AHS17: Full Schedule

12:00pm PDT

12-5 Registration and Badge Pick-Up

Wednesday September 6, 2017 12:00pm - 5:00pm PDT
Kane Hall Lobby

Registration

8:00am PDT

Registration and Badge Pick-Up

Thursday September 7, 2017 8:00am - 9:00am PDT
Kane Hall Lobby

Registration

9:00am PDT

Opening Remarks

Thursday September 7, 2017 9:00am - 9:10am PDT
210 Kane Hall

Opening Remarks

9:10am PDT

Poster Previews

Poster presenters will each give a brief description of the topic of their poster. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn more by visiting the poster sessions on Friday and Saturday afternon from 2:40-4:10.

Thursday September 7, 2017 9:10am - 9:45am PDT
210 Kane Hall

Talk

9:45am PDT

Break: 5 minutes

Thursday September 7, 2017 9:45am - 9:55am PDT
Break

Break

9:50am PDT

Are We All Evolved to Eat High Protein?

Protein is essential to life and health, but its metabolic byproduct, ammonia, is toxic. Humans dispose of excess nitrogen largely as urea, a nontoxic metabolite of ammonia that can be safely excreted in the urine. Rare genetic defects interfere directly with the production of urea. Other genetic defects that interfere with the use of certain fuels, especially branched-chain amino acids, can indirectly impair the synthesis of urea during metabolic crisis. Impairments of urea synthesis lead to the accumulation of ammonia, with devastating neurological consequences. Null genes manifest in infancy and are best studied. Partial genetic deficiencies are often asymptomatic through adulthood until dietary changes (protein supplementation, carbohydrate restriction, fasting) or metabolic demands (intense exercise, illness) force a greater rate of protein catabolism. Whether more common polymorphisms in these pathways lead to variations in the tolerance to protein or the conditions that require its catabolism remains largely unexplored, but critically important.

Speakers

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 September 7, 2017 9:50am - 10:30am PDT
220 Kane Hall

Talk

9:50am PDT

It's Not Your Fault: How you are Wired To Eat.

Speakers

Robb Wolf

Robb Wolf is a former research biochemist, health expert, and author of the New York Times bestseller The Paleo Solution and the eagerly anticipated Wired To Eat. He has been a review editor for the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism and Journal of Evolutionary Health; serves... Read More →

Thursday September 7, 2017 9:50am - 10:30am PDT
210 Kane Hall

Talk

10:30am PDT

Break: 10 minutes

Thursday September 7, 2017 10:30am - 10:40am PDT
Break

Break

10:40am PDT

Lessons from the Medical System: What the Ancestral Movement Can Learn From the Success of the Triage Process

It is common knowledge that nutrition, sleep, exercise, mental health and digestion are important. How do you apply these concepts to different settings in everyday practice, be it acute, chronic or primary care? How do you prioritize where to start when your client’s health is a disaster but not life threatening or critical? By apply a similar triage system of ABC’s (airway, breathing, circulation) used in the medical world, you’ll learn a step by step process to assess and re-assess your clients health. In this presentation you’ll gain tips for helping your client achieve success without them feeling overwhelmed by too many recommendations all at once. You’ll identify ways to help your client fix their most critical issue first so they see results and stay motivated. We’ll also discuss how to integrate these concepts into family medicine, primary care and acute care in a way that gains buy in and acceptance and avoids resistance.

Speakers

Shawna Curry

RN, BN, B.Kin, CTI Co-Active Coach

Shawna Curry has over 16 years of experience as a Registered Nurse, Coach, Author, Public Speaker, Personal Trainer, Triathlon Coach, and Fitness Instructor. She brings personal experience from years of doing triathlons and marathons while dealing with food sensitivities, inflammation... Read More →

Thursday September 7, 2017 10:40am - 11:20am PDT
220 Kane Hall

Talk

10:40am PDT

Phyto-biological Warfare: An Evolutionary Approach to Botanical Medicine

Plants have been engaging in biological warfare against other plants and competing species for millennia. At the same time, humans have used plant materials as medicine. Historically, we have relied on tradition to guide their use. In this presentation, we will connect the need for these evolutionary biological weapons with our ability to use them as medicine. Our studies have been able to identify and validate traditional botanical extractions with medicinal properties by using evolutionary data and laboratory proof of their efficacy. We will discuss the distinct evolutionary adaptations that have made plants resilient, useful and even dangerous. We will also extrapolate our methods to expand these botanicals beyond their traditional use, and use their properties to fight viruses, bacteria and even cancer. Finally, this presentation provides with guidelines to assure the safe implementation of botanicals in our evidence-based world and precautions for their proper applications.

Speakers

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 →

Thursday September 7, 2017 10:40am - 11:20am PDT
210 Kane Hall

Talk

11:20am PDT

Break: 10 minutes

Thursday September 7, 2017 11:20am - 11:30am PDT
Break

Break

11:30am PDT

Lost Seasonality and Overconsumption of Plants: Risking Oxalate Toxicity

In the context of a global food system and 24-hour retail groceries offering every imaginable food 365 days a year, the dictum to “eat more plants” may be dangerous to human health due to unaware excessive consumption of oxalates. Dramatic increases in calcium-oxalate kidney stones, and functional problems with digestive health, neurotoxicity (sleep, brain function), inflammation (pain, autoimmunity, cellular stress, fatigue), and connective tissue instability (osteoporosis, arthritis, vulnerability to injury) are all consistent with increased oxalate toxicity. Learn how modern food choices and meal patterns create the conditions for accumulation of oxalate in the body, and how oxalates create metabolic havoc. This session explains how modern foods and medicines increase susceptibility to oxalates; makes the case for careful attention to oxalate consumption; dispels the notion that all vegetables and seeds are healthy and safe to eat on a regular basis; and introduces the therapeutic benefits of a low-oxalate diet.

Speakers

Sally Norton

MPH

Sally K. Norton received her BS in Nutrition from Cornell University and her Master’s in Public Health Leadership from UNC-Chapel Hill. Her career in health promotion includes designing and delivering programs in the inner city; research on health issues in poor rural communities... Read More →

Thursday September 7, 2017 11:30am - 12:10pm PDT
210 Kane Hall

Talk

11:30am PDT

Were Eskimos ever in Ketosis? The History of the American Northwest and Ancestral Health Principles.

Responding to the presence of AHS 2017 in Seattle, this presentation highlights ancestral health paradigms that can be gleaned from the indigenous history of the Pacific Northwest and Alaskan territories. It surveys the interaction between ecology and nutrition in the region from 21,000 years ago to the present. It raises important questions about ancestral health principles and shows how they can be approached by synthesizing the indigenous history of the region with the latest literature in biological science and evolutionary medicine. That synthesis, in turn, helps us to examine a number of controversial theories and debates, including: different theories for the migration of indigenous peoples to North American from 21,000 years ago, and the evolution of nutritional needs during that period; the purported role of ketosis in fat-adapted communities in Alaska and beyond; the relative importance of Omega 3 Fatty Acids versus saturated fat intake in historical populations; the potentially overlooked role of Resistant Starch sources in fat-adapted communities; the overlooked importance of semi-digested lichens in human health (!); and the health consequences following a move away from long-evolved ecological and nutritional frameworks.

