Dr. Raj Popat, an ER doctor who previously practiced in Livingston and Lufkin but now practices in Jasper, provided the program for the Livingston Lions Club Wednesday.
Popat said he first came to Livingston five years ago during the pandemic – “when we were wearing masks” – and that prior to that, he had never heard of Livingston.
He shared the story of a patient in his 80s – “I’ll call him Mr. Livingston” – who came to the ER one day with a gash on his ankle from cutting trees and was anxious to get it treated so he could get back to work.
Popat said he thought to himself, “What is this guy doing right?”
He explained that humans have been around for a couple hundred thousand years as a species, but that a shift occurred following the Civil War with industrialization.
“Before the Civil War, we did the same thing every generation – we ate plants and animals from God’s earth. Then the Industrial Revolution occurred. Before the Civil War, sleep was regular, food was scarce, stress was episodic and exercise was abundant,” he said.
“We shouldn’t be surprised why our bodies are self-destructing. I’m a strong believer in food is medicine. We have to mimic the lifestyle of what we were doing 150 years ago,” Popat said.
He said that every single chronic illness in the country is tied to what he calls the four pillars – food, sleep, stress, exercise. “Yet we manage it with pills, life hacks and supplements.
“The species is dying off. The birth rate is not keeping up with the death rate. We’ve permitted ourselves to toxify ourselves. Children are being treated today for what we previously treated in 45-50-year-olds,” Popat said.
“Genetics play a role, but they don’t destine you to be sick. They play a minor role. We have to get back to what we were before we started contaminating our bodies, and it’s a system that is very difficult to overcome,” he said.
“I believe the health span is more important than the life span. We’ve done ourselves a disservice. We have to make better decisions for ourselves. No one’s going to do it for us. Ultimately, our decisions govern our health,” he said.
“In general, the optimal diet should be mostly plants, fiber and about one-third meat. The best source of fiber pound for pound is beans, but also vegetables and fruits. You always want to have variety. Eat the rainbow. The cure is the prevention,” Popat said.
