- Sleep: This is where we should take a page from the books of our large furry mammal friends. Our bodies use a lot of energy to keep us warm in the winter, and that, combined with more bugs floating around, and the lack of sunlight equals a need for a LOT more sleep. Even if you’re a “I’m fine with 5 hours” kind of person, really opt for 8 hours of sleep a night MINIMUM during the cold months. You’ll have more energy, higher immunity, and less tendency toward seasonal blues! Opt to sleep between the hours of 10pm and 7am, which is the most restful time in the body’s cycle, and also ensures the most exposure to those scant daylight hours. I promise, the party life will still be there for you come spring!
- Bundle Up: Contrary to some misinformation floating around out there, you really can get sick from exposing yourself to the elements (and I don’t even mean the full monty kind of exposure). Wearing clothes that aren’t sufficiently warm, leaving your throat, head, and nose exposed to cold winds all can affect both your body’s ability to retain it’s heat and your mucous membranes’ ability to keep out nasty bugs.
- Aim for dressing warm enough so that when you’re standing outside, you’re pretty comfortable (i.e.: not shivering, hunched up against the cold, and cursing the gods of winter). This means sweaters, scarves, hats and gloves. Worried about looking like an abominable snow-person? Opt for layers that go a long way, like thermal undergarments, tights or leggings under your jeans, and warm top layers that you can peel off once inside.
- Stay Lubricated: Once you’ve got your giggles out of the way, consider this: Dry, cracked skin on your hands, face, and in your nose is like leaving big gaping holes for germs to get in through. In the winter months, it is even more important than usual to stay moisturized, inside and out. This means using a humidifier a night (to keep your nasal passages, throat and skin moist), using a good quality moisturizer on your face and body every day (I like Desert Essence Organics Sweet Almond Moisturizer), and drinking lots of water and hot teas throughout the day.
- Water hydrates and lubricates your system from the inside, and also flushes out toxins to keep you from getting sick. Opt for warm or hot water instead of cold in the winter months… it is much easier on your system, warming and psychologically more comforting, and also very detoxifying for the lymphatic system!
- Hot teas can have a similar effect, and many herbal teas like ginger, echinacea, slippery elm bark, and elderberry have wonderful immunity boosting effects!
- I am also a fan of Emergen-C or Airborne during the winter months as well, especially if you find yourself in crowded areas like trains and airports, or if you’ve been in contact with a sick or sniffly person.
- Let Food Be Thy Medicine: Especially in the winter months, don’t underestimate the power of great diet. Eating antioxidant and nutrient rich foods, healthy plant proteins, and lots of quality oils in the winter will go SUCH a long way toward keeping you healthy. Stock up on garlic, dark leafy greens, all kinds of beans, and hearty root veggies for the winter, and try to eat home-cooked food as much as possible. Not only is eating this way going to ensure the biggest nutrient-bang for your buck, but home-cooked meals are also substantially more nourishing, which has positive psychological effects as well.
- Opt for hearty soups and stews (like this Thai Sweet Potato Soup), and increase your intake of healthy fats, like nuts, olive, coconut, and sesame oil, fatty low-mercury fish, and avocados . These foods will nourish you from the inside out, give you much more energy to burn, warm your body, and heighten your immunity!
- If you start to feel a little sniffle or tickle in the throat, chow down on some major immune-boosting foods, like this Yummy Cold-Busting Salad, jam packed with anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and anti-microbial nutrients!
- The one vital winter nutrient you just can’t get enough of from food is vitamin D, which is super important for immunity, mood, and energy. Supplement with a high-potency sublingual vitamin D drop like Bio-D-Mulsion Forte to make sure you get enough, especially if you live in cold climates where you can’t get 15 minutes of direct exposure to sunlight every day.
- Keep Moving: It’s easy to let your typical workout routine fall by the way side when it’s 25 degrees outside, but it’s important to find ways to keep moving and fit some exercise into your routine every day. This might mean finding a workout video (Netflix has some great ones!) to do at home, or finally getting your courage up to try bikram yoga if getting to the gym fills your with thoughts of shivering torment. If you do get yourself to the gym, make sure to finish your workout with a steam in the sauna, which helps to raise your body temp, sweat out those toxins, and nourish you to the core. Even if you only do 20 minutes a day, maintaining a regular exercise routine in the winter will boost your energy, increase serotonin levels, and help keep your immune system on top of its game!
- For an extra mood and energy boost, pick a sunny weekend afternoon to bundle up and get outside for some skiing, a snowball fight, sledding, or just a brusque winter walk. The sunlight will boost your mood, while the heat from moving around while layered up will help warm your body and burn off extra calories.
