In an earlier post, we learned about chronic inflammation, and how the consumption of grains specifically are causing a host of autoimmune diseases. Some 50 million Americans suffer from one of these disorders. Graves’ disease accounts for about 10 million people, psoriasis at 7.5 million, fibromyalgia at 5 million, rheumatoid arthritis at 1.3 million, Crohn’s disease at 700,000, and the list goes on. Chances are you or somebody dear to you is suffering from one of the many autoimmune conditions. At present, the drugs used to mitigate these symptoms come with their own host of side effects.

We also learned how the mitochondria, our power house, provides the energy needed for cellular processes, and the movement of our bodies. Through the oxidation of nutrients cellular energy is created. With this process, free radicals are released as a byproduct into our bodies which can have a deleterious affect on healthy cells, and the aging of our bodies. We know that the mitochondria regulate cell death (apoptosis); the toxins, in our environment, are negatively impacting our mitochondria, and their ability to properly perform.

What if I told you there is a natural way to help relieve the body of chronic inflammation. Would you believe it?

Research studies are proving this statement to be correct. Geophysicists have long known that the Earth’s crust gives off free electrons, and the medical community has known that free radicals, in our bodies, carry a positive charge. White blood cells use free radicals in a beneficial way to eliminate viruses, bacteria, and other foreign invaders. But as we learned about autoimmune conditions, white blood cells have trouble distinguishing self from these invaders. They use free radicals to attack our healthy cells thus perpetuating inflammation.

So how can the Earth’s crust help? We evolved through direct contact to the Earth, so by periodically removing our shoes we can make that electrical connection again. Shoes with their rubber soles insulate our bodies from receiving the beneficial uptake of free electrons. These free electrons would neutralize the positive charges carried by free radicals, bring our bodies back into balance; thus allowing us to heal. This may not be a remedy for all diseases, but there are some remarkable stories found in Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever by Clinton Ober, Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D., and Martin Zucker. Click here for a 22 minute video of how Mr. Ober came by this important discovery. Earthing (grounding) can be as simple as removing your shoes and walking on the grass or by sleeping on sheets that ground you to the Earth. Give grounding a try, and note your own health benefits. And even if you don’t have an autoimmune condition, you can join the countless athletes who have used these methods to improve recovery after a hard workout. We are electrical beings, and as our electronic equipment operates better through grounding, so do we.

Although anecdotal, I will share my own experience with Earthing sheets in the weeks to come.

Click here to learn about my experience with the Earthing half-sheet.

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 Let him sleep

for when he wakes

he will move

Mountains

 

Author: Unknown

 

Decades of research have not yielded a clear answer about why we sleep, but for billions of years the apparent rise and setting of the Sun has directed the process of life. This cycle or 24-hour circadian rhythm governs the hormone secretions for most lifeforms. Melatonin, a timekeeping signal of our circadian clock, prepares our bodies for sleep by lowering our core body temperature and causing drowsiness. This sleep inducing hormone is synthesized from tryptophan (an amino acid) and is produced by the pineal gland located near the center of our brain. In addition, melatonin works as an antioxidant and can prevent cancer by protecting our DNA from damage due to carcinogens.

Light pollution from TV’s, iPads, laptops, and other forms of artificial lighting can suppress melatonin production. Our skin cells have a light-sensitive chemical called rhodopsin (also, found in the retina of our eyes) that could be signaling to our brains, organs, and thus interfering with our sleep cycle. Even night lights, in children’s bedrooms, have been shown to increase the chance for myopia (short-sightedness) in young children. It’s optimal to have our bedrooms and our children’s bedrooms completely dark to get the best quality sleep.

Poor sleep quality can lead to cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and depression. It can make you forgetful, fat, and wrinkled before your time. Total sleep deprivation, in research animals, caused complete immune function loss and death within weeks.

Sleep is the time for human growth hormone secretion, tissue repair, muscle growth, protein synthesis, and the burning of body fat. For infants and young children, it is the time for brain development. Infants can spend upwards of 13 to 14 hours asleep, and health conscious adults need between 7 to 10 hours of sleep. For optimizing hormonal secretions associated with our circadian rhythm, the hours between 10 PM to 2 AM need to be encompassed in our sleep cycle. As a sleep aid, 400 to 600 mg of magnesium citrate mixed in warm water before bed can be very relaxing.