Speakers

Gideon Mailer

PhD, University of Cambridge

Gideon Mailer is Associate Professor of history at The University of Minnesota, Duluth. He has published a book on early American History (2017) and has authored and co-authored many scholarly journal articles and essays, including on the intersection between ancestral health studies... Read More →

Thursday September 7, 2017 11:30am - 12:10pm PDT
220 Kane Hall

Talk

12:10pm PDT

(12:10-1:20) Lunch: 1 hour and 10 minutes

Thursday September 7, 2017 12:10pm - 1:20pm PDT
Break

Lunch

12:15pm PDT

Evolve Move Play

Speakers

Rafe Kelley

Rafe Kelley is the founder of Evolve Move Play, a practice of natural movement rooted in understanding training as an extension of our evolved biology, specifically through looking at how play informs us about the types of movement we intrinsically need. He has 14 years of experience... Read More →

Thursday September 7, 2017 12:15pm - 1:00pm PDT
Outside front of Kane Hall

Movement Session

1:20pm PDT

The State of Paleo: Mastermind Panel

We are currently witnessing mainstream adoption of many Paleo/Ancestral Health ideas like intermittent fasting, the healthfulness of saturated fats, and minimizing blue light at nighttime, while at the same time the words "Paleo" and "Ancestral Health" are increasingly absent or deemphasized.

The goal of this conversation is to bring together long-standing members of the ancestral health community to discuss the current status of the movement and where we expect it to go.

Moderators

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 →

Speakers

Aaron Blaisdell

PhD, 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 →

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 →

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 →

Denise Minger

Denise Minger is a health blogger, public speaker, nutrition consultant, and author of "Death By Food Pyramid"—a book that explores the shaky foundations of what we believe about food.

Michelle Norris

CEO, Paleo F(x)

Michelle is a former corporate warrior, trained chef and multi-potentialitewhose personal health issues and struggles with traditional medical orthodoxyinspired her to upend the way the world tackles health, wellness and prosperity.She soon became one of Paleo’s most outspoken evangelists... Read More →

Robb Wolf

Thursday September 7, 2017 1:20pm - 2:20pm PDT
210 Kane Hall

Talk

2:20pm PDT

Break: 10 minutes

Thursday September 7, 2017 2:20pm - 2:30pm PDT
Break

Break

2:30pm PDT

Our Perinatal Microbiome and The Postpartum Brain: how the bugs and the baby affect mood

The goal of this presentation is to explore the gut-brain connection as it pertains to perinatal mood disorders. We will explore some of the new research that has emerged regarding the microbiome and anxiety/depression and specifically research about the microbiome in pregnancy and its effects on the neonate and perinatal conditions. As part of that we will also explore newer and smaller research on conventional postpartum depression management, links to neurobehavioral concerns for children, and how the microbiome may be at play in maternal postpartum transition and depression

Speakers

Sunita Iyer

ND, LM

I have been a graduate level educator for the past 7 years at Bastyr University in Kenmore, WA and have recently joined the team at UW Bothell. My background and primary professional interest has been women's and pediatric health and working in the public health sector. Currently... Read More →

Thursday September 7, 2017 2:30pm - 3:10pm PDT
210 Kane Hall

Talk

2:30pm PDT

The Dirt on Cancer and Chronic Disease: Modern Treatments Merge With Ancestral Sensibility

Dr. Winters ND and Dr. Liu PharmD will highlight the changes to our biological terrain since the industrial food revolution. This promises to be a lively discussion offering a new definition of health and hope in the midst of statistics stating that nearly half of the U.S. population will have cancer in their lifetime. Dr. Winters and Dr. Liu will show you how to take charge and tend your inner terrain. The microbiome is a biological garden with vast ramifications when damaged. Special focus will be on assessing the entire terrain, reducing cancer and chronic illness risk and returning the body back to a more natural state with ancestral resources and evidence-based strategies.

Speakers

Grace Liu

PharmD

Dr. Grace Liu PharmD is a trained functional medicine practitioner and founder of The Gut Institute. She is a clinical pharmacist with a doctorate in practice for 19+ years and specializes in complex disease management. Dr. Liu PharmD consults and helps clients gain optimal performance... Read More →

Nasha Winters

ND, L.Ac, Dipl.OM, FABNO

Dr. Nasha Winters, ND, FABNO, L.Ac, Dipl.OM is the visionary and CEO of Optimal TerrainTM working to educate clients, doctors and researchers worldwide on how to apply integrative oncology philosophically and therapeutically. Passionate about nourishing, quality food and its implications... Read More →

Thursday September 7, 2017 2:30pm - 3:10pm PDT
220 Kane Hall

Talk

3:10pm PDT

Break: 10 minutes

Thursday September 7, 2017 3:10pm - 3:20pm PDT
Break

Break

3:20pm PDT

Animal Moves

Speakers

Darryl Edwards

Thursday September 7, 2017 3:20pm - 4:00pm PDT
210 Kane Hall

Movement Session

3:20pm PDT

Jumping out of the nutrition system, or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the Dietary Guidelines

Mainstream dietary guidance relies on nutritional epidemiology to draw conclusions about links between diet and chronic disease. In turn, nutritional epidemiology operates by extracting information from populations of carefully chosen individuals and sequestering it in unwieldy, if not proprietary, datasets. This information system creates a closed loop of nutrition research, clinical guidelines, and dietary policy that only returns information to individuals through a filter of obscure methodology distilled into one-size-fits-all guidance by experts burdened with ideological and institutional allegiances. This presentation explores a new project designed to democratize this process by bringing “n of 1” nutritional approaches together with the power of population-based information, enabling individuals, clinicians, and researchers to develop virtual “nearest neighbor” communities based on attributes that may affect health outcomes. This returns the power of population-based information to individuals and sidesteps the information system behind current dietary guidance to help create one reflecting ancestral health frameworks.

Speakers

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 →

Thursday September 7, 2017 3:20pm - 4:00pm PDT
220 Kane Hall

Talk

4:00pm PDT

Break: 10 minutes

Thursday September 7, 2017 4:00pm - 4:10pm PDT
Break

Break

4:10pm PDT

How the 'New Man' inadvertently sabotages the first ancestral food

Until the arrival of forceps and the “male midwife”, men in traditional societies had little role in the birth and early feeding of infants. Women used traditional models of co-nursing, peer-support and matriarchal custom to help establish breastfeeding. From the 19th century, men inserted themselves insistently into the birthing process. Some interventions saved lives; others damaged early mother-child bonding. In the 20th century, men (largely) promoted formula as “scientific” and superior to breastfeeding. When this was revealed as profoundly inaccurate, cynical exploitation of the “New Man” as a model of nurturing masculinity - from dad in the birthing room to his “heroically” doing the night feeds - ironically undermined further the important physiological role of women in feeding infants. This talk examines how to resolve this mismatch between ancestral expectations and the laudable desire for gender equality, and discusses helpful roles men can undertake in an infant’s crucial early months.

Speakers

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 →

Thursday September 7, 2017 4:10pm - 4:50pm PDT
210 Kane Hall

Talk

4:10pm PDT

What's really wrong with the literature and how to fix it.

The medical literature is currently subject to extensive criticism, nowhere more than in nutrition. While failure in The medical literature is currently subject to extensive criticism, nowhere more than in nutrition. While the widely invoked misuse of statistics contributes, major cause rests with failure to adhere to accepted ideas such as Bradford Hill’s principles and to accept questionable, if not fundamentally foolish standards — intention-to-treat, meta-analysis and statistically significant but biologically meaningless significance. Blame falls on editors whose failure to recognize controversial subjects and to obtain reviewers from both sides constitutes de facto (or intentional) bias. Evidence of bias comes from PubPeer, Letters-to-editors and social media from people with experience and credentials. Fixing things requires: Recognition that the model of (physical) scientific literature is no longer appropriate. More controversial, more tentative, medical reports require post-publication review or periods of tentative acceptance subject to continued public comment. External respected, neutral organizations to codify good practice and to adjudicate conflicts.

