Tribe Nutrition
In his book, Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari gives a brilliant explanation of human’s prehistory. Our current evidence reveals that we evolved out of Africa 2.5 million years ago. Our ancestors lived in small groups and survived as hunters and gathers. We collected plants, seeds, and nuts and occasionally hunted for meat. We were strong, healthy, and smart and avoided the diseases of modern life. We lived like this until the agricultural revolutions 12,000 years ago. This revolution not only brought about a change in our diet but a change in our tribe. Prior to agriculture, humans rarely interacted with anyone outside of the tribe. With farming came villages, cities, and suburbs. Along came trade, money, and an economy. Followed by markets, restaurants, bars, carryout, and food courts. Where our ancestors fought to prevent starvation we are now confronted with obesity.
Tribes still exist in modern times and they often eat like our ancestors. We often look down on these tribes as primitive, no different than the modernized western civilizations who looked down on tribes in our more recent past. We assumed superiority not only because of our technology and lifestyle but because of the way we ate (even though we were the ones poisoning ourselves with our diet). There are several regions in the world that are modern or at least well aware of the modern world and still eat much healthier than the rest of the world. Dan Buettner, in his book Blue Zones, describes many of these regions throughout the world. Blue zones are areas where people live much longer than the norm. This is related to their nutrition. Your goal would be to create your own personal blue zone in the world you live in now. Due to no fault of our own we have to face challenges our ancestors never had to face. Mark Sisson, the author of The Primal Blueprint, likes to call his ancestor Gronk. Well Gronk did not have to have an abundance of will power because he did not have an abundance of choices. He did not have to avoid the bagel or donut on his way out to hunt in the morning. He wasn’t tempted by fast food on his way home even though he knew there was fresh meat waiting. He had plants, seeds, nuts, and fruit and did not have to deal with avoiding processed wheat and sugar.
For most of us our tribe has become complex. We spend time and share meals with our family, our friends, our coworkers and ourselves. In forming your personal nutrition plan, you need to consider the positives and negatives of all your tribes. We all know people personally or we can at least research people who have all the bases covered and live a healthy lifestyle. These people are content with the way they eat. They are not constantly craving other foods or complaining that they can’t eat certain things. They like the way they feel and many like the way they look. Only a small percentage are athletes or celebrities who get paid to look healthy. Only a few are narcissists. We know it can be done because they do it. They avoid the pitfalls and obstacles until it becomes like second nature, like riding a bike. We are all capable of it. Unfortunately, in the modern world there are way too many unhealthy options which are cheap and readily available. We all have some will power and some desire to be healthy, but situations are vastly different. We are not on a level playing field. Not even close. Some are skiing downhill and others are climbing Everest.
Your first tribe is yourself. You are a wolfpack of one. You have to define your own nutrition plan. If you live alone it is simple. Only have healthy options in your home and you have a good start on eating healthy. You have more control over the temptations around your own home and you can create your own nutritional safe space. Things can get much more complicated as you expand your tribe.
The second tribe is your family. Some people are born into a healthy family. This is a gift that most Americans do not have. You may not only have good food options but role models and a knowledge base that many don’t. If you have a spouse that is on board and young children under your control it is even better than a wolfpack of one. If your spouse is not on board you will likely have less healthy food options in the house and it will be a test to your will power. If you have older children and come home and announce that everyone is going healthy immediately expect some resistance. I still remember when my dad announced that we would no longer have sugary cereals. No more Frosted Flakes, Apple Jack’s, Fruit Loops or Sugar Smacks. I would now be stuck pouring table sugar on my Wheaties and hoping he didn't notice my Pop Tart habit. Most healthy households will still have to compromise. You just have to learn and decide for yourself how much you can compromise. It's unlikely that you can get away with as many of the compromise meals as your teenage son or brother eats, but he won’t be able to eat those things forever either.