For more tips to improve your sleep checkout Shawn Stevenson’s book entitled Sleep Smarter: 21 Proven Tips to Sleep Your Way to A Better Body, Better Health, and Bigger Success.

 

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For my next post, we will look at the benefits of the earth’s electromagnetic surface on the human body – grounding.

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In this post, we will look at the benefits of sunlight on our health.

Our Paleolithic ancestors living along the equatorial zone of Africa spent much time in the sun. Through adaptation their skin pigmentation (more melanin) darkened into a natural protective sunscreen due to the sun’s strong ultraviolet rays. It was here, that the sun’s ultraviolet B (UVB) rays provided the greatest potential for our ancestor’s vitamin D production. As they migrated out of Africa and into the more Northern latitudes, the sun’s beneficial UVB rays declined in strength. In response, our ancestor’s skin pigmentation became lighter in color (less melanin). This adaptation allowed the milder UVB rays to penetrate the skin more quickly, so that the body’s vitamin D production could be maintained.

Through extensive research scientist have come to understand the body’s need for vitamin D (really considered a hormone) as a protectant of our mental and physical well-being. Vitamin D receptors are present all throughout our bodies and influence about 3,000 of our genes. Vitamin D works closely with Gene P53 in regulating the millions of cell replications that go on daily. This helps to ensure that cell mutations, which could lead to cancer, are eliminated through apoptosis (programmed cell death). Vitamin D is also important in the development and maintenance of our bones.

As an industrialized society, we are severely deficient in vitamin D and cannot get enough from diet alone. We spend a great deal of our time indoors. When we do go outside for an extended stay, we cover our bodies with a sunscreen product eliminating the much-needed opportunity for our bodies to produce vitamin D. With regards to commercial sunscreen products, they have inherent dangers as they contain toxic chemicals to the skin like octyl methoxycinnamate (OMC) or titanium dioxide and they should be avoided.

Our vitamin D deficiency has manifested itself in about 16 forms of cancer especially breast cancer. Breast cancer has been labeled “vitamin D deficiency syndrome” and the condition represents about 90 percent of all breast cancer cases. In addition, vitamin D deficiencies put us at greater risk for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune diseases such as: rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, celiac disease and many more.

In an effort to remedy our vitamin D deficiency, we could take an oral vitamin D3 supplement. Recommendations are usually for 2,000 to 5,000 International Units (I.U.) per day for adults or an ideal lab target of 80 nanograms per milliliter of 25-hydroxy vitamin D. It’s best to have our doctors test the levels every three months to insure the proper amount. Before starting a supplementation program, check with your doctor or pharmacist to make sure that the supplement is compatible with other medications you may be taking.

When we expose large areas of our skin to summer sunlight for a short period of time, our bodies can produce between 10,000 to 25,000 I.U. of vitamin D per day from the sun’s UVB rays. A biologically inactive form of vitamin D is synthesized from cholesterol and sunlight within our skin layer. It becomes biologically active through a two-step conversion process occurring first in our liver and then completed by our kidneys. The amount of sun exposure needed for vitamin D synthesis occurs just before our skin turns pink. The important thing to remember is to keep your skin from burning. By slowly building up daily our exposure to the sun, we allow the skin’s pigment (melanin) to increase and give the best form of sunscreen. With regular sun exposure we are building our vitamin D stores to carry us through the winter months. The benefits of UVB sun exposure to our overall health far exceed the risk of possible skin cancer.  The key for success is to slowly build our sun exposure and not let our skin burn.

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Our bodies produce a hormone from cholesterol molecules called cortisol.  The adrenal glands are responsible for this production and one sits on top of each kidney. An evolutionary response of cortisol was to flood the body with an immediate energy source to the large muscles during a fight-or-flight situation. For an example, let’s say we are being chased by a hungry lion out on the African savannah. Cortisol might give us the mental clarity and ability to get out of harm’s way. Once the danger passed, cortisol level would drop, and our bodies would return to a more normal state. This would be an example of an acute form of stress.

