[Updated, edited and re-posted 20240531]
Where we Are
Many articles that you read about looking after yourself: health, sleep, food, nutrition, skin, eye, body, and hair care, and exercise on the internet and from main media sources are confusing at best - a lot are misleading, many deliberately so. The main reason for these biases is usually that something, somewhere along the line, is being sold, mostly you.
My conclusion in a nutshell is that things are not managed towards optimal health, they are managed towards the greatest profit (at best), and ‘most profitably unhealthy’ is where we are. Sadly, no matter how cynical you feel you are, my experience is that if you are human, you cannot be cynical enough. It is therefore up to us, we need to try to effect a healthier outcome for ourselves. No-one else is going to do it for us.
This substack then, is about ‘the things they don’t tell you’, and it aims to start with the basic building blocks, the fundamental, practical things you can do. That sounds easy, but there is more to it. This publication aims at giving you the knowledge, and even the tools, but the rest must come from you.
One needs wisdom, reason (thinking), and courage to use knowledge, and also discipline (‘routines’, ‘habits’, and ‘choices’) to apply tools regularly, and when needed. These all combined make ‘Agency’: you taking actions and making decisons in your lawful best interests for your health. The current situation in the West is largely one where we have entrusted our ‘agency’ to ‘authority’ and in turn the industrial interests influencing it; this is how we have got into such a mess.
We need to look after ourselves; beyond that, we should not blindly ‘give away our agency’; trust towards our health must be earned (i.e. scientifically substantiated) and be specific, not general. Broad trust should only be given to those whom we know truly love us. Authority in a ‘modern democracy’ is not a familial bond, and we should not allow such to pretend it is. Loyalty to either authority or brand can be and is, heavily exploited.
The more I research - essentially asking the questions: ‘what is good for us?’ or ‘what is not good for us?’, the worse I find the situation has become. This process seems to have largely started around the mid-1800s, accelerated through the 1900s, and is really taking off now in a quite destructive way.
The Back to Square One Approach
One should understand and manage the biology and science that is your life. This means going back to square one, putting aside or at least questioning ‘that which you have been told’, and starting from scratch - in scientific terms: working from first principles.
Often what one reads or sees, will say it is ‘based on science’, but one actually needs to research the literature extensively and check sources to understand better; even then it’s complicated. Most people simply do not have time. Much science is actually ‘designed’ around ‘selected narratives’, it is paid for after all. Research is mostly funded and directed towards patentable ‘material’ as this establishes legal monopolies which can be exploited for maximal guaranteed returns; all is twisted to those ends.
Do not confuse ‘science’ with ‘truth’, they are not the same thing; most real ‘neutral’ science is actually hypothesis, it can always be improved upon, and is never ‘settled’ - only dogma and mantra can be. In fact, it is a fundamental tenet of science that an hypothesis must be falsifiable - i.e. it must be possible to prove it wrong. If it is ‘framed’ or ‘arranged’ such that it is not falsifiable, it is simply not science at all, but belongs in another sphere.
This publication aims to research, work out what is actually going on, the key factors involved, and what may be done in a practical way, if possible, to best understand, address and manage the issues involved. It aims to be based on a sound reading of the science, common sense, experience, and direct practical application as much as possible, towards improvement and optimisation of our health and well being.
Some posts may take the form of clearly explained newsletters reflecting the important fundamentals to grasp, the gist of the matter. Other, subscriber-only posts, may also include protocols, how-to instructions, and recipes, putting knowledge into practical things.
The good news is that there are some astoundingly simple things you can do which may significantly improve your life and health. This ‘learning process’ about better managing our bodies and our health can be empowering, rewarding, and a good use of your time, one even learns from one’s errors at times. It is a journey, and one which may save you a lot of trouble and expense.
Principles
We are optimally designed to interact with the Natural World and what it provides, and have been since the Dawn of Time. The more I apply this principle in my own life, the more I learn. For example, eating or preparing food and drink from as close to its natural state as one can get it, and using natural processes to prepare it, is what we should aim to do as far as practicable. It is also the only way to be more sure of what goes into it.
