For the greater part of the past 2.6 million years, our ancestors’ diets consisted of wild animals and seasonal fruits and vegetables. Today most people’s diets are centred on grains and carbs — many of which contain gut-blasting, microbiome-damaging gluten whose downstream effects have serious impacts to our health.  The fact that preventable, non-communicable diseases account for more deaths worldwide today than all other diseases combined is unacceptable (see part 1). How can that be? We’re living longer than previous generations, but not necessarily better. We’ve failed at averting and curing illnesses that we’re susceptible to when we’re older. I don’t know anyone who wants to live to be 100 if their last twenty years are spent in misery?

Theodosius Dobzhansky, evolutionary biologist,  said, “Nothing in biology makes sense, except in the light of evolution.” What did he mean by this? All organisms adapted to thrive and survive in a particular environment, if that environment changes faster than the organism can adapt, mismatch occurs. This fundamental biology principle applies as much to humans as it applies to any other organism in nature.

Scientific research is bringing more and more credence to the notion that up to 90% of all known human illness can be traced back to an unhealthy gut (Brain Maker, David Perlmutter). And we can say for sure that just as disease begins in the gut, so too does health and vitality. Ongoing research continues to uncover a strong case that gut health is critical to immune system functioning, detoxification, inflammation, neurotransmitter and vitamin production, nutrient absorption, signaling being hungry or full, and utilizing carbohydrates and fat.  The gut extracts vitamins, minerals and energy from the food we eat, and it produces more than twenty different hormones. An unhealthy gut contributes to a wide range of diseases including diabetes, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, autism spectrum disorder, depression, alzheimer's, ADHD, and chronic fatigue syndrome. Most doctors learn very little about gut function and gut health, should they honestly be giving anyone nutritional advice?

Your body is like a delicate little flower. How you take care of your body dictate whether it wilts and die or if flourishes and blossom. The rapid pace of our society takes our focus away from the simple things that our body still appreciates and longs for: rhythm, movement, nourishment. Don’t underestimate the importance of the basics when it comes to reaching the results you are working for.