Winter Wellness
Today marks the 1st day of winter – however if you live in the South Island, you may have been finding the temperatures already are more than wintery!!!!
Winter is an awesome season; it brings a chance to snuggle with our loved ones, cosy fires, warm tonics and drinks, slow cooked meals and hopefully some time outside rugged up on brisk clear days.
Winter also brings ills and chills – especially for small people. Viruses like the common cold circulate more easily indoors, which is where we spend most of our time in the cooler months. For small people they are often around other small people indoors (preschools, schools etc) and are highly likely to bring ‘things’ home.
With the recent pandemic we are all aware of hand washing and virus etiquette, so aside form that what we can do to help our families and ourselves having a more comfortable winter?
We suggest:
- Drink Water!!! We know it is harder to drink cold water on freezing days, so we suggest swapping it out for warm water, herbal teas or our hot tonics.
Water helps to distribute oxygen and nutrients around the body, as well as helping to flush out waste materials so it is important to stay hydrated.
- Batch cooking. Obvious but extremely helpful when you have a million jobs to do! Even better ask someone to help you! They be looking for something to do to help and soup is a great thing to bring to people! Soup is a great thing to cook in large batches and freeze for quick and easy to use later on. Simple ideas could be pumpkin soup with warming spices like ginger or even Thai green curry paste which can really help warm you up and keep your circulation going. Also, vegetable soups with added mushrooms like reishi, shiitake can help support healthy immunity. The slow cooker can really be amazing over winter!
- Vitamin D. The sun is less visible in winter and its strength means that it is unlikely we will produce Vitamin D from being outside. Vitamin D can help with immune support, mood, muscles and bone health. Vitamin D is found in mushrooms, oily fish and egg yolks but a therapeutic dose may be worth considering over winter.
- Try and get out of the house for fresh air. It can be tempting to stay inside where it is warm, but a quick walk around outside can clear your head and help you feel a bit more awake when the day is feeling long. Rug up and find your version of a winter adventure- big or small.
- Add in plant medicine wherever you can. Fresh herbs to hot water, herbs in broths or soups, tonics in porridge or rice puddings. Plants really do help the body preventatively so if you can make it a daily occurrence the better it will be for you!
- Add in some oil to your diet. Winter is drying, you may notice your lips and skin get drier. A good body oil and lip balm can help as well as adding in some good quality fats like hemp oil, olive oil, ghee or butter. You can add to cooked vegetables like broccoli to help with fat soluble vitamin absorption, plus everything is pretty tasty with extra butter…
- Check your iron levels. We need iron for so many things but especially for immunity and energy. If you have a tendency to have lower iron some extra focus can really make a difference, if you are feeling really tired you could add in some nettle teas, tonics (like Daily Boost) or slow cooked meat dishes to help boost your iron.
- Rest. Sometimes everything is hard work. On those days’ cereal, hot chips or spaghetti on toast can be a perfectly fine dinners, hot baths and early nights do really help.
We really hope you get to enjoy the beauty of the New Zealand winter – get in touch if you have any questions or queries .
Love the Wild D team x
Skye MacFarlane