Just because we’re getting into “Cold & Flu Season” doesn’t mean that you have to get sick. Here are some simple things you can do to ensure that you stay Healthy this winter:
- If you’re exercising, walking the dogs, cutting wood, or otherwise working up a sweat while outside, keep a layer of clothes covering your skin. When your pores are open to allow sweat or heat out, they also allow colds in. By having a light layer minimally covering your skin, you can increase your protection against bugs.
- Cover your neck! The back of your neck is an especially vulnerable place that frequently is left exposed. In Oriental Medicine, the Bladder Channel runs along the back of the neck and is one of the first places “attacked” by colds and flu. Keep drafts off your neck – A/C drafts, cold and wind in Florida as our temperatures fluctuate and wind and cold in other parts of the country. Keep your neck covered especially if you’re sweating & in the cold!
- Increase “warming” foods. Your body “sees” food based on the nature of food as you digest it – warm, cold or neutral – regardless of what temperature the food is (cold or hot). By eating more warming foods you will increase your body’s ability to fight off any attacks. Ginger, scallions or green onions, garlic, cinnamon, and magnolia or angelica root teas can help boost your immunity naturally. Adding one or two of these a day to your diet can give you the boost you need to stay healthy. Lamb is a very warming meat and makes a wonderful stew this time of year.
- With all of the Christmas and Holiday parties, shopping, and travel you may not get as much rest as you’re used to having. Everyone is different – you know best what you need for your body! Give yourself the gift of health – take an hour for a cat nap or go to bed an hour earlier tonight. Listen to your body – it will tell you what it needs!
Merry Christmas & Happy Chanukah!
(originally posted December 11, 2011)