A chronic form of stress may be commuting daily to and from work in bumper to bumper traffic. The frequency and duration of this modern type of stress can give us a chronic condition for higher cortisol level. This condition will negatively impact us by suppressing our immune system, elevating our blood pressure, producing acne, decreasing our libido and contributing to obesity.  Cushing’s disease, characterized by rapid weight gain in the face, chest and abdomen contrasted by slender arms and legs, is also brought on by a chronically higher level of cortisol.

Have you ever had a feeling of calmness after a hike through a wooded area? There is a reason for that feeling which can be explained scientifically.  A twenty- minute walk in the forest can actually reduce cortisol level. Trees, especially evergreens, secrete a chemical called phytocide that reduces the blood level of cortisol. In addition to lowering cortisol level, the phytocides pinenes and limonenes have properties that boost our immune system. Pinenes are antimicrobial and limonenes help suppress cancer tumors. Additionally, phytocides benefit us by lowering our blood pressure and pulse rate; reducing psychological stress and hostility.

When “taking in the forest atmosphere” or the Japanese term shinrin-yoku, we have intuitively known that this was good for us. Sanatoriums in Germany’s pine forest and the Adirondack Mountains of New York used forest air to help treat tuberculosis patients in the mid-to-late 1800’s. Patients slept on sleeping porches to receive that beneficial air. We now know that air contained pinenes which had a lethal effect on the tuberculosis bacterium.

Even the “Father of Our National Park System”, John Muir is quoted for saying “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home. Wilderness is a necessity.”

Millions of dollars have been spent on research and the building of forest trails by Japan, South Korea and Finland. Japan has 48 official forest therapy trails and counting. Their companies are including forest therapy into their employee health care packages. In Japan alone, millions of visitors walk these trails annually.

Despite the recent urban growth over suburban areas in the U.S., there is a movement towards including the benefits of forest therapy into everyday life. Many states are now offering certification programs to become a Forest Therapy guide. Also, there are benefits to be gained by the visual presence of a mini-forest. Hospitals have noted shortened patient stays, there are reduced anxiety levels in prison inmates, and the increased ability to focus by children with ADHD.

Another quote from John Muir: “I am losing precious days. I am degenerating into a machine for making money. I am learning nothing in this trivial world of men. I must break away and get out into the mountains to learn the news.” Have you taken a walk into the woods lately?

Click here to take a visual walk through the Redwoods by Steven Poe.

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In order to keep moving…

 

Movement is such an integral part of our healthy existence by delivering oxygen rich blood to the cells. As we saw in the previous post, oxygen is used by the mitochondria to create energy from the food we digest (read more). The contraction and relaxation of working tissue (muscle) is what pulls blood into the tissue. The blood moves from working tissue to working tissue carrying nutrients and oxygen to, and removing waste from these tissues. Conversely, cells that do not receive this benefit from use will perish.

Movement and exercise are not the same. Exercise works the same tissue over and over making it stronger at the price of underutilized tissue. Exercise, a form of movement, focuses on specific muscles within a fixed range of joint motion, whereas, movement involves a greater range of motion and more muscles. If more muscles are involved, than oxygen is delivered to more areas of the body. For example: hiking involves a greater range of joint motion for the legs, ankles and feet especially when there are varying degrees of elevation and surface types involved. There are over 300 joints in the human body. In “Move Your DNA” Katy Bowman explains how to optimize their range of motion.

 

…keep moving!!!

Author: Unknown

Sitting for long periods of time (greater than 4 hours) has been linked to chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease. Some folks are using standing or treadmill desk to avoid long periods of sitting. Another solution would be to set a timer and offset sitting with periods of movement throughout the day.

Standing for long periods of time has inherent issues as well. Blood swells in the lower legs causing inflammation in the veins. This type of inflammation is known as varicose veins. To relieve the pain associated with varicose veins, compression stockings can be worn. In addition, employees standing on rigid floors such as cement complain of foot soreness too. An estimated 2 million people in the US every year need treatment for plantar fasciitis. Plantar fasciitis is a condition brought on by too much stress on the heel bone and connective tissue. Anti-fatigue mats provide some relief as do wooden brick floors. Stretching before and after work helps too (read more).

