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Here are the recommendations from the Wikipedia page on Paleolithic lifestyle [1]: - Adopt a Paleolithic diet as much as possible: plenty of fruit, f
by rndn 12y ago
Here are the recommendations from the Wikipedia page on Paleolithic lifestyle [1]:
- Adopt a Paleolithic diet as much as possible: plenty of fruit,
fish, vegetables, nuts, and meat while avoiding most forms of
food not in existence in paleolithic time. It implies avoiding
all processed food, and in particular junk food and food with a
high glycemic load, such as sweets and cultivated crops like
potatoes and cereal grains (in particular wheat).
- Exercise frequently, but with a variety of durations and
intensities (including rest periods) rather than doing always
the same, extended routines in a gym or while jogging.
- Perform a variety of complex "natural movements" (e.g. walking,
running, jumping, crawling, climbing, carrying, throwing,
swimming) that use the whole body rather than artificially
constrained exercises that focus on specific muscles (like those
afforded by most gym equipment).
- Maximize contact with nature, e.g. by keeping plants, gardening,
working with animals, hiking in the woods, or climbing trees (as
also proposed by the biophilia philosophy).
- Use a minimum of clothes and don't wear shoes: exposure to heat,
cold, pressure, and other natural forces strengthens rather than
weakens the body.
- Expose yourself regularly to the sun or at least to natural
light, to get sufficient vitamin D and prevent depression.
- Try to sleep at least 8 hours a day, preferably in line with
natural day-night rhythms (though people in pre-industrial
societies do not sleep in contiguous blocks - see anthropology
of sleep and segmented sleep).
- Spend sufficient time relaxing, playing, and just "being in the
present", without worrying about later.
- Reduce overall levels of stress; avoid overworking in favor of
downshifting and simple living.
- Allow contact with dirt: soil contains plenty of beneficial
bacteria that strengthen immunity. Eat fermented foods like
sauerkraut, kim chi, kombucha, etc. Lifelong exposure to a
variety of microbes may actually be necessary to prevent
allergies and autoimmune diseases, as proposed by the hygiene
hypothesis.
- Rear children the way hunter-gatherers do: extended
breast-feeding, carrying of babies on the body, co-sleeping,
while allowing older children to play and explore
autonomously.
- Sit with legs level with rear end (essentially, in the squatting
position), as people in indigenous tribes do.
- Socialize and interact closely with a small group of real
friends, instead of staying alone or "networking" with thousands
of superficial acquaintances.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic_lifestyle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic_lifestyle
- stinos 12y agoNice. First time I hear about this but it certainly contains lots of things which make a lot of sense to me or which I do already myself and/or are backed up by reserach. Except the part of the squatting position :P Not everybody accepts this though. Especially about point 2 and 3 I've had discussions, almost religious fights sometimes. People sometimes get offended when I question if just going to the gym and train a couple of standard groups or just jogging are sufficient exercises. They might be, just from the point of 'getting enough exercise', but I somehow believe it is better for your body in general to have way more types of movement trained, like the third point says. Not sure if this is backed up by research but it just seems logical to me? Another impression I have: the body of a person doing all kinds of sports always looks way more natural and healthy to me than persons doing only one or two sports where not all muscle groups are trained.
- rndn 12y agoI agree with everything you say. Unless it is particularily beneficial to do special exercises to counteract deficiencies of our modern life style, it should be sufficient to roughly simulate the movements our ancestors did. I'm wondering whether our ancestors did stretching exercises. I could imagine that the occasional yawn/stretch and a variety of different movements is sufficient to avoid contracture.
- stinos 12y agoI do think ancestors did stretch: nobody ever learnt me to stretch yet I've been doing it when waking up before getting out of bed since I can remember and I'm definitely not the only one, on the contrary. Some other animals do so as well. I know these are mere observations and no hard evidence, but I would be surprised to learn I'm wrong on this point. Whether they did actual stretching exercises is another thing though. I would guess they did if they were able to figure out by experience stretching had positive effects. Also sort of depends what you mean with ancestors, i.e. how many centuries ago.
- rndn 12y ago