A Nutritionist’s Guide: How to Stay Safe and Healthy this Summer
Estimated Reading Time: 9 Minutes
This year has been tough on everyone everywhere around the world. We have seen and experienced things, unlike anything we’ve encountered in our lifetime.
What’s more, is that many people stayed shut indoors for weeks or months at a time. In some cases, doing little more than feeding depression and anxiety by eating with reckless abandon. Though it’s understandable to stress-eat when stressed (and boy were we stressed!), we all know that doing so does not serve our best health.
So, this week, as the summer season approaches and uncertainty continues to loom overhead, I’d like to take the opportunity to provide a few wellness tips I thought my readers would enjoy. After all, any regular summer plans we may have made or hoped to make may need to be abandoned.
Summer is typically a time of the year to look forward to - for travel, for excitement, for new adventures. Yet this year, our focus will likely be much different.
How can we, as a collective society, stay safe and healthy while still enjoying ourselves this summer? Read on to discover my tips on how to do just that and make the most out of the situation we all find ourselves in.
A Nutritionist’s Guide to Staying Safe and Healthy this Summer
The following are some of my top tips for staying safe and healthy while enjoying the summer months.
Continue to support your immunity - Regardless of where you stand on current world affairs, PPEs, and hand sanitizers, I think we can all agree that working towards a healthier, stronger you is never the wrong thing to do. We can all continue working to boost our immunity and remain (or get) as healthy as possible to ward off any potential viruses or illnesses. This means to opt for real, whole nutrient-dense foods that nourish your cells, reduce systemic inflammation, and minimize the effects of oxidative damage. Foods that grow naturally in the ground or animals that eat these foods should be the focus of your diet. Ditch refined and highly processed non-nutritive “foods” - as they weaken your immune system and promote inflammation.
Become a home-town tourist - Many times, we neglect local attractions in favour of travelling someplace else - someplace we may find exotic or different. In so doing, we rarely enjoy the attractions around us. Case in point: My husband Joe lived in Ottawa, Ontario (Canada’s capital city) most of his life and never once visited the Parliament Buildings on Parliament Hill - a common tourist attraction for visitors to the area. (For the record, he has still yet to go, and now that he’s no longer living in Ottawa, he regrets not taking a tour.) So spend some time exploring your own backyard and the “tourist” attractions that people venture to your city or the surrounding area to see. You might just be surprised at what you can discover. Plus, you will be supporting your local economy with local dollars - never a bad idea!
Get outside - After having been shut indoors for a long time, it’s about time we all head out and enjoy nature. Sit outside. Go for a walk. Hike in the woods. Have a picnic. Enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of the outdoors. For some people, this simple pleasure was taken for granted. Only after this privilege was removed for an extended time did they realize how important it actually is. Don’t take advantage of what Mother Nature has provided for us all. Get out there and be one with nature. Breathing in the fresh air and grounding ourselves in the grass is good for the soul.
Soak up the sun - As an extension of getting outside, make sure that you soak up some rays while you’re there. Getting ample, safe exposure to the sun’s UV rays will enable your body to make more vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for proper brain health and mental wellness. Have you ever heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)? It’s what many people struggle with during the winter months when the hours of visible sunlight are greatly reduced. Without natural sunlight, our body’s levels of vitamin D decrease, leaving us vulnerable to depression, irritability, and poor mental health. So now that summer is here, do your mental wellbeing a favour by heading outside and soaking up some sunlight.
Stay active - Exercise, in any form, is good for all aspects of your life and health. It boosts serotonin levels to improve your mood and help you sleep better. It builds strength to boost your metabolism. It oxygenates your cells to provide energy and strengthen immunity. And it boosts blood flow to the heart and brain to help you think more clearly. Whether you find a free YouTube yoga video or exercise routine you can do at home, go to the gym, or simply schedule in a daily 30-minute walk, do what you can to get (and stay) moving. Your entire body will thank you for it!
Load up on local - Seeing as how international travel is being discouraged for the time being, please realize that there is nothing wrong with staying local. Supporting your local economy, local farmers, and local producers go hand in hand. As the growing season gets underway, local fruits and vegetables are becoming more abundant. Load up on local fruits, veggies, and products that are in season - your body actually prefers eating these foods over the ones shipped from countries far away. Eating local food is good for the environment, as the food does not have to travel great distances to get to you, it encourages sustainable agriculture, and the food ends up being more nutritious. This is because food grown and harvested locally is usually given more time to ripen naturally. [1] Additionally, local honey made by local bees can support your immune system, as the pollen bees collect come from trees and flowers in your local area. Over time, you may strengthen your immune system as you become less sensitive to this pollen. [2]
Drink up - And no, sorry - I don’t mean reach for another bottle of wine! The goal here is to stay hydrated. Staying hydrated by increasing your water consumption is important for many reasons; it keeps your cells plump and healthy [3], helps with your body’s elimination and detoxification processes, and can help curb cravings. Did you know that many people overeat when their body is actually thirsty? So when you get hungry mid-day try guzzling some quality water first. If you’re still hungry after that, then, by all means, enjoy a healthy snack. If you tend to avoid water because you find it boring, there are many ways of sprucing it up. Add some fresh (or frozen) pieces of fruit, fresh mint leaves, lemon slices, or slices of fresh veggies like cucumber. For the record, watermelon and mint is a great combination! So however you get your water in this summer, make sure that you do. Besides, you can use this as a great excuse to get yourself a cute or fancy new water bottle.
