Nutrition and spinal degeneration
What is the known, and theoretical, connection, and causation between your nutritional status and your spinal degeneration? The answer is probably the same as for your body as a whole. Your body is in constant equilibrium between degeneration and regeneration. Generally, even in the best of circumstances, your body is going to wear out, i.e. degenerate. But your environmental influence in nutrition is highly determinative in both your quality and quantity of life. One estimate of the number of cells your body has, is 37 trillion. In each cell, there are probably millions or billions of chemical reactions occuring each second. These chemical reactions are automatic and incomprehensibly intelligent. We almost don’t deserve to be the beneficiaries of all this unappreciated complexity. And, unfortunately, we generally have no real appreciation for all of this work, upon which our lives depend.
These chemical reactions, in the quadrillions per second, require our consumption of a certain amount of macronutients, i.e. proteins, fats and carbohydrates, as well as more than 40 co-factors, i.e. vitamins and minerals. And there are even other chemicals that are beneficial which we don’t necessarily require.
The variety of required nutrients come from our foods, and foods are considered nutrient-dense or nutrient-poor depending upon the concentration of these nutrients, per calorie of food. Foods like shellfish, organ meats, meats, eggs, dairy, vegetables and berries are nutrient-dense. Foods like sugary fruits and processed foods are considered nutrient-poor.
Your body needs nutrient-dense foods
, or it will degrade in every conceivable way, and in ways you never think about. When your body is degenerating for the first 40 or 50 years, you are not going to feel it. But it is happening, and when you reach your 50’s or 60’s you will begin to feel it. And if you don’t take an interest in feeding your body what it needs, you will be punished by this reality. You can eat for taste, but only if you can figure out how to make nutrient-dense foods taste great. If you rely on nutrient-poor foods for your sustenance, you are doomed. So eat the foods above, take supplements to include enough vitamins and minerals, and get sunshine and sleep. And don’t fall for the fads of the last 200 years, like sugar, processed flour, processed foods, veganism, etc. Eat like humans used to eat, with basic, real foods, and take some simple supplements as insurance.
