7 Wellness Tips To Stay Healthy This Winter
We've moved into the next cycle in the year. It's now time to take stock, harvest our bounty, and plan for the coming seasons. This is the perfect time to adjust your personal health and spiritual rituals to stay grounded and nourished as we head into winter.
Below, you'll find a handful of tips to keep yourself nourished and healthy all winter season long. Take what inspires you and try something new!
1. Elderberry
Elderberry is a fall go-to in my house. I take it as a tincture or syrup and I give it to everyone else in the house, too. Elderberry has been used for lifetimes as a cold and flu treatment and has helped protect me from the flu for many seasons with regular use. This is something to start incorporating into your daily ritual now. Don't wait for when you feel the sniffles. Be proactive! Herbal medicine is meant to be incorporated into your life over the long term and not as a quick fix. This is the recipe I followed with my own twist, adding nettles, chaga, and reishi.
2. Food as medicine
There’s much you can do to support your overall health simply by choosing nourishing, healing foods. Keep your kitchen stocked with onions, garlic, and ginger. Fresh shaved ginger, hot water, and lemon with a spoonful of honey is divine. Here’s my personal favorite recipe: Zesty Ginger Lemon Tea For Seasonal Immunity.
3. Medicinal mushrooms
Medicinal mushrooms like reishi have been seen to optimally support the immune system. I've been already adding reishi powder into my morning herbal latté along with ashwagandha. Adaptogens are also appropriate when big changes are in the air!
4. Vitamin C + Fire Brew
Vitamin C is a known micronutrient that boosts the immune system. There are plenty of food sources of vitamin C: kiwi, bell peppers, oranges, strawberries, papaya, pineapple, grapefruit, and more. Fresh fruits and veggies are always a good idea as long as you easily digest them. If not, you can make your own fire cider that's loaded with the above fruits and vegetables, plus garlic, onion, and ginger, to use in your daily meals or as a firey shot. Here's my fire brew recipe.
5. Lymphatic Flow + Self-Massage
Keeping your lymph moving is imperative to a healthy immune system. An obvious way to support your lymph system is through daily movement. Walking, yoga, jogging/running, strength training: these are all fantastic for your body as they all support the free-flowing of your lymph as well as help you sweat. Saunas also work well if movement isn't available to you. You can also offer your body a lymph massage by using a body brush or a body oil post-shower.
6. Make sleep a healing sanctuary
This one is free and just requires that you stick to a routine. Sleep is vital to optimal health and, without it, you will struggle to strengthen and/or heal your body. Getting into bed at the same time every night and waking up at the same time every morning is so important. If you don't take anything away from this list, do your best to commit to this one and seek to get 8 hours every night.
7. Lean on echinacea once you get sick
If you feel the sniffles or a tingle in the back of your throat, it's time for echinacea. Load up on the tea and drink it consistently throughout the day. A tincture is even better to support your immune system immediately with potent herbal medicine. Tinctures are nice because you can keep them in your bag and take a quick “dose”. I like to carry around all my tinctures in a small travel pouch.
