Healthy Kicks On Route 66

I’ve been in the natural health world for so long that I sometimes forget how far we’ve come.

“Alternative Medicine” isn’t “alternative” anymore. It’s mainstream and has gotten an upgraded name: Functional Medicine.

Same way with diet, supplements, and exercise. When I came on board with Know The Cause 12 years ago, you almost couldn’t even use the word “carbs” on the show because a lot of viewers simply didn’t know that it meant “carbohydrates”, and many of them couldn’t identify a carbohydrate-heavy food.

But now, many more consumers can talk intelligently about carbs, omega-3 fatty acids, vegan proteins, high-intensity cardio, etc, and have an opinion about whether saturated fat from coconut oil is good for you or not.

It’s a different world now. Conventional doctors are often finding themselves on the outside looking in at a culture that is becoming savvy and independent-minded about health philosophies.

You know it’s a different world when it comes to the range of food choices you can find in out-of-the-way places.

For my sister’s birthday, my brother rented a convertible, and we three took a little day trip on historic Route 66 in Oklahoma.

For breakfast, we pulled into the tiny town of Luther, OK, (population: ~1300), and ate at 116 Farmstead Market & Table, which said “Farm To Table” on their storefront.

They boasted local grass-fed, hormone-free, antibiotic-free meats and dairy, and fresh produce. It was all over their menus, in their grab-and-go cold case, and even on their souvenir hats and shirts. These people deeply believe in doing things the right way, and people packed the place in this tiny town. We saw a local celeb eating with his family, OU football fans getting ready for their hour-long drive to Norman for a football game, as well as a team of Saturday morning bicyclers who came in for a breakfast boost.

This is how popular the farm-to-table concept is. Whether they’re in NYC or a tiny town on Route 66, people demand fresh, organic, local, grass-fed, pristine food.

What’s more, there’s nothing weird about it anymore. “Organic” used to be a specialty category of food. You’d never see it in restaurants outside of major metropolitan areas.

Now it’s normal. And why shouldn’t it be?

People used to think of organic, grass-fed, etc diets as being “extreme”. But as they’ve become more educated on the horrific factory farm practices, and the potential dangers of conventional pesticides and herbicides, the general public is starting to realize that conventional food farming and consumption is actually more bizarre and extreme than organic ever was.

“Organic” should be considered conventional, and chemical additions to the diet should be considered weird.

I’ve always felt this way, and some of you have, too. If you’re a Millennial, you find yourself in a world that didn’t exist even a few years ago, and you should know that our Route 66 experience would have been unheard of until very recently. For you, this may just seem normal, and I’m glad it does. For a lot of us, though, this feels like a triumph of having spent our entire lives being derided and scolded for daring to question conventionally grown foods and conventional health philosophy.

So, for everyone who thinks it’s hard to live this lifestyle, those days are over. Get your health kicks on Route 66 – or wherever you are! If it’s in a town of fewer than 1300 people, trust me, you can find it or access it nearly anywhere.