For centuries, humanity has carried stories of a lost paradise — a time when life was easier, health was abundant, and awareness was deeper. In their ground-breaking book The Brain of Eden, Tony Wright and Graham Gynn suggest these myths are not merely symbolic. They may reflect a real biological shift in our evolution — a “fall” from a higher state of consciousness and vitality, triggered by a change in our diet.
Fruit: The Natural Food of Humans
Wright and Gynn argue that our brains developed to extraordinary levels when our ancestors lived in tropical environments, thriving on a fruit-rich diet. Fruits provide not only glucose for energy but also a host of natural plant compounds — hormones, antioxidants, and neurochemicals — that fine-tuned brain growth and function. In other words, fruit was not just food; it was the key that unlocked our highest potential.
Natural Hygiene shares this view. It teaches that humans are anatomically and physiologically designed for fruit. When we eat our natural foods, the body is not burdened with toxins, digestion is effortless, and energy is freed for growth, healing, and awareness.
The Decline: Leaving Eden Behind
According to The Brain of Eden, the decline began when humans left the rainforest and adopted cooked starches, grains, and animal products. This shift disrupted the delicate chemistry that once nourished our brains. The result was a gradual narrowing of consciousness, loss of vitality, and rise of disease.
Natural Hygiene explains this in the same way: disease is not random, but the direct result of violating natural law. Cooked and acid-forming foods clog the system, damage tissues, and rob us of the clarity and vibrancy that are our birthright.
Expanded vs. Reduced Consciousness
The book describes how ancient humans lived in a more holistic, right-brain-dominated state of awareness — intuitive, connected, and creative. With dietary decline, left-brain dominance took over, reducing us to a narrower, analytical mode of thinking.
Natural Hygiene adds another layer: true health is not just the absence of symptoms, but the presence of expanded consciousness. When the body is clean, the mind becomes clear, joy arises naturally, and our awareness reconnects with deeper truths.
Fasting: A Return to Eden
While The Brain of Eden focuses mainly on diet, its ideas naturally align with fasting. If the “fall” was caused by dietary corruption, then the way back is through dietary correction — and fasting is the most powerful reset of all. Fasting allows the body to clear away obstructions, restore balance, and reawaken its innate intelligence. When followed by a diet rich in fresh fruits and raw foods, fasting helps re-establish the “Edenic” state of health and consciousness.
Rediscovering Our True Design
Both The Brain of Eden and Natural Hygiene point to the same truth: health, vitality, and expanded awareness are our natural state. We have not “lost” them — we have simply covered them up with wrong living habits. By returning to fruit, rest, sunshine, pure air, clean water, exercise, and emotional balance, we rediscover who we truly are.
This is not just about healing illness. It is about regaining the clarity, creativity, and joy that were once the natural inheritance of all humans. In this sense, Natural Hygiene is more than a healing system — it is a way of returning to Eden.