I’ve noticed that it’s quite common for people to struggle to know what they should do to support friends or family members going through a mental health challenge, and it’s also quite common to say counterproductive things in such situations.

With the aim of helping you better help those people in your life who are struggling, here’s a list of five things that are usually a *bad* idea to say to someone who is dealing with a mental health challenge, along with seven things it usually is a *good* idea to do in such cases.

Part 1: things that are usually a *bad* idea to say to someone who is going through a mental health challenge

1. “Just think positively.”

For most mental health challenges, the problem is not a lack of positive thinking, and even if it were, being told to “think positively” would not enable them to actually be able to do so. This advice also trivializes people’s problems and so can come across as quite annoying or condescending.

2. “Focus on everything you have to be grateful for. Other people don’t even have enough food to eat!”

While it may be true that their life objectively has a lot of good things in it, their mental health challenge is not going to go away just by observing that. Gratitude can be a very useful mindset, but it is not a solution to mental health challenges, and being told to be grateful for what you have can lead to feelings of guilt (e.g., “I’m such a screw-up that I can’t even be happy when I have all these good things!”)

3. “You have to choose to be happy.”

It’s extremely rare that people choose to have a mental health challenge, and very few people, if any, know how to take the ongoing action of “choosing” to be happy. This framing of “choice” can also come across as though you are blaming the person for their mental health challenge, which is likely to be counterproductive.

4. “Today is the first day of your new life!”

This assumes that they can suddenly break out of their old patterns by reframing their life as starting anew, but this is a very unrealistic assumption. 

5. You should read “The Secret”/”The Power Of Positive Thinking” (or similar books)

These are in a genre of books that tell you that your problems are the result of not thinking the right way and that if you just start to think differently (e.g., imagine yourself succeeding and believe it with certainty), you will suddenly start to have the life you want. These techniques usually do not work for people with mental health challenges and can leave the reader feeling blamed for how they feel.

Part 2: things that usually *ARE* helpful to do with someone who is struggling with their mental health:

1. Ask open-ended questions about how they’re feeling and what they’re experiencing, without pushing them to reveal more than they’re comfortable with. Listen carefully. Try to really understand what they are going through.

2. Learn about the condition. Reading a book or two about the condition they are struggling with, or talking to an expert about it, can help you better understand what the other person is dealing with and can improve your ability to support them in helpful ways. Keep in mind, however, that their manifestation of the condition may differ from the typical manifestation, so be careful about jumping to conclusions about what they must be experiencing.

3. Empathize with them and show compassion. Don’t blame them for what they’re experiencing. And don’t use their struggles as an excuse to spend a lot of time talking about your own struggles. Though if you have been through similar challenges, they may appreciate knowing that.

4. Encourage them (with gentleness and compassion) to seek professional help (e.g., an excellent psychologist or psychiatrist). If they’re struggling to get started, ask permission to assist, and if they agree, reduce the effort for them (for instance, by trying to track down an excellent professional and provide them with the contact info). Thankfully, most people will improve when they are given evidence-based treatment that is carried out by a competent mental health professional (though it may take a few tries and failures to find a treatment that works well).

If they aren’t willing to see a therapist, you can ask if they would be up for reading a book that is specifically designed to help people who have mental health challenges. If they agree, you can research what the best book is on the topic and buy it for them.

For instance, many people have benefited from the David Burns books Feeling Good (for depression) and When Panic Attacks (for intense fears, such as social anxiety and phobias). Chronic worriers may benefit from The Worry Cure by Robert Leahy. For people who are mean to themselves (e.g., engaging in negative self-talk), the book Self-Compassion (by Kristin Neff) may be useful. For people who have very intense emotions or who have Borderline Personality Disorder, The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook by Matthew McKay may be useful.

If the person expresses openness to it, you may also want to encourage them to engage in other healthy behaviors that may be beneficial (such as eating healthy food, walking outside daily, and getting regular exercise at the gym). It’s ideal if you can make these behaviors easier for them, such as by offering to go to the gym with them three times per week or by buying them a healthy meal delivery plan as a gift (with their permission, of course).

