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LIVE WELL WITH LAURA

Prevent cold and flu: Make friends with fat

by Laura Burkett-Holstine, HHC

Before you start popping the zinc, echinacea, and Vitamin C, let's go Back to Ayurveda Basics and examine how the foods we eat during the winter can either help prevent or increase the chances of catching a cold.

Usually, we gravitate toward the same 10 foods on a regular basis. According to Ayurveda, by eating the same way all year, one will actually become deficient two-thirds of the year! Think about it: Is there one particular season that you feel really well? Does the colder weather throw you off? Here's why:

1.) Nature provides the antidote to the season.

In the springtime, mother nature gives us berries, cherries, greens, and sprouts - all very alkaline-forming and very cleansing foods that are the antidote to the heavy, muddy, watery (kapha) time of year. In the summer, the days are much longer and hotter (pitta), so nature harvests the bulk of our fruits and vegetables, which are cooling, low-fat, and carbohydrate-rich, to help us make it through the long days without heating our bodies up with too many calories or heating qualities. Then, come winter, the land rests and we find ourselves craving richer, heavier, more grounding foods. Listening to body wisdom and consuming grounding roots and protein, and warming spices, soups, stews, nuts, and seeds is the perfect balance to the dry, cold, transient (vata) nature of the winter season.

2.) By adhering to a low fat diet in the winter, the body retaliates.

Many people simply eat the same way all year while others intentionally watch fat intake throughout the winter. The body is not very happy when it's feeling cold and dry, and it's being fed popcorn, tortillas chips, or raspberry sorbet. So the body says, "Fine. If you're not going to provide me with warming and lubricating foods that keep me from drying out, I will create some reactive intestinal mucus to keep me feeling safe." Reactive mucus is a breeding ground for colds and flu. Come late winter and springtime, when the weather begins to get heavy and damp, the chances for congestion, allergies, colds, or flu are high.

Why Fat is our Friend

Fat is stable and calm burning fuel. Not only is eating seasonally quite healthy, but if you tend to feel like an anxious space cadet with this cold weather, eating seasonally (e.g., richer, heavier foods, fattier foods) can regulate your mood and you mind also. I don't see a better time to keep your feet firmly grounded on the floor (or your mat) than the holidays.

You may also want to note that eating low-fat foods only to indulge in heavy, processed holiday foods is not the answer.

Processed foods are deplete of nutrients and life-giving energy - although rich in fat and calories - and can leave us not only feeling lethargic, but can also send the body on a mission to consume nutrition and increase hunger until it gets what it is looking for. So if this all seems like support for loads of Thanksgiving goodies or Christmas cookies, think again. The body will eventually get what it needs (via avocado or french fries), whether you like it or not. Eating low quality foods cause the body to want to eat more in an attempt to meet it's own nutritional requirements. Why not give it the good stuff first? Then enjoy a cookie or two!

Here's to a beautiful and healthy holiday season!

Visit Laura at www.RealFoodWellness.com