Are We Healthier Than Our Grandparents—Or Just More Dependent?
Explore the ancient lifestyle that kept them strong, calm, and connected
Before technology, before machines, before even structured language—there was intelligence. Not the artificial kind, not even the academic kind—but intuitive, embodied intelligence. With each layer of dependency, something else faded—intuition, movement, simplicity and resilience. Intelligence, once grounded in experience, began outsourcing itself—first to machines, then to screens.
Our parents and grandparents had fewer distractions, fewer fears, fewer worries. They lived more within themselves, felt deeply connected to something larger—and in that connection, there was contentment.
Today, we’re constantly sold the idea that we need more—success, possessions, validation. This chase creates desire, which leads to disappointment, depression and dis-ease. We are not just facing a nutritional crisis, but a spiritual one. Disconnection—from self, stillness and simplicity—is at its root.
Our great-grandmothers lived closer to nature, ate seasonally, moved often and healed at home. Today’s hyper-efficiency has made us less healthy, more confused and emotionally burnt out.
It’s time to reflect, relearn—and reclaim. What we call “progress” has also been a slow disconnection—from soil, from season, from self. The result? Rising chronic disease, falling immunity and emotional burnout at younger ages. It is time to reflect: Were our parents and grandparents truly healthier? Yes. For us, there’s much to learn—and reclaim.
Food as Medicine
Our parents ate fresh, home-cooked meals made from seasonal and local ingredients.
Millets like jowar and bajra, native rice varieties and hand-pounded dals were staples.
Meals were mostly home-cooked, using traditional fats like ghee, coconut oil and mustard oil—far from the refined oils and seed oil blends of today.
Pickles, papads, chutneys and buttermilk supported their digestion, not harmed it.
They didn’t count calories—they followed hunger cues. Food had prana, or life force, because it was fresh and made with intention.
Today’s fast foods, preservative-laden convenience foods, meal replacements, protein bars and synthetic supplements and packaged meals lack this vitality, disrupting our digestion and health.
Food was sacred
They followed natural fasting windows—no late-night snacking or eating at odd hours. Dinner was often finished by sunset, not post-Netflix.
Ayurveda emphasizes “Agni” (digestive fire), which is strongest during the day and should not be overloaded post-sunset.
In most households, lunch was the heaviest meal, aligning with the Ayurvedic pitta time of day (around noon) when metabolism peaks.
Breakfast was light, dinner was even lighter and digestion was respected.
Today, the trend is reversed: skipping breakfast, bingeing at dinner and eating in front of screens.
The result? Sluggish digestion, toxin buildup (ama) and inflammation.
Mindful eating
Eating was a sacred act. They sat down calmly, cross-legged, ate with their hands and thanked the food—often in silence —creating a deep connection between body and food.
Touching food with the hands activates enzymes, salivary glands and builds awareness.
Eating slowly allows the body to register fullness and helps better assimilation.
Food is sacred. When treated that way, it becomes healing.
Today, we eat distracted—on phones or in front of screens—which disconnects us from satiety and causes overeating.
Seasonal wisdom
Our parents naturally adjusted foods with the seasons: cooling foods in summer (buttermilk, mint, raw mango), warming in winter (jaggery, sesame, bajra) and easy-to-digest meals in monsoon (khichdi, ginger).
These adjustments weren’t trends, they were tradition backed by deep observation and wisdom.
Their immunity was built on nature’s rhythms, not chemical capsules.
Ayurveda teaches “Desha, Kala and Bala”—align your food to your geography, season and strength.
Movement integration
Before gyms and 10,000-step trackers, our parents were naturally active.
They moved all day—squatting to cook, walking to the market, grinding spices by hand. This kept their circulation (Vata) and metabolism (Kapha) balanced.
Contrast this with our reality: hours in front of screens, sitting at desks, elevators over stairs and workouts squeezed into 30-minute windows—often driven by aesthetics, not function.
Natural healing
Our parents didn’t pop a pill at the first sign of a headache or indigestion.
They trusted natural remedies—ajwain for gas, turmeric milk for colds, ghee for constipation, and rest for fatigue.
They didn’t label every discomfort as a disease. There was acceptance, patience and self-healing.
Ayurveda calls this “Prakriti-based” healing—working with one’s constitution, not against it.
Today, we pathologize every symptom and depend on over-the-counter solutions.
Agility and resilience
Our parents had stronger emotional immunity—less anxiety, more adaptability. Their problems were real, but their coping was more rooted. They were emotionally stronger—not because they had fewer problems, but because their lifestyles supported resilience.
Early sleep, prayer, time with family, clean food, service, connection to nature and mental discipline and gratitude rituals helped them stay mentally balanced. Our parents nourished it without knowing the science behind it. We often ignore it despite knowing all the science.
Respect for Rest
Sleep was sacred. They rose with the sun and slept early, in sync with the circadian rhythm. Today, we sacrifice sleep for screen time, leading to fatigue, hormone imbalance, and burnout.
Way forward
While we can’t go back in time, we can move forward with awareness. There’s immense wisdom in how our parents lived and ate. Let’s not wait till disease strikes to value it. Start by:
• Eating seasonal, simple, local meals
• Creating mindful meal routines
• Moving naturally through the day
• Using food as the first line of healing
• Aligning sleep with nature’s rhythm
• Cultivating calm through rituals and rest
Let us go back to go forward. Because health is not in the next diet trend or wearable device. It’s in our roots. By embracing the time-tested food habits and lifestyle principles of our parents, guided by Ayurveda, we can build not just physical health—but harmony, vitality and resilience for generations to come.
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