5. Avoid advice until they are ready to hear it. In an attempt to be helpful, people are often much too quick to give advice, which can be very frustrating to the receiver (especially when the advice-giver doesn’t really understand the circumstances well). The time to give advice is after you have done a lot of listening and when the other person has indicated that they would like your advice. If you aren’t sure if they want advice, you may want to ask something like, “Would it be helpful if I gave you some suggestions now for how to do X, or would that not be useful at the moment?” Of course, once they are ready for advice, you should absolutely give it. When you do give advice, try to make it clear when you are confident in what you’re saying versus when you aren’t as sure (and they may want to consult someone else, such as a mental health professional).

6. Do nice things for them that you know (based on past experience with the person) they’re likely to appreciate – whether it’s spending more time together, sending a random compliment, reminding them you love them, giving an extra hug, planning a fun activity for the two of you (that they feel well enough to enjoy), or offering to help them clean their apartment. What matters, of course, is what they would actually appreciate in their current state, not what you would appreciate if you were them, and not what they would appreciate if they weren’t in their current condition.

7. Make your help sustainable. Remember that it is not your job to “fix” this person’s mental health, nor will you be able to do so. Mostly, you can only help someone when they WANT to be helped and only in ways they are WILLING to be helped. It’s also important that you take care of yourself in the process. This person may have a mental health challenge for a long time, so (other than in cases of acute crises where extra action is needed), it’s not a good idea to extend yourself in a way that will not be sustainable. Don’t jeopardize your relationship with this person by taking on more than you can realistically handle, which could lead you to experience burnout or resentment. Just because someone is experiencing a mental health challenge does not mean you should let them violate your boundaries. If the person is acting in a way that is harmful to you, it’s important that you clearly assert your boundaries to prevent yourself from being harmed (while you continue to help in whatever ways you can, without giving up on those boundaries).

Conclusion

Everyone is different, so it’s always possible someone would benefit from items in the “bad” list above or dislike items in the “good” list. But I believe that following these guidelines will, more often than not, make you more effective at helping the people you love.

In summary, as a friend/family member, your job is to provide love, empathy, and the level of support that you can sustainably manage. Avoid giving shallow suggestions such as to “think positively.” Instead:

• ask open-ended questions

• learn about their condition

• empathize with their experience

• encourage the person to get high-quality professional help

• avoid giving advice (until they want it)

• do nice things

• make your help sustainable

This piece was first written on January 8, 2023, and first appeared on this site on May 28, 2023.

One way to cut through the noise is to look at the commonalities between the advice that many different highly successful people give (i.e., take the “intersection”), letting the noise and contradictions drop away. If many of them provide the same advice, we can be at least somewhat more confident that it generalizes. Having said that, we should nevertheless remain mindful of selection effects (affecting who we hear advice from), including survivorship bias.

With that in mind, here’s my attempt to “intersect” the repeated advice I’ve read or heard from many different highly successful people who come from a wide range of fields and life circumstances. I expand on each piece of advice by listing common themes I’ve heard around that advice (that I also largely agree with), and then I give a relevant quote.

Ten Repeated Pieces of Advice From Highly Successful People

1. You won’t automatically be happy when you reach your goals.

Achieving goals breeds new ones.

A terrible situation creates misery, but a good situation doesn’t imply you’ll be happy. Happiness takes inner work, and it benefits a lot from gratitude for whatever it is you already have. The good life is a journey, not a destination.

Quote: “Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn, or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” – Denis Waitley

2. High levels of accomplishment almost always require hard work over a long time. “Overnight successes” are rare and are often misidentified. If you look closely, usually, the person was practicing for 5-20 years before they were an “overnight success.”

Always be looking for how you can do your work better, and focus on improving in those areas. Compounding improvement over a long period is how people become great at things.

Quote: “I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.” – Thomas Jefferson

3. Life is unpredictable. When young, people usually don’t know what they’re going to “do with their life.” That’s fine!

Life takes crazy, unexpected twists and turns. Plans are great, but you should expect to modify them. Be adaptable and on the lookout for great, unexpected opportunities.

Quote: “Sometimes, when you go looking for what you want, you run right into what you need.” – Wally Lamb

4. Don’t let fear stop you. Attempting hard things will bring stress, fear, and anxiety. 

If you avoid what you fear (more than is warranted by the level of danger), your potential will be curtailed. Learn to push through your fears to do stressful things that are valuable.

Quote: “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” – Anaïs Nin

5. Choose who you spend time with wisely. Be thoughtful about who you are friends with, whether you spend enough quality time with your loved ones, etc.

