Is the life of our ancestors really what we should be striving for?
I'm really tired of the campaign to move closer to eating and existing as our ancestors did. We live in a society where it is impossible to eat let alone to live as our ancestors lived. Food isn't the same but perhaps, more importantly, our lifestyle demands are very different. Most of us don't get to sit around in community contemplating nor do we live by our circadian rhythms. We are enclosed in buildings, protected from the changing environment, and unable to recognise our own energy capacity. We are convinced and somewhat manipulated to constantly act, perform and exhaust our mental and physical capacity. Then we are hit with overbearing social media instruction end enlightenment on fasting, hot and cold therapy, heavy weight training, marathon running, breath holding, wealth accumulation, one-hour prescriptions of cardiovascular training, strong dietary restrictions, and fear-mongering on sleep deficit contributions towards an early death.
No wonder mental health in our human collective is breaking down.
If you have managed to create a modern life with adaptable stress, where your intuitive cells can manage and stay on top of the strains that your lifestyle delivers then go for your life with an ancestorial existence. I salute all your diligence in long-haul fasting, sauna and ice-water therapy, heavy effort training, breath holding, minimal sleep in the effect to accumulate wealth, lengthy cardiovascular training, and intermittent strong dietary restrictions. But if like the vast majority of us, you haven't mastered the art of adaptable stress, I would strongly suggest you aim to marry your eating and lifestyle choices in alignment with the demands of your modern life.
Now let me explain. Your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being requires energy to function at its best. Let's assume you have a family, a significant other, three children who participate in two activities outside of school, you have work or your own business, you're not always able to get sufficient sleep, you have goals around your physical health and appearance so you train (exercise) daily or more often for the espoused 60-minute time frame. You may also have other family members that need your attention (possibly aging parents or mentally demanding siblings). If you are a female and still menstruating you will also need to make alterations in accordance with your fluctuating hormones.
It's all contextual. On a daily 24-hour rhythm if we choose to intuitively lean into what our bodies are trying to share with us we will instinctively know just how far we can stretch ourselves. But if we don't address the basics, the very substance that provides for our existence - Nourishment, Human Flourishing, and Purpose, and believe it or not - Excretion, we can pretend to reenact a paleolithic life in a myriad of ways but our problems are not going away. Not unless we address our own underlying root cause contributions.
Most of my clients have "time" pressures surrounding all the above-mentioned contributions to their lives. Food preparation and planning is possibly the major sacrifice in the effort to "save" or "bank time”. Alongside time given to eat. The multisensory interplay of enjoyable experiences in eating is often forgone for a quick mouth feel of sweet or salty and a heavier feeling in our belly's so we can carry on with falsely touted more important tasks. Who deemed 20 minutes of each of your sensors being tickled by relishing your food as less worthy than shriveling up time on social media? Personally, I willingly without hesitation or reluctance dedicate time to collecting ingredients, preparing, cooking, and then eating!! Eating real food evokes an intricate sequence of stimuli that brings a feeling of bliss with every mouthful - why would I rush or cut corners on such an amazing experience for the sake of earning an extra few hundred dollars a week that I then need to spend on addressing my health concerns that resulted from poor nutrition and eating habits?
We ignore real food and to take the time to enjoy and nourish our cells with our meals as the centre of gravity in our energy capacity at our own peril. Despite the prevailing belief that humans dominate the animal kingdom regarding smarts, we're actually not adept at intuitively leaning into what our bodies are trying to share with us.
If we can respect the explanation of the term "Food" is an edible source of survival with roots. The origin roots of our foods should be responsibly crafted using ethical sourcing and sustainable practices that safeguard the natural resources we all share! Plants, animals, or fungi should be recognisable as the source. Real food can become the ingredient in creations made with love and care.
The second biggest contribution that I witness as a Health professional is the relinquishing of "Contemplative or thinking time". And again, I think it is to our peril. People are so occupied with answering emails and rushing from one task to the next that thinking has fallen by the wayside. Thinking refers to honestly considering your life, yourself, and where you are in your life. Are you at peace with where you are, are you who you want to be remembered as? This melts into the need for human flourishing as a collective, for without each other, without support, connection, and a sense of belonging, humans cannot thrive.
Then there is the "excretion" contribution. Defecation is a very necessary human process, something no one should contest. So why don't we place more importance on it?
Bowel movements can either signal that you’re doing great or suggest health challenges before other symptoms arise. A lot of the stool is made up of water but there are other important excretions in the mix.
Dead bacteria
Live bacteria
Old cells and old cell components
Mucus
Waste products made by the body (Estrogen, histamine, and cholesterol)
One of the keys to mankind's survival lies beneath the surface of the pleasurable but somewhat disrespected topic of pooping. In past times humans were vulnerable to wild animals, and defecating was a process by which they made themselves as light as possible by getting rid of all their waste, thereby increasing their speed!
Make the most of this basic privilege and enjoy every poop you take in your lifetime!