Adapting to Life in Stockholm by

Dr Cohen says: "Super overview of living in sync with where you live! Cameron is great writer. A future podcast guest for us for sure."

BEGIN ARTICLE:

Halfway through 2024, I moved from Sydney (33°S), Australia to Stockholm, Sweden (59°N). Up until then, I had lived in Australia my entire life and had not experienced temperatures below single digits, snow, or the stark polarity of short winter days and long summer days. Adapting to an entirely new environment presented a challenge that would test my understanding of nature and how to thrive in such a novel environment.

Sweden – EU country profile

Sweden extends from 55° to 67° north of the equator. At the winter solstice, the sun only reaches about 10 degrees of elevation in the country’s capital.

For many years now, I have been of the staunch opinion that nature dictates the rules of the game. In order to live a vital life, we must pay attention intently to the world around us in order to understand how we can be in harmony with it. Unlike the vast majority of people in the health space today, it has been blindingly obvious to me that the antecedents of health are entirely dependent on the environment to which we are exposed; there cannot be a "perfect diet" or a "perfect sleep routine" or "perfect sunlight exposure regime" by definition.

For essentially all of human history, what we ate, the light we were exposed to, the magnetic field strength we lived in, the altitude (O2 pressure) were all dictated by our unique locales. Humans were essentially incapable of breaking these rules even if we wanted to. Artificial lighting, non-native EMF, imported foods and high-rise buildings were simply not options for our ancestors. Populations evolved specific adaptations, whether genetic, mitochondrial, biochemical, morphological, or cultural, to better match their environment. Large-scale migration patterns have left many of us in environments we might not be optimized for.

The Environment Dictates Health

The environment dictates what can be considered "healthy" or "optimal". Fitness is a function of environmental conditions and individual constitutions.

The Sami Reindeer Herders of Lapland

The Sami people native to the northern regions of Sweden. Note their lack of external pigmentation and facial characteristics similar to those of northern Asia. These peoples are traditionally herders of reindeer. They have fascinating circadian rhythms not in phase with day and night, but rather the movements of their reindeer. Like other traditional peoples, they have little-to-no prevalence of modern chronic disease.

Upon moving to Sweden, it became clear to me (even more than I was expecting) that the rules of the game were markedly different here compared to Sydney. The patterns and habits I had cultivated for so long no longer apply here. Local fruit was remarkably scarce, and vegetables like eggplant and tomato could not be grown locally except in summer. Beef does not thrive in this climate, and earthing during the winter presents unique challenges. Earthing during the winter turns out to be quite difficult, and ensuring I can compensate for lack of UV light exposure with seafood presents a few key issues.

Art and Innovation

Traditional Sami shoes are made from reindeer hide and are conductive, possibly allowing earthing even during winter. Rubber-soled shoes and artificial surfaces do not permit this. It is possible that other mechanisms compensate for any lack of earthing that might occur during cooler periods where direct contact with the earth’s electric field is not easily permitted, although I could only speculate how this could be achieved.

Adapting to Low Sunlight

Some in the health space insist on the importance of high-energy photons. Ultraviolet light has provided energy necessary for life's genesis. Countless studies have shown significant inverse relationships between UV exposure and mortality from cancers, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality. However, how do humans thrive in regions like Sweden, where UVB is scarce?

My goal has been to align myself with these environmental conditions. If there is little-to-no access to UVB light, then harmony with other environmental conditions must compensate somewhere. If humans have thrived beyond they equator for tens of thousands of years, how have they compensated for the lack of sunlight? In essence, what are the rules of the game where sunlight is a luxury?

Sperti Vitamin D lamp. This is a UV light designed to provide the benefits of endogenously synthesised vitamin D even in the absence of UVB photons from the sun. Most of the days in the year in in Stockholm, Sweden do not provide UVB light from the sun due to the low solar angle. While it may be tempting to use UV therapy during periods of time where no natural UVB is present, this type of therapy could be considered an incongruent environmental signal. Much like eating a pineapple here in winter, I would personally avoid using such a device as the signal it is sending to my body is at odds with the natural signals around me.

Some prescient environmental conditions spring to mind when considering such rules. Temperature, magnetic field strength, diurnal cycles, nutrient availability, deuterium/hydrogen ratio and solar spectrum all change markedly in Stockholm compared to Sydney. My goal was (and still is) to align myself as best I can with these environmental conditions in order to give myself the best chance of thriving in such a novel place.4 If there is little-to-no access to UVB light, for instance, then my implicit assumption is that if I am in harmony with wall of these other environmental conditions, there must be compensation for this somewhere; a topic I have written about previously.

