Health Check List

[Guest guest]

I've put together a list of the top 20 things to do for optimal health

- as near as I can gather from the health research I've been doing

over the last couple of years. I realize that priorities in this list

will vary from person to person, depending on many factors, but I

ordered the list mainly for people who are eating a conventional

modern diet and want to make changes to improve their health. Some of

the items on this list would have been irrelevant 100 years ago

In the interest of brevity, I have not included justifications, but

I'd like to know what others think about the list. Are there any

important items that I've missed? Are these reasonable priorities for

most people?

I will probably post this list on my blog along with a link to this

message on NN for more information. My goal is to develop a simple

list for beginners to help them focus on what they can do to improve

their health. I may make adjustments based on discussions here.

OK, here's the list:

1) Include animal seafoods and/or organ meats and/or dairy

(from Weston A Price study of most healthful native diets)

2) Get at least 30 minutes of active exercise daily

(appropriate for your level of conditioning)

3) Learn to avoid and properly handle stress

(relaxation, meditation, EFT, diet)

4) Eliminate refined sugar and minimize sweets

if overweight, minimize starchy and sweet foods

5) Eliminate artificial trans-fats (hydrogenated vegetable oils)

6) Restrict polyunsaturated fats to no more than 4% of total calories

and minimize omega-6 polyunsaturated fats

7) Include cultured and fermented foods and beverages if tolerated

8) Minimize or eliminate non-fermented soy

9) Get plenty of sun if possible (but don't get sunburned)

10) Avoid harmful chemicals in food and environment

(artificial food additives, natural food toxins, drugs, poisons)

11) Avoid foods that frequently cause noticeable adverse effects

(identify possible food intolerances)

12) Take good quality high vitamin cod liver oil daily

(if you don't get adequate sun, seafood, and liver routinely)

13) Choose fully pastured or wild animal foods

preferably from a clean environment

14) If dairy is consumed, preferably use raw and cultured dairy

15) If grains and nuts are consumed, soak or sprout them

16) Choose minimally processed organic produce (supports 10)

17) Use coconut oil, tallow, and/or butter for cooking

18) Eat at least half of your food uncooked

19) Minimize or eliminate factory processed/packaged fake foods

(supports 4, 5, 6, 8, 10)

20) When eating out, avoid fried foods, dressings, and sweet foods

(supports 4, 5, 6, 8, 10)

The next step will be to add some justifications and expand on how to

accomplish these tasks, without writing a book