The Art of Winter Wellbeing
The tightrope walk of staying healthy while living life to its fullest is narrow in the northern hemisphere this time of year. Covid and flu levels are high again, as told by ER occupancies and wastewater numbers across the US and Europe. The trifecta of rich foods, sweet foods, and more social time indoors can make it harder to stay well.
Most of us were taught how to think about our health through the framework of modern medicine, where externalizing our needs is the norm. If we take a pill, we don’t actually have to change any habits. The reality of good health requires more work, but also more autonomy. Our best defense is to focus on our own immune system.
The first consideration is to be extra careful about refined sugar intake around flu season, which weakens our immune response immediately after consuming (like, avoid it altogether as much as possible!!).
Gut health is foundational to all health, and our immunity will also benefit from us taking one or two new measures to bolster it right now. On the diet side, the best thing you can do is to make sure you are getting lots of vegetables in your diet, especially green ones. Like half your plate at each meal should be loaded with a variety of vegetables! For lunch, I make soup for the week in colder months, or a salad with kale and romaine. I mix up the dressing and additions each week to keep variety, but pretty much eat the same thing for those 5 weekdays straight. Let’s be real- with kids and work and life, it’s unrealistic for most of us to prepare different meals 2-3 times a day. Once you get a few systems in place it’s not that hard to get more fiber into your diet, but it does require some forethought and planning.
In addition to upping fiber intake, taking gut health enhancing supplements (like probiotics or a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in water each day) has great benefits to gut health. No one of these things offer the full solution, but each tiny positive shift we make adds up to big changes over time.
It’s also helpful to have some immune boosting tools in your arsenal when you feel the first signs of sickness. For me, it usually starts as a subtle sore throat. If I’m diligent about prioritizing sleep, immune support and eating well I can generally stave off full blown sickness. If I’m already feeling compromised, I’ll mask up at indoor events with a lot of people. I have a history of low immunity, something I’ve been working on for years. It has improved greatly but I still feel more sensitive than many to viruses.
My two favorite supplements for immune support at the moment are Microbiome Lab’s MegaViron and Lypo-Spheric Vitamin C. You can find both online at various outlets. I take them according to the instructions whenever I feel my immunity dip, daily until I’m out of the clear.
Both are on the pricey side, so if budget is a concern, Yin Qiao Tablets from The Eastern Philosophy are a more affordable option. While Traditional Chinese Medicine herbs have been used for millennia I’m not as big of a fan because ingredient regulation is more lax in China. If you are in need of access to high quality supplements at slightly more than wholesale, and I’m always happy to send a link to my dispensary for any you desire— no need to be a client. Hit me up at traci@hueso.org if you’d like help in this area.
Wishing you a healthy and introspective winter and beginning to this new year.
