Those were the days – peace, love, sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll

The 1960’s was the counterculture time of ‘peace and love’, and rallying against the establishment – government, society’s expectations, and parental authority. To that was added the 1970’s counterculture questioning of all ‘accepted norms’ of society and the pursuit of altered states and pleasure through the use through sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll (okay, a little disco to soften the edges). The 1980’s were the hedonistic age marked by both conservative and liberal pursuit of happiness through the acquisition of wealth and material things regardless of the collateral damage to our society or to us as individuals (along with the sobering reality of our sexual indulgences via the AIDS epidemic). The 1990’s became the era that was an amalgam of the previous three decades – physical pleasure through drugs, but now the Prozac generation using ‘approved’ pharmaceutical drugs, the acquisition of wealth at any cost, and blatant disregard for societal expectations and governmental authority. The new millennium in 2000 brought hope of a cultural catharsis or cleansing as society reflected back on the lessons learned through our previous reckless pursuit of personal gain and pleasure, only to wake to a globalization hangover on September 11, 2001; since, our reaction seems to have been, ‘It’s everyman, corporation and country for himself’.

Now as we approach the beginning of the second decade of the new millennium (where did the time go?), we are faced with an entirely different set of circumstances, all centered around lack – lack of money, lack of truthful and insightful societal, spiritual and governmental leadership in the face of never before seen social, economic, environmental, and international issues, and more insidious, a lack of health. All contemporary issues, whether economic, cultural or physical are simply the consequences of our previous actions or lifestyle choices.

Today, we are experiencing an erosion of our health that threatens to undermine our present and our future on nearly every front; worse still, we seem to be turning a blind eye to this harsh reality. How bad is it? Economically, as a nation, it will bankrupt us; socially, it will mark the decline of our nation as a global leader. Within our families it will drain all joy and peace – after all, without one’s health, there is neither. It’s reached a point where some doctors have predicted that for the first time in the history of man, the current generation of children (born in the year 2000 and beyond) will not live as long their parents.

So we are ripe for yet another counterculture revolution – this one in our life’s priorities in general, and our health habits in particular. Let’s rally together to go against the accepted norms, against society’s common traits of living a sedentary existence, eating non-nutritious processed foods, and engaging in busy but unproductive, chronically stressful lives. All of these common contemporary lifestyle behaviors are literally destroying our bodies, our health, and our lives.

To illustrate, 70% of calories consumed today are from foods that didn’t exist when Homo sapien’s genes were formed some 50,000 to 200,000 years ago:

• Breads, cereals, pasta                = 24%
• Dairy                                                = 10%
• Refined sugar                               = 19%
• Refined vegetable oils                = 17%
As percentage of calories:             70%

This is a double-edged sword – not only are we eating non-nutritious processed foods but in the process those calories are replacing nutritious foods containing phytonutrients, essential fats, fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and trace elements, all of which are necessary for health and without them results in poor health and disease.

Another example is the sedentary existence common to our modern culture – we sit in cars to drive to work, then sit at desks, sit in cars to drive home, only to sit down to eat and watch television, day after day.

“At present human genes and human lives are in-congruent, especially in affluent Western nations. When our current genome was originally selected, daily physical exertion was obligatory; our biochemistry and physiology are designed to function optimally in such circumstances. However, today’s mechanized, technologically oriented conditions allow and even promote an unprecedentedly sedentary lifestyle. Many important health problems are affected by this imbalance, including atherosclerosis, obesity, age-related fractures and diabetes, among others.”

Eaton SB, Eaton III SB, An Evolutionary Perspective on Human Physical Activity: Implications for Health. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology – Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology 2003; 136(1):153-159. [view abstract]

With some simple vital behaviors, we can be at the forefront of the counterculture health revolution, we can be models for our children and their children, and in the process be healthy ourselves. Yes, it involves sacrifice such as choosing fresh fruit over donuts and pushing ourselves to exercise when we may not feel like it; but notice how when the it’s over, the fruit and workout not only makes us feel so much better than the donut and the couch, it literally makes us healthier.

It’s time to march against the grain (okay, that’s a weak pun, but a pun nonetheless).

You can do it!

Yours in health, Dr. Paul