by Matt Stone
Most people think that graying hair is a sign of getting older, of declining physical prowess. And you know what, those people are absolutely right! Healthy aging or not, graying hair is a sign of aging and you can be certain that your body is not functioning at its 100% physical peak if you are starting to go gray. The death countdown has begun.
Disappointed? Feeling a little misled by the title?
Don’t cry lil’ baby boomer. This post is not about physical aging and the gray stuff on top of your head. This is about the gray stuff inside of your head, and you want this to be as gray as possible.
Gray is a blend of black and white.
When we are young, things are black and white. When our hair doesn’t have a sign of gray in it, we often live in a world of intellectual immaturity and absolute certainty about all things.
Environment good. Capitalism bad. Tofu good. Prime rib bad. Democrat good. Republican bad.
Okay that last one wasn’t an example of thinking in black and white but red and blue, which is even worse. I would watch America’s Least Funny Videos for days on end to avoid the possibility that the remote might die on a news station en route to another channel during campaign season.
I have gone through an extensive graying process personally, and I’m extremely thankful for it. While life was simple when looking at everything in the world as black and white, side effects included:
• Extreme disdain for everyone who saw white where I saw black, or black where I saw white
• An inability to relate to those who didn’t share the same views
• A sickly, isolating hunt for “like-minded people” for fear of having to mingle with lesser beings (I had to edit out some of the more colorful descriptive words I have used to describe these beings)
• Dramatic overconfidence – I think the word for this is called arrogance, but only heard people whispering this word behind my back
• Harsh rigidity towards life
• Foolhardy, and later very embarrassing attempts to save the world from evildoers (including things like industrial meat, carbs, soy products, cardio, hyperinflation, you name it)
One saying that I’ve transposed into more or less a personal mantra, or even signature perhaps, is:
“Hi, I’m Matt. I’m an independent health researcher. I used to know everything but now I’ve learned so much I hardly know anything anymore.”
Take a topic. Anything. I’m a health researcher so let’s go with vegetables. Everybody loves those vegetables. Most people think they are “good for you.” But are they?
Vegetables contain high amounts of iron, a potential cause for heart disease and other inflammatory conditions. Cruciferous vegetables contain a ton of goitrogens that suppress the thyroid. Some, like spinach, contain oxalates thought to play a causative role in kidney stones. Some people have bacterial overgrowth of the small intestine (SIBO), which can be exacerbated by eating a lot of fibrous plant matter and cellulose – worsening IBS and some psychological disorders. Excess beta carotene found in huge abundance in many vegetables, can cause problems as well, including even thwarting Vitamin A uptake.
If you read one source that states that vegetables lower the risk of cancer, or perhaps you saw Jack LaLanne juicing them, you might run around telling everyone to eat as many of them as possible and start drinking a quart of kale juice every day. With just one small piece of information you become extremely SURE that vegetables are the answer to all the world’s health woes.
Read everything about vegetables – the good, the bad, the ugly, and go through that process of thorough, multi-faceted education on the subject, and where are you?
Uncertain at best. Not a black and white yes or no. Far from being a zealot shouting “Broccoli!” from the rooftops and scoffing at all the people who don’t get 28 servings of veggies daily like the Holy, Almighty, Immune and Immortal You.
Uncertainty, and having your feelings not be so strong and sure, is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign of having grown up. It’s a sign of being open-minded and educated. Balanced and fair. Diplomatic. Understanding and sympathetic to a wide array of viewpoints.
Be cautious about being so sure about everything, and being rigid in your beliefs.
There are always ways of looking at an issue that you haven’t considered – ways of looking that could very well change your opinion, or better yet, eliminate your narrow-minded opinions altogether.
So, be proud of going gray.
And by the way, sprouting some gray hair just means that you’re probably past the age where you might win the 100M at the Olympics, or throw the game-winning touchdown pass. It doesn’t mean that you’re unhealthy or about to drop dead of a heart attack or get “The Beetus.”
If anything, consider that gray hair as matching the gray color on the inside, and be glad you’re not a cocky youngster with the answers to all things because you read a book and watched a couple of documentaries.
But maybe I’m wrong about all this. I don’t know. I’m not sure of anything these days.