Healthy Lifestyle Habits

The top free healthy lifestyle habits plus a few that are not entirely free but worth the cost.

Healthy Lifestyle Habits

Topics

This is an introductory post to a series about the Healthy Lifestyle Habits I have discovered over the last few years. Dave Asprey calls these bio-hacks. Basically these are low cost, high value habits you can work into your life that will keep you looking, acting and feeling younger as they support the God-designed processes of life. These have become second nature to me now but a few years ago I did not even know about them or, if I had heard of them, I did not believe that things this simple could make the differences they make.

You might ask what some of those differences are. Well, how about these differences. I weighed 110 pounds more 3 years ago. I was borderline type II diabetic, had chronic brain fog, muscle weakness, dyslexic typing, and terrible joint pain. The habits I will be writing about are the ones that had the most influence in curing all of these conditions plus more. Basically, back then at age 61, I felt like I was in my 70’s or even older and wondered if all the stories of getting old would be my fate. But as I write this now at age 65 I feel like I have aged backwards and am back in my 30’s. Sure, I am not immune to aging but healthy aging is sure better than the path I was on. What I discovered was that the root causes of chronic conditions and excess aging were largely traceable to a few common culprits.

This topics summarized below will be covered in more detail over the coming weeks. I provide a synopsis and some suggested material to give you a head start on each habit. Recognizable benefits typically come from each habit within just a few days but the real “magic” comes from adopting the habit into your lifestyle. As already mentioned, I have seen the healing of some major chronic conditions typically associated with aging. Your results may vary because we are all different and are exposed to different environments, toxins and nutrients. Your body will tell you what works for you and what doesn’t. Note that the first habit, Time Restricted Eating / Intermittent Fasting is one to check in with your doctor about if you are on medications or have severe health conditions. But as long as you don’t go cold turkey into a 3 day water fast (which is not part of the habit anyway), just restricting your eating window to between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM or so should not cause issues other than having to resist that craving for a late afternoon or late night snack.

These habits typically improve energy, brain function, longevity, joy and stimulate the epigenetic controllers of your health like autophagy.  Don’t worry if you don’t recognize some of those words, you will soon become familiar with terms like “epigenetic” and “autophagy”.

What I cover is not meant to be an exhaustive list. It is a collection of the habits from which I have seen the most benefit but I expect us to add more habits as time goes on. I will update this post from time to time to add additional habits.

The top free healthy lifestyle habits

The first 3 habits in this list are totally free. Some are actually “cheaper“ than free since they save you both money as well as time. The Wim Hof breathing exercise does take some time but it costs no money. I would be surprised if you did not see benefits from each habit. 

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Habit — Time Restricted Eating / Intermittent Fasting

We were designed to live in harmony with natural cycles, also called circadian rhythms. These rhythms are more important to healthy living than we are taught. One of the most basic rhythms is the cycle between growth and repair. This is controlled by our eating habits. Believe it or not, controlling when you eat or don’t eat is as important as what you eat. Because when you eat, and for several hours after, your body is in growth mode. When you eat nothing for 6 hours or more you go into repair mode. So, if you are constantly snacking, you will be in perpetual growth mode and never spend time in repair mode. Properly managing your eating cycle will help:

• Reduce or maintain weight

• Increase energy and mental clarity

• Reduce chronic diseases like type II diabetes and brain fog

Choose a window of time when you will do all of your eating. You can choose whether you eat 1 meal, 2 meals or 3 meals during that time frame, but outside of that time frame, you do not eat. Zip, zero, nada. Drinking water or Bulletproof coffee is OK but nothing that will trigger insulin, like snacks or soda or juice. This is called “fasting”, which is why the first meal of the day is named "break - fast."

This is probably different from your concept of fasting. A water fast, where you don’t eat for 1 or more days and are only allowed water is not what I am talking about. What I am talking about is a period of time set aside every day for your body to repair and regenerate itself. Most of this time will be while you are asleep but that does not give you permission to eat every hour you are awake, at least not if you want optimum health. It takes your body at least 6 to 8 hours after your last meal to switch into full repair mode. That is why you can’t eat every 2 hours like a Hobbit.

The longer the time between your last and first meals of the day, the more healing can take place.

Typical cycles I like are:

• 10 hr eating/14 hr fasting (the most common for me)

• 8 hr eating/16 hr fasting

• 6 hr eating/18 hr fasting

Here are some good podcasts to listen for a head start on this habit.

