Build a strong immune system with good foods and lots of fresh air and you can fight off those winter colds says nutritionist Carolyn Heaton
Build a strong immune system with good foods and lots of fresh air and you can fight off those winter colds says nutritionist Carolyn Heaton
My friend came to visit us with her two young kids soon after we moved to Suffolk. They live in Milan most of the time. She made her way to us as she does rushing about the world as she just adores to travel. After one thing and another we picked them up from the station at Darsham. Arriving at our “monastic type settlement” as she put it, she looked around gazing from tree to tree and asked “what do you do here?” I didn’t know where to start, as any well rounded Suffolk dweller will realise that there is just too much to do here and the problem is actually knowing where begin. We decided to go for a walk, taking with us our four kids aged from 8 to 10. Now Suffolk is a great place for a walk at any time of the year. There are so many special paths and routes, but what I like doing best is taking guests straight out the door and down the road. Just to let kids’ minds run free as they should. The boys immediately picked up sticks and pretended to be warriors protecting their tribe. This carried on for about 30 minutes with investigations down rabbit holes while warding off other terrorising tribes. When we got to the river, the girls raced sticks and leaves between two bridges for another 20 minutes.Later in the walk, our guests were fascinated to see the water level at the ford measured in inches as opposed to metric, and they had never seen a ford before! They saw the signs in miles rather than kilometres and asked why do we drive on the “wrong” side of the road. All fun, simple things to talk about in our fast moving world.By the time we got back to the house at 5pm, after all that fresh air and exercise we were all ravenous and ready for something more substantial than a mere cup of tea!A 40 minute walk three times a week will help to keep your immune system in good working order. A clear healthy mind will supply our immune system with plenty of energy to keep working at an appropriate level. Food, particularly eaten in natural fresh raw state, will supply important nutrients to fuel the immune system. At this time of the year a multi-mineral supplement is like an insurance policy on top of a well-balanced diet.Vitamins A, C ad E are great at de-activating infections. Make sure you eat foods with plenty of these vitamins, eg brightly coloured fruits and vegetables and sunflower seeds.Minerals such as selenium and zinc, found in fish and nuts, are also good at warding off infections. These minerals along with the above mentioned vitamins are all anti-oxidants which all do a great job at keeping the invader at bay.
To contact Carolyn at Elementalle Nutrition, ring 0777 300 7795.