Complex systems respond and adapt in ways congruent to the stimuli they are experiencing. When the stimuli supplied are artificial and consequently do not match the true or natural environment in which an organism resides, erroneous and likely negative (from the perspective of the system's ability to thrive) configurations3 are established. This notion is at the core of circadian disruption by artificial light; short wavelengths (predominantly blue) are not available after sunset in any significant abundance, therefore, it is a stimulus that negatively influences the configuration of the biological system. A high fructose intake in Oslo would similarly provide an incongruent stimulus to the body in a place where this would not naturally be possible.4

Environmental Factors in Stockholm

Temperature: Stockholm experiences sub-zero temperatures during winter, unlike Sydney.
Magnetic Field Strength: Stockholm's magnetic field is stronger due to proximity to the poles.
Diurnal Cycles: Stockholm has 20-hour days in summer and 4-hour days in winter.
Nutrient Availability: Limited growing periods lead to stronger reliance on animal foods.
Deuterium/Hydrogen Ratio: Stockholm has lower deuterium levels than Sydney.
Solar Spectrum: Fewer high-energy photons, more long-wavelength light.

Traditional Diets

Food provides our bodies with information. By eating locally, we send a message consistent with our locale. My diet in Sweden has focused on lean meats, cheese, fish, local fruits (mostly berries), and vegetables, supplemented with cod liver oil for vitamin D and marine fatty acids.

This approach mimics the traditional diets of the region, aligning with ancestral patterns that have supported health for generations.

Nypon; otherwise commonly known as rosehips. These grown wild all over Sweden and provide a potent source of vitamin C even throughout the frozen winter period. Traditionally dried or used to make soup, these berries are considered one of the most important plants to be able to identify in a survival situation.

So what does this mean for life? Specifically, humans. How do our bodies use these environmental signals and resources to adapt and thrive?5 What have I had to focus on to align myself with this new environment?

Northern Lights

The northern lights from my trip to Örnsköldsvik, Sweden on January 1st 2025. Strong solar activity is required for the northern lights to be visible. The earth’s magnetic field is stronger at the poles relative to the equator, which is one of the reasons why this phenomena cannot be viewed at other latitudes.

Food was something I felt I could wrap my head around relatively easily; focus on what is available locally. This would essentially be an effort to mimic the traditional diets of people in this region. The works of Weston A. Price demonstrate clearly that no traditional diets are identical, but all were capable of sustaining large populations who were, relative to today's health standards, doing very well.6 The key was locality and quality. The local environment provides the precise nutritional components required for the organisms it supports.7 Food provides our bodies with information. By eating locally, we are essentially sending a message that is consistent with our locale. As I have written in a previous article, “The Importance of Plant Foods”, plant-hormetic compounds play critical roles in modulating the ways in which energy is directed in our bodies.

This one was relatively simple to navigate. Buy as locally and organic as possible, trying my hardest to mimic what the people of Scandinavia have been doing for arguably tens of thousands of years. For the most part, this has consisted of lean meats, cheese, fish, local fruits (predominantly berries) and vegetables, mushrooms, while using only butter and rendered animal fats for oils.8 This meant that a lot of my meals have been ground deer with grated vegetables cooked in tallow with berries for dessert. I have also supplemented my diet with tins of cod liver and cod liver oil. These are important as they are ancestrally consistent and contain vitamin D, vitamin A and marine fatty acids. Marine fatty acids are important as they are potent mitochondrial uncouplers, facilitating cold thermogenesis; something I need all the help I can get with. Omega 3 fats also play important roles in light transduction from the eyes via quantum mechanisms. Ensuring adequacy here is so vital as the light signals are weaker. Vitamin A also plays important roles in binding to opsin proteins that are responsible for non-visual signal transduction of light. This is why one of the principal symptoms of vitamin A deficiency is circadian disruption. I have also included high quality sourdough breads as it is a great vehicle for butter.9 Nypon (rose hips) grow wild all over Sweden and are great ways to get vitamin C and plant-hormetic compounds for free.

Water

Due to the quirks of the hydrological cycle, deuterium (the heavy but stable isotope of hydrogen) is less abundant at latitudes further from the equator, generally speaking. Drinking water and food subsequently accumulates less deuterium, leaving us humans with less in our systems. However, with the importation of foods and refining of carbohydrates rich foods (primarily white wheat flour and cane sugar), our deuterium/hydrogen ratios no longer reflect the native population's levels.

My solution to this issue was to consume food and water from my locale as exclusively as possible. This would help to ensure a deuterium/hydrogen ratio that matched the rest of my environmental signals. Fortunately, the municipal water supply here is quite good as far as tap water is concerned, although filtration is still something that is almost always required. The primary issue I faced (and continue to face) is being a sweet tooth in a city known for it's incredible pastries. Indulging every now and again means that extra emphasis on low deuterium foods is critical for rebalancing the D/H ratio. Sugar is essentially a deuterium bomb. If I had money, I would always keep deuterium depleted water on-hand to help me manage my deuterium levels particularly during the winter months. Unfortunately, when you get cold, your body's desire for quick energy is at an all-time high, making it very difficult to resist a delicious kanelbullar.