Speakers

Richard Feinman

PhD

Richard David Feinman is Professor of Cell Biology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. Dr. Feinman’s current research interest is in ketogenic diets in cancer. Founder and former co-Editor-In-Chief (2004-2009) of Nutrition & Metabolism, Dr. Feinman is active improve the current state... Read More →

Thursday September 7, 2017 4:10pm - 4:50pm PDT
220 Kane Hall

Talk

5:00pm PDT

Art and Science of Aligned Movement

Speakers

Aaron Alexander

CR, LMT, CPT, Align Therapy™

Aaron Alexander CR, LMT, CPT 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 of people out of pain and into health... Read More →

Thursday September 7, 2017 5:00pm - 6:00pm PDT
Outside front of Kane Hall

Movement Session

6:00pm PDT

AHS17 Welcome Banquet - Offsite

Join us for an awesome evening of Paleo food, free wine, guest speakers, raffles and fun. The AHS17 Welcome Banquet will be organized and hosted by Gil Butler, Primal Chef.

TICKETS SOLD SEPARATELY FROM AHS ADMISSION.

To purchase your ticket for the Welcome Banquet, visit: http://events.eventzilla.net/e/ancestral-health-symposium-welcome-banquet-2138909648

Menu

Fettuccine w/ Beef Bolognese
Cappello's fettuccine served with a beef tomato sauce

Roasted Chicken Thighs
Chicken thighs with herbs de provence and lemon

Baked Sweet Potatoes
Roasted sweet potatoes with cinnamon

Mixed Vegetable Saute
Broccoli florets with caramelized onions

Jack’s Paleo Cookies
An assortment of Paleo cookies

Dry Farm Red and White Wine
Paleo friendly wine producer

Thursday September 7, 2017 6:00pm - 10:00pm PDT
Landing at Tyee 3229 Fairview Ave E, Seattle, WA 98102

8:20am PDT

Primal Play

Speakers

Darryl Edwards

Friday September 8, 2017 8:20am - 8:50am PDT
Outside front of Kane Hall

Movement Session

9:00am PDT

Dirty Genes

Personalized medicine and the utilization of genetics by both public and professional is here. While genetic testing offers ample information quickly and affordably, many struggle with what the findings actually mean. Fear, confusion, frustration and precious time is spent in an attempt to utilization the genetic information. This presentation will explore the MTHFR polymorphism from why we’ve inherited it, the benefits, the negatives and its role in human biochemistry. While genetic polymorphisms are useful to identify, the answer lies in how genes are influenced by lifestyle, diet, mindset and the environment.

Speakers

Ben Lynch

Benjamin Lynch, ND received his Cell and Molecular Biology, BS from the University of Washington and his doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine (ND) from Bastyr University. His passion for identifying the cause of disease directed him towards nutrigenomics and methylation dysfunction... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 9:00am - 9:40am PDT
220 Kane Hall

Talk

9:00am PDT

In Touch - Creating Health and Vitality with the Tactile Sense

Modern humans sleep on cushioned beds, wear shoes and multiple layers of clothing during the day, and communicate with far away friends and family via text. Our ancient ancestors on the other hand slept on the ground, felt the sun on their shoulders, walked barefoot across the earth, and communicated with friends and family face to face. While the differences between these two scenarios are multitude, there is one aspect of our physiology that spans the entirety of these interactions as well as approximately 22 square feet of our body surface. It is our skin and the tactile sense that it embodies. As an antidote to this modern day deficit of touch, we can establish habits that reconnect us to our skin and enliven our tactile sense. These habits, which include massage and barefoot walking, provide an interesting, informative, and oftentimes pleasureable pathway to greater health and vitality.

Speakers

Tony Federico

BSc

Friday September 8, 2017 9:00am - 9:40am PDT
210 Kane Hall

Talk

9:40am PDT

Break: 10 minutes

Friday September 8, 2017 9:40am - 9:50am PDT
Break

Break

9:50am PDT

Hunter-Gatherer Sleep - What Can We Learn?

We get much less sleep than our ancestors, right? Epidemiology and national polls suggest Americans are getting less sleep than we were 50 to 100 years ago, and therefore, we are likely chronically sleep deprived as a society. But recent investigations into modern-day hunter-gatherer societies suggest natural-living communities don’t get as much sleep as we thought. They don’t go to sleep when the sun goes down and then wake before the sun comes up. Is there something about how they live that reduces their sleep need? What can we learn from them to make our own sleep efficient and effective?

Speakers

Dan Pardi

MS, PhD candidate

Dan's life's work centers on how to help people live healthfully. He is the CEO of humanOS.me which leverages a novel behavior model to promote health fluency, skill development, and lifestyle insights to help people master their health practice. He does research with the Psychiatry... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 9:50am - 10:30am PDT
220 Kane Hall

Talk

9:50am PDT

Posture Lessons from Tribal and Village Orissa

Learn Primal Posture™ directly from some of the last indigenous populations on the planet. Though it is helpful to theorize and experiment about posture and movement patterns, learning directly from the "pro's" is inspiring and invaluable. The "professional" hip-hingers in the world help root our body wisdom in tried and true techniques while conventional understanding of the body is still incomplete and ridden with misconceptions. Come and be inspired by slides from tribal Orissa and learn to mimic their ways of hip-hinging, squatting, stacksitting, glidewalking, and more!

Speakers

Esther Gokhale

L.Ac.

As the creator of www.GokhaleMethod.com, Esther Gokhale's mission is to provide posture and movement re-education to help people eradicate unnecessary pain and live their best lives. Gokhale has been a speaker/teacher at corporations such as Google, IDEO, and Varian Medical Systems... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 9:50am - 10:30am PDT
210 Kane Hall

Talk

10:30am PDT

Break: 10 minutes

Friday September 8, 2017 10:30am - 10:40am PDT
Break

Break

10:40am PDT

Ancestral Solutions for Modern Athletes

Recovery is a critical component of every athlete’s regime. Modern technology provides elite and professional athletes many deep insights into their training and recovery, however ancestral solutions are often the most efficient means to solving these complex problems. An evolutionary lense provides professional sports teams medical staff and nutritionists a novel perspective from which to navigate complex problems with simple, evolutionary solutions. In this talk, Dr. Bubbs will discuss three case studies of athletes struggling to thrive, and how ancestral diet and lifestyle approaches were the missing link to restoring optimal recovery and performance. This presentation will cover Dr. Bubbs findings with a professional football, basketball and hockey player and highlight how an evolutionary approach provided solutions to modern high-performance problems.

Speakers

Marc Bubbs

ND, CISSN, CSCS

Dr. Marc Bubbs is a board-certified Naturopathic Doctor, Author, Speaker, Director of Nutrition for the Canadian Men's Olympic Basketball Team and former Strength Coach. He is the author of The Paleo Project: The 21st Century Guide to Looking Leaner, Getting Stronger, and Living Longer... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 10:40am - 11:20am PDT
210 Kane Hall

Talk

10:40am PDT

Schizophrenia: An Evolutionary Explanation for a Maladapted Modern Environment

Severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia have been viewed in a negative light for years. Schizophrenia is a debilitating disease that has sparked searches for a cause to blame and a cure to eradicate. It is reasonable to wish to heal people when a disease state like this is interfering with their ability to live their lives. However, what if there were advantages to schizophrenia? Schizophrenia is a recently evolved disease, likely promoted through selective pressure, and the human species must derive some benefit from this evolution. This presentation explores what we know about the evolution of schizophrenia, as well as implications for our modern-day world.

Speakers

Tiffany Turner

BSc, ND candidate

Tiffany Turner is a fourth year student at the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine whose research career began with comparative genomics using software modeling to annotate genomes of very small creatures with names impossible to pronounce correctly. She currently specializes... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 10:40am - 11:20am PDT
220 Kane Hall

Talk

11:20am PDT

Break: 10 minutes

Friday September 8, 2017 11:20am - 11:30am PDT
Break

Break

11:30am PDT

Exuberant Animal master class

In this session, Frank Forencich will talk about group class leadership skills. Drawing on his 30+ year experience in teaching functional movement and martial arts, Frank will share the primary elements for creating and managing powerful movement experiences.

