As the winter season unfolds, you may find yourself faced with the seasonal challenge of balancing festive indulgence with maintaining well-being practices. Embracing a balanced lifestyle during winter is not just about warding off those nasty bugs and viruses, but also ensuring your overall physical and mental wellness. Here are our five top tips to ensure your winter remains both happy and healthy…
1. Slow down
Embrace the seasonal change! Instead of resisting the winter months, why not take advantage of the colder, darker and shorter days by nurturing your body and mind with rest and relaxation? After all, winter is the season of hibernation. Winter offers a different kind of opportunity for wellness – one of self-care, reflection and the chance to slow down.
2. Look after your immune system
Did you know that 70% of your immune system is located in your gut? Unfortunately, the season of colds and flus often includes more over-the-counter medications, like antibiotics, which can deplete your gut microbiome of the beneficial bacteria needed to thrive. Sometimes taking antibiotics is unavoidable, but rest assured, we’re here to help you.
Whether you’re looking to boost your gut health or remedy an unhappy gut following a course of antibiotics, we recommend a natural, powerful combination of synbiotics, which includes probiotic-rich Kefir and prebiotics. Probiotics put the good bacteria back into your gut microbiome while prebiotics feed and help diversify those good bacteria. Read more here about what you should do if you have taken antibiotics.
3. Nourish your skin
Your skin, like your gut, is home to trillions of beneficial bacteria. It is your body’s biggest organ and first line of defence. It acts as a protective barrier between your internal organs and the environment.1https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1022320/ This makes your skin an active immune organ. It manages daily encounters with pathogens, stressors, and toxins.2https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1022320/
Keeping your skin healthy and hydrated with probiotic-rich kefir lotions and our hand-crafted Super Sensitive Skin Balm will help nourish and hydrate your skin, which is key to maintaining your skin’s barrier function. Happy skin is crucial for preventing the development of skin conditions like eczema and atopic dermatitis, which may be exacerbated during the colder months.3https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5911439/ Find more tips on how to nurture your skin in this article.
4. Eat well
Eating nutritious foods is a great way to nourish your gut bacteria, boost your immune system and support your wider health this winter. Food is medicine, after all! Many notice an increase in their appetite over winter months (cue hibernation mode!) – embrace the opportunity to fill up on more nourishing foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains – and stay hydrated with herbal tea.
5. Be prepared
As the saying goes – a little preparation goes a long way. We’re no strangers to colds and flus at CG so we’ve created our own go-to Winter first aid kit – all natural, of course! Supporting your immune system is important all year round, especially in preparation for winter. Taking vitamin D daily is an effective way to support your immune system – did you know that a whopping 1 in 6 adults is reportedly deficient?4https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-review-launched-into-vitamin-d-intake-to-help-tackle-health-disparities#:~:text=Around%201%20in%206%20adults%20and%20almost%2020%25%20of%20children,levels%20lower%20than%20government%20recommendations. Check out this article to learn more about vitamin D and if you should supplement.
To discover 5 natural tips for preventing colds and flus this winter, click here.
Any questions? Contact one of our Nutritional Therapists via live chat from 8am to 8pm on weekdays for bespoke advice on gut wellness.
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