Ancient people were healthy people

Then there's the secretive Tarahumara tribe, the best long-distance runners in the world. These are a people who live in basic conditions in Mexico, often in caves without running water, and run with only strips of old tyre or leather thongs strapped to the bottom of their feet. They are virtually barefoot.

Come race day, the Tarahumara don't train. They don't stretch or warm up. They just stroll to the starting line, laughing and bantering, and then go for it, ultra-running for two full days, sometimes covering over 300 miles, non-stop. For the fun of it. One of them recently came first in a prestigious 100-mile race wearing nothing but a toga and sandals. He was 57 years old.

When it comes to preparation, the Tarahumara prefer more of a Mardi Gras approach. In terms of diet, lifestyle and training technique, they're a track coach's nightmare. They drink like New Year's Eve is a weekly event, tossing back enough corn-based beer and homemade tequila brewed from rattlesnake corpses to floor an army.

Unlike their Western counterparts, the Tarahumara don't replenish their bodies with electrolyte-rich sports drinks. They don't rebuild between workouts with protein bars; in fact, they barely eat any protein at all, living on little more than ground corn spiced up by their favourite delicacy, barbecued mouse.

How come they're not crippled?

www.dailymail.co.uk...
For those who say that the hunters gatherers of 150 years ago had hard lives, diseases and stuff like that. No they did not. Had none of the disease that appear because of our sedentary life style or our overcrowding, and our poisonous modern environment. There is poison everywhere around us. The paint on the wall, the dishwasher liquid, air on the street, the water, and so on.

Something from George Orwell:

"He must be cut off from the past. . . because it is necessary for him to believe that he is better off than his ancestors and that the average level of material comfort is constantly rising."
--George Orwell, 1984

[edit on 19-4-2009 by pai mei]

What?!?!

From someone that was a Cross Country star in high school and junior high, along with football, soccer, and an avid skater.

This goes against everything I was ever taught!

But hey for me I don't buy shoes to run better, (I've stopped that running thing, I just don't end up really going anywhere) I buy them because they look cool, gotta love america.

Running 300 miles nonstop for fun........ what is that like walking distance! I wish I could drink all night then wake up and run 300 miles! But everytime I drink all night I wake up stand up walk to the advil then go back to sleep....

reply to post by pai mei

For one thing, we eat way too much. And then we eat a lot of the wrong stuff.

In my youth, I was always on the move in a primitive environment. Weight was a critical factor, so I select very little food, and even then it was very lightweight food, supplementing my diet off of what I ran across.

After a year, I returned home and everyone was shocked at how thin I was, but to this day, I'd say that though I was as dried out and hard as leather, it had to be the healthiest time of my life.

Running without shoes, or with very little is depending on what you become accustomed to. For most people, walking across a chat gravel road would be an uncomfortable, slow endeavor.

For someone like me when I was in my teens and usually didn't wear shoes, it would be nothing. Your feet get tough. Fast.

The distance you mention would not surprise me either. In the very recent history, we either ran like hell, or we didn't live. We had to run to avoid predators, run down game, and a friend of mine who was a Yaqui, said there were members of his tribe that could run down men on horses.

Yeah. I believe it.

Wish I could do half of what they do.

But it would cut into my snacks, naps, and out-right laziness.

reply to post by pai mei


Ancient people were healthy people untill they got an infection that needed antibiotics or a flu that killed them.

Originally posted by pai mei

For those who say that the hunters gatherers of 150 years ago had hard lives, diseases and stuff like that. No they did not. Had none of the disease that appear because of our sedentary life style or our overcrowding, and our poisonous modern environment.

I think you might want to check again.

Few people lived to 60, most had lost at least one child to diphtheria, typhoid, flu (yes), pneumonia, cholera, black plague, etc, etc. There were a number of cancer deaths, as well as deaths from "dropsy" (heart failure) and "cholera" (heart attacks) and drug overdoses and so on and so forth. Many died of simple things such as infections (including gum infections) as well as syphilis and gonorrhea.

Originally posted by pai mei

.....they barely eat any protein at all, living on little more than ground corn spiced up by their favourite delicacy, barbecued mouse.

How come they're not crippled?

