In this day and age where technological advancement has a panacea for any and every ailment, people have a myriad options for treatment. However, this technology is sometimes its own worst enemy. The irony is that we use modern medicine to treat certain diseases created and perpetuated by modern lifestyles.

Recently, scientists have been broadening their horizons and researching the link between gluten and depression.  Many articles have been written lately identifying depression as a result of food allergy. Not your every day hive or rash, but just the same, your body’s resistance to it creates a chain of adverse affects that are often mistreated by doctors today.   I purposefully chose to cite an article from someone not in the CrossFit community to show that the rest of the scientific world is getting on the same page at last.   The article says:

Humans have spent millions of years being naturally selected, in part, on the basis of a diet that included vegetables, seeds, fruit, insects, and subsequently, meat. Yet, at most, we have had only 12,000 years to adapt to consumption of significant quantities of problematic cereal grains.

It is of more than passing interest that many of the foods which seem to be implicated in depression are also foods which Humanity has had only a relatively short time, on the evolutionary calendar, to adapt to.  And we have been consuming more and more of these new foods during this century. Such dietary habits may well have been paving the way for Prozac.

The causes of depression may vary as much as our individuality, yet we often fail to consider our eating habits as possible culprits. With each passing year’s increased understanding of the biological complexities of the human animal, more data suggesting dietary factors are unveiled.

Sound familiar?  Our Paleo sources have been telling us the exact same thing, but we often times only connect the adverse affects of gluten with WOD results and strength gains.  The number of people on medication for chemical imbalances nowadays have increased exponentially and doctors are quick to prescribe an antidote instead of questioning the possible causes of the imbalance.   While I am not saying that gluten is the only cause of depression, I would like to see people diagnosed with it to try a gluten-free diet for a couple of months instead of medicating themselves.

Hopefully one day technology will lead us to the bottom of this, but until then, why not try a little caveman medicine? It’s pretty tasty doesn’t come with fine print side effects!

WOD 01.05.10

Front Squat 3×5
3 rds
10 Hang Power Snatches
50 Dubs