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Most routines and meals can fall out the window during a holiday season. You may be piling into a car or plane and eating junk as you travel in close quarters. Or if you don't have to travel at all, the lead-up might be such a rush that you're likely to get sick the moment you relax. (Your body will postpone illness when you're "too busy" to handle it, and then the crash comes on the long-awaited vacation.) A few ideas:
Before the holiday
- Give everyone Vitamin A and D. I like Carlson Cod liver oil capsules. Or eat sausage from animals that were raised outside. Or eat sardines. Or get outside in the sun and sweat and don't shower right after. Better yet, do several of the above.
- Eat real food.
- Drink water, with a splash of minerals if you remember.
- Limit sugar, which is well documented to suppress the immune system.
- Keep the routines you can.
- Hug each other. This supports your immune system and just makes life better.
During the holiday
- Eat real food when possible. On a road trip, even convenience stores have some real food and some real-ish foods - nuts, sports bars, unsweetened tea, dried fruit.
- Drink water
- Wash hands
- Keep hugging each other. It's easy for me to forget when we're busy or traveling.
- Harness your sense of humor.
- Deal with emotions as honestly as possible. It's healthier physically and mentally for you (or whoever experiences it), and it's what you want to model for the kids.
- Request less sugar from relatives
and/or
- Tell the kids you'll be doling out the sugar in reasonable doses. After a week they'll be bored of it and you can remove the surplus.
- Skip out on something so you can sneak a quiet few hours to recharge.
Good luck during busy times! Share your own tips in the comments below.
