In part one of this article series, we learned that our modern-day ways of living had robbed us of movement, thus bringing the global fitness levels to an all-time low.
Well, luckily, more and more people are becoming aware of this, and with the help of fitness training, the trend is slowly beginning to change.
Besides the deprivation of movement, however, we’ve also seen a drastic shift in our eating habits.
Both combined have led to abnormal changes in body composition across all ages and demographics.
Now, in this second part of the article series, we’ll shed some light on food choices and how you can make the best such for the goal of optimizing your overall quality of life.
Are you ready to learn? Let’s dive!
Food Habits, Currently
If you have an objective look at how modern-day eating habits go, you’ll see a pattern - We’re constantly being bombarded with highly-processed, delicious, well-marketed foods.
Even more so, the convenience of our world has allowed us to get these exact food products delivered to us, without the need to do something more than stand up from the chair to greet the delivery guy and take the order.
This junk food bonanza has totally shifted the human species from the natural ways of feeding & nourishing the body nutritionally.
Now, granted, we won’t preach any “diets” here - All we’re vouching for is for everyone to pay attention to what we like to refer to as “nutritional culture.”
Think of “culture” as all the ways of life of a population that are passed down from generation to generation, including the most crucial one - Eating!
Evolutionary-Appropriate Eating
Besides the proper nutritional culture that states “eating is a form of self-care that needs a reasonable, balanced approach,” there is another thing we like to refer to as “evolutionary-appropriate eating.”
This term may sound fancy but think about it - Given the complexity of the human body, we can say that this exact organism has gone through a LOT during its evolution.
And one of the things that shaped it as it is, is namely the way of eating.
And trust us when we tell you this - The body has existed for perhaps hundreds and thousands of years, and it’s only been exposed to such an abundance of unnaturally processed foods for a couple of decades!
So, you see, there is certainly a correlation (and perhaps causation) between the recent rise of packaged & processed foods and the epidemic of diseases.
Now you may be wondering - What is it that one can do to counter this?
And the answer is… Eat evolutionary-appropriate foods!
Consume the WHOLE foods that our ancestors hunted for and grew.
Choose local rather than mass production.
If a food product is mass-produced and has a marketing department behind it, avoid it because it is likely to heavy a ton of additives that you don’t really want in your body!
Choose These Foods!
Alright, let us be a bit more specific here and give you our list of food products to place at the core of your nutritional habits.
Grass-fed & Grass-finished Beef (meat/organs)
Pastured pork/chicken
Eggs from pastured chicken/poultry
Dairy from grass-fed cows
Root crops (potatoes/sweet potatoes/beetroots/carrots)
Fruits & veggies (avoid mass-production, focus on local!)
Olive oil (avoid using for cooking)
Bee honey
Wild-caught fish
Wild-caught seafood
Combining all of these foods and bringing balance across your macronutrient profile will provide you with all the energy for your daily physical activities, as well as everything needed to maintain the healthy functioning of all your bodily systems.
Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean you should totally exclude your favorite ice cream or junk food - Just bring the balance in favor of the nutrient-dense, high-quality food products!
Final Thoughts
The key to understanding evolutionary appropriate nutrition is recognizing the importance of consuming foods that are natural, healthy, and nutrient-dense.
With a little bit of knowledge about how unnatural modern-day mass-produced nutrition is, you'll be able to find your own path towards making better food choices that can positively impact your physical and mental well-being.
So here’s for a wrap on this article series - Move as your ancestors did. Run, jump, climb, crawl, dive and swim. Lift some weights even!
And focus on whole, minimally processed locally grown foods!
Optimize your lifestyle. Stay healthy.