Winter: love it or hate it (I’m definitely in the latter group) there’s no denying that it brings with it a raft of nasty illnesses. Boost your immune system and get through winter unscathed with a little help from these top tips from Rosemary Eddowes, Naturopathic Herbalist at the stunning Solar Springs Retreat in Bundanoon.
Eat More Ginger
Believed to contain anti-inflammatory qualities, ginger is also great for digestion and used to help treat the symptoms of coughs and other common winter ailments. Make your own tummy-warming tea by grating a dessert spoon sized pile into a single-cup teapot and sip on it throughout the day.
(and while you’re at it) Eat More Turmeric
Another natural anti-inflammatory agent, initial studies have shown that turmeric may also help to reduce the severity of bacterial and viral infections. Not to mention it tastes delicious in your winter stir fries and curries!
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Easier said than done, I know, but stress has a major influence on the function of your immune system. Chronic stress leaves your body desensitised to the hormone cortisol, heightening your body’s inflammatory response and leaving you more vulnerable to getting sick. It can also lead to those annoying cold symptoms like coughing and sneezing, so bottom line? Find time to relax.
Exercise more
I know it’s the last thing you feel like doing at 6am in winter (oh boy do I know!), but regular exercise improves cardiovascular health, controls body weight, lowers blood pressure and just keeps you in all round good health – including ensuring that your immune system stays functioning at high capacity. Don’t start from scratch again next spring – do yourself a favour and stay healthy, fit and well all winter!
Get enough sleep
Is it just me or has everyone else noticed that people seem to be wearing their lack of sleep like some kind of badge of honour? Sometimes I feel like I’m constantly apologising for needing to get to bed at a reasonable hour! The good news for me (and all of you other nannas out there) is that we have a totally legitimate excuse for wanting to climb into bed at 9pm – our immune system! Adequate sleep supports the immune system, enhancing the body’s ability to fight off invading nasties, thereby giving you the best opportunity to make it through winter unscathed. Boom.
Rosemary works at Solar Springs and provides guests with natural medicine advice from a holistic point of view. Rosemary’s consults highlight the importance of circumstance and environment, inherited characteristics and trends, attitudes and emotions. Rosemary also provides lifestyle counselling, giving people the confidence to make the life changes they need too.
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