We have been taught to look at our bodies like simple, mechanical machines. We treat ourselves like cars—if the "Check Engine" light comes on, we assume we just need more fuel or perhaps a different kind of oil. We count our calories with mathematical precision, we track our steps on glowing watches that buzz with every small achievement, and we swallow handfuls of expensive supplements, waiting for that elusive spark of energy that never quite seems to arrive.
The truth, however, is much more haunting. We aren't running out of fuel; in many ways, we are drowning in it.
We are the first generation in human history to be simultaneously "over-fed" and "under-powered." We have plenty of sugar circulating in our blood, but no fire in our cells. This is what I have come to call Biological Debt. We have spent decades living in environments that our DNA simply doesn't recognize—artificial light that never ends, chairs that tell our muscles they are obsolete, and "food" that is essentially a chemistry experiment designed in a lab. We have borrowed energy from our future selves using caffeine and stress hormones to bridge the gaps, and now, the debt is coming due.
