Take charge of your own health, understand your biology, and view your doctor as a partner and advisor rather than abdicating full responsibility for your well-being.
Understand your body as a network where everything is connected, rather than a collection of isolated symptoms, to address the root causes of health issues.
Systematically identify and remove factors interrupting normal bodily function, such as toxins (heavy metals, pesticides), infections (microbes, viruses), allergens (environmental, food sensitivities), poor diet, and physical or psychological stress.
Ensure you have adequate intake of the right food and nutrients, sufficient light exposure, clean water and air, regular movement, proper rest and sleep, and strong social connections, love, meaning, and purpose in life.
Focus on optimizing your gut, immune system, mitochondria, detox system, and hormonal regulation to improve overall health and alleviate symptoms.
Prioritize foods that are as close to nature as possible, grown in a plant (not made in a plant), and consist of single ingredients or combinations of single-ingredient foods.
Focus on eliminating refined sugar and starch from your diet, as these are the primary drivers of the metabolic crisis.
Do not combine saturated fats with refined starches and sugars, as this combination is highly detrimental to health; instead, pair fats with non-starchy vegetables.
Focus on consuming fats from whole foods like avocados, coconut, nuts, seeds, and omega-3 rich fish, and use minimally processed oils such as extra virgin olive oil.
Remove inflammatory foods like dairy, gluten, grains, sugar, and processed foods, and instead eat a whole foods, anti-inflammatory diet to heal the microbiome and reduce symptoms.
If on a limited budget, prioritize cardiovascular exercise (at least 3 times/week), bodyweight resistance training, and a diet of eggs, fish, meat, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and olive oil, as these are foundational and cost-effective.
Get diagnostic tests to determine your specific nutrient needs, as genetic variability means individuals require different dosages (e.g., vitamin D) and guessing can lead to suboptimal health.
Strive for optimal levels of nutrients like vitamin D (over 45) and ferritin (over 45) rather than just the minimum to prevent deficiency, as suboptimal levels can cause fatigue, brain fog, and other symptoms.
Take at least 1-2 grams of EPA/DHA omega-3 fats, 2,000-4,000 IU of vitamin D3, and a high-quality multivitamin daily to cover essential nutrient needs.
Select supplements, especially multivitamins, that are free of fillers, binders, and additives, contain bioavailable forms of nutrients, and are third-party tested for purity and potency to ensure effectiveness and safety.
Choose magnesium citrate for laxative effects, malate for muscles, and glycinate or threonate for brain function and sleep, with glycinate also being good for detoxification and general tolerance.
Consider iodine supplementation or consuming seaweed and fish, as many people are deficient due to avoiding iodized table salt, which can contribute to low thyroid function.
Use a reverse osmosis water filter to remove wastewater contaminants, drugs, pesticides, glyphosate, and hormones from tap water.
Install and regularly change an air filter in your home, especially if you live in an urban or environmentally toxic area, to improve indoor air quality.
Enhance your body’s natural detoxification systems (liver, kidney, gut, sweat) by consuming foods that upregulate liver function, such as cruciferous vegetables and garlic, juicing cilantro daily, and eating a high-fiber diet to bind and eliminate heavy metals.
Support detoxification by boosting glutathione with compounds like lipoic acid and N-acetylcysteine, ensuring adequate intake of methylating B vitamins (B12, folate, B6), and consuming enough protein to provide amino acids for liver detoxification pathways.
Take 600 milligrams of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) daily to support glutathione production and detoxification, especially given constant exposure to environmental toxins.
Take sulforaphane and increase cruciferous vegetable intake to upregulate glutathione, the body’s main detoxifying compound, especially when exposed to microplastics and PFASs.
Reduce exposure to heavy metals like mercury by limiting large fish and instead choosing smaller fish such as wild salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, and herring.
Reduce consumption of large fish like tuna, as they tend to accumulate higher levels of mercury, which can elevate blood mercury levels.
