One of the key things I learnt whilst being out with my survival buddies was that keeping your body at the right temperature was important and could be the difference between life and death. Obviously I’m not talking about that sort of situation, but I learnt that the right clothing can make all the difference to your comfort whilst outside. I was laughing with Janie my lady who books the appointments for clients in 5 Oaks West Sussex about wearing thermals, but base layers can be a gift in this type of biting wind and temperature drops if you are out and about. No more Damart undies, but now the new cool name on the street is base layers, and even I learnt whilst living in the North that layering up can mean you can take off what you don’t need, and allows the hot air to get trapped amongst the layers when you do need them. Ones that allow the body to breathe and wick the moisture away are by far the best and you get what you pay for. To read more click here
So you are probably wondering why a naturopath is talking about this, but nowadays I see issues with kidneys and the chest, which could of never happened if the body had been clothed correctly during the cold and damp weather. Keep your chest covered, wear high necked clothing and make sure you tuck your vest in to keep those kidneys warm!
Next is warming yourself from the inside out, one of the hardest times for raw foodists in particular in the UK is winter, because keeping the body warm is hard. Keeping warm takes up more energy of the body so it’s important to realise that the body will need more food, to give it that energy. Eating warming foods that then take their time to pass through your system can make a big difference to your body.
Spices are where it has to be at, teas, curries, chillies all can be made healthily to keep you warm. I have been adding a larger number of curries and chillies into my diet at the moment because they are so fabulous at warming up the body.
One of the spices I love to use in food is turmeric, I use it in both salads and in a curry, it is anti-inflammatory, so absolutely brilliant, it helps the digestion of your food, and supports the bowel. There is a lot of research being done on turmeric currently and it’s all positive stuff, so definitely something to be adding at this time of year.
And talking about a good curry…add a small amount of cumin, it helps with the digestion of your food by stimulating the release of the saliva and their digestive enzymes, perfect, just don’t eat too much of it, because you will undo all the good work it can do for you.
Can’t forget a good tea to warm the soul, and let me remind you of ginger and lemon tea, anti-inflammatory properties as well as the lemon helping with cleansing. Perfect for helping the digestive system as well, and shown to be very beneficial to be adding to the diet to support the gut. I often grate fresh ginger into my salads, I will have them in my juice, and when I’ve got a chill on my kidneys I will cook a little bit of ginger up in water and soak cloth into it and use it as a warming pack with a hot water bottle, to take away the chill. Most people will eat stem ginger for nausea, and my dog does like a nice ginger nut biscuit for an odd treat! So ginger is highly versatile for warming the body.
Now adding a bit of cinnamon to your morning porridge or flax meal of will help to balance out the blood sugar even further.
Warm yourself throughout the day, even if you are eating raw foods, it will help you to feel less tired.