Gluten-Free and Low-Gluten Grains
There is a lot of confusion out there about which grains are and are not gluten free. This is compounded by the fact that some grains (like oatmeal) are inherently gluten-free, but are often times contaminated by wheat during processing; or that some gluten-free grains (like buckwheat) misleadingly have the word “wheat” in their name.
Below, you’ll find a list of all common gluten-free grains. Wondering if a gluten-free diet is for you? Check out Food Focus: Should You Go Gluten-Free?
** As I mentioned, most oats are typically processed in plants that also process wheat, which contaminates the finished product. If you have Celiac’s disease, or a serious gluten allergy, you should definitely avoid all oats and oatmeals that are not explicitly listed as gluten-free (for example, Bob’s Red Mill makes delicious gluten-free rolled oats!). However, if you have a light sensitivity, or are simply avoiding gluten as a personal preference, oats are safe to eat, as the amount of the contamination isn’t too high.
Check out some great gluten-free recipes:
Delicious Gluten-Free Breakfasts
The Organic Beauty Healthy Vegetarian, Vegan, and Gluten-Free Recipes
For those that just have a light wheat sensitivity, there are lots of delicious low-gluten grains that are much for easily digestible. Grains like spelt, farro, rye, and true sourdough are lower in gluten or contain beneficial enzymes that break down the gluten for you, making them easier to digest! Sprouted whole wheat, like that found in Ezekiel bread products, can also be much easier to digest!
NU Health & Wellness Healthy Fish Guide
Fish is literally the healthiest animal protein on Earth (virtually the only animal flesh I, and countless other “pescatarians” eat), being the best source of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D and B2, calcium, and tons of minerals. It has wonderful benefits for skin and hair, brain and heart health, sexual health, and prevents inflammation and disease. BUT, there are a lot of fishies out there that do more harm than good! It is really important to make sure the fish you are eating is low in mercury and other toxins, and was farmed in an environmentally responsible manner. Use the handy chart above (which you can print out!) to make sure the fish you are eating is the kind that helps, not hurts, your body. And make sure to monitor how often you are eating fish that is higher in mercury or other toxins.
- Memory loss
- Hair loss
- Compromised immunity
- Mental instability
- Numbness in arms and legs
- Reduced motor skills
- Learning disabilities
- Damage to the central nervous system
- Chronic fatigue
- Depression, anxiety, and other psychological symptoms
In general, adding chlorophyll, spirulina and/or chlorella to your supplement regimen is a great idea for anyone who eats a lot of fish, regardless of where the fish falls on the mercury spectrum. These greens actually work to remove heavy metals that have accumulated in your body!
So, in short, fish is an amazing food that has a myriad of health benefits. If you make educated decisions about the kind of fish you are eating, you’ll be able to reap the benefits of this beautifying food without compromising your health!
——-
Natasha A. Uspensky, CHHC, AADP
Holistic Health & Nutrition Counselor
Delicious Gluten-Free Breakfasts!
As the weather starts to get cooler, I always find myself gravitating toward hot, nourishing breakfasts that are super grounding and healthy. Although oatmeal is my usual standby, even with all the delicious variations it can get a little old. Luckily, there are lots of other delicious, gluten-free grains that make for yummy breakfast alternatives!
Macrobiotic Brown Rice Breakfast
Brown rice is one of the healthiest grains on earth, being very high in minerals like manganese, selenium, and magnesium. It is also high in fiber and promotes weight loss and lowers cholesterol! This recipe adds to the nutritious goodness with energizing and detoxifying umeboshi and iron-rich dried apricots!
Ingredients:
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup brown rice flakes (Eden Organics makes a great one)
1/2 cup unsulphered dried apricots, chopped
1/4 tsp umeboshi plum paste
1/4 cup pepitas (shell-free pumpkin seeds)
1 tsp gluten-free tamari
Agave or brown rice syrup to taste
Bring water and dried apricots to a boil. In the meantime, toast the pepitas on a skillet over medium-high heat, keeping the pan in motion so the seeds don’t burn. Once water has boiled, add the brown rice flakes and cook for three minutes, or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat, mix in umeboshi plum paste and sweetener of choice. Toss pepitas with tamari and pour over the porridge. Enjoy!
Cinnamon Amaranth Grits
Like quinoa, amaranth is another supergrain. It is high is very high in protein, calcium, fiber, vitamin E and iron, which makes it a perfect grain for vegetarians! You can find amaranth at most health food stores and Whole Foods.
Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup amaranth
1 small apple or pear, cored and chopped
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt
Agave or maple syrup to taste
Bring water to a boil, with a pinch of salt. In the meantime, toast the amaranth in a skillet over medium-high heat until it toasts and pops. Make sure keep the pan moving so the grain doesn’t burn. Add the amaranth and cinnamon to the boiling water, and stir. Lower heat and cook for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Add apple or pear and cook an additional 10 minutes. Stir in agave or maple syrup. If you’d like, you can finish it off with a splash of almond or coconut milk!
Millet Porridge
Millet is another great gluten-free grain that is a great substitute for wheat. It is non-acidic, which makes it a wonderful grain for those with any kind of digestive issues. This recipe also features anti-oxidant rich blueberries, and nourishing raw honey, which make it a great breakfast for days when you’re feeling under the weather!
Ingredients:
5 cups water
1 cup millet
Pinch of sea salt
4 tsp Earth Balance
Raw, organic honey to taste
1/4 cup fresh blueberries
Toast millet in a pot over medium-high heat, stirring until they become fragrant. Add water and salt and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until millet has the consistency of oatmeal. Stir in Earth Balance and honey, and serve topped with blueberries.
The great thing about these recipes is that you can substitute in any grain (using the correct proportions for cooking that grain) for endless variety! Quinoa, for example, is great in all three of these recipes, and is cooked in a 2:1 proportion of liquid to grain.
{photo: MarthaStewart.com}
Food Focus: Smart Eating for Omnivores
As a nutrition counselor, I know that a plant-based (or even mostly plant-based) diet isn’t for everyone. Try as they might, some people just don’t feel their absolute best without some animal protein in their diets, and that’s ok! But there are definitely some steps you can take to be smarter and healthier when consuming meat. Here are some great rules of thumb to live by in the meat-eating world:
In general, try to make meat a complementary part of your diet, not the primary focus. The most health-supportive, energizing, nutrient-rich, and anti-oxidant foods out there are fruits and vegetables.
- Always opt for grass-fed or pasture-raised meat. Animals raised in these ways are healthier, happier, and yield much better meat, that is much better for you!
- Always look for meat that is hormone and antibiotic free. This will reduce your exposure to these harmful, altering drugs and chemicals, and will help to alleviate many hormone-related health problems, as well as resistance to antibiotics (for when you really need them!).
- When possible, opt for organic meats. If you’re following the tips above, you’re already going to be consuming much healthier meat, but as always, organic is definitely a plus. This will ensure that the animal wasn’t fed foods that are laden with pesticides, fertilizers, and are genetically modified. Most commercially raised meats are fed low quality, GMO corn, and are exposed to other harmful toxins. Keep that out of your meat, and out of your body!
- Stick to the leaner cuts. Leaner cuts of meat will have less fat (obviously), which means less cancer-causing toxins in your body, less bad cholesterol in your body and less flab on your mid-section!
- Go for meat that is low-sodium, nitrite-free, and never processed. This means avoiding foods like lunchmeats, hot dogs, packaged meats, chicken nuggets, or any other meat-based foods that have gone through extensive processing. There are little to no health benefits to these foods, and they actually do more harm than good to the body!
- Incorporate Meatless Mondays into your week! Going 100% meat-free for just one day a week will do wonders for your health, as well as the environment. And taking the focus off of meat for an entire day’s meals makes you get creative with vegetable-focused cooking, which will improve your cooking, and help you change the way you eat the rest of the week. See more info on the Meatless Monday movement here.
Whether or not to eat meat is a very personal decision that takes many factors into account– your health, your ethical stance, your body type, and your lifestyle. No matter which direction you go in, you can be smarter about everything you put in your body. Those smarter choices will translate into noticeable results for your body and health, as well as the environment!
Thinking about going raw?
Summer is the absolute perfect time to be incorporating more raw foods into your diet. Raw foods are alkalizing, cooling, cleansing (not to mention slimming!), nutrient-dense, and have the perfect carbohydrate balance for a high-energy summer. Try making fresh green juices, salads, fruit, raw nuts and seeds, and sprouted raw grains a bigger focus in your summer eating, and you will be amazed at how much more energized, light, and happy you will feel.
Summer is also the ideal time to transition into a 100% raw food diet, if you have ever considered going that route. Although a completely raw foods diet is a little too hardcore for me, I totally respect the determination and willpower necessary to make it happen (and definitely envy the boundless energy, amazing skin, and teeny tiny waistlines of those who go totally raw). But going raw doesn’t have to be an all or nothing endeavor! I myself love doing occasional raw food cleanses, and going raw for just a couple of days can do a lot of amazing good for your body. Even having a raw breakfast and dinner, and a normal, healthy, cooked lunch can be an amazingly cleansing detox for 3-5 days!