Enjoy some family time - Many people I spoke with during the height of lockdown said they actually enjoyed the unexpected downtime that was forced upon them. They were able to complete tasks they had no time for before, spend more time with their families, and found their nervous systems got a much-needed rest. So now that people are heading back to work and picking up speed once again, it doesn’t mean that life has to return to the same, hectic existence as before. Continue to spend time with your family. Get to know your kids even better. And enjoy outdoor activities together. Do not lose the connections you made with your loved ones while everyone was at home. Embrace them, and start some new family traditions that you can carry into the future.
Eat in - Even though more restaurants have re-opened (with reduced capacity and restrictions in most cases), continue to enjoy nutrient-dense home-cooked meals. The “Covid15” you may have experienced (the 15 pounds of weight gain many people have realized since being shut indoors over the last several months), does not need to turn into the “Covid20.” Make eating enjoyable by starting with fresh, local produce and grass-fed or pasture-raised meat. Season foods simply and cook them at home. When you start with wholesome ingredients, they simply taste better and do not need a lot of sauce or store-bought condiments. Nourishing your body with such healthy nutrient-dense foods is another great way to keep inflammation at bay, nourish your immune system, and stay healthy.
Be the change you want to see in the world - Now that we’ve felt what being locked down and shut into our own homes feels like, it’s time to do something about it and live our lives. Don’t hang on the media’s every word or dwell on the negative. Be a shining light for others. Look for everything positive in your life and around you. Count your blessings. Continue to support your neighbours. Be grateful for your health and your family. We all have it within ourselves to be the best we can be and make a positive impact on the world. If you’re not happy with what you see around you, then you have the power to rise up and do something about it. Don’t wait for others to act - be the change you want to see.
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My challenge to you: I challenge you to step outside your comfort zone this summer to experience some personal growth. Challenge yourself to do something that you normally wouldn’t, because it’s typically when we step outside of what’s “normal” for us that we can actually grow. Think of a bad habit you may have or an activity you regularly participate in that may not serve your best health. Then make a commitment to yourself to do something about it.
Maybe it’s drinking alcohol 5 days a week. Maybe it’s a tendency to cut people off in traffic. Maybe it’s always finding fault in your child or spouse. Maybe it’s eating a bag of chips every time you sit down to watch a movie. Or maybe it’s an obsession with reality tv. Whatever you can think of, make a conscious note of it, and try to change.
In 2013 we cancelled our cable subscription. We were never the biggest TV consumers, but after Joe got his TBI he could not watch tell-a-vision. In part, because of the camera movement, but the violence also affected him unlike before. Even the laugh tracks were annoying to him. At first, I was lost without my HGTV, but it did not take long to discover other, healthier, things to do with my time. Without cable continually louring me into its lair, I engaged in other activities - I started reading more, taking an after-dinner walk, and being more productive around the house. Anyone trying to work around the house with the tv on can likely relate to getting sucked into a show or news story and abandoning what you’re doing to watch. Besides, we found that most new shows ended up being replicas of previous shows and there was little to no innovation. In the end, cancelling cable ended up being a blessing, and one of the best decisions we made.
Now, the only time we end up watching cable tv is when we’re staying in a hotel - maybe 2-3 times per year. Instead, we choose what we want to watch on Netflix or Amazon Prime when we choose to watch it - which happens to be after our post-dinner dog walk is complete. So no more eating in front of the tv for us, either.
Did you know that eating while distracted, including while watching tv, actually contributes to digestive issues? Your body perceives distractions and upsetting news as stressful events. And when you are in a stressful state, you cannot properly digest the food you’re eating at the time. Why? Your body cannot be in both sympathetic (“fight or flight”) and parasympathetic (“rest and digest”) nervous system mode at the same time. This means, any nutrients in the food you are eating, are not being properly absorbed. Over time, this can create digestive problems.
The same is true for anyone who always eats when rushed or on the go. Are you one of these Type A personalities who are always moving? If so, do you have a hard time losing weight? Eating on the go may be your downfall. If this resonates with you, this may your personal challenge this summer - stop and take 3 long, deep breaths before each meal to engage your digestive system organs.
What’s your crutch? What’s one thing that may not be serving your best health? I’d love to hear about it - please comment below with what it is and what you’re going to do about it.
As always, I welcome your thoughts and value your feedback. Let me know what you think by dropping me a line or commenting below.
And whatever you do this summer, stay safe and healthy.