Insofar as health, optimal body system performance, peak athletic performance, and longevity are concerned, we operate from the premise that 12,000 years ago, at the dawn of civilization, our ancient ancestors attained our peak evolutionary form. By peak evolutionary form we mean our ancient ancestors had developed into our current modern form in terms of physiological and cognitive abilities adapted to the environment within which we had evolved over an approximately twelve to thirteen million year timeframe. The basis for our primary evolutionary development is based on the millions of years during and after our split from our common ancestor with the great apes, Pierolapithecus, an extinct species of primate that lived about 13 million years ago and is thought to be a common ancestor to both humans and the great apes. This evolutionary timeframe is based on archeological and paleontological evidence.  

Strive Superfoods formulas provide the variety and quantity of plant-based nutrients, micronutrients and minerals that our body systems evolved on, hence optimally perform on. Living a Strive-Stoked life doesn’t stop with diet. Strive also seeks to support our health and wellness journey by making available knowledge and practical ways to improve our health through various means, like periodically placing our bodies in conditions and environments that cause stimulus responses on a cellular level.

Archeological, Anthropological, Paleontological, Genetic, Epigenetic and Microbiological research has shown that our physical form, cognitive abilities, body system performance and needs are essentially the same today as they were 12,000 years ago. We reached this peak form of evolution over the course of 6 million years after we branched off from our common ancestor, Pierolapithecus, with our cousin the chimpanzee. Prior to that evolutionary branching, there were millions of years of evolution that had occurred that also directly contribute to our epigenetic composition.

12,000 years ago we attained this peak evolutionary form to survive and thrive in a world vastly different from our own, a world that was wild, a world where as nomads we consumed what the land seasonally provided as we roamed wide, hunting and following migrating wild game herds, and as we fished waterways teaming with wide-ranging and migratory fish. Our bodies evolved to thrive in this environment and to survive harsh conditions. Research shows:

• We are epigenetically encoded to have stimulus-induced responses to extreme conditions, like those our ancient ancestors would have continually had to contend with during those evolutionary eras, from thermal shock responses like taking cold plunges for 5 to 15 minutes at a time in 35F to 50F water to sitting in a 175F sauna for 15 minutes, to periodic fasting-induced responses, to nutrition and physical activity-induced responses.
• Research has revealed that our body systems are so in tune with the elements of nature that our bodies interpret the chemical composition of plants that have struggled in seasonally challenged conditions, such as interpreting high levels of resveratrol in certain grapes, berries, and plants as indicators of harsh environmental conditions that could mean limited food resources available. From this little bit of plant-based-food chemical data, our bodies intuit harsh environmental conditions exist and positively respond through chemical and epigenetic reaction to improve our health to optimize our chances for survival.
• As we evolved we fed our bodies a wide variety of seasonally and regionally available plants, roots, nuts, fruits, and berries (80% to 85% of our diet) as our ancient ancestors fished and hunted migratory animals to get the protein (remaining 15% to 20% of our diet) that helped develop our brains. These migratory animals our ancient ancestors hunted also consumed a wide variety of plant-based foods. The fish our ancient ancestors consumed provided aquatic nutrients not terrestrially available to us.
• We shed our hair so we would not overheat, so we could physically move and work for hours at a time daily, so we could get more done. We rested in the evenings.
• Research has shown that we evolved into the greatest terrestrial endurance athletes in the history of the world, capable of literally running animals much faster than us to death due to heat exhaustion that overcame the animal over the course of a day of tracking, hunting and pushing that animal to exhaustion. This is the lifestyle and the wilderness conditions we evolved to live and thrive in.
• Research across various fields has revealed another astounding fact: Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases such as cancer, heart disease, respiratory disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, did not exist pre-civilization. This absence of chronic disease is validated with 20th and 21st Century research on the remaining hunter gatherer tribes still in existence today, where there is a near complete absence of all such diseases.

12,000 years ago, with the dawn of civilization and the advent of agriculture and the domestication of animals into livestock, our diets and lifestyles drastically and forever changed. Rather than 80% to 85% of our diet being based upon a wide variety of non-processed seasonally available plants, nuts, roots, berries and fruits, with 15% to 20% of our diet comprised of wild migratory game and fish, our modern diets are now nearly 100% based on processed grains and domesticated grain-fed livestock. Rather than viewing the world through our own eyes as we experience the sensations of our environment on our skin, we now view the world through various screens, from phones, to computers, to TV to a car windshield. We control our climate for our comfort as we drive our cars with GPS and surf the internet or tv channels. We no longer navigate the world with our senses using our bodies and cognitive abilities. We do not see the world with our own eyes but through the lens of a phone we carry, or the lens of another’s screen. We live vicariously, not viscerally. Today, the chronic diseases listed above can be rightly considered diseases of our current, modern, civilized lifestyle. Living a Life where you Strive to Thrive provides the health solutions to counter these chronic health issues made rampant by our modern lifestyles.  We at Strive seek to help provide you the means and solutions to live stronger, healthier, and longer.