It is well known that deuterium has notable metabolic differences when substituted for hydrogen. So much so, in fact, that specific drugs are deliberately deuterated because of the way it impacts the metabolism of the synthetic drug. Synthetic chemicals are almost always cleared by P450 enzymes. Deuterating the drugs slows this process, enhancing the effects of the drugs. One can imagine what a lifetime of excess deuterium might do to energy metabolism.

The earth is like a bar magnet; the closer to the poles you get, the stronger the field. It is important to consider the components of biology that might be influenced by magnetic fields. Everywhere we have unpaired electrons and magnetic fluids, their activity is somewhat modulated by the native (and non-native) fields that surround us. While this section is again speculative, it is interesting to consider the action of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and their roles in signalling when exposed to magnetic fields of varying strengths.

Health & Birds

The European Robin. Most of the pioneering work on magnetoreception has been looking at this tiny bird and its amazing migratory flights. It is theorised that it (and other migratory animals) can effectively 'see' the Earth's magnetic field.

On the equator, the earth's magnetic field strength is approximately 30μT. At the poles, however, this can reach around 90μT, a roughly 300% difference. I personally think it would be foolish to dismiss the possibility that changes of this magnitude to the environment could have no biological effects, particularly when ROS and RNS (molecules that are influenced by magnetism) play such important roles in homeostatic regulation. It seems as though field strength modulates the way in which these molecules and particles behave. It even seems as though cryptochrome, a protein heavily involved in circadian rhythm is influenced by magnetic fields; something I think also yokes with the rhythmic differences in day and night length at different latitudes. However, if this were true, we are prompted to believe that this is true in a natural setting of relatively low deuterium levels. It could be that perhaps the artificially high deuterium levels common in modern populations could interfere with proper signalling between the fields and magnetic-sensitive biomolecules. While there is no direct evidence for this hypothesis, it seems to align with logic when using nature as the prime heuristic.

Unfortunately, the first apartment I lived in when arriving was on the 3rd floor. The further from the ground you are, the weaker the magnetic field becomes. This is likely one of the reasons health metrics for those in highrise buildings are notably worse. It should be noted that, to my knowledge, earthing does not compensate for the (relative) weakened magnetic fields experienced when living far from the surface of the earth. I have since moved to a new place that is ground floor (a prerequisite) and fortunately not in an apartment complex where there are all sorts of EMF floating around.

I suspect that stronger magnetic fields closer to the poles shifts ROS/RNS signalling and the biophoton signature that accompanies it. This is probably important for maintaining redox in regions lacking high-energy photons and carbohydrate-rich foods rich in plant-hormetic compounds.

Stockholm is cold, at least compared to Sydney. Swedish winter is in some ways very similar to Australian winters. It was quite obvious that the meager temperatures had to be embraced. There is much discussion about how cold induces large peaks in biophoton activity from people like Jack Kruse. However, I'm not convinced that it's that simple. Cold exposure, marine PUFA and thyroid hormones all modulate mitochondrial uncoupling. During winter, mitochondria become more proficient at generating heat via dissipation. As far as I am aware, this would actually serve to reduce biophoton emission, as uncoupling ostensibly limits the production of ROS/RNS; perhaps the primary source of high-energy (UV) biophotons. Other studies have also shown that biophoton emission drops during winter and peaks in the summer. I have also seen some claiming that UV biophotons endogenously generate vitamin D when interacting with cholesterol moieties; I highly doubt this is the case for a number of reasons, however, it is not exactly out of the realm of possibility and should absolutely be investigated thoroughly.

Either way, cold was something I aimed to experience daily, despite my penchant for heat and humidity. It appears to me that cold is one of the primary signals for the mitochondrial shift towards uncoupling, something that appears to be vital for balancing the signaling of ROS/RNS and the proton motive force.

Biophoton emission appears to be reduced during the winter months compared to the summer months. While this population does not exactly match Nordic regions, it does seem telling. This could also be a sign that people typically do not experience the cold anymore due to their indoor lives heated at their convenience and illuminated at ill-advised hours of the day. This idea should be studied more with today's more advanced biophoton equipment.

Lastly, there is the discussion of light. While not in the Arctic circle, Stockholm experiences diurnal extremes far beyond that of Sydney. At the summer solstice, the sun sets after 11pm and rises at approximately 4am. Light environments like this promote shifts in thyroid hormone, appetite10 and circadian rhythm quite notably. Summer was actually great as almost no artificial light was required from sun up to sun down. I also didn't have to wear blue blockers at all, something I was quite happy about. But as winter crept onto the scene, it became a different story.