AMAZING Fasting & Autophagy Tips with Dr. Joe Mercola

Health Doctor REVEALS The Secret To WEIGHT LOSS & PREVENTING CANCER | Jason Fung & Lewis Howes

And one more on fasting …

How Fasting Can Beat Genetics and Control Cancer – Dr. Jason Fung with Dave Asprey – #760

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Habit — Wim Hof Breathing Technique

This is a series of deep breathing sessions followed by holding your breath. The main benefits are: 

• Fully oxygenating the blood

• Removing carbon dioxide from the blood

• Making the blood more alkaline

• Learning to consciously control autonomic functions such as breathing

• Stimulating the immune system

• Stimulating the mitochondria to make more energy

Do at least one cycle at once a day. A cycle is 3 sets of deep breathing and holding your breath is better and the one I practice at least once a day. A great way to relieve stress before going to bed.

Wim Hof The Iceman Demonstrates His Breathing Technique with Lewis Howes

Wim Hof Method Breathing Video #2

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Habit — Reduce Sugar and Refined Carbohydrates

Why don’t most doctors care about what you eat? Could it be they are taught to medicate and manage symptoms but are typically not taught about the root cause of much disease which is poor nutritional habits. I have never been to medical school but from all accounts med school is deficient in nutrition classes. I have come to believe nutrition, i.e. what you eat, is the most important factor in true health. It absolutely matters what you eat. Attention to real nutrition has made a huge difference for me.

Sugar is not nutrition

Refined sugar consumption is at an all-time high in the Standard American Diet (SAD). Part of the reason is that sugar is addictive, so it is so easy to eat. Sugar makes you high - it binds to the same receptors that mood-altering drugs bind to. Refined flour is as bad as sugar since the starch is converted almost instantly to sugar when it is eaten. Highly processed food, “junk food”, earns it’s name by being composed of sugar, flour and oxidized, omega-6 oils. This "food" is cheap to produce and promotes over-consumptions (bet you can’t eat just one) but the health benefits are non-existent or negative.

The development of the USDA food pyramid was based on politics that stressed the importance of a cheap and efficient diet, not from diligent health research. In 1977 Ancel Keys and other doctors and scientists intent on promoting the unsupported Dietary Fat-Heart hypothesis began recommending the high carb, low fat diet instead of the traditional diet based on natural foods raised on the farm. Turning the food pyramid upside down will give you a much healthier diet . If you want to see results quickly:

• Cut out refined sugar

• Cut out grains

• Give up soda

I know, that sounds cruel and unusual.. Your favorite foods are probably in one of those categories. So, here is an idea. Pick on category and reduce it by 50% for 2 weeks. After 2 weeks, cut in half again. This puts you on the road of sustainable success.

Eating the level of refined, processed, artificial foods eaten today is very different from how our ancestors ate and is not the way we were designed to eat. It is impossible to believe that people believe impossible burgers are possibly food. Artificial food is - well - artificial. There is no thing as artificial nutrition (you are welcome to comment). Consuming the modern amount of sugar, white flour and soda produces persistent, chronic, low level (or even severe) inflammation that damages the inside of arteries and veins. The plaque that builds up to repair that damage is a huge cause of heart disease. You may be young enough that you don’t feel it yet. But just wait, you will.

We will look at research that supports this view. You will learn, like I did, that food is so much more than just calories. Much, much more.

Most of us were raised to think of food in only one dimension - as fuel aka Calories. But food actually has at least 5 dimensions that I can currently identify. Fuel, yes, but it is also the source of all building blocks, supplements, information and most toxins (I did not say every dimension was good) that make up your body.

You may not have thought of it this way before but your body is composed entirely of the food you have eaten. You renew your body on a regular schedule and it is only the food you eat that provides the raw materials along with the energy to build and maintain your body.

Turning the food pyramid upside down: CEO of Bulletproof

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But wait, there’s more …

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Habit — Remove Lectins And Other Toxins From Your Diet

The core to the diet I follow can be found in a book “The Plant Paradox” by Dr. Steven Gundry, MD. The essentials are to stop eating foods that hurt you, or at least limit eating them, eat more of the foods that support you and feed the good bacteria in your gut. It is centered around eliminating sugar and a sticky class of proteins called called lectins which are in a higher concentrations in some foods than in others. Some individual lectins are more damaging than others. One of the more famous lectins you know about is gluten but it is not the only one. This class of proteins attacks the gut barrier and when it gets through into the blood it causes chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation leads to just about every chronic disease we see exploding today. 
I would summarize Dr. Gundry’s diet practice this way

• Certain proteins called lectins cause chronic inflammation - avoid them.

