Brain in conflict
Humans evolved to survive and reproduce. Beyond that, our contribution from an evolutionary perspective isn’t really clear. Yet, we generally want to thrive well into old age.
Uber-simplistically speaking, the older part of our brains evolved to support our instincts while the newer part power the cognitive abilities we use manage our animal instincts and a few other things. Three brains in total, not always in agreement.
In the book The Pleasure Trap the authors discuss how humans evolved with a survival-focused motivational triad of pursuit of pleasure, avoidance of pain, and conservation of energy, which nowadays create conflict and often sabotage our efforts towards a healthier lifestyle. No wonder we want instant gratification delivered to the couch. Exercise? No, thanks.
Another step down that path we find sugar and fat hardwired into our systems as dense sources of calories critical for survival. Apparently antioxidants and phytonutrients didn’t quite make the cut when starvation was the bar to beat.
It makes sense to me that where starvation became less of an issue the pursuit of pleasure took priority. Fast forward, the most common life-threatening diseases are lifestyle related, also called diseases of kings, as until recent history only the wealthy had access to the food that cause them. Meet the Standard American Diet, warm and ready right now at the neighborhood fast-food joint for $1.99. A high-end version also available nearby, no crown required.
By contrast, Blue Zones where people do thrive into old age, are mostly simple and off the beaten path communities. No royalty privileges. A fair bit of manual labor instead, and a whole food diet.
Processed and concentrated foods lead the brain to conclude we’ve won the survival lottery and found a hyper-dense source of calories, in turn rewarding us with an explosive quantity of pleasure substances. Move over berry bush, this ice cream tree is my new friend.
It’s no surprise we get desensitized to the pleasure delivered by natural foods. In my experience however, after only a few weeks of a whole food plant based diet our taste buds and pleasure response changes to the point of being able to taste the nuances of fresh raw natural foods. The human body is truly remarkable.
By the same triad measure, running might just be at the bottom of the list. Yet, like phytonutrients, very helpful for humans interested in thriving beyond their prime reproductive age. The new brain strikes back.
Running only seems to make sense from an evolutionary perspective when running from a tiger or hunting to consume the calorie dense meats of animals. That said, it’s interesting that running delivers a number of feel good reactions to body and mind even when not followed by barbecue. Maybe it’s the evolutionary equivalent to “good job, try again. In the meantime keep eating foraged plants.”
Our animal selves feel good within the motivational triad along with the Kings while the peasant runner seems to have a better shot at a longer and healthier life. There seems to be a happy medium to be found in there somewhere. Time for those three brains to agree on something.