Spending time with the wrong people will waste time or even sap potential. Make enough time for the people that matter most to you.

Quote: “You Are The Average Of The Five People You Spend The Most Time With” – Jim Rohn

6. Learn to say no. People will ask you many things from you. If you always say “yes,” it will drain energy & focus.

Say “yes” to your loved ones and to requests that are aligned with your deepest values. For others, consider if you realistically have the bandwidth to handle the request without taking away from your most important priorities. If not, give an authentic “no.”

When you’re starting out, it makes sense to say “yes” to more things. The more successful you become, the better you have to get at saying “no” – otherwise, your life will be dictated by other people’s demands.

Make choices based on your own values rather than based on what pleases or impresses others. Be your authentic self.

Quote: “Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying yes too quickly and not saying no soon enough.” – Josh Billings

7. Take care of your body. Exercise regularly, reduce sugar intake, eat healthy foods that make you feel good, make enough time for sleep, and avoid excessive alcohol/drugs.

Good health has ripple effects and will help you achieve your goals. Your body impacts your mind.

Quote: “The groundwork for all happiness is good health.” – Leigh Hunt

8. Take care of your mind. Meditate regularly (or find another practice that refreshes and resets you). Sleep enough. Seek treatment for mental health challenges.

Get out of relationships where people mistreat you. Have compassion for yourself, and treat yourself with kindness.

Know your limits, and keep stress within those limits. Take some time just to relax and have fun with no obligations. Take vacations.

Quote: “If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.” -Jack Kornfield

9. Expect to fail many times. That’s normal and expected. 

The key is to learn from every failure, pick yourself back up, and keep going. If you’re not willing to fail many times, you aren’t prepared to do hard things.

Quote: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison

10. Leverage habits. Figure out what daily pattern works for you. 

Maybe it’s an hour of writing at 6 am, strong tea in the morning, a carefree walk in nature at noon, or jumping jacks in the early afternoon. Experiment to find what works well for you, and stick to it.

Quote: “First, forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not.” – Octavia Butler

This piece was first written on January 26, 2021, and first appeared on this site on October 14, 2022.

Given the incredibly high levels of disagreement in these areas, and the poor quality of studies, it often seems like we know almost nothing.

Below is my attempt (via a combination of brainstorming and crowdsourcing) to list what there does seem to be a high rate of consensus on. Please let me know if you notice any mistakes.

Tentative List of Universally Recommended Health Interventions

(1) Don’t consume a lot of sugar (at best, it’s “empty calories” and could lead to tooth decay. But some claim it is much worse than that).

(2) Exercise regularly – it’s best to rotate which type of exercise you do, being very careful to avoid injury, especially when you are getting into new forms of exercise. (It is less clear what forms of exercise are best for long term health, e.g., strength training vs. cardio, and it’s less clear quite how much exercise you should get – also, extremely high levels of exercise are believed to be associated with increasing some health risks, for instance doing Iron Man triathlons).

(3) If you are going to eat a lot of carbohydrates, generally you should choose complex carbs over simple carbs (usually whole grains are also recommended over refined grains, but some argue that whole grains should be sprouted/soaked to remove parts of the seed that are designed to protect it from digestion.)

(4) Brush your teeth with a fluoride toothpaste at least once per day (though perhaps it is not actually a good idea immediately after eating, especially if you’ve been eating acidic foods). The suggestion is to brush before breakfast or wait an hour after eating, and beware of brushing too often or too vigorously. Brushing twice per day may be better than brushing once. Also, note that a VERY small percentage of healthcare professionals are anti-fluoride.

(5) Hydrate regularly throughout each day, as soon as you feel thirsty, but before you are likely to feel thirsty as well (since thirst indicates that you may already be dehydrated, so you want to pre-empt feeling thirsty). Hydrating with water is the safest bet, though it’s not clear how much liquid you need in total (the 8 cups of water a day theory seems to be bullshit). It also is unclear whether it’s important to do this with water, or if other drinks, like unsweetened tea, are acceptable replacements. Hydration may also be good for your teeth by reducing dry mouth – some argue that even mild dehydration can negatively impact mood and performance.

(6) Eat plenty of vegetables (preferably not deep-fried ones – note also that there do exist a very small number of people in the health field who advocate an essentially zero-carb or meat only diet).

