Thinking Out Loud

I attend a lot of health fairs during the fall and winter months for work. Many of the topics remain the same each season but here are 4 natural ways to stay healthy this winter (some of which I took away from one particular wellness fair):

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  Eat More Plants: Pick the dark leafy greens that are PACKED full of sick-preventing vitamins and minerals. Also focus on getting plenty of Omega-3 fatty acids (which include the ever-so important alpha-linoleic acid ALA). The most popular source of Omega-3’s is in fish oils but try your fork at plant based Omega’s with sources such as: flax (ground is far more digestible and biologically available), chia seeds and walnuts are all excellent sources. What do Omega-3’s do for you? They have been found to be an anti-inflammatory agent protecting skin and even mental health.

  
  


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  Stay Social: Winter can be a hard time for a lot of people. It gets dark super early and typically involves a lot of stress and sometimes isolation. One of my good friends knows that the winter season gets to her, so every year she enrolls herself in a class. If the gloomy days get you down, try your hand at joining: cooking class, hiking, language, yoga or volunteer at a local shelter or non-profit.

  
  


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  Skip The Dessert Line (at least for the most part): We all know that eating too much sugar is bad for you. It’s difficult during the holidays when you’re surrounded by cookie trays and office parties but keep in mind what it can do to your brain and body. Sugar gives our body a lot of empty calories with no nutritional return. When you eat too much sugar (which the FDA has yet to provide a daily recommended intake) your insulin and blood sugar increases and changes your body’s chemistry. Other experts claim that frequently eating added sugar reduces BDNF (brain derived neurotropic factor). The lowered levels of BDNF begin contributing to insulin resistance, which then can lead to type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, which in turn can lead to a host of other health problems.

  
  


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  Raise you Vitamin D levels: Vitamin D can help ward off bacteria and viruses in the body. You don’t necessarily have to spend more time in the sun or take more supplements to raise your Vitamin D levels (depending on how low your levels are). Some experts say that loosing just 5% of your body weight will simultaneously raise Vitamin D levels in your body.

  
  

Stay healthy, stay happy!