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Health & Lifestyle

Health &
Lifestyle

A practical guide to lasting health – nutrition, natural movement, restorative sleep and everyday resilience.

Hälsa &
Livsstil

En praktisk vägledning till långsiktig hälsa – näring, naturlig rörelse, återhämtande sömn och hållbar livskraft.

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Summary

Prioritize organic, nutrient-dense, animal-based foods, including grass-fed meat, organ meats, wild-caught fish, eggs, fruit, and berries. Choose natural fats (butter, tallow, extra virgin olive oil), stay hydrated, and avoid ultra-processed foods, refined sugars, grains, seed oils, and unnecessary additives.

Aim for consistent, restorative sleep, minimize artificial light in the evening, and maintain a regular sleep schedule.

Strength train 3–4 times per week, incorporate mobility and fascia-focused exercises, and walk outdoors for 30–45 minutes every morning. Include occasional HIIT, meditation, breathwork, and suitable recovery practices such as sauna or cold exposure.

Above all, prioritize stress management, nasal breathing, natural sunlight, healthy relationships, and daily movement. 

The Comprehensive Health Protocol

Below, you’ll find the complete health and lifestyle protocol, with practical recommendations and explanations of the nutritional, biological, and physiological reasoning behind them.

The Advanced Health Protocol is divided into the following areas:

  1. Nutrition & Dietary Supplements
  2. Sleep
  3. Physical Activity
  4. Meditation & Breathing Exercises
  5. Morning Walks
  6. Chronic Stress
  7. Additional Health Recommendations

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions along the way. I sincerely wish you all the best on your health journey. In my experience, those who follow the recommendations closely tend to see noticeable improvements.

Nutrition

All foods and ingredients mentioned in this protocol should be organic. This helps reduce the body’s exposure to potentially harmful toxins and chemicals while supporting sustainable agriculture and better animal welfare. The additional cost of choosing organic foods is well worth considering an investment in your health. Whenever possible, choose seasonal ingredients as well.

Choose meat from grass-fed animals rather than animals raised on grains. Grass-fed meat generally has a more favorable fatty acid profile, with higher levels of omega-3s and a better omega-6-to-omega-3 ratio. Several analyses have also found higher levels of certain nutrients, making it a valuable choice for anyone looking to prioritize nutrient-dense foods.

Protein

  • Get most of your protein from organic, grass-fed beef with its natural fat intact. Choose this as often as possible. Grass-fed beef generally has a more favorable fatty acid profile than grain-fed beef and may also contain higher levels of certain minerals. For this reason, beef and wild game should be your preferred meat choices within this protocol. Does eating meat increase the risk of cancer?
  • Include ground meat blended with organ meats in your diet regularly. Organic ground organ meat from grass-fed animals is exceptionally nutrient-dense and is ideally included in approximately four meals per week. It’s a convenient way to benefit from organ meats without having to eat large amounts of individual organs. Organ meats such as liver and heart can also be included regularly. If you don’t eat ground organ meat blends, liver and heart are good alternatives a few times per week. However, if you already consume ground organ meat blends regularly, there is generally little reason to add an Organ mix supplement as well.
  • Make shellfish, mussels, and small fish a regular part of your diet. Sardines, mackerel, and anchovies are among the best and most nutrient-dense options, providing omega-3 fatty acids, iodine, selenium, calcium, and other essential minerals. Smaller fish generally contain lower levels of environmental contaminants than larger predatory fish higher up the food chain.Farm-raised salmon is not recommended. It is not a naturally raised health food but an industrially farmed fish whose fatty acid profile and nutritional value are influenced by its feed, stocking density, and production methods. Because salmon is a fatty fish, it can accumulate fat-soluble environmental contaminants such as dioxins and PCBs. Farm-raised salmon may also contain residues associated with feed, treatments, and other contaminants from the production process.
  • Organic eggs are an excellent addition to your diet. Eat whole eggs, and make sure not to discard the yolks, as they contain most of the egg’s vitamins, minerals, and fat-soluble nutrients.
  • If you choose to eat legumes despite these recommendations, prepare them carefully. Beans, peas, and lentils should be soaked and cooked in a pressure cooker. Traditional preparation methods, including soaking and thorough cooking, significantly reduce lectins and other antinutritional compounds. However, this protocol prioritizes animal-based protein sources over legumes, and unfermented soy is not included as a recommended protein source.
  • Breakfast should always be rich in protein and contain a smaller amount of carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates

