About Tarahumara way of life

[goldisheavy]

http://www.menshealth.com/men/fitness/moti...M10000013281eac

 

 

I think it's safe to skip to page 2 and start there, but I am linking to page 1 for completeness.

[NeiChuan]

Tarahumara are awesome.. I think I may have mentioned them awhiile back.. Anyway inspirational runners.

[goldisheavy]

Tarahumara are awesome.. I think I may have mentioned them awhiile back.. Anyway inspirational runners.

 

Yea, but there were many other interesting tidbits mentioned about them and not just their running technique and the fact that cushioned shoes are bad. Personally I knew both of those facts about running before I learned about Tarahumara from http://www.posetech.com/.

 

I found it interesting to read about their lifestyle, their like of alcohol and their simple food (which would be considered crappy by our modern standards). I also found it interesting how they like to live far away from each other.

[Mark Foote]

http://www.menshealth.com/men/fitness/moti...M10000013281eac

 

 

I think it's safe to skip to page 2 and start there, but I am linking to page 1 for completeness.

 

Thanks, that was interesting. Need a recipe for that corn mash!

[NeiChuan]

Yea, but there were many other interesting tidbits mentioned about them and not just their running technique and the fact that cushioned shoes are bad. Personally I knew both of those facts about running before I learned about Tarahumara from http://www.posetech.com/.

 

I found it interesting to read about their lifestyle, their like of alcohol and their simple food (which would be considered crappy by our modern standards). I also found it interesting how they like to live far away from each other.

 

I want a pair of those sandals lol. In the daily show interview with the author of the book gave out a reasonable amount of info.. I think in the overview on it they mentioned breath exercises.

 

In all very interesting people.

[Taomeow]

Here's how Ukrainian tribesmen do it:

 

http://www.youtube.c...feature=related

[TheSongsofDistantEarth]

Here's how Ukrainian tribesmen do it:

 

http://www.youtube.c...feature=related

That's a young man's game... I'll bet none of them will be able to do that when they're 60...whereas the Tarahumara...

[mantis]

I think what is most interesting is their poor diet, it does not seem to limit them in any way.

[NeiChuan]

That's a young man's game... I'll bet none of them will be able to do that when they're 60...whereas the Tarahumara...

 

Well said.

[Taomeow]

That's a young man's game... I'll bet none of them will be able to do that when they're 60...whereas the Tarahumara...

 

How about 80?

 

[Taoist81]

That's a young man's game... I'll bet none of them will be able to do that when they're 60...whereas the Tarahumara...

 

One of the (volunteer) instructors at a Parkour workshop here in Houston on Saturday told us about how he has instructed people from 2 to 50. The whole basis of Parkour is learning to move "efficiently" with YOUR body. And, safety is prime (landing safely without impact on the knees is one of the first things you learn). So, you end up doing less damage to your body than most other "sports".

[mantis]

How about 80?

 

 

While impressive, I doubt she could run a utlramarathon, whereas that would be no big deal for a Tarahumara.

[Taomeow]

While impressive, I doubt she could run a utlramarathon, whereas that would be no big deal for a Tarahumara.

 

Yup -- as Taoist81 said, it's about the proper use of YOUR body, not some "generic" body. Taoist masters, generally, don't run marathons either (although there's several esoteric techniques that make it a piece of cake -- one is taught by Max, another by WLP). They are just not that into that. A marathon runner, on the other hand, has never kicked anyone's ass, to my knowledge. To each their own.

 

When "western" people start thinking about what makes Tarahumara or this or that athlete superhealthy, they look at the diet and lifestyle and unconsciously edit out what they don't think of as part of a healthy lifestyle while failing to phase in what is there that they don't have and can't have that is part of a healthy lifestyle. So they start eating vegan, e.g., ignoring the get-drunk-every-three-days and smoke part of the lifestyle, thinking that Tarahumara are superhealthy "despite of" doing these things, not thinking "because of" -- but "despite" or "because" is in the eye of the beholder, the simple fact remains that they actually do these things as part of their lifestyle. (Been reading Genghis Khan's biography and discovered that his warriors, another superhealthy breed of humans, didn't believe in being sober at all -- ever -- a real man was supposed to be always drunk, at all times. No impact on motor control in their case, they were legendary riders who never fell off their horses.)

