Do you know that feeling of being overwhelmed by all the health advice you can find online? Lots of people feel an information overload, which is reasonable in today's age of social media. There is also a lot of misinformation online. Not everyone has their best interest for you and just wants to sell you some overpriced supplements.

I will share with you my view on health and will explain to you why you do not need to buy any overpriced supplements. My approach is mainly based on eating whole foods and also some lifestyle adjustments. At the end of this article you will find a list with foods I recommend eating for optimal health.

Relying on whole foods, instead of supplements is best to cover all micronutrients. Yes I am talking about micronutrients, not macronutrients, like every fitness influencer. Of course macronutrients are important, but micronutrients are very often overlooked. Let’s take a look at fruit for example, fruit contains Vitamin C and some minerals. It is often referred to as being full of vitamins.

This is wrong, it is full of Vitamin C, but that’s it. The actual superfoods, that are full of vitamins, are whole animal foods. Let’s take a look at red meat, in comparison to fruit you will get lots of different vitamins, not only Vitamin C (fruits are still great though).

You will get the full spectrum of B vitamins and also Vitamin A out of one steak for example. On top of that it also has quite a lot of zinc and iron. But the undefeated superfood out of all foods is the liver. By consuming liver one will get all of the mentioned vitamins in way higher amounts. It contains tremendous amounts of Vitamin A Retinol, carrots only contain beta carotene, which is not real Vitamin A. Meat in general is very nutrient dense and should ideally be consumed daily for that reason.

Doctors are telling you that you should fear cholesterol and should limit your intake. I disagree with that. Cholesterol is the precursor of all steroid hormones produced in the body as shown in the picture below.

The body is able to produce some cholesterol on it’s own, but at some point it will get more difficult. Regardless of that, you will help your body produce necessary amounts of hormones, by increasing the consumption of cholesterol. This will lead your body to produce more hormones, which is positively correlated with better health, better looks and more energy. The best foods for cholesterol are: Eggs (mainly the yolk), butter, cheese, tallow and bone marrow.

Do me a favour and throw away the seed oils. Why? Because they are one of the most processed foods in existence. Large amounts of seeds are being pressed to extract the oil. There is many processes that finally lead to the desired oil (sometimes they even bleach it). Definitely not something to cook in. They will lead to inflammation and cellulite. Cook in butter, ghee or coconut oil instead. I will dive deeper into one of the downsides of seed oils in the following abstract.

The Sun as Saviour

Another important pillar to achieve optimal health is Vitamin D. It is important for proper immune function and hormone production. You are being told that the sun is dangerous. Yes, a sunburn is not healthy, I agree, but hear me out: Only an inflamed or unadapted body will get sunburn. Eating an unhealthy diet will increase the probability of a sunburn. This is especially true, when you consume lots of seed oils (sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, soybean oil etc.). Seed oils are high in Omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), especially linoleic acid. PUFAs are chemically unstable and prone to oxidation, especially under heat, light and UV exposure.

They are incorporated into the cell membranes and skin lipids, altering the composition of your skin's oils. When UV rays hit skin rich in these oxidizable fats, it can lead to lipid peroxidation (breakdown of fats in the skin), generating free radicals and inflammation.

This oxidative stress can decrease the skin's natural barrier function, lower the threshold of sunburn and increase risk of photoaging or skin cancer long-term. Consuming animal fats rather than seed oils, is essentially doing the opposite. Animal fats are extremely similar to our own lipids. Hence they will improve the composition of your skin's oils, acting as a protective barrier. Aside from the diet, sun adaption is very important to avoid a sunburn.

When you have never really been in the sun the whole year and are going on a two week vacation in the tropics, where the sun is quite strong, of course you will get a sunburn. The reason for that is, that you are not adapted to it. Therefore the solution is obvious: Fix your diet and get out in the sun all year round, so you build up a tolerance to the sun, ideally beginning in spring. Start small and increase the exposure overtime.

The more tanned you are, the longer you can stay in the sun, without having to worry about getting sunburned. Doing this will ensure, that you are more resistant to the sun.

Sunscreen is an absolute scam in my opinion, as it contains many toxic compounds that will leech into the skin and also block Vitamin D from being absorbed. If you still have issues without sunscreen I have some suggestions: Use olive oil, coconut oil or beef tallow as protection. If that still isn’t enough there is also sunscreens based on Tallow or coconut oil with non-nano zinc. These are very protective, as they reflect some of the sunlight.