(7) Don’t eat a lot of deep-fried foods in general.

(8) Take Vitamin D3 supplements if you are >60 years old and don’t get a lot of outdoor time, or if you are in the general population, take them if you get very little sunlight.

(9) Avoid frequently drinking large quantities of alcohol.

(10) Avoid frequently consuming tobacco products (but since many of them are addictive, that means it’s safest to avoid them altogether).

(11) If you have the ability to make yourself lose weight and keep it off, you should try to lose weight/reduce body fat if you have a very high body fat percentage, or if you have a lot of body fat around the gut area (the extent to which mild to moderate obesity is bad per se is somewhat debated, as in some studies mild levels of obesity were sometimes even correlated with better health outcomes) – avoiding metabolic syndrome and poor blood sugar dysregulation may be more necessary than avoiding a very high body fat percentage though the two are significantly correlated – note also that lots of data suggests that three years after a diet most people have regained the weight they lost, and some say that regularly cycling your weight by losing then gaining then losing again could be unhealthy (so the value of a blanket “lose weight when obese” recommendation is questionable).

(12) If you are going to eat something sweet, a piece of fruit is a better bet than candy or sugary baked goods.

(13) Avoid consuming trans fats.

(14) Don’t consume excessive amounts of mercury (which is found in many fish – some say that tuna, king mackerel, marlin, orange roughy, shark, and swordfish are particularly worrisome).

(15) Don’t eat a lot of foods that are burned to the point of being severely blackened (at best burning tastes bad and destroys the nutrients in food, at worst, it might increase the chance of getting cancer, it’s unclear).

(16) Spend some time outdoors in the sun each week.

(17) Avoid getting frequently sunburned (especially avoid severe sunburn, e.g., blistering).

(18) If you are unusually low in any vitamin then you should consume more of it (but if you have relatively normal levels, there is not a consensus on whether you should have more of any vitamin, except perhaps Vitamin D for the elderly which seems to be basically agreed upon – there is also disagreement about whether vitamin pills are as effective as vitamins from whole foods, or in which cases you should take sublingual dissolving vitamins or vitamin shots instead of pills).

(19) If you are a strict vegan, take vitamin B12 supplements (while only a very small amount of B12 is needed by humans, it is not reliably found in plant-based foods).

(20) Don’t get addicted to any drugs (prescription or non-prescription) other than perhaps caffeine.

(21) Don’t run an increasingly large sleep deficit (though the amount of sleep each person requires to avoid a deficit seems to vary considerably).

(22) Wash your hands with soap regularly (though some claim that special anti-bacterial hand soap is not a good idea)

(23) Don’t regularly have non-negligible amounts of caffeine within a few hours of going to bed (though people’s sensitivity to this seems to vary a lot – some people may be able to get away with it, but on average it impairs sleep quality).

(24) Avoid long stretches of inactivity (i.e., take breaks where you move around).

(25) When typing, avoid having your wrists bent at a significant angle for long periods, avoid having to bend your neck substantially downward or upward to see your computer screen, and avoid sitting with your back hunched forward for long periods (some people find that using a vertical mouse helps if you have wrist pain, and some people report benefits from using a laptop stand to raise your laptop to a more reasonable height).

(26) Each week spend at least a bit of social time with people you get along well with.

(27) If you have very high levels of anxiety, depression, or hopelessness, you should seek treatment as soon as possible (e.g., you could try Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with a psychologist, go to a psychiatrist to try antidepressants, or take up a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction practice).

(28) Eating a diverse range of healthy foods is usually better than eating a narrow range of foods (of course, a diverse range of unhealthy foods is still unhealthy).

(29) Avoid very high doses of certain vitamin and mineral supplements where overdoses are known to happen (e.g., Iron supplements, vitamin A and vitamin B-6 – beware of mega-dose vitamins in general unless you know what you’re doing, as they are unlikely to be helpful and could be harmful).

(30) If you have a broken bone or reasonable sized cut or scrape that appears as if it could be infected, go to a doctor immediately (some broken bones require splinting to heal properly, infected wounds may become dangerous without proper treatment).

(31) If you have a mole that violates the ABCDE rule, get it checked out by a dermatologist immediately. That means you should get it checked out if it has: Asymmetry (if one side of the mole doesn’t match the other), Border irregularity, color that is not uniform, Diameter more than 6 mm (which is about the size of a pencil eraser), and Evolving size, shape or color.

