George Costanza from the hit comedy Seinfeld is my hero. Like George I pay attention to how things are done by conventional mainstream, but in real time, I do the exact opposite. This is my formula for personal success. In matters of behavior that relate to my own personal health and wellness, I DO THE OPPOSITE of what the collective does.

Why? Because I want to stay well and live free. I want to be highly functional as I age. I want to retain and prolong my physical, mental and emotional independence for as long as possible. To achieve these goals I have to protect myself from oxidative stress and minimize telomere loss.

In episode 86 of Seinfeld, the hapless George Costanza realizes that all of his instincts to date have been wrong.

George: “It’s not working Jerry, it’s just not working”.

Jerry: “What is it that isn't working?”

George: “It all became very clear to me sitting out there today that, every decision I've ever made in my entire life has been wrong. My life is the complete opposite of everything I want it to be.”

Jerry: “If every instinct you have is wrong then the opposite would have to be right”.

When I watched this episode on TV for the first time, I laughed a mile high, and this is how I know the principle is legitimate. Watch any great comedian perform on stage to see what I mean. The truth is the funniest thing known to man. Of course the notion of doing the opposite of the majority seems ridiculous, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized just how true it was.

DO THE OPPOSITE!

Whatever conventional wisdom recommends when it comes to nutrition, health and fitness, DO THE OPPOSITE. When I apply this principle in my own life I get exactly the same results that George got when he did the opposite, and I’m not kidding. It truly is a phenomenal formula for success.

I call this phenomenon The Costanza Principle.

Here’s an example of the new George in action.

George, Jerry and Elaine are seated at their favorite table at the local diner. An attractive blond woman shoots a glance George’s way. Typically the balding and shy George would conclude that this beauty was way out of his league, but not today.

Today the new and improved George has discovered that all of his instincts were wrong, so the opposite must always be right.

So he gets up, walks boldly over to the girl who gave him the eye and says:

George: “My name is George. I’m unemployed and live with my parents.”

Blond: “I’m Victoria. Hi.”

Not only does George land a new girlfriend, but he moves out of his parents’ house and scores an awesome job by telling off New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. One scenario after another always leads to the same outcome. When George does the opposite he keeps getting better and his life keeps improving.

Believe it or not, this same approach works like magic when it comes to preventing chronic disease, disability and depression.

Here are a few real life examples.

Conventional food guides and pyramids encourage everyone to eat a ton of bread, bagels, muffins, pasta, crackers and grains. DO THE OPPOSITE. Drink lots of clean, filtered water, eat lean animal proteins and plenty of fresh multi-colored fruits and vegetables. Consume a diet that is genomically compatible with your genome, not a garbage can. You’re not a mindless idiot designed for agricultural exploitation.

Dietitians and conventional nutritionists think that eating more and exercising less makes you fat. THE OPPOSITE IS TRUE. Being fat makes you eat more and exercise less (Harvard Professor Dr. David Ludwig).

Cardiologists often tell heart patients with elevated serum cholesterol to stop eating eggs. DO THE OPPOSITE. Eat plenty of soft-boiled eggs, sardines, shellfish and liver from animals raised with their health in mind, but cut out the sugar, flour and fried artificial foods. Dietary cholesterol has next to nothing to do with the “cause” of vascular and heart disease. If that was true our species would have died out long ago.

Surgeons frequently tell their patients not to take vitamin E before surgery. DO THE OPPOSITE. Double or triple the dose! Load up on antioxidants before they cut you open and expose your insides to the outside world. Only you can prevent inflammation and infection. It is you and not the surgeon or hospital staff who will suffer.

When you injure yourself and conventional health professionals warn you against the hazards of physical movement and exercise, DO THE OPPOSITE. But ease into it, exercise correctly and train like a pro. Rely on the science and proven medicine of exercise rehabilitation, yoga and weight training, not prescription and OTC drugs. You’re body is designed by nature to move with elegance and power, but ask yourself this question, “What is the best way to prevent injury?”

If (when) your friends, family members, doctors, pharmacists, college professors or athletic coaches tell you not to take dietary supplements because they’re useless and only create expensive urine, DO THE OPPOSITE. Take your vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, adaptogens and protein shakes faithfully. Enjoy the extensive health and performance benefits proven by science and university research that most critics are unaware of or must choose to ignore (cognitive dissonance). Leave the naysayers and vitamin bashers to themselves. Let go and let health.

If an orthodox health care provider says that nothing can be done about your condition, admits they don’t know its cause and then prescribe toxic drugs that cost a fortune, even though they don’t know how or if they actually work, DO THE OPPOSITE. Believe that your condition can and will change, that your body has the power to heal itself, and that natural whole foods and NHPs exist to support the very biological process they have no respect for or knowledge of. Ignorance isn’t bliss, but it’s wonderfully profitable for the machine that needs and feeds on your disease or disability.

When your ship of life turns upside down because of a huge unexpected stress wave, don’t listen to those who will try and persuade you to remain with them at the bottom and say that help is on its way. DO THE OPPOSITE. Start climbing up to the top ASAP before the false bottom caves in, and as the sea of life comes crashing in and drowns everyone just as you predicted, be thankful you relied on reason and the power of logic.

In any life situation, be it money, health, marriage or career; listen to what convention has to say. Closely observe the behavior of the collective mainstream. Assemble all the facts in your mind and apply the principle of cause and effect, “For every action there is an equal and opposite re-action”.

Take a good hard look at the mainstream majority. Are they well? Are they lean? Are they functional? Analyze how they behave, what they do and why they act. Once you’ve identified what effect their attitudes and actions are having on their health and performance…

DO THE OPPOSITE.

Be brave. Be smart. Use your forebrain. Like George you’ll be amazed at your good fortune and wonder why it took you so long to wake up and live!

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Photo by Matthew Henry from Burst

As always...Stay well and Live Free
Dr.C