What lifestyle best fits our genes?
When a medial diagnostic test or therapy becomes the accepted treatment protocol for a set of symptoms or a disease, it is considered GOLD. I find it continually troubling that trillions of dollars have been spent researching disease, but only a small fraction has been spent researching health. Therefore, we do not know what biometrics is considered healthy and what activities maximize health. Fortunately nature has lent a helping hand. We can examine our genes.
Our genes evolved to best fit our ancestor’s hunter/gatherer lifestyle. Since evolution moves extremely slowly, our genes are virtually identical to our ancestors who lived 50,000 years ago.
Eating, moving, and thinking the same as our hunter/gatherer ancestors are what our genes and bodies expect from us to remain healthy. It worked for the hunter-gatherers and it should work for us.
If we do not provide the appropriate nutrition, movement, and thought, our bodies will decline from vitality and health to fatigue, pain, and disease.
The hunter-gatherer life-style (movement, nutrition, and thought) should be our Gold Standard of Health.
How did our hunter/gatherer ancestors live?
Nutrition -
- Clean water
- Fresh and recently cooked meat, fowl, fish, and seafood
- Nuts, seeds, legumes
- Fresh and dried fruits
- Naturally grown vegetables
- Limited use of herbs
They ingested more riboflavin, folate, thiamin, ascorbate, carotene, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, iron, calcium, zinc, fiber, potassium and more calories. They also did not graze all day and went for periods of fasting.
They ingested 1/10 of the salt we do. Men burned an average of 4000 Calories/day.
Women burned an average of 2500 Calories/day
Movement -
- Walked
- Ran
- Squatted
- Pushed
- Pulled
- Twisted
- Carried
We burn an average of 550 calories from physical activity/day. The lack of activity damages our muscles, joints, cardio-vascular system, and damages our glycemic control.
We need to move more
Thought -
- Non-obsessive problem solving
- Communal living
- They lived in nature’s rhythm
- Life is slow and repetitive
We need to find ways to calm down and find joy within our selves
Conclusion –
It is neither possible nor desirable to live how our ancestors lived(gold standard). This does not mean that we are doomed to face a life of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, stroke, obesity, pain, and disability. By simply incorporating many of our ancestor’s lifestyle behaviors, we can dramatically reduce our rate of illness and disability, use of drugs and surgery,
A system that incorporates many of these life-saving behaviors into our current life-style exists. We emphasize this life-style in our office at Bryant Park Wellness.
