Natty Power

You probably hear the word “natural” all the time on TV and see it all over the Web. Natural this and natural that, natural food, natural supplements, natural remedies, training the natural way, being a “natty” athlete, etc. Anything “natural” is highly desirable and beneficial for us humans, but the word itself has been used and misused in all possible contexts and meanings. Sometimes the word is there rightfully, sometimes solely for marketing purposes.

Regardless if the term has become a cliché or not, the truth is that we humans can not get far away from our natural habitat, escape the imposed laws of Nature or avoid physical functions we are naturally supposed to perform. For example, we can not live in harsh climate regions or in the outer space. We can not eat concrete or plastic. Our bodies are not built for flying or swimming. All these things are unnatural to humans. Nature wants us to live in pleasant climate zones, to eat healthy organic food and to perform physical tasks which are natural for our bodies: walk, run, jump, lift objects and so on.

Just be aware of scams. Sooner or later, you will come across some product with the word “natural” in its name. It could be totally fake or there may be an underlying plot to sell you stuff you wouldn’t purchase if it wasn’t “natural”. Think about natural foods and natural supplements. Are they really natural products? Are they organic? Are they for human consumption? Grass may be natural and organic, but albeit not harmful, there is no nutritional value for us. Even if something is natural, the question may be: “natural to what degree?”. A product can be 100% natural, but some toxic ingredients could also be thrown in to improve taste, smell, color or shelf life.

Lots of athletes are swearing to be natty, but don’t want to explain how their muscles have been built. An athlete may be telling the truth right now, but what we don’t know if he has stopped using steroids only a year ago. Even if he is natty at this very moment in time, can we assume that his muscles are naturally built? Not so important if someone is natty or not, but it is really sad that many youngsters are looking for shortcuts. They usually want instant popularity and followers on Youtube and Instagram. They don’t have patience nor will for natural muscle building process, way too slow and too hard for them.

Lifting heavy objects from the ground up is a very natural movement, but if the weight is heavy and you lift frequently, your palms will eventually start to bleed. Can this be considered as natural? Step back and think about it. The movement is natural and even essential, but Nature would prefer you to stop before you tear the skin of your palms. If you bleed, you can get an infection and eventually die. Heck, the Nature will even send you warning signals in the form of blisters and calluses. If you insist on training hard, it would be wise to use gloves to lower the friction. No need to sacrifice anything, you can keep your palm skin intact and progressing with weights at the same time. Nature wants you to use your brain and realize that using gloves will allow you to train hard without danger of injuries. Only boneheads will get to the bleeding point, keep on lifting further and probably be proud of injury. Don’t be a bonehead.

These few examples show that term “natural” is overused, sometimes misleading and even fake. What you should do is think for yourself and never blindly accept anything served on the Internet. Always try to find out if something is really natural and what was Nature’s intention. Remember, Nature is not selling anything and has nothing to prove. It is a higher being that created us in a certain way and we just have to accept it and comply with imposed natural laws. So, natural is good for us, but only if it is really natural. If we listen to what Nature is telling us, if we think rationally, if we are honest with ourselves, if we do everything right… then Nature will reward us.