Before heading away last week I took a trip down to my local bookstore to find some holiday reading and stumbled upon a number ot titles including Pandora's Seed : Why The Hunter Gatherer Holds The Key To Our Survival written by Spencer Wells. The following passage is taken from the blurb on the back of the book:
Humans evolved to hunt in the wild, not for crowded, urbanised living. The latest research reveals that when we settled and developed agriculture 10,000 years ago we may have created modern civilisation, but we also opened a Pandora's box of problems - becoming sedentary, overpopulated, disease-prone and selfish. In fact, everything from our sweet tooth and stress disorders to environmental damage and even terrorism can be traced back to this mismatch between our genes and our lifestyle.
As a fan of the primal/paleo/evolution philosophy on health and fitness this was an easy sell on me.
Humans evolved to hunt in the wild, not for crowded, urbanised living. The latest research reveals that when we settled and developed agriculture 10,000 years ago we may have created modern civilisation, but we also opened a Pandora's box of problems - becoming sedentary, overpopulated, disease-prone and selfish. In fact, everything from our sweet tooth and stress disorders to environmental damage and even terrorism can be traced back to this mismatch between our genes and our lifestyle.
As a fan of the primal/paleo/evolution philosophy on health and fitness this was an easy sell on me.
A week on and after enjoying the book from cover to cover I thought I would give it a little shout out on this blog. Whilst not a health and fitness book per se, there are chapters which are very relevant to the fitness world, namely where the author examines the abundance of empty calories available in the developed world on the back of 10,000 years of agricultural innovation and the undeniable link this has on the booming obesity epidemic. The following quote in particular I thought was worth sharing:
"Many people are not aware of, or ignore, the dangers associated with the increasing proportion of highly processed, sugar laden 'fast food' so readily available in the developed world....couple this with a lack of physical activity as more and more people leave manual jobs in factories and farms for service-sector jobs with long commuting times, and it is a recipe for disaster"
Away from the dangers of excessive processed food, the author also provides numerous other thought provoking discussions including; the link between chronic stress and the drone of modern life, genetic technology and the potential danger a future holds where selective breeding is common place and the impact modern living is having on the planet around us. Highly recommend adding to your booklist.
"Many people are not aware of, or ignore, the dangers associated with the increasing proportion of highly processed, sugar laden 'fast food' so readily available in the developed world....couple this with a lack of physical activity as more and more people leave manual jobs in factories and farms for service-sector jobs with long commuting times, and it is a recipe for disaster"
Away from the dangers of excessive processed food, the author also provides numerous other thought provoking discussions including; the link between chronic stress and the drone of modern life, genetic technology and the potential danger a future holds where selective breeding is common place and the impact modern living is having on the planet around us. Highly recommend adding to your booklist.
Every few weeks we create, publish and share the Gymless.com Newsletter packed full of information to help you improve your body composition, strength and fitness using bodyweight exercise. To subscribe simply enter your details below...
Your privacy is taken very seriously and your email address will NEVER be shared or sold. You may unsubscribe at any time