Wellness Through Winter
There are many ways to promote wellness during the winter months. As someone who has formal training in herbal medicine, here are a few tips that my family has done for several years. Although we still get sick, we have noticed our sickness is less often and less severe.
Note: It takes some persistence and self-discipline. The initial cost may seem high, but when you weigh out the saving you'll receive from NOT having to miss days of work or dishing out copays, it is well worth it. Plus, you'll hopefully feel better. LOADS better. Check with your doctor before starting any new supplementation as well as for proper dosing.
So how can you promote wellness through winter? Let's break this down. In theory, its simple.
Whole Foods + 4 Daily Essentials (taken from whole foods) + Vit C + Vit D = a Rockin' Immune!
Let us take a deeper look into that equation of mine:
WHOLE FOODS
#1. Cook w/ fresh ingredients and lose the cans! Branch out and try some new things this winter. Learn to make homemade bone broth and use that as a base in all your soups. Instead of canned veggies, go with organic frozen and steam. Shop the perimeter of your grocery store! Get a meal plan. Hire a holistic nutritionist for a consult to get you going! Whatever it takes to change old habits with new, but embrace it. Some of my favorite immune boosting foods are:
1. Sweet Potatoes or Japanese Yams: loaded w/ Vit A which rid the body of unwanted free radicals helping eliminate the cause of sickness.
2. Green Tea: Contains powerful alkylamines which help the body fight off unwanted viruses and also a powerhouse antioxidant.
3. Homemade Bone Broth: Bone broth is rich in minerals that support the immune system and contains healing compounds like collagen, glutamine, glycine and proline. The collagen in bone broth heals your gut lining and reduces intestinal swelling. Remember, a happy gut is a happy immune.
4. Garlic: high in allicin, an antioxidant. But garlic is a powerhouse for health! Taken regularly, it has been shown to lower cholesterol, regulate blood sugar and blood pressure, and is one of natures best antibiotics! We have garlic capsules at our home and use it for pretty much any ailment that comes our way, from ear infections, to upper respiratory, to the common cold. AND...we keep all the vampires away!
5. Grass Fed Beef: beef is very high in zinc and zinc develops those army white blood cells that go after foreign invaders that cause sickness. Beef is also high in folate, essential for proper methylation.
6. Dark Leafy Greens: the benefits are endless. Helps repair cells, fight disease, anti-aging, burns fat, feeds your telomeres, fights diabetes, encourages a healthy heart, protects against toxins and more. The darker the green, the more nutrient rich.
7. Wild Caught Salmon or Tuna: it is no secret that cultures who have a high intake of fish are the healthiest on the planet. Wiild caught fish is high in good fat and Vit D. Your brain will love it too! It is high in antioxidants, contains the B vitamins, antiinflammatory, has immune supportive selenium, and more. Be sure to check packaging for "WILD CAUGHT". If it says farm-raised, you'll be eating a form of "frankenfood".
8. Pumpkin: pumpkin fits right in with all the holiday cooking and that is a good thing! Pumpkin is high in all kinds of vitamins and minerals that boost the immune system.
9. Raw Juice: there are entire books written on the many benefits of juicing. Many people have literally reversed many forms of sickness by adapting a raw-juice diet as part of their daily regimen. We juice at the first sign of any sickness. Carrots, celery, spinach, apples, tumeric root, garlic, cinnamon, lemon...the sky is the limit and the health benefits and impact of raw juicing is ENDLESS.
10. Sour cherries: huge antioxidant and can be found as a supplement in capsule form too!
There are many, many more! Isn't God so amazing?!
4 DAILY ESSENTIALS
The 4 daily's is what my family chooses to do for long-term wellness-along side eating whole foods. Every day, every meal, these foundational supplements are taken with us to Grandma's house and packed in suitcases for family vacations. They have become a part of our lives and habits the same as brushing our teeth. I am not a fan of "supplement pushers"...something you'll find amongst many natural health practitioners. I believe LESS IS MORE. The equation at the top of this page can very often be the basis to catapult many people into a healthier lifestyle.
The hardest part? CONSISTENCY. This has to become LIFE. But once it does, you'll never look back.
1. Probiotics. Probiotics are a MUST. Being on a probiotic is just darn essential to experiencing wellness. A gut with plenty of good bacteria is KEY to fighting off infections. A maintenance dose is anywhere from 5-30 billion (Some people need to start on low dose and work up to the 30 billion) If I am getting sick, I immediately start a therapeutic dose (at least double my maintenance dose) until my symptoms subside. If I have taken a round of antibiotics, I take a therapeutic dose to replace all that healthy bacteria the antiobiotic killed. Check with your doctor before starting any new supplementation.