Winter solstice

Winter Solstice in Stockholm. This is as high as the sun gets in the sky during the winter period.

UVB departed the 59th north for what would be about 190 days of UVB-free sunlight. My melanin began to recede and as of writing I am pale and pasty as a ghost - something that is actually beneficial here. The cod liver and cod liver oil consumption had to ramp up, and I will even admit a few vitamin D capsules were taken when I did not have them available. My lighting environment became much more important as the sun began to set closer and closer to 3pm. Beeswax candles and incandescent bulbs11 were the rule. Blueblockers unfortunately became important to wear as I was in public spaces with no natural light much more frequently. None of this is exactly idea, and my sleep schedule was never as good as I would have liked. I started using red light therapy more frequently as is was not uncommon for me to be largely unable to be outside for any decent period of time throughout the day.

With all this being said, it has been difficult to navigate the nuances of this new environment. Much more needs to be dialed in on my part and it is a true reminder that change is not simple and can sometimes take time to adjust to; especially when you share a life with others who do not have the same health priorities as you.

What it has taught me though is that social connection is as vital as the rest of the environmental signals I have mentioned here. Often times I have traded off time spent outdoors in the sun to spend time with friends in less than ideal environments. It cannot be understated how important this facet of health is, particularly in parts of the world like Stockholm where the sun, anxiety and depression's worst enemy, is often missing in action.

I have also learnt that it is not a death sentence to live somewhere where sunlight is a luxury (my maternal heratige is from the UK, so I’m arguably more suited to this environment than Sydney). If you pay attention and follow nature's rules, you can absolutely thrive here too. It should be noted that the health metrics here are better than those of the US and Australia. There are other important factors that play into health other than the abundance of high-energy photons (although they do seem absolutely invaluable).

What we can be sure of is that we don't understand how the body responds and adapts to such varying environments. We can, however, be sure that the information provided by our local environment such as temperature, nutrient availability, deuterium/hydrogen ratio, magnetic field strength, solar spectrum and diurnal fluctuation are the information required. When yoked together, the body is given the chance to not only adapt, but to thrive.

Environmental Observations

1

This idea is Darwinism in its purest form. The environment dictates what is considered ‘healthy' or ‘optimal'. Fitness is a function of environmental conditions and individual constitutions.

2

While the local contributions to the supermarkets are scarce, there is no shortage of imported foods. Brazilian mangoes, for example, are available on the winter solstice here. Bananas from Central America are common snack foods. Spanish vegetables are the norm here. Interestingly, one can find Swedish sugar (from beets) which I found quite interesting as I'd love to know if the deuterium content of this sugar is lower than that of South American cane sugar. I suspect it might.

3

The term 'configuration' refers to a specific homeostatic state. For example, a bear's summer and winter ‘configurations’ are vastly different.

4

This is precisely what Jack Kruse refers to when he references his discussion at the keto conference over a decade ago. The reason he stated it is crazy to think eating a banana in December in Boston is because food is information and the human body is a cybernetic system that adapts based on the flux of information that passes through it. It is somewhat analogous to thinking that you will be able to watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s after opening the software Microsoft PowerPoint - it is not possible for the computer to do what you want because it simply has the wrong information. Granted, this is a hyperbolic comparison, however, the idea remains that information provides the stimulus for adaptation; wrong stimulus, bad adaptation.

5

This is the core of my Environmental Gradients Hypothesis.

6

Even the Swiss who subsisted on their high quality rye and nutrient dense dairy thrived (despite the fact that even the thought of a diet rich in grain and dairy would probably send many health influencers today into cardiac arrest).

7

To me, the fact that the unique nutrients that allow life to thrive in certain places are indeed located there is evidence of James Lovelock's Gaia. Gaia is the hypothesis that the earth itself is 'alive' and capable (through collaborative processes with biology) of self regulation. We need Gaia and Gaia needs us; from this perspective it's not surprising that the nutrients we need in certain locales are provided to us as life and Gaia co-evolved.

8

Interestingly, rapeseed (canola) oil is the primary cooking oil here as they grow a lot of it. It is quite easy to get organic, cold-pressed rapeseed oil in glass bottles here. Obviously this is suboptimal and ancestrally inconsistent, but I would imagine that this would be a much superior option than the canola offered in other parts of the world.

9

Unfortunately, all dairy is pasteurized by law in Sweden, making it quite difficult to source raw dairy.

10

As a side note, when I arrived during the summer, I was consistently eating 4 meals a day with the most insatiable appetite I've ever experienced. The long days were screaming at my body to eat and lay down fat to ready it for the unforgiving winter months.

11

I am working to figure out a rig to run standard incandescent bulbs that anyone can buy via DC to eliminate the flicker. This is the ideal lighting scenario in my opinion.

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Adapting to Life in Stockholm by Cameron Borg