Preventive 10®: Ten Lifestyle Strategies for Better Health

Written by Wiseman Health

Our primary goal is to provide health education in order to prevent disease. We believe the core problem with many of today’s health issues lies in poor nutrition, stress, and toxins the body accumulates from unhealthy food, water, and the environment. We seek to address these problems so the body can function and heal optimally.

Below are some effective, natural strategies that will allow you to better manage your health:

1. Food

  • Change your philosophy on food and the food system – Read The Food Revolution by John Robbins and watch the documentary Hungry for Change on Netflix.
  • Avoid all processed foods and focus on eating whole foods
  • “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants” – Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto
    • We highly recommend the Mediterranean Diet, which is a well-rounded, mostly plant-based diet that incorporates fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, fish, poultry, eggs, and beans and a more moderate or limited intake of dairy and red meat.
  • Reduce your daily added sugar consumption. To learn about the best sugar alternatives, read our Wiseman Health article: What’s the Healthiest Sweetener?
  • Eliminate all sugar and sugar-free sodas. Learn about the health risks associated with drinking soda in our Wiseman Health article: The Dangers of Drinking Soda.
  • Decrease your total consumption of dairy products. If you consume dairy products (e.g., milk, yogurt, cheese, butter), then consume them in their most natural and purest state to avoid their overly processed form which is more inflammatory. Examples of natural dairy products with minimal processing include raw milk or low-temperature pasteurized milk, yogurt made with milk from grass-fed cows, grass-fed butter, and raw milk cheese. Low-temperature pasteurized milk and cream, such as those from Mill-King Market and Creamery, can be found in many local health food stores.
  • Eliminate all foods with gluten (e.g., wheat, barley, and rye) from your diet to help decrease inflammation. Lower your total daily carbohydrate load by decreasing other non-gluten grains such as rice, oats, corn, and millet. When consuming grains, eat only whole grains. Avoid all refined or overly processed grain products such as white flour, bleached white rice, white pasta, and white bread. Read Grain Brain by Dr. David Perlmutter
    • Grains include: wheat, rice, oats, barley, rye, and other cereal grains
  • Eat foods that contain good fats (e.g., avocados, almonds, walnuts, wild-caught salmon, grass-fed beef, pasture-raised pork, organic whole milk, pasture-raised chicken eggs, grass-fed butter, coconut oil). Avoid the foods that contain bad fats, or trans fats (e.g., fried foods, French fries, doughnuts, pies, cookies, chips, crackers). Learn how trans fats and common vegetable oils impact our health and why so many foods we eat contain unhealthy seed vegetable oils in our Wiseman Health article: The Problem with Trans Fats, Vegetable Oils, & Seed Oils. To learn more about the health benefits of saturated fat, read our article Why Saturated Fat Is Healthy.
  • Eat organic fruits and vegetables when possible. See the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 lists for the fruits and vegetables that are the most and least contaminated with pesticides. If you are not consuming organic fruits and vegetables, a general rule of thumb is to avoid the Dirty Dozen when possible and consume mostly foods from the Clean 15.
  • Try a smartphone health app that allows you to scan barcodes of food products to find detailed information about the ingredients in the products and their safety ratings. For food (and personal care products), download the Environmental Work Group’s Healthy Living app or the app Yuka.
  • Consume more naturally fermented foods, such as kimchi (pickled vegetables), sauerkraut, yogurt, and fermented pickles, to get nature’s probiotics.
  • When juicing, use mostly vegetables versus fruit. The healthiest choice is 100% vegetable juice, but if you need to add fruit juice, try to aim for a higher proportion of vegetables to fruit, for example, 90% vegetables and 10% fruit. Sugar can add up quickly due to the natural sugar found in fruit, so it’s best to stick with a vegetable-dominant approach to juicing.
  • When consuming coffee, use the best and purest ingredients possible. Coffee is almost 99% water, so optimal water quality is essential when making coffee. Brew coffee using filtered water or spring water and unbleached coffee filters, if you brew with paper filters. Use coffee beans that are organic because conventional coffee beans are often saturated with a number of toxic chemicals like pesticides. Though all USDA organic coffee beans are a better choice than conventional beans, the highest quality beans are those that are organic and both mold and mycotoxin free. Some trustworthy brands that are organic and are free of mold and mycotoxins include Kicking Horse (most cost-effective), Bulletproof, Dr. Mercola Solspring Biodynamic Organic Coffee, Purity Coffee, Natural Force, Peak Performance, Lifeboost, Kion, Fabula, and Organo.
  • We recommend avoiding single-use pods coffee pods because they can create unnecessary waste in the environment and it can also be difficult to properly clean the internal water components of a Keurig machine, where mold, mildew, and biofilm often form. However, if using single-use pods, then we recommend using clean, organic, non-flavored coffee pods (without artificial additives and colors) and pods free of plastic and aluminum (chemicals that can leach into your coffee when the pod is heated). Use either compostable pods that safely decompose in the environment after use such as San Francisco Bay Compostable Organic Coffee Pods or recyclable pods such as those from Purity and Bullet Proof.
  • Traditional decaffeinated coffee uses a chemical process to strip caffeine from the coffee beans. If you prefer decaffeinated coffee, use a healthier decaffeinated coffee that uses the Swiss Water Method—a process that uses pure water and no chemicals to remove caffeine from coffee beans. When buying decaffeinated coffee, look for the Swiss Water® label on the packaging.
  • Learn about the health benefits of butter coffee and how to make it. Read our Wiseman Health article: The Health Benefits of Butter Coffee.
  • Add anti-inflammatory herbs, spices, and foods to your diet. Read our Wiseman Health advice in Essential Anti-Inflammatory Herbs, Spices, and Foods.
  • Consume only “clean” meat and other animal products e.g.: grass-fed beef, pasture-raised chicken, pastured pork, pasture-raised chicken eggs, grass-fed butter, wild fish, and wild game. Avoid factory-farmed beef, chicken, and pork; conventional “white eggs;” and farm-raised fish.
  • For ethically sourced, nutrient dense, and stress-free harvested venison (Axis deer) from Maui, Hawaii, try Maui Nui. Nutrient-dense organ meat, such as the Maui Nui Ground 10 (90% venison, 5% liver, 5% heart) is also an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, and omega 3 fatty acids.
  • We promote the local food movement across the nation and encourage everyone to meet and support their local farmers. Find a local farmers’ market near you here. Watch our Wiseman Health video Hawaiian Farmers Market Tour with Wiseman Family Practice to learn more about the health and wellness benefits of local foods as well as the community and environmental impact of shopping local at a farmers’ market.
  • Learn more about OrganicEye and their continued efforts to protect organic farmers and to ensure the authenticity of organic food production.
  • Use safe cookware when cooking, such as the Titanium Always Pan® Pro, and avoid Teflon or other non-stick products. Ceramic products, such as Xtrema Pure Ceramic Cookware, are the most ideal. Read about 5 great products here

