04.01 – Natural Hygiene as a New Concept of Healthful Living – Part 1

Natural Hygiene is the study, description, and teaching of the healthy conditions and healthy practices best suited to human life.

In pristine nature very early humans lived nomadic lives in tropical forests based mostly on instincts. They lived as gatherers of fruits, berries, nuts, leaves, shoots, flowers, and roots from vine, stalk, and tree.

With the incredibly rapid growth of the human brain, in both size and complexity, sprang a very advanced intellect, creative imagination, free will choice, and a spiritual sense of self. Humans became ever more versatile in dealing with the forces of nature. Their incredibly rich diet, flush with an incredible variety of organic hormone-like compounds and a wealth of macro and micronutrients, served to jump-start rapid growth, complexity, and optimization of their brain, nervous system, endocrine system, digestive system, immune system, and so on.

But at some point, most likely between 200,000 to 10,000 years ago, their abundant tropical rainforest home began to dry out and fragment, perhaps due to natural climate changes. Gradually the tropical forests were no longer capable of providing adequate year-round sustenance. These very advanced, very large-brained primates, gradually over time, were confronted with a very difficult choice: to leave their original nurturing home.

Confined to small patches of the remaining rainforests, they were forced to venture in the much drier and inhospitable savannas. This new and unforgiving climate and environment was far more harsh, threatening, and challenging. Their extremely large brain was likely the only reason early humanity was able to improvise and survive.

Living on the harsh savanna, the new and intense survival challenges spurred early humans on to create tools and learn to control fire. While these accomplishments did improve chances of basic survival, they eventually led to wholesale separation and alienation from their original natural habitat, natural lifestyle, and natural diet. Indeed, this alienation from our natural heritage led to a progressive degeneration and devolution of body and brain: a shrinking of brain size, less brain complexity, and a narrowed scope of perception… with some selected abilities amplified and honed, while others atrophied and essentially became dormant.

Further, it appears likely that body strength, musculature, and agility decreased significantly, along with dramatic negative changes in digestive strength, microbiome robustness, and decreased defensive system (immune system) strength and power.