The 7 Pillars of Optimal Health

Why Only Christ Can Satisfy: How Jesus Fulfills the 6 Human Needs

There are many places to start in the wide world of nutrition and supplementation, and health can be pretty complicated. Having a safe, effective and generalized starting point is invaluable, and this is what “The Basics” mean to me. I reference these in many of my articles, but they are just the simple pillars that you must include for optimal health and a complete nutrition program.

Below are the the pillars (first 7) with two additional bonus pillars of things to consider:

1. Vitamins

2. Minerals

3. Enzymes

4. Probiotics & Prebiotics

5. Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs)

6. Amino Acids (AAs)

7. Antioxidants

8. Special Supplements

9. The Ultimate Recovery Stack

This is the first principle — stick to the basics. These are the most fundamental ingredients that your body needs to be able to do its thing, and while not the sexiest or quickest route to health — it is the safest and most sustainable long-term. Taking 5HTP (a serotonin supplement) may help your mood right now, but it is not a long-term solution and comes with potential issues because you’re messing around with higher level processes (like neurotransmitters), instead of supporting your body with the vitamins and minerals (and a good diet) that will help it produce serotonin in the first place.

The second important principle is that you always want to have a heavily inverted benefits-to-risk profile in what you take. What this means is that everything you do, for the most part, should have a high amount of benefit with very little risk. It’s just like investing. This skewed profile is stable long-term, and it will help you avoid crashing and burning, derailing, having to restart, having to deal with other consequences, etc. In this regard, there are a few other things that I recommend to people (and use on a regular basis) that are well worth the benefits and have little to no risk. I consider these “special nutrients,” and I’ll share them with you in this article.

Lastly, this article will document various genes that are relevant to the particular nutrient category for your education. I recommend using a testing service to go deeper with these genes so that you understand how to manage them if they are an issue for you specifically.

Disclaimer:

This information is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease. The recommendations provided in this article are provided for educational purposes and it is your responsibility to double check the products, the dosages and other information presented. Consult with your health team before beginning any new supplement regime. If you are taking existing supplements, be sure you discontinue them if you are adding the ones listed here, so that you do not take too much of a given substance.

See it in Practice:

If you want to see how all these things come together, you can check My Personal Health Routine.

Even pills can be “whole food” or synthetic, always opt for quality