COLD WEATHER WELLNESS:
Tips for staying healthy this season

1️⃣Make nutritious choices: Eating a diet full of vegetables, fruits, lean protein, and whole grains can also help you stay healthy during the colder months. Consider treats that will satisfy cravings but have less fat and added sugar, and also keep an eye on portion size. When making your food shopping list during the holidays, think about healthier alternatives to traditional comfort foods. 

2️⃣Stay active: Shorter days and colder weather may lead you to exercise less. But even moderate exercise, like a brisk walk, raking leaves, or climbing stairs, can help. Physical activity can help you maintain or lose weight, reduce anxiety, lower blood pressure, and improve your quality of sleep

3️⃣Reduce the spread:To help reduce the spread of the flu, colds, and other viruses, including COVID-19, you should: 

🛑Wash your hands frequently. It is the best way to protect yourself from catching illnesses. 

🛑Wipe down surfaces around you with a sanitizing cleaner. 

🛑Keep a distance from those who are sick. 

🛑Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. 

🛑Stay hydrated, so you can flush toxins out of your system. 

🛑Get enough sleep to keep your immune system strong. 

4️⃣Eat for immunity:
As part of your efforts to stay well and avoid the cold and flu this winter, it’s important to eat healthy foods that support your immune system, including mushrooms, garlic, citrus fruits, herbs and spices, probiotics, prebiotics, and chicken soup. For example, yoghurt is one of the best sources of probiotics. Apples, bananas, garlic, and onions are good sources of prebiotics.

5️⃣Get some sun:While the availability of sunlight is limited during the winter months, it’s important to spend some time outdoors even when it’s cold. Sunlight has been shown to help improve your mood by boosting the release of a hormone called serotonin

6️⃣Maintain good skin health:Cold weather can wreak havoc on your skin, leaving you with dryness, flaking, cracking, and in some cases, eczema. To keep your skin moist and healthy through the winter, be sure to drink plenty of water, hydrate your skin with an ointment moisturizer, and use sunscreen whenever you’re out during the day