While cancer and other health issues are on the rise in America, one group of Americans have escaped this statistic. According to a recent study published in the Journal “Cancer Causes and Control” the Amish people have virtually no cancer within their population. Researchers from Ohio State studied the Amish to see if their cancer rates were due to lack of conventional medical care. What they found surprised them. The Amish, who live in rural farming communities, have the same lifestyle as their ancestors did hundreds of years ago. By escaping mainstream American diets and culture, the Amish are not only free of cancer but they rarely get sick. Their case study proves that ancestral living is the best preventative medicine.
The researchers discovered that the following five principles are the secrets behind the health and vitality of the Amish people.
The Amish don’t get vaccinated.
Vaccinations are a controversial topic in public health. Some people believe there’s a link to causing autism and learning disabilities in kids. Autism and learning disabilities rarely exist in the Amish population. Despite constant pressure from the U.S. government, the Amish still refuse to vaccinate their children. And for a good reason. There have only been 3 cases of autism among the Amish, in which those children got vaccinated.
The Amish are physically active.
Obesity rates are extremely low among the Amish, with a 3 percent obesity rate compared to 31 percent of Americans. The Amish don’t go to the gym, they just move a lot. Because the Amish don’t drive cars, men average 18,000 steps a day (about 8 miles) and women average 14,000. Most Americans struggle with getting in 10,000 steps a day. The Amish also do lots of physical labor and have extremely low rates of cardiovascular disease.
The Amish eat organic, locally grown food.
The Amish are a farming community and grow most of their own food using organic farming methods. They also raise their own animals without the use of hormones or antibiotics. They eat seasonally and ferment the extra food from their harvest. They avoid the health consequences of eating genetically modified, pesticide-laden or processed foods that most Americans eat. Because they eat as nature intended, virtually no food allergies or autoimmune issues, like asthma, exist in the Amish population.
The Amish eat plenty of healthy fats.
The Amish are the perfect example of the fact that eating dietary fat doesn’t make you fat. They eat plenty of butter, eggs, meat and raw, grass fed dairy. Because of this their diet contains lots of fat-soluble vitamins like A, E and K2. Perhaps due to the trend of low fat diets, there is a deficiency of vitamin K among the general population. Vitamin K helps metabolize calcium and its deficiency has been linked to heart disease, osteoporosis and cancer.
The Amish live stress-free lives.
This is probably the hardest principle to adapt in our fast-paced modern society. Stress is one of the biggest causes of disease. The chronic stress that most people experience cause problems like adrenal fatigue, cardiovascular decline, hormonal imbalances, unstable blood sugar, elevated cholesterol and obesity. The Amish don’t have hectic schedules, the distraction of technology or a culture of “getting ahead”. They live a slow-paced life surrounded by strong family connections and community. They don’t need to meditate to manage their stress, they simply avoid stress by living simple lives.
You don’t have to be Amish to take a more traditional approach to diet and lifestyle. The Paleo movement is a growing trend that emphasizes eating and living like our healthier ancestors did. The focus is on eating whole, unprocessed, nutrient-dense foods that are home cooked and free of empty and hard to digest carbs.
Whatever eating plan you choose, avoiding the standard American diet, with it’s sugar-laden convenience foods is always a good bet.
The 21-Day Body Makeover will teach you how to follow a more traditional, whole-food dietary plan with a simple approach. It will teach you to implement the lifestyle tweaks that support a healthy body and detox the past transgressions of processed, unhealthy foods. The foundations of diet, movement and stress reduction is easier than you think with our three-week program.
