Your lifestyle and habits now (and through the summer) will greatly affect your immunity for the winter months to come. Here are some tips to help you stay healthy this winter:
#1 GET PLENTY OF SUNSHINE
The sun is our source of VItamin D. Vitamin D is our immune regulator, it plays a role in helping us fight off colds and flu viruses (among many other beneficial uses). Vitamin D is fat soluble so it stores in our fat cells; this is necessary to get us through the winter months — in the summer and fall you want to soak up lots of sunshine and build your stores of Vitamin D for the winter months to come. (Or you can always take a tropical vacation in the middle of winter to make sure you have plenty of the sunshine vitamin 😉
p.s. sunscreen blocks the absorption of vitamin D.
#2 TUMERIC
Tumeric or curcumin is a powerhouse herb that is used frequently in Ayurveda. It supports our lymphatic system (which is what fights illnesses and keeps us from getting sick), improves digestions, helps to control weight, is a powerful anti-inflammatory relieving arthritis, and it prevents cancer.Here are 2 tips to get more tumeric in your life:
- add it to anything you cook or saute; sprinkle a little on your skillet in hot oil or butter/ghee then add whatever it is you are cooking.
- make a tumeric tea each morning: pour boiling water over a 1/2 tsp tumeric powder, grind in some black pepper (black pepper helps your body absorb the tumeric), add ginger for flavor and other benefits if you like. When it cools to drinking temperature you can add some honey if needed. Drink and enjoy daily.
#3 MANAGE YOUR STRESS
Stress exacerbates any illness — and is the root cause of many diseases. Managing your stress levels is one of the best ways to stay healthy. There are many tools for managing your stress — the trick is to find the one you most enjoy. Here are two suggestions:
- Breathe deeply and slowly through your nose. Ideal breath rate is about a 5 second inhale and a 5 second exhale. Breathing at this rate leaves more time in the lungs for gas exchanges (taking in O2 and giving off CO2), this improves your health at a cellular level. Keeping your cells healthy is preventative maintenance at its best.
- Take a yoga class 🙂 Not only will you get lots of deep breathing but you will also relieve a lot of tension from your body and detoxify your organs . . . and it will make you feel soooo good.