It is Thanksgiving week, which means the holidays are officially here. I love this time of the year because it tends to hold so many treasured memories.
At the same time, it is also the time of the year that makes it “easier” to slip out of healthy habits, due to the busyness of the season – holiday parties, family gatherings, later nights, and all the sweets that are readily available.
It is natural for these things to throw us off our regular sleepy, exercising, and eating schedules.
But the great news is, that there is so much we can do during the holidays to continue to nourish ourselves while enjoying these treasured moments.
Thankfully simple practices have big health-supportive impacts. The fact is remaining committed to our health and well-being doesn’t have to be complicated, hard, or restrictive.
10 Tips To Stay Healthy During The Holiday Season
1. Eat a nutrient-dense diet. Eating a wide variety of nutrient-dense whole foods is incredibly nourishing and satisfying. Loading up on important nutrients like fat-soluble vitamins (A, E, D, K) will help keep blood sugar regulated and will also help reduce some of those holiday sugar cravings. Outside of holiday gatherings focus on foods that will nourish you – plenty of pastured animal protein, healthy fats, fruits and vegetables, bone broth, raw dairy, etc. Eliminate processed vegetable oils, artificial sweeteners, and really any processed foods, as they promote inflammation and disease – suppressing your immune system and making you more vulnerable to winter illnesses.
If you are new to eating real whole foods, start here. This whole website also gives you a wonderful overview.
I also want to encourage you to not be afraid to do what is best for you and your health with your current season. If you are at a gathering and need to stay on track with a protocol, make the best choices you can – pick “plain” or “alone” standing foods like fruits, cheese, vegetables, and meat – try to avoid foods in sauces or dips as that is were those inflammatory causing ingredients tend to hang out.
2. Stay hydrated. Water is one of the most important nutrients in the body and is responsible for transporting nutrients and oxygen into the cells. Between central heating, excess sugar consumption, traveling, alcoholic beverages, and just the overall run around of the holidays – it is prime time for being dehydrated. Dehydration does just affect your skin but also your brain power. Did you know that staying properly hydrated reduces cravings and also keeps your mood stable?
Drinking enough water (half your body weight in ounces) is important but you can also boost and support your hydration by eating plenty of water-rich foods such as melons, grapes, bell peppers, cucumbers, citrus fruits, eating soup with nourishing broths, drinking hydrating herbal teas or infusions, and infusing your water with fresh herbs and fruit and remembering to drink an extra glass of water for every alcoholic beverage or coffee.
3. Make your treats at home with real food ingredients. This is one of my favorites, simply because I don’t buy into nor advocate for insane restrictions and deprivation any time of the year. The thing is you can make all of your favorite treats and sweets right at home by simply swapping out the more processed ingredients for their real food counterparts. It will look something like this:
♦ refined or artificial sugar or sweeteners > maple sugar, maple syrup, honey
♦ homogenized & pasteurized cream > raw cream
♦ artificially color sprinkles > bee pollen
♦ store-bought ice cream > 4 ingredient homemade ice cream
It can even be as simple as properly preparing your grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes for all your favorite holiday eats.
4. Incorporate gentle detoxification supportive modalities. Prioritizing gentle detoxification practices during the holiday is beneficial as we are generally exposed to more toxins when traveling, eating unhealthy, consuming more alcohol, and the additional holiday stress.
Your options will depend on whether you are traveling or staying closer to home – and really what you are comfortable with.
♦ oil pulling (great option for travel)
♦ castor oil packs are a gentle and effective way to support detoxification (another good travel option.) When castor oil is absorbed through the skin it increases and speeds up lymphocyte count which speeds up the removal of toxins from tissues, and therefore promotes healing.
♦ coffee enemas
♦ dry brushing (great option for travel)
♦ Epsom salt baths – you can travel with a small pouch of Epsom salts to use in your hotel or wherever you are staying for a relaxing and detox-supportive bath at the end of a long day. This is also an effective way to help replenish magnesium stores.
♦ infrared sauna
5. Plan ahead to avoid avoidable stress. The holiday season is at the same time every single year, so there is really no reason to leave everything to the very last minute. With this in mind here are some suggestions to consider as we head into the holiday season.
♦ if you know you will be traveling or staying somewhere else take the time to come up with a game plan. Pack some easy snacks like meat sticks, properly prepared nuts and seeds, jerky, sourdough crackers, etc. Additionally either pack the food for your stay away from home or research grocery stores, restaurants, and farmers’ markets in the area. This will help you not be caught off guard and succumb to poor choices.