2. Water

  • Drink 16 ounces of purified water first thing in the morning and continue to stay hydrated throughout the day. The daily recommended amount of water for men is roughly 100–135 ounces (3–4 liters) and for women 67–91 ounces (2–3 liters).
  • Avoid drinking unfiltered tap water. Filter (purify) your tap water in your home. This is a much cheaper, safer, and more environmentally sustainable approach than purchasing bottled water. When drinking bottled water, try to choose pure, natural spring water from sources such as The Mountain Valley, Evian, Fiji, and Ozarka.
    • Best water filter system to use (more expensive) — Install in your home a multi-staged carbon/reverse osmosis (RO) system.
      • Watch our Wiseman Health video on an RO system here
  • A great alternative to some of the more expensive under-the-counter RO systems on the market is the AquaTru™ water purification system, a compact and cost-effective four-stage Reverse Osmosis technology made to fit on your countertop and does not require installation or plumbing. The four-step filtration process includes: a mechanical pre-filter to remove sediments and rust; a carbon filter that removes chlorine and chloramine; a high-efficiency reverse osmosis membrane that removes harmful inorganic chemicals, including lead, chromium-6, arsenic, nitrates, and other heavy metals; and lastly, an activated coconut block carbon filter that reduces volatile organic compounds (VOCs), prescription drug residues, and “forever chemicals” such as PFOS and PFOA. The AquaTru filtration systems are NSF-certified, third-party tested, and made of all BPA- and BPS-free plastic.
  • Use a shower head filter to purify your bathing water, such as a good quality, cost-effective shower head from Sprite.
  • Read The Importance of Drinking Pure Water by Wiseman Health.
    • Watch our Wiseman Health video on the fluoridation of public water and its potential health effects here
  • Use Cold Water Therapy to improve your health. Learn more here.