The benefits of movement are many and include: weight loss, cardiovascular health, muscle tone, strength, stress reduction, psychological improvements, and cognitive development. The benefit of movement in the classroom has reduced “behavioral problems” in schools today. Breaks involving running in place, stretching and jumping jacks help the students retain subject matter and keep them engaged in the classroom. Most Finnish schools give a fifteen minute break for every 45 minutes of instruction boosting their academic success. The opposite has been true for US school students where the time for movement has been reduced.

Even movement-based lessons help the students with understanding abstract concepts such as atomic behavior during a fusion process. If the students are physically able to act this out, then they are more likely to understand the concept (read more).

Movement breaks should become mandatory in schools and businesses alike for the learning and associated health benefits.

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In today’s post, we will look at our cell’s mitochondria. What are they, how do they help us, and what affects their longevity?

Mitochondrial origination dates back to when bacteria were the only life form on Earth. The Earth’s atmosphere underwent a transformation from an anaerobic environment (without oxygen) to an aerobic environment (with oxygen). Mitochondrial bacteria were able to thrive in this oxygen rich environment because they developed a chemical process (aerobic respiration) that used oxygen to create energy. The energy derived from this process was used to drive other cellular processes. The theory goes that mitochondria were engulfed by a larger bacteria that benefited from the added energy created from aerobic respiration.  The mitochondria benefited by receiving nutrients from metabolized glucose molecules.  This chemical process (glycolysis) took place in the cytosol (fluid portion) of the host cell. Mitochondria were still separate entities within their host. They had and still have their own DNA structure to give the genetic information needed to replicate and form two complete daughter cells.

The picture above shows a cross-section of a mitochondria with its outer and inner membranes.  The folds of the inner membrane are called cristae and are permeable to oxygen, carbon dioxide and water only.  The nutrient molecules from the food we digest are able to pass through the outer membrane and into the intermembrane space for processing.

Our bodies contain mitochondria in every cell, with the exception of the red blood cell, to provide energy to drive cellular processes. Muscle cells contain the greatest number of mitochondria (hundreds to thousands) needed to produce energy for movement. They oxidize fatty acids, amino acids and pyruvate molecules (taken from the metabolism of glucose which occurs outside of the mitochondria) to meet the bodies’ energy requirements. When we routinely do aerobic exercise and resistance training, more mitochondria are produced within our cells to meet the energy demands. For example, the richest source of mitochondria are found in the flight muscles of  hummingbirds. A sedentary lifestyle has the opposite effect leading to mitochondrial decline, increased free radical damage from the oxidation process, and cell death. Type 2 diabetics, cardiac, and dementia patients are known to have defects in their mitochondrial function and numbers. And, as more mitochondria become dysfunctional, they produce more damaging free radicals which in-turn creates more dysfunctional mitochondria. In healthy individuals, our bodies have the innate ability to mitigate free radical damage by using enzymes like glutathione.

In Parkinson’s disease, pesticide exposure maybe responsible for this form of dementia. Dieldrin (an alternative to DDT) was used to control insects in wood preservatives, and used on crops such as citrus, corn and cotton from 1950 to 1974. This chemical is a known mitochondrial toxin and was banned in the U.S. in 1987.  Chronic exposure to cigarette smoke and fossil fuel combustion are also mitochondrial toxins.  When revisiting the movie “Origins”, we are reminded that 74 billion pounds of chemicals are imported or produced in the U.S. on a daily basis.  This does not even account for the production of  pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and fertilizers.  These chemicals are finding their way into our bodies, and being stored in either the fat, brains or bones of our bodies.  They are damaging our mitochondria. And once the chemicals reach a critical mass, the body gives out, and we experience a host of possibilities such as autism, cancer, or one of the 160 recognized autoimmune diseases.  We can make a difference each day through the purchases we make by asking this question:  Will the dollars I spend go to someone who is hurting me or helping me?

