Monday Healthy & Wellness: My Winter Wellness Arsenal
It’s the middle of September already and fall is fast approaching. With it, unfortunately, comes winter illness for many. I had more than my fill of illness over the last couple of years, what with Ben’s detox and various other minor issues. I’d love to escape this winter with a couple of colds and nothing more.
It’s also true that certain illnesses, like pertussis, are circulating quite frequently this year. The vaccine has been failing, as many cases have been found in fully vaccinated individuals. Whether you’re vaccinated or not, you cannot rely on this for protection against illness. It’s important to protect your family’s health in many ways, and I fully intend to protect mine!
What Protects Your Health?
What best protects your family’s health is staving off any nutrient deficiencies and keeping them eating healthy food. That means that you should be eating:
- No sugar (or minimal natural sugars like honey and maple syrup)
- No refined flour
- No artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners
- Lots of chicken or beef stock
- Plenty of fruits and vegetables (consider juicing)
- Soaked whole grains
- Whole eggs and extra egg yolks
- Coconut oil
- Pastured meats
- Pastured butter
- Raw dairy (except in times of respiratory illness; take a short break then)
This is not an exhaustive list but it is a good start. Avoiding processed foods is key to remaining healthy in the winter! Processed foods pull nutrients from the body and lower our defenses against illness. Most people are deficient in some nutrients anyway, and any stresses on our bodies (illness, poor diet, etc.) requires even more nutrients!
The following nutrients are important in immune function:
This is also not an exhaustive list but these are key nutrients. Vitamin A must come from animal sources so it is the pre-formed source rather than a carotene source (which comes from plants). The best source is fermented cod liver oil.
Working to keep your family’s nutrition high will help to ward off illness. In times of illness, extra of the vitamins listed above will help shorten the duration of illness. So will juicing fresh fruits and vegetables (parsley, greens, carrots, beets, apples, pineapple, lemon, lime, ginger, and more — choose a mix). Juice provides a concentrated nutrient source, and fresh coconut milk can be added to the juice to prevent blood sugar spikes in those prone to them. We have been juicing for a few weeks though and have not experienced any blood sugar issues with a mix of vegetables, fruits, and herbs.
What Else Can I Do?
Nutrition is excellent and necessary, but there’s more that you can do to boost your family’s health when illness looms. The following supplements may provide a bit of extra nutrients when a boost is needed:
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