When the weather turns colder, we change our wardrobe but how much thought do you give to the best diet for different seasons?
As summer draws to a close, many of us head straight into the next season without pausing to tweak our diets and lifestyle. If you find yourself repeatedly suffering from colds and ‘flu, lethargy and the winter blues, it may be that you need to make some small changes to tap into the season’s natural rhythm and maintain your health.
Leading Holistic Nutritional Therapist, Elizabeth Montgomery, has shared her top tips on staying healthy this autumn and winter:
- Embrace and tune into the season: With the night’s drawing in and getting colder, it’s important to stay warm and conserve energy. Adjust your bed times accordingly if you can, rising a little later than usual and going to bed a little earlier. This helps us stay in tune with nature’s rhythm. If you struggle with falling asleep, this is a great time to start a meditation or gentle yoga practice to help you quieten the mind.
- Incorporate fermented foods into your diet: Fermented foods are key to maintaining a healthy gut, crucial for immune health. Sauerkraut and pickles are two common foods that are probiotic powerhouses, adding in good bacteria and greatly helping to boost immunity. Other delicious fermented foods include coconut-based yogurt and kefir, miso, kimchi and tempeh.
- Spice it up: Certain spices can be added to food or drink to boost organs that help detoxify and protect, including cinnamon, which has a strong affinity for the kidneys and helps stabilise blood sugar, garlic, which acts as a natural antibiotic and antibacterial agent in the blood stream, and turmeric, a natural antioxidant, antiseptic and aiding liver detoxification.
