Deep breath. We need to boost both immunity and sanity during this corona-crisis!
This quarantine will be over before you know it! Are you going to be ready to bust out of your “shelter” at your BEST?
I’m here to help with simple steps for better immunity and a sanity boost, too. I can even provide daily support via app if you like! 🙋🏻
Immunity:
- Get into the sunshine (Vitamin D!): walk/jog, plant some spring veggies, or sit and read in a sunny spot!
- Prioritize Protein and Produce (memorize this Triple-P Principle with your kids!)
- “Eat the rainbow” — I cannot overemphasize what fruits and veggies can do for you right now…not only are they packed with antioxidants and vitamins, but the fiber in them can act as a prebiotic to keep your gut functioning as a strong line of defense, too.
- Interestingly, sanitizer and all kinds of disinfectants are hard to come by in the stores, but vitamin-rich foods are always in stock! 🤔
Vitamin D-rich foods (or supplement)
Salmon, tuna, herring, milk, cereal, eggs, orange juice, or 600-800 IU of Vit. D if needed
Vitamin C-rich foods
Grapefruit, strawberries, mustard greens, cuties/tangerines, papaya, cherries, broccoli, chiles, oranges, guavas, brussels sprouts, bell peppers (especially yellow and red), kale, and kiwi
Zinc-rich foods
Beans, peas, whole-grains, nuts and seeds, oysters, scallops, meat, shellfish, fortified breakfast cereal
Vitamin E-rich foods
Oils, nuts, seeds (especially sunflower seeds)
For more recipes like this, check out the Best Body Cookbook & Menu Plan.
Allium-rich foods
Garlic, onions, scallions, leeks, and chives
Quercetin-rich foods (anti-inflammatory, antiviral and antibacterial)
Apples, red leaf and romaine lettuce, asparagus, cranberries, shallots, and onions
Vitamin A-containing foods
Sweet potato, mango, spinach, pumpkin, carrots, cantaloupe, tomato sauce, red peppers, and butternut squash
Next time you make out your grocery list, be sure to include a lot of the foods listed above!
Sanity:
- Manage what you have control over and don’t stress about what you don’t.
- Taking a couple minutes a couple times a day to breath deeply and pray/meditate/read can be a game-changer. Below are some free apps that you can set to notify you at ideal times for you to slow down and gain perspective:
- Abide
- Headspace
- Stop
- First5
- Think & Breathe
- Shine
- Limit your involvement in the news and everyone’s opinions — try setting a timer while on social media.
- Focus on 3 doable things you can do to maximize your physical and mental health, and set yourself up the day before to ensure they happen!
For example:
1 – Set your Bible at your nightstand to read in the evening, or put it out where you’ll be eating your breakfast in the morning, open to the Proverb of the day (there are just 31) 🙂
- 2 – Cut up fruits and veggies and place them in a clear container right by your Greek yogurt in the refrigerator on your eye level, or set them out for kids to munch on.
- 3 – Make a music playlist that will make you want to move with vigor on a walk or run in the warm sun the next day.
- Prioritize good-quality sleep for 7-9 hours each night…doing the things listed above will help you with sleep, as long as you’re not sabotaging yourself with caffeine or alcohol, as succinctly stated by my dietitian-author colleague Elizabeth Ward, MS, RDN.
“Beer, wine, and cocktails may temporarily ease the stress of worrying about the coronavirus and social distancing. But don’t overdo it. In addition to adding extra calories, alcoholic beverages interfere with the restful sleep you need right now. Sleep plays a role in supporting immunity, and getting enough [sleep] is also related to weight control.”
This quarantine will be over before you know it! Are you going to be ready to bust out of your “shelter” at your BEST?
We all need some support with tweaking our health habits and routine from time to time… Now more than ever!
I’d like to invite you to join me for my app-based Next Level 26 challenge: it’s taking your nutrition & fitness to the Next Level over 26 days. It’s NOT a crash diet, but it IS a crash course to a new you.
It starts this weekend! You’ll get exactly what you need to get through this so that you come out looking and feeling your best when it’s all over…
➡️ 3 minutes of content daily for 26 days on your smart phone (via app)
➡️ “a 10-Question Minute” each morning via app (goal: answer YES as many of the 10 next-level habits as you can, and I will keep you accountable
➡️ Costs about the price of a couple of tanks of gas (and that works out since perhaps you are driving less?) NOTE: special 55% off coupon code for those in hard times financially
➡️ Wraps up the Friday before Memorial Day
We are ready to welcome you into the private Facebook group as we get ready to rock this! 🎉
Check out the details and register here by Friday!