Speakers

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 →

Friday September 8, 2017 11:30am - 12:10pm PDT
210 Kane Hall

Talk

11:30am PDT

The microbiome inside your cells

While many people have learned about the microbiome - the collection of bacteria in our gut that influence health or disease - most people don't know about the OTHER microbiome, the one inside our cells. Our intracellular microbiome - otherwise known as our mitrochondria - have been linked to a wide variety of disease states, and if we want to stay healthy we need to pay as much attention to our mitochondria as our microbiome.

Speakers

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 →

Friday September 8, 2017 11:30am - 12:10pm PDT
220 Kane Hall

Talk

12:10pm PDT

Lunch: 1 hour and 20 minutes

Friday September 8, 2017 12:10pm - 1:30pm PDT
Break

Lunch

12:15pm PDT

Practical Strategies to Regulate Your Hypothalamus

Speakers

Angeles Rios

Somatic Yoga Therapy

Pilates helped Angeles Rios so much with her chronic back pain, she decided to get certified to teach Pilates at The Working Body and Turning Point Studios. As a life long learner and wanting to understand the body more, she went back to school to do a post-baccalaureate in biology... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 12:15pm - 1:00pm PDT
Outside front of Kane Hall

Movement Session

1:30pm PDT

Dentistry Panel

Moderators

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 →

Speakers

Alvin Danenberg

DDS, Certificate in Periodontics, Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner, Certified Primal Health Coach

Dr. Danenberg incorporates Primal Nutrition & Lifestyle with his laser protocol to treat gum disease. He received his dental degree in 1972, and his Specialty Certificate in Periodontics in 1974. He has continued to practice for the past 43 years in South Carolina. In 2014, Dr. Danenberg... Read More →

Scott Solomons

DDS

Dr. Scott Solomons has practiced General Dentistry at Dental Associates of Connecticut since 1989, recently adding functional medicine to his practice. This is a new paradigm that ultimately enables the patient to heal by combining testing, modern dentistry, nutrition, and general... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 1:30pm - 2:30pm PDT
210 Kane Hall

Talk

1:50pm PDT

Physical Activity as a Polypill for Chronic Lifestyle Disease

If physical activity came in pill form, we would only be too eager to take our exercise medicine. Even small-doses extend life and prevent chronic lifestyle disease. But what are the underlying mechanisms behind reduced inflammation, healthier lipid markers and increased diversity of the gut microbiome that make movement such a powerful antidote to modern lifestyle disease. Even though most of us are aware that physical exercise is important, we are less familiar with the underlying benefical mechanisms, we are not aware of how to best access the benefits, and most of us certainly do not do enough of it.

Speakers

Darryl Edwards

Friday September 8, 2017 1:50pm - 2:30pm PDT
220 Kane Hall

Talk

2:30pm PDT

Break: 10 minutes

Friday September 8, 2017 2:30pm - 2:40pm PDT
Break

Break

2:40pm PDT

Exuberant Animal Master Class

This is a unique movement experience that combines martial art, functional movement, structured play and social rapport. Developed over 30 years by Frank Forencich, creator of Exuberant Animal, this class is ideal for building vitality, physical intelligence and social happiness. Perfect for trainers, phys ed teachers, coaches and anyone who works with movement.

Speakers

Frank Forencich

BA Stanford, Human Biology, Exuberant Animal

Friday September 8, 2017 2:40pm - 3:20pm PDT
Outside front of Kane Hall

Movement Session

2:40pm PDT

Book Signing

Speakers

Katy Bowman

Biomechanist, movement teacher, and bestselling author of eight books, including Move Your DNA and Movement Matters, Katy Bowman has educated hundreds of thousands of people on movement’s role in the body and world. Passionate about human movement outside of exercise, Katy volunteers... Read More →

Alvin Danenberg

DDS, Certificate in Periodontics, Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner, Certified Primal Health Coach

Darryl Edwards

Tony Federico

BSc

Richard Feinman

PhD

Esther Gokhale

L.Ac.

Ben Lynch

Friday September 8, 2017 2:40pm - 4:10pm PDT
225 Kane Hall

Book Signing

2:40pm PDT

A comprehensive approach to n=1 for healing

This presentation introduces a comprehensive framework for personalized experimentation using an ancestral approach to healing. Virtually everyone who uses an n=1 approach finds that ancestral patterns of living and eating create optimal health. We know that this is true whether people are seeking to mitigate autoimmune response or achieve peak performance and peak experience. We also know that each of us is unique (genetically, epigenetically, ‘microbially’, temperamentally, etc.) and that an n=1 approach is often required to achieve peak health. In the ancestral health community ‘n=1’ is a common buzzphrase, but, until now, there has been no readily-available framework that individuals and practitioners can use to approach n=1 experimentation in a safe and systematic way. This presentation offers a comprehensive system using established techniques from research, evaluation, continuous quality improvement, and complex systems analysis. This method has been specifically created for use by laypeople with complex chronic health conditions.

Speakers

Petra Chambers-Sinclair

Petra is the 7th generation of her family to live in L’kwungen territory in Victoria, Canada. Her graduate research focused on the juxtaposition of new science and ancient wisdom teachings, which led to her own experimentation with ancestral patterns of living. She began seriously... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 2:40pm - 4:10pm PDT
225 Kane Hall

Poster, Friday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

2:40pm PDT

An Innovative Approach to Health Education: Utilizing A Functional and Integrative Medicine Education Resource with Students, Clinicians and Patients

According to the World Health Organization a healthcare system involves “all the activities whose primary purpose is to promote, restore or maintain health.” This broad definition encompasses healthcare practitioners, students and patients. In recent years, the Functional Medicine (FM) and ancestral health movements have helped empower all three groups. The Institute for Functional Medicine defines FM as a system that addresses the underlying causes of disease, using a systems-oriented approach with conjunctive engagement of both patient and practitioner in a therapeutic partnership. An unfortunate obstacle for the FM and ancestral health movements currently is that the delivery of health information is widely dispersed over many different organizations, individuals and platforms, often making it difficult to begin, condense and grow one's FM education and understanding of ancestral health. This presentation highlights an electronic book resource that organizes freely available FM and ancestral health resources by learning style (auditory, visual and kinesthetic) and further categorizes the resources by their level of expertise or targeted audience. This freely accessible educational resource is designed to streamline FM and ancestral health education for healthcare practitioners, students and patients so as to make living an ancestrally informed lifestyle and acquiring a FM education easy and accessible to all.

Speakers

Rob Abbott

BSc, MD

Dr. Rob Abbott is a first year family medicine resident at the Virginia Commonwealth University- Shenandoah Valley Family Medicine Residency Program in Front Royal, Virginia. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia (U.Va.) School of Medicine Class of 2017 where he served as... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 2:40pm - 4:10pm PDT
225 Kane Hall

Poster, Friday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

2:40pm PDT

An Integrative Approach to Alcoholism and Addiction Recovery

For so long, recovering addicts have been told that replacing their addiction withdrawals with so called lesser addictions, like sugar and over-exercising, is an optimal way to find sobriety. What if that’s only a short term solution that pushes them to become chronic self-medicators in the long run? An Integrative Approach to Alcoholism and Addiction Recovery uncovers why short-term solutions create long-term problems and why the key to continued sobriety lies in a physical, emotional, and mental holistic lifestyle.
This poster will explore the real cause of addiction, substance use disorders and the micro biome, clinical applications, and stopping the cycle of trading addictions.

