Staying Healthy Over the Holidays

**** NOTE: I will be enjoying the Holidays with our extended family and I promised my wife I would not work that hard. Therefore I won’t have another email newsletter until January 3rd, 2026. I’d recommend some time away from your devices as well!****

’Tis the season for articles like this one to help you stay healthy over the holidays:

A mainstream publication like Forbes you know will have mainstream health advice. Although it isn’t too bad as mainstream advice goes. I thought I would jump on the bandwagon and offer my perspective on this article and what has worked for my assisted living residents and me during the past holiday seasons.

The article starts off with this quote from ‘food systems expert’ Dr Janel Louise Ohletz:

My thought is that salt is the least of your worries over the holidays. In fact my recommendation is to have a lot of salt. When you go to the hospital, they often give you saline IVs. They’re not worried about too much salt. If you doubt salt is good for you, I highly recommend this book.

Here are the article’s 13 tips, along with my opinion. Of course, not medical advice:

1. Hydrate - A great idea, always. It says drinking water or tea, especially after a heavy meal and/or alcoholic drinks is a great idea. It is. I also want to emphasize try to engage in more conversation with your loved ones and skip heavy meals and especially alcoholic drinks. Maybe wishful thinking but I’d love to plant the seed of an idea. Try to drink water early in the day.

2. Get Outside in Nature - Another great idea. Sometimes hard to do in the Great White North. Do it anyway. The cold will do you good as it builds resilience. Preferably have the sun kiss your skin by exposing as much as you can.

3. Eat Whole Foods - Another great tip. I like to call them ‘one-ingredient’ foods. The ingredient is ‘steak’ or ‘salmon’.  The article recommends a lot of vegetables. I recommend a lot of animal products (meat, fish, eggs etc.)

4. Meditate - Honestly I have not tried this but I’ve heard great things. I personally try to use quiet moments for prayer instead. Either one should help.

5. Feed the Gut - I agree with the article’s idea, not the implementation. They recommend fruits, vegetables and whole grains. At least two of those three will spike your blood sugar. Once again I believe animal products are much better for your gut. Although not the traditional Christmas dish, try some sauerkraut or kimchi to help those microbes.

6. They have a ‘medical meal specialist’ (MMS) give you the next 4 tips if you have inflammation from eating too much or need a boost of vitamins. As you’ll see from their list, there is a glaring omission of foods that really calm inflammation. Can you guess what they are? The MMS recommends:

   1. Cold-pressed ginger shots for nausea or inflammation

   2. Turmeric for inflammation

   3. Leafy greens for inflammation

   4. Lots of seeds and nuts

7. The last part of the 13 points contains 4 habits that can help you stay sickness-free over the holidays. I agree with all of them:

   1. Exercise daily

   2. Reset your eating habits - Reduce/eliminate processed foods and refined sugar.

   3. Minimize stress - good luck with that over the holidays!

   4. Consistent sleep

I hope all of you have a wonderful Holiday Season. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Hopefully we can all improve our health even more in 2026!