• Sugar and simple carbohydrates cause chronic inflammation - avoid them.

• Certain bacteria in your gut are necessary for health and longevity - feed and protect them.

• Trigger your body’s repair cycle then give it time to do the repair - fasting.

Dr. Gundry has a podcast and interviews interesting guests which is the quickest way to learn about the plant paradox diet. I have learned a lot of additional information from his guests that has refined what I do, including taking some key supplements that we don't get enough of in our food. Dave Asprey, the father of  BioHacking, is one of those guests and I now listen to his podcast, too, because he interviews great guests and asks hard questions. Highly recommended.

The most important diet and lifestyle changes Beverly and I have made are:

Foods to Avoid

1. Lectin containing foods - nightshade vegetables, grains, squash, irish potatoes and beans (unless the beans are pressure-cooked)

2. Simple carbs and sugars and artificial sweeteners (stevia, monk fruit, sugar alcohols ARE acceptable but it is good get used to less sweet anyway)

3. Standard cooking oils and trans fats - no corn, peanut and canola oil, shortening, margarine

4. Industrial meat - beef that was on a feed lot, chicken from chicken houses, farmed fish - all of these will have been fed grain

5. Non-organic foods – they will contain lots of pesticides and glyphosate

Foods to get more of

1. More good fats like extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, avocado and avocado oil, butter from grass fed cows, and yes, lard from pasture raised pigs

2. Good protein like pasture-raised eggs, grass-fed grass-finished beef or bison, pasture-raised chicken, wild caught fish and seafood, mushrooms

3. More polyphenols from dark chocolate, coffee, herbs and spices, colorful vegetables - sweet potatoes, red beets, red onions, spinach, broccoli, brussel sprouts, red or green cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, dark berries, strawberries

Healthier Lifestyle

1. Get enough good sleep

2. Do not eat 3 hours before bed

3. Eat all your food in a 6 to 8 hour window

4. Fast once a week

5. Exercise once a day - a 10 to 15 minute walk is enough but occasional HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) exercise takes you to the next level

Here is good introductory podcast where Dave Asprey interviews Dr. Gundry

https://daveasprey.com/how-nutrition-can-reverse-disease-and-the-impact-of-lectins-dr-steven-gundry-417/

And another podcast where Dr. Gundry interviews Dave Asprey.

Dr. Gundry’s Print-Friendly “Yes” & “No” Lists

https://drgundry.com/dr-gundrys-print-friendly-yes-no-lists/

Products

Dr. Gundry has a line of products, too. I like the products but am not a fan of the marketing style. Darn, life is not perfect. But the products are good and well tested and usually have discounts available.

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Habit — Sleep

Sleep has been somewhat vilified in the United States. If you cant forget about sleep to drive your success you are not successful. While it is possible to be lazy and sleep too much, it seems that Americans burning the candle at both ends and not getting enough sleep is terrible for health. Sleep is out body’s deep cleaning and deep repair cycle. There is great value in going to bed at the same time every night and getting up at the same time every morning. Some good habits to work on are:

• Sleep in complete darkness

• Sleep in a cold room

• Stop eating 2 to 3 hours before bedtime

• Fill up with fat at dinner

• Prime with protein

• Don’t exercise near bedtime

• Don’t stay up until you get your “second wind”

• Bring down your stress

• Don’t drink coffee in the evening

Dave Asprey Sleeping Tips With 4 Minute Video

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Habit — Bulletproof Coffee

Created by Bulletproof founder Dave Asprey, it’s an energizing, keto-friendly coffee drink that provides fuel without the crash and does not trigger insulin. It turns out there’s some powerful science behind the benefits of the combination of hot coffee, butter and Brain Octane C8 MCT Oil. I know, I sound like a marketer but I along with my wife and many of my friends have enjoyed great benefits from adding Bulletproof coffee to our diet. If you don’t like coffee (my wife did not - but does now) read to the end.

Ingredients

• Clean, toxin-tested, ethically sourced coffee beans

• Grass-fed butter or ghee

• MCT oil (coconut oil) or Brain Octane C8 MCT Oil

Grass-fed butter (or ghee) has butyrate, some Omega-3s, the very important nutrient Vitamin A (as beta-carotene) and the fatty acid CLA. You can get Bulletproof ghee or I like Kerrygold Butter, found in most grocery stores. If the butter/ghee is not from grass fed cows you will not get the benefits.