Speakers

Kendall Kendrick

NTP

Kendall Kendrick is a motivational speaker and Nutritional Therapy Practitioner specializing in stress management through ancestral health. She uses her experience and education to teach others how to live a stress managed life through ancestral connection, nutrition, lifestyle, mindfulness... Read More →

Susan McCauley

Susan McCauley is a Certified Nutrition Consultant who consults worldwide with clients via phone and Skype. A long-time recovered addict and alcoholic herself, Susan specializes in clients with current and previous battles with substance abuse and food addiction. She has over 14 years... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 2:40pm - 4:10pm PDT
225 Kane Hall

Poster, Friday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

2:40pm PDT

Just Wrestle: How we evolved through rough and tumble play

Playful combative games, or rough and tumble play, is universal across cultures, common to all mammals, and may have its roots even deeper in the animal kingdom. Rough and tumble play is an ancient and highly conserved behavior due to its importance in developing effective cooperation, behavioral flexibility, courtship skills, and many other abilities. Sadly, it is also something we are increasingly asking our children and ourselves not to engage in. We will explore the deep evolutionary heritage of rough and tumble play, and the scientific evidence for its important bio-mechanical, kinesthetic, emotional, and social benefits.

Speakers

Rafe Kelley

Beth Kelley

Friday September 8, 2017 2:40pm - 4:10pm PDT
225 Kane Hall

Poster, Friday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Saturday Poster Session

2:40pm PDT

Rethinking the Role of Diet in Post Paleolithic Genetic and Epigenetic Change

A common argument used by opponents of the “Paleolithic” dietary template invokes the ability of humans to change genetically or epigenetically in a short time, such that we are no longer entirely Paleolithic organisms. Recent genetic changes that have occurred since the Agricultural Revolution, such as the increased expression of salivary amylase, are said to illustrate the ability of the human organism to adapt to changing conditions. To assess the validity of this argument, I will explore the processes by which genetic changes occur, and the timescales required for such changes to reach fixation. I will discuss several examples of recent genetic changes that have occurred in the late Paleolithic era and in the post-agricultural era, noting that many of these changes have required particularly strong selection pressures, and are therefore likely to be isolated examples among a pattern of relative genetic homogeneity. I will discuss how epigenetic changes may allow rapid changes to human physiology, in response to specific environmental factors. But I will suggest that most epigenetic changes are unlikely to allow comprehensive adaptation to a new environment.

Speakers

Nicola Hale

BA, MA

Currently a stay-at-home mom, Nicola Hale is a researcher in the biological sciences, most recently a Full Time Research Assistant at the University of Cambridge, Department of Chemistry, assisting with a project investigating the structure and interactions of Synphilin. She has published... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 2:40pm - 4:10pm PDT
225 Kane Hall

Poster, Friday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

2:40pm PDT

The Human Zoo: Assessing Ancestral Health in a Mismatched World

The mismatch between 21st century environments and our evolutionary design is not only significant, it is either causes or exacerbates 70% of all diseases. Until now, there has not been a way for an individual to have the degree of both match and mismatch in their lives rapidly assessed. The recently developed VitalityMap Survey has undertaken this task. The VitalityMap holistically evaluates match, mismatch and other ancestral health factors across 6 fundamental human needs. This session will present the evolutionary framework of investigation and swaths of data sets. In particular we will feature results from our work with corporate populations and our Western States Zip-Code Tour, where we brought the VitalityMap Survey into a range of communities with diverse socio-economic, environmental and racial make-ups. Finally, AHS attendees can take the survey prior to the symposium. We will present the AHS collected data for match and mismatch trends within the symposium community.

Speakers

Jeffrey Szilagyi

Masters of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Jeffrey Szilagy holds a Masters in Traditional Chinese Medicine. With two decades of integrative patient care, Jeffrey has tended not only physical ailments of the body but also the diseases of perception. Having decoded the problematic mindsets within the health movement, he has... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 2:40pm - 4:10pm PDT
225 Kane Hall

Poster, Friday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

2:40pm PDT

The role of food quality on food intake and energy consumption, body weight, exercise, motivation and attention in rats

I fed rats a healthy control (CON) diet or a refined, purified (REF) diet. Diet affected changes in food intake, energy consumption, body weight, and adiposity during the first 6-weeks. Chronic consumption of the REF diet led to impairments in motivation and attention. There were interesting of diet quality on body weight and food consumption in response to discontinuation of behavioral testing. I discuss the effects of switching from a REF to a CON diet on the amount of time spent running when given voluntary access to a running wheel. Finally, I show how switching from a REF to a CON diet for 5 weeks rescued motivational deficits. Together, the results suggest that highly processed diets dysregulate energy homeostasis, and that switching from a REF to a CON diet results in selective recovery of motivation for a food reward, but no effect on exercise or exercise-induced benefits.

Speakers

Aaron Blaisdell

PhD, UCLA

Friday September 8, 2017 2:40pm - 4:10pm PDT
225 Kane Hall

Poster, Friday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

2:40pm PDT

The Survival-Processing Effect on Memory: Survival Salience versus Planning

The survival-processing effect refers to a benefit in memory performance for information encoded in a survival context. The effect emerges when survival processing is compared to a variety of other well-established memory effects. Nairne and colleagues’ (e.g., Nairne & Pandeirada, 2010) contend that survival acted as an important evolutionary pressure on memory and, as such, provides the optimal environment for the operation of memory. In contrast, others have suggested that the effect can be explained by the presence of planning that is inherent to the methodology. Across three experiments, survival processing of word stimuli was compared to two contextually rich encoding planning scenarios and a pleasantness processing task. Free recall and recognition memory were measured. A reliable advantage of grasslands survival processing appears to depend on the goal of survival having been cued. Results support Nairne’s claim that survival context is an important aspect of the survival processing effect.

Speakers

Leisha Colyn

PhD

Leisha Colyn obtained her Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Bowling Green State University. She has used the lens of evolutionary theory to examine the role of envy and social status in schadenfreude among friends, the determinants of social status among college students, and the... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 2:40pm - 4:10pm PDT
225 Kane Hall

Poster, Friday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

2:40pm PDT

What you eat is only 20% of the big picture. How and who makes the biggest difference.

Experts agree that what we eat greatly affects our health. But what about how we eat? and who we are when we are eating? Do we think about our food while we eat it, or, too often, do we eat while we drive, type on a keyboard, read a book, watch TV, or check a social media? Based on research from the WIN the Rockies project, eating while doing something else increases the chances of a person gaining excess weight, but regardless of how much we weigh, this distracted or mindless eating is an unhealthy habit. We can be eating the healthiest food in the planet but if we are not mindful about it, we are missing 50% benefit. Mindful eating is a huge part of having a healthy lifestyle.

Speakers

Erica Bell

Certified Holistic Health Coach

Erica Bell, is a certified Holistic Health & Fitness Coach. Food entrepreneur, owner of Erica’s kitchen – a 10 seat tasting kitchen for mindful eating located in Lewisburg WV. I approach health with curiosity and wake up people’s inner intuition. I teach people about their needs... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 2:40pm - 4:10pm PDT
225 Kane Hall

Poster, Friday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

3:20pm PDT

Oxytocin and Ancestral Health: The Workshop

Speakers

Brigita Lacovara

Movement and Yoga teacher Brigita Lacovara has spent the better part of her life exploring ways of living in a state of optimal wellness. She has studied farming, nutrition, herbology, Chinese medicine, massage, Feldenkrais, neurolinguistic programming, and indigenous life ways. She... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 3:20pm - 4:00pm PDT
Outside front of Kane Hall

Movement Session

4:10pm PDT

Ancestral Wiring in Modern Society: The Impact of Stress

Humans are hardwired ancestrally to respond to stress. This was a very important survival skill to evade predators and has been imprinted into all of us for thousands of years. Fast-forward to the modern day where the number and intensity of stressors has increased dramatically from modern desk jobs with crazy bosses, low sleep, less overall movement, poor nutrition, and constant texting / smart phone use. This leads to a downward spiral via a decrease in the ability to buffer stress and further to a drop in health and performance. Technology has accelerated this effect via constant interactions at the drop of a hat via your smart phone. Since modern society is reliant on technology, can this technology help us manage our stress via the same device (smart phone) via apps that measure stress such as heart rate variability (HRV)?

