When Genes Can’t Keep Up With Environment
Gargantuan.
That's the word I would use to describe the amount of time it takes for our genes to change.
In contrast, think about how long it takes for our environment to change.
Miniscule.
And this, my friends, is at the heart of the dilemma when it comes to our health.
Our environment has changed dramatically over the course of the last two centuries. This shift has affected us in almost every imaginable way ... from our food supply and eating habits to our activity and how we behave socially.
Meanwhile, we have ancient genes that have not adapted to, what I would call, a toxic environment.
This applies to how we chronically eat, our movement patterns (or lack thereof), our sleeping patterns (or lack thereof), and our emotional and social health (social media).
Our lives have been encapsulated by convenience. And much of this convenience has made our lives better (i.e. refrigerated food, cars, electricity, technology, etc.).
But, it has also allowed our health to deteriorate.
In my opinion, the path to better health is to devise strategies that defy our new environment.
This starts with individual evaluation, focused on the four main pillars of:
1) nutrition.
2) exercise.
3) sleep.
4) emotional health.
Regarding nutrition, what behaviors are preventing you from improving your health? Do you rely on fast food for many of your meals? Or, is the problem portion control because there's simply too much food that's proximal? In other words, is food too easy to obtain?
Maybe exercise is the limiting factor. Are you sitting on your butt all day at a desk job, and then too tired to add any type of activity at any other time of day?
Maybe it's sleep. You know you should get to bed earlier but after a long day you just need to unwind. You get caught up in a Netflix series and before you know it, midnight has rolled around.
Or maybe it's emotional health. People need people. And not in the form of social media. This is a component of health that is sometimes (if not many times) overlooked or neglected. Choose real people over "fake" people. Please don't underestimate how time consuming and toxic this aspect can be.
In your health journey, I highly recommend taking a long look at each of these aspects and honestly evaluate which areas can be improved.
But don't overwhelm yourself.
First, find the main rock, or lowest hanging fruit, you can address to move the needle. For example, put a limit on how much time you can spend on social media (you can set this up on your phone, so no excuses; and I'm sure your sleep will improve as well).
Don't let perfection get in the way of progress.
As always ...
GIVE YOUR BODY WHAT IT NEEDS, WHEN IT NEEDS IT.
Jaime Rothermich
RD, CSSD, LD, PPSC*KB, CSCS
Functional Elements Training & Nutrition
#TrainForLiFE
