INVOLUTION
“Mother Nature can be a bitch”
We are all shaped by natural selection for breeding. Nature programs the life of all organisms, including human beings, to last through the reproductive period, and when the organism is no longer capable of reproducing itself, nature is through with it. Bodily functions begin to decline in a process of regression called involution.
Most mammals like us are designed to live until their offspring can reproduce. Indeed, after age 30 our bodies show a subtle but steady decline in all organ systems.
Since nature has no further plans for us once our children have children, why are we surprised that our bodily functions slowly begin to fail? Involution is woven into the fabric of our bodies. Our weak eyes, gray hair, stiff joints, failing hearts and other deteriorating functions are simply part of nature's grand scheme to eliminate us. Out with the old, in with the young!
In nature, this bodily deterioration inevitably leads to death. Our Stone Age ancestors with gray hair were seen as vulnerable by their enemies. Their blurred eyes couldn't see predators; their deaf ears couldn't hear danger. Stiff joints and weak hearts failed to carry them from harm. Lost teeth and diminished digestive enzymes produced malnutrition. Accidents and injuries took their toll as well. In this way, elders moved aside for their offspring. It's nature's way.
That's the bad news. In the thousands of years from the Stone Age until 1900, the average human life span barely doubled, from around age 20 to about age 40.
The good news is that, as a result of sanitation, public health measures, and advances in nutrition and medicine, the average life span doubled again in just the next century. By the year 2000, the average US life expectancy was well over 80. In addition to living longer, we have vastly improved the quality of life for those of us fortunate to live in privileged societies. So to a certain extent, we have managed to "fool Mother Nature" by prolonging our lives beyond their expected “shelf life.”
But all the scientific advances in the world have not changed the fact that our bodies are programmed to begin unraveling after our thirties or forties. Time takes its toll. How you deal with these inevitable changes can make all the difference in a healthy, active, optimistic experience for yourself and those around you.
Most of the aging changes we describe are caused by slowing of the circulation in your small blood vessels. Three things which reduce small vessel circulation are within your control: clogging (by fats); spasm (by nicotine and stress) and narrowing (from high blood pressure and lack of exercise).
You can’t turn back the clock, but a nutrient-rich, low fat diet, along with smoking cessation and an activity program can do wonders for slowing down your aging process. Your body will rust out from inactivity long before it ever wears out from vigorous activity.
In these pages, we hope to help understand your own involution and face it with curiosity and humor. We want you to "hang in there" with good cheer in spite of it all, having as much fun as possible until you inevitably fall apart. Preventive maintenance will keep your car running a lot farther, and this same attention will help your body function well a lot longer, too. But nothing is forever. It's nature's way.
