by Mila McManus, MD
It’s not uncommon for me to hear people complain that functional medicine and holistic health, without the favor of insurance companies, is just simply too expensive. While I recognize there is some truth in that statement, it is equally true to say that the foundations of a health and wellness lifestyle are FREE! I ran across an article recently written by Ryan Sternagel from The Anti-Cancer Revolution that included his list of the choices we can make and the things we can do for good health that are FREE and make a real difference. I’m providing them below because I couldn’t have said it better myself, and I preach these things to my patients regularly!
So, I quote Ryan:
But the bottom line is, there’s a LOT you can do that costs little to no money that all adds up to a MASSIVE impact, so much so that it could very well do the job in and of itself for a whole lot of cases.
Warning: the following list is a collaboration between me and ChatGPT, so some of it might not sound like my voice at times, but every item is coming from me. 🙂
- Do something every day for your mind-body connection. Prayer, meditation, breathwork, tai chi, yoga, guided visualization – whatever calls to you. The point is to do something consistently to lower stress, discharge negative energy, and bring in positive energy.
- Get outside in nature as much as you can, ideally with bare feet on the ground. Sunshine, fresh air, and earth beneath your feet – these are some of the most ancient medicines we have.
- Sprout your own food. Start with broccoli and a few other seeds. Watch our Ultimate Sprouting Kit Guide on YouTube. Eat them by the handful or on everything and juice the rest. You can grow multiple jars of nutrient-dense food for mere pennies.
- Move your body daily. Mix in muscle-building (resistance bands are low-impact, high reward) and cardio. It doesn’t have to be fancy – just consistent. Your mitochondria and lymph system depend on it.
- Eat massive amounts of vegetables. Steam or pressure cook for maximum digestibility with minimum nutrient loss. Pile on the culinary herbs (rosemary, thyme, turmeric, etc.) for flavor and added medicine.
- Avoid toxicants like your life depends on it. Because it does. Choose organic when possible, filter your water, stop using synthetic cleaning products, and skip the conventional air fresheners and personal care products – swap in truly natural versions and simplify where you can.
- Surround yourself with life-giving, high-vibration elements. Plants, crystals, nature imagery, music that lifts your mood, people that inspire you, objects that bring you peace – everything in your environment matters. Make your space one that supports healing on every level.
- Breathe intentionally. Just a few minutes of deep nasal breathing a few times a day, especially slow exhales, can shift your nervous system into healing mode.
- Support your circadian rhythm with light hygiene. Get natural sunlight on your skin and into your eyes every morning (no sunglasses, no windows). Avoid bright overhead lights and screens after sunset. Use incandescent bulbs during the day and red lights after the sun goes down.
- Sleep like it’s your job. Cool, dark room. No screens before bed. Same bedtime every night. Sleep is when your body heals – don’t cut it short.
- Cold and heat exposure (DIY style). Finish your shower cold or soak in a hot bath. No fancy equipment needed. Both activate powerful repair and detox responses.
- Laugh, love, and connect. Relationships, laughter, affection, and purpose – these affect biology as much as food. Hug often. Say the thing you need to say. Watch something funny. Joy is therapy.
- Hydrate intentionally. Drink plenty of clean water (add minerals if you have them), and drink it away from meals. Dehydration slows detox and weakens cellular signaling.
- Eliminate all self-induced exposure to EMF. Hardwiring your internet connections to your router using a few Ethernet cables can be done in a few hours. Short of that, only turn on Wi-Fi when you’re actually using the internet (don’t just turn it off at night). Put your cell phone on airplane mode anytime you are not using it.
- Give your digestion a break. Don’t eat constantly. Stop a few hours before bed. Try a 12-hour overnight fast – free and effective cellular repair.
- Feed your soul and mind. Journal. Watch something inspiring. Learn something new every day. A growing mind builds a resilient body.
THERE! NEXT TIME YOU’RE THINKING, “How can I afford all of this stuff?”…. Consult this FREE list and make sure you’re doing ALL of it because if you’re not, you’re leaving something you could be doing for no money at all on the table…
And again, some of the people I talk to who have healed from very serious cases, even when I really grill them on everything they did, I can’t get much more out of them than this foundational, free-type of stuff… It really can make that big of a difference.
Reference:
Sternagel, Ryan. The Anti-Cancer Revolution , info@anticancerrevolution.com, published Sat, May 24, 2025. Subject: Holistic health is hard to afford.+