 

What is not looked at in these cases is usually the water these people drink -- the mountain water Tarahumara have access to can be 40,000 times more "energized" than our tap or bottled water, e.g.. People in the Caucasus Mountains who are also famous for their combo of longevity and agility in old age assert that it's because of the water... no one listens. Another factor is community. A sense of belonging, a sense of being part of your tribe, no alienation (the biggest health-busting factor in the civilized folks, unnoticed by "science" and relentlessly destructive to, yes, the body, not just the spirit -- there's no spirit unaffected by what the body is going through, and vice versa.) So a book on the Okinawan diet (Okinawans are the longest-lived and healthiest among "civilized" people) mentions in passing that they maintain lifelong friendships, strong family ties, ancestor veneration and the like, but fails to acknowledge that these factors may weigh in as more significant than what they eat or don't eat.

 

To be superhealthy, one needs one simple thing: to be fully human. THIS part is not available from dietary sources alone.

 

The old woman in the video I posted looks cheerful, spunky, spirited and spontaneous like few teenagers I meet in sunny California on a daily basis. I wonder why.

[mantis]

Very interesting post as usual, Taomeow. Could you elaborate more on the whole "drinking and smoking" might be good for you? I remember you posted that I believe a dentist? told you that smoking in moderation was good for you although I am not sure about the liquor.

 

This is the second time you mention Genghis Khan, could you tell me the name of the book? It sounds very interesting, I'd like to buy it.

[Taomeow]

Very interesting post as usual, Taomeow. Could you elaborate more on the whole "drinking and smoking" might be good for you? I remember you posted that I believe a dentist? told you that smoking in moderation was good for you although I am not sure about the liquor.

 

This is the second time you mention Genghis Khan, could you tell me the name of the book? It sounds very interesting, I'd like to buy it.

Not "good for you" but very different from what we all know from a few decades of nothing but anti- propaganda. For a more historically and scientifically accurate picture, check out "Tobacco: The Story of How Tobacco Seduced the World," by Iain Gately.

Oh, and it wasn't a dentist who told me, giving the info secretly, whispering it in my ear as a present at a party celebrating my 16th birthday, it was a prominent neurosurgeon, my parents' friend. (Who is still working full time today, at age 80, although he had to become a plastic surgeon after immigrating to another country, poor thing -- couldn't do brains in a language he only started learning in his 60s. Awesome memory you have none the less!)

 

I don't want to go into it in depth because experience has taught me that unless I have all the time in the world to make a case against something people had been taught all their lives, it is invariably followed by vehement indignation and someone brings up a relative with lung cancer (although I can bring up millions of non-smokers getting same -- it's currently the second leading cancer in American women, with rates in this non-smoking generation WAY higher than they had ever been in the smoking ones that went before...) and, as Krusty the Clown put it "when asked for comments," "This, I don't need."

 

The Genghis Khan book is "Genghis Khan: Conqueror of the World," by I.B.Tauris. It is super detailed and more suitable for people deep into historic literature -- frankly, I got bored midway, not because it's boring but because it's a bit too scholarly for my purpose which was sheer entertainment, or maybe because the story started repeating itself: he came, he saw, he conquered... he came, he saw, he conquered... he came... etc., with no surprises anymore and with the only diversion supplied by his "seeing the light of tao" in his 50s.

[Mark Foote]

 

(Been reading Genghis Khan's biography and discovered that his warriors, another superhealthy breed of humans, didn't believe in being sober at all -- ever -- a real man was supposed to be always drunk, at all times. No impact on motor control in their case, they were legendary riders who never fell off their horses.)

 

 

Let me get this straight- Johnny Dep was really portraying a member of the mongol horde, in 'Pirates?

Edited February 10, 2010 by Mark Foote

[mantis]

Not "good for you" but very different from what we all know from a few decades of nothing but anti- propaganda. For a more historically and scientifically accurate picture, check out "Tobacco: The Story of How Tobacco Seduced the World," by Iain Gately.

Oh, and it wasn't a dentist who told me, giving the info secretly, whispering it in my ear as a present at a party celebrating my 16th birthday, it was a prominent neurosurgeon, my parents' friend. (Who is still working full time today, at age 80, although he had to become a plastic surgeon after immigrating to another country, poor thing -- couldn't do brains in a language he only started learning in his 60s. Awesome memory you have none the less!)

 

I don't want to go into it in depth because experience has taught me that unless I have all the time in the world to make a case against something people had been taught all their lives, it is invariably followed by vehement indignation and someone brings up a relative with lung cancer (although I can bring up millions of non-smokers getting same -- it's currently the second leading cancer in American women, with rates in this non-smoking generation WAY higher than they had ever been in the smoking ones that went before...) and, as Krusty the Clown put it "when asked for comments," "This, I don't need."

 

The Genghis Khan book is "Genghis Khan: Conqueror of the World," by I.B.Tauris. It is super detailed and more suitable for people deep into historic literature -- frankly, I got bored midway, not because it's boring but because it's a bit too scholarly for my purpose which was sheer entertainment, or maybe because the story started repeating itself: he came, he saw, he conquered... he came, he saw, he conquered... he came... etc., with no surprises anymore and with the only diversion supplied by his "seeing the light of tao" in his 50s.

