Patrick Holford's latest book – The Ten Secrets of 100% Healthy People – is the culmination of three decades of research and the subsequent understanding of the nutritional and lifestyle habits of physically and psychologically healthy people.

We asked Patrick to break down the top 10 secrets for us...

Secret 1: Improve Your Digestion

100% Health Survey Results: Only 14 percent of people enjoy good digestive health. Eighty-one percent of people have less than one bowel movement a day.

If you get bloated after eating you are probably eating something you’re allergic to (wheat and milk are the most common culprits) or not digesting properly. Get tested for these allergies.

Secret 2: Balance Your Blood Sugar

100% Health Survey Results: Eighty percent of people say they often have low energy. Forty two percent of people wake up tired.

The key to keeping your energy level high, and losing weight and controlling sugar cravings is to eat a low glycemic load (GL) diet. This means eating oat flakes instead of cornflakes, berries and plums instead of raisins and bananas and always eating protein with carbohydrate. Examples would be an apple with some pumpkin seeds, or a serving of fish with brown rice.

Secret 3: Take More B Vitamins

100% Health Survey Results: Eighty two percent of people become quickly impatient. Sixty four percent become anxious or tense easily. Thirty two percent have poor memory.

Your ability to stay sharp, with a good mood and minimal risk of disease depends on getting enough B vitamins, vital for a process called methylation. If you’re good at it your blood level of homocysteine is below 6. That’s how you know you’re getting enough B vitamins. In any case it’s best to supplement a high potency multivitamin such as Bioharmony’s Optimum Nutrition Formula containing at least 200mcg of folic acid, 10mcg of B12 and 20mg of B6 – and eat lots of greens and beans which are the best sources of folic acid and B6.

Secret 4: Increase Anti-Ageing Antioxidants

100% Health Survey Results: People who eat the least antioxidant-rich fruit, vegetables,oily fish, nuts and seeds have the lowest overall health rating, halving their chances of being in optimal health. People who eat five or more pieces of fruit daily are two and a half times more likely to have optimum health than those who do not eat fruit.

Upping antioxidants makes a huge difference to how young you feel and look. But not all fruit and veg are equal. Cherries, berries, oregano, cinnamon, turmeric, mustard and chocolate are in the top 10 antioxidant rich foods. Walnuts, pecans, pistachios, broccoli, avocado and asparagus are good too. So is a good quality red wine. Good news!

Secret 5: Eat Essential Fats

100% Health Survey Results: People who eat oily fish three or more times per week, or nuts or seeds three times a day are 60 percent more likely to have optimum health than those who do not. While 56 percent of people have dry skin.

Essential fats from oily fish and seeds keeps you mind and body well oiled, reducing risk for heart disease, halving joint pain, improving mood and banishing dry skin. You need three servings of oily fish a week (wild salmon, mackerel, king fish or sardines), flax or pumpkin seeds every day and, ideally, an essential fat supplement.

Secret 6: Keep Yourself Hydrated

100% Health Survey Results: Those who drink eight glasses of water a day are twice as likely to be in optimum health than those who don’t drink water. Eighty one percent of respondents have less than one bowel movement a day. Also 48 percent of people frequently have headaches or migraine.

Water is your most important nutrient and we all need the equivalent of eight glasses of water a day, which includes that used in hot drinks. You need more if it’s hot or you are exercising. How do you know if you are drinking enough? Look at your urine. It should be light in colour. Not drinking enough is a major cause of constipation and headaches.

Secret 7: Keep Fit, Strong and Supple

100% Health Survey Results: Fifty four percent of those with an optimum cardiovascular health rating exercise for three or more hours a week, compared to one percent of those with a poor cardiovascular health rating. Also 92% of top health scorers consider themselves moderately fit.

Exercise is vital to health and we all need the equivalent of 15 minutes exercise a day, or at least 30 minutes every other day. Do something that keeps you fit, strong and supple. For example, yoga plus jogging or cycling. Swimming is the best all round activity.

Secret 8: Generate Vital Energy

100% Health Survey Results: Fifty percent of the top health scorers do some form of vital-energy-generating exercise such as Tai Chi, Qigong, Psychocalisthenics or meditation.

We all need to regenerate our energy and exercises such as yoga and Tai Chi are designed to do just that. So too does time spent in nature and meditation. To be 100% healthy you need to build in these kind of activities into your daily life.

Secret 9: Get Your Past Out of Your Present

100% Health Survey Results: Among the top health scorers 85 percent consider state of mind to be extremely important, 95 percent consider relationships to be very important, and 100 percent think that having a positive attitude is important for health.

Carrying emotional baggage is a major drain on your health, energy and spontaneity. There are specific techniques, explained in Patrick’s book, for identifying and letting go of negative emotions and learned negative patterns that have a habit of sabotaging our relationships. These skills aren’t taught in school but are vital for a healthy and happy life.

Secret 10: Find Your Purpose

100% Health Survey Results: Most of the top health scorers (96%) have a clear sense of purpose or direction in life, while 81 percent consider themselves spiritual.

If you don’t have a sense of purpose in your life ask yourself what you love doing or what makes you feel good? What are you good at? And what’s needed now in the world, in your community or family? Having a sense of purpose and a connection with spirit are two qualities that give us the larger context in which we live our lives with meaning, purpose and ‘connectedness’ with others, our family, community or environment.

Get the Book:

The 10 Secrets of 100% Healthy People retails at R200 and will be available from leading news agents in November. Holford will also be in South Africa in November. For further information about Patrick Holford’s tour visit the Bioharmony website.