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Moderation in (Most) Things


 “The further you stray from the natural, the more diligent you need to be about understanding the consequences.” That’s a useful personal maxim I arrived at over the years.

The reason: Nature has had eons to work through the mechanics of interaction. Nature uses its own slow mechanisms to weed out the dangerous, balanced against a universe of… well… everything. It’s not perfect. But it has a major leg up on humanity in this regard.

I’ve found it holds true in most matters of business modeling. I assert it holds doubly true in matters that are themselves more primal and central, such as nutrition. 

Early studies such as this one and this one are starting to correlate both American obesity-inducing diets and obesity-while-pregnant with the mysterious rise in autism. Of course, correlation is not causation. What other related factors such as artificial food additives, hormonal response to excess, or anything else may be involved? We do not yet know.

But how hard is it to acknowledge a risk and remember another age-old maxim: “All things in moderation”? In our age of instant gratification and food-substitutes, we forget long-held wisdom is there precisely because it has proven itself out across time and change. When you haven’t done the diligence to prove it wrong, you might want to try stowing your ego and acknowledging it just may have merit.

I’ve long chided with friends that 40 years from now, society will look back at our early-century selves as many of us now look back at heavy smoking. They’ll smirk and say, “well of COURSE that was going to mess you up.” In the interest of finding a way to avoid autism and the challenges it brings… I whole-heartily look forward to that day.

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