These are my 8 pillars to optimal health, if you focus on centring your nutrition and lifestyle around these 8 pillars you will undoubtedly have a very long and healthy life.

Control insulin

Pillar one is controlling insulin. This is the hormone you have the most control over. You can’t control how much cortisol you secrete in response to stress or how much testosterone you produce, however you chose what you eat, therefore you chose foods that will either cause a little insulin release or a lot of insulin release. Insulin is important but it needs to be well controlled, some authorities suggest that too much insulin is the hormone of aging, castration and obesity. Genetics aside you simply can’t get fat if your insulin levels are well controlled.

The easiest way to control insulin is to control blood sugar levels; this is done by eating a higher protein, lower carbohydrate diet, and choosing foods that are low on the glycemic load scale. This invariably means all the fibrous green vegetables, some fruits, minimal use of some grains, beans and legumes, eating nuts and seeds and combining this with meat, fish, seafood and poultry. You will also need to avoid any and all processed and junk foods as these foods that are rich in sugar such as high fructose corn syrup and processed fats cause huge amounts of insulin to be released.