Having been in the health insurance industry for 25 years, I’ve had a front row view of the state of healthcare, and health, here in the U.S. And what I’ve seen has not been pretty.
As health costs have absolutely exploded, so have health insurance rates. At the same time, our nation’s health as gotten progressively worse. The entire country has gotten fat. The average 65 year old now takes 3 prescription drugs daily, and 20% take 5 or more.
What Can I Do About It?
Well, not that much, really. Because it is each individual’s responsibility to make his or her own choices. And I strongly believe in giving people choice.
But with choice also comes responsibility. And if I can encourage people to take greater responsibility – for their health, and for their health care choices – I’ve made a difference.
The Diet of our Ancient Ancestors
I’ve always been interested in health, and what factors lead to optimum health. In 2000 I shut down my insurance business, spent some time traveling with my wife (documented at www.longsstrangetrip.com), and then moved to Fort Collins, Colorado to pursue a master’s in nutrition and exercise science.
It was there that I became familiar with what is now commonly known as the “paleo” diet. The basic concept is that humans evolved over millions of years as hunter-gatherers, and that thus our genes are best adapted to the diet that we would have eaten, up until about 10,000 years ago when agriculture began. The basic diet is fresh meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, and maybe some nuts and eggs.
Getting the Word Out
I decided to join forces with a professor who had studied and written extensively on the topic, to spread the word and make more people aware of this idea. We put out the first issue of The Paleo Diet Newsletter on February 15, 2005.
At the time hardly anyone had ever heard of this way of eating (and most still haven’t, but that’s changing). Publication was erratic for the first couple years or so, but we were putting out some really high quality science based information. Eventually we were publishing our free newsletter on a weekly basis. I had an incredible team helping me, including Pedro Bastos, Maelan Fontes, and Nell Stephenson.
In 2007 we formed a business to promote this way of eating, and I continued to put out our free newsletter. For many people this was a brand new way of eating, and for some it was challenging to make the change. So, with dedicated help from Chris LaLanne (nephew of the early TV exercise guru Jack LaLanne), we started offering Paleo Diet Implementation Programs, in which we coached people how to eat this way over a 6-week period.
People were losing weight, their digestive problems were disappearing, autoimmune symptoms were subsiding, people were reporting better sleep, less pain, and the list goes on. It was an amazing, highly gratifying experience. And the number of people adopting this kind of diet was exploding.
Due to reasons I can’t get into at this time (but will soon), I shut down my activities in this area about a year ago. But the good news is that in the mean time, interest and information on this topic has continued to skyrocket.
Books by Robb Wolf (The Paleo Solution) and Art Devany (The New Evolution Diet) have spread this meme, numerous blogs and brilliant websites have sprung up (such as PaleoHacks.com) and there are even Facebook groups, Meetups, and more.
I’ve seen so many people benefit from a Paleolithic-type diet, that it really excites me to see it getting some mainstream popularity.
The Ancestral Health Symposium
In August there is an event going on called the Ancestral Health Symposium, where some of the leading scientists and thinkers in this field will be speaking. I’ve been planning on going, but just learned that the event is sold out.
Going to this event will enable me to connect with a lot of old friends, and meet new friends, and will no doubt lead to further opportunities. So I need to find a way to go.
Fortunately, Patrik at PaleolithicDiet.com has two extra tickets he’s giving away. Patrik, hopefully you can help me out, and I’ll look forward to meeting you in person. :-)
Oh by the way, Patrik has also just started a free weekly email. If this topic interests you, check it out.
