Winter Health Tips

Here are a few easy pointers on how you can support and promote your own health at this time of year:

Sleep. Early to bed, early to rise, makes a person healthy, wealthy and wise. Go to bed early and if possible, wake up after the sun appears in the morning. Extra sleep will also benefit you if feel as though you are coming down with something. If you do become ill, naps may help you recover faster.

“C” it. Load up on Vitamin C and other multivitamins. These can help support your health.

Surround yourself with friends and family. If you can gather around a fire, all the merrier.

Water, water everywhere. Drink water. Every cell of your body requires this liquid gold to keep it lubricated and running smoothly.

Avoid Stress. If you can’t, adopt habits that will enable you to de-stress, such as meditation, yoga, dance, reading, acupuncture, or painting.

Exercise. You have heard it a thousand times, exercise, exercise, exercise. There is no substitute for the health-promoting benefits of this easy task. Get up to 20 minutes of heart pumping exercise daily.

Take herbs that support the immune function. Astragalus, Osha root, Reishi and Shitake mushrooms are helpful. These have been used for thousands of years by acupuncturists to keep people healthy and strong.

Come in for acupuncture treatments. Acupuncture works extremely well when you have a cold, and also as a tune up to stimulate the healing capacity of your body. If you begin to get the sniffles, body chills, or feel under the weather, give me a call, I may be able to help!

Winter Health Foods

During the winter it is healthy to cook with “warming foods.” The weather is cooler, and your body needs to generate extra warmth in order to keep it functioning optimally.

Winter foods usually require a bit more preparation. These foods should be cooked longer and slower so they can provide you with meals that will keep you warmer. This is the time of year to stoke your inner fire, avoid raw foods, like salads and cold drinks, as these will cool your digestive function.

The winter diet should be made up of complex carbohydrates from whole grains, squash and root veggies, such as carrots, beets, turnips, potatoes, onions and garlic. Thick and hearty soups and stews are especially good this time of year. They are nutritious, warming, easy to digest, and your home will smell wonderfully inviting.

Spice up your meals with a little ginger, a dash of cayenne, or garlic. These will add heat to your meals and warmth down to your toes.

Avoid the consumption of ice cream and iced beverages. If possible, drink liquids at room temperature. Too many colds foods, especially during the colder months, can disrupt your digestion.