Health Rituals for the festive period

We know that December is the busiest time of the year, and whilst it’s also one of the most enjoyable, many of us also feel rushed off our feet! With impromptu cocktails and festive nibbles, partying is on everyone’s mind; so supporting you throughout the festive season is our priority in December. We’ve devised some of our favourite health rituals to see you through the festive season, to keep you feeling your best and avoiding the post-party slump! Our top tip this month is pre-party prep, so with that in mind let’s get prepping! 

During December mince pies and mulled wine are everywhere we turn, and whilst delicious, often we crave something nutritious too. When we were writing our health rituals, we realised that many of us are probably already doing some of these, so we don’t think there’s too much to worry about, win win! If you do feel like you need an extra helping hand or fancy a party survival tip or two, then have a read!

Meal prepping is the key to making sure you get those all-important nutrients. When work and social plans ramp up, we can often find ourselves reaching for those less nutritious meals and snacks. But don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be complicated. When you’re short of time, the last place you want to find yourself is in the kitchen. Make it easy by cooking up extra when you’re already making something, make ‘get-ahead breakfasts’ and try and plan your meals at the start of the week. 

There are so many delicious recipes that you can prep over the weekend when you have more time to play with. Our favourite breakfast to prepare the night before is overnight oats or bircher muesli, just top with nuts, seeds and fruit in the morning and you’re good to go. If you want to read more about meal-prepping then you can go and check out our blog here. 

Broccoli, kale and the all-important brussel sprouts are all cruciferous veggies or as we like to call them ‘liver-loving veggies’. They're our best friends at this time of year! These green veggies all contain a compound called glucosinolates, these sulphur-containing compounds help to support our liver. And guess what, they all play a starring role in our Christmas lunch. We also like to pack them in beforehand, because after all brussel sprouts aren’t just for Christmas Day. Making sure that you have a portion of dark green leafy veggies everyday will help to support liver detoxification. We like to include kale and broccoli at lunchtime so we know that we don’t miss out! 

This may seem like a tricky one, when you’re really busy and feel like you’ve got no time to rest, but overindulgence and being out of routine can wreak havoc on our sleeping patterns. What we mean by rest is actually supporting the quality of your sleep. Whilst your social calendar maybe jam-packed it is also important to prioritize time for rest, even if its just 2 nights a week. This will help you to keep on top of things, and prevent the dreaded Christmas crash. There are a few handy tips that can help you to make the most of the rest that you do have this December: 

• Stop scrolling - when you’re busy why not take some time out from social media? The blue light coming from our phone screens increases our brain activity, stopping us switching off which can make sleeping tricky. 

• Listen to some relaxing music - if you’ve got a little travelling time on your way home, why not pop your headphones in and listen to something relaxing? This will set you up perfectly for sleep when you get home.

• Avoid too much alcohol - Christmas parties often call for overindulgence with both rich food and an abundance of alcohol. Whilst alcohol might appear to make you nod-off quickly, alcohol can actually prevent you from moving into Rapid Eye Movement (REM) stage of your sleep, which is not only the more restful sleep, but it is also fundamental for the repair of your body. Being conscious of water consumption and sneaking in a glass or two before each drink can really help!

• Don’t overload on sugar - all of the sweet treats that are often around in the build-up to Christmas are loaded with refined sugar. Evidence suggests that sugar reduces sleep quality, stimulates cravings and isn’t great for our gut bacteria.

• Try our Magnesium or Relax supplements - If you’re still struggling to get a good night’s sleep, why not try our Food Based magnesium or Relax supplement. Magnesium is an essential mineral that can help promote muscle relaxation, which helps to support a good night’s sleep. Our Relax supplement is also one of our go-to’s when we need to relax. 

Choosing the right supplements to support you over the festive period is essential. Top of our list when we are socialising in December is our Synbiotic 7. Our previous blog delves into the importance of optimal gut health for immunity, and we can’t shout about it enough! If you haven’t read it yet, what are you waiting for? You can find it here. 

Supporting your gut health is always important, but when you’re out of routine, eating and drinking differently and not getting as much sleep, it’s REALLY important! Our Synbiotic 7 is the ultimate savvy supplement; a unique blend of both prebiotics and 7 different friendly bacterial stains providing 40 billion live cultures, it will have you covered when you need it the most. Our favourite strain included in our Synbiotic 7 for supporting throughout the party season is Bacillus subtilis natto. Evidence suggests that this strain is beneficial for supporting our immune system, which is essential throughout December. 

Exercise if often the first thing to be ditched when the calendar starts to get full. But, we can honestly say that exercise should be right up there on your to-do list. It’s so important for giving you an all-round health boost. Here at Link Nutrition, we like to go to our favourite exercise class on our lunch break. Whilst many believe that they have to make time for exercise when they feel they could be more productive doing other things. Well, we believe the opposite. Exercise helps to boost both mood and energy levels which helps to increase productivity, pretty essential when we’re busy and have to-do lists as long as our arms! We know that sometimes we can be short of time, so why not try and walk a little bit of your journey to work, because not only will the exercise be amazing, fresh air really does work wonders!

How to stop dreaded hangover is something that we get asked a lot, and even more so at this time of year. Whilst helping yourself to feel better the day after a party is often a combination of things, there is one thing that always springs to mind. It’s pretty simple, hydrate! Whether it be a simple glass of water, or a hot water with ginger and lemon, getting some water in before you hit the sack will really help you feel good the next day, trust us !

Don't forget you can read our 'Health Hacks' for the festive period blog, for some top tips to help you to feel great throughout the party season!