Biology vs Society
It’s becoming apparent that many of our society norms or the ‘mores’ that we come to accept as normal might not add up to what our bodies are built to think is normal.
How strange it would be if animals had to go to gyms to get exercise the way we have to.
In modern western societies the availability and amount of food we’ve come to accept as normal is actually causing a health crisis. Obesity, diabetes, CVD and the various inflammatory disorders that are on the rise can all be strongly linked to simply eating too much and not exercising enough.
The issue is not that your body has anything inherently wrong with it (as most diet and fitness marketers would have you believe…see ‘broken metabolism’ marketing for an example).
The real issue is that we’ve become accustomed to eating massive portion sizes and performing no activity in our daily routine. We’re built to move, and we’re built to eat food when it’s around but last through stretches of time when food is scarce, but the reverse is now true…food is never scarce, and we never move.
Another societal norm we accept is the legal classification of various drugs.
It’s ok for women to take estrogen but it’s taboo for men to take testosterone.
It’s legal to get rip roaring drunk on alcohol until you’ve got liver cirrhosis but cocaine is taboo.
It’s legal to smoke cigarettes until you’ve got terminal lung cancer, but it’s taboo to smoke weed.
In some countries anabolic steroids are over the counter items you can purchase and self administer, in other countries it requires a perscription.
It’s legal to get laproscopic band surgery or liposuction to help reduce bodyfat, but it is frowned upon to take various stimulant drugs such as clenbuterol, HGH or other agents that help reduce bodyfat.
In the end your body is a machine that will eventually break down and slowly lose function as you age. Fighting this reducing function should be one of your primary concerns throughout your life, and any intervention (legal or not) should be your right to use if it will improve the quality of your life.
The research and information available on the health benefits and effects of drugs, supplements, and various food items will also be larger and greater than any governing body could ever hope to understand or regulate, this means it’s up to you to take an active role in your own health as much as possible, because nobody else is going to do it for you.
John
8 Responses to “Biology vs Society”
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April 4th, 2011 at 7:06 pm
John,
Do you think our current methods of “physique” enhancement (legal or not) and the results that come from these gradually shift our view of what we find sexually attractive (male or female)?
For example, I’m realizing that breast augmentation among women is more common than previously thought . . .
April 4th, 2011 at 7:08 pm
[...] broken by small meals and the more rarified feast. Barban actually posted all about that today, here (he goes off on a ridiculous tangent suggesting that we should be allowed to use testosterone [...]
April 4th, 2011 at 7:50 pm
Jas,
I think most physique augmentation/enhancement isn’t to look abnormal but rather look exceptional.
We all know a genetic freak who just has a lot more muscle than most of us, and most guys who take drugs dont’ want to be as big as ronnie colemen, but rather they want to look like hugh jackman or a more attainable body.
Likewise with breast implants, the point isn’t to have “FF” boobs, but for a girl with a-cups to have a c-cup (which is totally normal for many women)
We’re not all created equal, some girls just have all the curves in just the right place, and some girls don’t…those girls that don’t can workout and do everything right and still not quite look like the genetically lucky…so they get some enhancements to make up for their genetic short coming.
Same with guys who just don’t have much muscle, or tend to gain fat easily…they’re trying to jump the proverbial bell curve from the bottom end to the top end, but not all the way off the curve into superhuman range.
I guess I’m trying to say that it’s allowing more people to break away from ‘average’ and look ‘exceptional’ but still within the realm of what is genetically possible.
April 4th, 2011 at 9:13 pm
Thanks John–that’s what I’m seeing. A lot of what’s being achieved in the “attainable” realm is still done (by many) using artificial means. Then again, what the heck is “natural” these days . . .
April 4th, 2011 at 11:59 pm
Jas,
It’s definitely a blurry line. Some supplements start off as legit and become re-categorized as illegal, and in many cases spend years in the grey market (not quite illegal, but not necessarily legal for sale for what people are buying it for…)
Everyone is trying to get a leg up one way or another.
April 8th, 2011 at 11:22 am
John do you think that drugs like steroids will become legal in the future? Not that I would buy them, but I think that there is no reason for them to be banned, what do you think?
April 8th, 2011 at 12:25 pm
VG,
Steroids are legal to possess if you have a prescription for them, but can’t have them in an amount that is deemed to be for distribution purposes.
I think that it is already becoming much more common for physicians to prescribe testosterone to men 40-50 yrs old and up as a hormone replacement therapy for vitaliy, mood, depression, vigor and quality of life. My guess is this will become more and more common (just like women get hormone replacement therapy as they age, I think it’s going to be just as common for men)
May 9th, 2011 at 9:30 am
John
Just watched a video posted through YouTube that Mike Westerdal had on his Facebook where you talked about Creatine. Had some additional questions about this. I had been taking a product called PowerFuel that contains Kre-Alkalyn. I have been told that this is the purest form of creatine and breaksdown easier in the body. You talk about using monohydrate. Should I continue to use the Kre-Alk or go back to monohydrate. Also, I take a GNC product called Refine (thermogenic). I usually take one or the other and always pre-workout.
I currently workout using the Lean Hybrid Muscel Reloaded program. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.
Sean Davis
Kyle TX