Our Flawed American Diet - Is Sickness Inevitable?
Copyright, Loren Howe
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This is part two of an article on diet, food and nutrition by Loren Howe and asks the intriguing question "Is sickness inevitable?". Can changing our diet significantly shift our perception of the level of health that is available and possible? Please read Food and Health first, if you have come to this article directly, for the full impact of Loren's study into how our nutritional choices have evolved over the years. This content is the copywritten material of Loren Howe and printed here by permission. This information may not be reprinted elsewhere without the express permission of the author.
Questioning Our Modern Diet:
The average American, including myself,
probably grows up rarely questioning their diet. Sickness is generally
seen as inevitable or genetically predetermined. I might still be following
this mindset if I had not been fortunate enough to visit many other
countries and see many foreign friends attempt to adapt to the American
diet.
After years of observation, it finally began to dawn on me that perhaps the modern diet was not optimal and was partially to blame for much of the "inevitable" sickness we suffer. Most people, however, never really see and feel the cumulative impact of our radically modified diet. If you make significant changes, the benefits are often far greater than could have been imagined. You may realize that chronic conditions such as allergies, headaches, and colds simply disappear. Some people may have improved mood, higher energy, and heightened mental or physical ability. Only by making changes will you know what to expect and whether the benefits are worthwhile.
Our Diet vs. the Diet of our Ancestors: Perhaps it is easiest to understand our current dietary and health conditions by comparing them to historical norms. What we immediately see is that great strides have been made. Killers such as cholera, malaria, smallpox, and famine have been defeated by modern technology. Each step in our dietary and technological evolution, however, created a new set of lesser problems along with the advantages. Some of these problems have now become embedded and forgotten. To search for optimal health, we need to understand the big picture of diet and human evolution. This will take us back quite a way.
Note from Ask a Healer Admin: I find far more science that supports an intelligent
universe with a Creator than evolutions so parts of this next section are not
my reality. However, this is also not my article....
Organisms evolve over millions of years
to depend on a specific range of nutrients, calories, and natural compounds
in their food. Around five million years ago, our early human ancestors
began evolving from primates These ancestors were probably very
similar to chimpanzees. They lived in small groups within a forest environment
and ate mostly fruit, nuts, vegetation, meat, and roots.
Changes
were occurring rapidly, however. First, the primates became more skilled
at hunting and moved out onto the savannas. Some likely obtained a greater
percentage of their diet from meat. Next the primates spread and
adapted to new sources of food such as fish in certain areas and different
plants in others.
Then came even more overwhelming events. The primates
learned the technology of fire. Fire was first used for heat and hunting
and then became common in cooking between 100,000 and 40,000 years ago. Another massive event came with the advent of farming and animal husbandry
around 8,000 years ago. Cumulatively, these changes created an
upheaval in the human diet that few species have had to face in such
a short evolutionary time period. Humans are still struggling to adapt
to this dietary revolution after many thousands of years. These events
in our past continue to shape our lives and our health far more than
we realize.
part three: why did our diet change?
Wholistic Health Disclaimer: The views on nutrition and health presented here are the views of Loren Howe. They are not presented as replacement for medical attention. To learn much greater detail regarding traditional dietary and health practices, you can read The Real Story of Money, Health, and Religion, by Loren Howe available in paperback or download at LuLu Online Bookstore