MCT oil which is found in coconut oil is an amazing fuel source. “MCT” stands for “medium-chain triglycerides” which are an interesting form of fat. More on that when we get to the full treatment. Brain Octane C8 MCT Oil MCT oil boosts ketone production more than plain coconut oil because it is pure C8 (caprylic acid) derived from 100% coconut oil. Plain coconut oil is only about 8% C8 which is the MCT that boosts ketone production, so Brain Octane is at least four times more effective than plain coconut oil at raising your ketone levels.

What If I Don’t Drink Coffee?

You can make just about any hot beverage into a creamy, frothy Bulletproof modification by simply adding grass-fed butter and Brain Octane Oil.
If caffeine is the problem, start by opting for decaf. Or, you can Bulletproof your Keto Hot Chocolate and add a little stevia for a sippable sweet treat. If you prefer tea time, check out our recipe for the perfect Bulletproof Matcha Latte.
Bulletproof tip: If you follow a plant-based diet, yes, you can still enjoy the benefits of quality fats in your coffee cup. Try our Vegan Bulletproof Coffee recipe, which also contains gut-supporting prebiotics!

Bulletproof Coffee Recipe

Ingredients can be found at bulletproof and are also at local stores like Whole Foods, Sams, Target, Vitamin Shoppe, and others.

* LIVE15 for 15% off Bulletproof products online

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Habit — Activate Heat Shock Proteins

Using cold to activate heat shock proteins

Cold shower - Wim Hof

Here are a couple of videos on the benefits of cold showers

https://www.wimhofmethod.com/benefits-of-cold-showers

Wim Hof Cold Shower Tutorial for Beginners!

Using heat to activate heat shock proteins

Sauna, including Infrared Sauna

Saunas are commonly available at your local health clubs but there are many saunas available for home use. My research shows that infrared saunas are simpler and less expensive than other options at home but your budget may be your guide. Effective sauna is about the deep heat penetration and raising the core body temperature enough to start activating the beneficial processes. Light, and infrared is light, is more important to your body than you think. When it comes down to it, if there was no light, there would be no life. All life depends upon light.

When the far infrared light penetrates into your body your cells start moving around excitedly and replacing the dead, sick ones to create newer, healthier ones (autophagy). It increases circulation, metabolism and triggers the lymph system to drain toxins!  Far infrared is a powerful heavy metal detoxifier and helps get rid of plastics and other dangerous chemicals stuck inside our bodies.

Relax Sauna® & Far Infrared

https://www.relaxsaunas.com/

I don’t have a sauna at home yet but I have tried this one and like the convenience, the attention to the science and the price. I do have infrared light therapy devices that I use regularly to stimulate healing and increase energy production in targeted regions like joints. Additional red light therapy information and devices can be explored at

* TrueDark

Products designed by Dave Asprey of Bulletproof

* BLUBlox

Additional products from a company I trust

Use code LIVE15 for 15% off at BLUBlox

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Habit — Eliminate modern "vegetable" oils

Vegetable oils are not made from vegetables, they are made from seeds and the process is not natural. Dr. Mercola sees these oils as the most dangerous component of the American diet. Seed oils, composed primarily of oxidized, omega-6 fatty acids, are even worse than sugar because these fats become embedded in your cell membranes and stay there for about seven years, wreaking havoc on your health. Most of the omega-6’s you eat, including seed oils are damaged and oxidized through processing and light exposure in clear bottles, but even if they are unheated and pristine when consumed in any but small amounts, your body degrades them into free radicals that damage virtually every tissue in your body. Many nutritionists now understand that your omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is very important, and should be about 1-to-1 or possibly up to 4-to-1 omega-6 to omega- , but simply increasing your omega-3 intake from sources like fish oil won't counteract the damage done by excessive linoleic acid from omega-6. You need omega-6 but if you eat food you will get all you need. You hard work is to minimize your omega-6 intake to prevent damage from taking place.

Good oils

Grass fed butter, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Avocado Oil, Beef tallow, lard - make sure they are not adulterated with seed oils because a lot of brands are not pure

Bad oils

Soybean oil, corn oil, canola oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, any hydrogenated oil, margarine

The chart of good and bad oils shown below can be found at this link:

https://drcate.com/list-of-good-fats-and-oils-versus-bad/

Here is a good podcast from Dr. Mercola on processed foods and vegetable oils

OMEGA-6 AND AMD- INTERVIEW WITH DR. CHRIS KNOBBE

https://www.bitchute.com/video/vmx3g04OcgjM/

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Habit — Microbiome and gut health

The healthy bacteria (the microbiome) in your gut (small and large intestines) are extremely important to your health.