  • Get most of your carbohydrates from fruit and berries. In this type of dietary approach, fruit and berries serve as the primary carbohydrate sources, while other carbohydrate-rich foods play a more supplementary role. Fruit and berries are generally gentle on the digestive system and fit well as the foundation of this approach. However, avoid dried fruit because it contains a high concentration of readily available sugars.
  • Supplement your diet with a few carefully selected starchy foods. Sweet potatoes, pumpkin, butternut squash, white rice, taro, cassava, and plantains can be included occasionally for variety and to make your diet more practical and sustainable over time. Choose white rice over brown rice to avoid arsenic and difficult-to-digest antinutrients.
  • Prioritize milder, easier-to-digest vegetables. Some of these are botanically classified as fruits but are considered vegetables in culinary terms. Zucchini, cucumber, carrots, pumpkin, and low-oxalate salad greens such as romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, arugula, endive, and bok choy are relatively gentle options. Unpasteurized sauerkraut can be eaten several times per week. If you’re sensitive, peeling and removing the seeds from cucumbers and zucchini can make them easier to tolerate without having to eliminate them entirely.
  • Eat more robust vegetables in moderation, a few times per week. Broccoli, cauliflower, beets, and Brussels sprouts should be consumed more sparingly and are generally better used as additions rather than dietary staples. They should always be cooked.
  • Dinner should contain more carbohydrates than breakfast.

Fats

  • Use stable animal fats for frying and other high-temperature cooking. Bone marrow, beef tallow, and butter from organically raised, grass-fed animals are excellent first choices. Fats with a higher proportion of saturated fatty acids are generally more resistant to oxidation during heating than fats containing higher amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids.
  • Organic coconut oil is a good second choice. Coconut oil is also relatively heat-stable, making it suitable when animal fats are not used. Use MCT oil primarily in cold dishes or at low temperatures. Flavorless coconut oil is available. MCT oil is less suitable for high-temperature frying and is better used in cold dishes, beverages, or with gentle heating.
  • Use organic extra virgin olive oil for salad dressings or cooking at low to medium temperatures. It consists primarily of monounsaturated fats and contains antioxidants. It is more heat-stable than many people realize, although it is often best used in ways that preserve its flavor and quality without exposing it to excessive heat. It’s an excellent choice for salad dressings.
  • Avocados can be included as a natural source of healthy fats. They provide primarily monounsaturated fats, along with fiber and several micronutrients, making them a valuable addition to your diet.
  • Be cautious with nuts. If you tolerate them well, small amounts of pistachios and macadamia nuts can be eaten occasionally. However, consider waiting 2–3 months before introducing nuts. This gives you time to establish a stable dietary routine and makes it easier to assess how well you tolerate them.

Beverages

  • Make clean water your primary beverage. It’s the simplest way to maintain proper hydration without consuming added sugar or other unnecessary ingredients. Start your day with a glass of water containing a generous pinch of salt.
  • You can also drink a little water with the juice of half an organic lemon before meals. This may help you increase your fluid intake. One small study also observed increased gastric acid secretion and a lower glycemic response when lemon juice was consumed with a meal.
  • If you choose to drink juice, select organic, freshly squeezed juice and consume it only occasionally. Whole fruit is generally a better choice because it retains more fiber and provides greater satiety than juice. Avoid vegetable juices entirely.

Dairy Products

  • If you tolerate dairy products, butter, yogurt, kefir, and cheese can be included in small amounts on a daily basis. Fermented dairy products are often better tolerated than regular milk, partly because the bacteria help break down some of the lactose.Prioritize yogurt, kefir, and cheese made from goat, sheep, or buffalo milk. Butter is an exception and may also come from organically raised cows. Butter consists primarily of fat and contains only trace amounts of lactose, which is why it is often better tolerated than other dairy products.Why choose dairy products from sheep, goats, and buffalo?

Sweeteners

  • In general, whole fruit should be your primary source of sweetness. If you want to use additional sweeteners, organic honey and maple syrup are good options. Dates are also an excellent natural sweetener.

