Why Earthy30? Where did the idea come from?
I first took an interest in gut health after my dad had some issues with his health. Around age 60, he was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition and after a period of time got described some quite hefty medication.
In earlier years, this medication may not have raised eyebrows, but at this time my mother had died of leukaemia, in part caused by the effects of the medication on her blood.
Now, this isn’t a hate blog on that medication - in fact the medication it helped my mother live a better life. However, when my father was prescribed the same medication, he decided to take a different path: Diet.
Going Paleo
After a bit of asking around, he decided to adopt the paleo methodology of eating. The Paleo Diet (or Caveman) essentially restricts you to fruits, vegetables, meats and other plant-based foods with several exceptions including inflammatory grains and legumes.
The change was remarkable. In under 12 months, he was over to lose weight and reduce all the signs of inflammation associated with his ill health.
Now he sticks to the Paleo Diet 9 out of every 10 meals and enjoys just the kind of life that a 70-year-old should.
Like most humans, he cheats every now and again, with bread, a pastry or a pork pie. The remarkable thing is that he can feel the difference. On the days that he feels inflamed, he can feel a resistance when closing his hand into a fist. These days normally come after a cheat meal of some kind.
Just eating Paleo, or losing weight and not drinking?
Everywhere you go in life, you’ll find naysayers and unbelievers. A polite naysayer in this context might say, “Well, was it the paleo diet, or was it simply losing weight and not drinking alcohol.”
I think this point of view is hard to argue with—some will say, “Absolutely it was the restrictions of inflammatory foods in the palo diet that did it.”
Others will won’t agree. It’s easy to make the case that losing weight by eating real (non-processed foods) and reducing sugar consumption by lessening alcohol can is good for you, especially if you are overweight to start with. And guess what, alcohol sterilises things, including the ‘friendly’ microbes in your gut, so lessening alcohol intake is a good idea.
Real food diets work
Naysayer or not, for me, this was evidence that your diet can have an impact on your health. You might be able to poke holes in the Paleo Diet, but it’s harder to say that sticking to eating clean veg, some fruit and organic meats are bad for you.
In the words of Micheal Pollen,
Eat food,
Not too much,
Mainly plants.
Some years later I went to the doctor asking for a blood test and got recommended to see a specialist. Yikes, why? Some markers of my blood inflammation were higher than they should have been, and because of my family history, they were worth looking into in more detail.
The specialist turned out to be a rheumatoid arthritis specialist—the same disease that plagued my mum for the last years of her life.
At age 40 this was when I decided I need to take more care about what I was eating and what I put into my body.
And hence, the idea for Earthy30 was born: I wanted to be in the driving seat as much as possible for my future destiny.
Need extra motivation? Make it a challenge!
As someone who believes the diet and lifestyle can help shape your future, I spend a lot of time consuming content to that end. If you listen to Rich Roll (alcoholic turn vegan ultra athlete) and his guests you’ll hear about vegan diets and how some centenarians swear by plant-based living. If you listen to Peter Attia MD (cancer surgeon turn longevity Dr) you’ll hear about how aerobic fitness has a greater bearing on longevity than any supplement. If you listen to Prof. Andrew Huberman (neuroscientist) you’ll deepen your understanding of how morning sunlight sets your body clock and helps you get a good night’s sleep. If you listen to James Clear (habit expert) you’ll understand how to ‘get things right’ more often.
These are tenants wrapped into the Earthy30 Challenge:
Eat as healthily as possible, indexing towards real foods over processed ones
Exercise, aerobically and for strength to maintain work capacity and muscle mass as you age
Sleep well, by getting sun, by being careful with caffeine and trying not to go to bed on a full stomach
Hold yourself accountable by scoring yourself and making it challenge
Get started with Earthy30
If this way of thinking stacks up for you, join the challenge. Download the scorecard below and start by challenging yourself to eat 30-different plant-based foods a week. As the challenge progresses, layer in sunlight and exercise.
Join us on your path to better health!
If you enjoyed this article, please go ahead and share it.
