The 20 Best Ways to Improve Your Health

Live better and longer by making these simple changes to your daily health regimen

As part of the celebration of the 20^th anniversary of my newsletter Health & Healing, I've created this special “20 for 20” feature—a list of the 20 best ways to improve your health.

You obviously don’t need to do all of these at once, but I suggest you incorporate them into your routine a few at a time.

1. Take a potent daily multivitamin and mineral supplement.

2. Follow the mini-fast with exercise program for weight control.

3. Relieve stress with GABA and other natural solutions.

4. In addition to 8–10 glasses of filtered water daily, for variety and other benefits, drink Low Sodium V8 juice, coffee, and tea (black, green, and white).

5. Take 500–1,000 mg of magnesium daily.

6. Incorporate a quarter-cup of freshly ground flaxseed into your daily diet.

7. Have your blood level of vitamin D (25(OH)D) tested and take enough supplemental vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) to keep it in the optimal range of 50–70 ng/mL.

8. Stave off age-related memory loss with fish oil and other brain-friendly nutrients and mental exercise.

9. Replace conventional painkillers with natural anti-inflammatories such as curcumin and fish oil.

10. Talk to your doctor about bioidentical hormones if you’re on hormone replacement therapy of any kind.

11. Improve your sleep by taking 1–3 mg of melatonin at bedtime.

12. Take a probiotic supplement.

13. Avoid sugar (sucrose) and artificial sweeteners and use natural alternatives such as stevia and xylitol instead.

14. Detox and support your liver with silymarin and lipoic acid supplements.

15. Eat lots of carotenoid-rich leafy greens, and take a nutritional supplement that supports eye health.

16. Boost your energy levels with ribose and other vitamins and minerals.

17. Get a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week.

18. Include lots of potassium-rich plant foods in your diet for optimal blood pressure control.

19. Increase your intake of essential fatty acids by eating salmon and other cold-water fish and taking fish oil supplements.

20. Brush and floss your teeth every day.