Loving your body is a pre-requisite for living well. Drink all the celery juice you want and sweat every day, but if the effort is not coming from a place of love it’s not having the impact you want it to. Functional medicine expert and bestselling author of Ketotarian and Intuitive Fasting, Dr. Will Cole, embodies this philosophy in his daily habits — he understands that when you cultivate a sense of self-care it becomes second nature to eat well and becomes easier to heal.
Dr. Cole is the senior clinic director of Cole Natural Health Centers and has been named one of the top 50 functional medicine and integrative doctors in the nation. We first heard of Dr. Cole through friends in the industry who’ve worked with the doctor to manage chronic autoimmunity issues. Like many functional medicine doctors, Cole addresses the root physiological, biochemical and hormonal causes underlying diseases – not just their symptoms.
From his daily intermittent fasting habit to a simple travel hack with a white noise machine, Dr. Cole is sharing a few of his healthiest daily habits with us below…
Daily breakfast:
I typically intermittent fast in the morning to help increase autophagy (the cell’s self-cleaning process), which helps to slow signs of aging and optimize overall health.
Food philosophy:
Love your body enough to nourish it with delicious food medicine.
Daily staples:
My supplement line, The Collection, contains the eight essential supplements I personally curated with the earth’s finest ingredients to help optimize every area of your health.
Can't live without:
My daily cup — or five — of green tea.
A least once a week I cook:
Roasted cauliflower tacos from my book Ketotarian with extra guacamole.
Best healthy food option on-the-go:
Single-serve packets of almond butter are my guilty pleasure. They taste great and are easy to take with me — I always have a healthy option or snack wherever I am even if my other food choices are limited.
Three staples always in my medicine cabinet:
My oceanic adaptogen collaboration with Agent Nateur holi (y o u t h ) to help de-stress, a bottle of REBBL Reishi Cold Brew for its adaptogenic and healthy MCT fats and Tru Niagen supplements to support my cellular energy.
Ingredient I always avoid:
Gluten
Best health advice:
Go ketotarian.
Go-to juice or smoothie:
Green juices and whole-food keto smoothies are great — they are easy on blood sugar and pack in a lot of great nutrient-dense veggies. I like adding in avocados to my smoothies for added creaminess and healthy fats.
Crazy health idea that actually works:
Celery juice in the morning on an empty stomach. Simple yet powerful.
On the reading list:
Favorite workout:
My Peloton bike.
Always in my travel gear:
White noise app for better hotel sleep, essential oils, palo santo for my hotel room, laptop to write (I do my best writing on the road) and Pique crystalized tea so I can have my daily cup of tea wherever I am.
Non-negotiable:
Dairy and gluten — not for me.
Simplest way to improve health:
Take time for self-care and to de-stress. So much of poor health is linked to high stress. You can be downing green juice and eating like a rabbit, but if you are constantly stressed it won’t do you any good.
Current mantra:
You can’t heal a body you hate.
This story first ran on February 2019, but we loved it so much we brought it back. Who do you want to see profiled next?
