7 Healthy Habits for 2021

1. Balanced Eating

Eating foods is the fuel that our body runs on. The same way we wouldn't put things that clog an engine into a car, our body, much more complex and whole, needs the right fuel in order to put out its best performance. There are no strict dietary guidelines here. But rather the idea of working with what nature provides, in each given season, locally to nourish our body's.

Balance what grows above the ground with what grows below.

Balance the variety of colours on your plate.

Balance what grows locally, what you grow at home, with things that you purchase from other countries.

Balance out the palate with as many of the tastes as you can - Sweet, Salty, but also Bitter, Pungent and Sour.

2. Daily Bowel Movements to Optimize Immune System

Now just as important as what you're putting into the body is. How efficiently you are able to discard of waste products is important. Now this can be excess hormones, fats, bacteria, toxic by products and urea.

Almost 70% of our Immune System resides in our GUT. That means that the gut is an important area in the body, where stagnation or a backlog just won't be a benefit to us. In fact it can do more harm than good, and constipation is often the first sign that we need to get something back into balance.

The backlog of waste products, can irritate the lining of the gut and cause what is known as Leaky Gut. The opening of the spaces in the lining of the gut can cause proteins and other waste to get back into the blood stream and cause what we feel as inflammation or pain, or autoimmune conditions or skin issues to mention a few things. Keeping the bowels moving and encouraging daily bowel movements at the least becomes a very helpful practice.

3. Hydrate! But Minimize Cool Beverages with Meals

Drink plenty of water throughout the day so that you are not thirsty at the end of the day. Now this does not mean that you have to chug a bunch of water in the morning, But can mean that you can hydrate replenish throughout the day with soups, fruits and veggies, smoothies, teas, water, and any other sources of fluid you have.

An important thing to remember is to keep cold liquids away from meals. Cold liquids act to vasoconstrict the gut and impairs proper digestion of food. Assimilating the right nutrients becomes more challenging and it really doesn't serve efficient digestion.

4. Keep Your Showers Short

Hot showers, can really feel good at the end of a long day but really can deplete instead of replenish. Keep the showers shorter than 10min, and try to end with cool water. This will help your body to try and constrict then warm itself by increasing circulation. The pumping action of constriction and dilation promotes better blood flow and helps to get things moving. Think about nature, if you were to have a bath in the beach, in a lake, or in a waterfall.. sigh.. then what would that feel like, what would the temperature of the water be like, is it relaxing or draining?? Do things that bring you that energy!

5. Your Sleep Environment Matter

What you do before you hit the pillow matters. The blue lights from all the extra screen time we now are exposed to delays melatonin release and affects the circadian rhythm. Keeping screen time to.a minimum before bed time can help. Also reading, doing calming exercises, deep breathing and journalling are all great ways to wind down rather than rushing to bed exhausted without any real recharge, reflect and relax time.

6. Pay Attention to Signs from Your Body

Waiting till your body struggles to help itself can sometimes be avoided if we notice the subtle communication received daily. Paying attention to simple cues from the body can help with this. This requires mindfulness on our part, and can really show benefits when you provide the smaller changes requested by the body (or the mind). Your body is your only home. One that changes to your needs and serves you faithfully.. keeping an eye on the cues from the body, can help longer term consequences. These can be changes in your daily bowel movements, your appetite, your periods, your aches and pains, and all the small things we disregard as important.

7. Do More of What Brings You Joy

Joy can be from so many things, and that is individual. Find what gives you joy and do more of it! Busy schedules hinder this, and it can be hard to find time to do this. But really giving yourself this, can help you give more of what you have to put out into the world, whether that be work, family, friends, spirituality..

Yours in Health,

Dr. Sharlini Udayakumar, ND