Just a quick reminder: Danielle is on the final leg of her vacation time this week. Please keep in mind when placing an order, writing a note, or calling that she will begin shipping and responding on July 21st. We are thankful for your kindness and patience as she closes out her annual vacation time with her family. 

Barring an emergency, no further closures aside from regular weekends and holidays are scheduled for the rest of the year.

I’ll cut right to the chase and start your day with some not-so-rosy statistics:

Our current healthcare spending here in the US exceeds $4.5 trillion, yet our chronic disease rates continue to rise.

Nearly half of US adults have high blood pressure. While that statistic was somewhat “expanded” by the lowering of the blood pressure ranges to be considered hypertensive back in 2017, that doesn’t fully explain why one out of two of us have blood pressure issues.

Cancer rates continue to rise, especially among younger adults and children. Two million new cancer cases were diagnosed in 2024.

Diabetes also affects nearly four out of 10 of us, with the (very preventable) Type 2 diabetes comprising 95 percent of those cases.

Obesity affects about 40 percent of adults and 20 percent of children.

Current estimates report that 15 million Americans have one or more autoimmune diseases. I suspect that the number is much higher because autoimmune diseases are difficult to pinpoint, and people typically go undiagnosed and suffer for years.

Why, oh why?

There are many reasons and factors behind the grim statistics I quoted above, but number one is our modern healthcare system. 

Sadly, “healthcare” has very little to do with “health” and preventing disease and instead is focused on treating disease and symptom management.

Of course, the typical treatment is medication, but this is a double-edged sword:

First, with medications, no one is being “cured” of anything! They are experiencing a chemically-induced absence of symptoms—that’s not health, folks!

Second, they are actually becoming sicker because every single drug in existence causes side effects, so your list of symptoms and health issues will undoubtedly grow. 

What makes this worse is that most doctors have little knowledge of, or downright poo-poo, the effectiveness of natural measures like a whole foods diet and a healthy lifestyle.

So that means YOU have to take the bull by the horns and accept responsibility for creating your own good health. 

Here’s how to start:

Your road to creating REAL health 

1) Have a whole foods diet

You didn’t think I would start with anything other than your diet, did you?

We all have different tastes and preferences and that’s fine, but here are the important rules of thumb:

Keep your meals real and simple. Pair proteins with non-starchy vegetables and healthy fats for optimal digestion. Choose organic meats, chicken, eggs and full-fat dairy whenever possible, and opt for wild caught (not farmed) fish.

Minimize grains and sugars. Even though grains (which include pasta, rice, breads, etc.) do provide nutrients, they also turn to sugar upon digestion, which causes imbalance in the gut microbiome, gas and bloating and weakened immune function.

Stay away from harmful fats. Although they have been marketed as “healthy,” fats like margarine, vegetable oils, and seed oils are an abomination to your health. Stick to real butter, lard and tallow.

2) Drink something other than coffee, soda, energy drinks or alcohol

You know what I’m getting at here—WATER!

There are different barometers out there for how much water you should be drinking, but an easy place to start is to strive to drink more (filtered) water than anything else.

Now don’t panic if you’re a soda lover! You don’t have to do a complete 180 all at once. Start by swapping out just one soda each day for water. You’ll see a difference in how you feel.

3) Optimize your Vitamin D level

Although all nutrients are beneficial, Vitamin D is truly a superstar. Some of its functions and health benefits include:

• Digestion and absorption of nutrients

• Lower blood pressure 

• Heart and cardiovascular health

• Brain and mental health

• Neurological health

• Muscle health

• Skin and hair health

• Cancer prevention

• Bone health

• Immune health 

• Reproductive health

• Respiratory health

• Proper carbohydrate and fat metabolism

Vitamin D is also a very common deficiency, especially in the Northeast region during the darker, cooler months. To ensure you have optimal levels of this crucial nutritional superstar all year round, supplementation with our Optimum DK Formula with FruiteX-B is the way to go.

Optimum DK Formula provides a therapeutic 5,000 IU dose of Vitamin D3, as well as its partners Vitamin K1, K2 and boron.

4) Quit smoking 

I know it’s difficult, but your body will thank you in countless ways if you give up smoking.

Get whatever help you need (acupuncture has been shown to be extremely helpful) and put that nasty habit behind you for good. 

Note that I must caution you about Chantix because of very serious side effects. There are many other (safer) ways to accomplish your goal. 

5) Brush and floss every day

To help maintain the health of your teeth and gums, it’s crucial to brush and floss every day.

I know most people are OK with the brushing part, but many find flossing a nuisance or “don’t have the time.”

Get over that already. Flossing is essential for tooth and gum health, and it doesn’t take that long.

I timed myself and it took me a minute and 11 seconds to do my entire mouth. You have time.

6) Get 7-9 hours of sleep each night

Not getting enough sleep takes its toll on you in numerous ways including:

• Lowers your immune system function

• Triggers chronic pain 

• Accelerates the aging process

• Worsens depression

• Encourages overweight and obesity

• It even causes your brain to shrink!

So, if you’re a night owl, it’s time to hit the hay earlier, and make sure you’re regularly getting at least seven to nine hours of sleep each night.

7) Engage in regular exercise

Now, don’t roll your eyes at me. The fact is, nothing can replace the health benefits of regular exercise. 

So, pick an activity that you like (or will at least tolerate) and do it for 15-20 minutes (to start), four times per week. 

Once you begin to build up, you can gradually increase your exercise time to at least 30 minutes or more.

You don’t have to get fancy! Even brisk walking is helpful, and most people can do that.

Just be sure to get your doctor’s OK, especially if you haven’t exercised lately (or ever).

8) See your doctor and dentist once a year for a checkup

Many health issues can be caught in early stages by going for regular check-ups and that also includes dental check-ups.

So, if you shun the doctor’s office or can’t recall the last time you went to the dentist, it’s time to make an appointment, my friend.

It will give you peace of mind, and if something is not quite right, you can deal with it and help avoid it becoming more serious.

9) Keep stress low

Nothing will undermine your health more than chronic stress.

Stress weakens your immune system functioning, encourages elevated blood glucose levels, impairs your mental functioning, makes you stress eat (and pack on the pounds) and is even a contributing factor in high blood pressure and digestive conditions such as IBS.

There are a number of stress reduction measures that can help, such as counseling, meditation, yoga, prayer, acupuncture, regular exercise, and deep breathing. 

Many people have also reported that it helps to adopt a pet (if you’re an animal lover).

I can vouch for that! When I’m stressed, cuddling my three cats always makes me feel better.

10) Support your brain

The old saying “if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it” applies to many things, and that includes your mind.

And in our world of electronic entertainment, we’re just not challenging our minds like we used to anymore.

So, switch off the TV and computer, put down the cell phone and instead read a book, do puzzles or trivia, or play board games to help keep your mind sharp.

There you have it!

I promise that if you stick to these principles consistently, you will see a difference in how you feel and will pave the way for strong health into your golden years!

I can’t think of anything nicer than that.

To your health,

Sherry Brescia