Your next tribe are your coworkers. For many workers this can be a challenge. Break rooms are often filled with bagels, donuts, cookies and cakes. Vending machines may be the only option in a jam and these usually offer no real nutrition either. It is also not uncommon to eat out or order carryout with your coworkers for lunch. This can be a nice break in the day but a further obstacle if you are the only one on board with a healthy lifestyle. For some people, eating out for business meetings is a key part of their job. There are always healthy options on any menu, but the point is trying to avoid the choice between nachos and the salad. Although the workplace has obstacles it often has the simplest solution. You may consider only eating what you bring from home. If you need to eat out for work, do not mix work with pleasure. Choose healthy foods when eating at a work meal and leave yourself more freedom when going out with friends or family. For many years, work was my nutritional weakness. My wife always ate healthy so breakfast and dinner were usually safe. Work was where things fell apart for me. I wanted to be healthy but the hospitals were filled with fast foods and unhealthy snacks.
“a little too ironic , don't you think”
Allanis Morrisette
The office was typical, food everywhere. Finally, I had enough and made a rule. I only eat what I bring from home. I am not going to eat office delivery pizza, but I will eat pizza at a restaurant with my family. I won't have cookies or cake lying around the breakroom but I will eat homemade cookies made by someone in my family.
The next tribe are your friends. For most people with families, the occasional meal with friends will not get them off track. Once you are busy with family and career there is only so much time for meals with friends. If you do have more of these, most adult friends are not going to harass you for ordering the healthy options. Children are in the same boat. The few meals you eat at a friend's house or grandmas will not be enough to destroy your health. Teenagers and young single people are in the danger zone. Your friends often become the most important tribe. Eating out often becomes a major part of your social life. It's fun but the poor nutrition and extra calories will take a toll. When kids went away to college we used to say they gained the freshman 15, now with everything being supersized it could likely be renamed the freshman 40. For the first time in their life they are away from home and making their own food choices. This problem applies to anyone leaving home for the first time. Add in that they are likely drinking and in most cases no longer playing sports and you have a recipe for disaster. Many learn their lesson and lose the extra pounds after freshman year or after college but for many others the struggle lasts even longer if not forever. An even beginner problem is these are the prime dating years. The stress and anxiety associated with not feeling or looking your best can be devastating.
Finally, your tribe, no matter how supportive, may not support your healthy lifestyle. You have to be the sun in your own universe. You may have friends, family members or coworkers who are uncomfortable with you changing your nutrition. If they have gone through their whole life believing that health is only for the genetically blessed, seeing you get healthy may be a blow to their preconceived notion. I can’t count the times I’ve heard someone tell another they are looking too skinny when they are still twenty pounds from their ideal weight. Or heard a friend try to undercut another with negative peer pressure to take a break from their plan. I don’t think these people are some evil masterminds, but their unconscious bias and suggestions are something that could derail their friends and family. Here is a test. If you mention how you are benefitting from your nutrition changes and that person says “let's go celebrate with some ice cream or bake a cake to celebrate your success” you may want to put that person on your watch list. They can still be your best friend, just realize you may not be on the same page on this issue.
Another thing to consider is everyone in your tribe does not start on equal footing. Some teenagers and young adults can still eat whatever they want. Be aware that they may have no understanding that you may not be able to eat the way they do. For example, if you are 5’4” don’t expect to eat like your 6’3” brother or boyfriend. Be aware of changes to your tribe that occur overtime. An example would be the young person who goes out with friends to eat twice a week and starts dating. They are now going out with their date 2 or more times a week in addition to going out with friends and the pounds start adding on. Another example is immigrants. I’ve noticed that I will often see 3 generations from a healthier culture in my practice. The seventy year old grandmother looks fifty and fit, the fifty year old mother looks thirty and fit and the twenty year old daughter is overweight. It's obviously due to the American culture of, life, liberty and a double cheeseburger and fries.
Now think of the person who is trying to quit smoking. Is the person who is the only one in his tribe to smoke or the person whose entire tribe smokes more likely to succeed? Now think of the person whose doctor tells him he has to overhaul his diet. Is he likely to succeed if he is the only member of his tribe to eat healthy or is he more likely to succeed if the majority of his tribe joins his new lifestyle? Think about this if you have a loved one who needs to change their nutrition. Try to be the best member of your tribe you can be. Support yourselves and support others. We are all in this together.
Written by Hugh House, M.D.