Speakers

Mike T Nelson

CSCS, BA, MS, PhD

Dr. Mike T. Nelson CSCS has spent 20 years of his life learning how the human body works, specifically focusing on how to properly condition it to burn fat and become stronger, more flexible, and healthier. He has a PhD in Exercise Physiology, and a MS in Mechanical Engineering (biomechanics... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 4:10pm - 5:00pm PDT
210 Kane Hall

Talk

4:10pm PDT

Move Your DNA: Movement Ecology and the Difference Between Exercise and Movement

Movement isn't only affecting your arms, legs and abs; through a process called mechanotransduction, movement influences the behavior of your cells. Similarly, your movements don't only affect your body; they also influence other bodies, including the body upon which we all reside. This perspective is called movement ecology. Movement is an essential component to a sustainable body- both our own, and that of the planet- yet most of us, even regular exercisers, are still mostly sedentary. The key to increasing our personal movement lies in understanding how movement works and expanding our thoughts and actions away from exercise and towards a movement-rich life.

Speakers

Katy Bowman

Friday September 8, 2017 4:10pm - 5:00pm PDT
220 Kane Hall

Talk

8:20am PDT

Primal Play

Saturday September 9, 2017 8:20am - 8:50am PDT
Outside front of Kane Hall

Movement Session

9:00am PDT

The Blood Type Diet: Rescuing the Baby from the Bathwater

The Blood Type Diet, as popularized by Peter D’Adamo and others, is typically dismissed by the scientific community due to its easily disprovable tenets and false evolutionary claims. Yet despite the diet’s shaky rationale, blood type may legitimately impact our dietary needs. Emerging research suggests that ABO blood group (and ABH secretor status) can influence the composition of the gut microbiome, and well-established links exist between blood type and susceptibility to certain diet-related conditions (such as heart disease). Consequently, while the popular Blood Type Diet remains largely pseudoscience, ABO blood group may be one factor in how individuals respond to different diets—making it a potential tool for personalized nutrition.

Speakers

Denise Minger

Denise Minger is a health blogger, public speaker, nutrition consultant, and author of "Death By Food Pyramid"—a book that explores the shaky foundations of what we believe about food.

Saturday September 9, 2017 9:00am - 9:40am PDT
210 Kane Hall

Talk

9:00am PDT

Where do cravings come from?

Food craving is a food-specific motivational state that often undermines our best intentions to eat well and control our body composition. In this talk, I’ll review the science of cravings, including the neurobiology of how they develop, the food properties that underlie them, the cues that trigger them, and how to manage them constructively.

Speakers

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 →

Saturday September 9, 2017 9:00am - 9:40am PDT
220 Kane Hall

Talk

9:40am PDT

Break: 10 minutes

Saturday September 9, 2017 9:40am - 9:50am PDT
Break

Break

9:50am PDT

Ketogenic Diets, Caloric Restriction, and Hormones

The conflation of ketogenic diets with starvation has led to confusion and alarm about their effects on hormones. Humans and many other animals are naturally in ketosis under sufficient caloric restriction, but in most animals, ketosis is difficult or impossible without it. In contrast, ketosis is easily achieved in humans as long as dietary carbohydrate is limited. This means humans can be in ketosis without suffering undernutrition. There are significant benefits associated with caloric restriction, many through mechanisms in common with ketosis. Likewise, there are similar hormonal effects seen in caloric restriction and ketogenic diets. Because ketosis and starvation have been conflated, hormone levels in ad libitum ketogenic dieters that resemble those in caloric restriction are sometimes taken as signs of stress. In this presentation, I will show why the changes in thyroid and cortisol that accompany ketogenic diets should be considered beneficial, not dangerous.

Speakers

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.

Saturday September 9, 2017 9:50am - 10:30am PDT
220 Kane Hall

Talk

9:50am PDT

Primal Fat Heads: The Central Role of Dietary Fat in Forging the Human Brain

There has been a great deal of speculation concerning the dramatic and rapid rate of encephalization of the human brain over the course of our hominin evolution. Our closest primate relative, the chimpanzee has a brain volume of only about 275–500 cm3; only the chimpanzee’s brain hasn't really changed at all in 7 million years. Why not? And how is it that the hominin brain has more than tripled in size since that time—a change wholly unprecedented in the animal kingdom? Was it because we developed the use of fire and cooking? Because we started eating more starchy tubers? Grains? This presentation presents evidence beyond reasonable doubt that we owe our most valued and distinct human characteristic—our large brains—to the development of our voracious and unwavering taste for animal fat.

Speakers

Nora Gedgaudas

CNS, NTP, BCHN, Northwest Neurofeedback Inc

Saturday September 9, 2017 9:50am - 10:30am PDT
210 Kane Hall

Talk

10:30am PDT

Break: 10 minutes

Saturday September 9, 2017 10:30am - 10:40am PDT
Break

Break

10:40am PDT

Nutrient Sensing: Pathways to Optimal Health & Resilience

Nutrient sensing pathways are evolutionarily conserved metabolic pathways that enabled our ancestors to respond to changes in nutrient availability in ways that enhanced survival and promoted resilience. Among the pathways that will be highlighted are amino acid- and carbohydrate-sensing pathways that have been shown to be of central importance to metabolic regulation, aging and age-related diseases. Recent research in animal models has shown that specific nutritional approaches, such as fasting and protein restriction, can influence these pathways to increase stress resistance and extend healthspan. Nutrient-sensing pathways are also involved in the communication between the microbiome and the gut-immune-brain axis. Dietary approaches to modify these pathways may improve gut health, decrease intestinal permeability, reduce inflammation, and improve nervous system function.

Speakers

Tom Fabian

PhD, CNTP

Tom is a functional nutritionist and former research scientist, with expertise in aging, metabolic regulation, and the gut-immune-brain axis. He provides educational programs for practitioners on the microbiome via his website, MicrobiomeMastery.com. His nutritional consulting practice... Read More →

Saturday September 9, 2017 10:40am - 11:20am PDT
220 Kane Hall

Talk

10:40am PDT

The Role of Mitochondria In Ancestral Development

Hundreds of millions of years ago, mitochondria were independent microbes, not cellular symbiotes as they are today. The transition from microbe to symbiote is the single most important transition in the development all vertebrates, including humans. Functionally the role of mitochondria is to generate energy in the form of the high-energy molecule, ATP. ATP is our main energy molecule which maintains all functions within our cells. This presentation will review mechanisms to enhance mitochondrial function (ATP generation), reduce mitochondrial death (apoptosis) and mitochondrial biogenesis. And will further attempt to answer the question: “Can we develop safe, natural product approaches to enhance our mitochondria’s ability to generate ATP?”

Speakers

Jeff Leighton

PhD

Dr. Jeff Leighton is the Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Stronger Faster Healthier®. Jeff is a professional pharmacologist, applying biochemistry, pharmacology, molecular biology, and functional genomics to the design and development of all-natural products that benefit general... Read More →

Saturday September 9, 2017 10:40am - 11:20am PDT
210 Kane Hall

Talk

11:20am PDT

Break: 10 minutes

Saturday September 9, 2017 11:20am - 11:30am PDT
Break

Break

11:30am PDT

Breast Cancer Pathogenesis and Dietary Recommendations

Breast cancer is the most common form of malignancy and the leading cause of global cancer mortality in women. Obesity is a known risk factor for this disease. Some of the proposed mechanisms that link obesity to breast cancer include increased adipose tissue estrogen production, increased inflammation and hyperinsulinemia; all of which are independent risk factors to breast cancer. Understanding how these mechanisms are affected by dietary factors may help in establishing recommendations that reduce breast cancer incidence and mortality. Observational studies point to a beneficial effect of low fat diets in breast cancer prevention and treatment owing to their estrogen-lowering effects. However, low carbohydrate diets may also be beneficial with their insulin-reducing effects. Therefore, this lecture will focus on evaluating the evidence from dietary interventions that studied the effect of low fat and low carbohydrate diets on breast cancer prevention and treatment.

