When the nights are cool and the mornings are crisp, you know winter is on the way. Though it’s nice to be woken up less often at the hands of hot flushes, I always go into winter with trepidation.
This is the time of the dreaded cold and flu. Each year I give quite a lot of thought to how to survive the winter and I would like to share my essential tips with you.
Move your body
When the days become shorter, we tend to forget about our usual routines.
We know better than anyone that when it’s cold in the mornings, it’s far too tempting to snuggle up hit that snooze button.
Bur we need that daily dose of sunshine, exercise and Vitamin D, to get our endomorphins flowing and look after our mental health.
So, with all that said and done, set your alarm and get moving!
Drink more water
It is very easy in the cooler months to pay less attention to the amount of water we need to drink.
We should be consuming at least two litres of water each day, but if you struggle to do this, get yourself a clear, one litre bottle and put three time deadlines on it with a marker – 8, 10, and 12 to finish one litre by lunchtime and then 2, 4 and 6 to finish a second litre in the afternoon.
Eat clean
Eschew lazy takeaways and start preparing meals with lots of fresh ingredients every day.
We are inclined to search out comfort food in the winter, but keep away from processed carbohydrates like pasta and starchy vegetables like potato. We can all make better choices than that.
No more “easy” bottles and Jars
These ready-made foods are filled with numbered ingredients, preservatives, thickeners and other additives that compromise the wall of our gut.
Stick to beautiful, fresh produce and be sure to add lots of fresh herbs. When you shop for your vegetables, buy a big bunch of fresh parsley, put it in a zip lock bag in the crisper and just see how many things that you can add your “green” to each week.
Eat more greens
What we eat as we age matters and green leafy vegetables become especially important. After the age of 50, the goal is to prevent disease by maintaining an optimally healthy and active mind and body.
There is no disputing the fact that green leafy vegetables are the healthiest foods on the planet. The more greens that you eat, the leaner and healthier you’ll be. Because they’re are so nutrient dense, full of fibre and low in calories, you can consume them in virtually unlimited amounts.
Some leafy greens like kale, watercress, rocket, bok choy belong to the cruciferous family whose unique ingredients have been shown to be some of the most powerful cancer fighters in existence. We need to flood our bodies with green.
Take a probiotic
Last but not least, take a good probiotic. I do this as a matter of course every day. Over the years, modern living takes its toll on the wall of our gut.
Every time we take antibiotics, for instance, the natural flora in our gut is killed off. The flora never recovers unless we take action to repair the damage, and the way can do this is by taking a probiotic.
