Your immune system...

It's that time of year again...

Outdoor Christmas lights, decorated store windows & Santa's in town!

ReD, gREen, SilVeR, bluE, GolD

Hot chocolate, pumpkin pie, candy canes, snowflakes...

And unfortunatly:

colds, runny noses, coughs, sneezing, fevers and how can we forget...

H1N1!!!

Since TV, magazines, newspapers, radio, etc., etc., seem to have this 'pandemic' covered I've decided to focus on something else...

Your Immune System

Your immune system is responsible for destroying bacteria and viruses that invade your body and make you sick. Many peoples immune systems break down because of stress and bad nutrition. Stress depletes the body of vitamin C, B vitamins and many immune strengthening minerals.

In order to help your body fight intruders, you need to work on your immune system. This includes incorporating immune boosters into your diet.

Immune Boosters

1) Eat from a variety of colourful fruits and vegetables.
2) Fruits and vegetables should make up the majority of your daily diet.
3) Drink 8-10 glasses of water a day.
4) Pay attention to your fat intake. Avoid trans fats and fatty foods.
5) Avoid having animal protein everyday. Try to limit consumption to 3 times a week.
6) Supplements: multi-vitamin, vitamin C, calcium and B complex
7) Try to get your 8 hours of sleep.
8) Juicing!

Foods to Incorporate

The following foods are rich in nutrients that boost the immune system:

Juicing

Many fruits and vegetables can be turned into a concentrated form of nutritional energy by juicing them. Raw, fresh juices provide the easiest way for the body to ingest vitamins and minerals found in these foods. Fresh juices are also alive with enzymes, which deliver vitality and energy to every cell of your body.

Some of my favourite immune boosting juice combinations are:

Blueberries + Grapes + Apples

Carrot

Orange + Carrot

Give them a try and see how you feel...

Stay Healthy!

A testament to good nutrition...

On Friday during a trip to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) to see the much anticipated Vanity Fair exhibit...

For insight into our ROM visit check out: Not a Model

I started to feel sick and, shortly after, the sniffles began. By the time I got home my sniffles turned into a fever that included sneezing, watery eyes and a runny nose. With a week from hell in short sight I needed to kill this intruder. I needed to get ready for Monday!

I made my plan of action! This was war. This uninvited intruder was going down!

My action plan:

(1) Water, Water, Water; to flush out those germs!

(2) Mom's warm soup made with LOVE...

(3) Lots of tea (Earl Grey, Camomile, Peppermint, Lemon Thriller  and Gingerbread Spice) + Honey in my favourite m&m mug; for a feeling of warmth & comfort!

(4) COLD-FX to help reduce the symptoms and boost the immune system.

(5) Oil of Oregano to strengthen the immune system and help kill intruders!

(6) A box of ultra kleenex with a beach view; a "mood enhancer."

(7) DayQuil and NyQuil to deal with the fever and knock me out in the evening!

(8) My laptop; A 'sick day' doesn't exist in the world of PR...

          

At this point I'm sure a lot of you are thinking: DayQuil & NyQuil!??!?! That's not very HOLISTIC of you!??!?!

Here's my response and an add on to my intro blog...

I'm an RHN with a twist! Meaning: I believe that you need to pick your battles. Pick the better of the two evils. I'm not perfect, but I thrive for optimal health and I'm realistic about it.

I was really sick, I had a high fever and could not sleep... Remember, This was WAR!

I needed to be:

well, functioning and ready for Monday = the choice made

That evening I drank lots of water and tea. Whenever hungry, I had mom's 'get well' soup and I went through two 'beachy' boxes of ultra kleenex. I spent the night working away on my laptop and answering the calls from my mom who wanted to make sure I was still alive and that what I had was NOT H1N1.

The next morning, I woke up:

(1) ALIVE!!!

(2) Without my 'sickly' symptoms!!!

I won the battle...

I may not be a full 24/7 Health Guru that sticks to every nutrition rule that exists, but I do watch what I eat and try to incorporate good nutrition into my life.

I believe that this lifestyle is what helped me fight this cold and get over the horrible symptoms quickly...

I feel better today and I'm ready for tomorrow; No sick day needed!  

Stay Healthy!

A little introduction...

I want to take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about myself and introduce you to my blog. Diary of a Nutritionista is my way of letting you into a part of my world. The world of health, nutrition, wellness and, my favorite, food.


What qualifications do I have? Well, I'm a Registered Holistic Nutritionist (RHN) who's currently studying PR. I worked in the wonderful world of health and wellness for many years before deciding to get into PR. My love for nutrition is the reason why I have decided to start this blog.


After meeting me and my RHN credential, most people are confused and, some, frightened by the term holistic. Let me start by saying:

RELAX & BREATHE!

I am NOT a Voodoo Dr., not a witch, I do NOT think drinking blood helps revitalize the body and nor do I believe eating grass should be a mandatory daily detox ritual!!!

Now that we've got that out of the way let me explain what holistic is...

HOLISTIC is looking at the whole system rather than focusing on individual parts. This means looking at the body as a whole: the physical, along with the emotional, mental and spiritual.

BODY + MIND + SPIRIT

I am excited to get started and I hope you like what you read. I welcome all questions, suggestions and ideas so by all means throw them my way...

Stay Healthy!