Now you may be wondering, what you should do in the winter to get enough Vitamin D. The solution is not a supplement. Liver, fish, milk, eggs, butter and brain actually contain Vitamin D. Eat plenty of these foods in the winter and try to get as much sunlight as it is possible in the winter. You can also do red light therapy to trigger Vitamin D production in the winter. Stop fearing the sun and start embracing it – just as our ancestors did it.

On Skin Vitality

Now you are on the right track to live a healthier life. This leads me to the next important pillar, which is aging. Have you ever wondered how you can slow your aging process? Aging is often determined by looks, especially wrinkles.

This is due to less collagen and therefore also less elasticity of the skin. Collagen is very important for overall health, but mainly for joints, gut health and the skin. Increasing the collagen intake will lead to a more youthful look, healthier skin, better gut health and better joint health. Getting collagen from whole animal foods is the best, as they essentially contain the same collagen that is in our own body.

Talking about skin health I recommend using natural products with few ingredients. Your skin is acting like a sponge, absorbing everything you put on it. Your skin is actually somewhat an organ as well. I recommend using natural soap with few ingredients as a body wash and shampoo. You can also use egg yolks as a shampoo on top of that (provides your hair with every important nutrient). Instead of some toxic skincare product you should use Beef Tallow – it is very similar to human sebum and deeply nourishes the skin.

You can purchase high quality tallow balm and tallow sunscreen from grass-fed and pasture raised animals here https://melysium.shop/?ref=ybmaypvo (10% discount with the Code: LENNART)

On Hydration

Another thing I have to highlight is hydration. Most people think that any water is hydrating, but this is not true. Minerals are hydrophilic, meaning they love water and bind to it. By drinking water low in minerals, the water will flush out minerals that are stored in your body. This will in turn lead to an endless cycle of dehydration. What I recommend instead to actually hydrate your body, is drinking mineral rich water like Gerolsteiner for example.

Gerolsteiner is very high in Magnesium, an important mineral for ATP production, nervous system and brain function, heart health, bone health, muscle function and cramp prevention, blood sugar and insulin control, electrolyte balance and reducing inflammation. Drinking raw milk, raw coconut water or raw juices is even more hydrating and provides you with Vitamins and Enzymes on top of just minerals.

This will lead to deeper hydration in contrast to just plain water. Depending on your activity levels you need to hydrate more or less. When you are sweating your body is losing minerals through the sweat. That is also why you get thirsty, when it is hot or when you are doing sports. It is not just because of the fluid loss, but also about the minerals that you are losing. Many people today think, hydrating with tap water (low in minerals, high in hormones and toxins) is something good, whereas it is not.

They are drinking 3-4 liters of plain water daily, while doing more harm than good. What I would rather recommend is drinking 1-2 liters of raw milk a day, as well as 1-2 bottles of Gerolsteiner, as well as an occasional coconut water and fresh orange juice. This will ensure deep hydration, providing your body with plenty of electrolytes. You can decrease or increase the amount you drink depending on your activity level, drink as much as you feel you need to.

Finally I encourage you to leave out grain products, seeds and most vegetables, besides root vegetables and watery vegetables. Fiber is indigestible and is harming the gut. Most vegetables today are unnatural and cannot be found as they are in nature. They have been domesticated, today even more than a few centuries ago.

The gluten-proteins of wheat have been modified to a point, where most people react to it and have gut issues because of the modified gluten. Seeds in general are extremely unnatural to eat - meat, eggs, fruit and honey is what you would mainly find in nature. If you still want to eat grains, the best options are: buckwheat, spelt and emmer wheat - ideally consume them as sourdough. Most importantly though, you should cut out the processed foods, they are extremely unnatural and are therefore harming your health.

I created a table of the foods I consume to cover everything the human body needs. Try to consume these and see how amazing you will feel. Even doing just a fraction of that will lead to improvements in your overall health.

Vitamins

Minerals

Other Nutrients

If you want to dive deeper than this, I help people create real health through real food - no gimmicks, no supplements, just practical support rooted in your everyday life. Book a free 20-minute call via https://calendly.com/lennart-klar/20min. We'll talk about where you're at, what's holding you back, and how we can build sustainable change - together.