Shoes - what kind do you wear?

Ritesh Bawri

Mar 5, 2024 — 2 min read

Shoes! What kind do you wear? If this is not a subject you have given much attention to, now may be a good time.

I recently bought a pair of flat shoes that did not have cushioning or arch support. It also had a wide front with an opening for my toes. You may have seen or heard about these shoes.

NASA did not help us put a man on the moon alone. They also came up with the idea of a cushioned shoe. Frank Rudy, a NASA engineer, developed a patent that would ultimately become the Nike Air technology.

Prior to this, Goodyear, the tyre company, had developed keds, which was a technology that allowed rubber soles to be soldered onto our shoes for cushioning impact.

So was this technology good or bad for us?

As always, the human body adapts to what we do with it. For the most part, it adapts well, but sometimes the outcomes are not good.

When you walk naturally, your foot strikes the ground with the front of your foot. Your heel is then lowered to the ground. This form of striking the ground reduces the force of the impact, reducing injury.

Typically, if you see a modern shoe, it has cushioning both at the front and especially at the back. The idea is to prevent injuries caused by landing on your heel.

When you use a cushioned shoe, you could end up getting lazy and using your heel more. There is a cushion, after all, preventing you from getting injured.

I recently switched to a non-cushioned wide-front shoe. The effect was magical. It felt like a weight had been lifted off my feet. My feet could finally breathe.

So what should you do?

If you are inclined to build strength and resilience in your feet and legs, go back to wearing no shoes or being as minimalistic as possible. It will take time, but your feet will get stronger.

If you are among those who can't spend too much time thinking about what you wear, then the cushioned, protected shoe is probably best for you.

Reach out to me on twitter @rbawri Instagram @riteshbawriofficial and YouTube at www.youtube.com/breatheagain

Sensors - the future

Sensors are devices that detect a change. Light, sound, or smoke, for example. But what might the future of sensors hold for your personal health? Most of us have used simple sensors. Temperature gauge. Blood pressure. But in the not-too-distant future, we might scoff at these simple devices. Let us

Reversal or Remission?

We have come a long way. About a decade ago, when I started my amazing health transformation, most of the people I met were skeptics. The thrust of the argument I would hear would be that there was no way to reverse a disease. In essence, diseases were a one

But then he died

I was recently reading a book on beating cancer. The author outlined the steps he had taken to beat grade III colon cancer successfully. Then I realized he had recently died of cancer. Naturally, my first instinct was to question everything he had said. He had rejected chemotherapy. He had

Preferences - do you have any?

Quick, tell me what your preferences are for food. Ok, at least think of things you like. What if I told you that you do not really have any preferences? What if I told you that your preferences are malleable depending on the circumstances and what you are being told

Read more

Sensors - the future

Reversal or Remission?

But then he died

Preferences - do you have any?