Leafy Greens Cafe

ReWild yourself – Daniel Vitalis 

Today we live in a well-ordered society, where most people are civilised – most of the time. Most of us are fortunate that we can relieve any passing hunger pangs with a trip to the fridge or the supermarket.

But of course it hasn’t always been like that. Not so very long ago, humans lived a very different life as hunter-gatherers, long before they had access to processed foods, or anything even close to GMO. 

Their diets contained only what they could find in nature. 

In the last few thousand years our lifestyles and diets have changed out of all recognition. It’s becoming increasingly apparent that our bodies and metabolisms haven’t had a chance to catch up. Evolution, after all, is a much more gradual process. Whales, for example, still have the bones of legs they haven’t used in millions of years, and the human appendix is a ‘relic’ from the days when our diet included a lot more vegetation and roughage. 

Nutritionists and thought leaders are beginning to study the effects that our modern, or ‘civilised’ diet is having on our bodies, and comparing this to what are known as ‘paleo’ or ‘cavemen’ diets. It’s not hard to imagine how our cave-dwelling ancestors may have been healthier than us – they would have been much more active, for one thing, and they would never have encountered GMOs, gluten, refined sugar, caffeine or food preservatives. The only ways they had to preserve food were by either cooking it, fermenting it or trying to keep it cold in the ground or in a cave.

Our ancestors would have risen and gone to bed with the sun, and never experienced jet lag or work deadline stress. True, they may have had to deal with sabre-toothed tigers, but they had the skills and resources to defend themselves.

Many people today live a fast-food, bright lights life that means that they are completely detached from the rhythm of the sun, and of the seasons. In consequence we are seeing far more health issues caused by fatigue, stress and poor diet. 

We’ve grown used to thinking of ‘civilised’ as being a good thing, and in many ways it is – but perhaps not when it comes to our health.

Another of Antonia’s lifestyle and nutrition inspirations is Daniel Vitalis, who writes superbly on the idea of ‘re-wilding’ ourselves – getting back in touch with nature and natural wild foods, rewinding ‘progress’ and rediscovering ourselves as natural beings. 

Here at Leafy Greens we are blessed that we can spend time on our farm, feeling and tasting the changing seasons, but we realise that not everyone can. 

You can, however, learn much more about being ‘less civilised’ – but more alive – from Daniel’s riveting articles: http://www.danielvitalis.com/rewild-yourself-magazine as he explores strategies for genetically ancient humans (that’s me and you) to thrive in a modern world, awakening our instincts and freeing our bodies, and minds, from the degenerative effects of domestication. #antoniasfoodblog #eatwelldogood @antoniadeluca #rewildyourself #antonias #backtobasics