How I Age Backwards

Written By Heidi DeCoux

I’ve been on a mission to get into the best health of my life.  I’ve been told I’m aging backwards (I’ll take it!), and I get asked all the time what my secrets are, so I’m spilling them all right here, right now.

Pictured here is my best friend, Selena Soo, and I in July celebrating her 40th birthday (I turned 44 in June).   

The Inside

Health & beauty start from the inside.  My first step was finding out how I’m doing on the inside and where I need to make adjustments, so I got a plethora of tests done.

The Tests I Took

1.  Viome – This is a simple at-home stool & blood test which analyzes your microbiome and cells with new mRNA technology and AI-powered platform. It gives you 50+ health scores that may highlight underlying contributors to poor health.  Their user-friendly app shows you based on your specific body which foods are your superfoods, which foods you should minimize, and which foods you should avoid.   

2.  The DNA Company – this is a simple at-home saliva test and is far more comprehensive than 23andMe and DNA Fit.  You can see all of the data they give you here.

3.  Complete Physical – regular physical + Complete Blood Panel (CDC), Metabolic/Thyroid Panel, Urine Analysis, Electrocardiogram, and Bioimpedance Analysis. 

I joined a concierge medical clinic (Pravan Health) which provides all of these tests annually (included in membership).  After completing the tests they have you meet with your doctor, a nutritionist and a sports medicine doctor to go over your results and get recommendations.  If you live in Puerto Rico, I recommend joining Pravan (in addition to being the universal health insurance available in Puerto Rico).  If you decide to join Pravan, tell them Heidi sent you and you’ll get 10% off your first year. 

4.  Vibrant Wellness Labs – They have a variety of at-home urine & stool test which tests for mycotoxins, heavy metals, environmental toxins and gut health (I did two of them). If you live in the states they have a relationship with most labs so you can simply go to the lab and have them take your samples which is included in the test kit price and super simple to do.

5.  My Healthy Beginning – I got a heart scan, nutritional supplement testing, IonCleanse, and a BrainTap.  Based on my test results along with my blood, urine & stool sample results, my practitioner (the amazing Nichi Hirsch Kuechle) creates my vitamin supplement plan and then adjusts it based on my body’s needs throughout the year. 

What I Did With The Information

The good news is that I found out my biological age is 10 years below my chronological age.  And I found that there is still room for improvement, especially with my gut health, so I made some tweaks to my day-to-day lifestyle and am tracking my results and continuing to adjust as needed.  

My Day-to-Day Lifestyle

*My health & beauty routines below were updated in January 2024.

Supplements – I have custom designed supplement plan that changes throughout the year based on my bodies needs.  The supplements come from different companies but are all organically compounded (I never take synthetic supplements).  In addition, I take:   

Water – I drink distilled water.  This article outlines the differences between RO and distilled water and the reasons why I choose distilled. I add these minerals to my water 1-2 times a day.

Fasting – I now fast for 13-15 hours, 5-ish days a week (except not days 17-21 of my cycle based on Dr. Mindy’s protocol which I have outlined here).  I do a pure water fast for 13-ish hours.  Then I have warm lemon water with sea salt, and then a splash of Apple Cider Vinegar in a glass of water, followed by a cup of either mineral-rich Danger Coffee or Four Sigmatic Coffee with a dash of Bulletproof MCT Oil or with grass-fed butter.

Sauna – I have a sauna blanket that I get in 2-3 times a week. And at least once a week, I’ll wear a castor oil pack to support my liver and kidneys.

Donate Blood – I donate at least once a year. It’s not only good for our fellow humans, it’s also REALLY good for our own bodies. Men and women who no longer menstruate should donate once a month for optimal health. 

Collagen + Butter Coffee – At hour 14-ish, I have 1-2 additional cups of coffee blended with Grass-Fed Butter & Aspen Naturals Marine Collagen.  I blend the butter, collagen and coffee with a dash of organic pumpkin, nutmeg & Ceylon cinnamon (always use Ceylon cinnamon, here’s why) in my Vitamix blender.  It makes a frothy yummy coffee that feels like a latte and kicks your brain into high gear. 

Diet – I generally eat breakfast at 10am and keep it Keto (so that I’m in Keto until lunchtime, which is generally at 1pm for me).  My breakfast is either a “scramble” of zucchini, mushrooms, chicken sausages, leeks, or fennel made in grass-fed organic ghee with spices, or I’ll have eggs with bacon or chicken sausages. The week before my period (when you should be eating more carbs), I’ll have GF Canyon toast with my breakfast.  I always get pure nitrate-free bacon with no sugar (finding bacon without sugar is challenging on the island I live on, so when I can get it, I fill my freezer with it).  Lately, I’ve been getting great organic chicken sausages from Costco which only contain organic chicken and spices – no sugar or other junk.

