Health and fitness are some of my greatest passions. Specifically, my interests are in the areas of functional fitness and the diet of our paleolithic ancestors. I find that the more I dive into the literature and science of these subjects the more I am intrigued with this lifestyle and how it can apply to modern life. Since my career focuses primarily on the capital markets and economics I can not help but notice the link between this healthy life style and how it could impact the economy. Allow me to digress.
Although the agriculture science advancements in the last fifty years were noble in their efforts to feed the world it greatly missed the overall impact it would ultimately have on health. For example, manipulating the chromosome structure of the original wheat grass einkorn to increase yield and decrease cost has major implications to overall health. Further, the introduction of high fructose corn syrup and other chemically derived additives also continue to develop cost effective food packages of death. As a result, when you factor in the cost of health the overall benefit to society is a net loss. This raises serious questions with what truly dictates sustainability in global food production. But of course no one is talking about that part of the equation. Regardless of opinion the markets have gone so far down this path that we have created a foodindustry and medical industry that are essentially codependent. (the links below have great resources and data to back the above statements).
This to me portrays an opportunity for the general public to voice their opinion and lead a true change that would be much more beneficial than occupying Wall Street. The food and medical industries make up a major percentage of our GDP and the food we are eating is developing a majority of preventable diseases and funding our broken health care system. Pharmaceutical companies are rushing to develop the next concoction that will play into the broken human body or psyche. Google type II diabetes epidemic sometime and follow that up with type II diabetes pharmaceutical company profits – this illustrates a compelling story. Being a true believer in free markets I do not blame pharmaceutical companies for trying to yield a profit. However, I do think its time to turn that finger around at ourselves and take responsibility for what we have created in the free markets. We are feeding this epidemic and rather than taking ownership and changing lifestyle we continue to complain and occupy Wall Street. Awesome plan!
I think we can all agree that America is a consumer based economy. Americans have some of the lowest saving rates in the world and a slight drop in consumer spending greatly impacts the profits of large corporations working on razor thin margins. If you do not believe me then just turn on a TV for thirty minutes and take note of how much crap is marketed to you in that time slot. Given that we are a consumer based economy the best way to make a difference is not through congress or policy but spending. We vote through our dollars – period! This is a chance to live a more healthy life style and change how the markets are viewing consumers. I am not proposing that we live like some dirty hippies with no luxuries. I am all for luxuries but not at the expense of a healthy life style that will drive up unnecessary costs in the market.
I am proposing a push for a more primal lifestyle in the modern world, lets embrace our gene expression but still enjoy the innovations of the modern world. We can have both! By adjusting life style to live primal we will save dollars that can then be spent on truly great innovations from companies like Apple and Google.
Living primally is a very complex formula that must be diligently researched to completely understand, here is a check list to get your started:
1. Eat Healthy Whole Foods: Buy from local farmers and co-ops, support those that actually make the stuff!
2. Exercise & Play: Get out of the mega gyms and run around and play like your a kid again, you will save money for other cool stuff by not buying ridiculous equipment (i.e. shake weight).
3. Get Sunshine: Soak up some rays and get yourself some natural Vitamin D.
4. Socialize: Go hang out with friends and family, I know that seems strange but its actually pretty fun.
5. Relax & Sleep: Who doesn’t like to sleep!
Resources for Living Primal, Get it From the Experts:
I have recently discovered the social causes that are near & dear to my heart, one of which is the decreasing quality of our food sources. I see this issue becoming a near-future priority in our society and therefore (hopefully) a top focus of private philanthropy dollars. It also scares me to think that solutions for hunger in developing countries will be supplied by western sources which may breed new health issues within areas facing existing health risks. Given the whole food movements in progress I’m hopeful we can educate before the problem proliferates. Thanks for helping to spread the word.