Without Your Health, Wealth Is Nothing

A couple weeks ago, we asked if you wanted us to continue writing about health topics or stick to finance.

The response was overwhelming... within hours we received hundreds of e-mails from subscribers asking us to continue sharing our research on health topics.

Thanks to everyone who responded.

Many of you shared your own stories of how our health advice has helped you. One reader shared his experience of losing weight thanks to fasting. Another found a loved one in a long-term care facility was being overmedicated.

Don't worry. We do have some changes coming in the future, but we'll keep sharing our research on the best ways to improve your health and wealth.

Let us know what health or wealth topics you want us to cover. Send your suggestions to [email protected].

In this week's Retirement Millionaire DailyWeekly Update, research writer Amanda Cuocci and her colleague Laura Greaver discuss one of their favorite topics, chocolate. They cover two benefits of chocolate, and explain why dark chocolate is better for your health than milk chocolate. Click here to watch.

Q: I don't pay you for health advice. – R.P.

A: You're right... Retirement Millionaire Daily is a free e-letter.

Aside from that... We understand that you might not be interested in everything we send out. Perhaps you don't personally have to worry about a parent in an assisted-living facility and don't care to read about it. That's fine. But maybe you know someone close to you is and you could share the information with them.

And our readers are always welcome to let us know what topics they're interested in. We can't cover every topic, but we keep a running list of suggestions.

Q: How do YOU track for taxes? I have always been a passive investor, buying a selling over a period of years, not months. Do you have an easy, systematic way you record your trades, victories, and losses for tax purposes? I am a very busy guy in my real life. I am doing this for fun and education, but am likely to get messy with records. It would be great to start off with a system. Maybe E*TRADE records all? – H.R.

A: Tax time will be here before we know it, and I honestly love tax time and reading about tax issues. And even I rely on my brokerages to keep track of my buying and selling of options and reporting to the IRS in the spring.

I simply print out a run of my transactions for the year and look over the numbers to confirm the trades. Next, I import the data to TurboTax and double-check the buys and sells.

In past years, I've used spreadsheets to manage the transactions... But I find the current level of reporting that brokerages have provided in the past few years makes it easy and fun to look back every spring. Also, the IRS is requiring more and more details be reported... So working off the brokerages' data helps avoid mistakes.

Finally, and I've said this before, the easiest thing to do is to trade in a nontaxable account like your IRA or 401(k) and not worry about reporting the transactions... That really makes it fun to trade options.

Q: What about someone who is in a wheelchair or can't get up and dance? Is there a way for them to benefit [from dancing]? – T.M.

A: As we've said before, physical activity doesn't have to be strenuous to give you benefits. This applies to dancing as well. Even if you can't get up and dance, you can still get some benefits from dancing. Wheelchair or chair dancing can improve motor skills, reduce stress, and improve fitness.

Some assisted-living and long-term care facilities offer chair dancing classes. If you have a parent or grandparent in one of these places, encourage them to join a dance class if it's available.

Q: What is omega 7, and what does it do? – G.D.

A: Omega-7 fatty acids are a type of unsaturated fat. Omega 7 isn't an essential fatty acid, unlike omega 3 and omega 6, because our bodies can make it... We don't have to get it from a food source.

Lately, we've seen a lot of ads popping up for omega-7 supplements. These pills claim to protect against type 2 diabetes, promote heart health, and control your appetite.

But the science isn't there to support these claims, particularly in human studies. One study on rats showed that rats who were given omega 7 ate less than rats who weren't. But researchers don't know the reason why the rats who ate omega 7 ate less food. They have theories, but we just don't know the mechanism of action yet... or if it even works the same way in humans.

We suspect that most people interested in taking an omega-7 supplements want them for a quick way to lose weight. If you want to lose weight, taking a pill, especially one with unproven claims, isn't the answer. Not only do we not know the benefits of taking omega 7, we don't know the risks. So until there's more research on this fatty acid, stick to time-tested ways of losing weight – exercising, getting enough sleep, and eating a whole-foods diet.

[optin_form id="73"]

What We're Reading...

Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,

Dr. David Eifrig and the Retirement Millionaire Daily Research Team
San Francisco, California
October 27, 2017