Speakers

Rand Akasheh

PhD, University of Illinois at Chicago

Rand Akasheh has just obtained her PhD degree in Kinesiology, Nutrition, and Rehabilitation from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). She is a co-instructor of the course “Genetic, Molecular, and Cellular Mechanisms of Chronic Diseases” at UIC. Rand has focused her research... Read More →

Saturday September 9, 2017 11:30am - 12:10pm PDT
210 Kane Hall

Talk

11:30am PDT

Diet and Gene Expression: the Epigenetics of Low-carb and Low-fat Diets

We tend to think that good genes make us thin and healthy, whereas bad genes make us fat and sick. But what if we could turn our “good” genes on and our “bad” genes off by making right lifestyle choices? The science of epigenetics suggests this is true. Lifestyle factors, diet in particular, can modify molecular switches on our DNA, which can turn genes on or off. These switches are known as epigenetic marks. My research investigates whether different diets (i.e. low-carb vs. los fat) can induce different epigenetic changes, and whether these changes contribute to make us gain or lose weight diet. By comparing diet-induced epigenetic changes between the high and low responders to either a low-carb or a low-fat diet, we aim to identify epigenetic biomarkers of weight loss or regain for personalized weight-loss strategies.

Speakers

Lucia Aronica

PhD

Lucia is a researcher and instructor at Stanford University. She is working with Prof Christopher Gardner on the largest study ever undertaken to compare low-carb vs. low fat with the goal of understanding how diet affects gene activity through epigenetic modifications. Previously... Read More →

Saturday September 9, 2017 11:30am - 12:10pm PDT
220 Kane Hall

Talk

12:10pm PDT

Lunch: 1 hour and 40 minutes

Saturday September 9, 2017 12:10pm - 1:50pm PDT
Break

Lunch

1:00pm PDT

Primal Play Workshop

Speakers

Darryl Edwards

Saturday September 9, 2017 1:00pm - 1:40pm PDT
Outside front of Kane Hall

Movement Session

1:50pm PDT

Causes and Non-Causes of Insulin Resistance

The incidence of type II diabetes has increased in tandem with sugar intake. The theory that sugar causes insulin resistance is largely a product of this observation, while most experimental evidence sits in diametric opposition. Insulin's action, and its modulation by sugars, fatty acids, and inflammation will be discussed. The involvement of dietary macronutrients in inflammation will be presented as an indirect dietary insulin modulator. The information presented will forward the thesis that the inability to dispose of blood sugar from a high carbohydrate meal (simple or complex) is a symptom of insulin resistance that is neither caused by sugar consumption nor reversed through low-carb, high-fat diet.

Speakers

Kyle Mamounis

PhD

My educational background is a B.S. in biology from Rowan University and a Ph.D. in nutritional science from Rutgers University (dissertation: The metabolic effects of linoleic acid versus saturated fat in male mice, female mice, and offspring exposed maternally). I am currently a... Read More →

Saturday September 9, 2017 1:50pm - 2:30pm PDT
220 Kane Hall

Talk

1:50pm PDT

Nearsightedness: A modern disease

Myopia, or nearsightedness, is increasing at alarming rate around the world. Prevalence in some East Asian countries has reached close to 90%. While it is well documented that genetics play some role, environmental factors like time spent outdoors affect individual development of myopia greatly. Light influences intra-eye neurotransmitter release (specifically dopamine), which is very tightly correlated with eye growth. Currently, we have no practical way of simulating natural sunlight both in its intensity (400x larger than an average classroom) or spectrum. This makes spending time in naturally illuminated environments crucial to the normal development of our children’s eyes. Theories on dietary effects are also intriguing but need further investigation. By encouraging our kids to spend time outdoors and providing optimal nutrition, we not only promote normal eye growth, but set a cornerstone in the foundation of an ancestral lifestyle.

Speakers

Steven Turpin

OD, MS

Steven Turpin, O.D., M.S, is a Doctor of Optometry currently completing his residency at Pacific University., Steven is currently studying contact lenses designed for myopia control in children.

Saturday September 9, 2017 1:50pm - 2:30pm PDT
210 Kane Hall

Talk

2:30pm PDT

Break: 10 minutes

Saturday September 9, 2017 2:30pm - 2:40pm PDT
Break

Break

2:40pm PDT

Book Signing

Speakers

Marc Bubbs

ND, CISSN, CSCS

Shawna Curry

RN, BN, B.Kin, CTI Co-Active Coach

Nora Gedgaudas

CNS, NTP, BCHN, Northwest Neurofeedback Inc

Stephan Guyenet

PhD

Kendall Kendrick

NTP

L. Amber O'Hearn

Nasha Winters

ND, L.Ac, Dipl.OM, FABNO

Saturday September 9, 2017 2:40pm - 4:10pm PDT
225 Kane Hall

Book Signing

2:40pm PDT

Evolutionary Feminism: Rekindling Women's Sexual Power

Like all species that employ sexual reproduction, humans developed differentiation not only in male and female biology, but also psychology, to enhance reproductive fitness. In our paleolithic circumstances, pressures revolved around the interdependence of individuals in tribal society and the biological necessities of long-term childhood dependence. Societies enmeshed as women offered sexual access outside of reproduction as a means of channelling high male sexual energy into other tangible benefits for themselves and their societies. In post-agricultural times, these means of interacting have been disrupted through patriarchal domination. Modern feminism has attempted to reverse this trend and liberate women, but it fails to recognize and utilize the embedded psychology of males and females, mistakenly encouraging women to behave more like modern men instead of more like ancient women. An evolutionary feminist perspective provides a means for restoring relationship dynamics that are healthiest and most psychologically and materially rewarding to all parties.

Speakers

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 September 9, 2017 2:40pm - 4:10pm PDT
225 Kane Hall

Poster, Saturday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Saturday Poster Session

2:40pm PDT

Healing Brain Injury: An Ancestral Approach.

There are 2.5 million new traumatic brain injuries (TBI) diagnosed every year in the U.S. That is the staggering reality of the current epidemic of brain injury. That does not include injuries that go undiagnosed and unreported. Depending on severity, recovery from TBI can take from a few days to years (and for some, never). What if recovery from TBI could be greatly enhanced and assisted by ancestral practices? Biome depletion, low sun exposure, inferior intake of DHA, a lack of exposure to bacteria and parasites and high intake of sugar all have consequences to the brain. The average modern health profile, rife with modern disease, could be making TBI symptoms more pronounced and harder to recover from. This session will explore how TBI recovery could be treated through an ancestral approach. Current research and anecdotal evidence will be shared.

Speakers

Jennifer Aguilar

Jennifer Aguilar is a writer, consultant, teacher and speaker. She earned her MS in Health Education in 2009 and works privately with clients and as a consultant to groups and companies. Jennifer specializes in pre and perinatal health, ancestral diet and lifestyle and healing brain... Read More →

Saturday September 9, 2017 2:40pm - 4:10pm PDT
225 Kane Hall

Poster, Saturday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Friday Poster Session

2:40pm PDT

Heat stress as a tool in detoxification

Heat stress as a tool in detoxification Mitchell, W.1, Turner, T.1, Ruiz, G.1,2, Langland, J1,2 Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine1 Arizona State University Biodesign Institute2 Humans have evolved an intricate and effective system of enzymatic machinery as defense against foreign toxic compounds. Civilization, chemistry and technology constantly produce toxic byproducts that challenge our innate detoxification system. Observational data suggests that the persistent exposure of toxins and failure of transformation, conjugation and elimination of these toxicants could be a causative factor in many types of chronic disease. This presentation explores the use of sauna and other proactive interventions for supporting the human detoxification system.

