Tips to Stay Well and Enjoy a Happy, Healthy Festive Season
Staying healthy through winter while enjoying festive treats is a goal many of us share. But how can you fend off common winter illnesses while juggling a busy social calendar, strike a balance between indulgence and moderation during the holiday, and remain active and motivated as the nights grow longer and the temperatures drop?
Here, we share practical tips for staying healthy and thriving through the winter months. From staying warm and cosy to understanding the potential benefits of a vitamin D supplement, you'll find plenty of advice to help you embrace the season while staying on track with your health goals.
Our top tips for staying well
If you’re keen to stay well through winter and enjoy a healthy and happy festive season follow this advice from our health experts:
Stay warm
It may seem obvious, but as the temperature drops, it’s important to make sure you stay warm, whether you’re at home or out and about. The best way to do this is to wear lots of thin layers that trap heat rather than bulkier items.
At home, you should keep rooms you use regularly heated to 18°C to help you stay warm. You can also help keep any heat in by closing your curtains or using draught excluders at doorways.
Take a vitamin D supplement
Vitamin D is an essential vitamin that helps to regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body, nutrients essential to keep bones, teeth, and muscles healthy. You can find out more about vitamin D and the role it plays in keeping your bones healthy in our guide to vitamin D.
A lack of vitamin D can lead to bone deformities, such as rickets in children and a condition called osteomalacia in adults. However, unlike other vitamins that we can get from the foods we eat, the majority of vitamin D we get is created by our body when our skin is exposed to sunlight outdoors.
From late March to early April until the end of September in the UK, most people can get enough vitamin D by just getting outside for 10 minutes a day. But, between October and early March, a lack of sunlight means our bodies are not able to consistently produce enough vitamin D. This is why the NHS recommends taking a supplement containing 10 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin D through autumn and into early spring.
If you’re unsure about whether vitamin D supplementation is right for you, why not book a private vitamin D blood test to check your levels?
Book your flu jab
If staying healthy this winter is a priority, don’t forget to schedule your flu jab. The flu vaccine provides protection against the flu, a virus that can cause symptoms such as a sudden high fever, body aches, sore throat, headache, cough, and loss of appetite. For those with existing health conditions, the flu can be particularly serious, sometimes even life-threatening, making vaccination an essential step in safeguarding your wellbeing.
You can get a free flu jab on the NHS through your GP surgery if you:
- Are 65 or over
- Have certain chronic health conditions, like diabetes or heart disease
- Are pregnant
- Live in a care home
- Are the main carer for an older or disabled person
- Live with someone with a weakened immune system
- Are a frontline health or social care worker
If you don’t qualify for a free flu jab, it’s still possible to get one privately. Many pharmacies offer flu jabs for a nominal fee.
Stay active
As the nights draw in and the temperature drops, it can be tempting to want to stay at home more and forgo your usual exercise. However, it’s even more important to stay active through the winter, as some studies have shown a link between moderate exercise and a strengthened immune system. So, by ensuring you stay active, you could help prevent common colds and other illnesses, which are more prevalent through the winter.
To stay motivated during the winter, we recommend:
- Exercising with a friend – not only does this help boost your motivation but it keeps you accountable for showing up.
- Joining a gym – if you normally exercise outdoors, you may want to consider a short-term gym membership over the winter months so the poor weather and lighting conditions outside don’t put a stop to your fitness schedule.
- Trying online classes – if the thought of going out on a cold winter’s night fills you with dread, why not sign up for an online exercise class? That way you still get active without having to leave the comfort of home.
- Being realistic—unless you’re a serious athlete, winter isn’t the time to set yourself unrealistic fitness goals. Instead, focus on small, achievable goals, which will help keep you motivated.
- You keep moving – If you’re not able to stick to your usual exercise routine over winter, you can try to stay more active throughout the day. Try taking regular breaks where you stand up and do some form of movement, even if this is doing a few squats while waiting for the kettle to boil. Or add exercise into your day by choosing to take the stairs at work instead of the lift or getting off the bus at a stop early and walking the rest of the way.
Eat well
During the festive season, it’s easy to overindulge in food and drink. With parties, lunches out and get-togethers, all of which are usually centred around food and drink, you can quickly find yourself consuming more calories and less nutrient-rich foods than usual.
