8 Holiday Health Essentials for Your Healthiest Thanksgiving Yet

It’s no secret that the holiday season is a perfect storm of parties, presents, stress, and colds. With Thanksgiving just a few weeks away, right now is prime time for cold and flu season, and it can feel nearly impossible to keep your health in check. While most of us are spending our days dreaming up the perfect Thanksgiving menu and prepping for the whirlwind of holiday travel and gift-giving, it’s important that we take time to remember our health. At Pure Green (the fastest-growing juice bar franchise), we keep a special arsenal of holiday health tricks up our sleeves, including plenty of fresh pressed juice, around this time of year so that we can feel our best through the most festive time of the year. 

Why sit out holiday parties with a cold when you can enjoy all the fun of the season while keeping your health a priority? Below, we’re sharing some of our favorite products, tips and tricks for fending off colds and flu during the colder months. Make sure to bookmark these tips and share them with friends so that no one has to sit out your holiday party because of a cold this year.

 

Vitamin C is Your New Best Friend

They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but during cold and flu season, we like to say an apple a day and a high dose of vitamin C keep the doctor away. Vitamin C is important not just for immune health, but also for skin and connective tissue health, as well as the absorption of iron. Plus, it’s a very powerful antioxidant, so it can help prevent cell degeneration and supports the body’s defense against free radicals.

While vitamin C has not been clinically proven to cure the common cold, it can drastically reduce the duration of a cold, so when you feel the symptoms of a cold first coming on, take a double dose of vitamin C (between 75-90 milligrams per day, and a bit more if you’re a smoker).

It’s important to note, however, that not all vitamin C supplements are created equally. While products like Emergen-C and Airborne are easy to find at your local grocery store, we recommend dosing up with a higher-quality supplement like Liposomal vitamin C. Liposomal vitamin C contains lipids that are more easily absorbed into the body’s cells, and unlike standard vitamin C supplements, liposomal vitamin C bypasses the digestive system, making it more readily bioavailable, so your body can feel its effects faster.

Apple Cider Vinegar — The Miracle Cure-All

Good health starts in the gut, and with the plethora of rich desserts and cocktails surrounding us during the holidays, gut health can be difficult to balance. We always reach for apple cider vinegar before meals, especially rich holiday meals, to promote holiday health. Just one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, mixed with eight ounces of water, can rev the digestive system and prep you for a big meal. Make sure to buy the unfiltered kind, as unfiltered apple cider vinegar is a natural liver and lymphatic tonic that promotes lymphatic drainage and supports healthy pH balance.

Feeling a bit queasy after a big meal due to acid reflux? Apple cider vinegar is full of enzymes and probiotics that support gut health, so down a tablespoon when you’re feeling under the weather for a quick gut health fix.

Our favorite benefit of apple cider vinegar is that it promotes healthy weight loss by reducing sugar cravings and promoting detoxification. Who couldn’t use a bit of detox support during the holidays? Again, drink just one tablespoon mixed with water before meals, and you’ll enjoy a metabolism boost, reduced cravings and appetite control.

Mental Health is Important, Too

Let’s not forget about the toll that the holiday season can take on our mental health. With the stress of traveling, parties and family get-togethers, mental health is imperative to total holiday health. When the temps drop and we lose those precious hours of sunlight, vitamin D supplements become extremely important for keeping those winter blues at bay. Look for a vitamin D3 supplement, as this indicates that the vitamin D comes from a natural source, rather than synthetic.

We also love to keep healthy holiday habits, like meditation, top of mind, to help keep our mental health as strong as our physical health. If you’re new to meditation, try taking a simple, slow ten-minute walk outdoors and pay attention to your thoughts as you walk. You can also try an app like Headspace to gently guide you on a seated meditation each day.

Last on our list for mental health is daily exercise. We know it can feel nearly impossible to keep up a regular exercise routine during the holidays, but just 20 minutes of moderate exercise each day is enough to keep your physical and mental health humming along in tip top shape. Go for a quick run, do a mini circuit workout at home, or find an indoor heated pool for a quick dip. Bottom line, get moving and break a sweat each day to keep your mind working and feeling great over the holidays.

Load Up on Protein First

In terms of your Thanksgiving plate, balance is essential to keeping your health in check. Load up on high protein foods first, like turkey, chicken, or tofu. Next, balance out your protein with a serving of healthy carbs like sweet potatoes, then round things out with a heaping serving of veggies like broccoli, carrots, or beets.

With that in mind, it’s okay to indulge in a bit of dessert, but don’t use it as an excuse to go overboard. Everything in moderation is key. This is especially true for alcohol. You can absolutely enjoy a cocktail or glass of wine at your holiday celebration, but keep it to two drinks max, otherwise you run the risk of dehydrating your skin, overloading your liver with toxins, and lowering inhibitions, which can lead to binges.

Keep Fresh Pressed Juice on-Hand

Our secret weapon for holiday health is definitely fresh pressed juice. We keep an abundance of Pure Green cold pressed juice on hand during the holidays, and reach for one every morning to undo damage from the night before, load up our bodies with nutrients, and keep our immune systems working smoothly. Fresh pressed juice is full of essential vitamins, minerals, and live enzymes the body needs to naturally detoxify itself. The benefits of a daily fresh pressed juice are countless, from clearer skin to healthier digestion to increased immunity.

Particularly around the holidays, we love veggie-heavy juice for a super healthy kick. Our go-tos include Pure Greens ALG, Rockin’ Beet, and Coconut Hydrate. Remember to consume your fresh pressed juice every morning with at least eight ounces of water, as this will flood the body with nutrients, rev the metabolism, hydrate from the inside out and set your day up for success.

Think More Zinc

Zinc is an amazingly-powerful health supplement for proper holiday health. It benefits the body in so many ways, from promoting hormone production to improving immunity and supporting healthy digestion. It also fights free radical damage and slows the aging process, which is a great benefit all year round! Load up on at least eight milligrams of zinc per day during the holidays to maintain healthy immune function, decrease appetite and keep your system running efficiently.

Vitamin B for Extra Energy

Vitamin B complex is essential for holiday health during the cold months, as these vitamins support healthy immune function, decreased stress, red blood cell production, and healthy cholesterol regulation. Not only that, but healthy doses of vitamin B complex can increase energy without increasing the stress hormone cortisol, so you can ride a healthy high without worrying about an energy crash mid-day.

Get Plenty of Sleep

Sleep is so important all year round, but particular during the holidays, it’s so important to make sleep a priority every single day. Without the proper amount of sleep each night, you run the risk of decreasing your overall immunity, making yourself more susceptible to colds and flus. Plus, a lack of sleep can make us crave sugar and carbohydrates, which can wreak havoc on our skin, waistlines and mental health. Yes, traveling, parties, and holiday shopping can make it tricky, but sleep must remain a priority for total holiday health.

Holiday Health is Within Reach This Season

With these healthy holiday tips in your back pocket, you’ll breeze through Thanksgiving and the rest of the season without leaving your healthy habits behind. Who wouldn’t want to start the new year with a healthy start? Make sure to follow these tips and share them with friends so that you and your loved ones can enjoy the season feeling your best!