Primal Being Performance & Nutrition

Go like Body of Science as this is now the new name and page of PBPN. Evidence based infographics, mini research reviews and blog posts will be posted on there

(I accidentally missed a slide off the initial post so I’m posting it again as it will annoy me forever)

There probably could of been three times as many slides going into all the literature on milk/dairy and the claims surrounding its consumption. Maybe there will be a part 2. .

I’m happy to discuss anything in the comments related to any other points people bring up as well. .

In summary, milk is totally fine for the majority of people, but if you notice bloating or GI issues or your acne flares up, just remove it and use an alternative. And obviously if you’re lactose intolerant, you know not to. 👍🏻 . .

Trying to get these out inbetween uni work is difficult, but here is another one. A common topic that continues to float around with silly things being said about it.


There are many other studies involving this topic that I didn’t have enough space to talk about. I mainly focused on body composition and metabolic health, there are other studies related to longevity and circadian rhythm that deserves a separate post that I will get around to covering, but for now just the easy stuff to dispel.


Another topic related to intermittent fasting is how it is not appropriate for someone wanting to optimise muscle gain. Again, I didn’t have room to cover it but it’s not a difficult one that requires much evidence or thought really - the word fasting gives it away, nothing anabolic about that word. Also the claim that it increases growth hormone and therefore anabolic fasting bro - That’s a stress response to calorie restriction, which is by definition a catabolic. So it’s effect is null.

Stephan Guyenet vs Gary Taubes - Obesity Debate

Joe Rogan Experience #1267 - Gary Taubes & Stephan Guyenet

Sorry there has been a delay on the posting - Deep into a systematic review on vitamin d deficiency and it’s association with depression (expect a cool infographic on that topic!)


Vaccines 🙄 ..... the amount of posts I’m seeing on social media on this topic, and the pseudoscience being pedalled surrounding the supposed side effects is shocking.


It’s not just about repeating something that is totally false (that’s still bad in my eyes) but it’s the information that is both wrong AND has the potential to cause damage when people take those falsehoods as truth.


Vaccines don’t cause autism, the world isn’t flat, they’re not poisoning us via the water supply, chemtrails don’t exist. STOP with the pseudoscience people. 🥴🥴🥴🥴

High protein consumption has got some push back in previous years due to the increased load that you put on your kidneys, this tends to only be an issue if you have preexisting problems with your kidneys and they’re not functioning correctly.


Higher protein diets are actually very beneficial for health and make the problem of weight management a lot easier to undertake. High protein diets have higher satiation, a higher thermic effect and help to preserve vital lean body mass which contributes the most to maintaining your metabolism.


I would always recommend people try to aim for the lower limit of the resistantly trained individuals (1.2) regardless of activity for the reasons described above.


I would also advise vegans and vegetarians who want to build and preserve muscle, to consume the upper limits of these ranges. Vegan and vegetarian diets are often comprised of poorer quality proteins, meaning you need to consume more total protein to get the same anabolic response due to the less digestibility of plant based protein. Fermented BCAAs and a good plant based protein powder solves this problem tremendously!! 🍃


Older individuals will also require more protein due to the reduction in muscle protein synthesis via a reduction in testosterone as they get older. This means you’re less efficient at utilising the same amount of protein as you would when you were younger - so consume more! This is so important for preserving muscle mass and bone density to ensure mobility is maintained in later years of life!

Is salt (sodium) intake bad for you and what are the best recommendations in regards to intake?


Salt or sodium gets a bad rep, and it’s the fault of a misrepresentation of the science. Links have been shown between higher sodium intakes and disease risk but the confounders haven’t been considered or discussed correctly when the science has been communicated in the past.