Can Diet Affect Brain Health? Dr. Gundry Clips

How Hacking Your Gut Bacteria Can Regulate Your Blood Sugar – Colleen Cutcliffe, Ph.D. – #767

Brian Hooker recently interviewed Natash Trenev who has spent her life learning and producing products that are tried and tested for good gut health.

Doctors & Scientists Episode 16: Gut Health And Bacteria 101 With Natasha Trenev, "The Mother Of Probiotics"

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Habit — Optimize Key Vitamins and Nutrients

The Calton’s have an interesting crisis story, which is not uncommon among nutrition and health advocates. Because of some health challenges that Mira had from osteoporosis they did research that led to patents and a line of products that are some of the best I have found in the vitamin space. Multi vitamins get a bad rap but it is not entirely unearned. But the research behind the Calton multi vitamins support optimal amounts of each vitamin with optimal delivery timing and absorption. I will make several posts on vitamins and supplements and this is s good place to start.

Mira Calton Video on Supplements and Osteoporosis

https://www.caltonnutrition.com/miras-video-on-supplements-and-osteoporosis/

Jayson Calton video from Supplements Revealed and nutrience testimonials

https://www.caltonnutrition.com/jaysons-video-from-supplements-revealed-and-nutreince-testimonials/

* Use the button below to visit the Calton Store

Too little of any one of the essential nutrients can result in a named disease. Be sure you get enough of each vitamin. Your doctor can check your levels. The US RDA is just a starting point, below which you will get disease, but the optimal vitamins levels are typically higher than the amounts in the RDA. There are toxic levels for each vitamin as well as levels that are too low. We will do a pretty deep dive into each key vitamin.

The following vitamins are particularly important.

A, B12, C, D3, K2, Selenium, Zinc, Magnesium

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And here are my results

Before and after

So you see, you don’t have the skip dessert every time. Just keep it to special occasions. The picture on the right is 110 pounds lighter than the one on the left.

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Habit — Atomic Habits

Book by James Clear

Atomic Habits are the things that you want to become so automatic you do them without thinking. What are some things you do either everyday or in every situation that you don’t have to think about. Clocking in at work, locking your door when you leave the house, shifting gears if you have a standard transmission, brushing your teeth after a meal or tying your shoes when you put them on may be in your repertoire. But when you first learned to do each of these they weren’t trivial nor automatic. Now you can tie your shoe or shift gears in a car and not even remember you did it. That is an atomic habit. The more things that improve your life that you can make automatic, the more time, energy and brain power you have to do the things that require more effort and thinking. This is one of my “yearly read” books. I have lost count of how many times I have read it now. Many positive things have come into my life by putting new habits inspired by this book into my life. Writing and publishing is a direct result of incorporating habits that push me to write. Highly, highly recommended!

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Habit — Red Light, Blue Light

More red light, less blue light - especially at night.

I cover the red light in the sauna section but another important color of light is blue light. But while extra red light is good and healing to the body, excess blue light is the opposite. There is blue light in the natural spectrum but not nearly as much as we get exposed to in the artificial lights of modern life. Electronic devices are particularly packed with damaging artificial blue light. Before electric lighting, any light at night came from devices devoid of blue light. Blue light tells your body it is daytime - time to be awake. That is not the signal you want at night. The natural lack of blue light at night tells your body to wind down and prepare for sleep. This actually triggers hormonal changes, triggering process that turn the serotonin the daytime sunlight told your body to make into the melatonin that will make you sleep well. But, if you have blue light at night, the serotonin does not get converted making it hard to go to sleep when you want to. Natural morning light, full of red light mixed with the right mix of blue and other colors, tells your body to wake up and make serotonin. You get the most natural blue around noon and early afternoon. Then when the sun goes down, the absence of blue light triggers the serotonin to become melatonin. If you did not make your serotonin during the day, you will not get the melatonin at night. Serotonin is the required precursor of melatonin.

* TrueDark

https://truedark.com/

Use code LIVE15 for 15% off

* BLUBlox

https://www.blublox.com/?rfsn=6390921.fc8e0e

Use code LIVE15 for 15% off

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Habit — Relationships

No man is an island. We were created for relationships. The most important is your relationship with God. Then comes family and then your neighbor. I am working on a list of topics that will appear here soon.

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This list is not exhaustive but it is a good start. The journey begins soon ….

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Check out another post about my personal health journey

* Full disclosure - links marked with * are companies I have affiliate relationship with and I may earn a commission from referrals. I entered their program because they have products I use and trust. Feel free to let me know of other companies that have similar products that you have found useful.