Learning a lot about health from our forefathers

Our ancestors had to outrun wild animals, travel by unshod foot, weather the elements and often lived very short lives.

In a way, we’ve never had it so good.

(Corrected paragraph:) That’s the premise of a new book, “Evolution Rx: A Practical Guide to Harnessing Our Innate Capacity for Health and Healing,” by William Meller, a Santa Barbara-based internist.

Dr. Meller is not suggesting we throw out thousands of years of creature comforts. He also says this is casual advice, not meant to be studied as scientific fact or to offend those still filling in the timeline of humankind.

What he is saying is that we should look to the Stone Age to figure out why we are the way we are, to avoid disease and know what will work in the future.

He also says some of the best parenting advice can be found in the Stone Age.

“Our Stone Age ancestors are the best parenting teachers,” Dr. Meller says. For starters, a little dirt - the ancestors has no antibacterial soap - never hurt anyone.

“Imagine how dirty you would get on a camping trip that lasts a million years,” he writes. “No soap, no showers, no concept of cleanliness. Every bite of food was garnished with grit. Despite all this dirt, early humans prospered nicely. Because they lived in filth, you’d think these cave dwellers and nomads were sick all the time. Actually, no.”

Dr. Meller points out that allergies, asthma, eczema and some autoimmune diseases are a modern phenomenon.

“In 1989, Dr. David Strachan proposed a new evolutionary theory - the ‘hygiene hypothesis’ - that connects the rise [of certain conditions] with our modern, squeaky-clean lifestyle,” Dr. Meller said from his California office. “It’s been shown if you live in a less clean environment, you have a much lower risk of having allergies.”

Dr. Strachan says early exposure to plants, foods and animals teaches our immune system to tolerate them, preventing allergic symptoms later.

“Scientists now understand that our immune system needs to be educated,” Dr. Meller says. “School starts the day we are born. Let your kids get dirty; try to expose them to more foods. Some parents won’t let their kids even touch the ground. We are built to live in a dirty world.”

Also misunderstood: the modern diagnosis of attention deficit disorder, which afflicts between 5 percent and 15 percent of the population these days. Got ADD? Embrace it, and know that what might give you trouble in algebra has helped move man forward, Dr. Meller says.

“Without it, the human race would have been someone else’s lunch long ago,” he says.

To understand ADD, look at life in the Stone Age. It was dangerous, with predators and competitors lurking in the bushes and poised to attack. In every tribe, however, there was a person or two who was easily distracted. Those people would hear every rustle in the darkness, and were ready to alert the tribe to danger. They were also good hunters and trackers who thrived with a variety of visual stimulation.

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