eggs and bacon
It's no news that there has been an epidemic of poor health in industrialized societies over the past 100 years. Since the peak of the industrial revolution we have seen a steady incline in chronic disease.

The three most common ways for a human to perish in our society include heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.

These are known as 'diseases of civilization' and together cause 75% of all deaths in Western nations. 45% of adults in the United States have a chronic disease.

The largest factor in developing one of these diseases is misinformation. So few of us actually understand why and how we are getting sick that we cannot hope to make this world a better place unless we know what truly makes us healthy.

Here are 5 things to understand about health and illness.

Our genes are programmed for health

It is toxicity and/or deficiency affecting the expression of our genes that causes us to get sick. It is not in your genetic programming to become sick.

Toxicity is when there is something of excess in our system that is harming us and a deficiency is an under-supply in essential substrate for healthy functioning.

A toxicity can come from micro doses of something highly toxic to humans, such as arsenic or lead, or from extended exposure over time to something less immediately harmful such as sedentary living.

The same principle holds true for essential substrates for life. If we do not have enough oxygen we will die in a matter of minutes, but we can survive longer while still not getting enough nutrients from food. Common nutritional deficiencies for modern humans include vitamin D, Vitamin K, and Omega 3 fatty acids.

Our environment interacts with our genes, producing specific responses to each stimuli. Physical inactivity and toxins affect your genes, creating an adaptive response (such as elevated blood sugar, insulin, and blood pressure). These responses are necessary for immediate survival but will turn into chronic disease if sustained for many years.

Our bodies have an innate and perfectly functioning intelligence. It isn't programmed to mess up and for you to experience sickness and an unncesarily early death.

Our genes are the same as our Paleolithic ancestors

Scientists have shown that our genome hasn't changed in over 40,00 years. No this doesn't mean we all have to suddenly go on the Paleo diet, even that has been widely misunderstood.

We can make observations about health by comparing our environment, behaviours, and health to historical and modern hunter gatherer peoples.

Our Paleolithic ancestors did not have the diseases which plague us today

The diseases of civilization (heart disease, cancer, and diabetes) are incredibly rare amongst people living a traditional human lifestyle.

The only difference between modern humans and our ancestors is our lifestyle

We have the same genetic toolbox as our ancestors, but we are plagued by chronic illness.

What's different between us and them?

Our lifestyle. We sit more, eat more, and spend less time connecting with our bodies and with one another.


Comment: Why your ancestors didn't have anxiety or depression and you do
Our ancestors, whether from one thousand or one hundred years ago, did not fear fat. The low-fat craze is still alive and well, just take a look around your grocery store. Skim milk, low-fat cheese and 0% yogurt are easier to get a hold of than their full-fat counterparts. While our ancestors ate lard, eggs and meat, many people have moved away from this ancestral diet and instead adopted a more plant based, high-carb, low-fat diet.

Not only are we not designed to eat this way, this type of eating has very real effects on the body and brain. Over half of our cells are made up of cholesterol, over 60% of the brain is made up of fat. If you're not eating fat, and the right fats in particular, the brain suffers. A lack of the beneficial omega-3 fattys acids, EPA and DHA, which are especially concentrated in fish oil, has been shown to cause mood disorders. Sarah Conklin, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine, Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh presented a study that showed low levels of EPA and DHA were related to mood impairment.
We were able to show that individuals who consumed more omega-3 fatty acids in their diets had more gray matter volume in areas of the brain important for regulating mood. These results suggest that these specific fats, certainly not fat in general, may confer a protective effect against depression and other mood-related problems.
And from Dr. Sears,
There are two omega-3 fatty acids in the brain. The first is called docosahexaenoic acid or DHA. This is primarily a structural component for the brain. The other is called eicosapentaenoic acid or EPA. This is the primary anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acid for the brain. So if the levels of EPA are low in the blood, they are going to be low in the brain. To further complicate the matter, the lifetime of EPA in the brain is very limited (3,4). This means you have to have a constant supply in the blood stream to keep neuro-inflammation under control.

Modern illness is due to environment, not genetics. Eat Well!

We can see direct and obvious connections between a change in our lifestyle and our health.

We do not need more drugs and surgeries to heal ourselves from the diseases of civilization.

We were born to be healthy and to live long and happy lives. We are genetically programmed for health. It is the way we think, eat, and move that will determine whether or not we have it.

The best thing we can do for the health of our society is to become awake to the truth of our innate physical intelligence and to the effects of our lifestyle decisions.

We don't need more drugs and surgeries, we need more movement, laughter, and healthy foods.