(32) Highly processed meats (e.g., hot dog or bologna) are worse for you than less processed ones.

(33) Do things to keep your brain active, such as learning something new each week or doing something that is mentally taxing.

(34) If you have high levels of stress, try to reduce them using whatever techniques you find effective (high stress has been linked to various negative indicators in the body – techniques that some people find effective to reduce stress include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, yoga, walking in nature, cuddling with a pet, or exercise that keeps your heart rate elevated for a reasonably long period).

(35) Keep your sleep cycles at least roughly in sync with the dark/light cycle of the planet (i.e., do most of your sleeping at night, and live most of your waking hours during the day).

(36) Don’t regularly drink alcohol before going to bed (as it is known to cause poor sleep).

(37) If you think you may be suicidal, or you have made plans for how you might commit suicide, you should call a suicide hotline immediately, and afterward make an appointment with a therapist or psychiatrist to see them as soon as possible (and tell this person about your suicidal thoughts).

(38) Keep your living environment at a comfortable temperature, generally in the 65-75°F (18-24°C) range.

(39) If you’ve had pain in your mouth or teeth for more than three weeks, go to a dentist!

(40) Wear your seatbelt every time you are in a car. (Even if it’s a short ride, do it anyway, because, if you don’t, you are eroding the seatbelt wearing habit – also, a note for New Yorkers that even car accidents in taxis can hurt you badly when your face hits the glass in front of you.)

(41) Folic acid supplements for women who are or may be pregnant (to help avoid birth defects).

(42) Either keep health insurance, or live in a country where health care is universal, or keep enough savings that in a medical emergency, you can get the treatment you need.

(43) Don’t drive when drunk or high on drugs, or be in a car driven by such a person.

(44) Don’t send text messages or do other distracting things while you’re driving, or be in a car driven by someone who is distracted.

(45) If you are depressed, bi-polar, or potentially suicidal, don’t live in a house that contains a gun (or other easy means of suicide).

(46) Always use condoms when having sex with new partners if they have not been recently screened for STIs.

(47) Always use some form of birth control when having heterosexual intercourse unless you are planning a pregnancy.

(48) Women should avoid wearing tampons for more than 8 hours at a time to reduce the risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome. (Some say that the lower the absorbency of the tampon the lower the risk)

(49) If you have a severe bacterial infection, take antibiotics. (Note that the type of bacteria and antibiotic matters.)

(50) If you have diarrhea, continually drink oral rehydration solution (however if you have severe dehydration or are vomiting, seek medical treatment – you can make your own oral rehydration solution using 6 ‘level’ teaspoons/25.2 grams of sugar and 0.5 teaspoon/2.1 grams of salt in 1 liter of water – or you can drink Pedialyte – diarrhea is actually surprisingly dangerous, so stay hydrated!)

(51) If you are taking antibiotics, and you are not immunocompromised, then take a probiotic with the antibiotic to reduce the chance of antibiotic-induced diarrhea. (Note that there is a lack of consensus on the amount and type of probiotic to take).

(52) Eat foods containing fiber. (Sometimes about 30g per every 2000 dietary calories is recommended, but recommendations vary)

(53) Don’t live or work in a place where people regularly smoke indoors.

(54) If you are a women who is planning on having children, try to have them before you reach age 40 (the younger you do it, the safer it is for you and the baby, though with advances in early screening many problems associated with pregnancy at an older age are now caught – fertility also increasingly becomes a problem with age).

(55) Avoid exposure to asbestos and lead paint.

(56) If you live in an area with disease-carrying mosquitos, use a mosquito net on your bed when you sleep.

(57) If you have sudden and severe symptoms of illness that do not resemble a cold or flu, or unexplained symptoms of illness that continue for a long time, go to a doctor.

What else should be on this list that I missed? What am I mistaken about that I should remove from this list (because there is actually some disagreement among experts)?

Also, here are some other health and nutrition questions that didn’t make this list because, while many advocate strongly for one side, there still seems to be a reasonable amount of disagreement (rightly or wrongly):

Important Health Questions Experts Don’t Seem To Have Consensus On

(a) How bad is saturated fat, if at all?

(b) How useful is omega 3 supplementation, if at all?

