One of the favorite methods diet researchers use is to look for populations of people that are healthier and live longer than normal folks. Suppose I told you about a particular tribe of men that live about 40 – 50% longer than average? Usually, researchers are thrilled with populations that do 10% better than average. 50% is truly amazing. Well, such a population existed about 800 years ago. What was this amazing tribe? It was a religious group known as the Order of Solomon’s Temple, more commonly known as the Knights Templar.
Back in the 1200s, the average life span was only 31 years of age, but this number is a bit skewed by the large number of infant deaths that occurred. If you made it to the age of 30 then your average lifespan was improved to 48 years. Yet here was this Christian military order in
which their members regularly lived healthy lives well into their 60s and 70s. That may not seem amazing by today’s standards, but back then it was like some sort of magic. The belief was that they were graced with such long lives because of their humble service to God. Yet other monastic orders of the time did not have longer lives, so what is that about?
A look at the actual lives of the Templars may reveal the real reason for their longevity. Like many special societies of the times, they had a lot of rules to follow to belong. Many of those rules involved food and lifestyle. Most monastic orders had proscriptions against consorting with women, as did the Templars, so that was probably not the cause. They did have some interesting rules around food and eating which were very different for the time. As you may know, cleanliness was not a concept back in those days and there was no knowledge of germs. Yet the Templars took special precautions requiring hand washing before eating or praying. Anyone tasked with activities that involved getting dirty outdoors was exempted from food preparation or serving. Wine was drunk only in a very diluted form. Any food left over from a meal was gathered up and given to the poor, which eliminated any issues with leftover food spoilage. They created a special elixir consisting of aloe vera mixed with palm wine and hemp which had many medicinal properties. These rules helped them avoid all sorts of food-borne pathogens as well as alcohol toxicity.
Back in those times in Europe, it was customary for Christians to fast at least three days a week plus 40 days at lent each year. For the Templars, this meant fasting Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Now, this was not a water fast, but a vegetable fast – no animal products. The idea was to abstain from food for spiritual reasons. These guys were early into the whole intermittent fasting thing. So they would get three 36 hour fasts every week. On the non-fasting days, they were eating lots of meat, like enough for 2 or 3 men. This cycling between eating only vegetables then eating lots of meat creates a powerful rejuvenating cycle in the body. Three times a week they are triggering autophagy to sweep away any old or damaged cells while increasing growth hormone levels and stimulating stem cell production on the meat-eating days. This could have been the magic that kept the Templars so healthy.
Two other factors must also be considered – one physical and the other emotional. The Templars were considered the fiercest and greatest warriors of the times. They never engaged in battle for sport or vanity. They were the Shaolin monks of the Western World. They fought to protect travelers to the Holy Land and in the Crusades. This meant they had a very rigorous training schedule, so they were in top physical condition.
Another interesting feature of the Templars was the social structure. They were taught to look out for each other. They would eat in silence and they would eat in pairs. Two men would share one bowl and they were instructed to attend to their partner to make sure that each man got an equal share of the food. This level of community creates a great sense of belonging and ease, which greatly assists in neurological health which results in digestive health. You never have to worry about getting enough or getting less than another with this system. Everyone is supported. In modern health care, it is well known that the greatest predictor of who will survive a serious life-threatening health challenge is the amount of emotional support the patient has.
So there you have it. Good hygiene, cyclic fasting with protein abundance, lots of exercise, and good emotional support. This sounds like a fantastic formula for a healthy life here and now! So why don’t we eat like Templar knights? It looks kind of like alternating between being a low-carb vegan and a carnivore. The physiology of our hormonal system and immune systems would be greatly enhanced by such a protocol. The low-carb vegan days are for cleaning out weak old cells and detoxing from poisons and the carnivore days are for rebuilding with healthy new replacement cells. Of course, we would want to include good physical conditioning and excellent emotional support into the health mix.
I am playing now with alternating fast days and high protein days. My fast days are not water fasting, as this is not necessary for these particular rejuvenation goals. I go for my nutrient smoothie in the morning along with the half cup of cold brew coffee I have learned to tolerate. My smoothie is mostly vitamins, herbs, other supportive nutrients in powder form in water along with a touch of raw cacao and coconut milk. During the day I will drink more smoothies mixed with green tea concentrate and I snack on jicama. When I get home I will have a green salad seasoned with vinegar and herbs or a cruciferous vegetable stew at about 4 pm. That’s it for the day. On my protein days, I am eating eggs, beef, greens, and fiber muffins (almost no carbs). My general goal is to stay in ketosis all the time as this enhances the health of the powerhouses of my cells; the mitochondria. I am experimenting with a different number of days on and days off for each phase of this rejuvenation program.
This much diligence to one’s diet may seem a bit much, and I would completely agree if I were still 40 and in great health. But I am 68 now and am beginning to feel the downhill slide that age brings on. I am not as strong as I was in my 40s or even 50s. My sleep is not as good and I run out of energy faster. Such is life. But there are far too many interesting things I have yet to explore and play with to let the body slow down too much. So this level of participation is a must to hold back the degeneration of health that living in the modern world produces.
This level of health intervention is also necessary when a person of any age has some sort of chronic health condition. I see far too many folks suffering from chronic health issues at early ages these days. Acute conditions are not really my specialty (other than back pain). I leave those to medical personnel. They are pretty good with those things. But the chronic stuff is sneaking up on us at an alarming rate. By the time it becomes an acute problem, it is too late to reverse it and get back to the health you had before. If you want to keep your health into your senior years, you need at least a ten-year head start. You have to be very proactive, not reactive.
The example of the Templars is to show us that modern science is not necessary for us to do what needs to be done to stay healthy. Good diet, good exercise, and loving connections are the real basics to a healthy body. So give it a try – pick up some of the skills of the Knights Templar and give your health a boost.
Take care,
David