Happy Christmas!
I love Christmas: the twinkling lights, the carols, the Christmas trees, the church services, the mulled wine and long, cold walks. It is a very special time to spend with family and friends and for me, a very special time of joy, peace and blessing.
A wonderful quote I came across recently captures the wonderful significance of the very first Christmas: ‘The hinge of history is on the door of a Bethlehem stable.’ It is truly a time of good tidings of great joy! My hope for you is that you have a wonderful, light-filled Christmas with blessed moments with your loved ones at this very special time.
In terms of health, I also wish you a hearty and nutritious Christmas! A few years ago, I wrote a blog about the incredible health benefits of a traditional Christmas lunch. I hope you enjoy a re-read.
My best health tip for you this Christmas is to remember that too much sugar impacts negatively on immunity. You may already be familiar with my warnings against eating too many sugary things as they make you more susceptible to picking up bugs and illnesses. It will also weaken your immunity so it takes longer to recover.
Keeping my eye on sugar intake is key for me! It helps me avoid emotional crashes and blood sugar dips. Two things help me each Christmas:
1. I reduce the amount of sugar I have each day and I have strategies to minimise my appetite for sugary sweetness. I try not to eat sugar all throughout the day, for example, having mince pies for breakfast, Christmas cake for lunch and lots of alcohol for supper is not my recommended plan of action! One tip that works for me is to make sure I healthy meals before I have sweet treats as I don’t fill up on those treats that have little nutritional value because I am feeling hungry.
2. I make sure to boost my immune system. Now is the time to increase your Vitamin C, Vitamin D and Zinc as they work to strengthen your immune system. I also include probiotics and prebiotics in my daily diet and through supplements. From reading my blogs, you all know how gut health is related to the immune system and how important it is to have lots of beneficial bacteria and maintain a healthy microbiome.
I hope this helps you as you enjoy all the festivities this Christmas!
Looking ahead to next year, 2022 is going to be an exciting year as I have gained additional qualifications and experience in the past twelve months.
Firstly, I have now completed 18 months of practise using Live and Dried Blood Analysis. You can read about this here. I am hoping to do the advanced course next year!
Secondly, I attended several lectures and workshops on Long Covid, boosting the immune system, COVID vaccinations, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, and Mould and Mycotoxins amongst other things. You can see my website for more about my latest professional development.
Finally, the really exciting news is that I have now qualified as a Wellbeing Coach. I put a huge amount of effort into my training committing most Saturday’s to study over the last 10 months and I think it will bring great value to my skills as a Nutritional Therapist. To read more please click here.
I am excited to use these new tools to bring you the best practice and latest research in key areas of wellbeing and health awareness.
I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a wonderful start to 2022. I look forward to seeing you in the New Year!
With every blessing,
Emma
Emma Maitland-Carew – Registered Nutritional Therapist
Dip.ION, mBANT, CHNC Registered Practitioner,
Metabolic Balance® Coach, HeartMath Coach.
