Eating like our ancestors…
I’m starting a deep dive into the results of the Men’s Health survey I have asked many of you to fill out. The results are reasonably indicative of what we all know - chronic illness among men in NZ, is rife, much like in other western societies.
We have this pre-conception that modern society lives longer and healthier, than our ancestors, and life expectancy these days is a lot longer. Simply - that is untrue.
There is a huge gap in our society, in years - decades even - between good health - and when we eventually leave this body. This gap is called morbidity.
This is not how we were designed to live!
Close to 95% of people aged 35 up, responding to the survey I have put out, ticked chronic conditions like Asthma, Cancer, Hip Pain, Diabetes, Heart conditions, Blood pressure, Mental Health issues. It is no wonder we have a crisis in public health care. It isn’t poor hospitals or health system - we’re simply putting the system under too much pressure ourselves!
I am a big believer that this gap comes down to three things:
-Diet
-Movement
-Beliefs
All of these three things, have been programmed in to us, by modern society, from a young age.
-We were shown the traditional food pyramid with plenty of grains at the bottom.
-We were sat at desks most of the day from 5yo-15yo , some of us a lot longer
-We’ve been glued to TV and screens for most of our lives, shown images of chaos, and told narratives we’re supposed to believe
There are a lot of people, making a lot of money, from society being kept in a state of morbidity.
What would it feel like to delete that operating system, and start afresh? No matter how far you have gone down a path, the great thing about being human is we have self healing powers beyond our wildest imagination, and the ability to change timelines.
Today I am going to take a deep dive into the first on that list of three - Diet.
Specifically, eating like our ancestors did.
What is Ancestral Eating?
Ancestral eating means eating in the way our body is designed, aligned with the DNA that has been passed down by our collective ancestors. We’re not talking the last two generations, with access to the modern food supply chain, think a long way before that. That is what is coded into your DNA. Humans in our current form, have roamed this planet for well over 40,000 years, the planet and the life we evolved from, has been here for billions, and the intelligence coded into the spirit of this planet, is what gives us life. We have come from nature. We need to go back to nature to heal. We need to stay close to nature to stay healthy.
Ancestral eating means eating as close to nature as possible.
From the ocean.
From the garden, preferably your own veges, unsprayed and unspoilt by modern chemicals.
From the forest.
For those of us who are fishermen and hunters, this should come very, very easy! You have the knowledge and the passion, and probably, plenty of stored wild food to execute this diet, very well.
In a nutshell ancestral eating means sticking to meat, veges, nuts and berries - with a bit of fruit thrown in. Basically, an unprocessed meat and vege diet. Preferably, as organic as possible. If you follow the meals I post up on my channels, they generally fit an ancestral eating style.
Ancestral eating means flipping the food pyramid to focus on the food types that give you immunity and longevity and long lasting fuel - that is protein and fat.
Ancestral eating means the carbohydrates you do consume, are mineral and vitamin rich, they primarily come from veges, trees and herbs in their natural state - not processed, not sprayed.
It also means, ingesting the purest forms of hydration ie the best quality water possible (largely ditching alcohol) and the air we breath (not smoking).
Why should I move back to Ancestral Eating?
There are some good reasons, namely
-Better joint health
-Better sleep
-Better immunity
-Better blood pressure
-Better breathing
-Better fitness
-Better strength
-Better chance of living a long, hospital free life
How can I move to an Ancestral Eating diet?
I am going to give you ten ways to easily move to this form of eating.
If you live a busy life, and have to use a supermarket - generally avoid the middle rows, skirt around the outside for veges and meat. Don’t get distracted by the myriad of poisonous processed sh*t in the middle aisles.
Learn to live without bread. Have an omlette for breakfast. Pack a whole lot of herbs and veges in to it. Put cucumber under your pate instead of a cracker.
Cook enough meat and veges each night to take leftovers for lunch, instead of getting stuck eating a pie or sandwich the next day.
Snack on nuts and berries.
Find a good organic shop. The more you eat food that has gone nowhere near glyphosate, the more you will feel your body coming into a state of self healing.
Go fishing more
Go hunting more
Learn to ID plants in the wild, and their medicinal qualities
Aim to have a diversity of plants and herbs in each meal. Our ancestors wandered around munching on herbs and plants in the forest all day, while they were stalking ….meat.
Learn to go without. It is OK to skip a meal. It is OK to skip breakfast. It is OK to feel hungry some times. Most of us have enough body fat to last a long time, without food, and science shows us, that fasting might be the hidden answer to heal a lot of illness - especially cancer.
I will finish this email with a disclaimer. I am not a nutritionist. I am not a doctor. I am not a pharmacist. If you want one of them to fact check what I am saying and whether it is right for you - go for it. But I do have close to 50 years on this planet observing, and a lot of that has been spent in nature learning about where good health comes from. I have had my ups and downs, good health and …very bad at times, and have learnt from those experiences.
I would say right now, I am in the best health of my life, approaching 50. I’m enjoying sharing this journey with many other men on our retreats. I am also a certified PreKure Health Coach. My role is to walk alongside you, with whatever path you choose to take, and help you achieve your goals.
Reach out if I can help.
Wishing you, all the best!
Kia kaha. Mauri Ora!
Carl
Photo: Venison, marinated in homemade mandarin and chilli hot sauce, on home grown bok choy and agria, topped with a green sauce of parsley, mint, basil, oregano, thyme, nasturtium, kawakawa, from our land. Ancestral eating done right...!
