Simple Steps to End the Holidays Healthier Than You Started!

Hello my Frankly adopted family!

So nice to be with you for another holiday season. I often get asked two questions for the holidays. One is how can I avoid getting sick? The other is how can I prevent my favorite holiday food from sabotaging all the work I’ve done all year? 

Let’s go one at a time. There are two main weapons in the arsenal for infection prevention, iodine and zinc. They are the two most powerful antiviral and antibacterial agents you can keep on hand, and both are cheap! I have an entire zinc protocol in my Instagram highlights that sits there all year long because I want it to be a reference for people. I have no affiliation with this brand, but the Life Extension brand has the right form and size lozenges to be effective at the first sign of any illness. Sore throat, aches and pains, etc…get on this quick and repeat every few hours for the first 48 hours. If you catch it early enough, you should prevail! The next is povidone iodine. A 10% povidone iodine solution diluted in about 2 ounces of water makes an excellent nasal rinse for post travel or gathering. Iodine and its antibacterial properties have been used for the prevention or management of wound infections for over 150 years. Time tested and undefeated!

Now, how do we keep our progress going without missing out on the fun of food around the holidays? First thing is first…don’t stress! Stress makes things worse and will work against you every time. There are some easy things you can do like prioritize protein and healthy fats. Make your plate full of nutrient dense foods and leverage protein for satiety. 

This graph illustrates that just in case you are a visual leaner…

Here we want to focus on foods in the fat loss/maintenance section and then there will be less room for the cakes, pies, etc…although it’s not about avoidance, it’s more about mitigation with a side of enjoyment!

I’ll give you one last simple but effective tip. WALK! 

Just a simple post meal walk for 15 minutes can control blood sugar even better than longer walks. So the strategy is this…walk 15 min after each meal of the day during your holiday feasts. You will be more likely to benefit metabolically with that strategy than if you set aside time for one 45 min walk and tried to offset some of that holiday munching! 

Maybe ask Santa for a fitness tracker so you can track steps. Anything north of 8k/day has longevity benefits as well. Where do you fall? I promise that if you try some of these strategies, you will end this holiday healthier than you started!

Be well and much love!

J Gulinello

MS, CNSc, FNTP

Founder, Perpetual Health