Winter Wellness
I love the season changes – the way nature adopts to its new surroundings is really so fascinating! Us humans being a part of that nature will start to notice as the weather cools down the body wants to heat up and naturally we start to crave long sleeved skivvy’s, enclosed shoes and beautiful, warming comfort soups, stews and hot beverages.
A lot of the time we label winter as the ‘cold & flu season’. If you agree, you have stumbled across the right little blog post. Today I want to share with you how to prevent succumbing to this social norm by arming yourself with the right tools and information to strengthen your immune system to prevent illness and to learn to embrace the season of winter, because it is here where the real magic happens.
Diet:
Avoid processed/refined foods as these are high in sugar, Tran’s fats and preservatives & additives which actually burden the immune system increasing the risk of catching a cold. Stick to fresh wholefoods with a focus on warm, cooked foods. Think slow cooked meats and vegetables, chicken soup, steamed greens, buckwheat/rice flake/quinoa flake porridge made on dairy free milk alternatives, caramelised roast vegetables – anyone else’s mouth-watering?
In particular, include an abundance of ginger, chilli, garlic, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, thyme, parsley, onion, rosemary. These foods are warming and have one of or both anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant properties making them exceptional when it comes to supporting the immune system and heating the body from the inside out. Add these to your slow cooker, stews, soups, steamed with your greens, added to a tea, in with your scrambled eggs, just any way you can will do. Not only will it boost its nutritional profile but the taste will be next level!
This is never an easy one – especially in winter but keep your fluids up! Yes gone are the days of fresh lemon in chilled water to make this task easier but let’s say hello to herbal teas, broths, soups, almond milk chai’s, warm lemon water, hot coconut cacao’s and my most favourite turmeric ‘milk’. Just because it isn’t your typical H2O doesn’t mean these beverages don’t count. Remember it’s all about adopting to our surroundings and the body still requires hydration even when it’s cold out.
Lifestyle:
It’s interesting, isn’t it, how some animals hibernate throughout the winter? As much as I think a lot of us wish we could do this (me included) it’s just not practical in our modern day world. Here are some lifestyle tips to nurture yourself over the chilly months to come.
Rest. Have you ever noticed that when you get sick it is usually in a time where there is high stress, lack of sleep and just a build-up of burn out? Prevent this by ensuring you get to bed at a decent hour and when you feel yourself getting to this stage you take time out. There is nothing worse than getting sick and not being able to properly recover (due to work deadlines, children and any other life commitments). This is when the body gets into a cycle of better, sick, better, sick – all because we now never have the time to properly recover.
Dress warmly. If you feel the cold easily than get layering. A cold, shivering body is a body that is trying to redeem its ideal temperature to function optimally. Constantly being in this cold state can potentially hinder the immune system. A great tip is keeping your head and feet nice and warm as these are areas where a lot of heat can escape.
Get outside. Sunshine is incredibly healing and important to the immune system. Not only does the feeling of the rays instantly make you feel better but it is also triggering the production of Vit D. An important nutrient/hormone in regulating the immune system. I know it can feel like such an effort to even get dressed on those chilly mornings but your body and mind will thank you for it. When I am stuck in this mindset I like to think and actually feel the emotions of what it will be like when I am outside in the sun, and you know what not once I have ever regretted doing it.
Move your body. But wait, you just said rest. The rest I meant in the context of preventing burn out. Moving your body is just as important in winter. It helps with getting the blood pumping in turn helping to heat the body, even after you have stopped exercising. Plus it helps you get outside and enjoy those beautiful winter days. Again I use the same mindset with inspiring myself to get dressed and get outside. I always feel so amazing after exercise – anyone else?
And finally, a bit of an interesting one but probably one of the most important. Don’t think about getting sick. If it seems that mum, dad, children, friends, work colleagues, aunties, uncles, mums best friends cousin is sick around you and you start thinking and feeling paranoid that you’re next, its highly likely you will be. Why? Because life is created by our thoughts. What we think and our beliefs will manifest into life to prove what we were originally thinking. So think happy, warm & healthy and that’s what life will show you.
I say bring on winter and all of its warming, nourishing, soupy foodie goodness!
FYI – for people further interested in what the research says about the effects of the typical western diet on immunity follow this link