Our experience is that this is best approached not as an sudden ‘overnight’ change, but a gradual, growing process - one thing at a time, allowing one to adapt, learn, and gain confidence from the application of knowledge. Do not wait for ‘everything’ to be ‘ready’, start with one small thing, and work from there. We started this some years back, but only in the last two years with purpose; one notable but unexpected aspect is how many fewer types of thing one buys, as so many different things can be made from the basic ingredients. Another perhaps unexpected aspect is how simple it is: you run out of something, you make it; it takes less time and trouble (than going to the shops to get it). This also applies to a number of other things beyond food around the home and in health.
Another experience worth noting for food is that food is much more satisfying prepared this way. In part this is to say hunger is not just about quantity. Modern media would have one believe that food is ‘calories’ made up of carbohydrate, protein, and fat and that animal and vegetable forms of these are equal. Even vitamins and micronutrients are viewed as ‘extras’.
This reductive, ‘marketable’ narrative is false, and the basic premise, that all calories are equal, is quite literally a case of comparing apples and oranges. A calorie (c) is the amount of thermal energy (4.18 joules) needed to heat 1g of water by 1oC at standard atmospheric pressure, when a food is literally burnt (a kilocalorie kcal is 1000 calories). It has no real nutritional meaning, as it does not relate to how the body processes nutrients of different types (the body does not ‘burn’ food), nor does the body process all itself (much is ‘processed’ by the biota in our ‘gut biome’). As a measure, it is more properly applied to firewood, who thought to use it as a ‘narrative model’ for food is a ‘marketing mystery’ to me. We are left trying to fit a square peg into a mulitude of round holes.
We have found, we think, that part of hunger is one’s body indicating that it needs a nutrient (or micronutrient) in a particular form - if it does not get it (and cannot make it), we eat until we are ‘full’ (even distended) and snack between meals in search of it. This is what happens with eating processed food lacking in sufficient ‘goodness’. Preparing food from its natural state with traditional methods (i.e. with herbs, spices, and natural pink salt) gives one’s body what it needs, in the form that it needs it, and one is sated (satisfied). The food is ‘richer’, and I realise takes me back to a feeling I associate with my childhood before processed food and ‘take aways’ became a thing. An interesting ‘take home’ is that we are now eating less than we used to, and feel little if any need to snack between meals; it is self-regulating. A ‘diet’ seems unnecessary, no willpower or ‘regimen’ is involved; one seems to put less on one’s plate as one knows it is more ‘filling’. It is easier.
Much of the above follows as we are self-regulating, self-healing living beings. In Biology this is called homeostasis – broadly speaking it means we have autonomous physiological regulatory systems that always work towards optimal function, and keep us alive and healthy throughout our lives.
Homeostasis: The Underappreciated and Far Too Often Ignored Central Organizing Principle of Physiology
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2020.00200/full
If we are sick and our bodies can benefit from medical treatment (of all types, including supplements and food), then it makes sense to follow it until we are better. After that our bodies should be able to get all we need to achieve homeostasis from what we eat and drink from the natural world. If this is not possible, then the underlying problem has not been addressed.
It should also be borne in mind that there are many substances from the last 150 years or so that we now ‘ingest’ (mostly in food, drink, and pharmceuticals) which inhibit our bodies efforts towards homeostasis; we are not designed to deal with them, as they never existed in nature. This includes unnatural ‘preservatives’, emulsifiers, stabilisers, et cetera, and agrochemical contaminants (‘residues’). Many of these things have either accumulated in our bodies, created or exacerbated deficiences, or directly caused health issues. We are also not getting sufficient quantities of the forms of nutrients and micronutrients we vitally need. These are also things that need to be addressed, often in opposition to current misleading (but profitable) narratives.
Bear in mind that the only person who truly has your best interests at heart is you. It follows therefore that the principal person responsible for your health and well-being is you. Only you should have control over your bodily autonomy and thus the human right to consent to what goes into your body and any medical intervention. This also applies for those whom you are legally responsible for.
Caveat emptor (buyer beware): If someone is selling you something, including a service ‘free’ at the point of use (e.g. paid from your taxes), their aim is not necessarily what is best for you. Be careful who you trust.
Lastly, I do not intend to recommend specific brands of products – this is partly to avoid conflicts of interest, as the research is reader-supported, and partly as proper testing of such is beyond present capacity and I have, as yet, no trusted sources. I may, of course, point out things to watch out for. Next Post.
It is important to note that posts are based on ongoing well-being research, but they are not medical advice. Please consult your Primary Care Provider before using any medicines or supplements.