WHY THE FLU ISN'T A SEASON...
Why does it seem more illnesses occur between the months of October and April? It actually has little to do with temperature change, or an increase in germs, and has more to do with your lifestyle.
Ever notice how the flu explodes around the holidays? Starting with Halloween... Halloween has just passed and most of us still have bowls of candy on the table. From Halloween we go straight into Thanksgiving – a holiday loaded with high carbohydrate and high sugar foods (pies anyone?) and perhaps a higher consumption of alcohol.
In addition, the increase in social events and family gatherings tend to add additional stress for most. So now Thanksgiving ends, we keep enjoying those leftover pies for the next few weeks and then all the sudden it's the start of the Christmas season! More sugar! More carbs! More alcohol!
During the Christmas season we enjoy fesitivies such as baking with family, attending cookie swaps, and once again, holiday meals with foods and drinks that are not normally consumed. But wait, there's more...
Following Christmas there’s New Years Eve and New Years Day, then Valentine’s Day and finally ending with Easter. I call it, “The Season of Sugar”!
So be mindful of overloading with sugar and stress. With all this sugar, topped off by less sunlight and lower vitamin D levels, it’s more important than ever to keep your body healthy with food and movement!
Mandy Nelson, BCND, CES