5 Winter Health Tips This December

With the holidays coming up, who isn’t stressed these days? More and more people are putting of taking care of themselves as the holidays are coming around the corner. Beat this season’s stress with lifestyle tips, dieting and great habits you can actually put into effect all year long.

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Simple Workouts

No time for even the simplest of workouts? With the flurry of kids and maybe grandparents all home for the holidays, get everyone doing simple workouts that you can all do together. Do a family workout by walking together. Use a speedy or relaxed pace when walking, which is a great exercise for any age. You can also put in a DVD or an exercise video suitable for all ages and get everyone exercising in the living room.

Meditation for Stress Relief

Without a doubt, the winter season is the time of year that causes your stress levels to rise more than usual. For this reason, it might be time to breathe as you close your eyes and meditate. The soothing power of meditation is mainly due to the repetition involved. The act of repeating a single phrase or word, focusing on each breath and banishing thoughts does incite the natural response of your body to relax. As a matter of fact, there are other benefits to meditation other than just soothing stress. Not only is meditation an aid in fertility, it also reduces symptoms of PMS and helps in lowering blood pressure.

Say No to Cold Sores 

Also called fever blisters, more folks than you expect become prone to this condition as the holidays approach. The reason may be due to stress, too much sugar, alcohol or too many people you greet. Stay free of cold sores this year by not sharing drink or food containers, washing your hands frequently, getting plenty of rest and maintaining a diet that is composed of mainly vitamin rich food. Discard used tissues and when you find out other people have cold sores, stay away.

Avoid Heartburn

Over the holidays, it is not unusual to get an attack of heartburn. To stay pain free and skip the heart burn, there are a few things to keep in mind. For one thing, remember to keep favorite food nibbling in moderation. Do you really need a third or fourth helping of anything? There is a greater likelihood for you to get heartburn when you pack your stomach with food. This is particularly true for trigger food such as fat and sugar. Reach for whole wheat bread, veggies and other complex carbohydrates rather than the whipped cream slathered all over the pumpkin pie. Avoid reflux after a meal by keeping your head above your stomach, literally. Do some light walking or stretching and prevent heart burn with these types of light exercise.

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Beneficial Yogurt

When all you have is a minute or two to grab a snack on the go, why not grab a tub of yogurt? This smooth, creamy snack is packed with flavor. Not only that, yogurt is able to help in conditions of the gastro intestinal tract such as constipation and inflammatory bowel disease and reduces high blood pressure risks. Yogurt also helps in the prevention of osteoporosis. Yogurt provides you with vitamin D and has active cultures to keep you in tip top shape this winter season and all year long.