While indulging in a festive treat now and again is not a problem, it’s important to remember that to stay healthy, you need to eat a well-balanced diet that includes at least five portions of fruit and vegetables per day. You should also aim to limit your alcohol intake to no more than 14 units per week spread across three or more days.
To help you keep your healthy habits on track while still enjoying the festive season, follow our top tips:
- When eating out, consider ordering a starter and a side plate of vegetables. This way, you can help reduce your calories and ensure you get at least one portion of fruit and vegetables.
- Add pulses or beans to stews, curries and casseroles to help boost your fibre intake.
- December can be a busy time, so when you’re in a rush, make quick meals with frozen or tinned fruit and vegetables (with no added salt or sugar).
- Avoid comfort eating during the winter by swapping high-sugar, high-carb, or high-saturated-fat snacks for healthier alternatives.
- Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water or herbal teas.
- Limit alcohol to one or two glasses a couple of times a week, this could be when you’re out socialising with friends.
- Use immune-boosting foods to help stave off common colds and other winter illnesses.
Some of our favourite foods and drinks that give your immune system a boost include:
- Ginger – known to help with feelings of sickness, it is also thought to have anti-inflammatory properties which can be beneficial.
- Spinach – packed with vitamins C, beta carotene and numerous antioxidants, which all play a role in boosting immune system function.
- Unflavoured yoghurt with live or active cultures – is a great source of vitamin D but also contains live cultures which can help improve your gut microbiome and boost the body’s natural ability to defend itself from disease.
- Turmeric – known for its anti-inflammatory properties, research suggests this could be beneficial to your immune health.
- Citrus fruits – oranges, lemons, grapefruit, limes and other citrus fruits offer a boost of vitamin C, which boosts production of white blood cells, which are key for fighting infections.
- Garlic – contains sulphur-containing compounds like allicin which are thought to boost your immune health.
- Green tea – contains epigallocatechin (EGCG) which studies have shown can enhance immune function.
- Kiwis – rich in essential nutrients, such as vitamin C, vitamin K, folate and potassium which help to keep the body functioning properly.
- Broccoli – packed with vitamins A, C and E, fibre and many other antioxidants that can help your body fight off infections.
- Almonds – rich in vitamin E which is key to a healthy immune system.
- Chicken – high in vitamin B6 which plays an important role in chemical reactions in the body and is important for the formation of new and healthy red blood cells.
Look after your mental wellbeing
Your physical and mental wellbeing are closely linked, so taking care of your mental and emotional wellbeing can help you stay healthy.
The long nights in winter can cause people to withdraw and have a negative impact on their mental wellbeing. Some people are even affected by seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also known as winter depression, because symptoms are usually more severe during the winter. As a result, taking care of your mental wellbeing is even more important during this time.
To ensure you prioritise your emotional wellbeing in the same way you would your physical health, we recommend:
- Try to notice the things you are grateful for every day. This can be something small, like a warm cup of tea, or something bigger, like spending time with family.
- Continuing to socialise as much as you can by putting plans in your diary or setting up a regular time to phone friends and loved ones throughout the winter.
- Joining a club - this could be an active group like a walking group or exercise class to also help you maintain your fitness or could be something more sedate like a book club.
- Try to get as much natural light as possible by getting out for a walk at first light or on your lunch.
Discover more about your general health
When it comes to your wellbeing, gaining insights into your overall health can be beneficial and enable you to take a proactive approach to address any issues raised. This can be especially important over winter and the festive season, as the sooner you are aware of any potential problems, the sooner you can take appropriate action to help you stay happier and healthier throughout the winter. A health assessment with Bluecrest is the perfect new tradition. Getting your health checked in December means you can learn about your body now and hit the ground running the in the New Year with your health goals.
At Bluecrest, we offer a range of private full body health checks to enable you to gain vital insights into your overall health. Our health MOTs, include a range of private blood checks, such as a full blood count, liver and kidney tests and cholesterol and diabetes checks, as well as insights into your risk of certain health conditions.
Book a private health check today
Our full body private health checks are designed for busy people who want to take control of their health. Our tests are quick, accurate, convenient and completely stress-free. No waiting for an appointment, no invasive procedures, no embarrassing questions, no long travel times and no busy waiting rooms.
Our tests are conducted by trained phlebotomists at over 350 venues across the UK and Ireland, ensuring accurate professional health checks within 20 minutes of your home.
Any individual tests can be added to any full body health check. Just book one of our full body private health assessments and call us before your appointment to add an extra test.
