Classical Ecology is broadly defined as the study of how biological organisms (life) interact with their environment. I have coined the term “Ecological Nutrition” to represent how we, as biological organisms, interact with our nutritional environment. Our nutritional environment is made up of a “food landscape” (the entirety of food available to us), and a “dietary niche” (what we actually eat). We all have unique evolutionary histories. Where did our ancestors spend most of their time? What place on the planet? What foods were available to them across their landscape and what foods did they actually consume? How did this evolutionary history mold our genetics with respect to our individual optimal diet?
This can be expanded to the concept of Ecological Fitness and Lifestyle. Given our unique evolutionary history and current and past cultural influences, how can we determine what type of exercise, fitness activities and lifestyles work best for us? How did we obtain our food? What were our living conditions like? What were our communities like? What kind of activities did we engage in? What can we learn from this past and how can we apply that knowledge to our current lifestyle and environment to optimize for our best life? We must keep in mind that evolution is an ongoing process, and just because our ancestors did it one way, doesn’t mean that is optimal for us at this given point in time. But what is optimal for us? Now?
We have a long way to go before we can use our genetic makeup and evolutionary history to make precise decisions on diet, exercise and lifestyle, but we are making progress. And through a bit of experimentation using our past as a starting point, a healthy and fulfilling life is attainable. This is a work in progress. If you elect to apply any of the principles I am developing in this website, I’d love to hear feed back on how useful they were in helping you met your diet, exercise and lifestyle goals. If you would like to work with me as a private client to help you along your journey using this framework, please contact me at [email protected].