I have a chef that comes every Monday and cooks 8 healthy meals to that meet my optimal dietary needs based on my Viome & DNA Test results.  He puts my meals into these glass containers (the plastic ones are SO toxic).  He gets wild-caught fish that was caught that morning and then goes to local farms to get grass-fed/free-range meats and organic (or semi-organic) produce.  I generally go out to eat 1-2 times a week and for those meals I pretty much eat whatever I want.  For the other meals, I make simple fast healthy dishes.  I generally don’t drink alcohol more than 1-2 times a month, but that varies based on my social calendar. 

I rarely eat snacks.  Sometimes I’ll have breakfast later (like at noon) and then just have two meals that day. 

I started eating on this schedule after reading the book Fast This Way by Dave Asprey (which I highly recommend).  Dave encourages you to find the eating and fasting plan that works best for your body and shows you how to figure out what works best for you. I then took Dr. Mindy’s course on fasting for menstruating women, which works really well for me. I created a recap of it with visuals here. 

I actively work to keep the inflammation, metals and toxins down in my body by:

– Avoiding toxic inflammatory oils like Canola, vegetable, and seed oils like grape seed and sunflower/safflower.  At home I only use virgin coconut oil, avocado oil, grass-fed butter and ghee, and pure real olive oil (most olive oil isn’t pure even though the label doesn’t indicate that so I buy it straight from this family vineyard in Italy).   

– Keeping my vitamin D levels up through sun exposure and taking the DAKE ADK supplement.

– Buying organic when possible, and when I can’t get organic I stay away from the Dirty Dozen which are the foods highest in toxic pesticides (strawberries are the worst!).

– Avoiding fried foods including crackers and chips (unless they say baked on the package, they’re fried).  My favorite chips are these baked cassava nacho chips (they’re amazing!).

– Having turmeric & oregano in my breakfast scramble everyday.

– Using this aluminum-free deodorant.

– Having this filter on my shower head to filter out chorine and other chemicals.

– Purifying my air.  I live in a city in the the Caribbean where air quality can be a problem at times so I have two air purifiers – this one in my bedroom which runs 24/7, and this one in my living room which is large enough to clean the air in the rest of my condo.

– Keeping mold out of my home.  Because I live in the Caribbean and mold is an issue here, I have two of these large dehumidifiers that run all of the time and I use Oxiclean laundry soap because it’s the only one that kills mold and keeps whites white in the Caribbean (whites get yellow here).  I have a clothesline on my terrace and dry most of my laundry out there so it gets sunlight (which kills mold) and saves energy.   

– Keeping mattress toxins from my body.  Mattresses are a big source of toxins and you spend 6-9 hours everyday on your mattress. I have this mattress encasement to help keep the chemicals from me and these organic bamboo sheets (which are a splurge but worth it). I have less expensive but still amazing bamboo cooling sheets on my guest bed, along with a mattress encasement and this organic bamboo topper.  Everyone that’s slept on my guest bed has gushed about how comfortable the bed is and how great the sheets are (and they’re affordable!).  There are some great toxic-free mattresses available but living on an island I don’t have access to all of the stuff available in states.  All of the mattresses in my home are Leesa’s from Costco which are low in toxins, affordable and great to sleep on.   

– Primarily using cleaning products that are free of toxic chemicals.

– Primarily using cosmetic products that are free of toxic chemicals (I do make some exceptions).

– Using pure sea salt.  The salts I use are: Plastic-Free Sea Salt, Himalayan, Celtic Sea Salt, Truffle Sea Salt (amazing on popcorn!), and Herbamare Herbed Sea Salt.

– Avoiding processed foods.  I do eat them sometimes but I keep it to a minimum and try to choose ones that don’t contain toxic oils like sunflower and safflower (I look for ones with avocado or coconut oil), that contain real food ingredients, and that are baked not fried.

– I generally don’t drink alcohol more than once or twice a month.  When I’m out socializing I usually order a Pellegrino with lime, a low-sugar mocktail, or a SOCIAL sparkling wine. My friend Leah created SOCIAL which is a low alcohol, organic, gluten-free sparkling wine with only 1 gram of sugar… and tastes amazing.  Clearly Leah’s a genius.  You can check out her creation here.

Dental – I use Wellnesse Fluoride-Free Toothpaste (alternate between the whitening and charcoal one daily) and the Burst electronic toothbrush with a charcoal head.  I floss every day and get my teeth cleaned once a year.  I use the copper tongue scraper every morning. I put a couple of drops of Heal Thy Mouth on my toothbrush once a week (or, more accurately, whenever I think of it). For whitening, I use these natural teeth whitening strips. Fortunately, I have really healthy teeth – only had one partial cavity, and that was two decades ago.