 Another function of the mitochondria is regulating cell death known as apoptosis. Apoptosis evolved to control cell numbers, their positioning within tissue; and the removal of aged or damaged cells. This is a vital function for our health and development. For example, apoptosis was responsible for the removal of webbing between our fingers and toes while we developed in the womb. When functioning properly, apoptosis can eliminate some cancer cells as well.

A ketogenic diet is a high-fat content diet used to treat pediatric epileptics. The diet restricts the consumption of carbohydrates (sugars). “Growing appreciation of the diet’s efficacy has sparked the dramatic growth of clinical KD programs at epilepsy centers throughout the world.” ft_1 This diet has proven to be beneficial for keeping mitochondria plentiful with increased energy stores in patients.

Please review the references associated with this post to gain more insight to the role and chemical processes performed by the mitochondria within our cells.

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For my next post, we will look at the benefits of movement for our health.

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Through science we are learning a great deal about the conditions needed for a healthy human body such as those listed below:

• Nutritional needs that allowed our ancestors to begin and thrive some 2.5 million years ago.

• Energy production by our mitochondria at a cellular level.

• Lifestyle, movement, and environmental factors that determine how our genes will express themselves.

• Symbiotic bacteria living in our gut microbiome that facilitate so many of the biological processes needed for our survival.

Science, the support of research and communication of those findings will be our best ally for long-term and the healthy survival of our species. In this post, I will communicate what we have learned about chronic inflammation.

Some 10,000 years ago, we deviated from a diet that supported our immediate biological needs to one that supported growth of our societal needs. We probably would not have the advancements we enjoy today i.e. communication, transportation and engineering feats like wind power to name a few without that shift in diet. Farming and the consumption of grains allowed our species to expand in population across the globe and create cultures, but at a cost to our personal health. Health issues such as cancer, diabetes, obesity, cardiac diseases, some mental health diseases, gastrointestinal diseases and many other autoimmune diseases all have one thing in common: inflammation.

We recognize inflammation as a natural response for healing when we injure ourselves. A skin cut, a sprained ankle, a tooth ache all benefit from inflammation as a form of healing. These are examples of acute inflammation which by nature are short in duration. But what about chronic inflammation? Inflammation that our body endures perhaps over a lifetime and causes diseases for which antibiotics give no cure. How does this happen?

Nutritional science has taught us that grains cause injury to our root system. That system, our gut, is the very structure that allows us to take in nutrients from the foods we eat to support our life at a cellular level. Grains have a defensive component within their seeds called phytic acid; that binds minerals such as magnesium, calcium, zinc, iron, etc. which keeps our bodies from being able to absorb these vital nutrients. In addition, grains can open up the tight junctions between the cells in our small intestine because of a substance called gluten and allow undigested plant proteins to enter our blood stream. Our immune system will mount an attack on these proteins including bacteria and viruses as they enter our blood stream. Some of these plant proteins resemble our own cells and cause our immune system to not recognize self from the invader.

“He that takes medicine and neglects diet wastes the time of his doctor.”

– Ancient Chinese Proverb

As a Western culture, we continue to consume grains (gluten) and perpetuate inflammatory conditions; science now recognizes about 160 autoimmune diseases. The disease name may account for its manifested location, but its origins are derived from consuming the gluten found in grains. The modern processed foods we know as bread, beer, lunch meat, and pasta are all sources of gluten and should be avoided to protect us from an autoimmune or life threatening condition.

For a comprehensive list of products containing gluten, check out The Paleo Approach: Reverse Autoimmune Disease and Heal Your Body by Sara Ballantyne, PhD.

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For my next post, I will cover the cell’s mitochondria and those conditions that inhibit energy production.

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As previously mentioned, the fossil records show that early Neolithic (modern) man had shrunk in size from their Paleolithic predecessors by as much as five inches. The average height of a man from the Agricultural Revolution (early Neolithic) was 5 feet 3 inches and a woman was 5 feet. In addition, the bones from a 10,000 year old Neolithic site known as Ganj Dareh in Iran, showed signs of arthritis, there were signs of ear infections and gum inflammation, and teeth showed lack of development which is a sign of malnutrition. Surviving childhood and reaching middle age was difficult.

