What Does Authentic Health Look Like to You?
What Does Authentic Health Look Like to You?
By: Dr. Roger Landry, MD, MPH
Nobel Prize winning biophysicist, Max Delbruck, tells us that any living cell carries with it the experience of a billion years of experimentation by its ancestors. These ancestors gave us much ore than a family tree. The very things that make us distinctly human were unknowingly tested and perfected by them. The ones who were more successful passed down that success to us. How our hearts, brains, lungs, kidneys and guts work, how our bodies respond to certain foods, how we learn, what we need to feel secure and thrive, all these things were refined by our ancestors and passed down to us.
Think of these traits as authentic, since they are unique to us humans, shared by all of us, eons in the making, and durable over time. Authentic Health is the state of genuine vitality consistent with our human origins and individual nature, and it is achieved by deliberate attention to not just one or two of the components that make us human but all of them.
However, we live in a world that seems to be rapidly moving away from the ways our ancestors lived, and our bodies and minds are desperately seeking what they need to be healthy and functioning at their best, but finding it more and more difficult.
What are these components? What does it take to be authentically healthy and relearn what our ancestors have taught us?
Traits We Can Learn from Our Ancestors
- Move more – Our Hunter-Gatherer ancestors were highly physical.
- Stay socially connected – Understand the value of interdependence.
- Have a strong sense of purpose in life.
- Eat a plant-based diet that also includes nuts, fruits, fish and some meat.
- Limit chronic stress – a strong connection with nature can help.
When you take inventory of your life, can you notice areas where you are living authentically? Do you see areas where there’s room for improvement? If so, why not make a plan to work on it? For example, if you are mostly sedentary, can you incorporate ways to move more? If you find that you are becoming reclusive, are there community events you could participate in, or friends you can reach out to? This is all a part of what it takes to live in authentic health. Live Long. Live Well!