Hi everyone,
I wanted to give you a few quick tips to stay healthy during these colder months. It’s all about balance of the body, mind, and spirit.
All the best,
Neka
- Get your sleep. Make sure you get a minimum of 8 hours nightly. Lack of sleep weakens the immune system. Getting in bed before 10pm will help keep your adrenals healthy.
- Exercise boosts the immune system. Even if it’s just a brisk walk, get moving. Not moving enough can create stagnation, which can create more heat and phlegm in the body.
- Eat a diet rich in antioxidants to fight free radicals and have a healthy immune system. Think bright colored foods like raspberries, blueberries, sweet potatoes, kale, spinach, purple potatoes, red cabbage, red apples, lemons, collard greens and superfoods like acai, spirulina, cacao, cinnamon, cayenne pepper and bee pollen.
- Express your emotions. Pent up anger or holding in emotions is one of the root causes of imbalance in Chinese medicine. Remember most anxiety is repressed emotions so let it out. Writing or talking it out are great outlets.
- Get 30 mins of sun exposure daily or in the winter months supplement with Vitamin D3. Vit D3 supports a healthy immune system and studies have shown that taking Vit D can cut your chances of getting the flu by 50%.
- Stop eating white sugar and all products that contain sugar, brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, and agave. Linus Pauling discovered that sugar severely limits white blood cells ability to fight bacteria and viruses thus lowering your immune system.
- Drink at least 8 glasses of water daily to flush toxins. Room temp or warm filtered water is best.
- Avoid cold drafts on your neck, face and upper back. Use a scarf or warm jacket to protect you during the winter months. In Chinese medicine wind (feng) is considered one of the 6 external causes of disease.
- Live in accordance with nature. In the colder months eat more warming foods (ginger, garlic, cayenne pepper, warm teas, soups, raspberries, pineapple). Get more rest and focus on what you want to create in the warmer months when the seeds of change are ready to grow.
- Reduce stress. Massage, acupuncture, meditation, yoga, hiking, walking, and reading. whatever it is that helps you stay centered and revitalizes you. Think positive thoughts and try and catch the fearful ones and stop them in their tracks. Fear breeds’ negativity and as the saying goes the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
I find that I tend to get low when the seasons change but I think all these tips can be applied to that too! Thank you for writing.