“From a life-cycle perspective, the most crucial time to meet a child’s nutritional requirements is in the 1,000 days including the period of pregnancy and ending with the child’s second birthday. During this time, the child has increased nutritional needs to support rapid growth and development, is more susceptible to infections, has heightened sensitivity to biological programming and is totally dependent on others for nutrition, care and social interactions.”  Improving Child Nutrition: The achievable imperative for global progress. United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) April 2013. page 3

“Whenever we can glimpse the remains of anatomically modern human beings who lived in early prehistoric environments still rich in large game, they are often relatively large people displaying comparatively few signs of qualitative malnutrition. The subsequent trend in human size and stature is irregular but is more often downward than upward in most parts of the world until the nineteenth or twentieth century.” Health and the Rise of Civilization by Mark Nathan Cohen (read more).

During a trip reminiscent of the one conducted by Weston A. Price, Mira and Jayson Calton in 2005 took a six-year, around-the-world research expedition to study populations and the effects of modernization on these groups. When visiting remote tribes untouched by outside influences, “there was little or no tooth decay and most often, their teeth were straight and white. Tribes that primarily consumed protein and fat through hunting or fishing were leaner and taller than those who received their protein mainly through a plant-based diet.”  When visiting a tribe in Papua New Guinea undergoing modernization, they reported the first signs of obesity and mouth cancer.  This occurred about the time that white dinner rolls and soda were being consumed for breakfast. While visiting modern cities they noted that: “obesity, heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, and cancer, among other diseases, are rampant. These urban dwellers have become intimately familiar with these conditions, and most are on one or more prescription medications. However, the medications are not helping. More people are dying of cancer and heart disease and being diagnosed with diabetes and obesity despite pharmaceuticals.”  Naked Calories: Discover How Micronutrients Can Maximize Weight Loss, Prevent Disease, and Enhance Your Life by Mira Calton, CN and Jayson Calton, PhD pages 10-12.

“Contrary to popular belief, America’s dietary guidelines aren’t the magnum opuses of high-ranking scientists, cerebral cortexes pulsating in the moonlight as they solve the mysteries of human nutrition. What reaches our ears has been squeezed, tortured, reshaped, paid off, and defiled by a phenomenal number of sources. And as my own story proves, the USDA’s wisdom, pyramid and beyond, isn’t the only source of misguided health information out there. But it is some of the most pervasive, the most coddled by the food industry, the most sheltered from criticism, and-as a consequence-the most hazardous to public health.”  Death by Food Pyramid: How Shoddy Science, Sketchy Politics and Shady Special Interest Ruined Our Health by Denise Minger page 7.  Even Dr. Loren Cordain believes the USDA MyPyramid Guidelines are flawed and he follows humanity’s original diet for optimal health.  The very diet our Paleolithic ancestors thrived on which was primarily lean meats and vegetables.

Additional Sources:
Perfect Health Diet: Regain Health and Lose Weight by Eating the Way You Were Meant to Eat by Paul Jaminet, PH.D and Shou-Ching Jaminet, PH.D
The Paleo Answer: 7 Days to Lose Weight, Feel Great, Stay Young by Loren Cordain, PH.D

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For my next post, I will begin to uncover conditions that lead to our current state of malnutrition and disease.

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About 60,000 years ago, modern man Homo sapiens started their migration out of Africa spreading throughout the Eurasian landmass foraging on the plants they gathered and the animals they hunted. They provided us with glimpses of their environment from Paleolithic paintings found on the walls and ceilings dating back some 17,000 years ago of horses, deer, and wild bulls they had encountered. Examples of these paintings can be found at such sites as Lascaux cave in France or Altamira in Spain. At Lascaux, most of the bones that littered the cave floor were that of reindeer which provides further testament to their consumption of meat. Altamira has the oldest known cave painting at 40,000 years ago.

About 20,000 years ago, hunter-gatherers followed the animal herds across the land bridge between present day Russia and Alaska flowing into Canada and the Americas. They relied on their stone tools to bring down large quarry, and to butcher the meat into manageable pieces that could be easily carried and consumed. A specialist in the evolutionary basis of diet and disease, Dr. Loren Cordain said in his book The Paleo Answer: “The Paleolithic period began 2.6 million years ago with the invention of primitive stone tools and ended with the beginning of the agriculture revolution about ten thousand years ago. During the Paleolithic Era, all of our ancestors lived as hunter-gatherers until the arrival of farming, animal husbandry, and permanent villages.”

