This past year has opened our eyes to just how important creating optimal health is. With only 12% of the US population being metabolically healthy (meaning only 88% are) it’s not a surprise why the US has been one of the hardest hit countries in the world with COVID. Stats show that individuals’ with co- morbidities and weakened immune systems get hit the hardest. So creating optimal health is ultimately what prevents (and reverses) disease. Perhaps this is one of the blessings of this pandemic -- to awaken us to the truth of optimal health?

As humans, we are great at over complicating things, including our health. We’re always looking for the “next best thing” whether that be the perfect “diet” or the “perfect supplement” or the “perfect exercise” or “perfect medication,” etc. But in all honesty, simple is generally best. Our bodies are miraculous, organic beings. When given the right support, they can overcome almost anything. 

What they need is simply consistency. Consistent nourishment from whole foods, natural and functional movements, sun and nature exposure, changing our perception to stressors, connection with others, spiritual connection, pure water. Some of the most unsexy and foundational behaviors are the most important and critical for optimal health. 

It’s not easy. Nor is it a quick fix. 

But showing up for yourself and your life with intention and love each day is what will help you vibe high and radiate throughout your life. 

What should we prioritize?

To simplify health for you, I’ve created a list of the Top 13 Tenets to Optimal Health

1. Sleep. Ideally, go to bed at an early enough time that you awaken in the morning at least 90% of the time in advance of when an alarm would otherwise go off. Avoid impairing sleep by avoiding television, email, smart phone, or other full-spectrum light exposure in the full hour prior to typical bedtime.

2. Check your Vitamin D at least twice a year and keep it ideally in the 40-50 ng/ml zone to keep your immune function strong and balanced.

3. Eat Real Food, not "edible food-like substances" (M. Pollan). At least 90% of the time, choose to eat exclusively foods that your great grandmother could have eaten when she was growing up. Just say No! in your typical daily diet to the huge array of chemical flavorings, preservatives, colors, sweeteners, texture agents, hormones, toxins,

4. Find out what food sensitivities you have, and honor them. If you don't know, then don't eat gluten. At least not as part of your mainstay 90% diet. Clinical research is discovering more and more each day the increasing variety of gluten sensitivity and the diseases to which it can contribute. Gluten-triggered release of zonulin (and subsequent intestinal permeability) is a key triggering factor in autoimmune disease. Wheat (the most common gluten-containing grain) is very high-glycemic in nature and contributes to insulin resistance. I have had many of my individual clients recover long-term from chronic depression simply by eliminating gluten. It's just not worth it!

5. Eat as much Organic food as you can Find and as you can Afford. Yes, it's really that bad. Most pesticides are estrogen mimickers. And we have an exponentially increasing rate of estrogen medicated cancers in both men (prostate) and women (breast/uterine). Where possible, maximize nutrition by purchasing local, fresh produce on which on pesticides have been used (not all small farmers can afford formal organic certification). At a bare minimum, make good use of the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen shopping priorities revised each year by the Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org)

6. Play. Seriously. So many of us behave as though there is a large prize at the end of life rewarding us for working as many hours as possible and checking off as many things as we can from our ubiquitous to-do lists. Well, guess what? There's not! Just perhaps instead some regrets and missed opportunities. Savor life. Laugh. Play. Relax. Have fun. Don't let your rejuvenating activities end up being an hour or two of mindless TV each night. We were all five years old at one time. Revive what is Fun for you now. Allow time for it. Make time for it.

7. Don't eat typical bottled vegetables oils and transfats, period. The research on both these groups of "foods" is so damning at this point that this does indeed make this top-13 list. I believe moderation is not even a good idea with these foods. Choose only pressed (and preferably cold-pressed) vegetable oils. Look for the phrase "partially hydrogenated" on food labels and if you see it, don't buy the product. If you eat in restaurants, you will likely be exposed to both of these toxic oils at times (because they are inexpensive), so don't increase the frequency by using them in your own home.

8. Avoid fluoride. Don't use fluoride-containing toothpaste or seek fluoride treatments at the dentist. Does it kill bacteria in the mouth? Yes. Does it increase calcium uptake in teeth? Yes. But likely at very high costs. From low thyroid function to calcification of the pineal gland to reduced IQ in children.

9. Sugar, sweeteners, and foods made with Flour should be in your 10% diet, not the 90%. We have a true epidemic of insulin resistance and its progression states of Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes. This disease progression begins with the diet, every time.

10. Drink plenty of plain, clean water every day. Make sure you know the real quality of the water coming out of your tap (don't rely on regional or town source data). If necessary, invest in a water filter, both for drinking water and (especially!) shower water. There are a huge number of dissolved toxins found in regular municipal drinking water.

11. Stop Shoulding on Yourself. You are a divine child of the universe. Perfect. Start realizing this. And honoring who you really are, what really makes you happy, and how you really want to spend the days of your life. Start now! Choose activities based ideally on what is Fun and Fulfilling. Release the need to use words like Should, Must, and Have-to. Instead, use the word Choose. And then allow yourself to change your mind when that phrase chokes in your throat. Honor your truth. Make time for a spiritual practice that allows you to release the "gunk" of expectations from society/family and reconnects you to Who You Really Are.

12. Do regular detoxification Cleanses (at least twice a year). I do these in mid-spring and mid-autumn and sometimes at additional times as well. In the modern western world, we live in a toxic soup of chemicals. Over 100,000 new chemicals have been introduced into commercial use since World War II. Even with efforts to protect and isolate ourselves and our family, we are still inhaling, eating, and absorbing through out skin dozens of chemicals each day. Our liver/kidney/GI tract can easily become overwhelmed. Then we can store toxins in our body fat, and over time, this may create chronic inflammation which then creates chronic disease (the big ones that most of us fear).

13. Be a part of something wonderful that is Larger than Yourself. Make your life mean something. Find a cause or a contribution that highlights your unique talents, history, and/or skills. One that is powerful to you, not necessarily anyone else nearby. Give regularly of yourself in a way that makes you feel gratified, useful, and part of the larger perfection of the universe.

I encourage you to slowly work your way down the list. Perhaps choosing one to work on each month for the next year and watch how your life blooms and transforms!

I'd love to hear how these go for you. Please leave a comment below to share which tenet has had the biggest impact on you!

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This blog post is for informational and educational purposes. It’s not meant to treat any health condition or to be prescriptive for anyone.

Always be sure to work with your healer or healthcare practitioner. I highly recommend trying all new recommendations and/or supplements slowly to make sure your body tolerates them