Get set for Spring!
I love the season of Spring, new growth, blossom and lots of bulbs coming out. The longer days and more sunshine hours (hopefully) does a wealth of good for our mental health.
As we head into Spring here are a few pointers to remember to keep you functioning at your best:
Do I need a Vitamin D supplement?
1. Continue with your Vitamin D supplement. After years of never taking Vitamin D, I can’t sing its praises high enough, most people in the UK are deficient, and it plays such a vital role in normal body function. Some of the excellent brands out there include Nutri Advanced, Terranova, Biocare, Pure Encapsulations and Viridian.
Should I get outside every day?
2. Sunlight twice a day to encourage a good sleep/wake cycle and help your melatonin regulation. Exposing your eyes to sunlight first thing in the morning and then again about midday (or at the minimum at least late afternoon), can be hugely beneficial to restorative good sleep.
When histamine strikes!
3. Sufferers of hayfever, this can cause the beauty of spring to cause discomfort and interrupt your daily life. Quercetin can be a hugely beneficial supplement for seasonal allergies, start taking this now. One I particularly like from Terranova is HERE. It may be beneficial to work with a functional medicine practitioner or nutritionist to look at ensuring gut health is optimized as often from here inflammatory responses can occur and be the cause or exacerbate seasonal allergies.
What should I eat in spring?
4. Eat your colours. This is important year round, as you head outside more with warmer weather, make sure you still pack your colours into your meals over the course of the day. Try and eat seasonal local produce – asparagus, carrots, cabbages, purple sprouting broccoli, apples, lettuce, parsley, rhubarb and radishes are some of the in season fruit and veggies.
Why is movement good for me?
5. Movement. Walking is one of the best forms of movement and gets you outside, vary it up and walk inclines to get the heart rate up as well. Restorative yoga in the evenings or strengthening Pilates during the day is good for strength. Strength exercises working on lean muscle is really important for us as we get older, they don’t need to be extensive sessions, even 10 minutes regularly will have huge benefits.