From the fossil records, scientists have determined that our hunter-gatherer ancestors were larger in size including their brains, athletic in build, had straight teeth with few if any dental cavities, void of chronic illnesses, cancer, and other modern diseases; and given a lifespan that would rival our own without the help of modern medicine. These physical attributes support the belief that they were receiving optimal nutrition from their diet. Their individual demise came from environmental factors such as: predators, infections due to injuries, and violence. In their book, The Protein Power Lifeplan: A New Comprehensive Blueprint for Optimal Health, doctors Michael and Mary Eades conclude that we are designed from natural selection to benefit from a diet that is 65% animal based and 35% plant-based. Paleolithic plant foods came from tubers, roots, rhizomes and some above ground sources such as mongongo nuts, coconuts and palm fruits. With ourselves having 99.995% identical genes, we have changed very little from our earliest ancestors.

The agriculture revolution, Neolithic period, started with the domestication of plants and animals. With the reliance on domesticated grains, modern man, Homo sapiens, had the ability to support larger cooperative groups of people living together that eventually became great cities. The picture on the left is that of Machu Picchu built high in the Andes mountains during the fifteenth century at the height of Inca rule in Peru.  At this site, the Incas built 700-plus terraces into the mountain side to support agriculture,  limit soil erosion, and conserve water.  Corn and potatoes were Inca staples as well as peppers, tomatoes, avocados, peanuts and quinoa.  For meat, the Incas ate guinea pigs, birds, fish and sometimes llamas and alpacas.  Meat was considered a luxury.

Modern man’s earliest known cultivation of grains were that of barley and wheat which was used to make beer (go Guinness stout! My personal favorite beer, but yes it isn’t Paleo) and bread, respectively. But relying on grains to support humanity was not without cost as seen in the fossil records. These early farmers had bone malformations indicative of malnutrition, decreased height and brain case size, and many more dental cavities.  Weston A. Price, DDS noted in his book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration when primitive Aborigines (Indians) were placed on a white man’s diet, they suffered “extremely” from tooth decay as did the whites. He traveled the globe during the 1930’s and documented similar findings with other aboriginal groups who no longer ate their traditional foods.    Even today, we are witness to a health crisis that has its origins with the agricultural revolution.

Additional sources:

Cave Paintings – Exploring Prehistoric Europe by Chris Scarre

Machu Picchu– Wikipedia

A history of the Incas and their daily life by Tim Lambert

The Paleo Manifesto: Ancient Wisdom for lifelong health by John Durant

The Human Journey: Migration Routes

 

For my next post, I will begin to unravel the consequences of a grain based diet as experienced by those early farmers and what it means to us today.

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We have a digestive system that has been shaped over thousands of generations from living a hunter-gatherer lifestyle.  It was our ancestors’ ability to catch and cook meat that allowed their brains to double in size. Cooking increased the nutritional value and digestibility of the meat by helping to breakdown the animal fibers.  With improved digestibility, greater energy was gained from these meals and diverted towards brain development as championed by Richard Wrangham Professor of Biological Anthropology at Harvard University.  The process of cooking first appeared in Africa around a million years ago. From meat, our ancestors derived the needed saturated fats, omega-3 fatty acids, and proteins to expand on a more developed brain. Consumption of marine fish stepped up the nutritional value of their diet because of the diverse micronutrients the fish absorbed from living in the sea. This micronutrient diversity was more pronounced in marine life possibly due to a food chain that began with phytoplankton; coupled with the added benefits of  mineral deposition coming from continental erosion. Early evidence of fishing occurred in Africa with our Homo sapiens ancestors, and became widespread with the migration out of Africa.

Sources:

Evolving Bigger Brains through cooking: A Q&A with Richard Wrangham

For my next post, I will summarize the migration out of Africa and the  shift from hunter-gatherer to a more agrarian lifestyle that allowed our species to expand rapidly, but through the fossil records has shown to be harmful to their health and ultimately our own.

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