The Wellness Doctor Speaks - November 17th, 2010

I established in my last article that the scientific evidence clearly shows that 80% of people in western society are dying prematurely from PREVENTABLE chronic illness.  Why preventable?  The rapid rise in chronic illness since 1980 is directly associated with unhealthy lifestyle changes that have occurred during the same time period. 1  Humans have fundamentally changed their lifestyle away from that which is genetically congruent.  What is a genetically congruent lifestyle for human beings?  Since we are nearly genetically identical to our healthy, hunter-gathering ancestors, it would be lifestyle habits that are very similar to theirs.

How do we know that adopting a hunter-gatherer lifestyle would be a good thing?  Interestingly, many types of hunter-gatherer populations around the world have been studied.  What did they find?  Very little evidence of the chronic illnesses (cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc.) that are killing most people today in our society. 1

Imagine what would happen if you made a pre-industrial human live the average industrial lifestyle.  Would they get sicker or healthier?  SICKER every time!  most humans today are wild animals (humans with hunter-gatherer genetics) living in captivity (living a lifestyle that is incompatible with what their genes require. 1

So, what is the answer to decreasing your risk of every chronic illness and increasing your potential for health and vitality?  Learn to Eat, Move and Think like your healthy, hunter-gathering ancestors.  This is what I teach through our Innate Lifestyle Program.

1.  Eaton, Konner and Shostak.  Stone agers in the fast lane: Chronic degenerative diseases in an evolutionary perspective.  1988 Am. J. Med. 84; 739-749.