By Dr. Mercola
I’ve been passionate about food and nutrition to optimize my own health for over three decades. The last 15 years I have also been sharing what I learn with you through this newsletter. Diet is clearly the foundational strategy of Taking Control of Your Health.
You can have an excellent exercise program, but if your diet is poor, you will not be able to reap the full benefits of your efforts. A full 80 percent of the health benefits you reap from a healthy lifestyle can be attributed to your diet, with the remaining 20 percent coming from exercise.
Changes to Our Food Supply Necessitates Dietary Modifications
The challenge is that dietary advice can be a bit of a moving target. It needs to be regularly revised based on new research and increases in wisdom from personal explorations of applying this research.
A classic example would be the advice to eat fish, for example. Fish has been one of the best sources of protein for most all of our ancestors, and a critically important source of high-quality animal-based omega-3 fat, but environmental pollution with heavy metals and other toxins has now become so pervasive that eating nearly any fish in the 21st century may actually do more harm than good…
Most of the seafood you have access to is quite simply too polluted with mercury, PCBs and other toxins, which is why I now recommend getting your omega-3 from krill oil instead of fish, unless you can be assured your fish is mercury-free.
I am certain that technology and research will continue to evolve and even my current recommendation of krill will likely change in the future, but for now that is what the bulk of science and personal observations support.
Other major changes to your food supply include the introduction of genetically engineered foods, as well as the massive increase in agricultural chemicals. Both of these factors have resulted in the recommendation to buy USDA 100% organics whenever possible.
A mere generation or two ago, the “organic” label was completely unnecessary. Today, the label merely indicates that the food more closely represents the type of food that nourished our ancestors. This shift emphasized the fact that we need to be ever vigilant about the evolving nature of the food supply and how it impacts our health, as the food we eat has one of the most profound effects on any activity we engage in to improve our health.
Of course, there are some basics that are foundational that I believe will likely never really change, at least in our lifetime, such as avoiding processed foods, and limiting sugar intake as much as possible. But everything else is evolution in process. The challenge is to keep up-to-date with it all and have a process that allows you to integrate this information in an easily digestible format.
Your Regularly Updated Guide to Staying Healthy
That is one of the primary reasons behind my compilation of this Nutrition Plan. In the 90s, I rejected the idea of writing a book as by the time it was printed it would be out of date. That is one of the reasons I chose to focus my efforts on the internet.
I’ve recently completed the first major revision of it in about five years or so. It’s now significantly improved and contains a number of updated recommendations, such as the addition of fermented vegetables as a source of healthful probiotics; and using intermittent fasting and high intensity exercise to really optimize your health.
I realize that some people enjoy reviewing printed material like books, and my Nutrition Plan is available in my book Take Control of Your Health, however you need to pay for that as it is a physical item. But you can review the bulk of the book for FREE in the regularly revised Nutrition Plan that I am launching today.
The Plan is divided into three stages: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. If you realize you’re already doing all the things included in the beginner’s phase, then it may be time to move on to the next phase.
I strongly recommend reviewing the revised Nutritional Plan whenever your schedule allows. It is a very detailed and comprehensive program – it’s basically an entire book, in multi-media format, as we’ve now added lots of informative videos to it as well. If you’re new to the site, I encourage you to go through it from the beginning as it is one of the most powerful tools to truly allow you and your family to take control of your health.
Your Opportunity to Revise My Nutritional Plan
It has literally taken me over 30 years to compile the wisdom to write this Nutrition Plan.
Is it perfect?
Far from it, but it is my best attempt to provide something that will radically improve the health of you and your family. One of the beauties of writing this document in the 21st century is that I can have you actively participate in making it better. Below this article you’ll find the Vital Votes comment section where you can participate if you’re a registered user on the site.
I strongly encourage you to leave your feedback there, both good and bad. If you feel there are areas that can be improved, let us know! We may not act on every single recommendation, but we will certainly consider your input. After all, this Plan is for YOU, and our aim is to make it as user friendly and informative as possible, to help you take control of your health.
I promise you that I will personally review your input and consider revising the plan based upon it. It has taken me over 30 years to compile this information, so I believe the foundations are very solid. What could certainly be improved, and I hope you will help, is the design layout and order of implementing the suggestions.
The goal would be to have any of your friends or relatives read it and feel comfortable and excited to be able to start the program. I am confident that there is enormous collective wisdom in the millions that read this newsletter, which could radically improve the Plan. So thank you in advance for helping improve and revise it, and convert it to a document that will truly transform people’s health.