It’s no surprise to me that people that have high intakes of sodium have higher rates of disease. The question you have to ask yourself is - Is that down to sodium itself or is it the fact that junk food and highly processed foods contain higher amounts of sodium in them. Also we know that obesity is a massive factor in many diseases, so a diet that is in excess (calorie surplus) will naturally have a higher level of sodium as well (especially if it’s junk food). So it’s a stretch to pin it on sodium alone. It’s also a fact that these poor diets are low in potassium in relation to sodium - which we do know increases disease and cause health issues.


Studies have shown a reduction in sodium intake does reduce blood pressure in individuals with a higher than normal blood pressure. Many people make a massive leap to assume this therefore means that sodium causes hypertension and diseases related to it. This isn’t the case, it just shows that sodium restriction should and could be used as a supplementary protocol for reducing blood pressure in people with hypertension.


So make sure you’re consuming a full spectrum of all the electrolytes accompanied with adequate water intake and especially if you are an active individual. 💪🏻👌🏻💫


(The graph was generated from the data of the study listed in the previous slide to it - I switched it to a reverse U shape style graph to show how it related to ‘health’ rather than ‘mortality’ so that it was more relatable to the lay audience) 😁

This was just to prove a small point that I think the majority of people understood anyway. But some people like to think ‘chemicals’ means something completely different to what it actually means and therefore make ridiculous claims or rules based off of it.

“Detox” “cleanse” “alkalise your body” .

If you hear any of these terms coming out of a ‘nutritionist’ (I use nutritionist loosely here) then run a country mile 🏃🏻‍♀️ .

The alkaline diet has been popularised mainly in the vegan community, it’s proposed benefits are under the presumption that you can somehow change the pH of your blood and then prevent certain diseases and improve health. .

A fundamental understanding of human physiology will quickly illuminate that this is impossible, your blood pH is tightly regulated - and thank science it is. Because it you could raise your blood pH even slightly, you’d be dead 💀 .

This had to said, too many people do it without taking a step back and thinking about the mechanics of it.


Warming up your shoulders and rotator cuff is important, but not understanding what keeps you on the ground is more important. If you’re doing the external rotation rotator cuff exercise with a dumbbell, at least lie down so you’re getting actual resistance where you think you want it. Alternatively, ditch newton and use a cable machine 💪🏻


Also Bodybuilding.com I used one of your images, if you want me to remove the post please say. But maybe you should remove it off the article cos it is a bit silly 😂


@ Phoenix Gym Norwich

Should you allow your knees to travel over your toes?


Based off the evidence that I have come across the difference in torque that the knee experiences when allowing it to pass over the knees does not warrant the avoidance of it, it also poses some other issues in regards to other joints involved in the squat - Mainly the hip joints. Forcing your back angle so horizontal to reach depth whilst maintaining a vertical shin creates a huge force on your hip joint when performing a squat where the bar is situated so high on your shoulders.


You should always aim to ensure the bar is travelling in a vertical path to the floor and is above your mid foot.


Horizontal back angle obviously is fine in powerlifting low bar squats but the bar is shifted lower on the back and the load remains above the mid foot for the entire lift. (I just wanted to clarify that, because I’m not saying mode horizontal back in the squat causes hip issues).


Regardless of your anatomy and preference of squat type, you should always try to squat as deep as your body will allow that doesn’t compromise your stable position increasing your risk of injury.


Deep squats build quads and glutes. 🔥🍑

Red and processed meat and if it poses a significant health risk?


This was by far the hardest topic to consolidate into 10 slides (I have about 5 I couldnt use due to the limit). It was also really difficult to give a fair and representative snapshot of the evidence whilst remaining unbiased (being a meat eater myself) using infographics alone. I believe I gave a fair assessment of the literature and proposed realistic and sensible recommendations based off of it, so let me know your thoughts.


Take home recommendations that are contained in the last slide are as follows:


1) consume red meat no more than 2-3 times per week and try to avoid over cooking it.


2) consume adequate fibre and complex carbohydrates that have protective effects against cancer with every meal, especially with red meat.


3) perform regular exercise, remain in a healthy BMI range and try to limit smoking or cut it out completely