Winter health tips: Beets, blue light and bounce

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Winter’s dark and cold days take a toll on the body. Winter health tips include adding beets to the diet, getting more light, especially blue light, and adding exercise.

Beets increase nitric oxide

When the body is exposed to sunshine, it manufactures two nutrients: vitamin D and nitric oxide. Good winter health tips include replacing the lost nitric oxide and you can do this by eating beets. Beets improve the health of every organ and increase blood flow. Nitric oxide is so important for the heart, that this research was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1998. And the past president of the American Heart Association, Dr. Valentin Fuster claims that the discovery of the function of nitric oxide may be one of the most important discoveries in the history of heart medicine. So eat those beets to get your heart to beat. Beets can be juiced, steamed, grated onto salads or made into a warming borsht soup.

Blue light improves mood and treats winter blues

Another change that happens in the winter is that the brain is exposed to less light. During the time of shorter days, some people experience seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a condition that brings with it depression, fatigue, and overeating. As many as 20% of all Americans are said to fall prey to this disorder. Research points out a winter health tip to alleviate SAD. Analyzing brain scans where study participants were exposed to blue light, researchers found that blue light exposure increased the brains abilities in language and in processing emotions. Light boxes that esxpose a person to white light have helped many deal with symptoms of SAD, and adding blue light exposure can increase the healing benefits.

Exercise increases endorphins

Even in the winter, getting out and bouncing around improves mood and fitness. Another winter health tip is to find a way to exercise outdoors. A five-minute walk in the brisk air can get your blood circulating and clear the cobwebs from your brain. Even if you don’t meet your summer exercise goals, set a winter goal that you can meet.

Winter health vitamin tips

Add vitamin D to replace that lost by the body’s exposure to sunshine and also add B12.

Vitamin B12 has been shown to greatly improve symptoms of depression and the winter blues

 

http://www.naturalnews.com/043078_winter_blues_depression_vitamin_B12.html

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/10/27/health.blue.light.moods/

http://redaceorganics.com/science.html#linebeaker

 

 

 

 

Melanie Grimes
Melanie Grimes is a writer, medical editor and health educator. A classically trained homeopath, she has lectured internationally and been on faculty at Bastyr University, American Medical College of Homeopathy, and Seattle School of Homeopathy. She has been the editor of SImillimum, Journal of the Homeopathic Association of Naturopathic Physicians, and The American Homeopath, Journal of the North American Society of Homeopaths.

An award-winning screenwriter, Melanie has taught creative writing, and authored medical textbooks.
She writes about health, natural medicine, food as medicine, herbs, homeopathy, and travel. 

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