

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

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

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

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: Challenging Traditional Cardiovascular Risk Assessment

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

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

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

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

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: Evolution's Place in Nutrition and Dietetics

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

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

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

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

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

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

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

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: Immune Signaling Model of Autoimmune Endocrine Disease

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

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

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

Company Poster
Audience Friday 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

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

Company Poster
Audience Saturday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: Gene Wars and Social Systems

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

Company Poster
Audience Saturday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: How Hormesis Works

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

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

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

Company Poster
Audience Saturday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

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

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

Company Poster
Audience Saturday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

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

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

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 →

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

Company Poster
Audience Saturday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: Shoes Are Not Paleo

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

Company Poster
Audience Saturday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: The Interaction Between the Gut Microbiome and Mood

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

Company Poster
Audience Saturday Poster Session

2:40pm MDT

Poster: What Wears Out

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