Workout – I do a Pilates Reformer class twice a week, yoga 1-2 times a week, and lift weights 1-2 times a week. I’m starting to do sprints a couple of times a week. I try to get 10k steps in daily. And this year, I’m committed to scheduling more play dates with friends at the beach and rainforest.

Sleep – I really like getting good sleep so I do a lot of things to help ensure it.  A few years ago I took an online sleep course from America’s #1 Sleep Doctor – Dr. Michael Brues.  He gave some strategies and tips I had never heard before which have worked really well for me.  You can check out my full sleep tips post here.   

Periods – I use organic titanium dioxide-FREE tampons and pads (Cora applicator-free are my faves), and Thinx Period Panties. 

Meditation – I’ve wanted to have a regular meditation practice and never have been able to stick to anything.  Still trying out different methods and hacks. 

Bodywork – I get regular massages, chiropractic care and reiki.

Friendships – I have tight beautiful incredibly supportive friendships – we see each other through it all, are each others cheerleaders, consolers, playmates & business-besties.  Life is so much easier and more rich when you have a high quality squad.  My #1 piece of life advice is to find your people and cultivate deep relationships with them.  It takes work to find them, vet them (be VERY discerning!), and then build and maintain deep relationships with them, but the return on investment is life-changing.  

Annual Testing & Flushing

January & February – FLUSHING

Our modern world is FILLED with toxins which is one primary reason cancer and other disease rates are sky-high and continuing to increase. In addition to all of my daily supplements and routines to help keep my body flushing toxins, I’m now doing the following testing and big flushes annually:

Dr. Clark’s Digestive Protocol

A big Parasite Cleanse

A Liver Cleanse / Reset 

March – TESTING

After completing those basic flushes, I’ll then get the Big 5 Functional Medicine Labs by Equi.Life:

1. Mineral & Metals Test
2. Candida, Metabolic & Vitamins
3. Omega-3 and Inflammation
4. Food Sensitivity
5. Stress, Mood, Metabolism

Based on the results, I’ll do whatever other flushes and protocols I need, such as a heavy metal flush. If I suspect any mold issues, I’ll also get a mold test.

I’ll also get an updated Viome test. 

The Outside

Although health & beauty start from the inside, you definitely have to take good care of the outside, too.  I do as many natural things as possible and some not-so-natural things. I haven’t yet had any fillers or plastic surgery, but I started to get some Dysport this year and will probably continue with it. I plan to get Sculptra or something similar on my smile lines, and I’m pretty sure I’ll have a facelift before I’m 70. 

Skincare – I’m not loyal to any one skincare line; I cherrypick. My current favorite eye creams are  Coffee Bean Caffeine Refresh by 100% PURE and Ultra Renewal by BeautyCounter, and my favorite toner is this Korean rice toner. I use StriVectin neck firming cream on my neck and chest and Loccitane Ultra Thirst moisturizer on my face. I use this Vitamin C & E serum has been independently tested to be one of the most effective (most vitamin C’s are ineffective when tested with a PH strip).

To wash my face, I use Micellar Water with these fantastic reusable makeup rounds by Last Object (you just throw them in the washing machine!).  I almost never get zits, but on the rare occasion one pops up, I put this Burts Bees Spot Treatment on it, and in two days it’s gone.

My two biggest secrets are: 

#1 – For a full face & body anti-aging and moisturizing, I mix a concoction of the following ingredients into an amber glass bottle:

1/3 Castor Oil
1/3 Jojoba Oil
2 Dropper Fulls of Rosehip Oil
1/2 Dropper of Black Seed Oil

And I’m always experimenting with new things.

#2 – The Droplette Machine with Collagen Pods!  It noticeably disappears fine lines and tightens your skin.

Face Masks – I use a sheet mask once a week (or so).  Every time I’m at Marshall’s I buy a bunch of random sheet masks, and occasionally I use a Jade Roller that I keep in the fridge. I also use these collagen eye masks.   

Dry Brushing – I always dry brush before I shower.  Benefits + details of dry brushing are here. 

Age Spots – I’m careful with my sun exposure (I try to get most of it in the early morning hours), and I stand in a full-body red light machine on a vibrational plate at least twice a week (at Planet Fitness). 

Eye Lashes – one of my besties bought me Rodan Field Enhancements Last Boost for my birthday and IT WORKS so well.  I just swipe it on every night before bed and after a few weeks my lashes were at least 30% longer and seem to be continuing to grow.

That’s a recap of how I “age backwards” from the inside out.  I’d love to hear your strategies and tips.  Hop on over here to Instagram and share them with me.

If you found this post helpful and want my playbooks for optimizing your health, business, and life, jump on my email list. I generally send out one email a month (or less) with links to my most popular content and some fun stuff I only share in email. 😉

Love,

Heidi DeCoux

Heidi DeCoux
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