As I have mentioned numerous times this month maintaining a healthy diet over the Christmas holidays can prove extremely difficult. One of the reasons for this is that candy and cakes are so much more prevalent around this time of year. Everyone seems to be offering you candy, mince pies, chocolate logs or Christmas pudding. Often the temptation to snack on these festive treats can prove too difficult to resist. When this happens I find dried fruit and nuts are a very effective tool. In this article I will be discussing exactly why dried fruits are an effective substitute for these … [Read more...]
5 Healthy Winter Breakfast Ideas
In some of my previous posts I discussed the importance of diet over the festive period. You may have heard the phrase that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It is the first meal you have after waking up and can have a significant impact upon how you feel for the rest of the day. Eating a poor breakfast or skipping it completely can make you feel tired, sluggish and moody for the rest of the day. With all the other things you have to deal with over the holiday period having a poor start to the day is the last thing you need. That's why today I'm going to share with you five … [Read more...]
8 Ways to Lighten your Christmas Dinner
With Christmas day just around the corner I thought today I would share with you some advice that you can use on the big day. In some of my previous articles I have emphasised the importance of a healthy diet during the festive period. Today I am going to expand on this topic and give you eight tips to help lighten your Christmas dinner. 1) DON'T PUT BREAD ON THE TABLE:- Most people tend to use bread as a pre-dinner appetiser. The problem with this is that people often fill up on bread before the meal adding numerous calories without even realising it. Instead why not try serving your … [Read more...]
The Importance Of Getting Enough Vitamin D This Christmas
Vitamins are important nutrients that help your body function properly. They all have different roles to play and a deficiency of any one vitamin can lead to a number of nasty side effects. Whilst they are all equally important, vitamin D is perhaps even more important over Christmas. In this article I will be discussing why vitamin D is particularly important over the festive period and how you can make sure that you get enough. As I discussed in my previous article on vitamin D it is one of the fat soluble vitamins. The main role of vitamin D is to help the body absorb calcium and … [Read more...]
4 Foods That Could Improve Your Mood This Christmas
Christmas is meant to be a time of joy and happiness where we spend quality time with our family and friends. However, with an increased chance of catching the common cold or the flu, the poor weather conditions and the very real possibility of suffering from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) the festive period is not always as enjoyable as it should be. Even if you are not suffering from SAD you can still find yourself feeling glum during the holidays for various reasons. In these instances you may want to consider the impact of your diet. What you eat can have a significant impact upon … [Read more...]
6 Foods to Boost Your Immune System This Christmas
In one of my recent articles I discussed how Christmas unfortunately brings with it an increased chance of getting the common cold or the flu. Since there are so many different types of cold and flu virus the body can never be completely immune to them. However, by making sure your immune system is working at full strength you can ensure that your body is in the best position possible to fight the common cold or the flu if you contract them. That's why today I will be sharing with you six foods that can keep your immune system strong over Christmas. 1) ORANGES:- Oranges seem to be a lot … [Read more...]
Can Vitamin C Help You Avoid Christmas Colds?
As I discussed in my last article we are more susceptible to both the common cold and flu around Christmas time when the weather goes cold. Whilst there is no cure for the common cold or the flu there are a number of popular suggestions for preventing it. One such suggestions is to take high doses of vitamin C. Today, I will be discussing if vitamin C really can help prevent the common cold and any of the other potential benefits it can offer you over this Christmas period. In my previous post on vitamin C I mentioned that one of the benefits is that it can reduce the symptoms of the … [Read more...]