Traditional Versus Modern

This is a topic that always stirs up a debate wherever it goes. The traditionalists always sneer at the modernists and vice-versa. The story goes the same when it comes to health and fitness

The diets and exercise programs that we follow in present times have their roots in the traditional. But the divide has never been so apparent. Swords have been drawn,with both sides ready to go to war at the drop of a hat.

Why is this so? Are we in a warlike situation?Yes we are. The  booming and ever growing world of health and fitness has became a war which each side wants to win and proclaim as their own.

You may ask but health is not a country, fitness in not running for elections, then why this contest!

The answer to this lies in our perception and understanding of health.We the people are subconsciously fueling this battle.

Traditional forms of health/nutrition/exercise till the 1940’s were recognized and accepted world over as a means of staying fit and healthy.There was no categorization/labeling about these subjects People exercised based on the  ancient knowledge that was passed on down the generations.Exercise was a simple but integral part of our lives.

It was something that was practiced during the course of the day.Since cars.computers,mobiles didn’t exist then we walked more,the daily chores in the households were all done manually.The concept of hitting a gym to get fit was non-existent,children played sports for recreation.Fast food was a small part of our lives.Stress which always existed was dealt with in very practical and mundane ways.There was no glory or labels attached to being fit.The only way to quench one’s thirst for knowledge was through books.Society and the fiber that held it together was in complete harmony  with the progress in science and industrialization.

After the end of the second world war the world saw a dramatic shift in the power pendulum.Russia and the United states emerged as the 2 superpowers in the world,every other country worth it’s salt started getting independent.These new countries fresh from their joy of independence were sucked into taking sides and the world was broadly divided into 2 parts/zones. This  meant everything that started in the name of advancement and development  became a sparring contest between these sides.

The impact of this on health and nutrition was colossal, the start of the creation of the lifestyle diseases that we call them today. Food production, the science of food technology, dairy farming, meat production and consumption, genetically modified vegetables, the birth of the super vitamin pills all this and more became a contest among equals.

The Olympics and every sport contest became a vulgar display of countries from either side try to impose their superiority of their athletes and in turn their advanced methods of nutrition and health sciences. Conspiracy theories about Russia and its allies training children from the age of 3 in secret facilities for athletic supremacy spread like wild fire. 

The western allies (America and Co) to counter it took the capitalist route of dominating world sports federations and trying to blanket out the Eastern bloc from sporting event wherever they could. 

 The media lapped this up and constantly bombarded the average population with stories about either side’s methods and techniques. These techniques were all related to health and nutrition. The average man who till then was unaware of words like calories, metabolism ,body mass index etc was blown away with this information overload. Their average brains who never thought for a minute earlier about things as such, now started assimilating and paying attention to this.

Then followed the onslaught of packaged and processed food. This was marketed in a fashion to make the working man and woman independent of their daily chores of cooking ,thus giving freedom  for other pursuits. Eating and hanging at a fast food joint, dining out, working out at the community gym all became fashionable and cool.

Supermarkets sprung up everywhere. Shopping became the new mantra for recreation. With all this available to them, man started becoming lazy. This rapid development was designed to make man lazy so he/she would spend more time consuming these products. People started driving to places they would traditionally walk, eating at home which was a simple but lovely ritual of nourishment and bonding between families was now replaced with packaged food being served at dining tables.

Household appliances such as refrigerators   microwaves, dishwashers, washing machines were the one stop solution to life’s needs.

The humble man earlier would toil at work, cherish his time at home, now wanted it to double up as a den for his lazy debauchery.

This debauchery grew by leaps and bounds. By the 1990’s obesity was already  an epidemic. Diabetes, heart attacks, asthma, acidity etc started their rampant march on our lives.

Governments unable to control these epidemics started counter programs through various associations/charities to advocate a healthier way of life. But it was too late. 

Health care became a national issue which was great to discuss when campaigning for office, but quickly forgotten when in power. This is cause the multibillion dollar processed/packaged food industry is powerful ,well organized and a religion by itself. Its followers are so sucked in by all the glam and glitz surrounding its existence. 

No country or organization can shake the very roots of this industry. The reasons are very simple. This industry fuels off our modern fascination for everything being available on our fingertips.

Till we are lazy and will want to live unhealthy these companies will exist.

The fault lies within us, not with these products. The fault lies in our laziness and inertia towards being healthy. The fault lies within our social/moral fibre of not wanting to enjoy a healthy and fruitful life. Capitalism and materialism is not the evil we make and blame for all our health woes. 

The evil is the lazy modern empty mind which has been deprived of its basic nourishment. The nourishment and thirst for a deeper understanding of better health, our  relation to healthy  food that we cook, the exercise that we do which teaches us humility and oneness with self and the world around.

The silly debate of whether traditional is better than modern is nothing but a lack of common sense. What is modern today will be looked at traditional tomorrow.

Take a walk, play a sport, go for a swim, cook a healthy meal.

Do everything that improves and enhances health.

There’s   an old proverb  “Health is wealth”

Strive to earn and enrich this wealth for a better you and a better world around.

Get Healthy. Get Fit.