What Other Approaches to Health Might I Be Overlooking?

That is a phenomenal question, Janice! Many thanks for asking about it. At Natural Footgear, our work has always centered on the feet—not just as structures that carry us, but as foundational instruments of human health. Through many years of observing how conventional footwear and foot care have disrupted natural foot function, we’ve come to a clear conclusion: Many widely accepted “health practices” inadvertently harm the very systems they claim to support. And if we’re willing to question long-held assumptions about foot health, it’s worth asking: What other aspects of health are we accepting without scrutiny that deserve a fresh look—and perhaps even a paradigm change?

Diet and movement are perhaps the most obvious starting points. Conventional dietary advice often emphasizes low-fat foods, numerous small meals throughout the day (i.e., grazing), or calorie-restricted approaches while ignoring the inherent wisdom of whole, minimally processed foods. Exercise, too, is frequently treated as an isolated chore: Hours spent on cardio machines or repetitive gym routines are considered “fitness,” yet they may neglect the functional, natural movement our bodies evolved for—walking, climbing, balancing, lifting, squatting, and simply being active in ways that preserve joint integrity, muscle strength, and coordination. In both nutrition and movement, we see the same pattern we see in foot health: Interventions that are too abstracted from natural function can produce harm over time.

Posture, sleep, and stress management follow a similar trajectory. Conventional advice often encourages rigid posture, reliance on ergonomic aids, or medications to blunt stress without addressing root causes. Yet our bodies are dynamic systems that rely on fluid movement, restorative sleep aligned with natural circadian rhythms, and healthy stress responses rooted in lifestyle, environment, and social connection. Ignoring these fundamentals, or substituting quick fixes for natural processes, is akin to trying to support the foot with a stiff, ill-fitting shoe—it may seem to help in the short term, but over time it undermines resilience and can lead to all sorts of foot and toe problems.

Many medical and pharmaceutical conventions also deserve scrutiny. Symptom-focused approaches, over-reliance on pharmaceuticals for chronic conditions, and aggressive preventive interventions often treat numbers, not people. True health emerges when we restore balance to the systems that medicine often bypasses: Metabolism, immunity, tissue integrity, and natural repair processes. In short, lasting health is rarely built from masking dysfunction—it grows from supporting natural design. Just as strengthening the intrinsic muscles of the foot restores balance and function, nurturing the body’s innate capacity for healing fosters resilience across every system. The more we align our habits and environments with biological reality, the less dependent we become on external aids to feel and function well.

The through-line here is clear: Just as we advocate for allowing feet to function naturally, the same principle can be applied across health. Diets that honor evolutionary patterns, movement that respects biomechanics, sleep and stress strategies aligned with natural rhythms, and mindful medical engagement all point in the same direction. Questioning convention is not radical—it’s a necessary step toward vitality that lasts a lifetime. At Natural Footgear, we see the body as a whole system, where every choice either supports or undermines natural function. Once we start seeing health in this way, truly lasting wellness becomes not only possible—it becomes inevitable.