Recommended Brands:
~For first timers: take 1 month supply of Hyperbiotics-Pro 15. (Amazon)
~Kid-Friendly Chewables: UltraFlora Childrens by metagenics. (nou111.metagenics.com)
~Adult/older kid Maintenance: Probiotic 18 by Prosol (must order through Practitioner...contact me via email if interested as I can dropship your order) Email: happyhearthomeproducts@gmail.com
~Therapeutic Dose: Garden of Life RAW 100 billion (any whole foods store)
~For those with High Histamine in their body: Probiota Histaminx by Seeking Health (amazon)
2. Digestive Enzymes: people often think probiotics and enzymes do the same thing. WRONG! Digestive enzymes help you digest and thus absorb your foods! This is my passion...I love digestive health and could write a whole post on just enzymes and their functions. Check with your doctor before starting any new supplementation.
Recommended Brands:
Although you can find digestive enzymes pretty much anywhere these days, they are not all the same. I tend to be partial to a brand made right here in KC but it does require a practitioner such as myself to order as there is a "process" to optimum gut healing. They have both capsules and kid-friendly chewables that have excellent, clean ingredients. Email me: happyhearthomeproducts@gmail.com.
3. Fish Oil: A good fat keeps the heart healthy, feeds the brain, heals skin, hair, nails, fights sickness and so much more. Fish oil is a natural blood thinner, so if you notice easy bruising or nose bleeds, lessen dose and be sure to take with food. Check with your doctor before starting any new supplementation.
Recommended Brands:
~Adults/Teens: Blue Ice Fermented Cod Oil (amazon)
~Kids: OmegaGenics DHA Childrens (nou111.metagenics.com)
4. Food Based Multi: even a diet of fresh whole foods can be inadequate b/c our SOIL is now greatly lacking the many essential minerals to grow mineral-rich foods. So many of the vitamins and minerals found in a good multi are the KEY ESSENTIALS to staying healthy and fighting sickness. Many are vital to many functions in the body. Check with your doctor before starting any new supplementation.
Recommended Brands:
~Adults/Older Kids: Phytomulti (nou111.metagenics.com)
~NOTE: kids under 12 take half dosing and cut large pill in half to make swallowing easier.
~Chewable & Kid-Friendly: Phytomulti Kids (nou111.metagenics.com)
VIT C- TAKEN DURING FLU SEASON ONLY (you can take all year round, but we choose to add this in Sept-March) Check with your doctor before starting any new supplementation and proper dosing.
Recommended Brands:
~Chewable & Kid Friendly: Ultra Potent-C Chewable (nou111.metagenics.com)
~Adults: Ultra Potent-C 1000 (nou111.metagenics.com)
NOTE: the adult pill is large. If you have trouble swalloing large pills, look for a liquid form or order the chewable version)
Vit D3-TAKEN DURING FLU SEASON ONLY
Check with your doctor before starting any new supplementation.
Recommended Brands
~Adults: D3 2000 Complex (nou111.metagenics.com)
~Older Kids: D3 1000 (nou111.metagenics.com)
~Younger Kids: Animal Parade D3 (amazon)
SOME ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES I LOVE:
Regular Chiropractic care boosts the immune
Salt Therapy Rooms (great for all kinds of stuff. There are several salt rooms in KC area)
KC Float: Think an epsom salt bath on sterioids!
Massage Therapy
Infrared Sauna: sweat those toxins OUT! A red light will ensure a deeper, more thorough cleanse
Electro Lymphatic Therapy: hard to find practitioners in KC area who specialize in this, but it is amazing.
Magnetic Mats: rent one for a week or pay by session (contact me for info)
Colonics: clean out the colon with gentle water pressure
Counselling: take a holistic approach on your health and get an "emotional check up"...unchecked emotions can cause sickness!
SO MANY MORE!
All information and resources found on www.groovyorganiccleaning.com are based on the opinions of the author unless otherwise noted. All information is intended to motivate readers to make their own nutrition and health decisions after consulting with their health care provider. I am not a doctor, lawyer, psychiatrist, therapist, or your mother. These are opinions based on both formal education and personal experience.
The author of this site encourages you to consult a doctor before making any health changes, especially any changes related to a specific diagnosis or condition. No information on this site should be relied upon to determine diet, make a medical diagnosis, or determine treatment for a medical condition. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice.
NO information on this site should be used to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease or condition.
