Optimal health is one of the most basic and important values to a human life. Any quality of life attained through gaining values such as a beautiful house, a great job and a wonderful familty are vulnerable to being lost if we disregard our health. Any values and goals we achieve can amount to zero should we suffer ill-health.

Optimal health is an effect.

The appropriate causes must be initiated in order to enjoy the effect that is health. At the personal level this cause and effect relationship can be obscured by the passage of time as well as the body’s ability to withstand some abuse for a while in youth.

Optimal health is a choice.

Specifically, in any given moment our state of health is the sum of the effects of our lifestyle choices (actions) to date. In so far as we have the power to make our own lifestyle choices, we have the power to choose health.

Although health is our natural condition its achievement and maintenance require both knowledge and the disciplined implementation of that knowledge. It takes effort to put knowledge into action but bear in mind that the rewards are enormous and extend beyond health alone. Our self-esteem and sense of self-worth grow enormously when we do right by ourselves and look after our health appropriately. And although there are other factors to consider in achieving happiness, the pursuance of optimal health as a goal and a practice places us well on the way to a life of happiness.

Choose life – Choose health

Once we grasp that propaganda and disinformation dominate mainstream health ‘advice’, and once we have worked through and dispelled the many modern myths that obscure our path to health, vitality and longevity, we can piece together the fundamentals of building and preserving our health in our current world context. During my journey through this process I have observed 12 overall strategies that must be implemented by design into a lifestyle in order to enjoy the effect that is health.

Optimal Health Strategy 1 – Think and act rationally. Make health a top priority. Take  personal responsibility for your health. Consciously and intentionally change your lifestyle according to a rational hierachy of values. Being rational and thinking for ourselves is essential if we are to achieve and maintain health, along with any other goals we may pursue.

Optimal Health Strategy 2 – Maintain a healthy Gut. If we prioritise the health of our gut we necessarily tick many boxes for overall health. This means preserving gut function by guarding against leaky gut. And it means supporting the diversity of microbial species in the gut through diet, eating sufficient fibre, and several other lifestyle choices. Check out my Free Gut health Check List.

Optimal Health Strategy 3 – Conscious nourishment. One of the things we all have control over is what we chose to put in our mouths every single day of our lives. It is also the most powerful tool in the box for affecting our genetic expression and our health outcomes. Learning what our body needs and what poisons we must avoid is both empowering and liberating. It sets us free from worry over experiencing chronic disease, and enables us to confidently plan for a long healthspan. The key is to eat real food and eat for wellbeing and taste, not just for taste alone.

Optimal Health Strategy 4 – Burn fat for fuel. The body can use two fuels, Carbohydrate (sugar) and fat (ketone bodies). When we learn about these two fuels and the consequences of burning each we can further empower oursleves and support our immune fnction. We can cycle in and out of