4 Steps to keeping the family's immune system & gut healthy over the holiday period

Yay, school is out, it's the festive season and it's summer holidays. So much to look forward to!

Let’s not be fooled into a false sense of security just because the weather has warmed up. The truth be told, the bugs are just as rampant in the summer.

The primary reason why the immune is weakened is through poor nutrition & STRESS!

For this reason, we don’t want to let our guard down in terms of nutrition & wellness.

Let's be honest, for the few days over the festive period, all eating standards will go out the door (WITHOUT GUILT), but we definitely not for the WHOLE of the holiday period. This is just counter productive longer term.

It is best to maintain ideal nutrition & wellness 80-90% of the time. My preference is 90% because at 80%, this leaves room for up to 4 meals in a week that can slip and personally I think this is too much. At the end of the day, start where ever you are, and improve one step at a time.

The main focus during the holidays and just about EVERY day of the year should be on the following:

• WHOLE REAL FOOD

• Plenty of vegetables – get creative how you can get this into them. This time of year is perfect to have the rainbow cut up and served with your favourite dip

• Healthy fats – think nuts, seeds, olive oils, butter, oily fish, avocado and full fat dairy if tolerated

• Minimal fruit - remember to eat seasonal. So many awesome fruits this time of year such as watermelon, peaches, cherries, berries, mango

• Pasture fed protein

• Clean Water

• Fermented foods & drinks

• Broth & gelatin

Steps to keeping the family's immune & gut healthy:

1. Wholefood ONLY 80-90% of the time.

2. Include gut healing foods DAILY. In this blog I detail how you can easily include gut healing foods daily without even trying

3. Make Healthy Swaps 80-90% of the time:

   1. Margarine =====> Butter

   2. Vegetable Oils=====> Olive oil

   3. Flavoured, preservative laddened crisps =====> plain chips, better quality or air popped popcorn

   4. Sugary Yoghurt =====> Greek yoghurt topped with your favourite fruit, granola and a swirl of maple syrup or honey if you need a sweetener

   5. Soft drinks =====> Water, make your own fermented drinks or flavoured coconut water (you still need to check the ingredients and sugar content of these)

   6. Commercial ice-creams ====> Make your own with 4 easy ingredients or make a smoothie and freeze into popsicles. Even better, add a quality probiotic and then you will have a probiotic smoothie/popsicle

4. Keep hydrated with clean water mainly. The body is 60-70% water.

Just keep in mind, food is medicine and it is lways fueling one of 2 things , sickness or health. What do you you choose?

Relaxing the rules every now and then is unlikely to have a detrimental effect longer term, provided you know how to press the RESET button. Enjoy the summer, choose wisely and most of all be peaceful, happy and grateful.

xx

Chantal is a Certified Nutrition & Wellness coach with a special interest simplifying and implementing gut healing nutritional protocols using a personalised wholistic step by step approach.