THE NATURAL LIFE
A few weeks ago I received an angry note from a person who considers himself a naturalist attacking me for suggesting that someone might safely eat bacon, occasionally. I would remind him that people 100 years ago ate far more unhealthy food than bacon. Obviously, he is unaware that there is bacon without nitrates! Or that an occasional dose of nitrates can be safely overcome with added vitamin C. It has been proven to my satisfaction that the improvement in life expectancy, about 50% in the past 100 years comes from pasteurization of milk, proper disposal of sewage and chlorination of water. Now there are some who would not consider two of these approaches ”natural.”
What is natural?
Food that has not been processed in any way. That means ultimately no frozen or canned foods. No processed food of any type. Meat, including fish, fruits, and vegetables must be eaten within the time it can remain unspoiled with some refrigeration. Even 200 years ago, natural ice was cut from lakes or rivers and stored in underground ice houses, often keeping some natural refrigeration for many months. Sun-dried would be natural. The only natural sweetener might be honey. Only those grains grown locally might be natural-unfortunately with natural storage sometimes ergot, a fungus, can contaminate them. It is estimated by some historians that some of the insanity of the radical Puritanical purges may have been due to ergot poisoning.
Cars, phones, electricity, computers, etc. are not natural. Gasoline is not natural. Whale oil would be the lamp fuel of choice, if you could get it. Horses and buggies would be natural and maybe even wood-burning steam engines, such as trains might be allowed. Certainly no airplanes!
Up at dawn and in bed at sunset would be natural-200 years ago the average American slept 10 hours. Lots of natural exercise-even hand washing laundry. In general, the only people living a relatively natural life today are some of the Amish.
Now, let’s get real! How close do you want to come to eating, exercising and BEING natural?
Average Day:
Arise at 6 AM: Exercise for an hour doing some type of natural chores or your own form of exercise if you live in a city.
Breakfast: natural grain cereal with eggs or milk (non-homogenized) perhaps butter; natural fruit
7:30 AM; Off to work not more than a half hour from home. Take your brown-bag lunch: homemade wholegrain bread with range-fed beef or chicken or the most natural cheese possible and a piece of fruit in season, or a salad with some type of farm pre meat of cheese.
Work: 8 Am to 5 PM, with an hour for a leisurely lunch and rest or exercise
5 PM-Drive home. Home by 5:30 PM.
5:30 to 6:30 Exercise and/or meditate
6:30 A natural dinner of all farm-fresh food. Perhaps you cooked it in a slow-cooker all day, etc
7 to 10 PM-Wow-three hours for personal or family fun, no TV.
No work other than the 40 hours at an office. Little stress. Minimal bother from the world. Two week-end days for pure R & R, necessities of life, etc. No cell phone. Minimal computer activity. Somehow you manage to eat at least 5 (preferably 7 or more) servings of natural fruits/vegetables, exercise at least one hour per day, meditate at least 30 minutes, etc. In this relatively ideal natural lifestyle, you would probably not need supplements-just all that real, natural food. Nor would you need most of the stress-reducing approaches I often recommend.
Assuming that you do not live this reasonably natural life, I suggest you read my Optimal Recommendations for recommendations to help you cope with today’s world!