Winter can be a wonderful season, with the festive holidays and the chance to get outside and enjoy some cold weather sports and activities. Winter is also smack dab in the middle of cold and flu season, and can be a time when you and your family come down with fevers, runny noses, coughs and headaches. In addition, all of that tasty holiday food can lead to the addition of some unwanted pounds.
Fortunately, succumbing to the winter cooties and weight gain does not have to be inevitable. The following tips and tricks can help to keep you and your family healthy until spring rolls around again:
Boost Your Health With Supplements
Staying healthy during the winter involves a pro-active approach that involves boosting your immunity while warding off germs. A great way to do this is by taking certain natural health supplements that feature ingredients that are designed to support the immune system. Amway sells a nice variety of Nutrilite supplements that can be taken separately or in combination. For example, the Vitamin C Extended Release includes both ascorbic acid and phytonutrients that are in an easy to take one-a-day tablet. Immunity Echinacea is another supplement that may help to strengthen the immune system through the power of the Echinacea herb. Because kids need their own immune support, Amway also offers supplements that are designed for growing bodies; this includes Kids Chewable C and Kids Probiotic.
Add More Mushrooms and Citrus to Your Diets
There are a number of tasty foods that contain nutrients that can help to keep you healthy all winter. Mushrooms have been found to have naturally-occurring antibiotics, so if you and your family love white button or shiitake mushrooms, stock up on the tasty fungi and add them to soups, pizzas and other dishes. Citrus fruits, which are especially prevalent during the winter, are rich in vitamin C, and green and orange-colored veggies like spinach, carrots, bell peppers and more are chock full of vitamins that can help to keep you healthy.
Find Ways to Exercise Indoors
In order to prevent holiday weight gain, strive to keep as active as you can. If the weather outside is frightful, exercising indoors can be a delightful way to burn calories. If you have stairs in your home, set up a contest to see who can go up and down the stairs the most times in two minutes — the winner gets to choose a holiday DVD to watch. Consider investing in a Wii or other video game system that encourages movement, and, if your ceilings are high enough, buy everyone jump ropes and get your heart rates going. You can get your winter workout in by shoveling snow — an hour’s worth of this chore will burn 400 calories. You can also go sledding, skating and cross country skiing right in your neighborhood, and if the weather is cold and rainy bundle up for a brisk walk or jog.
Wash Up Frequently
To prevent germs from invading your body, make it a point to wash your hands many times during the day, and especially when returning home from the mall, grocery store or other public places. Spring for some cute holiday-decorated bottles of liquid hand soap and teach your kids to count to at least 15 while washing their hands with soap and warm water. Remind everyone to wash under their nails too — germs love to lurk here — and wash the hand towels in the bathroom daily.
Staying healthy this winter is definitely possible for you and your entire family. With a combination of healthy foods, immunity boosting supplements, effective hand washing and fun exercise, you can all sail through winter cold and flu-free.