I've noticed over the past year or so that climate can have a major impact on health. I'm currently a student at Indiana University where I'm creating my own major called the "Evolution of Human Health." It encompasses studying how humans evolved over millions of years on Earth and have becoming biologically and anatomically adapted to their environment. This is called adaptation from natural selection. Now, stick a human in a home with central heating in Vermont in the middle of January with three feet of snow outside and that's called culture. Culture allows man to do things he never dreamed of. Because of culture we can live anywhere in the world, we can go anywhere in the world, we can cook extravagant meals, we can live indoors, wear clothing, practice "good" hygiene, and so on. When you think about it, the necessities for life in its purest form are very slim. Stick yourself in the right region and the necessities are bare indeed (except that they won't come to you, you'll have to go to them).

In both Indiana and New York (my home) the winters are cold. I layer on as many articles of clothing as I can, still to find myself freezing. My hands dry up, crack open and bleed. I sleep in a fleece every night, often to find the room still cold. Culture works, because I survive, but do I actually thrive? Tim VanOrden, creator of "Running Raw," often talks about the difference between surviving and thriving during his lectures, and I think that one important aspect of thriving is the region that you live in. First of all, in a temperate and cooler climate, there is far less sun. Albeit, it's true that humans have made adaptations for this. The reason why northern inhabitants have lighter skin is so their bodies can absorb more vitamin D from the sun. Black skin provides far better protection from UV radiation, but impedes on Vitamin D absorption (which doesn't matter because when living in the tropics you get plenty of sun, and thus, plenty of Vitamin D). As a result, over time, natural selection created white humans (that's why we whities burn so easily).

However, over time, from being in the sun more, the body tells the melanocytes in the skin to produce more melanin as an adaptation to increased sun exposure. This is called tanning. The human body is truly amazing, but it is important to note that Homo sapiens sapiens (modern humans) have only been living away from the equatorial region for 60,000-100,000yrs. While it is true that there were premature human forms in northern regions for 1.5 million years before that, that form, Homo erectus, was replaced (the Replacement Theory) as the newer form out of Africa, Homo sapiens, was selected for and by 500,000 years ago, Homo erectus was extinct. Richard Leakey, one of the leading bioanthropologists of our day, states that it can take anywhere from 500,000 to 1,000,000 years for an animal to make a full evolutionary adaption. I learned all about human evolution in his book, "The Origin of Humankind." Now, ask yourself, is 60,000 years truly sufficient time for humans to adapt to freezing weather? How about canned beans? Twinkies? Indoor living? How about sedentary living? How far can culture take the human race without major developmental regression?

While I don't know the answers to all of these questions, what I do know is that all of the other anthropoid apes (gibbons, bonobos, orangutans chimpanzees, gorillas) still live in the tropical African jungles (Orangutans actually live in tropical southeast Asia) from which we came. Modern man is so far removed from his natural environment, many today would think that we evolved eating pork rinds while watching our favorite TV show re-runs.

When was the last time you actually saw a piece of fruit growing on a tree? Have you ever been to a tropical climate? Have you ever breathed fresh air?

This is my first time truly enjoying a warmer climate. The weather is beautiful, the sun is great, the beach is relaxing, and for once I'm not cold. My skin is soft, smooth, and shining, I get up when the sun rises, spend as much of my day outdoors as possible (stability ball workouts outside, running outside, biking outside, active cords outside, eating outside), and I get tired and go to bed when it gets dark. I feel like my life is shifting more into place here. While Naples, Florida is not tropical, it is as close as I can get for now, and it feels much better on my body (Naples is 26 degrees latitude and the Tropic of Cancer is 23.5 degrees). My next goal is to try and plant some fruit trees on my property here, but that will take my dad some convincing.

Until Next Time,

Sam