♦ plan your holiday menu well in advance – write everything down and then go ahead and order any specialty or pantry items in advance.
♦ ask for help – just because you are hosting a party doesn’t mean you have to make everything yourself. Ask for help, but makes sure to do it at least 2 weeks in advance – most people don’t mind having a holiday party pot-luck style.
♦ use your freezer, many casseroles, bread, cookie dough, muffins, etc can be made in advance and frozen with a simple reheat on the day they are needed.
♦ communicate – if you are having house guests like grandparents, it is a good idea to be upfront and clear regarding your expectations when it comes to your children and what is acceptable and what isn’t. This simple step can save a lot of misunderstandings.
6. Change your perspective. Instead of hyper-focusing on the food and your health, focus on making beautiful memories and connecting with your friends and family relationally. The more you manage to make people and memories the focus of your holidays, the less pressure you will feel regarding food and sticking to “perfect” health habits.
This is a hard one for most people, but practicing mindfulness and gratitude can be a good guide. Take in the moments, slow down, and maybe consider disconnecting from social media.
7. Carve out time to rest. Actually, prioritize it! If you know that you will be out late due to a holiday party or gathering, make an intentional effort to go to bed early leading up to the event and even the days after. You can even try to carve out time for a nap beforehand or simply rest with a book and your feet up.
Use nature and its natural rhythms to your advantage – go outside for even just a few minutes during the sunrise and sunset to sync your circadian rhythm.
Getting adequate sleep doesn’t only make you feel well and rested but it also helps us avoid the most common holiday pitfalls: immune crashes, cravings, and stress. Sleep is such a powerful immune modulator and enhancer of immune memory. It balances the hormones (ghrelin and leptin) which are associated with hunger and cravings. Sleep also naturally lowers cortisol, relaxes the muscles, and supports the drainage of the glymphatic system.
8. Practice saying no. You don’t have to do all the things. You don’t have to accept every single invitation or request that comes your way. It is perfectly okay to say no. The fact is that most of our “holiday stress” is self-induced because we over-schedule and over-commit. This can take on so many forms from overcommitting to activities, to having unrealistic expectations when it comes to handmade gifts.
Repeat after me: we don’t have to continue holiday traditions that leave us stressed out, overwhelmed, broke, and exhausted.
9. Wash your hands. This is one of the simplest ways to stop the spreading of winter germs. Always opt for natural soap and water – that will do the trick. Avoid antibacterial soaps and hand sanitizers. Soap and water simply remove the germs while using these harsher alternatives killing them but also leaving them in place, preventing the proliferation of superbugs.
When traveling and out and about I generally have a travel size Branch Basics foaming handwash in my purse.
10. Incorporate cultured, bitter foods, or digestive bitters to support digestion. Holiday feasting is such a pleasure but don’t forget to support your digestive system, especially if you aren’t accustomed to all the rich foods. You can help mitigate this problem by ensuring that you eat plenty of digestive supportive foods – raw fruits and veggies that supply your body with live enzymes, cultured foods like plain greek yogurt, sauerkraut, etc which supplies the body with gut-friendly pre-and probiotics, and plenty of bitter foods like grapefruit, brussel sprouts, leafy greens, etc which kicks starts the digestive juices and stimulates healthy bile flow.
I also like to carry a small bottle of digestive bitters with me.
Wishing you a happy and healthy holiday season.
PS. Here are some of my favorite supplements to take during the holidays and for holiday travel.
♦ CT-Minerals*
♦ Advanced Tudca*
♦ ViRadChem Binder*
♦ Whole Food Vitamin C
♦ Medicinal Mushroom Blend
♦ Smidge Morning + Evening Magnesium (available on my Fullscript dispensary with an automatic 10% off)
♦ Beef liver
* To order Cellcore Bioscience supplement use my patient/client codes “qkXw9J2T” and email after opening your account. I’ll be happy to activate 10% off for all your future orders.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
To order Cellcore Biosciences supplements use my patient/client code “qkXw9J2T” and email me after you open your account. I’ll be happy to activate a 10% off for all your future orders.
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To order practitioner and therapeutic grade supplements visit my Fullscript + Wellevate dispensaries for an automatic 10% off all orders.
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Use code “NURTUREMEWILD” at checkout to save 10% off your entire first order over at Perfect Supplements!
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Use code “NURTUREMEWILD” at checkout to save 10% off your entire first order over at Wild Wholistic!
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Use code “NURTUREMEWILD” at checkout to save 10% off your entire first order over at Therasage!
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