Tips on How to Stay Healthy this Winter! Plus a Cold and Flu Remedy.

  Winter is the time for truly powering down, to hibernate, to slow our activity. It is our most passive season throughout our year, therefore there are certain helpful ways for us to stay healthy and keep our immune system thriving so colds and flu's find no foot hold.

1. Wear a Scarf

Us acupuncturists are always going on about the importance of wearing scarf's. This is for very good reasons. The skin, especially certain areas, are our first line of protection from those environmental factors that can invade our bodies, cold and wind. In Chinese Medicine we believe that it is these factors that invade our bodies and cause colds and flu's. However firstly our immune system has to be low enough for this to happen. 
The next time you step out of the door remember to bring your scarf, even when it's sunny, this will help protect your body from invasion of cold and wind. 

2. Eat Warm Foods

Stay away from Salads! Salads are for when it is warm/hot outside. There help our bodies to cool down and that is not what we require in the winter. Just as we need to keep our bodies warm on the outside, we need to do the same on the inside. 
In winter eat war,. cooked foods. Replace that cereal with cold milk with oatmeal (not the instant kind). Change out the salads for oven baked root vegetables. Cook foods longer, at lower temperatures and with less water. It's the perfect time for stew, casseroles, oven baked dishes and soups. 
Some vegetable suggestions to add to your diet: turnips, celery, asparagus, carrots, rye, oats, quinoa, soy sauce, miso, seaweeds, millet, beans, ginger, onions, scallions, leeks, black peppercorn, cinnamon. Enjoy creating!

3. Light regular exercise

This tip is important to keep the joints and spine flexible, along with reducing stress and increasing well being. All of these factor into having a strong and balanced immune system. During winter a lot of intense cardio exercise can be draining on the body. What works best for the majority of people is slower paced exercise, but everyday and for 20mins or more. Walking out in the open air (remember that scarf), easy bike rides (which keep the joints flexible and strong), slow paced yoga and stretching, choosing easier climbing routes, make sure the pace that you ski/snowboard at is sustainable and not draining, snow-shoeing. 

You might have noticed that I haven't included running in the list, well I have my reasons. Firstly if you're getting back into running or starting it for the first time winter is not the time to start this. Build up to it, walk, power walk, hike up hills/mountains, and then come spring time spring into those running shoes and off you go. If you're already a runner, then decreasing your pace and or mileage is highly recommend during this season. 

Remember it's important to get some gentle exercise everyday for 20 minutes or more, and always layer your clothing when braving the outdoors. Layering is important because we don't want to sweat while outside in the cold as when we start to cool down the exercise the sweat will start to cool on our skin and cause the chills. Layering helps by allowing us to regulate our clothing depending on our body temperature needs, but don't take off that scarf! We want to stay warm while exercising outside, but we DON'T want to SWEAT. Get those wool clothes out, it's the best fabric to keep your warm and cool enough.
Happy Trails!

4. Stay Hydrated

Dryness out here in the Rocky Mountains during winter is greater then during the summer. It's important to keep our bodies hydrated at all times. A lot of people seem to dismiss hydration in the winter, but what I think they might forget is the amount of dry air we encounter in our heated spaces. We have heat pumping into our builds, into our spaces, whether it's forced air or baseboard heating, radiators, wood burning stoves/fireplaces. All of these decrease the moisture in our air, which effects the level of hydration in our bodies. 
Hydration helps to regulate digestion and bowel movements and it aids in keeping our skins free of rashes and soft to the touch. It aids in keeping our bodies toxins at a minimal. During Winter I recommend warm/hot water sip every 15-30 minutes, and if you struggle with drinking water straight then adding a little bit of lemon can help with that. 

5. Heating pads and baths

For those of you that really feel the cold during these months, my own mother being one of you, it's important to keep your lower back warm and protected from the elements. During the evening when you are taking your quite time (essential in winter) take out your heating pad, or hot water bottle and place it on your lower back. This helps strengthen your physical system over all. 

Taking regular very warm baths will help heat up your core and increase that inner temperature of yours. It's also a wonderful way to pamper yourself (I'm including men in this), set out candles, grab a good book, or just put on some relaxing music and allow the hot waters to melt away tension, stress, concerns, worries and doubts. Every bathing experience can be a meditative, relaxing and fun one. This all helps to increase the strength of our immune system. 
Enjoy luxuriating in warmth!

Those are some of the top tips for staying healthy, happy and centred this winter.

Cold and Flu Remedy

The Common Cold and the Flu are exterior conditions. Which first affect the surfaces that are exposed directly to the environment - the skin and the mucus membranes. Exterior condition sign and symptoms (manifestations) are:

• Short duration
• Simultaneous fevers and chills
• Stuffy head, runny nose, thin coating on the tongue, sore/scratchy throat
• Achiness, stiff neck, recent headache
• Intolerance to wind or cold. 

They are several ways that this can be dealt with and healed. The quicker you catch it the more likely you will not experience the full blown cold or flu. Getting yourself on the Acupuncture table as soon as you experience one of the above symptoms often stops the condition in it's tracks. However there are several things you can do at home and this remedy below is one of them. 
In order to balance such conditions, we choose spices and herbs that are expansive and reach towards the outside of the bod, and open the sweat glands to sweat out the exterior disease factor from the body. In cases where sweating doesn't stop the disease, it will at least greatly reduce its progress and strength. 

This remedy is natural, effective and simple to make at home. I recommend pineapple juice that isn't made from concentrate as this is mainly sugar without the benefits of the pineapple fruit. If that is your only choice then I recommend that you take it out of the recipe and add a little more natural sweetener. Alternatively you could add 'Big B's' Apple juice or cider, or another brand, making sure it is pressed instead of from concentrate.
What each ingredient does to aid your body in its natural healing process are as follows:
Cayenne Pepper: Is one of the highest botanic sources of Vitamin C and it aids the body in sweating. 
Ginger: Fresh ginger root is preferred over ginger powder. This aids in strengthening the immune system and helping the body to sweat. 
Garlic:  Its antiviral properties can often halt a cold or flu if taken soon enough. 
Raw Honey: Has antibiotic and antiseptic properties and the honey also coats the throat stopping any invasion through the mucous membrane of the throat and it helps to soothe sore throats and halt aggravation from post nasal drip. 
Lemon: Contains Vitamin C which boasts the immune system, it also aids the body in cleansing. 
The Pineapple is just to bulk out the remedy. Again you can add pressed apple juice, or you can leave the juice out all together. 
One of the best ways is to have this remedy with Hot Water, every 2 hours. 
Here's to an Incredible Winter, that helps to bring Incredible Health and an Incredible Life!