Fall into Health

Cooler temperatures are here! This is the season that we Phoenicians look forward to all summer long: the time when we can open our doors in the mornings, take evening walks, and generally enjoy much cooler temperatures. Unfortunately, though, fall also means that sicknesses tend to attack us more as our immune systems slack off a bit. But that doesn’t have to be the case!

When temperatures drop, there’s always an increase in flus and colds — at work and in the classrooms. But by simply incorporating all of the rich colors of the season into your daily diet, you can help to boost your immune system and keep those cold symptoms at bay. A trip through the produce section of your favorite grocery store or farmers market shows you all of the richness of the fall growing season: yams, apples, arugula, basil, beets, broccoli, bok choy, carrots, dates, figs, gourds, key limes, and radishes. Many of these are grown locally and available in organic versions, making them that much healthier.

So why do you want to vary your diet? To vary your nutrition! Each of these seasonal fruits and veggies offers a selection of vitamins and minerals that help to feed your body and boost your immunity. Vitamin C is an obvious boon during cold season, but some you may not think about include beta carotene and anthocyanins, both of which help to transform meek immune systems into superheroes! Mix all those veggies into a warm, healing soup, and you’re packing in the power!

In addition to managing your diet, be sure that you keep your activity level up, but remember to balance that with some re-energizing downtime. After a long hike in the mountains, not much can beat a cup of herbal tea and a good book!