The Core Health Behaviors That Matter Most

These weekly science deep dives are made possible by FoundMyFitness Premium Members like you. I share a few segments related to exercise, sleep, and diet quality at the end of this email for those who want to go deeper into this topic.

Core behavior #2: Eat a nutrient-dense diet

Eat for nutrient density, not dietary perfection

My nutrition advice is not built around any niche diet. It is built around a high-quality dietary pattern that consistently shows up in the literature. That means fruits, vegetables, omega-3 fatty acids, whole grains, fiber, nuts, legumes, unsaturated fats, fewer ultra-processed foods, fewer sugar-sweetened beverages, and limited processed meat.

One of my favorite studies for thinking about diet and lifestyle more broadly comes from Harvard researchers who looked at five low-risk lifestyle factors and life expectancy.

Those five factors were:

1. Never smoking

2. Maintaining a healthy body weight

3. Getting at least 30 minutes per day of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity

4. Moderate or no alcohol intake

5. Eating a high-quality diet

People who maintained all five had a projected life expectancy at age 50 that was about 14 years longer for women and 12 years longer for men, compared with people who maintained none of the five factors. They also had substantially lower risks of cardiovascular and cancer mortality.

The diet component was defined as being in the upper 40% of the Alternative Healthy Eating Index, or AHEI. The AHEI is not a popular diet. It is a diet-quality scoring system developed to capture foods and nutrients associated with lower chronic disease risk.

The AHEI gives us the research backbone. Here is the practical translation.

A diet in the higher range of the AHEI is rich in:

• Vegetables (5 or more servings per day)

• Whole fruit (4 or more servings per day)

• Whole grains (about 4-6 servings per day)

• Nuts, legumes, and vegetable protein (1 or more servings per day)

• Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (at least 250 mg per day of DHA + EPA... though I recommend slightly more than that for purposes of raising the omega-3 index)

And it is low in:

• Sugar-sweetened beverages

• Fruit juice

• Red and processed meat (Processed meat should be as close to zero as practical. For red meat, I think a few servings per week—roughly 12–18 ounces—is a reasonable practical range for many people)

• Trans fat

• Sodium (primarily by limiting ultraprocessed foods)

My daily smoothie as a nutrient delivery system

I'll admit that it's not always easy to get all of the nutrients we need each day. One thing I swear by is a daily micronutrient-rich smoothie. I don’t think the smoothie is magic, but it does help me get several servings of fruits and vegetables, polyphenols, fiber, carotenoids, protein if needed, and healthy fats in one routine.

The core ingredients are:

• Kale (about 3 cups). Kale is a nutrient-dense leafy green that provides lutein and zeaxanthin, carotenoids that are important for eye health and may also be relevant to brain health. It also provides magnesium, calcium, vitamin K, and other micronutrients.

• Blueberries (about 2 to 2.5 cups). Blueberries are rich in anthocyanins and other polyphenols. I like them because there are randomized, placebo-controlled trials suggesting blueberry intake can improve aspects of cognition in young adults, older adults, and people with mild cognitive impairment.

• Avocado (about half an avocado) to replace a banana for creaminess. It also provides monounsaturated fat, which can help increase the absorption of fat-soluble carotenoids like lutein and zeaxanthin from the greens.

• Protein powder (this is optional). I add whey protein when I am busy or might miss a meal. My general protein target is about 1.2–1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight per day, and protein powder can be a convenient way to help reach that target.

• Barley beta-glucan (also optional, but highly recommended!) is a soluble, fermentable prebiotic fiber. I add it because beta-glucans have good evidence for lowering LDL cholesterol, and may help increase elimination of some PFAS “forever chemicals.”

One thing I do not add to this smoothie is banana.

That does not mean bananas are bad. I like bananas, especially before a run, because they provide potassium and easy carbohydrates. But bananas contain polyphenol oxidase, an enzyme that can reduce the bioavailability of some flavanols and polyphenols when blended with high-polyphenol foods like berries. So if the goal of the smoothie is to maximize berry polyphenols, avocado is a better choice for creaminess.

Core behavior #3: Sleep enough and regularly

If everything else seems right, audit sleep first

When someone tells me they are exercising, watching their diet, drinking water, and still not feeling right or not making progress, one of the first things I want to know is: how are you sleeping?

Here are the five questions I think everyone should ask.

1. Are you getting 7.5–9 hours of actual sleep?

Many people spend 7.5 or 8 hours in bed but do not get 7.5 or 8 hours of sleep.

Adequate sleep duration is a pillar. Chronic sleep restriction affects glucose regulation, appetite, stress, immune function, cognitive performance, and body composition.

