Here’s what I’m currently doing to improve my health.
Updated: 7-28-19
(check back for updates, I’ll update soon)
Some Rules I Follow
1
Current Areas of Emphasis
What really seems to be working.
I’m always trying new things — each and every week. Sometimes I find things that definitely help.
2
Gut health needs constant attention, even when healthy — to protect the progress I’m making.
If you’re struggling with chronic illness, gut health likely needs to be a major focus for your recovery.
Prebiotics
- Apple Pectin (daily)
- Colostrum (2-3 pills/day)
Probiotics
3
Therapeutic light keeps my thyroid humming, weakens pathogens, and syncs my circadian rhythm.
Heat Lamp
- 2-4 lamps
- Background light (2-5 hours/day)
Sunlight
- 2 hours/day (1 hour morning, 1 hour afternoon… or so)
- (Obviously only available on drier days. I still get outside in cloudy weather for sunlight.)
Sauna
- 1-2x/week
- 15 minutes/session
4
My circadian rhythm is impacted by elements that I can control.
Blue Light
- Blue light-reducing glasses.
- F.lux on screens.
- Adjust TV monitor for warmer color temperature.
Heal The Gut
- Pre’s
- Pro’s
- Killers
- (see above)
Bedroom
- Dark, dark, dark
- EMF — turn off wifi. No cell phone in bedroom. Turn power off to bedroom at night.
- Fresh Air
- Clean
- Temperature
- Firm mattress
Morning Sunlight
- 10-15 minutes/day
- Sunlight or heat lamps.
5
The food I eat is balanced: carbs and protein and fats — and digestible.
- I am now eating food with virtually zero food restrictions.
- I do avoid artificial sweeteners and flavors.
- I eat mostly whole foods, although I don’t restrict added sugar. I do eat refined grains — in fact, starch is essential for me to feel my best, sleep well, and stay regular.
Macro Ratio
- Roughly a 2:1:1 ratio (by calories).
- I eat intuitively (I don’t measure calories or macros anymore, although I did for some time). I generally get a feel for where “2:1:1” probably is. If I want a little more protein, or carbs, or fat… I’ll add more. After years of paying attention to this, I can figure out what I want/need.
- I think about what my gut will need to digest well… not just what my taste buds want.
6
I have been able to restore my thyroid without the use of thyroid hormones.
- Eat early.
- Moderate-to-high calories.
- 2:1 Carb to protein ratio.
- Lots of light.
- Protect sleep.
- Clean environment (especially mold/EMF).
7
I’ve gotten myself into endless conundrums with nonsensical, extreme nutritional supplementation.
Therefore, it’s become a core concept for me to never find myself lost and confused about nutrients, ever again.
Fat Solubles
1-2x/week. I seem to need more Vitamin A than the other Fat Solubles. Therefore, I take this more frequently (daily).
- Vitamin A — 1x/day (at night)
- Vitamin D — from sunlight, daily.
- Vitamin E — 1x/week
- Vitamin K — 2x/week
B-Vitamins
The Naturelo multivitamin is an excellent source of balanced B-vitamins.
- B1 — 1x/week (allithiamine)
- B2 — 1x/week
- B6 — 1x/week
- Choline — 1x/week
- I don’t seem to need more B12 than this supplement provides.
Minerals
- Sodium — Moderate intake.
- Potassium — Lowish intake (what’s in the Ultima powder and veggies).
- Calcium — Moderate/high intake. Mostly from dairy.
- Magnesium — 3-6x/week.
- Zinc — I avoid zinc. It makes me feel bad. (UPDATE Fall 2019: When I stopped visiting a moldy environment regularly, zinc tolerance improved, and supplemental zinc gave noticeable energy and calmness).
- Copper — 1-2x/day. Chlorophyllin. Has long balanced out my high zinc. Consistently makes me feel great.
- Iodine — Not needing much right now.
- Selenium — About once per week.
- Lithium — 1x/week
- Strontium — 2x/month
- Molybdenum — 1x/week (to lower high sulfur)
Amino Acids
- Glycine — currently not taking/(is present in magnesium glycinate)
- Lysine — currently not taking
- Proline — in colostrum
8
Sick buildings completely wrecked my thyroid, my gut, my brain function, and my sleep.
Therefore, this is now a daily thought for me: What can I do to improve my environment?
Awareness
- I am always aware of the health of the buildings I am in — especially my own home.
Clean
- Keep things clean.
- Dust a lot.
- Keep the floors dusted and wiped down.
- Change sheets a lot.
- Shower frequently.
- Keep car very clean.
Minimize
- Don’t own many possession I don’t use frequently.
- Always looking to throw things away.
Protect
- I “de-contaminate” when I return from buildings I suspect/know were “sick buildings.” (Or, even borderline “sick buildings”).
What might be even more important than the actions I take each day? How I think about my health.
Organizing my thoughts — into important topics — is one of the most important habits I developed as I came back into health.
I stopped viewing everything through a single lens — whether it be the thyroid, the gut, mold, or something else (various diets, perhaps).
Instead, I came to understand these essential topics — each its own standalone pillar of health that matters deeply and universally for all people.
That means I couldn’t simply focus on one area — gut health, or light, or sleep — and expect to recover.
Of course, there’s so much overlap between each area — so envisioning these clearly defined “essential topics” helped me delve into health zones without becoming lost in the weeds.
These days — and for many years now — I don’t worry about doing a million health activities each day. I just think of these essential topics: light, sleep, the gut, food, nutrients, etc.
I often make sure I’m doing something for each pillar every day.
I take stock — how I’m doing lately — for each topic. For example: “What’s my therapeutic light been like recently?”
From time to time, I’ll focus more on one area than another. I’ll also take a break from certain areas periodically — to see how doing less affects me.
Viewing these as “essential topics” also allows me freedom from health-group dogma. I know a given essential topic is important, and I can maintain my focus on it, even as I explore various approaches to that subject — exploring advice from various sources. I can take or leave advice about, say, the circadian rhythm without changing my appreciation for the topic, itself. I know it’s important.
As I work through different approaches, I keep the best ideas — and weed out those that didn’t help, or those that made me feel worse.
Over time, the way I view these essential topics has become only about the universally-good ideas discovered along the way.
Organize your thoughts into essential topics and you’ll be free to rise above the dogmatic traps we find online and, instead, build your own approach — one that resonates with you and thus provides you sustainable results.
Supporting members enjoy:
- Access to all health information & resources
- Ongoing support in our no-drama discussion group
- The ability to ask me health questions directly
- The satisfaction of knowing that you’re supporting a great cause
— Travis