For those with elevated mercury exposure (e.g., from sushi), a prescription chelating drug like DMSA (500mg or 200mg) can be used to help remove heavy metals, but requires medical guidance.
Regularly test hormonal panels, including free and total testosterone, estradiol, DHT, DHEA sulfate, FSH, and LH, as these levels change with age and can indicate underlying issues like PCOS or low testosterone.
Young men with low testosterone should prioritize optimizing diet, exercise (avoiding overtraining), and targeted supplementation before considering Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) due to potential side effects like reduced sperm count.
Recognize that dietary responses, especially to saturated fat, vary significantly based on individual metabolic type, insulin resistance, and overall health, necessitating a personalized approach.
Regularly test your biomarkers, implement dietary or lifestyle changes, and then re-test and track the results to understand what works best for your unique biology.
When making lifestyle or dietary changes, allow about a month to see changes in lipids, and up to three months for vitamin D or iron levels to rebuild, before re-evaluating.
Explore new multi-cancer early detection blood tests, like Galleri, which screen for 50 common cancers by detecting DNA fragments in the bloodstream, often years before they appear on traditional scans, with a low false positive rate.
Consider taking 1000mg of sublingual NMN daily to support NAD levels, which can lead to increased energy, improved mitochondrial function, and enhanced cellular repair.
Consider using peptides, which are mini-proteins with powerful biological effects, strategically and for specific purposes to regulate sex hormones, growth hormone, metabolic health, or nerve function, under medical guidance.
Peptides are powerful compounds and should only be used under the strict guidance of a well-educated doctor or licensed professional, with careful monitoring of side effects, lab work, and hormone levels.
Cycle the use of peptides, particularly those that stimulate growth hormone, rather than taking them continuously, to prevent potential issues.
Athletes seeking increased recovery and repair can explore peptides such as BPC-157, TB-500, and GHK, which are regulatory peptides that support tissue repair and healing.
Consider using the peptide Thymosin Alpha-1 to enhance immune function, especially when experiencing a cold, immune issues, or recovering from illnesses like COVID.
The peptide PT-141 (Bremelanotide) can be used to enhance sexual function, although it is FDA-approved for women, it can also be effective for men.
Peptides such as Epithalon and Ipamorelin may be considered to help support growth hormone levels.
Exercise caution with continuous use of BPC-157, as it promotes angiogenesis (growth of blood vessels), which could potentially accelerate tumor growth if an undiagnosed cancer is present.
If using GLP-1 agonists, combine them with a nutrition consult to address increased protein requirements and a strength training program to mitigate muscle loss and support overall health.
If considering GLP-1 peptides, explore sub-pharmacologic doses with a knowledgeable physician, as these can be effective tools when used carefully and affordably.
Be aware of potential risks and side effects of GLP-1 agonists, such as increased risk of bowel obstruction and pancreatitis with long-term use, and monitor kidney function, amylase, lipase, and other hormones.
For Alzheimer’s and dementia, adopt a personalized, multi-modal approach by identifying and treating all root causes, which can include insulin resistance, environmental toxins, mold, infections (like Lyme), microbiome imbalances, and nutritional deficiencies (e.g., B vitamins).
Exosomes, which are packets of healing information from stem cells, can be considered for rapid recovery from post-viral cognitive and mood issues, such as those experienced after severe COVID, by promoting healing and repair.
Exosomes can be effectively used for localized tissue repair and healing, such as for meniscus injuries in the knee or back pain.
If considering stem cell therapy for severe injuries, thoroughly research and select a very reputable center, inspecting laboratories and understanding their harvesting, growth, and testing practices to ensure safety and efficacy.
Acknowledge that in modern life, supplements like D3, omega-3s, magnesium, selenium, and iodine are often necessary due to environmental toxins, chronic stress, and depleted nutrient content in food, unlike a pristine 1930s hunter-gatherer existence.
Take vitamin D, fish oil (omega-3s), and probiotics to support gut health and reduce inflammation.