3. Skin

4. Dental

  • To learn more about what happens when mercury dental amalgam releases mercury vapor into our bodies, and why it is best practice to avoid dental amalgam for any future dental cavities and to replace all current ones with safer, less toxic materials, read our Wiseman Health article The Health Risks of Dental Amalgam Mercury Fillings.
  • Talk to your dentist about replacing all metal dental fillings or amalgams with safer alternatives
  • To learn more about the health risks and concerns with fluoride dosing in our public drinking water, watch our Wiseman Health video Wiseman Family Practice Speaks Out Against Water Fluoridation at Austin City Council
  • Always use a toothbrush with soft or medium bristles for a better and safer cleaning
  • Brush at least twice daily and floss once daily for optimal dental health
  • Learn about oil pulling, an ancient Indian remedy that provides an easy and natural way to help clean the mouth and teeth, in our Wiseman Health article: What Is Oil Pulling?
  • Discuss with your dentist the principles of holistic dentistry, also known as biological dentistry. Learn more about holistic dentistry here

5. Sleep

  • Improve your sleep hygiene naturally. Read our Wiseman Health sleep article: 12 Tips for Better Sleep.
  • Use these smartphone apps to help improve sleep: Calm , Insight Timer, and Headspace.
  • Most adults need to get 7-9 hours of quality sleep at night
  • Make your bedroom as dark as possible when sleeping at night. Wear an eye mask, such as the WAOAW sleep mask, if you can’t fully block out most light while sleeping.
  • Artificial blue light at night in our homes comes mainly from modern light bulbs and modern screens like our smartphones, computers, and tablets. It can cause significant problems with healthy sleep and circadian rhythms. Change all the light bulbs in your house, especially in the rooms you use at night, to bulbs that produce no blue light or emit a low amount of blue light. See this great option for a light bulb that is 100% blue light free.
  • When using digital devices or watching TV after dark, try using blue light blocking glasses to block the artificial blue light emitted from screens, which can negatively affect sleep. The Swanwick blue light blocking eyeglasses are an effective option.
  • Recommended bedding: Use safe bedding, as we sleep 1/3 of our lives. Replacing your mattress with an all-organic mattress is ideal, but at the very least use all natural, organic pillows, sheets, and comforters. Great mattress/bedding selections can be found at Naturepedic, Austin Natural Mattress, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Amerisleep, Casper, and Wildflower
  • Learn more about natural, non-toxic mattresses and bedding with our Wiseman Health YouTube video and also tips for choosing a natural mattress and bedding in our Wiseman Health article: Tips for Choosing a Natural Mattress & Bedding.
  • Try a medium to firm mattress for better support and to help evenly distribute weight while sleeping.
  • For a great book on sleep, read the most up-to-date information on how and why we sleep in Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker

6. Exercise

  • Improve and increase your weekly exercise and activity. Try to exercise 3–5 times weekly. To learn why both daily activity and exercise are independent but equally important approaches to good health, read our Wiseman Health article Daily Activity and Exercise: Why Both Are Essential for Good Health. For more on how exercise can help decrease the risk of certain health conditions, read our article Exercise: The Best Kind of Preventive Medicine.
  • Along with aerobic exercise, incorporate high-intensity interval training (HIIT). HITT has the advantage of achieving similar fitness and health benefits as traditional aerobic exercise but in a shorter period of time. For more information, read our Wiseman Health article: What Is High-Intensity Interval Training?
  • Incorporate core training into your exercise routine: Pilates, yoga, or Tai Chi. Learn about the benefits of Tai Chi in our Wiseman Health article: The Health Benefits of Tai Chi.
  • Many factors including exercise intensity can increase sweating, which may lead to a loss of salt and important minerals from your body. Drinking an electrolyte drink mix from LMNT can help hydrate and replenish sodium and essential minerals.
  • Being consistently active throughout the day is as important as regular exercise. Aim for 5,000 to 10,000 steps a day. Use an Apple Watch, Health/Google Fit app on your smartphone, or a Fitbit to track your fitness activity daily.
  • See why prolonged sitting is so harmful, why our bodies need dynamic movement, and why using a standing desk is an important alternative to sitting for long periods of time. Read our Wiseman Health article How to Combat the Harmful Effects of Excessive Sitting.
  • The Fisher Traction Device is a natural and effective solution for neck and lower back pain. The design of the traction device provides a gentle, slow stretch that allows for muscle relaxation, decompression of the spine, and relief from pinch nerves.
  • Strengthen your feet naturally with barefoot walking, any chance you get. Walk barefoot at home —when you are in your home or outside in your yard. There are plenty of opportunities in other places too, for example, if you are at the beach or in a park. This will help strengthen the muscles and ligaments in your feet, which in turn helps your natural gait or stride along with improving the neural wiring connections between your feet and your brain.
  • Try a minimalist approach to footwear for a daily walking shoe and/or for a running shoe. A minimalist shoe doesn’t have a heel lift, allows enough flexibility in the sole for toes to bend naturally, has minimal sole and arch support, and has a wide toe box to ensure feet spread naturally. Try balanced, minimal barefoot shoes such as those from Xero Shoes, Vivo Barefoot, Softstar shoes, Feelgrounds, Belenka, Origo, Crupon Barefoot Sandals, EarthRunners, and the Merrell Vapor Glove.
    • For runners, learn how running with minimalist shoes facilitates a more natural barefoot stride than running with modern running shoes, as minimalist shoes promote a natural forefoot/midfoot running strike versus an unnatural heel strike with modern running shoes. Watch this YouTube video.
    • Walking barefoot outside on grass, dirt, or sand (also known as earthing) promotes grounding and a number of health benefits.
  • Read Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen. This book explores our human ancestors and their history of running, the science of running barefoot or with minimalist shoes and also conventional running shoes, and the history and traditions of the Tarahumara people of Chihuahua, Mexico, renowned for their long-distance running in minimalist footwear/sandals called huaraches. The book also explores how the Tarahumara’s near-barefoot running with its mid-foot strike pattern can help decrease injuries and increase speed. Learn more here.
  • For shoes made of natural materials that allow for grounding/earthing conductivity, try Softstar shoes
  • If you are looking for ways to incorporate a more mindful experience into your exercise routine, read these helpful tips here

7. Weight

8. Sunlight

  • Read our approach in our Wiseman Health article: 11 Tips for Sunlight, Sunscreen, & Vitamin D
  • Get 10–15 minutes of sunlight without sunblock 3–5 times weekly. When you are getting sun exposure for these 10–15 minutes, you want to avoid putting sunblock on for this short period of time to help facilitate the production of vitamin D in your body. Throughout the fall and winter months, try to get at least 15–30 minutes of sunlight without wearing sunblock to help promote vitamin D production, 3–5 times a week on as much of your body as possible. On the days you aren’t able to get sunlight exposure in the fall and winter months, take a high-quality vitamin D3. Most adults need to supplement with 5000–10,000 IUs of a vitamin D3 supplement during the fall and winter months when the seasonal decrease in UVB-rays and weather conditions limit outdoor sun exposure. On the days that you do get enough natural daily sunlight on your skin, it is not necessary to take a vitamin D supplement. When it comes to vitamin D supplementation, the goal is to only supplement as needed when you don’t get enough natural sun exposure on your skin. We don’t absorb much vitamin D from food sources, so work on optimizing sun exposure and supplementation as your two main strategies for optimal vitamin D.
  • Avoid all spray tan products
  • Don’t burn
  • Avoid toxic sunscreens—use safer more natural sunblock alternatives. Read here
  • Beat the winter blues with sunlight. Read more in our Wiseman Health article: Natural Ways to Beat the Winter Blues.