 

I'd like to hear more of the tobacco thing - PM if you don't want to post it here for whatever reason. Is this the book you're talking about?

 

http://www.amazon.com/Genghis-Khan-Conqueror-Leo-Hartog/dp/1860649726/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265708839&sr=8-1

[gendao]

I think what is most interesting is their poor diet, it does not seem to limit them in any way.

I wouldn't necessarily say their diet is poor at all.

Although they may have picked up some vices (beer & cigs?), their core diet sounds quite healthy.

Tarahumara's diet consists of virtually no animal protein and 80% complex carbohydrates. Mainstay of the diet is corn, but they also eat squash, beans and chili. Their "Pinole", a concoction of corn powder and water is what they eat most and always carry with them during their 50+ miles of running.

I also read about Scott Jurek - an incredible ultramarathoner that adopted this diet and has amazing successes.

It is confusing to me to hear so much about the Paleo diet (which is what I eat) and how important animal protein

Experts believe that there are two main causes for the Tarahumara's amazing endurance; physical conditioning and cultural importance. Diet also seems to play an important role in their running. The Tarahumara diet is practically meatless and consists mostly of complex carbohydrates. They eat approximately 10 percent proteins, 10 percent fat, and 80 percent complex carbohydrate.(Lutz 30) Balanced diet is believed to be one factor behind the Tarahumara's resiliency. The Tarahumara take cooperative farming to the extreme and agriculture is a project for the entire village.(Welker 2) They consume livestock for meat but mostly use it as a source of fertilizer. The mainstay of the Tarahumara is corn but they also eat squash, beans and chili. They also utilize all plants of the Barranca del Cobre and have even been known to domesticate some wild plants as to make them more accessible for consumption. Pinole, a fine powder of toasted corn is the most common food. Meat is rarely eaten but on special occasions they eat goat, mice and fish. The Tarahumara method of fishing is very unusual. They throw sticks of dynamite into the water to stun the fish and then dive down to collect them. If they are hunting small game, they chase after it and then throw rocks a t it. The Tarahumara is very accurate throwers and practice from childhood. These extreme eating habits seem to contribute to lower pulse rates and blood pressure. These factors may allow them to cope with oxygen debt at high altitudes, such as a mile and a half above sea level.

 

Running is very important to the Tarahumara culture, although there is no formal training. Quite the opposite, the Tarahumara smoke and drink before each race.

And they also eat a lot of chia (salba) seeds - billed as a "superfood" now.

 

Not to mention the key fact that most of their food is all unprocessed.

 

Another possible factor may also be the intense Darwinism that "weeds out" all but the most naturally-robust villagers due to the presence of so many powerful environmental stressors there.

an incredible 70% of the children die before reaching age five from devastating malnutrition from not enough calories, polluted drinking water, and parasites.

IOW, it may be that only such robust individuals can survive such hardy lifestyles, not that the lifestyles alone are making them all so robust.

 

BTW, I believe that man first "invented" booze simply as a way to keep stored water sterile (before other technologies). It's not that it was inherently healthier...just that it was healthier than rancid water. So, it was merely a lesser of evils.

Edited February 10, 2010 by vortex

[Guest paul walter]

I wouldn't necessarily say their diet is poor at all.

And they also eat a lot of chia (salba) seeds - billed as a "superfood" now.

 

Not to mention the key fact that most of their food is all unprocessed.

 

 

Yes, chia by itself has so many supporting minerals, vitamins and trace elements--also good carb/protein/fat content. They also seriously lower blood pressure. In fact they are not recommended for those with low blood pressure and poor clotting capacity. Got a lot of B17 too. Good for endurence/strength. Anti-cancer.... Reminds me when I was in Greece and the 'bad' diet most Greeks ate (at least on the islands), smoking, obesity--probably the only thing keeping them alive was the olive oil, olives, native herbs and local red wines..oh and the fact they hardly moved ? Paul

[Dainin]

This guy's approach is pretty interesting. Sort of like parkour, but in the natural instead of urban environment:

 

Erwan Le Corre: MovNat

[Taomeow]

I'd like to hear more of the tobacco thing - PM if you don't want to post it here for whatever reason. Is this the book you're talking about?

 

http://www.amazon.co...65708839&sr=8-1

 

Yeah, I suck at multitasking -- I was doing something else and typed in the name of the publisher instead of the name of the author while at it. Sorry.

 

For the rest, I'll have to get to my files -- or rather my piles -- and see what looks good, then I'll PM.