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Staying Alive in Toxic Times: Tips for Winter

Winter is a time to withdraw a little, to wrap up warm and hunker down; in fact, to partially hibernate. It’s a time to consolidate but not to start new projects, especially not ambitious plans like a weight-loss diet, which has a far better chance of success in the spring. In winter, nature is telling you to be indoors when it’s dark, to be outside only in the limited hours of daylight, and generally to do less not more.

Take-Home Tips For Winter

  • Eat more cooked than raw food. Soups. Casseroles.
  • Take Vitamin C, zinc and a little selenium at breakfast. Take Vitamin D and magnesium at dinner.
  • Ask your GP to keep an eye on your Vitamin D level – but avoid taking Vitamin D supplements in the 48 hours before the blood test.
  • Go for a walk outdoors during the brief hours of daylight – best way to avoid getting SAD.
  • Keep the “first-aid package” (see page 67–68) handy from October to March. If you’re not taking it routinely, start it at the first sign of a sniffle. Your own sniffle or that of anyone with whom you share a house or office!
  • Limit screen time for yourself and your children. Develop the habit of switching off a few hours before bedtime. (Actually this applies all the year round.)
  • Don’t buy new mattresses, curtains, carpets or sofas in the depths of winter. They out-gas toxins; see Chapter 7.
  • Wait till spring, and then keep the windows open.
  • Don’t start new projects in winter. When possible, have a totally guilt-free duvet day at the weekend. Hibernate.

Extract from Staying Alive in Toxic Times by Dr Jenny Goodman, published by Yellow Kite, £18.99