HEALTHIER Nine principles for the life you're already living

Sixty percent of the human body is water. The brain runs closer to 70–75%. Blood: 82–83%. Every chemical reaction in your body depends on pH and water balance. This isn't wellness talk — this is biochemistry.

Aquaporins — the protein channels that move water across cell membranes — are one of the quietest miracles in human physiology. They don't care about your intentions. They care about supply.

Three macronutrients. Protein and carbohydrates each carry 4 calories per gram. Fat carries 9. That asymmetry shapes every meal whether you're paying attention or not. Aim for 75% of your protein from non-animal sources.

The glycemic index gets all the press, but glycemic load is where the clinical picture lives. A carrot has a high glycemic index but a low glycemic load — because you'd have to eat a bag of them to spike your blood sugar. Context matters.

Get 10 servings of fruits and vegetables before 10 PM. Eat the colors — the pigments are the medicine. Anthocyanins, carotenoids, flavonoids — nature color-coded the pharmacy.

The spectrum runs from breathing to Iron Man. Wherever you are on it right now is the right place to start. The minimum effective dose: 20 minutes of continuous aerobic activity, three times a week. Brisk walking is probably the single best exercise most people aren't doing enough of.

Stretch. Breathe. Build. Dance. Climb. Use videos, classes, friends, children, pets — whatever gets you moving without making it feel like punishment. The goal isn't performance. The goal is that your body stays a place you want to live in.

Psychoneuroimmunology — PNI — is the study of how your thoughts and emotions directly modulate immune function. Laughter isn't metaphorical medicine. It's actual medicine.

When you laugh: cortisol drops. DHEA rises. Dopamine and serotonin flood the system. Your immune surveillance improves. This isn't folk wisdom — it's measured, published, reproducible biochemistry.

Candace Pert's Molecules of Emotion mapped the neuropeptide pathways that connect emotional states to immune function. Laughter yoga exists because someone took the data seriously enough to build a practice around it.

Reframe situations in a positive light — not because toxic positivity helps anyone, but because the stories you tell yourself about what's happening become the neurochemical environment your body lives in. The thought precedes the molecule.

The reading list that holds up: How We Choose to Be Happy. Ask and It Is Given (Esther and Jerry Hicks). The Secret — say what you want about the packaging, the core mechanism is sound.

The spectrum here mirrors Activity: it starts with opening a door for someone and extends all the way to opening your home. Look for opportunities to be of service each day — not as self-improvement theater, but because the research is clear: helping others heals the helper.

"I am…" — two words that shape everything that follows. Express them daily. Express them when you're in doubt. The declaration isn't magic. But the neuroscience of self-affirmation shows that identity statements prime the brain for congruent action.

Believing is being. Not in a bumper-sticker way — in the way that confidence creates competence creates evidence creates deeper confidence. It's a feedback loop. You have to start it somewhere.

Every letter in HEALTHIER requires forethought. None of this happens by accident. See yourself completing these steps — not as fantasy, but as logistics. Envision is where the framework meets the calendar.

Seven to eight hours. Every night. This is non-negotiable biology, not lifestyle advice. Sleep is when detoxification happens — your five organs of elimination (liver, lungs, skin, GI tract, kidneys) do their heaviest work while you're unconscious.

Repeat your vision and your steps. Take regular vacations — not as luxury but as maintenance. Reflect. The framework circles back on itself because health is not a destination. It's a practice.