Foods to Avoid

  • Avoid wheat, rye, barley, and oats in all forms. These grains contain compounds such as lectins and phytic acid, which may reduce the absorption of minerals including iron, zinc, magnesium, and calcium, particularly when they are frequently consumed as staple foods in the form of flour, porridge, bread, and breakfast cereals.
  • Avoid candy, soda, cookies, pastries, fast food, processed foods, and raw food desserts containing agave syrup, white sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, light or dark brown sugar, muscovado sugar, or artificial sweeteners such as acesulfame potassium, aspartame, cyclamate, saccharin, and sucralose. These products are often ultra-processed and provide substantial amounts of added sugar or intense sweetness with little nutritional value.
  • Avoid pasta and bread. Even gluten-free alternatives should be eaten very sparingly, as they are often made from refined flours and starches rather than whole, nutrient-dense ingredients.
  • Avoid beans, soybeans, lentils, tofu, and edamame. Legumes often contain several antinutritional compounds, including lectins, saponins, phytic acid, protease inhibitors, and sometimes tannins. These may interfere with digestion, nutrient absorption, and tolerance in sensitive individuals. Although soaking and cooking can reduce their levels, legumes remain a food group that many people choose to limit in more restrictive dietary approaches.Natto, tempeh, and miso are better options if you want to include soy-based foods. Organic, gluten-free soy sauce can be used as a seasoning.
  • Avoid soy milk, nut milks, oat milk, and sweetened juices. These products are often more processed than they appear, sometimes contain additives or sweeteners, and rarely provide the same nutritional value or satiety as whole foods.
  • Be cautious with nuts and seeds, which can easily increase your intake of phytic acid and other plant defense compounds. This is particularly relevant for large quantities of seeds, peanuts, cashews, and similar foods, which can become concentrated sources of antinutrients without providing the same nutrient density as animal-based foods.
  • Limit alcohol as much as possible while recovering from your health concerns. Alcohol places an additional burden on the liver and may interfere with recovery, especially when your body is already under stress. Unfortunately, recent research suggests that no amount of alcohol can be considered beneficial to health.
  • Avoid vegetable oils such as canola oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, soybean oil, safflower oil, peanut oil, grapeseed oil, sesame oil, rice bran oil, avocado oil, flaxseed oil, hemp seed oil, pumpkin seed oil, walnut oil, almond oil, and hazelnut oil. Also avoid foods containing these oils, such as margarine and prepared meals.

Antinutrients

Antinutrients are naturally occurring compounds found in plants and other foods that can interfere with the body’s ability to absorb nutrients or may even be toxic in high amounts.

These compounds occur in different parts of plants, including leaves, roots, stems, and fruits. Their concentrations and effects vary depending on the type of plant and its growing environment.

Plants have developed antinutrients as a defense mechanism against being eaten by animals and humans. From a biological perspective, this is a survival strategy that helps protect plants from pests and supports their continued survival and reproduction.

Here are some examples of antinutrients and why plants produce them:

  • Phytic Acid: Found in seeds, nuts, and grains. It binds to minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc, making them more difficult for the body to absorb.
  • Oxalates: Found in leafy green vegetables such as spinach and Swiss chard. Oxalates can bind to calcium and form crystals, potentially contributing to kidney stone formation in susceptible individuals.
  • Saponins: Found in beans and legumes. Saponins can disrupt cell membranes and reduce the absorption of certain nutrients, including cholesterol.
  • Lectins: Found in beans and grains. Lectins can bind to the intestinal lining and interfere with digestion and nutrient absorption.
  • Alkaloids: Found in potatoes and tomatoes. Certain alkaloids can be toxic in high doses and may affect the nervous system.

The reason plants contain higher concentrations of these compounds in certain parts than in others often comes down to survival.

Plants benefit when their fruits are eaten because animals can help disperse their seeds, allowing the plants to reproduce. This is why fruits are often sweet and appealing, encouraging animals to eat them and spread their seeds.

On the other hand, plants need to protect their leaves, stems, and roots from being eaten, as these parts are essential for their survival and growth. As a result, they often produce higher concentrations of antinutritional compounds in these tissues to discourage animals and humans from consuming them.

While fruits contain nutritious and appealing parts of the plant that encourage consumption and seed dispersal, other parts, such as leaves, stems, and roots, are often richer in antinutrients as a form of protection.

This is one reason vegetables are often recommended in moderation and why varying the types you eat can help prevent excessive exposure to any particular antinutritional compound.

