1.Take warm baths
Winter is definitely the season to RELAY ! Our vitamin D stocks are in free fall and it is important to give ourselves little breaks during the day and well deserved rest. During the long winter nights, why not take the time to take more baths? The best way is to add essential oils to your tub (Lush has some great products) that help our bodies blow some steam. Scrubs are also often forgotten in winter but they are great to remove all the dry skin that we shed. This needs to be followed by an intense “body lotion” session of course !
2.Drink a lot, especially warm drinks
While it is important to stay hydrated all year, winter time is a very dry period and our bodies need that extra water to function properly. Interior heating is a common problem as we often put our thermometers too high in our homes. This can create a temperature shock when we go outside and make us sick more often. According to Ayurveda, the temperature in our homes should be around 18 ° and down to 15° when we sleep ! To keep ourselves warm, we must rely on healthy warming foods like spices and hot meals. We followed our Ayurveda coaches’ advice and started to drink only warm water, much easier on the belly. Another tip: drink a lot before meals and not during or after. Make sure you drink two cups of warm water first thing in the morning. It will make your lympathic system work properly.
3.Quality sleep
Sleep is an imortant factor when it comes to health. It has been shown that having a regular sleep cycle is crucial to wellbeing and productivity. In winter it is sometimes hard to wake up when the day hasn’t rised. To make this easier, turn off all of your electronic devices 1-2 hours before you go to bed. Your brain is confused by the lights of screens and forget to turn off. Careful ! Too much sleep is not a good idea either. The best is to sleep 7-9 hours.
4. Be kind to yourself
We all know it isn’t easy to love ones selves in the winter. The lovely summer tan has worn off, we look less lean and sometimes we gain weight during these “slow” months. But stay motivated ! Keeping a low or intense sport activity in winter can sometimes help a lot with self love issues. Yoga and even just taking a walk after work can work wonders on your mind and positivity. And don’t forget to be indulgent with yourself even if you don’t follow a strict workout routine in winter, after all who will blame you?
5.Eat healthy and wholesome foods
Nothing is more important in winter than getting those vitamins in. There are so many advertisements about supplements and pills that boost energy levels during the cold seasons but we can actually get enough just from eating the right foods. To do so, don’t hesitate to inform yourself on which foods contain the vitamins you need. For example: some mushrooms contain vitamin D and it could be useful to get some the next time you go grocery shopping. The internet knows everything ! Eating right can also help you avoid the flu or colds. Here are a few foods that act as flu shots.
- Lemon and ginger juice: it is best to drink this healthy beverage in the morning before you est. This mix is full of vitamin C, potassium and calcium and it will fight colds and viruses. Why not drink a cup of this juice a day? You can add a bit of honey if it is too intense.
- Spicy food: Turmeric is a root that has so many benefits it could be used as medicine ! Like ginger, it is anti-inflammatory and calms joint pain. The anti oxidants it contains help regenerate your cells. Strong spices like cayenne pepper help boost immunity. Don’t forget raw garlic and onion, they are also great anti-viral and anti-fungal foods.
- Soup : It seems that the warmth of soup helps create a healthy environment in the throat and nose which keeps viruses away. Soup isn’t you grandmothers favorite remedy for nothing ! The best is to add a lot of healthy veggies and maybe lentils or barley.
- Tea: This drink is a wonderful way to pack in antioxidants. Green tea for example, is full of them. Another advantage is that you can add many things to it, like cinnamon, bits of ginger, honey and many other herbs.
Recipe: almond milk with turmeric
Ingredients
- Homemade almond milk (or Fit ‘n’ Tasty’s natural Creamy Almond milk)
- 1 tbsp. honey
- 1 tsp. ground turmeric
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- a bit of grated ginger (optional)
Preparation
Simply put all of the ingredients in a small pan and bring to a light boil. Then, bring the temperature down and let the drink simmer for 20-30 minutes.
Drink it hot or warm !
Happy winter !