(c) How bad are carbs versus other macronutrients?

(d) Is there any benefit (or harm) to getting more than the RDA of protein (0.36 grams per pound of body weight)?

(e) Is flossing truly effective? (If you like flossing, or at least don’t mind it, it may well be worth it, but the benefits are not as clearly established as one would ideally like, and there have been some claims, possibly false, that it can cause bacteria to escape from your mouth into your body in a way that could be bad)

(f) Does dietary cholesterol lead to high blood cholesterol? (apparently, the FDA just released new guidelines on this that say “no.”)

(g) Is blood cholesterol correlated enough with bad outcomes that we should care about it, per se?

(h) What types of preventative screening/testing should everyone routinely get?

(i) What dietary supplements (if any) should a healthy person take?

(j) Is there any harm from Aspartame or other artificial sweeteners like Splenda? (all of the many randomized controlled trials on Aspartame on humans I’ve looked out found no negative effects except headaches in a small subset of people, but other studies in rats show weird effects that are hard to interpret, and a lot of people are anti-Aspartame without providing clear reasons – note that sugar alcohols like Sorbitol cause temporary digestive problems for some people.)

(k) Is polyunsaturated fat good for you, bad, or neutral?

(l) How bad is meat for you as a broad category, or is it too broad a category to generalize?

(m) How much should you limit your salt intake, and do moderate levels of salt intake actually increase blood pressure (outside of the rare group of “salt-sensitive” people)?

(n) Which type of cooking oil (e.g., olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, etc.) should you use or avoid?

(o) How much exercise is ideal, and of what forms? [as Stuart Buck points out: “If the goal is to be strong and build muscle mass, lift weights. If the goal is to be fast, agile, etc., work out more like a sprinter and/or a professional basketball player. If the goal is aerobic fitness and endurance, do lots of long runs or swims, etc. But for long-term goals like longevity, that’s where we don’t have rigorous evidence (too much selection bias)”]

(p) Is going into ketosis (by lowering your carb intake dramatically) a good or bad idea? (Many doctors think it is not a healthy state to stay in for a long time, but anecdotally some people who do this diet swear by it)

(q) Is intermittent fasting a good idea?

(r) Is it important to go to bed/wake up at the same time every day?

(s) Is there any real benefit to eating organic foods?

(t) Are “grass-fed” animal products healthier than non-grass fed ones?

(u) Is there any real difference (in your body) between sugar and high fructose corn syrup? (common sense about chemical composition and some studies suggest the answer is that there is no difference, but many people think high fructose corn syrup is worse)

(v) What’s the optimal mix of macronutrients?

(w) Do metformin, rapamycin, resveratrol, human growth hormone, blood transfusions from young people, basis (nicotinamide riboside and pterostilbene), or other NAD boosters increase lifespan for healthy individuals?

(x) Are GMO foods actually risky, or are they fine?

(y ) Is the heuristic of eating “natural” or “whole” foods actually accurate, or does it exclude too much?

(z) Are probiotics (like acidophilus) useful to take for a generally healthy person?

(aa) How important is stretching, what type of stretching (static vs. active) is best, and when should you do it (just before you exercise, just after, or at other times)?

(ab) How bad are pesticides on our foods (which types are bad, and how much of them do we have to consume before problems begin)?

(ac) Should you take a multivitamin pill? (the tide has been turning against them as repeated studies fail to find a benefit in healthy people, but some experts still recommend them – also for water-soluble vitamins, we seem to pee most of it out when we take large doses)

(ad) Are there vitamin/mineral deficiencies that a significant proportion of people in developed countries have? (e.g., possibly magnesium, potassium, choline, D3, K2)

(ae) Is it helpful to wake up when the sun rises each morning?

(af) Do heavily calorie-restricted diets improve longevity in humans (like they do in mice)?

(ag) Is using mouth wash (like Listerine) good for your oral health?

(ah) Is donating blood (for men and women who don’t menstruate) good for health?

(ai) Does zinc or echinacea reduce the severity or duration of colds when taken daily or when taken at the onset of symptoms?

(aj) Does the source of calories (e.g., from carbs, fat, or protein, with fiber or without) matter significantly when it comes to non-water body weight change (or does a calorie have the same effect regardless of the source when we are talking just about weight change and excluding water weight)?