When the weather gets cooler its really easy to drink less water. We tend to drink more warm drinks like coffee and hot chocolate and chai lattes. However, these drinks are more like *food than water and do not necessarily add to our daily water needs. When we do not drink enough, we start to feel lethargic, we get headaches, constipation, dry skin and even our muscles become dehydrated resulting in more aches and pain. So, what is the answer? If plain water just is not your “thing” right now, try tea. Specifically, herbal teas that have such a great flavour you do not need to add things like milk and sugar. My personal favourite is ginger and lemon, green tea, and green tea with jasmine. These warm me up, make me feel good and are truly **healthy for me.
*due to the added calories from milk, sugar etc.
** studies have shown that lemon also freshens your breath, boosts your immunity, improves your skin, and helps with digestion, among many other benefits. Ginger works as a detoxifier, helping remove unwanted chemicals from your body. It is also known to improve digestion, suppress your appetite, and keep your metabolism fired-up all day. Green tea has been shown to have cancer protective properties, heart health benefits and also may aid in lowering cholesterol.
Who doesn’t love a cosy scarf!? It adds class to any outfit AND it may help in preventing you becoming sick with the seasonal colds, flus and virus’. I learned this while I was studying nutrition and we did a module on Traditional Chinese Medicine. (TCM). TCM practitioners believe the back of the neck is particularly vulnerable to Wind, and when your pores are open Wind can get into your body where it doesn’t belong, and Wind generally brings its friends, usually Heat or Cold. A Wind-Heat and Wind-Cold invasion is the equivalent of catching a cold! Ever notice when you first start to “catch a cold,” you have a stiff neck followed by aches, chills/fever, and fatigue. The stiff neck is the first sign of a Wind invasion. And interestingly, at least to me, many of the point names around the neck refer to Wind … yup, that is the place where Wind is most likely to enter the body. What’s wrong with a little wind you say? Wind is said to be one of the Six Evils, or external pathogens in Chinese medicine (the other five being: Cold, Damp, Heat, Summer Heat, and Dryness). I don’t want to brag, but I rarely get winter colds and I like to attribute it to my love of scarves.
I’m sure you have all heard how important the correct levels of vitamin D in your system having are, in fact thousands of people take vitamin D as a supplement daily.
Another way of increasing your vitamin D levels is to spend some time in the sunshine. The suns rays convert cholesterol in our bodies to vitamin D. In fact, the sun provides us with 90% of our required vitamin D which protects against disease and slows the ageing process. And all we need is just 10-15 minutes per day. Getting outside in the fresh air will also improve your mood, help keep excess weight, improves sleep and lower blood pressure.
IN SUMMARY – go for a winter walk in the sun for 10-15 minutes, wear your favourite scarf and reward yourself with a delicious herbal tea. AND book yourself a nurturing massage. Book online.
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