“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” As with most foundational truths, this saying by Hippocrates is as applicable today as it ever was. I’ve been passionate about using food and nutrition to optimize my own health for over 50 years.

The problem is that for many of those years I was fed misinformation from the media and “experts” that advised a low-fat, high-carb diet. It has taken decades to sift through this misinformation and determine what plan best optimizes health.

For the last two decades I’ve been sharing what I learn through this newsletter, and many of you have graciously given me important feedback to let me know how this information has helped you improve your health, fitness and general wellbeing.

Diet is clearly one of the foundational strategies for taking control of your health, as you simply cannot out-exercise your mouth.

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. It’s often been estimated that your diet accounts for about 80 percent of the benefits you reap from a healthy lifestyle, and experience tells me this is true.

Changes to Our Food Supply Necessitate Certain Dietary Modifications

Unfortunately, dietary advice can feel like a moving target. What’s considered healthy one day may be found to be harmful the next.

One classic example would be the advice to eat fish. 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.

Environmental pollution with heavy metals and other toxins has now become so pervasive that eating large amounts of fish in the 21st century may actually do more harm than good.