Making the transition to a raw foods diet can be a grueling process if you don’t have access to the right resources to aid you. Here in New York, we’re lucky enough to have tons of options (like my beloved Pure Food and Wine) for experiencing raw foods, but you don’t need to live in the big city to enjoy the benefits of a raw, or occasionally raw diet. The Institute for Integrative Nutrition (my alma mater) recently posted a really great list of raw foods resources on their blog, with great recipes, books, films, products and kitchen tools that form the Ultimate Raw Food Resource. Check it out for some great ideas!
Organic Beauty Raw Watermelon Gazpacho
I’ve been seeing watermelon gazpachos popping up on menus all over NYC, and wanted to share my own version. This super yummy twist on popular, chilled soup is one of my favorite refreshing summer dishes… perfect for the 90+ degree weather!
Ingredients:
8 cups seedless watermelon, chopped
1 local cucumber, peeled and chopped
1/5 of an organic red or yellow bell pepper, chopped
2 tbsp minced shallot
1 organic jalapeno pepper, diced
1/2 avocado, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil
2 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp organic rice wine vinegar
3/4 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
Combine all ingredients except the avocado in a large mixing bowl. Blend about 3 cups of the mixture at a time, and pour into a separate bowl. When all of the soup is completely blended, chill for at least 10-15 minutes, then serve, garnished with a handful of chopped avocado and sprouts. If serving as an appetizer or amuse bouche, use glasses, if as an entree, the soup looks gorgeous in a white bowl.
Gluten: Mortal Frenemy?
Do I suffer from a gluten sensitivity?
- Abdominal cramping and bloating
- Gas
- Diarrhea and/or constipation
- Anemia
- Vitamin deficiencies
- Unexplained weight loss or gain
- Joint pain
- Eczema
- Fatigue, low energy, and weakness
- Asthma or other breathing problems
- Infertility and irregular menstrual cycle
- Depression and mood swings
- Migraines and headaches
- Autism
To Snack or Not to Snack: That is the Question
Snacking has become kind of a hot topic in the world of nutrition, and with good reason. For many years now, the diet books and the fitness world in particular have been promoting the concepts of “grazing,” “snacking,” or eating several small meals throughout the day as opposed to the traditional 3 squares. At first, it seemed like the answer to all our problems. Hypoglycemia (or blood sugar issues) was on the rise in addition to the frightening prevalence of obesity. Even otherwise healthy people who watched what they ate and stuck to their diets were struggling with weight that was fluctuating more than was normal or desirable. When the merits of several small meals started to be touted in the media and in new diet books, it seemed like an easy, fun cure-all: Eat all the time and still lose weight! Never get shaky or experience symptoms of low blood sugar again! Never go hungry! The logic behind it seemed very solid. If we never let ourselves get to the point of extreme hunger, we will make better choices about what we eat (and how much) and our blood sugar will stay stable with a steady stream of fuel to burn. Feeding your metabolism all the time keeps it humming and burning fat, right?
Step Four: Restructure Your Eating Habits
By now we have (hopefully) all made drastic changes to the products we put on and around our bodies. We have become more mindful of ingredients, and realized that harmful toxins and carcinogens enter our body through ways other than our mouths. But how we eat is still the most impactful and important method of promoting total body health… Unfortunately, it is also the hardest. Buying new beauty products or cleaning products is as easy as checking out at the grocery store, it doesn’t involve a complete makeover of habits we have been honing and reinforcing for, well, as long as we have been conscious, really. This is the most important of the 4 Steps is therefore most difficult to incorporate into your life.
The Magic of Apple Cider Vinegar
Get this… what common ingredient in your kitchen cupboard can accomplish all of the following:
- Relieve gastrointestinal discomfort
- Help with weight loss
- Stabilize blood sugar
- Cure acid reflux and indigestion
- Prevent and heal acne, eczema and dermatitis
- Cure allergies
- Get rid of warts
- Improve overall immunity
- Detoxify the body
- Slow the aging process
- Make hair shiny and full
- Relieve seasonal allergies
- Cure a sore throat
Organic Apple Cider Vinegar!! Amazing, right? How does it manage to be such a miraculous cure-all? Well, the acetic acid in apple cider vinegar helps your body metabolize fat and stabilize blood sugar. Its high content of over 50 vitamins, amino acids, enzymes, and minerals in very specific combination do wonders for your body, while its antiseptic, anti-fungal and antimicrobial qualities help heal skin problems and ward off illness.