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Interview with Analyze & Optimize pt. 2

• Check out pt. 1

• Mastic Gum

• Opinions on ‘Ancestral’ Approach

Mastic Gum, IBS, & IBD:

Mastic gum has been touted as a potential remedy for those with IBS and IBD. Could you shed light on the science behind this and how it might benefit sufferers?

It has a few key actions. It is antibacterial, antifungal, speeds motility, and has some direct anti-inflammatory effects. These are all crucial factors to tip in your balance if you struggle with digestive disease. I’ve worked with several people who have gotten rid of their coated tongue (common sign of GI microbial overgrowth) just by chewing the gum. Its ability to stimulate bowel movements is also critical: pretty much everyone is constipated whether they know it or not. The accumulation of the excess bacteria leads to the inflammation and the serotonin, which are probably the direct modulators of the symptoms of pain, bloating, nausea, etc. The microbes themselves also produce gas, which contributes. The gut needs to be clean and moving quickly for things to function optimally, and the gum seems to check those boxes well. I think it is a very valuable tool for anyone looking to improve digestive function (which, should be everybody).

Are there any potential side effects or considerations that individuals should be aware of before incorporating mastic gum into their routine?

Not that I am aware of, besides the obvious effect of it potentially fatiguing your jaw. I would just be sure to try to chew it on both sides of your mouth equally, and not doing it when it feels uncomfortable. It can build the jaw muscles up well, and you want to do that symmetrically and make sure you don’t over fatigue yourself.

Ancestral & Natural Approaches:

You've expressed reservations about the belief in reverting to "ancestral" or "natural" ways for health. Could you elaborate on your perspective and why you believe this line of thinking might be flawed or oversimplified?

The human species has gotten to this point by continuing to move forward. Humans have always tried to push the boundary of doing things better. Whoever the “ancestors” are that people refer to, lived in such a way to bring us to where we are now. I think the fact that humans are where they are now is a result of our natural progression.

No one accomplishes anything great by trying to do things the way they’ve always been done. I just think generally, on an individual and population level, the past happened for a reason. You should learn from it, but you shouldn’t try to go back into the past. I think a better approach is to always look into the future. I used to have that mindset of, I wish I could go back to this moment, or this time in my life when everything was great. But I eventually learned that you can’t go back, and you don’t want to go back. The past is in the past for a reason. And you can pretend like you can go back, or you can learn and push into a future that is even better.

On a more practical level, we do not live in a “natural” world, in the sense that most people think. We have a tremendous amount of environmental stressors that our ancestors did not. I imagine that if intelligent life evolved to this point, things had to have been pretty damn good for quite some time. The environment had to have been optimal enough where life of this magnitude was capable of flourishing.

I do think it is at least important to consider, that humans lived in nature at some point to try to contextualize what we learn and experience. However, I think it is a better approach to learn about biology and then think about the implications in nature, rather than come up with some fantasy in your head of what the cavemen did and then base your scientific interpretations on that. The evidence we have on what happened thousands and millions of years ago is highly speculative. The evidence we have now is much more tangible.

I think my ancestors would slap me in the face for saying that. If in 10,000 years my descendant somehow told me that he was trying to be like me, I would be very disappointed. I expected you guys to be way cooler than me!

In your opinion, how can individuals strike a balance between adopting beneficial traditional practices and leveraging modern scientific insights for optimal health?

I think it is important to learn from the past. I think there’s special value for the era where we have written history of what people did, and how good their health was. That is indispensable information. I just don’t believe that, or any other information for that matter, should be the sole guiding principle of your worldview. I just encourage people to try to think about things from their perspective and not follow on any bandwagon or ideology because other people do.