Top tips for cold weather health

Winter can be rough…

It’s cold and damp, people are regularly coming down with viruses, and we often don’t feel like we’re at our best.

The weather keeps us indoors, we’re less physically active, we leave work after dark, and the kids are cooped up. It’s a perfect “storm” for restlessness and a depressive mood.

There are two ways to deal with this: You can spend your days pining for spring, which will come eventually, or you can embrace the winter and make the best of it. Look at it as an opportunity to nourish our inner life, to get in touch with yourself and your loved ones and focus on the quiet process of healing.

Find the sunlight

There is less light during the winter months and our bodies respond accordingly — that’s why some people have trouble with depression during this time. The technical name is seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Sunlight affects a number of critical biochemical reactions including stimulating our pineal gland, a master regulator of numerous hormones.  One of those hormones is vitamin D.

Sunlight helps the skin synthesize vitamin D. Many people have a problem with vitamin D deficiency to begin with — we work in offices under artificial light. Winter makes the problem worse, with the sun’s angle reducing the amount and length of sunlight available.

Vitamin D is a true powerhouse, essential for innumerable vital functions such as regulating calcium and phosphorus absorption — critical for bone health; supporting robust immune function — so essential during wintertime viral exposures; helping to maintain a healthy weight; as well as reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Vitamin D supplements can be very helpful when levels are low, so check in with your doctor, and ask to get your Vitamin D level tested. Food sources of vitamin D include salmon, sardines, egg yolk. Many foods are now fortified with vitamin D2. For supplementation, I recommend taking vitamin “D3”.

Focus your energy

You may feel rundown in the winter, regardless of your vitamin D levels. Some of this is simply a result of the “hectic” holidays. But some of it comes from the cold and, again, the reduced sunlight.

Consider how many animals hibernate during the winter months. Of course, humans don’t, but it appears our bodies and our minds slow down as if they’d like to. To some degree, it’s our bodies telling us it’s time to rest and rebuild.

Winter is a particularly important season to find quiet time and focus your energy on healing. There are many ways to do this… Long walks in the woods after a fresh snow. Moving meditations like yoga, qi gong and tai chi. And, of course, sitting meditation.

One of the beauties of meditation is it allows us to think about things without actually thinking about them. Bear with me on this…

Have you ever had problem that you could not resolve, only to have the answer come to you the moment you woke up? Your brain continues to focus on these issues, even when you’re not looking directly at them. Relaxing the mind allows you to integrate and access a deeper “self,” to feel more connected and open hearted. From this place, meditation allows us to get a new perspective on our lives. By focusing on our breathing, we free up our minds to address the issues we buried away under too much work and too many errands. Winter is the best time to do this — it’s like an emotional detox — and it can be profoundly healing.

Rich, warming, healthy foods

One of the beauties of winter is the amazing, hearty meals we can eat.

Nobody wants to heat up the oven when it’s 92 degrees outside, but a nice stew or casserole on a cold day – that’s the stuff. And our bodies need this nourishment.

This is good on a number of levels. These foods are very warming, and the long slow cooking time releases many of the minerals for better absorption. I particularly like lamb, chicken, eggs, root vegetables (which are in season), dark leafy greens, kidney and black beans, walnuts and whole grains. Raw foods, which have a cooling effect, are great in the summer, not so much in the winter.

It’s also important to hold the line, food-wise, this time of year. There are mountains of sweet and fatty foods sweeping through our lives. Enjoy them, but in moderation. These treats can have a dramatically bad impact on our glucose metabolism, leading to energy spikes and mood swings.

And stay hydrated. Winter months can be quite drying, particularly when we have the heat cranked up. Drink eight to ten glasses of water a day. Try it warm, with a squeeze of lemon, which provides better hydration and an alkalinizing effect. Herbal teas provide active herbal constituents as well as hydration.

Supplements and herbs for winter

We already mentioned vitamin D, but there are a number of other botanicals that can help our bodies through the winter.

My first priority is boosting immunity, and there are many supplements that can help. Vitamin C is an old standby and zinc is an essential cofactor for immune function. Immune-supportive botanicals include astragalus, garlic, ginger, lemon balm, licorice root, rosemary, oregano and Siberian ginseng.

Mushrooms protect your body like nothing else. They contain beta-glucans, a family of carbohydrates that have been shown to energize immune cells and help them orchestrate a strong response.

Mushrooms also nourish the digestive system. Although we don’t usually think of our gastrointestinal tract in terms of immunity, it is actually our first line of defense with immune cells lining the entire length of our small intestine. Mushroom beta-glucans are also “prebiotics”, supporting the health of the GI lining as well as providing nutrients for our beneficial bacteria.

Culinary mushrooms, such as button, oyster and shiitake, are great ingredients for soups and stews; they all have medicinal qualities. Other medicinal mushrooms such as Coriolus, Ganoderma, Agaricus and Cordyceps have a long history of use in Traditional Chinese Medicine, valued for their powerful impact in supporting healthy immune function and their adaptogenic qualities, supporting our overall health and well-being during stressful times.

With immune support in mind for this time of year, I always look to modified citrus pectin (MCP). Made from the pith of citrus fruit peel, MCP has been found to have a strong supportive effect on immunity. Research has shown the ability of MCP to reduce oxidative stress (antioxidant effects) and to positively modulate a variety of immune cells. MCP also binds to heavy metals, removing these damaging toxic minerals from the body.

Another important mode of action of MCP is its property of binding to an inflammatory protein called galectin-3, which drives damage to cells and organs, and has been implicated in various disease conditions. As we age, galectin-3 levels tend to rise. MCP, by binding to galectin-3, inhibits its damaging activity to promote a very broad range of healthy aging benefits.

What kind of modified citrus pectin should I take?

Fortunately, MCP is available as a dietary supplement; however, there are a number of types of MCP. The trick is that “modified” means that the size of the fiber molecules have been reduced to a molecular weight that allows good absorption from the GI tract into the circulation for systemic bioactivity. Some forms of MCP still have larger molecules and don’t get absorbed, so they stay in the digestive tract and pass through as a fiber without broad systemic benefits.

PectaSol-C® is the only Modified Citrus Pectin (MCP) with nearly two decades of scientific substantiation. The molecular weight is tightly regulated to stay within the range needed for good adsorption. PectaSol-C® Modified Citrus Pectin, is a powerful tool for anyone seeking a safe and effective way to support immune health naturally.

Winter really isn’t so bad

We may all have differing opinions about snow, cold and shorter days, but we can all agree that changing your habits during these times can support your health. So, stay warm, hydrated and nourished. Most of all, try to give yourself the extra time and space to slow down, rest and meditate in this beautiful season of stillness.