Ready or not those chilly temperatures are here!
Which means winter is right around the corner. Now is the best time to take steps to support your immune system and keep healthy this winter.
Here are some health tips to stay healthy this winter.
Foods to Eat
You cannot have a healthy immune system without a healthy gut. Your gut health and immune system fight against foreign invaders. When working correctly, it can distinguish between different types of bacteria, keeping the good and warding off the bad.
A healthy gut also allows your body to absorb the nutrients it needs for optimal health.
Bone broth is at the top of my list to eat when it's cold outside. Bone broth contains gelatin and collagen, two superstars for supporting a healthy mucosal lining, proper digestion, and intestinal function. Glucosamine in bone broth assists in repairing a leaky gut by supporting a healthy inflammatory response and stimulating the growth of new gut cells.
Ginger is another superstar food in the winter months. Gingerol reduces oxidative stress, is a free radical scavenger, and supports proper digestion. Ginger is known for its ability to ease nausea and can help relieve stomach cramps, gas, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea.
Beta-carotene- and vitamin C-rich foods are essential for staying healthy in the winter months. These foods include leafy green vegetables, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, carrots, and apricots. Avocados, blueberries, broccoli, brussels sprouts, and cauliflower are foods that contain high amounts of vitamin C.
Zinc is a mineral that plays a crucial role in healthy skin appearance and white blood cell production, which is essential for a healthy immune system. There are plenty of foods rich in zinc, including sweet potatoes, grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, wild-caught fish, and dark chocolate.
Get Outdoors when You can
Days are shorter and sometimes the sun doesn’t come out at all, which can make it difficult to get enough vitamin D from the sun. Your body creates its own vitamin D when it is exposed to sunlight.
If you’re finding yourself under the weather too often, that may be a sign that your vitamin D levels aren't at the level it needs to be. Think of vitamin D as a light switch in your body, turning on or off genes and processes that your body needs for a healthy immune system.
Drink Plenty of Water * My Fav *
Your body uses water in all of its processes. In fact, 60% of your body is water. Your body uses water to regulate its temperature by sweating and respiration. It metabolizes and transports carbohydrates and proteins in the bloodstream. It assists in eliminating waste, forms saliva, and lubricates your joints.
Dehydration doesn't only happen during the summertime. The cold temperatures in the winter months cause your sweat to evaporate faster than it does in warmer temperatures. It’s true!
Other factors that can lead to dehydration in the winter include:
You are less thirsty in cold weather, so the desire to drink water is lower. However, this doesn’t mean you are better hydrated.
You sweat less. Sweat is an indicator of hydration, however, if you aren’t sweating you may not realize you need to drink water.
That’s why it’s important to drink plenty of water to stay healthy in the winter months.
Get Optimal Sleep
Sleep is a vital part of learning, memory retention, and even detoxifying your body. Inadequate sleep can impact your heart, brain, slow down your metabolism, cause depression and anxiety, and weaken your immune system and gut health. Sleep is a great way to naturally support your immune system.
Support Your Immune System
Eating healthy nutritious foods, getting optimal sleep, and getting outside when you can are great winter health tips and ways to support your immune system. However, it is more important than ever to ensure you’re getting all the nutrients to stay healthy during the winter months. That’s where supplementation comes in.
These days, added stress and environmental toxins mean our bodies require more immune-supporting nutrients than ever before. Unfortunately, many of those same immune-supporting nutrients are incredibly difficult to get from diet alone. This is exactly why I've added a whole food plant supplement to my daily regimen.
Juice Plus+ helps you bridge the gap between what you should eat and what you do eat, every day. The added nutrition from over 30 different fruits, vegetables, and berries contains different phytonutrients. Juice Plus+ capsules and chewable contain Vitamin A (in the form of beta carotene from the algae Dunaliella salina), Vitamin C (as calcium ascorbate), Vitamin E (from natural mixed tocopherols), and folic acid (from the lemon peel) to name a few. Adding Juice Plus+ to your daily routine simply makes healthy living easier. Family health is a huge commitment to Juice Plus+ that is why they offer children's fruits and veggies FREE.
I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday season, filled with good health, joy, & peace. Using these winter health tips is a great way to support your immune system so you can stay healthy during the cold winter months.
~Be Encouraged
Tara Ivins
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