One good example of this is a visceral fat study I cite often. In a Mayo Clinic randomized crossover study, participants who were allowed only 4 hours of sleep for two weeks accumulated more abdominal and visceral fat than when they had 9 hours of sleep opportunity. That is a measurable shift in metabolic health.

2. Are you getting bright light within 30 minutes of waking?

Every organ in the body has clocks. The master clock in the brain—the suprachiasmatic nucleus—is reset primarily by light.

Getting bright light within 30 minutes of waking, ideally for 15–30 minutes, helps tell the brain and body that the biological day has begun.

That morning signal helps align cortisol in the morning, melatonin at night, body temperature during sleep, and the normal overnight dip in heart rate and blood pressure.

3. Are you waking up at the same time every morning?

A consistent wake time may be one of the most underappreciated sleep behaviors.

Bedtime matters, but wake time anchors the rhythm. Your body anticipates when it is supposed to wake up. When wake times are erratic, the brain has a harder time coordinating hormone timing, alertness, sleep pressure, body temperature, appetite, and melatonin onset the next night. A practical way to improve sleep is to pick a wake time first, then work bedtime backward from the amount of sleep you need.

4. Are you eating within 3 hours of going to bed?

Eating too close to bed keeps digestion active when the body should be transitioning into recovery mode. Digestion activates the sympathetic nervous system, raises heart rate, and signals wakefulness. You may technically be asleep, but the body is still doing the work of digestion. That can mean more awakenings, a higher nighttime heart rate, and a less robust cardiovascular reset. Blood pressure normally dips during sleep, and that dipping pattern is an important marker of cardiovascular health.

The point is not to avoid late-night snacking always and forever, but to protect the transition into sleep.

A recent sleep-aligned fasting study illustrates this well (I recently covered it in the weekly research newsletter). Middle-aged and older adults at higher cardiometabolic risk were instructed to finish eating at least 3 hours before bedtime, dim lights before bed, and extend their overnight fast. After 7.5 weeks, they showed improved nighttime blood pressure and heart-rate dipping, better day-night cardiovascular rhythm, and better daytime blood-sugar control, all without requiring weight loss or calorie restriction.

This is why I think the timing of the last bite matters, not just the length of the eating/fasting window.

5. Are you drinking alcohol too close to bedtime?

The closer alcohol is consumed to bedtime, the more likely it is to interfere with sleep quality.

Alcohol may help people fall asleep faster, but it disrupts sleep architecture, suppresses REM sleep, increases awakenings, and interferes with overnight recovery. This is not a moralistic point. It is a biological one.

So if sleep is a priority, alcohol timing matters, and for many people, reducing alcohol or removing it altogether may be one of the fastest ways to improve sleep continuity and recovery.

Final thoughts

Movement, nutrition, and sleep should not be viewed independently. They amplify each other.

Vigorous movement improves sleep and cardiometabolic health. Better sleep improves appetite regulation and the ability to train. A nutrient-dense diet supplies the raw materials needed to build muscle, repair tissue, make neurotransmitters, support immune function, and maintain metabolic health.

The same is true in the other direction.

Poor sleep makes it harder to regulate appetite and cravings. Poor diet makes it harder to maintain energy and recover. Too little vigorous movement means the heart, lungs, muscles, blood vessels, and mitochondria may never receive the signal to adapt.

That is why I call these core behaviors.

They are the daily signals that tell the body how to function.

If I had to pick just one of these core behaviors to start with, it would be 10 breathless minutes. It is one of the simplest, most time-efficient ways to send a powerful signal to the body.

Good nutrition is important. So is sleep. And getting just one of these behaviors right can be impactful. Life does not always allow us to optimize all three at the same time. But if we can get close—move every day, eat in a way that supplies what the body needs, and sleep in a way that lets the body recover—the potential benefits are enormous.

Repeat those signals often enough, and they become the foundation for better healthspan.

Go deeper on exercise, sleep, and nutrition fundamentals

I've covered several related questions in previous Premium Member Q&A episodes.

Selected segments from Premium Member Q&A episodes:

• Q&A #53 (11:05)—Benefits of high-intensity exercise beyond VO2 max

• Q&A #65 (50:55)—Rhonda's 3x/week strength training routine and what exercises she focuses on

• Q&A #50 with Dr. Rhonda Patrick (30:02)—How ultra-processed foods drive metabolic dysfunction and weight gain

• Q&A #54 with Dr. Rhonda Patrick (1:14:36)—Does an irregular bedtime sabotage deep sleep?

• Q&A #78 with Dr. Rhonda Patrick (1:07:10)—Can you gain harmful visceral fat without noticeable weight gain?