Speakers

Billy Mitchell

ND candidate

William “Billy” Mitchell is a Naturopathic Doctor Candidate, attending Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine. He completed his bachelors in science in Kinesiology at Vanguard University. He is currently completing his clinical rotations, where he is implementing many evolutionary... Read More →

Saturday September 9, 2017 2:40pm - 4:10pm PDT
225 Kane Hall

Poster, Saturday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Saturday Poster Session

2:40pm PDT

Kraft patterns and hyperinsulinemia

In recent years the work of Joseph Kraft MD has become known. This work examines the pathophysiology of the hypersecretion insulin and aetiology of the progression of this problem. In this session I will describe our collaboration and recent work wit the now late Dr Kraft. The emergence of new diagnostic paradigm and the personalized dietary implications are exciting.

Speakers

Grant Schofield

PhD

Grant Schofield is Professor of Public Health, and Director of the Human Potential Centre at AUT Millennium. His research and teaching interests range from understanding and improving lifestyle behaviours such as sleep, nutrition, and physical activity, to wellbeing epidemiology and... Read More →

Saturday September 9, 2017 2:40pm - 4:10pm PDT
225 Kane Hall

Poster, Saturday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Saturday Poster Session

2:40pm PDT

Paleo Parenting: How Ancestral Wisdom Can Help Modern Parents Raise Happy, Resilient Children

As a society, we’ve forgotten how to challenge our children to achieve their true potential, and, in turn, be challenged by children to become insightful mentors. Adults instinctively possess the intelligence necessary to parent effectively, but with modern stresses and digital dominance, we’re losing access to our “primal parenting brain”. Since the time-honored tradition of raising families communally is fading out, we’re not instilling children with the virtues that will ensure personal happiness and social prosperity. Integrating the sciences of neuroplasticity, evolutionary psychology and personal growth with tribal wisdom, this presentation will highlight the ancestral skill of mindfully “challenging” children as the way to activate their own natural growth. We’ll be highlighting the steps that society can take to provide a “way”, or path, towards successful child raising. Participants will have a practical road-map to lead their families in the right direction.

Speakers

Mark Schillinger

Dr. Mark Schillinger, DC is an expert on stress management in family dynamics. Dr. Mark is a parent coach, youth mentor and workshop leader. He’s the creator of the RIGHT Way®, a proven self-help method which integrates the sciences of personal growth, stress management, neuroplasticity... Read More →

Saturday September 9, 2017 2:40pm - 4:10pm PDT
225 Kane Hall

Poster, Saturday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Saturday Poster Session

2:40pm PDT

Personalized, blood biomarker-driven platform improves metabolic parameters

Lifestyle choices, especially those related to diet and physical activity, can prevent or delay the onset of many of the leading chronic diseases. Public health efforts have fallen short of their goals in reducing the risk of these diseases, perhaps because conventional approaches are focused on population-level interventions as opposed to those tailored to the individual. Large-scale application of personalized nutrition programs using algorithmic systems may be a useful addition to current approaches to the prevention of metabolic diseases. A publicly available and automated online platform is the first of its kind to demonstrate an association with clinically significant improvements in metabolic-related serum biomarkers.

Speakers

Ashley Reaver

MS, RD

Ashley received her Master’s degree from the Friedman School of Nutrition and Policy at Tuft’s University in Boston, MA, her undergraduate degree in Nutrition at Cornell University, and completed her dietetic internship at California Polytechnic Institute, Pomona. She is the Lead... Read More →

Saturday September 9, 2017 2:40pm - 4:10pm PDT
225 Kane Hall

Poster, Saturday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Saturday Poster Session

2:40pm PDT

The Three Pillars of Health

Diet alone is often not enough to heal. Sustained healing and health can only be achieved by having a solid foundation built from three pillars, Nutrition, Lifestyle and Mindset.

Speakers

Rory Linehan

Rory Linehan runs the website The Paleo PI. Rory developed acute Mononucleosis at the age of 18 and slowly watched his health unravel over the following years. He spent years troubleshooting his health to no avail until finding the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol. Nutrition, Lifestyle and... Read More →

Saturday September 9, 2017 2:40pm - 4:10pm PDT
225 Kane Hall

Poster, Saturday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Saturday Poster Session

2:40pm PDT

What Hunter Gatherers knew about belonging and oxytocin that you don’t-Implications to address mismatch

Once thought to be limited to female smooth muscle reproductive physiology the neuropeptide oxytocin has received increased attention in it’s role of modulating various aspects of social-cognitive processing as well as different mood disorders. The evidence points to high correlations between the human need to “belong” to a group or tribe and oxytocin levels. This presentation will review data from numerous studies; from hunter gatherer cultures, to animals, to modern humans as well as some n=1 biohacking data to illuminate wide ranging often surprising implications of the best way to engage our ancestral endocrinology and genetics to maximize health and well-being.

Speakers

Jonah Larkin

MS, L.Ac

Jonah Larkin M.S. L.Ac. practices Acupuncture and Functional Medicine in San Francisco, CA. He is also a co-founder of Evoq, an assessment and training company that uses an ancestral framework to address mismatch in the workplace. Evoq delivers this model to corporate clients in the... Read More →

Saturday September 9, 2017 2:40pm - 4:10pm PDT
225 Kane Hall

Poster, Saturday Poster Session

Company Poster
Audience Saturday Poster Session

3:15pm PDT

Align Your Movement

Speakers

Aaron Alexander

CR, LMT, CPT, Align Therapy™

Saturday September 9, 2017 3:15pm - 4:00pm PDT
210 Kane Hall

4:10pm PDT

Gut Immune Function; How To Balance Our Ancestral Genome With Our Modern Day Environment For Optimum Gut & Immune Health

Disorders in immune function are a modern day epidemic which manifest as a litany of immune and autoimmune conditions like hypothyroid, celiac, IBD, RA, IBS and depression. The gut is possibly the most impactful organ influencing the immune system. By understanding how to optimize gut health and gut immune function we can unlock a powerful method for improving this array of immune and autoimmune conditions. However, what was healthy for our ancestors immune systems may not be healthy for a western immune system. This talk will outline where we should replicate the ancestral environment for optimum immune health and but also where we should make important modifications to better suit the modern day immune system.

Speakers

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 September 9, 2017 4:10pm - 4:50pm PDT
220 Kane Hall

Talk

4:10pm PDT

What if It's ALL Been a Big Fat Lie?

Gary Taubes’ 2002 article in “The New York Times Magazine” illuminated the gap between research-based knowledge and the public perception of what constitutes a “healthy diet,” particularly regarding dietary fat. Members of the Ancestral Health community are justifiably critical of the received wisdom of what the healthy diet, but have we sufficiently deconstructed the various narratives regarding diet, nutrition, health and food production? What were the movements and philosophies that influenced the “conventional wisdom” in the first place? Are they still operating within society in general and the Ancestral Health community in particular? Are opinions and belief systems not fundamental to Ancestral Health unintentionally and unjustifiably part of our message? To develop a clear, evidence-base message of Ancestral Health going forward, we must examine these concepts and, if warranted, cull them. Failure to do so threatens to discredit the fact-based messages of Ancestral Health.

Speakers

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 →

Saturday September 9, 2017 4:10pm - 4:50pm PDT
210 Kane Hall

Talk

4:50pm PDT

Closing Remarks

Saturday September 9, 2017 4:50pm - 5:00pm PDT
210 Kane Hall

Closing Remarks