Additional Dietary Recommendations

  • If you’re underweight, add an extra meal each day. This makes it easier to consume enough calories and nutrients to support recovery and rebuilding.
  • If you’re overweight, prioritize a protein-rich diet with a more moderate carbohydrate intake. Aim for a mild to moderate calorie deficit to support sustainable weight loss.
  • Avoid maintaining an excessively low carbohydrate intake for extended periods. For some people, consuming too few carbohydrates can negatively affect energy levels, recovery, and hormonal balance. Consider eating a larger proportion of your daily carbohydrates around or after exercise and later in the day.
  • Chew your food thoroughly and eat at a relaxed pace. This supports digestion and makes it easier for your body to absorb and utilize nutrients.Food should taste good. Salt your meals to taste, using a salt you enjoy that makes it easier to eat enough.
  • Eat your last substantial meal at least 2–3 hours before bedtime. Eating large meals late in the evening is often less favorable for recovery, sleep quality, and blood sugar regulation.
  • If you’re craving something sweet, choose fruit, berries, or a small amount of honey whenever possible. These are better choices than candy and processed desserts.
  • Healthy “dessert”: Mix 1 heaping tablespoon of bone broth powder, 1 heaping teaspoon of creatine, the contents of 1 magnesium capsule, and a small amount of organic raw (unheated, unpasteurized) honey.
  • If you’re pregnant, being treated for diabetes, or have a history of eating disorders, follow this dietary approach in consultation with your physician or a registered dietitian.

Sleep

Good sleep is one of the most important foundations of good health. That’s why it’s essential to take your sleep seriously, actively address any sleep problems, and establish consistent sleep habits. Aim to go to bed at 10:00 p.m. and wake up at 6:00 a.m. every day of the week. Consistency is one of the most important factors in improving sleep quality.

Sleep in a completely dark room and minimize your exposure to bright light in the evening. Avoid using your phone, computer, or television after 8:00 p.m. unless you’re wearing blue-light-blocking glasses, such as Blue Blockers Optic Pro, which block nearly 100% of blue light. Wear them consistently every evening. For many people, this can be one of the most effective ways to support the body’s natural circadian rhythm and improve sleep.

Your circadian rhythm is regulated by a finely tuned interaction between the brain’s master clock (the suprachiasmatic nucleus in the hypothalamus) and clock genes found in tissues throughout the body. This system influences melatonin, cortisol, immune activity, metabolism, and the body’s ability to repair cells. Sleep is therefore essential for maintaining hormonal balance, healthy immune function, and effective recovery at the cellular level.

Disrupted sleep or an irregular circadian rhythm can increase the risk of inflammation, reduce stress resilience, and impair the body’s natural repair and recovery processes. The skin’s barrier function, collagen synthesis, and cellular repair mechanisms can also be affected. This is why quality sleep supports not only overall health and mental clarity but also skin health and appearance.

For these reasons, Blue Blockers Optic Pro is one of the most important investments you can make.

Meditation & Breathwork

Meditation and breathing exercises are valuable tools for reducing stress and supporting the body’s parasympathetic nervous system, which plays an important role in rest, recovery, and restoration. Regular practice can help calm the nervous system, improve resilience to stress, increase mental awareness, and create better conditions for deep recovery. Make meditation, breathwork, or a combination of both a natural part of your daily routine.

Morning Walk

Take a 30–45-minute walk every morning, preferably in nature and ideally before breakfast. Avoid wearing sunglasses when safe and comfortable, as the circadian light signal is received through the retina.

Regular exposure to natural daylight early in the day is an important signal for the body’s circadian system. Light is detected by the retina and helps synchronize the body’s central biological clock with the peripheral clocks found throughout its tissues. This can support better sleep, more consistent hormonal rhythms, a stronger and more stable circadian rhythm, and better overall health.

Whenever possible, walk in a natural setting, ideally barefoot where it is safe to do so. Spending time outdoors in a peaceful environment can make your morning walk more restorative and help you maintain the habit consistently.

Aim to take a morning walk 365 days a year.

Chronic Stress

Stress is not just a feeling. It is a biological state that affects the body’s entire regulatory system. When faced with an immediate threat, the hypothalamus activates both the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, triggering the release of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. This increases heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate while mobilizing glucose for immediate energy. At the same time, the body temporarily shifts resources away from digestion, certain immune functions, tissue repair, and reproduction to prioritize immediate survival. In the short term, this is a potentially life-saving response. Over time, however, prolonged activation of these same systems comes at a significant biological cost.

When the stress response remains activated for extended periods, it can affect multiple organ systems simultaneously. Chronic stress has been linked to disrupted immune regulation, increased inflammatory activity, and impaired recovery. As a result, it may contribute to or worsen conditions such as eczema, acne, rosacea, asthma, persistent fatigue, sleep disturbances, and various gastrointestinal problems. In dermatology, increasing attention is being given to the neuroimmune connection between stress, the skin barrier, and inflammation, as psychological stress can intensify both skin symptoms and itching.

