A note from our Naturopath on winter wellness
The winter season can place added pressure and stress on the immune system. As we, here in Australia, are in the middle of our colder winter months, there is no better time to focus on taking care of your health. By remaining aware of the body’s need for support and ensuring we offer it extra care during this time, you can help it to cope better with these environmental challenges. Below I have listed some practical suggestions to enhance your wellbeing this winter.
Lemon water
Try starting your day with half a freshly squeezed lemon into warm water. Lemon is rich in vitamin C, which helps support immune function. It is also a great way to alkalize your body as lemon is one of the most alkalizing foods available, helping balance your body’s pH level. It can also help cleanse, detoxify, stimulate digestive function and prepare your digestive system to process food.
Turmeric
Turmeric is a wonderful herb. You can slice it, grate it, crush it, drink it or eat it and it’s really easy to add to your meals, or enjoy as a tea throughout the day.
It offers anti-inflammatory benefits; it’s rich in antioxidants and helps support circulation. Most importantly it helps support your body cope with the challenges of winter. Our Turmeric Tea or Golden Spice blends are an enjoyable way to ensure you bring some more Turmeric into your diet each day throughout the cooler months.
Echinacea
Echinacea has been used for centuries by traditional herbal practitioners and has been used to enhance cellular immunity to protect you from becoming ill.
It works to help modulate the immune system, to reduce the occurrence of you catching colds and flus and to reduce the severity of symptoms if you do become sick. You can take this herb as a supplement, or you can find it in our Skin Glow blend, which you can enjoy throughout the day or night.
Get adequate rest
Ensuring you allow your body enough time to rest is vital to good health. The quality of sleep is almost as important as the length of time you sleep for, so it is important to support your body with a relaxation routine before bed.
This may involve meditation, yoga, reading, or drinking a relaxing herbal tea whatever works for you is great. Staying away from technology before bed is also very beneficial to reduce stimulation.
The most important thing is to make sure you give yourself enough time to switch off from the day, and allow the nervous system to have a break. The quality of sleep you have will be better because of this routine and in turn you will have more energy for the next day, and greater strength to avoid illness.
Make time to exercise
We often forget about making time to get outdoors, to spend time in nature and to spend time being physically active. As long as we dress appropriately for the weather, there are many great benefits to physical exercise, which can help strengthen the immune system and improve vitality.
It is important to keep in mind that we need to focus on taking extra care of our health during the cooler months and to ensure we offer our immune system support to help carry us through winter. What a beautiful time of year to embrace all the wonderful aspects of winter, and spend some time slowing down and giving back to ourselves.