9. Stress

  • To learn more about the seven natural, sustainable morning habits that can positively influence the mind, body, and spirit and ultimately, our “internal state” so that we can manifest ourselves in the world at our healthiest, read our Wiseman Health article: 7 Ways to Optimize Your Daily Morning Routine.
  • Learn about the value and health benefits of daily meditation in our article Meditation: The Mind & Body Benefits.
  • Learn how to meditate through guided meditation with these smartphone apps: Waking Up, Insight Timer, Calm, and Headspace.
  • Learn how minimalist living benefits your health and happiness in our Wiseman Health article Minimalism: A Healthy Approach to Living.
  • Follow these strategies to lower EMF (electromagnetic field) exposure and to reduce stress from electropollution:
    • At night or when sleeping, put your cell phone in airplane mode (alarm mode will still work when the phone is in airplane mode).
    • Try to keep your cell phone away from your body as much as possible. Avoid carrying your cell phone on you (in a pocket or your bra) unless the device is placed in airplane mode. When talking on your cell phone, use speaker mode.
    • Try to decrease your use of wireless ear buds in order to avoid EMF; use speaker mode or wired ear buds instead.
    • When working on your laptop, keep it off your lap, as this area of the human body is highly susceptible to EMF radiation.
    • Use an EMF blanket, such as those by Belly Armor, when pregnant, when using a laptop, or even as a baby blanket to help create a barrier between the body and everyday electronic devices that emit electromagnetic radiation.
    • Try to keep electronic equipment out of the bedroom, especially during sleep time.
    • Wireless internet emits EMF radiation through the wireless internet router and the electronic devices connected to it. Unplug your Wi-Fi at night to reduce the amount of daily EMF radiation you are exposed to.
    • For more in-depth information on the subject of EMF risk, read this article.
  • To learn some natural strategies that can help strengthen your immune system through stress reduction, healthy foods, and more, read our Wiseman Health article: Tips for Boosting Your Immune System.
  • Learn more about the best approach to smartphone use in our Wiseman Health article: The Healthy Approach to Smartphone Use.
  • Share a healthy approach to smartphone use with young family members: The Pinwheel Phone is designed for children, beginning at age 8 and on, and teaches them about responsible use of a smartphone (tools versus entertainment). Pinwheel allows you to add various functionalities of the phone as your child grows and becomes more independent. Learn more about the Pinwheel Phone here
  • Learn how cultivating gratitude can decrease stress and improve your health. Read our Wiseman Health article: The Health Benefits of Gratitude.
  • Approach stress with a different perspective. Watch the following TED Talk: “How to Make Stress Your Friend”
  • For stress management and disease prevention, practice earthing.
  • To help bring the body back into a relaxed and calm state, try breath work, including this form the 4-7-8 breathing technique. For more in-depth information on how breath work can positively impact physical and mental health, read our Wiseman Health article: The Health Benefits of Mindful Breathing.
  • Read Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art. This book explores why humans have lost the ability to breathe properly, the health effects that occur from inefficient or improper breathing, and proper breathing techniques to improve overall health. Learn more here
  • To help support and improve social health, read Tribe by Sebastian Junger, which explores the history, psychology, and anthropology of tribal societies in order to find a deeper understanding and modern perspective of loyalty, belonging, and the eternal human quest for meaning. Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging
  • Spending time in parks and outdoor recreation areas can help reduce stress and improve your overall health and well-being. To find a local park near you, visit Texas Parks and Wildlife.

10. Air

  • Tips for improving indoor air quality and why it is so important. Read our Wiseman Health article: How to Improve Indoor Air Quality.
  • When cooking on a gas stove, it’s important to use proper ventilation to reduce indoor air pollution. Open windows while cooking on a gas stove and turn the range hood/exhaust fan on high prior to cooking and let it run 5–10 minutes after the burners are turned off. There are also safer alternatives to using a gas stove: an electric stove or induction stove (both of which do not emit open flames like a gas stove).
  • Avoid breathing cigarette smoke and all other forms of smoke
  • Use a high-quality air purifier from Austin Air Systems
  • Outdoor gardens can improve air quality. Watch our Wiseman Health video on how to create a garden in any space: Urban Gardening with Wiseman Family Practice. For the home or workspace, use plants to remove indoor toxins. For additional health benefits of indoor plants, read our Wiseman Health article: The Health Benefits of Indoor Plants
    • Recommended: 1 plant per 100 square feet
  • Use all-natural, organic, therapeutic essentials oils to calm the mind and body with an ultrasonic aroma diffuser or dry aroma diffuser found here
  • When pumping gas, stand away from the car while pumping
  • Be mindful of the outdoor air quality and air pollution where you live. Limit outdoor activities when the air quality poses health risks. Most weather apps share the daily air quality index, or AQI, (e.g., good, moderate, or unhealthy) and will provide alerts about air quality. Certain mobile apps, such as Breezometer, help you specifically track outdoor air quality and air pollution.