Drawing inspiration from our ancestral lifestyles.

 The book “Life’s 2 Short” mentions our fictional ancestral hero, Urka. Although physically developed as a strong man in his thirties, he couldn’t converse in any language except for some grunts, subtle hand movements and other gestures, which the members of his clan could follow and understand.

Today we made a transcript of a short discussion, many thousands of years ago, in front of their cave in the bitter-cold area of modern-day north-eastern Finland. It went something like this:

“Grunt, grunt, two hand gestures, grunt, three nasal sounds, hand movement, grunt.”

We translated as follows:

“This feast of mammoth meat filled everybody for many days.”

The rest of the story unfolded as Urka continued his ‘talk’.

“We haven’t had proper meat for ten rising suns. Everybody was starving and if it wasn’t for the roots of the ferns we found (Polypody), it would have been hard on you all. Then Rigbu found the trail of the mammoths and followed it to the plains of the horses, where we managed to kill three and only lost one man, Gailu. I am sorry for the members of his hearth.”

He adjusted the straps holding his chamois skin cover to create space for his full belly, and continued:

“All the spare meat must be salted and stored in our food cave under the ground, and covered with blocks of ice. [Digging into permafrost provided early people with conditions similar to our refrigerators.] If no Bison comes this way soon, we will need today’s leftover meat to feed ourselves. If the gods smile at us, Broud’s party might return in one moon with whale meat or Salmon from the north. That should keep us through the coming winter. If you do find some of those blueberries, pick enough for your hearth, but also for the rest of the clan. If you feel tired, ask our medicine woman for some of those dried purple flowers we were given at our last gathering of the western clans, it will make you fight the winter sickness. This winter will be long and hard. Thank you, my brave hunters!”

What did Urka tell us?

• They thrived on meat, fish, and fat.
• They ate little to no carbohydrates.
• They didn’t eat three or more meals a day, in fact, they ate very intermittently.
• During hard times they knew what to forage from their area:
• Blueberries are one of the best natural sources of vitamins and antioxidants.
• Echinacea (from Canada) boosted their immune system during the harsh winters.
• They had to walk or run vast distances to collect food.
• They had to carry heavy loads of meat when they had a good hunt.

What does this teach us?

• Your body can survive with very little if any, carbohydrates.
• Nutrient-dense foods from animal products are key to survival:
• Proteins and fat.
• Eat only when hungry and when food is available.
• Be prepared to go through periods of fasting, your body will provide its own energy from stored fat and via autophagy.
• Eat whole foods.
• Get exercise.
• Lift heavy things.

If we could follow Urka’s way of living, there would be no metabolic dysfunction. Obesity, diabetes and hypertension would be extremely rare.

BE LIKE URKA!