Well, they're not crippled because mice are a good source of protein, contrary to what your source might suggest.

www.dailymail.co.uk...
For those who say that the hunters gatherers of 150 years ago had hard lives, diseases and stuff like that. No they did not. Had none of the disease that appear because of our sedentary life style or our overcrowding, and our poisonous modern environment. There is poison everywhere around us. The paint on the wall, the dishwasher liquid, air on the street, the water, and so on.

I agree with Byrd here. It baffles me that you think our ancestors lived a joyous, easy-going life without troubles.

When examining "ancient people" and their diets, we see that the hunter's diet(paleolithic man) is far superior to the agriculturists diet(ancient Egyptians). The Ancient Egyptians were riddled with disease that we see prevalent in modern man.

The difference in comparing Ancient Egyptians and early man is vast. Anthropologists can rely on mummies to gather data; however, with early man, we are restricted to skeletal remains.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/54cda4275ed5.jpg[/atsimg]

Dr. Mike.......

The anthropological record of early man clearly shows health took a nosedive when populations made the switch from hunting and gathering to agriculture. It takes a physical anthropologist about two seconds to look at a skeleton unearthed from an archeological site to tell if the owner of that skeleton was a hunter-gatherer or an agriculturist.

We can learn a lot from our ancestors about what we should and should not eat. It is clear that nutrition plays the largest role in health and vitality.

-Dev

[edit on 2-5-2009 by DevolutionEvolvd]

Originally posted by Byrd

Originally posted by pai mei

For those who say that the hunters gatherers of 150 years ago had hard lives, diseases and stuff like that. No they did not. Had none of the disease that appear because of our sedentary life style or our overcrowding, and our poisonous modern environment.

I think you might want to check again.

Few people lived to 60, most had lost at least one child to diphtheria, typhoid, flu (yes), pneumonia, cholera, black plague, etc, etc. There were a number of cancer deaths, as well as deaths from "dropsy" (heart failure) and "cholera" (heart attacks) and drug overdoses and so on and so forth. Many died of simple things such as infections (including gum infections) as well as syphilis and gonorrhea.

All these diseases are from the modern times - when people were forced to live in bigger cities to be used as labor. People who lived in a country, living the lives of farmers would not even have a chance to come to any contact with most of such diseases. Natural immune system would take care of most infections. If any of these people suffered from these illnesses, it was when they were exposed to modern societies, going to markets, buying and trading etc. Big cities have always been made for the benefit of the ruling class, not for the health and prosperity of the ordinary plebs. Same today. We are all just corporate slaves.

Originally posted by greshnik
All these diseases are from the modern times - when people were forced to live in bigger cities to be used as labor. People who lived in a country, living the lives of farmers would not even have a chance to come to any contact with most of such diseases. Natural immune system would take care of most infections. If any of these people suffered from these illnesses, it was when they were exposed to modern societies, going to markets, buying and trading etc. Big cities have always been made for the benefit of the ruling class, not for the health and prosperity of the ordinary plebs. Same today. We are all just corporate slaves.

And you are a slave to propoganda. The immune system would take care of most infections if properly fed. You are not taking into consideration the fact that nutrition plays the biggest role of all.

You can't come into a thread and post information that is unsubstanciated. No source, no logic.....no consideration...

-Dev

[edit on 2-5-2009 by DevolutionEvolvd]

Originally posted by greshnik
All these diseases are from the modern times - when people were forced to live in bigger cities to be used as labor.

Most of those go back to Roman times and earlier.

People who lived in a country, living the lives of farmers would not even have a chance to come to any contact with most of such diseases. Natural immune system would take care of most infections.

Actually, they're at the greatest risk from diseases and germs that cross over species... such as anthrax (believed to be the "6th Biblical plague" and mentioned in Homer and earlier writers.)

When drought comes, they often starve and die (see recent news story of thousands of farmers in India committing suicide because there was no food.)
infochangeindia.org...

Hunting and gathering populations didn't live long, either. In addition to animal attacks and harsh weather, the risks of life that we take easily (infections, bad teeth, injuries) took the toll on many people.

A very few live a very long time, but for the average population, life ended at 40.