A holistic approach to a happy and healthy winter

Our bodies are preparing for the long, cold and dark winter months. We can use food and lifestyle to support and nourish this natural transition. We need to trust in this process and go with the flow, rather than resist it. Our ancestors did it naturally when there weren't imported food or all the creature comforts we have today. With out, or limitations of electricity or hydro people dressed in multiple layers of wool, cotton, flannel, goose down, animal hide and fur. The temperature indoors reflected the season where as today we crank our thermostats and wear t-shirts if we want to. Before imported food, the diet was hearty soups and stews of potatoes, turnips, parsnips, beets, carrots, cabbage, meats, dairy and grains.  Today we can choose salads,  raw tropical fruits and raw veggies all winter.

Although the we live differently today than our ancestors do, we still have something in common - we are wired for winter. Our bodies know what to do. Physically and psychologically, there are changes occurring within us right now.

As the light fades, darkness grows and the temperatures drop our bodies respond. Our blood thickens and gravitates to our core to keep our vital organs warm, our mucous membranes thicken and produce more mucus and therefore our digestive system changes, our metabolism slows down in order to sustain us longer, a process learned or coded from the ages when food was sparse in winter time. We plump up a little for insulation, warmth and protection from cold. The pancreas easily produce enzymes to digest cooked, hearty and higher fat foods. The liver and gallbladder change to produce more bile to breakdown fats and new hormones are made.

Lets take a holistic look at how we can support these changes naturally and have a happy, healthy winter.

1) WARMTH. The term catching a cold really does refer to the temperature and its not an old wives tale that you can catch a cold from the cold. Our immune system works best when we are warm because when cold, all our resources go to bringing up our temperature, not immune defense.

Food wise it is best to eat warm foods and drinks. You can include spices like ginger to increase heat from the inside.

2) SLEEP AND REST. This time of year it's not uncommon or unnatural to feel tired or need more sleep. Listen to your body! With the increasing darkness, our body produces more melatonin, a hormones that cues us to feel sleepy. Instead of fighting it with stimulants such as afternoon coffee and sugar, go with the feeling and catch some zzz's. Try earlier dinners, less artificial lighting and getting to bed a bit earlier. Your ancestors did! Your circadian rhythms will reset in the spring.

3) Carbs, Carbs, Carbs! Do you find that recently you have been craving sugar? There is a reason! The longer periods of darkness effect our levels of serotonin. serotonin is a hormone more commonly referred to as the "feel good drug" because, chemically speaking serotonin elevates our moods and increases our happiness. As the darkness grows, our levels of serotonin shrink. If you've noticed that your craving carbs it's probably because our intake of carbs cues the brain into making more serotonin.  It's interesting if we look at a cultural activity that supports this idea: Halloween. Just as we come to terms that summer is over and is cold and dark, we indulge in a custom that sends us door to door gathering sugar!

With today's obsession with dieting, carb restriction, and high protein eating its no wonder SAD (seasonal affective disorder) is on the rise. Our ancestors would have eaten carbs as their winter staple in the form of potatoes, root veggies, and grains.

Stay happier this winter by including lots of carbs in your diet. Choose complex carbs like root veggies, whole grains and beans. Eating essential fatty acids from nuts and seeds and increasing your level of activity and exercise will also help to boost your serotonin and your mood.

In short, to enjoy a healthy, happy winter dress in warm layers, rest and sleep more, eat and drink plenty of warm foods and beverages with a hearty amount of complex carbs. Listen to your body, if you want to hibernate, slow down, sleep more and go within, then do it!

Let us not forget to take a more energetic or vibrational look at root veggies. They are grown in the cool, damp dark soil. thet are solid, dense, firm and a powerhouse of stored energy. They are deep. They are grounded  and they are a perfect vibrational match to what is happening seasonally right now! So eat your beets!

If you are interested in learning more about how to support and nourish yourself like this, you can book a one on one nutritional consultation with me on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10-2pm at the INVISIBLE CITY Newmarket. Book a one hour or half hour session! email lorageorgiou@rogers.com or book online at www.pipermartin.com using the make an appointment button.

This topic will be the focus of this month gathering! Gatherings are the second Tuesday of each month. I'ts an oppertunity to come together as a group and explore ideas or topic about and for the love of food, while sampling some related snacks!