Eating like a Wild thing

???

Goji berries from South America, detox juice fasting, food pyramids, raw food only – how the heck do we know what to eat these days? At Wildfitness our filter is: what would a wild human eat? An agile, natural, instinctive, intelligent, wild human – in touch with nature – in harmony with nature?

What do our ancestors tell us?

From what we know about them, they would have been hunter-gatherers. We assume they would have ‘hunted’ meat and fish, and ‘gathered’ fruits, veg, seeds, nuts, eggs and seafood. Perhaps in their ‘gathering’ they also manipulated the plants around them to some degree – either by nurturing or planting them. No grains or dairy or refined artificial foods. They would have eaten mostly raw foods, seasonally. They would have eaten when they were hungry and not eaten when they were not hungry.

What does science tell us?

Science is great at measuring the effects of certain foods in the body. We know that antioxidants protect us from certain diseases. We know that ingestion of heavy metals poisons our system. We know that deficiencies in Vit C cause scurvy. We know that high glycaemic foods release insulin and can lead to diabetes. This is clear quantitative information and without this testing process we may still be drinking snake oil at full moon. Science, however, is never cleverer than nature. It is the study of nature and can’t supersede it.

What does nature tell us?

Nature is too subtle and complex to really tease apart and qualify all the things within it that affect us. Some things may never be proved or quantified, but affect us still. Nature’s designs work even if we don’t know why or how.

The component nutrients of an apple do not give us a comprehensive idea of what an apple is; or the fullness of the effect that it has on us. It is too complex. A man-made snack of similar nutrient content cannot replace an apple.

There is a place for lyrical language that somehow captures more of the essence of what nature is and our part in it. The nature of things and the nature of ourselves in its fullness have yet to be observed under the microscope. Dark chocolate is more than antioxidants, fat, carbs and protein, it is ‘the food of the gods’.

So, eat real food, food that would have been available in our natural environment. Food with soul. We don’t need scientists to tell us that.

What does common sense tell us?

health food?

Common sense saves us from the tricks of science. Unless we use common sense sometimes we would lose important information – we don’t want to wait for science to prove that eating fresh food you have grown yourself is better for you than supermarket ethene ripened, waxed and frozen fruit. And we don’t want to be taken in by confusing science that shows us that vitamin fortified coco pops and isotonic bright orange drinks are a healthy way to start the day.

What does mother earth tell us?

Super foods and far flung health foods often cost money and resources which contribute towards degrading the very environment around you which is so poised to nurture your health. Our access to food even without special imports is more comprehensive than at any other time in our history. If brazil nuts were a required source of selenium, our species would be pretty vulnerable given our global distribution.

Being precious

We can go without eating anything for long periods with no ill effects. We can thrive on a small or large variety of foods. We can detoxify a fair amount of bad food. We are super resilient and adaptable. I have a friend who is alive and pretty well and has eaten almost exclusively battered sausages and jam sandwiches the whole of his life. I have friends in Kenya who are fitter than most people I know who eat only maize, beans and cabbage.

It’s important to have respect for the toughness of the human body and a perspective on what factors make the biggest proportion of difference to our health. Life is much easier when we can adapt to what is around us.

And so…

Use common sense and your knowledge of nature to guide you and don’t get caught up in confusing science. Let’s use the staff of science to keep us from cloud cuckooland, but draw from the mystery and example of nature to be wise.

Focus on tapping into your Wildness: eat when you are hungry, don’t eat when you are not. Eat natural foods, eat lots of raw foods, eat local, seasonal, organic foods. Don’t mollycoddle yourself too much. Let your body work around the wild things you want to do with yourself, it will bring it alive.

Tara Wood. November 2009.