The gastrointestinal tract is particularly sensitive to prolonged stress. The brain and gut are in constant communication through what is known as the gut-brain axis, a complex network involving the central nervous system, vagus nerve, immune system, gut microbiota, and enteric nervous system. When stress becomes chronic, this communication can be disrupted, potentially altering intestinal motility, secretion, visceral sensitivity, and gut barrier function. This helps explain why digestion is often one of the first systems to be affected by prolonged stress, with consequences that can extend to immune function, energy levels, and overall health.

Stress also affects more than just the HPA axis. It interacts with other hormonal systems, including the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis, meaning that prolonged stress can influence thyroid regulation and the body’s metabolic balance. Chronic stress is also associated with an increased risk of cardiometabolic disease, reinforcing the fact that stress is not simply a matter of discomfort or fatigue but a genuine physiological burden that can accumulate over time.

Chronic stress can therefore be viewed as a form of biological erosion. Sleep, digestion, and stress resilience may begin to deteriorate, followed by disturbances in immune balance, barrier function, skin health, hormonal regulation, and recovery. When combined with poor nutrition, insufficient sleep, physical inactivity, or high exposure to environmental toxins, the body’s allostatic load can increase even further, potentially making it more vulnerable to inflammation, dysbiosis, infections, and chronic disease.

This is why addressing stress is not merely an optional addition but a central part of our self-care protocol. Working through stress, grief, and loss can be essential to restoring autonomic balance, improving digestion and sleep, and creating the conditions the body needs to heal. In our experience, this is one of the most overlooked yet potentially most powerful aspects of a well-designed health protocol.

Additional Health Recommendations

  • Aim to breathe through your nose rather than your mouth, both during the day and while sleeping. Nasal breathing helps humidify, warm, and filter the air you inhale, while chronic mouth breathing can contribute to dry mouth, poorer sleep quality, snoring, and oral health problems. If you snore or frequently wake up with a dry mouth, it is important to investigate the underlying cause, such as nasal congestion or sleep apnea. Mouth taping may work for some people, but it should not be used if you have untreated sleep apnea, chronic nasal congestion, or other breathing difficulties.
  • If you smoke, make it a priority to quit completely. Smoking negatively affects virtually every system in the body and is strongly associated with cardiovascular disease, lung disease, cancer, and impaired recovery. The health benefits of quitting begin almost immediately, making it one of the most important steps you can take for your long-term health.
  • Consider incorporating regular cold showers or cold-water immersion if you tolerate them well. Ideally, use cold exposure before exercise or as a separate recovery practice rather than immediately after every strength-training session. Cold exposure may help reduce muscle soreness in the short term, but frequent cold-water immersion immediately after resistance training may interfere with some of the body’s normal training adaptations.
  • Sauna bathing can be a valuable addition to your routine if you tolerate heat well. For many people, it promotes relaxation and may offer long-term cardiovascular benefits. However, pregnant women should avoid overheating, particularly during early pregnancy, and anyone with low blood pressure, dizziness, or unstable heart disease should exercise caution.
  • Choose organic, gentle, and natural skincare products. In practice, this often means fragrance-free formulations with minimal potentially irritating ingredients. The goal should be to support the skin’s natural barrier rather than overwhelm it with unnecessary active ingredients or strong fragrances.
  • If you use intimate care products, choose organic, fragrance-free, gentle options with as few unnecessary additives as possible. Consider fragrance-free menstrual products made from breathable materials. For the external genital area, it is generally best to avoid heavily fragranced products and wear breathable underwear made from organic cotton.
  • Take your oral health seriously. Replace your toothbrush every three months. Use toothpaste free from unnecessary or potentially harmful ingredients, and floss daily. Use a stainless steel tongue scraper in the morning.
  • Spend as much time in natural sunlight as you reasonably can, but avoid sunburn. When sun protection is needed, choose an organic mineral-based sunscreen, ideally formulated without unnecessary additives such as artificial fragrances, parabens, PABA, or other ingredients you prefer to avoid. Look for products without nanoparticles, emulsifiers, or synthetic preservatives if these are important to you. Allow your skin to adapt gradually to sunlight without getting burned, but remember that gradual exposure does not eliminate the need for sun protection when UV levels are high.